Whiskey Lullaby

Draco raised the bottle to his lips and took a swig. The sour whiskey filled his mouth and burned his throat, making him sputter. Nevertheless, he took another gulp.

This depressant was his antidepressant. The only time he was happy was when he was drunk, and he had spent many days intoxicated.

He simply missed her. She had left a hole somewhere inside of him, and the only way it could be filled was with alcohol.

"Draco, where are you going?"

"I need to go into work. Blaise is having some sort of emergency, and he can't get through it without me."

"Can't you stay? Please?"

"I'm sorry, but he needs me."

"So do I, Draco," she said. "I never see you anymore."

"I'll be home tonight."

"Early?"

"I'll be home by eleven, I promise."

"Eleven? I'd hardly call that early."

"I'm sorry, but I need to go." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, and the stepped into the fireplace. The last thing he saw was her tears, before he was sucked away into the whirling flames.

He took another long swig. He was beginning to lose his mind. Her memory was driving him crazy.

Draco flooed home far past midnight. The house was quiet. He dropped his briefcase off next to the fireplace and yawned. Rubbing his neck with one hand, he took a seat on their leather sofa, and leaned back against the smooth material.

He woke up many hours later. The sunlight was streaming in the large windows that adorned their living room. Checking his watch, he saw that it was eight-thirty in the morning. He was surprised that Hermione was not already up. She was a definite morning person, and usually was up and busy by this time.

He sat up, stretched, and made his way into their bedroom. The bed was empty, and it looked as though it hadn't been slept in. "Hermione?" he said aloud, though he knew she wasn't in the room.

He checked the closet and saw that most of her clothes weren't there. There was a duffel bag missing from the shelf above. She had left him.

()o()o()o()

He never saw her again. He had gone looking for her of course, but she wasn't at her parents house, any of her friends places,or anywhere else Draco had ventured.

That was two weeks, four days ago.

Now, Draco sat alone in their house. His only comfort was that bottle, a right that he took full advantage of. He downed the rest of the bottle. He was clearly drunk, but this time the drinking didn't have the effect it usually did.

Draco remembered why he was drinking, and he remembered how he felt when she walked out. This was too much to handle, and the alcohol made a decision for him.

He staggered to his bedroom, and rummaged around in the side table's drawer. He found what he was looking for, and he carried his prize into the bathroom. Scribbling his last words onto a piece of paper, he taped it to the bathroom mirror.

He loaded the gun, cocked it, and put it to his head.

The shot rang out, andhis life flickered like a candle in a breeze. He was gone.

()o()o()o()

She found him like that. She had come to her senses, and was returning home to where she belonged. With him. She fitted her key into the lock, and turned the handle. Instead of seeing the man she loved waiting for her, the house was silent.

"Draco?" No answer. She went into the kitchen. An empty whiskey bottle lay on its side on the tiled counter. "Draco?"

She went into the bedroom. The bed was messy, and the drawer to his side table was yanked out. The bathroom door was shut, but the light was on.

She knocked quietly on the door. "Draco, its me Hermione," she said. "I'm back." When there was still no answer, she pushed open the door.

Blood ran from under it, and left a bloody stain on her shoes. Her eyes grew bigger when she saw the gun lying on the ground. It was still in his hand. He had shot himself.

She looked up, not wanting to see the body. As she did, a piece of paper caught her eye. She tore it away from the mirror, and read the words written upon it.

I will love her until I die.

()o()o()o()

That day was wonderful. Draco took Hermione to a park-like area. It had a pond, long stretches of grass, and many trees to rest under and avoid the burning sun. They had chosen a willow tree, and that was where they had their picnic. That was where he had said those three fateful words.

"I love you too," she had cried, wrapping her arms around his neck and planting a long, soft kiss on his lips. They sank into the kiss, and he tangled his fingers in her curls. The spent that day in each others arms under the shade of the willow tree.

The funeral was beautiful, Hermione made sure of that. It was simple, only the fewest friends and family were invited. Hermione tried to reach all of Draco's old friends, but only got a hold of Blaise and Pansy. Both were present. Not wanting the service to be empty, she invited Ginny and Harry, who worked in the ministry with Draco, and as many other school alumni as she could. Last, she invited his parents, though neither showed up.

When the eulogy started, each of Draco's friends had something to say about him.

"Draco," Blaise began, "was the best mate you could ever have. His family took me in when my father died, and I couldn't be more grateful. I know that he is happy wherever he is now."

"Draco was a wonderful man." Pansy wiped away tears, and then continued. "He was always there for you when you needed him to be, and he always helped me through whatever I was going through. I will miss him."

The others present said their eulogies, and Hermione went last.

"Draco Malfoy was my first love," she said, "And I don't think I ever made that clear to him. I miss him, and I wish he could hear me say that. As others said, I'm sure he is happy wherever he is now. I just wish he was here with me." No one spoke as she finished, finally breaking down into tears. She cried into Harry Potter's shoulder as the service continued.

The priest had said his part, and each person there threw a handful of dirt on the black coffin. Hermione once again went last, tossed her dirt in, and then dropped a white rose in on top. It was the only type of flowers he had ever bought her. Always a bouquet of pure, white roses.

No one had any preference as to where he would be buried, and Hermione stepped in.

They buried Draco Malfoy underneath a willow tree.

()o()o()o()

That was a month ago today. Hermione was alone in the house that they had shared for two years, until she had left him. The healers said he had only been dead for two hours when she found him. If she were two hours and a minute earlier…

That didn't matter now. She was supposed to be sorting through their things, packing up what she didn't want and passing on certain things to their friends and family. Ginny had offered more than once to accompany her, but she had shook her off. She wanted to be alone. She happened to find an unopened bottle of whiskey in his cupboards, and after several glasses she had given up her mission entirely.

Now she was drunk, sitting in the kitchen and staring at a picture of the two of them. They were sitting on a beach together, their hair blowing in the wind and their toes in the sand. Looking at this picture made her miss Draco even more, and she desperately wanted to see him again. He never got to hear her tell him she was sorry for walking out, let alone how much she loved him.

She poured herself another generous measure, and began walking aimlessly about the house. She ended up in the bathroom, sitting on the floor where she found Draco's body. Tears poured down her face, and she ran her finger along the floorboard. There was still a trail of now dried blood that had somehow missed Ginny and the police's cleaning rampage.

An idea came to her. It was a terrible thing, but she was drunk and desperate to see Draco again. She left the bathroom and began digging through the side tables. She pulled out all manner of things, finally reaching the item she had been searching for. Going back into the bathroom, she carried with her the picture of her and Draco on that beach.

Tears squeezed out of her brown eyes as she loaded the gun. She began to shake when the barrel touched her chest. She pulled the trigger.

Great pain ripped through her body, and there was no feeling.

()o()o()o()

"Hermione?" Ginny banged on the door. "Hermione Granger, open this door!" When she still didn't answer, Ginny whipped out her wand and Alohomora-ed the door. It swung open.

An eerie silence filled the house. "Hermione?" No answer. Ginny stepped father inside and the door shut behind her, making her jump.

Ginny went into the kitchen. An empty bottle of whiskey lay on the floor, and a used glass lie next to it. Wherever Hermione was, she was most surely drunk. She pushed open the door and went into the abandoned den. The TV was alone and blaring. She switched that off, and proceeded into the bedroom. Looking around, she could see an arm sticking out of the bathroom. The fingers were clenched in on themselves, making a fist out of the hand.

"Oh shit." Ginnys stomach turned as she slowly crossed the bedroom. She made a face and looked away from the grotesque sight that met her eyes. Her best friend was lying dead on the floor with blood oozing out of her chest, and her eyes staring up at the ceiling frozen and cold. Something was clutched against her body with her other hand. Ginny took a step closer, and realized it was a photograph.

"Oh, Hermione." Ginny hung her head, and turned away to call for help.

()o()o()o()

The day of the funeral was cold and windy. Hermione's friends and family trudged up a familiar hill to a gravesite that to some it seemed they had just visited. The grave was dug next to another.

The pure white coffin lie in the grave, and her friends and family stood around it. The attendants included all of the Gryffindors they could reach, Hermione's parents, Albus Dumbledore, and Blaise and Pansy. Ron Weasley would have been there, but he was sent away on a project for the ministry and couldn't be reached. They doubted he even knew she was dead.

In the same way as Draco's, each of her friends preformed their eulogy, and then tossed a handful of dirt on the grave.

Ginny began. "Hermione was my very best friend. She was brilliant, pretty, and had a good head on her shoulders. I don't know why she felt she needed to go, but I trust she had a rational reason for doing so." She wiped away her tears and tried to continue, but she was overcome with sobs.

"I first became friends with Hermione in our first year at Hogwarts. She has been there for me ever since, and has helped me through the toughest trials of my life. I will miss her." A single tear ran down the boy-who-lived's face.

Pansy spoke next. "I never knew Hermione as well as the rest of you guys got to. But the time I did get to spend with her, was spent with laughter. I wish we could have put our differences aside before, so I would have had longer to spend with her."

"As Pansy said," Blaise said, "I never got to know Hermione very well. However, I am thankful that Draco found such a wonderful woman to be with, and the times I had to hang out with her, were some of the best memories in my life."

Her parents said a few words, as did Dumbledore. Finally, Ginny stepped up and lay a bouquet of white roses in the grave. The dirt began to fill up the grave, and it covered the white coffin beneath.

When it was filled, the priest said the last words. Silent and sobbing, the members of the funeral party slowly trudged back down the hill.

The two graves were left alone. In one, lay the body of a man who was so in love with a girl he died for her. Next to his, lay the girl he died for.

Together, always.

I will love her until I die.

()o()o()o()o()o()o()

The story was based off the song by Brad Paisley, Whiskey Lullaby. The links to the lyrics are in my profile, should you want to read them.

Please review now, and make Emma very happy?

Thanks and Hugs!
Emma

()o()o()o()

After you are all finished reviewing, I strongly urge to visit my profile and look for the link to my homepage. The site is a chat forum based on Harry Potter, but it is set up much like Hogwarts is. It was created by one of the best writers on FF, SilverShiver.

If you were wondering, my ScreenName is xtheshadowedonex. When you sign up, be sure and tell the Headmistress that I referred you. Thank You!