I did not proof read this as well as I would have liked, so I apologize for any mistakes.

Warning: Mentions of rape + Character Death

The power of youth is on my mind

Sunsets, small town, I'm out of time

-Old Money, Lana Del Rey

"Hermione…please tell me that you are joking," Teddy quietly begged.

It had been a little under an hour since she'd uttered the words that, no doubt, made Teddy's heart stop. He had simply stared at her after she blurted them out through inconsolable sobs, eventually closing the door and getting in when she did not elaborate. He drove her to her house, where they'd been sitting for the past half hour, the sound of her cries still filling the vehicle.

"No! No, I'm not-."

"What happened in there?"

Hermione shook her head, fingers shaking as she rested them on the dashboard.

"She looked like me…," she eventually whispered.

"Who did?"

"That girl! She looked like me…like an everyday college student just trying to make it, trying to do something with her life. She had plans, and a family, and people who cared about her-!"

"Slow down. Start from the beginning," he interrupted.

"He killed her," Hermione shrieked, turning to face him, eyes wild and face wet.

Teddy didn't respond, unnerved by her behavior. Hermione panted, tangling her hands in her hair as she banged her head against the headrest.

"He raped her…and killed her…because of me…," she gasped.

She heard him inhale.

"…because I was stupid. I was weak."

Teddy reached for her hand, intertwining his fingers with her own, bringing it to his lips.

"You're not weak," he whispered against her skin.

"I am! I know that, but… I couldn't just- I couldn't let you kill him. I know that he hurt me and that he's far from perfect, but that doesn't mean he deserves to die. I couldn't let you do it," she cried.

Teddy sighed, leaning back in his seat.

"You disagree…don't you? You agree with Draco, that I should have let you do your job…"

"I plead the fifth," was his only response.

"You aren't even American, so that means crap to me. Answer me!"

"Yes! Yes, you should have let me do my job! You should have let me kill him," he snarled, turning to face her now, eyes hard.

She glared at him, jaw clenching. Teddy's eyes fell closed.

"You have no idea…how long I had been waiting for that opportunity," he quietly began "…he turned you into someone that I couldn't even recognize. You were like a stranger to me when he left. He's spineless, a coward, and he deserved every bullet that I had in my clip."

Hermione turned away from him, staring at the road in front of her. She crossed her arms over her chest as he continued.

"…and he thinks that he can waltz back in here after two years, hoping to reconcile with you? I wanted to snap his neck, Hermione! It was his own dumbass fault for thinking that you'd ever call him up to get back together. His arrogance put him there last night. I don't care how mad you are at me. I don't care what you think. He hurt my best friend… He's nothing to me," he hissed.

"Well, he's not nothing to me," she said.

"What the hell does that mean? Just what the fuck is that supposed to mean? Are you letting that prick back into-?"

"No!"

Hermione let her head drop into her hands.

"I know that he hurt me. I know what he did and what I was like when he left. You don't have to keep reminding me, okay? I know, I was there, I lived it," she whispered.

She sat up, staring at the roof of his car.

"…but…does that negate everything that happened before? Does that just go away? I loved him for as long as I could remember. I grew up with him, I watched him mature. I watched him fight with his siblings and his parents. I watched him laugh and cry. I lost my virginity to him…he was the only man I've ever loved. All of that has to count for something, right? As much as I would like to, I can't erase all of that. I can't only focus on the bad," she said, pleading with him.

"Well, lucky for me, I can only focus on the bad…"

"Teddy, please," she begged, gripping his shoulder.

She watched as he winced, a slight hiss escaping his lips. She snatched her hand away as if she'd burned him, staring at him with wide eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said, rolling his shoulder.

"You're hurt," she guessed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Hermione, it's nothing…," he tried to reason, but she wasn't listening.

She had already begun pushing his shirt up, despite his protests. She gasped in horror, pulling her hands away at the sight of an ugly whip mark on his back, still sticky with blood. It ran from his right shoulder and diagonally across, down to his left hip. She looked up at him, lips trembling when he wouldn't meet her eyes.

"Did Riddle do this?" she whispered.

"I told you, it's nothing-."

She wrapped her arms around herself, mind reeling. Teddy was supposed to kill Ron, not injure him… He'd also suffered consequences from her actions.

"I'm sorry," she finally said.

"I already told you, it's nothing. It could have been a lot worse. It should have been much worse…"

She closed her eyes, body going numb as everything began to hit her all at once. She slid down in her seat, nails digging into her arms.

"Do you want me to stay?"

Hermione wanted to say no, her feelings all over the place. She was still upset with Teddy about Ron, but seeing the lash on his back put things back into perspective. Teddy was just doing his job, and despite the fact that it was clearly something he wanted to do, it was still his job. He was told to do something and because of her, he didn't. Now, he was hurt. She was a walking disaster…

"Yes," she answered.

It had been a while since Teddy had stayed over. It reminded her of all of those sleepless nights she'd endured after Ron left. When she was either too drunk to be home alone, or just buzzing with too much adrenaline and hatred to fall asleep. She knew that tonight was going to be one of those nights. If Hermione closed her eyes, she could hear the screams as clear as day. She could see the blood…

She shook her head, shaking away the vision that haunted her. She closed the door behind her, locking it as Teddy made his way inside. It wasn't long before they'd both showered and found themselves laying on her bed, facing each other. Neither one of them had said a word since they entered the house, and while this was normal, something was weighing heavily on Hermione's mind.

"How come you never told me about Blaise?"

She could see that her question had thrown him off guard by the way his body tensed up, eyes widening slightly.

"Who told you?"

"…Ginny," she whispered.

He heaved a sigh, turning over to stare up at the ceiling. She could see his Adam's apple bob up and down, as if he had trouble swallowing.

"…because it doesn't matter," he finally answered.

"Why would you say that? Clearly it does if he's the reason you started working for Draco in the first place," she said.

Teddy was silent, chewing on his lip as he refused to look at her.

"I mean… What is there to tell? It started off as a random hookup, and we just kind of ended up fooling around."

"You don't start working for a rival criminal organization for someone you're just fooling around with, Theodore."

He didn't say anything for a while as Hermione continued staring at him. He eventually exhaled…it was shaky. She suddenly sat up, looking at him with worried eyes.

"Teddy?"

"I left him, okay?"

"Why?"

"…because I got…tired, Hermione," he confessed, voice cracking.

She scooted closer towards him, resting her hand on his arm as he stared at the green paint above them.

"I got tired of being second choice. I didn't see the point in being with someone who would always be pining after someone else who didn't feel the same way, who would never look at them in that way. No matter how great I was or how much I tried…I was always going to be second choice in his heart, so… I left," he said with a shrug.

Hermione wasn't sure what to say to that. She wished that he had told her. To think that he was dealing with a heartbreak of his own while being there for her through hers… She shook her head, laying back down and throwing her arm over him. She didn't say anything, neither one of them did. They didn't need to, because the way his hand found hers, squeezing it like his life depended on it, said it all.

Hermione screamed, body drenched in sweat, her hair sticking to her face as she sat up. She'd only just started crying again when she felt familiar arms circle around her. Her eyes darted around, and her chest heaved as she fought to catch her breath. Her head was gently guided to lean on his shoulder, lips brushing against her forehead as she sobbed.

"You're okay… He isn't here…," he whispered.

It had been two weeks since the incident. Two weeks since she had been ordered to trap Ron so that they could kill him. Fourteen days since Teddy had shot him, forcing Ron into the hospital for seven days. Two weeks since Harry and Ginny started blowing up her phone, wondering what had happened to her. How was she ever supposed to face them after what she had done?

Ron had not contacted her and neither she him. She wasn't sure what to do. The police hadn't come knocking on her door yet, so clearly Ron had not said anything about the truth of what happened that night. Why? Why hadn't he come clean? She didn't want to talk to him, too afraid of the reason why he was keeping his mouth shut, too afraid of more problems to deal with.

"Do you want some water?"

Hermione shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself as she curled towards Draco, face pressed into his neck.

It had been two weeks since Riddle violently assaulted and murdered some random, innocent girl because of Hermione's actions. She hadn't gotten any sleep. Anytime she so much as went under, she'd hear her screams all over again. She was haunting Hermione…and she deserved it.

The buzzing of her phone caught her attention, and she flinched, already knowing who it was.

"What am I going to do? I can't keep avoiding them forever…"

"You witnessed a traumatic thing, Hermione. Take all the time you need. When the time is right, you'll talk to them, and I'm sure you'll come up with a suitable explanation, one that they'll understand," Draco replied.

Hermione sighed when the buzzing eventually stopped, the call going to voicemail. They sat there in a comfortable silence, both of them much too wide awake to even consider going back to sleep. Hermione was too afraid to go back to sleep, anyway, knowing that nothing awaited her there besides raven hair and green eyes.

"I'm sorry," he eventually whispered.

"For what?" she asked, pulling away to look at him.

He sighed, running his hand through his hair as he looked away, clearly uncomfortable.

"The day you tried to leave, the morning after you found out about me… I forced you into staying with me…"

Hermione looked down, playing with her fingers.

"…I threatened Nott, someone I know is very important to you. It wasn't right. I just didn't want you to walk out of that door," he confessed.

She lifted her eyes, regarding him.

"The first night that I saw you, I knew that I wanted you. There was nothing magical about it. You just looked so out of place, lost, like you didn't belong. I thought that you'd be…fun, different. I knew that convincing you to so much as give me the time of day was going to be…trying, to say the least. Once I figured out that you were a friend of Nott, I knew it was going to be beyond difficult. I could only imagine the sorts of things he told you about me…"

"I had never even heard of you," she whispered.

"I know," he chuckled "…it was almost laughable. I did my research and saw that you were in trouble. Someone once said that luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity. I saw an opportunity to get what I wanted," he said with a shrug.

Hermione remained silent. She always wondered how Draco felt about her exactly, especially after learning the truth about him. She constantly feared that she was in all of this mess simply because he wanted a new piece of arm candy, a new pair of legs to rest in between.

"I never expected…," he trailed off with a huff.

"What?"

"I didn't want you to go because… I like having you around, Hermione," he let out, looking down at her now.

She blinked.

"Your presence is soothing," he slowly whispered, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against her own.

Hermione was relieved to know that she wasn't the only one growing attached.

"I'm not a good person. I'm selfish, and forcing you to stay with me that day was one of the most selfish things I had ever done. I'm giving you an out…"

She pulled away, confused.

"…what?"

Draco sighed, looking down.

"You can leave…if you want to. I'll continue helping you out, making sure that your parents are taken care of. I'm still going to make sure your friends are safe so that you can get away from Riddle for good, but… You don't have to sleep with me anymore. You can go if that's what you want," he proposed.

Hermione stared at him with wide eyes, hardly believing what she was hearing. He was breaking their agreement?

"Why are you doing this?"

"I've done enough. You've gone through enough to last a lifetime because of me. It's not fair or right to force you into staying with me just because I don't want to see you with anyone else," he replied.

Hermione looked away, staring at the balcony doors, conflicted. She didn't have to be with him anymore if she didn't want to. He was still going to hold up his end of the bargain, regardless, and yet…

Hermione remembered confessing to Teddy that she did like Draco, despite the fact that she shouldn't. Besides, leaving him now wasn't exactly going to change anything. Too much had happened, and Hermione romantically removing herself from Draco wasn't going to turn back time. If anything, Riddle might view her as useless, and Hermione got the feeling that he wasn't the type to just let someone go once he had no further purpose for them.

"What if I want to stay?"

Draco frowned, eyes troubled as he stared at her. It was a very intense gaze, one that should have unnerved her, but didn't.

"I'm experiencing a rare moment, Hermione. If you stay now…I don't think that I could ever let you go," he said.

Hermione sighed, wondering if this was really what she wanted. Draco said that he didn't think he could ever let her go, but she knew what he was really saying. This was the only out that he was giving her. If she stayed, she was staying for good…

Hermione stepped inside of the building, looking around, an anxiousness settling over her. Draco had done what he did best and found out where Ron was having his physical therapy at. From what he'd told her, it was too soon to start the actual therapy and that he was simply going for a consultation. She wasn't exactly sure where to start looking first, but it turns out that she didn't have to wait long.

She turned, startled by the sound of Ron's voice as it came from down the hallway before her. For someone who'd been shot, he didn't look that bad. His arm was in a sling, and she briefly remembered Draco telling her that the bullet had hit the bone, shattering it and forcing doctors to fix it. She watched as he approached the entrance, holding a conversation with a middle-aged man. They shook hands, and she watched as Ron turned, freezing in place when he spotted her.

She opened her mouth, but no words came out as her eyes flickered to his injured shoulder. He didn't speak either, looking at her as if he'd seen a ghost. A shaky breath escaped her lips as she exhaled, and she took a step towards him.

"Ron-," she cut herself off as he flew past her.

She followed him, the door almost hitting her in the face as she did so.

"Ron, wait! Let me explain-."

"Explain? Explain?" he shouted, whirling around to face her.

It was quite late in the evening, most people already on the way home. The street was pretty scarce, and the sidewalk the two of them stood on was not much different.

"I'm torn between wanting to hear what you have to say and cursing you out, vowing to never speak to you again," he spat.

"I didn't have much of a choice. Believe me, if I could have done more to prevent that night from happening, I would have. All I could think to do was call the police, and…," she trailed off, green eyes taking over her vision.

"Well, I guess I should be bloody thankful for that, huh? After all, the sirens did distract them enough to allow me to give Nott a right hook just before he shot me," he quietly said, sarcasm dripping from every word.

Hermione sighed, unsure of what to say.

"Just what the hell are you caught up in? Nott working for a bloke like that doesn't surprise me. I always knew that Ginny was right about him, but you, Hermione? What the hell is going on?"

Hermione didn't say anything, unsure of how to respond. She couldn't tell him the truth, that just wasn't an option.

"I was just…in the wrong place at the wrong time," was her lame excuse.

"Wrong place at the wrong time," Ron repeated. "You led me there, Hermione. You were going to let them-."

"I wasn't! I called the police. I did everything that I could without-," she cut herself off with a huff.

How was she supposed to explain that his family's life was on the line? That it was either him or them? He suddenly exhaled, sounding tired.

"You know what? Forget it, Hermione. The only reason I haven't said shit to the police is because I just know that somehow I'm going to have to explain what they would want with me, anyway," he said.

"Why were… Ron, what were you doing taking drugs from one of Riddle's men, anyway?"

"What makes you think that you have the right to ask me anything?" he harshly replied.

She bit her lip, taking a step back. She tried not to let his behavior get to her. After all, it was completely justified.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Ron. You have to believe me that… I didn't have a choice," she whispered, eyes pleading with his.

Ron swallowed, looking away, face pinched in anger.

"Yeah, okay. I believe you, but that doesn't mean that I forgive you nor do I want anything to do with you," he said.

She sighed, nodding in understanding.

"I don't know what the bloody hell is going on with you, but I don't want any part of it…and I don't want my sister to get caught up in it either," he continued, causing her eyes to widen.

She felt goosebumps erupt over her flesh as his words sank in.

"What-? Ron…what does that mean?"

"It means that you are going to stay away from us! Is that clear enough for you? You're dangerous! I don't know what's going on with you, but I don't want to find out," he snarled, stepping towards her.

She swallowed.

"The fact of the matter is, you led me there. You knew what they had planned, and you put on a hell of a show to get me alone. You knew how I felt about you! You knew that I would jump at the chance to get to talk to you. I don't even recognize you, and I sure as hell don't trust you…"

She backed up as he walked towards her.

"…and if I don't trust you, then I don't want you around the people I care about. I'm not going to let your mess get anyone else hurt, so you just stay the hell away from us!"

He turned and walked away before she even had time to open her mouth. Hermione wrapped her arms around herself as she looked around, momentarily disoriented before finally making her way to her car.

"He's hurting," Draco said, pouring her a glass of wine.

Hermione shook her head, downing it in one go as he handed it to her.

"No…he, he meant every word of it. He may be angry, but he's right. I led him there, knowing exactly what they had planned. What if Ron hadn't punched Teddy? What if he'd acted too late or what if Teddy had acted sooner? He'd be dead," she choked out.

Draco rested his hand on her shoulder, rubbing circles into her skin.

"I mean…he's right! Of course, he has no way of knowing that his family already is in danger, but… He's absolutely right," she whispered.

She leaned back into the couch, releasing a sigh.

"You should go, or you're going to be late for your meeting," she said.

"Hermione, I can stay-."

"No, please. Go… I'll be fine, I promise," Hermione interrupted.

Draco looked unsure, before eventually leaning over to quickly press his lips against her own.

"Okay. Call me if you need anything, and please, try to get some rest," he said.

She nodded, leaving the couch and heading upstairs as soon as the door closed behind him.

It wasn't long before Hermione found herself drifting in and out of consciousness in his bed. So many things weighed heavily on her chest, and she was beginning to wonder when the damn would eventually break. She couldn't have been asleep for no more than an hour when her phone started buzzing. She assumed that it was Harry or Ginny, yet again, and opted to ignore it.

Only, it continued to buzz, back to back, a clear indicator of someone desperately trying to get a hold of her. Hermione turned over, the annoying sound ending just before she pressed the phone to her ear.

"…Hermione?"

Hermione took a minute to reply, too nervous to even speak to Ginny.

"Hermione…are you there?" Ginny questioned, a sob in her throat.

She immediately sat up, mind going a mile a minute as she picked up on Ginny's distress.

"What's wrong, Ginny?"

"H-Harry just l-left," the other girl cried.

Her eyes widened, misinterpreting.

"What? What do you mean he left?"

"He went to- oh God," she breathed.

"Ginny, take your time. What's going on?"

"They found a body…and they think it's Ron," she choked out.

Hermione's heart skipped a beat, a numb feeling washing over her like a tidal wave as she registered Ginny's words. She frowned, a lump forming in her throat.

"…what?"

"Harry's gone with my parents to identify it, right now. I couldn't… Oh my God, what if it is him? Oh my God."

It seemed that Ginny was only holding herself together long enough to get the words out. She soon became inconsolable, and Hermione fought to think rationally.

"Stay put, Gin. I'll be over in an hour. Just…stay there, please," she desperately said, flinging the covers off of her.

She pounded her fists on the door, tears streaming down her face. She barely put her car in park before hopping out, body overrun with adrenaline and anger. She kicked the door.

"Open up," she screamed.

She didn't care how crazy she may have looked to his snooty neighbors. She didn't care about anything at the moment. The door had just barely opened before she threw herself at him, hand connecting with his cheek.

"What the fu-. Hermione, stop!"

She swung at him again and again, bashing her purse against his chest. He fought to restrain her.

"Hermione, stop it!"

"I know it was you! I know it was," she shrieked, pushing against him.

Teddy grabbed her wrists, struggling to push her away from him.

"What the hell are you on about?" he shouted.

"Ron is dead! I know that you did it! I know-!"

"Hermione, it wasn't me," he frantically replied, finally getting his mind right as he took note of the words she threw at him.

"Oh, please! You bragged about how much you wanted to kill him! You bragged about how long you had been waiting for the opportunity. Don't lie to me," she screamed.

"I'm not lying! Hermione, you have to believe me! I didn't do this," he yelled back.

She slapped him again, stumbling away from him, hand covering her mouth.

"Hermione," he pleaded, stepping towards her.

"You just stay away from me! I can't even look at you," she gasped out, pointing her finger at him.

"Hermione, please-."

"Stay away from me!"

She backed up, turning away from him before running out of the door.

Let me know what you think!