-1Falling Tears

Chapter IX

Let Me Fall

Draco silently crept from his bedroom chamber, hours after the even of Hermione's torture.

He didn't know why he even bothered, but he needed to know if she was alright.

Cautiously, guardedly, he walked towards the dungeon, wary of any sign of his father; he could not risk being seen.

Holding his breath Draco kept to the darker shadows along the walls as he slowly descended the many stories. The air was growing notably colder and Draco could sense the ghosts of Hermione's screams within the air.

As he reached her cellar door, for the second time that morning, he closed his eyes, bracing himself for the sight of her mangled form.

He pushed open it open, and softly stepped into the prison of the Gryffindor's confinement.

Draco opened his eyes slowly and looked down to see Hermione Granger's figure lying upon the stone, her clothes torn and her hair in a disarray.

Her breathing appeared labored, and Draco suddenly wondered how far his father had taken the torture. Had it been enough to break her mind as well as her body?

With slight hesitation, Draco walked towards her and then knelt beside her trembling body.

His lips parted as he saw the bruises on her shoulders and the revealed portions of her back. His breath caught as he then saw the tight grasp of her hands around the bracelet he had given her.

Slowly, carefully, he reached out and placed a hand upon the back of her neck.

Suddenly, Hermione turned, eyes wide, her body defensive. When she saw that it was only he, Draco Malfoy, she relaxed slightly but retained her rigid form.

Draco winced as he saw the pain still within her eyes, and he reached out his other hand to brush away the hair from her face.

Hermione cringed from his touch, "Don't touch me." she hissed.

Draco withdrew his hand immediately, and then continued to stare into her spiritless gaze.

"Hermione," he whispered gently, "what did he do to you?"

"What would you care?" Hermione muttered emotionlessly, her voice parched from the all the screaming she had emitted.

Draco felt a pull within his soul at these words. "There was nothing I could do for you."

Hermione shook her head, a sad smile forming on her lips. "You wouldn't have helped me even if you could."

Draco read the utter bitterness within her eyes; the very same bitterness that had been present in his mother.

"Hermione, I do care." Draco reached forward and touched her face, not pulling away when she flinched. "I want to help you."

Hermione then quickly stood, "Don't lie to me!" However, her legs were far too weak from all her writhing that she could not support her own weight.

Draco quickly rushed to her side and caught her within his arms as her feet collapsed from beneath her.

Hermione's eyes closed briefly, but they fluttered open after a few moments.

Draco felt a stab in the back of his throat as he slowly knelt on one knee, while still holding this broken woman within his arms.

The contrast between the look in her eyes before he had left the cell was agonizing compared to the listlessness and helplessness he now beheld.

She lie limply in the support of his arms and her vulnerability was nearly too much for Draco to bear.

He couldn't believe how fragile she now was after seeing nothing but strength within this girl all of his life.

"Let me go, Draco." Hermione begged, tears forming within her eyes, "Let me fall."

Draco shook his head slowly as he gazed down upon her shattered visage. "Hermione I-" he began in a strained voice.

He was cut off, however, when Hermione reached up a feeble hand and touched Draco's face; The tears falling down her features. "Please," she whispered, "please don't say any kind words. I know that you will never mean them."

Draco felt his heart break at her words and he reached up a hand and wiped her tears away gently.

She swept his hand away with her own, "stop it."

Draco's expression was pained as he withdrew his touch unwillingly. "Hermione, please listen."

Hermione sighed, "Listen? To what? More lies?"

Draco shook his head, the weight of all his guilt and misery falling over him. "I-" he closed his eyes, willing the tears away. "I'm so sorry."

Hermione remained silent and he continued, his eyes beseeching hers.

"I'm sorry for everything. For every word that has hurt you, for every look of hate, every promise I broke."

Draco touched the bracelet upon her wrist, his eyes filling within sadness and remorse. "I want to save you, Mione. I want to have you live to see the sun again."

He breathed in a wavering breath. "I don't expect you to believe me, but-" he then looked into her eyes, intensely and deeply, "if I could love anyone, I would love you, Hermione Granger. If I knew how to love someone, you would be the one I would give my heart too."

Hermione's heart accelerated as she heard these whispered words, and she saw no false meaning behind Draco's gaze.

"If-" Draco shook his head sadly, "If I were not afraid to love you; afraid to hurt you I would-" He lost all words as he saw Hermione's eyes glow and glisten with a dormant happiness.

She still loved him; she still loved him through all the pain he had inflicted upon her heart.

"Draco," she muttered, tears returning. "You don't know how long I've been waiting to hear you say that."

Draco's breath caught. "What?"

Hermione smiled. "I love you, Draco Malfoy. I always have." Her voice broke upon the last word and she clutched the bracelet tighter.

Despite how unworthy he was to hear these words uttered from her lips, Draco felt an overwhelming swell of warmth, radiating throughout his entire being.

A fire ignited within his heart, melting all the ice that had previously encased it; all resentment that had built over the years towards this woman had vanished the instant these words reached his ears.

He reached up and touched her face once more, she did not pull away, but closed her eyes as the tears continued to fall.

Draco heard the weariness of her breaths and he smiled down at her gently. "Sleep, Hermione."

Hermione looked up at him with fear in her eyes, "he might come back, he threatened he would. Draco I-" she shuddered, "I don't know how much more I can take."

Draco pressed a finger to her lips, "He won't come back tonight, my father is all empty threats."

Hermione doubted these words but nodded all the same. Silence ensued while they merely stared off into space, pondering over all that had happened and over all they were still going to face.

A sudden question from Hermione brought back the gloom that had temporarily vanished from Draco's feeble soul.

"Are you going to kill me, Malfoy?"

Draco looked back into her eyes, and saw the pain returning into her gaze.

"No." He whispered, and it felt like a stab to his chest as he saw the surprise flicker over her features.

"Y-you're not going to kill me?"

Draco shook his head, "I am not." He closed his eyes, "I could never live with the guilt; with the crime of your blood permanently stained over my soul."

Hermione smiled slightly and then drifted into unconsciousness. Draco watched her fade and then his visage morphed into agony.

"You and I were never meant to love. You and I will never live a life together, Mione."

Draco then closed his eyes and bent down, softly kissing her forehead. "Fall into a world where there is no more pain; no more hate. Slumber in peace, and may the angels of all that is light hold you within their sweet embrace."

He allowed his lips to linger upon her forehead before pulling away and smiling sadly down at her. "I wish I could love you, if even just for a single moment."

Then he gently placed her upon the stone beneath where he had knelt. He stood and, after gazing down upon her sleeping figure, he turned and slowly left the chamber, leaving Hermione to her dreams, the one place she could be safe.

As Draco Malfoy was walking from the dungeons he could not keep the look that had come across Hermione's face from his mind after he had confessed the feelings he longed to feel for her.

The way it had felt to hold her in his arms was also seared into his memory, and Draco felt something within his heart, waiting, begging, to emerge.