A/N: I had to put that last chapter in there. I love Narcissa, I love how devoted she is to the love for her son, the protection of her family. You can tell that her entire world revolves around them, so I had to show how she would do literally anything, just to see Draco happy.
….
"I can't believe he's dead." I cry, holding onto Harry, tears staining up his shirt, his hand gently on my back, comforting me.
"I know, Hermione." He answers, really not knowing what to say.
"Explain to me what happened." I demand, needing to hear it a third time, to make sure I heard correctly.
"Well, it really don't make much sense. Malfoy was standing there, said he was going to kill Dumbledore. Dumbledore told him he was better than that, Malfoy showed him that he had the dark mark. Right here on his arm" Harry says, pointing to a spot on his left arm, the same place where Malfoy had shown me earlier this year. "Bellatrix told him to kill him, and Malfoy started crying and put his wand down. Then, Snape did it, and Dumbledore fell." He repeated, the same story he had told me twice already.
"So," I get out, in between sobs, I could hardly speak, I was crying so hard "Snape was the one that killed Dumbledore?"
"Yea, weird isn't it?" He says, a confused look on his face. "And then they all just walked away, except for Malfoy who said he had to do something first, and Snape pulled him away."
"Really?" I asked, suddenly the story taking a spin, "That's weird. What would Malfoy possibly need to do?"
"I have no idea. I've been trying to figure it out too and I can't."
Suddenly, Professor McGonagall stands up at the podium. Everyone in the Great Hall stops eating and looks at her, even the Slytherins.
"Today, we have lost a loyal Headmaster, a devoted teacher, and" Professor McGonagall chokes up, putting her hand up to her mouth to catch herself, and fight back the tears, before continuing on. "and a beloved friend. Professor Dumbledore was not one to be scared of death, for he stated on several occasions, that the dead do not ever leave us, they simply are no longer seen. So long as we keep our friend, our teacher in our hearts, his spirit will live on. I ask for a moment of silence, and tomorrow, there will be a memorial after lunch for anyone who cares to join us here in the Great Hall." Slowly, she bows her head, as do all of the teachers, and, to my surpise, every single student. We sit there, with our heads bowed, for about five minutes, before she picks her head back up "You may now return to your meals."
"Are you going?" Ron asks, leaning over towards me.
"What do you mean am I going? Of course I'm going." I answer, possibly a little bit too snippy, but a stupid question non-the-less. Then, an old familiar owl flies in, dropping off a letter on my plate, and flies away.
My dearest Hermione, I am sorry. For everything, the pain I have caused you, the pain I have caused the school. Your voice granted me the freedom to make up my own mind at the last minute. Unfortunately, the fate was still the same. Mother has offered to put a spell over the house tonight. Please, meet me at the courtyard, and accept my invitation to the Manor, no one will know but you and me. Mother still doesn't know your name. Yours Alone, M.
"Who is it from Mione? Your mom?" Ron asks, trying to peak across the table at the letter.
"No one Ronald!" I scream, stuffing the letter into my lap so that he can't read it. "Can't I get mail without you nosing in it?" With that, I jump up, stomping away to the girl's dormitory. He wants to see me. In his house. I can't believe it. The butterflies were unbearable, and as soon as I got past the huge, double doors of the Great Hall, making sure that they were closed so that no one could see me, I jumped in the air. "Yes!" I scream, running down the hall to the dormitory, closing the door, and jumping on my bed smiling and laughing. "He wants to see me! Me! Not Pansy, not Lavender, not even Ginny! He wants to see me!"
Later on that night, I sneak out of bed. Gently slipping my feet into my shoes, and putting on the clothes I had worn earlier that day, I sneak out, down the stairs of the dormitory, and out the Gryffindor door. No one spotted me as I made my way through the hallways, down the stairs, and slowly stepped out into the courtyard.
"Draco!" I scream, still trying to whisper, wrapping my arms around him. "I was so scared! Are you ok?"
"I'm fine" He whispers, "but you need to be more careful, you are going to wake the entire school, and then it will be both of our heads." He laughs. "Come on, get on my broom, we will head up to the mansion."
"Oh wow, Draco." The mansion was huge, seven times the size of my parents house. "And you grew up here?"
"Yea," Draco replies, not really paying attention to what I was saying, but I really couldn't blame him either, I did have my arms wrapped around his chest. "See, down there's the garden, where I used to play as a boy. My mum had talked my father into building me a clubhouse whenever he came home for a visit one time. I called it the Slytherin Slab" He laughed. I noticed that here he was comfortable. He could call Narcissa mum instead of mother. He took the broom in for a landing right in front of the house. "Those peacocks over there," he pointed up at two perfectly white peacocks sleeping in a tree "They are about as old as I am, and the tree they are in, my mum planted with her bare hands whenever she found out she was pregnant with me. My father laughed at her for it, said that she was going to turn into a muggle if she kept acting like one, like that could happen, but she told him she wanted somewhere for me to be able to sit and relax when I grew older."
"What are the peacocks names?" I ask, out of curiosity.
"Ummm…" He answers, obviously embarrassed, "Mud and Blood." With that, he walks on, opening the door to the mansion, exposing a fireplace to my left and a grand staircase straight ahead that split off two different directions at the top. The way he answered reminded me of how much difference there was between two wizarding families, such as the Malfoys and the Weasleys, Molly would never consider such a derogatory name for her family pet.
"This place is huge" I whisper, admiring the fireplace, looking up at the chandelier.
"Yea, it is. My Grandfather wanted a mansion big enough for all the Malfoys to be able to come here for the holidays, and he got it. He said if you had the money and the resources, show it." Slowly, we walk up the stairs, and Draco leads me off to the right stairwell, then to door on the left. I guess, figuring how he acted at school, I was expecting Draco's bedroom to be really nice, but whenever he turned on the light, there was only a king sized bed and a small nightstand. "I never really spent much time in my room to get furniture" he laughs, "So don't mind the fact that there is none. I was always spending time with my mom downstairs." With that, he closes the door and sits down on the bed. Quietly, I walk over and sit beside him.
"So, we are all alone?" I ask, looking down at my hands nervously.
"Yea, I mean, practically. Everyone is sleeping in the bedrooms, but we could walk in there and make all kind of noise, they probably wouldn't even turn over." He answers. "So, how is it?" I know what he's referring to, he's talking about life at Hogwarts, the death of Professor Dumbledore.
"It's different. Professor McGonagall gave a speech today, and there is a memorial tomorrow. It just all feels so surreal, like I am going to wake up tomorrow, and he'll be there at breakfast, and you will, and Snape. I know that's not going to happen though." I reply. "How could he do it? How could that lowlife kill him. I mean.." Before I can finish my sentence, Draco interrupts me.
"He had to, he made my mum an unbreakable vow that he would watch over me. Aunt Bel threw into the vow that if I couldn't kill him, Snape would."
"Oh." I whispered. "So, I guess this means war, huh?"
"Yea." He answered, looking down at his hands. "Promise me something Hermione." He begs, looking deep into my eyes, so deep, I get lost in his. "Promise me that if this becomes a war, that you won't try to be a hero, that you won't run out in the face of danger."
"I promise." I whisper, not breaking our eye contact. "And promise me that you won't kill anyone if you have a choice, unless a wand is up to your head."
"I promise." He whispers back, "I think this is the last time we will see each other for a while Mione, but if for some reason, some day during the war we do, can we meet up that night and talk somewhere? This sounds stupid, but I need to know you are okay, no matter what the risk."
"Ok." I whisper, agreeing to put my life on the line to see him if we see each other on the battlefield. "at the park across the street from the muggle restaurant." Gently, he leans it for a kiss, and it tastes salty, like tears. He pushes me back against the bed, deepening the kiss, feeling his lips part mine, I give in, opening my mouth wider, taking in his kiss. We could die tomorrow, I want to live tonight. Running my fingers through his hair, I put every ounce of my being into the kiss, begging him to continue as he tugs at the bottom of my shirt. I reach for the bottom of his, untucking it from his pants, begging him to take the only thing that I have to give right now.