AN: Here it is! Sorry - this came out a little later than I would have expected, but I've been so incredibly busy with moving lately. I just got a new apartment, and the last week has been crazy, trying to get all my things from one place to another. But I still managed to find time in between to pound this baby out. I had worried that this chapter would be ridiculously hard to write, but in the end, everything worked out. It actually flowed out rather easily, to my surprise. Hopefully subsequent chapters are this easy? :P

Over 200 reviews total for this story - thanks everyone! It really means a lot to me, and I'm eternally grateful that you took the time to write me a little note back. Seriously.

Anyway, here it is...

Stand and Watch It Burn

XIV. Where Speech Disappears into Silence

Draco awoke suddenly. He sat straight up, feeling completely disoriented. Moonlight spilled in through the windows, drenching the room with silvery light. Something was different. Something had changed. He peered around the room, trying to get his bearings. Draco looked around and frowned. Everything was where it was supposed to be – he moved his left hand and looked down at the empty spot next to him – except Hermione.

Where could she be? Draco rose out of bed and put on the dressing gown that had been draped on the chair by his bedside. Perhaps she was checking on Aiden. Draco tied the sash around his waist. She did that sometimes, when her son didn't quite sleep through the night, or she couldn't sleep. More than once, Draco had found her in her son's room, seated in a rocking chair, poring over a book.

He yawned, trying to shake the soft haze of sleep that still clouded his vision, while fervently hoping that Hermione's nightly excursions wouldn't become a regular sort of habit.

As Draco had thought, Hermione was in Aiden's room – but she wasn't slumped in the rocking chair, squinting at a book in dim light as he had expected. Instead, she was sitting on the windowsill by Aiden's crib, gazing out the window. The moonlight gave her face a grey glow, and cast her shadow long across the hardwood floor.

"Hey," he said softly.

Hermione didn't move at first. Draco wondered if she had fallen asleep. He lingered in the doorway for a while, wondering what to do. He was about to walk back to his room and go back to sleep (he had an early meeting the next day) when she spoke.

"I've been thinking."

Draco smiled. She always said that. And he always gave her the same reply. "And when aren't you?"

But Hermione didn't give him the annoyed smile she normally did. She didn't even turn to face him. "I couldn't sleep, thinking about how Ron, Harry, Ginny… how they all lied to me. For three years. They let me believe that things hadn't changed between us, that I had never loved you. For three years, I believed I had only ever loved Ron, and that there had been no one else. I never even so much as thought that I could love someone else. My life was simpler then, I think. It was simpler, easier, less complicated… but a lie."

Draco nodded, but he was confused. Where was she going with this?

"I still… They will always be important to me." Hermione's mouth was tightly drawn. "But they lied to me. They deceived me in a way I don't know if I could ever completely forgive or forget."

"That's completely understandable," Draco said, yawning a bit. He walked across the room and held out his hand to Hermione. "I know it's hard for you, Hermione… but it's late. Come back to bed. We can talk about this tomor-"

"You'd never lie to me, right, Draco?" Her eyes suddenly turned to him. They seemed to be pleading, looking for reassurance. "You wouldn't do that, would you?"

"Of course not," Draco replied reflexively. "Now come."

He tried to take Hermione's hand in his, but she pulled away. Her head turned back to face the window, away from him. Draco frowned slightly. What was going on?

It was silent for a while.

"The moon is nearly full."

"Yes."

"It was a night almost like this, wasn't it?"

"What?" Draco was completely lost now.

"When they came," Hermione replied, her voice sounding completely hollow. "When they came for you… and for me."

- - -

Draco was dreaming. He had fallen asleep, content, with her in his arms. He had fallen asleep, thinking that this was heaven. This – here, had to be bliss.

Draco was dreaming. He was walking in a forest, following the barely visible dirt road, beaten out before him. He wandered aimlessly down this one road, until suddenly, the road split. Draco stood there, staring at either side of him, trying to decide. He looked at one, then the other, then the other again. They looked nearly the same; but where would they lead to?

Crash. A sudden rush of cold air.

"What have we here?"

Draco shot up, his body rigid with terror. He knew that voice.

They were here.

- - -

"I wasn't sure, then, what to make of it. I always thought we were so safe, so cut off from the world in Remus's cabin. Even though I always knew it was a possibility they'd find us, but I never thought they actually would. But they had come – Bellatrix, Rookwood, and Greyback. And they had taken our wands. All I could do was hope that they hadn't broken down all the security charms I had used to protect the cabin and that Harry and the Order had been alerted to it and would be coming soon. All I could do…" Hermione bit her lip. "All I could do was to hope that I… we would make it through alive."

Draco was stunned. "Her-Hermione, I…"

"You fought them at first," Hermione barreled on, ignoring Draco. "We tried."

- - -

Hermione felt her breath catch in her throat. This wasn't good – this couldn't be good. She stared fiercely at the intruders, half-cloaked both by their hoods and the darkness, standing before her. But that night was lit by a bright moon, and Hermione could see who they were.

"Draco," Bellatrix said in a slippery voice. "Dear nephew."

"Don't call me that," Draco spat out.

"What do you want?" Hermione demanded.

"Silly mudblood," Bellatrix cooed, leaning towards Hermione and stroking her cheek, "trying to be so brave!"

Hermione felt her body flinch, but she tried to control her reaction. "What do you want?" she repeated. "Harry and the rest of the Order will be here soon. They know you're here. They're on their way already, and they'll be here." She clenched her fists tightly to stop herself from shaking. "They'll be here and they have not forgotten anything you lot of done, so if you were wise you would leave."

Bellatrix smiled, and it was not pleasant. Hermione felt her insides twist as the dark woman started to circle them. "Oh, we won't stay long," she said in a singsong voice, twirling Hermione's wand in her hand.

Hermione's eyes followed Bellatrix as she moved around them. She was starting to have a feeling of dread. If they had meant to kill them, there was no way they'd still be alive… She glanced over at Draco, standing a few feet to her left. Draco's eyes met hers and she knew he was thinking the same thing.

- - -

"I was so scared. Terrified." Hermione looked upwards and breathed in and out slowly. "All I could think was how I could delay, put off what was coming. But the longer they didn't act, the more afraid I grew. What were they waiting for?"

Draco slumped down to the floor, his head dropping into his hands. "Oh, Merlin," he murmured.

"And then it began," Hermione whispered.

- - -

"Why are you here?" Draco asked. "You have us unarmed and outnumbered. What do you want from us?"

"Always so impatient, my nephew." Bellatrix finished her circle and stopped in front of them. She reached over and patted Draco's cheek. He pulled away. Her expression immediately darkened. "You are a disgrace, Draco Malfoy – a disgrace. You have dishonored your family, your kind, your blood." Bellatrix tapped her wand against the bottom of Draco's chin. "In bed with a Mudblood. Your mother would be heartbroken."

Draco stood still, trying to not betray his emotions. His mother…

"How the mighty have fallen." Bellatrix snorted. "You have nothing now. No honour. No family. You ran to the Order like the sniveling lowlife you are…"

"You're wrong!" Hermione shouted. "You're the one with nothing! Draco has more than you could ever…"

"Crucio."

- - -

Hermione closed her eyes. "I'd never… I'd never felt that before."

The words were barely audible, but Draco would have known what she had said, even if he couldn't understand what she was saying. He cringed, clenching his hands around his head.

"Complete, indescribable pain… in every part of my body. I couldn't move; I couldn't think; I couldn't breathe. I… All I knew was the most intense pain, and that's all I could see. I wanted to die… just so it would end."

"I wanted to die," Draco managed to croak out. "I begged her to stop…"

"I know."

- - -

"Stand up, wench," Rookwood said, taking Hermione roughly by the arm, forcing her to stand. Hermione wobbled on her feet, trying to get her bearings. Her vision was slowly returning, and her limbs were slowly going back to normal. She looked at Draco and saw that his face was a mask of stone.

"Let her go." Hermione noticed that Draco's voice, though firm, had a hint of desperation to it. "It's me you want, isn't it? Leave her alone."

"Come now," Bellatrix sneered. "You don't mean to tell me you care for the Mudblood."

Hermione saw Draco stiffen. He remained silent.

"Because if you did, you couldn't turn back."

"There is no turning back," Draco said quietly.

Bellatrix laughed. "Oh, is that what they told you? Is that what the great messiah Harry Potter told you? So naïve." She swept by him and walked over to Hermione. Bellatrix grabbed Hermione's face. Resisting, Hermione fought against Bellatrix's hand, but having been weakened by the Cruciatus Curse, Bellatrix successfully maneuvered her face. "Did she tell you that as well, your precious Mudbl-"

"Don't call her that!"

"It doesn't have to be that way, Draco. You can turn back."

- - -

"In that moment, I believed you knew better. That you wouldn't listen to her." Hermione shook her head slowly. "But I was wrong."

- - -

Draco hesitated. How could he possibly turn back? His mind was racing. No, no. He'd long given up on the possibility. It was impossible. He couldn't…

"You can, Draco. You can have all you ever wanted."

"I'm not… I can't kill her." Draco shook, even as the words left his mouth. The very thought…

"Of course not!" Bellatrix said silkily. She trilled a laugh. "What makes you think we want you to kill her, dear nephew of mine? No, no." She leaned in towards Draco. He moved away from her ever so slightly. "All you have to do," she whispered, "is to Obliviate her. Modify her memory. Wipe yourself from her memory. Has the rest of the Order really accepted you? They'd just as soon rather forget that you ever helped them. Wipe the Mudblood's memory, and it'll be like the last year never happened."

"Don't listen to her, Draco," Hermione said fiercely.

Rookwood shook her. "Shut up," he growled.

"Just think of it," Bellatrix continued. "For sixteen years, you've wanted this, haven't you? You've wanted your father to be proud of you. You've wanted acceptance… now this is your chance, Draco!"

"Draco, please," she whispered. "You can't do this."

"One simple spell. That's it, that's it!" Bellatrix said as he slowly raised his wand. "One spell, and you can erase the past and embrace your future… and reclaim your place. One spell and you can be back where you belong!"

- - -

"You shouldn't have listened."

"I know."

- - -

Hermione looked back and forth, between Draco and Bellatrix. She saw the conflict in his eyes. "Draco, don't, it's a trick. Don't listen to her!"

"Just say the words." Bellatrix stepped away from Draco. Hermione stared in horror as Draco stood, affixed, his wand pointing straight at her. His eyes were cold.

"Draco, don't do this. It's a mistake, and you know it. She's just trying to trick you." Hermione had never felt so desperate in her life. "Draco, please, look at me." His grey eyes met hers and upon seeing the tears clouding them, flashed doubt. Hermione saw it and frantically reached out, hoping to save him. "Come back to me. Draco…"

She saw him hesitate. Bellatrix, too, must have noticed, because immediately she shouted out, "Everything you dreamed of your entire life, Draco! Respect! Glory! Honour! Your father would be so proud if he knew."

"Draco, remember what you said. You can't… you can have something else. Remember when you told me I'd be enough…" Hermione felt her heart sink as she saw Draco's eyes harden once more. "Draco, don't," she said feebly. "I… I love you."

But it was too late. She had lost him. His mouth was set in a firm line, and his eyes were cold as stone.

"Obliviate."

- - -

"So you remember." It was a statement, not a question. Draco stared at the floor, his eyes beginning to burn.

"Yes."

"When? Did you know when you asked me at dinner?"

Hermione shook her head. "No. I just… I just remembered. I finally remember everything."

Draco continued to fixate his gaze down at the hardwood floor. He licked his lips, trying to find the right words. "Well…" He took a breath. "What now?"

Hermione said nothing, and they fell into silence. Draco continued to stare at the floor, examining the pattern of the grain in the wood. His mind was racing. His heart was, too. The silence was absolutely deafening; he could hear the throbbing in his ears and felt it pulsating through his body.

"I've been sitting here, just thinking," she finally said quietly. "I've been trying to understand why… how you could not say anything. How you could… how you could lie to me…"

"I…" Draco's voice faltered. "I never li…"

"Yes, you did, Draco," Hermione said vehemently. She turned towards him, and he could see the rage in her eyes. "Even if you never explicitly lied to me, you lied by omission. You left out the one night that changed everything forever. You lied to me, just like Harry. Just like Ginny. Just like Ron."

"I'm not like Weasel."

"Yes, you are!" Hermione was shouting and standing now. "You… you lied to me, just like he did! You deceived me… you used my love for you as a shield while you let me believe that we were in love without any deceit! You let me think there was never a moment of doubt –"

"I was scared!" Draco's hands were in fists now. "I didn't know what you'd do…"

"Well," Hermione said in a dangerously low voice, "you should have known what I would do if I ever found out about your lies."

Draco felt his stomach hollow out and collapse.

"You're no better than Ron – what you did… I've been trying to convince myself that it was different somehow. I've been trying to excuse you, to reason with myself… but it's no use. Now that I remember, I can't pretend that it didn't happen. It happened. And you lied to me. You lied to me for weeks and weeks… and even when I asked you about it, you couldn't look me in the eye and tell me the truth."

"I'm sorry," Draco whispered. "I'm so sorry."

Hermione's face betrayed no emotions. "For some things, sorry isn't enough."

Draco had collapsed on the floor. He wasn't sure how long he had his head down, but when he ventured to look up again, he saw Hermione standing in the doorway, a bag slung over one shoulder and Aiden on her other hip.

"Goodbye, Draco."

And then, she was gone.

x x x

"Eat something."

Olivia pushed a plate across the table towards Hermione, but as she had in the last few days, Hermione merely prodded her food around the plate. This wasn't healthy, Olivia knew. Except for the first day, when Hermione had shown up at her place in the middle of the night, sobbing, babbling nonsensically, Hermione had shown almost no emotion, which worried Olivia. Hermione had barely even said a word. Olivia knew something had gone terribly wrong with Draco, but she wasn't sure yet exactly what it was. For the moment though, she was more concerned about Hermione's health.

"Please eat," she pleaded. "You're getting far too thin. You've barely touched any food in days. Just take a bite."

Hermione continued to prod her food around the plate. "You should go," she said finally. "You'll be late for work."

"I took the day off."

"You shouldn't have done that, Olivia!" Hermione was looking up now. "You have to –"

"Look after my friend," Olivia finished for Hermione. She sighed and shook her head. "Hermione, you're really worrying me. I – Can you please just tell me what's wrong?"

Hermione remained silent. Her eyes seemed to brighten, tears threatening to fall, but she didn't say anything.

"Hermione, I know something happened, and I know it must hurt." Olivia bit her lip. "But you can't just bottle it up inside. It doesn't help. It only makes the hurt more painful. I… I would know," she said haltingly. "When… When Robert died, I was devastated. Some days, I would just lay there thinking, wondering what I could have possibly done wrong to deserve that sort of punishment. I didn't speak to anyone. I stayed at home, refusing to see my parents. I quit my job. I shut myself out from the rest of the world. But it doesn't help to do that. It only makes things worse because you internalize your grief, and it grows. It poisons everything. Pain… grief is meant to be shared. It is the only way we can survive."

Olivia could hear Hermione's breathing become more labored. She ventured on.

"I don't know what happened, Hermione, but I know you're strong and you can make it through this," said Olivia. "But you have to try. You have to face what happened. Think of Aiden."

At this, Hermione let out a dry, strangled sob. The tears that had been wanting to fall did, streaming down her cheeks. Olivia got up, walked over to Hermione, and wrapped her arms around the crying girl.

For a few minutes, Hermione sat there, trying to calm her breathing. Olivia sat down in the chair next to her. She would wait as long as she needed to. These things took time – she knew.

"I…" Hermione started and stopped. She licked her lips and tried again. "You remember how I couldn't remember what happened the night Draco was arrested?"

Olivia nodded, encouraging Hermione to go on.

"And you said I had to find out, that it was absolutely important. So I asked Draco, but as I thought, he said he didn't… he didn't want to talk about it." Hermione's voice trailed off a bit, and her gaze dulled over. "He got really upset, and I decided it might be better to just let it go."

"I see," Olivia said slowly.

"But… that night… I remembered." Hermione whispered.

Olivia sucked in a quick breath. "And?"

"And Death Eaters had come to find us that night, including… including Bellatrix Lestrange, Draco's aunt. She convinced him that he could go back, rejoin the Death Eaters. So he tried to Obliviate me," Hermione finished dully.

"What?" Olivia exclaimed.

Hermione said nothing. She sat there, staring into nothingness. "He lied to me," she said in a small voice. "He lied to me… I thought… I thought he loved me." And she burst out into sobs again.

Olivia reached over and tried to soothe Hermione as best as she could. She gently patted Hermione on the back until Hermione's sobs subsided. "I'm sure he did – and still does," Olivia said quietly. "But that doesn't mean people don't do stupid things to the people they love."

"I don't know what to do, Olivia," Hermione said. "I left Ron because he lied to me for three years. And now I've left Draco because he lied to me. Why is my whole life a lie?"

"It is not!"

"It is. Nothing I knew was real. I don't know what I did wrong…"

"This isn't your fault, Hermione," Olivia said adamantly. "Ron, Harry, Ginny – they lied about Draco. And Draco lied about that night he was arrested. You're just… stuck in this situation not of your own making. Don't you dare blame yourself."

"Where do I go from here?" Hermione asked. "I wasn't thinking straight when I just up and left Ron for Draco… I cut myself off from my life, not just Ron! Harry and Ginny are my best friends, and the Weasleys, Remus and Tonks, and just everyone… I… Could I ever go back?"

"Could you forgive him?" Olivia asked. "Ron?"

Hermione paused. "Some things are unforgivable."

"And is this one of them?"

Hermione did not reply.

They sat there for a while, both thinking rapidly. Olivia suddenly frowned.

"Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"I thought… I thought you said Ron modified your memory. But now you're saying Draco did?"

Hermione smiled bitterly. "I said Draco tried."

"Tried?"

"It didn't hold," Hermione explained. "I woke up in St. Mungo's distressed and confused, but after a while, I regained my memory… and I was…"

"Devastated."

Hermione nodded.

"So it didn't work, then – Draco's Memory Charm." Olivia said slowly. "He didn't have his heart in it then."

"But he still tried. And afterward, I was so brokenhearted. Everyone tried to help me best they could. Harry and Ginny tried to distract me. Molly cooked tableloads of food for me. Remus brought me books, Tonks would try to cheer me up, and Ron was with me every waking moment. But… It didn't help. It was just too much for me to handle."

"Of course," Olivia interjected. "Of course it was! It would be for anyone, Hermione."

"I just don't know," Hermione whispered. "What do I do now, Olivia?"

x x x

Narcissa had found the last few days rather agreeable. The Manor now had two less inhabitants and now felt somehow less constraining – not that Malfoy Manor was small by any stretch of the imagination. But now that that… person was no longer roaming the Manor, Narcissa could go to any room without fear of running into… her.

She was now seated primly in her favorite drawing room – the green one – and sipping tea. Narcissa was awaiting Draco's return. He had told her that his errands would be wrapped up sometime in the afternoon. Remembering this, Narcissa took a glance at the clock on the wall. She frowned. It was nearly dinner time.

"Milly?"

With a crack, the house elf appeared. "Yes, mistress?"

Narcissa set down her tea cup. "Has Draco returned yet?"

Milly bobbed her head up and down. "Oh, yes, mistress! Young master has arrives almost one hours ago!"

Narcissa frowned ever so slightly. "An hour ago? Where is he?"

"Milly thinks young master sits in his gardens."

What is he doing there? She wondered. "All right, thank you Milly. Please start preparing dinner."

After Milly disappeared, Narcissa slowly got up and made her way to the back of the house. In the gardens – again. How could he possibly have so much to do back there? And such hard labor. Narcissa would never understand it. Why do it when you could have the house elves do it? After all, that was why they were there, wasn't it?

She found him in the little nook in the garden that she knew was his favorite – a little gated corner that Draco had tended to so closely.

But Narcissa was shocked by the scene she found when she arrived. Draco was sitting on the bench, calm and quiet, but clearly he had not been so earlier. The beautiful bush filled with flowering white roses that once stood in the middle of the garden, serving as its beautiful centerpiece, had been thrashed. It looked like someone had taken a huge club and smashed it several times. The bush was surrounded by hundreds of scattered white petals and fallen leaves. The branches of the bush were barren of any whole roses left. They had all been broken.

"Draco?"

No reply.

"Draco," she tried again, "what hap-"

"Leave me alone."

Narcissa furrowed her brow and took a few steps closer. "Draco…"

"Mother, leave me. Please."

There was an urgency in his voice that Narcissa simply couldn't ignore. Something was terribly wrong. Haltingly, Narcissa took a few steps back, staring at her son. He was sitting there, back upright, and his gaze straight ahead. Draco's eyes were cold as stone, and his body was rigid. She looked into them, wondering.

Walking away, Narcissa knew. She knew what was wrong with her son, and her spirits fell, knowing there was nothing she could do. While her heart had rejoiced at the departure of Hermione Granger, it was clear that his was absolutely broken.

AN: As always, reviews greatly appreciated! Hope you liked it.