Life is so simple, and yet so complicated. It's beautiful, amazing, and breathtaking. It's also ugly and heartbreaking. But it's never been fair, and it never will be.
"Classic rock?" Draco asked as he followed Hermione down the music isle of the muggle store.
"Yes," she replied, stopping the thumb through a few artists.
"What's so 'classic' about a rock, Granger?"
"It's music, not a literal rock, Malfoy." She smiled.
"Leave it to Potter to like the most oddest of muggle things. Rocks." Draco snorted.
Turning around, Hermione put on a playful glare and walked up to him.
"I honestly think you'd like it," she explained, "never know until you try."
"You know me, not at all then." He snipped playfully. "Potter and I have only one thing of common interest. You, and our interests, well, are different when you're concerned."
"Oh. How so?" Hermione asked.
Draco smirked, grabbed her by the elbow, and jerked her towards him. Anyone walking by would think it was an innocent hug. It was, just the things his mouth was saying was anything but. Draco embraced his wife, running his thumbs caressing her blushed cheeks.
"Well my interests intend to lie where, when I look at you, now for instance Granger, all I can think about is how your arse looks in those muggle jeans," he paused, nibbled her ear, and his voice deepened, "more so, how I'd like to push them down, bend you over, and show you just how much I like the way your arse looks out of those jeans."
Hermione shuddered, a small, so soft, whimper escaped her throat, and her knees weakened when he squeezed his hands around her waist and growled into her ear.
Before she could even really process what happened, he was already at arm's length away from her, smirking.
"Now let's get these classic rocks for Pot-head." He walked by her, not knowing where he was going for 'these rocks', and smiled a genuine smile. The smile that took her breath away and it was only meant for her, she knew that. She never saw him smile that way for anyone else.
Hermione quickly turned around to follow him, "You prat, it's not rocks!"
Draco laughed.
"P-Potter I c-c-can't feel m-my leg-gs."
He coughed up blood. There was so much blood. His legs were smashed. Harry tried not to gag at the copper smell and crushed flesh.
"Potter I c-can't f-f-fucking feel my leg-gs."
"What's the spells-"
"P-Potter my legs!" Draco yelled.
Harry didn't know the spells. The ones he knew, the simple ones, wasn't enough. He was going to fucking die and it was fault.
Come on! What am I supposed to do!
Nothing was enough.
Hermione arrived, frantic.
She rushed over, falling on her knees, and getting started. So much blood.
"Harry what happened! Help me!" she commanded.
He had though, he had done all he knew, everything he could remember, nothing was stopping his bleeding.
He couldn't do anything. He couldn't save him.
Harry jolted awake in bed, sweat on his brow and breathing heavy. He had that dream re-occurring now. The dream of his failure. The dream of letting part of his family, his best friend's husband die.
He laid back down and sighed in defeat. Today was the day.
The day Draco is to be laid to rest.
It was the day after Christmas before Hermione and Draco would meet up with Harry and a very pregnant Ginny to exchange gifts. They were early when they arrived at the Potter's. Ginny opened the door to their home smiling widely at the two.
"Oh Ginny, look how much baby James has grown in your belly!" Hermione exclaimed, trying to hug her friend, but only ended up as being almost an air hug.
Harry walked into the room, and grinned at his friend and her husband. Although Draco had done this many times in the recent years, every time he offered his hand for Harry to shake, it still caught Harry off guard.
They ate and shared stories of how their lives where going, how work was turning out, and how excited everyone was for the baby. Turns out, Teddy was excited to be a big brother, and was already making plans on quidditch games.
It came time for them to exchange gifts. Harry got Hermione the most recent edition of Charms: Enchanting Your Everyday Way. Hermione got Harry a Quidditch through the years book, and Ginny some baby gifts. Harry got Draco a firewhiskey glass set, with a charmed firewhiskey bottle that refilled itself.
"Eh, here you go Potter, some rocks."
"Draco, you're not supposed to tell him when you hand it to him," Hermione said smiling.
"Creedence Clearwater Revivial, merlin thank you Hermione, Malfoy." Harry hugged Hermione, and shook Draco's hand.
"Alright, time for me to take Hermione and get her gift. We will be back later." Ginny got up to go get her jacket.
"Are you going back to the flat Draco?" Hermione asked.
"Actually, Malfoy, if you want to stay and try out that firewhiskey, that'd be fine with me." Harry offered.
Draco hit himself over and over again in his head mentally and still ended up saying, "Yeah, sure."
Hermione smiled like the cat from Alice in Wonderland.
She walked up to him and hugged him, "You're going to like my gift from Ginny, don't expect to get much sleep Mr. Malfoy." And then they left the two men alone.
Pouring himself and Draco a glass, Harry finally decided it was time to lay down the past.
"We're stuck with each other you know." He handed Draco his glass, which he immediately took a gulp of. "Hermione is family. You're her husband. So you're family." Harry finished.
Draco scoffed, "Fucking hell." He finished his glass, walked over, poured another, and then did something that shocked both of him, "Cheers then." He held up his glass towards Harry, and drunk.
He left the past as the past too. Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter, drinking firewhiskey together, as family.
"I assumed we're going to be watching your spawn, Potter. Expect us to spoil it, as it will be sent home with a belly full of every flavor beans and icecream." Draco quipped, and took another drink.
Both men's cheeks where red while their eyes twinkled from the effect of alcohol.
"Go deep." Harry laughed.
"The hell you talking about Potter?"
"Go deep. It's a throat numbing invention, makes it to where women can literally go deep on you," Harry explained, "literally. Ginny is getting it for Hermione tonight, Ginny tells me everything."
"Fucking hell," Draco said for the second time that evening, "you're kidding?" He finished another glass.
"Yeah," Harry finished his glass as well and smirked, "yeah I am, and you're face was fucking priceless mate. " Then he poured them another glass.
Ginny and Hermione arrived back to the Potter's and found both of their husbands drinking and singing along to the music that was Harry's gift.
"I see, the bad moon rising!" Draco lifted up his glass to Harry's air guitar.
"That was the day I gained a brother. Hermione and Ginny came home to two drunk British men, belting out classic rock songs."
Harry pushed his glasses back up his nose and looked down at the podium, and then faced the crowd of the funeral again.
"War, never ends. I've realized that now. We were fools to think it was ever over. If you're breathing, then you're at war. That's life. It's unforgiving, but it's full of wonderful things that literally make it worth the war that it is. Malfoy was one of those things. He was the perfect example of showing us that life does not define us and it does not control our outcome. He showed us that we define life and we choose our path. He left behind the knowledge of that even though war may never end, but one can sure as bloody hell still have victory, change for the better, and love in a life so unfair."
Harry stepped down from the podium and applause filled the room. He went straight to Hermione, his broken Hermione, and bent down on one knee. As gently as he could he took her folded hands and wrapped his around them. Tears came down his face and he sobbed. His voice breaking…
"Life is so s-simple," he was shaking, "and so fucking complicated."
He laid his head down on her knee, no longer able to look at her hurt, "It's beautiful, amazing, and breathtaking. It's ugly and he-heartbreaking."
Harry raised his head back up and embraced his friend, enclosing his arms around her, wishing he could take away the pain, that he could have done something more.
"But it's never been fair, and it never will be. I am so sorry."
She was still in his arms, silent as tears fell down her cheeks, eyes that no longer held life in them stayed open and unmoving. Hermione was broken.
So, I know it's been a while since I posted the first part of this. I really wanted to put in Harry's past with Draco on how I envision my universe of Harry Potter. Sometimes men can be the most forgiving creatures. Hermione is completely beaten down since Draco's death. I will go more in depth with her later on. I know it's not the best in the world, and there are mistakes beyond mistakes. I'm tired, I've been extremely busy with work. I hope you read it, enjoy it, and leave a review of your thoughts. I know it's not the best, I wasn't trying to be though. I just wanted to tell the story in my head. Take care.
xoxox