((I hope you all like. Only a few more chapters left. And I know you all want a happy ending and I hope it ends that way. I don't know how it's going to end to be honest. I let the story lead me. The moment I sit down to write, it's all out of my hands. Please review!!))

Chapter 13::
In Love with Her

Draco saw Hermione collapse before anyone else did. He saw her run out of the book shop and get sick in the street. He even saw the look of sheer terror fill her eyes as she lost consciousness.

It was the most painful experience of his life. All of the avoidance and ignorance he had been displaying over the past few months flew from his mind as he watched her fall. His legs seemed to carry themselves over to her; his arms picking her up of their own accord. No part of his body seemed to want to cooperate with his mind. He could have sworn he was telling himself over and over again to just walk away; that it was none of his business. But, he found that he couldn't walk away. He couldn't do anything, in fact, except get her to Madam Pomphrey as soon as possible. So, as he picked her up, he illegally apparated to the gates of Hogwarts.

His legs ran as fast as they could the moment they hit the ground. Her weight had no bearing on him whatsoever. Bloody hell, the girl felt like she didn't weigh anything at all. Her illness must have progressed even further since he saw her last. Luckily for him, the doors of the school opened up for him; giving him the ability to keep running with her. He didn't think about why the doors opened for him; didn't care. The halls flew by in a blur as he raced through them, anxious to get to his destination. Sweat was dripping down his face and back as his muscles grew tired. Draco Malfoy wasn't used to running.

Slamming through the doors of the hospital wing, Draco screamed out, "Madam Pomphrey!!"

"Harry, something's wrong!" Ginny said while coming out of the book shop they left Hermione in moments ago. "The owner of the shop said Hermione looked like she was in a great deal of pain."

Cursing to himself, Harry thought frantically. The moment they had left Hermione alone, he had this uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach telling him to go back. So, halfway to Zonko's he asked the others to turn around. He had forgotten to ask Hermione something, he said. Ginny understood, for she had felt that same feeling of dread. Ron agreed since he didn't like the way they had left her. She didn't look like she should have been left alone.

Now, after Ginny went in to find her, it would appear they were right. Hermione was in pain and they weren't there to help her. "Where could she have gone?" He asked more himself than anyone else.

"Someone must have taken her back to Hogwarts. If she was as ill as they say she was then she is probably in the hospital wing." Ginny said in a frightened voice.

"Right, then let's go back." Harry grabbed her hand as they rushed through the village back to the school.

Ron, having listened to their incoherent babble, said, "Alright, that's it. I can't take this anymore."

Harry looked at Ron perplexed. "Beg pardon?"

Still speed walking, Ron replied. "I'm not a daft baboon. I've known that there has been something wrong with Hermione for months. So what are you two not telling me?"

Ginny and Harry exchanged glances. Harry raised an eyebrow. "Then why haven't you asked her about it?"

Sighing, Ron ran his hand through his thick red hair. "I was waiting for her to tell me. I figured if it was important enough she would tell me in her own time."

Ginny felt a sudden surge of respect for her brother as she stared at him with wide eyes. "Merlin, Ron. I didn't know you had it in you."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Right, well we can discuss your lack of faith in me later. Right now, I would like to know what is going on with my best friend."

Harry nodded and patted him on the back as they started to run. "We'll tell you when we get to the hospital wing."

"Mr. Malfoy!?" Seeing the girl in his arms, Madam Pomphrey signaled for him to lay Hermione down on the nearest bed. "What happened!?"

He laid Hermione down and started to tell the mediwitch the story. Listening, Madam Pomphrey circled the bed, examining Hermione's pupils and pulse. "You did the right thing in bringing her here. It sounds like she's crashed."

"Crashed?" Draco didn't like the sound of that.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy. Her body has reached the final phase of Leukemia a lot faster than we anticipated." She waved her wand and Hermione's clothes transformed into a hospital gown.

"But," Draco never let go of Hermione's small hand. "What does that mean?"

Poppy kept running around, grabbing potions and pouring them down Hermione's throat. After each potion she would stand and stare at the young woman before getting a look of frustration and bustling off to get a new potion. Apparently, the potions weren't having the effect they were supposed to.

"Madam Pomphrey, what does that mean?" His voice was nearly hysterical.

She shook her head and began pushing him away from the bed. "I can't discuss this with you right now as I don't have the time to explain. If you insist on staying, wait over by the door. I need to work and I cannot do that with you hanging over me."

He walked backwards and tried to argue with the older witch, but in the end she bustled away and closed the curtains around Hermione's bed. Draco could hear her mutter a silencing curse right before the room fell silent. All he did for the first few moments was stand there staring at the curtain. If he watched close enough, he could see the Mediwitch's silhouette. He didn't like not knowing what she meant. His heart was aching right now and he desperately needed to know. So, to distract himself the best he could, he started pacing. His mind was working in overtime, causing him to flinch every time he heard the castle groan.

Twenty minutes passed by and he continued to pace. Madam Pomphrey was still behind the curtain with Hermione. The entire time, he just wanted to hold Hermione's hand. He needed some assurance that she was alive. From the moment he saw her, she looked like she was just a corpse. If he hadn't been able to feel her heartbeat against his chest as he ran here with her, he would've thought she was dead.

Suddenly, the doors behind him busted open, Harry, Ron, and Ginny running in. Unsure of what to do, Draco just stared at them as they looked around. Harry, being the first one to notice his presence, turned his eyes on him. "What the bloody hell are you doing here, Malfoy?"

Draco tried to speak, but was interrupted by Madam Pomphrey walking out from behind the curtain. "He was the one that brought our dear Miss Granger to me after she collapsed in Hogsmeade." She turned an accusing look on the three. "What I would like to know was why she was alone to begin with? Surely you three noticed how ill she was! In fact, you should've brought her to me the moment she started to look this bad!"

Ginny was shaking. "She insisted we meet her later. She said she wanted to look at some books!"

Poppy nodded. "Yes, but that still didn't give you grounds to leave her alone. Not when she's so bad off."

Harry took Ginny's hand, "How bad is it, Madam Pomphrey?"

At this, the mediwitch's eyes turned from angry to soft and then finally to pain. "It's very bad, Mr. Potter." She looked at Ron with a confused expression. "Does he know?"

"Know what? What the bloody hell is going on?" Ron was looking near frantic.

Harry and Poppy exchanged a glance, neither of them wanting to be the one to break his heart. Even the poor fool's sister looked away. Draco couldn't believe what he was seeing. Here they were being told that Hermione Granger is in really bad shape and they couldn't even sum up the courage to explain to their dear friend why?

Draco shook his head. "I don't bleeding care whether or not Weaselbee knows. I want to know how bad it is!"

Harry threw Draco an angered look. "You're not helping."

"Yes, well, I don't give a hippogriff's arse if I'm helping or not! If you can't even tell Weasley here what's going on, then how do you expect to be near Hermione right now!?" His voice was loud and angry. He didn't like how they were wasting time.

"What the bloody hell do you care, anyway?" Harry shouted, now in Draco's face.

When Draco didn't say anything, Ginny did. "I know why."

Surprised, Harry and Draco backed down, both looking at the little redhead. Harry was confused while Draco was downright shocked.

"He's in love with her." Ginny said in her a-matter-of-fact voice.

Draco's gaze fell to the ground. He hadn't been that obvious had he? Merlin, he'd just figured it out himself a few days ago. He didn't understand how the little Weasley knew.

"What are you on about?" Ron asked, sounding like he was strangled.

"Draco Malfoy is in love with Hermione." Ginny eyes were shining as she smiled sadly.

Harry snickered. "Ginny, I think you're off your rocker."

"No." Ginny walked forward and tilted her head to look into Draco's eye. "I'm not. He's in love with her."

"And, what makes you say that?" Ron glared.

Ginny just shrugged. "Well, the way he's protective of her is a definite fresh sign."

Draco glared as he looked into her brown eyes. "Fine, I admit it. You've figured me out. Now, how about you tell your brother what's going on? We're wasting precious time here."

Harry and Ron looked at him shocked. They didn't know what to say, except to just stare at him. While they tried to process what was going on, Ginny and Draco had some unspoken conversation. She knew she had to tell Ron and Draco was trying to convince her to do so. Finally, she nodded and turned to Ron.

Ron, now crossing his arms, asked, "What's going on, Ginny?"

Sighing, she looked to the ground. "Hermione is dying, Ron."

That was not what he expected to hear. Flinching Ron started to shake his head. "That's not funny, Gin."

"It wasn't meant to be." Ginny's voice was low, tears falling down her face.

Harry nodded, "It's true, Ron. Hermione was diagnosed with Leukemia two years ago."

For the longest time, Ron didn't say anything. He just looked at the four people in front of him with a lost expression. Part of him wanted to deny it. The other part could see into the eyes of his friends and know that it was true. So many emotions started to build within him at the same time. Anger, sadness, pain, surprise… he didn't know which made him feel worst. Finally, he decided on pain.

After Draco waited for Weaselbee to say something, he eventually lost his patience and turned to the waiting Mediwitch. "How bad is it? Weasley can work this out in his own time. Right now, Hermione is who is important."

Poppy looked at him torn. Finally, she decided to tell them. "Like I said, it's very bad. The last time I saw her, her spleen was slightly enlarged—which is to be expected with this form of cancer. Now, however, it's grown even bigger."

Harry's eyes were scared. "What does that mean?"

"Her white blood cells are diminishing, Mr. Potter. Her body has started to shut down. All of its self-defense is gone."

They all became silent.

"What can we do?" Ron asked his voice low.

Madam Pomphrey sighed. "At this rate, there is nothing I can do. I'm going to have to transfer her to St. Mungo's. They'll, at least, be able to keep her comfortable."

"Comfortable?" Draco asked, not liking the way it sounded.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy. Comfortable." Madam Pomphrey really looked her age now. "I'm afraid Miss Granger doesn't have much time left."

Draco was immediately shaking his head. "That's not possible! She said herself that she had two years left!"

Poppy looked at the young man sadly. "With this type of cancer, there is no way to know when it can take a turn for the worst. Miss Granger's body has been fighting violently for two years now. It just can't seem to fight anymore."

Harry was not listening. "What about your potion? The one we've been working on?"

More sadness filled her eyes. "The potion will work when it's done, Mr. Potter. But, it won't be done for months yet. I'm afraid Miss Granger doesn't have that much time left."

"But, you said!" Ginny screamed, crying. "You said you could save her!"

"I said I would try, Miss Weasley. And I'm so sorry, but there just isn't enough time." Poppy's voice caught with emotion.

Draco didn't like where this was going. He didn't like the sound of it at all. The mediwitch here was saying that Hermione Granger was going to die. She said that Hermione Granger couldn't fight anymore. That statement alone didn't sound right. Granger never stopped fighting, no matter what! Looking around the room, he could see the resolve and acceptance in their eyes. He could feel them give in. Well, he wouldn't give in. If he was the only one that was going to fight for Hermione's Granger's survival, then so be it.

"No."

Harry, Ginny, and Ron looked at him with confusion. Ginny spoke first. "Draco, you heard her there is nothing we can do."

He shook his head repeatedly. "How can you say that? This is your bloody best friend! You're just willing to except that she's going to die?! I can't do that!"

Harry frowned and let the tears build up in his eyes. If there was anyone that was taking this hard it was his. This wonderful witch had saved him many times over. It wasn't easy for him to except that he couldn't save her the same way. "Does it honestly look like this is easy for any of us, Malfoy? Alright, great; you're in love with her. I'm happy for you; glad to know you have a heart. But, news flash. We have been in her life a hell of a lot longer than you have. So, I like to think this is a little more difficult for us to believe than you."

Draco wanted to beat Potter to a pulp. "Then why the hell aren't you trying to do something about it!?"

"We have been, you sodding git! We have been in this hospital wing every bleeding night for the last few months! We've put everything into this potion cure for Hermione! So, don't you stand there and try to tell me what I am or aren't doing!" Harry was angry and it showed as the fire danced in his eyes.

"While I am enjoying this little pissing contest," Poppy started to walk away. "I must send an owl to St. Mungo's about transporting Miss Granger."

Ron took a step forward. "How long does she have now, Madam Pomphrey?"

Poppy turned around, a heartbreaking frown on her face. "I'm not supposed to say. Only a professional at St. Mungo's can tell you that."

The four watched her walk away, all of them with different expressions on their face. Ron's was one of betrayal and agony. He felt betrayed that Hermione couldn't tell him this with the others; agony because he was about to lose the one girl he's ever been in love with. Harry's face was one of torture. He so wanted to save Hermione, but knew that there was truly no way. Ginny's held pure terror and sadness. There was nothing worse than losing a sibling. No matter what anyone said and no matter what anyone thought; Hermione was her sister, just not by blood.

Draco's, on the other hand, was nothing like the others. His face held suspicion. It held thought. And it also held confirmation. He would save Hermione Granger. He would go to his mother and ask her for assistance. She might not like muggleborns, but that didn't matter. She loved her son and would do just about anything for him. He just had to ask.

'Oh, yes, Granger. I will save you. Then you'll spend the rest of your life making it up to me.'