Sorry for the wait!!! Been busy and swamped with writers block.

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Draco closed his eyes and tried to force the image of his dad and Hermione together in bed out of his head. They hadn't put up a silencing charm and when their climaxing cries made way through the house to him, the image flashed to his head. He didn't mind them together, really, but he also felt a strange sense of being alone.

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Chapter 15-When the End is Near

Days passed in happiness for the couple, no one had come looking for her yet and Lucius' wards kept everyone but Draco out. Draco had warned the two that if they didn't use silencing charms he'd be forced to hex them and they heeded his warning. Everything seemed to be going perfect outside their walls too, though they didn't have a clue. That is, until Ginny sent them an owl.

Hermione, Mr. Malfoy,

You-Know-Who is going to be attacking Hogwarts any day now and we really wish either of you could help. We are lacking in numbers greatly and might need some super right hand knowledge (Mr. Malfoy). Please-

Love you, Ginny

"We should go." Lucius mumbled.

Hermione sighed. "I don't want anything to happen to you, Malfoy."

"And I couldn't bear it if anything were to happen to you."

"Malfoy, if anything happens to either of us I want you to know: I lo-"

"Come we should get ready."

He began walking up the stairs with Hermione staring after him. That had been the second time he had thwarted her declaration of love. Slowly following him up the stairs, Hermione couldn't shake off the sudden frightening suspicious feeling. Was this all just some ploy? Had she been taken advantage of? Was this fight where her supposed love would show his true colors?

Doubts ran through her head until they reached Hogwarts and dove into the battle. As soon as they were separated Lucius felt panicked, where was she? He was scared for her and as he searched he turned his wand and its fatal green light on the men in black who used to be his brothers. He felt intense hate each time he aimed and intense pleasure as he darted past their falling bodies. Bastards.

"NO!!!" He wasn't aware the strangled scream had come from him at the sight of a stream of colorful wand light hitting Hermione and causing her to fall.

He quickly spun around and spotted her attacker, a man who was now heading for him, spewing hexes left and right and behind him and ahead of him at Lucius. "Traitor!" he heard the man yell followed by a stream of cruciatus and AK lights. He ducked the green ones, aware the cruciatus couldn't affect him if the man didn't focus. With a shout of "To the Order of the Pheonix!" Lucius lunged under the man's spells and hit him with his own green AK.

Suddenly all of Hogwarts went silent followed closely by a crack of what could have been thunder, a cheer from all good people left standing and a muted cry as every Death Eater's dark mark began to burn like it never had before. With a quick glance at his own, Lucius saw the mark was burning itself away then he rushed to Hermione's side Remus and Sirius were already there and the animagus had her in his arms, ready to carry her to the castle.

"Please, let me take her." Lucius begged, it didn't feel wrong to beg these two, they had caught onto Hermione's and his relationship quicker than anyone else.

"Sorry, I would mate, but she simply won't let anyone else touch her." Sirius said. He wasn't smug about this fact, which Lucius had to remember to thank him for later. It would've rubbed it in.

"Can I try?"

"Good luck, mate." Sirius mumbled and hesitated before trying to release Hermione to her lover.

"No!, Don't let them touch me! Don't let them touch me. Don't let them touch… Don't let them…"

Her protest died as Lucius handed her back. A look of pure pain was on his face, a pain he tried to ignore. "Let's worry about that later, get her up to the hospital wing, come on Lupin, let's find others."

It took the two almost twenty minutes to find anyone on the ground who was alive, even ignoring the Death Eater bodies. When they did they picked the people up and carried them up while levitating two others to the hospital. When they arrived Lucius noticed the awkward quiet and how those who were conscious in the beds were all facing the back where a large group of people had assembled.

After putting the injured down Lucius snuck up behind the group. He heard them talking. "The end is near." He heard Poppy say. "What's Malfoy going to say? He loved her." Sirius said. "Why can't we figure out what's wrong? We could save her?" He heard Tonks say. "No, it's too late, it was when the curses hit her." Moody grumbled.

"What's going on?" Lucius asked appearing from his hiding place. A few people jumped.

"We're so sorry, Lucius," Poppy gingerly touched his shoulder.

"What do you mean?" Panic cracked his voice.

"She's not going to make it." Sirius's own voice was thick with tears he wouldn't shed.

Lucius edged closer to the bed and looked down at his poor Hermione. He could barely see her breathing. And she barely was. He reached his hand out as if to touch her then pulled it back, remembering her screams when he tried to hold her. "Go ahead, she's not responding anymore." He heard from behind him.

He reached out again and held her hand for a moment before reaching up to brush her cheek. He bent down and pressed his lips to hers. He stayed like that for who knew how long and then broke the kiss and rested his cheek against hers and whispered. "I'm so sorry I never let you say it to me, I was wrong. I love you, Granger, I love you."

He ignored everything else, even when voices entering the hospital put up a ruckus about seeing their daughter and Poppy went to quiet them. He ignored those voices turning from angry panic to shock as they protested him and protested the large group and protested their absence. But he could ignore them no more when they pushed past him to reach Hermione.

He stared at Hermione until he thought he saw her go limp and then backed away undetected from the group and ran out. He didn't look back until he reached the gates where he turned to look at the grand castle. The castle where he had heard 'the end is near' followed in moments by him being told Hermione would not survive. No, the castle was really not so grand. How many other good people died there today? How many bad? Did the difference matter when it was a life lost? Not to him it didn't, not now. Not when his Granger had died too.