There are a lot of things happening in this chapter, I hope you don't hate me after this.
TW: Suicidal thoughts, violence, blood, panic attacks, graphic descriptions
Hermione knew this was something Havoc had done. Something she had inadvertently caused. She remembered seeing Lucius Malfoy at Draco's funeral. Her stubbornness to save one Malfoy might've resulted in the death of another.
She slowly made her way to the Astronomy Tower, after she convinced Theo that she should probably go alone. When she reached up she saw Blaise sitting in one corner, watching Draco as he stood near the railing, looking outwards.
After seeing Hermione, Blaise nodded at her and quietly moved away.
Leaving her alone with Draco.
Guilt ate her up. Maybe Lucius Malfoy wouldn't have lost his life if she hadn't meddled. But if she hadn't interfered, she might've never gotten to know Draco. She might've never fallen in love with him. She might've not been able to save Draco from death.
She pushed her thoughts away and slowly made her way to Draco. She placed a hand on his shoulder and he flinched, turning around to face her. She saw tear tracks staining his face, his eyes were bloodshot red.
She instantly wrapped her arms around him. Draco stiffened before he melted into her embrace, sobbing into her neck. "He was a criminal, but he doesn't deserve that. He was a great father." Draco dropped to the floor, with Hermione following. "The last time I saw him was at his trial. And I told him that I hated him for what he had done. For what he had left on us. But I love him. And I won't be able to tell him one last time."
She didn't say anything. She just held him. Hermione was there to save him. And she would.
After a while, Draco stopped crying. They had quietly changed positions so that Draco was now lying down with his head on Hermione's lap. She was running her hand through his hair, content to sit in silence.
"I'm sorry." He rasped out. "I didn't mean to get so weepy."
Hermione smiled at him. "It's okay. You deserve to grieve."
Draco looked deep into her eyes. "Hermione, I need to tell you something. I don't want to risk not being able to tell you." He sat up and cupped her cheeks with his hands. "You are the most precious thing in my life right now. I've frankly had a very shit past six months and you've been the only thing that has given me hope that maybe things might turn out alright."
He leaned forward and touched her forehead with his. "I might be making a complete arse out of myself for thinking this way just after actually being near you for only a month, but it's how I feel. You make me want to be a better version of myself."
Hermione closed her eyes as teardrops fell. "You are not alone Draco, you have your friends and family and me. You have me."
Draco shook his head and moved behind to look at her. "My life has not felt like mine until you came in. You barged into patrol with your rubbish excuse, then you made me tutor you in Potions even though you knew everything. I don't know why you suddenly thought I was worth it, but Hermione, I can't thank you enough for this. I love you more than anything in my life. If I am the moon, then you are my sun, because I can only shine in your presence. "
Hermione didn't say anything. She grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him closer, kissing him with everything she had.
Hours later, when both of them had considerably cooled down, they sat in silence watching the noon sky.
"Would you like some water?" She asked, taking a small bottle out of her bag.
Draco accepted it with a grateful smile, gulping it down quickly. "I keep it in case I'm really busy in the library. Muggles also roam around with water bottles, because, well, they can't conjure it anywhere."
He placed a hand on hers. "You don't need to explain everything."
Hermione nodded. "How are you feeling?"
Draco glanced outside, avoiding her gaze. "Terrible." He scrunched his eyes shut. "I feel terrible, and terrified because I cannot leave to check on my mother and I can only imagine what kind of state she would be in."
She frowned at his words. "You won't be going to his funeral?"
Draco scoffed, shaking his head. "They're not giving him a funeral. Criminals like him don't deserve them, or so I'm told."
"That's barbaric!" Hermione exclaimed, feeling sad for not only Draco but for his mother as well. Did the family members not deserve to get a final glance at their deceased loved ones? "How can people be fine with this?"
"It's just how things work here Granger." Sighed Draco.
Hermione shook her head in disagreement. "Well, I'll just have to add that to the list of things I would change in the wizarding world."
At that, he smirked, glancing toward her. "Do you have a list?"
She crossed her arms. "Growing longer every day."
"Do you have a similar list for me?" He moved closer to her, his smirk turning into a grin.
She tried to hide her own smile. "Of course I do. I'd get rid of that overzealous ego of yours. And gods, your pale skin. Any more and you'll look like a ghost."
Draco raised a brow at her. "Why is it that you can easily comment on my ego and appearance but the moment I do it to you, you become violent?"
Hermione paused before looking at him mischievously. "Well, I have six years of bullying to make up for."
Draco gasped, clutching his chest with his hand. "How dare you mention my dark past, Miss Granger? Have you not heard? I am a changed man now. Love does that to you."
"Meh." She answered, letting out a laugh when she saw his horrified face.
She wished she could bottle up the happiness and joy they felt in that moment because she knew, it wouldn't last for long.
After an exhausting day of classes and dinner, both Hermione and Draco lounged together in the Room of Requirement.
"How do you so much about the muggle world?" Hermione questioned, her clad in only Draco's shirt and him wearing only his underwear.
Draco paused the movement of his hand against her back. "Why do you assume I know much about muggles?"
She glanced up at him. "Well, you make small remarks regarding how muggles do things, and you say muggle phrases. Not to mention, our first time, you asked if I wanted you to use a condom instead of a contraceptive charm. And I frankly want to know how you know what that is."
He rolled his eyes at her and sat up, Hermione following his lead. "Most of them are because of Blaise and Theo. They like Muggle London. And after my father's arrest, I really didn't want to spend time near other wizards, nor did I want to stay in my house. So the muggle world seemed like the best option."
"I'm sorry about your father," Hermione whispered.
Draco shook his head. "Please don't apologize. You are the last person who should apologize for his wrongdoings." He softly moved his hands toward her shirt, unbuttoning the lower buttons. Hermione sucked in a breath as his cold hands made contact with her stomach, or rather, the discolored part of her stomach.
"This was why you were in the Hospital Wing after the Department of Mysteries, right?" Hermione nodded. "Did my father-"
"No." She shook her head, not elaborating on who did it. "But how did you know about my injury from last year? There were a lot of incidents that could have caused it."
Draco turned his gaze away from her, his cheeks turning red. "I've always kept tabs on you Hermione."
Hermione let out a laugh. "Why? I thought you were more interested in Harry."
He gave her a smile. "Oh I definitely paid more attention to Potter to catch him the moment he did something wrong, but you held my interest in a different way."
She narrowed her eyes. "Define different."
Draco shrugged and leaned against the headboard of the bed. "Well, that slap you gave me in Third Year was quite the sexual awakening."
Hermione gasped and sat on his lap to get closer to him. "No way is that true. I can't believe it."
He chuckled and pulled her closer to him. "I couldn't believe it either. It was very embarrassing for me, getting a hard-on whenever you walked by because my mind kept replaying that scene." At her expression, he laughed more. "You have no idea how hot and terrifying you looked at that moment."
She covered her face with her hands. "Oh my goodness, I cannot believe you. You are a masochist, aren't you?"
"Only for you my love." He placed a soft kiss on her lips, repeating it a few more times.
Hermione pushed him away. "Wait, so you really did watch me kissing Krum on purpose? And was that why you kept following me around in fifth year?"
Draco made a disgusted face. "No. You and Krum were a mistake that I will regret my entire life. However, the Yule Ball had only fuelled my interest in you. You looked magnificent that day." He grabbed onto her waist. "And I will admit, fifth year was all for my amusement. I took the opportunity to be around you because of the Inquisitorial Squad. You spend an awful amount of time in the library. I think I've been in love with you long before I realized it."
Hermione frowned. "Why didn't you tell me before?" She whispered to herself. "Was that why you were in the library that day?"
Draco snapped his fingers in front of her face, pulling her out of her thoughts. "Well, I've told you now, right? And hopefully, you won't take advantage of the information I've provided you with?"
Hermione gave him a smirk. "Oh, no, I'm going to tell everyone."
He narrowed his eyes at her and in an instant, flipped them over on the bed so that she was lying on the bed with him on top of her. "Is that so?" She nodded. "Well, then I guess then the only thing left to do is fuck the memories out of you."
That was the only warning Hermione had before he moved on to her.
Moments later, she could not fathom if it had been mere minutes or hours, she felt sleep taking over her.
Hermione could feel Draco brushing his hand over her hair, holding her tightly close to him.
She felt safe and content and kept her eyes closed, the day's exhaustion hitting her.
However, very softly she felt him tuck a few strands of her hair behind her ear before whispering softly, "You are my salvation." Right before darkness enveloped her.
"Hermione, there you are!" Ginny rushed towards her, ignoring Draco sitting beside her. "Come quickly, we need to go." She grabbed Hermione's hand and dragged her away from her seat, Draco looking at her questioningly.
"Ginny, what's wrong?" Hermione questioned as Ginny ran ahead.
"Ron was poisoned this morning. I don't know what happened, but everyone else is in the Hospital Wing."
Hermione's eyes widened and she quickened her pace, rushing to the Hospital Wing. She went inside and found Ron on a bed, Harry, and a few professors standing beside them.
"Harry? What happened?" Hermione and Ginny rushed towards them.
Harry shook his head. "He ate some of the chocolates that were kept near our bed. I think they were for me, but he didn't pay attention."
"The chocolates were poisoned?" Hermione questioned.
"No." He shook his head. "But they were heavily dosed with a love potion. So I took him to Slughorn for an antidote. After that, Slughorn brought out a bottle for us to drink and Ron was the first one to drink it."
Hermione frowned. "Why did Slughorn have a bottle of poisoned mead?"
Harry moved towards her. "That's just it, though. Someone gave it to him during the party and he planned on giving it to Dumbledore."
Hermione withheld a gasp. "The poison was meant for Dumbledore? And the necklace was also for him. You don't think-"
"Malfoy's after Dumbledore." Harry finished, causing her to groan.
"Not this again Harry. He hasn't done anything. He wasn't even going to be at the party if I hadn't invited him."
Harry narrowed his eyes at her. "What if this was his plan all along? To trick you so he could slip the poison easily. You saw he had a bottle to gift to Slughorn that night."
"There were so many guests who gifted mead. That's what rich people do Harry. Stop trying to blame him for something he didn't do." Before Harry could interfere, Hermione continued. "What about the necklace? He was with me the entire Hogsmeade trip. He couldn't have given it to Katie. And I've seen both his forearms, he doesn't have a dark mark." Hermione raged on, moving towards Harry with a finger pointed at him. "In fact, I can tell you, he doesn't have it anywhere on his body, and I've personally seen it."
Harry blushed at the implication. "Okay, Hermione, I think you should go and cool off." Ginny moved in between them, placing her hands on Hermione's shoulders. "I'll let you know when Ron gets better."
"Do you recognize this?" Hermione looked up as Harry claimed the seat across from her. In his hand was a bottle which she assumed had alcohol in it.
"It looks like a bottle, but other than that I don't."
Harry let out a huff. "It's the bottle that contained the poisoned mead, the same mead that almost killed Ron, our friend. And it's also the same bottle your dear Malfoy gave to Slughorn."
Hermione groaned. "Harry, I do not remember what bottle he gifted, and how can you be so sure of its origins? Does it have Draco's name on it?"
"Draco?" Harry asked, repulsion evident in his tone. "Hermione, you told me the only reason you were spending time with him was to see if he was up to something or not. And then you went and caught feelings for him. Someone who bullied you throughout your childhood?"
Hermione looked at him furiously. "That is not fair Harry, you can't expect me to hold a grudge forever."
Harry narrowed his eyes at her and shook his head. "Are you joking? You locked Rita Skeeter in a jar because she wrote something bad about you. Information that Draco and his little friends gave her. You led Umbrigde to a herd of Centaurs who attacked her. Do you remember who her little protege was? Let me remind you, it was Draco." Harry couldn't hide the hatred in his eyes. "I cannot believe that the Hermione who did all of that is the same Hermione who is letting something like this slide away."
"I love him!" Hermione couldn't help prevent the tears that formed in her eyes. "I love him, Harry. And I haven't forgotten what he's done. He hasn't forgotten it. But I saw a side of him that made me forgive him. The same side who continually tells me that he doesn't deserve me, the same side that made me fall in love with him."
What happened next broke her heart.
Harry looked at her as if she were a stranger. As if he had no clue who was seated in front of her. "You're not the girl who sided with me at every turn of my life. I don't know who you are."
She closed her eyes, tears falling down as she gasped silently, praying for the hurt to go away.
She heard Harry's chair slide across the floor as he got up. She also heard him mutter before he left, "I'll show you his real side."
Draco caught her eating her lunch in the Room of Requirement the next day. He sat beside her silently, picking up a few pieces of bread from her plate.
"Are you going to make me ask?"
Hermione looked at him with her mouth full of food. "Make you ask what?"
Draco heaved a sigh. "You are eating your lunch in the RoR. You were also absent during breakfast, although that is a common occurrence so I didn't notice it at that point. However, Weasely was also absent during the meals and that is not at all common. And there's also the incident of yesterday when the She-Weasel dragged you away from the library in a hurry. So, my question is, did the golden trio split up?"
Hermione shook her head sadly. "Ron is in the hospital wing and Harry won't talk to me because of it."
Draco snorted. "Why, did you finally prove Weasel's lack of brain?"
Hermione shot him a glare. "No, Ron was poisoned by Slughorn's mead and Harry was convinced that you did it. When I defended you he got angry and said some mean things."
She felt Draco still beside her. "Weasely was poisoned?"
"Uh-huh." She answered, continuing with her meal.
"And this was because he drank mead that Slughorn had?" Draco let out a nervous laugh. "I might be pissed at old Sluggy, but why would I want to kill him?"
"Slughorn was actually going to gift it to Dumbledore because it was really fancy."
She could hear him breathing shallowly. "And that makes Potter think I want to kill Dumbledore?"
She glanced at Draco and frowned at the sweat collecting on his forehead. "That's not the only reason. We saw you in Borgins and Burke's during the break and then he also thinks you had something to do with Katie Bell, but I told him that was impossible because you were with me." She saw Draco clutch his chest as his breathing got more labored. "Draco are you okay?"
She placed a hand on his head but was surprised to find it cold. "I can't breath." He gasped out. "Why can't I breath?"
She instantly grabbed onto him as he almost fell out of his seat. "What's wrong Draco, what are you feeling?"
He closed his eyes, scrunching his face in pain. "I feel like I'm choking and my heart is going to beat out of my chest." he panted out. "Oh Salazar, I think I'm dying."
Hermione quickly dropped everything, grabbing only their wands, and dragged Draco outside the Room. "Come one, we're going to Hospital Wing. Just try to hold on, okay? Please, for me."
Somehow they managed to reach the Hospital Wing and as soon as Madam Pomphrey saw them, she let out a soft 'Oh dear.' before rushing to her storeroom.
Hermione laid Draco on the bed, trying to get him to breathe. Madam Pomphrey quickly came out with a vile of liquid handing it to him. "Drink this, quickly."
Draco didn't think for a moment, before unstoppering it and gulping it down. In mere moments, he calmed down, instantly falling asleep.
"What was that?" Hermione questioned, still deeply worried.
The woman just gave her a sympathetic smile. "Nothing dear. It was a bit of calming draught. I believe your friend was having a panic attack."
She left her alone with an unconscious Draco. Hermione could feel the severity of their condition. She had thought that she might've helped improve Draco's condition, but what if she was just worsening it? What if this time she became the cause of Draco killing himself?
The day after, there was an awkwardness between them. Neither of them was willing to address the incident that had occurred the previous day, causing a glaring hole between them. However, Hermione decided to respect his wish even though she knew she would regret it.
"I got a letter today," Draco spoke up softly. "It's from my mother."
Hermione looked up from her notes. "Oh, that's nice. Weren't you worried that she wasn't answering your letters?"
Draco nodded. "She's requested my presence back home this Christmas."
Hermione blinked at him. She prayed to whoever was listening that Draco would make it to see Christmas with her mother. "Were you initially planning on not going back for the break?"
He released a deep breath. "I don't know. There was something I had to do. I have to do. And I have barely made a dent into it."
She moved closer to him and placed a hand on his. "Is it something I can help you with?"
Draco instantly jerked his hand away from her. "No. This is something you have to stay away from." He turned away from her. "There's been a guest living in the manor. He's asked me to do this for him."
Hermione paused. "A guest asked you to do something? In the castle?" She furrowed her eyebrows. "Draco, does this task have anything to do with your panic attack yesterday?"
Draco let out a shout of irritation. "Everything is going all wrong. I am wrong." He knelt down in front of her. "This is why I'm not good enough for you Granger. I don't know why you haven't run away from me, yet. Especially after yesterday."
"I can't run away from you, I won't. There is nothing you can say that will make me abandon you." He just shook his head at her. "Granger, you can't ruin your life for me."
"And I won't. You won't"
"Hermione-"
"Can we please, just not talk about this." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Can we just, not study, not talk about the coming war, and spend our time together, maybe reading or in silence?"
Draco looked like he wanted to argue but nodded in affirmation. Soon, they were sitting together on the couch in front of the fireplace, Hermione reading with her head on his lap while he sat there quietly, playing with her hair.
"Do you know who Adolf Hitler was?" He asked softly, Hermione might've missed it if she weren't paying attention.
She raised her head up from his lap, placing her book on the floor. "The Nazi leader?" Draco nodded. "I know of him. But how do you?"
Draco swallowed, looking straight into the fire. "I read about him. There was a book in a muggle shop I visited this summer. It said something about the second war." Draco let out a bitter chuckle. "I, like an idiot, thought it was about the war that was to come in the wizarding world. Maybe a seer wrote it and left it there for it to be found by the right person. I thought it was a sign."
Hermione placed her hand on his, "The second world war. It was between many countries in the world and it caused widespread devastation."
"He was responsible though, as their leader. Adolf Hitler."
Hermione shook her head. "He was an instigator. He wanted to rule the world. But even the winning side was not completely innocent."
"What does it matter? The winners write history, don't they?"
"Not this one," Hermione argued.
Draco turned his head and looked at her. "Did you know that Hitler's reasoning for hating the Jews was because he believed they caused the downfall of Germany in the First War? In fact, many Germans believed that Jews stabbed Germany in the back. That's why they didn't protest against it. And he didn't want to kill them, not initially, but the Palestine emperor didn't want Jews in his region, so he told Hitler to kill them."
Hermione grabbed both his hands. "Draco, nothing can justify what he did. The Holocaust was not a small incident, there were almost 6 million deaths."
Draco shook his head. "I know. I know what he did was wrong. And nothing can justify his actions. But, what about the others?"
"What others?"
"The others, who were just following instructions. Who feared their own lives and didn't want them or their families to suffer. The ones who might've not wanted to be Nazis but had no option because it would've resulted in the death of their loved ones? What about them, did they deserve punishment?" Draco looked at her sadly, his eyes shining steel grey.
Hermione stared at him blankly. "A great scientist, Albert Einstein, fled Germany as soon as he found out what they were doing. He helped America."
"And that led to a nuclear attack on Japan." Draco gritted out.
Hermione held Draco's left wrist, pushing his sleeve up. Draco went to grab her hand but she shook her head, tears filling her eyes. When she finally lifted the sleeve, she saw pale skin and let out a sigh of relief. Draco brought his right forearm in front of her and she started sobbing at the sight of it being devoid of any marks.
Draco brought her close and hugged her, placing a kiss on her forehead.
"You're not like them. I know you aren't. You can save yourself and the ones you love." She cried into his chest.
She could feel Draco nodding. "Hitler thought he could save himself too. Himself and his loved ones." He brought her in front of his sight, grabbing her face with both his hands, and looked deep into her eyes. "Do you know, when Hitler knew there was no future, no way for him to get away, he locked himself and his lover in a bunker? There, the two of them got married, and the next day his wife poisoned herself. Then, Hitler shot himself." Hermione held her breath as she saw the determination in his eyes.
"I don't want to drag you into my mess Hermione. And I can't get out. I can't let you disrupt your morals for me, love. And I can't see you ruin yourself by being with me." He placed a soft kiss on her lips, wet from her tears.
Draco let go of her and got up from the floor. "I can't love you the way you deserve to be."
With that, Draco left Hermione all alone on the floor in the Room of Requirement, Hermione paralyzed with fear and grief.
The next day, Hermione made her way to the Room of Requirement, right after lunch when she noticed Draco had been absent there. She prayed he was just eating lunch in the room and hadn't hurt himself.
Fortunately, the room door formed when she asked to see the room Draco Malfoy was in. However, she did not expect the room to be filled with random objects, a big mess everywhere.
She passed by a stack of books that looked older than a century and lots of trinkets, the most notable a tiara with a blue gem. As she made her way toward it, she felt a wave of dark magic coming off of it. She instantly backed off, deciding to just go looking for Draco.
She finally found him, sitting in front of a cupboard with his head in his hands. Hermione tried to move towards him quietly but accidentally knocked over a glass vase, causing a loud crash sound.
Draco looked up from where he was sitting, letting out a sigh when he saw her. "What are you doing here?"
"I was looking for you. Although, I wasn't expecting such clutter." Hermione frowned as she glanced around.
"It's called the Room of Hidden Things. The clutter makes it easier to think." Draco didn't get up from his seat.
Hermione made her way toward him, pausing a few steps away from him. "Are you okay Draco?"
Before she could comprehend what was happening, she found herself pressed against a cupboard, Draco's hand clutching her throat as she struggled to breathe.
"Why are you here Granger?" He glanced all around her face, a crazed look in his eyes.
"To help you." She rasped out, tears falling down her face. "To tell you that you have a choice."
Draco pushed her further back as he let go of her, turning away from her and grabbing onto his hair. "I don't have a fucking choice, Hermione."
"You do Draco, everyone has a choice." Her voice broke at the end as Draco whirled around towards her, tears in his eyes.
"If I succeed, I end up starting the war, and if I don't then he will kill my mother. Any option I choose, I end up losing someone I love." He furiously wiped the tears off his face. "Maybe if I'm no longer alive, I won't be causing any problems, would I?"
Hermione cried, grabbing onto his arm. "Draco, please don't say something like that. Please Draco."
He jerked his hand out of her grasp. "I should just die. My being alive hurts people more than my absence would."
"We can figure this out. Together. We can go to Dumbledore and think of something." She was grasping for any straw she could find, anything she could do to convince him that his life was worth living. That he was precious.
"You don't get it. I don't have a future Hermione. And how can you expect me to go to Dumbledore when I am supposed to kill him? How can you trust me enough that the moment I see him in his office I won't avada him?" He paced around, his hand still clutching his messed-up hair.
"I trust you Draco. I know you."
"You don't know me!" He made a step towards her and she took a step back. " You know what I've shown you. You didn't know about Dumbledore or Bell or Weasley."
"But I did!" Draco paused at her words. "I did know. I knew it the day after we came back from Hogsmeade. I knew you did it. And yet, I still loved you. I knew you poisoned Ron, I recognized the bottle as soon as Harry showed it to me."
Draco fell down on his knees, crying loudly. "Then why Hermione, why did you stay with me? Was it to get information on me? Why didn't you report me to Dumbledore?"
"Because I know you!" She knelt down right in front of him, holding onto both of his hands. "I know if you wanted to kill someone, you would figure out the perfect way to orchestrate it and no one would be able to trace it back to you. The necklace, and the poison, were all half-hearted attempts. And I saw you regret both incidents."
Draco shook his head, not even looking at her. "I've ruined you." He whispered. "Just another on the long list of terrible things I've done." Hermione shook her head at him but he continued on. "Hermione, you shouldn't even let me be near you. I've been terrible to you since we first met. I have said hateful and cruel things to you. In the second year, I had wished the Basilisk would kill you. I continued calling you a mudblood even after I got feelings for you. I made your life hell last year, my father attacked you and your friends last year."
"Draco, please don't say that. I love you. You are not a terrible person. Even after everything you did, you managed to make me fall in love with you. That shows you are an amazing person from your heart."
Draco stood up with a blank look on his face. "No Granger, that shows you are blindly willing to believe whatever you wish to be true."
He stormed out of the room as Hermione scrambled to catch him, calling his name out. He didn't even glance back once and Hermione dropped to her knees, screaming out in pain and hurt.
Her day had already been terrible. But she knew it was about to get worse when everything around her froze. She glanced up expecting to find Death but was shocked to see Havoc smirking at her.
"I feel terrible for you Hermione."
She crossed the distance between them, touching her wand to his throat. "You did this. All of this. Am I right?"
Havoc shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm afraid I don't understand what 'this' you are referring to."
She jerked her hand away from him. "Everything! Everything in the past damn week! You killed Lucius, you poisoned Ron, you made Harry hate me, and you made Draco stay away from me! All of this so Draco Malfoy could kill himself!"
Havoc looked at her, his eyes cold and cruel, his face set in a sneer. "Everything that has occurred since the moment you went back in time has been caused by you. You are the one responsible for everything. I warned you but you didn't listen."
Hermione dropped to her knees, sobbing at her condition. "Please, help me fix it. Please. I'll do whatever you want me to do. Please." She whispered in a broken voice.
"I'm afraid in this timeline you ruined Draco Malfoy's life anyway. By this time tomorrow, I believe he will no longer be alive. But this time there would be two souls dying. Because of you." She didn't look up, she knew he had vanished, leaving her in despair.
Hermione looked down at her wrist, the number 1 taunting her.
She had thought she was so close to helping him, but she had to go ruin things. Havoc had to go and destroy it. How could she convince Draco to not kill himself in one day when he couldn't even look at her, let alone talk to her?
She had tried the entire day to find her way to him, but he had not attended classes or been in the Great Hall for meals. She had tried to ask Theo and Blaise who were quick to turn her away.
Maybe Havoc was right. Draco Malfoy would still end his life. But this time, Hermione Granger would be the cause of it.
She felt her throat closing up, not being able to breathe properly. She got up from her seat and rushed outside the library, hoping to go towards the bathroom and calm herself down.
However, when she reached the nearest bathroom, she had not expected to find Draco and Harry dueling each other, the entire bathroom in shambles.
"Harry!" She screamed out, who ignored her. She saw Draco glare at her.
"Hermione go away!" He screamed but she didn't listen. In her state of panic, she ran towards them. She heard Draco start casting the Cruciatus Curse, but before she could stop him, she heard Harry yell out loudly.
"Sectumsempra!"
For a fraction of a second, there was extreme silence.
Hermione had her back towards Harry, looking directly at how Draco's expression shifted from anger to fear.
She saw him running towards her as she dropped to her knees, slashing pain all over her.
"Hermione!"
She fell to the ground, Draco managing to hold on to her head before it hit the tiled floor. She could feel her clothes getting wet, the ground around her, a mixture of blood and water.
Draco brought her hand up to her chest. "Hermione, love, I need you to press here, okay? I need you to press here as hard as you can."
"Malfoy, let go of her. What are you doing?" She could hear Harry, but she couldn't see him, her vision blurring out.
"Let go of me Potter and be of some help. Get Snape." Then after a pause, "Quickly!"
She felt Draco running his hand through her hair, she could feel him tapping her cheek. "Love, please don't close your eyes, stay awake. Snape will know what to do."
She focused on the white blur that she assumed was his hair. "Please, live for me." She voiced with the last breath she had, darkness finally enveloping her.
AN:
I'm sorry?
To be fair, I did tag Main Character Death.