Darkness.
That's all there was before she felt it tighten around her, crushing her chest, making it difficult for her to breathe. She felt one of her ribs snap, and as she tried to scream out, the darkness became tighter, stealing her breath. Fighting against it proved useless as she began to choke out, the taste of blood filling her throat
Desperately, she tried to feel for her wand, but it was out of her hand. Another snap was audible, but she couldn't tell where it came from at this point, the lethifold fully restricting every part of her body. There wasn't even room for her to process the pain with how crushing it was.
It was so fast, she didn't even have time to react. She should have said something sooner, she thought. It was stupid of her not to immediately vocalize her discomfort. The lethifold fully had her in its grasp, and likely being dragged away to be consumed.
There was no happy memory she could search for, all that filled her head was dread and despair. She tried to think of her parents, the kids, and even Draco, but they were being erased from her mind, siphoned out by the darkness that was consuming her. She stopped fighting against it. There was nothing for her to live for. Her parents didn't know who she was, the people who she considered her family gave her away, and the monster she clung onto was going to be gone once the war ended.
As she thought about every way she could have avoided this fate, she began to lose consciousness, fading deeper into despair. Before the darkness fully consumed her, she felt a warm, silvery light push through it. The form of an otter pulling her out of the abyss.
—
The sun's rays woke Hermione once more, pulling her from the dark. There was a brief second she thought she was at 12 Grimmauld Place, laying on a cot as the sunlight peeked through the curtains. But when her eyes opened, and the pain flooded over her, she saw Theodore sitting with the view of a sandy beach behind him.
"Hey Hermione," he softly said. "How ya feelin'?"
Her ribs were aching, and in the back of her throat was the horrible acidic taste of Skele-Gro. "Terrible, actually," she laughed, but immediately regretted it as her body felt like it was burning.
"Don't strain yourself. Just relax. You almost got digested by that thing," he ordered, dabbing a cold cloth to her forehead. "I'll go get Draco, he was up with you all night and just went to sleep."
"No," she croaked. "Let him get some rest. How long was I out?"
"A little over a day," he confirmed, sitting back in the chair that was next to the bed. "You were real bad right after. Skin was peeling off because of the stomach acid and several broken bones."
"Did you get it?" she asked, not caring much about her own injuries.
"Of course, you think Draco was going to let that thing go after it did a number on you?" he chuckled. "I got it in that preservation bag you made. It's in pieces, but it's in there."
"Perfect, Teddy," she smiled, happy to be another step closer. Closing her eyes, she drifted off again.
The next time she woke, Draco was by her side. The curtains were pulled closed, but she could tell that the sun had set by now. He was looking over several pieces of parchment he held in his hands, his brow furrowed, concentrating on the words in front of him.
His expression was stoic and his body was rigid like a statue. Every angle of him looked deadly, like it could cut with how sharp he was. He was hauntingly beautiful, and she didn't understand how someone could look so perfectly tragic. His sad, silver eyes under his long, white lashes made her heart break.
He sat up when she realized she was awake. The hardness of his exterior softened as he greeted her. Draco came to the edge of the bed, brushing the hair away from her sweaty face. "Hey baby, how are you feeling?"
"I'm better now," she smiled weakly.
"Don't lie to make me feel better," he told her, casting a diagnostic spell to assess her injuries further. He reached over for a bottle of Skele-Gro and held it to her lips. Reluctantly, she drank it, coughing as it went down, making her whole body rattle in pain.
"That's it… Good… That's my girl," he mumbled to her as she choked it down.
"When can we go home?" she asked him, breathing heavily after a fit of coughing.
He gingerly placed his hand over hers. "When you're all healed up. Eager to get back to the manor?"
"Yes," her voice was stained. "We have what we need now. I need to get working on the counter curse."
"You don't even want to enjoy the beach while we're here?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow. "The weather is dreadful back home. You should enjoy some sunlight while you can."
"It's hard to enjoy it if you can't do it with me," she whispered.
"Granger, do not let my existence spoil your fun. When was the last time you'd even been to a place like this? Surely, not within the past decade."
It was true, she hadn't been to a beach like this since she was a girl when her parents took her to Australia. Walking on the sand did feel nice, and the sun was much more intense than it was back in England. It was warm and comforting.
"It's been a while," she admitted. "But I'd rather be somewhere I can be with you."
"I'll be with you at night," he reminded her, checking the bandages around her body, applying balms and ointments where needed. The iciness of his hands were soothing against her hot skin. "It isn't very often you can enjoy a nice beach, Granger."
"Do you miss the sun?" she asked him.
"I used to. Not anymore. Not since I've held you," he answered back.
It took three more days for her to feel normal again. The pain subsided, the abrasions on her skin disappeared, and all of her bones had healed properly. Theodore had left on the second day, seeing Hermione was rapidly healing and needing to get back to work and Daphne. Draco sat by her side, only leaving to retrieve her things she needed. When she asked if being away from Voldemort would cause any issues, he assured her everything was taken care of.
After Hermione was up and about on her own, Draco insisted she spent some time on the beach, and for his sake, she did. She thought it might be nice to read outside, so she grabbed a book and opened her luggage to find several bathing suit options that Astoria had packed for her.
Of course they were all bikinis. Hermione hadn't ever worn one her entire life, but she didn't think she looked half bad when she slipped the pink fabric on. Either way, she pulled a sheer white cover-up over herself and made her way to the sand with a book in hand.
She laid out on a blanket and read for a few hours, taking her time as she learned about the history of space flight and muggle astronauts. It reminded her of a time before she knew of magic and dreamed of studying aerospace engineering so she could touch the stars one day.
As the sun started to set, she went back to the villa and found Draco sitting at the dining room table, papers spread all around him. They were plans for raids, prisoner transfers, and other pressing matters he had to organize for the Dark Lord. He had been working nearly nonstop since they had been there. When he wasn't taking care of her, he was tending to the war, trying to balance on a fine line. It was complicated, having to aid one side enough to make them believe he was still loyal, while attempting to not compromise the other.
He was overworked. They were all asking too much of him.
"Draco, you've been at this all day," she said, resting her hands on his shoulders. "Take a break."
"Just let me finish this up…"
Hermione slipped the swimsuit cover off herself, letting it drop to the floor. Draco turned his head, his eyes scanning over her body. He took a sharp breath, consuming her with his eyes. "Merlin, you look incredible."
"Come with me," she commanded, holding her hand out to him. His fingers laced into hers and she pulled him outside to the beach blanket where she had spent her day. "Look at the stars, Draco," she said, laying down. "They're beautiful tonight."
Draco laid down on the blanket beside her, and she rested her head on his chest. She began to point out the different constellations they could see in the sky, and he twirled her curls between his fingers.
"Better than the planetarium, isn't it?" she asked him.
"In some ways, yes," he responded. "The sand is still warm. It's quite nice."
"Close your eyes. Pretend you can feel the sun shining, it's almost warm enough it feels like it," Hermione said. And he did, he closed his eyes, listening to the gentle crashing of waves.
"Granger, when you're with me and we're not fighting, do you ever wish I was human?" he asked, his eyes still closed.
"What do you mean?" she inquired, needing clarification for such a loaded question.
"Do you ever wish I felt human? Do you touch me and wish I was warm?"
As of recently, she hadn't given it much thought. She had become accustomed to how he felt, almost needing the cold touch of his hand and the slow rhythm of his heartbeat to soothe her. The things that made him feel so far from human were the things that she craved about him.
"You do feel human to me, Draco."
"I'm not though, and you need to remember that."
Hermione sat up and studied his face. He seemed relaxed, his nose wasn't scrunched and his brow was unfurrowed. The sharpness of his features was muted as he laid under the stars with her. "I'd rather remember other things tonight."
"Like what?"
"Like how at peace I feel with you right now," she whispered, cupping his face in her hands and pressing her lips to his. She felt his cold, rough hand rest against the small of her back, giving her a slight chill before she settled into him. His other hand went to her cheek and his fingers wrapped behind her neck, pulling her closer.
"You're making this so hard for me, Granger," he muttered as he kissed her deeply. "Everything I've been working towards for three years, you've made me want to abandon. All of my friends. My home. Everything. I want to leave it all just for you."
Hermione didn't know what to say, so she stayed quiet and kissed him softly, feeling his thumb brush her cheek. Her heart ached in her chest, feeling his conflict, knowing she complicated everything.
"Do you know how unfair it would be to leave it all behind?" he asked her.
"It's unfair to you to take on the burden of so many when you have suffered just as much as they have," she quietly said, looking into his eyes.
"What would you have me do then? Damn them all just to be with you?"
"Would you do it for Astoria?" she asked, knowing the answer already. He would do anything for Astoria because she loved him unconditionally from the start. His devotion to her would outweigh anything and anyone else, and Hermione knew that, she would be stupid to think otherwise.
"Don't bring her into this."
"I know you would. And I know I could never mean what she means to you. All I ask is for you to try. Try to find a way to be with me," Hermione pleaded, kissing him again. "You're all I have, Draco. I've got not no one."
It was painful, never being anyone's first. Harry would always pick Ron, and Draco would always pick Astoria. If they ever made a difficult decision, it would always come down to them and never her. Here she was again, begging for someone to care for her how she wanted to care for them.
His silver eyes, though looking at hers, were lost in thought. Not speaking a word, likely trying to find the right ones to say.
"Granger, you have so many people who care for you. You deserve so much more than me. Someone who is going to live a long, happy life with you. Someone who hasn't hurt you."
"Everyone has hurt me, Draco. And everyone I will ever meet will hurt me in some way. But I don't want anyone else," she murmured, trying not to let herself fall into sadness or anger, whichever one would manifest first. "You told me I was everything to you."
"You are. You're everything to me," he repeated.
The last moments she remembered before the lethifold subdued her began to fill her mind. Before, the thing thing that caused her the most sadness was losing her parents. Then, it became when Ron betrayed her. And after, it was Harry giving her away. But now, she thought the thing that would deal the final blow to her life would be losing Draco. In what she thought were her final moments, the thing that made her fall into the deepest pit of despair was imagining a future without him. "Then don't give yourself away. When we finish the war, come away with me, I promise we can help everyone else without you having to pay the price."
He sighed, bringing his forehead to hers and closing his eyes. She felt him breathing softly, his heartbeat slow and steady. Cold arms surrounding her nearly naked body as they laid on the warm sand together. Hermione thought she could die here and be content.
"I will go with you," he said softly. "I won't give myself to them, because I want to be with you."
Hermione nearly cried in relief, feeling every muscle in her body finally relax. She clutched him close to her, trying to stop herself from shaking.
"Draco, I lo…"
His lips pressed against hers, stopping her from finishing her sentence, stealing her breath away. "Don't say it. Not yet. Not until I've done something to deserve it."
She didn't want to protest, given how successfully everything else had gone. So instead of telling him, she showed him how much she cared, and he did the same.
"I am yours," she almost sang out, feeling him all around her.
"As I am yours," he replied back onto her skin, and she soaked up every bit of him until the sun began to peek over the ocean.