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Breaking the Chain	By : RynStar15 Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 42452 -:- Recommendations : 5 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, that belongs to the glorious J.K Rowling. I don't make any money off of this writing, I simply twist her world for my own pleasure.

Chapter List
- 22
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- 24
Hermione closed the door of Harry's bedroom and walked down the stairs to her own in a haze. They had been talking for hours, it was nearly dinner time, and she still didn't feel as if they'd go through with the plan. She had begged and pleaded for them to understand, to not make it any harder than it already was, but they refused to back down. She had finally gotten away by claiming a headache, which was most certainly true, and the moment her bedroom door had closed behind her she could hear their feet thundering down the steps towards the kitchen where they would most certainly be wreaking havoc.
The Order would talk to them, make them understand. Hermione knew Molly and Arthur would be explaining things to Ginny so she might have some peace and quiet in her room. She flopped on the bed and stared at the ceiling. When had things gotten so messed up?
She smiled thinking about when exactly they had. She'd been crying in a bathroom stall when a crash had jolted her up and made her throw open the small door. There stood a troll, twelve feet high and alarmingly disgusting. She remembered trying to find her way to the outer door but couldn't make it past the hideous monster. She had stood frozen in fright, awaiting her agonizing death when Harry and Ron had come flying in, wands at the ready, to her rescue.
Yes, that had been the day when everything had changed for her. It hadn't been the day when she'd gotten her acceptance letter; a part of her had always known that she was destined for something greater than a private all-girls high school and Muggle university. No, her real life change had begun when she'd befriended the clumsy redhead and the gangly boy whom everyone knew and revered.
And then again when she had run into Draco Malfoy in that dark dungeon hallway three weeks ago. How had everything changed so much in less than a fortnight? How could a person possibly fall in love in such a short amount of time? It was ridiculous! Love had to grow, it needed time to blossom. What she was was infatuated with a stranger who didn't really exist. The Draco of the thirteenth century did not exist in this time. He was against her, he hated her, he had betrayed her.
So what if he'd been considerate about her first time? So what if he'd crooned loving words in her ear when they'd writhed together? So what if he'd rescued her from the river, taken care of her when she'd been ill? Did it matter that he'd carried her through a forest when she'd been hurt or that he'd found the way to Alvida and ultimately saved her life? Did it matter that he was the first one to ever make her realize how it could feel to have someone worship her, to love her for all that she was and wasn't?
It mattered, it did, but it couldn't. She would be dead by this time tomorrow, never to experience those soft caresses or sweet words again. The best she could do was to remember them fondly, forget his hateful words and be thankful that she'd experienced those tender feelings before she died.
With that in mind she lifted her weary body and sat at her desk pulling out sheets of parchment. She had a lot of letters to write.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Draco started at the sound of a door slamming. He looked up from the tiny text he had been scanning, one of many piled around him. He could recall being in a similar situation last year, scanning books he could scarcely read, searching, searching for an answer. Just as he did now. There had to be a way out, just as he'd managed one before, he could do so again…
He looked up at the hooked nose man in front of him. He was tired, mentally, physically, and he could see a mirror image of his emotions in his mentor.
"What are you doing, Draco?" Snape drawled.
Draco scratched his scalp for probably the hundredth time, gesturing to the tomes before him. "I-I…there has to be something…has to be…"
He heard the loud footsteps before he was being lifted by the upper arms and pulled to look straight into the face of the only man besides Dumbledore who had ever offered him help, who had ever offered a sense of the man he wanted to be.
"Get ahold of yourself! We can't afford for you to fall apart, not now, not when we're so close!"
Draco wrenched from his grasp, knocking his hands aside. "I know, dammit! I know! I'm not, I'm just…I'm fucking desperate. There's got to be a way-"
"There is none, you can't find the answer to this in a book. This war is unlike any the wizarding world has faced. I understand your feelings for Miss Granger, but you cannot allow them to deter you. We need her to do what she was meant to do. She has accepted her fate, now it's time for you to as well."
A part of Draco's mind snapped to attention. "You-you told her? She knows?"
"Of course she knows! We need her to be a part of the plan. She is ready to go through with it. Now, I need to know that you will not hinder this in any way. Tell me now, Draco, and tell me honestly. Can you handle this?"
Draco turned from his damning gaze and walked away, his hands once again in his now messy blonde hair. She knew, she knew she was going to die, that the people who loved her going to throw her to the Dark Lord as a diversion, a distraction. And she had agreed.
Of course she had agreed! Did he ever, for one second, think she wouldn't?
But what if she was carrying his child?
Even if she wasn't he didn't know if he could stand by and watch her thrown to the wolves. The horrible pain and fear she would suffer before her death- he shuddered. She would be mutilated, humiliated, broken, tormented. They all knew, she likely knew. Worst of all, he knew. How would he ever live with it? Especially if there was the slightest chance she was pregnant?
Draco hadn't told Snape this aspect yet, not wanting yet another reason for his ex-Professor to remove him from this job.
Because the truth was, he needed to be there with her at her end. Even if she hated him, even if it destroyed him, he had to be there. He couldn't let her face this alone. That meant he had to be strong. He was a Malfoy, as much as he hated the taint that came along with it, the name instilled confidence, fearlessness. If she could give her life for them, then he could fucking do this last thing for her. He could make sure that she didn't die alone. She would have someone who loved her by her side to the very end.
"I can handle it," he rasped.
In the reflection of the dark window Draco saw Snape standing behind him, watching him. Draco straightened, drawing courage from the store Hermione had given him. He turned and faced the tall, skinny, domineering man.
"I'll do it for her. I won't let you down. You can count on me."
After studying him, Snape nodded curtly. "Then you should get some rest. It will be a long day."
Draco couldn't even imagine going to sleep. One last desire burned within him and he knew if he were to do this, he had to have this one last thing.
"Please, I…I need you to do something for me."
"What is that?"
"I need you to take me to Hermione. I have to see her one last time."
Snape looked as if he had swallowed a lemon.
"That's not possible, Draco. You know that."
"Why? Why is it not possible?" Draco thundered, advancing on the man who was now his guardian, attempting to make him understand. "I sentenced Hermione to death today! I love her! Do you understand that? I bloody love her! Tomorrow I'm going to watch her die the most painful death imaginable and you are telling me I can't see her? Tell me why!"
There was a look in Snape's eye that drove into his soul. When he spoke, his voice was low, cold, raw. "She can't know, Draco. In order for her to succeed she has to be as detached as possible. Right now she is hurt from what you told her at your departure; she is under the impression that you hate her. This will make things easier tomorrow when she is forced to see you. You will have to keep the image up. She can't know your true feelings, for it could break her resolve. This is for her; her protection as well as yours. If she betrayed her emotions in fear, if he thought that she loved you, he might use you as well. We can't risk it, we need you."
"Oh, you need me, a fuck up, someone who has never done anything right before in his life, but Hermione, the brightest witch of the age, the one who found the damn Horcruxes, is dispensable? What the fucking hell goes through your mind? How do you come to these sick conclusions? You'll sacrifice an innocent young woman who could bring unlimited amounts of knowledge and courage to the table but you'll protect an arrogant, no good arsehole like me?"
He was furious; this whole damn business was bloody ridiculous! He hadn't risked everything to save her only to send her to her death!
"You'll understand some day."
Draco snapped. "Don't give me that fucking shit!" he screamed, remembering how Milo had told him the same thing, Alvida… It wasn't enough, not his time, not when it came to Hermione's life.
He wanted to hit him, to tear that calm, detached face to pieces and throw them to the floor, rip them beneath his heel. "Don't tell me that someday when I'm older that I'll understand! I'm sending the love of my life to her death tomorrow! I need to understand NOW, DAMN IT!"
Snape sighed, his face finally showing some shred of humanity, and took a step forward. "Draco-"
"Don't you do that! Don't you fucking take the sympathetic route! You have NO FUCKING CLUE what I'm going through! When have you ever loved someone? When have you ever had to watch them die? You keep saying that this is 'not a game' but it sure as hell seems like you're playing chess master, moving the little mindless pawns along to do your bidding! WHAT HAVE YOU HAD TO SACRIFICE?"
"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Snape roared advancing on Draco. "You are lucky for the pity I have shown you thus far, for the years I turned my back, for the torture I endured to keep you safe! Do you think I enjoy sending Miss Granger out there to her demise? None of us are indifferent about this decision! But we understand that this is bigger than us, bigger than her! Sometimes we have to play the hands we are dealt, even if we don't like them, even when they kill us inside. Miss Granger understands this, now you have to as well. You think I am heartless? Well maybe I am! But I am because of the things I have to do, the things I have to see, the things I've had to give for the 'greater good.' That is my sacrifice, Draco!"
Draco screamed until the windows around him shattered and the books flew off the shelves, his magic unleashed as it hadn't been since he was a small child. Snape threw up a shield to protect them from the blast, but Draco couldn't care less at this point. Let it hit him, tear his skin, mutilate his body. It would be nothing compared to what Hermione would have to endure. He screamed until his voice broke, until his newly repaired soul shattered, and his heart slunk back in fear.
When there was nothing left he fell to his knees, gasping, shaking, sobbing.
And then Snape was there, next to him, holding him, cradling Draco to him like a small child. Draco wept as he had never before, as he never even knew was possible. His heart just splintered into pieces, falling to the dirty floor where it mocked him with what he'd so nearly had. Just as everything was handed to him, it was taken away. How would he live after tomorrow? How could he go on knowing that Hermione would not? Where would he find the strength?
When the tears ran their course, mortification washed over him. He pulled away from Snape and wiped his ruddy face on the sleeve of his cloak, not looking at his godfather. He had never broken down in front of someone like that before. He'd cried in front of that damn ghost, but nothing like this. He was ashamed of his weakness.
"There is a way."
Draco's neck snapped up, cricking. The broken pieces of his heart on the floor stood on end, waiting to hear what Snape had to say.
"I will take you to her. I have a potion you can use. It will make her forget everything that happens from the moment you give it to her until she falls asleep. When she wakes, it will be as if she had gone to bed and slept all night. She will remember nothing tomorrow. You can share one more night with her. I know it is not enough, but this is the way it has to be."
Completely dumbfounded by the heartfelt gesture, Draco couldn't find the words to say.
"Thank you," Draco croaked lamely, knowing it wasn't sufficient for the gift he'd just received, but unable to think of anything else to express his gratitude.
Snape nodded and Draco was shocked at the emotion swimming in his dark eyes. "Go clean up. She will not want to see you like this whether she remembers or not. When you are ready, we will leave."
Draco bolted up the stairs and into the bathroom, turning on the water for the shower with a wave of his hand, wasting no time. He wanted to spend every last second of the night with her. He hated that she would not remember him the way he was now, a man so desperately in love with her, but as the monster he had forced himself to be. But it was what had to be done; it would keep her safe, make it easier for her do to what she had to. At least some part of her subconscious would remember their love when she went.
Draco scrubbed himself furiously then brushed his teeth madly, gagging himself in the process. He used a simple cleaning charm on the only clothes he had and hurried to the now repaired drawing room. Snape stood waiting for him at the front door, vial in hand.
"You must give it to her before she sees you. A few drops is all she needs. You must not alert anyone to the fact that you are there. Silencing Charms were invented for a reason."
Draco grinned and Snape smiled (or what constituted as a smile with him) knowingly.
"Come, the night is yet young. You would not want to waste it."
Draco followed him outside and gripped his sleeve. In a whirl of colors he was standing at the door that separated him from Hermione.
One night. They had one night to be together, to make memories that Draco would have to carry with him for the rest of his meager life.
And she would never know.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Hermione shuffled the parchment envelopes until they were all perfectly even, then pulled a hair band out from the desk drawer and tied them together. She moved to her trunk and separated things into piles according to whom they were going to, the largest one for donation. She folded her yellow tank top, the one she'd worn during the mission when she and Draco had been thrown into the past. She placed it into the donation pile. She knew Ginny would look great in it, but she couldn't stand imagining that particular shirt on Ginny when she could still feel Draco's hands on her breasts over the top of the thin fabric…
She grabbed the top two books and looked at the titles; Hogwarts, A History and Gadding with Ghouls. She smiled and put them both into Ron's pile. She hoped he would see the humor in her selections as the inside cover of Gadding with Ghouls had Gilderoy Lockhart's loopy signature on it and a "Get Well" card tucked inside the pages. Her favorite book she reserved for him, hoping he would see how truly she cared for him, that she hadn't meant to hurt him this morning, hating that she'd never be able to explain in person…
She scowled and scolded herself for being bitter. She was being handed a wonderful gift, the chance to give her life for those she loved. It was something she would take with honor and courage. After all, she was a Gryffindor.
A knock came at her door. She looked up as Ginny's wan faced poked through the crack.
"Mum wanted to know if you wanted to come and eat with the rest of us."
"Yes, yes of course," she said, clearing her throat. "Ginny, you don't have to knock; this is your room as well."
The red head shifted. "I know. It's just that…well mum said you needed some privacy and not to disturb you…"
Hermione rose and reached out a hand for the younger girl who came forward and gripped it hard. Hermione looked up into her face, the ginger beauty having surpassed her in height several years before.
Giant tears leaked out of Ginny's pale blue eyes.
"I don't want you to do it, Hermione. How am I just supposed to say good-bye?" Her voice broke and tears poured down her anguished face to the front of her jumper.
A lump rose in Hermione's throat as she pulled her into a hug, rocking the girl who had been like a sister to her gently, as she would any younger sibling had she been given one. She envied Ginny and Ron's large, obtrusive family and she felt blessed to have been a part of it.
"Ginny, everyone has a destiny. This is mine. No one makes it out of here alive, so I might as well go down doing what I want to do. This is a privilege and I am glad to do it. Can you promise me something?"
Ginny pulled back slightly and wiped at her tear-stained face.
"Of course! Anything!"
"Will you take care of Harry for me? And Ron? I know sometimes they can be blundering fools, but they mean well. Harry loves you, Ginny. He just doesn't want to see you hurt. When all this is over I want you to grab him and make him realize that he can't run away again. He's going to have a lot of pain and guilt. You can ease him of that. And Ron, well Ron loves you too, even though he may show it in odd ways. He means well." She swept the hair clinging to Ginny's wet face behind her ear. "Don't take my gift for granted. Live well, be happy. When you and Harry get married someday, think of me, will you? Bring me with you. And when you have all your little babies? Think of me."
Ginny sobbed harshly and nodded. Hermione could just imagine the beautiful children she and Harry would make together. Little girls with flaming red hair and little gangly green-eyed boys like their dad. She was spiteful that she would miss it, that she would never be 'Aunt Hermione.'
Ginny grabbed Hermione and cried freely. Hermione let her. She attempted to keep the tears at bay but was unsuccessful, suffering in her friend's anguish. When another knock came at the door she looked over. Ron stood in the open doorway. His nose was red, his eyes wet.
"Can I have a minute, Gin?" Ron's gravelly voice asked. Ginny nodded and wound her way out of Hermione's grasp. With one last look she flew out the door and down the stairs.
"This isn't fair," Ron whispered. Hermione gazed into his blue eyes, so much like Ginny's.
"Life isn't fair."
"I know... But it's not supposed to be this way. After all this Harry and Gin will…will...and I'll be alone…I'll be all alone."
"You won't be alone," she whispered, her heart breaking at the devastation in his eyes. "There are so many people who care about you who will be next to you when all this is over."
Ron strode forward and cupped her face. "But none of them are you."
When he leaned down and kissed her she let him. Her hands held his wrists as his thumbs swept away the escaped tears raining down her cheeks. She felt a few fall onto her face that were not hers as his soft lips caressed her own. It didn't matter now that she was in love with another; he would never have to know. He would go on believing that the two of them would have ended up together and Hermione didn't think it would have been such a bad thing. Whoever got Ron in the end was very lucky, and she told him so as he pulled away.
He laughed hollowly. "The problem is I don't want anyone else. I never really have, you know?"
She nodded. She did understand. It was how she felt now about Draco. She pulled him into her arms and held him tight.
"I don't know how to do this."
Hermione's heart ached. How did one say good-bye forever?
"Then let's not. There's nothing more that needs to be said. I love you, Ron. You've always been a good friend and I was lucky to have you in my life."
"I love you too, Hermione. I always have, even if I didn't know how to show it."
They stood there silently because there was nothing left to say. Hermione looked up when Harry walked in a hand in the back of his messy hair as he mussed it even more.
"I didn't mean to intrude…"
"No, no it's alright, Harry." Hermione waved him over to them. "We were just…talking."
Harry nodded and walked over to her. "Ron? Are you…?"
"Yeah." Ron let go of her and wiped his red face. "Yeah. I'll just…see you guys downstairs. Don't be too long or else mum will be sending the Order after you."
"We'll just be a minute," Harry replied. He waited until the door had closed behind Ron and he turned to her nervously.
"I'm not good at this…" he started.
"It's alright, Harry. You don't have to say anything."
Harry shook his head, his features hard. "It's not supposed to be you, Hermione. It wasn't supposed- this was my burden to bear. The only reason he wants you is because of me. How do I live with this knowing it's all my fault?"
"Harry, no, it's not your fault!" When he began to rant again she grabbed his wrists and forced him to look at her. "Harry, listen to me! It's no fault of yours that Voldemort marked you when you were an infant! How could you possibly see it that way? None of this happened because of you! He started this war long before we were born! You were chosen unwillingly to follow a path that tangled itself in his demise, but none of this was a product of your doing. You have done nothing but help our side. Can you blame me for wanting to give as much? You can't take all the fame, Harry!" She tried to smile but his icy glare stung her.
"Don't joke about this," he said thickly. "If I hadn't brought you into this-"
"Will you stop pitying yourself already? Good Merlin, you didn't force me into this, I chose to be your friend, none of us could have known what the future held. If I had to, I would choose the same path; there is nothing I would do different. I don't regret a single thing. I've been the happiest witch there is because I always had you and Ron beside me. You gave me a family who understood who I really was, you took me in when no one else would. We stood by each other through everything, were each other's family. This is what family does. Do not feel guilty, Harry. If anything, be happy that I get to choose the way I want to go. Not many people get to do that."
He said nothing, just stared at the floor. They were quiet for a while until he looked up at her, tears flooding his eyes as yet unshed.
"If I could change it, take your place-"
"I know, Harry. Just as you know I do it for you, for everyone."
"Thank you," he whispered. Broken, Hermione launched herself into his arms, holding him tight. Harry lifted her straight off the ground, his strong arms clutching her to his heaving chest as he attempted to stem the flood of tears.
When she was able to calm him enough she cast a quick Cleaning Charm on their ruddy faces and the two of them walked down to the kitchen, creeping past the portrait of Sirius's mother so as not to wake her. When Hermione walked into the basement room she gasped and clasped her hands over her mouth. She felt Harry's hands on her shoulders as she looked around.
The room had been enlarged to accommodate the crowd. She smiled at them all, marveling the people who were there to share their last night with everyone before tomorrow, no one knowing who might not make it through.
Lavender smiled tentatively at Hermione from where she stood with the Patil twins and Hermione returned it, having forgiven her classmate long ago for her dalliance with Ron. She was just beginning to wonder if something might spark up between them when Colin Creevy's camera flashed before her and Harry, a shroud of purple smoke encircling them to which Moody griped about, swigging from the flask at his hip.
She saw Zacharias Smith being taunted George, Bill rubbing a hand over a beaming Fleur's belly while Terry Boot ogled her. Hannah Abbott and Ernie MacMillan were talking animatedly to Professor Sprout and Charlie Weasley was hitting on Angelina Johnson while Oliver Wood glared from a distance. Katie Bell was making eyes at Fred who was floating a chortling Professor Flitwick over the crowd. Marcus Belby was discussing troll wars with Arthur while Susan Bones and her aunt, Amelia Bones argued over wizarding law.
Hermione couldn't help but laugh at Neville's face as Luna attempted to explain how Wrackspurts were related to Dunklemeres and the fact that Dean's eyes never left the blonde girl even as Seamus went on about some Quidditch match or other.
Hermione smiled when she saw that Molly was gazing starry eyes as Harry moved to Ginny and captured her hand while talking to Penelope Clearwater and Percy who had his thin arm around her while Michael Corner and Cho Chang looked on with venom. Doris Crockford was giggling next to Amos Diggory who was smiling for the first time Hermione had seen him since Cedric's death. Marietta Edgecomb, who still had a heavy layer of concealer over her forehead, was standing next to Cho while looking somewhat out of place and trying not to laugh at Mundungus Fletcher who was on his seventh Butterbeer and trying to transfigure a fork into an armadillo while McGonagall tsked in disapproval.
Justin Finch-Fletchley was talking to Bob Ogden about a possible position opening up in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Augustus Pye and Madame Pomfrey discussed a new development in an Anti-Babbling potion while Horace Slughorn laughed uproariously at something Kingsley Shacklebolt had said and Remus and Tonks shared stolen kisses in a corner.
As Hermione gazed around the room her heart swelled in her chest. All these people were doing no less than she, gathering together in their darkest hour to celebrate living. They were all willing to give their lives for this cause, fighting for what they believed in.
She allowed Molly to bully her into eating from the enormous buffet laid out on the long table pushed to a side wall. Ron kept his eyes on her while he took up Seamus' Quidditch conversation as Dean followed Luna who had sat next to her. They were soon joined by several others and promptly they were all laughing and talking like they had in the days when nothing had been wrong, when the world had made sense and their biggest worry was the three-foot long Potions essay due on Tuesday.
Slowly, the room cleared and they bid each other goodnight, reminders to meet at Hogwarts at ten the next morning spread around. Molly pushed leftovers into everyone's hands and soon the room was cleared, only the youngest Weasleys, and Harry and Hermione left, Arthur and Molly ushered them upstairs, insisting they needed sleep. Ron and Harry said goodnight to her and Ginny on the second floor and continued upstairs to their own rooms. Hermione flopped on her bed after donning her favorite nightgown and listened to the breaths of the young girl next to her slow and finally enter the rhythmic measures of sleep while she stared at the pictures the moon made on the ceiling and thought about Draco.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
XOXO
RynStar15
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Breaking the Chain