Last Kiss

The Final Fight

Hermione's POV

Draco and I scrambled to our feet, and I pulled my wand from my pocket. 

"Ready?" I murmured to him.

"Yes," Draco answered, almost painfully. That made me, if possible, even more mad. Lucius burst into the drawing room.

"There you are," I sneered. "You're late!"

"Excuse me?!" Lucius exclaimed, ready to shoot a spell at us.

"Reverse this curse!" I commanded. "Or we'll send you back to the Ministry and get you the dementor's kiss!"

"Ha! A very threatening statement from someone who will die in less than half an hour!" Lucius curled his lip and a spell shot out of his wand.  Draco and I split, diving for opposite corners of the room. 

"Stupefy!" I shot at Lucius, and Draco shot a spell from the other side of the room. Lucius blocked the attacks, letting the debris of the magic destroy a window.  Mrs. Malfoy ran into the room, alerted by the broken window.

"Lucius," She growled. "Get away from my son!" She casted a spell and blasted him out of the room.  My only shock was that more former Death Eaters came bursting into Malfoy Manor. With Draco slowly dying and Narcissa occupied with Lucius, I was left to fight twelve Death Eaters on my own.  Or so I thought. 

 As they ran into the room, three figures apparated in front of the door.  I recognized them anywhere, especially by the two red-heads and brunette in the middle of them.  The wizards and witch attacked the Death Eaters by surprise.  They were still outnumbered, even when I shot spells from behind. Ginny, Harry and Ron had managed to chase them out of the drawing room to duel elsewhere.

I checked my muggle watch. 11:55. I ran over to Draco, who was slumped against the wall, slowly losing consciousness. 

 "Draco!" I cried, shaking him.  His eyes fluttered open and he smiled faintly.

"Hey... 'Mione," he rasped.  

Tears formed in my eyes. "No... no no no no!"

"Hermione, please, save yourself!" He whispered quietly.

I shook my head, tears flowing down my face."I-I'm n-not g-going t-to k-kill you!" I cried.

"You have to." I pressed my forehead against his, holding his hands tightly. I looked again at the time. 11:57, three minutes, I thought."Please, Hermione, please," He pleaded painfully, "Any spell."

I knew the spell to use, but I wouldn't— I couldn't— do it. I shook my head."N-no, I'm not going to—" 

"Hermione, I love you," he said, "Always."

"But... you'll die!" I cried.

"I know, but I can't let you die too," He took a painful and shaky breath. "Please, Hermione, please."

"W-w-wingardium, l-l-leviosa," I quietly cried, swishing and flicking my wand. Draco slammed his lips against mine one last time before he breathed no longer. "Draco?" I cried, even knowing he was dead.  I could hear the clock strike midnight and tears flowed down my face. It had worked, I wasn't dead. I hugged Draco's lifeless body, crying.

"Hermione!" Ginny screamed, running back in, Ron and Harry in suit.  I didn't let go of Draco, I just sobbed into his shoulder. "Oh, Hermione... what happened?!" Ginny ran over to me and saw Draco's limp form.

"H-h-he's d-d-dead!" I sobbed.

"The curse..." Ginny hugged me, "Oh, 'Mione."

"Ginny, what am I supposed to tell Narcissa?" I cried, tearing my gaze from Draco.Ginny closed her eyes. 

"You won't have to; she and Lucius are dead."

"W-w-what?"

"They killed each other," she explained sadly. "Or so we think."

I nodded, more tears flowing down my cheeks. 

"My God," Ginny exclaimed as she saw the ring on my finger. "He proposed, didn't he?"I nodded, crying even more.

"And that's not just it..."

"What?" Ginny kneeled next to me, tears forming in her eyes as well.

"I'm pregnant," I whispered in her ear. She pulled away from me, a hand flying over her mouth.

"Oh Hermione," she cried.We sat there sobbing for a while before I remembered what Draco had said to me. Hermione, I love you. Always, he had murmured. 

I stood up shakily and walked over to Harry, taking a flask out to catch one of my many flowing tears.

"Harry, take this to a pensive... it's too hard for me to explain, but you'll understand," I cried. He nodded confusedly, but I assumed that he did as I instructed because he apparated away. I turned to Ron.

"Hermione, I—" Ron couldn't even stop himself from crying. Without thinking, I hugged him. My best friend. He seemed shocked, but a look from Ginny must have made him hug me back. Harry came back moments later once I had let go of the ginger. Still in tears, I hugged him too. I let him go, but I couldn't gather my composure. It wasn't like when my parents died or when the curse was put on us; that was different. Killing the one I loved was the hardest thing I'd ever done— I could never forgive myself. A small part of my brain whispered there's still a future, but I couldn't hear it over the sounds of Draco's last words. "Please, Hermione, please." 

I collapsed to the ground again, hugging myself tightly. I cried there for hours upon hours, and Ginny was the only one who stayed with me by the end. I had heard her tell the others that it was a girl talk. Once I had finally cried all the tears I could, I still wanted to cry even more. But I couldn't. 

"Hey," She whispered softly, "Hey, Hermione, it's going to be alright."

"How can you say that?" I rasped, my voice hoarse from crying. "He's dead!"

"I know," Ginny let out a small sob. "But he wouldn't want to see you like this. He wanted you to live."

"I can't live without him anymore," I swallowed hard.

Ginny wiped away any remaining tears with her thumb. "You can, 'Mione." I took a shaky breath and Ginny helped me up. I looked over to the spot where Draco's limp body once lay. It was gone, and I'd assumed that Harry and Ron had taken it and his parents to have a wizard funeral. I looked around the ruins of Malfoy Manor and gulped.

"I wish you could still give me one last kiss," I said to the room before Ginny and I apparated away.