To a Better End

Chapter 29

April 28th 1945

Hermione sat there staring at Tom's arm which now bore an identical snake to hers. He wasn't supposed to have a mark. He never had a mark in her original time. This was... This wasn't supposed to happen.

"Are you okay?" He lowered his head to survey her facial expression.

"No." Her voice was suddenly cold. She had to occlude for both of their sakes.

"Can I do anything?"

Her eyes shot up to meet his. "You've done enough."

Tom took a steadying breath, "I thought that you'd rather be linked to someone you trust than have to continue to bear that scar. And seeing as how I'm courting you and I've bedded you a number of times, I assumed you wouldn't mind it being me."

Hermione couldn't even respond. She was shutting down, letting the coldness take over. She felt apathetic, numb. She looked away from him, staring into the distance. Her focus went in and out, not really seeing and hardly processing.

"Are you going to leave me?" His voice shook. Of all the things she expected from Tom in that moment, fear of abandonment was not one of them.

"If you don't communicate with me clearly again, then I will. I will not have you leave me in the dark. The moment you do, I'm gone."

"Hermione?" She had disassociated, not focusing on his face until he said her name. She saw tears in his eyes. She should care, but she closed everything off so tightly that she couldn't find it in her. "Please don't close me out. Please. I'm sorry. I can't lose you. You're everything. You're my reason for everything."

His hands cupped her cheeks and pressed his forehead to hers. A few tears escaped his eyes as he brushed his thumbs along her cheekbone.

"Hermione. I promise. I'll promise you anything. Let me in, please." His voice was soft, coaxing her walls down.

She felt them all come down with a thud, sending her into a shaking and crying fit. He held her tightly through each sob, apologising. He told her of his love for her and how much he admired her.

"I'll never do anything to hurt you. I'll communicate with you. I'll tell you everything. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry, Hermione. I love you so much. Please, please stay with me."

"I'm here, Tom. You have me. I'm not leaving." She knew she was going to have to leave him soon, but not tonight. She couldn't abandon him now. Not yet. Not when she thought there was still hope for him.

*****

June 16th 1945

Graduation went smoothly. It was strangely similar to that of muggle graduations. It was even more strange to actually graduate with an actual ceremony. Headmaster Dippet shook everyone's hand with a smile. Hermione smiled brightly seeing all of her friends graduate alongside her.

Druella all but skipped the entire time. Alphie seemed so ridiculously happy, waving at his family. Malfoy even smiled politely during the whole ceremony. It was such a normal part of the human experience, but it felt so strange to be experiencing. She was never a part of the graduation ceremony when she went back for her eighth year. Having felt so out of place, she couldn't see the whole year through.

After the ceremony, everyone gathered with their friends, many saying goodbye before they went travelling or went to their apprenticeships. Hermione was hugging Druella, thanking her for all the makeovers and kindness.

"You're making this sound like a forever goodbye, Hermione," she sadly teased with tears in her eyes.

It was goodbye, but she couldn't tell her that. There was so much that Hermione wanted to tell Druella, so many warnings. But she had to bury the truth so far into the depths of her mind. Just as they pulled away from their hug, Hermione was swept up from behind and spun. When she was set down, she turned to see Alphie beaming.