Sour Grapes

Chapter 41 - A Whole Lot of Grapes

A/N: Last chapter! Just an epilogue after this. I hope you all like it!!

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Hermione stared down at Draco's lifeless form and was overcome by the need to pull him into her arms, and so she did. Cradling his head delicately, she sobbed and let her forehead fall gently to his, where she began crying in earnest.

She was barely aware of who was around her, but thought she'd registered Harry's expelliarmus at the same time that Draco had fallen. Unable to care about the state of things, she clutched more tightly to Draco and let tears flow from her face to his. This was not part of the plan; it had gone all wrong. It was supposed to be Narcissa polyjuiced as Lucius. None of them had counted on the real Lucius Malfoy arriving to actually take her captive.

Voices murmured around her and she felt a consoling hand across her back.

"Hermione?"

It was Harry's voice, but he sounded very far away. She shook her head and cried harder.

"No no, this can't be," she choked. "No please. Don't be. You can't be gone. Draco."

"Hermione," Harry said more firmly. Now she shrugged his hand off her back violently.

"No Harry, leave me be, just leave me," she sobbed, bending lower and bringing her lips right to Draco's. "Please, please don't be gone. Please, Draco," she said, and then kissed him. His lips were still warm, and soft as ever.

Hermione was still crying and she broke the kiss to take a breath before whispering with her lips pressed against his, "please, please... I love you, Draco." When she kissed him again, a shock ran through her entire body as she felt him respond. His lips moved slowly, but he was absolutely conscious. Pulling back with a gasp, she stared down into his grey eyes, which were just barely opened. A small smile pulled at his lips as he replied in a whisper, "I love you too, Hermione."

At that moment, the entire room faded to white, dissolving around them in a flash. There were a few confused moments where she could see nothing at all around her, before a room reappeared around her. It was the one she'd spent the entire week in planning. She looked around in a panic.

Narcissa stood feet away from them, right where Lucius had been. She was staring down at them with a broad smile, and tears were running steadily down her cheeks.

Then there was Harry, Neville, Pansy, Ginny, and Luna, the latter three were looking a bit discombobulated. Hermione realized with a jolt that they had been polyjuiced.

But then...

She turned to Narcissa. "Where is Lucius?"

The older witch grinned still more widely. "Harry apprehended him last night."

"He's in a secure cell in the ministry itself, and heavily potioned," Harry added, looking over to Pansy with a smirk.

"So that wasn't-"

Narcissa stepped forward. "I'm so sorry to have had to put you through this, Hermione. We needed you both to believe you were in on a plan, only for it to go terribly wrong."

Draco groaned, causing Hermione to look down in surprise. In her bewilderment, she had almost forgotten he was still in her arms.

"What did you hit me with, Mother?"

"Concussion hex, my love."

"But I heard you," Hermione said.

"You cast the avada," Draco finished for her.