the wrong choice // d.l.m.

sixty five

"expelliarmus!"

"stupefy!"

"avada kedavra!"

y/n fought alongside draco as they both fired spells towards death eaters, blocking and dodging spells along the way.

draco's wand was knocked out of his hands, leaving him defenseless. the death eater laughed and began to fire another spell before y/n held her hand out, sucking the air from the man's lungs. he gasped for air and eventually suffocated, falling to the ground with a thud.

draco looked at her admirably, "god, you're fucking amazing."

she smiled at him and watched as the death eaters began to erupt into black flakes. she turned and ran towards draco, rolling up his sleeve.

"it's gone." she said, "your dark mark. it's gone!"

he looked down and ran a hand across his skin, "it's all because of you, princess."

she looked up and placed her hands on the back of his neck, pressing her lips to his. he wrapped his hands around her waist and held her close.

"you'll marry me, won't you?" he asked after he pulled away, leaning his forehead against hers.

"only if this gets to be my wedding ring." she lifted her hand and showed him the ring he had given her their third year.

"you kept it? after all this time?" he asked as he kissed the top of her hand.

"it's never left my finger. you've just never noticed." she said as she smiled up at him and rested a gentle hand on his cheek.

harry walked through the crowd of people and she ran up to him, taking him into a hug, "harry!"

"y/n! i see you've found what you were looking for." he said through a smile.

draco walked up behind y/n and rested a hand on her lower back, "potter, i know we've had our differences but thank you. thank you for protecting y/n."

harry shook his head, "she never needed protection, malfoy. if anything, she protected me. she's truly amazing, you know? it's your job now, to protect her."

"until i die." draco said as he nodded and harry excused himself.

y/n and draco made their way through all of the people, speaking to some. they finally reunited with blaise and he embraced draco into a tight hug, happy to have his best friend back.

y/n bit down on her lip to stop herself from crying as she thought about marley. it wasn't fair, she hadn't even gotten a chance to live.

"what's wrong, baby?" draco asked as he looked at her, noticing her watery eyes.

"um, marley didn't make it out. she died after pushing me away from the killing curse."

draco's heart sank and he pulled her into his arms again. he couldn't help but think it was his fault.

"i want to go home, dray." she said, "please."

he nodded and grabbed her hand, pulling her away from hogwarts as fast as he possibly could.

~

"today we recognize a great loss. marley annabella stevens was kind, loving, generous, and brave. she was bright and incredibly fair minded. one could only have hoped to know the young girl before she was ripped from this earth by dark forces,"

y/n stood next to draco as her face held a blank expression, her heart held nothing but pain, regret, and sadness.

she almost hadn't even come to the funeral, she felt as if she were the reason for marley's death and she didn't think she could deal with the terrible thoughts that she knew would cloud her mind. but she knew she had to. marley had been the only person to stick by her side through absolutely everything and she missed her a little more every single day.

marley's death affected draco too. even though he would never tell y/n, he sometimes sat awake at night and stared at the sky, crying and begging for her to come back. he would say things like, "it's all my fault, but y/n needs you. please, come home."

y/n knew this, she watched him one night. it tore her heart into two knowing that after weeks he was still beating himself up over something he really couldn't have stopped.

she also knew he felt responsible for fred's death. in fact, he even attended his funeral after telling her he didn't want to go. he stood in the back, away from everyone else where he couldn't be seen. y/n had seen him as she began to leave, noticing his platinum hair walking through the trees. she never brought up the fact that she had seen him, she wanted to let him keep that memory to himself.

after the funeral had concluded, draco grabbed y/n's hand and led her back to the small cottage he had purchased for the two after the war had ended. the girl's parents opened their home to him, but he assured them that he would be okay with buying a house to keep for himself and the only person he loved.

"draco," she began as they walked through the door. he hadn't said a word since the end of the funeral service.

"don't." he said as he began to walk towards the stairs but she grabbed his hand.

"baby, please. talk to me." she said gently as she looked up into his eyes.

he pulled his hand away and turned his head. she knew he was about to cry and he hated her seeing him in a time of weakness.

"it wasn't your fault." she assured, "there was nothing you could've done,"

"it was my fault! i should have been there to protect both of you! i failed her, y/n. and now she's dead. i failed you." he yelled. she tried to grab his hand again but he pulled it away roughly, "she shouldn't have died. you shouldn't have lost your best friend."

y/n wiped some tears away from her own eyes, "stop, please. it wasn't your fault. if anything, it was mine. i was there. i should've reacted sooner,"

"but you shouldn't have been there! the war happened because of me and if i would have just told him no, then none of this would have happened!"

tears ran down his flustered face as he began to sob. he ran a hand through his hair and rested his other hand against the wall, trying to keep his balance.

"you didn't start the war, draco. it was going to happen either way."

she pulled him into his arms and the pair sunk to the floor. she held him close as he continued to cry, letting out all of his bottled up emotions.

"i fought on the wrong side. i should have been there to protect you." he said through a sniffle, "i'm not good enough for you. i'm weak and a, a coward. you deserve better."

"baby," she began as she rubbed his back.

"do you still love me?" he asked as his voice trembled.

she lifted his chin with a gentle finger and looked into his heartbroken eyes, "infinitely."

he sighed softly and pressed his salty lips to hers. they remained on the cold floor, tangled in each other's arms until he calmed down. after his breathing evened out, he stood up and grabbed her hands to pull her up as well.

they walked towards the bedroom and changed into comfier clothes. they laid on the bed and she held him close, waiting for him to fall asleep before she shut her own eyes.