The Kiss

The Kiss

They walked up to the great white building in one massive group. Draco, feeling the magic of the manor for the first time in his life, disarmed the alarms and led the Order through the front door.

A house elf appeared at his side instantly. "Master Draco!" it cried.

"Keep my mother occupied," Draco ordered.

"B-But Mistress is busy!" the elf squeaked. "Mistress is with the snakes!"

Draco's eyes narrowed. "Where?" he asked. With the snakes meant that there were Death Eaters in the house.

"The main sitting room," the elf said. "The lord of the snakes is here!"

Draco felt his insides turn to ice. The time to act was now.

"Leave us," Draco snapped. He turned to Harry.

"There's been a slight change in plans," he said. "As it turns out, Voldemort is having a Death Eater meeting here. That's what Jarvin just told me. They're in the main sitting room. I don't know if Nagini is here."

"What do you think we should do?" Harry asked.

"Go in firing," Draco said softly. "If we go in firing curses at them, they're still caught off guard and we'll still have the advantage. The only problem I see is that Voldemort is known to flee from battle. It's the one thing my father hated most about him."

Draco stopped himself from going on when he noticed a faint hissing sound. Harry seemed to freeze and then began to hiss softly back.

Seconds later, Nagini came around the corner.

The massive snake moved into a striking position when she saw the gathered. Harry stepped forward, still hissing. Nagini opened her massive mouth, exposing three-inch long fangs that dripped poison. Draco heard Mr. Weasley gasp slightly from just behind him.

"Avada Kedavra," Draco heard someone whisper. The green light enveloped the snake before it crumpled in on itself.

Voldemort then came around the corner. He froze when he saw his snake, seeming to not notice the crowd that was standing in the entrance hall.

"Nagini?" he said softly. He crouched down next to her and hissed for a while, trying to rouse the snake. When that did not work he looked up and saw the Order standing frozen with the shock of seeing Voldemort himself--many of them for the first time.

"Who did this?" Voldemort demanded, standing.

No one moved a muscle. No one even breathed.

Voldemort's eyes landed on Harry, the closest person to the snake and the only one who could speak Parseltongue.

"Harry Potter," he said in a low, raspy voice. He scanned the crowd before his eyes came to rest on Draco. "And Draco Malfoy," he said in the same voice. "What a killer you turned out to be," he said. "Too bad it shall soon end." He raised his wand.

"NO!" Harry shouted. His voice rang in the hall. "Your fight is with me," he said as Voldemort turned to him. "Leave the rest of them out of it."

"How can I do such a thing when they are the very thing I have sought to destroy?" Voldemort asked in a mock-curious voice. Draco could see right through to the raging anger he was barely keeping controlled. His favorite snake had just been murdered and he wanted vengeance. Draco was now more worried about someone other than himself than ever before in his entire life. He had never been more scared of the man standing over the dead animal than he was in that moment. And, for the first time, he was absolutely sure that every person standing behind him felt the exact same.

"Your fight is with me," Harry said again, his voice deadly and calm. "Leave them alone."

Voldemort took a step in Harry's direction. "You cannot win," he said. "You are too young, too naïve, too sure of yourself. You don't know how to beat me and so you will die."

"If I die, I'm taking you with me," Harry said in the same voice. Draco felt a chill run down his spine.

Sounds from the direction Voldemort and Nagini had come from began to fill the hall. The Death Eaters must be wondering where their master is.

Draco's mother, Narcissa, was in the lead. She froze at seeing her son with the Aurors and other fighters that had come to finish the war.

"Draco?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"

"We're here to end the war," Harry said before Draco could think of an answer, his eyes locked on Voldemort. "It ends today."

"Yes, it does," Voldemort agreed smoothly. "For once you are out of the way, the people will believe they have lost their Chosen One and will be easily crushed. After all, they have already lost Dumbledore."

Draco watched as Harry went ridged with furry. "First you kill my parents," he said, "then you try to kill me. You have Cedric killed, Dumbledore killed, and thousands of other innocent bystanders. I will kill you tonight," Harry said, tears of rage and pain filling his eyes. "You won't win."

"Like a little boy like you can defeat the greatest sorcerer to ever live?" Draco's aunt, Bellatrix, cried. "Don't make me laugh!"

"Bella!" Voldemort snapped. "Hold your tongue."

"Forgive me, Master," she said, dropping to one knee.

Harry turned his attention to her. "You're next," he said. "For killing Sirius."

Draco saw the fire in his aunt's eyes as well as in the eyes of the one he loved. He knew, with more certainty in that moment than any other, that Harry would be more than lucky to survive the night. It would be a miracle if either he or Ginny saw Harry alive again.

Draco gulped and made a silent prayer that Harry would live, even if it cost Draco his own life.

His heart raced, his pulse thundered in his ear, his breathing was quick and shallow...he didn't hear the first curse that was shouted, but he knew the fight had begun.

An Order member bumped into him in attempt to get to the Death Eaters and it was that act that pushed Draco into action. He turned to look for his nearest enemy and saw his mother.

"You wouldn't kill your own mother, would you?" she asked as Draco walked in her direction.

"Why not?" Draco asked. "I killed my own father."

"You?" she demanded. "You killed my Lucius?"

Draco shrugged. "He would have killed me," he said. "I killed him, Wormtail, and Snape," he said. "Why don't I add you to the list?"

Inside Draco was screaming at himself. Who was he to become a killer? Who was he to murder his family? Who was he?

Draco pulled his wand out and pointed at his mother, ignoring the conscience he'd suddenly developed and disarmed her. She looked up as her wand flew toward Draco. Draco cast the Killing Curse for the fourth time in his life and watched as his mother crumpled in on herself.

Then he found himself flying into the wall. He gingerly got up and looked behind him only to see his aunt standing there.

"You could have been great, you know," she said softly as she walked up to him. "You could have been one of the best of us, and why not? With parents like yours, who could expect anything less? And now you're and orphan of your own creation," she said softly. "And now, to avenge my sister and my brother in law, I must do what Lucius failed to do."

Draco shook his head. "No," he said. "Now you must go to hell." He pointed his wand to his aunt and she was enveloped in a green light. But Draco hadn't cast the curse. He looked over as she fell and saw a girl with bright bubblegum pink hair.

"The Ministry has allowed the Unforgivable curses to be used on Death Eaters," she said. "I've always hated her. She killed my cousin and she's made my mother's life hell. She's also made my boyfriend cry. No one hurts me or the ones I love like that.

"Tonks," she said. "I guess you're my cousin."

"I am?" he asked.

She nodded. "My mother is Andromeda," she said. "She's the one who married the Muggle."

"Oh!" Draco said in sudden understanding.

Further conversation was ended by the curse that made both of them duck out of the way.

"Looks like the family reunion will have to wait," she said. "Good luck."

Draco nodded and went back to the fight.

He froze when he saw Harry and Voldemort.

"Reducto!" he heard Harry shout. Voldemort easily dodged out of the way and cast the curse back at Harry.

Harry dodged.

Over and over it went as Draco stood and stared. Harry would cast a curse, Voldemort would dodge. Voldemort would cast a curse, Harry would dodge.

Soon everyone was standing frozen. This was the battle that would decide the outcome of the war. This was the battle that would decide the fates of the rest of the world.

"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort shouted.

"Protego!" Harry shouted.

Draco watched in horrific fascination as the two spells hit each other and turned gold, combining the two wands. Threads of golden light shot out from the joint of bright, white light and formed a cage around the two of them. Neither one seemed surprised, in fact, they both looked like they had been expecting this moment.

Draco watched as Harry's face contorted in concentration. At first he wondered what was going on, but then he noticed that the light began to move, first toward Harry, then toward Voldemort. Harry let out a sound of frustration and Draco could see that he was concentrating harder than ever before.

Somehow, Draco knew that if he touched the cage something bad would happen, but he also knew that Harry needed help.

Please, Merlin, he silently prayed, please help him.

He focused his gaze on the light despite its sincere desire to blind him, and did his best to will it in Voldemort's direction.

He didn't know if it was working or if it was just Harry, but that light moved in Voldemort's direction again. Not only that, but it was moving quickly.

The light hit Voldemort's wand and the wood exploded. The slivers hit the gold light and burned up. Draco was relieved that he didn't try to go to Harry.

The light disappeared.

Now everyone stood frozen out of shock, not expectation. Draco, for once in his life, was no exception.

"Avada Kedavra," Draco heard Harry whisper. The sound was thick, as though this one act caused Harry more pain than anything ever before.

Voldemort began to chuckle.

Draco watched in fascination as the greatest dark wizard of all time was enveloped in a green light. Now was the moment of truth. Now they would find out if they really had destroyed all of the Horcruxes.

Voldemort's laughter died instantly. He fell over, dead.

Harry dropped his wand. It snapped in two. He dropped to his knees, tears on his face.

Draco, not caring about anything but Harry, rushed forward.

"Harry?" he asked softly as he knelt down beside the love of his life.

Harry's green eyes moved their focus from Voldemort's dead body to Draco's steel gray eyes.

"It's over," Draco said softly. "You did it, it's all over."

Harry nodded.

Draco brought his hands up to Harry's face and held him so that he would not look back at Voldemort. Somehow he knew that it was imperative that Harry not see the body again.

"I love you," Draco whispered before he brought his mouth down on Harry's, forgetting that there was a crowd.

For a moment, Harry made no response. Draco began to get worried, but was soon relieved when Harry's mouth opened and he brought his arms up and wrapped them around Draco.

The sharp intake of breath from behind them was what broke them apart. Harry turned away from Draco to see Mrs. Weasley's devastated face. Obviously she had been hoping for a rekindling of Harry and Ginny.

Granger caught Draco's eye and gave him a slight smile. She was the only one who had known anything and apparently she approved.

Harry turned back to Draco. He gave the blonde one fearful look before he stood. Draco watched in horror as Harry backed up toward the crowd, turned, and then ran. Draco felt the entire world crash in on him as the Aurors began to move and arrest the stunned Death Eaters.

Granger walked up to him and knelt down.

"Don't give up on him," she said softly. "I know he cares about you, he's just..."

Draco wasn't listening. He was staring after Harry like a fool too stunned to get up and chase after the man of his dreams.

"Go," she said. "Go after him. He needs you."

Draco found himself standing and walking toward the still-open door. He looked around at the lush green landscape and, at first, saw nothing. He walked down a few steps and looked around again.

There, to his left, running towards the gardens, was a figure with messy black hair wearing normal Muggle clothes. Draco ran after him, his robes catching the air.

Finally getting sick of them, Draco shed his robes and quickened his pace.

He breathlessly caught up with Harry as the other man had sat down. Panting, Draco sat down next to him.

"I'm sorry," he said, still trying to catch his breath.

Harry stayed silent.

"Look, if you don't want me around, tell me now, because otherwise I'm going to fight for you, understand? I mean, just last night, I had the best night of my life. This morning I had the worst morning, and that was because you ripped my heart out. Do it again, I don't care, but I'm not giving up on you. I love you," he said, looking directly into Harry's green eyes.

Harry looked away, toward the gravel under their feet, and closed his eyes.

"Give up on me," he said softly. So softly, in fact, that Draco, only three or four inches away from him, had to strain just to catch his words. "I don't deserve love."

"What?" Draco gasped. He shook his head. "Don't you dare start talking like that, Harry," he ordered. He took Harry's hands in his. "You deserve all the love in the world and more. You deserve better than me, but that isn't going to stop me from wanting you. It hasn't in the past and it never will. I love you, Harry Potter. Please, don't leave me now."

Harry blinked and a tear fell down his face. "I'm a murderer," he whispered. "I'm a fucking killer. How can anyone love someone like me?"

"One act does not define you," Draco said. "Look at me, for Merlin's sake!" he cried. "I've now killed a grand total of four people! Each and every one of those people deserved what they got, that's why I'm not beating myself up over it, though believe me, I wish I had never done it. You, on the other hand, have just avenged the lives and deaths of so many innocent victims! You've avenged your parents! You've just taken down the madman who made your life hell! You're not a murderer, Harry, you're a bloody miracle! And any one of those fifty people still inside will gladly tell you the same thing!"

Harry stayed silent and unmoving for a full five minutes. Draco watched as each tear fell down his face and felt each one of those tears slice another scar into his heart. He realized then where he would be now if he had never gone to an inn in the middle of nowhere and demanded a key from the keep. He would be either on the run or dead. He was now more grateful to Harry than anyone ever before. Draco was an actual person now, thanks to Harry, instead of a cold, heartless piece of stone.

He owed Harry his life.

He vowed in that silent moment to show Harry what love was, to give him a life worth living again, to make up for all the hell he caused.

Harry finally looked up, the tears finally stopped, he finally spoke.

"I love you," he said softly.

Draco felt his own tears fall as he pulled Harry into his arms. Harry let out a sob and cried on Draco's shoulder.