Anmarie Island

Ch. 16

Hermione's body went rigid as she closed her eyes and waited for the curse to take effect. Nothing went through her mind. Her life did not flash before her eyes. Everything just went blank. And the entire room was filled with silence.

She felt something strike her knees and they buckled, causing her to collapse onto the hard wooden floor. She opened her eyes for a second, sure that her last glimpse of life on Earth would be the cabin's ceiling. Everything went black.

His aim was never wobbly. He did the right thing. He killed someone; someone who had to die. He did the right thing.

"Hermione!"

He had no choice. He did what he had to do. He did the right thing.

"NO!"

He was a murderer.

"Wake up! Open your eyes!"

He slowly put his wand away and tried to breathe. His thoughts were suffocating him. Did he do the right thing?

"Malfoy, help me!"

Draco glanced at Harry, who knelt beside Hermione's limp body, and hurried toward him. "Is she all right?" he asked frantically.

"I don't know," Harry replied, an edge of fear still in his voice. "Help me move her."

Nodding, Draco shoved his father's lifeless corpse off of Hermione while Harry pulled her free.

"NO!" Bargs shouted once again, sinking to the floor and shaking violently.

"She hit her head really badly," Harry said, calmed at the fact that he felt Hermione's pulse and knew she was alive.

Draco pulled out his wand and reopened all the doors in the room. "She's in shock, too. I'll get her some water."

"Okay," Harry nodded, gently stroking Hermione's face.

Draco returned momentarily with water and a small kitchen towel, which he moistened and began mopping her face with. She looked like a china doll. It terrified him.

"Where's Bargs?" Harry asked, standing abruptly. He scanned the room for his wand and noticed it over by a potted plant in the corner. "I'm not going to let her get away," he said, retrieving the wand. "Do you mind staying with Hermione for a moment?"

"Potter," he sighed, "I would stay here until the end of time if she needed me to."

Harry sighed also, hating to see evidence that Malfoy's feelings toward Hermione were genuine. "I'll be back," he said, grabbing his cloak and heading out into the woods.

Draco dampened the towel again and ran it softly along her cheek. Her lips parted ever so slightly when he did, giving a subtle sign of life. "Hermione?" he whispered. "Can you hear me?" No response.

Ten minutes passed, with no sign of Harry and no more signs of life from Hermione. Draco's eyes had not strayed from her until now. He finally lifted his gaze and fixed it upon Lucius' corpse.

Still running the towel gently over Hermione's face, Draco stared at his father, a dull numbness creeping over him. He felt no remorse. He felt no sadness. Grief did not run its trembling fingers over his body.

"I was never good enough, was I, Father?" he mumbled, the tiniest part of him expecting the pale cadaver to spring back to life in a fit of rage.

But nothing happened. And in that moment his death became a reality. Draco's father was dead at the hands of his own son.

Sighing, Draco set the wet cloth on the floor and stood up slowly. He took a few steps toward his father's body and nudged him gently. He cleared his throat and stared at Lucius for a few seconds, his mind replaying the murder over and over again. The murder. The murder. It still sounded foreign.

He had the sudden impulse to toss his wand away. Reaching into his robe, he retrieved the murder weapon and dropped it to the floor. For some reason, it made him feel cleaner; made him feel less consumed with sin.

"I'm sorry," his voice cracked. "You must know, I never meant for this to happen. I never wanted to harm you. But, damn it, you left me no choice! How the hell could I sit back and let you kill her? You tell me to act like a man, but expect me to follow your every command and never have a mind of my own!" He ran his fingers restlessly through his hair, combating the urge to let his anger turn into violence.

Draco dropped to his knees at his father's side and rolled him over to look him in the face as he spoke. "I'm a good person," he whispered. "I'm a good person. I'm a good person!" He slammed his fists down onto his father's chest, fighting back angry tears. He stared for a few moments at Lucius' white countenance before admitting weakly, "I didn't want it to end this way. But then again, you've never much cared for I want, now, have you?"

Before he could say another word to the dead body, he heard something stir behind him. He whipped around excitedly. "Hermione?"

"Stay put! Stay right where you are, you lying little ferret!" The wand aimed at Draco's throat shook violently in her hand.

"You don't understand..." Draco began.

"Shut up!" she shouted. "Just shut up! I don't know what's going on here, but I do know that I can't trust you, you bastard!"

Slowly, Draco raised his hand and reached it toward hers. "You need to listen to me," he said calmly. "I was never going to hurt you. I..."

Hermione jerked her hand away from his and pointed the wand at his forehead now. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now," she said in the most threatening tone that Draco had ever heard.

He searched his mind frantically for something that would convince her to not Avada Kedavra him to death. He couldn't think of anything.

Hermione tightened her grip on the wand and her hand stopped shaking. It was clear she was not budging until Draco gave her some sort of response.

When he finally met her gaze again, shame danced in his eyes. "Let's see," he sighed, "I've repeatedly called you 'mudblood,' I've embarrassed you in front of everyone on this island, I've put your life in jeopardy here today... It would appear as though you have every right to hex me into oblivion." His eyes revealed not only shame, but honesty. Hermione surveyed him with skepticism.

"Tell me exactly what went on here today," she demanded, still not lowering her guard.

Draco thought for a moment about where he should begin. "I was given a choice," he said finally, lowering his voice. "I could either kill you or Lucius would kill the both of us."

Hermione glanced beyond Draco to the body on the ground. Surely he's not...

"I told him that I would kill you, but I never had any intention of it. You see, Harry had been in here the entire time under his invisible robe thing and had come up with a solution of sorts."

"Wait," Hermione stopped him, "Harry is involved in this?"

"Yes," Draco answered. "His plan was to attack me right before I 'cursed' you. He figured Lucius would be so involved in our fistfight that he wouldn't even notice you when you put on the invisible blanket and disappeared, which you did."

"So you knew Harry was going to attack you?" she eyed him carefully.

"Yes," he said again. "And you found the table leg we planted and you did just as we thought you would. It's just that...well...my father didn't go down as easily as we had predicted."

"And then what happened?" she said quietly, suspicion still plaguing her.

Draco paused for a long moment before responding, "And then I killed him before he could kill you."

"He's dead?!" Hermione gasped.

A somber nod was her only response.

Following the shock of discovering that she was only a few feet away from a dead corpse, Hermione's features softened dramatically. If Draco was being honest, she felt pity for him.

"Stand up," she demanded.

Draco obeyed, remembering that his life was in her hands.

"Where's Harry?"

"He ran off to find Madame Bargs and..."

"Hermione!" came an excited voice from behind her.

She turned around sharply to see Harry heading her way through the cabin's front door. Before she could run toward him and embrace her best friend, she was grabbed hard from behind and stripped of her weapon.

"Malfoy, what the hell is wrong with you?" Harry shouted, his arm around a stunned Hermione.

"Nothing is wrong with me, Potter," he replied casually, "other than the fact that I possess common sense."

"What?" the two friends asked in unison.

"Right," Draco scoffed, "like I'm going to stand here weaponless with two Gryffindors. Seriously, what on Earth do you two take me for?"

"A complete liar," Hermione answered his rhetorical question. "I'll get my truth from Harry, thank you very much."

Draco cast Harry an annoyed look and slipped his wand into his robe. He walked quietly over to the room's couch and plopped down with an aggravated sigh, motioning for Harry to tell her the truth. "Be my guest," he said, sarcasm lacing his tone.

Harry proceeded to tell Hermione, after first calling Malfoy a complete arse, the exact same story she had heard only moments before.

"So there you have it," Draco drawled as he stood back up from the couch. "The truth. Of course, it's the true truth; not that phony truth that I tend to use."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Thank you, Harry."

"Now, if you'll excuse me," Draco walked briskly past the pair and glanced at his father on the way out, "I can't take any more of you three another second."

"Draco..." Hermione spoke softly, attempting to stop him. Regret was beginning to creep over her. I shouldn't have called him such horrible names...

"See you at school, Granger," he called back coldly.

Harry shook his head as he watched the blonde Slytherin disappear into the woods. He started to say something, but was interrupted by Hermione slipping from his grasp and walking into the forest. "Where are you going?" he asked angrily.

Hermione turned to face him, a somber look in her eyes. "Harry," she sighed, "I owe him an apology. He was being completely honest the entire time and I was a total prat to him."

Harry knew there was no stopping her, no matter how badly he wanted to try it, and just nodded politely as she turned back around and continued her voyage after Draco. Harry slipped on his cloak and headed in the opposite direction of his friend, wary of Bargs still on the loose and wondering how on Earth he, Hermione, and Malfoy would ever reach Hogwarts again.

"Malfoy!" Hermione shouted as she walked among the lavish colors of Anmarie Island once again. "Malfoy, where are you? We need to talk!"

She walked around for nearly an hour before giving up for a break. Clouds had gathered overhead and, as she sat alone on a mossy tree stump, Hermione realized that she was alone on the island. She had no clue where Draco or Harry were, her bearings weren't quite straight, it was about to pour down rain, and she was scared.

Had she given her pursuit of Draco a little more thought, she probably wouldn't have headed into the forest in such a rush. "I'm so stupid," she muttered to herself, fingering a small blade of grass in her hands. "So stupid."

"Like always, I must disagree with you," came a familiar voice from behind her.

Hermione turned around slowly and cast a knowing gaze at Draco. She was so relieved to see him that she felt the urge to run toward him and wrap him in the biggest embrace the world had ever seen. But she restrained herself and merely stood up to face him.

The two stood in silence for a moment, neither sure of what to say. Hermione cleared her throat and finally spoke up. "I just wanted to say that I'm really sorry for all the things I said back there. I was just really scared and I didn't know what happened and..."

Draco held up a hand to silence her. "I accept your apology," he said casually, walking toward her. "And at this point, I'm just anxious to get back to Hogwarts and get out of each other's hair once and for all."

Hermione was stunned. "Wait," she frowned, "what are you talking about?"

I have to let you go. Draco sighed and the words that followed pained him greatly. "Once we get back to Hogwarts, things will just end up being the same as they always have been. We're too different. Things may have been magical here, but this was an enchanted island. This wasn't the real world."

No reply. Tears began welling up in her chocolate eyes.

"And," Draco continued, his voice quivering with sadness and regret, "you'd only be in danger if we continued our rendezvous. My father's death will spark suspicion and, I'm sure, rumors of my 'straying from the Dark Lord.' People are going to want to kill me, Hermione, and anyone close to me. I can't let you get hurt."

"So you're doing this for my own good. Is that what you're saying?" she asked, wiping tears away from her cheeks.

Draco nodded solemnly.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. He couldn't meet her gaze or else he, too, would succumb to tears. "Well," she sniffled, "what if it's a risk I'm willing to take?"

"It's a risk you're not going to take," he replied. "I won't let you."

"Draco, spare me," she rolled her eyes. "You'll let me do whatever I damn well feel like doing." He chuckled softly. "And I want to be right there beside you, taking risks."

Draco had no idea how to respond. He merely ran his hand through his platinum blonde locks and stared up at the ashy gray sky in frustration.

"People already know, anyway," Hermione continued. "Or they at least have the vaguest idea. If anything, my life is already in danger. It sure as hell was here today, wasn't it?"

She had a point. "Hermione..." he argued back weakly.

"Something happened," she said suddenly. "Something happened between the two of us on this island that I refuse to ignore. I can't ignore it. And I don't think you can either."

"Damn it, Hermione!" he shouted, throwing his arms in the air and spinning around, his back now facing her. He didn't know what to do anymore. Emotions pulled at every speck of his conscience.

Not giving up, Hermione walked around to look him in the eye once more. "This isn't like you," she said sharply.

"What the hell does that mean?" an agitated Draco shot back.

"It's not like you to give up so easily on something." She thought for a moment and then reached the grave conclusion: "Unless it was something you really cared nothing about in the first place."

His eyes widened at her somber words and he now had a very serious choice to make. On one hand, he could lie to her and say that their relationship meant nothing. She would leave him alone for good and she would be safe. But, he mentally argued with himself, he could hardly bear the thought of doing such a thing and having her hate him.

Draco sighed loudly and shook his head. "No, that's not it," he admitted. "Not in the least." He couldn't lie to her. "I'm just afraid of the consequences."

"Damn the consequences!" she shouted in response. "I don't care what people will think and you shouldn't either. All I care about is keeping you in my life, regardless of any challenges."

Draco opened his mouth to reply, but didn't get the chance. He was interrupted by Hermione, who stepped brashly forward, wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled his lips down to meet hers.

The sudden movement startled Draco who, after a moment, followed suit and wrapped his arms tightly around Hermione.

Thunder roared overhead and rain began to gently pelt the ground, but neither yielded to the impending weather. They merely continued their embrace, conscience that in this moment, everything was okay. It was a calm serenity before the rough road the two would travel once they were back at Hogwarts.

"Really now, Draco, don't you think you could, oh...what's the phrase? Get a room?" came a silky voice laced with amused contempt.

Hermione quickly jumped backwards, shocked as always by that familiar voice.

Snape stood a few short feet away, staring at the pair in disapproval. He looked slightly sickened as well.

"What are you doing here?" Draco asked with suspicion, taking a protective step toward Hermione.

"Mr. Finnigan managed to inform me of Potter's jumping ship to rescue you two," he sneered, "and so I came back to catch him. Who would have thought I would also find this?"

Draco swore he heard Hermione gulp.

Snape continued. "I did find Potter and I sent him to the ship. I would prefer to accompany you two back to the ship to ensure no more nauseating and inappropriate displays of affection, but I cannot." He stepped aside as a figure bound tightly in ropes levitated into the clearing. "I have some business to tend to with Mme. Bargs."

Bargs struggled uselessly against the ropes, tears still streaming down her milky white face for the lover she had lost and for the future that now awaited her. No teaching job at Hogwarts. No infiltration of the school for Voldemort. Everything she had hoped for was lost and she had failed. Azkaban was once again all that lay ahead for the beautifully flawed Death Eater.

"Head back to the ship," Snape commanded, "and don't make any unnecessary stops along the way." He scowled dangerously at them.

The two nodded and left quickly, Hermione walking quickly ahead of Draco, eager to be as far from Snape as possible.

Once they were in the clear, she slowed down and Draco caught up, sliding his arm around her waist and pulling her closely to his side as they continued walking. She smiled broadly at him as they exited the forest side by side and headed brazenly for the huge ship looming in the distance.