Somewhere I Belong

I'm going under
Drowning in you
I'm falling forever
I've got to break through
I'm going under

blurring and stirring the truth and the lies
so I don't know what's real and what's not
always confusing the thoughts in my head
so I can't trust myself anymore
dying again

I'm going under
I'm drowning in you
I'm falling forever
I've got to break through

Draco could only see a little bit of his surroundings. He saw Alex staring down at him and he sat up quickly. He noticed the floating, glittery thing above his head that resembled smoke slightly.

"Alex, are you alright," he asked quietly. He looked at her and he noticed she looked as though she were sad.

"Yes, I'm fine," she said quietly. He noticed her hand was holding his, her grip relaxing over the course of a few seconds.

"What happened?" he asked.

"You...jumped in front of the death curse...for me," Alex said carefully. She'd said it, but she couldn't define the expression on his face.

"Are you alright?" he asked, hugging her. She felt numb, his body against hers.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, swallowing hard. Draco looked up, the glistening smoke was still floating, he noticed it came from Alex, and went into him.

"What's that?" Draco asked.

"It's the spell. It takes a few minutes to work," Alex said, still looking a bit depressed to Draco.

"What's it doing?" Draco asked.

"Giving you life," Alex said, smiling slightly. Draco looked puzzled, so Alex explained. "I'm giving you my life, so you can live," she said, looking away. She couldn't look at him.

"What?" Draco asked, searching for her downcast eyes.

She looked up and replied, "I'm healing you Draco. I'm giving you my life." Draco looked down. What was going on? He didn't understand.

He looked up and said frantically, "No, I don't want you to die."

"The spell is already going," she said, her skin slowly losing it's color.

"Well then stop it. You can't die. I...won't let you go," he said, fighting the urge to cry. He grabbed her and held her against him again. She sobbed into his shirt, as he desperately tried to keep her from slipping away. She lost her ability to hold herself up, and her muscles were drained of the strength they once held. She dropped down so that he was holding her, looking down into her eyes.

"You can't leave me," he said, his voice filled with pain.

"I must. This is the life I was meant to lead. This is the job I was meant to do. I'm an Eternus, a healer," she said, sounding increasingly weaker. He laced his fingers in hers, and stared into her eyes still, unable to blink. He felt his strength returning, his body coming alive again. She used the little bit of strength left in her body to sit up slightly and kiss him. He held her up, not wanting the kiss to end. She pulled away and smiled feebly. Draco had to say what he felt. He couldn't hold back.

"Alex, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for what I've done to you. When I never cared to help you when you needed me. I now realize that's all you did. You always helped me. You made me realize who I am. I'm sorry I didn't help you when Pansy put you down, and when Crabbe and Goyle were being world class assholes. I'm sorry I let Pettigrew hurt you like that. But I felt it. I felt the pain. Every taunt, every strike, every time you cried, it felt like I cried with you. This time is like those. If you die, a piece of me dies too," he said, noting her tears as he spoke.

"I forgive you," Alex said, her breath getting shorter and her voice hoarse. He squeezed her hand held in his, feeling her slipping away. She lay completely down on the ground, and Draco had to lean over her to hear her speak.

"I don't want to be without you," she said, whispering her words.

"Are...are you in pain?" he asked, wincing as he said it.

"No, because you're with me," she said, smiling softly. Her breathing became heavy and progressively shorter. She was wheezing loudly, but still wore a peaceful smile that killed Draco on the inside. She was slowly dying in his arms, leaving him forever. The misty air that was traveling thicker above them before, was thinning out. He could tell his time was running out. Her shaking hand lifted and lightly touched his cheek.

"D-Draco, I'm scared to die," she said quieter than ever. Draco winced again. She was shaking with fear, and because her body was losing control over her nerves. The mist was almost gone when she managed to utter her few last words.

"Draco...I love you. I always have, and I always will," she whispered. Draco pulled her closer, tears running into her hair.

"I love you too Alex...I love you too," Draco said. She faded, quietly and peacefully, a solemn look on her face. He broke down.

"No! Don't leave me! Don't leave me Alex..." he said, shaking her shoulder slightly. Her eyes remained closed, her body still. He sat crying over her body for several hours, until he rose. He walked slowly and carefully toward his father, the heat of his hatred burning within him.

********

Lucius had seen the whole thing, and he was still in shock. His son had come alive, and she had died. Voldemort was infuriated, and Peter Pettigrew scared out of his wits. The three of them had been unable to move through the whole scene they'd just witnessed. Lucius noticed his son stepping forward after the long time he'd spent weeping for that damned Mudblood girl. He loved her, and that was a shock to him, as much as it was an nuisance. Voldemort had long since retreated to the Manor. He was too weak, and now that he couldn't get the power from the pendant, he was feeble and worthless. His reign of terror was coming to an end. The dark side was no more, that is unless he found a way to regain his lost power.

********

Draco stood in front of his father, his anger visible on his face. His father returned his glare with his normal disapproving look.

"I can't believe what I just heard. She's a filthy Mudblood. You can't love what is lower than you," Lucius said, his nose in the air. Draco kept his glower as he spoke.

"She was a better person than you, and those damned Death Eaters, and the Dark Lord himself," Draco said, whispering with hate.

"Ha. She was nothing. She lived a nothing, and she died a nothing. It's really too bad you can't see that," Lucius answered superiorly. Draco acted instead of replying. He hit his father hard in the face, causing him to stumble slightly.

"That was for what you just said," Draco stopped to give him another punch and continued, "and that was for earlier in the attic." Lucius hit the ground, and Draco approached Peter.

He shoved his knee hard into Pettigrew's stomach, causing him to double over and fall to the ground. He gave him a sharp kick in the ribs and said, "And that was for Alex."

********

Shortly after, Draco brought Alex's body back to the school. He broke down and explained everything to an intent Dumbledore, a confused McGonagall, and an angry Snape. He burst into tears a few times in his explanation. Alex's father was notified, and her body was sent home, to be given a proper burial. Draco left Dumbledore's office five hours later. His eyes were puffy. His hair and clothes untidy. His heart broken. He looked at the walls in the school around him. It was the same old hallway, but it wasn't. He felt like he was entering a situation completely foreign to himself. He kept his eyes to the floor, in case anyone saw him. There was still a hint of his pride not wanting anyone to see that he'd been crying. The school had decided to wait a few days before telling the other students that Alex was dead. They wanted to keep the steady flow of normalcy and sanity. At least for a little while.