Places of Silence - Dreams

He smiled softly at her as she wrapped him in her arms and held him. She then led him to her bed where she lay down with him. She smiled and kissed his nose as she usually did just before they went to sleep. She then proceeded to kiss each wound site that she had healed, softly and slowly.

She kissed each wound to make it better, just like her mother used to when she was a child. She knew that there was nothing she could do to change their destiny, but while she still had him, she was going to make sure he was happier and safer than he had ever been. So, she kissed all of the wounds with the love she felt for him. She held him and kissed him like that until he finally drifted off to a deep sleep.

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The last week of term had gone all too quickly. Days had melted into nights and the nights had sped by heralding the viscous dawn.

Hermione had gone through her days in a dream-like state not really paying attention to classes or friends. Ron and Harry were worried, she knew that, but she could not bear to share her pain with them. She knew the questions that would come with knowledge and she couldn't deal with them now. Not like this.

Each night she would lie in her bed waiting for him. Only when it was late and the fires were dying would he enter her room. He would enter slowly, with a sad smile on his face and a slope to his shoulders. His muscular arms were not as strong as they had been up until this week. She would take his hand and pull him down with her where they would lie together in the soft firelight. Each night had become more anxious and more desperate as if they were trying to hang onto each other. Homework had been forgotten this week, each moment not spent in class was spent together. They would crash around her room, or in her shower. Only late at night would they relax and rest together as if the day's fear had been crushed out of them.

Tonight he stood at her door, unable to move further. She watched him as he looked at her with pain and sadness in his face. She raised her face to his and smiled softly. He turned and walked out of her room, leaving her alone for the first time in months.

This was it.

A knot of fear materialised in her chest and welled in her throat. All of a sudden, it was impossible to breathe. She sat on her bed kneeling, with her hands in front of her gasping for breath.

This was it.

She dropped her head to her knees as the realisation flooded her tired body. She had willed it not to come, but tonight was the night that would end it all. The man that she had shared her bed with for so many months was leaving her. She could not stop the pain of the realisation that nothing she could ever do would change this truth.

All of the books, all of the learning would be of no help. She looked around her room frantically. Nothing could change the actions of this night and no matter how much she studied and practiced; she was going to have to let the events to come, run their course though to the bitter end.

She rose from her bed in a slow laboured manner as she fought control over her breaking body. She slowly opened the door to her room and walked out into the common room they shared. It was as if she was looking at their surroundings for the first time. The pain that was coursing through her body was allowing her to see them as they really were. It was as if two separate lives had been forced together and had in some part melded to become one. There were Slytherin and Gryffindor cushions on the same couch; their notebooks lay idle, side by side.

This was their life and now it was going to be over. Everything that they had become in this year, everything that the meant to each other was going to be removed, dissected and erased.

Pushing open the door to his room, she took a small step inside. She saw his clothes carefully lay out on the bed. Black robes, black cloak and black shoes. All black. He stepped out of the bathroom now, and walked over to the bed. His hair was slicked back as he wore it during the day. Even in a towel, he looked formal; she could not see the pain upon his face. Slowly he reached down and picked up his robes. As he did up the last button, she walked up to him. Touching his arm, she turned him to face her. He looked at her with resolved strength and determination. He smiled softly at her as she looked up at him. He bent his head and kissed her softly. She drew her arms around him and smothered him in a passionate kiss that arose from the depths of her soul. His arms encircled her waist as he picked her up. Not caring for the neatly arranged clothing on his bed, he placed her on them and undid his new robes. He shrugged his robes off, letting them lie discarded on the floor as she ran her hands down his warm back. She was always amazed how warm he was when they touched. She didn't know the fire that burned inside him when they were together. She didn't know that the only time he was really warm was with her.

He ran his hand down her face softly, almost as if he was committing her features to his memory. His other hand was running up her leg bringing it around him, pulling her closer to him. The satin of her slip was cool against his skin and all of a sudden he wanted to be far away from cold things that made his skin crawl. Both hands slid the slip up and over her head, he flung it across the room and into the fire. Unnoticed by both, it burned bright in the hearth.

As the fire burned, the only sound that could be heard was the laboured breath and final gasp of the pair. They lay now in the firelight shaking somewhat and bathed in a light sheen of sweat. His arms were so strong around her that she thought that they would crush her. His face was nestled in the crook of her shoulder and she could feel the thump of his heart as it beat against her chest. They lay there silent and still for what seemed like forever, until a light tap at the window broke them from their resting place. Draco's head whipped around to the window, watching fearfully for the noise to come again. It was nothing but a falling leaf, but it was enough to break the mood. Gone now was the secure peace that they had regained. His smooth, warm skin was now riddled with goose bumps. He pushed away from her in one movement and swept his eyes over her body for one last time.

He sat on the edge of the bed, his hands rested on his knees and he looked down at the crumpled robe at his feet. With a sigh, he stood and walked over to the fire raking his fingers through his messy hair. He looked into the mirror and noted the moon in the background.

It is time.

He turned and looked at Hermione lying on his bed. She had never been in his bed; they had never been together in his room like that. He hadn't thought it was the right place for her to be with him. It reminded him of everything he had grown to hate about himself. The sight of snakes encircling every corner of this room now made him sick. He felt ill at the memory of playing with them when he was a child. He didn't want her to see how he lived, what he was to become.

All of a sudden a jolt of anger coursed through him. If it hadn't been for her he never would be feeling like this. He would be looking forward to it all. He would be giddy with anticipation. Actually, giddy was an overstatement. Malfoys were never giddy with anticipation. He would have at least been looking forward to fulfilling his destiny. Instead, his heart was filled with a sadness that threatened to bring him to his knees. He wanted to run from his destiny, from this room, from her.

She was sitting on his bed gently running her hand over the clasp on his cloak. The snake that was entwined on the clasp writhed beneath her fingers. His hand covered hers, their eyes met. He was dressed in his finest robes and his hair was again slicked back showing his perfect face. Gently he moved her hand to the side and picked up his cloak. He threw it across his shoulders and tried to fasten the clasp on its neck. He was struggling to fasten it in his shaking hands. She knelt up to meet him, and with her warm soft hands, gently snapped the clasp together. She smiled softly at him and walked to the door of his room. She knew that this was the end. In less than an hour everything that had become important to her would be gone, leaving her heart empty and her bed cold.

He tried to take her hand before she left his room, but she was too quick for him. In an instant she was gone. This was how it was supposed to be he knew that, and so with nothing more, he walked through their common room and onto the landing. A black crow was waiting for him at the foot of the stairs and he knew it had begun.

Back in the Gryffindors' room she stared at the floor. Her heart was broken, her spirit was broken and her love was gone. The unfairness of it all hurt the most. The realisation flashed through her like a hot knife. Quickly she grabbed her robes and flung them about her. From the trunk at the bottom of her bed she withdrew her invisibility cloak. She had never used it until this night. It was only to be used in times of dire need and this was one of them. She knew she couldn't stop what was about to happen, but it didn't feel right not knowing what was to become of her lover. Slipping out the door, she ran lightly down the stairs. She saw as his shadow disappeared through the portrait hole at the end of the corridor. If there was ever a time to be the courageous Gryffindor she knew she was, this was it.

Silently, she padded along behind Draco and the crow. Silently she followed, out of the school; through the dark forest and into a clearing she didn't know existed. Behind a tree she watched from afar. She didn't care if she was caught or if she could be seen through the cloak. All she knew was that she needed to be there for him, for herself.

She watched in silent fear as cloaked figures appeared out of nowhere, circling Draco. She watched as he stood silent and majestic before them. Voldermort would not oversee this rite of passage tonight as the knowledge of his existence made it too dangerous to walk with the living. Her heart caught in her throat as she realised whom was to perform the ritual.

Lucius Malfoy.

How fitting that the father who had brought him to this destiny, be the one to complete it. Throughout the ritual she had held her hand to her mouth in an effort not to scream out to him. When they had cursed him, when he had been made to curse the Muggle brought to him as an offering. She had cried hard silent tears as he had been laid upon the ground. She couldn't hear a word that was being said, but towards the end of the ritual, she knew something had gone wrong. She had felt it as it reverberated throughout the clearing. With difficulty Draco had stood tall within the circle. His face turned defiantly towards his father. Lucius had ripped the cloak off his shoulders and held the clasp in his hands. He had dismissed the death eaters who had vanished quickly and without sound. Alone, father & son stood in the clearing. Lucius had kissed the clasp, which now transferred into a long gleaming, moving snake. He held it in his palm and walked towards Draco, who still stood silently, head bowed and hands clenched.

Hermione moved towards them without knowing what guided her feet. She watched entranced as the snake rose from his father's hand and struck him just below the line of his jaw. He still stood proud as his father removed the snake and turned it back into the clasp she had held only hours before.

She watched as Lucius walked slowly around him, surveying his son from all angles.

She thought it had been her imagination at first, but Draco seemed to be swaying slightly in the rising dawn. The moment she saw the smirk on Lucius's face she knew. Draco was dying, by his father's hand. He had after all proved unworthy and now he was receiving his final punishment. As Draco fell to his knees, his father raised his hood and disappeared.

Without any thought for her own protection, Hermione rushed to his side. Pulling off her cloak she reached him and pulled him into her arms. She could hear the rasping of his breath and saw his eyelids flutter as she wrapped her arms around him. They sat as they were, together, surrounded by the forest and the rising sun. She pulled him close and put her head on his chest. She could feel his heart slowing beneath her as the poison overtook his body. She could feel his strength ebbing as they lay on the cold forest floor.

She pressed her lips to his as they sat wrapped up in each other in the dank and the dark. She brushed away the hair from his perfect face. Illuminated by the dying moonlight he looked like an alabaster statue in her arms. He smiled at her and raised his hand to her cheek. She held his hand in hers and kissed his palm.

"I love you," he said softly.

The first tear fell.

"I know," she whispered.

They lay like that for so long, their foreheads and noses touching. Occasionally she would kiss him; she couldn't remember when he stopped kissing her back. When she finally opened her eyes it was light and he was cold. She raised her head slowly and looked into his face. He looked so peaceful, as if he was sleeping softly in her arms. She loved waking up like this in the morning, with his arms around her and his face looking so peaceful.

Sharp reality cut through her swiftly and she realised that this was no morning like before. There would be no more before class kisses or snuggles.

This was the end.

The sob rose in her chest she put her head down on his again and cried. She didn't care who heard now; she wanted to wrap the world in her sorrow. It didn't matter any more what happened. She raised her head to the sunlight and screamed. She screamed until she was unable to scream any more. The birds had long flown from their trees in terror, and the forest around her was still. She sobbed now silently, without voice and without heart. She stroked his hair and straightened his clothes. She lay him down to rest on the forest floor and lay with him as she cried. She wrapped his limp arms around her and snuggled her head into his neck. She kissed him and loved him and willed him to wake up.

That was how they had found her. Crying, holding his arms around her. That was how they had found her. Gently she felt arms around her, lifting her from the place beside him. She didn't have the strength to resist as she was carried across the grounds back to the safety of the castle. All she could do was hang onto the shoulders of the one who carried her. She didn't see his face as he held her, strained by grief and bitterness. His long black hair brushed against her face, but she was too deep within her pain to see or feel whom it was now that carried her.

Draco was also brought back to the castle. All students were kept in their common rooms so that they would not intrude into this most private of pains. Hermione was carried to the common room she had once shared with Draco. He carried her towards her room, but hesitated when her arm shot out from beside her. With her eyes closed and tears still running freely she was silently asking to be put in his room. So she was carried to his bed and laid softly on its green satin sheets. The blankets were piled around her and her hair was softly stroked until the gasping breaths subsided into the more peaceful rise and fall of her chest.

Only then was she left alone in his room, surrounded by all that had driven him to her bed. Only then was she alone with him. She hugged his pillow tightly as she slept in his cool bed. From the chair in the corner of the room someone who had seen this before watched her, listened to the sobs that broke free from her dreams.

It was over.