Penance

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the song "Lifeline" by Papa Roach nor do I make any money by putting it here.


I've been looking for a lifeline
For what seems like a lifetime
I'm drowning in the pain, breaking down again
Looking for a lifeline

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Draco strode down the halls of Hogwarts towards the headmistress’ office, the two Healers stumbling along behind him in his demonic wake. His robes billowed behind him and he exuded an air of power and resolve. He shouted the password at the two gargoyles who stood aside and he wound his way up the circular staircase, the men puffing behind him. When he burst through the door his heart stopped and he fell to his knees beside Hermione, sweeping aside Professor McGonagall and barking at the Healers to do something before he realized Hermione was talking to him.

“I’m alright, Draco. I’m fine, I’m not hurt,” she said, attempting to sit up but he pushed her back down.

“What happened? Why aren’t you in bed?” he asked, smoothing her hair. He turned to the Healers and snapped at them. “Is there a reason you are just standing there?”

The men sprang into action, falling to their knees on the other side of Hermione, using their wands to scour her body.

“Can you tell me what happened?” the dark wizard asked Hermione in low tones.

“Nothing happened!”

“Mr. Malfoy if you would desist!” McGonagall scolded.

Draco glared up at the stern woman and Hermione placed a hand on his arm, cooling his wild temper as she rose to an elbow.

“Draco, honestly, nothing happened. I’m fine. I simply did not land on my feet and have not yet gotten up from the floor. I feel fine,” she smiled shakily up at him.

“What do you mean ‘land’? Did you fall?” He asked nervously, searching her for marks. Could a fall speed up the spell? He she damaged her already weakening organs?

“No, not exactly,” she answered vaguely. “Professor?” she looked up to the older woman as if for help.

“Come, Mr. Malfoy. If you could assist Miss Granger to her feet we will explain everything on our way to the Hospital Wing. Ty, Bill, we shall not require your assistance, although your help has been appreciated. I am sure you remember your way to the door? I’m afraid I do not have time to escort you.”

“Of course I remember, it hasn’t been that long since I left,” Gresham smiled. “But I’m afraid we are here on some business that I believe pertains to Miss Granger.”

“Me?” Hermione asked as she was pulled to her feet by Draco.

“Yes, I will need all the information you can give me on your attack by Mr. Potter,” he said gravely.

She blanched and looked to Professor McGonagall.

“That will have to wait,” McGonagall answered curtly. “Come along, Miss Granger, we mustn’t waste any more time.”

Hermione hurried after her and Draco followed, keeping his hand at her back.

“What is this about?” Draco questioned.

“I can’t explain, not yet. You’ll understand in a moment,” she said, winded already from the brisk pace set by the long legged woman ahead of them.

“Are you alright? You’re sure you’re not hurt?”

“I’m sure,” she insisted.

Draco ended his questions and quelled his desire to yell at her until she listened to reason. Was she trying to kill herself faster? He’d not been gone more than a couple hours and already she was running around, collapsing on the floor of the Headmistress’ office. When they got to the Hospital Wing Hermione broke from him and ran to Harry’s side while McGonagall hurried to Madam Pomfrey’s office. Draco and the Healers stayed back as the nurse and professor joined Hermione at Harry’s side. They spoke in low tones, Hermione seemed to be explaining something to the nurse who looked harassed. She held a potion but looked reluctant to use it until Hermione placed and hand on her arm and looked up at the woman with a plea in her eye. Finally, the nurse turned to them.

“I’m going to have to ask you to leave, now,” she said and Draco started to protest.

“Draco can stay,” Hermione said. “He might be able to help if…”

Madam Pomfrey nodded. “Quite right.”

The Healers left, grumbling, and Draco stepped forward.

“You might not want to be too close,” Hermione told him. “He doesn’t know you’re on our side, he might act out.”

Draco hated the truthfulness behind her words but stepped back, close enough to get to her if Harry attacked again. His wand hummed beneath his fingertips as Madam Pomfrey tilted the potion into Harry’s mouth. Harry arched off the bed with a strangled yell and panted heavily, his eyes rolling in his head.

“Harry?” Hermione said gently, taking his hand which he jerked away. “Harry, listen to me, I know you’re in there. Can you hear me? Fight it, Harry, I know you can do it. Just follow my voice, alright?”

Hermione’s words made no sense. Of course he was in there! Where else would he be? But no one else seemed put out by her words and Draco began to wonder what he was missing. Then, Harry spoke in a cold, high voice that Draco didn’t recognize as his eyes, blood red, bulged.

“Harry is dead. You have me to answer to.”

“Liar!” Hermione shouted. “Harry, listen to me! We need you to be strong, we’re going to help you but-,” her words ended on a yell as Harry grasped her by the throat, stemming her words. Draco jumped forward, hitting Harry with an Impediment Jinx and throwing him back into the headboard. Draco caught Hermione as she slumped off the bed and pulled her back as Harry crouched on the bed, a malicious grin on his hollow face.

“Well, well, well, Draco. Never thought I’d see the day when you were catering to Mudbloods. I thought your father had taught you better. Your master is not pleased.”

“I have no master,” he answered, his mind reeling. What the fuck was going on? Hermione struggled against him but he held tight. He didn’t trust Potter any further than he could throw him right now.

“Draco, let go!” Hermione snapped, twisting from his grasp. She ran forward as the older women tried to stop her but she jumped on the bed and tackled Harry.

Draco cursed loudly and leapt forward as they two struggled, wrestling while Hermione screamed at Harry, tears rolling down her face. Draco tried to pull Harry off but was thrown back, slamming into the wall, his head cracking against it. He heard Hermione call his name as stars danced in front of his eyes. Pushing off from the floor he stumbled to Hermione where the two women were trying to pull Harry from her who was acting like an animal, ripping at Hermione who was still trying to talk sense into him. Madam Pomfrey and McGonagall were suddenly thrown back much as he had been and flew into him, all three of them landing in a heap on the floor. Draco pushed the nurse unceremoniously from him, her weight making it somewhat difficult. By the time he had staggered to Hermione she had Harry on his back, his face in her hands.

“Harry, Harry, I know you can hear me, I know you’re there. I love you, you hear me? This bastard can’t take that from you. You’re still in control. Fight it, Harry, fight it for me.”

Draco watched in amazement as Harry’s hands dug into the crumpled sheets and his body convulsed until it slumped, still. Slowly, his eyes opened. They were green.

“H-Hermione?” he asked shakily. Hermione nodded and Harry’s arms came around her form, hugging her to him. Draco started forward, worried he might freak again but a hand stilled him. McGonagall smiled down at him through thin lips in a comforting way. So he stayed where he was, watching the love of his life cry in the arms of another man.


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Hermione clung to Harry hard knowing that he was back, at least for now.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I tried to warn you but he won’t stop, I can’t stop him,” Harry sobbed in a defeated voice.

“Don’t, Harry, this isn’t your fault. We’ll figure this out, I promise. You only need to hold him at bay a little longer, alright? You can do this, I know you can.”

“I’m so tired, Hermione. I’m so tired…”

“I know,” she said, another tear trickling down her cheek in guilt. She’d left him. She’d left her best friend to deal with this horror alone. “You don’t have to do this alone anymore. I’m here, I won’t let you down this time. We’re going to fix this, I’ll fix it.”

“You’ve never lemme down ‘Mione. Never,” he slurred. His body grew heavy.

“Harry? Harry, I need you to stay awake, alright? Just a little longer.” She could feel him slumping in her arms where he was curled like a small child.

“I can’t. I’m tired…”

“I know, Harry. But you have to be strong, please, just for a little while longer. Then you can sleep. This is important. I need you to answer some things for me, okay? Can you do that?”

He nodded against her stomach.

“Do you know what happened when Voldemort took your body? Do you know how he was able to?”

“He said…he said it was a connection…we couldn’t kill each other so we became each other…he took my body, his is dead. His body died so to save his soul he took mine. He killed my body, we were trapped inside it. Lucius…Lucius Malfoy…”

“What about him?” she asked, shaking his shoulder gently as his grip on her loosened. “Harry? What about Lucius?”

“Tired…”

She knew he was slipping away, he was weak. So instead of keeping him awake she brushed his hair from his face, the long, unruly, tangled mess floating around his pale face. She stroked his cheek, held him close.

“You’re safe, Harry. You’re home.”

“Thank you,” he croaked then fell into a deep slumber. She continued to stroke him for a moment before lifting his form from herself. She looked up when someone took the other side of him and was startled to see Draco. She’d forgotten he was there. Draco lifted Harry’s slim body and laid him gently back on the pillows and Hermione drew the blankets around him. Hermione sat next to Harry on the bed and laid her head on his chest, listening to the beat of his heart, it’s melody a balm to her shattered soul. She couldn’t imagine what he’d gone through, her friend who had taken on so much…his burden was more than he should have to bear. She stayed where she was, ignoring the sounds around her because the only one that was important was the gentle thump underneath her right ear.


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So I put out my hand and I asked for some help
We tore down the walls I built around myself
I was struck by the light and I fell to the ground


When Hermione woke it was dark and her muscles ached. She was in the same position she’d fallen asleep in. She sat up slowly, her hand going to her spinning head. She watched Harry sleep for a few minutes before rising. She desperately needed to use the loo and Harry needed to eat. She would ask Madam Pomfrey to get him some broth so she could feed him. She went to the bathroom located by the nurse’s office and when she came out she stopped, startled. From the foot of the bed a pair of bright eyes greeted her. Draco sat, his hands folded on his stomach, his eyes on her.

“Draco,” she breathed. Had he been there the whole time?

“How are you?” he asked, standing and coming to her.

“Stiff,” she responded with a smile.

“It’s no wonder. Neither of you have moved in eleven hours.”

“Eleven? What time is it?”

“Nearly midnight.”

“Have you been here the whole time?” she asked.

He shook his head. “We had a few things to do. The Weasleys stopped by for a while. I took over once they left.”

“When was that?”

“Not sure,” he answered with a shrug. He reached out his hand to take hers. “How are you?” he asked again. She knew what he meant.

“Holding up.”

He took her in his arms and he held her close, gently swaying from side to side.

“You need some rest,” he said. “Real rest, not bending over Potter rest.”

She shook her head. “No, I’m going to get him some food. He needs to get his strength up.”

“And what about you?”

She sighed. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”

He pulled her away from him so fast she could hear her neck pop.

“Don’t say shit like that. It matters to me and it damn well better matter to you.”

“Why? I’m going to die soon anyways, no need to waste our precious supplies on a corpse.”

His hands dug painfully into her upper arms, his face hard in the moonlight. She simply stared at him, her expression unwavering. “You’re not dead yet. We might still find a way-,”

“There is no way, Draco! Don’t delude yourself, or me. This is the way it is, the end of the line! There’s nothing we can-,”

He took her mouth, silencing her words and kissed her roughly. She grabbed the back of his neck, a lifeline. He crushed her against him and she reveled in the feel of his hot, hard body while tears sprang unwilling to her eyes. His lips plundered hers, his tongue slipping into her mouth to tease hers. She grasped at every part of him she could get. She was alive, for now. For now, she would simply glory in all that was life, like the virile man who wanted her as bad as she needed him. He had her on a hospital bed before she realized she had moved. His kisses were hard, his hands bruising. She dug her nails into his back and moaned softly when he took her nipple into his mouth over her hospital gown, the thin material clinging to the sensitized tip. She grabbed at his shirt, needing to feel his skin, his life. He assisted her with its removal and tore into her, spilling her heart with every taste, every touch. Her hospital gown hit the floor in ribbons, her body exposed for all to see. The fact that Madam Pomfrey could walk in at any minute made her feel alive. She shuddered when his hands gently pulled her legs apart and he looked down at her exposed core.

“So fucking beautiful,” he murmured before he dove in making her cry out. One of his hands shot out and covered her mouth, preventing the moans she emitted, as his tongue ravished her clit, to escape. She bucked against him as he flicked her with the tip of his tongue before laving her with the flat side, his taste buds creating a wonderful friction that made her jerk. She had never known people could do things like this to each other, that she could feel so alive, so amazingly wanton in such a carnal act. She should tell him to stop, tell him it wasn’t proper, tell him that Madam Pomfrey would be hysterical if she knew what they were doing to her pristine hospital beds…but she couldn’t. Not when his fingers were pushing into her tight sheath and wrecking havoc on her senses. She whimpered against the hand still pressed to her mouth and he looked up at her with that grin…oh, that grin! She could kill him, but she loved it. It was so utterly, utterly Draco, her Draco. When he had become so, she wasn’t sure. But she knew she would rather die than let him know.

She could feel it building, that pressure she had felt for the first time in that dingy little room in Kentucky. She knew what to expect this time, unlike the pleasant surprise of her first time and now she worked for it, pressing her hips into his fingers as they pumped into her. She needed more, harder and she whimpered and searched for it.

“You want more?” he growled, flicking her clit again. She nodded. Thank the gods, he was going to do it. She needed it so bad; her entire body felt as if it were going to explode.

“Alright then. Close your eyes,” he whispered. She did so, not caring what he did as long as she could feel that amazing climax she knew only he could give her. His fingers worked her hard and fast until he suddenly pulled them out. Her eyes flew open to yell at him and then he was plunging his thick member into her. She was so wet he pushed right in and she gasped through her nose as her mouth was still covered, which was a good thing as she groaned loudly. He gripped her hip with his other hand and rode her, hard, fast, just like she needed. She lifted herself to him, needing him, more, more. He uncovered her mouth and took it with his lips, his other arm wrapping around her back, holding her to him. The sensation of being this close, this connected to him was more than she could take. She came in a tidal wave, it crashed down on her and she sank her teeth into his shoulder to prevent a yell from escaping. She screamed silently, her body convulsing as she shattered. He held her through it, extending it with his expert hips. When it broke she leaned back against his arm, exhausted. He looked down at her and she smiled. Gods, she loved him.

Wait. Wait, wait hold up the truck. What?

She almost pulled away from him, terrified by her revelation, but he anchored her hips and the new position made her gasp. Whatever he was doing, it was going to kill her. He rubbed against her sweet spot making her wetter than ever and she groaned. Eyes wide she slapped her hand over her mouth as she realized how loud she’d been and Draco chuckled. Oh, fuck, she didn’t care what he did as long as he didn’t stop. He soon had her falling over the edge a second time, this one as powerful as the last. When she finally released the sheets he grabbed her and pulled her with him as he lay on the bed with her straddling him. She grinned saucily down at him as he took her hips in his big, calloused hands. She knew what he wanted, and she wanted to give it to him, wanted to show him that she could give as well as take.

Instinctively, she whipped her hips against him, pulling away quickly only to settle back down slowly and vice versa. She watched as his eyes darkened, as the lines became more prominent on his face. He growled low in his throat as she grinded against him. She found that she liked this power, liked that she could control the speed and the pressure. His hips began to buck up against hers and she knew he was getting close. Hands on either side of his head she bent down and rode him hard, their eyes locked as she pistoned her hips onto his overly large member. She could feel herself riding Draco’s tide, felt her own rising up, enveloping her. She tried to cry out but couldn’t, the power stealing her breath away. She watched as Draco screwed his face up, his head falling back, his hands digging nearly painfully into her sides, his hips meeting her and he came on a yell, his seed filling her to the brim as she shuddered through her own orgasm.

She collapsed on top of him, not caring that their sweaty bodies were sticking to each other. She panted, her forehead nestled in the crook of his neck and shoulder. His arms came around her like a vise, holding her tightly to him. She felt his lips on the top of her head and clung to him tightly. He was now her life, the one true thing she had. With him, she was alive. He was, truly, her lifeline.

So she held on and prayed that it wouldn’t be over too soon.

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A/N: Alright, sorry for the wait. Next chapter, the fun begins!

XOXO

RynStar15