Living in Darkness

Chapter 22: Draco's Secret


Draco's tears were like invisible scars forming on his heart. Silent rain began to fall from the night. Each drop that ran onto his face hid his sadness further; soon, no one would be able to decipher a crystal tear from a cold droplet of rain.

It was his fault after all, he had done those things... but she had come into his life like a raging fire, destroying everything he knew. Draco fell to his knees, the black roses surrounding him.

He looked at them for a long moment and whispered, "They got me too, Roslyn."

Draco closed his eyes... he rose from the ground unwillingly and left the clearing.

His walk back out of the tunnel was slow and deliberate. He wasn't sure where he should go next. He at least needed to get his invisibility cloak back from Grimmauld Place. Hermione probably went off to find the other two-thirds of the trio.

His next breath was painful, like daggers piercing his lungs.

How could she be so thick? I did all of this for her and she hates me for it. Why would I lie to her about that... And I had her... she kissed me... she kissed me... she has to remember something, even if it is only her emotions and not her memories...

Draco shook his head. She had seen things he had never planned on telling her about his twisted past. He tried to forget them... and that was one of the only things she had to judge him on...

His minor flicker of hope diminished.

XXX

The sight before her filled her with terror she had never felt before. Death Eater's plagued the darkened streets. Hermione spotted many Order members and many wizards she had never seen before...

There were bodies, possibly muggles from the attire, that lie motionless on the ground.

Hermione instantly yelled, "Protego," when green jets of light shot towards her. Looking for the caster, she spotted Bellatrix Lestrange, her wand raised, with a crazed look on her face.

Before she thought of anything else, she sent a patronus to Harry to tell him they destroyed the horcrux... she could see him across the battle. He seemed rather occupied...

"Avada Kedavra," Bellatrix shouted, her robes billowing from the amount of magic she exerted. Hermione quickly dodged the curse, but only by inches...

XXX

As Draco apparated into Grimmauld Place, he was nearly hit by a curse.

"Shit," he swore, very close to being killed. He glanced around quickly before spotting Hermione... and his aunt.

"BELLA," Draco shouted, causing her to immediately look over to him as he cast a freezing curse to immobilize her just as a jet of red left her wand.

Hermione stood deadly still for a few moments staring at Draco like she had never seen him quite like she did now.

Her long, dark tendrils danced eerily in the moonlight as Draco watched her fall to the ground as if in slow motion...

He felt his mind leave his body as he ran to her desperately. She was covered in blood, the crimson liquid soaking his skin.

Draco picked up her still body from the blood soaked ground and apparated to Malfoy Manor. He raced into the house, Hermione's limp body swaying dangerously in his arms. Her face was peaceful and discomforting to him.

She was dying and yet she looked so beautiful...

"Mother! Mother, where are you!?!" Draco shouted, looking for Narcissa.

A tall, beautiful, blonde woman came out into the sitting room as Draco laid Hermione gently on the expensive furniture, blood spattering the white carpet and fabric.

"Draco, what on earth, who is this, what happened?" she said quickly withdrawing her wand and began to mutter incantations.

Draco stepped back and put his hand to his forehead, brushing his bangs out of his eyes as his mother began healing the deep wounds.

She was excellent at healing powers... Hermione should be fine... at least that was what he kept telling himself...

Draco sat on the seat across the room, watching in silent horror as Narcissa tried and tried again to heal the deep chest wound that continued to bleed.

How ironic that Hermione was an excellent healer... could save anyone but herself...

"Draco, stay here with her, I need to brew a blood replenishing potion. It won't take too long... Don't let her breathing become uncontrolled."

She hurried out of the room, leaving Draco feeling helpless by her side. She was lucky she never had to experience the agony he did... watching her like this... he thought his soul was going to shred.

Draco felt the minutes tick away like hours as Hermione continued to breathe steadily under the forced incantation. Finally, Narcissa came back with a steaming potion in her hands.

"Lift her head up, Draco," she said quickly, putting the potion to her lips and tipping it back into her mouth.

She choked on it at first, but soon just swallowed it until it was gone. Draco gently rested her head back against the couch and watched the color come back into her face.

Draco breathed in relief as he watched her.

"Draco, who is this?"

He kept his attention diverted from her as long as he could, but found his mother's stare piercing him.

He glanced at her quickly, feeling his resolve weaken.

"Hermione Granger... Aunt Bella hit her with the Blood curse."

Narcissa felt her jaw drop as she stared at her son, watching him look at the girl. His eyes were saddened and distant...

"Draco, what are you thinking, bringing her here... we could be killed for helping her..."

Draco shook his head, "Potter is defeating the Dark Lord as we speak... and I'm a part of the Order mother... we are safe," Draco looked at her directly.

"Will you look after her until she is better?"

Several seconds of uncomfortable silence passed as Narcissa tried to understand the strange tone in his voice before she nodded.

Draco didn't say a word as he threw on a cloak.

"Draco, where are you going? She could wake up any minute..."

"I know," he said, leaving the Manor without looking back.

XXX

Hermione could feel the slow pulse in her wrist beating rhythmically as she tried to open her eyes. She was vaguely aware of the soft couch beneath her, but just didn't have the energy to think about it.

She finally pried her eyes open. The light in the room instantly made her shut them again.

After several seconds of blinking, she could see. The room had the curtains drawn, but the morning light streamed in vibrantly anyway. She glanced around and saw the ornate sitting room and a woman in a chair opposite her, watching her nervously.

As realization dawned on Hermione, she sat up quickly, but instantly regretted it...

She felt like she had just torn her own flesh open. She looked down at her chest, and was surprised to see no wounds.

She felt a soft hand press her back down.

"You need to be careful, your body is healed, but the pain will only subside when the body would have naturally healed... which could take awhile, Bellatrix is more powerful than me, or I could have healed it, I'm sorry."

Her voice was kind and warm and completely unlike what Hermione was expecting.

"Are... are you Narcissa Malfoy?" Hermione stuttered quietly. She nodded and rose back up to stand.

"I would have put you in bed, but I was too afraid to move you just yet. I can help you upstairs now, it would be more comfortable..."

Hermione looked at her strangely and asked, "How did I get here?"

"Draco brought you, he asked me to take care of you," she said, watching Hermione of any hint of information she might get to understand her son's actions.

Hermione fell silent as Narcissa helped her upstairs. Once they were just a few steps away from the top, Hermione felt severe pains in her chest and began breathing heavily. Narcissa hurried her into the nearest bedroom and rested her against the pillows.

She soon recovered, but look miserable.

"How long will this last?" she asked her.

Narcissa frowned, "I'm not sure, but it could last for at least a week. Then you would just be sore. I'll let you rest for awhile and have breakfast brought up soon."

She left the room silently as Hermione watched her blonde hair dangle gently behind her. Draco was truly her son; perfection in every way.

She looked around the room, the black interior was slightly overwhelming, but she found something strangely familiar about it. Several bookcases lined the walls and intricate portraits and paintings as well.

She froze when she saw a mask on the door of the wardrobe... a death eater mask...

She closed her eyes... why would Draco have saved her... what was he doing? Was she really safe here?

She felt a solid tear slide down her cheek when a house elf came bustling in with her breakfast.

XXX

Four Days Later

Draco sat on a jagged cliff staring out at the Atlantic. Cold wind sliced against his skin like daggers, but he barely noticed. His mind was numb from him replaying what had happened.

He had done all he could and he still lost her. Everything good in his life had slipped from his grasp. Now that he had rectified his wrongs, he himself was lost. The wizarding world was happy and peaceful again at his expense... his life now was simply void...

Everything he knew he gave up, he helped destroy, to be with her... and now he had nothing.

Dark waves crashed against the cliff he sat on as the sun began to descend into the icy depths of the water. He felt like he was being swallowed by the pull it had on him. All the light had escaped him again, and he was left in the dark. No moonlight to illuminate Hermione's beautiful face, no Eiffel Tower to cast a glow on her delicate frame and no city lights from the window's gleam to shine upon her lips...

No...there was only darkness left...

XXX

It was starting to get dark.

Hermione looked around the room. She had been up and about since yesterday, wandering around the Manor. She found Draco's room to be the darkest, but most interesting. She knew she shouldn't be snooping, but he had yet to answer any of her questions.

She was looking through one of him many books on the dark arts and was surprised when a photo of a young girl with dark hair fell out of the book. She was about eight or nine, but very beautiful.

She flipped over the picture and found written in Draco's elegant scrawl, "Roslyn."

As she looked at the photo, Narcissa knocked softly on the door and entered with her daily pepper-up potion.

She laid the photo down on the nightstand and drank the potion.

Narcissa suddenly looked troubled at the photograph.

"Where did you find this?" she asked, picking it up.

"It fell out of this book," Hermione said, scared she would be scolded for messing with Draco's things.

But Narcissa said nothing of the sort.

"Who is the girl," Hermione asked bravely.

Narcissa frowned as she looked to Hermione. They had found out recently from the Daily Prophet that Harry had defeated the Dark Lord.

"I guess it would do no harm in telling you... she was my niece... Bella's daughter.

When my sisters and I were young, Bella wasn't like she is now. She wasn't devoted to the Dark Arts then. When she was a young girl, about eight-teen... I had just had Draco... Bella became pregnant. Our parents of course were furious because she was unwed and she refused to name the father.

Soon the matter became history until several Death Eater's discovered the father, a muggleborn."

Narcissa's eyes were glassy and she stiffened as she continues to speak.

"The little girl was nine years old. She and Draco were the best of friends and spent every waking moment together. But one day, when they were out playing on the grounds here, several of the pureblood dark wizards, including Bella's husband who had discovered the girl was not a pureblood, sought Bella and Roslyn out... They soon found her here with Draco.

The best I understand from that point is that they drug the little girl out into the forest and killed her.

From that point on, Bella never spoke of her and has been devoted to the dark arts religiously. I believe it affected Draco more than he will ever admit. He too feared to become close to someone who was not a pureblood. He feared not submitting to their terror. I will never forgive Lucius for allowing it to happen... To this day I am not sure if he was a part of it or not..."

Hermione sat horrified as Narcissa continued to look at the picture. She gently laid it back down where she found it and left the room.

Draco had not only committed horrible acts, but been witness and victim to them...

Hermione stood up and walked to the window. The dark had now overcome the light. She could see nothing outside. She turned around slowly, noticing a grand piano in the shadows.

Hermione felt an icy pain shoot through her head as she looked at it. Why was it so familiar???

She sat down and ran her fingers over the pearly white keys... white keys... with blood spattered on them...

She closed her eyes hard and opened them again. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly as she looked at the pearly white keys again... no blood... no crimson smears... just pearly white keys...

I'm losing my mind...

Hermione had the strangest urge to play something, even thought she had never played the piano in her life...

She placed her fingers on the keys and hit each note she didn't know she intended to.

The slow, melancholy tune sounded in her ears like a ghost was speaking to her.

Narcissa paused on the stairs, listening to the music. She felt a pang of sadness at what she realized. Draco had loved her... her son had finally become more than she had ever hoped...

Hermione continued to play with perfection as she listened to the sound she created. It seemed each note she hit pushed her a little closer to whatever it was she was looking for.

Rain soon began to pound on the window, but she played on. Lightning flashed through the sky, but it was not until the sound of the thunder that Hermione was startled. The thunder practically split her head open and she threw her hands to her head, the tune still ringing in her ears even though she no longer played it.

She shut her eyes tightly, dark visions swimming before her...

Dark silver eyes were staring into her own before looking away back to the piano...the blood splattered keys moving beneath his bloodstained hands...

Blond bangs plastered to his forehead as crimson blood flowed from his deep wounds as she muttered ancient healing charms...

His pale smooth skin against his, his gentle touch, his lips against hers...

A small, crying child in her arms with bright silver eyes...

Hermione opened her eyes wide, shining with unshed tears.

"Oh my God," she whispered as she fled the room.

XXX

Hermione stared at the room. She was in Venice... she had been sure she would find him here... Her tears began to fall... She may never find him...

She sat down on the windowsill staring out at he darkened sky.

How could she had been so stupid... she had forgotten her child... and Draco, she forgot...

How she wished he was here to hold her, to tell her he loved her and to never leave her again...

She sat very still for several minutes before she painfully decided to leave. She approached the door slowly, as if it were Draco himself she was leaving behind.

XXX

Draco made his way slowly up the stairs, each step, a step away from her and his life he could have had...

He reached his flat and grasped the handle.

XXX

AN:

Review!!! SO sorry about leaving it there, but I want to do an alternate ending. And this is where it will split.

What do you think? I hope everyone enjoyed reading this and it didn't completely waste your time, lol.

The real ending is coming up shortly, probably with the epilogue attached to it.

Then, when I get to it, I will put up my alternate ending. This is gonna be short and sweet, but really live up to the theme of the story. I want to do it just for all you guys who are angst and evil Draco lovers, like me half the time. But for everyone dying to see these guys happily ever after, hang tight, cause that's the other half of me :) !!!
PS: Hey, come on, it's a fanfic, here you can have two endings and be indecisive!

A few notes on the chapter:

*Draco went back to before when he moved his piano
*St. Mungo's was unsafe, and the healers abandoned their positions because it was too dangerous, that is why Narcissa had to take care of Hermione, and Hermione was trying to figure out Draco, so she stayed.