Something Golden

73.

February 24 1998

"Have you given anymore thought to your other options?" Granger asks.

"No and I wish you wouldn't either." I say, pulling back the sheet. "Now come here." Reaching out, I grab her by the waist and drag her into the bed.

She lifts her head to look up at me "I was thinking that maybe-"

"Less thinking more sleeping, love." My hand gently pushes her head back down to lay on my chest, my fingers combing through her curls.

This is all I want right now, to lay here with her and not worry or talk about anything else. I just want to enjoy simple moments like these, to pretend that everything is fine, even if it's only for a moment. Ever since the recent discoveries regarding the elder wand and my mother's random appearance things have been more tense than usual. They've all been working to try and figure out a way to destroy the cup while myself and Theo have been putting together a plan to get into Hogwarts and retrieve the diadem.

Granger has been spending any free time she has to try and find a loophole or alternate route to the elder wand situation. I love her but sometimes I wish she wasn't so brilliant and I certainly wish she wasn't as stubborn. Every day, from the moment we wake, she's talking about it, telling me about some new plan she came up with. I swear this woman studies and works in her sleep, her dreams probably take place in a damn library, probably the one at Hogwarts if we're getting specific.

Before my mother left last week I made both her and Theo swear to not tell anyone about Potter's... unfortunate fate. My mother was quicker to agree than Theo, he argued that the longer I keep it from Granger the worse the fallout will be but I really don't care. Each day we get closer to getting everything in place, we've already started communicating with the other order members which means the inevitable war is closing in.

I'll eventually tell her and everyone else about Potter's situation, who knows, maybe she already knows but I know that once I do she'll be an even bigger mess than she is now and selfishly I want to steal as much time as I can just the way we are. Yeah, we spend most of our days talking strategy but there's still some windows of peace, like right now. She's in my arms, her curls are tickling my chin and I can feel her heartbeat matching mine. It's perfect, she's perfect.

I try to not spend too much time dwelling on the fact that there's going to be a time where I won't be able to hold her like this and I sure as hell do not let myself think about some other guy putting his hands on her. I do, however, think about the fact that this is probably the best possible outcome for her, for us.

As much as I liked to believe that her and I had a chance at a normal and happy life together it's just not the reality. It has nothing to do with our families, my mother doesn't seem entirely opposed to the idea and as for my father, I really couldn't care less. He could disinherit, disown and threaten to kill me. He's taken enough away from me but she would not be one of them. No, at the end of the day it simply comes down to who we are.

She's Hermione Granger, the brilliant minded and selfless witch that is loved by all and after this will surely be put on a pedestal even though she will absolutely hate it and I'm Draco Malfoy, the cold and cruel death eater who is responsible for countless deaths. She says she doesn't care what people think and I believe that she believes she doesn't but she does.

If I managed to make it out alive I would have one of two futures awaiting me. The first is a given, a lifetime in Azkaban or maybe even a nice little kiss from the dementors, probably not though because that would be seen as letting me off too easy after everything. The other would be allowing me to continue to live as a "free" man which really means a life of people most likely spitting in my direction and a low chance of ever developing any sort of career. Azkaban sounds better in my opinion.