Forever

Chapter Twenty-Five

Hermione's Point of View

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         I stare at Draco pacing holes into the carpet. "Calm down we'll get her back." "We haven't a damn clue where they all are!" He shouts. I jump back from him and he turns to me, "Sorry I'm just upset." "It's okay. We'll find them." He shakes his head but says nothing. "Tracking spell!" I shout. "What?" Draco asks. I run out of my room to Theo's, Draco on my heels. I knock. "Ouch, damn it." I say pulling my wand out to heal my wound. "What?" "Tracking spell give me something of hers." I say, Theo understands, unlike Draco. I hear curses flying and Theo comes back with a necklace. I cast the spell. Above the necklace three words appear. "Malfoy Manor, Basement." "They're good!" Theo says before taking off to alert the others. The rest of them show up in front of us. "Time to end this once an for all." We charge down the steps, Ron and the twins following after us from afar. I guess they'd had to dress? Everyone cast silent spells so we could only hear each other and outside noise but no one could hear us.

         We ran down the stairs and broke off looking for them. We found them. But it was a horrible scene. We all sobbed. Pansy was hanging by the neck, limp, from a rope. Blaise had written in blood on the ground that they were all dead, and they were. We checked pulses and even looked to make sure all of them were there. It was a terrible scene. We called the ministry and they carried the mad men away and left us to grieve Pansy. She was gone. Inevitably. "At least she died in love and married." Ron says. I turn. "What the hell does that mean?" I shout. "That she died in love and married. That's nothing, she had a long life ahead and they took it from her! Because if you think she did that to herself you can leave!" "I'm sorry that's not what I meant. She could've died alone and unloved and that is a horrible fate. I'm sorry I'll go upstairs you guys can grieve." Theo looked after him and then punched a hole in the solid, brick wall. "Come on let's go. The ministry already took the bodies we have to plan for a funeral."

Three days later.

            We stood around and talked, about her. And Theo. He'd gone insane that night, and killed himself with the same rope that had killed Pansy. Draco had cursed Theo's name black and blue and red until he'd grabbed the muggle alcohol and started drinking. He'd drank until he'd passed out. Everyone else was to numb to move. The ministry had found out about Fred and Ron and sent them back to the dead. It was only right, but it was like losing them again. The wounds were still fresh and terrible, especially since there won't be a funeral. We talked and cried. The only good part about the whole thing was that 'they' was gone forever. We ended up in the living room with drinks to play a game, one to take our mind off the whole thing.

        "It's called Never have I ever. If you have then you take a shot. If you haven't then you don't." Harry explained. "Let's do this." Draco said, excited by the prospect of drinks. Everyone else looked like him. I was done grieving so this was perfect, it looked like everyone else thought the same way. "I'll start." Ginny offers.  "Never have I ever been in love with someone that isn't my spouse." Draco and I were the only ones to take shots. Harry refilled the drinks. Harry went next, "Never have I ever done something I immediately regretted." Only Luna didn't drink. Once we were refilled it was my turn, "Never have I ever wanted some of Harry Potter." I was a little tipsy by then. Ginny and Draco took a drink, and Harry of course. The bit of veritserum meant we couldn't lie so we all naturally turned on Draco. "What?" Then he realized he had an empty cup. "Damn how'd that happen, I just wanted a drink." We ignored him, but kept it in the back of our mind. Draco went next, "Never have I ever wanted some of Draco." Only the guys, minus Harry, didn't drink and Luna and Hannah. "I don't even want to know what happened in that castle." Ginny whispered to me. I about died from laughter. Luna and Neville went after us. After we made it past Hannah and Ernie we were all drunk. We stopped playing and stumbled up the stairs to bed. Before we went to sleep Draco kissed me and said I tasted like liquor. I laughed and fell asleep.

      When we awoke, with pounding headaches of course, I stumbled downstairs to get a tonic and found Ginny there as well. "Tonic?" She asks and I nod. She hands me some and then I run up to give some to Draco. When I hand him the tonic we both take it and after a few minutes we start to feel better. I look over at him and smile.

          Draco turns to me. "Hermione, I love you. You should always know that. I just thought that you should know that if I ever hurt you I do not mean to, and I wish I could take everything from before back. I'm sorry."

             I shake my head, having heard it before. I lean over and kiss him softly on the cheek. "I know Draco. I know."

                   "Forever and ever. Always by my side. Forever and always I will fight. I will fight to death, and maybe even beyond."

                 "Forever and ever.  Always with me. Forever and always I will try. I will try to the death, and maybe even beyond."

                   With that wonderful promise in mind, we get ready for the day. We hope that it never ends. We hope against hope that we could just freeze the good, delete the bad and have everything we wanted in one perfect moment. This is what we strive for. So today, we promise, we will not drink, nor fight, nor want, nor wish. We will remember and then leave the memories in peace, and hopefully not in pieces. We will strive for perfection, forever.