Scars That Heal (Dramione Fanfiction) [COMPLETE]

27 - Light Breaths

*Trigger Warning - References to Suicide*

Hermione woke up, feeling very tired and like her head was full of cotton wool. Her first thought was, Am I dead? Is this what the afterlife feels like? But then she smelt the air, strongly scented with antiseptic and gunpowder, and realised she was in the Hospital Wing. Again. And she was definitively alive.

Hermione opened her eyes, and it took a few moments for her to adjust to the brightness. It was only February but the blinding light surprised her as it poured through the windows, and she smiled a little at how beautiful it was.

"Morning, Hermione," came a warm voice nearby. Hermione looked along, and saw Draco sat at the end of her bed. He was looking at her with love and hope, and his expression told her all she needed to know. She was so filled with gratitude that she teared up, and eventually started to cry. It was soft, though; gentle rocking sobs that shook the tears across her cheeks, not the manic pouring of sadness that is had been in previous weeks.

"Hey, hey, don't cry," Draco said, coming closer and putting his hand over hers, "You're here and you're safe. It's all OK."

"I... I just..." Hermione stuttered after a while, choking a little against her tears, "I can't believe that I... that you..."

"That you were really going to do that, and that I would really save you?" Draco filled in. Hermione nodded. "Me neither. I think we were both surprised last night." He smiled at her, rubbing his thumb across the back of her hand as he dropped his gaze.

Hermione looked out of the tall windows opposite her bed. She could see the sunlight illuminating the naked branches of the trees, shimmering over a delicate sheen of frost on the tips of the twigs. There were some crows chuckling over something near the top of a beech and one of them ruffled its feathers, loosening one that floated down past the window in an elegant ballet. Maybe it wasn't really that beautiful, but to Hermione it was like an extravagant performance just for her. Suddenly everything seemed the best it could ever be.

"Are you alright?" Draco asked her, tilting his head to catch her eye. Hermione looked at him, and realised all that had happened in the past day. She had fallen in love, truly and unregrettably, with the man who had then saved her from death twice. Once, when she was ready to choose it herself. And twice, when the decision was almost made for her. Hermione had not died, and that was the best feeling in the world.

"I feel like I've been born again," she said, smiling with an honesty that made Draco smile back instinctively. "I can see all the reasons you gave me to carry on living. And, for once, I can't feel the pain." Hermione knew this wouldn't last, that the euphoria she was experiencing now would end and the hurt would return to her veins. But for once that knowledge didn't bother her. She finally understood that if you keep fighting, no matter how long it takes, you'll win someday. And right now she was winning.

"You know I meant every one of those reasons, don't you," Draco said firmly. It wasn't a question. "You deserve all the happiness in the world."

He was looking at her with those beautiful eyes. Hermione remembered that moment when she told him he had blue eyes, and noticed them all over again. At first glance they were grey, a watery slate-ish grey. But if you looked a little deeper they were like a light sky, after a rainstorm. There was something fresh about the shade of blue in Draco's eyes, and it was almost cleansing to stare into them.

"Thank you," she found herself saying. All she could think of was how much effort Draco had gone to, and how much he was willing to do for her.

"What for?" He seemed a little surprised.