the golden trio- until the very end ll h.p

[0.1] I Run To You

A/N: So I had this idea for a two-shot based on the Lady Antebellum song ‘I Run To You’. This is kind of during the war with Voldemort, during ‘The Deathly Hallows’, the battle in the castle and all that but with a few tweaks, and some of the information from before has been changed a bit as you’ll see. 

Running, running, running. That was all Hermione remembered as she dodged curses and hexes, running to him. Her heart pounded as she realized that he could very easily have been killed in the cross-fire around her, but she paid no regard to her own safety. She only thought of him and her burning need to make sure he was alright. Because truthfully, she knew she’d have no reason to live if he was no more.

As much as he’d annoyed her over the years, she knew how much she admired him and most about him. She knew how much it cost him to give up all he had and join them. His family had been disrupted because of his decision, his father was tortured and killed, his mother went into hiding and he was mistrusted by everybody, not just half the people anymore. And she respected him for the sacrifice he was making. She knew how it felt to lose one’s parents; she was a living example of it.

Her thoughts were wrenched away as she fell into an area where the turmoil was still going strong. Automatically casting spells and constructing shields, she made her way through, after a duel with one of the Death Eaters. Then she saw him, fighting of two of them at once, cradling his left hand all the while. She joined him and helped him overcome the two and then pulled him away to a hidden alcove, which led to a secret room in the Gryffindor tower. They didn’t need to bother with passwords; the Fat Lady had run off to cheer for the students fighting.

She dragged him to the bed and made him lay down and then inspected every inch of him for any injuries. Once she ascertained that he was unharmed apart from minor cuts and scratches, she breathed a sigh of relief and got off him, making him chuckle.

“It’s not funny Malfoy!”

“It’s too Granger.” He chuckled more and tucked a strand of her bushy hair behind her ear. “It’s okay; you know that this will be over soon.”

“I do but it doesn’t make it any easier to see my friends being harmed or killed by Death Eaters.” They both became serious once more. Suddenly Hermione tackled him into a hug, forcing him to lie down completely. “Hey, hey,” he soothed her as she started to sob. “What happened?”

“I-I don’t want you to go Draco! What if something happens to you when I’m not near you? How do I know you won’t go and get yourself killed? For all I know, you’ll jump in recklessly to save someone and get hit by the Killing Curse yourself!”

He let her rant angrily and then spoke. “Sweetheart, you know that this is what we’ve been waiting for all these years! To get a chance to overthrow him once and for all and restore peace to the wizarding world, to be able to rid us of this evil! How can I stand by and not do anything when my friends are out there fighting for them and everybody else? How can I not defend them and this school, which has given me so much, with everything I have? It’s my duty ‘Mione, you know that I can’t rest until I’ve done everything I can to fulfill it. I won’t be at peace without fighting him.”

She nodded and accepted his words, no matter how much she wanted to rebel and keep him to herself. She knew that it was not only his duty but hers too, to defend their school and all her friends. She took a shaky breath and got up, allowing him to stand. She looked at him and sighed. Why does he have to be so goddamn heroic and perfect?

She leaned closer and gave him a gentle hug which he returned. She snuggled her head against his chest, marveling how sculpted his chest had become from all the training under the sun he’d done with the others. His once-pale skin was now tanned but his hair was as blonde as ever. They stayed like that for a while, just holding each other and swaying slightly.

She chuckled as she remembered the time she found out he’d left Voldemort’s side and joined them. She’d ranted for days about how it was all a trick to infiltrate them and make sure they lost the war, until finally Ginny had gotten fed up and started shouting about how she was always pessimistic which had resulted in both of them screaming bloody murder. After that though, she’d stopped being openly rude to him and instead gave him suspicious looks. It took a while to rest her suspicions, but in the end she’d finally allowed him to come within five feet of her without hexing him.

Then he’d started joining the rest of the Order for training sessions and they’d gradually become friends. They spent more time together and gotten to know each other better. Then one day, she’d come in sopping wet from outside and there had been no one at 12, Grimmauld Place. He’d gotten her a mug of hot chocolate, thrown her a towel and blanket and seated her in front of the fire. She’d caught him looking at her, one thing led to the other and then they’d been talking like they'd known each other forever, like they'd never been Malfoy and Granger, but Draco and Hermione. 

They’d kept their relationship a secret for a while and then decided to come out with it. Not telling her best friends about that had been killing her. Ron had been disappointed, it was common knowledge that he’d been harboring a crush on her for a while; he had even stopped talking to her and Draco for a while. He went the whole hog, not coming out of his room, even for meals until Ginny had marched in and knocked some sense into him. He’d been much better since then, wanting to get happiness from the fact that his best friend was happy, albeit not with him.

Then they’d gone on the hunt for the Horcruxes and it had eaten her from inside that she couldn’t contact him or anything either. Harry and Ron had done their best to keep her distracted and they’d been successful partially, but her thoughts were never far from her love.

Her mind was jerked back to the present. She looked up at Draco and pulled away reluctantly. “We should go back. They’ll need us.” He nodded and they headed back.

Tonight, it would be a battle to the death. They would survive or they would die. Tonight, history was going to be written and destiny would be decided.