23. Goodbye
The next three days past as a blur for the friends. Hermione and Ron stayed in the house Draco had bought. Blaise was drowning himself in Firewhiskey; Ginny had given up trying to make him stop and she quietly and sadly sat beside him while he drank. Rosa cried; she cried for her dead friend and for her live one who had lost the man she loved. By the time the funeral came, everyone was cried out; there were no tears left to shed for their dead friend.
The group of friends walked into the hall; their numbers minus one. Rosa looked around, the room was practically empty aside from a few teachers including McGonogall, Hagrid and Slughorn. The eight, once nine, sat in a row and mourned the loss of their once enemy now turned friend.
Hermione stood moments before the service had begun, she took Rosa's hand and the two walked towards the caskets that lay beside each other. Hermione's gentle hand brushed a stray lock of Draco'a blond hair away from his closed eyes. She bit her lip and whimpered almost silently; Rosa wrapped an arm around her friend.
"He looks as if he's sleeping." Luna said in a soft and dreamy voice, coming to join the two; she wrapped her arm around Hermione's other side.
"He looks peacful." Ginny whispered as she appeared as well, taking Rosa's hand in her own.
"Yes." Hermione agreed quietly. "Peaceful and happy."
The four girls returned back to their seat. Rosa sighed sadly as she noticed the look written clearly on Blaise's face. The war was over, there weren't supposed to be anymore tears shed for dead friends.
As the service closed, there was a choked sob from the end of their row. Blaise was hiding his face in his hand, Ginny's arms wrapped around his shaking form. Ross's heart went out to the lost wizard; he had known Draco the longest.
The group waiting until the caskets had arrived at the graveyard and Apparated there. The mix-matched group of friends stood above the twin holes in the ground. They silently stared in the face of eternity.
"Goodbye." Rosa heard Hermione whisper softly. She took the girl's hand in hers and squeezed it gently.
"Bye, Draco." Rosa said sadly, still holding Hermione's hand.
"Goodbye, Draco." Luna said, her usually dreamy voice was for once sad. She took Rosa's hand.
"Bye, Malfoy." Neville muttered and took his girlfriends hand. One after another they said goodbye and joined a hand. In the end, only Harry and Blaise stood back, both grieving for a different reason. Harry stepped forward and put a hand on Ron'a shoulder.
"We went at it a few good times, Malfoy. But you were a different man. You changed when you fell for my best friend. I actually started to enjoy your company. We... I will miss you." The group turned to see a sad faces Blaise. He fell to his knees and hid his face, Ginny sighed sadly and swept him into her arms.
"He was my best mate." He cried hoarsely. "And now he's gone!"
"Say goodbye, Blaise." Ginny whispered in his ear. The dark skinned wizard felt a warm tear drip on his shoulder; Ginny was hiding her own tears. He nodded stiffly and stood in the line with his new friends.
"Bye, Draco." He said as the tears ran down his face. "You were the best friend I've ever had. I'll miss you mate."
With their final goodbyes said, they each Apparated out of the graveyard. They left their friend behind; a new hole was left in each of their hearts as a great wizard was taken from them by the selfish acts of another.
Ginny's feet landed hard on the floor of the flat she and Blaise were sharing. She look around; he hadn't come home. Ginny sighed, knowing where her boyfriend had gone. She quickly Apparated once more. Her destination was to the Leaky Cauldron.
When she touched down in the pub, she immediately saw Blaise setting alone at the bar staring into a glass of what she assumed was Firewhiskey. She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist; the witch rested her head on the wizard'a shoulder. She felt him sigh and lean his head against hers.
"I'm sorry, I should have gone home with you." He mumbled sadly.
"It's alright." Ginny muttered, taking the seat beside him; she didn't order anything to drink though.
"I need to stop." He said quietly to his witch. "But I can't..."
"Can we go home?" Ginny asked quietly. She wanted to go home after one of her friends funerals, not sit around in a dingy pub.
"Yeah, I don't need this..." He mumbled and took the witch's hand. He Apparated them home to their small flat.
Their feet touched down in the small flat. Blaise let out a sigh and turned to the witch. He trailed his dark hand down her light arm; he took his hand in hers. With his other hand he gently caressed the red haired girl's face.
"I can't lose you." He said almost silently; Ginny felt her heart break at the young wizard'a words.
"You won't." Ginny assured him; she saw tears form in his eyes. His best friend was killed, leaving him behind.
"I love you, Ginny." He whispered softly. It was the first time he had told her. He had showed her he loved her, but he never could verbalize his emotions. Ginny's lip trembled as she pulled him close and nuzzled his hand gently.
"I love you, too." She replied.
The dark skinned wizard let out a shaky breath and fought more tears that threatened to pour. He took the witch in his arms and kissed her deeply and lovingly. When he pulled away, the young witch pulled him back down; both of them were in need of comfort.
Late that night, Hermione woke up suddenly; she looked around the room that she and Draco had planned to share. She gasped as she saw a pale, blond haired figure standing next to her. The figure smiled weakly down at her and stretched out his hand; it passed through hermione's face making her shudder.
"Draco?" She whispered quietly, hardly believing her eyes.
"Yes, Mia." whispered his voice. "It's me."
"Oh, please don't leave me." Hermione said and watched the figure sat beside her on the bed.
"I can't stay, Mia. I don't belong here anymore. This world is for the living, and that I am no longer doing." He said and leant forward; he placed a ghostly kiss on her forehead and sat back slowly. There was sadness in his grey eyes.
"I love you." Hermione whispered, not wanting him to go.
"And I love you. But you must do as I asked in my letter. Do it for me, Mia." He said, a ghostly hand trailed down her arm and rested on her stomach. "Do it for him."
"Alright, Draco." She said after a moment; the ghostly boy smiled and left a final feather of a kiss on her cheek.
"One more thing, love." He whispered. "Marry Weasley before our son is born."
"No!" Hermione cried, she didn't want to marry anyone but Draco. Of course she did love Ron, but not in that way; she didn't want to marry him.
"Please, Mia. I want you to be happy and have a family. Do it for our son, so he can have a father figure. I need you to do it for me, Mia." He almost sounded desperate. Hermione looked at him sadly.
"I love you, and I always will." She whispered.
"And I love you, Mia. Will you do it?" He asked gently. Hermione nodded slowly.
"Yes Draco. I will marry Ron and have a family, but I will never forget you."
"That's all I asked." He whispered softly.
"Goodbye, Mia." whispered the wizard and he simply faded into nothing. He had returned just for a moment to say goodbye, and now he was gone again.
"Goodbye, Draco." She whispered to the now empty room.
Miles away from a silent Hermione, lay Ginny and Blaise. The young witch was asleep beside him; he hadn't been able to catch the sleep that he desperately needed. He sighed and rolled out of bed and pulled on his shorts. Blaise looked at the beautiful, sleeping witch; he pulled the sheet up to cover her.
The boy went over to his desk and opened the drawer. Hidden inside was a bottle of Firewhiskey. He took out the bottle then sat on the edge of the bed rubbing his face tiredly. The wizard opened it quietly and took a long drink, enjoying the burning sensation it left in his throat. He drank for nearly an hour; the bottle was enchanted to keep refilling itself.
"Hey mate." said a smooth voice, Blaise'a eyes darted to the owner of it. He stared at the ghostly figure of his dead best friend formed in front of him.
"Draco?" He whispered, then shook his head and took another swig of the whiskey.
"Will you stop that?" Draco replied stepping towards his friend. "I would take it from you but I can't." His pale face contorted into a scowl.
"You're dead." Blaise said bitterly. "I'm just too drunk to realize it."
"Yes, my sodden friend, but I am also here." Blaise shook his head again and took another sip.
"Stop it!" Draco growled and vainly attempted to grab the bottle, his hand passed through it- and a shocked looking Blaise.
"Are you...?" He asked bewildered.
"No, I'm not a ghost like the ones from Hogwarts. I am not staying. I have just come to tell you goodbye, Blaise." He said and sat beside him on the bed.
"I'll miss you, mate." Blaise said quietly and took another drink of the Firewhiskey.
"I need you to stop drinking, Blaise." Draco said, peeking over his shoulder to look at a sleeping Ginny.
"Why?" He said angrily.
"For her." He gestured over his shoulder at the witch. "And your daughter."
Blaise froze and turned to his dead friend. He nearly vomited on the floor as the news hit him.
"You're dead, don't joke with me because I won't be able to kill you." Blaise hissed at the figure. He heard a chuckle from Draco.
"She's not pregnant now, but I know you two are going to have children." Draco said straightly.
"How do you know?" Blaise shrugged taking another long drink. He heard Draco growl angrily.
"I just know..." He said angrily.
"Blaise you have to stop." He said again, concern creeping into his voice.
"I can't stop drinking. When I stop I... I feel things I don't want to feel." Blaise said miserably.
"Do what I did." Draco replied, sadness and longing creeping into his voice. "Don't feel the bad things, instead replace those with how much you care about your witch. Replace it with the joys and horrors of being in love. Replace those things with the kindness of your friends. You don't have to be a sodden drunk your whole life."
"I'll do it for her." Blaise said looking over his shoulder at the girl.
"Thank you..." Draco said finally.
"When will we have those children?" Blaise asked his friend suddenly.
"Eventually," he answered. "But don't go trying now, she's too young and you're too irresponsible." Draco heard his friend grunt.
"She's not much younger than Hermione," he answered "and she's the same age as Rosa."
"Yes, but Rosa is much older than her age. She is like us, forced to grow up before her time." Blaise looked unconvinced.
"I have seen her lie to the face of the Dark Lord. I have seen her duel with him practically. I've seen her take on Death Eaters. I've seen her kill her father, the darkest wizard in the Wizarding World. She may be young, Blaise, but she is no child."
"Ginny has been through just as much as Rosa has!" Blaise said as he started to become angry.
"Yes," Draco nodded to his friend. "But could Ginny kill her father to save the man she loves? Would she face a crowd of people who tormented her? Would she stand in up for a man who sold her out to save his own love? Would she forgive all the people who ever hurt her? Could she stand up at a table surrounded by people mourning the loss of their son and admit to being the daughter of the monster who killed him? She has gone through quite a bit, I agree. But Rosa has faced so much more." Blaise nodded in response.
"How many will we have?" Blaise couldn't help but wonder; he never had wanted children until he met Ginny.
"Two." He said with a small smile. "A boy and a girl, lovely children I might add."
"I'm going to miss you..." Blaise said after a minute of silence; he quickly wiped away a tear.
"And I'll miss you, mate. But don't cry over me, I'm literally in a better place."
"I'll see you someday." Blaise said and looked at the firgure before him.
"Yes you will." Draco confirmed.
"Goodbye, Blaise." Draco said, sad smile on his pale face.
"Bye, Draco." Blaise said sadly. He said as he watched his best friend fade away into nothing.
The dark skinned wizard turned and looked at his witch. He sighed quietly and gently kissed her fiery red hair. Then finally, he stood and walked over to the window of the room. After raising the window, he chucked the bottle out of it and watched as it fell to ground and smashed on the cement several stories bellow.
He shut the window tightly. After a moment the wizard crawled into the bed beside Ginny and wrapped his arms around her. She stirred and woke for a moment.
"What's wrong?" She asked groggily. Blaise shook his head and kissed her gently.
"Nothing, love. Go back to sleep." Blaise said gently and she did after curling up against him. Almost immediately sleep overcame the sad, dark skinned wizard.
Draco appeared at his next to last stop. He looked around the living room of the home he and Hermione had meant to share. Longing and sadness ate away at him, but he quickly shook it off.
Draco saw the person he needed to visit before moving on, Ronald Weasley. He walked over and looked down at the sleeping figure on the couch.
"Get up, Weasley!" Draco said, the boy stirred.
"Weasley!"
"You ignorant sloth. Wake up!"
"Get up, you red headed fool. I would kick you but I can't!" Draco finally yelled loudly. The red headed wizard jerked up quickly and looked around groggily.
"Weasley, I would strangle you right now if I could." scowled Draco.
"Malfoy?" He said bewildered.
"Yes, you pathetic fool!" Draco said and began to pace.
"What kind of idiot did I leave Hermione with?" He mumbled to himself.
"What?" Ron stammered.
"I swear, Weasley, you are seven different kinds of ignorant!" He muttered and shook his head.
"Left Hermione with?" Ron asked setting up, slow on believing that the dead boy was in front of him.
"Yes, Weasley. I wrote Hermione a letter," he explained. " in it I told her that if anything happened to me, I wanted her to go with you. I know you love her; unlike I, you cannot hide your emotions."
"You're giving your fiancé permission to be with me?" Ron said, suddenly aware that he was talking to a dead man.
"She is no longer mine, Weasley. I'm dead and gone. I can't take care of her or my son. I hate to say this, but I need you to do it for me." Draco said looking at the wizard before him.
"I need you take care of her, Weasley. I love her, but I am no use to her anymore. I want to see her raise our son with you and have a family, not be miserable and mourn me. Do this one thing for me, Weasley. Please?" He was beyond his pride; he just wanted his love and his son to be taken care of.
"Of course, Malfoy." Ron nodded firmly. "I'll take care of her for you. I'll help raise your son as if he were my own."
"Thank you." Draco said as he let out a sigh of relief.
"Do one more thing for me." He said after a moment. "Marry her."
"Marry her?" Ron cried.
"Yes," Draco nodded his head. "I want my love to have a husband who loves her, even if it isn't me. I want don't want my child born out of wedlock. I want Hermione married before my son is born."
"But..." Ron said; he didn't want to impose such a thing upon Hermione so soon after the death of her fiancé.
"No, Weasley. Just do it." Draco said. "I've already talked to Hermione. Don't even question my decision. She loved you even when she was with me; though her love for me was far greater. I know you love my Mia and I know you'll take care of her, Weasley."
"Why me?" Ron asked cautiously.
"Because Potter has already gotten himself a girl." Draco said with a smirk and chuckled slightly.
Ron nodded and before his eyes, Draco disappeared into nothing but a memory. Ron sat heavily on the couch and hid his face, desperate to try and make sense of what just occurred.
In Grimmauld Place, Rosa and Harry slept soundly in their bed. Draco looked around the room. His eyes rested on the pictures of the dead; he sighed as he noticed a picture of he and his mother had joined the rows of pictures of the long gone.
Draco called to the couple, who awoke suddenly an stared at the figure ghostly figure of their dead friend before them.
"Malfoy?" Harry asked, rubbing his eyes and pulling on his glasses.
"Yes, Potter." Draco sneered. "I'm here to talk to your wife, not you." Harry shook his head and watched as his wife tentatively stepped towards the dead wizard.
"You're dead." She whispered. He laughed bitterly.
"Really? I hadn't noticed." He scowled angrily. Harry sat silently on the bed, watching slightly bewildered.
"Are you really here?" Rosa asked tenitivley. Draco nodded and smiled gently at the witch.
"Oh, Draco." Rosa said and looked at his slightly translucent form. Draco looked down at her and gently kissed her forehead.
"I want to thank you." He whispered to the witch.
"Why?"
"Because if you hadn't forgiven me, I wouldn't have went to that DA meeting and I wouldn't have got my witch. I wouldn't have fallen in love and I certainly wouldn't have a son." He said quietly, sadness shown in his stormy grey eyes.
"But you would be alive." Rosa whispered, ignoring the tears that ran down her face. "You would be here."
"What's the point of being alive if you have no one to love?" He said and trailed a ghostly finger down her tear stained face.
"You risked your life, and lost your life when you fell in love with Hermione. If you hadn't you would be here!"
"What's life without a little risk?" Draco whispered, out of the corner of his eye he saw Harry stiffen.
"What Potter?" He scowled. "I'm not courting her."
"No." Harry shook his head and glanced at the photos on the dresser.
"That's what Sirius told me." He whispered; there was a sad look on his face. Draco shook his head and turned to Rosa.
"My life may have been short, but thanks to you it was worth living." He said to the witch. She let out a shaky breath as her friend began to fade.
"Goodbye, Malfoy." Harry said from his spot on the bed; sadness was obvious in his voice. For once in Draco's existence, he smiled kindly at Harry.
"Goodbye, Potter." He nodded at the boy and kissed Rosa's head one last time.
"Goodbye, Rosa."
"Goodbye, Draco." She said and watched as he faded into nothing. He was gone forever, his final goodbyes said and wishes told. He was with the dead; he was in a better place watching over them all.