House: Slytherin
Blood Status: Half or Pureblood
Warning(s): Unpleasant themes and imagery, content may be unsettling for some
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Third Person POV:
X.
"H-How long, y/n?" Draco stammers, shocked by the confession just given to him. Y/n avoids his eyes as the castle shakes.
"I've been through nine timelines. This is the tenth, Draco," she sighs, her voice reverting back to monotone, the voice that Draco has gotten used to in their infrequent interactions.
"And all of them-"
"- you've died," she ends, her voice beginning to quiver again.
"I-I," Draco says, stumbling on his words. "Y/n..."
With a swift and sudden movement, y/n turns around and flings her arms, around Draco. His arms go around her waist immediately, despite being shocked by her spontaneous movement.
"I've been through these months time and time again and each time I've watched the people I care about fall into despair and die. Each and every one of them. I've kept going on because I knew that I had something here that was worth fighting for," she cries, stepping back to look him in the eye. He stares down at her and senses the pain and anguish in her eyes. He can feel her experiences and the weight they bear. "You as you are now, are not aware of what we had and I am unsure if you will ever, but I want you to know that I am here only because you are. You are the reason why I've fought for this long and you're the reason why I'll keep on fighting. I don't care if I have to repeat this time over and over. I don't care if I'm stuck as a teenager for the rest of eternity. Even if what I wished for is the ultimate curse and will never lead to a happy ending, I will still smile, because it was for you."
He stares into her eyes, tears gently rolling down her cheek and he lifts his hand and wipes them away gently with the pad of his thumb.
"Y/n... I don't think I'll ever truly understand what you've done or your whole story, but I do understand this, you've fought for months and months to restore hope, find happiness, and save the entire school from a hideous fate. I admire you, y/n. I could never have done what you have."
"How do I change what will happen, Draco? I've been fighting for a long time, but I do not know how!" she cries, tightening her embrace. Draco's breath hitches for a moment. "I'm losing hope. I don't want to admit it, but I am. I did say I would keep going, and I will, but it is getting harder and harder to. Each time, everything I experience gets more painful. I know I'm not making much sense, but that's okay. I Promised that I'd fight monsters in hopes of getting you back and I'll keep going with that in mind...," she steps back and wipes her eyes and smiles. "Please don't let my efforts be in vain. Stay safe, Draco Malfoy."
She turns her back on him and walks slowly down the hall into battle.
~~~~~
Draco's POV:
It's just like my dream. Everything's lit on fire. I can see it outside the glass windows of the Great Hall. Surely everything around us has fallen and is now the piles of rubble I remember from the dream. I hear roaring and explosions outside. It must be y/n fighting it. There are bursts of light that spread across the window in front of us and some of the students around me scream in fear of the noises, but I know that their fear is nothing compared to y/n's and mine. Everyone is sitting in the Great Hall, trying to wait it out. The thought of her out there alone looms over my head and simultaneously causes a hole in my stomach and it rips me apart. I don't even know what's happening, but I get up and start to walk towards the professors at the front of the hall.
"Mr Malfoy, what are you doing?" Professor McGonagall says sternly. I don't listen and walk towards the door at the back y/n came through on her first day here. I remember her hood and her figure emerging from it. I remember everything. I remember seeing her in the halls and I realise why she was always looking at me. She was trying to keep me safe and it drives my hand forward to the door's knob.
"MR. MALFOY!"
I grasp the knob and turn it slowly. I feel the heat from the fires and the smell of battle. I step past the protective barrier outside the Great Hall. It washes over me and I walk into the madness, disregarding the shouts from the students and the teachers. I look up. The castle is in shambles and the pieces are strewn down the hillside. Down at the base, is the gigantic monster, rearing its ugly head and lashing its claws and teeth. A spark of green can be seen from near the forest. It must be y/n. It shoots through the air and smashes itself right into the monster's chest. The monster is strong and it holds its place and I see the beam of green struggle against the weight of the monster. The monster roars loudly in anger of her resistance against its will to destroy and slashes its claws against the light and sends it flying towards me. The light dies and something hits the ground in front of me.
"Y/n!' I shout, my voice desperate and I rush to her side, dropping to my knees and I lift up her body in my arms.
"Draco...," she grunts. "What are you doing here?! You should be inside! You're in terrible danger here! Go back! haven't you listened to what I said?!"
"Y/n... Please!" I cry, taking her hand in mine. "I'm here to stand by your side... I'm not going to let you be alone anymore. The battle you have been in is once you are the sole fighter against a world full of problems, corruption, and hardship. You said you were going to lose hope eventually, but I'm here to say you shouldn't. You must keep going and I will be here with you."
"R-Really?!" she cries and I nod, lifting her up to her feet. The monster's roar explodes through the grounds and I see it rushing for the both of us and y/n straightens up. "I must go and fight it. Stay safe?"
"You don't have to go, y/n. I have an idea. We can end this once and for all. Take my hand."
I reach towards her and she slips my hand into hers as the monster comes barrelling towards us, it's nostrils flaring, the ground shaking like it did in the dream.
"We have to fight it...," she says, struggling against my grip a bit.
"No, y/n. Let it come," I say. She hesitates but nods eventually. I can feel the heat from the fires and the power resonating from the beast, but my confidence does not waver and I hold y/n hand's tight. It raises its mangled claws above its head and in slow motion, I watch as it brings them down on us, intending to crush us under its immense weight and rip us limb from limb. I rais our hands up to the sky to meet them and with a burst of white light, everything disappears.
~~~~~
I hold y/n's hand gently as we walk through the makeshift school area to the Care of Magical Creatures area. She's still a bit shaky from that day, but we're recovering. She has been released from her Promise and the monster is gone for good and there have been no strange occurrences since. Nobody has acted strangely. Nobody has had sudden waves of depression. Everything is... ordinary. Over these weeks, Hogwarts has started to be repaired and slowly but surely, the familiar towers are standing once again like they always have stood. She snuggles her head onto my shoulder and I tilt my head to the side to meet hers.
"You okay, babe?" I ask softly. She wraps her arms around me and sighs.
"Yeah... I'm still tired," she yawns and I laugh. Y/n and I have gotten closer and closer since the battle and we officially got together a week ago. Now I know what she wanted to fight for. I finally understand it now. Y/n and I really do click. We're perfect for each other. It makes perfect sense and I wouldn't have it any other way.
"It finally worked out, y/n," I sigh, sitting down on a rock wall with her beside me,
"It really did, Draco," she responds.
"You really did it, y/n. You've fought so hard for so long and it's paid off. Hogwarts and the future is safe thanks to you."
"No, thank you, Draco. I was so caught up in trying to solve the problem on my own and I forgot how important others are in the bigger picture. I got into the whole Promise business because you showed me how important other people are in your lifetime. It slipped my mind as the weight of the truth about Oracles and Enchantress and seeing you die dragged me down. I forgot why I started time travelling. It was because of how amazing you are and, as it turns out, you were the answer all along."
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A/N: This chapter was 1557 words long! Thanks for reading! Requests are open!
- Soiea