A Change of Forever

One-shot

"Who else is here?" Draco asked as he approached Dumbledore from afar, his wand drawn outward, "I heard you talking."

"I often talk aloud to myself." Dumbledore told him, "I find it extraordinarily useful. That which sounds sane at a whisper can seem utterly mad when said for all the world to hear. Haven't been whispering to yourself, have you, Draco?"

Draco looked at Dumbledore with uneasiness in his eyes as beads of sweat formed above his brow.

"You are not an assassin, Draco." Dumbledore told him with a calm sigh.

"How do you know what I am?" Draco spat at him, "I've done things that would shock you!"

"Like cursing Katie Bell," Dumbledore began, "And hoping she would, in turn, bear a cursed necklace to me? Like replacing a bottle of mead with one laced with poison. Forgive me, Draco, but these are attempts so feeble I cannot help but question if your heart has been really in them. I'm curious. When Voldemort gave you this task, when he asked you to kill me, was it in a whisper?"

Draco looked down at the wooden planks beneath him before responding back to him, "He trusts me… if I do this I will become one of them! A death eater, father will be so proud. And all I have to do is this one little thing…" He stated weakly with tear stung eyes.

"I hardly recall having to prove yourself worthy to become a death eater, Draco, especially being a Malfoy. It would seem that your blood alone is enough to make you worthy." Dumbledore commented, "Did your father have to pass the same test?"

"Times have changed since he was initiated!" Draco barked.

"My apologies Draco, I was merely assuming that an-"

"Well you were wrong!" Draco spat.

"Hm, perhaps I should make this easy for you." Dumbledore said as he withdrew his wand and began pointing it towards himself.

"Expelliarumus!" Draco shouted, causing the Headmaster's wand to fly across the room.

"Don't!" He told him.

"Well done Draco," Dumbledore complimented him, "But I warn you. Killing is not nearly as easy."

"How would you know!?" Draco asked him in a shaky holler.

"Please listen to him Draco!" The two of them turned their heads as Hermione entered the room with tearful eyes, "Please Draco… don't do this."

"Granger?" He asked, "You shouldn't be here. You could get hurt… leave." Draco told her, "Go away."

"Perhaps you should listen to Draco, Hermione, he is not quite in the state of himself at the moment." Dumbledore warned her.

"No." She told the two of them, "I am not going anywhere."

"Hermione…" Draco said with his eyes closed, "Please… you're not supposed to get hurt here, not today… just walk away and forget what you've seen."

"No!" She shouted, "I won't leave!" She told him, "I will not just walk away and let you destroy your life!"

"Why not!" Draco spat back, "I have been destroying yours for the past six years, so why should you care about mine!?" He asked as a small tear escaped from the corner of his eye. "Why!?"

"Because you're a good person… you're not like your father. And the only reason you try to be is because you want him to approve of you, to praise you. But, Draco, why should it matter what your father thinks? Does he really matter that much? Matter so much that you are willing to kill, to take a life, just to get him to love you?"

"You don't know my father… he'll disown me if I don't do this." Draco said softly.

"Draco, listen to me," Hermione told him as she walked up to him; he looked down into her eyes, "Your father is… he's nothing! Sure, he is rich, sure, he has connections… but at what cost!? He is a bad person… he is evil. But not you Draco. True, you have given me hell since I first came to Hogwarts, but I always saw good in you when I would look into your eyes. As I see it now… please Draco… please. Do not do this." She whispered as another tear rolled down her cheek, "Just give me your wand, walk away, and pretend this never happened."

"I can't, it's-" She cut him off by placing her hand over his mouth.

"It's never too late before you've done bad Draco. You haven't done anything wrong yet… there is still time to just walk away." She told him as she pulled her hand away from his lips, "I am putting my faith in you Draco because I have it. And because I… because I…" Her head dropped and she closed her eyes.

"What?" He asked her as he placed his hand onto her chin to lift her eyes to his, "Because you what?"

Her eyes were small slits as she opened them, "Because I love you." She told him, "And I know that you could never love me because of what I am, but I am hoping that my love for you is enough to help you make the right decision."

"Never love you?" Draco asked her, "How could I not love you?"

"What?" She asked him with shock, "Draco, you hate me! You have been doing nothing but calling me mudblood and filthy for the past six years... how can I expect that to ever change?"

"I am so sorry, Hermione." He told her as he dropped his wand onto the floor and wrapped his arm around her and placed his opposite hand onto the side of her cheek, "The only reason I did those things was because that is what I thought I was supposed to do. I wanted to try and convince myself that you were nothing, that you were just another muggle born girl who meant nothing in the world. But deep down... I always knew you were so much more. I always knew that you were everything... you are everything to me, Hermione. And I do love you. I love you a lot more than you could possibly imagine."

"I doubt that." Hermione said softly.

"It's true. The fact that you love me is... is... it's bloody impossible. After the way I have been treating you, acting towards you from the moment I first met you, it doesn't make any sense. It doesn't make any sense for you to love me. I am stupid, and weak, and pathetic, and a bully, and a right damn fool." He told her, "But you... you're smart, and brave, and witty, and honest... and beautiful, so amazingly, breathtakingly, heart-stopping beautiful." He told her as he looked down into her eyes.

"Draco..." She whispered.

"Tell me you love me Hermione, please tell me that you love me." He asked.

"I love you." She told him softly.

"Now tell me that you mean it."

"I mean it Draco... I love you."

Draco smiled as a small tear escaped the corner of his eye.

"You're crying," Hermione whispered as she reached her hand up to wipe it away, he leaned into her touch and closed his eyes as he placed his hand over hers.

"Tell me you love me." Hermione whispered as she looked up at him with glossy eyes.

Draco opened his eyes and looked down at her with a sincere expression of pure love, "I love you, Hermione Jean Granger."

"Now tell me that you mean it. And promise to always take care of me, and protect me, and stick up for me."

He placed his hands on opposite sides of her face and he looked her deeply in the eyes, "You are my world, Hermione. I love you, I always have and always will. I will always take care of you and always protect you, no matter what. And I will always stick up for you."

Hermione smiled as she placed her hand over his. She then laced her fingers with his and slid his hand away from her cheek and brought it up against her heart, "Now kiss me." She said with a shaky voice.

Draco licked his lips slowly, and he leaned down until his forehead was pressed gently against hers.

He then whispered, "I love you, Hermione Granger."

And he slid his hand around to the back of her head and wove his fingers carefully into her hair, he closed his eyes, and he kissed her.

THE END

AN: So, what did you think? I haven't written a Draco/Hermione story in a while so I was kind of nervous... be gentle!