sarahyyy | Drabble: The Show Must Go On (D/Hr) (Reply)

Title: The Show Must Go On
Author:sarahyyy
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 660
Disclaimer: Do not own.
Warning: Main character death.
Beta: strawberrimelon

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“Malfoy,” she started, shakily raking her fingers through her bushy hair, “You and I both know how this is going to end. You are not a killer.”

“You’re wrong, Granger.” He desperately sucked in a deep breath. “I was not a killer.”

“Malfoy…” She had the good sense to feel worried.

He looked straight into her eyes. “I was not. Until your people took everything I had away from me.”

“It was an accident, Malfoy. We didn’t mean for it to happen,” she tried explaining, like she had done before. “We tried to save-”

“No. You told me that my family would be given amnesty if I told you what my father was doing. You said you would try to help him.” He sucked in another ragged breath. “And I believed you. It was all planned, wasn’t it? I would give the statement admitting that my father was trying to resurrect Voldemort and you people would burn the Manor to the ground. With my parents still in it. I bet it surprised everyone that I happened to be away from the Manor, right?” He laughed bitterly. “I might as well have been in it.”

“Malfoy, please. You have to listen to me. It’s not how you think it is. When Lucius knew we were going for him, he made one last attempt to resurrect Voldemort. This time he did something, Malfoy. He started a time warp, we were trying to destroy it.” She looked down at her jittery hands. “We tried our best to get Lucius and Narcissa out but he wouldn’t leave and she wanted to stay with him. So…” she trailed off.

“So you just let them die,” he finished for her. “They were defenseless against your people. And you left them inside, you left them to burn. You selfishly thought that if Father was dead, there would be no fear of the return of Voldemort anymore, didn’t you?”

She had nothing to say. What could she have said to him?

“You just about tore my life apart. You took away my parents, you burned my manor… You all took away the most precious things in my life.” He drifted off before clenching his jaw. “And so I’m going to take away the one thing that Potter and Weasley value the most.”

“I’m sorry-”

He cut her off. “You. I am going to kill you, Granger.”

She kept her silence and simply stared at him. Was she truly surprised? She would rather he killed her than for him to decide to continue where his father left off.

“If it were different, Granger… I’d have been the good guy.” He stared out the window. “I imagine that we’d have gotten along quite well. We’d have met and became fast friends. I’d have appreciated your quick wit and your dry sense of humour in the way Potter and Weasley have never been able to. I’d have asked you on a date, you’d have agreed. We would have fallen in love, I’d have proposed. We would have gotten married, had brilliant, beautiful children. We’d have had a happy life.”

He turned back to her. She was tearing up but still stared at him. “Had things been different, Granger… I’ve have been the good guy, you’d have been my saving grace.”

“It’s not too late, Malfoy,” she said quietly.

“It is.” He gave her a sad smile. “The show has to go on. The bad guy has to commit his last evil deed.” He raised his wand towards her. “If it could have been different, it would have been.”

“I know.” She gave him a nod and closed her eyes, but not before she saw a single tear make its way down his cheek.

“Goodbye, Hermione.”

She heard the death curse, but the body that fell limp onto the ground didn’t belong to her.

The bad guy committed his last sin: he broke the heroine’s heart.

The show had to go on.