This chapter contains mentions of death, emotional trauma, and disturbing scenes. Please read with caution.

Put your sad playlists on <3

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'' Please forgive me for this.''

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The light of torture ripped through Draco like the blades of a thousand knives and his body at once dropped to the cold ground.

Without notice, his black suit was stained in blood, and it pooled around him.

He whimpered by the sense as his eyes squeezed shut by the pain.

'' Why would you—'' Amelie cried out, falling to her knees beside him, '' Draco, no, no, no—''

Her hands grasped at his shoulders to drag him onto her lap, '' Draco, look at me.'' Her voice crackled in pain, '' Look at me, Draco.''

He couldn't. He had no possibility to even open his mouth out of the mortifying pain scoring through him.

He didn't even cry.

'' Draco—'' Amelie sobbed, '' Draco, please look at me,''

Her own clothes started to shade in the same red color as Draco's blood did. It drenched them both as he was bleeding, colossally.

'' Draco, please, look at me,'' Amelie was begging him, her fingers gripped around his cheeks as she bent his head back, but it only hung out of unconsciousness,

'' Please, please, please,''

'' That's what happens,'' Adrian growled, still standing on the other side of the room. Her eyes flickered to him, watching as he had both his own and Draco's wands in his hands.

All so that Amelie couldn't save him.

'' That's what happens when you disobey me, Amelie.''

She knew the spells. Teddy had taught her the spells to save Draco from the cursing magic, but she didn't have a wand.

" Please let me save him. I'll do anything." She whimpered, her eyes pleaded Adrian's, " You can erase my memory and his. I don't care anymore, just let me—"

She was cut off by her own crying, still holding onto Draco with all she had left, " I'll marry you. I'll live with you, and I'll do whatever you want. Just let me save him."

Adrian scoffed, annoyed by her lack of understanding, " It's too late," He hissed at her angrily, " You made your choice when you stabbed me, Amelie."

" Please, Adrian.''

Her eyes drained of all her emotion. She was desperate, and she would truly give her own life to save Draco's. She would give up her freedom, her memories, anything she possibly could sacrifice — she would.

" I'll do anything, just—" Her breaths hitched, " Please let me save him."

Adrian slammed a fist into the wall, making her flinch by the sudden act, " Shut up! Just shut the hell up! I'm not falling for this again."

Amelie couldn't see clearly. Her vision blurred by the drowning tears, '' Why would you do this?'' She whispered, finding no strength to yell at him, not when the person her heart was beating for was dying in her arms.

'' Why would you do this to him? He just wanted to protect me—'' Her note split in a sob, and her forehead dropped to lean against Draco's, '' That's all he ever did. He just wanted to keep me safe.''

'' You said that I took everything from you, but I failed to do so.'' Adrian said again, half chuckling at his own words, '' Now I have.''

He turned away from them, whispering spells underneath his breath to put out the fire that was still fuming up the curtains.

'' Draco—'' Amelie whispered, her tears rolled over to his skin, '' Draco, please say something.''

Her heart broke. She couldn't breathe at the feeling of his breaths slowing down. The blood kept pooling around them, and time stilled.

The room darkened as Adrian managed to stop the fire, and the moonlight scoring through the windows was the only source of light, but that was enough for her. She could see Draco.

Amelie always saw him, even when Draco believed that no one did, that no one paid attention to him — she did. She saw him perfectly.

His eyelids flickered, and for the first time in minutes, his lips parted, but nothing more than an airy breath could escape them.

Draco was dying, right in her arms, and she couldn't do a thing.

'' I love you—'' Amelie whispered, '' I love you, I love you, I love—''

Another sob hewed her off.

'' Please don't leave me,'' She whimpered, inaudibly, only for them to hear, '' Please don't leave me, Draco... I can't live without you either.''

He heard her, and he fought with everything to say something back, to answer her that he loved her too, more than anything.

Malfoy realized that he was dying. That his time had come.

He wasn't a worthy human being. He had hurt people, taken lives, tortured innocent souls, but Amelie — his Amelie lived to be his redemption.

She made him human again, someone dignitary of her love. Her love for him and his love for her overcame everything.

Perhaps there actually was something called soulmates, maybe there wasn't, but if there ever would be, Draco and Amelie was the greatest example.

Something so pure as their love grew out of something so violent.

He loved her, and he would die for her. Malfoy saved her, and he knew that this was the only thing that kept him peaceful as he slowly shifted towards the light. There wasn't a way that was better to go — than for her.

He always told her that she was safe with him. That he would always save her and now — now he did.

'' Draco,'' Amelie's head fell to his blood-covered chest, '' I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry.''

It was so hard to breathe. She couldn't breathe.

It felt as if someone had forced a hand through her chest and ripped her heart right out. Nothing had ever felt more pointless and hurtful as this.

'' I can't—'' Amelie cried out, '' I don't want to live without you,'' Her hands grasped at his shirt as she pulled herself closer, so near that she could sense how his body eased and his skin turned colder.

It struck her mind that he was fading from her. He was vanishing in her arms as she tried with all she had to hold him back from death.

Draco was a foul, mean boy who played his way into her life. He was a killer, a merciless slaughter, and he scared her to death. Amelie despised him the first weeks of knowing him. He kidnapped her, he tricked her, he locked her up, and he hurt her, but somewhere,

Somewhere along the line of fighting him, of shutting him out, of doing absolutely everything possible to stand against him — he turned human.

And she fell. Amelie fell so deeply in love with his worn mind and his haunted thoughts. He was just like her — broken, shattered to pieces of what other souls put him through.

It was as if she was made for him, and he was made for her.

No one had understood her so perfectly without her ever having to explain.

He taught her not to be afraid, not to fear another person's touch as she did for so many years before she met him. He made her love him and herself in the process.

Draco never pushed her. He never forced her. He always respected her. He had never been gentle in his life, but he was with her. He gave her everything, and so did she.

Malfoy's chest heaved slower and slower by the second, and she cried — she sobbed — she trembled next to him.

Once again, she didn't get to say goodbye.

She didn't get to say goodbye.

Her cries echoed throughout the house.

She never got to say goodbye to anyone. She was constantly torn from everyone she ever cared about. It was always her.

Amelie's head rose slightly as she pushed her lips against his damp skin, '' I love you,'' Her fingers tugged at his shirt, trying to hold pressure upon his wounds, but there were too many.

She couldn't save him.

She couldn't do anything except one thing.

The only thing that clocked her breaking self was the thing that she'd worked too hard to avoid. What Draco, Teddy, Hermione, Pansy, even Narcissa had fought to stand against.

Amelie watched as Draco's breaths ceased and his skin turned ashen. Her blood iced.

She knew what she had to do.

She kissed Draco. She pushed her lips against his numb ones before her eyes flickered to Adrian, still standing with his back facing her.

Amelie looked down at the blond again, the tips of her fingers brushed through his hair.

God, how she loved his hair, even before he let her cut it.

" We'll be together again, Draco." She whimpered, "I will find you, and we will be together again."

Her hand gripped his numb one, and she held it up to her fragile chest, '' Can you feel that, Draco? Your heart beats with mine,'' She held it against her heart for moments, hoping that it would cause something, but it didn't, '' Your heart will always beat with mine.''

Tears rolled down her cheeks, " You're mine, and I am yours. Always."

Her chest stung. Her veins ached.

A slight curve on her lips as she, for the last time, let her lips press against his forehead, " I'll find you, and you'll find me, in the rain or something like that."

Her mouth tasted more than bone dry.

" And my favorite book..." She whispered against his bitter skin, " It's Romeo and Juliet."

She swallowed yet another sob. She needed to be strong for this.

" I always said it was Teddy's, but it was mine too. I bought him that book all those years ago so that he could love it as much as I did." His body slackened from her hold, "And I never got to tell you."

Her fingers curled into fists.

" I love you."

Her breaths shifted heavier. It wasn't in real reality to her. This couldn't be happening.

She would never get to hear his raspy morning voice again. She would never get to intertwine her fingers with his again or smile as he kissed her. He would never praise her body, or embrace her scars again, never hear him say really only to say it back and know the true meaning behind it.

It would never be them again.

" I know what to do now, and I'm sorry."

Her lower lip quivered.

" Please forgive me for this.'' Amelie's voice held low, simply for him to hear as she did everything she could to shut all the pain out, '' Promise me that you'll forgive me for this.''

Amelie reached over Draco's body as she gripped the knife resting next to him, and she rose from the floor, leaving the blond unconscious on it.

Her eyes sealed, taking in the deepest of breaths she could manage. Amelie didn't know if Draco was alive or dead, but it didn't matter to her.

She was certain of what she had to do.

It was as if a realization hit her, and she needed all of this to stop. For years she had been battling this — fighting every single day just to see another, but she couldn't anymore.

Her face fell into a comforting look. She understood how strong she was for doing this, how much it took for a person to realize that this had to be it. That she wasn't what her father wanted her to be.

Amelie didn't live to be selfish, mean, greedy. Amelie lived to be remarkable, loving, and someone that would be known for having the biggest heart. It was filled with all the people she cherished and despised.

It wasn't the world using her for her soft heart anymore. It was her being aware of what to do with it. Amelie wasn't born to protect herself and to let others suffer on her expanse. She grew to protect the world and everyone living close to her.

This wasn't the end for her. The memory of how Theo had helped her, how Draco saved her and how she, in the aftermath of it all — truly loved herself.

As Draco once thought, he knew that she was fragile. That she could easily break at the tips of his fingers, but he also knew that the world rested on the tips of hers.

She could take on anything if she wanted to, and he needed to show her that.

And he did. Draco showed her the world, while being hers.

'' Everything comes to an end,'' She shyly smiled to herself as she thought of everything she had in her life to be grateful for.

It wasn't only pain and torture. She had lived a haunted, cursed life indeed, but it was also filled with love and happiness. Memories to be pleased for, recollections of dying for.

Amelie was happy in her misery.

She had her best friend. Her Teddy that she could rely on everything and when Draco wasn't the one to save her — Theodore did.

It made her sick, knowing what she was about to do and how her best friend would suffer because of it, but she also understood that Theo wasn't foolish. He was smart, sometimes more clever than she'll ever be, and that heart of his.

That beautiful, kind heart he owned and that brilliant mind he carried — he would get through this. Amelie knew he would. There wasn't a thing he couldn't do.

Her Teddy.

Amelie's eyes peeled open, watching as Adrian's back still faced her, and she thought about her mother.

She never got to meet her mother again. They knew she was alive, and the Dark Lord knew where to find her now, but that was out of her hands. Amelie, even if that was all she wanted to do — couldn't save everyone.

Her jaws clenched as she slowly, unnoticeably traced the knife up to her chest, and she swallowed the bitter taste in her mouth.

'' Adrian,'' She called out for him, whispering almost, ''You went too far this time,''

He still had his spine against her. He didn't want to see her.

'' You killed Pansy, Aimee, your mother and—'' It hurt tremendously to speak the names of the people she'd lost, '' And Draco.''

Adrian sighed loudly, '' And happily so, perhaps people will understand not to cross me again.''

'' Pansy never crossed you. She was innocent, so was Aimee,'' Amelie breathed, '' She was carrying your child, and you still—''

Her eyes tried to resist the tears. She didn't want to give him any more of her tears.

What a life she could have had with Aimee in it. How much she'd care for that little girl.

'' And you still managed to kill her.''

Adrian's head shook, his hands placed onto the wall in front of him, '' I did, and I would do it again.''

'' Your own mother, Adrian.'' She was slowly coming to realize just how wicked he was, '' You killed her right in front of me.''

'' I kill everyone in front of you.'' His vocals strained, trying not to let one single emotion out, '' And I will keep doing it, until the day you understand that you can never escape me.''

'' I know I can't.'' She did understand it.

Amelie's tears failed her as they rolled down her cheeks, but she didn't bother, ''I know that I can never escape you, Adrian, believe me. I have tried.''

''And failed.'' He pitched in, chuckling to himself, ''I will always own you.''

'' I know.''

This was it for her. It was time.

Her time had come, just like her mother told her as a child.

Athena told Amelie one stormy night while braiding her hair that she'd know when it was her time to give in. When her time was up and when it was time to let everything go.

Time.

That was something she and Draco never got to experience together. All of the valuable things they shared, were everything but time.

It hurt her more than anything ever could. Knowing that she and Draco could've been so much more together, that they maybe could've had kids of their own, a life that wasn't doomed and chained.

They deserved more, so much more.

Her eyes closed again, her fingers gripped the handle of the knife, and the edge stung against the cage of her chest. Blood slipped from where it entered.

Amelie inhaled sharply, '' You took everything from me and from so many others. I can't let you do it anymore.'' She always prepared for pain, but she couldn't do that now.

This had to hurt.

'' What are you—'' Adrian grumbled, turning around to finally face her and as he did, '' Amelie, put that—''

'' I'm sorry that I wasn't enough for you.'' She smiled with more courage than she'd ever felt before, still with her eyes closed, '' But that only made me realize that I was more than enough to so many others.''

The edge of the blade started to cut through her skin, but she didn't mind.

It was all over now.

She was going to be with Draco again.

And even if this, to many people, would seem like she was defeated — she actually won.

She got her life back. She was finally loved.

She loved herself.

She slaughtered every demon in her life, overcome every nightmare, battled every feeling.

This was her story, and no one could take it away from her anymore.

Amelie won.

''Amelie, don't you fucking—'' His wand aimed towards her, ready to fire a spell to knock her out.

'' Goodbye, Adrian,'' Amelie whispered before she, with everything she had left, pushed the knife deeply into her own chest.

Her eyes flickered open as she gasped, loudly and even if she knew she was going to die. She needed to watch Adrian go with her.

Amelie's body fell to the ground, right next to Draco. Her breaths heaved. She couldn't find the force to breathe anymore. Her pulse slowed, her head felt heavy.

It didn't feel as she pictured it — dying.

It was always a scary thing to her because she was always threatened with it, but it didn't hurt as she imagined it to do. It was relieving like a heavy stone had been lifted off her chest.

Her cursed life, at last, let go of her.

She had earned her freedom.

Amelie heard a loud slam as she watched, in the corner of her eyes, Adrian's body drop to the floor, and she knew that she could rest in peace now.

She would finally find the peace she deserved, and she wouldn't be cursed anymore.

Amelie and Draco were free, and now they had all their time in the afterlife together.

Just like it was supposed to be.

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