A Question of Mortality   von viv-heart
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                                  Kapitel 1: 
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Without thinking Draco launched forward, his wings carrying him atlightning
speed.
Before he could blink, he was leaning over Hermione, worry all over his face,
barely registering the pain that shot through his wings when the van hit him.
She was staring at him with wide eyes, shaking like a leaf in the wind,
obviously unable to process what had happened.
“Are you alright, Granger?” he asked, still out of breath. He commanded his
wings to disappear before he stood up carefully, offering his hand to help her
up.
She didn’t reply or take the hand in front of her and continued staring at him
as if she were seeing a ghost. Considering a winged man had saved her from being
hit by a van she might have.
And well, he was dead – at least technically. So much he had gathered.
“Fine,” he sneered, letting his hand fall down to his side when she didn‘t
make any indication she perceived anything that happened around her. He wasn’t
doing this out of his free will anyway.
“Malfoy,” she said, her voice barely audible, when he turned to leave.
He stopped, looking over his shoulder at her, waiting, not sure what to expect.
So far, she hadn‘t done much but stare at him, frozen as if someone had
stopped time, and barely breathing.
For a split second he had hoped she would believe that she had imagined him
saving her the same way he hoped all the bystanders would think the wings they
had seen were a product of their imagination thanks to some shock induced
mass-hallucination. Or that they hadn’t seen them at all because the van
obscured the view as he had landed directly between it and her.
But Granger never ceased to surprise him.
“You are alive.” She was shaking even more as tears started falling from her
eyes. “You are alive.”
It was enough for Draco to turn back hastily and crouch in front of her,
believing that eye contact might prompt her to speak more.
“Do you know what happened to me?” he whispered with a mix of urgency and
what one could call despair in his voice. He knew he didn‘t have much time as
there were people around them who would interfere shortly – it was a rather
busy street after all. “Do you?”
She nodded and then shook her head abruptly after a brief pause. Before Draco
could continue his questioning the bystanders finally woke up from their shock
and a few rushed to them and to the driver of the van.
“I am fine,” Draco glared at a woman too loud and too pushy for his taste.
“Let me leave,” he demanded, attempting to break free from the crowd that
had gathered and was trying to force him to stay and wait for the ambulance. He
was in shock, they said. That it was impossible for the two of them to not get
hurt. He would have laughed had he not been so annoyed.
Draco sneered at them all and had almost managed to break free when a hand
clasped around his wrist and he turned around to yell at the person who dared to
touch him. When he saw that it was Hermione Granger, who he had saved, and was
doomed to save again and again, and who was looking at him with those big brown
eyes of hers, and who seemed to hold the answers to his questions, he stopped.
“What?” he asked, the tone less biting than he would have liked. Being
surrounded by such a huge mass of people after being almost alone for so long
made him nervous. He had to physically stop himself from lashing out at
everyone, with Hermione, the only person he knew, being an exception for some
obscure reason he didn‘t want to dwell on.
When she didn’t respond, Draco huffed. “If you want to come with me,
Granger, get up. If you don’t, let go!”
Hermione didn’t let go and Draco started walking, pushing away all the people
who tried to convince them both to stop as it was clear that Hermione was still
in shock with how unresponsive she was but he didn’t care and they made their
way through the mass.
Draco didn’t stop until they reached an empty side-street and turned to
Hermione, who still hadn’t said anything.
“Tell me what you know about me,” he said as soon as he yanked his hand free
from her grasp, stepping closer. “Everything.”
“You have wings,” Hermione said, ignoring his words completely and Draco had
to close his eyes and count to ten silently to stop himself from screaming or
punching something.
“Fine. This won‘t work. I get it. Forget it. Go back and get help. I’m
leaving.”
He summoned his wings even before he finished speaking and closed his eyes again
in an attempt to concentrate so he could return to heaven or hell or whatever
that lousy afterlife was. He spread his wings and pushed up, hoping to become
one with the light just like he had when he had come back to the world of the
living – not that he knew how exactly he had managed that. Nothing happened.
Well, that wasn’t entirely true. He was hovering several feet over the ground
but that was all. He certainly wasn’t going to manage to get back this way.
Draco wasn‘t too disappointed about that if he was honest with himself,
considering the afterlife was indeed quite lousy, but staying had a big catch:
he had no place in the world of the living, having lost his the second he had
died.
As he didn’t know what else to do, Draco sank back to the ground in front of
Hermione who was watching him with interest and awe.
“How is this possible?” she asked, pulled back to reality by the sight of
the wings, bizarre as it was.
Draco would have contemplated if they had some kind of healing holy power if
there weren’t more pressing matters at hand.
“I am a guardian angel. Your guardian angel, to be precise,” he said,
gritting his teeth. Having known Hermione Granger his whole school life he knew
that it would be easier to offer her some information if he wanted something
back. It would be no use if she ran away, so he bit his tongue for once in his
life – or death – and tried to be civil to her.
“Are you dead? I mean, people say the dead can turn into angels – so that
would make angels dead, wouldn‘t it?” she asked with a frown, her eyes
scanning his form as if she was looking at a rare, dangerous creature.
“You assumed I would be, judging by your reaction when you first saw me,”
Draco said, willing himself to speak calmly even though he would have loved to
shake the answers out of her. Her usual Grangerness wasn‘t certainly making
it any easier. “Why?”
Hermione bit her lip and looked away. “What do you know? I mean you know my
name so you must know something.” she said finally. “I need to know where to
start. Because seriously, this has been a hell of a day so far and I want to go
home and sleep because everything hurts and I am just so tired but I am talking
to an actual angel with actual wings – unless this is some kind of crazy
technology which wouldn’t be surprising considering your wealth but then again
you have been missing for years and there had been nothing in the news about you
turning up and -”
Draco had to put a hand over Hermione’s mouth to stop the rant and her eyes
widened in surprise.
He stepped back immediately, cleaning his hand on his trousers.
“I can’t tell you if you don’t shut up,” he muttered, but Hermione
didn’t seem fazed by it and simply continued staring at him, waiting for him
to start talking.
“Look, I kind of woke up like this,” he made a vague gesture at himself,
“what I believe to be several years ago. It’s hard to keep track of time up
there. The only memories I have are of how I tormented you. I know my name, your
name and that we were classmates and that I hated you. I don’t even know why
exactly. That means, you are the only person I know of who has any connection to
me.”
Hermione hold up her hands to stop him. “Wait. Are you telling me you don’t
know who you are? You don’t know your parents, your friends, my friends?
Nothing?”
At Draco’s sour expression she began to laugh.
He crossed his arms and glared at her. “That’s really not funny, Granger.
Believe me, if I could, I would be standing here with somebody else. But I
can’t, considering the only person I know is you. It’s some kind of divine
punishment or other crap like that.”
Hermione stopped laughing. Draco could almost hear the snap of her neck when her
head turned into his direction abruptly so she could look him into the eyes,
fixating him with her stare. “Oh really? Is that what you want? How about I
dump you on one of your former friends then?”
Draco didn’t know what to feel or say. He hadn’t considered the possibility
that there were people who had cared about him still out there and he would be
able to meet them. “You could do that?”
He hated himself for how hopeful he sounded, how weak, but it was better than
anything he had ever imagined, not that he had thought it possible to enter the
world of the living before he had tried to save Hermione and ended up there
accidentally.
“Obviously.” Her voice was cold and Draco felt the fine hair on his neck
stand up. The thing was, that it wasn’t from fear. Draco knew for a fact that
he had never been scared of Hermione Granger before, not when she had slapped
him back in the day, and certainly not now, and yet something unsettled him. It
irked him, that he couldn’t put a finger on what exactly that was.
“That would be great,” he said with a forced smile, ignoring his sudden
discomfort.
“Follow me.” Hermione turned around and started walking in the direction of
the main street, not checking once if he was following her.
Draco needed a second before he realized that she had moved and he hurried to
catch up with her.
“You could tell me what you know while we walk,” he said, pushing his hands
into his empty pockets. It felt wrong to not have anything in them, even though
he couldn’t remember a time when he did.
“How about no.”
Draco stopped in his tracks, not having expected the answer. “And why the hell
not?”
“You tell me.” Hermione hadn’t bothered to stop or turn around and
continued her way as if it didn’t matter to her if he followed or not.
Even though it was certainly possible that it really didn’t matter to her,
years of watching her and over her told Draco that she was bothered by something
judging by her tense shoulders and overly straight back.
“What have I done now?” He jogged after her, scared that he would lose her
on the busy street. Damn London and it’s huge population.
“I am aware that I was never your favourite person, Malfoy, but you could at
least try to be nice to me if you want my help.” She finally stopped and was
glaring daggers into him, her head held high, but her arms crossed in front of
her.
She was clearly going on the defensive, trying to hide how hurt and overwhelmed
she was, but Draco had caught the faint glimmer of tears before she turned
around again and continued her walk.
“Look,” he fell into step next to her, “I haven’t been around people for
ages.”
He knew that it wasn’t much of an apology, but he had never been good at those
and she was overreacting quite a bit in his opinion.
“Well, then I suggest you talk less and watch more. That way, you might even
learn those social norms you have missed when you were a kid.”
Draco caught her arm, using centrifugal force to spin her around so she was
facing him.
“Do you think I am any happier with this situation than you are?” he hissed,
tightening his grip when she struggled to get away. “I am fucking dependant on
you here, Granger, and I hate it. But I would hate it no matter who I was stuck
with so get over yourself and tell me what I want to know.”
Draco hadn’t expected the kick to his shin and yelped, but didn’t let go.
Disappointment flashed over Hermione’s face but was instantly replaced with
anger.
“Stop manhandling me!”
“Stop being a bitch!” Draco caught her other arm, holding her in place. He
was glad that they hadn’t reached the busy street yet, having the argument
just around the corner, and weren’t therefore attracting much attention.
“Let go or I’ll scream for help!” Hermione said with a dangerous glint in
her eyes.
“Only if you promise to not run away.”
“I won’t run away.”
Draco let go reluctantly and Hermione started massaging her arm immediately. He
looked away, putting his hands into his pockets again, waiting for her to speak.
He was making her angrier and angrier with every word he said so staying silent
for a while seemed the best course of action if he ever wanted to reach that
supposed friend of his.
“I assume you don’t have any kind of ticket for public transport or
money.”
Draco looked at her in confusion. “Excuse me?”
Hermione rolled her eyes. “What have I expected? A Malfoy and to use public
transport? It was probably such an insignificant part of your life that you have
forgotten all about it.”
“I know what public transport is! But why would we need it?”
Hermione laughed at his question and ran a hand through her hair. “You are
serious, aren’t you? To get to your friend, obviously.”
“But can’t we just, like, walk?” Draco asked hopefully, remembering how
nervous he had been earlier when they were surrounded by people. “Or I don’t
know, call a cab?”
“I want to get rid of you as soon as I can, so no, walking the two hours to
his place isn’t an option. And as I don’t have money to spare, a cab isn’t
either. So you either take the tube with me or I can give you the address and
you find your way on your own. Your choice,” she stuck out her chin, clearly
challenging him.
Draco gulped as fear gripped his stomach and didn’t want to let go. He
wasn’t sure if it was the thought of being surrounded by so many people or
being in such a tight space underground, but his head began to spin.
It must have showed, because Hermione’s expression softened and she stepped
closer.
“Is something wrong?”
Draco gripped his head with both hands as pain struck him, clutching it as he
collapsed. The smell of fresh earth filled his nostrils and he gasped in a
desperate attempt to fill his lungs with air. “I don’t know. I don’t
know.”
Hermione crouched down next to him, her eyes wide and her hands shaking as she
reached forward to turn him to his side in a confused attempt to stabilize him.
The pain was gone as suddenly as it had come and Draco let his hands fall down,
his breathing rigged.
“Should I call an ambulance?” Hermione asked, her voice a pitch higher than
it normal, as she searched her bag for her phone.
“Hell no,” Draco sat up slowly, “Let’s just not take the tube.”
Hermione nodded, but continued watching him with concern, her hands still
shaking slightly.
“I think bus might be fine,” Draco added after a while and she scrambled to
her feet to help him up as well.
They made their way to the nearest bus stop a few streets away in silence, even
though Hermione glanced in Draco’s direction every few seconds which annoyed
him immensely.
“What?” he snapped when she didn’t cease to do it even after they arrived
at the stop.
“Do you really have no idea what happened to you?”
Draco pinched the back of his nose, counting to ten in his mind once again in an
attempt to calm himself down.
She must have taken his silence as a no as she continued talking. “You know,
you disappeared. Somebody demanded money for your return after it became public,
but it’s not clear if they really were responsible for it, as they were never
caught and you weren’t found. You are listed as missing till today.”
The words startled Draco into looking at her, but the bus arrived before he
could ask more questions.
Hermione paid for his ticket, using her own regular card, and Draco followed her
to the back of the bus where they found two empty seats.
“Is that all?” he asked as soon as they sat down.
“Yes. I would have thought that you were alive and had a kind of selective
amnesia, weren’t it for...” she trailed of, staring out of the window.
“Weren’t it for the wings.” Draco finished the sentence for her.
They didn’t speak for the reminder of the ride, Draco opting to stare at the
seat in front of him. He felt numb and couldn’t form a coherent thought and
certainly didn’t feel like speaking. Hermione’s words had caught him by
surprise. He didn’t know what he had expected, but certainly not that.
When she told him that they needed to get off the bus he followed her
instructions obediently.
Only when they entered a huge apartment complex and she led them towards the
elevator did he protest again.
Hermione gave him a weird look, but turned towards the stairs anyway, for which
he was really grateful.
Luckily, the person they were seeking out lived on the third floor and they
didn’t have to walk too long. It was still enough for them to be out of breath
when they finally reached their destination.
Hermione gave him a weak smile before walking towards a door and pounding
against it.
“The bell doesn’t work,” she looked over her shoulder at Draco and he
shrugged. She seemed to know this supposed friend of his quite well and it
didn’t sit right with him. For all the interactions he remembered with her,
there wasn’t a single one that suggested they had even one mutual friend.
“Who’s there?” a deep voice came from behind the door, pulling Draco back
into the reality.
“Hermione Granger,” she said with an anxious glance over at Draco before
turning back to the door.
For a moment only rustling of chains could be heard but then the door opened,
revealing a tall dark-skinned man.
“What do you want, Gra-” he started but froze when his eyes landed on Draco.
“Malfoy?”

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