All rights to J. K. Rowling

*******There is potential trigger here later on about rape - it isn't explicit or anything like that but I thought I'd put a warning here just in case *****

Hermione and Ron watched from just in front of the gargoyle who guarded the Headmaster's office as Harry started to make his way to the Gryffindor Tower muttering to himself about sleep and Kreacher bringing him a sandwich. When he was out of their sight the two of them made their way back to the Great Hall, knowing that he would want to be alone for a bit and would rather go to sleep than stay up chatting. Hermione was very grateful of the silence that fell between the two of them, she felt like she hadn't had a proper moment of silence in a very long time and that was mentally exhausting – she thought for a brief minute that maybe she should go up to the girls dormitories and sleep as well. When they reached the Great Hall Ron looked sadly towards his family, thoughts of Fred obviously filling his mind and conflicting with his idea that maybe Hermione wanted him.

"Go Ron, your family needs you." She nodded her head towards his family after catching a glimpse of conflicting emotions flash across his face.

"What about you?"

"I'll be fine, I'm going to see if I can help Madam Pomfrey with anything." She smiled at him, hoping that he'd see she was fine. He gave her a dubious look before nodding and heading off to his family. Hermione looked around the room for the Mediwitch before spotting her only a few metres away attending to a very shaken up looking Parvati Patil. "Madam Pomfrey?"

Madam Pomfrey looked up looking a bit flustered, a bit of relief flashed through her eyes when she saw the muggleborn girl standing next to her. "Ah Hermione my dear, are you alright?" A brief flicker of concern crossed her face.

"I'm fine." Hermione reassured her. "I was actually wondering if there's anything I can do to help you. Do you need me to do anything?"

Madam Pomfrey smiled, "Yes my dear, there is actually something," She glanced at the girl she was currently attending to. Parvati had a few cuts on her face and a gash that ran along her neck and down her left arm, she also seemed to have a rather large bruise around her neck and two very blue ones on each wrist. "Miss Patil, would you mind if Hermione took over?"

Parvati looked at Hermione and gave her a small smile. "Sure." Hermione was handed the bandages and various balms and potions Madam Promfrey had been using.

"How are you holding up, Parvati?" Hermione asked as she started applying a balm to one of her wrists.

"I'm-" Her eyes started to slowly fill with tears, "I'm numb but I know I'm in pain, I think it may be waiting to catch up with me; hit me hardest and destroy me when I think I may actually be alright." She gasped for breath a little bit before sniffling. "Thank you… for trying to help Lavender, I know she was pretty awful to you last year and that you kind of always just tolerated her."

"I'm sorry I was too late." Hermione whispered in response.

"It wasn't your fault." Neither of them spoke after that for a bit. After Hermione had tended to the large gash and the cuts on Parvati's face, she started on the large bruise on her neck.

"What happened here?" She asked quietly.

Parvati's face darkened and her bottom lip began to tremble. "The trouble with having the Carrow's as teachers at the school is that they hate Gryffindors, they'd do anything to humiliate and degrade them. A few days ago Amycus Carrow, he- I stood up to him for abusing some third years," She shuddered and paused, "H-he didn't ta-take too kindly to it and shot Pet-Pertri-Petrificus Totalus at me before hav-having his way with me." Tears were flowing freely from her cheeks. "He was r-rather rough about it."

Hermione covered her mouth with her hand and looked at Parvati absolutely horrified. "Parvati I-" Parvati put a hand up to stop her.

"I know, but there's nothing really you can say that'll make it better." Hermione nodded and started to talk about something completely unrelated, hoping to distract Parvati and make her feel slightly more cheerful. When Hermione was finished she continued to talk to the girl who'd been her roommate for six years until Madam Pomfrey asked if she could tend to a family who was sitting in the corner closest to the Slytherin table. Hermione bid Parvati goodbye and then made her way over.

It wasn't until Hermione was only a few metres away that she realised that the family she'd been asked to see to were the Malfoys. She stilled almost immediately and wanted to run in the opposite direction but alas, Narcissa Malfoy looked up and spotted her with the medical supplies in her arms. Realising that she wouldn't be able to turn tail and run, Hermione continued to walk forwards and knelt in front of the elegantly dressed woman – her clothes didn't seem to fit with what had happened in the last twenty-four hours, you wouldn't have been able to tell she'd been fighting a war except for a few tears and the dirt on her.

"Mrs Malfoy do you mind if I look at you for any injuries?" The lady shook her head so Hermione waved her wand and performed a diagnostics charm designed to locate any problems. Her left wrist glowed a vibrant red indicating that she'd broken it and her foot glowed purple telling them she'd sprained it. Hermione worked in silence, neither of them particularly wanting to speak to one another – Hermione due to the fact that she didn't know the woman very well, Narcissa's reason was because she didn't know to express how sorry she was for the actions of her sister.

"Thank you Miss Granger." She murmured when Hermione had finished fixing her; Hermione gave her a curt nod before turning to Lucius Malfoy, who was seated next to his wife. She didn't ask if he wanted her help before casting the diagnostics charm on him, she didn't think after all he'd done to her that he deserved the courtesy. He grunted when he got a vague idea of her thoughts through her actions but said nothing and let her heal his shattered knee and tend to his concussion.

Finally she turned to the youngest Malfoy, who was sitting on the table behind his parents. He was cradling an arm as he watched her stand up and sit on the table next to him once Narcissa and Lucius had moved to the side a bit.

"I'm sorry." He apologised before Hermione even had the chance to open her mouth. Shocked, she looked up in the silver eyes that were so similar to her son's; Hermione had wanted to go to Leon as soon as Voldemort had breathed his last breath but she knew that she would be needed to help out here before she could and she didn't want to bring him to the ruins of Hogwarts, what had been a battleground until a few hours ago. What surprised her even more though as she looked into his eyes was that they weren't devoid of emotion as they normally were, she saw relief, guilt and something else she couldn't quite put her finger on as he looked at her.

"You didn't do anything." She said quietly.

"Precisely, I didn't do anything." He shook his head as if scolding himself. "I should have helped you at- at the manor… And I'm sorry about the way I treated you at school – especially last year. I'm so sorry, Hermione." Hermione blinked and stared at him, he looked so sincere and apologetic, self-hate seemed to be radiating off him. To add to her bewilderment he had called her by her first name. He'd never done that.

"You've never called me 'Hermione' before." She whispered as she waved her wand with perfect precision for the spell – he had a dislocated shoulder, a hyper-extended leg and a broken nose.

"Another reason I should be sorry, you never deserved those derogatory names." He winced as Hermione put a bit of pressure on his shoulder to test how badly dislocated it was, wondering if she would need to call Madam Pomfrey.

"You've changed." She commented, not realising she'd said this aloud.

"I just fought a war, that tends to change you." He chuckled mirthlessly.

"Indeed." Hermione agreed. "Thank you… for apologising." She smiled at him before frowning a little. "I'm going to need you to take off your shirt."

He raised an eyebrow at her and looked amused. "Why?" He asked.

"I can't see how dislocated your shoulder is under those layers, I also need to judge how to set your arm back."

"What if I say no? I'm a changed man, I could be very shy?" He joked.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "It's nothing I haven't already seen."

He grinned cheekily. "Well if that's what you were really asking…"

"Get over yourself." She blushed at the insinuation and gently shoved his shoulder forgetting for a second that it was dislocated. A squawk of pain emitted from his lips as he gritted his teeth. Hermione put a hand over her mouth, "Oh my word, I'm so sorry."

"How is it you've managed to cause me so much pain?" He lamented dramatically, letting her know he wasn't taking it too seriously. "The nose in third year and now my shoulder, how could you?"

Hermione chuckled. "I'm sorry it wasn't me who did your nose in this time."

"Nope, don't be." He said quickly. He started unbuttoning his black collared shirt, having already taken off his blazer with the help of Hermione. "This time hurt an awful lot less than when you punched me."

"Really?" She helped slip the shirt off his dislocated arm, leaving him in nothing but his trousers.

"Yes, you seem to be awfully good at causing pain." She grimaced and looked at him sadly at the sight of how bad the dislocation was. "That bad?" He asked noticing her look.

"Best if I fetch Madam Pomfrey." She hopped off the table. "I'll be back in a jiffy." Finding Madam Pomfrey was a relatively easy task as all Hermione had to do was follow the howls that came from Seamus Finnigan as she applied dittany to a gash that went all the way down his spine. Hermione waited for the Mediwitch to finish before she asked her to help her set Malfoy's shoulder.

Madam Pomfrey put her hands on her hips and shook her head when she saw the state of Malfoy's shoulder. "Mr Malfoy, what have you done to yourself?" She asked him, Lucius Malfoy turned his head in confusion thinking she was addressing him but quickly realised this wasn't the case and went back to talking with his wife. Draco Malfoy just grimaced and raised his hands in reply as if to say 'I have no idea, but what can I do?'. "I'm afraid that this is going to hurt Mr Malfoy." She informed him.

"Can't have hurt anymore than when- AH!" He did try incredibly hard not scream so instead all that came out was a painful groan followed by a few whimpers.

"Hermione give him these painkillers after you've fixed the rest of him." She conjured some potions of varying colours and handed them to Hermione. "I've got to see if Mr Finnigan has got any other afflictions."

Hermione sat back on the table, set the potions down and raised her wand to fix his nose. There was a loud crack as it fixed itself. "Merlin! That was painful. Couldn't you have given me a painkiller potion before you did that?"

Hermione shook her head. "If I give it to you before I fix everything else it won't dull the pain of the stuff I've yet to mend." She explained. He frowned but nodded in acceptance, so Hermione got to work on his leg. "This one shouldn't hurt, it'll feel a bit weird though – like someone is pouring cold jelly down your leg." Once she was done she gave him the various potions. "You must be relieved I didn't set your shoulder, I don't think you would have been able to take the pain that I seem to inflict on you." She joked.

He laughed before guzzling the turquoise potion she'd handed him. "I think you're right. I would have ended up curled up in a ball, wailing like a baby with my thumb in my mouth."

Hermione chortled. "I would pay money to see that." She handed him a pink potion, which he looked at sceptically.

"Are you trying to trick me into drinking a love potion under the pretence of a healing potion, Hermione?" He drawled.

"As if Draco."

"You just called me 'Draco'" He smiled as he downed the pink potion.

"Yeah… I guess I did." She scratched a nonexistent itch on the back of her neck. "You're not so bad when you're not spouting insults at me."

"You're not going to have to worry about me insulting you anymore if that's what it sounds like when you say my name."

"And what does it sound like?" She asked.

"I think I'd have to tell you in private, it's just too naughty to say in public." Draco grinned.

Hermione laughed. "Are you sure that it isn't you who wants to give me a love potion?"

Draco chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe," He grinned impishly, "I mean if I want a repeat of a very good experience you're certainly one to think about." He winked at her causing her to blush a very deep red.

"I highly doubt that's true, I hadn't had any experience."

"So imagine what it'll be like when you've had more experience." Hermione didn't think it was possible to blush anymore than she was already but apparently it was as her face continued to redden. Draco laughed, "You look pretty when you blush." He drank the final painkilling potion.

"I'm sure you think so if you like how a tomato looks." She commented sarcastically, but she couldn't help but grin, she was actually having fun talking and occasionally flirting with Draco. "Would you prefer me to heal the cuts on your face or do you want to do it?" She asked hoping the change of topic with quieten the blush.

"Touch me all you want, darlin'." He smirked, Hermione's hopes of the blush disappearing vanished. Hermione didn't respond to his comment and instead cleaned his wounds in silence trying to ignore the fact that he was staring at her.

"All done." She announced a little while later as she leaned away from Draco's face. She gathered all the medical supplies and started to get up when Draco grabbed hold of her arm and tugged her back onto the table completely. "What-" She cut herself off when he started to roll her left sleeve up once he'd taken all the supplies out of her hands. "Draco don't."

"Just let me do something to help heal it. Anything. If there's really nothing I can do then just let me clean it." He pleaded. Hermione looked at the reminder of her torture at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange and sighed, at some point in the battle the bandage she had kept over it had come off and as a result it was currently filthy and bloody. "Please." Draco pleaded again. Hermione nodded letting him have a complete view of her forearm. She heard a sharp intake of breath come from him when he saw it. "I'm so sorry, Hermione. I don't think I could repeat that enough to make it even slightly better." His eyes filled with tears and Hermione could see that he meant those words very much. Her heart broke at the sight of eyes so like her son's filling with tears and she tried to find something, anything that would make him a bit better.

"It's not so bad, the blade wasn't cursed so the worst it'll do is scar." She realised this wasn't exactly comforting but it was all she was able to come up with.

"It's still a reminder of what you went through and the word she-"

"Draco, I'm proud of who I am. Mudblood and proud." She told him. "The word doesn't faze me anymore, years of hearing it thrown at me has dulled the harmful intent of that word." She paused. "And my life from now on is all a reminder of what I went through, I went through all that so that my family, my friends and I could live in a world without having to fear anything."

Draco nodded, understanding what she was getting at and why she was telling him all this. "I feel a little better… not much, but a little."

Hermione chuckled quietly. "Then I have succeeded in my task."

He smiled at her in response, grateful that she had tried to cheer him up. The chatted happily as he cleaned her forearm and dressed it again, both of them enjoying each other's company and wishing they had actually bothered to be civil whilst they had been in school – then they could have had intelligent debates with people who weren't Ravenclaws and who would actually understand what they were talking about. It's not that they thought their friends were dumb, their friends just weren't as smart as them. At one point in their conversation they both fell into a comfortable silence, which meant that Hermione then started thinking very hard about a certain topic that was plaguing her mind.

"What's bothering you?" He asked.

"How do you know something is bothering me?"

"You're biting your lip and looking confused." He replied. "What are you thinking about?"

"I was thinking- I was won-" She paused and looked at him hard before making up her mind. "I'd like you to meet somebody."

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Yes," Hermione said more confidently than her last sentence, "I'd like you to meet the most precious and important person in my life right now."

"You're not going to reintroduce to me Weasley are you and claim that because I've changed it counts as meeting someone for the first time?"

Hermione laughed. "No, I'm not going to reintroduce you to Ron. No, he's not here at the moment. He couldn't have fought."

"You're going to introduce me to your Muggle boyfriend?" He sounded completely baffled. "Hermione, I didn't know we were that close... And I thought Weasley was your boyfriend?"

"No," Hermione shook her head, "It'll make more sense when you meet him." She paused. "And Ron isn't my boyfriend, I have a feeling he may not forgive me for a rather large and important… ummm… detail of my life – or it'll take him years to get over it."

"Well I'm fascinated to find out what you think will ruin Weasel's faith in you, are you going to tell me?" Hermione didn't respond so Draco moved on. "So when do you want me to meet this important person of yours?"

Hermione looked down nervously at her hands. "Whenever you like. Today, tomorrow… ten years time."

Draco looked at her and studied her nervous actions. "I think I'd like to meet him today before you manage to talk yourself out of letting me meet him."

"Um, alright. I'm not bringing him to a battle site though… I'll need to check that Madam Pomfrey doesn't need me for anything else, and then once I've let him know that you're coming I'll come back and get you. Is that alright?" He nodded. "Good. See you in a bit." She hopped off the table and gathered the medical supplies to give back to Madam Pomfrey.

"I'll be here, bye Hermione." He gave her a small wave as she headed off.

Hermione tapped the Mediwitch on her shoulder, "Madam Pomfrey, do you need me to do anything else?" She asked.

"Hello Hermione, let me take those off you." She said motioning to the supplies in her hands.

"Thank you." She started handing her the medical whatnots. "Do you need me to help with anything else?" Hermione repeated.

"No my dear. Go and have fun, talk to your friends or go home and sleep. I'll manage on my own." She smiled at the girl who'd been in her care since she was eleven.

"Thank you, I hope you manage to get some rest tonight as well." Just as Hermione walked out of the Great Hall to get to a point where she could apparate from (Professor McGonagall had set up the wards again) someone grabbed her hand. The person swung her into an embrace and she looked up to see Ron smiling at her.

"Hello Ron." She greeted him.

"Hi Hermione."

She tried to get out of his grip but he just tightened it a little. She sighed. "Ron could you let me go please? I have to go do something."

"But we need to talk." He said letting her take a step back but still holding onto her hands.

"About?"

"Our kiss." He grinned at her, Hermione's eyes widened in a bit of panic as she mentally face-palmed. "I would have asked to talk to you about this earlier but you were with Malfoy." He frowned. "He didn't try anything with you, did he?"

Hermione's eyebrows furrowed. "No Ronald, he didn't try anything. In fact he apologised and we actually had a rather nice conversation." She replied tightly.

Ron gave her a doubtful look but seemed to realise that he should let the subject slide if he didn't want to start an argument. "So about our kiss…?"

"Ron, I need to sort some things out before I start to even think about that."

"Alright," Ron paused, "We'll have a proper chat when you're ready… I just want to know why you did it."

Hermione blew at a stray piece of hair that was dangling in front of her face. "Ron I-" Hermione cut herself off, she didn't want to hurt Ron so she couldn't exactly tell him she kissed him because she was just really happy to hear him thinking about house elves and their safety in the middle of a battle. "Ron I don't know… I'm not really sure myself." She decided to say. "Like I said, I need to think about things and sort things out before I can say anything."

Ron looked a little disheartened to hear that but nodded. "Alright." He let her go and put a hand on the back of his neck. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?" He asked.

Hermione took a second to think. "I'm going to see my best friend."

"But Harry is upstairs." He pointed out confused.

"My best muggle friend, Ron. I need a connection to my parents and to life before all this, before Hogwarts." Hermione sighed tiredly. "I'll see you tomorrow, I'm guessing you'll all be at the Burrow?"

Ron nodded so Hermione walked off at a fast past to a point beyond the wards where she then apparated to an alley just round the corner from Jax's house. Not thinking to cast a spell to improve her appearance, Hermione rang the doorbell and waited. She grinned when she saw the handle twist before opening to see Jax holding a happily babbling Leon. Jax's eyes widened as she took in the sight in front of her, Hermione was covered from head to toe in grime, her hair was matted and looked like it could use a wash, and her clothes were torn and absolutely filthy. Hermione just didn't look like Hermione.

"What the devil happened to you?" Jax asked utterly astounded.

"We won." Hermione grinned.

"You won?" It took a while for Jax to understand the full implications of those two words. Her face brightened as it dawned on her. "You won?" Hermione nodded. "You won! That's brilliant!" She jumped forward to give Hermione a massive hug, squishing Leon a little bit. When they parted Jax looked her over again, "Wait, if that's what you look like when you've won, what would've happened if you'd lost?"

"Thankfully we'll never know." She then turned her attention to Leon. "Hello baby boy," She held out her arms and Jax handed him to her, "Mummy's home now." He continued to babble happily, clapping his hands together as if he understood what she'd said. They walked into the house and Jax used her foot to close the door behind them.

"Mum's currently out, I think she's shopping for groceries or something." Jax paused. "If you want you could have a shower, maybe freshen up a bit so you don't cover your son in anymore filth."

Hermione handed Leon back to Jax, and noticed the grubby handprints she'd manage to get all over his adorable white shirt than had wizards' hats and broomsticks all over it. "I supposed you're right," She smiled guiltily, "Let me just clean him up before I jump in the shower." She pulled out his wand and charmed the dirt away. "Don't let me be more than 10 minutes, I've actually got to meet someone like now-ish."

Jax nodded, "I'll knock on the door in five," understanding that Hermione would like a warning on how soon her time would be up, "Do you need me to fetch you a spare change of clothes? I can put them by the door."

"If you have anything that fits that'd be amazing! All my clothes are fairly filthy from being on the run with no washing machine."

Jax chuckled as Hermione closed the door to the loo and started running the water. It was such a relief to know that her friend was still alive and out of danger. As much as she loved looking after Leon, if Hermione had died, she would have dreaded the day when she'd have to explain to him why his mother wasn't there to look after him. She couldn't even imagine a scenario where that conversation ended well.

She looked at the baby in her arms. "You're going to be just fine, Leon."