It took two hours to get everyone back to the castle and settled for the night. As soon as they'd stepped through the fireplace, each student was passed off to their Head of House and escorted up to their dormitories, until only the Slytherins remained.

"Right, come on then," Draco began herding them through the dungeon hallways towards the dormitories. It wasn't until they reached the Common Room that he met with some resistance, mostly from the younger kids.

"It's okay," Daphne Greengrass stepped in. "If you don't want to go back to your dorm rooms you can stay in here, all together. We'll transfigure some mattresses and sleeping bags."

There were murmurs of agreement to this plan, and slowly everyone began to disperse, going to their rooms to change into pyjamas or go to bed.

"Now what?" Astoria turned to Draco expectantly as the room cleared out.

"Why does everyone keep looking at me?" he frowned exasperatedly.

"Because you're the one that's taken care of us all for the last four years," Daphne scoffed. "You're the one who handles these things."

"I'd be more than happy to relinquish my position," Draco grumbled.

"Too late," Theo shook his head. "So, seriously, what do we do now?"

"Sleep," Blaise said. "Now, we sleep. Because I'm about to fall over, and I'm sure everyone else is too."

"That's for sure," Daphne nodded. "I'm gonna sleep out here tonight, in case they have nightmares."

"Me too," Astoria linked her arm through her sisters. "In case I have nightmares."

Daphne smiled sourly and rested her head on top of her sister's.

"Come on boys," Blaise clapped Theo and Draco on their shoulders and gave them a shove towards the dormitories. "Let's get some sleep."

"That's the most intelligent thing I've ever heard you say, Zabini," Theo chuckled. "Drake, you coming?"

"Just a minute," Draco waved them on and turned to Hermione, who had remained tucked into his side ever since their return to the castle. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," she frowned. "Why?"

"You've just been a lot quieter than usual."

"I didn't want to get in the way," she shrugged. "It's your house, your friends. I didn't think they'd want my opinion."

"That's because you're slightly mad," he kissed her forehead. "You don't have to stay here tonight if you don't want to, you know. You can go to your own dorm."

"D-do you not want me to stay?" Hermione asked nervously, suddenly very interested in the carpet.

"I desperately want you to stay," Draco said seriously, taking her face in his hands and forcing her to look at him. "I just don't want you to be uncomfortable."

"I just want to stay with you," she said quietly, chewing her bottom lip.

"I'm never letting you out of my sight again," he smiled, stroking her cheek with the pad of his thumb. "So if you'd feel better sleeping in your old bed, then that's where we'll sleep."

Hermione finally met his eyes, studying his face carefully as she continued worrying her bottom lip. Draco was about to ask what was wrong when she smiled softly, reaching up to play with the hairs at the back of his neck.

"You, Draco Malfoy, never cease to amaze me," she sighed. "I don't want to go back to the tower, I don't want to see anyone."

"Thank Salazar!" Draco took a deep breath, as though he had been holding it in lieu of her answer, trying to lighten the mood. "I don't think I'd have been able to sleep with all that Gryffindor red around me."

"You're ridiculous," Hermione shook her head, smiling again.

"Yeah, but you like me anyways," he kissed her. "Come on, lets get you to bed."

He took her hand and led her down a corridor off the common room, weaving left and right until they came to a regal set of double doors.

"This is your dorm room?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Don't act so surprised," Draco chuckled. "We're a bunch of stuck up pricks, remember?"

"I'm sure she's well aware," Blaise threw open the doors. "I'd be happy to offer a broader field of study, though."

"Try it," Draco growled, tucking Hermione into his side protectively. "See what happens."

"Now, now, don't get testy," Blaise raised his hands defensively. "I'm just kidding- but the offer stands if you ever get tired of him."

He winked at Hermione conspiratorially, making her roll her eyes.

"I'm sure she'll keep that in mind," Draco drawled. "Can we go to bed now?"

"As long as you put up silencing charms," Blaise said, stepping aside and gesturing regally for them to pass him.

Draco shoved him harshly, knocking the suave Italian off balance and sending him to the floor. Hermione hid her face in his shoulder to repress a giggle, while Blaise glared up at her boyfriend.

"Was that necessary?"

"That's my bed at the end," Draco pointed Hermione to the four poster in the far corner of the room, ignoring Blaise's complaints. "There should be clothes in the trunk still, take anything you want."

Hermione nodded and timidly crossed the room, doing her best not to stare. Based on the doors, and the overall stigma of the house, she had expected the dormitory to look like it could have easily fit into Buckingham Palace. Instead, she found herself in a room very similar to the boys' at the Burrow, with the exception of the green walls. There were various Quidditch posters above the beds, as well as posters for 'The Weird Sisters' and a few other musical groups Hermione didn't recognize. It also struck her how cluttered the room was, apart from the area around Draco's bed.

"If we'd known we were having visitors we would have cleaned up," Theo joked, entering through a door on the far side of the room.

"Oh, no, I-" Hermione stammered, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

"I was just kidding," he assured her. "We probably wouldn't have cleaned up. And don't let that corner fool you," he pointed to Draco's bed. "It's only clean because he hasn't been here in a month. He's just as messy as we are."

"That is not true," the accused blonde called over.

Hermione smiled at the two boys as they bickered about Draco's cleaning habits, before opening the trunk at the foot of Draco's bed to find something to change into. She found a well-worn Quidditch jersey in the bottom of the trunk and smiled.

The bathroom was far grander than the dorm, and seemed to be private- which felt like a rip off, since Hermione had to share a bathroom with every other girl in Gryffindor Tower. There was a large shower as well as a claw foot bathtub that could fit at least four people, along with a large marble counter and double sink.

Looking at the shower, Hermione realized how desperately she needed to wash off the last forty-eight hours. As the water poured over her, washing away the dirt and grime and Morgana only knew what else of the night, she could feel her emotional walls washing away as well, the last year finally catching up to her so quickly that it knocked the wind out of her. Heaving with sobs, she collapsed onto the bottom of the shower, laying down and pulling her knees into her chest, simply letting the waves come.

She didn't know how long she lay there before Draco came in, she didn't even realize that he was there until he pulled her into a sitting position.

"I've got you," he promised. "I'm right here, I've got you."

Hermione simply sobbed in answer, clutching his hand desperately.

She wasn't listening to a word he was saying, but the sound of his voice was calming, and whenever he stopped talking she squeezed his hand, urging him to continue. When the all encompassing pain finally let up and she was able to catch her breath, she pushed the sopping wet hair from her face and studied her boyfriend carefully.

"You're still wearing your clothes," she said quietly.

"So are you," Draco smirked.

Hermione looked down at herself and frowned, having had no idea that she'd forgotten to undress.

"Why don't we do something about that?" Draco suggested.

Without waiting for an answer he began carefully peeling her many layers of clothing off, each layer revealing more blood and grime, and he had to stop himself from wincing at the sight. Once he had her shirt off, he carefully examined her torso to ensure none of the blood was her. All through this process Hermione was silent, almost catatonic, barely moving and presumably unable to stand on her own judging by how heavily she was leaning against him.

When they were both clean, Draco wrapped her in a towel and went to get himself clothes. When he came back, she was laying curled up on the floor, her hair splayed around her creating a puddle.

"Come on, love, you've got to sit up for me, okay?" Draco crouched down and carefully pulled her up again, leaning her against his chest so he could dry her hair. Once that was done, he helped her into his old Quidditch jersey and boxer shorts and was about to carry her back into the dormitory when she started to laugh. At first, it was so quiet he thought she was crying again, but it quickly bubbled into hysterical guffaws, and Draco felt his heart break at the sound. For one terrifying moment, he thought that she had truly gone mad, just as his Aunt had after so many years of torture at the hands of her husband.

"Hermione," he took her face in his hands. "Hermione, look at me!"

The moment she met his eyes, the laughter stopped and the pain returned.

"How can you be so fucking calm right now?" she demanded, her voice catching. "The world just fucking ended, and you're a bloody cucumber!"

"I'm a what?"

"A cucumber. You're cool as a fucking cucumber, it's a muggle saying," she explained in an annoyed tone.

"Of course it is," he rolled his eyes. "That sounds like the kind of barmy thing that would come out of a muggle. By the way, have I told you how much I enjoy it when you curse? It's a real turn on."

Hermione rolled her own eyes and relief coursed through Draco, knowing that his girlfrend was still in this shell of a body he'd been watching for the last hour. Then she looked at him imploringly, obviously waiting for him to answer her question.

"Because you need me to be," he said softly. "That's how I can be so calm."

In that moment, Hermione didn't think she had ever been more in love with the man in front of her, nor had she ever felt so loved.

The world had fallen apart, they had both lost almost everything, but all he seemed to care about was the fact that she needed him.

Without a moment's hesitation, her lips were on his, one of her hands behind his neck, tugging at his hair while the other cupped his cheek, holding him to her. Draco resisted her for only a second, before pulling her into his lap and sliding his hands up her shirt, tracing her spine and grasping desperately at her hips. He was probably leaving bruises, but neither one of them cared, too desperate to have each other to take note.

When Draco tasted her tears he didn't pull back, simply continued his ministrations, his lips moving softly against hers, then to kiss the tears from her cheeks.

"It's alright," he whispered, sucking at her neck softly. "Just let it out."

Hermione nodded weakly against him, one hand still tangled in his hair, spurring him on, while the other wrapped in his shirt, holding it so tightly that her knuckles were white.

"I'm right here," Draco promised, placing a hand over hers and gently easing her grip. "I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here."

He repeated the words over and over, peppering her face and shoulders with kisses, never once moving the arm he had wrapped tightly around her waist. He didn't stop whispering until he felt her hands release him and her breathing even out when she'd cried herself to sleep.

Theo was sat on his bed, watching the door when they emerged and quickly jumped up to help Draco get Hermione into bed.

"I was about to blast the door off," he whispered. "You've been locked in there for hours."

"You should have gone to sleep," Draco frowned.

Theo just waved him off and looked down at the witch in his friend's arms worriedly.

"Is she okay?"

"She will be," Draco nodded, setting her down in the center of the mattress, careful to keep one hand on her the whole time since he knew the moment she felt he was missing she would wake.

"Are you okay?" Theo asked, studying his best friend carefully.

"You know, I think this is the first time I've ever felt completely safe," Draco sighed, suddenly understanding Hermione's earlier fit of giggles as he was torn between laughing hysterically and sobbing. "It's all a bit mad, isn't it?"

"More than a bit," Theo chuckled. "But you're right. It's definitely safe."

"Its an odd feeling," Draco observed.

"Yeah... not bad though."

"No, not bad at all."

Draco smiled minutely as he watched Hermione sleep. The nightmares would come for her soon enough, he knew that, but for now everything was peaceful and he could definitely get used to that.

A/N: The End (Not really, though) Thank you to everyone who has followed, commented on and read this story, I love each and every one of you! If you want to follow Draco and Hermione's story further, I'm working on a sequel. I'm going to be posting chapters every Monday, I think, and it's called 'Love Will Set You Free'.

Thank you again for all your support, it means the world to me!

-Emma