Three months later.

St Mungo's was its normal bustling self as Hermione and Draco traversed the familiar corridors. Over the last three months they'd spent rather a lot of time in the wizarding hospital. Neither of them had needed admitting after the final battle, but they had both received treatment, and Hermione had even had several more follow up appointments for her hand, which would forever be marred by a scar where Bellatrix's heel had gone through her hand.

However, it was as visitors that the couple had become so familiar with the hospital. Especially the wards where Blaise had resided for most of the last three months. Initially Blaise had been in intensive care, and it was over a week after the final battle before he finally woke up. Since waking up, he'd been cleared of any serious brain injury, although his memory now wasn't the best and he often had to be told things several times before they sank in and he remembered them.

But the most serious of Blaise's injuries were to his legs and right ankle. Once he was well enough to leave intensive care, he was moved to a different ward, which catered to mending badly broken bones. The bones in Blaise's legs had all been fixed long before he'd woken up, but his ankle and foot was fixed following his return to the land of the living. However, there had been complications with his ankle, and it was only a skilled private healer, paid for by the Malfoys, that had been able to save his right foot. Even so, the damage was still extensive and not only had Blaise had to learn how to walk again, he would also never be able to walk unaided. For the rest of his life he would have to use a stick to help him walk.

But finally, after three long months, Blaise was well enough to be discharged, which was why Draco and Hermione were at the hospital. It had already been decided that Blaise would be staying at the manor for the foreseeable future, as even though he was well enough to leave St Mungo's, he still needed to take it easy and to fully recuperate.

"Where have my parents gotten to?" Draco muttered to Hermione as they reached Blaise's room. Lucius and Narcissa were supposed to be with them, but at the last minute Lucius had claimed he had something to do and they would catch them up at the hospital.

"They'll be here," Hermione replied as she pushed open the door and entered Blaise's room.

Blaise was fully dressed and sitting on the hospital bed, but he was scowling at the wooden cane the hospital had provided him with. On a whole he'd dealt with everything really well, and he'd excelled in his physiotherapy, but the one thing Blaise was struggling with was the thought of being reliant on a cane. He complained that it made him feel like an old man, and he'd even tried to convince the staff at St Mungo's that he didn't need it. But it was to no avail, the cane was necessary, and Blaise wouldn't be leaving the hospital without it.

"Are you it?" Blaise asked when only Draco and Hermione entered his room.

"Are we what?" Draco asked.

"The delegation come to see me finally free of this place," Blaise replied. "I at least expected your parents to be here."

"Mother and Father are on the way," Draco informed his friend. "But who else did you expect?"

"I don't know, how about the rest of my friends?" Blaise questioned.

"We talked about this yesterday Blaise," Hermione said gently. "We decided it was overkill for everyone to come to the hospital. They'll all be at the Ministry, and then chances are most of them will come back to the manor with us."

"Oh yeah, I think I remember now," Blaise muttered, cursing his sodding memory and the fact it no longer worked properly. "And we're going to the Ministry because?" he asked, not able to remember anything about the Ministry.

"It's Kingsley's inauguration as Minister," Draco explained. "Although if you're not feeling up for it, we could skip it. Everyone will understand."

"Don't you want to go?" Blaise asked. His memory may have been faulty, but he still knew Draco and could tell he was looking for an excuse not to attend the ceremony.

"I could live without being there," Draco replied with a shrug. "His speech is bound to mention what happened at Hogwarts, and I'd rather not have the attention."

"Kingsley agreed not to mention you by name," Hermione pointed out. "He's focusing on the united way our world stood together, rather than the individuals."

"Whether he mentions names or not, everyone knows who he's talking about when he mentions The Dark Lord's downfall," Draco argued. "The second he mentions it, all eyes will be on Longbottom and myself."

"You're a hero," Blaise chuckled, remembering enough to know what the reaction had been to Draco since Voldemort's downfall.

"I'm no hero," Draco muttered bitterly.

He may have played a part in bringing down Voldemort, but he didn't think of himself as a hero. However, that wasn't the case with most of the wizarding world. Just after Voldemort's downfall, Draco was taken into the Ministry for questioning, along with everyone else who bore the Dark Mark, but not only had Hermione spoken up for him, but there had been a strong public demand that any past crimes should be forgiven in light of what he'd done for the wizarding world in helping to bring down Voldemort. It was made very clear that if it hadn't been for Draco, Voldemort would never have been brought down, and for that he was a hero. It was a mantle that didn't sit right with Draco, but he'd never fought the decision to pardon him as he knew just how lucky he was to be free after everything he'd done in Voldemort's service.

"I think a lot of people will disagree with that," Hermione said. "But we needn't argue about that now," she added when Draco opened his mouth, clearly to argue further. "Unless Blaise isn't up for it, we're going to the inauguration. I know Kingsley's been running things for the last few months, but today marks the start of a new chapter in Wizarding Britain's history. Today is the day we get to close the door on the past and look to the future."

"The future where I'm an old man with a cane," Blaise grumbled bitterly. "What sort of witch is going to fancy me now?"

"A witch with very good taste," Narcissa's voice answered from the doorway as the elegant blond witch swept into the room. "You're a catch, Blaise, and I doubt your cane will slow you down in the long run."

"It's just so ugly," Blaise muttered.

"Maybe I can help there," Lucius said, following his wife into the room and presenting Blaise with an elegant black cane, with an engraved silver snake at its head.

"You're giving me your cane?" Blaise asked in bewilderment.

"Heavens no," Lucius replied, moving aside his cloak to reveal his own distinctive cane attached to his hip. "I just merely had a second one made for you. You can even store your wand in the head, like I do."

"This is better than the one the hospital gave me," Blaise said, gingerly getting to his feet and testing the cane.

"And it's perfect for poking people you don't like," Lucius whispered to Blaise. "Not to mention how handy it is in a fight. I once knocked someone's front teeth out when I hit them with my cane."

"I think we've had enough violence to last us a lifetime," Narcissa scolded her husband. "We didn't get Blaise the cane so he could use it as a weapon. We got him it because he needed it, and it's a damn sight more elegant than the one St Mungo's was going to provide him with."

"I really appreciate it," Blaise said with a smile. "And I love it. Maybe having to use a cane isn't going to be so bad."

"Of course it won't," Lucius said, plucking his own cane from his hip and jauntily giving it a swing. "Canes are elegant, Blaise."

The new cane worked wonders for Blaise, and there was no complaining about having to use it as he signed the official documentation to leave the hospital. And when they arrived at the Ministry, to find his friends waiting for them, he wasn't opposed to showing off his fancy new cane.

As they settled down to witness Kingsley's inauguration, Hermione proudly held onto Draco's hand the entire time. He might not have seen himself as a hero, but she was under no illusions that without him, they wouldn't be sitting here today. The wizarding world would not be free place, and Voldemort would still have been in power. Draco might not have done it on his own, and everyone who had fought were heroes in their own right, but he was the vital part of the puzzle, without which victory would never have been secured.

As promised, Kingsley didn't single out any one person for praise when he recalled events of three months ago. Instead, he focused on how so many people had come together and stood up to the darkness their world had been infected with. However, it was inevitable that people's attention would drift towards Draco, and several times throughout the inauguration, he found himself subjected to stares from the public.

Although Draco wasn't the only one people were interested in, and almost as much attention was been given to Neville. After Voldemort's downfall, rumours had started to spread that he'd been the real 'Chosen One', but Neville had been quick to dismiss them, and he'd proven that he was in no way marked by Voldemort as the cut he'd received in the final battle disappeared in time like every normal cut. Even so, Neville was a hero, along with Draco.

And Lucius and Severus hadn't exactly emerged unnoticed either. Like Draco, they'd both been question by the Ministry after Voldemort's downfall, but their vital role in the final battle ensured that they were also pardoned for past offences. But it wasn't their past actions that people spoke about, it was their actions in the final battle. Everyone knew how much they'd helped Draco in battling The Dark Lord, and they knew that at the vital moment they were with Neville and Draco and helped deal the final, killing blow. Again, they'd played an unforgettable role in events at Hogwarts, and as such were lauded as heroes.

After the inauguration there was to be a formal reception, but neither Draco or Hermione were attending as they wanted to be there for Blaise as he settled into life at the manor. However, before they headed home, Hermione managed to catch Neville and the Weasleys, all of whom were wearing black and looked pretty sombre.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

"Not really," Ginny answered with a sigh as beside her, Neville put a comforting arm around her shoulders. The pair were now a fully-fledged couple, and Hermione could already see they were devoted to each other.

"We're heading to St Mungo's from here," Charlie explained. "It's time to let Dad go."

Since the incident at Azkaban, Arthur had been in a coma, and Hermione had learnt that he was only been kept alive with magic. Ginny had confided in her that there was nothing more the Healers could do for him, and although they could keep him alive, they couldn't cure him. He would never wake up, and he would never be the man he once was.

"I'm sorry," Hermione said sympathetically. Despite Arthur's role in her kidnapping, she knew he'd felt remorse and regretted his actions, which was more than could have been said about certain other people.

"So are we, but it's for the best," Bill said. "Dad wouldn't want to carry on like this. It's time we let him go and focused on the future."

Agreeing with the Weasleys that it was time to look to the future, Hermione said her goodbyes and headed back to the manor with Draco and the others. As expected, Draco and Blaise's other friends joined them and it was a pretty festive atmosphere as Blaise settled into life at Malfoy Manor.

An hour later, Hermione found herself taking in some fresh air at one of the back doors of the manor, when Draco joined her. Wrapping his arms around her, he pressed a kiss to the top of her head and whispered his thanks into her ear.

"What are you thanking me for?" she asked.

"For never giving up on me," Draco replied. "Even when I'd given up on myself, you were there believing in me. You saw me at my darkest, and you still loved me."

"I always told you we would get through it together."

"You did," Draco agreed with a nod. Although truth be told he was irrevocably changed by everything he'd gone through, and he was nowhere near recovered from all the horrors of his past.

"And I know we've still got a long way to go," Hermione said, turning around in Draco's arms and gazing up at her boyfriend. "We aren't just going to get over what happened in a few months. It'll be with us for the rest of our lives."

"Tainting them?" Draco questioned quietly, wondering if the past would always be a barrier to their happiness.

"I don't believe so," Hermione said with a shake of her head. "We survived, Draco. And I don't intend to let anything come between us again. You're mine, and I am never letting you go."

"Good, because I am never letting you go either," Draco returned, his lips curving into a tender smile.

"In that case, I think you should marry me," Hermione announced with a grin.

"Have you just proposed?" Draco asked incredulously.

"I have," Hermione confirmed with a laugh. "What do you say, Draco? Will you marry me?"

"In a heartbeat," Draco replied, swooping Hermione up in his arms and sealing the matter with a searing kiss.

Together, and separate, they'd been through more in the last few years than most people went through in an entire lifetime, and they'd survived. But more importantly their love had survived. And now finally with all obstacles out of the way, it was time for them to have the happy ending they'd fought so hard for.

The End.

A/N – I want to thank everyone for reading and reviewing the Shattered Trust series – especially since it's been going all year. I also want to thank everyone in general for their support this year – which I have to admit hasn't been an easy one in terms of writing.

I also want to let people know what will be happening next year with my writing. This year has been hard – with outside factors such as the hot weather, a broken laptop and just life in general playing a part in how little I've wrote this year. But I have to admit, I didn't help myself and this year I put too much pressure on myself by publishing stories that weren't finished. I did it with the Goddess sequel, I did it with this series and I did it with the Darkness trilogy. (And for those waiting for the third part of the trilogy, I promise it will be posted sometime next year). With each of them I started thinking I was so advanced in the story that I would have it finished long before I got up to that bit of publishing, but it didn't work like that and more often than not I began to feel pressured into writing those particular stories when sometimes my interest was with other stories.

So next year is going to be different, and I will no longer publish stories I haven't yet finished completely. That means there might be longer gaps in between stories, or updates only happening once a week rather than two or three times. But I think it's preferable than carrying on the way I've been this year and ending up putting myself off writing. I love writing and love sharing my stories with the wonderful people on this site, so I hope you understand my decision. I would rather publish less often, but keep writing and publishing than push myself and end up coming to an end with my writing.

But I will definitely be back next year. So for now all that's left for me to say is to wish all you wonderful readers a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and I'll see you in 2019.