This is it, kiddies. The last chapter. The end. Hope you like it. Istalindar

&

Harry was having the worst day of his life. Even the Dursleys didn't compare to this: he'd gotten his own back on them anyway. He'd sent them a letter the day after he'd become Minister, full of magic to freak them out. He'd explained that now he was all grown up, well, twenty-four at least, and now ruled the Magical community of Great Britain. Eat that, you tossers.

But this…this had gone horribly wrong.

First, that vote for his removal. He hadn't seen that coming, but he should have. There had been unrest in the older families recently, but he'd let it go. He had never made an effort to involve himself with them, mainly because they were, for the most part, all connected to Voldemort and quite frankly if he could jail every single one of them he would. Had tried to, in fact.

It appeared he'd made a rather gargantuan mistake, because someone, obviously the person supporting Lucas, had made nice with the old families, got them on their side, and voted Lucas into power.

And he would bet his entire fortune that person was Constantine DeVere. That backstabbing, manipulative, whoring two-faced little bitch. She was the one behind Lucas' introduction to society, he had no doubt. And she was the one who had shielded Ginny from him…when Harry had done a location spell on Ginny when she ran away she'd shown up somewhere in Africa. Just the continent, because wherever she was was unplottable.

And the only place in Africa for her to go was one of Constantine's Projects, where, incidentally, Constantine just happened to be at the time. Constantine was probably also responsible for Ginny's newfound attachment to Amadeo Malfoy, that…snake.

Harry stopped dead.

Snake.

Like in the stupid prophecy. That stupid prophecy that had been his downfall. What was that last line?

By snakes with keys hung with rust.

Rust could mean anything. Could mean the keys had been eaten away…hell, keys could mean anything. On the other hand, keys could also mean women. Two women, wielded by snakes like Amadeo Malfoy and Daniel Masters, both with red hair…rust red hair.

Ginny Weasley and Constantine DeVere.

Harry picked up the nearest breakable thing and flung it against the wall with a roar of incoherent rage. It didn't help, and he stood in the silence for a moment, ignoring the pop of an inward apparation. The only one who could get in was Ron anyway.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ron appeared in the doorway, face solemn. Harry turned to look at his best friend.

"Tell you what?"

"That there was a prophecy." Ron clarified, though he knew he didn't really need to. This whole day had been a nightmare. First the council, then those revelations, then Lucas becoming Minister, and now he was at Harry's expensive flat, trying to have a conversation about why Harry had betrayed both him and Hermione because of what a stupid prophecy had said.

"Because you wouldn't have cared." Harry shrugged. "You don't know prophecies like I do."

"I know enough about you and her to be able to interpret that prophecy fine." Ron replied. "She was devoted to you, Harry. She would have followed you to the end of the earth if you'd asked her. She would never have betrayed you."

"Well, she did." Harry snapped.

"Did she?" Ron asked. "Where is she now, all triumphant at your fall? She didn't bring you down, Harry. You did that to yourself. You upset the older families, you falsified evidence. You were brought down by your own mistakes."

"I did nothing to any old family. I stayed away from all of them. I didn't do a single thing to a single old wizarding family." Ron smiled, almost in disbelief.

"You forget, sometimes, that I'm a pureblood, don't you?" He asked. "Just because we were poor. You never asked, and I never said because it didn't matter to us, but the Weasleys go back as far as the Malfoys, or the Zabinis, or the Parkinsons. We're poor because we never threw away our morals for the chance to become wealthy. Because we valued family and trust over joining some Dark Lord. Because having magical blood was something we were born with, something from genetics, not something from god. You did upset an old Pureblood family, Harry. You upset them very much."

"I did nothing to you. I'm your friend. You had everything you wanted."

"You cheated on her, you lied to her, you broke her arm, gave her concussion, trashed her apartment, threatened her life, and then tried to force her to marry you. I'm talking about my sister, Harry. You want to know who riled up all the old families against you, Harry? I'm thinking it was my pureblooded, old family sister. The old families don't like it when they're forced to do things, you know that."

"So, what? You're saying it's a blood thing?" Harry asked. "That's ridiculous."

"As ridiculous as using a prophecy as evidence." Ron commented. "Between you two it was personal. But between you and the old families…you may be pureblood, Harry, but your mother was a half-blood. And while I have nothing against Lily Potter, it's just one more thing on a rather lengthy list of reasons why they don't like you."

"Well, they can go to hell." Harry declared.

"Actually, no." Ron said with a shrug, leaning against the doorjamb. "You're the one going to hell, Harry. Lucas has announced an inquest into all your past actions. He seems particularly interested in the attendance numbers at Hogwarts. And apparently lots of families have been coming forward saying you threatened their children."

"They're lying."

"I really, really hope so." Ron said with sad smile. "You're my best friend, Harry. I followed you to Voldemort's house, I trusted you and believed in you. If anyone could save this world you could. Please don't tell me you let me down. That you threw all that back in my face."

"Ron-"

"What happened between you and Ginny isn't my business. She's made it very clear she can look after herself, and what she can't do alone she has friends that will help her. What you do as a man is your business, no matter what you think. What you do as Minister is a different matter altogether. I'll support you until I just can't do it anymore. I hope that never happens."

"Ron-"

"Goodbye, Harry." He was gone with a pop and Harry sagged onto the sofa. This was the worst day ever.

A butterbeer bottle was put in his hand and he downed half of it.

"Thanks, Ron, I thought you had gone."

"He did." Harry froze. "I probably should have asked for an invitation, but it's a little late now." He turned slowly and saw Hermione sitting on the breakfast bar, legs crossed. For someone who had been a fugitive, she looked very well. She was wearing tight jeans, black ankleboots with stacked heels, and a long blue tunic over the top, belted with a wide black belt. Her brown hair was plaited down her back, and her hands were folded on top of her crossed legs.

"You…"

"What?" She slid off the counter and landed with a clack on the tile as her heels hit the floor. "I did nothing to you, Harry, and I would never have done."

"You know then." Harry said sullenly, setting the bottle down and rising.

"That I'm pardoned? Yes, I knew almost instantly."

"And Malfoy?"

"Draco knows too." She replied. "We also know you aren't Minister, and that you're being investigated for all those horrible things we like to accuse bad people of…embezzlement, blackmail…paranoia. Though paranoia isn't really chargable."

"You're very smug, aren't you? Always have to win."

"This was a fight for my life, Harry." She replied gently. "Of course I was going to win."

"I'm curious. How did you do it from exile?" Harry asked, stalking slowly towards her. She raised her wand and he halted.

"I have friends." She replied. "Seriously, Harry. I was the smartest witch of our entire generation. What made you think that I would just fall down and die?" She paused. "I wanted to, though, when I first found out."

"So why didn't you?" Harry asked, folding his arms. His wand was tucked in his sleeve, and if he could just get it…

"Because that would be such a waste." She shrugged. "What did you think would be my response, Harry? Surely you know that by acting on the prophecy, you made it come true. You made me your greatest enemy."

"You didn't depose me. That bitch Constantine DeVere did." Hermione laughed.

"She's a very good friend, Harry. You're not the only one with famous friends in high places. My redemption has been her quest since this whole thing started. If you'd never done anything, this wouldn't have happened."

"The prophecy said the conflict would rise because evil was shining in your eyes. You were corrupted." He argued, though he was getting the hopeless feeling he remembered from arguments back at school, when she was inevitably right and he was arguing the point because it amused him to annoy her sometimes.

"You were that evil, Harry. You were the man that betrayed his innocent best friend and tried to kill her. You are corrupted."

"I'm the one who destroyed Voldemort!" Harry shouted.

"I know. And I think he took more of your soul with you than you thought." She replied calmly.

"I'll kill you." He whispered.

"You might try." She agreed. He whipped out his wand.

"Avada-"

"Accio wand." Harry spun and saw Draco Malfoy, also looking quite good for two years as a fugitive, standing in the doorway, holding both wands. "You didn't think she came alone, did you Potter?"

"I didn't think she'd be coward enough to bring you." Harry sneered.

"Oh, she wasn't. I insisted." He smiled. "Missed you Potter." He said mockingly.

"Fuck off, Malfoy."

"Unlikely." Draco shrugged. "Hermione…"

"I've said everything I needed to." Hermione said quietly, stepping to Draco's side. "Except for why."

"I was protecting our world. The prophecy said you'd destroy the hopes and our way of living." Harry said defensively.

"It said I'd destroy the hopes and ways of old." Hermione corrected. "Which I did. Our hopes and our ways will be different now. The Minister will make sure of that."

"You had a hand in that, too, I suppose?" Harry asked derisively.

"I've had a hand in everything bad that ever happened to you after you tried to kill me." Hermione replied. "And I waited a long time to bring you down."

"I'm not down." Harry retorted.

"Aren't you?" Draco asked. "No friends, no position…soon you'll have no respect and chances are you'll be in prison. How much further down do you think you can get, Potter?"

Harry had no response for that.

&

"Don't feel sorry for him, Hermione." Draco said softly, as he lay next to her on the bed. She'd been in her room crying for the last half an hour, and when she'd finally let him in he'd gone to her side. "He tried to kill you."

"He was my friend." She said and sniffed, wiping tears off her cheeks. Draco took one of her hands and kissed the knuckles.

"He was. And he was a very good friend. But power changes people, Hermione. He spent his entire life with the shadow of Voldemort behind him, keeping him on his toes. With Voldemort dead, what was he meant to do? He found a new enemy, and I'm afraid, my darling, that it was you."

"I never would have hurt him. It never even crossed my mind." She whispered. "I was going to be an auror, work my way up through the department, maybe become Captain one day. I'd be the first female captain in decades." Draco smiled.

"You'd be the best captain there ever was." He replied, stroking her face gently. "And definitely the most beautiful."

"We were going to live happily ever after, the three of us, together like we were in the beginning. There wasn't anything that could beat us when we were together…I'd be the smart one, Harry would be the brave one, and Ron would be the one who helped us, held us together. He'd be the one who made sure we never ever fell apart."

"Shame Potter didn't give him that chance this." Draco said gently, leaning in to kiss her forehead. She sniffed again, and Draco grinned, passing her a tissue.

"Thanks." She sat up and blew her nose loudly and Draco smirked. "Shut up." She muttered. He just smiled, rubbing her back.

"I love you." He said, out of the blue. She crumpled up the tisse and threw it at the bin and missed. She sighed and lay back down beside him.

"I know you do." She said with a smile, reaching up to tap his nose with her fingertip. He raised his eyebrows at the gesture.

"That's it?" He asked. "Just…'I know'?" She smiled at his hurt expression.

"I love you." She replied. "Very, very much." He grinned.

"That's more like it. Hold on." He rolled away from her and picked up something from the nightstand before rolling back. "I'd kneel," he said with a grin, "Except we're on the bed."

"So get off the bed then." Hermione smirked and he sighed.

"You're so demanding." He complained, sliding off the bed. She scootched over to his side, so she was looking at him. "Hermione?"

"Hmm?"

"Will you marry me?" He asked, holding out the engagement ring she'd been wearing for years. She smiled.

"On one condition." She said. He raised an eyebrow.

"And that would be?"

"Tell me about the ring." He nodded.

"Of course. Say yes first though."

"Tell me first." She argued with a smile. He shook his head.

"Nope. I want to hear an affirmative before I start spilling secrets."

"I want the secrets before the marriage." Hermione said with a laugh. "I need to know why I'm getting myself into here!"

"What you're getting yourself into?" Draco grinned, standing and scooping her up and dropping her on the far side of the bed so he could clamber into his original spot, leaning over her, on leg tossed across hers. "I'll tell you that now. You'd be marrying a Malfoy. Which means amazing sex, of course," she rolled her eyes. "A house ready to go. Attending horrific social functions where you have to play nicely with all the little children, hold dinners for people you despise, wear beautiful, expensive and yet unbelievable uncomforable clothing, and probably accumulate a rather large shoe collection." He paused. "But on top of that…you'd be marrying me."

"You?" Hermione asked. "What, not just any Malfoy?"

"Amadeo is taken." Draco said sternly. "And you already stole Harry off Ginny, you can't steal Amadeo as well!" Hermione giggled. "Anyway. You'd be marrying me."

"So, besides dealing with your rather impressive…" she trailed off and he grinned. "Ego," She finished and he glared. "I'd also have to deal with what?"

"The fact that I adore you." He grinned, kissing her nose. "The fact that I'm going to buy you pretty presents whether you want them or not-"

"Pretty presents?" Hermione folded her arms, though it had less effect as she was lying down.

"Beautiful, stunning presents," Draco corrected himself with a smirk, "That were made in a craftman's greatest attempt to equal your beauty," Hermione mimed gagging.

"That's so cheesy." She complained. He ignored her and carried on.

"The fact that I'm going to show you off to everyone, my beautiful, talented, clever wife," he smiled down at her, "and the fact that I'm going to bring my homework to you whenever I want help."

"You don't get homework." Hermione snorted. "For god's sakes, man, do you even have a job?"

"I'll find homework." Draco dismissed the problem with a shrug. "I'm sure there's some stuffed down the back of the wardrobe from one summer or another. And you were so damned hot at Hogwarts. It was all I could do to not grab you and shag you right there in the library on top of Snape's homework."

"Oh, I'm sure he would have appreciated that." Hermione rolled her eyes. "And if you'd tried to shag me anywhere I would have cursed you so much that no children would ever have followed the Malfoy line through you."

"Through us." Draco corrected with a smile. "Also, you'd have to deal with the fact that by marrying me, your children will be the most beautiful children genetics could create, whereas if you'd married Ron…god only knows what would have happened. They would have had two heads or something, and think how difficult giving birth to that would have been!"

"Draco!" Hermione smacked him and he laughed. "Ron's taken."

"But I notice you didn't disagree with the two headed baby part." He pointed out, stroking a line from the base of her throat to her navel and back.

"I disagree with a lot of what you say." She replied, sticking her tongue out at him. He bent and caught it in his mouth, kissing her thoroughly. She had been about to say something else, she was sure of it, but right now, with his warm weight pressing her into the bed and his mouth fused to hers, she wasn't really all that bothered. She noticed fuzzily when he slipped the ring onto her ring finger, but she ignored it, pulling her hand back so she could wrap her arms around his neck and pull him down to her.

Afterwards he hugged her slightly sweaty form to him, kissing her bare shoulder.

"So is that a yes?" He asked quietly. "Please tell me it's a yes, Hermione."

"It is a yes." She smiled at him, blinking eyes that were still a bit unfocused from that last, soul-ripping orgasm. "But I want to know about the ring."

"Tribuo nos sto iunctus nos cado." Draco quoted, picking her hand and turning it so the ring caught the light and flashed it back at them. "It's very old."

"I know. Snape and McGonagall told me." He raised his eyebrows.

"You spoke about it?" He asked.

"McGonagall saw it was a glamour right away." Hermione explained. "And I knew the quickest way to get them to trust me was to show them who I really was. They saw the ring, and were both actually extremely surprised to find that I had it. They asked who gave it to me."

"And you said?" Draco asked with a lazy grin, his hand tracing patterns over Hermione's smooth back.

"You, of course. They were suitably shocked."

"I'm not surprised." Draco said.

"They said a little about it's history, about how Slytherin gave it to Ravenclaw in the beginning. They also said something about it being a danger."

"It's got a long story. We've got a book, actually, devoted entirely to it. I think it's the only one in existence but I could be wrong. It's very old…and I only managed to read it once, when my mother opened it. I've never been able to open it since."

"What did it say?" Hermione asked, resting her chin on his chest and looking up at him. he stroked her curling hair off her forehead.

"Originally the ring was elven-made." Draco began. "This is before the inscription, before even the jewels. At the time it was a plain silver band, made by an elf for his lover. He charged it with all his love and devotion to her, so whenever she looked at it she would remember how he felt about her. So that no matter where they were, together or apart, she would never forget him." he paused.

"And?" Hermione pressed, "What happened?"

"Patience, pretty girl." He said with a smile. "It's a long story and I've only told you the first tiny bit." She bit her lip sheepishly and he leaned up to kiss her.

"Carry on then." She said with a smile. He nodded.

"Anyway. There was a little bit of a tussle, but eventually they got married, had children, lived happily ever after."

"Tussle?"

"Someone else wanted to marry her. He didn't, in the end, so it doesn't really matter. Anyway. These two had a son. Only one, because he was a hard birth for his mother. When he was old enough, he married, using the ring of his mother, and had a girl. And so on for about ten generations." Hermione nodded.

"But then what? Something happened."

"You're bright." He teased her. She stuck her tongue out at him and he grinned. "What happened, was that by that point, humans had developed as a race, including witches and wizards. Mind you, back then nearly everyone was magical. Humans as a race were tied very closely to the earth, their religion, their way of life was centred very much around the earth and nature and the life-force of both. The only reason Muggles appeared at all was because people stopped believing in magic, in earth-power, and stopped practising."

"I know, I did History of Magic." Hermione said impatiently. "What happened to the elf with the ring?"

"The latest elf in the line was a man called Marin." Draco said. "And he fell in love with a beautiful, human Roman princess, called Morena. Morena loved him back, and couldn't even think of anyone else, not a single one of the very handsome human suitors who asked for her hand. Unfortunately, neither Marin's parents, nor Morena's, agreed with the idea of an interracial marriage. For the elves it had to do with what grief both would suffer: Marin would live forever in Morena's eyes, she would watch herself age in the mirror and see Marin barely grow a grey hair. Marin would watch helplessly as Morena aged and died, leaving him alone." Draco ran his thumb over Hermione's cheekbone. "I don't know if you know, but when elves mate, they mate for life." Hermione nodded, already seeing where this story was going.

"They weren't allowed to marry." She said softly. Draco smiled gently.

"Oh, they married." He said. "In secret. Morena became pregnant and gave birth to a baby boy, and her parents knew the father as soon as they saw the boy's pointed ears."

"Oh no." Hermione breathed. Draco nodded.

"The humans, Morena's family, declared war on the elves. The elves, disappointed that Marin had married Morena against their will but unsurprised, had no choice but to fight back. It was bloody and destructive. At their last meeting, Marin took Morena's ring and charged it, much like his great grandfather did, with all his love and devotion and adoration for Morena. And he inscribed in it the Latin that you see, Tribuo nos sto iunctus nos cado. Divided we stand, united we fall. It was to remind her that no matter what happened, he was with her, and their son, always. She never saw him after that night, he died the following day."

A tear escaped Hermione's eye and Draco wiped it away with a smile, but said nothing, just continued on with his story.

"When her son was to get married, she gave him the ring, and it passed on through the family that way. It was passed through various marriages until it came to Salazar Slytherin's sister, maybe four generations after Morena…the dates are a little foggy. Kera Slytherin was killed by a jealous would-be lover when she gave her devotion to Morena's great great grandson. In her last letter to her brother, her locket, which as you know passed to the Gaunts and became one of Voldemort's horcruxes, and the ring from her lover, passed to Salazar. When Salazar read the inscription on the ring he knew of it's history: it had been quietly famous for years, because it was linked to the bloody elf-human war a century before. And he kept it, and the locket, safe."

"And he gave it to Rowena." Hermione said. "That's what Snape told me."

"Yes. Although this was before the founding of Hogwarts. It was a situation quite like ours, actually. He and Rowena were childhood friends, but as they grew up they also grew apart. They hadn't seen each other for many years but one day Salazar received a letter from Rowena asking him for help. He went to her aid immediately and found that she was being persecuted for being a witch."

"So he taught her to use the ring to change her form."

"Not right away. Don't forget, it was just a ring then, with the inscription. It didn't have the glamour charm on it yet." Draco corrected. She nodded and gestured for him to continue. "He saved her, and brought her up to Scotland where he lived so she would be safe. They became lovers, and he gave her the ring, as a token of his intention to marry her."

"So they got married." Hermione concluded. Draco shook his head.

"Engaged. Then they met with Gryffindor and Hufflepuff and decided to create a school for the kids, and the marriage kind of got put on hold. The school was going well…until Gryffindor showed an interest in Rowena."

"What?" Hermione frowned. "But she was engaged!" Draco shrugged.

"She wasn't married, yet. Gryffindor thought the marriage was on hold because she wasn't sure. He didn't know that Rowena and Salazar were married in soul anyway, the ring was proof of that. So he tried for Rowena, and she refused him."

"Well, obviously." Hermione snorted.

"But Gryffindor didn't take it. He tried again, and again, and again. And she always refused him, so he tried to make her feel how he felt. It went too far and he raped her."

"What?" Hermione's hand rose to her mouth and her elbow dug uncomfortably into his chest.

"Ow, Hermione, your elbow." Draco pushed at it and she put her hand back down.

"Sorry…he raped her?"

"He didn't mean to." Draco said. "It just went too far. He was desperately in love with her and didn't understand how she couldn't feel the same. But she didn't and he raped her. That's the reason Slytherins hate Gryffindors. Not because Gryffindors are so bloody noble and Slytherins are so evil…because you're not and we aren't either. We are what we make ourselves. There are plenty of brave kids in Hufflepuff, and there were more than a few deatheaters in Ravenclaw. We hate each other because of Rowena."

"But that was years ago." Hermione whispered.

"So was the sorting." He replied gently. "Seventh years Slytherins are still in Slytherin, whether or not they're the ambitious backstabbing little brats they were when they were eleven." He smiled at her. "Don't be sad, Hermione, part of the challenge is overcoming what we're told we should be, and deciding for ourselves who we are."

"Deep." She murmured.

"It doesn't happen often, so appreciate it." He quipped. "Do you want to hear the rest?" Hermione nodded.

"Rowena tried to leave, without telling Salazar what happened. He didn't work and he followed her. After a rather lengthy and emotional argument he got it out of her."

"What happened?"

"What do you think happened?" Draco asked gently. "What would I do to Potter if he raped you?"

"You'd kill him." Hermione whispered. Draco nodded.

"Damn right I would. More than that, I'd torture him until he realised Voldemort was nothing compared to me." There was a dangerous glint in Draco's eyes that made Hermione utterly sure he was serious.

"So Salazar killed Godric?" Hermione asked. Draco shook his head.

"He failed, and Godric killed him. That's where the whole 'Slytherin is a murderer' thing comes from."

"They never mentioned Rowena in the stories." Hermione commented. Draco smiled.

"That's because the victor writes the stories, my love." He reminded her. "In the stories Salazar was jealous of Gryffindor and his innate goodness and tried to kill him because he was just that annoying. And while I don't doubt that's as good a reason as any, it isn't true. Thing is though, Salazar had a backup plan. He'd poisoned Gryffindor's food, and so he was dead soon after, leaving Helga in charge of the school. When Rowena found out, she was heartbroken. She went back to the school for the funeral, and Helga asked her to stay, but Rowena couldn't. She wanted to die."

"So what happened?"

"Rowena charmed the ring to change her appearance, as it does now. And instead of dying, like she wanted to, she travelled around the country, finding magical children and saving them from the Church and the like, and sending them to Hogwarts, where they'd be safe. And then, finally, her heart caught up with her and she died, leaving Helga the ring."

"And?"

"It kind of gets a bit misty at this point." Draco said with a half-shrug. "Because Helga's the one who wrote the book on it. At the end of the book the ring doesn't have the diamonds or anything, it's still a plain band with the inscription and it's accompanying golden ball."

"So it just vanished?"

"Not quite. It was given to my grandmother when she tried to marry a muggle. She, obviously, wasn't allowed, but the man gave her the ring anyway so she'd know how he felt."

"He charged it?" Hermione asked, surprised.

"No, but he understood the Latin and thought it was fitting. It's been in the family ever since. Well, until I gave it to you."

"It's still in the family." Hermione shrugged, picking up her hand so she could watch the light play off it. "You know, you took a big risk with me."

"Like I said…you deserved it." Draco shrugged.

"What if I hadn't?" She asked quietly. "What if I'd hated you anyway? What if I never fell in love with you?"

"You'd still deserve it." Draco replied. "Hermione, I saved him from him because I knew you. And I knew that you didn't deserve to die by your best friend not knowing why. That's why I brought you to the Manor. Not because I loved you, because I didn't then. I just…I didn't want to see you die."

"Well, thank you." She slid the extra inches up his body so she could kiss him. "Because who knew, I lived and we both got lucky." She laid her head back down on his chest, feeling his heartbeat reverberate through the muscle and bone to her cheek. "What about the danger?"

"What danger?" Draco asked lightly.

"Snape was surprised the ring didn't hurt me."

"It was to do with the charging on it. If the ring wasn't meant to be yours…if you stole it or whatever, it could kill you. It had to be given with love, which is how it could be passed down through families. If you'd stolen it, it might have killed you."

"They thought I stole it?"

"Alternatively, if I'd given it to you to get you out from under my feet, it might have hurt you that way as well. I'm not sure. There's a vague story about a highwayman who tried to steal the ring off its current owner, and he'd no sooner closed his fist around it that he dropped down dead."

"And she carried on?"

"She had better things to do than look after a highwayman who'd just tried to rob her." Draco replied drily.

"Good point." Hermione grinned. "So that's the story, huh?"

"That's the story." Draco agreed with a nod. "Still want to marry me?"

"God, yes." Hermione grinned. "I think when I'm married I'll still want to marry you."

"Well, that's encouraging." Draco commented, leaning up to kiss her.

It was getting quite heated when they were interrupted. Hermione sighed, climbing from the bed and taking the sheet with her, wrapping it around her as a kind of makeshift dress. She opened the door and saw Ginny standing there, dressed in an off the shoulder dove-grey silk dress. She took one look at Hermione and considered passing out.

"You are aware that Pansy's ball is in half an hour." She said. "Right?"

"It's not that late, Gin, relax." Hermione smiled.

"It's ten at night, Hermione. So why don't you and Draco shower, get dressed and come downstairs really fast. Amadeo's been threatening to leave without you for the last ten minutes."

"Fuck. Hermione, it's ten!" Draco called from behind her. Hermione grinned.

"At least one of you can read the time." Ginny commented with a smirk. "As happy as I am for you two, give it three more days. Then you can get married."

Hermione grinned.

"Go!" Ginny urged, pushing Hermione into the room and slamming the door in her face. Hermione stared at it for a moment, unable to get the grin off her face.

"Happy?" Draco asked, stepping up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. She leaned her head back against his shoulder and turned her face so she could see him.

"Unbelievably."

"Three more day? She wants us to wait three days?" Draco asked, glancing at the door as though Ginny was listening on the other side. "You're mad, Weaslette!" He called.

"Shower!" She shouted back. Hermione giggled, and he scooped her off her feet and carried her, sheet and all to the bathroom. He stood her in the shower and whisked the sheet off her, like a magician revealing his favourite magic trick.

"Love you." He whispered, stepping in to kiss her shoulder. "So much." Hermione grinned.

"I know."

"We're going to have to work on your response to that, pretty girl." He murmured, tipping her chin up so she met his gaze. She smiled.

"Promise?" She asked.

He smirked.

&

Gasp. I've been writing for the last six hours getting this finished. And I missed a hundred pages by 3, dammit. Still, this is where it ends…finally. It's been a hell of a journey, and it's not over yet, what with the inquest into Harry's nefarious activities, Draco and Hermione's marriage…etc etc. But my part in writing it is done, methinks. A lot of effort and thought has gone into this, it's possibly one of the hardest stories I've ever written. I hope you've all enjoyed it, please tell me what you think. Istalindar