Something Lost, Something Gained
Chapter Ten
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters unless an OC shows up. Then they belong to me and one or two of my friends. Other than that, the characters belong to the genius, J.K. Rowling.
A/n: Hello my lovelies! Yes, another update is finally here. I know, I know I took a long time this time and I'm very sorry. This chapter is rather fast paced, and may not be as long as I had anticipated but I feel it is the ending I've had in mind since I started with Love Letters from the Enemy. I hope you enjoy it.
Previously: Hermione nodded and smiled, knowing it was hard for her friends to accept this. She hugged both of them and they began listening to the lecture and suddenly, Professor McGonagall threw the door open- a panic-stricken look on her face- and she cried,
"Quick! The school is being swarmed, the war has begun!"
Hermione and Draco, being Head Boy and Girl, stood quickly and waited at the front of the class for instructions.
"Hermione, Draco, I want you to get all students fourth year and under out of the building. The prefects are to stay, and any of the fifth years that wish to stay and fight are free to do so. Just get the others out." McGonagall told them. "You'll have to go through the secret passages so stay out of sight. As soon as you've gotten the students out, go to the Great Hall." Hermione and Draco nodded in confirmation and rushed off at once to get the students from their own houses after asking Harry and Ron help them with the others. Attempting to stay quiet and out of sight was easy until Hermione had the frightened first and second years with her. Once the third and fourth years joined her it was easier to calm the younger ones, but being quiet was still hard as they made their way to the witch's hump, which would lead the students into Hogsmeade through Honeydukes. When Hermione and the students arrived at the statue, she saw Draco and realised Harry hadn't told him how to open it. Harry and Ron ran to them as Hermione opened the statue, and the four of them helped get the younger ones through. Ron asked Harry to keep Ginny safe, and then offered to lead the students through the passage and come back once they were all safe. Once he left, Harry, Hermione, and Draco ran off to assist in protecting the school that they called home for the past seven years.
As they made their way through the corridors to the Great Hall they realised they had gotten the students out just in time because coming straight toward them was a Death Eater. The students all pulled their wands and readied themselves to fight when the Death Eater removed his mask to reveal Snape. Hermione chocked at the sight, knowing how it looked to Harry.
"Hurry, get to the Great Hall. I'm to let the others know if I cross your path but I'll lead them in the wrong direction. In the final battle I'll stand at your side but until then we must keep the pretence of enemies up," Snape informed them. "You shouldn't meet anyone else on your way; most of them are searching the classrooms, now go!" Without looking back, the three, wands still drawn, ran to the Great Hall where McGonagall waited with other students that were willing to fight. A slight relieved look crossed McGonagall's face when she saw the three, but then she looked worried once more.
"Where's Mister Weasley?" she demanded right away, searching the sea of students in case he had slipped in without her knowledge.
"He's leading the other students to safety and will come back once they are," Hermione explained, hoping her friend was all right.
"All right, get in here; we'll seal off the doors." McGonagall pulled the three in, and cast a spell that sealed the doors temporarily. She ordered the students to sit, and began to speak.
"I need each and every one of you to give me your undivided attention. There can be very few errors," she began, sounding like a military general. "The attack on the school months ago was only an attack but this, this is it. This is the battle that's been brewing; this is the battle that will truly test what you've learned in the years you have been here. This will be the final battle with You-Know-Who, and we all must be sure the risks are known." McGonagall paused for a moment. "Many will be lost today in this battle, but if we succeed- that is, if Harry succeeds..." McGonagall looked at Harry intently for a moment, showing him how much the entire wizarding world depended on him in this moment. "If he succeeds in destroying You-Know-Who many will be saved. I tell you now to leave or fight, but there cannot be errors." After she finished speaking a few Slytherins rose and left the room, saying they didn't want to fight for either side. To Hermione this was better than having them fighting on the Dark Side. Before more could leave, and before anyone could speak, the doors flung open and Death Eaters stormed in, shouting curses that students Hermione recognized as members of the DA quickly blocked. She had her own wand ready, shouting curses to immobilize their assailants; several times her curses were blocked, but she continued to fight while constantly looking to Harry or Draco to make sure they were safe, that they weren't hurt. As the fighting progressed, it left the Great Hall to the grounds of Hogwarts where even more Death Eaters joined, shouting curses loudly. Students dodged and shouted their counter curses, and trying to avoid the green light of the Killing Curse. Hermione found herself standing before a Death Eater one-on-one and heard him chuckle.
"You didn't die after all, did you little Mudblood?" the Death Eater, whose voice was very recognizable said. "When my precious Pansy told me that you were dating Draco, I couldn't believe Lucius would let such a thing transpire so I went to the Dark Lord. He was more than happy to let me use that little spell that replaced real memories so I could destroy you," boasted the Death Eater. "He thought it would weaken the boy, make him seek revenge, but no! You had to escape, didn't you? Well you won't this time, Mudblood. No, you will die right here and now." At the end of the Death Eater's speech, a smirk appeared on his face. Hermione couldn't believe it had been Pansy that had alerted Lucius and her father of her and Draco's dating. She would have to remember to do more than break the girl's nose the next time she saw her.
"Didn't you get the memo, I'm not a Mudblood," Hermione informed him. Before the Death Eater could speak, she cast the Petrificus Totalus spell. There was no need to kill him if she didn't need to. She didn't think she could, anyway. As she was backing away from the motionless Death Eater, Hermione felt a hand on her shoulder and whirled around, ready to cast a defensive spell when she saw Ron and Draco standing by her. She breathed a sigh of relief, and they ran back to where the battle amongst the students, teachers, and Death Eaters raged on, wondering just when her father would decide to show which side he was truly on. As they entered the battle, stray sparks of green flew from several directions and they narrowly avoided them. When they finally spotted Harry, they ran to stand by him, helping him search for Voldemort. Death Eaters stood at a distance, shouting dark curses that narrowly missed Harry.
Harry stood prepared to dodge oncoming curses while he scanned the scene of fear, fighting, blood, and death that was before him. Finally, what seemed like hours after Draco, Hermione, and Ron had joined him, the subject of their search came into view. His body seemed to glide in. The battle seemed to come to an abrupt halt, but then it began once more and curses flew left, right, and every other direction possible. The next events happened all at once. Hermione saw two Death Eaters throw off their masks and she heard the shouting of Avada Kadavra shouted by a familiar voice, that of Bellatrix Lestrange. She saw it headed for Draco, who was too far away for her to get to in time. She saw Ron shoving him out of the way as the green light neared. Hermione screamed and broke into a run even though she knew the curse would hit Ron before she was anywhere close to him. Tears flooded her eyes and spilled over her cheeks as she watched her best friend fall to the ground where Draco had been seconds before. She knelt next to Ron, anger swelling in her and in rash, uncontrolled anger, she turned and sent the same spell that had killed her friend flying toward Bellatrix, hitting her mark completely and not noticing when Snape and Lucius both helped her to her feet, their Death Eater masks cast aside. The battle truly halted and Voldemort spoke.
"So, my two most loyal followers have betrayed me? Is this how it shall be?" he asked in his cold tone. "Then you shall both pay the price." Voldemort raised his wand to kill both of them, but Harry stepped in front of him.
"You're fight is with me! Leave them alone!" Harry declared, raising his own wand. A disturbing look that everyone assumed to be a smile crossed the snake-like face, and he turned to Harry, who stood bravely only a few feet apart from the evil wizard. Simultaneously the two cast curses as they had in the graveyard three years ago, the same thing happening. Both wanting to kill the other, neither willing to give in, the two struggled against each other's power, and Hermione watched as Neville moved behind Voldemort, not going for the wizard himself but...for his snake, Nagini. She wanted to shout out to Neville to be careful, but before she could, he had cast a spell, killing the snake. The snake dying caused Voldemort to become distracted, allowing Harry to say the very spell that Voldemort had failed to kill him with sixteen years ago, and the evil wizard stood for a moment before crumbling lifelessly to the ground. For a moment, everyone stared at the scene, not knowing what to do then cheers erupted from students and teachers alike, and even more cheers came when Aurors finally arrived, taking Death Eaters into custody. Hermione knelt back down next to Ron and pressed her forehead to his.
"You stupid, stupid boy! Always did do things without thinking," she said, tears spilling from her eyes. She barely noticed as Draco knelt next to her, a look of disbelief on his own face.
"He hated me and our relationship, 'Mione, but he saved me anyway. I think he did it for you," Draco said, a hand around Hermione. "Come on, let's go inside, and let the teachers take care of this stuff." Hermione stood and followed him, looking behind her at Ron's lifeless body the entire time. She and Draco caught sight of Blaise, and Draco rushed over to him.
"Where's my sister?" Draco demanded quickly. Blaise turned and pointed toward where Bella was and Hermione saw Draco hurry to check on her. She herself knew not to worry about her half-sister, Laeana, knowing she was safe away in Hogsmeade with Sirius. She just sat down, leaning against a wall, and pulled her knees to her chest, not noticing when Snape wrapped his arms around her and let her cry against his chest.
x x x
The rest of the school year went on with less fear, but much sadness for lost peers. However, when the day they would leave came, happiness for the summer holidays filled the air and even Hermione, Harry, Blaise, Ginny, Draco, and Bella were able to enjoy themselves, laughing together as they found a compartment.
"Our last year is over and now we get to go out into the world as adults," Bella noted, receiving a look from Ginny.
"Yeah, it's over for you guys. I still have another year left," Ginny said pretending to be upset. The group laughed at her false anger and all began talking about a big group trip over the summer. After a few moments, Draco became rather silent and Hermione whispered,
"Something wrong? You seem like you're pretty far off." Draco looked up, smiled at her, and then looked over at Harry who nodded to him. Everyone grew silent, knowing what Draco would be doing.
"Well, there's something I wanted to ask you, but with everything that has happened and all the chaos there just hasn't been time before now," Draco said, slipping out of his seat to kneel on one knee in front of Hermione. Hermione's breath caught in her throat; she knew exactly what he wanted to ask her. "Hermione, year ago, for some strange reason, I fell in love with you, and for some reason Fate has blessed me enough that you love me back. We've been through a lot this year; from losing family and friends, gaining family, learning things we didn't know about the family we had, and a battle that affected the entire wizarding world. Despite everyone saying that we'd never make it through the year we did. Hermione, will you give me the honour of becoming my wife?" A few happy tears slipped from Hermione's eyes as a smile spread across her face. All she could do was nod yes, and smile even more as Draco pulled a small, black velvet box out of his pocket and open it to reveal a diamond and emerald ring, which he slipped gently on her finger. Draco cupped Hermione's face and placed a gentle kiss on her face. Everyone spent the rest of the train ride talking about the engagement and Draco had arranged for Hermione to spend a few weeks with him while Snape arranged for Hermione to stay with him until she could find her own home. As Hermione and Draco stepped off the train together and they saw Lucius and Narcissa, he whispered in her ear as they made their way to them,
"Are you ready to spend a few weeks with your future in-laws?" Hermione smiled and nodded as Bella joined them standing in front of the Malfoys. Both Narcissa and Lucius embraced Hermione as she stood there, welcoming her into their family in a way Hermione would have never thought possible only months ago. After the war, everything had changed. The feud between Slytherin and Gryffindor had died down; witches and wizards of pureblood families that had gone into hiding during the first war with Voldemort had come out of hiding. There was less worry in the wizarding world so the change in the Malfoy's attitudes and characters was shocking, but accepting and it felt great to Hermione to know that she wasn't going to be a part of a family that had hatred for her. Out of all the things she had lost over the year she would carry the loss of her best friend Ron with her always, but the things she had gained were much greater. She had gained a father, a sister, and she had gained love.
The End
A/n: Finally, after over a year, the sequel is complete. I hope this chapter does not disappoint you. No, there will not be another story that goes into the life of Hermione and Draco after they are married. I have enjoyed writing both of these stories, and I have enjoyed reading the reviews of every single one of you. To msartistics, thank you so very, very much for the inspiration to fix this chapter, finally. I didn't realize how much I needed to be told that my readers out there longed for the ending. I hope each of you wonderful readers will go on to read my other work, which I am working hard on updating. Thank you for making the journey through this tale fun! R & R!