A/N: I'm glad you guys enjoyed this little fic-let, but this will be the end.

The last of their NEWTs had been on a Friday; the day before his birthday. They decided to go to Hogsmeade the following day to celebrate the exams being over and his nineteenth. Of course, only Theo knew that last part. For some reason he never thought to tell her and didn't feel much like celebrating it anyway.

In true Hermione Granger fashion, she spent most of the night quizzing them to reassure herself that she'd hadn't failed anything. She only ended up wallowing, thinking she'd failed anyway.

"Is this how you were during OWLs?" Theo questioned.

"No," she replied at the same time Malfoy said, "Yes."

She pressed her lips together and glared at him. "You won't be making fun of me when I fail and you'll see this worry was warranted!"

Even Theo rolled his eyes. "There might be a handful of things you can't do," Theo said, "but we all know failing a test will never be on that list."

She hiccupped and took another sip of her butterbeer.

It took all of his willpower not to lean over and lick off the froth that clung to her upper lip.

After drinking down their worries, they made their way to Honeydukes. They browsed the aisles and he quickly learned she had quite the sweet tooth. Yet despite telling him she loved everything she touched, she left empty handed.

He snuck away from them while Theo distracted her in another shop and purchased a large box of sugar quills. He knew they were her favorite above all else. And he had to admit, watching her taste them in class was his favorite.

When they returned to castle, they stood on the first floor before departing for their common rooms. "Malfoy?" she called, her voice stopping him cold. He turned to her and she bit her lip.

"Granger?" he returned.

"Listen, don't pretend on my account. Draco's told me your secret. Not that he needed to, neither of you are as clever as you think you are," Theo said, shooting them both a look. "Good night you two."

"You told him?" she breathed.

"If there's one person I trust in this world other than you, it's Theo. Trust me, no one else will ever know."

She was staring at him in a way that he didn't understand. It was as if she were seeing him for the first time. Her lips parted, but she must have thought better about whatever it was she was going to say and shook her head.

"I have something for you."

He looked her up and down. "Was that an invitation to search you? It won't be just Theo that knows if I do that."

She laughed and grabbed his hand before pulling him behind her. He followed her up the stairs to the seventh floor. The Room of Requirement. She paced in front of it and then a door appeared. She opened it excitedly and dragged him inside.

He didn't see what was inside. Instead, he pinned her between himself and the door first and foremost. His lips caught hers and he could taste the butterbeer on her tongue. He let his swipe across her upper lip, imagining there was still a bit a foam.

"I have something for you too," he said, reaching into his robes for the box of sugar quills.

Her eyes lit up as she took the box from him. She held it in her hand as if it were made of glass. She looked at him, head tilted to the side. "Why are you giving me presents on your birthday?"

"You know it's my birthday?"

"You practically flaunted it in everyone's face each year," she said with a smirk. "You used to get an exuberant number of packages from your mother. Ron used to practically drool when you talked about all the sweets you couldn't possibly eat."

"I didn't expect you to remember."

"It's also the day you went to trial," she whispered. "It was on the files."

She nodded, gesturing behind him and he turned. In the middle of the room was a small cake and a few packages that had been expertly gift wrapped.

"Happy Birthday, Draco."

He tore into the presents first. He unwrapped the biggest one first which revealed a stack of dragon scale journals. Five in total, each one crafted from a different dragon. The others contained an ink pot and quill; the quill made of dragon bone and a wax seal with his initials.

"Hermione, these are amazing. They must have cost-"

He saw her still at the use of her given name, but he wasn't taking it back now. "You deserve them, Draco," she returned, saying his name slowly; deliberately.

He pulled her in for a searing kiss, one that nearly crushed them both. Had he known she was an option as a reward for good behavior, he would have defected long ago. He wished he could go back in time and forsake the Dark Lord. He would do it all over again if it meant more time with her.

Despite it being his birthday, that night he tried to tell her with everything but his words that he was trying to be everything she deserved. That he wanted to be more than just a memory in a month's time.

He hoped she listened.

Had he known their last time was going to be the last, he would have done more. He told himself that the night before they left, he was going to tell her how much he loved her. He was going to pour his heart out and beg if necessary, so that she would change her mind and stay with him.

But he never got the chance.

The last time was two weeks before the end of term. They had received their NEWT scores and both he and Theo teased her about worrying when she received perfect scores. Then Theo had gave them privacy and they had celebrated in their own way in the alcove.

The next morning he came down to the common room after getting ready for the day. Instead of Theo, there was McGonagall and two Auror's in uniform. She was looking at him with pity and he recoiled. She explained to him that since the scores were in, the Minister was removing him to house arrest until his hearing in a month's time. She explained that there would be no visitors, but she would let Hermione know and get messages to him when she could.

For the next month he locked himself in his room, only eating when his mother ordered the elves to force the soup down his throat and close his mouth until he either swallowed or chocked to death.

He'd written letters to Hermione, but she either never got them or he wasn't allowed any in return because he received no response. By the time his hearing came about, he had made peace with the idea of never seeing her again.

He was numb to his surroundings as his mother and two Auror's escorted him through the Ministry and down to the room that would seal his fate. He remembered being sat in the chair at the center of the room, but he didn't see or hear anyone.

At one point he inhaled deeply, wishing time would go faster so he could just get to Azkaban already. But as he did, the scent of rose and vanilla attacked his senses and his vision snapped into focus. Every part of his being came alive as she walked into the room and took her place between him and the council.

"State your name."

"Hermione Jean Granger."

"Miss Granger, you've already given a testimony at the trial last year."

Hermione's chin lifted slightly and he smirked knowing she was about to unleash a tornado of condescending jabs disguised as polite words. "I'm aware and I still stand by what I said. But I was also his tutor this year at Hogwarts and I would like to make some additions."

His smile faded a little as he saw the change in her. This wasn't the Hermione he had come to know since Christmas. This was the Hermione before that. The one that ignored him and barely spoke to him unless she had to.

It was after Hogwarts; she was done with him.

He crumpled in his seat.

"Draco Malfoy was a product of his environment," she stated. "That was determined when Lucius Malfoy took the brunt of the charges on account of his age at the time. It's no secret that he used to bully me, but if I can forgive him, then the rest of the world can. He has a brilliant mind and times were dark. The war left scars on all of us.

"During our first session, we made peace. We set aside our animosity right away and he was nothing but polite and cordial from then on. I've really gotten to know him in the last six months though. Not the Malfoy that I used to know as a kid, but the man that will be entering the wizarding world. He's seen the errors of his ways and he will be restoring the Malfoy name to something respectable and revered. It would be a waste of good magic and intelligence to send him to Azkaban when he's never done anything more than spew an ideology that he grew up thinking to be right."

"Thank you, Miss Granger."

She nodded and left the room without even a glance his way.

There was some deliberation before the witch with the gavel cleared her throat for his attention. "We had already decided before Miss Granger gave us that little tidbit, but you are hereby pardoned of all wrong doing during the war. You're free to go, Mister Malfoy."

He wasn't sure how he made it out of the room when he couldn't feel his legs beneath him, but he made it. His mother was there, drawing him in for a celebration of his freedom.

Over his mother's shoulder he saw her.

He slid out of her embrace and moved towards Hermione, his pace increasing with each step. "They made the right choice," she said, a smile on her lips.

"I love you," he blurted.

He heard his mother gasp behind him.

"I don't care if the world knows it or what anyone thinks, but I don't like our previous agreement. I want a lifetime with you, Granger, and so help me, if you say no, I'm going back in there and demanding a cell next to my father."

"I know."

"How?"

She inclined her head. "You told Theo about us. He's your best friend. If you could tell your best friend you were with me in any capacity, then I knew you loved me. Otherwise I would have remained a dirty little secret."

She smiled at him.

"I love you too."

He crushed her to him, pressing his lips to hers with promises of never stopping. He could hear the lightbulbs flashing around them; feel the heat from all angles as the reporters got their next day's headline. He didn't care.

He was right where he wanted to be.