Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter.

Author's Note- I wrote a really clever author's note and then I exited out of my page without realizing it. sigh Alright, this is the last chapter and I am sad that it is the last chapter but thrilled that I finished it. I am sorry that I took so long to post it but I reread every section at least 20 times. It was hardest to post this chapter because then there is no more! I will warn you that this is pretty long and don't you think that because I finished it you should all review? I think so. :-D. I hope you enjoy this because I'm excited to write it out, though it still doesn't seem perfect. Enjoy!

This story is dedicated to Granddaddy, who is getting much worse. I love him anyway

Chapter 19

The End!

Millicent had no idea why she went to Hermione's house. She had no idea why the image of Hermione's living room had flashed before her eyes. She liked to think it was fate because she had stumbled upon the woman who Hermione needed most at this exact time. The woman, who Millicent assumed was Hermione's mother (she had seen her in pictures), had raced down the stairs looking for the popping noise that had sounded.

Millicent had watched amusedly as the woman turned to her and she had not been able to resist, being a Slytherin (or any normal human), giving the woman a raised eyebrow and saying with lowered voice, "Boo!"

The woman, of course, had taken the bait and run screaming into the kitchen, picking up the telephone and beginning to dial 911. Millicent, not being a muggle, had no idea that she was calling the authorities or that she was calling anyone at all and had only hexed the phone by pure luck. Her gut instinct had told her to curse the white box, so she had.

She would cherish the look of horror that the woman had given her for the rest of her life. The lady had stared at her for what felt like hours when it had only been a few tense moments. Millicent finally broke the silence, "Are you Mrs. Granger?" The woman nodded mutely. "Hermione's mom!" The woman looked confused.

"I am no one's mother and what the hell are you doing in my house!" Millicent looked as surprised as the woman.

"I'm a witch, Mrs. Granger, just like your daughter. I apparated into the house with the help of your child, who is in mortal danger right now. I would think you would be more worried about Hermione then why I popped into your living room." Millicent had stated it so matter of factly that the woman almost missed the statement at the beginning.

"Listen, you. I have never heard of Hermione, except in Shakespeare. I have no daughter and there is no such thing as a witch." Millicent had laughed out loud at this.

"Your daughter is a witch. She has been since the day she was born. She always told me you were so accepting of her lifestyle. What happened to make you doubt that witches and wizards exist?" The woman's mouth dropped open.

"I don't have a daughter and there are no such things as witches or wizards." The argument between Millicent and Mrs. Granger had lasted a good twenty minutes until Millicent pulled out her wand and spelled out another curse. This proved to the woman that what she had said was true. It caused a great change in Mrs. Granger's attitude and she had immediately offered Millicent tea.

The tea had distracted Millicent from whatever she had arrived to do and an hour or so later, after descriptions of spells, magical restaurants, magical hospitals, Hogwarts, and wands, she had realized that she had completely forgotten her best friend.

The guilt that Millicent felt spread throughout her body and coursed through her veins. She knew that the only way to redeem herself for forgetting the few that loved her was to bring Hermione's 'mother' with her. Her friend would have to forgive her if she saw the woman she had been searching for.

Deciding not to mention the word daughter, again gut instinct, Millicent mentioned slyly that she could bring her to a wizarding Hospital. It had taken a lot of convincing and lies to get Mrs. Granger, being a sensible woman, to leave her house with a stranger, but after a good deal of fussing Millicent practically forced Mrs. Granger out onto the plush street.

The two had hopped on the Knight bus and had hit various places before arriving at St. Mungo's carsick and dizzy. Both entered the hospital with disgusted feelings in their stomachs and sat quietly waiting for their turn to speak to the receptionist. After what seemed like hours, and had actually been an hour, the woman at the front desk called the magic word, "NEXT!"

They were off to find Hermione.

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Hermione's mother entered the room, a frown on her face. She pulled her hand from the Slytherin girl's grip and faced the occupants of the room defiantly. "Mum? Is that you?" Hermione asked disbelievingly. Draco stood behind her, holding her protectively and Dumbledore watched with caution. "Mum?" Hermione asked one last time. The woman grumbled.

"I don't know who this girl is but she told me that I had to come with her." She took a deep breath and gave the group a guarded smile.

"Hello," She said confidently, "Who, may I ask, are you?"

Hermione stared at her mother for what felt like ages. "Mom, it's me, your daughter. It's Hermione." The woman frowned deeply.

"I'm sorry to tell you, but I don't have a daughter." Hermione gaped at her, wracking her mind for a reason that could cause her mother to treat her like this.

"You do have a daughter!" The woman looked at her oddly. Hermione's breathing became more erratic and her hands began trembling. "Mum, I lived with you for 11 years and then I saw you every summer until this year. You gave birth to me." The woman chuckled and gave Hermione a sad smile.

"I hate to hear this dear and I hate to disappoint you, but I'm not your mother. I believe I would remember if I had ever squeezed a baby out of me." She smiled again. Draco watched the woman with caution. Hermione stood staring.

"Mom, stop it. This is not funny. You left during summer because you and dad got into a fight! You are Dr. Jade Granger, wife of Dr. Michael Granger." The woman's mouth fell open.

"You knew my husband? I returned home one day and he wasn't there! He hasn't tried to contact me! Why has he been in contact with you? I'm younger than him but I didn't think that he "

"He hasn't mom!" Hermione practically yelled, her voice rising in hysteria. "He hasn't been in contact with me because he's dead! He's dead mom! He died and you couldn't even say goodbye! You didn't even come to the funeral!" Mrs. Granger growled.

"I don't know who you are so please, stop referring to me as your mother. I have never seen you before. I don't know how you knew my husband and I don't know how you know me."

"I lived with you! I am Hermione Granger! I am your daughter!" Hermione screamed. Dumbledore's face was grim as he cast a silencing spell on the room and motioned to Draco to hold Hermione, who was beginning to emit a soft glow. The woman stopped moving for a moment and stared cautiously at the child who was masquerading as her daughter.

"I told Michael that if we had a child we had to name it Hermione. 'A Midsummer Night's Dream,' that's my favorite play. I am even sorrier to disappoint you, but I am not your mother." Mrs. Granger's sympathetic smile made Hermione begin to sob. Draco, feeling awkward, tried to move her towards the bed to sit down. Hermione wouldn't budge. Mrs. Granger opened the door and Hermione, in one last attempt to convince her began to whisper.

"You taught me everything. Every life lesson I have learned has somehow come through you. What about memories? What about the day you gave me Shakespeare to read, and explained every line in Hamlet to me? What about that time we went to Aunt Pearl's house? Her yard with the tall grasses and the butterflies? We pretended to be fairies. Dad came down and was the fairy king. How can you not remember that? What about the time we rented a house in the Ozarks during the summer?" Hermione's tears were flowing and Mrs. Granger seemed to be listening to her plea. "You, me and dad sat under the stars and you both taught me how to identify the constellations. How can you not remember every moment? You promised me you wouldn't forget! You promised me when I went to Hogwarts that no matter what you would always love me! How could you go back on your word! How could you forget your daughter! How could you forget me mom? How could you let me down?" Hermione turned into Draco's chest and sobbed.

Mrs. Granger stayed in the doorway for a few seconds while the silence lay heavy on everyone's shoulders. The only noise that permeated the tense atmosphere was the sound of Hermione's sobbing. Mrs. Granger's shoulders suddenly stiffened and, set in her new resolve, she walked out the door. Hermione flipped around and stared disbelieving at the spot where her mother had been standing.

No one in the room had the guts to move before Hermione, not even the headmaster. All three sets of eyes were trained on the bleary eyed, rubicund girl. Suddenly Hermione flew from Draco's arms and yanked open the door. The three in the room stared at her as she raced into the hallway and they quickly followed.

Hermione raced down the hallway towards the stairs. At the door to the stairwell stood her mother, and Hermione watched as she pulled open the door. Abruptly Hermione stopped.

"Mrs. Granger," she said tiredly. The woman spun around and gave Hermione, the girl claiming to be her daughter, an irritated glance, "I'm sorry." She said taking a deep breath. The woman visibly relaxed.

"No, dear, I am sorry. It must be awful to lose your mother. I'm very sorry that I'm not her." Hermione gave her a smile and, ignoring the footsteps behind her, raised a hand to her own neck. Mrs. Granger watched cautiously as Hermione reached into her Hospital gown and found her necklace. Hermione looked down at the worn gold and a sob left her throat.

Tearing the necklace off her delicate neck, she threw it at Mrs. Granger's feet. Her eyes welled with tears and she turned on her heel, astonishing the four people in the hallway. She took two calculated steps and then turned again.

"I'm sorry more. I'm sorry because you are her. No matter what you deny, you are her."

Then she ran towards her room.

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Professor Dumbledore, Draco and Millicent watched as Mrs. Granger leant over to pick up the gold necklace. They didn't make a sound as they observed her examining the locket that Hermione so loyally wore. "This was my great great grandmother's." She whispered, looking up at the trio in the hallway. "Where did she get it?" Millicent shut her eyes.

"You gave it to her. It's the last thing you gave to her before you completely disappeared." Millicent knew the story of Hermione's summer and she knew the contents of the precious locket, "Look inside." she urged.

Jade Granger opened the locket carefully and gasped at the small picture fitted into the grooves of the gold. "That's me." she muttered, "With a child." Draco fought the urge to roll his eyes.

"Your daughter." He stated. Mrs. Granger's head shot up. Dumbledore and Millicent both nodded their agreement at Draco's declaration. Mrs. Granger looked at each person wearily and leaned against the wall.

"Why can't I remember?" Dumbledore took a step forward.

"If my assessment is correct, you have been obliviated, which is the removal of a certain memory, or in your case, memories. If I knew better I would believe that you were obliviated by death eaters, which are members of a group of dark wizards led by an evil wizard." Draco stood proudly and looked to his headmaster with a grin.

"You mean were a group of dark members led by a once evil wizard. He is gone, vanquished." Dumbledore stood proudly too as he heard the emotion in the usually cold boy's voice.

"Is there a cure for this obliviate?" Jade asked tentatively. Dumbledore shook his head.

"I am sorry to inform you that there is not. Being obliviated is a lot like having amnesia, except about three times stronger. There is no cure to either but after a certain time period your memory will most likely return. This is why obliviates are not used often or I would have obliviated Tom Riddle, who became the Dark Lord, so he didn't remember his past. I would redo first impressions too! The curse is not fool proof. Eventually, you will regain your lost memories."

"So she's telling the truth?" The woman asked in defeat.

"Yes." The small group answered together. Mrs. Granger looked into each of their eyes and back down to the locket. She ran her finger over the smooth gold and sighed deeply.

"The wizarding world has DNA tests if you want solid and firm proof." The woman waved her hand submissively.

"I have a feeling that you are telling the truth and usually my hunches are correct. But, I want to know, if we lived in the same house, how did I not notice her room? Or her pictures on the wall?" Dumbledore stood still for a moment and then his eyes glistened with knowledge.

"My guess would be either a distraction charm or a disillusionment charm. Either one is useful. There had to be a person who got into your house in the first place to find out what you looked like and they could easily appear inside again. There are no anti-apparation wards." Mrs. Granger nodded and Draco and Millicent both were gazing at the headmaster looking slightly impressed.

Jade Granger straightened suddenly, and walked down the hall towards Hermione's hospital room. She pulled the door open and saw her daughter lying on a very messy bed. She motioned for the others to stay outside.

"H-Hermione?" She asked softly. Hermione's eyes opened and fixated on the woman in the doorway.

"I know. I'm not your daughter. You don't remember." Hermione said sadly. The malice that was supposed to drip from her words sounded more like sorrow. Mrs. Granger took a deep breath.

"I want you to help me remember." She declared softly. Hermione's eye's brightened, and then narrowed suspiciously.

"Why?" She asked. Her mom gave her a quick once over and moved closer.

"I have a feeling that you are telling the truth." She said honestly, shrugging her shoulders at the raised eyebrow Hermione sent her way. Hermione closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, taking in the fact that her mother was finally here. Realizing suddenly that if she wrecked this the woman might never respond to her again, Hermione smiled.

"Is there anything you want to know first?" She asked excitedly, willing to help her mother in whatever way possible.

"How old are you? What the heck is going on and who are the people in here with you?" Jade asked inquisitively.

"I'm 17. Millicent is one of my best friends. Professor Dumbledore teaches at Hogwarts. He is the headmaster. Draco, the blond boy, is my enemy and my friend. He is my lifeline and my grief. He is, simply, my husband." She watched in happiness as her mother's eyes broadened and her mouth dropped open.

"You are married? I may not remember your life right now, but I sure as hell think that is too young to be married! How did that happen? Do you have a child? Oh dear lord, am I a grandmother?" Hermione chuckled at her mother's worry. Mrs. Granger smiled softly, "Now, I really need to hear the whole story!" Hermione patted the mattress besides her and her mom sat down. "Start at the beginning. I want to know about the whole summer. I want to know everything up until this point. We can work on prior memories later." Hermione grinned happily.

"Thank you." She whispered to her mother and the friendly looking woman smiled and urged her on. "Well, it started on a warm day in the summer……"

The two talked well into the night and were sporadically visited by Draco and Millicent. Draco, after properly being introduced, was interrogated by his mother-in-law. The two got along well, which surprised Millicent and Hermione to no end.

By the next morning, it felt as though a weight had been lifted off all of their shoulders. Millicent left to help Mrs. Granger find her way home and while Hermione smiled a tearful goodbye to her mother from the doorway of her room, Draco was grinning at her.

Her epiphany slammed her in the face.

She knew how everything would turn out.

She knew that, no matter the hardships she would have to face in the future, she would have her friends and her husband.

She knew that, no matter the problems that were sure to come her way, she would always have a support system.

She knew, without a doubt, that everything would be alright.

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Ron stared helplessly at his one leg. His mother was watching him silently and smiling every two seconds. He was getting irritated at her.

"Mum! I'm bloody fine. I just am missing one bloody leg. I'm probably the first bloody wizard in bloody history to lose a bloody leg. But Merlin, so help me, I'll figure out a bloody way to make this bloody work." Mrs. Weasley's eyes widened at her son's choice of words but she forgave him. It was going to be hard work to learn to live with only one leg. Plus, he was probably right. He probably was the first wizard with this malady.

"Alright, Dear." Was the bland reply from her lips. Ron's eyes tightened in anger.

"Alright? That's all you have to say to me? What about 'I can't believe this happened' or 'I'm sorry that you are the most bloody unlucky person besides half the wizarding population.' I want some sympathy!" Mrs. Weasley's mouth dropped open.

"But you just said—" Ron grumbled irritably.

"I'm just upset. Why didn't they have a cure? Why couldn't they fix this bloody mess?" Molly frowned.

"Ronald Weasley that is enough with the language. I can understand how upsetting it is. You can curse when I am not around, but do not do it in my presence." Ron swore under his breath just to annoy his mother.

"Fine." He humphed, "So why then? Why didn't they have a cure?" Mrs. Weasley looked thoughtful for a moment and then found her voice to answer his question.

"Well, Ron, you see, the flesh-eating curse is not meant to leave one alive. The curse eats away at your skin at such a fast speed that rarely ever is there time to even realize that a person has been hit with it. It's painful for all of 45 seconds, and then you are dead." Ron looked shocked.

"So… why… this doesn't… why?"

"Ron, Hermione's 'light' stopped the curse from traveling down your body but where it had already hit, it still ate away. When they rescued you, they had to immediately get rid of the places that were holding the curse because it would have spread. In all honesty, you should not have survived and you are probably one of two or three other wizards in history that were able to walk and talk after being hit with it. You are lucky." Ron looked interested for a second and then fell back against his pillows. He grumbled some more.

After an hour of inconsistent mutterings, Ron's tall skinny nurse knocked on the door and administered some dreamless sleep potion. Mrs. Weasley watched her son smile hopefully at the nurse and the nurse smiled back. It was a picture that would remain in her mind foreverher trooper son.

She leaned back in the comfortable chair she had transfigured in Ron's room and closed her eyes trying to relive wonderful memories of her child's childhood. She must have fallen asleep because when she woke her youngest son was sitting up in bed impatiently.

"I want to learn to walk, Mom." Mrs. Weasley looked horrified.

"You need to rest!" Ron growled and threw her a frown.

"They gave me crutches, I want to practice." Molly looked at her youngest son and then threw him a resigned frown.

"You must be tired. We can practice tomorrow." Ron muttered rudely.

"No, mum. I've been lying in this bed for what feels like forever. They drugged me three times last night! They gave me that dreamless sleep, woke me up to bring me to the bathroom, gave me dreamless sleep again. They came in this morning and brought me breakfast then that tall skinny nurse came in here and made me pass out so she could examine me! I'm awake now, I'm tired of being drugged and I really really want to start learning to walk!" Mrs. Weasley regarded her son with love and sighed, knowing she would lose.

"Fine, but we'll practice together." Ron beamed as he swung his one leg over the side of the bed and peered at the spot where his other leg should have been angrily. He took a deep breath and shut his eyes. He wasn't going to let an injury like this slow him down. He was damn certain that he could continue quidditch, even though it would be a little harder. He was damn certain that he would be able to walk again and he was damn certain that he would find some way to be happy. And then it occurred to him:

He knew how everything would turn out.

The hardships he would have to face didn't matter because he would have friends at his side.

The problems he would definitely deal with wouldn't matter because he had his mom, no matter how annoying she was, to support him 100 percent.

He knew, without a doubt, that everything would be alright.

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It was the early morning hours when Harry Potter opened one bleary eye and tried to turn on his side. He found that he couldn't and tried to call for some help. When he opened his mouth his throat was dry, and, each time he muttered a sound, it felt as though the vibrations were rubbing it raw.

"Potter. Good to see you're awake. Hermione will be glad you aren't dead. She just sent me here to check on you. Not supposed to be in this ward, particularly, but I can bribe my way out of trouble." Harry went to retort to Draco's comment but found that again, nothing would come out. Draco laughed at Harry's look of disbelief and his obvious discomfort.

"Don't let my looks leave you speechless. I'm a married man!" Draco flashed his golden wedding band callously as he laughed at himself. Harry opened his mouth to retort but found that it was best if he kept it closed. Draco laughed louder.

"These are the moments, Potter. These are the moments I'm even more glad not be a pathetic sap like you!" He laughed again, but eventually he stopped. Harry wasn't looking upset anymore, in fact, he was smirking.

"Mr. Malfoy." Draco jumped blatantly, "It's nice to see you visiting. I never thought you and Harry would become friends." Draco snarled silently and turned to face the headmaster with a slight frown.

"Yes, well, Hermione told me I had too." Dumbledore's smile widened.

"Already taking orders I see." Draco's mouth dropped open. This was his headmaster! "Don't give me that look Draco. I live in a school surrounded by female teachers who do exactly what your wife does; they guilt me into certain things and I will most often complete a task for them when they merely point a finger." He smiled a happy smile and sighed, "Women really know how to rule men. It's unlucky, if truth be told." Draco chuckled.

"Hermione just thinks she rules me. I know I have the upper hand." Dumbledore gave Draco a sympathetic look.

"Perhaps that is just want she wants you to think." Draco frowned and sat down in the chair behind him. Harry had been trying to speak for a good two minutes now and Dumbledore looked at him jovially.

"Good to see you are awake, Harry! I was beginning to worry. I knew you'd pull through. I wish I could help you but the medi-witches and wizards warned that they would kick me out if I tried anything. I may be knowledgeable, but even I won't betray a promise to a medi-witch. They know a lot of painful curses and since they can heal the pain, they really don't have any problem casting them." Draco looked interested and Harry, resigned. Harry again tried to speak to Dumbledore, but just gave up and shut his eyes tightly.

The silence in the room seemed to get to Draco who, out of the blue, started talking to Dumbledore about the curses that medi-wizards knew. Dumbledore looked interested in the questions Draco was asking and sat down next to him. Ten minutes passed and Harry realized that they were just getting started. He squeezed his eyes tighter and willed himself to go to sleep. But sleep obviously wasn't on his side.

After a half an hour of compatible chatter between Draco and Dumbledore Harry was about to rip his hair out. He had no idea how the headmaster could put up with Draco enough to have a conversation.

He was sure Draco was just brainwashing the headmaster into hating him, and though he knew the idea sounded very farfetched, he couldn't help but feel angry that it was Draco, and not he, who was talking so easily with the headmaster.

Harry tried to focus on why he was in St. Mungo's. He still wasn't sure what exactly had happened in his fight with the Dark Lord. It seemed so long ago. He could barely remember what the Dark Lord had said to him, but he was sure that he had shot the killing curse. Why hadn't it killed him? There was no way he could have survived twice. After pondering his battle a little while longer, Harry was about to knock his head on his bedside table.

Draco's conversation with the Headmaster was continuing still. Listening to the Headmaster was one thing, but he swore to all things light, ten more seconds of listening to Dumbledore laughing at what Malfoy was saying and the boy-who-lived twice would be going to Azkaban for murder.

Fortunately, a very plump man walked into the room. "Hello there Mr. Harry Potter" The man said nasally, shutting the curtains around Harry's bed as he began to talk again, "I am here to check you over. We will have to keep you a bit longer but I believe you are healing well. We thought you were dead for sure only a few hours ago. You had a brief heart lapse. You'll probably have to come in for a check-up every few months for the rest of your life" Harry wanted to tell the man that he certainly would not but, yet again, his sore throat was keeping him from responding. He settled for a scowl.

The man ignored him and began checking his vitals. He was mumbling things about blood pressure and heart rate and doctor mumbo-jumbo. Harry opted to close his eyes and he tried to send telepathic thoughts to the medi-wizard about soothing his throat, rather than listen.

Once the thorough, and embarrassing, check-up was completed the doctor opened the curtains with a flourish. Harry coughed loudly and the medi-wizard realized that Harry's throat was probably killing him from all the potions he had been forced to drink. The heavy man leaned over the side of the bed and, placing his wand at Harry's throat, muttered a spell. It was the most relieving thing Harry had felt in a very long time. His throat felt like it was being inundated with water and the coolness was soothing his temper, which had flared moments before. "Speak, Mr. Potter." Harry obliged.

"You guys are the most irritating people to listen to!" was the first thought that popped out of his mouth. He had been almost certain that the spell the wizard had placed on him wouldn't work. Draco raised a blond eyebrow at him and Dumbledore gave him a bemused smile.

"Well, Mr. Potter," The wizard interrupted, "I don't want you out of this bed for another day, at least. These two can stay for a little while longer, but if your headmaster tries anything, just holler for me." He offered his hand while a large grin lit up his face. Harry accepted it graciously. The medi-wizard gave him one last smile before heading towards the door. He put his hand on the handle and just as he was about to open it, a head popped in through the doorway. The portly wizard was surprised to see such a wild-haired girl in the room. "Can I help you?" He asked rudely, startling her. She jumped and then gave him a pensive grin.

"No. I've been helped thanks. My husband is right over there and I need to have a word with him." The man grinned at her annoyed stare. He opened the door wider and she stepped in as he, quickly, stepped out.

"Draco!" Hermione shouted, stomping irately over to him. "I didn't know where you went. The medi-witch shuts that curtain for one moment and you high-tail it out of there. A little worry for me would have been nice!" Hermione took a deep breath, quite apparently about to spit fire at him. Draco shrugged nonchalantly but silently prepared himself. "You could have just told me where you were going. One minute is all the time it would have taken you. If you had given me one minute we could have gone and had breakfast together or something" Hermione suddenly stopped. Draco breathed a sigh of relief but she sent him a glare. "Harry! I'm so glad to see you are awake! I was so worried!" He smiled at her.

"I would have been worried for you too, Minee, but I was out cold." Hermione laughed and tromped over to him to give him a hug. "Did you say you didn't know where Malfoy was?" Hermione looked troubled.

"Yes, he was gone." She ignored Draco who was making slash signs across his throat. Harry smiled.

"And you accused me of making moves on you, when you were most obviously making moves on me! I hate to let you down, but Hermione's my best friend, and I am very straight." Harry shouted. Draco looked stunned and infuriated and Hermione, who was laughing, was not helping the situation.

"I was just checking on you, Potter. We haven't had any news on your condition. I figured she" he motioned to Hermione, "would be pleased if I had some information." Harry and Hermione both rolled their eyes, showing their disbelief. Draco frowned at them and fell back into a chair. "Shut up." He ordered them, which only increased their laughter.

"What's so funny?" A voice called out from the doorway. "Why wasn't I involved?" Ron came into the room with a friendly, but shy smile on his face. Harry gaped openly at his friend. Hermione seemed less inclined to stare, since she had seen him before now, and Draco was sitting, pretending not to stare.

"Ron?" Harry asked disbelievingly, "What the HELL happened?" Mrs. Weasley's voice was heard from the doorway.

"Ron, keep moving. We were practicing. I said we could stop to see Harry, but I don't want you to be up for too long." Ron mocked his mother's face to the four people in the room, (Dumbledore was still there) and they laughed. He continued into the room.

"Got hit with a flesh-eating curse, Harry." Ron explained, "Don't remember much." Harry's mouth wouldn't stay closed and his eyes were as wide as saucers. Mrs. Weasley motioned to speak to Dumbledore outside and the headmaster smiled brightly and sauntered out the room and out the door. Harry was still staring at Ron and Hermione was getting angry.

"Harry!" Hermione whispered furiously, jabbing him in the side. He gave her an apologetic look and dropped his eyes to the floor, where he found himself focusing on the spot where Ron's foot should have been.

"Wow, Ron, that's crazy." Harry mumbled. Ron looked crestfallen.

"I didn't know it would bother you so much, Harry. I'm actually getting used to it already. Plus," he added, trying to inject some humor into the situation, "it's better than losing both, right?" Harry frowned.

"But this was my battle and I dragged you into it and…" Hermione raised both her eyebrows at Harry.

"Actually, Harry, you dragged me into it. I was the one kidnapped and, actually, that was mostly my own fault too. It's my fault that Ron is here. He was one of my 'guardians', if you will. Stop being so bloody self-pitying and get over yourself." Draco snorted and Harry growled. Ron frowned.

"So Hermione, in all reality, I should be getting upset at you." Hermione's eyes turned downcast.

"Yeah, I'm sorry Ron." Ron chuckled. "It's too late for apologies. What's happened has happened and, honestly, I should be saying thanks to you for saving my life." Hermione smiled a mile wide and threw her arms around Ron's waist.

"I'm really lucky that you're my best friend" She whispered to him. He smiled into her crazy hair and put one arm around her shoulders.

"Same here, Minee, same here." Mrs. Weasley peered in through the small window in the door and beamed at her son. He looked so happy even though he was in such a bad state. He had great friends, she realized, and she knew that no matter what, with a good attitude, he would make it. She grinned reassuringly at Dumbledore. Through the window she watched as Hermione gave Ron another hearty squeeze.

"That's one helluva battle scar, Weasley. It'll make a great story. Now get off my wife." Ron smirked at him.

"Jealous, Malfoy? And I don't remember what happened." Draco slapped his hand to his head and shook it disappointedly.

"Weasley, I just don't want your hands touching her that way, and make up a story. Who cares if it's real or not? Add a little bit of fact and expand on it. Who cares, but make it believable." Ron looked thoughtful and then smiled at Draco.

"Thanks, Malfoy. I might just take your advice." Draco sneered at him.

"Of course you would!" Hermione laughed and unhooked herself from Ron, heading over to Draco.

"Be nice, Draco, or I'll have to scold you again." He eyed her cautiously and she laughed again. They stood for a moment in silence and then Ron moved slowly over to Harry. He sat on the edge of his bed and grinned.

"You know Harry," He said casually, "You aren't trying to dump our friendship are you?" Harry looked absolutely horrified.

"I wouldn't want you to lose your boyfriend, Potter." Draco threw in. Hermione prodded him in the side and he threw her an angry glance.

"Ron! We have been best friends for seven years! There is no way I am throwing all that away! It's just weird. I wasn't prepared for it. Have you looked into muggle methods of curing? They have fake legs and stuff that you might be able to use. I'll help you research if you want. We have to find a way for you to play quidditch again." Ron chuckled good-naturedly.

"I never knew there was such a thing as fake legs! We really will have to look into that. I want to be able to move without crutches sometime in this lifetime." Ron explained. They both sat quietly, lost in their own worlds. Hermione broke the silence.

"Guys," she said, addressing all the boys in the room, "Things are going to be really different when we get back to school. We defeated Voldemort, finally. He's gone." It suddenly hit all of them that nothing was ever going to be the same, "I just want you to know I am here for you."

"Me too." Harry added.

"Same here," Ron called.

"Don't expect me to give you a ton of emotional support, but I guess if you guys go down, I'm in this thing now, so I'll go down too." Draco begrudgingly inserted.

"Millicent wanted me to give you her support as well. We really are all in this together. I'm still nervous though." She told them. An anxious smile tugged at her mouth. The room's occupants fell into respective silences, each buried, once again, in their own thoughts. A rustling of bed sheets broke everyone of their reveries. Harry was sitting up.

"But you know what guys," He said determinedly, "I have this reassuring feeling inside of me telling me that no matter what happens…" He grinned at Hermione and Ron as he trailed off. Hermione and Ron smiled at one another and together, all three voiced their previous thoughts.

"Everything is going to be alright."

The End.

Author's LAST note- Dear me! I can't believe I finished it. I actually can not believe it's done. Wow. I'll apologize again for keeping you waiting so long. I hope it was up to your standards.

I had a hard time writing this chapter. I don't know if it was me just refusing to relinquish this story or the fact that I just didn't know what to write. Eventually, it just came to me. I realized I didn't have to end this 20 years in the future. I hope I cleared everything up too.

Review! This is the last chapter, at least review once for me!

Now, notes to people

Fieryred20- Thank you so much for staying with me this whole story! I loved all your comments and I always look for them in my inbox. It wouldn't be a complete chapter without a comment from you. :-D Thank you so much! Xoxoxo
Gottalovedrakie- I love your reviews! Thank you for reading my story and loving it! And thanks for giving me the incentive to keep going. I couldn't let you down! Xoxoxo
Senya- Thanks for reviewing! I always love getting comments and I went to read your stories, but, being the highly distractible person I am, probable forgot what I was doing halfway through. :-P. I'll be sure to read and leave comments on your stories. Xoxoxo
GryffPrincess- Sorry for the cliff-hanger. I'm not that sorry though, I was trying for one. I try to update quickly though, so I hope it didn't bother you too much. Thanks for reading and I'm glad that you wanted me to update so quickly, you liked it! Xoxo
lonelyngel- Thank you for your sweet, fabulous review. It totally brightened my mood! It made me feel good to. Words do work wonders! Xoxo
Diesoz- Thanks for letting me know. I noticed a few weird word things in my chapters. I know fanfic pushes words together sometimes. I have to go back and find where the word 'know' was supposed to go though. sigh :-D. Thanks for reviewing! Xoxo
Roguewriter04- I'm glad I made you feel better. Your review made me feel good. :-D.
Sarah- Thank you! Xo
Secretdragon- Hope this update is good enough for you! I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for your encouragement too, it meant a lot. Xoxo
HaliJadeSnape- I hope that you liked this chapter and I really hope your granddad is doing better. I hate that mine is sick and wish yours only the best. Thanks for reading! XO
Whogirl- Thanks for all your reviews! I hope you like it!

ROSIE- you little bugger. I had to include you here since you bugged me at school (not that I minded.) Here's your last chapter! I lurve you!

And thank you to people who reviewed throughout the story!-xOxOkIsSmYaSsXoXo, Makotojs, Melian Nilromen, Zyber Elthone, cyancrystaldolphins, crystal, jameslvr, Claudia, darlightprincess, Iraine, Dreamhowler (thanks again for the information), fateschild666 (I love your name), Sabriel, Morgan, stargazer starluver, Shelly024, Lily Malfoy13, bigred20, rembrandt, fallen, rock-dadog-bitch, goddess of life and death, rebelangel566, nathonea, pussycat06, Ottawan Angel, Hell's Roses

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