A/N Yes, the last chapter is upon us… Enjoy! And don't forget to review!

Thanx to: my Beta, for sticking with me pour toujours, and Muse, who was truly my Muse.

Disclaimer: Yes, only the plot is mine, everything else is JKR's. Bad does not belong to me, it belongs exclusively to U2. Also, I couldn't decide between two songs, so Invincible does not belong to me. It belongs exclusively to Muse.

Chapter 13: Invincible

If you twist and turn away
If you tear yourself in two again
If I could, yes I would
If I could, I would
Let it go
Surrender
Dislocate
If I could throw this
Lifeless lifeline to the wind
Leave this heart of clay
See you walk, walk away
Into the night
And through the rain
Into the half-light
And through the flame
If I could through myself
Set your spirit free
I'd lead your heart away
See you break, break away
Into the light
And to the day

-- Bad, U2

"Are you insane!? We're not going to test that!" Draco cried, staring at Hermione in shock. "I won't try to kill you, there must be another way!" he yelled in frustration.

"Really? Well, I haven't read about one yet, and when you do let me know!" Hermione screamed from across the room. She was getting impatient.

"Are you so willing to give your life up? Are you suicidal?!" Draco bellowed.

"You won't actually kill me, I'll just be unconscious for a while!"

"Not at the cost of your life! We don't know what we're dealing with; this is ancient magic!"

"I'll be fine! If you can just Apparate quickly enough, it'll work!"

"I can't. I won't be able to. Hermione, if I lost you…" Draco whispered.

"You won't lose me," Hermione promised, striding across the room and hugging Draco fiercely.

"Can we take a break from trying to figure out how to defeat my father?" Draco asked, his face exhausted.

"Fine…" Hermione sighed. "N.E. are tomorrow, so shall we study?"

"Not that we need to…" Draco said, rolling his eyes. Hermione laughed, and grabbing a book, she plopped down on the sofa, pulling Draco's down next to her.

"Now, when were the Troll Crusades?" she asked, her face completely serious. Draco burst out laughing.

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Hermione woke from a restless sleep. She had gotten back to her room at about three in the morning the night before; she and Draco had gotten rather sidetracked and had ended up discussing philosophy. She opened her eyes, then closed them quickly at the bright light making its way through her closed window.

"Go away!" she moaned at the light, wanting to go back to sleep. And then she remembered what today was. The N.E.? WHAT! I have to get up! she thought frantically trying to get out of bed. She didn't realize that half her body was on the floor; she fell on her leg. "Damn it," she muttered.

Hermione made it to the Great Hall within the next ten minutes, and hence the exams commenced.

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"So, how do you think you did?" Draco asked Hermione, after all the tests were complete.

"Well, Defense was simple enough, but I think I screwed up on that question about best position for attacking. Potions was good, but –"

"You realize when I ask that, you're just supposed to say 'I think I did great!' right?" Draco asked, sarcasm wetting his mouth.

"Shut up you!" Hermione cried, laughing while punching Draco's arm. "I think I failed," she said somberly.

"Of course you do."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione asked, not liking where this was heading.

"Nothing, just that… You know, you worry…" Draco said, trailing off.

"Thank you Draco. Thank you so much," Hermione spat. She turned on her heel and headed towards the door. Before she could even take a step, Draco pulled her arm towards him, and turned her around gently.

"What," Hermione demanded.

"I'm sorry. I just meant that you probably did an excellent job, and that you should stop worrying," Draco said, trying desperately to get Hermione to calm down. She had been moody lately. Actually, ever since I mentioned that idea to get rid of Father… Draco thought. We need to come up with something else… Draco was pulled from his thoughts by Hermione's voice.

"Sorry Draco, it's just… Everything's been too much," Hermione whispered, looking away.

"That's understandable," Draco said gently.

"I love you," Hermione whispered, kissing him softly on his mouth.

"I know," Draco responded, hugging her tightly. "I don't mean to destroy the moment," Draco began, "But we need to find another way to defeat him." Hermione pulled her way out of Draco's embrace and looked him in the eyes.

"Mean it or not, you did destroy the moment," she said, sticking her tongue out at him. Draco laughed. "Anyhow," Hermione started, her eyes losing their twinkling, "I was thinking; why did your father wait so long to… er, exit your body? I mean, there was no reason for him to stay for three months."

"I dunno," Draco said, sitting down on the couch. "There were times where… I was just kind of left in the dark. Does that make sense?"

"No, not really," Hermione said, sitting on a chair across from him. "Explique-moi," she commanded.

"It was almost as if… As if I was unconscious, but worse because I wasn't." Hermione still looked puzzled. "Er… I couldn't see anything, but I could feel my body breathing," he said, thinking back.

"Ah. So Lucius put you under, so to speak, and then did… did what?"

"I dunno…" Draco said. They sat in silence, thinking.

"Wait… Before this, could Malfoy's truly Apparate from Hogwarts to the manor?" Hermione asked, thinking she might have an idea.

"No."

"Is it possible that… Perhaps Lucius was creating a spell. One full of dark magic, so that he could do so? And maybe, it was so complex, it took him three months?" Hermione asked, getting excited.

"That would make sense… I remember, whenever I would go 'unconscious,' I would be in that corridor where he abducted you. That's it!" he cried, jumping out of his seat. "And dark magic… Well, it tends to linger, so we can probably tap into it somehow… Come!" he cried, grabbing Hermione's hand and nearly dragging her to the corridor.

"Look!" Hermione cried, upon their arrival. "There's some sort of symbol here… It looks like a dragon flying through a circle…" she said, squinting in the approaching darkness. She was pointing at a wall, which was directly across from where they were standing. She approached the symbol slowly, being careful as not to touch it; she had no idea what would happen if she did.

"That's the Malfoy crest…" Draco said slowly, trying to figure out exactly what had happened here. "I think… I think he set up and Apparating curse here, and… That's how he got you."

"This is perfect!" Hermione cried. "All we have to do, is Apparate to the manor, and then we can call McGonagall and tell her to bring the Ministry, they can… handle your father, and we're free!" she exclaimed, her voice quivering with excitement.

"It won't work."

"What? What do you—"

"He's probably put some spell on it so that only pureblood's can go through." Draco cut in, his voice hard, and cold.

"But you don't know that—"

"Hermione!" Draco almost shouted. Hermione's head turned towards him immediately. "You know it as well; it won't be so easy."

"Well then, what do you want us to do?" Hermione asked testily. Does he have no hope?! she wondered.

"I don't know! Just something that will work!" Draco burst out, his eyes ablaze.

"Draco, you must have hope," Hermione said, trying to comfort him. "This is not the end," she whispered fervently.

"How can you be so sure?" Draco snapped. "Hermione, he almost killed you, and now we're plotting to incarcerate him. It won't be that simple!"

"Who said we ever did things the easy way?" Hermione asked, winking. "I do not fear death by his hand," she said, her eyes twinkling in the fading moonlight.

"Be careful what you say," Draco said, his eyes grave. He started walking away, and did not look back.

"Draco!" Hermione called out. He didn't react. She ran after him and pulled his arm towards her. "Stop this. This is mad. You can not live like this; you must have trust! Trust in me, trust in you, that we can stop this! Don't you dare turn your back on me," she threatened as he started turning away again, "Don't." That one word kept Draco turned towards her.

"How can you be so sure?" he asked again.

"I have hope," she answered simply.

"Come. We have some plotting to do," Draco said, his eyes twinkling.

"Indeed we do, but might it wait until tomorrow?" Hermione asked.

"I suppose so… What do you suggest we do until then?" Draco asked, his grin widening when he saw Hermione's look of exhaustion. "Fine, you can go to sleep! Come," he said, taking her hand, and pulling her towards the Gryffindor common room.

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"I have the best idea ever," Hermione proclaimed, approaching Draco.

"Will you take me to another reality?" Draco asked, yawning. "I'm so tired! Good thing we don't have classes today…" he muttered, resting his head against Hermione's shoulder.

"Wake up!" Hermione snapped, slapping his arm. "Listen!" she commanded. Draco turned a bleary eye towards her.

"Mmph?" he demanded. This threw Hermione completely off. It wasn't like Draco to be so inarticulate.

"Why're you so tired?" she asked, her face confused.

"Bad dream," Draco answered shortly.

"About…" Hermione prompted. She didn't really want to know, but she had to be sure—

"It wasn't caused by my father, if that's what you're asking," Draco replied testily.

"What would make you think I was referring to that?" Hermione asked innocently. Draco got up and looked into her eyes. Hermione cracked. "OK, fine, that was what I was asking," she said, sighing. "I just want to be sure though!" she cried in defense.

Draco moaned as he fell back on Hermione's shoulder. "It was about the N.E.," he admitted. There was a silence in the room until Hermione broke it with laughter.

"Re—really?!" she asked, still laughing. She received a blow to the head as an answer. "Sorry!" she exclaimed, still laughing. When she finally regained control over herself, she started talking again. "So, can you listen to my plan now?" Silence. "Please?" she asked, drawing out the word.

"Fine!" Draco exclaimed, getting himself into a sitting position. "What?!" he asked.

"You look dashing when you get mad," Hermione said, sarcasm dripping from her mouth.

"I know," Draco said shortly. Hermione ignored him and started talking.

"Right, so I think we should become fully fledged Animagi."

"I second that. 'Night then!" Draco said, attempting to use Hermione's shoulder as a pillow again.

"Listen to me!" Hermione yelled. Draco sat erect, having been taken by surprise by the volume of Hermione's voice. "Thank you. So, as I was saying, we should become Animagi, and then, you can Apparate to the manor unnoticed!" she said, waiting for Draco's reaction.

"It won't be much of a surprise; he already knows I'm an Animagi," Draco said, bursting Hermione's hope with one sentence.

"What?!" she asked, thoroughly confused at this point. "How does he kn— Oh, did you try to use it as a defense for your thoughts?"

"Exactement,"Exactly. Draco responded, his face glum. He slouched back against the couch.

"Well, that sets us back a bit, now doesn't it…" Hermione said, her voice hollow. "Unless… I could go instead!" she exclaimed, the excitement now rekindled in her. "It still works then; the curse won't recognize a mudblood, it'll recognize a fox, and…" she started, talking more to herself than to Draco.

"And if it doesn't?" Draco snapped. "What if it reads you as a mudblood?" he asked bluntly. Hermione winced at the word, and then looked at Draco.

"I'll have to find out then, won't I?"

"As in what?! What are you going to do to test this theory of yours?" he asked, hoping she would just let it go. He couldn't deal with her getting hurt. Not now.

"If I transform and then Apparate, and you stand right above the sign, you'll be able to heal me if I get… hurt. Does that work?"

"Yes… I suppose so," Draco said slowly. "We'll have to get started right now, won't we," he stated.

"Uh huh," Hermione said distractedly. She was trying to figure out why this idea hadn't come to her sooner. She rubbed her face roughly with her hands, and turned to face Draco. "Ready?" she asked him, ready to face the worst.

"Indeed," Draco affirmed. And they went off to the Room of Requirement to brew up the last potion.

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"Ready?" Hermione asked, eyeing the bright blue potion in her hand doubtfully. Draco nodded. Hermione nodded back to him and closed her eyes; she knew this last transformation would be painful.

The potion made its way down their throats, which would have been fine, if not for the excruciating pain that followed in its wake. Hermione let out a scream and fell to the floor. Draco's reaction to the pain was not as dramatic; he simply collapsed to the floor with a pained expression on his face.

Time passed; after almost half an hour, Draco got up. He was a lynx. Wha—? he thought, groggily. Oh. Damn it. I suppose I'll have to stay like this until I've mastered 'control.' Damn, he thought again. He saw the form of a red fox on the floor, so he decided to play a little trick on Hermione.

The lynx leaped in the air and landed on the red fox, triggering a squeal. Draco chuckled in his mind, but what came out was a rather distorted 'meowl!' Hermione looked injured. Draco clenched his jaw in guilt, but the feeling was quickly swept away when Hermione pounced on him.

While she was doing this, there was only one thought running through her head. This was: 'OW!' She pounced on the small lynx again, this time digging her claws into his shoulder. It yowled, throwing her off completely. She flew through the air until she landed on the other side of the room with an ungraceful thud.

Draco was in a playful mood. After throwing Hermione off his back, he ran up to her on the other side of the room, and pulled her up by the scruff of her neck. Though she whined in protest, he ignored her, and put her to her feet. And then the fun began. He chased her around the room, laughing internally at her yowls of protest. Little did he know; his laughs sounded like hacking coughs from the little lynx's body.

Hermione and Draco scuffled about the room for another hour or so, enjoying themselves immensely, and ignoring all the wounds they were receiving, until Draco started getting tired. He decided to get control over himself, and thought about himself in his human form. He felt something change, something he wasn't aware of, and then found himself towering over a small red fox. He promptly fell to the floor because of the wounds on his chest and stomach.

As soon as Hermione saw Draco changing, she gained control over herself, and morphed back into her human form as well.

"Hi," she gasped, as soon as she could sit up. Draco let out a loud moan. "Oh come on! Get up!" Hermione ordered, pulling herself to a standing position. She noticed the wounds on her stomach and appendages, and healed them quickly. When she finally realized Draco was not going to do anything, she grabbed him by the arm, and ignoring his protesting moans, pulled him into a sitting position. She looked him in the eyes in an attempt to be serious, but broke down laughing in a matter of seconds.

"I love you," she choked out, hugging him tightly. She heard another moan of annoyance, and released him. She heard him moan again. "What?!" she screamed, annoyed that he wasn't saying anything.

"Nothing, this is just amusing!" Draco said with a smile. Hermione stared at him before laughing again. "Come on," Draco invited, taking Hermione's hand and pulling her up with him. They stumbled back to the flat, looking like drunken fools to everyone else.

"That was fun!" Hermione exclaimed upon reaching the flat. "Heh," she said; a half giggle.

"What?" Draco asked, reclining on the couch again.

"Nothing, just thinking about that time in Hogsmeade…" Hermione said, smiling at Draco again.

"Why so cheery; you know what we have to do now," Draco said, a surly smile appearing on his face.

"Yeah, thanks for reminding me," Hermione said, sarcasm entering her voice.

"Sorry," apologized Draco, not sounding sincere at all. Hermione looked at him again.

"Draco, I swear to you. This will all end."

"It's just… hard to believe it sometimes…" Draco swallowed hard, as if trying to dislodge something from his throat. Hermione kissed his cheek softly.

"I should probably go," she whispered.

"Wait! Can we… Plan a bit more?" Draco asked. Hermione cocked an eyebrow; Draco wasn't usually this eager.

"Alright…" she said slowly. She took a seat across from him, clasping her hands in a professional manner.

"So…" she began.

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"Alright," Hermione said, pausing for a yawn. "Is that good enough?" she asked, stretching her arms.

"Yes," Draco said, shaking. "Hermione?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm not sure I can do this…" There was a silence; one could hear the creaking of the old castle.

"Yes. You can," Hermione stated, trying to reassure him. "Draco, you won't be killing him, you won't ever be hurting him. All you'll be doing is telling the Ministry where to find him."

"As long as he gets a fair trial…"

"He will. I promise!" Hermione vowed, giving Draco another hug. "And now, time to go to sleep. 'Night!" she called, heading towards the door.

"'Night," Draco said glumly. He doubted he was going to get any sleep tonight. Wonderful, as I'm already exhausted, he thought.

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Hermione tiptoed into Draco's room. She blinked her eyes rapidly to adjust to the sudden darkness, and then kept going. She was trying to find him, as he hadn't showed up to breakfast. She expected he had just slept in for a bit.

Hermione finally made it to the bed. She found the top of the lump that was Draco, and leaned into his ear. "MORNING!" she yelled in his ear. She saw the lump shudder violently, and a head of hair popped out and whispered.

"Love, I don't mean to be rude, but go to hell." The head promptly disappeared, and was replaced with a wad of gray fabric. Hermione quickly batted it away while chuckling quietly.

"Yeah, I love you too Draco. Come on, get out of bed! It's ten in the morning!" she cried, pulling back the sheets. "Get up, you arse!"

"What I said before still stands," Draco moaned from under the thick sheets. Hermione chuckled again, and sent a freezing spell under the sheets. She heard Draco's scream of anger. "UNDO IT!" he roared. Hermione simply laughed again.

"Not until you get up!" she retorted, enjoying this immensely. Draco finally gave up, and came out from under the sheets. His face was pale, and he looked exhausted. Hermione inadvertently jumped away from Draco while muttering the counter curse.

"What happened to you?" she whispered. "You look like a vampire."

"Thank you," Draco said graciously. When he saw Hermione's face was unchanged, he sat up and started explaining. "I couldn't sleep."

"I expected as much…" Hermione said, her lips quirking. "You must be exhausted!" Draco narrowed his eyes and nodded, thinking it amazing that Hermione hadn't noticed that earlier. "Sorry," Hermione offered, wincing in her guilt.

"It's fine…" Draco said resignedly. "I was just… worrying."

"About?"

"My father."

"Ah. The fact that you're about to imprison him?"

"No, not so much that… More, just, why didn't we try this earlier? Why didn't I try to defeat him until now?"

"You know why Draco. It's not as if we could have gotten to the manor before this. We had no way of defeating him before now!" she said, walking back towards Draco.

"It's just… I can't help but think, we could've saved so many more lives, if only we had known about the damn spell…"

"I know. I know, and I feel bad about it too, but truly Draco, there's nothing we could've done. You can't keep living your life thinking that it's your fault people died," Hermione said, turning Draco's face towards her. He closed his eyes, basking in the warmth of her touch. Hermione smiled at him, simply trying to enjoy the moment, trying not to think about what would come after.

"Thanks for that, Hermione," Draco said, placing his hand on her cheek. She leaned in and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I love you," she whispered, once their lips parted. "Now get some sleep. If we're going to follow through with this, you'll need to be at least partially lucid," she whispered, smiling.

"Wake me up in a couple hours," Draco said, his words getting fainter as he fell back on the bed. Hermione got up off the bed, and left the flat, looking around fervently, trying to gage whether or not anyone was following her. When she saw the corridors were almost empty, she headed towards the small corner she and Draco had found the symbol of the dragon.

Hermione gritted her teeth, knowing that she was taking an enormous risk in being where she was. She looked around the vicinity one last time before approaching the dragon. She transformed, feeling her body shrink, and her hair grow. When she was certain there was no one watching her, she put a paw to the dragon. Now she faced a dilemma; how was she to turn around while she was a fox? She couldn't quite turn without taking the paw off the dragon, so she decided to do something else. She touched her tail to the symbol and closed her eyes. She concentrated on where she wanted to go, but couldn't hold back a shudder. That horrible place where she had been tortured twice was not a place she could think about with ease.

Hermione walked in a quick circle, hoping it would suffice. As she had expected, pressure came from all side, squeezing her into a tiny tube. She couldn't breathe. Finally, she exited the tube and found… "The manor," she breathed in amazement. She had only half expected this to work.

She quickly Apparated away, and found herself on the floor of the corridor again. She put herself in her body, and felt her small furry body change into her human form. She breathed a sigh of relief, and got up from her kneeling position, smoothing down her skirt. She looked around again, and upon seeing that no one was staring at her, she strutted off towards the flat, a smile on her face.

"Draco!" Hermione yelled upon entering the flat. She heard a groan in reply. She knew it had only been a half hour, but she thought this was important enough to wake him up.

"You'll never guess where I went!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Where, the corridor?" Draco asked, sarcasm dripping from his mouth.

"No… Well, yes, but that's not the point! I went to," and here she paused for dramatic effect, "Malfoy Manor," she whispered, her eyes wide.

"What?!" Draco shouted, dragging himself off the bed. "You went to the manor?!" His look of utmost horror almost had Hermione laughing, but she repressed the urge and instead, put on a somber face.

"Well, I was fairly sure Lucius would forget to put an anti-mudblood curse on it, so I thought it was relatively safe! And it's not as if I don't know any healing spells," she said, narrowing her eyes.

Draco didn't say anything for a moment, and Hermione took the time to sit on the bed next to him. "Honestly Draco, I can take care of myself! You worry too much!" she scoffed, trying to gage what he was feeling.

"Hermione, you can't underestimate him. He's already killed so many people, you have no idea what he's capable of!" he cried, looking into her eyes.

"I think I may have an idea…" Hermione said, rolling her eyes.

"I just… I want this to end before anyone else gets hurt," Draco said, his eyes distant.

"Tonight. We'll do it tonight," Hermione said in a final manner. "And it'll all be over."

"So soon?" Draco asked, yet his voice sounded hollow.

"Well, you know what to do, so do I. I think we should just get it over with."

"And if… If I can't do it? What if I can't send my father to prison, Hermione? What if…" he trailed off, leaving his sentence unfinished.

"Draco, you can do this. I swear to you, we shan't rest until he gets a fair trial; we're not just dumping him into Azkaban!" she said, gesturing with her arms. "And I'll be there, it's not as if you'll be all alone in the manor," she pointed out, trying to comfort him.

Draco's resolve hardened, and he stared at Hermione. "Tonight then," he whispered, still not completely sure whether or not he would be able to imprison his father.

"Tonight," Hermione whispered. "I'm going to go and tell McGonagall then," she said, "sleep now," she said, kissing Draco's forehead gently. She got off the bed and headed towards McGonagall's office, leaving a warm wind in her wake.

I can't believe I'm doing this, Draco thought, falling back down in bed. I'm trying to imprison my father! Another voice answered him, it's not as if he doesn't deserve it though, it snapped. Draco knew this was true, but the truth didn't make anything easier. Think of all the people he's killed. Like Hermione's parents. This did it. Draco knew he could never forgive his father for that. Draco gritted his teeth, and resolved to imprison his father one way or another. While he waited for the day to pass by, he decided to sleep. He closed his eyes, let unconsciousness take him.

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"Hi!" Draco heard a voice.

"What time is it?" he asked groggily.

"Er… Time to go," Hermione responded, biting her lip in anticipation.

"Really?" Draco asked, yawning.

"No, I'm lying you moron!" Hermione said, rolling her eyes. Draco pulled himself up.

"Sit here," he said, patting the spot next to him. Hermione looked at him, searching his face. She sat next to him.

"Yes?" she asked, drawing out the word.

"If something happens…" Draco started. Hermione put a finger over his mouth.

"Don't you dare Draco," she whispered gently, "Don't you dare think that anything is going to happen. We'll go in, keep your father occupied for a while, and then the Ministry will take him. It's a simple plan," she said, laughing lightly.

"That's what scares me," Draco breathed. "What if he's expecting us?"

"Even if he is, we have the ministry on our side. We won't be alone; I told McGonagall our plan, and she informed the ministry. Nothing will go wrong!" Hermione said, taking her finger away from Draco's mouth.

"And if it does?"

"Then we'll figure something out," Hermione said, her face stone.

"Right. We go now then?"

"Yup," Hermione sighed, now completely sure if she was ready for this or not. Regardless, she thought, I must do this now. Or risk innocent peoples' lives.

The walk to the corridor was quiet, neither one speaking. Just before it was time, Draco had a sudden thought. "Did you tell Weasley and Potter?" he asked urgently.

"Yes," Hermione said tonelessly. "Ready?"

"No. But go ahead," Draco said.

"You know what to do?" Hermione asked, trying to keep from shaking. Draco nodded. "Right then. Here we go," Hermione said, casting an invisibility spell on Draco. While he was fading into nothing, she transformed into her fox state. She made sure Draco was touching her back, touched her tail to the dragon, and turned on the spot, whisking them away to Malfoy Manor.

The compression was even worse this time, as it always was with side-along Apparation. When they finally reached the manor, they found themselves close to a fireplace, in the same study Hermione had been tortured in. Both Hermione and Draco were gasping for breath. Hermione finally regained control of her breath, and waited for Draco to finish wheezing.

"Go!" Draco choked out, motioning to Hermione. She leaped onto his shoulder and gave his cheek a quick lick before heading off to find Lucius.

Draco leaned against the wall, and tried to clear his head from all the thoughts. He narrowed his eyes and braced himself for what was to come. He tiptoed quietly after Hermione, hoping this would end quickly, hoping he wouldn't be there to hear his father's cries of protest. The ministry was supposed to be at the doors. Draco crossed his fingers and fervently hoped that they were.

And there he was. Lucius Malfoy, sitting at a desk, his head in his hands. Hermione had no pity for him; she jumped on his head of hair, and tore at it with her claws. Lucius jumped off, and threw all his anger at the small red fox. He grabbed her belly and tore her of him. "Where'd you come from?" he growled, staring into the fox's eyes. Hermione whimpered, wondering why Draco wasn't doing anything.

"Inpedimenta!" Draco cried; his father flew back, and landed on the floor, the small fox ripped out of his hands. Hermione was flung to the floor; she barked in pain, curling on her side on the floor.

"Hello. Son," Lucius spat out, looking directly at him. But I'm invisible! Draco thought frantically. He knew there was close to no chance of escape now; he muttered the counter-curse and watched his father as he felt his body reappearing. He didn't have a choice.

"Crucio," he intoned, horrified with what he was doing. For a moment; Lucius did not start writhing on the floor, he didn't start howling in pain. No, he just sat where he was, untouched and unscathed.

"You must mean it to have it work, son," he said, his lips curving into a smile. "Crucio!" he screamed, aiming his wand towards his son. He watched Draco fall to the floor and start writhing. He didn't say a word, didn't do anything. Hermione quickly transformed into herself, and got up from the floor. But she had been thrown so hard against the floor that she fell back down again.

"HELP!" she called, knowing that this was the perfect time for the ministry to enter the manor. And they did, just… it wasn't exactly what she had been expecting. A sudden chill filled the room, but Lucius was too busy to notice it. Draco felt it. He was about to yell to Hermione to get out of the room, but he couldn't. All he could do was focus on the pain, the horrible pain that was wrenching his insides, forcing them to expel themselves. He retched, and green vomit flew out of his mouth. "No, no…" he moaned, but he couldn't do anything.

And the chill was still advancing on the room. Hermione started remembering things…

Suddenly, with a gasp, Hermione sat up.

"Hermione?" Draco asked quietly.

"You." she said venomously.

"Hermione, here let me—"

"You told me nothing was going to happen to them! That they were safe!" Hermione said, her voice rising. She got up off the bed and started advancing towards him. "You swore to me that I didn't have to worry about them. You lied to me!" she yelled, still advancing. "You little pureblood!" Hermione spat the word out like it was curse. "How could you?! You knew! You betrayed me!" By now, Draco was against the wall.

"I hate you! It's because of you they're dead! While I was studying with you, your father had them KILLED!" she bellowed.

Suddenly something snapped. "Draco?" Hermione asked, as if just waking up. "My parents… they're dead." she said. Draco, backed up against the wall was quite frightened at this point. "Your father killed them. Why would he do that?" Hermione asked looking quite confused.

"Hermione? This isn't you. Wake up! Hermione, try!" Draco said, now quite terrified of what was happening to her. Was she going mad? Was this just how she would deal with her parents?

"What are you talking about Draco?" and then, "MALFOY! This is all your fault!" It was as if she was a machine. Draco knew that eventually she would run out of energy and collapse.

"Hermione, get back on the bed. Hermione listen to me!" Draco said forcefully. Hermione stayed standing. She was looking around as if not sure what was happening; why she was there and why. She looked at Draco. She started crying.

"Draco, he killed my parents! This is all my fault!" Hermione wept, sitting back down on the bed. Draco knew she had finally gotten control over herself. "Draco, how could this happen? I was going to write to them tonight, I—" Draco came towards her. He sat down next to her and held out his arms. She collapsed into them. "Draco, I did this! I caused their dea—"

Hermione gasped and clenched her fists, trying to keep in control of her emotions…

"They lied," Hermione breathed. "You lied! I hate you! You lied!" Hermione screamed. The hair around her face made her look like a mad woman; her eyes were bloodshot. "You said you'd never leave me but you did!" she shrieked. She kept screaming the last line over and over again until her voice was hoarse.

"How could you leave me?" she whispered, her face angled towards the sky. "Didn't you know I couldn't live without you? Why did you lie?" she asked, tears streaming down her face. "Why did you lie?" Hermione fell to her knees. She cried. Her leg gave a horrible twinge, as if reminding her that she had never told her parents about it. "I'm sorry," she breathed. She fell to her side and cried herself to sleep.

Hermione curled up into a little ball and cradled her head in her arms, as if trying to forget everything. "Draco!" she cried, a plea for help.

On the other side of the room, Draco was not doing very well. His thoughts steered away from sadness, but were more inclined towards pain. Make it stop! he thought desperately.

There it was. Finally, the Dementor entered the room. Hermione gasped; she knew it had been coming, but she still couldn't utter a sound.

Lucius had no idea what had just entered the room. He was staring intently at his writhing son. And so he was caught completely unawares; the Dementor simply went up to him and clamped its mouth on his. The deadliest kiss on the world was performed in front of Draco and Hermione. They stared in horror, neither of them able to do anything. Draco could feel the spell wearing off him, and as it faded, he attempted to stand. "Expecto Patronum!" he yelled, summoning the happiest memory he could. At this point Hermione was standing next to him.

"Draco it's too late," she whispered, placing a restraining hand on his arm.

"NO!" he cried, trying the spell again, and watching it in defeat when it did nothing again. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the Dementor moved away from Draco's father. It now started advancing on Hermione.

"Expecto Patronum," she muttered, causing an evanescent beaver to float out of her wand. It swam two laps in the air before darting into the Dementor's cloak. The Dementor gave a screech and turned around, leaving the room. "Draco, I—" But Hermione couldn't finish her sentence before Draco darted towards his father.

"Father? Father!" Draco called urgently. He shook his father, and got no reaction from him. Lucius Malfoy was slumped against a wall, his eyes lifeless, his limbs floppy. "No! No, no, no, no, no…" he moaned, his head pressed against his father's chest. "I never— I didn't…" Draco fell backwards, Hermione's grasp saving him from falling to the floor. "Hermione! What— I just—"

"Shh…" Hermione crooned, trying to get him to calm down. The ministry officials were starting to swarm around the room; she pulled Draco up, and led him out of the room. She found a small room with gargoyles and fiends on the ceiling. She gently pulled Draco into the room and closed the door.

"Hermione, I—" Draco started once again.

"No, Draco, you don't have to explain to me. I was there," Hermione whispered, pulling Draco to the bed, and sitting next to him. "You needed to get out of there," she said.

"No! I needed to be with my father! I needed to…" Draco trailed off, not knowing anymore.

"Draco I'm so sorry," Hermione murmured. "This shouldn't've happened; the ministry wasn't supposed to bring—"

"It was my fault."

There was a silence in the room. "What?" Hermione asked, breaking it.

"If I had just… Called out to him, said something, done something!"

"But you couldn't, Draco."

"Couldn't, or wouldn't, Hermione?" Draco asked, not sure of himself anymore.

"You were being tortured. And tortured quite roughly, I might add. Don't forget who it was that was torturing you Draco!" Hermione cried.

Draco shifted on the bed, looking Hermione in the eye. "So that makes it alright?" he whispered, his voice poised, as if ready for an argument.

"No, of course not," Hermione said, her eyes flashing, "but you can't romanticize your father now, just because—"

"Just because his soul's been sucked out of him?" Draco yelled. Hermione hung her head.

"Draco be sensible—"

"I won't be sensible; MY FATHER JUST GOT HIS SOUL SUCKED OUT OF HIM!" Draco bellowed. Hermione stood up.

"Your father also killed hundreds of people!" she replied, glaring at Draco. He stared at Hermione for a while before shaking his head, as if to dislodge a thought.

"I'm sorry," he said. Nothing else was needed.

"No, I'm sorry; that was uncalled for," Hermione said, sitting back down.

"You know, this was my room," Draco said, his voice nostalgic.

"Really?" Hermione whispered, not completely sure where this was going.

"How fitting that the story will end where it began," Draco breathed, looking into Hermione's eyes. "It's just… I didn't think it would end like this," he said, gesturing around the room.

Hermione's eyes closed. "I'm so sorry," she repeated, knowing that there was nothing else she could say to make Draco feel any better. She hugged Draco tightly, and let his battered sobs wrack his body. She buried her face in his hair and closed her eyes. It's over, she thought. Though she would never admit it aloud, she was glad Lucius had no soul; in her mind, he had never had one to begin with. The feeling of revenge that was always prevalent within her had left; she felt free.

"Thank you," Draco said when Hermione let him go. "For everything," he finished, smiling.

Hermione leaned in and kissed Draco gently. He leaned into the kiss. They fell back on the bed, their arms around each other, kissing.

It was like this that Ron and Harry found them when they walked into the room.

"Are we interrupting something?" Ron asked loudly.

Hermione and Draco separated quickly, an electric charge set off between them.

"Ron, don't be a pervert," Hermione snapped, pulling her hair away from her face. She looked over at Draco and smiled. He smiled back. They couldn't help it; they both burst into laughter. Harry and Ron looked at each other, not entirely sure as to what was happening.

"S—sorry!" Hermione gasped through her laughter. She finally gained control of herself and ran up to hug her friends. Draco looked at her fondly, smiling when she hit Ron across the head. "Do you want to go and see him?" Hermione asked Draco, knowing that he should probably see his father one last time.

"I… I dunno…"

"I think you should," Hermione said firmly.

"Right then. Let's go," Draco said, getting off his bed slowly. He shuffled to the door and went out.

"You guys stay here," Hermione said to Ron and Harry, asserting them with her eyes before she left.

"So mate, what do you think they were really doing?" Harry asked Ron, snickering.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Ready?" Hermione asked Draco as they descended the staircase.

"No. But that doesn't change anything," Draco whispered, his eyes haunted.

"Take my hand," Hermione commanded. Draco did so. She led him to the corner where Lucius was being 'stored' for the moment.

"Father?" Draco asked. His father did not reply. "Can he talk?" he asked Hermione, his voice shaking.

"I don't think so," Hermione replied, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

Draco knelt down to his father, letting go of Hermione's hand. "I'm sorry," he said to his father. This is the same man that was torturing me just moments ago, he thought, repulsed at what could happen to a man. He looked into his father's eyes and saw… nothing. There was no spark of life there, there was barely any color. It was a pale, bloodshot eye. I wonder if he can even see, Draco thought, struggling not to turn away from the sight of his soulless father.

Draco finally broke away. "He'll go to St. Mungo's?" he asked Hermione.

"I believe so," she answered, her voice quiet. As happy as she was that this was over, it wouldn't change the fact that Draco had lost his father.

"Even death would've been better than this…" Draco murmured to himself.

Hermione didn't say anything. But in her mind, she agreed.

"Come," she said, "we should go." Draco stood up, and left his father on the ground, knowing there was nothing left for him in the manor. Hermione went to Draco's room and fetched Harry and Ron.

"So what are you two going to do now?" she asked, the happiness of a few moments ago, lost.

"Probably go back to Grimmauld Place," Harry said. "Malfoy, I'm really sorry about your father," he said, his voice hollow.

"Thanks, mate," Draco said, a sad smile on his face.

"Well then… I suppose I'll see you over the holidays then?" Hermione asked Ron and Harry.

"Yeah… See you then Hermione; you should probably get back now…"

"Bye," Hermione said, giving her friends each a brief hug. She turned to Draco and gestured towards the study where they had Apparated.

The trip back to Hogwarts was quick; it didn't hurt as much as last time, but that was probably because Hermione wasn't a fox.

The day flew by for Draco; they went and told McGonagall what had happened, and she hugged Hermione. After recovering from shock, Hermione and Draco went to the flat and sat on the couch. It was now well past 10, but neither of them felt like sleeping.

"Now what?" Draco asked. He felt hollow, felt like there was nothing left to do in the world.

"Now we wait for out N.E.W.T. results."

"And until then?"

"You get to deal with me stressing about them!" Hermione said, jumping up onto her knees. Draco pulled her back down with a hug, and they parted for the night.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

It had been a month since the Malfoy manor incidence. Draco had spoken to the Ministry and they had apologized, but somehow, it didn't make him feel any better about the situation.

"But what if… what if—"

"Hermione, shut up. You'll be fine! Can I go back to sleep now?" Draco asked. Hermione was sitting on his bed and it was nine in the morning. "Results don't come in 'till ten!" he moaned.

"I don't care!" Hermione exclaimed.

"I can tell," Draco muttered. "OK, fine. I'm getting up now…" he said, raising himself up from the bed.

Hermione waited by the parlor while Draco got ready. I'm going to miss this flat, she thought to herself, laughing quietly when she thought of everything that had occurred in this small flat.

"Ready, love?" Draco called out.

"Yeah…" Hermione said reluctantly.

The walk down to the Great Hall was quiet; neither of them said a word. And then, the results came.

"Well?" Draco asked, after breakfast.

"I might have gotten all O's…"

"Ah, I see. Now, care to explain why you were freaking out last night?"

"Shut up you!" Hermione snapped.

"Oh, yeah, real mature," Draco said, sarcasm dripping from his words.

"And you?"

"All O's…" Draco sighed.

"You sound disappointed!"

"Well, yes… If I had gotten one E I would've been able to gloat about how I should've been complaining and not you…" Hermione stared at Draco and abruptly started laughing.

"I love you!" she said through her laughing.

Draco grabbed her waist and kissed her. "And I love you," he whispered, laughing along with her.

FIN

If you should ask then maybe they'd
Tell you what I would say
True colors fly in blue and black
Bruised silken sky and burning flag
Colors crash, collide in blood shot eyes
If I could, you know I would
If I could, I would
Let it go...
This desperation
Dislocation
Separation
Condemnation
Revelation
In temptation
Isolation
Desolation
Let it go
And so fade away
To let it go
And so fade away
To let it go
And so to fade away

-- Bad, U2

A/N I know, I know, long song, but I thought it appropriate. I hope you liked this chapter! Last word and page count: 22 pages and 7,760 words. Thank you to all who stuck with me the whole way. And above 100 reviews; thank you all! If you want to see more of my writing, check out Sententia which you can find on my profile. Thank again; bisous ~ the shattered star

2nd A/N Just some shout-outs: Thanks to sunshinefarah, Margaritalimes, ShadX, xCallainNollaigx, and too lazy to log in for all your critiques. Bisous ~ the shattered starH