Disclaimer: I would claim to be a few degrees less cheesy than Rowling in her epilogue. Harry Potter & co. are hers, of course.
A/N: THE FINAL CHAPTER! Sorry it's a day late than the usual Sunday update, but I wanted to insert in all my thanks (which will occur at the bottom of this chapter). Oh wow, more than half a year of writing this story, I'm so glad you guys stuck to it, and stuck through it! I shall comment more later, meanwhile, do enjoy, as always (:
The shrill school bell rang, prompting the usual chorus of delighted whoops and cheers from the students while the staff inwardly sighed with relief. Hermione quickly packed up her books and darted out of the classroom, before Harry could get a word in. Ron chuckled as the two of them watched her dash out.
"Never seen Hermione so eager to leave a class, have you?"
Harry smiled, and gave Ron a friendly punch. "At least she doesn't look as awful as the last two days."
"Yeah, that's the only good thing Malfoy's done so far," muttered Ron, darkening. "Get better."
Harry eyed his best friend. "As much as I don't like him, he's changed a lot, you know. And he nearly gave up his life for Hermione. Are you still..."
"I know, alright?" Ron scowled. "I just don't like it. I've seen it for myself, but I still don't like it. I swear if he ever does let her down in any way, I'll..."
"If it's Quidditch, let me do the work." Harry grinned, and it was Ron's turn to shove him back.
Meanwhile, Hermione had scuttled across corridors, down the winding staircases, and finally slowed down as she approached the Hospital Wing. She could still remember the day when she was gripped with despair and pain as the Thestrals landed in Hogwarts, prompting Aberforth to receive them in horror and calling out the staff to help. Draco had ended up in the Hospital Wing, barely breathing. Yesterday he looked a little better, but still with a pretty weak constitution. Harry had told her the reason for Draco's survival of the Killing Curse, and her heart ached terribly.
Draco, you stupid, stupid ferret...
Just as she was about to enter, she heard Draco's faint voice, and she stopped altogether. He must be feeling better if he sounded like that, since previously he had been rasping and looking altogether like – like a raw hamburger, as her father always teased when she got herself all scraped and bruised in her childhood. Poppy's medicine must be working fantastic miracles.
And – he had a visitor.
"...sorry that you had to be put through all that." "Draco Malfoy saying sorry to me?" "I'm serious."
Hermione frowned a little. Draco hardly ever apologised to anyone, even if he knew he was in the wrong. Why did he sound as if...
"Hey. I never blamed you, you know." "I stole your family heirloom!" "I know you were forced by circumstances,"
Hermione tried to slow her heartbeat, but it was impossible. The way Astoria was speaking...
"When I found out that Bellatrix Lestrange was looking for you because she wanted to punish you... it just felt terrible..." "Astoria...?" "I like you, Draco."
There was a short silence. Hermione took a deep breath.
"You're just trying to get another apology from me, are you?" Draco's voice had turned a little sly.
To Hermione's surprise, Astoria chuckled once again. "Possibly. It's not everyday Draco Malfoy has the mood to do so." "And it's not every other day Draco Malfoy would say thank you. So you had better treasure it." "Is that how you appreciate my generous gesture?" "It's too generous." "Maybe you could return me my necklace, along with Daphne's."
Draco snorted. "That's considered done already. After I'm out of this stupid place and away from Soppy Poppy."
Astoria giggled. Hermione didn't really understand what was going on, so she steeled her nerves and decided to walk in instead. Draco was looking so much better; his eyes widened at her entrance, while Astoria looked equally surprised. Hermione placed her schoolbag aside and pulled a chair close to Draco, a little warily and protectively. Draco stared at her with a raised eyebrow, but then he caught Astoria's dancing eyes before nodding slightly. Astoria got up, leaned over him and planted a little kiss on his forehead. Hermione's eyes widened tremendously, as Draco smiled pleasantly. Then Astoria whispered "Goodbye!" before she left the Wing.
Hermione didn't know what to make of that scenario. Even though Draco and her were not really – together, but after all that she had done, and he had done, and all that had been said and done...
"You look better," she remarked in a tight voice, staring at him.
"Very much, Astoria is lovely company," said Draco, pulling the blankets up to his chest as he sank lower into the bed. "Incredibly lovely."
"And I'm not?"
"Are those textbooks you brought?" Draco gestured to the schoolbag by the side. "Astoria brought me Quidditch books." He flipped a thumb to the side table, where a couple of books lay. "Which I'm going to read for sure. Textbooks? After what happened to Bathilda Bagshot,"–he shuddered–"I'm not so sure."
Hermione couldn't help feeling a little hurt. "Well then, I suppose she can come here everyday instead to keep you company."
"Certainly."
Hermione gave a little huff and was about to rise, when Draco burst into unusually bright laughter as he grabbed hold of her wrist. "Oh, Hermione, you're such a tease. Don't be a fool!"
She sat down and glared at him. "Well, if being a fool makes you laugh, instead of giggling along with you, I suppose I'm such great company!"
Draco sobered instantly. "You're terribly frightening when you're jealous."
"Jealous? Who said anything about being jealous?"
"You're so green in the face."
"It just means I'm sick. Sick of the mushy stuff you people were exchanging just now."
"Well, it's true that Astoria likes me," Draco replied, airily, and Hermione looked away. "But I never said anything about reciprocation."
"You sounded terribly happy."
Draco sighed, and loosened his grip on Hermione's wrist. He was a little startled when he saw that his grip had been a little harsh, leaving a slight mark. It reminded him of the last time he was in the Hospital Wing and he had been terribly rough to her. He could feel something cloud over his face, and Hermione was surprised to see his mood change.
"Oh, please don't tell me I'm such terrible company."
"I haven't really recalled conversations between the both of us being so lighthearted before."
"I guess you're not as charming as you make yourself out to be."
"Not when you've been branded in name and on skin..." His jaw hardened, and he was about to roll up his sleeve when Hermione grabbed his hand.
"Let it go, Draco. Let it go."
His hand slackened; instead, he took hers, startling her.
"Astoria's not the girl who risked her life to go on missions that she had no bloody business to be in, and she's not the one who helped me along to find out the truth. She's not the one my heart opened to so that I could search inside and find the key to defeat Voldemort. And she's not the one who keeps bloody hell figuring out what's on my mind so that I look like an absolute pothead in front of her. I mean, who faints in front of a girl just because she's been talking incessantly to him?"
His smirk grew wider with every word he spoke, but then he saw Hermione looking at him as if she was about to cry. "Oh come on, don't turn on the waterworks again."
And to his immense relief, she snapped, "Definitely not for you!"
"Now that sounds like the old Granger." He clutched her hand so tightly that she couldn't yank it out of his grip, earning himself a glare.
"So if Astoria's not the girl who does that, maybe she'll be the girl who will cook your breakfasts for you."
"Thinking of liberating the house-elves again, are you?" Draco smirked. "Well Astoria knows. She knows that she can never be the girl I love." His voice grew serious again, and Hermione privately marvelled at the way he was able to alternate between moods – he must be a great actor, she thought amusedly. "I told her earlier on how I defeated Voldemort. She just wanted to let me know how she felt, or she'd regret it her whole life. Didn't you hear me tell her sorry?"
Hermione bit back a smile. "No, the second time was implied. How was I to know?"
"I go for the subtle approach, Hermione Granger. Speaking of subtle, what were you doing eavesdropping outside? Is that a habit? I seem to remember you listening onto a conversation I had with Professor Snape in the Hospital Wing the last time..."
Hermione went red. "It's not my fault that you were speaking so loudly. I was wondering who had the ability to get you all energised, since yesterday you sounded like a dead duck."
"Ah, if I had been all well and healthy after my encounter with Voldemort, I don't think I would have elicited so much care and concern from you." Draco cocked an eyebrow at her. "Personally a near-death encounter was probably worth it."
"That's not funny." Hermione frowned. Then she grew a little angry. "And you were crazy, just standing there right in front of him! What were you thinking?"
"Are you saying I should have escaped?" scoffed Draco. "Don't be silly!"
There was a pause as Hermione's frown faded; it was replaced with a hesitant look. "Are you serious? I – you know, we've been sort of at loggerheads since first year, and if you remember our patrols and all that..."
"And I called you derogatory names about – oh, a hundred times possibly – and tried to hex and curse your best friends as well... really, do you want me to go into detail? It's not very good for the male ego. Honestly, are you and Greengrass out to make me feel completely wretched when I'm the one stuck in this Hospital Wing?" Draco sighed, pushing his head further back into the soft pillow. "You're so strange, have I told you that?"
"About a million times."
"But I'm just going to keep telling you that anyway." He began to rub circles on Hermione's hand with his thumb. "Because you're right. I care."
He said it so matter-of-factly, but it made her speechless. Seeing as there were no words that could possibly express the barrage of emotions within her, Hermione leaned in to kiss him. Their lips met slowly, softly, and when Hermione pulled away, she saw Draco's once-steely grey eyes sparkling silver. He, in return, was momentarily intoxicated by the familiar strawberry scent that lingered in the air.
-.-.-.-.-.-
Hermione returned to the Gryffindor common-room in a rather buoyant mood. Upon entering, however, she turned rather sober. Most of the Gryffindors had gone out to enjoy the spring air, leaving her friends alone in the room with rather solemn expressions. Ginny in particular, had red eyes, which alarmed Hermione considerably.
"Did... did something happen?"
Harry cracked a slight smile, but Ginny shook her head fiercely. "I can't believe you can still smile, Harry! You were killed! You were dead! You resurrected through sheer dumb luck that you were his Horcrux. I can't believe you–"
Harry shot Hermione a pleading look. She's been on this for ages! His eyes begged.
"Ginny, he's well and alive before you now," said Hermione, calmly, as she settled into an armchair, cocking an eye at Ron, who shrugged and snuggled deeper into his chair. "Besides, Voldemort is dead now. Harry doesn't have a reason to worry anymore."
"Actually," said Harry. "I don't think it really just ends there."
Hermione gave him a disapproving look. And you asked me to help you!
Harry sighed, and decided to change the topic. "I've watched Professor Snape's memories. In Dumbledore's Pensieve."
Ron sat up. "So?"
"I guess I – you know," Harry mumbled, taking off his spectacles to wipe them. "I've always called him prejudiced, but I think I have been one prejudiced jerk myself. I never thought he was so devoted to my mother that he would turn against Voldemort because he killed her. I..." His voice cracked. "I always suspected his allegiance..."
"It's not your fault, mate," said Ron. "The way he always picked on you, and it was common knowledge he was a Death Eater!"
"Harry," began Hermione, gently, and he lifted his head to look at her. "I think all he wanted was for you to understand. He didn't need you to forgive him, I don't think he really liked you in all honesty – after what your father did to him... you don't have to feel bad."
Harry sighed again, putting on his spectacles, smiling wryly. "Guess what, the feeling's mutual."
Ron chuckled. "Well, mate, at least the burden's off you. You can stave off the pressure of being the Chosen One for the moment and just relax and go to Hogsmeade in the weekend to get free Honeydukes for saving the world. Blimey, we'd even have Firewhiskeys on the house if we popped by Madam Rosmerta's!" His eyes shone, and Harry and Hermione had to laugh.
Ginny still looked stony. Harry stopped laughing, cast an awkward glance at her, then moved over to put an arm around her. "Alright, alright, I promise you I won't get into another situation like that again, alright? I'm not going to leave you behind."
"Urgh." Ron mimed throwing up. He rolled his eyes and turned to Hermione. "Are you serious about going to Narcissa Malfoy's funeral? I mean, it's not like she was nice to you or anything... and what if some of them there are still loyal to..."
"I'll be fine, Ron," said Hermione, smiling.
"I'm sorry about not accompanying you, Hermione..." began Harry, but Hermione shook her head. "It's okay, I'm sure Draco will understand."
"As long as the ferret is there, it's not fine." Ron was still clearly not used to Hermione using Draco's first name so freely.
"Ron!" chided Hermione. "Okay, I don't expect the two of you to be best friends, but at least try to be civil? For my sake?"
"Gee, Hermione, you could have picked someone better. Someone who's less pompous, less of a git..."
"...well okay, I don't suppose he's going to like you anytime soon either."
Ron smirked. "Feeling's mutual."
All of them burst out into laughter.
Hermione stopped first, then looked around. "Where're the rest?"
Ginny's expression morphed into a sly smile. "Busy. Very busy."
-.-.-.-.-.-
She bent over the pale forehead that was lined with blonde rings, and kissed it gently. Her fingers traced the light wrinkles, and down the gaunt cheeks. The jawbones jerked a little, and her fingers retreated. The brown eyes had lost its lustrous red; only a dead stare was left. Slowly, a smile emerged on the face. But it was lopsided, almost cruel. The lips opened to reveal uneven teeth, yellow and brown. It was unsightly, almost horrific. But she did not recoil, only tracing the lips with her slender fingers.
"I will learn! I will go to school! I will learn magic so that–"
She could remember herself yelling at the top of her voice, only to be stopped by an onslaught of agony that washed over her, the pain that reminded her of her loss.
"I've been to hell and back, Mother. But you know what? All those who did this to you..." Her eyes trailed to the equally-gaunt man in the next bed. "And Father... they are all dead already. It's over."
She planted another kiss on the forehead, then she got up. Looked at the boy at the other end of the ward, tucking a sweet between his mother's lips.
I know how it feels...
Corrinne walked over, a smile slowly forming on her face. "Hey."
"Hey." Neville continued to push the sweet in, with the concentration of a surgeon. "Hey, Mum, it's strawberry, your favourite."
Alice Longbottom's eyes widened slightly, and her lips parted. Neville sighed happily as she sucked on it, her eyes glassy and her hair in a tousled mess. He pushed the wrapper in her hand, and she began to fold and crumple it with her fidgety fingers.
"I told my mum too." Neville stood up, smiling slightly at Corrinne. "Voldemort's dead. Bellatrix Lestrange's dead too. And for you... Lucius Malfoy is dead too."
"A long time ago, actually..." Corrinne sighed. "I should have been happy. I was just furious that people were sympathising with his son. But I think after all this... well, let's just say I will never ever forgive Lucius Malfoy. Even if he was doing it under Voldemort's orders. He tortured my parents, he's almost made me an orphan. He had a family, he should have known what it felt like!" She clenched her fists, her red eyes glittering once again. Neville hesitated, then walked over to her. But her eyes were still fixed on Alice Longbottom, who was sucking her sweet in a slow, monotonous way. The paper wrapper lay wrinkled at the end of her fingers as she lay stoic on the bed. "He should have known... and I think he knew... that was why he decided to turn against Voldemort at the end, because he didn't want to sacrifice his family. I should hate him incredibly... but after what he did, I find myself unable to be so... so..."
"It's okay," Neville said, quietly, and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his embrace. "It's tormenting, isn't it? It's just that people have shades of grey. You know, just like Malfoy junior."
"Mmf..." Corrinne's voice was muffled, but laced with a hint of resentment. Neville chuckled inwardly, knowing that she did feel guilty towards Draco Malfoy for all the things she had said to him, although she was probably never going to say she was sorry. After a while, he turned Corrinne towards his mother and called out to Alice,
"Hey, Mum."
He looked at a surprised Corrinne brightly. Then he turned to his father on the next bed. "This is Corrinne."
"Uhh..." Corrinne raised an eyebrow, then gave a tentative wave to Alice. "Hey."
"She's my girlfriend."
Corrinne's head snapped towards him; her red eyes were shining with amazement and love.
"You know, your cheek colours sort of match your eyes."
"Oh shut up!"
-.-.-.-.-.-
For somebody who had withdrawn into her house following her husband's death, and cut off most ties to the wizarding world thereafter, Narcissa Malfoy had a lot of attendees at her funeral. There she lay, in the middle of a room in the Ministry of Magic, dressed in her best and lain in a beautiful white coffin. One by one, people walked past, murmuring amongst themselves, some even blatantly staring. One woman burst out all of a sudden to scream,
"MURDERERS! FAMILY OF MURDERERS! YOU SHOULD BE DEAD ALONGSIDE VOLDEMORT!"
She was immediately whisked away by Ministry officials, kicking and screaming at the top of her lungs all the way. It was a jarring cacophony that cut through the silence sharply, and the discomfort showed on the guests' faces. Even Hermione winced, but beside her, Draco did not look up from where he was seated; his head was bent and his eyes staring at the ground. Hermione privately wondered how many people Lucius Malfoy had to deal with before he decided it was enough. Corrinne's parents, someone this woman loved...
"Mr. Malfoy?" It was Rufus Scrimgeour, the Minister for Magic. Hermione tried hard not to roll her eyes upon seeing him; Harry had told her all about Scrimgeour's tactics to get him to endorse the Ministry's actions, which proved to be rather ridiculous and altogether irritating. Upon hearing that both Draco and Harry had been responsible for Voldemort's death, however, he had kept mum, for it showed the incompetence of the Ministry in doing their job to capture the Dark forces. And the discontentment showed on his face as he glared at Draco, his voice a little forced. "The guests have all arrived."
Draco had not wanted to do an eulogy for his mother. All he wanted was to pay his respects to her. He adjusted his tie slightly, before he rose and walked towards the coffin. Hermione hesitated, then stood up and followed suit. She stopped short at the edge of the coffin, watching as Draco's fingers reached out to touch the glass cover. He closed his eyes and bent his head, not saying a word.
Eventually he raised his head and stepped back a little. Hermione walked up to him and whispered,
"Harry and Ron send their condolences."
Draco turned his head towards her, then nodded slightly. His eyes were shimmering silver, but he had turned away the moment she noticed. Slowly, his fingers reached out for Hermione's hand and led her in front of the coffin, facing the audience. She started a little when she felt his cold fingers wrap around hers, especially when she saw Lupin and Tonks rising from the seats and walking towards them. However, Tonks gave her a little smile, and she felt more relaxed, intertwining her fingers with Draco's.
"The other Death Eaters," said Lupin, in a low voice, once he had come forward, prompting Draco to stare at him, "have been rounded up by the Aurors. Their cover of protection assured by Voldemort has been completely busted. That would include Augustus Rookwood." Lupin eyed Draco significantly, and Draco dipped his head in acknowledgement. "He was severely injured, but still alive. Horace Slughorn has also been arrested. However..."
"We cannot rest on our laurels," continued Tonks, her hair turning a little reddish along with the dangerous spark in her eyes. "There may be others. Not under him, but like him."
Her words seemed to echo that of Harry's, and Hermione bit her lip.
"I understand," was all Draco said.
"Might I add," Lupin turned to Hermione sternly, "that you will tell Harry for me that I am not all pleased he decided to go to Godric's Hollow on his own accord."
Hermione flushed, as Lupin guided Tonks along, though not before Tonks gave Hermione a wink that made her blush a deeper red.
The Hogwarts teachers followed after, causing Hermione to shake out of her embarrassment, and Professor McGonagall in particular gave Draco a long, hard look, but he did not meet her gaze for long. She then turned to Hermione, nodded stiffly, and then walked off.
"My, my, Malfoy junior," came an unfamiliar voice that sounded a little wheezy. Hermione was startled to see a shaggy white-haired man take Draco's hand in his. From behind, a familiar face appeared, the recent scars all healed well and revealing the pretty pale face of Luna Lovegood.
"Luna!" exclaimed Hermione, and spontaneously embraced the girl. "You look so much better!"
Luna smiled brightly. "I see you are well too. This is my father, Xenophilius." Then she turned to Draco, who was not looking very pleased at the train of words that was issuing from Xenophilius Lovegood's mouth. He nodded curtly and quickly removed his hand, looking rather disgruntled. Hermione hid a smile as Luna turned her brilliant smile onto Draco. "Hi, Draco."
Draco relaxed a little, for Luna had sort of saved his life before, no matter how eccentric she was. "Thanks for coming, Lovegood. And uhh – for trusting me."
Luna nodded. "I am sorry about your mother. I hope she rests in peace with the Wadruts. They are very pleasant company, though they may be a little pesky towards bright colours. Your mother may have to dye her hair." And with that, Luna turned and walked off, her father following her, constantly looking back to beam at Draco.
Hermione stifled a chuckle, then looked back at Draco, who was torn between looking disgusted and amused. "So... what did her father say?"
"You know, after what Lovegood said, I don't think anything else could make more sense," said Draco, keeping his face straight.
His expression faltered slightly when the next pair came forth. His eyebrows began to furrow together.
"Hi, Draco," Blaise cleared his throat. "I – I am sorry. About your family."
"My – condolences too," added Pansy, though she did not look at Draco.
"Hey look." Draco's expression was now that of annoyance. "It's over and done with. Our families don't have to deal with this anymore. Maybe other people might talk, but at least we're going to carry on living. There's no huge fear of death anymore. You both may have done terrible things, but at the end of the day it doesn't really matter anymore. Pans, you've got Blaise back. Blaise, you've realised how little being a Death Eater is worth. We're all alive, and you've got each other. That's all that matters."
It was a strange speech, coming from Draco Malfoy, but somehow it stirred something within Hermione. Something that felt like – pride. Pride at seeing him change so much; pride at seeing him happy for his friends. Draco Malfoy, who had only been known in the past for having mindless lackeys like Crabbe and Goyle, had now moved on to being good, honest friends with Blaise and Pansy. The boys exchanged a fierce hug, with tears streaming down Blaise's face. Draco released him, made a snide comment that made Blaise glare at him and brush away his tears. Pansy couldn't help laughing, though she stopped and stared at Draco for a long while, before he pulled her into a light embrace. Then Blaise took Pansy's hand and they turned to walk off. Neither of them had looked at Hermione when they had come forward, but just as they left the room, Pansy turned back to meet Hermione's gaze, and to her utmost surprise, gave her a rare smile. Before Hermione had a chance to respond, both were out of the door.
It was awkward continuing to stay there facing a bunch of people she had barely any acquaintance with, though she knew she wanted to accompany Draco. After Blaise and Pansy had left, she had untangled her fingers from Draco's and hung back in the shadows a little. Finally, the last of the attendees left, and Draco turned back to his mother's coffin. He knelt down and hung his head. Hermione decided to leave him alone, and walked out of the room. Not long after, she heard footsteps behind her.
"Come with me," was all he said, before she was whisked away to the nearest Fireplace. The next thing she knew, she was standing in a garden. She looked back to the enormous building behind it, and recognised that it was his house.
"I'm jealous." She stared around the beautiful garden weakly. Or rather, it was almost like a meadow, except that it was fenced.
"Oh, now you admit it," said Draco, with an amused smile. Then he held out his hand. "Come on."
He pulled her to the far end of the meadow, where the sun was setting. However instead of the usual red and orange and pink hues, the sky was a little greyish, with bluish and purplish tinges.
"It isn't too bad," commented Draco, stuffing his free hand into his pocket. "Reflects my mood."
As he said that, memories began to pour in once again. His father, telling him stories about the pureblood families; his mother, helping him to buy robes at Madam Malkins; even Aunt Bellatrix who told him that he would one day be somebody great. Then one by one, they had left him.
But not without showing him his strengths.
"I know you will avenge your father, the way your father wanted to protect you." Wentervale's voice drifted into his mind.
And weaknesses.
"I may be weakened," Dumbledore had said. "But there are many more weak points about you than you think you have, Draco. One of them is that you are incapable of killing somebody you know who doesn't deserve to be killed."
"Come on, little Draco," It was Voldemort now. "Fight me. I want to see if you are really worthy to be one of my minions, or if you are just as useless as Harry Potter with only one trademark spell! You know, I thought I'd never live to see the day a Malfoy, a pureblood, would align himself with the likes of blood traitors and a mudblood, much less my greatest enemy of all. But I will live beyond this day, little Draco, I can assure you."
Guess what, thought Draco. You won't. I can assure you.
"Draco..." began Hermione, but he shook his head.
"I am not going to pity myself. And neither are you going to pity me. War has its casualties, and my family was part of it. War changes people, as it has done to me. And what happens in war may not work well in life post-war." He turned towards Hermione. "Do you understand?"
Hermione nodded. "But I know some things don't change either."
Draco hesitated.
"You aren't making me hate you!" She had glared at him. "You're... you're making me–"
He let go of her hand to roll up his sleeve once again. This time, she didn't stop him. Even with Voldemort's death, the scar still showed, though no longer as obvious as before. Now, it was only a faint image that barely had any movement in it. Hermione reached out to trace it; he flinched.
"Hermione..."
"War changes people," she repeated, then helped him to roll his sleeve down again. "I know better than to distrust you."
"I told you you do the strangest things..." He remembered whispering. "You can even appease my anger even after this act of betrayal. I hated you so badly. I wanted to kill you there and then, so you can be out of my life. But no. Everytime I think about what happened, you're always there. When you want to leave me, I can only think of wanting you to stay. What's wrong with you, Hermione Granger, why are you always doing this to me?"
He sighed. "Then this morning..."
She swatted at him, and he grinned momentarily. "Very funny."
"I have no kin now, Hermione." He turned serious once again. "You're all that I have in my new life, that is now. So – with my sort-of promise in war fulfilled, I will have another promise then, for the new beginning after the war." He took hold of both her hands. "Hermione, I..."
"No," she cut him off, and he looked considerably startled. "No."
"But..." he started to look a bit frustrated. Of course, Hermione thought with an inward chuckle. He's still got the old Malfoy air; nobody says 'no' to a Malfoy.
"No," she repeated, this time a lot more gently. "This time, I will be the one promising you. That you will still have me no matter what."
"You're putting me on credit, aren't you?"
She winked. "Who knows."
"Well... then I suppose that's all I can be grateful for," he remarked, before bending his head to kiss her once more.
FINE.
A/N: THANK YOU ALL FOR WADING THROUGH THIS STORY, BOUQUETS FOR ALL! I know it was a little cheesy trying to round up stuff, but I hope it got through with that tinge of reality that it may not be perfect because there will be others who may rise again... please do leave a note to let me know what you thought of it, and the whole story in general! Those who have read thus far but haven't dropped a note, do drop one to say hi to let me know you're out there! I'll continue updating this list as long as I have reviewers (: Here goes:
To my loyal reviewers Midnight Moonfly (I believe you were known as DiabloAngelos before?), gitgit (who never fails to review EVERY CHAPTER - hearts!), satoz, TwistyWristy, LastSunset, voldyismyfather, Mistrus, Jamie, Nightraze, WinnieThaPoo92, David Fishwick, Sarahcaleb01, Lisa, Earenya and especially the shattered star for your multiple reviews, constructive feedback and criticisms, and all the support and encouragement for this fic - you guys really really make my week everytime I upload a chapter (: Thank you so much!
Whoopsydaisy, slytherin-kittycat (oh haven't heard from you in ages!), lobandgeek7, Redstar03, The Princess Wolf, SweetSweetRevenge, -Chitsiez-, windsor969, Black Raven Midnight, seriana14, blackrose4ever, Kaitlyn2232, Beelzebubify, X3klx3, .22, Rachella23, kaikuduo, itsmidnighthere, Aria, kavii, everytimeyoulookatme, 2ndstar2daRight2, CrystalHeart27, Peace n Luv, PookietoyourMaureen, drusezgrrbaddog, Shlayne, AllThatIsGoldDoesNotGlitter, PyroAngel8605, theconscience, MyyBlueRose, Tentaira, cherryVanillaCoke16, Anarriima-illuvavatar, AlyenBlack2, sugeisy, Coeur de l'amour, wealseyismyking15, Rae1191, musicmakesfun, Jade Ice Fire, Ravensnake, sheeprock, ambiencealikw, FaceOfADaisy, xxHiddenDesirexx, iRabid, SlytherinTwinCC, EllieBaby and all the Anonymous reviewers for dropping by and dropping a note or two to let me know that I'm going in the right direction.
To the validators at Hawthorn & Vine for editing my work when I uploaded it there, so that I may transfer the edited version back here: elyaeru, inadaze22, Lyndsie for the constructive feedback and all the lessons in punctuation, grammar, Britspeak and canon!
ARIGATOU GOZAIMASU!
As for my upcoming works, I may do a few Animorph one-shots in the meantime, though I will try to work on a post-Hogwarts Dramione fic in time to come. Please continue to support my writings (: You may peruse the whole list at elektra30[dot]livejournal[dot]com. Have a good year ahead!