A/n: Wow. I'm terrible. I know. Every single damn time I promise to update earlier… I'm sorry. That's really all that I can say. Anyhow, this is the final chapter in this fic. I'd like to thank my constant reviewers for sticking by me for SOOOO long while I continuously went off the radar. I really, truly am sorry. Everyone who has ever reviewed, followed of favourited, THANK YOU! You have all been so good to me even though I really haven't deserved it. I am so incredibly grateful. You're all so fantastic!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. This entire wonderful world of magic belongs to the queen and to her alone.

And at last, the end:

Draco sat, staring at his hands as his drink sat half empty on the table. The Leaky Cauldron was almost empty and he could feel the barmaid's judgemental look from across the room. A day drinker. How pitiful.

'Can I get you anything else?' she asked icily as he drained his glass.
'Sure. You can get me another one. And you can stop judging me,' he snapped back.

She raised her eyebrows but didn't comment as she left, her wavy brown hair coming loose from the bun she had obviously hurried to complete. It was a mess. Draco snorted. The nerve of some people… He was Draco Malfoy. He had almost everything he wanted and he was being judged by a poor, boring barmaid. Pathetic.

'Pathetic,' said a voice from behind him. Draco didn't bother to turn around. He wasn't interested. Sure, he had almost everything but what did it matter if he didn't have Hermione? Draco knew full well just how pathetic he was being at that moment and he didn't need someone to tell him that, thank you very much.

Apparently, the owner of the voice didn't get the message because when Draco didn't reply, the person pulled out the chair across from him and sat down. 'Excuse me,' Draco said impatiently. 'I don't recall inviting you to join me.'

'Oh how terrible. Poor Malfoy not getting what he wants for once in his miserable sodding life. I thought you were a Slytherin? Don't you Slytherins find some sneaky way to get what you want? Where's your master plan now?'

'I'm working on it,' he snapped sarcastically.
'Well let me know how that works out for you.'
'Listen, mate. I don't know what your probl-' Draco stopped short when he looked up to see the person who had so rudely interrupted his brooding, 'Weasley?' he hissed. 'What the hell are you doing here? Come to pick a fight? Or are you here to gloat about the problems you've caused between me and Hermione?'

Ron shook his head, no trace of mirth in his expression. 'I'm not here to gloat, Malfoy. I'm here to make you see sense.'

Draco resisted the urge to throw his new drink in Ron's face. 'I will not be told what to do by you of all people, Wealsey,' he said disdainfully. Ron sighed but let Draco down his drink before he tried to speak again. Before he had the chance however, Draco spoke. 'I mean it, Wealsey. You might as well clear off.'

'I'm not here to cause trouble, Malfoy. Please believe me. I'm here for Hermione.'
'Oh, so now she's sending you?'
'Of course not. You and I both know just how kind her heart is. How could you even think she'd do something like that? She doesn't know I'm here.' Ron's voice trailed off.

'So you're here to pick a fight with me behind her back so she won't even believe me if I tell her you started this?' Draco grew angry.
'You're being unreasonable. I told you, I'm not here to cause any trouble! I'm not trying to start anything. It's killing me to be here so please show a little mercy, Malfoy. Just listen,' Ron said in exasperation.

'Why should I? Give me one good reason.'
'Because you love her. And so do I.'

That made Draco pause but only for a second. 'Is that what this is about? You want her. Are you here to tell me to stay away? I thought we've been over this.'

'Why are you being so unreasonable?' Ron finally snapped. He had worked so hard to make sure that he would be able to control his temper but it seemed that today the blonde had no interest in peace and was determined to start a fight that Ron would very much have liked to avoid.

'I'm not being unreasonable! You broke Hermione's heart and I know that you want to do it again! That's why you're trying to weasel your way back into her life. And not just her life, all their lives. The Potters and the rest of the Weasleys.'

'You're wrong. I messed up. I know. Merlin, I know.' Ron shoved his ginger hair back roughly. 'Trust me, Malfoy. If I could go back in time and do the past three years all over again, I would. I had everything. The world was my oyster… One small mistake lead to the destruction of everything. When I lost the one thing that mattered most in my life, it sent me spiralling down. I was hardly sober; I barely cared about myself let alone anyone else.'

Draco still looked mutinous.

'You have no idea what I've been through! I watched myself destroy everything that I held near and you know what? In my rare moments of clarity, I was so close to ending it all. I was beyond saving. Beyond forgiving. Don't you think I don't know that? What I did to Hermione… If I could take it back, I would. In a heartbeat.'

Though he still looked angry, Draco's eyes softened slightly. He too had suffered silently, beyond redemption yet still desperate for forgiveness and acceptance.

'The world has made a fool of me. And it's too late for me to change the past,' Ron continued.
'Why are you telling me this?' Draco asked, his voice soft for the first time.

'So you can understand me. It gives me no great pleasure, Malfoy. I'm no Harry. But despite what you think, I do love Hermione and if that means I have to tolerate you, then I will. Because to me, her happiness is my world. I don't care that she didn't choose me. It's for the best. She deserves better than either of us. You need to know where Hermione and I stand. It kills me to let her go yet at the same time, it gives me life.'

'How can you possibly say that?'

'Because even though I thought that I was beyond redemption, all I needed was a friend. I was too scared to face Harry and Hermione once I'd started my downward spiral and when I came back… I don't even know what happened. I don't know what I was thinking. Who are we kidding, of course I wasn't thinking. Sometimes it felt like I was watching myself from afar, begging myself to stop what I was doing but I couldn't help it. My body kept moving, my mouth kept talking. It happened often when I saw the hurt in Hermione's eyes.'

Ron looked away, clearly angry at himself. 'When Hermione came to see me, Merlin must have been smiling on me that day because I wasn't drunk yet. She was kind like only Hermione could be and she gave to me her forgiveness and more importantly, her friendship. I loved her through it all and it hurt to see her with you. Though we have our differences, it didn't really matter all that much that it was YOU. Not really. To me, it was just that she no longer looked at me like that. Like I was the sun and she the moon.'

Draco nodded. He understood completely. It was easy to imagine Hermione, so beautiful and radiant, not necessarily through her looks but through her personality, picking someone so much more worthy of her love and affection. Someone who really deserved it. If such a person even existed in this miserable world.

'But her friendship is the most pure and wonderful gift that she could give me. It gives me hope and happiness. Perhaps more than her love could give me. I've promised everyone that I will get better. And I will. For her. Not to win her back, but because I owe it to her. I will never be able to make amends for what I've done. The least I can do is spend the rest of my life trying. I'm stepping down, Malfoy. I'll stay out of your way. But I will say this. Don't mess up.'

With that, Ron stood up and walked away, leaving the former Slytherin alone to wallow in his sorrows as he nursed his third drink.

The Gryffindor was right and Draco knew it. Beyond that, he had betrayed Hermione. By believing that her acceptance of Ron would change things between Hermione and himself, he had effectively stated that he didn't trust her. 'Idiot,' he muttered. Downing his drink, he tossed a handful of galleons at the rude barmaid and left with perhaps the stupidest plan he'd ever had in his entire life.

He loved Hermione and he knew that she knew it. If there was one thing he could do, it would be to bind them together, proof of their faith and devotion for life. How better could he prove to her that he did trust her and accept her, and with her, he accepted Hermione's annoying Gryffindor friends. Even Weasley.

Rushing home, he showered quickly before downing some anti-hangover potion. Positive that he was looking his best, he flooed to his mother's house to ask her for the package that she had kept for him for quite some time. With a smile, she pressed the small box into his hands and gave him her blessings. 'I knew you'd do me proud, son. Make it right. Make it count.' Grinning, he used his mother's owl to send Hermione a message to meet him at her favourite park in an hour. He knew she was mad at him but Draco knew that she wouldn't stay mad for ever and besides, Hermione would know that Draco was asking her to meet him there to make amends. It could be the only reason.

When Hermione arrived, Draco was waiting. The sun was setting and Hermione was glowing. A thin cardigan was draped over her shoulders while her summer dress floated in the summer breeze. The setting sun highlighted her hair and brought out the flecks of hazel in her chocolate brown eyes.

She was as radiant as the sun itself. The moment she stepped in front of him, the sun touching the ground behind her, he fell to his knees and took one of her worn hands in his own.

'Hermione, I am so sorry. I know that I've been terrible and when you needed me to support you, all I did was bring you down. When you finally regained the friend you had longed for, when almost everything in your life was perfect, I was the one that ruined your moment. Please, forgive me. When I refused to accept your friendship, I betrayed you. I might as well have said that you do not have my trust and that, above all else is not true. If there's one thing that I know in this life, Hermione Jean Granger, it's that I love you more than life itself. I trust you and need you and I have given you my heart. I know I've messed up but please, give me the honour of the opportunity for me to make amends. Let me keep trying for the rest of my life. Without you, I'm lost and you make me a better person.
'You are kind and compassionate and you care more for others than you do yourself. You're always willing to give people the chance to change and I love you for it. I know I'm an ass and a git and a stinking ferret even-' Here, Hermione started to giggle, her eyes having softened long ago in forgiveness. 'But I'm yours. Forever and always. Not only do I accept your strange quirks but you're friends too. All of them. I promise. Though I might not be able to be the best of friends with them, I swear to you that I will tolerate them and show them kindness as they have shown me. So I beg of you, my dearest Hermione, accept me in return. While I am sure that I'll make many more mistakes in my life, I ask that you be there to pick me and dust me off when I stumble, just as I promise to catch you when you fall. Hermione Jean Granger. You are the most wonderful woman I have met in my entire life and I ask that you make me the happiest man alive and agree to be my wife.'

Hermione did not cry as many women would have. Instead, she kneelt down and shoved aside Draco's outstretched hand that held the ring and wrapped him in a hug. As the sun's rays washed over them, Hermione laughed as his arms held her close. 'Yes! Of course I will! I'm yours. Forever and always.'

A/n: And that's it guys. The end! I do hope you enjoyed it though it's been a rocky journey. I apologise for any mistakes and I hope that for the most part, you found it acceptable…

For the final time, I beg of you to leave me a review. They mean the world to me! Please tell me what you thought!

Sorry to those who loved Ron bashing. Eventually, I had to make it stop. Because though Ron does tend to leave them and do stupid things like become consumed with jealousy, he always comes around.

I hope to write some more soon (though obviously not in this fic).

As always,

Forever Prongs.