A.N: Thank you all for sticking through this with me, I really hope you enjoy this, because it is the last chapter of this fanfic ever! It's genuinely really sad to say goodbye to it and to you since it has taken up the past month or so of my life writing it. Thank you so much for all the positive reviews, they are appreciated so much you wouldn't believe it if I told you. ENJOY :D

They stood for several moments without any words, just surveying each other like they had never met before. Severus saw her hair waving in the gentle breeze while she wrapped her arms self-consciously around herself and she flushed slightly under the intensity of his gaze. He looked deeply into her eyes, studying them and their kind nature, how they would sparkle when the light caught them and her lips would purse slightly when she was concentrating. The moon was high in the sky above them as they stood in pure silence, using the time to remember every little detail of the other that they could; savouring every memory they had together.

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She stayed well away from him, knowing full well that she couldn't throw him out of his own house, keeping herself to herself and staying busy. He lived mainly in the room where it happened, trying to flush the memories out and draining all the alcohol from the house. His private stores of whisky and brandy had come in useful in helping him drown his self-pity and guilt, while the alcohol consumed his mind. Why has all of this been dumped upon him? Did he really deserve to lose his wife, his son, his way of life over a stupid girl that had controlled and used him for her own personal gain? Since everything had been revealed to Narcissa, he had felt so alone. Even the simple things like laying in bed beside her, eating meals with her, the casual and everyday comforts like a quick kiss in the morning…he had never felt so low in all his life. It was as if he was at the bottom of the ocean with the weight of the world crushing down upon him and squeezing all air from his lungs and life from his body. Like everyone had left him to die and he lay alone and helpless, losing himself without any reason to stay in this world – there was no happiness left in him anymore, like he was surrounded by thousands of dementors that were sucking all hope and goodness from the hollow shell that was his body. He sunk back into his chair, allowing the tumbler to fall from his hand to the cold, marble floor with a smash as he lost consciousness, swarmed and overwhelmed by the depression in his body and mind.

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The sun was slowly rising from the depths of the obsidian black sky, penetrating the darkness with its orange and golden tones. They stood together still after all this time, neither one daring to disturb the silence, until Hermione Granger's Gryffindor courage awoke inside her.

"How have you been?" she dared, rearranging her feet several times in her nervousness and mentally shouting at herself for the stupidness of her question.

Severus took his time to formulate a reply, making sure he was saying the right thing.

"I've been…better." His attempt at a casual tone failed, his words were sharp and contained a lot more emotion than he would have liked.

"I…I just wanted to explain myself," she began, partly waiting for an invitation from Severus to continue.

He inclined his head, allowing her to express her feelings to him; when he had discovered the truth about her and Lucius Malfoy, his emotions had been contorted with rage. What he didn't realise was that as soon as he heard it, he forgave her. Although the thought did still make him nauseous.

"Severus, I just wanted you to know that…I only did what I did be-because…because I – I love you." She stopped abruptly, gasping and covering her mouth with her hands. He simply looked at her, his eyes widening a little in shock at her words yet he remained silent.

"I just wanted to make you jealous, but that seems so silly now. Someone like you would never have feelings for a mudblood like me. I'm so sorry I forced myself upon you, it won't happen again." Tears began leaking from the corners of her eyes.

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Narcissa entered the room that Lucius had vacated to for the past week, gazing around it before laying eyes upon his drunken form. Her expression softened naturally and she began to move slowly over to the sofa where her husband lay; she stroked the blonde hair from his face and his eyes flickered slightly at her touch. He opened his eyes to see his wife above him looking deeply into his grey eyes. His heart leapt; this was the closest she had been to him in a week; maybe he could apologise to her now, maybe she would believe him.

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"Hermione…I honestly don't care if you are muggle-born. You're so –" he paused, knowing that he was not very good with words, especially now when he needed to explain how he was feeling.

She had literally ripped his heart from his chest and shredded it into tiny pieces before his eyes. He lifted his arm and wiped the tears from her eyes, leaving his hand on her face and cupping her cheek whilst stroking her cheek lightly.

"You just have to understand…I feel so guilty and disgusting and…"

He moved his finger to her lips, he could basically read her mind and knew what she needed to say. She genuinely was sorry; he could feel it in his heart. Putting his hands on her waist, he pulled her into an embrace. He shocked himself by this sudden bodily contact between them and when she grasped him tightly he didn't know how to react. He could smell her hair strongly as he rested his chin upon her head; it smelt beautiful like coconut and strawberries and every scent that he loved most…Hermione's scent. He inhaled deeply before squeezing her and shutting his eyes. She sighed contentedly, snuggling into him and resting her head on his chest as his heart beat peacefully underneath her ear; this sound was so relaxing, like listening to the sea or the sound of his voice – she felt totally at home in his arms.

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Tears sprung to his wife's eyes and the harder she tried to disguise them, the denser they became. Lucius didn't know what to do; he might scare her if he offered her a hug too soon. He felt his heart breaking like porcelain under a hammer having to see her like this.

"Lucius, do you still love me?" she asked timidly.

"More than you'll ever know, my darling." His own voice suddenly strained and began to break under the emotion.

She simply looked at him, trying to calculate his emotions and to assess whether he was telling the truth or not. Lucius felt so depressed, as if he had been shut away in a room with no doors or windows, no way to escape, and he was left to die…dying would be a relief to him now, he just wished his wife would end this torture.

"I don't know what to say. I mean, I don't know if I can ever forgive you for what you've done."

His heart sank and sank. It felt like he was falling and falling, suddenly jolting upright as he hit the floor.

"You have hurt me so much…I-I-" she broke down, crying into her hands as her heart pounded in her chest; she needed him without question, there was no living without him…it just pained her each time she looked at him. Every time she did, she saw him with her.

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He wanted to ravish her, to show her his love, open his heart, his life and his world to her and hold her like this forever. She tilted her head up gently, prising his chin from her head leaving them at the perfect angle…Hermione looked up at his lips; they looked so pristine and kissable. She smiled and he moved his hands around her back, loving the feel of her so close to him. He moved his head down until their foreheads met and he tilted his head to the side. She was in heaven; his hands were wandering around her as if independent from his body as she watched him curiously. Their lips joined with Severus making the first move and he ravished her like he had wanted to. He closed his eyes in pure bliss as their kiss deepened and Hermione began moving her hands higher and higher up his body until she grasped the sides of his face, controlling the kiss. She allowed herself access to his mouth, kissing him feverishly, contagiously…like her and Lucius had been nothing.

The feelings that Severus evoked in her were totally opposed to how she had felt with Lucius: with Severus she felt loved, equal, like she was floating above the world where nothing could ever bother them again. With Lucius she had felt on edge all the time, cold, dangerous and dirty like it was all just for the sake of it and it really had been – there was no love there.

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Lucius was now sinking into the pits of hell as Narcissa watched over him; he grew paler and less responsive by the second.

"Lucius…Lucius – please listen."

He opened his eyes ever so slightly before a hoarse whisper escaped his lips.

"Without you, my love…no pain is worth withstanding. Just remember that I loved you throughout all of this shit, and I still do! She was a worthless slut, I am only a man after all…I know that's no excuse but I wasn't thinking…I am so sorry."

Narcissa gaped at him, she couldn't bear to see him like this; moving her head closer to him, she placed her hands either side of her husband's face and kissed his forehead…he is only a man.

He gazed up at her with a love so powerful in his eyes, she slowly moved down and kissed him fully on the lips. Where she had kissed him, he felt warmth spreading through his entire body and without hesitation he kissed her back with everything that his weak, alcohol-fuelled body could muster. Her eyes back to water again, teas streaming down her face and entangling into their kiss. Narcissa's tears washed away her doubts and Lucius's sins, combining the two of them together again with such force; it was like they had fallen in love all over again.

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Hermione clung to his robes like a leech and he tightened his grip on her even more.

"I love you so much, Hermione," he whispered into her ear.

His voice sent shivers down her spine, caressing her like velvet and making her want him like she had never wanted anyone before. They held each other at the top of the Tower for many hours, watching the glorious sunrise together. How wonderful it was to behold nature like this with the one person who had truly opened your eyes to it all in the first place. It was like nature was blessing their relationship; the sunrise symbolising the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

They often came back up to this spot over the years to reminisce how their love was born; it was still their favourite passionate place in the world. And Severus made sure Albus realised his gratitude after Hermione told him of the old man's plan to 'hook them up'; every time this date came around each year, Albus came to breakfast in the Great Hall to find an enormous basket of sherbet lemons awaiting him.