Hermione couldn't help but let out a gasp of her own. Snape? But Snape was a murderer. A Death Eater. Wasn't he?

Anger spread through the crowd with a confused and indignant buzz. Next to her, Ron looked livid; his grip on her hand tightened.

"He's a killer!" someone shouted.

"What about Dumbledore?" demanded someone else, to the crowd's assent.

"No - you don't understand!" Harry bellowed, his voice stronger by the second. "Snape didn't kill Dumbledore."

As the crowd's fury mounted, Hermione remembered something. She'd meant to ask Harry about it before, but with the flood of distressing things that had been happening since the battle, the memory had been buried in her mind. It was something Harry had said to Voldemort during the battle, in the final moments.

"Aren't you listening? Snape never beat Dumbledore! Dumbledore's death was planned between them! Dumbledore intended to die undefeated, the wand's last true master!"

It hadn't made sense at the time, and now Hermione was more curious than ever.

"Look, I don't want to..." Harry began, but he was battling with the distressed voices of the audience.

"QUIET!" McGonagall bellowed, and despite the fact that many were no longer her students, silence fell once more. The solemn air returned as the crowd remembered where they were.

"I don't want to explain everything now, out of respect for the dead," Harry continued, starting to look a bit dazed by the whole experience, "but there is a good reason why I know for a fact that Severus Snape was on our side the whole time. He risked his neck for me more times than I can count, and I couldn't let this service end without him being remembered too."

This time, when Harry finished speaking, the silence lingered. While the confusion was still evident on many faces, it was clear that Harry knew something they didn't. Anger was replaced by a mixture of curiosity and respect.

"Thank you for that, Harry," McGonagall said, placing a supportive hand on his shoulder and ushering him back towards his seat. "Dumbledore would be proud," she told him in a softer voice, but it carried through the silence and some people were visibly touched. Mrs Weasley even let out a fresh sob.

As people started to rise from their seats for the end of the service, Hermione recognised a new but familiar emotion within herself: determination. What had just happened made her even more passionate about the need to get the information out there. Nobody at all knew the full story of what had gone on in the war, and people like Snape who deserved to be recognised for what they had done would end up being forgotten, overlooked or even hated. Yes, it was vital that Hermione discovered the full picture. And there was no way she was leaving it to the likes of Rita Skeeter. As she decided, she had to stop herself from grinning: she was going to write the book.

Looking over towards Ginny, who was still sitting subdued in her seat, Hermione decided to make a start in her investigations.

"You kind of looked like you knew what Harry was talking about then," Hermione said gently. "Did he tell you more?"

"Yeah!" Ron interjected, a little aggressive. "What did he tell you? How could he possibly think that?"

Hermione glared at him for being insensitive but Ginny answered calmly.

"Snape was in love with Harry's mother."

"What?" Ron said loudly, but Hermione nodded encouragingly.

"That's why he was always on our side. He had to protect Harry. For her. And Dumbledore was dying. He asked Snape to kill him, because - "

"Rubbish," Ron declared, but Hermione had had enough.

"Don't you see, Ron? This is why we have to get all these stories out there - you've only heard one point of view. You're never going to believe anything else, whether it's the truth or not, until you've heard the whole story." She paused, wanting to be certain before she told everyone. "Ron, I've decided to write the book."

"A book?" asked Ginny; Ron, despite his earlier indignation, looked delighted.

"About the war. It was all Ron's idea. I want to speak to everyone about their experiences, find out what really happened. You could never fit it all into a Daily Prophet article, could you?"

"Not when you've got scum like Skeeter working for them," said Ginny darkly, but then she smiled. "I'm happy for you. You'll do an amazing job."

"You will," Ron echoed, pulling Hermione close, and Ginny tactfully moved away. "And... I'll be proud of you." He didn't normally articulate emotions like this; his ears started to turn red, but he stubbornly kept eye contact. He meant it.

"I can't start yet, though," Hermione began, her heart dropping as the realisation hit her. She couldn't get the words out. "I..."

"You have to go to Australia," Ron said calmly. "To find your parents."

"Yes." Hermione was ashamed to feel that the tears she had been holding back for most of the day were beginning to sting her eyes. "And it'll be hard to find them, because I made it hard. And I don't know how long it'll take but I'll manage. I owe it to them." The words, like her tears, were spilling out freely now. "And I'll think of you all the time, and we'll write, and - "

"Hermione." She stopped abruptly as Ron cut her off. "I'm coming with you."

"Wh-what?" Of all things, she hadn't expected him to say that.

"Of course I am!" he said, grinning, and suddenly the whole idea of finding her parents began to seem less daunting. "There's no way you can do this on your own. And I know it's not exactly going to be a holiday, and it's going to be hard, just like finding the Horcruxes, and it might take a while, but it's different now. It'll be you and me, and I love you."

Despite her tears, despite her worry, despite the agonising pain of everything that had happened, Hermione smiled. "I love you too," she said, and for what seemed like a blissful eternity, they just stared into each other's eyes, basking in the knowledge that they had one another, that one good thing had come of the atrocities of the past three years.

Coming out of her trance, a thought occurred to Hermione. "Hang on! You can't come with me," she said, trying to hide her bitter disappointment.

"Why not?" Ron asked, his face falling.

"Your Auror training. Kingsley said he wanted you to start as soon as possible."

"So now you think it's a good idea," said Ron, rolling his eyes, but his smirk was good-natured. "Don't worry. I'd already decided not to do it."

"Had you?" Hermione asked, surprised. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I only decided during Kingsley's speech. I was thinking about George. How I didn't want all of his and Fred's work to go to waste." Ron gulped, and Hermione felt a pang of grief herself. There would have to be a funeral, of course. Why Fred? "I want to help George get the shop back up and running."

"That's... wonderful, Ron," Hermione managed to say. The tears had started to build again. Sometimes she forgot how selfless Ron was starting to become.

"Plus, I think you're right about the Harry thing," he admitted, looking awkwardly down at his shoes. "I know I had a go at you before but it's true - I have been in his shadow a bit. I can always train next year instead, right?"

"Absolutely," Hermione said, and she finally started to think that in time, things might start falling into place. "We'll go to Australia. Then you'll help George and I'll write. Then maybe, one day, we'll find some normality." She sighed, but oddly, Ron was grinning.

"We're best friends with Harry Potter. When will we ever find normality?"

Once Hermione had started to laugh, she couldn't stop. Since she had come to Hogwarts, a lot had happened, and some of it had been more horrific than any of her worst nightmares. But knowing the good times that went with the bad, she wouldn't have changed any of it for the world.

"Come on," she said, grabbing Ron's hand. "Let's find Harry, and let's go and sit down by the lake, the three of us, just like old times."

"But Hermione," Ron said uncertainly, "it's not the time, is it? So many people have died."

"Yes, but this is just what the Death Eaters wanted! To make us miserable!" Hermione cried, and as she said it, the whole world started to seem a lot brighter. "Let's look past the darkness, for now. Let's focus on the light."

She looked up at the castle, which was bathing in the glorious sunlight. There were still fears to confront, grief to overcome, families to reunite, and a community to rebuild. But at that moment, for the first time in over three years, Hermione Granger felt at peace.

A/N: So here we are at the end of the story. I know that everything is far from resolved for Ron and Hermione, but I think they've found some direction and that things are looking up for them from here.

I have two massive thank yous to give - one to you, my wonderful readers, who have given me the motivation to carry on with this. There's a lot that I would change if I were to write this again, but I would never have come back to this and made it something I'm really proud of had it not been for your encouragement. The second, of course, goes to my amazing beta/friend, kci47. This story wouldn't be anything like what it is without her, her kind words and her wonderful insight.

Thank you so much for reading, and I'd love to hear your thoughts!