A/n: Thanks again to my beta Tessa Cresswell!

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters belong to J. K Rowling.

Disclaimer: You've probably seen plots similar to this in multiple books. Hopefully this story will be just a tad different :)

Walk Beside Me, 2000 (Life Six)

Draco Abraxas Malfoy and Hermione Jean Granger

"… Hermione Granger."

She looked up when her name was called, having not been paying an ounce of attention thus far. She had already given her speech as the only remaining Head of Hogwarts at this point, and had since been sitting quietly in her seat, searching the crowd with her eyes. People she expected to see at the front were there; the Weasley's dominated the better part of the middle front row, all smiles to watch Ron walk for his own diploma. Her parents sat only a few seats over, watching proudly as well.

But things weren't meant to be this way, she was supposed to be the co-Head of Hogwarts's students, walking beside Malfoy when they gave their speech and sitting in the very front row of the students, receiving their diploma's first.

He wouldn't walk with her though, and she gulped as all eyes focused on her. Whatever the Headmistress had been saying so far went unheard by her ears, but now her name had been called and she was forced to rise from her seat without him, and make the long walk to receive her diploma.

He was supposed to be graduating with her, walking down the stage that usually held the Professor's tables in the great hall, marching towards the rest of their lives. But fate had a funny way of changing the paths you try to create for yourself, and they had fallen prey to those changes. He would not be with her for now.

Hermione couldn't keep her eyes on McGonagall while she walked. Her eyes constantly danced back over the crowd, searching for his blonde head. But she couldn't find him, and a weight was beginning to set in her chest. Where was he?

Stopping in front of the Headmistress, she accepted her diploma silently, the key to her successful future, proving she had an excellent education. People clapped accordingly- with the Weasley's and her parents being exceptionally loud- but as she made her way off the other side and another student was called forward, her eyes moved around the room again. She was about to turn back to her seat when something caught her eye.

Blonde hair eased itself through the crowd, the person maneuvering past excited parents and siblings. The person seemed to go unnoticed by most- even despite the soft tap of his cane with each step- but she couldn't take her eyes off of him. No light illuminated the better half of the audience, and since the students were all seated down there to await their degree she had no problem slipping past prying eyes towards him. The students following after her gave the Head Girl an odd look as she darted off, but only one set of eyes followed her to the open door that she slipped out of. Without a thought, the person followed her outside of the Great Hall, through the side door teachers rarely used.

Delighted at his appearance on the scene, she threw her cap off as he walked out to greet her. His movements were a bit awkward now, but the cane did a fine job of helping him along. She didn't care though, so long as he was there.

Grabbing his face in her hands when they were out of sight of the people in the room, she kissed the blonde. "I thought you wouldn't come," she said quietly, stepping back immediately after her show of affection to give him space to maneuver himself.

He grinned, using his unoccupied arm to wrap her in a semi hug. "I wouldn't miss it," he replied, watching her face break into a grin. "Pomfrey kept me back longer than I cared for, ranting about the salve that needed to be put on my back. I'll have to go back when this event is over and have her handle the curse again."

Hermione nodded grimly, hating when he spoke about the spell Severus Snape inflicted on him. It had nearly ended his life that night.

After casting the red sparks into the sky, she attempted to help her blonde boyfriend in every way she could think of. But the blood seeped out, and she began losing hope. It was Harry that found them a few minutes later, bursting into the clearing panting. He had used a spell to find her, hoping that it would lead him to the right place. He then proceeded into an explanation about escaping the binds Draco had put him and Ron into, before Ron ran back for help. In return, Hermione explained nothing to him about what exactly was going on and simply begged him to help her heal the blonde. He agreed, and they held out until help arrived.

Getting Draco back to Hogwarts's was the easy part. Figuring out how to heal him was the difficult side of things. Hermione rightly refused to leave his side, attempting to help Pomfrey however she could. But it became fairly obvious that nothing could be done while he remained there, and he was sent to St. Mungo's. When Minerva told the girl that she could not follow, hell broke loose.

Mostly, people wanted to know what was going on. Unable to think up a good story, Hermione had turned to Snape to see what lies he would spew to their audience. An Auror came to the school to overhear what was going on between the faculty members and the students, and she had never been so thankful to see a Ministry member.

An unspoken weight rested above Hermione and Snape's heads. Telling the truth would come across as insanity, and they- along with Draco- would be shipped somewhere for mental help. She didn't know what to do or how to go about things. At least it did seem that everyone was on her side with Draco, since he was the one who got injured. She convinced the Auror that nothing would be said unless the advisor of his department came down to oversee their stories, and only so long as veritaserum was used. Perhaps it was because she was Hermione Granger, or maybe because he took pity on what looked like a frightened girl, but the man agreed to Floo his advisor.

It took six hours to get someone there, and by that time she was walking in circles, completely terrified about how Draco could be doing. No one would tell her anything about his condition now, and it was trying her nerves to know that people could keep such things from her. She cared about him, so why did they have to be so secretive?

By the time the advisor arrived- Andrew Edison- everyone had been evacuated from the room, save Hermione, Snape and one of the top Auror's. Although she knew that they could not go outside of the room and speak what they heard, she felt uneasy taking the potion with this unneeded body around. Taking the potion was like throwing herself at Edison's feet, hoping beyond hope that he would hear the true story with an open mind. If he thought for some reason that something was poisoning their minds, they would still be sent away to be treated- or studied.

Thankfully, Edison was very open. He asked questions to the both of them, never letting an ounce of emotion show on his face. The way he masked what he was thinking reminded the brunette so much of Draco that it hurt. She still did not know at that time how he was doing.

By the time their stories were finished, all of the truth was out on the table. For some reason, Edison failed to ask Snape what was so important about the dirt in the clearing, but she supposed that it was irrelevant. Edison still had a stony expression on his face, but the other man looked quite perplexed. She nearly regretted her choice to take the potion and spill everything.

But, Edison seemed to still like the idea. He asked no more questions past the conclusion of their stories, and simply asked the other man to follow him from the room. The time following his departure felt suffocating, and Hermione did not feel comfortable being alone with the man. Only did she learn later that the room was being surveillanced by that point, and any sudden movements towards the other would've gotten the both of them attacked by Auror's.

It seemed to take ages, but Edison did reappear with three other men. One was the original Auror that came to the school, and another was the man that stood in there with them while they were under the influence of the potion, and he was the only one that appeared perplexed and confused at all. Edison announced that Snape would be taken to the Ministry for further questioning about his attack on two students, and the four Auror's took the silent man away. She found herself left alone with the head of the Auror's, Edison.

"You can't tell people things like that Miss Granger, and expect it to be taken lightly. Mr. Malfoy is currently in treatment for his back, and at this time cannot be questioned. Since I know you cannot lie under the influence of that potion, I know that you are telling the truth. How that is the truth though, I don't understand."

"You're a very daring woman to go to such lengths to prove that Professor Severus Snape is the one at fault here. If your story is true- and I am not saying I believe such strange things- then to bring this case to trial in the Ministry courts would cause an up rise among our magical community that would end traumatically, don't you agree?"

She nodded at the time, unable to decide what to do.

"There must be some sort of truth within the things you told to me, else the magic would've harmed you until you stopped resisting. No wizard or witch alive can resist the potion, and I doubt both of you would collaborate together to make up a story that pinned Mr. Snape as the culprit. Therefore, I must keep my mind open and believe that what I heard is the truth. And if it is the truth, then precautions must be taken to make sure none of this I ever heard by anyone who was outside this room."

She nodded again at the time, thinking first of Harry and Ron, who had started asking her questions before she ever got out of the forest. How would she explain things?

"As I said, this cannot go to court. Therefore, I shall speak with the Minister about where to go from here. This is not something we usually deal with, and to try and figure out how to on my own would be far too great a task. Rest assured, he will likely agree that the magical community is not ready to understand such complicated topics, and accept them with open, clear minds. You will not be asked to go to trial for this."

"Then how will anything be resolved?"

Edison pursed his lips. "I do not yet know."

She waited for his response for what to do for weeks. For weeks she ignored her friends questions and was shunned for her silence, unsure how to get them to believe her unless she was under the influence of the potion again. It was a lonely few weeks with Draco in the hospital, but not as bad as it could be. When they finally discovered that the core of the magic had attacked his spine, it was determined that the magic would need to be pulled manually from his body overtime, and taking it all out at once would shock his nervous system and cause further problems. That was when he finally asked her to do something for him, after weeks of visits.

He asked Hermione to find him a cane. He refused to lie in that bed and wait for answers to come to him. And she did just that. One day after his request, she took the day off from school- to the surprise of everyone- and headed into Hogsmeade to find him a cane. Her funds were limited, and the town reminded her of an unpleasant set of kisses shared with Viktor Krum. The visit wasn't pleasant, but she did manage to purchase him a cane that was not at all showy, but enough to support him when walking. It was nothing compared to the decorated cane Draco's father was known to walk with, but it worked.

And he loved it. As soon as he was permitted, he left St. Mungo's, walking and all. She waked beside him, overjoyed that he was still able to. They were warned that it would be a slow process to heal hi back- and that he might just be crippled for the rest of his life- but she didn't let that affect the way she saw him. He came after her that day, and he was still going to continue on in life now, and the girl couldn't be more proud.

It wasn't long after that that the pair received a letter from the Ministry, addressed to the both of them. It was short, and to the point. Hermione didn't agree with the contents, and Draco thought far more should've been done, but the end result was something neither could change. Snape's mind had been obliviated, removing any memories of the past or present. Problem was, the caster didn't know how much to erase, and swiped the whole of the man's mind clean. They heard a week later that he was being sent off to a different, larger hospital in Berlin.

Hermione almost pitied him for his fate.

Draco chuckled at the circumstances of everything, which usually earned him a scowl.

After that, things were rocky between the two and their friends. People didn't know how to react to them as a couple, and even fewer people understood. Mostly, it was Harry and the Weasley's that stood as a problem. They did not understand everything, and demanded answers about Snape as well as Draco. She could only supply so many without delving into dark tales, and that did not satisfy everyone. She tried to forget about it sometimes, and hoped that one day the topic would be dropped. It would take time though.

And Draco continued his schooling, but was unable to walk the aisle without his back hurting him. Treatments were rough, and since he only had one a day prior to graduation he resigned from walking with the class. Hermione was disappointed, but glad that he showed up.

"How much magic is left?" She asked quietly. "Do you know?"

He brushed his fingers over her face, moving strands of flyaway hair back behind her ear. "I'm not sure love. Pomfrey said that she would take care of me tomorrow, and then past that I'll either have to go to St. Mungo's to continue treatment or have someone come to my home to help."

"Will you return to the Manor?"

He shrugged. "Perhaps. My charming parents couldn't find the time to come see me today of all days, so I am not entirely sure I want to dwell in their company once I'm out of school. It will depend on how things go I suppose." He leaned a bit closer. "On whether or not you want me to."

She chuckled, giving him a soft shove away. "Oh, I don't know. We have plenty of time to worry about that; we aren't even done with school until after today."

Draco shrugged, pulling her in towards him with his one arm. "I suppose that's true. Are you planning to return with your parents then for a while?"

"Yes. I want to get things in order before I start deciding about schools past Hogwarts, or whether I'm just going to go on to finding a job. I haven't even thought about getting my own place!"

He grinned. "Perhaps we'll find one together."

Hermione rolled her eyes, knowing that would come up at some point with him. She pulled on his collar, giving him a coy smile. "We'll have to see where fate takes us."

"Ah, fate. We're going to let the little devil play with our lives again?"

To this she simply shrugged, standing on her toes again to give him another kiss. "Well, fate can't be so bad anymore, can it? I mean, we finally got together."

The festivities following the ceremony were wonderful. The Weasley twins brought some of their merchandise and sold it to troublesome children wandering about, causing a lot of mayhem throughout the Great Hall as parents and friends attempted to talk. This would be the last day they were together, unless students decided to stay one extra day and partake in a large feast held in their honor, and take the final train ride home a week early with their friends. The majority of the students planned on doing just that.

Hermione found her parents somehow despite the crowd, and they congratulated her. Introducing Draco though was another story entirely, and she got the feeling that they thought he was older than his actual age because of the cane. Oh well, there would be time to explain later, when she returned home late tomorrow. For now she just wanted to focus on celebrating.

At one point, she crossed paths with Harry and Ron while trying to escape with Draco, saying there was one final thing she wanted to look at before she was needed to bid her parents goodbye. It was the redhead that stopped her, squishing her into a large hug.

"We did it Hermione! We actually graduated!"

"Is it that surprising Ron?"

He pulled back. "Well, for me. With my grades, I was beginning to get a bid worried."

She smiled, and Harry gave her the same warm congratulations. They both nodded towards the blonde, who hardly spared them a glance. He had completed his education as well, yet they would offer him no words. She knew it was going to take a long time to get any of them to get along.

"You want to come find George and Fred?" Ron asked, looking at her earnestly. She suspected that he wanted her to leave Draco for a while, but the fact of the matter was that she needed to check something out with him. Giving the ginger a warm smile, she reclined.

"I actually have something I need to investigate," she said kindly, hugging them both once more before she snatched up the blonde's free hand.

Their faces fell, and she knew it wasn't going to be easy to slip by. "You'll still be coming on Tuesday right? Everyone will be out of school by then, and mom's going to have this huge feast-"

"Yes Ron," she replied with a laugh, shaking her head, "I would never miss your mother's cooking."

"Good," he said, giving Malfoy one last glance. "So… we'll see you later?"

"Definitely," she agreed, before heading off. She knew Draco couldn't walk for too long without his back beginning to hurt, so she wanted to get what she needed to do done as quickly as possible.

She dragged him outside, and it was then that the blonde's interest finally peaked. "Where are we going?"

Glancing at him, Hermione began pulling him towards the forest. "You'll see."

"Why would you ever want to come back here?" he asked, sitting on a rock she had levitated over. He was tired from walking all the way back to the clearing, and she knew his back was hurting.

"I wanted to investigate something," she replied, snatching his cane away to set it gingerly on a nearby rock. He scowled at her coddling, but she didn't give him the time of day as she turned back to her task.

"You don't need to watch me as though I'm going to break Hermione."

She glanced back. "Don't start Draco. You've spent many lifetimes watching out for my wellbeing, I can spare some time in this life to do the same for you."

He kept his expression firm until she turned away again, and then let a smile slip through his lips. Damn it all, it felt good to know that she wanted to make sure he was okay just as much as he tried to watch her. To know that their feelings were finally the same felt brilliant, and despite his hurt back it sent thrills through his body. It had been a long time since she loved him back.

"So what are you doing?" he asked when she began using her wand to move piles of dirt.

"I'm just looking," she replied. "Snape had this odd obsession with the dirt here. I just wondered why."

"Because he's cree-"

"Draco! Come look!" She interrupted him mid-sentence and her sudden cries had him scrambling for the fucking cane.

"Damnit woman," he snapped, standing up. "What's wrong?"

He didn't need an answer as he reached the whole she had now created and peered down. About six feet under lay something wood, with words scripted on the front. It was a coffin, and as he peered closer he could read at least the first name; Sofia.

Hermione's skin was white at his side, and she reached out to grip his hand tightly. "It's a grave."

"Looks like Snape is quite twisted," Draco mused, looking at the site before them. "Someone scratched out the last name."

"I bet I can guess who."

He nodded grimly, ignoring his aching back as he peered around. "I wonder if she is the only body here."

At his side, Hermione stiffened. "Please don't go there." He wrapped an arm around her at the girl's obvious discomfort, rubbing her shoulders.

"I wonder why he chose this place specifically."

"I suppose we'll never know," Hermione mused. She shook her head. "I didn't expect to find that, not really. I just wanted to know what he was obsessing about."

"He was obsessing about her," the blonde replied. "It's been nearly six months since that night Hermione. You've told me everything he said enough times for me to wager that everything didn't sit right with him. He got his memories back through a traumatic moment and did not have a fantastic place with which to work through the confusion. I think his version of reality was always a bit warped."

"Perhaps." He simply shrugged.

They were silent for a moment, staring at the old coffin before Hermione began replacing the dirt over it. When the hole was filled again, she turned to find Draco again, only to be stopped halfway by his body. He gripped her tightly, attacking her lips in a feverish kiss she was all too willing to go along with.

When they pulled apart, he was grinning. "Well what was that for?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing," he said casually, moving to step away. She caught him though, and refused to let go.

"Well?"

He chuckled, hugging her once more. "It's just a great day Hermione. It's great to know it's the end of my immortal punishment."

And she smiled into his chest. She couldn't agree more.

Final A/n: Yup, that's the end! I hope you liked this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it. The plot was fun to play around with and the overall feel of the story is different from a lot of the things I have written before. Don't be shy and feel free to check out any of my other stories on the site! My newest is Smittenly Bitten.

Thanks for reading :D Leave one last comment if you'd like to lovelies!