A/N: Just want to say thank you to the readers who had faith that Destiny would give them another chance. I really didn't feel like leaving their relationship where I left it cuz it would just end up being a really crappy story, don't you think?

Now if you are confused on anything, do not hesitate to ask in a review and I promise to answer all your questions on my profile.

Here it is. The FINAL EDITION OF DESTINY'S TASK.

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Run.

Keep going.

Don't stop, Draco, keep going...

Draco Malfoy ran for his life through the halls of Hogwarts, escaping the battle that took place within the place he once called home. He threw minor hexes and curses at the others who threatened to stand in his way.

He nearly tripped over the mangled body of Lavender Brown...that was covered in blood. He nearly vomited at the sight, but refused to stop for anything.

He didn't want to be a part of this, he didn't ask for it. His Father had pulled him into this whole mess, costing him his freedom. He nearly had to kill his Headmaster because of it. And now, he was forced to fight in this battle.

It just wasn't fair.

Fear had crossed his face at every turn, there was no safe place for him to go. He refused to fight, he couldn't. Despite all the trouble he caused for his former classmates, he just couldn't give in and resort to killing them. Reardless of what he thought of them, they were still his peers.

He continued off towards the opposite side of the castle, hoping for less chaos on that side. What he found was more bodies and more wizards in combat. He rushed off into the hallway once more, and turned the corner, heading for the astronomy tower.

Come on, just need to hide.

He climbed the stairs and nearly toppled over on the final step. Relief washed over his face at the seemingly empty room, but alas it was not. He quickly cowered back behind the railing at the sight of a Deatheater restraining a girl against the wall by her neck. She struggled against his grasp, nearly kicking the man in the groin. He was quick to move back, however, but loosened his grip slightly, allowing her to move her head to the side and into the light of the moon.

Wait, I know those eyes, he thought.

He shifted forward slightly and found himself looking into the direct line of sight of Hermione Granger.

"Go to the Astronomy Tower, Hermione, send a patronus to the Ministry. We need more Aurors!"

Harry's directions echoed in her ears as she rushed up the spiraling stairs and into the Astronomy Tower. A million thoughts raced across her mind: calculations, spells, anything to distract her from what was happening around her.

Fred, Tonks, Lupin, even Lavender, all dead. Tears threatened to appear at the mere thought. No, Hermione, stop it. You can't cry now, this is a war.

She put on a brave face as she entered the tower. Her eyes darted across the entire room, and there was no sign of anyone around. She quickly rushed over to the balcony and held out her wand.

"Expecto Patronum," she whispered. A light blue orb of mist appeared from her wand, but disspaeared just as quickly as it came out. "What?" she said aloud. She must have performed the incantation a thousand times, why was it not working now?

"Expecto Patronum," she whispered again, more forcefully. Still nothing. "Oh come on!" she yelled, as tears streaked down her face.

"Expecto Patronum!" she practically screamed, but absolutely nothing would appear.

She broke down and sobbed on her knees. She failed him, and what more could she do then watch her beloved classmates die in front of her very eyes. And she would most likely be joining them, along with Ron, Harry, Ginny, anyone she held dear to her.

You did forget to mention one other, a voice in her head told her.

She brushed the thought away and continued crying into her hands. Why couldn't she cast the stupid spell? Was her wand broken? Was it the lack of sleep that was getting to her? Was her happy memory no longer happy enough?

Hold on, when was the last time you casted a patronus? She thought back to the last time, during the Dumbledore's Army meetings, where Harry had taught them the very same spell. That meant that some time in between then and now, a happier memory had already occured.

Her original happy memory was of herself, Ron, and Harry sitting in the Gryffindor common room, just laughing. It seemed to have worked last time, but why not now? What could be more happier than that?

Oh, I can think of something...or someone.

Oh.

The mere thought brought even more tears to her eyes. She recalled the happy memory, and very clearly.

The wind blew more into their faces, and Hermione couldn't help but mutter, "Dance with me, Draco."

"I'm sorry?"

"Dance with me. Like we did at the Yule Ball."

"But, why?"

"I don't know. It's one of those moments where...you could do anything."

She leapt out of his embrace and moved towards a small square which laid on top of the building.

He stalked towards her and jumped onto the small box, holding his partner for support.

He took his right hand into her left, and placed his left hand around her waist, and pulled her close. They couldn't move much, and awkwardly moved in a circular motion. Hermione laughed at Draco's failed attempts to make it work, while he chuckled along.

She could see why that would be her happiest memory, because nothing but pure emotion came out of it. Nothing but love for her significant other.

She stood up once again and held onto the railing, raising her wand. She whispered once again, "Expecto Patronum," and the orb of mist came out once again. Only this time, it transformed into a graceful otter prancing about even in this time of despair.

She said to it, "This is Hermione Granger from Hogwarts. We need reinforcements, please help us."

The otter nodded at the message and pranced off into the night sky. More tears threatened to fall, but she quickly wiped them away and decided to go and find Ron and Harry.

As she turned around, a hand reached out and grabbed her by the neck, pushing her against the wall. The grip tightened and clasped around her neck, stangeling her. She let out a cry of help and scratched the person's hand. She looked at the person only to find the threatening mask of a Deatheater. She can only recall when she was that close to a Deatheater's mask, and had singlehandedly been the best and worst moment of her life.

They continued on and Hermione was able to let out a small but quiet breath of relief. As she did, however, the man that walked behind the largest halted. That little breath was unrelated to the wind, and contained a subtle tone of voice. He wore a dark black hood along his cloak and did not appear to look like the rest of the men. As he turned towards her, she could see his white mask of a Deatheater.

Oh no, she thought, attempting to hold her breath once more.

He walked towards her, only this time, he appeared to be much closer to her face and slightly shorter than the first man. She tried to look anywhere but his gaze because he appeared to look right at her. If she moved even the slightest, he might be able to detect her prescence.

Without warning, he took his hand out of his pocket and moved towards his mask. He removed the white mask and revealed the face of a man she had once known a long time ago.

Draco Malfoy.

She found her self sobbing once more, not in pain, but at that single moment.

No, Hermione, fight. You're not going to die, not like this.

She agreed with the little voice in her head and moved to kick him in the groin. He dodged to the side, but his grip was able to loosen around her neck, allowing the smallest amount of air to reach into her lungs. Her head moving to the side and into the light of the moon.

But it wasn't the moon that caught her eye, it was the white blond hair cowering behind the railing, watching the scene take place.

The very man she loved, and might have loved her too, was staring intently at her.

She wished she could look at him longer, let his face be the last thing she sees before dies of suffication. Her eye lids felt like weights as she desperately tried to keep them open. But the lack of oxygen to her body caused her to slowly drift into unconciousness.

Suddenly, a white light shot out into the darkness of the room, and the man's tight grip around her throat, loosened immensely as they both collapsed to the ground.

She sputtered and gasped in the air as she held onto her throat in relief. She looked up and found Draco standing over the stunned body of the Deatheater, his wand pointed firmly at the man's chest. When it seemed like he wouldn't move, Draco pocketed his wand and moved toward Hermione.

He held out his hand to her, and she automatically took it.

Draco expected her to not even touch him, but for some reason she did. She did as if it were the most normal gesture in the universe. Of course, he shouldn't be arguing, he did just save her life with not much reasoning behind it.

Of course, he hated the girl, but why did he save her? It was as if some unknown force told him to do so, or something had possessed him.

He saved me, Hermione thought.

She stared in awe at him, who equally stared at her as well. It could have been an eternity before they realized the battle was still taking place.

It was his voice that broke the silence, "You know, I think a thank you would suffice."

Reality had rushed back to her as she said, "Thank you, Dr- Malfoy.'

He scoffed at her stupidity and said under his breath, "mudblood."

Her heart pounded in her chest, and almost stopped when he said that hurtful word. What did you expect? That he was going to suddenly remember? His Mother casted a bloody memory charm on him, for Merlin's sake!

"Ok, Granger. Are you done staring? If you are, then get the hell out of here before I start to regret saving you."

"I'm sorry, I just-" before she could say another word, something had caught her eye. It was something in his eyes, a sort of spark, if you will. The kind that took your breath away just by watching it. And for some reason, that spark beckoned her, as if it were the only thing that connected them. It was as if...

Her Draco was still in there.

She didn't realize how close she had gotten to him, their bodies standing only inches apart. The unknown force took place again, allowing Draco to accept her closeness and not flinch at her movement. What was it about her that caused him to act this way? He certainly never acted this way before, especially towards her.

Although, he could faintly recall harboring a small crush on the mudblood, but never admitting that to anyone but himself.

He was about to say something when suddenly, the ground shook below them, causing small pebbles to fall from the ceiling. Hermione held onto his shoulders for support, a gesture he didn't seem to mind. Just then, a large rock dropped from the ceiling, revealing a gaping whole from the roof.

"Run!" was all Hermione could say before she grabbed his hand and ran from the tower. Draco stared in awe at her but ran anyway, down the spiraling stairs and into the hall. At the end of the staircase, he was able to catch his breath, Hermione's hand still in his.

Their resting was short-lived, however, when a Deatheater spotted them at the end of the hallway. The wizard flung a curse at them, but Draco was able to dodge both of them out of the way.

"Run, Granger!" he yelled.

She held onto his hand for dear life as they ran down the hall, while simultaneously throwing curses behind them. One of Hermione's curses was successful in hitting the Deatheater, causing him to fall to the ground.

Even though she was able to petrify him, why did he still feel like he was running? Was he running with her? It felt like he was running on air as a flashback overwhelmed his senses.

"Hey! You kids aren't supposed to be in this part of town!" A shopkeeper yelled who was across the street. The man moved towards them and before Draco could respond, he felt his hand grasped by another and pulled into a sprint.

Hermione tugged the boy along as the shopkeeper tried to chase them out of the street.

He stumbled back, letting go of Hermione's hand. He held his hand over his eyes as that moment came back to him. "Draco?! Are you alright? What's wrong?"

His back hit the wall as he clutched his head in pain. "I don't know!" he said, "It's like...a memory...or something."

A memory?, Hermione thought, her eyes suddenly filled with hope.

"Yeah, I don't know. I don't really recognize it."

"Draco, listen to me. This is very important." Her hands came up to his face and cupped them gently. "You are under the effects of a memory charm."

"What? A memory charm?"

"Yes. I know because I was there when it was casted on you."

Sudden realization came to his face as he wrenched her hands off his face, and yelled, "What did you do to me, Granger? Did you cast this so-called spell on me? What did you want me to forget?" His wand was held tightly at his side.

"It wasn't me, Dra- "

"Stop calling me Draco!" His eyes were filled with hatred as he prepared himself to hex her.

Before she could further explain, a misguided spell hit the wall across from them. She spun around just in time to watch the structure fall down, a gust of wind blowing into their faces as it happened. Her hair had blown in the opposite direction, her brown curls flowing behind her had. Hermione's attention was drawn to the collapsed wall, but Draco had his eyes on her.

They climbed the winding stairs and onto the roof of the building. It was a large open space with a view of all of Hogsmeade. It was also in perfect sight of Hogwarts, the sun shining brightly just above the massive structure. The wind was slightly stronger as they reached the edge, but the smell of Spring was still lingering.

Hermione opened her arms and welcomed the gust of wind, her hair flowing behind her. With her eyes closed, Draco gazed at her magnificent appearance. Never had he seen bookworm Granger act this way, and it was nothing more than beautiful. Her bushy hair went flying, but only framed her face more perfectly. Everything in their world was at ease, as if nothing, not even the war, really mattered.

The memory had hit him like a brick as he staggered against the remaining wall once more. She drew her attention from the wall and onto Draco.

"Was it another memory, Draco?" she asked with an excited voice.

"I- I think so," he said. Tears of happiness began to form in the corner of her eyes.

As soon as he was able to regain focus, his eyes landed on another Deatheater, wand pulled back, spell about to hit them.

"Granger! Look out!" he yelped as he pulled her away from the line of fire and into the nearby alcove, concealing them from sight. He shifted his form so both hands rested against the wall and arms around her. He waited for the Deatheater to leave before he brought his focus onto her face.

His actions had taken her breath away as she breathed heavily. He looked deeply into her eyes, and saw something he hadn't seen before. Her breath lingered on his face, the faint smell of strawberries...

Strawberries...

The impact of everything had hit him with full force, and the world around him seemed to turn over. He watched through his closed eyelids as the spell had been broken and every memory rushed into his mind and overwhelmed him. Hermione seemed to sense this as she touched his face, and cried tears of joy.

He was returning to her.

Everything from their encounter in Hogsmeade, to their meeting in the barrier, to their final moments together at the Manor.

He had returned.

He opened his eyes and found her.

His Hermione.

"Hermione," he moaned.

"Draco," she whispered.

And just like that, his lips had found her own. He pushed her against the wall and groaned words of pleasure into her mouth. His tongue sought entrance into her own, which she gladly allowed. She held onto his face and pried him away from her own, just allowing their foreheads to touch.

"Draco, do you remember what you promised me in the forest? You promised that we would meet again and that we could be together. Are you going to keep that promise?"

"I promised that I would never lose you, but guess what, love? You already have me."

His lips found hers again, and nothing but love and passionate came from it. He pulled away and looked deeply into her brown orbs, wiping the tears that spilled from them.

"I love you, Hermione."

"I love you too, Draco."

They walked hand in hand out onto the courtyard.

It seemed as though their world had finally come together, but the world around them had fallen apart.

Harry is dead.

Voldemort killed him.

Voldemort won.

Hermione had tightened her grip on Draco's arm as she saw Hagrid carrying her friend's lifeless body into view. Somewhere, she could hear Ginny's strangled cry at the sight of her lover, dead. Ron had somehow found her and gripped her arm tightly. He didn't question why her hand was intertwined into Draco's.

All eyes were on Harry Potter.

She wanted to let out a desparate cry, but her eyes had been drained of all tears.

She looked at Draco, his expression was stern. She guessed he hadn't expected this to happen.

They all watched as Voldemort greeted them and gave them the opprotunity to join him, but how could they? They could barely speak. All hope was lost, and what did it matter?

It was the one name that Voldemort had called for that shook her to the bone.

"Draco, come here, join us." His voice was cold as ice as he summoned the junior Deatheater. She could feel Draco tense up, his arm flexing slightly. Her eyes trailed off to where he was looking at, and it was his Mother. His Mother had casted the spell on him, but she could tell that wasn't the reason he was looking at her.

She was calling out to him, telling him to join them. Along with his Father, his desperate eyes beckoning his son to come with them. He looked down, indecisive.

Suddenly, she felt his hand loosen from hers, and no matter how hard she tried to hold on, he had to let go. He walked out into the open and towards the Dark Lord. He was embraced briefly by Voldemort and then moved towards his crying Mother.

If the heart had a mind of its own, which she felt like it did, it probably grew feet and followed Draco like a lost pup.

She remained still, as if her heart literally left her to die and all of her body parts had lost its reason to function.

Draco turned around and sought Hermione's gaze, which was already on him. He returned it, trying his best to show how much he loved her through his eyes.

Just then, before Voldemort executed another wizard, Harry Potter, the lifeless body they thought was dead, rolled out of Hagrid's arms and onto his feet.

Voldemort's attention was immediately drawn to him. Never in her life would she have thought she would live to see Voldemort with a shocked expression.

"Harry, you live," Voldemort said.

Harry wasn't armed! How was he supposed to fight?!

Then, in a single moment, it was as if the world had flopped onto it's side and died. Draco sprinted between the two powerful wizards and threw his wand at Harry.

"Potter!" he yelled as Harry caught it in his hand. Almost immediately, sparks flew from the wand and collided with Voldemort's in the ultimate final battle.

Draco had once again joined her at her side and his hand united with hers.

She felt his breath tickle her ear as he spoke, "I promised, Hermione, and a Malfoy always keeps his promise."

Hermione sat in the Great Hall, sitting on the steps and watched the events take place before her. The Weasley's had lost a son and a brother, and the entire family stood mourning next to Fred's body. This happened amongst most families and friends.

The scene was both sad yet relieving. It was the first moment of peace in a long time.

Harry had killed Voldemort, now they could be left alone to mourn in peace.

Harry embraced Ginny who was also amongst he family, as she cried into his shoulder. Ron stood next to his Mum as she sobbed. George seemed to be the one who took it the hardest, as he sat on the ground in the corner, looking at what appeared to be a mirror, talking to himslef.

She should have expected this, she should have expected that people would die and not everyone could be happy.

But was it so bad that she was?

She was happy, not for the death of others, obviously, but for the fact that it was over. They no longer had to hide in fear at the sight of a dark mark in the sky. They didn't have to worry if the Deatheaters would plan another attack on not only them, but the muggle world as well.

Was it bad to be happy for the end?

Just then, Draco came up behind her and sat down next to her on the steps. He slid an arm around her small form as she rested her head against his shoulder.

She sighed in contentment at their intimate gesture.

Oh, yeah, she was definitely happy.

"I talked to my parents," he said peering over his shoulder. She looked over to find them sitting at the table quietly talking to themselves. "They switched sides, last minute. But that doesn't mean the Aurors won't arrest them."

She looked up at him and frowned. "I'm sorry, Draco."

"Don't be. It was their decision to join the crazy bastard. And they understand that they have to accept the consequences for their actions."

"And what about you? Do you think the Ministry will want to interrogate you?"

"Most likely."

She frowned at this statement and removed herself from his warmth. "Draco, you helped Harry defeat the Dark Lord. You shouldn't be accepting any consequences for that."

"Be sure to tell them that," he scoffed.

"I will, and so will Harry. We will speak for you and your parents if they allow us," she replied as she settled back into his embrace.

"Thank you, Hermione," he said as kissed her forehead.

"But I must ask you something."

"And what's that?"

"When you walked across the courtyard to be with your parents, what were you thinking?"

He sighed knowing that this subject would come up eventually. "Honestly, I was thinking about my parents."

She seemed perplexed at this statement but allowed him to continue. "I was never going to leave you, Hermione. I planned on giving this to them."

He pulled from his pocket a small object wrapped in a hankerchief. He carefully removed the wrappings and showed it to her. It looked like what appeared to be a compass.

"Don't touch it. It's a portkey. It takes you directly to my flat in muggle London."

Now she was really confused. "Wait, muggle London? You have a flat in London?"

"Yes, shocking, I know. I spent most of my time away from the Manor, seeing as it was always filled with Deatheaters. I knew the Dark Lord would never find me in a muggle setting. So I moved there. I was going to give it to them so they could make a quick getaway."

"And what about you? Would you have gone with them?"

"I knew what would happen if i didn't accept Voldemort's invitation. He would kill them. And I just couldn't have that."

She slowly seemed to understand but paused for a moment to think. "But you musn't have known this situation would occur? Why did you create the Portkey then?"

"Oh, Hermione. Always so analytical. I keep it around just to make a quick getaway." He winked.

He pocketed the object and continued, "I knew that even if I asked, you would never leave your friends. And I knew that wherever you went, I would follow. Even if that meant-"

"-you dying with me," she finished his sentence. He nodded.

Hermione was torn between hugging him and slapping him. So she did both. She slapped him in the back of the head and hugged him.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"For being so stupid yet chivalrous."

He hugged her back and rocked both of them. There was a question that he had meant to ask for a long time, probably ever since their Hogsmeade trip years before.

"Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"Do you believe in Destiny?"

She thought about the question for a minute. Did she believe it? She recalled all her moments with Draco over the past few years and realized something. There was no way none of that could have occured by sheer coincidence. How could some random old lady pick Hermione off the street to run her own errands? How could Draco accompany a group of snatchers and find hermione by coincidence? How could Draco find Hermione in the Astronomy Tower out of all other places he could have been?

"I don't really know. Usually there are answers for questions like these in books or something." she answered.

"But since there isn't, do you mind?"

She looked up at him and smiled.

"Not at all."

A/N: Wow. I gotta be honest, I think this was my absolute favorite story to write. No doubt about it.

I just want to be clear on a few things.

In the actual books, I feel that Rowling didn't properly give Draco that redemption that he so desperately needed. He need to redeem himself for all his actions from the past years, and through this tory, I think I was able to give him just that.

I guess you guys can assume where they go from here. I know I changed a few things to the story, but honestly, I really like how this all ended up. Draco getting his redemption, no we all know his motive behind not helping Hermione at the manor, and Ron not marrying Hermione.

Yeah, I don't have anything against Ron, just the fact that he shouldn't have married Hermione.

Anywayyyyy, thanks guys! For reading my story. You guys are my inspiration!