Don't own Harry Potter... Sadly

Any way, here we go, the third instalment of the We Were... Series! I'm believing that the next one shall be the last one but I'm just hoping that you guys like this one as much as the two before it. So read away...

We Were Together Finally

OOO – Hermione – OOO

I could feel them, the people I was quickly growing to hate, tugging at my clothes, at my skin and flesh. Tugging at me. They wouldn't leave me alone for more than a few seconds to shout down the stairs for someone to 'switch shifts' at watching over me. It had been going on like this ever since they took me away from Dr- him. (It hurt to mention his name). That had to have been a few months, maybe five at the most. Or at least Harry, who I was refusing to speak to, had spoken like it had been a long time when Mrs Weasley had asked how long I'd 'get back to myself'.

A lot had happened in that time too. Harry had killed Voldemort, ending the war, and Death Eaters had been rounded up to be sent to Azkaban, where they'd rot to death. Where was I when the Battle ended? Oh, I was placed in the room, which they had named 'Hermione's Room' and the door was locked by a bunch of well trained Aurors, two of the Aurors stayed behind to guard my door. No one would come for me so I don't know why they bothered with the security. So the fighting stopped not long after that, only a few fights were made by Death Eaters who had escaped and bolted but they were soon locked up, too.

You may be wondering why the Order took such great risks to stop me from going to the Battle and why I as refusing to speak to the Boy-Who-Lived, my best friend. Well, time changed a lot of things and wounds were yet to be healed between the two, three if you included Ronald, of us. The boys were not everything I had once thought them to be, especially Harry. I knew Ronald was a sloppy imbecile but Harry? He was a surprise. And I was surprised the night they took me away from him.

The tears just wouldn't stop flowing. Tonks wasn't letting go of me. She was taking me away. Remus was walking over to Draco, face stone-like and arms crossed in a distant manner I had only seen a few times before. Arthur was in the same stance just at the edge of the pathway, his eyes roaming the street, searching for passing Muggles. This was not going to be good. Fred and George were gripping Draco's arms, never loosening their grip as he continued to struggle, sending frantic looks over in my direction as Tonks dragged me away from him.

"…He can't hurt you now", Tonks muttered into my ear, sounding like she was speaking to a young child.

My body shook within her grasp as Remus paused in front of the blonde boy, looking down to him in disgust, and I could see his lips moving but I couldn't hear what was said. A shudder went through my body when stormy eyes met my honey orbs and the panic within that grey storm sent more tears streaming down my cheeks. It was then that Tonks nodded over to her husband, giving him a sign of some sort before I felt her slim arms tighten around my destroyed body. No, no, no, no, no! His eyes widened, seeming to notice what was happening as his cousin took one last step backwards before-

"DRACO", I shrieked, just before a crack rang out and I felt my stomach twist and my body being squished and squeezed into, what felt like, a tube.

As soon as our feet touched the scabby carpet in Twelve Grimmauld Place's living room, Tonks' arms unravelled from around me and I fell. My scratched knees hit the floor with a thud and I let out a quiet hiss of pain, ignoring the woman as she went around, yelling for Mrs Weasley or whoever else. Feet pounding against the floor came down the stairs and I heard the familiar voice of Fleur as she murmured something almost silently to Tonks, her voice sounding too delicate compared to the other woman's large use of slang.

"Molly about?" The older woman asked, sending me a nervous glance as I groan into the carpet, "She's been injured, well I'd say she's close to dying of infection or something but…"

"You need Molly", Fleur's French accent was thick.

"Yeah but-"

Their conversation was cut off by a loud voice calling out, "Dora! Where's 'Mione?"

Then the three of them rushed in, Mrs Weasley holding a bucket of steaming water and a bright white bag that sounded like it was filled with vials and bottles. She dropped to her knees beside me, hands fluttering over my form but not putting any pressure on the wounds. I could hear the buzzing of their conversation but I couldn't pull together the concentration to listen until I heard a name.

"Draco Malfoy's gonna be here in a few, Molly, but he'll be moved as soon as we can get rid of him", Tonks told the slightly greying lady. "He just wouldn't let go of her but Remus' gonna question him and we'll see what we've gotta do".

Oh God!

"Ssshhhh, 'Mione, hun", Molly swept my tangled curls away from my face. "We're going to sort that boy out for you, darling". Then, to the others, she said, "She's terrified of him".

I don't know how many times I tried to tell them that he had helped me and was not the enemy but each time I tried to speak, someone interrupted me until Fleur was there with a glass of purple liquid, forcing another mouthful down my throat until my eyes began to droop sleepily. It was later, when I had woken up that I released they had drugged me with Dreamless Sleep. There wasn't a lot of time to dwell on that, though, because as soon as I had opened my eyes, the door to my bedroom was swung open and I was engulfed by two pairs of arms of people I didn't want to see.

"'Mione!" The two boys exclaimed, lunging at me, arm surrounding me before the two of them froze.

Their quick eyes took in my blank expression and slowly healing injuries as I slowly began to shuffle backwards, trying to put as much space between us as possible. My shoulders shook from the tension that was travelling down my arms, locking each muscle in place when they took a step towards me, followed by another and another until they were beside my bed. From the look on their faces, I knew they were utterly confused. Who wouldn't be if your 'best friend' had suddenly reacted differently to you?

But they should have known the reason for my reaction. After all, they had left me. They should understand that my life had lost its meaning with the people I used to call my extended family had taken me away from him, my blonde-haired boy. My feelings and thoughts weren't put into the decision but why would they think of little Hermione Granger when there was an evil, snake-man waiting to kill Wonder Boy? Who would worry about her state of mind? No one would. No one but him.

"'Mione?" Ronald called, sounding like he was trying to get an answer out of a mental patient. "Are you with us?"

Snapping my head in his direction, I let my icy glare do all of the talking. Telling him how much I hated him, how much I hated both of them for leaving me in that manor, how much I wanted to be out of this room, how much I wanted him gone, how much I wanted Harry gone, why I didn't want them there and how much I wanted to be with him. Every thought I had had since I was brought back to Grimmauld Place flashed through my eyes, showing that many things had gone wrong.

"What's wrong with you?" Harry said harshly, almost scolding me like a badly behaved child. "Shouldn't you be happy to see us, Hermione? Weren't you worried about us?"

Keeping silent, I only gave a shook of my head. There had only been worry when they hadn't turned up to save me but after that, it was all gone. My life had been on the line. Sure, they could have died too but it was me being tortured by someone who should have been in a loony bin. It had been me who was shredded with curses and a knife that had scarred me for forever. I should be the one asking if they had been worried about me.

And for being happy to see them? Well, my happiness was gone.

"Mum said she might not wanna talk about it", Ron muttered, trying to stay quiet but his voice was too booming. "Tonks told me that when they found her, Malfoy hadn't let her go. He just wouldn't".

At the sound of that name, even though it was only his surname, the tears came and the sobs erupted. Obviously, the stupid boys took that as fear and not grief. There was only one thought running through my mind at that moment:

Why was I friends with such nitwits?

Weeks had gone by after that before anyone even tried to have a conversation with me. Ron and Harry went to finish off their Horcrux Hunt. The rest of the Weasley family were preparing for the Second Wizarding War that was soon to come. Tonks and Lupin went back to their work and back to being married with a child on the way. Everyone else was either still in Hogwarts or was training for the battle, too.

More than once my head was occupied with thoughts of a certain blonde boy and every positive memory he had been part of (which there weren't many of). It got harder each day to remember him when I knew he was close by but no one, and I mean not a single person, would tell me any information on what had happened to him. I had given up asking as the reactions I got were all the same. Shouting and lecturing and more shouting. Sometimes I wondered if my life would ever go back to the way it had been. But I remembered that that life had been flushed down the plughole not that long ago.

OOO – Draco – OOO

Here I sat, in Azkaban, and the Second Wizarding War had been won by the Light Side. Death Eaters were shipped to the prison but not everything was bad. I mean, of course, the food was horrible, the conditions were below freezing, my appearance had gone way down hill and my bed was more like a bed-like box but I was happy that Dementors had been made illegal unless the Kiss had to be given to a prisoner. From what I had heard, Father had been given the Kiss as soon as he had been captured.

"MUMMY", someone screamed a few cells away, "I need you!"

Sighing, I stood from the corner I had pulled my 'blanket' over to last night and stomped over to the barred, sliding door. There was never any silence in this hell hole. All you got, day and night, was the screaming and pleading of demented prisoners that refused to shut up. Shaking it with my hands, I growled quietly to myself.

"MUMM-"

"Will you just shut up!" I roared, throwing myself at the bars and caught the attention of the guards that paced up and down the corridor, watching the prisoners. " Just be quiet".

The only I answer I got was a very quiet but still audible, "Mummy, is that you?"

An amused chuckle rang out from down the corridor and I struggled to see who the person to heighten my annoyance was. The sound of keys clinging against each other in time with footsteps told me that this person was one of the guards in my prison block. My eyes narrowed as the laughter grew louder until I saw who the person was, dropping my head against the cool metal bars. Theodore Nott stopped sluggishly beside me, leaning his scrawny shoulder against the bars as he stared at me with half-lidded eyes that could only be because of lack of sleep, watching as I clung to the rusted metal poles.

"Drake, you're going to be alright", Theo told me, sounding confident in his words. "I know it 'cos you've done nothing wrong".

Closing my eyes against the sting that had appeared, I shook my head in disagreement, snorting when I heard him try to explain. See, Theo was a great guy. A Slytherin from my year at school and my best friend from childhood, maybe my only friend. Honestly, I didn't understand someone of his intelligence and amazing nature had ended up as a guard of Azkaban, where he would only watch people he may have known rot away and die. He should be opening his own business or working at the Ministry. Not as a prison guard.

"Theo, I don't care about being here", I whispered, feeling my heart clench. "I just want to know if she's still alive and annoying people with her overly large brain".

The confusion was evident in his voice, "Who? Who're you taking about, Drake?"

"H-Hermione Granger", I choked out, heart clenching once more.

"Granger? Merlin, I haven't see her in a bit", my friend frowned deeply. "Potter and Weasley are all over the Daily Prophet still but Granger? She's not been seen or even interviewed since… I don't even know when. Rita's probably tried but the girl's off the face of the planet".

Looking at the man, I raised an eyebrow at him, "She's not been seen?"

"Nah, not for a while".

My eyes widened slightly as I thought over what I had just been told. With a simple wave, Theo was away, leaving me to my thoughts as he started stalking down the corridor and tapping against the bars to rile the prisoners up a little. Hermione Granger hadn't been seen in a while? What could that mean?

Stumbling back to my corner, I slipped down the wall and let my fingers twist into the longer locks of dirtied platinum blonde, eyelids turning heaving as everything slipped into darkness.

"Help us, Draco…"

"I will, Hermione".

…

"You said you'd help me, Draco…"

"I will, Hermione".

…

"You're not helping me anymore, Draco…"

"But I will, Hermione".

…

"I can't wait for your help, Draco!"

"But I'm going to help, I promise you, Hermione!"

…

"I don't need your help, Malfoy!"

"No, don't, Hermione. Not going back to Malfoy. I promised my hel-"

"Malfoy, you've got a visitor".

As soon as I was awake, I was on my feet and standing in the shadows, eyes focused on the guard who was grinning too cheerily for my liking. His arms lay pinned to his sides and his back was too straight, straighter than usual. It looked like he had tugged the wrinkles out of his uniform and had slicked his hair back a little, giving a view of his quickly receding hairline. Well, my visitor must be special in my guard was cleaning up.

But my attention was quickly grabbed by the sound of light taps hitting the stone flooring, like a pair of high heels of some sort. Now, what type of woman would come into a place like this and want to visit 'The Malfoy Junior Death Eater' or whatever they were calling me. Either it was some loony like Lovegood or someone who was so desperate for human contact they needed to come and visit people who hardly saw more than two people a day.

"He's just in there", the guard said kindly, unlocking the bars before sliding the door along. "Maybe just watch what you say 'cos-"

And then the voice I had missed for so long sounded, "Its fine, Ernie. I'll be okay with him, I believe, plus who has the wand here?"

That caused 'Ernie' to laugh joyfully, nodding as a short, skinny girl came into my view and turned to face me, stepping inside the cell with the bars clanging closed behind her. Sadly, her face was hidden behind the wild curls that cascaded down and around her, slightly longer than the last time I had seen her. I could see that the clothing she was wearing were a little baggy for her form. Had she been ill? Was she not eating right?

"Behave, Malfoy", Ernie snarled before making his way down the corridor.

There was an awkward silence when his thumping footfalls fell silent and we were left with only each other from company. Hermione took another wary step closer to me but then went still, standing on shaky legs with her eyes downcast. Merlin, I had missed her. The caramel-coloured curls. The way her posture still held confidence when I could tell she hadn't been well recently. Everything about her had been like a faint memory until she was there, standing before me again.

"Draco", her voice a quiet whisper.

With one last thud from my heart, I rushed towards her, forgetting that I probably didn't look hygienic nor would I smell it. But I didn't care. Three long strides and I had her against my chest, my arms wrapped around her and my nose buried in her delicious locks. A contented sigh left her lips but I hardly heard it. This was what I had missed. Being with her and taking care of her when she needed me.

"Hermione, Hermione, Hermione", I chanted over and over, like I couldn't believe that she was actually in front of me. And I couldn't. "You're actually here? With me?"

She laughed breathlessly, "Yes, Draco, I'm here with you, only with you, only you".

Arms tightening around her slim form, I chuckled with her but soon, those chuckles turned into choking sobs of relief and complete happiness. Tears streamed down my cheeks and I didn't care that people would find out about the Draco Malfoy crying. Father would turn multiple times in his grave and everyone else would probably laugh at my vulnerability. But I didn't give a second thought to it, allowing myself to hold the girl in my arms closer until I was sure we'd just meld together, turn into one body.

"Where've you been?" I whispered, leaning back to see her face a little more clearly, "Nott said you've not been seen for a while?"

She stared at me for a long moment before letting out an almost silent sigh, "It's not been easy for me since… since they took me away from you. They're scared of what I'll do or say or something! It's so frustrating. Harry and Ron, well, I'm not speaking to them and as for the rest of them, I'm lucky if I see one of them a week. I'm not Hermione Granger to them anymore. I'm just the girl who might slip over the edge at any moment".

My eyes narrowed, letting my mind wonder through the thoughts and memories that had flashed through my mind since we had been split up. Most of them were about her welfare, what was happening to her and whether I'd ever see her again. If I'd ever get to see her without the danger of being killed. If I'd ever get to enjoy a life with her. If I'd ever get to tell the world that I, Draco Malfoy, had saved and had been accepted by the greatest witch of her age, Hermione Granger.

"Why did you come here?" I murmured, "Why bother visiting someone in this place?"

"Because that someone is you, Draco", she grinned tearfully, "and I would be a fool to leave you rotting in this place, even if you get to test your patience".

"What do you mean, Hermione?" The look on my face must've shown my confusion as well as my voice because her fingers skimmed over my forehead, gently smoothing down the crinkle that had formed there.

"You seriously don't know where I'm going with this?"

"Just explain before the 'mummy' shouter begins his paranoia again".

Her hands cupped the sides of my face, staring in my eyes with so much emotion that I was worried about her mental stability, "I'm going to get you out of here as soon as I find you the best lawyer, who will obviously have to me both of our expectations".

I muttered an astonished 'obviously' before doing the one thing I had wanted to do since fifth year. Since the year I had stopped seeing her as 'Mudblood Granger' and started seeing her as 'Hermione Granger'.

I, Draco Lucius Malfoy, kissed Hermione Jean Granger.

You know that button just like below and to the right, yeah the one you're looking at right now, hit that! Just a little click... (Yeah, I'm a little weird)

I'd like to thank those who had reviewed on We Were Marked, We Were Split up and those who added them to their favourites. It means a lot that people are reading and reviewing my stories so, again, I thank you. And, any help that you can give me, I will take seriously because I plan on getting better at writing because this is more than just a hobby, so any criticism you have for me, tell me and I'll sort out my mistakes.

Also, look out for We Were Living Like We Should,which is the last fanfic of the We Were Series.