A/N: Well, I finished reading "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". And I have one thing to say: Wow. Read it in seven and a half hours. Half an hour more then the last book. Seriously, I got really into that book. I laughed, and towards the end, I actually had to put down the book (only for a second) to cry. (It's not easy reading with tears blurring the damn words.) The ending left a few questions, but it was good all the same.

It's just hard to believe it's over though, after so many years. Now I have nothing to look forward to save the movies, and that's not as exciting as the book.

It feels weird to write a fanfiction now that the series is over. Especially one that differs so much from the plot.

I'm still going to write it though. Sure, the seventh book officially closed the door of Dramione (alright, I knew it was gonna be like that, but it feels so final now), but I still love the couple! I still think they kick ass! No one is going to make me change that! (Although RonXHermione don't seem that bad to me anymore, not after reading the book).

sigh So sad.

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Chapter Eight

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Draco had been convinced that after their previous encounter, Granger would leave him alone, and never bring up the subject of him switching sides again. He was so sure he'd managed to somehow scare her off, when he'd closed in on her like that.

He was so wrong.

Five of their meetings had come and gone, and after every single one, she'd held him behind, trying to persuade him to join them, 'the good guys'.

"You won't have to worry about being caught!"

"You won't have to even worry about Azkaban!"

"You'd be safe!"

And then, just because she wanted to make sure he didn't forget that she'd seen his innermost emotions, "You won't have to feel fear!"

Every time, it was the same procedure. She'd block him off at the doorway, and start naming the reasons why he should switch over. Draco would try, unsuccessfully, to dart around her, and after that failed, he'd pick her up again, and move her. Then Draco would scamper away. But, the damned girl would follow him out the doorway. Their little 'meetings' always ended the same way, with Draco running away, and shouting a "Leave me alone, mudblood!" over his shoulder.

And every time, Draco was so sure he'd gotten rid of her. But then, after their next meeting, he'd be proven wrong again.

Not only did Draco have to deal with the curse that was Hermione Granger, but he had to deal with arranging a pathetic dance as well. Because the theme they had decided on this time was much worse then the last one.

Their last dance had been enjoyable, because it'd been close to what Draco had wanted. But this time…it was just too cheesy for words.

A masquerade. And not just a masquerade, but one that was to look like it was taking place in the late 1800's. Meaning costumes.

It made him uncomfortable just thinking about it. What was so wrong with dress robes? Why did it necessarily have to be a costume party? Curse Hannah Abbot for coming up with the idea. She and all her girly fantasies should go and rot in hell. Let her compose pathetic themes for the beasts down there!

Draco's last term in Hogwarts was guaranteed to be hell. Hermione Granger and Hannah Abbot had made sure of that.

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"Ron! I'll be right there! Go on without me! I just have to clean up a bit!" Hermione called, as she always did, after every meeting.

Except this time, Ron didn't go ahead. Since the beginning of the term, Hermione had been staying behind, always making the excuse that she had to clean up. Ron would've believed her, but usually, she stayed behind for about ten minutes. She couldn't possibly have that much to clean up. All she ever brought with her was her ink, quill, and parchment.

Harry had also noticed that Ron was always the first to return, and together, their suspicions were raised. What could she possibly be doing?

They couldn't ask her directly, because, obviously, if Hermione wasn't telling them, then she didn't want them to know. Meaning there's no way she was going to answer them.

So Ron lingered by the door, out of Hermione's sight, and waited for to come out. Surprisingly, he didn't have to wait more then two or three minutes.

A body burst through the doorway, but it wasn't Hermione's, a fact which made a mischievous grin start to appear on Ron's face. A grin which disappeared the minute he realized it was Malfoy rushing off.

"Malfoy, wait!"

Hermione ran after Malfoy, and grabbed onto the back of his robes. "For the last time, no!" He snarled, jerking her off.

Hermione said something back, but Ron, in all his shock, had hurried away, before either of them had managed to see him.

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"Hermione."

She froze, her forkful of bacon halfway to her mouth. Ron and Harry were looking oddly serious. For one thing, they'd stopped eating. What they were going to say could not be any good.

"Hermione," It was Ron speaking, looking nervous and tugging at his collar, "Um…what exactly..um, I mean to say, umm.."

"What were you doing with Malfoy yesterday?" Harry cut in.

Hermione, in the space of the time that Ron had been busy stuttering, had closed the distance between her fork and her mouth. But at the mention of Malfoy's name, she choked on her mouthful of bacon, and hastily reached for her goblet of pumpkin juice.

"What?" She finally asked when she'd cleared her throat, although her eyes were still a bit watery.

"I saw you two yesterday! I waited for you after the meeting. You both ran from the room, and you grabbed his robes." Ron's eyes were disgusted and accusatory. To him, the very thought of touching any part of Malfoy without the intent of causing him harm was, to put it simply, disgusting.

Hermione felt, all of a sudden, cold, and her heart was pounding a mile a second. There was no way that Ron could've overheard what they were saying, Hermione had been cautious enough the cast the 'Muffliato' spell every time before confronting Malfoy, but still, Ron could've overheard what she said to him outside the room, when she'd chased him.

"Did…did you hear what we were talking about?" She asked quietly, placing her hands in her lap to try and stem the trembling.

Ron looked sheepish as he shook his head. "I scampered before I could hear what you were saying."

She sighed, and the cold, panicked feeling left her as quickly as it had come. She shot a quick glance over at the Slytherin table before addressing Harry and Ron.

Hermione rolled her eyes, and took another sip of pumpkin juice. "It was nothing. You know how stupid Malfoy is during our meetings. Well, I just got sick of hearing it, so I confronted him and told him to knock it off. But that stupid ass just ran out of the room, so I had to follow him."

'I swear, the moment that I get Malfoy over onto our side, all the lying will stop, and I'll tell the truth. I swear.' Hermione simply couldn't feel worse about lying to them.

Ron looked convinced. Harry, though, remained wary. "Well, be careful around him, Hermione. He could try and hurt you. I don't care how many times you call me paranoid, but I know he's," He looked around to see if anyone was listening, "I know he's one of them."

Hermione let out a peal of nervous laughter, and flapped her hand at him. "Harry, I'm telling you. There is no way that Malfoy could be a Death Eater." The last words were hushed, and she shot another glance over at Malfoy, shaking her head.

"Not a single chance."

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It was Wednesday, and once again, Draco was daydreaming when he should've been offering suggestions for the dance.

But why bother? He'd already offered to reuse the guillotine from their last dance ("But weren't they still beheading people in the late 1800's?"), and that suggestion had been shot down to hell. Asides from the guillotine, Draco had nothing. This whole theme was simply not his cup of tea, and he simply couldn't bother to force himself to think about it.

Malfoy was daydreaming about being in the middle of a Quidditch game, but he was snapped out of his blissfully distracting reverie just as he was reaching for the snitch.

"Malfoy! Malfoy!"

Argh. It was Granger. She was beginning to get quite annoying.

"What?" He groaned, and looked at her, waiting for the familiar surge of hatred to well up in his chest, as it always did whenever he laid eyes on her.

The feelings came, but it didn't hit him with such force anymore, and the feeling of dislike was not as intense. Now that was surprising.

It was hard to hate someone when they were in on a deep secret of yours, and demanded nothing in return for their silence. Granger, of all people, hadn't even bothered to ask for anything in return when she'd calmly insisted that she wouldn't tell anyone. Apparently, it never occurred to her that she could easily have great power over him. Silly human.

"Malfoy, I heard that you're family has close ties to the Cheerful Cherubs. See if you can pull some strings to arrange for them to come."

Even her eyes looked nicer. They were gentler when they looked at him, still cold with obvious dislike, but not scorching with hatred anymore. It was like…she pitied him. Oh, the horror!

"Ron, we can't possibly fill the room with smoke again!" Granger turned to the Weasel, peering over his shoulder at the parchment ideas he'd jotted down for the dance.

Oh Merlin, he wanted to hate her again. She was annoying, and she wouldn't leave him alone. Already, Draco was mentally preparing himself for the dash he would have to make the minute this meeting ended. She was constantly badgering him about switching over, so convinced she would persuade him. She even had the gall to touch him!

He watched her bend her bushy head over a catalogue from Honeyduke's, watched as she circled various treats that would suit well with their theme, and snorted.

How was it that it was around this tight-ass that he felt freer then he did around other people? For the past week, Draco had been trying to properly explain this new sensation that had overcome him. Even now, as he idly flicked through his Charms textbook, searching for some intriguing spells, he was trying to put into precise words what this new feeling was.

And all Draco had succeeded in understanding was that now that she'd seen a part of him nobody had ever seen before, it was like a wall had crumbled. A wall that had hid a part of Draco from everyone else. She'd seen his barest emotions, and now, Draco couldn't possibly pretend that he felt absolutely no fear, despite how cool a face he might put on.

He paused in the act of turning a page, and glanced once more at Granger, who was currently discussing with Ernie how much money they could spare to buy sweets from Honeyduke's.

There it was. Draco finally found a way to put into words this new feeling. Yes, around Granger, Draco was freer to feel.

And it was quite a satisfying feeling…in its own very odd way.

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Draco bounded for the door, but once again, was a second too late. Somehow, Granger had managed to weasel her way in front of him, and was, as usual, barring the doorway with her body.

"No!" He shouted before she even opened her mouth to give him the same old argument. Really. This was just tiring.

"Malfoy, if you would just listen to me though!" She planted her heels into the ground, and tried her best not to budge as he attempted to push past her.

"It wouldn't make a difference!" He sneered, ducking under her arm as she reached forward to push him back from her.

"But at least consider the sense in what I'm telling you!" Granger called after his back, rushing after him, trying to grab hold of his robes. But Draco was much too quick for her, and she missed grabbing the tip of his robes by just an inch.

"Malfoy!" Merlin, she was pleading with him! Was she that desperate?

"Leave me alone!" He screamed, like he did every time, over his shoulder, before turning the corridor and bounding through the door leading down to the dungeons.

Odd. She always chased him at least to the door to the dungeons. But her steps skidded to a halt, and she let out a gasp just seconds after he shouted for her to leave him alone. Wow. Granger was obeying him.

That was a first.

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It was also the first time that Draco had not called Hermione 'mudblood' as he ran away.

So it was quite lucky that Hermione stopped when she did, and that Malfoy hadn't been curious enough to double back and see why she had stopped so suddenly.

Otherwise, Malfoy would have seen the unexpected smile that suddenly spread across Hermione's face and the sudden pink tint to her cheeks.

Funny how lack of a single word suddenly filled Hermione with such a pleased feeling, one that she never would have expected to by caused by Malfoy of all people.

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TBC…

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A/N: Woohoo! Finally finished this chapter! I left to visit my best friend in Estonia for five days, so I couldn't write for six whole days (the day before I left I was dragged out to the city. The tragedy.)

So sorry if the ending seems a little rushed and smooshed. I'm leaving back to Jordan tomorrow, and I wanted to at least finish this chapter.

But uh-oh...Slight case of writer's block has come. X,x

See you next chapter!