Hermione saw them land, their brooms clattering to the ground. She stepped out from the shadows, and they both looked up. Hermione noticed Dumbledore's hand was blackened, and he was clutching it to his chest.

"Hermione? What are you doing here?" Harry asked her, looking from her to the unconscious Death Eater in shock.

"They're everywhere, Harry. Draco let them into the school." Hermione told him, nodding at the Dark Mark in the sky. She still couldn't believe Draco was responsible for this; she didn't want to believe it.

"Miss Granger. Would you mind calling Severus? I need to speak with him." Dumbledore spoke. His voice was faint, and Hermione could see he was badly injured.

"What happened, Professor?" She asked, in shock.

"Please, go get him." Dumbledore said, his voice growing fainter.

Nodding, Hermione started towards the door, when she heard footsteps coming up. Dumbledore gestured for her to retreat, and both she and Harry stepped back into the shadows, wordlessly, drawing their wands.

Dumbledore looked at both of them, considering, before she heard him mutter something, just as the door was flung open. She saw Harry fall back into the wall, and when she saw he was unable to move, she realized Dumbledore had immobilized him.

"Expelliarmus." She heard Draco shout, before Dumbledore could do the same to her. She saw his wand fly out of his hand, sailing over the wall and disappearing into the darkness. Draco glanced around, but he didn't see her, due to the darkness.

"Draco." Dumbledore said quietly. "Where are the others?"

"They're coming. Your people are putting up a fight, but they'll be here." Draco replied. Hermione had learnt to read his expressions over the last few months, and though his expression seemed calm and focused, she could tell by the slight tremor in his jaw and the tight grip on his wand, that he was frightened.

Hermione turned to look at Harry, and she knew he was fighting to try and move, but he couldn't. It was down to her. And she needed to move fast, before the others came.

"You're not a killer, Draco." Dumbledore said, his expression softening.

"You don't know that. You don't know what I'm capable of!" Draco hissed, his grip tightening on the wand.

"Then why couldn't you kill me?" She asked, stepping out of the shadows.

He opened his mouth, but she was faster this time.

"Expelliarmus!" She neatly caught his wand, as it flew towards her.

The expression on his face changed from terror, to fury.

"I told you to get away from here!" He snapped at her, his hand dropping to his side now that he had no wand.

"I couldn't go." She whispered, her heart hammering in her chest.

He glanced at the door, and when he looked back, Hermione saw the terror in his eyes.

"They'll kill me." He whispered, and Hermione knew how scared he was.

"I won't let them." She told him fiercely.

They jumped as they heard footsteps coming up, but then the footsteps receded.

"They'll be here soon." He said, and Hermione could now see the resigned expression on his face.

"So we need to go." Hermione said, as she leaned down and picked up the brooms. She muttered a spell, and Harry was able to move again.

When she stood up, Draco was right in front of her. He cupped her face with his hands, gently running a finger over her cheek.

"I love you." He whispered, and Hermione's heart stopped. Before she could react, he was leaning down and kissing her softly, gently. It was unlike any of their previous kisses, which were all passion and fire. This one was long and sweet, and Hermione savored the taste of his lips, as one of his hands skimmed her side. She leaned into him, tasting the sweetness of apples on his lips. He pulled back too quickly, and Hermione could feel his absence immediately.

"I'm sorry." He murmured, and Hermione frowned, as he pulled away.

"What for?" She asked.

"This." He said, before turning to face Harry. "Expelliarmus!" Harry's wand flew out of his hand, to join the two that Draco was holding. Hermione felt in her robe, but too late she realized that her wand and Draco's were missing.

Hermione stared at him in shock. He had tricked her, to take the wands. Was his confession of his love even true? Or had he just been distracting her so he could take the wands?

"What are you doing?" She asked him, knowing her expression was angry.

"I'm so sorry. But I can't let them kill me. I don't want to die."

Hermione could see the pained expression on his face, and the terror in his eyes.

"Now, leave! Get out of here!" He instructed, throwing the brooms towards her.

Hermione shook her head, helplessly. "I can't. It's either me or you, remember?" She said, echoing the words he had spoken to her in the bathroom, when he had been about to kill her. It felt like it had happened years ago, though it was only a few months before. "And it can't be you." She added, feeling like her heart was breaking. She couldn't leave him here, knowing that he would most likely be killed.

"It won't be me! I'll kill Dumbledore!" Draco said, pleading with her to leave. He'd been telling the truth. He did love her, and he couldn't see her killed because of him.

"Oh, who are you kidding, Draco? You won't kill him!" Hermione shot back at him, getting angrier. Their time was running dangerously low; the Death Eaters would be here soon.

"Stupefy!" Draco shouted, and Hermione flinched, before she realized he wasn't aiming at her. She saw Harry slump to the ground, unconscious. He had been trying to edge towards Draco, hoping to knock him out or grab the wands.

"Go, Hermione. Please." He said, and Hermione could see how much he wanted it. She had never heard him say 'please' for anything before. Or to anyone.

"No." She said, set on her decision. She wouldn't leave him. Ever.

And then footsteps were thundering up the stairs, and Draco was knocked out the way, as three Death Eaters filed in. Hermione's blood ran cold as she saw Bellatrix amongst them.

"Dumbledore wandless and cornered. Well done, Draco." She said in her cold tone.

Hermione tried to slip back into the shadows, but another Death Eater had already spotted her.

"And who's this?" A tall man asked, gesturing to her.

Bellatrix looked at her, smiling gleefully.

"Mudblood Granger, defending her favourite teacher." She then noticed Harry, lying on the floor, unconscious. "And Potter. You've really hit the jackpot, Draco." She said, laughing manically.

Draco had paled, his skin even whiter than usual, and there was pure terror etched in his face.

Hermione didn't even register her words, her brain whirring, trying to find a way out of the current situation. She was wandless, and cornered. Harry could offer no help, and Draco seemed too frightened to do anything.

"Your fight is not with her." Dumbledore spoke quietly, indicating Hermione. "Let her go."

"And miss my chance to torture a mudblood?" Bellatrix scoffed. "And I suppose you want me to let Potter go too?"

Dumbledore said nothing, and Hermione could see he was in pain.

Hermione glanced at the broom next to her. She could probably grab it and escape, while they were distracted, but that would leave Draco. And she knew she wasn't going to leave him.

Hermione saw him looking at her, and she knew what he was saying. Go. But she couldn't.

"Go on, Draco. Kill him." Bellatrix encouraged.

Draco raised his wand, his hand shaking badly.

"No, Draco. You're not a killer." Dumbledore said quietly.

A battle was raging within Hermione. Part of her wanted to scream at Dumbledore to shut up. Didn't he realized that if Draco didn't do this, they would kill him? The other half wanted to join Dumbledore, and persuade Draco not to go through with this. She couldn't watch Dumbledore die!

The Death Eaters seemed to have forgotten her; they were all focused on Draco.

"Do it!" They hissed at him, but his hand was shaking so much he couldn't even aim properly.

Hermione didn't know what to do. She knew it was a bad idea to reveal their relationship to these Death Eaters, but she didn't know what to do.

"Draco, please." She pleaded, not knowing what she was pleading for.

"Don't talk to him!" Bellatrix snapped. "Mudbloods need to know their place!"

Hermione shrank back, and Bellatrix returned her focus to Draco.

"Kill him!" She ordered.

"I-I can't." Draco whispered, and Bellatrix glared at him, but before she could speak, the door flew open.

"What is happening?" Snape's clipped voice asked.

"We have a problem. The boy can't do it." One of the other Death Eaters replied, as Snape pushed his way through. His glanced at Hermione, and then at Harry lying on the floor, before his gaze returned to Draco.

"You remember your vow, Severus." Bellatrix hissed, and Hermione remembered the conversation she and Harry had overheard between Draco and Snape. They had mentioned the Unbreakable Vow.

Snape withdrew his wand from his robes, and Dumbledore spoke for the first time in ages.

"Please."

Hermione realized, with shock, that he was pleading for his life. She stepped forward, but felt a hand restrain her. Draco had appeared beside her. He glared at her, warning her not to interfere, before he stepped away, so he wouldn't arouse any suspicions.

Hermione looked around, desperately. She needed to do something fast. Snape was already raising his wand, hatred etched into his face. She couldn't let Dumbledore die. She looked to Draco, pleading, but he refused to meet her gaze. This was down to her.

Everyone was focused on Snape now, and so she quietly picked the broom up, that was lying beside her. She knew she had to move fast, but if she could just distract them long enough for Dumbledore to escape, it would be enough.

She sat on it, her hands trembling slightly. She hadn't flown a broom in a long time, and she knew it was one of her weaknesses.

No one seemed to notice her, except for Draco, who nodded at her. He probably thought she was trying to escape. Didn't he know she would never leave him? She moved closer to him, her heart hammering in her chest. She had to do this without anyone finding out about her and Draco.

"Stupefy!" She screamed, pointing a wand at Draco. When he had restrained her, she had taken the opportunity to slip the wand out of his robes, and he hadn't noticed. Since she was this close to him, the power of her spell sent him flying back, and he toppled over the edge, plummeting to the ground. As everyone turned to look at her, she kicked off, and felt the broom react to her touch. She flew away from the Tower, heading towards where Draco's unconscious body was falling. Reaching him, she cast a hovering spell, while still keeping control of the broom. She was out of the view of the Death Eaters on the Tower, though she could hear shouting and Bellatrix screeching. She carefully headed for the ground, while keeping in control of Draco's body, which was hovering beside her. They landed, and she dragged him inside the school. When they were inside one of the classrooms, she finally relaxed slightly. She had done the best she could. She had got Draco and herself away from there, she just hoped that they believed she had kidnapped Draco, rather than saved him. They would never suspect she loved him, right? And hopefully Dumbledore had taken advantage of the confusion, and had escaped somehow. She had left him a broom.

Suddenly with a jolt, she remembered Harry. How could she have forgotten him? She knew the answer. She had been focused on saving Draco. She looked at Draco, lying on the floor. She had to go back and find Harry, he would be safe here.

Kneeling down, she kissed Draco softly.

"I love you. I'll be right back." She whispered, knowing he couldn't hear her. Grabbing her broom and wand, she hurried back outside. She flew up to the Astronomy Tower and saw Bellatrix and Snape were still there. The others must have gone to look for her and Draco.

"Do it, Severus. You know the consequences of an Unbreakable Vow." Bellatrix hissed, and Hermione saw that Dumbledore was still standing there. Why had he not escaped?

She flew closer, careful to hide in the shadows.

"Severus, please." Dumbledore begged, and Hermione's heart ached.

"Avada Kedavra!" Snape screamed, and a jet of green light shot from his wand. Hermione's scream of horror never came, as she watched Dumbledore being blasted backwards, and then falling from the Tower. Hermione couldn't move, as she watched him fall, hitting the ground with a sickening crunch. Bellatrix was cackling, but Snape's face was cold and expressionless.

Hermione felt the tears run down her cheeks, as she watched the scene unfold. This was her fault. She had kept Draco's secret, and now this had happened. She had told herself she would protect Dumbledore, and now he was dead. Because of her. She should have told someone sooner. She shouldn't have lied for Draco.

Then she realized something else. She had chosen to save Draco first. She should have used the broom to save Dumbledore, not Draco. But she didn't.

She was barely aware of Bellatrix leaving, when she heard Snape calling her name. She looked at him in shock, as he beckoned her forward.

"Take Potter." He said, and then he was gone. Hermione looked at his retreating figure in disgust. Dumbledore had trusted him. How could he? She landed at the top of the now empty Tower, as Harry had begun to stir. She helped him onto her broom, as more tears streamed down her cheeks. He would blame her too; after all, it was her fault. How would she tell him? She was so heartbroken, that she didn't think about why Snape had told her to take Potter. Why he hadn't just killed him too. All she could think was that she hated him.

She flew them back down; Harry had become fully conscious now.

"Where's Dumbledore?" He asked her, causing her face to crumple. He was sitting behind her, so he couldn't see her face though.

He was distracted by the sounds of the battle. "We have to help!" He said, before jumping off the broom and running towards the noises.

Hermione walked in the opposite direction. What was the point? Dumbledore was dead. The Death Eaters would leave soon. Their mission was complete.

Her flow of tears had subsided, when she entered the classroom. She splashed some water on Draco's face and waited for him to wake up. She felt numb, her mind replaying the scene of Dumbledore's death over and over.

Soon, Draco woke up, groaning slightly. He put a hand to his aching head. Hermione stood up, her tears had dried now.

When he saw her, his eyes widened. "Granger? What's going on?" He asked her, looking around, frantically.

"I saved you." She whispered, her heart breaking again, as she thought about whom she should have saved instead.

He ran a hand through his crumpled, blonde hair. "How? Where's Bellatrix?" He asked, his mind filled with hundreds of questions.

"Dumbledore's dead." Hermione said bluntly. Her eyes stayed dry this time.

He stared at her in shock; his hand froze in his hair. "Who?" He whispered.

"Snape." Hermione said, her voice shaking. Her grief was threatening to swallow her whole.

He stepped forward, reaching out for her. Seeing him there, unaffected by the news, caused her anger to overflow and she slapped him. Her palm stung at the impact, and he flinched, looking at her in shock.

"But I didn't-" He started to say, but she cut in.

"No, you didn't. But you were going to. This is how you imagined it would play out, right? When you were given the mission? You thought you'd kill him, and be rewarded. So someone else killed him. But this was your aim right? Dumbledore's death?" She said, her words tumbling out.

"Hermione, I-"

"No! I lied for you! I kept your secret! I chose to save you, instead of him. And now he's dead!"

Her vision blurred, as the tears now started to fall again, but she couldn't stop.

"You broke my heart, and I still kept your secret! Even Harry doesn't know how you almost killed me in the bathroom that day! I loved you, and all you gave me in return was pain! And even when you finally said you loved me, you used it as an opportunity to steal my wand? Even though you couldn't kill him in the end, even though you didn't pull the trigger, you still caused his death! This is what you wanted, right? Dumbledore to die? Well done. Mission accomplished. Your reward? You can finally get rid of that Mudblood who's been annoying you all year. Congratulations."

Hermione ended her rant. The tears were now streaming down her face, as she shoved past him, running down the corridor. She could hear that the battle was over, and there was only silence. Until it was broken by Harry's screams. He must have found the body. Hermione squeezed her eyes shut, running down the corridors, with no idea about where she was going. She needed to get away from anyone. Her heart was breaking, and there was no cure. She regretted ever entering the bathroom that day. She regretted letting him share her Potions book in the library. She regretted everything. Dumbledore faced the consequences of her actions, and the guilt would never leave her.

1 Week Later

Dumbledore's body had been laid to rest, and the trio walked back towards the castle, each one lost in their own thoughts. Hermione had forgiven Ron for what he did, she now knew how easy it was to make mistakes when you were in love. Lessons had been cancelled, and so Hermione had had a lot of time to think about everything that had happened, as much as she didn't want to. She missed Draco so much, but she tried not to let herself think about it. She had seen the consequences of being with him, and she knew that they could never be together. He had left Hogwarts early, to join his family. From the rumours Hermione had heard, she knew he wasn't dead. Since the mission had been completed, Voldemort had apparently decided to spare him. Hermione was thankful of that at least. She wouldn't have been able to deal with losing him too. Though in a way she had lost him. She had once heard a saying. Love has no past tense. You always will or you never did. She now knew how true that was. She hated Draco for everything that had happened, but she knew she would never stop loving him. That was her punishment. Her heart had been broken, and she would never let it happen again. She and Ron would help Harry to find the remaining Horcruxes, and they would defeat Voldemort.

Harry took her hand and squeezed it, and she smiled gratefully at him.

She may never be able to love someone like she had loved Draco. But who needed love, when she had the most amazing friends in the world?

Elsewhere

Draco walked into the library at Malfoy Manor. Staring at all the books reminded him of Granger, and he turned to leave, when something caught his eye. In a corner, were all the textbooks he had brought home to read through for next year. And on the top of the pile was the Potions book, Granger had lent him, at the beginning of the year. Smiling slightly, he picked it up, flicking through it. She had brushed him off so easily, pushed him out of her life, but one thing was for certain.

He was not done with Hermione Granger yet.

Hey guys! So how did you like it? :) I know the part in the description didn't happen, but it was because I wanted to ask your opinion. Do you think I should carry on their story into the seventh book? Then I will include that part later. Otherwise I'll just add a final chapter including that part. What do you think? Is Hermione and Draco's story over yet? Or does it need to be continued? All opinions are welcome! Thanks and please let me know what you think, otherwise I'll just end the story if you don't think it needs toshe continued. I want to know what you guys think, because you're the ones that will have to read it ;) Anyway thanks, and hope you enjoyed this chapter!