A/N: Here we go. The very last chapter. This story is officially done. Sorry it kinda sucks, but it is what it is. And this final chapter is super long. So enjoy and please tell me what you think.

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Hermione sat alone in her room, staring at the piece of parchment in front of her. It was an invitation from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to attend the school next year.

The repairs to the school had finished last month, and all students were being allowed to repeat the year do to the unfortunate circumstances. Professor McGonagall had offered to be headmistress temporarily (though Hermione assumed it would become permanent), and the other teachers had already agreed to return to teach classes. All they needed was a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, but what else is new?

Hermione's brain was at war with itself as she stared at the squiggly, black letters. How many students from her year would actually return, after all those bad memories? But education was so important to her, it seemed worse than blasphemy to not return when it was offered.

But how could she return to the place where so many loved ones died? How could she be expected to sleep in the same building she almost lost her life several times in for an entire year? How could she face the place where she saw Draco last before he left?

She felt the tears roll down her cheeks, but she was so used to crying it was easy to ignore.

She heard a knock at her door, and hurriedly wiped her eyes before calling, "Come in."

The door opened to reveal Ron. He bore a strange expression, worrying Hermione slightly.

"Are you okay?" she asked as he sat on the corner of her bed closest to the desk.

She turned her chair around so that she could face him completely. She noticed he looked tired, but a little happier than he had just a week ago. She watched as he nervously wrung his hands and looked everywhere but at her. It wasn't really helping her own worry.

"I need to talk to you about something, Hermione. I've already talked to a few other people about it, even though I know I should have come to you first. But I still want to know how you feel about it all before I let anything else happen."

His answer was met with a very confused Hermione.

"Ron, I don't understand."

The man sighed, running a hand through his hair anxiously.

"Sorry, I just still can't figure out how to start this conversation."

"Seriously Ron, what's going on?" Hermione said, grabbing the redhead's hand to hold between her own.

"Well, I've been thinking a lot lately… about you."

Hermione's eyes jumped away from his face, her own cheeks flushing. She did not want to have this conversation right now. Or ever. She did not understand her own feelings, how was she supposed to explain them to the man in front of her?

"Ron…"

"Just let me finish. I've watched you, Hermione, over these last few months. You are so sad. You are beating yourself up over things you have no reason to. You won't let anybody in, won't let anyone help you through your grief. And I want to change that. I want to help you get through this." On the last few words he gripped her hand harder and angled his face so that he could meet her eyes again.

"I know you do, Ron, but I'm sorry, I just can't. Everything is so messed up right now; my emotions can't seem to get along. It's just not a good time, and I'm terrified that it will never be a good time for me." The tears had begun to slip down her cheeks again, and she couldn't look him in the eyes again.

Ron made a noise, causing her to look back to him. To her surprise, the man was smirking. His eyes were even lit up.

"You don't love me Hermione, so don't worry about convincing me it won't work. I know how you feel about him."

Hermione could not control the emotions that welled up inside her.

"Him?"

"Draco. It's pretty obvious."

Hermione's mouth hung wide open, which caused Ron's smile to grow. How could her feelings be obvious to the usually oblivious red head while remaining unintelligible to her?

"How… how do you know… about him?" She whispered.

"I have my ways," He flashed her a toothy grin. "I'll admit I did something that will either make you very happy or very pissed or both."

"Oh God, you talked to him didn't you? Did you tell him? Of course you told him. I am going to kill you Ronald Weasley!" Her face flushed with anger, and she stood in the most menacing way the redhead had seen since the war.

Nervously backing up a few steps, Ron cleared his throat.

"Yeah… yeah, I talked to him. But that's not what I meant." Ron now had his back pressed against the wall, eyeing the door but knowing Hermione would never let him that far.

"What. Did. You. Do?" She said.

….

Draco paced back and forth in front of the couch in the Weasleys' living room. His blood was ice cold and he felt like throwing up. Ron had made sure to keep his family away for a few hours while everything went down, but it still terrified Draco to think of Molly's face if she saw him there. She would be so angry at him for leaving. Just like Hermione.

Why Ron thought this would work, the blond had no idea. He only went along with it because the man had been right about everything in this situation so far.

Draco was just trying his best to prepare himself for the inevitable explosion. There was absolutely no chance of this ending well.

It was right about during his third time thinking about just leaving that he heard yelling from upstairs. He knew he should probably just let the two friends talk it out themselves, but it seemed wrong not to help protect the redhead that had stuck out his own neck for him from the witch's wrath.

He ran up the stairs, following the shouts to a door he assumed led to Hermione's room. He paused for a moment to prepare himself before opening the door.

He found Ron pressed against the wall by Hermione and her wand. The redhead's eyes filled with relief at seeing Draco, before flashing with worry. Of course Draco didn't waste too much time staring at Ron before looking to Hermione at the same moment that her own head whipped around to face him.

All the anger melted from her face, only to morph into so many different emotions he could barely keep up. It finally seemed to decide on a surprised and confused look as she dropped her wand to the floor and stepped away from both men.

"You have got to be fucking joking. You brought him here?" She cried.

It was Draco's turn to be surprised. She had been that close to flaying Ron alive and hadn't even found out that Draco was there.

Ron awkwardly cleared his throat before stepping to the door.

"I guess I'll just uh…" He said before slipping outside.

Both Draco and Hermione stared at the closed door for another moment before slowly turning to face each other. Hermione couldn't meet his eyes but Draco could not stop looking at her.

"I'm sorry about this. Ron was pretty insistent on me coming here to talk to you." He said quietly, hoping to appease the woman slightly.

"Is that the only reason you're here? Because Ron told you to?"

He almost choked when he realized Hermione was willing to talk. Apparently he should have been worrying about what to say to the woman when he saw her instead of if he would get to see her in the first place.

It took him a moment, but he finally remembered how to talk.

"No. No, I'm here because I wanted to see you."

"Why?" She whispered, finally meeting his eyes.

He immediately melted into her warm chocolate eyes. They were filled with misery, anger, grief… hope, longing.

"Because I love you, Hermione. I've tried to fight it, but I can't stop thinking about you. I thought I was doing the right thing when I left. I thought I was giving you a life of happiness, the life you wanted. 'If you love something set it free,' isn't that a muggle expression? But when even the Weasel is telling you you're daft for thinking that, it makes you realize you made a mistake.

A smile flashed onto Hermione's face momentarily, but was gone after less than a second.

"I don't forgive you. You know that right?"

"Of course."

"But Ron told you how I felt?"

"It'd be nice to hear it from you."

They were both close to a whisper by now, standing inches apart.

"I fucking hate you, Draco Malfoy. But I love you too. And I swear to God if you leave me again I will hunt you down and castrate you."

This caused Draco to bark out a laugh that sent them both into laughter. The first time Hermione had laughed since he left.

Their lips met for a moment, but the kiss was filled with such longing and bliss that it took both their breath away.

Draco wrapped his arms around the woman, allowing her to bury her face in his shirt and dipping his own to her curls. He was filled with such lungful hope he worried that something would come along and snatch it all away.

When they finally pulled away, their hands stayed connected and their foreheads pressed together.

"Hermione Granger, would you like to go out on a date with me?"

The woman just rolled her eyes and pressed another kiss to his lips.

"Of course I would," she whispered.