Author's Notes: So I really wanted to wait another day before I posted again, but...I love the ending of this story and it's getting close so I really want you guys to read it.

Thanks to ariah23, where she went, qwertyupzz, Principi Phantasia, mermaidlover101, and Blueberry Babe for their reviews. You guys are the best!

Sincerely,
Princess Pheonix Tears

Chapter Ten

Two years into their marriage, Lucius Malfoy was killed. He had walked into a pub one evening and came across a former acquaintance from his Death Eater days. The man had been drunk and very angry to see that Lucius managed to do so well after the war. An argument ensued and the drunk man shot the Killing Curse at Lucius.

Narcissa had been heartbroken. She had taken to her bedroom and would come out only when necessary. She only wore black and hardly spoke to anyone. Hermione was saddened to see such a powerful woman reduced to such an existence. Draco had been incredibly worried about her, unsure of her mental health. He finally broke down and called a healer to come and see her.

The healer could find nothing really wrong with her, except that she was obviously very depressed. He gave her a potion to take daily to help keep her mental health in check. Hermione, who was training to be a healer herself, told him that she would keep an eye on Narcissa and would administer the potion herself.

Seeing Narcissa in such a state, she started to wonder what it would be like to be in the older woman's position. She had never seen any publicly displayed affection between Narcissa and Lucius, but she had always thought there was a strong bond between them. It was little things that had clued her into their real emotions. It broke Hermione's heart to see Narcissa like this.

Unfortunately no matter what they tried, Narcissa never recovered from her loss. She would spend the rest of her days in a self imposed isolation and depression.

A year after his father was killed, Draco finally finished his Auror training. As a fully trained Auror, he immediately went to work for the Ministry. There was a great deal of mistrust from many people who couldn't understand Draco's motivation.

"My father made some bad decisions and worked with some dangerous people. Look where he ended up." Draco would say. "I don't want that to happen to me."

Most of Draco's work involved tracking down and arresting the remaining Death Eaters at large. He also worked tirelessly against dark forces of all kind. In his mind he was desperately trying to make up for the past sins his family had committed against the wizarding world.

During all of this, Hermione and Draco grew stronger together. They quickly found that they were each other's strength and it brought increasing comfort to them both. Hermione, especially, found comfort in their routine.

Old habits die hard, and Hermione loved that she could count on arguments and fights with Draco during the day. She felt as though their continued arguments kept them grounded to their original feelings of hatred for each other, even though she knew those feelings had long since evaporated. She tried hard not to notice that there was a difference in their arguments these days, that Draco didn't have the heart in it that he used to.

Hermione just assumed that they argued less because they both had strong careers and didn't have to spend all day together. And to be honest, she loved that Draco was an Auror. She found that she respected him for it and it was hard to argue with someone she had respect for. So even though she put on the front that she still disliked being married to him, she did everything she could to subconsciously support him.

One morning, before the sun had even come up, Draco awoke to the sound of an owl persistently tapping on his bedroom window. He groggily got out of bed and read the letter. It was a summons from work, letting him know there had been a particularly bad attack and his assistance was required.

Draco went back to the bed and gently woke up Hermione to let her know he had to go.

"Hermione, I have to go. There's been an attack." He whispered to her.

She blinked her eyes open and slowly sat up. She scrunched her face up in concern. "What? Is it dangerous?" She asked. His heart constricted painfully at her innocent question. He wished she held real concern for his safety.

Draco looked at her pointedly. "You know that it is, but I have to go anyway." He turned around and started getting dressed.

She nodded, looking down at her hands. "I'll see you later." She leaned forward and kissed him. "Come back safe, ok?"

He smiled. "No problem. I promise I will. Don't know when I will be back though." He told her.

Hermione nodded and wished him good luck. She gave him one last kiss goodbye and watched as he left. The moment he left, she quickly jumped from the bed, threw on her robe, and ran to Narcissa's room. She informed Narcissa that Draco had gone to an attack site. Hermione hated being alone when Draco was gone, so Narcissa stayed with her until the sun broke through the darkness.

Hermione went through the motions of the day like she did every time that Draco was gone like this. Every time it felt like the day dragged on for an eternity. Usually he would show back up around dinner time, but this time when night began to fall she hadn't heard one word from him. She started to get really worried.

She had wanted to contact someone, anyone, who could tell her what was going on, but she knew that it was impossible. Anyone she could think of to call would be with Draco, wherever he was. Hermione resigned herself to the idea that she would just have to sit patiently and wait.

Unable to sleep in her bed alone, she went down to the sitting room that was off the front hall. She had the house elves make her some tea to help her stay awake.

Hermione grabbed a book from the shelf, and tried to start reading it, but she found that she couldn't concentrate. She sighed, put the book down and stared out of the window that was right next to the big chair she was sitting in. The stars twinkled merrily as she stared at them.

All night she would start to doze off and then wake up suddenly. She sighed, her body aching for sleep, but none came to her. She watched as the inky darkness with twinkling stars slowly faded into day and she realized that she had spent the entire night up, and he still wasn't home.

Hermione couldn't stand it. She got up and started to pace. She was nervous and scared. Sure, this had happened before, he had been out all night, and come home exhausted, but it definitely didn't get easier each time. It got harder each time to watch him go, not knowing when he would be back or in what condition.

This went on for three days. Hermione barely left the sitting room, staying by the bay window that faced the front of the house. Around 5 a.m. on the fourth morning as she sat in the window, dozing off, she heard a noise at the front door. Hermione ran to the front hall and felt warm tears sting her eyes when she saw Draco come through the front door. She ran to him and threw her arms around his neck.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her tightly, holding her close to his worn out body.

"You feel wonderful." He said hoarsely into her ear.

She sighed with relief. "I haven't been able to sleep since you left. Are you ok?" She asked.

"I'm fine." He said quietly. "You've been up this whole time? That can't be healthy."

She shrugged. "I couldn't really help it."

He gave her a weak smile and was about to say something else when she spoke again. "Just because I'm not in love with you, doesn't mean I want anything terrible to happen to you." She said as she put an arm around his waist and made to start towards their bedroom.

Draco looked down at her, frowning. He didn't say word as she tried to move them forward. He removed his arm from around her and started walking on his own towards their bedroom. Hermione watched him walk away, confusion rushing over her. What did I say? She asked herself as she followed him down the hall.

When she entered, she found him getting ready for bed. "What is your problem?" She asked, not too happy with his sudden cold behavior.

He turned around, and Hermione couldn't help but give a quick glance at her husband's very toned and undressed chest. Heat rushed down her torso to her groin, but she ignored it. He looked exhausted and worn out. "I really don't want to start something right now." He said tiredly.

"No." Hermione demanded. "Tell me what is wrong."

Draco gave a long, tired sigh and looked at her again, and this time Hermione noticed that not only were his eyes tired and worn, they held a great amount of sadness and hurt. "You don't love me?" He asked, hurt now evident in his voice.

Hermione just stared at him. "Um…I thought that was a mutual feeling. We're still planning on a divorce in six months, aren't we?" When he didn't answer her, she asked him again. "Aren't we?"

He sighed again. "Forget it." He said, turning around to his dresser.

Hermione walked towards him. "No. You tell me what is going on."

He turned around to face her once again. "I'm sorry, Hermione, but I was under the impression that this was going great." He said, raising his voice in the slightest. "I'm sorry, but I do love you. I love the way your eyes get dark and your fists clench when you get angry. I love the way twirl your hair when you're scared or nervous. I love the way you cry into my shoulder when you're sad. I love the way you fit into my arms, I love the way your skin feels when it touches mine, I love the way you kiss me, I love the way you make love to me. I hate to tell you this, but I am madly in love with you!" He paused, taking a deep breath before he continued. "I guess I was an idiot thinking that you could possibly love me too. That we could forget the divorce and stay together, maybe even have kids or something."

Hermione was shocked. She had no idea that he felt this way. She walked the few steps toward him, and wrapped her arms around him. "I didn't know you feel like that. I'm sorry." She whispered.

He hugged her back. "It's not your fault that I got my hopes up. But don't worry, I will follow through with our original plans. I won't fight you on the divorce."

"I don't know what to say." Hermione said quietly. "I wish I could tell you that you don't have to do that."

"But I do have to do it. I won't be married to someone who doesn't love me." He paused. "I want you to be happy, and being without me will make you happy.

"But we don't have to talk about this right now and I don't want to. I need to get some sleep. And more than anything I want to hold you close to me."

Hermione smiled at him. "I have no objections to that."