Thank you for your patience, school is hectic and insane. By the way, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!! So here, without further adieu, here is the second to last chapter.

Mel, was all Hermione could think, Mel had fallen. And although it had seemed like forever since the explosion, they still made it to the body before anybody else. Ron just stood there, looking at it as Hermione dropped to her knees to check for a pulse. "Unless she got older and a whole lot uglier," Ron glanced only once at the crowd of spectators swarming toward them from inside the castle, "she's not Mel."

"You think?" She'd been so relieved to find Bellatrix and not Mel there on the ground, so terribly relieved. "She's still breathing, shallow, but breathing none the less." Almost shakily, she rose and took Ron's wand from him. It felt wrong in her hand, that was what she told herself made her stomach so uneasy about what she wanted to do, what she would do. Once and for all.

"Hermione." Ron gulped, knowing Hermione was unstable and she was dangerous when holding a wand. He'd seen her do things, things that could hurt, and she'd regret it if she did. "What are you doing?"

"She's never going to leave us alone." Hermione's voice broke with anger and left over fear. "She'll always be around, haunting us. How can Mel ever get on with her life if she has to worry about this leech? How can any of us survive if she lives."

Ron placed his hand on the wand, wrapped his fingers around it carefully. He needed to her to see his eyes, to sturdy herself in reality for a while. She'd been through too much too fast and she was operating on pure adrenaline, the combination could turn her crazy, he was well aware of that. "You can't, 'Mione, you can't stoop to her level and become a killer."

Hermione looked at him like he was an idiot before turning back to Bellatrix. "Petrificus Totalus." Bellatrix's body froze stiffly and Hermione poked at her with her foot to make sure it had worked. "She doesn't deserve to live, but she's sure as hell not going to win by taking me down with her either."

"That's my girl." He nodded when she handed back the wand. By now the mass of young faces had made it to them and were whispering excitedly to each other. They'd find it cool, a story to tell over the next few years to the classes who weren't here, and it was perfectly normal, which settled something in his heart. Hogwarts could and would survive everything. Hermione, however, looked like she was either about to break down or pass out. "I'll get someone to take care of her and Malfoy." She blinked at him and didn't say anything. "Go see your daughter." It would still feel odd to think that Hermione had a daughter. "Make sure she's alright."

She still didn't answer him, just stumbled through the parted crowd. And as she approached the castle doors, they were there. Draco's arm was wrapped around her shoulders and they were covered in a fine gray dust, she could only imagine it was from the explosion. What she didn't know was they'd just taken David to the hospital wing, and they'd been heading out to see if Bellatrix had survived.

Mel leaped at Hermione, she was shaking and sobbing almost uncontrollably. Hermione held her close, looked at Draco with tears in her own eyes. "What happened?"

"She took David." Mel answered instead, she still hadn't let go. "He'd just left to get me some punch. God, I told him I could get it myself but he insisted and I let him go. He called me his princess, and I let him go. I shouldn't have let him go." Her tears came harder now, and Hermione tightened her grip.

"It's not your fault, she would have found another way." She knew the words wouldn't make sense to her now, but later when she was alone and could think, it would help. "What happened next?"

"She found me. And she told me he'd be dead if I didn't meet her in the third floor corridor. When I got there, I could see how insane she was. David was just dropped in the corner, like some kind of rag doll. She was going to kill me, I'd become too much of a problem and wasn't worth keeping around." She broke off to look at Draco. "You, you were there the whole time. You hurt her before she could hurt me."

Hermione nodded, broke way. "Go see David, settle your mind that he's alright. Then we'll all spend the night in my apartment."

"Can David come with me? It sounds a little weird, but I don't want to leave him tonight." David hadn't wanted her to go when she left him in the hospital wing. He'd been content with the idea of just holding onto her for a while, but she had left to find Hermione with the promise that she'd return when she had a chance.

"He's going to stay overnight, Mel." Draco shook his head before he smiled. "But if he doesn't mind, you can probably stay with him."

Mel nodded before running off. Hermione waited as she watched her disappear. "How bad is he?"

"He got hit pretty hard before we got there." Draco frowned as they walked. "Madam Pomfrey will do what she can and he should be fine. She said he'll be in and out all night. Probably a good idea to have someone there when he wakes up." Knowing, he wrapped an arm around her. "You're covered in dirt and leaves, your knees and palms are skinned, and you look like you can hardly walk anymore. Do you want to tell me?"

So she told him, from seeing his father at the ball and watching Ron fall to holding Ron's wand, ready to kill Bellatrix without thought. But as her voice trailed off, she hadn't even noticed that they'd made it to her apartment and he'd shoved a cup of hot tea into her hands. He was pacing now, his face grim and dingy from wall dust. She only sat there watching him, it was unnerving. Did she know the turmoil that took place in his head? Both of the women he loved had come so close to death and both of them had shown tremendous bravery. Just once, he wished they weren't quite so courageous. He'd been able to be there for Mel, but he hadn't known, until he set eyes on Hermione, that something had happened.

But they were alright now, he reminded himself, Mel was with David and Hermione was here, with him. She was always there, he'd had a dream that she was there every day as they got older and watched Mel make her life, it'd been happy, the happiest he'd ever felt. And she was still here, even after his father tried to murder. So he was certain this was the right decision, he'd been right to buy the ring before, and he should have known this would be the moment. Not as he planned, standing in the middle of dancing teenagers as the clock struck midnight, but here.

"Hermione," He took the cup from her and pulled her to her feet. "Do you believe I can make you happy? That we could be happy together?"

She didn't understand why he'd ask. Was he doubting her after what had happened? Did he think she wouldn't want a future with him merely because his father was completely insane? What could she do to prove to this man she wasn't going anywhere. "Of course."

"Then marry me," His words were jumbled, she had to concentrate to catch it all. " I know it's insane and we've only been seeing each other a few months, but I don't want to wake up without you. Please, don't say no. Tell me you'll think about it, or that you can't make up your mind, but don't tell me no."

"I could never say no." Hermione started to say but Draco had cut her off again.

"And I'll take your name, if you'll let me." He'd intended to change his name after the school year anyway, Malfoy had become some kind of curse. Every time he said it he could literally feel the temperature drop by several degrees. So he'd take her name gladly, if only she'd say yes.

"Draco, stop." She gripped his arm painfully, released it when she knew he was listening. "You know what your problem is? You never let anyone else get a word in. How the hell am I supposed to say yes if you won't shut up for a second?"

"Yes?" Draco had to be sure he was hearing her right.

"Yes." She laughed as he lifted her off her feet, "Put me down, you idiot." The moment her feet were on the ground, she frowned, she hadn't thought of it until now. "Do you think Mel will mind if I marry her cousin? I am, after all, her mother."

He kissed her in between laughs. Only she would be worried about something so monumentally obvious. "Hermione, I've been practically raising Mel for as long as I can remember, I don't think she'll mind."

"We'll see..." Hermione smiled, "We should go tell everybody, if they're still here."

"They're still here." Draco just pulled her back against her, "And they'll be here when I'm finished with you. In, oh say, two to five hours."

A/N: I'm considering writing a third part about Ron and the mysterious red head, Ms. Lily. (I was going to work it into this story but it just didn't work out that way) I'd love your opinions. I mean it, REVIEW PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!