Voldemort and his followers were standing in the doorway, basking in the exclaims of terror the survivors of the battle emitted at the sight of Harry. Hermione buried her face against Draco's chest and muttered to herself in disbelief. "This isn't supposed to happen… He can't be dead… he can't be…"
Draco kissed the top of her head and looked up. A cruel smile formed on Bellatrix's lips as she surveyed the faces of the students. His mother looked scared, then relived as her eyes connected with his. His father was as stony faced as ever, but looking oddly uncomfortable amongst the other Death Eaters.
"Do not cry for your "hero"… He was trying to escape, you know. Instead of facing death bravely like a man. He obviously is selfish." Voldemort said slowly.
Hermione turned towards Voldemort and scowled. Her voice mingled with the others, "That's not true! How dare you say that you evil fucking bastard!" Draco took her hand and squeezed it softly.
Footsteps thundered above them as Neville ran down the stairs. He shouted and raised his wand. Voldemort cackled as he aimed his wand, a flash of light erupted from the tip and Neville toppled down the stairs. He landed with a grunt, sprawled out on the bottom step. "And who has so foolishly volunteered to demonstrate what will happen to those of you who continue to fight?"
Bellatrix spoke quickly, "It's Neville Longbottom, my Lord! He's been giving the Carrows trouble. He's the son of those Aurors, remember?"
"Ah, yes…" He swept over to Neville, who was slowly getting to his feet, with a sickly smile on his face. "But you're a pure blood, aren't you?"
"Yeah, but what does blood purity have to do with anything?" He said defiantly. Hermione grasped Draco's hand harder.
"You'd make a fine Death Eater, Neville. You show great courage and spirit… We need your kind."
"I'll join you when hell freezes over!" He spat. "Dumbledore's Army!" The crowd gave a shout of encouragement to Neville. Hermione noticed that he was clutching the Sorting Hat in his fist. His wand had been taken by a Death Eater. Her heart thumped against her rib cage, The Sword came to Harry when he needed it. Fawkes brought his the Sorting Hat and the Sword presented itself to a worthy Gryffindor. Let's hope that happens again…
Voldemort laughed, low and cold. "We warned you… " The Death Eaters began to cast spells in every direction. The Battle was back on.
Although no one could hear, Voldemort said something in parseltongue, and Nagini began to slither towards Neville. Hermione tensed up, unable to look away from the certain death of her friend. Draco casted a strong shield charm, ensuring their protection for the time being.
As Nagini got closer, something happened. In one swift motion, Neville pulled the Sword of Godric Gryffindor out of the Hat and slashed the blade down through the air. Just as Nagini was about to strike, her head was severed. The body landed at Voldemort's feet.
"Draco! We have to help!" Hermione snapped out of her state of shock and ran down the stairs, pulling Draco along behind her. The dueling crowds were moving into the Great Hall. Hermione let go of Draco's hand, pulled out her wand, and began casting at any Death Eater she saw. Draco used a mix of shield charms to deflect any curses that might hit Hermione or himself.
Suddenly Voldemort let out a piercing, rage filled scream. Draco looked up and saw him standing next to Bellatrix's lifeless body, casting spells like a madman. I've never seen him show so much compassion… Bella loved him but-
Draco's thoughts were cut off as he was hit with a stunning spell. He fell backwards, wincing in pain. "Draco! Are you all right?" Hermione knelt down beside him.
He slowly sat up and nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."
"PROTEGO!" Hermione looked up towards the center of the Hall, where the familiar voice had come from. Harry pulled off his Invisibility Cloak, revealing himself to all.
"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed in joy and surprise. Draco smiled and whispered, "Glad to have you back, Potter…"
The Hall fell silent as Voldemort and Harry began to prepare for battle. Hermione helped Draco to his feet and muttered, "Come on… let's get to a safe place."
They quickly slipped out of the Great Hall and into the quiet Entrance Hall. "Aren't you worried about Harry?"
"Of course." Hermione nodded, leaning against a wall in exhaustion. "But he knows what he's doing. Trust me."
"Okay… You know him better than me so…" He shrugged.
"His mother saved his life because she loved him. Voldemort can't understand love… It protects Harry."
Draco smiled softly. "Do you think that my love could protect you?"
"Of course…" She stepped closer to him and grinned. "And do you think-"
"I know that my love would protect you." As he leaned into kiss her, she turned her head. His lips brushed against her cheek. He frowned slightly, "Is something wrong?"
"No… Well…" She sighed and looked down. "I just don't know if we should be doing this right now… I know I'll… uh, want more than just… just kissing." She blushed and quickly continued, "And I mean, my best friend is in there fighting the most powerful dark wizard of all time."
Draco smirked slightly at her embarrassment, "I see your point. But I thought you said Harry could handle himself in there…"
"He can... I hope. But he's my best friend… so of course I'm worried about him."
"True…" He leaned against the wall and took Hermione's hands. He ran his fingers over the sleeve covering her scarred arm. "Can I have another look at this?" She nodded and allowed him to push her sleeve up. The scars stood out against her smooth skin, magic remedies would be useless in the healing process at this point. Draco suddenly realized something and pushed his sleeve up as well, exposing his Dark Mark. It was on the same arm and in the same spot as her scars. He quietly said, "We'll always have little reminders of all the shit we've been through…"
She muttered to herself, "The unlikely love of the know-it-all mudblood and the pureblood Death Eater."
He cupped her chin and brushed his long fingers against her cheek. "There's so much more to us than our blood status… and you're not as much of a know-it-all as you think you are." He laughed, flashing his signature smirk.
"And you're the farthest thing from a Death Eater." She smiled. Everything she had said earlier faded away as she brought her lips to his. He moaned softly as she pressed him against the wall and kissed him feverishly. She pulled back and murmured, "Sorry… I said I wouldn't-"
He placed his finger to her lips and shook his head. "It's fine… But I think you're right… this isn't the place."
Hermione nodded and stepped away. "I just missed you… I missed everything about you. And the two times I've been able to see you since Voldemort took over have been too brief. We couldn't really-"
She was interrupted by a loud shout from the crowd in the Great Hall. "Oh god, what happened!" As she was about to run into the Hall, the doors burst open and a disheveled looking Ron ran out, beaming. He sprinted over to Hermione and hugged her tightly, lifting her off her feet and spinning her around in the process. "We won! Harry beat him! He's gone!"
"W-what!" Hermione smiled widely. "What happened?"
"Harry killed him… well kind of. It's kind of hard to explain exactly what happened…" He released Hermione from their bone crushing embrace. "But the point is… it's all over. He's gone! He's dead!" Ron noticed Draco standing awkwardly behind Hermione. His smile faltered, but he said nothing. "I'm going to go talk to Harry some more… See you later."
He left quickly and silently. Hermione groaned. "He'll be fine…" She turned back to Draco and bit her lip. "We won… its over."
He smiled and took her hand. "Maybe this war is… But we're not." He laughed and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around him and smiled against his lips.
She pulled away and whispered, "You're right… we're not."
Authors Note: Things seem to be working out perfectly for Hermione and Draco… is this the end? Am I really going to leave you wondering what their life is like after the Second Wizarding War has ended? Don't fret my glorious readers… I've got an epilogue in the works and I'm brainstorming for a third part to this little story. :) I have a general plot line all planned in my head (It won't be all that long… well maybe. We'll see how it goes.) I just am having trouble with a title. That's always hard for me… but I'll come up with something!
Anyway… I hope you guys liked this chapter… I really would like to thank all of you who have stuck with me (and even those of you who just take the time to read my fics!) You are amazing. :)
And, as always, I love feedback.