Author's Note: Trumpets, fanfare and drumroll please...it's finished! Tada! The final chapter of The Girl I Knew... I hope you like it, the last scene is the one i've had in my head from the start, it's what gave me the initial story idea. So please review, i know a lot of you don't like to review till the very end so i hope you do take the time to tell me if you liked it or not! :D I loved writing this, i'm very very very sad it's over though. I've kept you long enough...you guys have hugely supported me, thanks for everyone who's favourited or alerted or review...LOVE YOU...

"Guuuyysss." Lavender whined on the way down to breakfast. None of the girls replied but that never put her off, "I know we technically hate Slytherins." Still no response apart from a general muttering, Hermione suddenly listened in ultra hard, but was disappointed with the solid 'yeah, we hate them, and what?' that seemed resound in the group. She didn't hate slytherins, not all of them- well- she didn't hate them all entirely anyway. "So you know, would you hate me if, for example, I was to like, I don't know, start dating Draco? After our little fling," She lingered on the word, enjoying the sound of it immensely. Hermione felt an indescribable rage boiling within her, she clenched her fists and tried to bite her tongue, knowing speech was seriously unwise at this point. But her resolution lasted all of a stony minute.

"He'd never have you Lav." She burst out suddenly, making most members of the group at least turn their heads. Ginny's eyes narrowed,

"Mione," She looked at her and laid a hand on Lav's arm, even though she knew- Hermione knew she knew- that Lavender was faking emotion; she didn't really love Draco, she was just attracted to him because he was a 'bad boy'.

"Yes, Hermione." Lavender threw back up the stairs as they began their descent. "Why exactly do you think he wouldn't? Aren't I good enough for him?" No, no you're not. Hermione wanted to yell back, but she took a deep breath.

"He'd never have anyone Lav, he doesn't care about anyone, it's him that's not good enough for you. That's what I meant." She mumbled the last phrase, sounding less than sincere but hoping no one noticed.

"Yes but he has had me. He would have me, I know it." Hermione sighed, she wouldn't sway Lav's conviction, or maybe it was dillusion. "Anyway, the point was, would you guys mind if I dated him?"

"Mind?" Ginny snorted.

"I think," Parvati cut in before Ginny worked herself into a rant; you could always tell when Ginny was going to rant because it happened so frequently. "What Ginny's getting at is, well, we wouldn't exactly disown you, but we wouldn't be best pleased. I mean he's just not…" She searched around for the words. Hermione could have told her how to end that sentence…in love with you. He's just not in love with you, Lav. "Nice. He's not a nice person, he wont be nice to you Lavender and he wont be nice to us, so we're not exactly going to welcome him with open arms. But I suppose we wouldn't stop talking to you. It'd be weird though." She added for good measure.

It made Hermione's heart sink slightly hearing that speech from Parvati, not that she's ever go out with Malfoy anyway, she thought, but the slight possibility of them being friends, when she finally made things right with Ron, had just been wiped out. Draco wouldn't be friends anyway, and she knew it, just like she knew she'd choose Ron now- her dream guy- like Ginny had said. God, this would all have been simpler if I'd just gone down to the lake not stopped by the door… They stepped down the last step into the entrance hall.

"Hermione." She spun round at Ron's voice.

"Ron!" She smiled

"I'm sorry if you feel like I had a go at you at the party. You know it's just-" She really didn't want to get back into this discussion again,

"I know, it's fine. It's all fine." She interjected quickly. "So um," She became aware of his hand resting on her arm.

"I was wondering if you want to hang out tonight?"

"Love to." She felt a slight bubble of warmth, somewhere down inside of her. "What are we doing?"

"We're having a massive chess tournament against the Ravenclaws, Fred and George are filching snacks and we're all going to hang out, Harry and Ginny are going to be there, I thought it'd be like old times again." She kept up her smile,

"Sounds great, really fun."

"Yeah? You wanna?"

"Count on it." He grinned, she grinned, then he squeezed her arm and walked in the opposite direction from the breakfast hall.

She waited, as the girls dispersed, mostly towards the breakfast tables, and then sighed. Her mind played over again the discussion with Harry, if I just love him as a friend…Was this really her ideal relationship? Games of chess in the common room with the 'old gang', well it sounded like fun- because it would be- but it was a friend thing, it wasn't something that really screamed 'romance' to her. But she could be romantic with Ron, couldn't she? She took another few, slow, steps towards the Great Hall and the Griffindor table, her thoughts still elsewhere, and then she noticed Lavender cross the room and cut in front of Draco Malfoy's path. Now she took a convulsive step or two forward to listen to the confrontation; Draco, she noticed, was obviously embarrassed.

"So I was just wondering if maybe me and you could…"

"Brown, I don't want a relationship with you." Draco put it very bluntly and she burnt crimson,

"God, you jerk, why are you like this to me? I was only going to ask if you wanted to eat breakfast together." Her voice was shrill. Draco looked like he'd rather eat breakfast with a Hungarian Horntail.

"I'm like this to you, because, frankly Brown, I don't like you at all. It was a mistake to ever go near you- I'm not even attracted to you."

"Oh Draayy," She purred, "Don't play."

"I'm not playing." He took a definite step back, his expression between disgust and amusement. And then he finished, very loudly, "The only reason I kissed you was because it was dark- I couldn't see who it was." Then he turned and left her, burning scarlet with anger, and strode from the breakfast hall. Hermione shrunk back, embarrassed for listening even though half the school had been listening, but thankfully he didn't see her.

She paused, oddly she didn't feel very hungry now, even though she ought to feel some kind of relief or happiness that Draco had saved himself- turned Lavender down- but she didn't, she felt an uncomfortable tightness growing in her stomach. Hermione turned from the hall and started walking diagonally towards the doors. As she passed the first class room she stopped and looked at the door, remembering how her and Draco had had their first conversation in that room, at least, their first non-abusive conversation.

She heard voices, a male and a female, from behind the door and looked around her furtively- she knew she shouldn't be nosey, but she couldn't help it. The door was open just a crack and she peered through to see Ron, and Luna, apparently deep in conversation.

"Luna, I really do love Hermione, I'm sorry."

"That's ok." She shrugged, but she sounded sad, "I know, it was just an idea."

"I just-" Ron reached out and awkwardly patted her arm, "Well you know, I'm sorry." She looked up at him and turned her head to one side, smiling,

"I'll always like you Ron, you're funny, and" She blushed, "you're cute too, and so nice. But it's nice, you like Hermione, that's ok. I knew that." She was so accepting, but Hermione wondered if she was hiding how upset she was- it didn't take a genius to see what was going on here, Luna had just asked Ron out.

"Yeah, thanks for understanding Lu," Ron was clearly awkward but he looked concerned, maybe sad, for Luna too. They began to move towards the door and Hermione jolted in surprise. She swept quickly the final distance across the entrance hall and scurried down the steps to the grounds, not wanting to be caught eavesdropping.

She couldn't help thinking, maybe Ron deserves someone like Luna, who loves how funny he is and accepts everything about him and finds him really attractive- hey! Shut up brain, I do find him really attractive, we're good together. Hermione knew something was wrong when she was getting jumpy and offensive in her own brain. Glumly, confusedly, she walked out towards the whomping Willow.

"What are you up to then Miss Granger." Without her even noticing Draco and slipped by her side to walk with her.

"Moping." She muttered, "My life's a mess. You?"

"Breathing." He replied, "I've just told Lavender where to stick it." They both laughed,

"I heard," She admitted, "Very impressive I might add." There was silence and Hermione knew she had to do it. "I'm, erm, I'm having a kind of date with Ron tonight."

"Oh really?" He sounded like he couldn't care less, but Draco glanced slyly sideward, checking her face, "Doing what?" Hermione wrinkled her nose,

"Chess game, like old times." Her voice was heavily sarcastic without even meaning to be.

"That sounds riveting." Draco snorted, and then became serious, "Is that it Hermione?"

"What do you mean 'is that it'?" She became indignant, and stopped walking to face him.

"I mean annoying, argumentative, passionate, fiery Hermione is going to waste her time dating someone who's idea of romantic is a chess game with mates in a rowdy common room. That's going to be it Hermione, don't you see? He isn't going to suddenly change into the guy you deserve- hell, the guy you want- he's not going to take you traveling so you can see the sunset over the Himalayas on a broom, or show you the Forbidden City, or the underground rivers in the mountains near Durmstrang, or the hidden fountain that only appears in a rainbow that you can see from the Sky-Climbers path that the first Magi's took millions of years ago…" He trailed off, suddenly fearful, "He wont do that for you Mione." Hermione gaped for a few moments, but before she could formulate an answer, "But I would."

"I can't!"

"Stop playing the victim Mione,"

"How dare you? I'm being honest here and you're not making it easy, and how dare you say that about Ron? You don't know him like I do." Her voice was raised now and Draco grew louder to make his point heard,

"But I know you."

"You think you do." Now he just glared at her, and she could finally say it, the thing that needed to be done- she knew they'd all be happier afterwards. "I choose Ron, Draco."

"You what?"

"I choose Ron, I chose him a long time ago, before all of this mess. I'm going into that hall, I'm going to hold Ron's hand and we're going to be together."

"Is this because of your friends?" He folded his arms, frowning at her.

"No," She was exasperated with everyone thinking they knew better than she did- she didn't know very well, but she knew better than them what was in her heart. "Ok, so they'd hate me if I went out with you, they'd disown me, and it'd be very miserable. But that isn't why. I choose Ron, goodbye Draco."

"But…"

Hermione turned and shook her head exaggeratedly so he would see it from behind her. Draco's gaze sunk to the ground moodily; so this was it. He felt dead inside because he knew he couldn't change her mind.

Walking faster and faster, trying to calm her heavy breaths, Hermione told herself she'd done the right thing. If this was right, wouldn't you feel better right now? But she couldn't answer that. It was Ron, she had chosen him so long ago before that stupid kiss…She stepped into the entrance hall and saw him, ginger hair flopping as he and Harry laughed, nearby to the girls as usual. A large mob of students were flowing from the great hall and spilling into the entrance hall before lesson, he was just by the stairs and Hermione felt a resolution settle into place that she was going to try her hardest to make this work. She began to push her way through the throbbing crowd, making for her almost-boyfriend.

"Hermione." She thought she heard her name, jerked her head and half turned around, "Hermione!" This time she knew she heard her name, half the entrance hall did; blushing she spun on the spot.

There was Draco, breathless and embarrassed at the top of the steps to the hall, silhouetted oddly by the morning light. She raised her eye brows but said nothing, feeling annoyed, really annoyed that he was going to embarrass her like this, but at the same time her heart was beating so fast, faster than ever before.

"Hermione you're an idiot." He called across the almost silent space. People were whispering or giggling, but he didn't care. "You make me so angry, and the way I feel about you is so damn close to hate it's unreal." She felt a sinking feeling, where is this going? "But you make me a better person. And if you walk across the hall now and be with him, then I'll get over it, I'll understand that you've chosen. But arguing with you is the best thing that's ever happened to me, and if you're the girl I thought I knew- no- the girl I know, then you wouldn't be walking across this hall to be with anyone, unless that someone was me. I love you." There were audible gasps, and outright laughter and some outbursts of horror- but Hermione heard nothing. She didn't need to decide anything- she'd chosen.

She crossed the floor easily, and grabbed the front of his robes, eyes alive with anger, and a little of something else.

"Draco- shut up." She kissed him and the world stopped, and at the same time it shifted- because they were kissing. She wanted to cry and shout and laugh- because they were kissing. It was like fire in her mind. And she felt so alive, all because she kissed him, she finally knew- because they were kissing- she knew what had been wrong for weeks. "I love you" She breathed, when she finally got the chance.