Author's Note: Hey everyone! Once again, thanks for reading, and I'm really on a roll of good ideas that I don't want to forget about! Yeah, it's the weekend at college and I sat in my dorm room yesterday writing about 15 pages in Microsoft Word pretty much all day and here I go again on Sunday! Who needs a social life when you have Harry Potter?? Enjoy and REVIEW!

Chapter Fourteen

I Will Always Love You

The next morning they woke up in the exact same position. Hermione opened her eyes first and rolled over off of Draco causing him to wake up, too. "Good morning, Beautiful. How was your night?"

"Amazing. I haven't slept that well in ages. Yours?"

"It was wonderful…with you by my side."

"Well, maybe we should spend the night together more often," Hermione suggested somewhat timidly.

"Are you telling me you want me to make love to you every night? Not that I would object. I'm just wondering." He knew what she meant all along, but just thought it might be fun to ask.

"Not necessarily," she said. "I was just thinking that I like sleeping next to you, you know, like couples do who live together. They're just there every night and it doesn't always have to be about sex."

Draco wrapped his arm around her neck pulling her head down onto his chest and kissed the top of her head. "I think that's a brilliant idea," he agreed.

After that night they never slept in separate beds again. Sometimes the couch by the fire would suffice as sleeping grounds for the night, but usually it was Draco's bed. Sometimes they would stay up all hours into the night just talking and laughing. Other times they would just sit silently and read, but it wasn't awkward silence, it was just comfortable. On some occasions they would make love and it became more wonderful every time.

The weeks were passing and it felt as though January turned straight to March. It was now the end of March and Hermione was already preparing for N.E.W.T.s. Draco was actually beginning to worry more and more about his father's threat to Hermione and himself as well. "It's not over, Mudblood," he had said as they were boarding the train. Draco wondered every single day what the hell those words had meant and wondered even more why nothing had been done about them.

He did try not to let it bother him too much. He tried to focus on their upcoming trip to Hogsmeade that Saturday. It would probably be their last trip of their Hogwarts career and Draco intended to make it a special one for Hermione. It wasn't too often that he got the chance to spoil her as it was, being cooped up in Hogwarts 24/7.

Saturday morning came and the students with permission to go to Hogsmeade lined up by the main entrance to pass by Mr. Filch. Hermione took Draco's hand as they stepped out into the crisp air. It was the perfect weather. Not too cold, and not overly warm, just like the beginning of spring. It didn't feel like a thing could go wrong that day. They finally reached the front gates of Hogwarts and turned down the path to Hogsmeade. The first stop, as usual, was Honeyduke's candy shop. Hermione picked up some Acid Pops, thinking she could give them to Harry and Ron when they came home (which should be soon since they had informed her of locating, with difficulty no less, another Horcrux. They had found the cup of Helga Hufflepuff and had gone to Gringott's and broken into Bellatrix Lestrange's vault.). She also bought the usual: Fizzing Whizbees, Chocolate Frogs, Exploding Bon-Bons, and Drooble's Best Blowing Gum. She left the Bertie Bott's Every-Flavor Beans for a more "worthy" recipient, as she put it when Draco asked her if she wanted some.

The next stop on their agenda was supposed to be the Three Broomsticks, but that plan was put on hold when Seamus came out and informed them that Lucius was inside. Not wanting to bother with that confrontation, they walked down the street further to Hog's Head. They knew there wouldn't be any funny business with Aberforth keeping guard there, and they sat as close to the bar as possible. Three shared butterbeers later, they left the Hog's Head and decided to do some more shopping. "I wonder where Ginny is," Hermione inquired while they were browsing through clothing in another store.

"Didn't she say she was spending the day with Neville and Luna?"

"I know, but you'd think we would have seen her somewhere."

"It's pretty crowded, Mione, I'm sure we just missed her in all the people."

"I'm sure you're right." Deciding there was nothing in that store worth buying and seeing that it was getting late, they grasped hands and walked outside. It must have been later than they thought because the store closed up right behind them and most of the students from Hogwarts had already gone back to the castle.

As they were walking past a store with blacked out windows that must have been abandoned, therefore there were no crowds near it, Draco pulled Hermione aside and kissed her. She loved it when he surprised her like that and it always made the kiss that much more special. Just as she was starting to feel her knees give way, two large hands grabbed her from behind, wrenching her and Draco apart.

"Hermione!" he called. He was being pulled away by a large man in a hooded black cloak and the one carrying her followed the first into the abandoned store.

The two men stood next to one another and threw Draco and Hermione down onto the floor. They crawled toward each other and stood up. Draco grabbed her and held her as close to him as was humanly possible. Another Death Eater, a woman, locked the door behind them. It was Bellatrix Lestrange. She turned and eyed up their new visitors. "Hello, nephew."

"Aunt Bellatrix," he said coldly. "Where's my mum?"

"She wasn't cooperating," Bellatrix replied as she pointed toward the corner where a woman with long blonde hair lay immobile.

"What have you done to her?" Draco asked shakily.

"Do you honestly think I would kill my own sister, Draco?"

"I wouldn't put it past you."

"Touché, Draco, touché." Bellatrix smiled menacingly.

"And Lucius?" Draco asked, not bothering to call him his father. "Where is the bastard?"

Hermione looked up at him, half in shock, half extremely proud at the notion of Draco calling Lucius such a name.

"I'm here, Draco." Lucius walked out of the darkness at the back of the store. You didn't honestly believe that I wasn't, did you? I called everyone to this place." He looked at Hermione with disgust and Draco reacted by squeezing her shoulder, just to let her know that he was there for her. "Hello, Mudblood…"

"…YOU SHUT UP!" Draco shouted at his father.

"Oh, Draco, you're only making things worse, don't you see?"

Draco stopped shouting and just kissed the side of Hermione's head. Then he said into her ear, "I'm so sorry, love."

"We knew this would happen, Dray, it's okay. We'll get through it." When she said this she had assumed they were brought there so Draco could "rape" her in front of them the way he was forced to do with the other Muggle-borns.

Lucius, upon hearing all of this, laughed evilly. It was a laugh that would have gone perfectly with a crash of thunder in the background and a crack of lightning flashing through the sky. "Oh, you silly children seem to be under the impression that things are going to go the way they usually do when Draco is given a task." He grimaced and moved closer to where they were standing, huddled against each other. "You," he grazed Hermione's chin with the tip of his wand, "are terribly mistaken." He stepped back and walked around the room, his eyes never leaving the two of them. "You see," he continued, "not only is it a filthy Mudblood that needs to be punished this time, but both of you. Making you have sex with your little girlfriend wouldn't be bad enough for either of you, would it?"

"What are you planning?" Draco asked boldly.

"Oh, my son, you will soon see." He turned to the two large Death Eaters as Bellatrix cackled like the horrible wicked witch she was. "Crabbe, Goyle, restrain him and take his wand." On Lucius' command, Crabbe Sr. and Goyle Sr. wrenched Hermione and Draco apart once more, causing Hermione to be thrown to the floor in the process.

Lucius walked over to her and pushed her down with his foot, then stepped on her arm to keep her from getting up. Draco shouted from the side, "Don't hurt her! What do I have to do so you don't hurt her?"

"It's too late for you to do anything. You're just going to sit there and watch."

"Watch what?"

Lucius knelt down next to Hermione and put his wand down and took off his black cloak. "I'll be doing my son's job, today Mudblood," he whispered horribly. "It's not him that will be pleasuring you."

"NOOOOO! YOU SICK BASTARD!" Draco screamed as tears poured down his face.

Hermione, however, stood her ground. "If you think it will be pleasurable, you are highly mistaken, sir." She put a certain amount of bite on the last word.

"Feeling rebellious, Granger?"

"No, I just don't see how anyone could be pleasured by you."

"That's my girl," Draco whispered from the side, tears still running down his cheeks nonetheless.

"You've asked for it now." Lucius grabbed the button of her jeans and ripped it open with force and he pulled them down to her ankles. She tried to hit or kick him away, but Bellatrix bound her wrists together with a rope using her wand.

"STOP IT!" Draco screamed at the top of his lungs. "SHE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO YOU, JUST STOP!"

"Oh no, dear boy, you've both earned this. You turned your back on the Dark Lord and this is how you will pay." He looked up at Crabbe and Goyle. "Make sure he watches."

Hermione could feel tears leaking out of her eyes now. She was through pretending to be strong, and she finally admitted to herself that she was scared out of her mind. She and Draco had always used protection, but what now? Surely Lucius wouldn't be so considerate.

He moved himself on top of her and put his hands under her shirt. She could hear Draco trying to scream and she could hear him sobbing. She had no way of getting to her wand. (As she thought about all this Lucius was unbuttoning his own pants.) Who on earth could save her now? Her underpants were being removed with force and she and Draco cried harder. Lucius was stroking himself getting ready. This is it, she thought with terror. There's no way out. He was inches away from touching her skin that had only been touched before by the man she loved, and it was only ever touched with that same love.

Then, "Levicorpus!" Lucius was suspended upside down in the air, still poking embarrassingly out of his pants. With shouts of "Stupefy!" and "Petrificus Totalus!" Crabbe, Goyle, and Bellatrix were on the floor. Someone used another spell to set her hands free and she scrambled to pull up her pants while Draco flew over to her and wrapped her in his arms.

"Oh, God, Hermione, I'm so sorry." His wet face was soaking her hair as he rocked her back and forth in his lap.

"It's not your fault, Dray," she took his face in her hands and used her thumb to wipe away his tears. It didn't do any good, however, because they just kept coming. "I'm fine, though. I'm fine, he didn't touch me."

Their rescuer made their way over. "Sorry to break this up, but we've gotta get outta here. Let's go." Ron reached out a hand to help her up.

"Oh, Ronald!" She bolted up off the floor and hugged him. Her sobbing suddenly became completely uncontrolled and she was heaving tears onto his shoulder. "I'm so glad you're okay! Where's Harry?" She pulled away and wiped her face as Draco came up behind her.

"Right here, Hermione." Harry walked over from the door and she ran to him and hugged him just as tight as she hugged Ron. He was bruised and scarred. And now that she noticed it, so was Ron, who was shaking Draco's hand for the first time in his life.

"I can't believe both of you are here! Thanks for pulling that ass off of me."

"Forget it, Hermione, I'm just glad we got here in time," Ron said. "We heard screaming and ran over."

"How did the two of you get so beat up?" she asked.

"Dragon," they replied in unison. Not bothering with anymore questions Harry said, "C'mon, we've gotta get to Hogwarts." They dashed down the street as Harry explained that they had destroyed Hufflepuff's cup and that they discovered that Nagini, Voldemort's snake, was another Horcrux.

Suddenly, a door opened to their left and Aberforth Dumbledore ushered them inside of Hog's Head. "Hello, Potter, I'm glad to see you're all right."

"Aberforth Dumbledore? Nice to meet you." Harry said politely. "Er, you wouldn't have a way of getting us to Hogwarts would you?" Harry asked him on the off chance that he would know an easier way than running all the way back up to the castle.

"As a matter of fact, I do. Follow me, all of you." They took his lead up the same wooden stairs that Hermione and Ginny walked up months ago and into the same room with the blue carpet and the ratty old sofa. He went to the portrait that the mirror had once laid under and spoke to the pretty young girl in it. "Open the passage," was all he said.

"Ariana…" Harry whispered.

"You know of my sister?" the old man turned to Harry.

"Yes, sir, I've heard of her."

"Hmph," Aberforth grunted. Soon the girl was back and the portrait swung open.

Harry, Ron, Draco, and Hermione all used a chair as a lift and climbed up into the portrait hole. "Thank you, sir," said Harry.

"Don't mention it, boy." With that, Aberforth closed the portrait behind them and they all turned around to face a long tunnel.

"If this leads to Hogwarts I sure don't remember seeing it on the Marauder's Map," Harry said curiously.

"Harry," Hermione said slowly, "I remember something else you didn't see on the Marauder's Map, either."

"The Room of Requirement," Harry, Ron, and Hermione said together. They looked at each other with excitement and broke out into a run.

They reached the end of the tunnel where there was nothing but a cement wall. "Now what?" Draco asked.

"We think," Hermione replied.

"Hermione, we don't have time to think, do we?" he said.

"Not just about anything, Draco. If this really is the Room of Requirement that this tunnel leads to, we have to think about what we want within the room beyond the wall."

"Oh. Never mind, then."

"What exactly do we want?" Ron asked.

"Well," Harry said, "I'm not really sure. The diadem, I suppose."

"No, no," said Hermione. "We need backup before we go looking for the diadem." She reached into her pocket and pulled out the coin from the DA and rubbed it in between her thumb and index finger.

"Hermione, how can you expect them to still have those?" Harry asked.

"Because I asked them to earlier this year," she replied.

Harry and Ron beamed at her. "You are seriously the most brilliant witch, ever, Hermione," Ron mused. Draco, sensing that Ron was still in love with Hermione, reached for her hand and she obliged.

"It should be any minute now." They sat down at the end of the tunnel for about five minutes, hatching a plan for when they met up with the DA. Harry only put in a few words of suggestion. He had one thing on his mind. He really hoped Ginny had her coin.

When those five minutes were up, Hermione stood back up and paced the short distance in front of the cement wall back and forth. She thought over and over, "We need to meet the DA, we need to meet the DA." After she walked past the patch of wall three times, a wooden door appeared.

"Well, this is it. Draco, we'll go first," Hermione said, "to make sure the coast is clear for Harry and that there's no unwanted people in the room.

Harry and Ron stayed behind as Hermione opened the door a crack and slipped through, followed by Draco. She left the door open and Harry heard the most beautiful voice, "Hermione! What's going on, why did you use the coin?"

Harry didn't care anymore whether it was safe to go through the door or not. He pushed it open and stood there looking at the face he had longed to see for months. There she was, the girl he dreamed of touching every night since his birthday. "Ginny," he said quietly, unable to believe that she was really there. Ron snuck past him and walked over to greet Neville and Luna. Cho was standing somewhere on the other side of the room, watching somewhat sadly.

Ginny was in awe. He was there, and he was alive. Her only Christmas wish had come true. True, it was four months late, but here it was…here he was. "Harry." They ran towards each other and he picked her up and they spun in circles, kissing. He put her down and looked in her beautiful brown eyes, and she got lost in his brilliant green ones. He was really there, touching her hair, running his fingers through it. He missed that more than anything. He pressed her head to his heart.

"Ginny Weasley I will never, ever leave you again, I promise."

"Then you'll let me come with you to look for the diadem?"

"I don't see why not," he smiled and kissed her forehead. "I love you, Ginny."

"I love you, too." She kissed him, and as she did, she remembered something. "Harry," she said, pulling their lips apart.

"Hmm?"

"We're in the Room of Requirement."

"I know, isn't it brilliant? Having a secret passageway from the Hog's Head?"

"No, Harry, you don't understand. The diadem is in the Room of Requirement, too, just not this Room of Requirement."

"Oh, you're right." Harry understood. Everyone would have to clear the room so he could re-enter it and get the diadem. He stood up on the nearest chair and shouted over the voices.

"Hello, everyone! It's really great to see you all, and I want to thank you for volunteering to help. However, I need you all to clear the room so I can use it for another purpose. In the meantime, I want you all to get into groups of three or four, and split up to different areas of the school. I have a feeling it won't be long until the Death Eaters get here, and possibly You-Know-Who himself."

Everyone did as they were told and Harry hopped down from the stool. They all exited the room in groups except for Hermione, Ron, Draco, Ginny, and Harry. They stood just outside the room and Harry walked past three times thinking, "I need a place to hide, I need a place to hide."

The door revealed itself once more and they all entered the cathedral-like room. Hermione dragged Harry over to where she had seen the diadem. She pointed it out to him and all he could say was, "Oh my God."

"What?" Hermione asked.

"I put the diadem on the bust last year, along with the boa so I would be able to find my Advanced Potions book."

"The Half-Blood Prince one?"

"That's the one." Harry reached up to the top of the cabinet and pulled the diadem off of the bust. He held it in his hands for a moment, realizing that after this, Nagini was the only remaining Horcrux. And, if things went the way he planned, he would have his chance at the snake in just a few hours. Before he had a chance to destroy the diadem, they were interrupted in the room by the not-so-junior versions of Crabbe and Goyle.

"Get out of here, guys," Draco said to them.

"Why should we listen to you, Mudblood fucker?" Goyle asked.

On that last word, Hermione and Ginny had to grab the arms of all three boys, Ron getting pulled by both arms. Then, Crabbe shouted some sort of spell and fire shot out of the end of his wand and Harry dropped the diadem, reaching for three brooms. The fire was transforming into a monster that looked like it was about to eat them. "It's Fiendfyre!" Hermione shouted. Harry tossed a broom to Ron and the other to Malfoy. Hermione climbed on behind Draco and Ginny did the same behind Harry and they took off out of the room. On the way, Harry dropped the diadem into the fire and it broke to pieces as it fell to the floor. He remembered that Fiendfyre was the other way to destroy Horcruxes besides basilisk venom.

Crabbe and Goyle tried to chase them out of the room, but Ginny pulled out her wand and cried, "Reducto!" and the shelves went toppling on top of Crabbe and Goyle, trapping them inside.

The five of them landed in the hallway outside. Harry kissed Ginny, "Are you okay, Gin?"

"I'm fine, Harry."

"Who taught you that curse, anyway?" he smiled.

"Oh, only the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher I've ever had." She reached up and brought him down to kiss her.

"Hate to break up the love fest," said Ron, causing the two to part, "but we've really got to get moving, here."

Then a voice came booming out of nowhere, and it was a voice that Harry wished he could say he didn't recognize. "HARRY POTTER, I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE. YOU WILL COME OUT TO THE FOREST TONIGHT TO FACE ME ONCE AND FOR ALL. YOU HAVE ONE HOUR BEFORE WE START KILLING YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY UNLESS YOU COME OUT HERE. THE BLOODSHED WE WISH TO SPARE WILL BE SACRIFICED IF YOU'RE NOT HERE BY MIDNIGHT."

Voldemort stopped talking and Harry turned to the rest of them, Ginny grasping his hand. "Harry, don't go."

"Gin, I have to. You know I can't sit here and let you all suffer so I can stay alive."

"Harry, no…" she started to cry and he pulled her into his chest. "You just came back I can't let go again, this time probably for good."

"I have to, Ginny." Then he told everyone what he and Ron had realized. "The reason he's never been able to hurt me was because my mother's blood was protecting me, and that's no longer possible now that I'm 17. Also," he hesitated on this next part, "my scar is a Horcrux and the only way for him to be finished is if I am, too."

"No, Harry. You can't, I don't care. You can't die." Ginny's face turned red as she got angry and tears peaked out from under her closed eyelids.

He rubbed his hands up and down her arms. "Ginny, look at me." She did and he said, "I love you so much, and if I didn't have to do this, I wouldn't. You have to be strong for me, and I need all of you to kill Voldemort for me. Just be careful."

"I love you too, Harry," Ginny sobbed. Harry couldn't control his own tears anymore and they wrestled their way out of his eyes and down from under his glasses. Hermione turned to Draco and buried her head in his chest. Ron stood looking extremely uncomfortable and torn at the thought of his best friend's death, with no one to comfort him. Hermione seemed to realize this, because she whispered in Draco's ear, "Ron needs a friend, too." He nodded and Ron was surprised when Hermione came and wrapped her arms around him.

"Thank you, Hermione."

"I still love you as a friend, Ron. Did you think that because I'm with Draco we can't be friends?"

"I don't know, maybe."

"That's ridiculous. You will always be my best friend, Ronald, and you saved me today."

He hugged her close as he realized how silly he'd been to think that she wouldn't want anything to do with him.

An hour later Harry left the heavy battle going on inside the school, having left Ginny in the common room. He was approaching the forest and he was thinking about the fact that he never got that snitch open. Then he realized, that he could only get what was inside if he was about to die. He put it to his lips and said, "I'm about to die," and the Gaunt family ring fell out, and out of it came his mother, his father, Sirius, and Lupin. He realized what Lupin's appearance must mean. "No," he said.

"Yes, Harry, I died this evening." Harry considered Tonks and realized that that must be how Ginny would feel. He changed the subject, not wanting to think about it.

"Is it painful?" he asked all of them.

"No, dear," Lily answered. "It doesn't hurt to die. We're so proud of you, Harry. You're doing the right thing."

"I just wish Ginny saw it that way."

"As much as it will hurt her to lose you," James said, "she understands why you have to do it."

He asked them to accompany him to the clearing where he was to face Voldemort, and they obliged. He carried the ring all the way into the forest before saying his goodbyes because he realized that he needed to do this by himself.

"Hello, Tom."