Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter.

Okay guys, here is the last chapter of this story. I really hope you find it satisfactory.

I will not fall, won't let it go

We will be free when this ends

My holding cell was only a five foot by five foot rock cubical that was also empty, damp and bone chillingly cold. This place was worse than I could have ever imagined it being. Fellow prisoners screamed none stop through the day and late into the night.

"I'm innocent!" Some would scream while others proclaimed that the Dark Lord would one day reward them for all they had done to further his cause. I tried to block it all out. The guards promised me that none would know of my true identity for my own safety. I was thankful for that. Now that my life had changed and Voldemort was not in control of my mind I didn't want to be associated with any of that rubbish.

Being locked up with nothing to do but think had been very mind opening for me. I had time to think on my mistakes whether they were from the past, present, or future. I regretted them all. Killing my father for abandoning my mother and I before I was even born was a cry for attention, for a family. I needed a family and he, my father, my very own flesh and blood, refused to be that for me and I reacted badly, on instinct. He too made mistakes in his life time but it was not for me to decide that he died for them. I knew that now and I loved feeling a sense of regret and guilt for what I had done. Before I came to Hogwarts and met Hermione I had never felt remorse for my actions but now I did and I felt human.

All of these feelings came about because of Hermione. It was the only plausible answer to the sudden change inside of me. Even though I was sitting inside a dank cell in Azkaban, I was good. And I would do my best to remain good for Hermione. All of this-paying the price for my consequences and feeling like a human being instead of pure evil- was for her and because of her. I owed her my life and once I got the chance to I would give my life and soul to her fully. Until the day when my debt to society had been paid, I would wait patiently.

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It has been a year since I was brought here to Azkaban. It has been nine months since the last time Voldemort was inside my head, taunting me. Six months since I decided that I was going to drop my father's name and go by Redford for the rest of my life and three months since the day I had learned to forgive myself for all the evil I had spread through out the world. While in here, I heard my whole story. From what I did in my early years to killing Harry Potter which, in turn, killed me. I hated myself for a long while but Hermione had convinced me that we cannot dwell on our past mistakes but onlyearn from them.

Hermione. The name made my heart ache to the point that I became completely numb. I had not seen Hermione Jean Granger in exactly eleven months, twelve days,nine hours, and twenty-seven minutes give or take a few moments. She came to visit me every other day right after my capture until I finally told her not to come to me anymore. It was not because I did not love her or that I did not wish to see her. No, it was none of that. It was for her own safety.

The guard brought her to my cell one sunny after noon all those months ago, all the men from the cells around me whooped and whistled greedily at the sight of her, they always did that and it infuriated me. If I was a lesser man I would lash out in anger but I restrained myself. She smiled at me like she always did when she came to visit. Hermione's curly hair was in a puffy side ponytail and she wore a pink and black sun dress. The way the sun that radiated in from the small window of my cell made her face look exquisite, even in the dim light of the rest of the prison.

"How are you doing?" She asked sweetly.

I smiled and reached my hand through the bars to stroke her cheek. She leaned her face into my touch and smiled wider. "Amazing." I told her.

Hermione chuckled. "Lovely to hear that." She said.

My hand went from her cheek down to lace my fingers with hers. We held hands as we talked about her schooling and how she was to graduate at the top of our class at the end of the year. We talked about Lupin and how he was now dating a witch from Hogsmeade. They seemed to be pretty in love according to Hermione.

"Time is up, miss." The guard called from the end of the hall. Hermione looked over her shoulder at the Auror and nodded grimly.

"I guess I will see you in two days, then?" She asked me.

I smiled, took her hand in my own, and kissed her knuckles. "I will be here." I teased.

She smiled and rolled her eyes at my silly joke. I tried to put some humor into the situation I was in but Hermione still would not laugh at any of my jokes. She found nothing funny about the predicament I was in.

With one last smile, she started walking backwards toward the door. She got distracted for a quarter of a second and wasn't paying attention to her surroundings when it happened.

Hermione got too close to one of the cages and the prisoner- who looked to be a Death Eater around the age of twenty-five-grabbed her by the hair and pulled her toward him.

As soon as she was close enough, he wrapped his arm around her neck and began to squeeze until she started to choke. I was screaming out in fright and fury at the man who had her in his grasp.

"You were Potter's little mudblood girlfriend, weren't you!? You want to join 'em in the afterlife?" He said in a husky, deep breath. Seconds later, the Auror came up to the action and shot a spell at the Death Eater. Hermione fell onto her hands and knees, grabbing her neck, and gasping for breath.

"Hermione!" I cried as I tried to reach out to her. I couldn't get to her, those bars made sure of that but in that restraint I only fought harder to be by her side. Hermione coughed and sputtered as she crawled away from the cell of the Death Eater and towards mine. A team of Aurors rushed onto the scene and into the man's cell. For now, Hermione was safe.

She finally made it over my cell where she sat with her back resting on the bars. I slid down and took her face gently in my hands. "Are you alright?" I asked frantically. She nodded and rubbed at her throat some more. I sighed a breath of relief that she wasn't seriously injured and did my best to wrap my arms around her, to protect her. But as we sat there and let the Aurors calm the riot that was now breaking out from the other Death Eaters in the room who, like the first one, wished harm to come to the friend of the boy who killed their master, I thought how selfish it was to let Hermione keep coming to visit me. She was in danger here and there was nothing I could do to protect her from within this cell.

As soon as the situation was under control, an Auror escorted Hermione out of harm's way. That was the last time I saw her. The last memory I had of Hermione was of her being frightened and scared. I hated that it all happened because of me. Two days passed and the guard came in to tell me that Hermione was here.

"Don't let her in." I told him. The guard gave me a quizzical look.

"Don't let her in, Tom?" He questioned. I just nodded. The guard studied me for a moment longer before deciding that I was serious and then he left me alone. I'm sure Hermione protested and begged them to let her in but they would not do it unless I told them it was okay. The guards wouldn't want something horrible to happen if they granted her entrance against my request.

I sighed and slid down to the cold, rock floor. The guard returned to me a moment later. "She wasn't happy, Redford. The girl told me to tell you that she would be back tomorrow."

"Tell her not to bother." I told him in a monotone voice.

"Why not?" He asked, still curious. Hermione always came to visit me, the guard knew that and couldn't see why I wouldn't want to see her.

I sighed again. "May I please have a a quill, some ink, and a piece of parchment?"

He gave me a skeptical look. "I don't know-"

"Please."

He pursed his lips together and exhaled forcefully through his nose. "Alright."

He left and a moment later reappeared with what I had asked for. "Thank you." I told him. He just nodded.

I started to work writing the letter that I would have someone deliver to Hermione.

My dearest Hermione,

Please do not think that I wish not to see you. It is not that reason why I will not permit your visits, that much I can assure you. The truth is that coming here to Azkaban is not safe you for in the slightest. Your last visit taught me that.

I sighed, thought over the next part of the letter and started writing once more.

I was being selfish when I allowed you to come and see me. I know that. You need to be safe, Hermione, for both of our sakes. I cannot live with the thought that you are not protected from danger. I would die if something were to happen to you. Having you come here to a place that is full of men who want nothing more than to harm you will not keep you well so I must stop these visits before something worse should occur. Please know that even though I will not see you, I will always be with you. My heart belongs to you now but I will keep my soul with me. You see, my soul is tainted with the imprint of the wrongs I have done in my life and I do not wish to burden you with such evils as those. But my heart... you gave me a heart in the first place, Hermione and it is rightfully yours.

When I get out of here we will start anew. We will leave this all behind us and get a fresh start. When I get out of here you will never be alone again, Hermione. I promise you that right now. Wait for me. I love you.

Yours forever,

Tom

I finished writing the letter, folded it up, and handed it to the guard. "When Hermione comes tomorrow, will you give her that for me?"

The guard eyed the piece of parchment before nodding again. He walked away a moment later, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I hated having to do that to Hermione but it was the right thing to do. So in my little cell I would wait until the day I would be free again. Free... I liked the sound of that. Free of Azkaban. Free of Voldemort. Free to be with Hermione. It was truly a time worth waiting for.

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I was released three years later. I got out early due to good behavior if you would believe it. It made me laugh to think they let Lord Voldemort himself out for good behavior. It really was laughable and almost unbelievable. The guard I had given my letter to all those years ago became my friend during the duration of my stay at the prison. He told me that I should thank McGonigal for the early release.

"Minerva McGonigal?" I asked. "For what?"

He gave me a stunned look as if I was supposed to know the answer to that question. "Well, she was the one who spoke on your behalf at the hearing."

I was taken aback. McGonigal? "Why would she do that?" I questioned. The guard just shrugged as he led me to the 'apparation safe' zone.

"I don't know. That old teacher of yours must have liked you, eh Redford?" He said as he nudged me in the ribs. I smiled awkwardly at him, trying to figure out why McGonigal would do such a thing for me.

We made it to the room we were headed to and I saw that another Auror was waiting there. "Well, Redford this is where we part. Crowley, here, will apparate you to the main land and after that it is all up to you. I hope I never see you again, chap." The guard told me with a clap against my back and a small laugh.

I smiled and shook his hand. "Likewise, my friend." With those words, I turned away from the first guard and toward Crowley. He held out his arm for me to grab hold of and I did so. An instant later, I felt myself being sucked into a tube. My bones and lungs felt as if they were being crunched but the strange feelings disappeared as fast as it had appeared. I was a bit nauseous when we came out of the other side of the apparation but a second later it passed.

I closed my eyes, tilted my head up to the sun, and took in a deep breath of free air. It was excellent. Everything seemed so better after being locked up for three years. I smiled to myself and finally opened my eyes.

An audible gasp came from my lungs as a flash of brown curly hair whipping in the wind caught the corner of my eye. I took a deep, calming breath before turning around and seeing her.

Hermione stood before me on the dock. A vision in a red wrap sun dress with black heels. She had changed so much in the last three years. She had gained some weight and no longer looked like a walking skeleton, she looked healthy and I loved that. Her face was sun kissed as if she had been spending more time in the sun and less time in the library. But through all these changes there was one thing that shone through above everything else: Hermione looked happy, completely and totally one hundred percent happy.

I was hoping that the joy on her face sprung from seeing me.

I smiled at her and the next thing I knew she was running toward me at full speed. A second later, she flung her arms around me and she was once again in my arms. Merlin, how I missed that. I couldn't help but smile wider, pick her up off her feet, and spin her around.

Hermione laughed and pulled her head out from the crook between my shoulders and my neck to look at me. Our eyes met. I set her gently on her feet and placed my hands on either side of her face. Her skin was smooth under my finger tips. Hermione was really real. She was here... she was here for me.

With that, I dipped my head down and crushed my lips to hers. All of the passion and love I felt for Hermione had only grown in our time apart. I loved her. I loved her with my whole heart. I pressed my lips harder on hers and in response she wrapped her arms around my neck and ran her fingers through my hair. I smiled against her lips and picked her up off the ground again. We kissed until both of us would die of oxygen deprivation if we did not take a breather.

I pulled back and we stared at each other, both of us gasping for air. Hermione smiled. "Hey."

I chuckled and placed a swift kiss on her forehead. "Hello."

Hermione took my hands from her face and entwined her fingers with my own. "Are you ready to go? I think now is a good time to start anew and leave this all behind us." She said, quoting my letter. "Don't you, Tom?"

I sighed contently and kissed her lips softly. "Starting anew sounds perfect, love."

Hermione started to led me away from the ocean, keeping a death grip on my hands as if I would somehow escape if she let go. I smiled down at her. With one swift motion, I pulled her to my chest and wrapped her in yet another embrace. I would never get enough these moments with Hermione but I would most definitely try to gather as many happy memories as I could. "I love you." I whispered into her hair.

"I love you." She replied with the three best words I had ever heard.

I released her and we started walking hand in hand again. With one fleeting look back at the prison of Azkaban, I left Tom Riddle and Voldemort behind me for good. I was starting fresh and new and couldn't do so if I held on to the names that struck such fear and pain into people. I left my old life behind me in that cell. Voldemort could no longer control me, not when I left him behind. He could no longer poison my thoughts and cause harm to those I love. No, his rein over me was over once and for all.

As of today, my name is Tom Redford and I am free.

I really hope you enjoyed the story. Thank you so much for sticking with it to the end. It's pretty rough so it is always a posibility that I will come back to it and fix it up a bit. Check back on it if you like sometime in the future.

Again, thanks for reading and sorry that this story had to come to an end. If you haven't already, check out my other fics!

Toodles, readers. =]