Summer is over rated. Hermione Granger wiped the sweat beading her brow and batted away yet another wasp as she sat hunched over in the little garden, carefully replacing the flowers trampled by Asha as she'd played earlier. Bring on the autumn. A song came on the radio she'd twisted to full volume, so that it blasted out of the speakers, and not for the first time Hermione was grateful that their home was so out of the way. A smile twisted her lips as the song played out, gently teasing the memory from her.

….You know I'm such a fool for you,

You've got me wrapped around your finger

Do you have to let it linger…

She knew it was a song about heartbreak, and yet for Hermione it brought only happy memories. She closed her eyes as a cascade of memories flowed in, sitting on her knees in the long grass, hair moving gently in the breeze, and she inhaled the golden scent of summer as she had breathed in the smell of him that night.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

His pale skin glows beneath the light of a thousand candles as they float about, contrasting against the dark of his robes. She can see the worry behind his grey eyes as he dartingly glances over, and finally she has had enough. Making her way forcefully through the throng of people littered about the place, she grabs his hand.

'Dance with me?'

The shock on his face as she finally dares do this is nothing to the expressions of the rest of the Hall. But she doesn't care. They have been through too much now for her to care what people think, and taking his hand firmly she pulls him to the dance floor. A song has struck up, and for once it is Muggle, one she recognizes, though still sung by the Weird Sisters, and placing her hands around his neck she begins the dance.

The buzzing that fills the Hall somehow does not affect her ears as she stares into his eyes, silently telling him that it is okay. Nothing matters anymore. And as he soul-kisses her to the gasps of the crowds, she knows that it's true.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

A sudden noise disturbed her from her reverie and she opened her eyes to see him knelt before her.

'Our song again?' He said, and she smiled up at him. 'One day you'll get sick of it, you know, and then what will you do?'

Hermione reached out for his hand and he pulled her up, pulling her close to him so that his lips found hers and the dirt on her cheeks smudged on his. She kissed him hungrily, hands gently trailing the hairs on the back of his neck.

'I'll find another one, of course.'

And then he was kissing her again and she didn't care.

When they finally came up for air her cheeks were pink and he hugged her to him. Six years had passed since their first 'official' date, though of course they had been dating several months before then without it being public knowledge, and still he found her just as beautiful, just as amazing as he had as a seventeen year old boy. Motherhood had not diminished her character; if anything it had strengthened it, and their daughter Asha, though bearing the white-blonde hair and wolf eyes of her father, was truly her mother's daughter - intelligent, determined and head-strong.

That first dance had set in motion a chain of events which even now, looking back, Draco was unsure he would want to change. He had expected ridicule from all sides at school for 'lowering' himself (a careless comment for which Blaise Zabini dearly paid - the skin on his left cheek had never quite been the same since Draco had furiously hexed him, though he saw past it now). But aside from the initial fortnight of mutterings and whispers, nothing bad had come his way, or Hermione's for that matter, and he guessed that Harry and Ron had had a little something to do with this. Sometimes, being associated with the Golden Boy did have its advantages.

On the downside, his father had never since spoken to him. After that terrible row, Draco had been banished from the house, forbidden under any circumstances to contact any of the family - the family he was now no longer part of. It had hurt Draco deeply, but he knew that his father would never come round to his way of thinking. All Lucius Malfoy knew was that his only child had brought unimaginable shame upon them; he had disgraced the name of Malfoy, and so was unfit to bear it. He had furiously burned every letter Draco owled him; he would cross the road to avoid him in the street or else Apparate away; he would not allow him to cross the threshold of his home. As far as Lucius Malfoy was concerned, he had no son, and he and his wife lived alone.

It had nearly broken Draco to note the empty seat at his wedding where his father should have been. His mother had sneaked to it, at great personal cost, but as she had whispered feverishly to him, 'It's my only son's wedding day. How could I live with myself if I stayed away from it?' That day, Draco had finally accepted the situation. Some things would never change.

Now, his hands found Hermione's hair and his fingers wrapped themselves in her curls as he kissed her face softly, drawing back slightly as they grazed the scar on the back of her head.

'Are we visiting today?' she asked him gently, knowing what he had found. He nodded silently, and she removed herself from his embrace. 'I'll get Asha ready then.'

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Harry opened the door almost as soon as Hermione had finished knocking, and was immediately hit by a tiny blonde whirlwind as Asha propelled herself forward and clasped her arms tightly around his waist. She loved her 'Uncle Harry' and told him so at every possible occasion. He had grown even taller since their school days, though he had at last filled out a bit, just falling short of being a true 'beanpole.' His hair was still an unruly crop of black tangles, which he had long since given up trying to tame, and anyway, as Ginny pointed out regularly, sometimes the messy look was sexier.

'I know it's a bit of a cheek but could you just watch her for an hour or so, Harry?' Hermione's voice was uncertain. She hated asking for favours.

Harry grinned. 'Course I can.'

'Are you sure?'

Harry rolled his eyes. 'Course I am. Anyway, Ron's coming over later - he's more trouble than Ash any day!' Asha giggled conspiratorially and ran inside the house, calling out Ginny's name.

The little girl gone, Harry's expression sobered. 'I take it you're going to see Pansy?' Hermione bit her lip and Harry knew. 'I don't know why you do it, Hermione. She's never getting better, and it only upsets you.'

Hermione glanced back at the car. Draco sat in the driver's seat, hands gripping the wheel tightly, staring straight ahead. 'I know.' she said. 'But he feels guilty over what happened. This sort of…helps him.'

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sitting in St Mungo's twenty minutes later, Hermione wasn't so sure. It was a sad fact that since the big showdown, Pansy's mental health had steadily decreased, and despite the nurses constant assurances that she was improving, Hermione doubted she would ever be normal again. She seemed to have broken inside; it was as if she were stuck on a loop, forever reliving that day. She had been incarcerated in St Mungo's then, and had not left it since.

Sometimes, she only sat in silence, refusing to answer anyone's questions, staring resolutely ahead, picking carelessly at the hem of her white gown. Sometimes her entire body was wracked with sobs, so that her face was masked with tears and she physically trembled with sorrow, and hid her face away from sight. Sometime she seemed almost lucid, normal, and you could have a conversation with her.

And sometimes, like today, she would be filled with rage, and nothing you could say or do would placate her.

'Why did you do it, Draco, I loved you, I love you,' she muttered furiously, eyes fixed steadily on Draco's like a feral cat. Hermione could see the hurt in his eyes and wanted to strike Pansy down for causing it - at the same time she wanted to smooth away the pain in his tormentor's own heart, a hurt she knew she was in part, even if inadvertently, a cause of.

'You lied to me, Drakey, you led me on, you let me believe, and look what happened…I love you but you hurt me, why did you hurt me? You don't love me do you? Do you?' She fixed her gaze on him, leaning close to his face, and he glanced uncertainly at Hermione.

'No, you never loved me, never, never, NEVER, NEVER!!' Her voice rose to a shriek and she made to leave her chair to strike him, but two nurses rushed forward, anticipating her next moves, and pulled her back, restraining her.

'I think you'd better go now. She's getting upset.'

Hermione didn't need telling twice, and the two of them stood up, shrugging on their coats and turning to leave.

And as Pansy's animal cries and shrieks filled the corridors as she screamed with all her might, Hermione felt the sadness in Draco and she reached for his hand, squeezing it reassuringly. Stopping in the corridor she pulled him into a tight hug, whispering words of comfort into his ear, reminding him that she loved him, and gradually he relaxed and allowed himself to enjoy the closeness of her.

Some things would never change. And some things, she wouldn't change for the world.

THE END

And there it is. Sweet Madness is FINISHED, and I will henceforth only be touching it to edit and tweak. There will be NO new chapters WHATSOEVER (sorry). Hope you liked it :D And if I've missed a loose end, let me know and I will tie it up pronto.

Au revoir!