Author's Note: Ok, so this, sadly is the last chapter and we are both sad to have this finished. It's been such an encouraging experiecne and hopefully both of us will write more in the future, (seperately or together). Thank you so so much to all those readers who were here from the beginning. Your support means a great deal. Enjoy;)

The red-headed boy cleared his throat beside her bed.

He looked around and smiled at the healthy-looking children around him as they mingled with their family and friends, his smile wider with the feeling of pride that he had been part of the group that had found the cure. The cure that had caused hundreds to awake, like a prince's true love's kiss to a princess.

Ron smirked at the idea that he had been Hermione kiss, technically speaking. But if that was the case, then that would mean that Malfoy was her prince, too, which Ron didn't want to think about.

Ron tried to hide the evidence of his previous thoughts as he saw Hermione stir.

"Hermione, you're awake." Ron cringed at his last words, the matter of sleep and "awakeness" had become a touchy subject.

Hermione laughed a little. "Yeah, I guess I am. It's been awhile, huh?"

Ron nodded. "Look, Hermione, I know that it isn't me you wanted to see. I know that I wasn't the first face you wanted to see when you woke up from your coma about a week ago. I know-"

"Stop. Ron, please."

"No, I have to come through. Look, while you were asleep, I couldn't stop thinking about that night. The night in the Forbidden Forest. In the months that you were asleep, I felt so much guilt, that you would never know that I hadn't been the one. I would be devastated if you had- if you had taken your last breath thinking that I had been the one who had been there that night."

"It's ok Ron. I know."

"You know I wasn't the one who saved you?"

"You weren't? But how did you find me then? Didn't you say that no one else had been there?"

"Um-" Ron scratched his head. "There may have been someone else there."

Hermione thought back to that night. Although most of her memories had been erased of that night, she always remembered feeling a little unsure when Ron had said that he had been the one who had saved her. The one who had held her in his arms and told her that everything would be ok. The boy who Hermione would dream about in her sleep. like a faraway prince in her fantasies. He wasn't Ron, no he wasn't. She knew that. But she'd always thought it was her subconscious dredging up something and creating the facade. She'd felt bad when the dreams first started. It was like she was being unloyal but that wouldn't have made sense if Ron had been the man in her dreams. But now that she knew it hadn't been him...

And, she remembered. A flash of blond hair from her distant memories. It came back to her with a gasp. By Merlin. The boy that night was…

"Draco. He was the one who rescued me. I remember now."

Ron nodded.

"Then why did you lie to me? Why would you lie about something like that?" Hermione demanded an answer.

"That's the thing, Hermione- I honestly don't know. I couldn't give you a straight answer if I tried. The thing is, I've always been the sidekick. I've never been the hero, that was always Harry's job. And when I saw that Malfoy holding you in his arms and the way he looked at you, I saw the man that I could've been. I saw what I could give you, but could never if I tried. So, I took credit for what Draco had done. I'd just wanted to be the hero for once. I wanted to be appreciated, to be loved, to be patted on the back for what I'd done and to be the first to receive the pat, not the afterthought. I thought that an incredible girl like you didn't deserve some loser like me, who wasn't even good enough to rescue you when you needed it, whose job of being a boyfriend was replaced by some guy we'd both hated, or supposedly hated. I'm really sorry, Hermione. I didn't mean to do what I did. It just happened and when it had, I couldn't turn back the clocks, I couldn't fix it."

"Oh, Ron… I didn't know."

"You see, that's the problem. People tend to assume that just because I'm Harry's best friend, a sidekick, that's all I'll ever be." Ron paused before continuing. "And no I'm not angry at you or Harry or the world for that matter. Well, I used to be but I've grown up. Gotten over that petty hate. I'm sorry Hermione. I didn't mean to lie about it. Honest."

Hermione was silent.

"Then I guess this is goodbye. I'm sorry if I caused you trouble Hermione. I value your friendship too much to let my foolishness tarnish it. I'll cherish those times we had as friends."

"Ron, it doesn't have to be a goodbye. You lied to me and it was a pretty big lie too, but I'll forgive you. Some day. We can still be friends, but I don't think we should continue being boyfriend and girlfriend."

Ron sighed. "Hermione, I wanted to say-"

"Look, Ron, don't beat yourself up for what you've done. You're a good person and everyone makes mistakes. My love for you has never been fake, I have always loved you, Ron Weasley and I always will. So, I'm sorry, but I can't accept your goodbye." Hermione put out her hand for Ron to shake, "Friends?"

"Friends." Ron shook her hand.

"But Hermione, I didn't mean the goodbye. And I think," he took in a deep breath, "That you should go find Draco." Ron stood up and left the room.

Meanwhile, Minerva McGonagall walked up to the Minister for Magic's office, her chin pointed high in fake confidence.

"Kingsley. It's good to see you again, friend."

The Minister cleared his throat. "Mm... Now, we have a lot to discuss. Do you have any idea where Clara is?"

"No, not really. I just saw her at the hospital this morning. I'm sure she'll be here soon, sir."

"Ok. You do know why I asked you to come to my office, right?"

"Yes. To discuss the future of Hogwarts. And the happenings in the past year."

"Close. I want to ask you about your motive for retirement at Hogwarts."

"I am sure you know my intention. I didn't do a good job at Hogwarts. Hundreds of students fell into a coma and had their lives in danger not once, but twice under Voldemort's influence. That object he'd had caused all of the muggle-borns in the school to be possessed. I heard from Draco Malfoy that they were about to force the poor students to kill one another, it would've been my fault if they'd lost their lives, but thankfully Benedict Squirrel, as you have heard, destroyed the object in which part of Voldemort's soul still lived."

"Yes, the object is now beyond repair. It has been taken to be under inspection at the Ministry. We know that it is no regular Horcrux."

"Sir, they could've died from the coma, was what Clara had told me, if it hadn't been for the cure that they had cleverly produced. And, three students were kidnapped by Voldemort's followers and Voldemort was corresponding with them via some Horcrux which he had planted in the Forbidden Forest."

"But madame, all that was not your fault."

"He was plotting, scheming, whatever you want to call it right under my nose! If I had been clever enough to do a proper search of the forest, to have known what would've have happened, then none of this mess would've happened. Two girls died in my one year at Hogwarts and it was all because of my mistake. My stupidity. My-"

"Minerva. Tell me, do you think that Dumbledore was a good Headmaster?"

"Yes, of course. He was one of the best."

"And do you think he achieved his respect by blaming himself for every death, every mess up along the way? Do you think that he retained Hogwart's good reputation and safety by beating himself up and quitting every time he'd failed?"

"Sir, I-"

"I didn't think so. I'm sorry, Minerva, but I forbid you of retiring from your post. Dumbledore had not been a perfect Hogwarts headmaster and yet, people still respect him. He'd always done what was right. I believe that as long as you don't retire from your post, some day you can be just as great of a headmistress as he was."

McGonagall was at a lost for words.

"Ok, that's all for that, right? Now we shall talk about what happened last night. Where is Clara by the way? She's not usually late."

At that moment, the woman herself walked through the door.

"Clara. You're a little late. Please, take a seat."

"Oh, I'm so sorry sir. Things got caught up at the hospital."

"I understand. Now please, take a seat and tell me about what happened last night."

"Yes, sir." Clara slid the manuscript across the desk. "It was this flimsy piece of parchment that saved us all. Have a read."

Kingsley picked it up incredulously. "Mm... I see. But why didn't you report to the ministry as soon as you saw this?"

"I'm so sorry, sir. There wasn't enough time. If the words had been true, which it had been, we'd only had a few hours left to solve the case. There wouldn't have been enough time."

"Sure. Now, I heard about the death of three girls that night."

"Yes. There were three girls, two of them were from Hogwarts- Lara Crofton, a victim of the coma and Lavender Brown, who had bravely sacrificed herself, creating the last ingredient for the cure."

"And the other girl?"

"Lily Lofthouse. Lavender, the poor soul, panicked and killed her."

"Killed her?"

"She was scared, the poor girl. Lily had been trying to sabotage with the potion and Lavender had caught her in the act. I walked into the room not long after and Lily threatened Lavender not to tell. That was when Lavender killed her."

"Lily? She was one of the best of us. A clever girl, who I trusted."

"I had too. But, she had been working for Voldemort all along."

"By Merlin. She would've been the last person who would..."

"Yes, I know. We were all in shock. But, you see, her betrayal ironically assisted us in creating the potion. The liquid she had put in to sabotage the potion turned out to act as an ingredient for the "betrayal of the kind that runs deep."

"That's extraordinary."

"I guess you could call it that."

"And Lavender's death? How did that occur?"

"Well, we're not sure of why she had walked herself into the flames, but her death created the ingredient for our last ingredient, death at the door of love."

"But, how did you know that she had died because of love?"

"Somehow I'd just known. Maybe it was because she'd loved someone who couldn't love her back and she felt so much sorrow that she decided to end her life. But my main hypothesis is that Lavender had somehow cracked that line that we couldn't understand. She chose herself to sacrifice knowing that it would result in saving the lives of so many people. So, her death was out of love, which created the last ingredient."

Draco packed his things into his tiny suitcase. He closed the zip slowly and wondered about what was going on in the room opposite. He had seen Ron walking in to find Hermione and didn't dare to turn around, afraid that he might catch Hermione and Ron doing something together that would scar him forever. Instead, he busied himself by throwing his few possessions into the suitcase and thinking about what he would say to his mother when he returned home. He would leave Hermione behind with Ron, who he knew that she would be happy with. It would be the last act of love he'd perform for Hermione. Draco knew that it would hurt her if both Ron and he stayed with Hermione and he would leave, for Hermione and only for her.

As Draco picked up his suitcase and turned to the exit to leave, when he bumped into somebody.

"Gran- Hermione," Draco said with a gasp.

"Draco."

"Hermione, are you ok?"

Hermione nodded. "Draco, I've never been more ok. I know about what happened that night."

"Did Ron tell you? I'm sorry for keeping it from you, I meant to tell you but I didn't know how to. And you looked happy with Ron and-"

"I forgive you. One more thing- I heard every word you said to me when I was asleep."

"You did?"

"Yes."

"Well, I'd meant every word that I'd said."

"I know you did. And Draco?"

"Yes?"

"I mean this, too."

In one quick motion, Hermione wrapped her arms around Draco's neck and pressed her lips to his lips. Draco made a slight "aah" sound and dropped his suitcase in shock. He moved wrapped his arms around Hermione and returned the kiss. The kiss was at first almost desperate as if trying to swallow each other, but it soon became more relaxed, like a slow dance- the boy and girl becoming more comfortable with each other as they moved in time with each other's bodies. It was so different to her kisses with Ron, which felt safe and warm like her grandmother's cooking. Her kiss with Draco felt so dangerous and exhilarating, his lips made hers spark every time they collided. With him, Hermione knew. He was her entire universe. Her world. Her heart and soul. Her existence. With him, Hermione knew that she could finally be happy.

When they eventually pulled away from each other, Draco asked Hermione,

"Why haven't we done this earlier?"

Hermione smiled. "I'm not sure. We were stupid. We still are. But, you know how we could make up for all of that lost time?"

She leant in once more.