WHOP 21

"You can do this," she heard Draco whisper as he shimmered in front of her. He was crying and suddenly that made Hermione stand up even faster. She had to remember why she was doing this: she was doing this for Draco. She was not going to quit.

"Spiritus meus qui est in terra caput. Revertere, quo dignus es." She chanted along with Ana. "Spiritus meus qui est in terra caput. Revertere, quo dignus es. Spiritus redire ad inferos!" She managed to chant with all the energy she had left.

A white light shone in front of her and at all once the breath seemed to leave her body. Hermione collapsed in a heap on Ana's grave.

"Hermione," A voice whispered to her. It had been doing so for a while now. But she was not ready to listen to what else it was saying yet. She was still so tired. "Mione please," Another voice said and Hermione grunted. She was so tired; she did not want to wake up yet.

White light frayed at the ends of her vision but she fought it. People's faces swam in her dreams. People with ginger hair and one boy with a lightning bolt scar were frequently there and she recognized them as the voices talking to her. But there was another face. A boy with eyes that felt like home. He didn't say much. But whenever she saw his face she would feel light touches on her forehead, her cheeks, and her hands. She relished these touches.

It started with a small tickle in her throat. She thought she could just ignore it – there was no need to get up yet. She was so comfortable. She coughed. It was amazing how a simple cough as opposed to her best friends woke her.

"Here you go," a kind voice said, handing her a drink of water. Hermione drank it, eyes closed. Eventually she put it down and gave in to being awake.

"Ginny," she said with a smile, seeing her friend at her side.

Beside her was a table that had cards and chocolates. On her left was Draco, sleeping in a chair. Hermione's heart soared. "He hasn't moved for two days now- refused to leave your side for a moment. It's been quite a pain in the arse to even get him to eat I've heard."

Hermione rubbed her eyes and shifted to a more comfortable position in the hospital bed. So she had been in bed for two days now. Wow. "What happened?" she asked in a hoarse voice.

"Madame Pince said she found you collapsed –"

"No, no. With Draco? Is he okay now? Completely healed?"

Ginny smiled. "Yes, he's alright. He woke up two days ago and the first thing he did was look for you." Hermione sighed and relaxed. He was okay. She had done it. And then she felt it: the silence in her head. It meant Ana was truly gone. "Speaking of you, what happened? What did you do to yourself?"

"I – um I did a spell that brought Draco back," Hermione said quietly, eyeing the sleeping figure. He had dark circles under his eyes and stubble on his jaw. Hermione had never seen him so dishriveled. But… he had done all of this for her?

Suddenly, Ginny hugged her and Hermione squeaked in pain. Ginny immediately let go and apologized. "We were so worried about you, Hermione. Why didn't you ask any of us for help? Why didn't you even tell us what you were planning?"

Hermione shrugged, the familiar pull of sleep catching her again. "Honestly Ginny, what I did was crazy. I didn't want anyone –"

"You're bloody right it was crazy." A voice behind Ginny said and the two girls looked to see Draco had stood up.

Ginny frowned at him. "Give her a break, she just woke up."

"Leave us alone for a minute will you?" he asked, glaring at Ginny now.

"I'm not taking orders from you." Ginny fired, standing up as well. "You're the reason she did all this."

Hermione hurriedly grabbed her friend's hand. "Gin, please don't start arguing. Why don't you go get some sleep? I'll see you first thing in the morning."

Ginny smiled at her friend and gave her hand a squeeze. "Alright, but your wand is right by these chocolate frogs so don't hesitate to hex him." Hermione laughed as Ginny left.

"You must have had a hard time with them huh?" Hermione asked looking at Draco. His face wiped the smile from her mouth and Hermione's stomach dropped. That's right- she had almost forgotten. It was the love potion that made him look at her affectionately; like she was the only girl in the world. But now that it was gone…

She shifted in the bed and closed her eyes, willing the lump in her throat to go away. Draco waited quietly. Eventually she gathered her nerve and sat up in bed and looked at him. All traces of sleep had left her.

"Hi," she said to him in a small voice.

"You're an idiot." He said and Hermione's insides recoiled at his cold voice. He stepped closer to her bed, eyes filled with an unidentifiable emotion – probably annoyance that he was caught in the middle of this situation. "You could have died." He said.

"Well, I didn't." Hermione fired back. "And because of my idioticness you're here standing in front of me so I'm expecting a thank you."

A muscle shifted in his jaw and Hermione could see him fighting back harsh words. "Thank you." He grit out finally. "But that does not make any of this okay." He said. He hated being like this- emotional and barely under control of what he was saying. He wanted Hermione to realize how helpless he had felt watching her heal these past two days. He wanted to explain how much she meant to him, but the words just wouldn't come out the way he wanted them to.

Hermione frowned. "How is this not okay?" she exclaimed, unable to keep her voice at a whisper any longer. "You're okay now, right? Ana and Amasius are gone from our heads, right? And now I'm okay, right? Everything is fine! We can go back to our normal lives."

"You almost died," he said in a lower voice. "I – You risked your life for me."

"I-"

"And I know I should be thankful or proud of you or something," he said speaking over her. "But I'm not. I cannot believe you did that for me. I- I'm just –" He stopped, stepped away, and ran a hand over his face. "I was so afraid you were going to die when you were performing that spell, Hermione." He said turning back around and holding her hand. Eyes grey eyes blazed over hers and Hermione was sure her heart was beating too fast for normal. "You risked your life for me. Me! I was horrible to you for all of our years at Hogwarts. I didn't help when Bellatrix hurt you. I raised my wand at your best friends. I came in your room uninvited and kissed you and kept you up at night. Why would you do that for me? You should have just left me in that coma rather risk your-"

"I love you," Hermione said abruptly. She hadn't meant to say it but it came out of her mouth as if she had been saying it for years. She knew what she was saying would change everything; she could tell by the fear in his eyes and absentmindedly wondered if she had fear in hers. "I know you only felt something for me because of the love potion, but I- I truly love you." She looked away as tears filled her eyes. She knew he was probably going to just walk away but she had to say it. "I don't know when it happened but I love you and if I had to do that all over again – if I had to risk my life again, I would. My life was empty when your mother said there was nothing they could do. And then I had to watch you. I could see you in my dreams and I could hold you and I could pretend that everything was okay- but here in real life people were acting like you were dead. I felt like there was a hole in me and I couldn't think about anything else but wanting you back at my side. I know you don't feel the same but I'm not afraid to say it. I –"

Suddenly Draco lifted her chin and silenced her with a kiss. Hermione gasped against his mouth and frowned when he broke away. Carefully, he conjured a napkin and wiped her tears away. Hermione watched him in stunned silence. Who was this man standing before her?

When he finished he opened his mouth- and closed it. And he repeated this three times before standing up and running his hands through his hair. "I don't know how to do this," he said at last, turning back to her with a weary expression on his face. "I – these past few days I haven't spoken to anyone properly. I've just been yelling about you and yelling at people to leave me alone and – Hermione I don't know how to say what I feel."

"It's okay," she said, "You don't have to – I know you don't-"

He shook his head and chuckled. "You honestly think you don't mean anything to me?" he asked and Hermione's breath caught. He sat in Ginny's vacated seat and held Hermione's hand. "You're right, the love potion was a big factor in this but-" he sighed again, smiling and then ruffling his hair. "When I first went into that coma and saw you that was after they had taken Pansy's potions out of my body, right?" Hermione nodded, not trusting her voice to speak. "So that means the effects of the potion should have worn off even if it was just a dream. I should have been back to normal like I was before the love potion, right?" Hermione nodded again. "But I wasn't." he said with a smile, and Hermione froze. Was this really happening? "The smell about you caused by the love potion was gone but – but my feelings were the same." He searched her eyes, hoping she would understand him. "My love for you was the same. It still is. I love you." He said and Hermione's heart soared. "I love everything about you – your stubbornness," He kissed her hand. "Your intellect," he kissed her forehead. "Your voice," he kissed her under her jaw. "Your little habits, your body- everything." He was breathless now- kissing her between every other word. "I know I'm rude and short tempered and -"

"Draco?" Hermione said, cutting him off. She looked at him, trying to memorize this exact moment. Memorize her erratic pulse, his frozen smile, the silence of the room, and the hand intertwined in hers. "I love you," she said with a smile.

He relaxed, letting out a breath he hadn't known he had been holding. He had started this year out with a hollow heart and an empty future. But here was – his heart ready to burst, beside the only person that mattered to him.

EPILOGUE

It was weird – being at a wedding and not being a guest. Yesterday it scared the pants out of him but he was going to go through with it. After all, it was everything he had been dreaming of doing for two years now. He caught his mother and father's smile sitting in the front row. Thankfully Azkaban had lifted their rules for a bit and allowed Lucius to wear a proper embroidered white cloak to the ceremony.

The past 7 after leaving Hogwarts had passed in a blur. Though it was tough, Draco had become a lawyer for anyone and everyone in Azkaban. Not an Auror – a real and proper lawyer. He worked with Aurors and The Ministry to make Azkaban a more fair prison. The dementors no longer roamed freely and (depending on the circumstances) prisoners were allowed be let out for a day every 2 months to be with family. They were allowed to wear a cuff that Draco had designed when Hermione had explained to him the muggle "house arrest" system.

When the life he was living now had been just an idea, Hermione had been the only person that believed in him. And together, they had achieved it. There were still many corrupt people that wanted to bring Draco down but slowly he was getting somewhere. He, Potter, and the two youngest Weasleys were even working to develop a law school for others who wanted to join Draco.

Speaking of Hermione's best friends, they had turned out to be nice company in the end. Of course the Weaselys took special happiness in torturing Draco to boredom, but he learned to get used to it. Especially because Hermione would kill him if he didn't at least try to be courteous.

Finally, the harp started to play and the doors at the other end of the hall opened. Draco could barely control the smile that crept onto his face. At the end of the hall was his wife-to-be. Personally she had wanted a fast marriage but Draco had insisted on adorning her with a large ceremony filled with ceremony and friends. Sure it made his bank account empty at an alarming rate, but she was worth it.

And what a sight she was. She walked down the aisle; arm in arm with her father a smile on her face and a blush on her cheeks. Everything else seemed to lose meaning as she approached him. She gave his hand a small squeeze when she met him at the altar.

"You look beautiful," he said to her, wishing he could just carry her away in his arms already.

"And you look nothing short of perfect," she said and Draco winked.

"Draco Malfoy," she said aloud, starting her vows and holding his right arm as he did the same. "We would be lying to each other and everyone in this room if we said we were ready for this. Because I'm not and I know you probably are not." Her eyes shone bright and Draco smirked at her words. She never failed to surprise him. "But I am telling the truth when I say this is what I want. You are what I want. You are my sunshine, you are my best friend, you give me motivation to never give up, and you are an amazing person. You are the first thing I want to see in the morning, you are the last thing I think of before I go to sleep, and it's you that I want to be with every moment. I promise, to never leave you," she said and a magical bond formed around their arms. "I promise to always believe in you." Another bond formed. "I promise to laugh at all of your silly jokes," at this Draco and the crowd laughed as another bond formed. "And I promise to love you- every moment of every single day." A final red bond formed and Hermione sighed with happiness.

And then it was his turn. He had a hard enough time just expressing to Hermione how he felt, and now he was going to have to do it in front of a hundred people. However, when he started to speak it seemed like he had been reciting paragraphs about his love for her forever. "My perfect Hermione Jean Granger. I have known you for 14 years now, and from the moment I say you I knew you were amazing. I knew I was going to have a rival that could match my pace, my intellect, and my strength but I had no idea I would be meeting my other half. I was a horrible person for a long time but in three months you changed my life. You made me a better man; I would not be who I am today without you. You are everything to me," he said, whispering the last part fiercely. "Try as I might I may never be able to express how much I love you but from this day forth, I promise to say things like this every day," he didn't know it was possible, but his smile got even bigger at the first bond formed. "I promise to protect you, I promise to love you, and I promise to be at your side forever."

"'Till death do us apart," they said in unison as a final, fifth bond formed over both their arms.

"I love you," he whispered in her hair as he put the wedding ring on her finger.

"And I love you," Hermione said, lifting her lips to meet his.

AND THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER. THE END.

A/N: WOW. JUST WOW. My first ever multi-chapter story to be truly completed. WOW. It's been an amazing journey with you all, these characters and writing this story. Especially because this was my favorite one to write ;)

So what did you guys think of Draco's job as a lawyer. If you remember, in an earlier chapter he had expressed interest in becoming a lawyer so I thought I owed it to him. I hope everyone enjoyed the ending and I wanted to thank all of you for reading and taking the time to review, favorite, or follow. That really and truly means a lot to me.

Lots of work went into writing this and every bit has been worth it. :) Again thank you all for your encouraging words, criticism and support. The HP fandom will never die. :)