A/N: Alright guys, quick thing: I'm going out of town on Thursday for a wedding this weekend so I won't be able to post a new chapter until Monday. Sorry! On the bright side: I turn 20 on Thursday! Woo! So that's exciting! Anyway, that's all for now.

Tallyho!

Chapter 25:

Draco was still in shock. It was over. It was really over. The Dark Lord was gone for good. And he had survived. He almost jumped for joy at that realization. Almost.

Any Death Eaters left that hadn't already been apprehended during the battle either fled or turned themselves in to Kingsley and the other Aurors. Kingsley had been named interim Minister of Magic for the time being (although everyone was sure he would become the new Minister as the world began to recover). Theo was amongst a group of others getting any injuries he had left healed. Harry was sitting with the Weasleys, holding Ginny tightly, as he smiled in relief. Ron was also with his family but Hermione was no where to be found. Draco knew she was alive, he had seen her during the battle, but after it ended she vanished. He wasn't sure what had happened to her. He wanted to find her but Narcissa told him to be patient.

Draco was sitting at a table with Pansy and his parents as they looked around them. Lucius had defected at the last minute and had come to the Light side but Draco and Narcissa knew it wouldn't be enough to save him. He had done too much damage this time to get away with claiming that he was one of the good guys. He and Narcissa were holding hands and leaning on each other for support but he and Draco hadn't said a word to each other. Narcissa wanted to get the two to talk but decided against it for the time being. There would be time for the two to reconcile. She hoped.

Draco looked around the Great Hall and cocked his head in surprise as he saw Blaise and Luna chatting happily. She had a bit of a dazed look in her eye, that wasn't new, but Blaise was smiling a genuine smile and seemed to be interested in what the young girl was saying. He nudged Pansy and directed her attention to the pair. She cocked her head to the side. "Huh. Who'd of thought that Blaise would hit it off with Lovegood." She looked to Draco. "Granted, who'd of thought that you'd fall for Granger. You still owe me that story, you know."

Draco nodded and chuckled. "I know and I'll tell you, Theo, and Blaise later. Just not right now. I don't have the energy or the will to share that long of a story right now." Pansy chuckled and nodded in understanding.

"Draco," Narcissa said. He looked to his mother to find her and Lucius looking to the entrance of the Great Hall. She looked at Draco and nodded towards where she was looking. He followed her line of sight and gasped. Hermione and Neville had just walked in helping Seamus over to the table where the injured were and sat him down to get him help for his leg that had been badly injured during the battle. As soon as Hermione helped him sit down, her head shot up to look for Draco in the hall. As soon as their eyes met, Draco felt his heart skip a beat and stood up.

She began to walk towards him and he did the same. They were about halfway to each other when she broke out into a run and jumped into his arms. He tightened his hold on her as soon as his arms were around her and buried his face into her shoulder. Both were sweaty, sore, exhausted, and smelled like dust and smoke but they were alive. They had survived. And they were together. Hermione broke down into tears as she held on to Draco with all her might. "I was so sure I had lost you," she whispered, her voice cracking.

He kissed her temple. "No way. I told you we'd make it out of this." He pulled back and looked at her as he wiped away her tears. "I'm not going anywhere."

She gave him a weak smile. "Neither am I."

And then he kissed her. He kissed her as if he'd never kissed her before. It was loving and tender but passionate and electric at the same time. He conveyed all the feelings he'd never been able to put into words into the kiss. He confessed how much he loved her, that she was his world, that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her and grow old with her. He confessed how grateful he was that she had saved his life and never gave up on him. Every emotion he felt but couldn't say was put into that kiss and knew by the look that she gave him afterwards that she had understood.

He pulled her in for another hug and kissed the top of her head. He happened to look around him and saw many people staring at the two, confusion written all over their faces. Even a few professors seemed unsure about what they had just witnessed. He looked to the Weasleys and saw each of them smiling at the couple. He looked to Blaise who had a small smirk on his face and to Theo who just rolled his eyes.

As he and Hermione walked back to the table, Narcissa stood up and smiled at Hermione. The brunette let go of Draco only to run into his mother's open arms. The blonde smiled at the sight in front of him. Hermione and Narcissa had grown close very quickly over the short time that she was in Grimmauld Place and he couldn't be happier to know that his mother liked the girl he hoped to spend the rest of his life with. Lucius watched the encounter in front of him with an expressionless face and said nothing as Narcissa raised an eyebrow to him after she and Hermione pulled out of their embrace.

Hermione walked back to Draco who was now standing with Pansy. She smiled at the Slytherin. "Thanks for helping me out," she said.

Pansy smirked. "Well, you're not a bad fighter Granger. Well done holding your own out there." Hermione smiled at her and Pansy's smirk grew into a full smile as well. Draco smirked at the scene unfolding in front of him but didn't miss the way that Pansy's eyes seemed to shift back and forth between them and something across the room. Or was it someone? Draco followed her line of sight and saw Ron watching Pansy curiously. The blonde did a double take as he realized that she was checking out Ron!

He choked back a laugh. Pansy raised an eyebrow. "What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing, just…" he looked back at Ron who was looking away sheepishly now before looking back to Pansy whose eyes widened as she realized he saw what she had been looking at, "I didn't peg you as a girl who liked redheads."

She shrugged. "It's a new day. Who knows what'll happen."

Hermione caught on quickly and giggled. "I can introduce you if you want?" she offered.

Pansy looked at her in surprise and vigorously shook her head. "I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Why not?" Hermione asked. "You said it yourself, it's a new day. Anything can happen."

"Yeah but I wasn't exactly the nicest to him when we were in school."

Hermione raised an eyebrow at Pansy and looked at Draco before looking back to her. "And you think he was?" she asked pointing to her boyfriend.

Draco furrowed his brows at her as Pansy laughed. "I supposed you're right."

Hermione smiled and offered her hand to Pansy. "Come on, I'll introduce you."

Pansy hesitated briefly before taking Hermione's hand and letting the brunette lead her to Ron. Draco smirked, watching in amusement as one of his best friends got introduced to his girlfriend's best friend. He chuckled and shook his head in disbelief as he saw them immediately hit it off. "Well that's something you don't see everyday," his mother said behind him, referring to Ron and Pansy. "Blaise and Luna too. Looks like you're not the only one who's going against tradition," she ruffled his hair. He grunted as he smoothed his hair back down to normal causing his mother to chuckle.

"Mr. Malfoy," a new voice said. They looked to the source and found Kingsley standing near them. Draco approached the new Minister and shook his outstretched hand. "Thank you for the work you have done for the us and the world. Because you have helped us out so much and proven your allegiance to the Order, you will not be tried and your name will be cleared. You will be able to walk the streets not only as a free man but as a hero. I would give you back your wand, but I know you've had it for a while. I knew the one I had with me was a fake, courtesy of Miss Granger, but I didn't say anything because I trusted her judgement. I see, now, that was the right choice." Draco chuckled and shrugged. Kingsley smiled at the blonde before looking to his mother. "Your name will also be cleared, Narcissa. You won't be tried because you also proved your allegiance to the Order and you aren't even considered an accomplice to the Dark Lord. You will be able to walk free. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for you, Mr. Malfoy," he said, looking at the elder Malfoy now. "Your actions in the war cannot be overlooked. You will be tried and your fate will be determined by the Wizengamot. In the meantime, I must ask you to come with me. You will be taken into custody and sent to Azkaban for the time being until your trial can be scheduled."

Lucius nodded and stood up. He gave Narcissa one last hug and kiss before looking to Draco. He put his hand on Draco's shoulder and it took everything in his power not to shake his hand off. Lucius sighed and looked at his son. He looked like he wanted to speak but instead just gave him a small nod and walked off with Kingsley. Draco's brows furrowed as he watched his father leave and looked to his mother who shook her head and shrugged before kissing his temple and going to talk to Molly.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. The dead had been moved to a few empty classrooms where they would rest until proper burial arrangements could be arranged. There was a large feast held but no one seemed to be in celebratory spirits. Everyone was still sad over the losses and exhausted after fighting for so long. Many people excused themselves from dinner and went straight to bed, the Golden Trio included. Most of the Order went back to their respective homes and Narcissa went to stay with Andromeda as she broke the news of her daughter's death and their sister's demise. Neither woman got much sleep that night.

After taking a long, hot shower, Hermione assumed that she'd fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow since she was so tired but that wasn't the case. She tossed and turned repeatedly and couldn't seem to get comfortable despite being in her bed in her room in Gryffindor Tower. She groaned as she looked at the clock on her bedside table and saw that it was only ten after midnight. If she kept up like this, it would be a long night.

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore and threw the covers off her bed as she got up. She put a small robe on over her pyjamas, pocketed her wand, and threw on some flip flops of Ginny's that she'd return in the morning. Quietly sneaking out of her room and out of the Gryffindor common room (careful not to wake Harry and Ginny who had fallen asleep on the couch together) she thought about where she would go. She knew she could wander around the school until she felt tired enough to fall asleep but she admitted to herself that she wanted to see Draco.

They had barely talked since Lucius had been taken away to Azkaban. Draco hadn't wanted to talk about it and Hermione hadn't pushed him. She had given him one last kiss before retreating to her room but hadn't wanted to leave him. They had spent so much time together these last few months that being separated from him just felt wrong. She sighed in defeat and began to walk towards the Slytherin common room, hoping to find Draco.

She was halfway there before she heard quiet talking a few paces ahead of her. She slowed her walk as she approached the voices and was surprised to find Ron and Pansy sitting on a window bench talking with their fingers entwined. She cleared her throat to make them aware of her presence. Pansy sat up straight as she noticed Hermione and pulled her hand away from Ron's. "Sorry," Hermione said, immediately regretting ruining their private moment. "I didn't mean to interrupt." She looked at Ron. "I figured you'd be asleep."

He shook his head. "Couldn't sleep. You?"

"Same." Hermione shrugged. "Um, listen Pansy, you wouldn't happen to know where Draco is do you?"

"Last I saw him, he was in his room."

Hermione nodded in thanks. "Oh, Granger, wait." Pansy said, stopping Hermione as she had begun to walk away. "The password to get into the common room is Wolfsbane. Draco's room is the first door to the right and his bed is dead center in the middle of the room."

"Thank you, Pansy," Hermione said before leaving her and Ron to continue their conversation. She smiled to herself happily as she thought of Ron and Pansy finding comfort with each other after such a difficult day. She was glad she had introduced them as she had a good feeling about those two.

She approached the Slytherin door and spoke the password. The door swung open and she entered. The common room was dark except the embers of the fireplace quietly burning away. She lit up her wand as she walked to Draco's room following Pansy's instructions. She quietly opened his door and turned her wand off before walking in.

She expected the room to be pitch black but it was actually quite bright as the moon shone brightly through the window. Hermione's eyes immediately fell on a head of blonde hair and knew it was Draco. He hadn't been able to fall asleep either and was currently staring at the ceiling replaying the day's events in his mind. He heard the door open and looked up to see if one of the guys had gotten up but was surprised to see his girlfriend quietly closing the door and tiptoeing over to him. His brows furrowed in confusion but he made room for her in the bed as she took off her shoes and snuggled in next to him.

"What are you doing here?" he whispered.

"I couldn't sleep. And I wanted to see you." she whispered back.

He wrapped his arm around her as they snuggled close together. "How did you get in here?"

"I ran into Pansy and Ron on my way here and she told me the password and how to get here."

Draco chuckled and kissed her forehead. Then he furrowed his brows. "Wait, Pansy and Ron? Together? At this hour?"

Hermione giggled. "Yeah. They were just sitting and talking but I think I interrupted something because they were holding hands when I found them."

Draco was very confused to say the least. "Well that escalated quickly." Hermione giggled again. "Well, I guess it will be easier to explain to Pansy, Blaise, and Theo now how we ended up together then. I promised them I'd tell them everything tomorrow."

"Hm. Well I'm sure they'll handle it just fine."

His lips quirked in small smile and he kissed her tenderly. He closed his eyes and breathed in her familiar lavender scent. He kissed her forehead before he relaxed and allowed himself to rest his mind finally feeling comfortable with Hermione with him.

They fell asleep in the safety and comfort of each other's arms.

P.S. Before you start asking, no this is not the end of the story. There's a few more chapters left that I wrote to close up everything nicely. So fear not, loyal readers! There's still a little more to this story left. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Stay Golden!