Chapter Twenty-Six

Hermione woke up with butterflies in her stomach. It took her sleepy brain a moment to catch up to her nervous system. Today was crunch day when it came to the curse. If their actions today didn't break it then she really would be at a dead end.

Even though she and Draco were closer than ever, it didn't mean that she wanted to have to marry him. She would much rather choose to marry him instead. And to make her feel even more pressurised, she had Neville and Ron relying on her for their future happiness. She didn't want this attempt to break the curse to fail and have them force themselves to marry witches they didn't love just to keep Hogwarts open.

"Can you keep it down over there? You're brain is practically screaming," a sleepy voice came from behind her.

Oh, and then there was her anxiety about the fact that she had done exactly what she said she wouldn't do and fallen into bed with Draco.

An arm snaked its way around her waist. "Stop thinking so much. You're going to spontaneously combust one day from all the analysing you do."

Hermione turned round and looked at the blond she was sharing a bed with. He was deliciously rumpled in the morning and also had the funniest case of bed-head she'd ever seen. Her eyebrows rose.

"What?" he asked self-consciously.

"It seems I'm not the only one with wild hair."

He patted his hair down and grimaced. "I blame you for this. All that running your fingers through it and tugging on it has taken a toll."

She snorted in disbelief. "Next you'll tell me that my hair condition is contagious."

Draco narrowed his eyes thoughtfully and examined her hair. "It could be. It's obviously a bad influence on my perfect Malfoy locks."

"You give Gilderoy Lockhart a run for his money when it comes to ego."

"I did win Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award last year. In my profile, they obligingly glossed over my less than wholesome teenage years."

"I think I remember that. I saw the issue at Molly's."

"Don't tell me - you wrote to the editor in a massive strop and threatened to imprison them for giving the prize to a Slytherin and Draco Malfoy to boot?"

She cringed a little. His teasing wasn't that far off the truth. She had thrown a complete hissy fit and had ranted at Harry and Ron for far too long about it.

"Something like that," she mumbled.

Draco grinned and rolled over on top of her. "I wish you'd been allowed to keep that Time-Turner you had in your third year."

She frowned. "How do you know about that?"

"Harry told me. In fact, I believe he rubbed my face in that fact that he had been instrumental in that bloody Hippogriff escaping justice."

Hermione didn't feel in the mood to start an argument with Draco about how he'd deserved Buckbeak maiming him. Besides, it had been a scratch, and the snotty-nosed brat he'd been had made a big deal out of nothing.

"Why would you want me to still have the Time-Turner, anyway?"

He smirked evilly. "I'd love to take a little trip to a year ago and completely freak your old self out."

Draco then maintained his position on top of her and admired the feel of Hermione's heaving chest against him as he listened to the ten-minute lecture she then proceeded to read him about the dangers of time travel and letting your past or future self see you.

He murmured a meek, "Yes, Kitten," before setting out to direct his girlfriend's passion into a much more productive outlet.

Hermione found herself once more walking besides Draco down the stairs in Malfoy Manor for breakfast with Narcissa and Snape. This time she wasn't feeling as humiliated, but was a little anxious.

"Your mother is going to think I'm some kind of hussy," she whispered.

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm sure she thinks it's scandalous that I have my girlfriend stay the night."

"Your girlfriend of less than a week!"

"I've known you since we were eleven and lusted after you for nearly a decade. It's hardly as if we met last week. Anyway, did I ever tell you that I found out about my mother and Severus when he appeared at the breakfast table one morning?"

"Oh Merlin's Beard - Snape!" she whimpered.

"What about him?"

"He's going to be there."

"So?"

"It's just bloody weird. Here I am doing the walk of shame in front of my old professor."

"Snape isn't going to care. He's always thought Gryffindors were morally delinquent."

"I should sneak out and meet you at Hogwarts later. Then your mother will never know I stayed the night."

"You forget that Tilly scared us in the shower this morning. I'm sure she's already told Mother that you are here."

Her face flamed bright red. "She's going to tell Narcissa that we were in the shower together, isn't she?!"

"Don't worry, I forbade her from doing so."

"Hermione, Draco, what's taking you so long?" Narcissa called, coming out of the sun room to hunt them down.

"We're coming, Mother. Hermione's just having a mini-meltdown over here," Draco said.

The older witch came round the corner just in time to see the pair of them standing on the staircase. Hermione was obviously very embarrassed.

"Why?"

"She thinks you're going to think she's a loose woman for staying the night."

If looks could kill, then Draco would currently be lying mutilated and bleeding slowly to death.

"I can't believe you just said that," Hermione hissed venomously at her boyfriend.

Narcissa just laughed. "Don't be silly, dear. I'm not old-fashioned. Indeed, it's lovely to have another female around the place."

Hermione was still glaring daggers at Draco. "I hate you for that."

"Don't worry, I'll make it up to you later," he replied lecherously.

She could only manage to whack him and walk with as much dignity as she could muster down towards his mother.

"Don't let Draco get you. He delights in teasing those he loves," Narcissa said to her.

Hermione refused to look at her blond beau as she marched into the sun room to face Snape.

Minerva McGonagall was waiting for the group that traipsed up to the castle gates later that day. They'd decided to keep the group small. It was just Hermione, Draco and Bill. They didn't want to keep inconveniencing the Headmistress or the rest of the Hogwarts student body. Hermione's nerves were growing and even Draco looked anxious. He had the pinched look that he got when he was feeling pressured. It reminded Hermione of their sixth year when he had worn the look constantly. Bill, by contrast, was whistling happily, which was intensely irritating.

"Hello," Minerva greeted them. "Is no-one else coming?"

"No, we thought the group should consist of the essential people," Bill explained.

"Yes, that's probably for the best."

They walked up to the seventh floor in silence and Hermione once again found herself facing the tapestry of Barnaby the Barmy. This time there were no melancholy feelings as she was no longer confused about how she felt towards Draco. She squeezed his hand, which was tightly clasping hers. He smiled at her in reassurance.

It was strange for her to be the one this was all resting on. She was used to playing back-up to Harry. At the end of the day, she may have been crucial in getting her best friend to the final battle with Voldemort, but he was the one who had to walk that terrible journey into the Forbidden Forest to face his destiny. Obviously, breaking this curse wasn't a life or death situation but it was important to many people and she could feel the pressure of that.

"Breathe, woman, or you'll pass out," Draco whispered to her.

Hermione let out the big breath that she had been keeping trapped in her chest. Until he'd pointed it out, she hadn't even realised it was there. Bill passed Draco the knife and he made a small cut in his palm and then offered the knife to Hermione, who took a deep breath and did the same. She stared up into his eyes as they mingled their palms and their blood together.

"Who's a filthy little Mudblood now?" she said teasingly.

"Hush, Kitten, you're spoiling a ceremonial moment."

She just stuck her tongue childishly, which made him laugh at her. They turned to the wall and placed their hands against the stone. You could hear a pin drop as everyone remained quiet, waiting for what was going to happen. The flash of blue light came as a huge disappointment to them all.

"I guess that's it then," Draco said.

Bill frowned. "I was sure this was going to work."

Minerva just looked anxious. The breaking of the curse would relieve her worrying about whether any of her former students would pull out or not. She hadn't been blind when it came to her new Herbology Professor, Neville. He was head over heels in love with Hannah Abbott but yet he was going to have to marry someone else.

Hermione was quiet. She had her 'distracted' look back. "Wait up. I think I know what we have to do."

They all turned to look at her.

"I don't think we have to do the ritual here at all. I mean, the Room of Requirement doesn't have much symbolic value. Very few people even knew it was there. I think the blood rite is meant to take place in the very heart of Gryffindor and Slytherin territory," she explained.

"The common rooms," Draco said.

"Exactly. I think we do what we've done in those two places and this will actually break the curse. Hmm… if we'd thought about that earlier then it might have worked with Harry and Daphne."

"Maybe," Bill said. "But, I think the animosity between the pair of you is what Ravenclaw was more focused on."

"Possibly. However, it does make me wonder…"

Draco put his arm around Hermione's shoulders, obviously worried that she was dejected about missing something. "Has anyone told you recently that you are brilliant?" he said, in an effort to cheer her up.

She smiled cheekily. "I am the Brightest Witch of Our Age."

"Possibly Most Big-headed Witch of Our Age, too."

"You're one to talk!" she replied, whacking him on the arm.

"You're too violent for your own good, as well."

Bill just chuckled whilst Minerva stood looking confused at the antics of the two former enemies. Reconciling the Draco and Hermione who were her students with this affectionate couple was very difficult indeed.

"So where to first?" Bill asked.

"Well as we're up here, we might as well go to Gryffindor Tower," Minerva said, tearing her eyes away from the squabbling pair.

Hermione felt the change in the air when she reopened the cut on her palm in the Gryffindor common room. The atmosphere pulsated with energy. She took this to be a good omen. It was also a good thing Minerva had cleared the room of all the students who had been relaxing. There had been one or two nasty glares Draco's way but that was to be expected. As she and Draco pushed their palms again the wall, there was a blinding green flash and the heavy tension that had filled the room popped.

"Well, that's different, which is positive," Bill remarked.

"Down to the dungeons!" Draco said cheerfully.

This time it was Hermione's turn to get the glares and someone dared hiss "Mudblood" at her as they walked past.

Draco turned as quick as a flash and grabbed the boy who had spoken by his cloak. "Apologise!" he ordered.

"No," the sulky Slytherin said.

The blond tightened his grip on the student's robes.

"Mr. Malfoy, unhand Mr. Brutus now!" Minerva exclaimed, outraged.

"Not until he apologises for calling my girlfriend a Mudblood."

"You're a disgrace to the name of Malfoy," Martin Brutus snarled at him.

Draco, living up to his Malfoy nature, sneered nastily at the boy. "And you're not fit to kiss her feet. Now apologise before I destroy your father's business. And you know I have the power to do so."

Hermione put her hand on his arm. "Draco, it's not a big deal."

"It is to me," he replied without removing his gaze from the boy.

They had a staring match until the boy seemed to read the steely intent in Draco's eyes. "Sorry," he muttered to Hermione.

"Ever say anything like that around me again and I'll put you in St. Mungo's," Draco threatened.

The boy sloped out, his tail firmly between his legs.

"Remind me to stay on your good side, Malfoy," Bill said.

Draco was still glaring at the door but he turned around and smiled at Bill. "Well, they say that the reformed are always the most adamant."

Minerva still had her lips pursed and gave Draco a very disapproving look. "Let's just get this over and done with before Mr. Malfoy attempts to assault any more of my students."

"I hope you give him detention," Draco replied, unabashed.

"Don't worry, Mr. Malfoy, I will deal with Mr. Brutus' behaviour when this is over and done with."

Once the Slytherin common room was cleared, the familiar tension from Gryffindor Tower returned. Hermione and Draco cut their palms for a third time and placed them against the wall. This time there was a brilliant red flash and the overwhelming atmosphere dissipated once more. As they turned to leave, Minerva crumpled to the floor with a cry. Bill caught her in his arms and lifted her up onto the nearest sofa.

"What's wrong with her?" Hermione asked frantically.

"I don't know. I've never seen anything like this before, even if a curse has been broken incorrectly," Bill replied.

Hermione ran a few diagnostic spells over the unconscious Headmistress but they showed normal results. "It's almost as if she's gone into a deep sleep," she remarked.

"Like a coma?" Draco asked.

"Yes and no. Her vitals are all fine and I think we just have to wait for her to wake up."

So the three of them sat and waited.

Thirty minutes later, Minerva finally stirred. She groggily sat up and looked around blearily. "What happened?"

"We were hoping you'd be able to tell us that," Bill said. "You just fainted and wouldn't wake up."

Minerva gathered her wits about her. "It was a trance. I think Rowena engineered it so she could communicate with me."

"This whole Ravenclaw contacting you thing has been really weird," Draco commented.

Minerva smiled. "Yes it has, and I'm very glad that it's finally over."

Hermione gasped. "You mean it worked?"

The Headmistress beamed at her. "Yes, you did it."

Hermione high-fived Bill, hugged Minerva and then half-strangled Draco with a fierce embrace. When she let go of him, he was red in the face and choking.

"That's nice; you release the curse and then attempt to murder me."

Hermione was too happy at the outcome to care about her boyfriend's moaning. "Oh, hush and stop being such a big baby. Let's get back to the Three Broomsticks and tell the others the good news."

"Only if we can mess with them first," Draco remarked.

"No, we are not pretending that the curse hasn't been lifted. That's cruel and mean."

"It'd be funny. Can you imagine how stressed Longbottom and Weasley will be?!"

"That's horrible, Draco," she said in a forbidding tone.

"You spoil all my fun."

"This curse has a lot to answer for," Bill whispered to Minerva. "Those two are going to be a complete nightmare together. I hope you're still Headmistress when their kids are enrolled."

Minerva paled at the thought.

The tension in the back room of the Three Broomsticks was palpable. All those who had been helping decipher the curse were gathered around, plus Hannah and Eve. Ron was looking pale and miserable and clutching Eve's hand tightly. He was so nervous that he hadn't even touched the biscuits that were sitting in the middle of the table. The same couldn't be said of Ginny who was steadily nibbling her way through them. She was anxious and needed to keep her hands busy.

"How long did they say this was going to take?" Theo asked.

"It didn't take very long when we did it but I guess there might have been some complications," Daphne replied.

"Great! Complications - just what we need," Ron murmured bitterly.

"If anyone can do this then it's Hermione. When has she ever failed at something like this?" Harry reassured the room.

That was the one thing that was giving them all so much hope. Hermione Granger didn't do failure, especially when it involved research and mastering something magical. She was far too overachieving to let this beat her. They were sure of it.

However, hearts sunk as the door swung open and a dejected Draco stumped in. He sighed. "Sorry guys, it didn't work," he mumbled disconsolately.

The room visibly deflated. Hannah started crying as she buried her head in Neville's neck. Ron's shoulders slumped and he and Tracey looked across at each other with disappointment.

Hermione bounded in and took one look at the depressed group. "Why's everyone so upset?" she asked.

"Draco told us what happened," Pansy replied.

"Draco Malfoy!" she yelled. "I told you not to mess with them!"

Draco smirked evilly. "Sorry, Kitten, I couldn't resist."

"You are a piece of work!" she said huffily.

"Hang on," Harry said. "Does that mean you actually did break the curse?"

"Of course we did. She is the Brightest Witch of the Age," Draco responded.

A shower of biscuits were thrown at the blond Slytherin before the news fully sunk in and a massive cheer was raised.

Hannah jumped up and engulfed Hermione in a massive hug. "Oh, thank you, Hermione! You are the best."

Hermione sat on a rock overlooking the Shrieking Shack and watched the sun set. The party was set to go on in the Three Broomsticks for a while yet. The relief that everyone was feeling at having the obligation of marrying to keep Hogwarts open had been lifted and the relief was immense. She was also incredibly pleased for Ron and Neville. Their lives really would have been unhappy if they would've had to leave the witches they were falling in love with to marry two other women. She really was happy that she had been instrumental in helping them avoid that.

She smiled as she thought back on the journey that she herself had taken. When this had all been revealed, she never would have thought that the curse would really be a blessing in disguise. She had been such a mess, having allowed her life to be filled with so much hate and thoughts of revenge. Instead of enjoying the peace that she had fought so hard for, she had been bitter. But thanks to the curse, she had faced her demons, got the help that she had needed and had now found happiness in the most unlikely of places.

He put an arm around her shoulder. "So this is where you snuck off to," Draco murmured.

"Hmm… I've always liked it up here. It's so peaceful."

The blond sat down onto the rock next to her. "That it is."

"Are they still going strong?"

"I think Madam Rosmerta is going to have to kick them out."

She giggled. "So, how does it feel being on the side that wins for a change?"

He poked her in the side. "Cheeky! But it is good to not have to feel compelled anymore."

"It certainly does. Maybe something about us will run normally now."

"Does that mean you aren't dumping me now you don't have to marry me or consign Hogwarts to the scrap heap of history?"

Hermione glanced at him. "I think you're stuck with me now, Malfoy."

He pulled her tight against him. "Good, because that's just the way I like it."

She rested her head on his shoulder and they sat and finished watching the sunset in silence, just enjoying each other's company, not feeling the need to talk unnecessarily.

Once dusk was fully enveloping them, Draco turned to her. "Do you fancy getting out of here?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, shivering. "It's still December after all."

"Come back to mine?"

Hermione nodded and they Apparated back to the Manor together.