A/N: Okay, a few things:

First: Thank you so much for your support for my other story Something New. I plan to keep writing it, but I might only update once a week for that story, which is still fairly frequent, but I want to finish this story first before I dedicate more time to that one. You guys are all too kind! I'll try to post another chapter for that one by next weekend, how does that sound?

Second: I apologize for the gross first portion of this chapter. Not my best writing to be honest, but it's quite fluffy, and I struggled writing it, but it was important to put in before I continued on with the BIG PART of this chapter. Actually one of the biggest moments I was leading up to for the story happens in the second half of this chapter during New Years.

Third: I want to thank you all for your continuing support of this story, and please, I love hearing your opinions and thoughts so don't hesitate to review! :)

Fourth: I do NOT own anything written and created by J.K. Rowling, I just have a wild imagination.

Without further ado…

Chapter Twenty-Five: Clocks Go Forward

Hermione's POV

As she stepped through the fireplace, back into the familiarity of her temporary home for the last couple months, Hermione was full and hazy from their Christmas with the Potters and Weasleys. She looked to the plush sofa and wanted nothing more than to collapse into the cushions for a happy nap, but there was still one more thing to take care of before they went to bed. "Did you have a good time?" she smiled to the blonde wizard next to her.

"It was alright," he shrugged, but the gentle curve on his lips gave him away, she thought.

"You seemed to get on well with Teddy," she smiled at the memory of how enamored young Teddy was with Draco. She wanted to ask him about the photo Draco gave him, thinking that Narcissa had followed suit with her family and ostracized her older sister, but she knew he wasn't going to be so willing to give an answer.

She could hear a soft chuckle from beside her and looked up to see he seemed to be lost in thought, no doubt recalling the young boy's excitement as well. "He's a bit of handful, certainly a trouble maker," he drawled with a smirk. "Definitely going to be in Slytherin one day," he boasted.

Hermione frowned and shook her head. "He's probably going to be in Gryffindor, or maybe Hufflepuff like his mother, he's a lot like her," she sighed.

"Want to bet on it Granger?"

"That's still several years away," she rolled her eyes.

"Scared you'll lose?" he teased

Hermione crossed her arms and shook her head. "Fine, if he's in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, you have to dye your hair red for an entire week," she smirked.

Draco cringed at the thought of looking like a Weasley for a whole week, and wondered briefly if their little bet was entirely worth it. He would just have to make sure he won. "Okay, and if he's in Slytherin, you have to wear Slytherin colours for a week," he countered.

Hermione snorted. "That's hardly,"

"I'm not finished," he cut in. "You have to wear Slytherin colours for a week and cook me a meal wearing nothing but maids robes," he grinned.

Hermione frowned and slapped him up the side of his head but held out her hand, confident she would win this bet. "Deal," she said firmly and shook his hand with a smile. Her mind wandered then to the task she had gotten rather distracted from. "Oh, right, before I forget, sit down," she panicked as she tried to recall where she had placed his present. Right, she nodded before bolting up the stairs, leaving a rather annoyed and confused Draco perched on the arm of the sofa.

She rummaged under her bed for a few minutes and finally came out with an "aha!" as she held a small box wrapped in silver paper. She ran back down the stairs and stumbled back into the room, rushing to catch her breath. "I almost forgot, I wanted to give this to you after, but we got back so late, but yeah, Merry Christmas Draco," she mumbled out, shoving the small, wrapped, gift in front of his face.

She watched nervously as Draco took the tiny package in his hands and frowned down at it. "You didn't have to," he started to say but slowly opened the gift anyway, his excitement building at the thought of what it may be. Hermione smile as she watched him unwrap the paper and open the tiny box, and could catch the small golden glint from inside. Draco's breath hitched as he watched the small snitch fly out the box and hover slightly in front of him. He looked up to Hermione with questioning eyes and an eyebrow slightly perched higher than the other.

"I know you're no Harry, as far as seekers go," she winked, "but I also remember you having a particular love of Quidditch that could rival his own, and I pulled some strings with McGonagall and this actually happens to be the very first snitch you ever caught, I believe it was against Ravenclaw?" she rushed out.

Draco nodded as he reached up and wrapped his hands around the tiny golden orb. He flinched as the tiny object started to hum and move beneath his fingers. Opening his hand to reveal the snitch on his flat palm he frowned as he saw it open up to reveal a small piece of paper stored inside. "What's this?"

"Snitches have flesh memory," she started to explain but was grateful Draco quickly caught on and nodded in understanding. "So I tucked a small note inside," she smiled.

Draco took out the folded paper and looked back up to her; "if it only opens to my touch, how did you get this inside?" he frowned.

"Brightest witch of our age remember?" she smirked and Draco only rolled his eyes with a laugh. "Go on, read it," she smiled, taking a small step closer towards him.

Draco unfolded the note and smirked as he read two little words written in a delicate script. He stood to his feet and Hermione blinked as he came closer, a greedy look in his eyes. "Granger," he growled with a smile.

Hermione held up her hand, stopping him in his tracks as it lightly pressed against his chest. "Merry Christmas Draco," she smiled as she stepped on her toes and placed a lingering kiss on his lips. She gasped as his hand wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer to him, deepening their kiss. Her tiny gasp was just enough to welcome his tongue to slip between her lips and Hermione took a few seconds before kissing him fiercely back. She could hear the faint noise of wings buzzing beside her ear as Draco let the snitch go to bring his now free hand up to her cheek, his fingers wrapping up to her ears and tangling in her hair. Her heart started to race and she brought her hands up to his hair, tugging slightly on the gold strands and laughed against his lips as his breath caught.

The longer they kissed, the faster her heart seemed to pound and Hermione felt as if she were on fire, in fact, the entire room seemed to feel rather hot, almost bursting with electricity. She was about to pull away, but her mind instantly shifted elsewhere as Draco's lips found her neck. She let out a light moan as he nipped the tight skin just above her collarbone. She felt a chill down her spine as his hand drifted lower, gripping tightly to her bum, as if someone was breathing down her back. Draco pulled her even closer and she noticed his growing interest, but she couldn't help but suddenly feel like something wasn't right. It wasn't until they both heard a clatter that they pulled away from each other, Hermione's eyes searching for the noise, but Draco's still focused intently on her as he breathed heavily over her. "Shit! Draco! The tree's on fire!" she screamed and instantly pulled out her wand, simultaneously throwing Draco aside to begin putting the flames out. She found it increasingly difficult to control and was panicking as her spells didn't seem to work, not to mention the furious wind that was whipping her hair to cover her eyes.

"Draco, will you cut tha-oh," she sighed as she felt firm hands on her shoulders, his thumbs slowly circling her shoulder-blades.

"Relax," he purred in her ear, and the sensation alone was enough to calm her nerves. The wind seemed to stop and she slowly raised her wand casting a quick Aguamenti charm at the flames lapping at the branches. Within seconds the flames disappeared, and the tree was repaired; only a few broken ornaments littered the ground. She turned around and found herself tight against Draco's body once again, his arms around her waist.

"Er, thanks," she smiled, looking up at the familiar grey eyes that looked hungrily down on her. They stared at each other for a few minutes before a grin cracked on Draco's face and he started to laugh. Hermione frowned but soon found she was laughing at the absurdity of everything that had just happened as well. "I don't think we should do that again," she sighed, shaking her head, "lest I burn the house down."

"I'll take my chances," Draco growled, but his hands dropped from her waist, knowing it was probably best not to take the chance. While he certainly wanted more, he had also grown fond of his new place; he'd just have to wait until she had more control over her abilities. "Thank you Hermione, for the present… and the snitch," he winked.

"You're welcome," she blushed, taking a small step back. She certainly hadn't planned on a full out snog session, only wanted to give him a small kiss, but the tickle she felt on her lips told her that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. "Well, we should both get some sleep," she nodded and made her way up to her room, leaving a smirking Malfoy in his living room, watching the small golden snitch buzz around his head.

As she crawled under her fluffy covers, Hermione brought her hand up to her lips and smiled against her fingers. Her heart fluttered as she pictured his firm grip on her back, securing her against him as he kissed her. She tugged the blanket higher so it only left her eyes and nose exposed, hiding the growing blush on her cheeks. It was certainly a new development, and while not entirely unwelcome, Hermione couldn't help the growing feeling that she was both figuratively and literally, playing with fire. However, that troublesome thought still didn't stop her from drifting to a sleep full of pleasant dreams pertaining to a certain blonde wizard.

Draco's POV

Draco sat in the armchair and crossed one leg over the other, his foot tapping against the floor while he listened to feet patter through his house, a woman's voice chattering away about this or that, and the occasional yowl from Crookshanks being disturbed from his slumber. He looked down to his black oxford shoes, and slim black trousers, picking a stray orange hair from the fabric. "Damn cat," he scowled as he searched the rest of his outfit while he waited for Hermione to be ready. It would be the first time she had left the house for somewhere public in weeks and while they were certainly nervous, it was also a special occasion.

The Ministry was hosting their annual New Year's Eve Gala, and it was mandatory for the three war heroes attend, despite all the circumstances in regards to their safety. If one of them were to simply not show up, the press would have a field day, especially if it were Hermione, and as much power Kingsley held as Minister, the trio didn't feel right putting that kind of strain on Kingsley. Of course Ron and Draco both agreed that Hermione should not attend, Ron no longer trusting the ministry, and Draco out of purely selfish reasons, naturally. But when Hermione Granger puts her foot down, the discussion is over; there is no negotiating, no compromises, something Draco still wasn't used to.

So here he was, trying to be the picture of patience while he waited for the abundantly brown haired witch to be ready to leave. If he was going to get dragged to one of these things, he certainly was not going to be late. Draco himself had decided against typical dress robes, and instead opted for muggle clothing in an attempt to show the public he really has turned over a new leaf, and he also thought he looked rather fetching. If he was completely honest, he could give a rat's arse about what people thought about him and was more intrigued by just how flattering muggle clothes could be, but he couldn't very well admit that.

He wore slim black trousers and black oxford dress shoes, a white button up under a black waistcoat, and something called a 'bow tie' around his neck. Draped on the arm of his chair was his suit jacket, which was actually navy, with a black collar. The navy added a little more colour to his usual pale skin, something Hermione seemed far too smug about when she mentioned it, but Draco had to admit she was right.

Over the week since the kiss, they hadn't spoken about it, much like the other times as well, but he felt this time it was more because of her 'reaction' to him rather than the act itself. While he was certainly frustrated that he couldn't just scoop her away to his room, he also knew that might be a very dangerous thing to do. She might set the curtains on fire, or flood the room, drowning them in the process and Draco certainly did not want his obituary to read 'War Hero and Ex-Death Eater dead in fire caused by shagging'. So here they were, pretending yet again that there was nothing, no undeniable force, between them.

Draco checked the time and groaned as they were due to leave in five minutes. "Trust me Granger, that mane of yours would take an army a week to tame, get your knickers on and let's go," he yelled, hoping she could hear him all the way upstairs.

"Shove off Malfoy," she yelled back, and a smirk planted itself on his face. He loved how easy it was to rile her up sometimes. He tapped his fingers on his knees and was about to yell up at her again when he heard faint footsteps coming down the stairs. He quickly jumped to his feet to greet her, and possibly offer some kind of backhanded compliment but his words failed him as she came into his sight. A small blush grew on her face and he instantly knew he must look ridiculous, gawking at her the way he was, but he couldn't help it. She was radiant.

Hermione wore a floor length navy sequinned gown that hugged her curves just enough before floating to the ground from the hips. The sleeves were snug and long, and the front sat high on her chest, disappointingly, but the back made up for it as it hung low, tastefully dropping just above her lower back. She had her hair in neat waves, with a braid on each side pulling the hair from her face to the back, where it was pinned with a tiny black bow. She hardly had any jewelry on except a small delicate necklace and tiny earrings to match. The ones Draco had actually gotten her for Christmas he noticed with a smile. Her eyelids were dusted lightly with a brown, shimmery powder, her lashes seemed darker than normal, but not layered on thick, and her lips were a stunning red that were almost screaming to be kissed.

Draco gulped back his shock and held out an arm which she gladly took, her other hand lifting up the front of her dress to reveal simple black flats. Draco smirked, knowing she wasn't the type to wear heels, and he was thankful that while she certainly looked beautiful, she was still practical, and if anything did happen, heels just weren't practical. Granger was always prepared, it seemed, no matter the occasion, and that was something he valued most about her. "See, I told you, it's as good as it's going to get under the time restraints," he teased lightly, giving her a small hip bump which she quickly returned.

"Shut it Malfoy," she rolled her eyes, a small smirk playing on his lips.

Draco laughed as he dropped his arm only for a moment to pick up his wand and his jacket before he led them to the fireplace to whip off to the Ministry of Magic. "I can't believe the year is finally over," he sighed, thinking back to how drastic his life had changed in just the last six months alone.

"I know," she muttered as she grabbed a handful of floo powder for the both of them. "Do you have everything?" she asked, double checking they were ready.

"Yep," he replied.

"Wand?" she asked.

"Yes Granger, can we please go now?" he pleaded.

"Let me just see," she said as she tucked her wand between her teeth and rummaged through her bag to see if she had everything. "Yep, got it, we're good, let's go," she smiled, returning her wand to her bag and dropped the floo powder into the fireplace, announcing their destination.

Draco stepped first onto the ministry floor before offering his hand to Hermione to help her out of the fireplace and into the Atrium. He was slightly disappointed when her hand lowered when a sudden rush of cameras were pointed in their direction, flashes of light blinding him temporarily, but was satisfied as he felt her tiny hand wrap around his wrist and dragged him through. There was a look of determination in her eyes as she weaved her way through. "Yes, yes, I'm Hermione Granger, and yes this is Draco Malfoy, and yes we're here for the gala, why else do you think we're here, idiots the lot of you!" he smiled with amusement as he heard her growl to the reporters as she stormed her way through the crowd.

They finally found some peace when they entered the hall where the gala was being held, but Draco once again was disappointed as her hand dropped away from his.

"Harry! Ginny!" she called out and Draco's eyes saw the familiar round specks and long red hair head in their direction. "Where's Ron?"

"Where do you think?" Harry said with a raised eyebrow and shot his hand out to Draco. He quickly shook Potter's hand and then stiffened as a rather large belly bumped into him while the red-head's arms wrapped around him. He returned Ginny's hug and grimaced as he stuck his hands back in his pockets. It was still too weird to think of them as friends, he wasn't exactly sure when they were on physical contact terms, but he guessed it was probably when he had saved Hermione's life.

Speaking of the witch, she let out a snort and shook her head. "Late as usual I guess? Is he bringing someone?" she asked inquisitively.

"I think he might actually be coming with someone, but he didn't say who, said it was a surprise," Ginny shrugged.

"Well good for him," Hermione smiled honestly.

Draco noticed that Harry had worn muggle attire as well, only his was entirely black, save for the white button up shirt, and Ginny seemed to be radiating with colour in her flowing, emerald green chiffon gown. It certainly suited her ever growing belly. He smirked at the thought and still could not believe in just a month there would be a Potter-Weasley spawn entering the world, wreaking havoc on them all. He found himself seriously hoping the child took after his mother more, as she seemed to be least insufferable Gryffindor he'd ever met, and that statement even included Hermione. While he certainly was rather fond of the bushy haired witch, he still thought she was an annoying know-it-all that somehow knew how to push all of his buttons.

Shortly after they found a table, Ron showed up with a blonde witch in tow that he vaguely recognized from Hermione's fundraiser, but couldn't recall her name.

"Luna! It's so great to see you!" Hermione near shouted as she jumped up to hug the blonde girl.

Ah that's right, little Loony Lovegood, he smirked, thinking it certainly was the perfect pairing. The dimwit and the oddball, though he wasn't entirely sure how Ron seemed to be attracting these highly intelligent witches. Though he did date that Lavender girl, he reminded himself, and seemed comforted by the fact that the weasel at least refined his tastes slightly since then.

"Hello Hermione, and hello Harry," she spoke dreamily. "Ginny you look like a goddess, I see you chose green to protect little James from the Pifulling Pixies, I suggest staying away from the colour yellow though, they love yellow," she said in her sing song voice.

"Pifling Pixies? What?" Draco snorted, and turned to see Ginny was attempting to hold back her own laughter as well.

"Hello Draco, Pifulling Pixies, I don't expect you to know what they are, as they generally only hover around pregnant women, but they can sense when a child is near and will enter into the child's mind through the mother's nose and speak awful, nasty thoughts to the child before he or she is born. A child influenced by these creatures typically tend to be more misbehaved, and will spend hours upon hours crying, or throwing tantrums, especially if they do not get their way. Draco? Do you know if your mother ever wore yellow when she was pregnant with you?" she asked curiously, causing Harry to spit out his drink.

"Oh this is rich," Ron laughed as he draped an arm around his date's shoulder.

Draco frowned, and turned to Hermione who too chuckled lightly, but quickly stopped when she caught his gaze. She leaned close to his ear and whispered. "Luna has certain… beliefs… you might remember from school. We find it easier to just play along," she giggled into his ear and Draco's heart fluttered at the feeling of her breath, his mind drifting from what he thought was an unintentional insult from the Loony girl.

Ron and Luna joined them at their table and soon their glasses filled with champagne, and their plates were covered with food. Ron was about to dig in when a loud voice rang through the air, nearly startling him from his seat, allowing Draco to have the laugh this time.

"Welcome esteemed colleagues and remarkable guests," Kingsley spoke as he rose from his table only two spots from theirs. "I just want to thank you all for a wonderful year; there have been many advancements in the wizarding world such as the invention of a newer, stronger Wolfsbane potion, by the talented Mr. Blaise Zabini," a spotlight shone on Draco's friend and as the crowed clapped, he couldn't help but whistle as Blaise stood and waved to the crowd. He heard his friend was going to be a guest of honor at this thing this year, and he couldn't help but be majorly impressed, as well as thankful that he would have one of his own friends to actually speak to during the evening.

"As well, I would also like to shine a light on the creation of Dobby's Centre for Elfish Welfare, spearheaded by the one and only Hermione Granger, who's endless dedication to the support and security for the rights and well-being of Elves on a national scale has finally come to fruition," Kingsley added and suddenly Draco found himself flooded with light as Hermione blushed and stumbled to get to her feet to wave to everyone that clapped around her. As she sat back down, Draco nodded with a smile as he finished clapping in her honour.

"And while it is important to recognize all the achievements of the many witches and wizards both in attendance and those that were unable to be here today, it is also important that we reflect on not just our past year, but our lives, for every moment of every day have led to this very one. Every person in your life has made an important impact, regardless of how little or large it had seemed at the time, none of us here would be who we are today without the people we have met along the way. So I would like to raise a toast to each and every one of you, for making each other's lives truly remarkable," Kingsley finished his speech with the raise of his glass and encouraged everyone to their feet, their own glasses high in their hands. They each took a sip and sat back to their seats, attention back on their Minister. "Now, I won't take any more of your time," Draco swore he caught Kingsley glancing at Ron with a smirk before readdressing the crowd, "let's eat."

With that, they all dug into their meals and the night began. The first course consisted of tomato bisque that they all agreed was delightful. The second course had two options to choose from. There was a dish of salmon topped with rosemary and lemon slices, and a side of garlic tossed asparagus and wild rice. The other option was a prime rib with a side of mashed potatoes and orange glazed carrots. All you had to do was announce either fish or prime rib, and your choice of dish would appear before you. The third course was a simple garden salad, and dessert was a small bowl of strawberry lemon sorbet. As each course commenced, the entertainment seemed to change. The night started with a string quartet, followed by acrobats that spun and danced on ribbons that hung high above the tables, finally moving to a live band that seemed to be on the rise called Phoenix Reborn. Draco had to admit they were quite good and could see why they were slowly becoming more popular than the Weird Sisters, who haven't had a hit since, well, the war. The rise of Voldemort seemed to put a damper on the music industry, but when it was over, it bounced back with a vengeance.

When dessert was over the tables cleared themselves and Draco was about to ask if anyone would like a drink when a familiar laugh came to his side. "I never thought I'd see the day, Draco Malfoy, mingling with a bunch of Gryffindors," Blaise snorted as he pulled a chair up beside him. He turned to his friend and smirked.

"And I never thought I'd see the day Blaise Zabini would be leading the cause for werewolves," he retorted. While Blaise certainly had never shown a particular distaste for the creatures, he was still surprised when he first heard the news of his friend's creation. It seemed at first completely accidental, but when he realized the potential in it, he ran with it. He had managed to create a new form of the Wolfsbane potion that required the user to only take once, the day before the full moon, instead of an entire week, and while it still did not provide a cure, it did allow the witch or wizard to speak even in their werewolf form, and make the transformations essentially painless, making the burden a little easier to bear.

"I read about your success, and it's really impressive Zabini," Hermione smiled, interjecting into their conversation.

"Please Hermione, any friend of Draco's is a friend of mine, call me Blaise," the wizard held out his hand which Hermione immediately shook in response. Draco soon found himself in the middle of a heated discussion of properties of potions and ingredients between his best friend and his, well, and Hermione. As the two chattered away, Draco excused himself to grab more drinks for the table. He soon returned with three bottles of champagne and shrugged at the suspicious look Hermione was giving him.

"It's not all for me," he said innocently before placing two of the bottles on the table. "Just this one is," he grinned, dodging a predictable swat towards his head as he sat down in her seat, as she now occupied his. He observed the strange group as he filled their glasses and imagined his ancestors would be rolling in their graves right about now. Here he was sitting with two Weasleys, the boy wonder who conquered Voldemort, a Ravenclaw who believed in fairytales, a Slytherin who was helping werewolves fit into society, and most importantly, a muggle-born witch who had bested him in everything apart from Quidditch, one he had kissed on several occasions and had rather inappropriate dreams about at least once a week.

Ginny and Ron seemed to be quarrelling about which Quidditch team was better, the Harpies, or the Cannons, which Draco occasionally added that they were both wrong just to have a laugh at their expressions. Harry seemed to be politely listening to Luna rave about some mystical creature or another, and Hermione and Blaise were back to discussing different uses for the leaves from a Whomping Willow. He and the other Slytherin boy both laughed as she told them about her experiences with the very tree on their old school grounds, strangely in awe at how much their escapades relied on sheer dumb luck.

"Did you know the Whomping Willow was placed there to cover up a secret passageway that led to the Shrieking Shack?" she asked enthusiastically.

"Really, and how did you know about this?" Blaise chuckled.

"Well, you all remember the story about Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew?" she asked reluctantly, obviously not wanting to relive certain memories. They both nodded in response. "Sirius was an animagus and was in his dog form when he dragged Ron and his rat, who was actually Peter Pettigrew in disguise, down beneath the roots of the tree. Harry and I tried to run after him, but we got a little… tangled in the branches," she scrunched her nose and Draco could imagine the pain of being whooped by the big tree. "I had to hold onto dear life, afraid it would toss me over the trees and into the forbidden forest," she chuckled. "Anyway, we eventually got through and discovered a tunnel, when we followed it, we ended up in the shrieking shack," she shrugged.

"Holy shit Granger," Blaise laughed. "You really are a bloody Gryffindor, running head first into situations no sane person would ever try," he commented in disbelief.

"Er- thanks, I think," she blushed at the roundabout compliment.

Draco grinned and really couldn't believe it either, once again there was another thing she outshined him at, breaking the rules. "Honestly Granger, here I thought I could claim title to the biggest rule-breaker of Hogwarts, finally having at least one thing to claim as mine, and yet once again I have to admit defeat," he chuckled and nodded his head in a mock bow. Blaise chuckled as well and clapped a hand on Draco's back.

"Oh there definitely was no contest mate, Hermione here makes you look like Percy Weasley," his friend teased, earning him a deadly glare at the comparison.

"Well it wasn't all me," Hermione said shyly, looking towards her two best friends.

"Ah, but you were probably the brains behind it all," Draco added, tugging on one of her curls.

"She certainly was, bloody brilliant," Ron added as the rest of the table slowly joined the conversation. "Did you tell 'em about the Dragon at Gringotts?" he asked.

"That was you?" Blaise nearly spat out his drink.

Draco laughed and it was his turn to pat his friend on the back. "Welcome to my life old friend," he smirked, letting his arm linger around Hermione's shoulder for a moment, resting it on the back of her chair after he removed his hand from Blaise's back.

"Right, let's all recall all the times you all nearly killed yourselves while I was stuck in Hogwarts with the doomsday twins," Ginny rolled her eyes, sipping on her glass of water until she was left with ice in the bottom. "Shit, this damn baby," she groaned as she twisted in her seat. "I'll be back, gotta pee," she announced as she kissed Harry on the cheek.

"Okay, but hurry back, the countdown is in five minutes," Harry smiled lovingly as he watched his wife hobble away to the toilets. Draco would normally be sick at the inherent 'cuteness' of the couple, but he had to hand it to Potter, he did well for himself, finally achieved the family he deserved. He couldn't help but feel the familiar pang of jealousy at the thought that now Draco was the one left without a family, but a quick whiff of bushy hair reminded him that not all family was blood. He looked around the table and suddenly felt a strange feeling overcome him that he was certainly going to blame on the amount of champagne they had all consumed through the night, but deep down he knew it for what it truly was, a sense of belonging.

The conversation slowly died and the Minister rose to his feet once again. "I just want to say a quick word before we begin the countdown," he started.

"I should go check and make sure Ginny's alright," Hermione smiled as she got to her feet. "Don't worry about the countdown, there will be plenty of others," she rolled her eyes. "I'd rather miss ringing in the New Year then try to rush a pregnant Ginny," she laughed and everyone at the table responded with a nod.

Draco watched as Hermione's curls bounced away and turned back to his drink listening to the rest of Kingsley's speech. "I want to thank you all for attending this evening, and as we celebrate the New Year I want you all to think about your loved ones, and think about yourself. Think about how far you have come this year, and remind yourself that no matter what life may throw your way, you will always find hope. I'd like to quote an old friend of mine, the late Albus Dumbledore 'happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, when one only remembers to turn on the light.' So please, have hope, and cherish those most dear to you. I believe it's time, so please join me in counting down to the new year," he finished with a strong grin.

"Ten,"

Draco thought about his first year at Hogwarts, how despite being a spoilt brat he was in awe with everything surrounding him.

"Nine,"

He thought about his mother, and how she essentially saved the wizarding world by lying directly to Voldemort's face.

"Eight,"

Draco thought about how proud his mother would be of him now.

"Seven,"

He thought about Hermione.

"Six,"

He remembered how she looked as she came down the stairs at the Yule Ball.

"Five,"

He remembered how she looked as she came down the stairs in his apartment only hours ago.

"Four,"

Draco thought about their kiss at Christmas.

"Three,"

He thought about her smile.

"Two,"

He thought he might love her.

"One,"

He vowed to tell her. Tonight.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" They all cheered, and tossed back their drinks, offering congratulations to each other. Draco felt his friends wrap their arms around his shoulder as they swayed and began to sing, but all Draco could think about was finding Hermione to tell her how he felt. He was about to pull away when his heart stopped. At first he wasn't sure he heard it, but when the music cut off he could hear it again, and so could everyone else.

A blood curdling scream echoed through the hall and it seemed as if all time had frozen. Ron and Harry looked panicked, Blaise was frowning, and even Luna seemed terrified, but Draco felt rage as her scream carried through his ears. One minute he heard Harry shout his name and the next he had found himself bombarding through the hall doors, heading towards the girl's lavatory. He ran through the corridors and finally burst through the door, his heart dropping into his stomach at the sight before him. His hands shook and his eyes turned black as he stared at the blood covered walls.

NOBODY ELSE HAS TO DIE

Those were the words scrawled along the stone walls. Draco's gaze dropped to the gruesome scene where a mop of brown hair heaved with a sprawling body in her arms, both subjects covered in no doubt the same blood used to write the little message. He finally caught a glimpse of the body in Hermione's arms, only to wish he hadn't just confirmed his fears, but there it was, plain as day, bright red hair surrounding a freckled, feminine face that could only belong to one, Ginny Weasley.