CHAPTER NOTES Just a few notes: I'm somewhat jaded about fandom, or I've become so in the last few years. It isn't to say that the people in our fandom aren't great. It's just hard for an old timer like me as I look around and see so many new faces (which is what we need to thrive) while some of the faces of years past, that I called friends, are now gone. But every now and again, even I get surprised. I want you all to know that I submitted this chapter to be turned in about three weeks ago, but it was so full of grammatical errors that both Kim and I apparently missed that it was sent back, not once, but twice. I then went to vacay, came back, and sought help through the beta list and even the shoutbox for this community. I got an amazing response and found someone who truly helped this chapter. Bless her heart for having to read through my atrocious sentence structure! If I had still been in college and got a paper back with that much red, I would have been very nervous. But thanks go to Kim (who read through it for continuity) and raa (who busted her butt to make this readable). Kim is my writing rock! And Raa, I think, is now my new best friend! So, thanks go to both of you ladies for your hard work, and Raa, even though you'd never read this before, you took a chance and really helped me out. If I didn't have kidney stones, I'd offer you a kidney!

One more note, this is one of the last chapters of this fic. I have been working on this since 2004, which makes it a 10 year work in progress. Thank you to everyone who has stuck through this in its many forms. I have always maintained that I write for me, because I ultimately have to be satisfied with the end result. But the truth is, this is all nothing without you. To the new readers, old reader, people who read this once and it seems familiar, thank you! Thank you for everything. Thank you for telling me when it took a weird turn. Thank you for encouraging me with "KEEP WRITING", thank you for sending me emails asking me if it had been abandoned. I can't really put into words what this fandom, what this group of wonderful people mean to me. There are times where I feel like I don't fit in or I'm weird. But then I realize that there is a group I can go to where I feel accepted and welcome, and it's here. So, again, thank you to all of you who have stuck with me and I hope you find the ending that you'd been hoping I'd write.

Chapter 34

Draco scanned the crowd that was beginning to form and moved over to Padma, who was holding her arm. Her clothes seemed a bit singed.

"Are you alright?" he asked, concerned for her. It amazed him that at the beginning of the term, he had dubbed her a nuisance. But he now knew that if he wanted to confide in someone, Padma could be trusted.

"I need help," she said, voice strained. Tears streamed down her face.

"Your arm?" Draco questioned. He followed her as she turned and started walking away from him, away from the group. He didn't want to leave Hermione's side, but Padma was his friend and she needed his help.

She shook her head, her brown eyes shining as she stared up at him. She whispered softly, "My sister."

Draco cast a look over his shoulder at Hermione, knowing that she would be crushed at learning of the death of her housemate. He followed Padma to one of the pathways and found Parvati Patil staring lifelessly up at the sky, her robes covered in blood and a chunk of her jaw apparently missing. Draco knelt and watched as Padma collapsed to her knees, her one good hand shaking as she cupped what remained of Parvati's face.

"I'll help you get her to the castle," he said softly.

Before he could stand, however, he felt a wand being pressed to the spot beneath his ear. He looked up at Padma, who was crying harder, her hands shaking, her wand nowhere in sight, and it was then that he realized she was not acting of her own accord. She was under the Imperius Curse.

"Draco, you would think you'd have learned by now that you shouldn't go anywhere unescorted. Especially after the last few times you did so."

Draco lowered his head as he realized that it was Pansy.

"I think this is a fitting punishment for blood traitors," Blaise said, as he circled around in front of Draco. "When Vince told of us your relationship with the Mudblood, everything clicked! Amazing how some quim could make you turn your back on everything you once knew."

Draco sought out his bond to Hermione, and he felt her residual tug and panic. He tilted his head at Blaise and decided to keep them talking until Hermione could find them. He tried to convey where he was, but being able to talk over the bond took years of being together. "In case you missed it," he started, "the Dark Lord is dead. Your side lost. As for choosing quim over everything I've ever known, it's certainly better than what I've had before."

For that, he received the Cruciatus Curse from Pansy. He fell back on the ground, his back bowed, as the pain of the curse ricocheted through him. When she released the curse, he tried to catch his breath, but Pansy cursed him again. This time, he nearly blacked out.

Blaise put a hand on Pansy's arm and shook his head; he had to rein her in. "The Dark Lord is of little consequence to us at this point. You betrayed us. You turned your back on us. How did you expect us to take this? Did you think we would be calm? Understanding?" He shook his head, his eyes narrowed in disgust. "We're going to kill you, but you're going to suffer a lot for it."

"This conversation is already making me suffer, so keep talking," Draco replied.

Furious, Pansy turned her wand upon him again. He twitched on the ground for a few seconds until she was satisfied.

"Watch your mouth, Draco," she ordered as she moved around in front of him. "You should have to suffer for what you've done, and I think a fitting punishment is to make you kill your friend here, then take out your little Mudblood girlfriend. Of course, she'd never see you coming. She didn't see me, after all, when I cursed her the first time. My only mistake was not killing her then and there."

Draco could feel his stomach churning not only at the pain of the three curses he'd just suffered, but also from the thought of hurting Padma, his friend, and Hermione, his Mate.

"We wasted time with Granger. We won't make the mistake again," Blaise said as he pointed his wand at Parvati. He had only gotten out the first syllable of the curse when he went flying, body crumpling as he hit the floor. His wand landed in Lucius Malfoy's hand. Realizing she was outnumbered, Pansy moved quickly, grabbing Padma by the hair to haul around as a shield against a menacing Ron, an out-of-breath Hermione, and an irate Lucius Malfoy.

"Don't make me kill you," Lucius threatened as he held his wand out in front of him. "I only Stunned your friend, but I will do what is necessary."

"You can't kill me without me taking her out first!"

As she said this, Draco rolled to his stomach, and Hermione started to move towards him. Pansy redirected her wand at Draco to keep both of them in place. "Don't even think about it!" she cried. "I'll have my revenge on all of you!"

"Don't be stupid, Pansy," Draco muttered. "Even if you kill Padma, or me, or even Hermione, they'll still take you. Your only hope is to give up." The ache from her Cruciatus moved through his system.

"But you would suffer!" she said through gritted teeth. She looked up at Hermione and grinned. "But, I wonder, would you suffer more from the loss of your Mudblood?"

Draco whipped his head to watch as Ron, fearing the worst, folded his body around Hermione. But, suddenly, Padma fell to the ground, and Pansy's concentration was broken. Realizing she was no longer protected by a human shield, Pansy yanked at Padma's hair, ripping it out by the root. Padma yelped in pain. This was Draco's chance. He aimed, he fired.

As a lifeless Pansy fell to the ground, he crawled over to Hermione, who had been protected by Ron. The ginger boy lifted his head, his eyes wide as he stared around, surprised to still be alive. "Am I alive?" he asked.

Hermione let out a hysterical sound halfway between a sob and a laugh and hugged her friend. Then, Draco got to her and wrapped her in his arms. "Hermione," he whispered in her ear, and he fought off the tears which threatened to make their way down his face, the fear of losing his Mate still vivid and real to his mind.

Lucius had made his way over to Blaise. Taking both his wand and Pansy's, Lucius broke them over his knee. "Zabini isn't dead. Just knocked out," he assured the others.

Ron had made his way over to Padma, and he helped her stand. "I need a drink," he said, but Padma seemed not to realize he had spoken; she stared down at her sister. Ron put a hand on her shoulder, then thought better of it and hugged her fully. He had lost his own sibling, and he wanted to comfort as well as receive comfort.

Lucius examined Draco for a moment. "We should get you to a Healer."

"I'm fine. We need to get Blaise to some sort of Authority and Parvati…to the others," Draco replied quietly, keeping the conversation between himself and his father.

Lucius bound and levitated Blaise with his wand. Ron, however, picked Parvati up and carried her in his arms towards the castle.

"You don't have to carry her, Ron," Padma said softly, nodding towards Lucius and the boy floating in front of him.

Ron turned to her and frowned. "She's my housemate. Levitating her is cold," he said finally. He carried her the rest of the way, Padma following behind him, her head hanging in sorrow. Lucius followed them with Blaise.

Realizing that Hermione was crying, Draco cupped her face in his hands and brushed away the tears with his thumbs. "Are you alright?" he asked.

She nodded. "It's you I'm worried about. Are you sure you're okay? I only got the residual of those spells…" she cried, clinging to him, wishing she would never have to let him go.

She had thought for a second when she couldn't find Draco that something horrible had happened. Then, her expression of pain must have caught Ron's attention—and, thankfully, Lucius' too. He left Narcissa with Molly knowing the two women had become close. Only when they arrived upon the scene and Lucius had knocked Blaise clear off his feat did some of the panic passing between Draco and Hermione lessen. Until, that is, Pansy grabbed for Padma.

Hermione understood now that Draco had developed a true friendship with Padma; his fear for her had increased by tenfold. He had changed so much. She clung to him harder, fully grasping what she'd nearly lost but not wanting to. It was only chance that had saved them.

"I'm fine," he said, nodding. "You're all right so that makes me fine." He hugged her again, inhaling the scent of her shampoo, the salty musk of her sweaty skin, and something that was intrinsically Hermione. He closed his eyes and tightened his hold, taking her in, thankful to the Gods for allowing him to live with this beautiful creature for the rest of his life.

He leaned his forehead against hers, resting before the fallout. "Let's never do anything like this ever again. We need to lead a boring life where all we do is shag and argue."

She shook her head and leaned up to kiss him. "No argument from me," she said before she stood and held out her hand, which he took.

"How's Potter?" he asked softly.

"Alive," she said with a smile. "Ginny's fine, too. Ron… he got to her just in time."

He nodded and looked at her. "He got to you, too."

"He protected me, put his life on the line for me. I can never repay him for that."

Draco squeezed her hand in his. "Neither can I."

She patted his hand, and they made their way slowly back to the castle, watching as Order members and Ministry officials arranged to transport the remaining Death Eaters, all of them bound and Stunned, to secure cells. Other witches and wizards flittered about, turning over dead bodies, trying to identify them, both loved ones and enemies. Draco looked around briefly and heaved a heavy sigh. "It feels too easy, doesn't it?"

"What's that?"

"The war. The Dark Lord and Bellatrix are gone…Pansy is dead. Blaise is going to prison for the rest of his life. It feels too tidy."

They stopped inside the door of the Great Hall. "I wouldn't want it to be harder," she said finally. "It could have turned out much worse."

He shrugged. "It still might."

She rolled her eyes and took his hand in hers again. "One thing I don't like about Slytherins is this: you're all entirely too pessimistic."

"With good reason."

"Just…stop, okay?" she said finally. "Do you believe I'm your Mate?"

"Without question."

"And where did you first hear that?"

"The Seer," he said, unsure of where she was going with this conversation.

"So if you believe that, why can't you believe the other part of her prophecy? The part about you being happy for the rest of your long life?"

He sighed and pressed his forehead against hers. "How do you make everything in my life easier?"

She snorted at that. "Nothing about this has been easy."

"Being in love with you is easy."

She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder. "We fought for it. We fought for all of it."

He placed a kiss atop her head and sighed. "Shall we go in and see the damage?"

She nodded and leaned up to kiss him once before leading the way into the Great Hall, where all the deceased and injured had been taken. As they surveyed the damage, they realized how lucky they were to still be alive.