Summer of the Dragon

by Lena Phoria

3 years after the war Hermione takes a break from Ron and accepts a summer job collecting supplies for Ollivander's wands. What she doesn't expect is having to work with Draco Malfoy, who's more haunted by his past than she ever would have believed. Together they will travel the world, fight dragons, conquer demons and maybe find exactly what they're looking for. COMPLETE.

37. Chapter 37

A/N: Getting closer…

Also, I do not own Harry Potter. It belongs to JK Rowling.

Mr. Ollivander had Hermione and Draco work in his shop for the remainder of the week. Hermione was put back on wand shaping but Draco was given more tedious tasks, like dusting and sweeping.

They stayed at the Leaky Cauldron and were more or less able to get back to their old selves without the coldness of Malfoy Manor lurking around them. Still, neither of them had been in the friskiest of moods since everything had happened. Even Draco had lost his mojo, which, until now, Hermione had thought impossible.

The two of them had been reading the Daily Prophet every day, and while there were no articles talking about Rita Skeeter's possible disappearance, there were no articles written by her either.

On their last day working in the shop, Draco stopped his sweeping to watch Ollivander put a phoenix feather into a newly carved wand. He found it interesting that he used his own wand to do it. It kind of went along with that whole chicken or the egg theory. How was the first wand made without another wand there to create it?

He tried to ask Ollivander this, but the old man would not give him a straight answer. Hermione had stopped her work to listen to them. She was as curious as he was.

"I'm sure they just carved the wand around the core or something," she suggested.

"Or created a little twist off top and stuffed it in there."

Hermione smiled at his moronic, yet plausible, theory. "I suppose that is also a possibility."

"Mr. Malfoy, come here please," said Ollivander, putting his newly finished wand in a pile with the other ones he had just completed. He reached into his box of goodies - or the cores - at his feet and pulled out a jar with a glowing, blue string inside no wider than a hair. Draco knew it was one of the dragon heartstrings they had collected, but he couldn't remember which one.

He walked over and stood next to Ollivander, watching as the old man carefully inspected the item in the jar.

Putting one hand on Draco's shoulder, Ollivander handed it to him and said, "Would you do the honors of putting this core into a wand?"

Draco's jaw dropped. "You're going to let me touch something?"

Ollivander chuckled. "Just this once. I don't want you to leave here feeling like you accomplished absolutely nothing."

"Well, that's not fair, Mr. Ollivander. I think this place sparkles much brighter than when we first got here. That's plenty to be proud of." Hermione smirked mockingly at Draco, who narrowed his eyes at her.

"Just tell me what to do," he said, taking a good look at the heartstring in the jar.

"First pick a wand."

Draco was clueless as he stared at the array of empty wands in front of him. "How can I just pick one? Isn't there a science to this or something?"

"No, there is not. Just follow your gut. Which wand do you think fits the heartstring in your hand?"

Hermione watched as Draco moved his hands over the wands, eventually picking up the one she had carved the previous week with the dragon talon clutching the heart. She smiled. He would pick that one.

"Now what?" he asked.

"Take the heartstring out of the jar and set it on the table." Draco did as he was instructed; noticing how the heartstring felt much stronger than it looked. "Place the empty wand down beside it." He did. "Now raise your wand and prepare yourself to perform an insertion spell. It is essentially the opposite of the extraction spell, only no potion is necessary."

Draco took out his wand and started repeating the words Ollivander was reciting to him. This was the first time Hermione had seen him use his wand since he cast his Patronus at Malfoy Manor, and she was surprised to see that it wasn't the old one she had given back to him he was holding. Somewhere along the way he had switched back to his hand-me-down wand. When had that happened?

"Hey, Hermione, I did it!" Draco shouted while looking over his shoulder and beaming at her.

Hermione smiled back. She knew this wasn't the time to bring it up. "Very nice. Does it work and everything?"

"It does," said Ollivander, flinging it about. "Well done, Mr. Malfoy. As soon as Ms. Granger is finished shaping that last wand of hers you two are free to go."

"Oh, I'm finished," said Hermione, handing him the wand she had been working on.

Ollivander ran his fingers along it, inspecting every last quarter inch. "Excellent work, as always. Now, run along and enjoy your evening. Just make sure to come by in the morning and get your itinerary for your last week. Can you believe the summer is over already?"

Hermione and Draco looked at each other and frowned. No, they couldn't believe it. For a while there it felt like this day would never come, and they had been fine with that. But, now that it was here, neither of them was ready for it. A decision had to be made before this week was over, but not today. For now they would just be together. They would not worry about the formalities until it was finally over.

The two of them apparated back to their room at the Leaky Cauldron and changed to go to a nice dinner in London. When Draco and Hermione had seen Sophie and Phillip the other day they had given them one of their cell phones so they could keep in touch. Draco had used it and successfully made a reservation at a Muggle restaurant. He was very proud.

Once they were dressed, Hermione and Draco went downstairs, holding hands and not caring who saw them. They didn't even pull away when they spotted Goyle and Daphne sitting at one of the tables with a witch who must have been their wedding coordinator, since she had a million wedding things lain about.

The Slytherins both looked up and watched as Hermione and Draco walked by, not sure what to make of their newfound boldness.

The two of them decided to take a cab to the restaurant. This was Draco's first time riding in one and he was beyond fascinated.

"So Muggle's just pay people to take them places in these things?"

The driver stared back at them curiously, but he didn't say anything.

Hermione chuckled. It was funny how things that seemed so common to her were considered new and exciting to pureblood wizards, like Draco and Ron.

"Yes, but you can't forget to kiss the cabby on the cheek before you pay him."

Draco raised an eyebrow at her. "Seriously? How gullible do you think I am?"

Hermione shrugged. "Don't mock our traditions, Draco. If you want to play Muggle tonight then you can't do it half-ass. You have to go the whole mile."

"I don't know what a moggle is, but if you try to kiss me I won't hesitate to pop you one," said the cab driver, refusing the stay silent any longer.

"It's Muggle, sir," corrected Draco. "And don't worry. I was never going to fall for her treachery." He glanced sideways at Hermione and gave her a crooked smirk. She laughed.

"Are you from out of town or something?"

Now they both laughed. "Something like that."

Dinner was at this very fancy French restaurant where they were served about ten teeny tiny courses on a set menu. Somewhere in the middle they brought out a small serving of Canard à la Rouennaise. Hermione looked at Draco skeptically.

"Let me guess. You chose a restaurant serving this on purpose."

Draco shot her a wicked grin. "Whatever do you mean? I'm as surprised to see this as you are. Surprised and delighted!"

She rolled her eyes at him. He chuckled and grabbed her hand from across the table, bringing it up to his lips and kissing it repeatedly.

"Won't you please keep an open mind, Mione? For me?"

Hermione huffed. "Fine. But you owe me for this."

To her utter surprise, it really wasn't that bad. The blood sauce still seemed a bit morbid to her, but if she didn't think about it she could at least stomach it. Draco seemed satisfied, anyway.

After dinner Draco did not want to take a taxi back to the Leaky Cauldron. He wanted to take the Tube. He had heard stories about it over the years and secretly always wanted to experience it for himself.

Luckily, regular occupants on the Tube were used to weird people and thought nothing of Draco's shriek when it first began to move. It was pretty packed and they were forced to stand and hold onto one of the bars. Hermione laughed as he looked around frantically and put her hands on top of his.

"What do you think so far?"

"Strange … but I suppose it's efficient if you don't have a broomstick or Floo powder to get around."

"Or the ability to apparate."

One girl looked oddly at them. She must have been from out of town. The city was still packed with tourists finishing their summer holiday.

Back at the Leaky Cauldron, Hermione and Draco went straight up to their room so they could spend some time alone. Draco took out a bottle of firewhiskey and poured them each a glass, making sure to water Hermione's down with butterbeer.

They both sat cross-legged on the bed and played a game with wizard cards. Somewhere in the middle of their third game, Hermione asked him, "What happened to your old wand?"

Draco was a bit surprised by her question. He hadn't realized he never told her. "Potter and I destroyed it."

"You and Harry?" she asked. He nodded. "But … when? Why? I thought you'd be happy to have it back."

"I was. But then everything happened and I realized it was the one thing that I had still connecting me to my old life. A life I don't want to be part of anymore. I tried to just give it back to Potter, but he said if I truly wanted to let go of who I used to be then I should destroy it. So I did."

Hermione frowned. "Draco, you shouldn't have done that. I don't know why you hate your old self so much. You weren't all bad, you know."

Draco chuckled. "And all this coming from a girl who hated my old self."

"I didn't hate you. I didn't know you well enough for that. I just disliked you immensely."

"No. I'm pretty sure you hated me. You've said before that you did."

"I'm a girl. We embellish," she said, smirking. "Did you hate me?"

Draco seriously thought about this. "Well, you annoyed me." That was a given. "But … I guess I didn't know you well enough to hate you."

"Point proven," said Hermione, leaning over the cards to give him a kiss.

Draco took this moment to scoop her into his arms and pull her onto his lap. The two of them kissed gently at first while steadily letting it become more heated and passionate. He began to run his hand along her thigh, slowly working his way up her dress.

For some reason Hermione felt extremely nervous. It wasn't just that this would be their first time being intimate since everything had happened at Malfoy Manor, but it was also their first time since Draco had told her he loved her.

Draco moved his lips to her neck while Hermione began to unbutton his shirt. She tore it off and rubbed her hands along his bare chest while his found their way into her panties.

In no time at all he had her dress off and was lying naked on top of her. Before doing anything Draco looked deeply into her eyes and whispered, "I love you."

Hermione smiled. "I love you too."

He kissed her and the two began to do what Draco finally recognized as making love. He knew now that this was what he felt that first time after their game of twenty questions. He had been afraid to admit it to himself back then, but now he had no fear. He loved Hermione and he didn't care who knew.

Hermione reached up and stroked her hands through his hair, clutching it tightly as she neared her first climax. Draco kissed her harder, loving to feel the vibrations of her moans against his lips.

They flipped over and Hermione pulled his scarred arm up to her lips and kissed it. He did the same to hers before pulling her body tightly against his. He never wanted this to end. He never wanted to let her go.

But it did end, and Draco lay awake long after Hermione fell asleep in his arms, unable to take his eyes off of her. As much as he hated to admit it his mother was right. Because of him Hermione had been hurt, and he couldn't bear the thought of it happening again. Even with his aunt dead and his father institutionalized, there were still many members of the Malfoy and Black families - though there were no direct Blacks anymore - who would not be happy about this. They would undoubtedly try to tear Draco and Hermione apart by any means necessary. If he loved her how could he willingly put her through all of that?

Draco reached down and stroked her scarred arm. She muttered his name as he did so, using this moment to snuggle in closer to him. He hugged her tightly and breathed her in. If he did decide to let her go, he knew it was going to be the hardest thing he ever had to do.

XXX

The next morning Draco and Hermione packed up their belongings and headed to the wand shop to get their itinerary. When they got there Ollivander handed them each a letter. "These are the last ones you'll receive before the summer is over. Let me know if you want to send anything out."

Hermione sat down and read her combined letter from Ron and Ginny. Apparently, Ron had heard about the 'accident' at Malfoy Manor and tried to get the Auror office to send him there when they decided to send a few Aurors in training. They refused, saying he was too emotional, and sent Harry instead, who was slightly more composed. Harry had updated them but they still wanted to hear from her that she was all right.

She wrote them a quick response, telling them everything was fine and that she was as good as new. She promised to explain things more thoroughly when she got back and told them she couldn't wait to see them the following week, even though that wasn't exactly true.

Draco didn't open his letter from his mother, but he did write one. When Hermione asked who it was for he didn't answer. She didn't push it, even though she was extremely curious.

Once their letters were finished they gave them to Ollivander, who in turn gave them their itinerary. They had one week to collect two woods, a unicorn hair, and a dragon heartstring.

"It is just a small dragon. I'm sure the two of you will have absolutely no problems. Mr. Prior and Ms. Labelle were successful in acquiring their heartstring several days ago."

Ollivander went into the back while Hermione and Draco formulated a plan. They decided they would get the unicorn hair first, then the woods, and the dragon heartstring last. That way they could finish their summer with a bang. Hopefully not literally.

Just before they were about to leave, Ollivander called Draco into the back room. Privately.

"Mr. Malfoy, I was just reading over your letter and I wanted to make sure you actually wanted me to send it."

Draco had all but forgotten that Ollivander had told them at the beginning of the summer he would be reading their letters. "Of course I do. I wouldn't write it if I didn't want it sent."

"But don't you think you're being a bit hasty with it? After all, you still have a week. What if you change your mind?"

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Mr. Ollivander. I'm not going to change my mind. Please, just send the letter."

Ollivander frowned. "Well, alright. But I'm going to wait a couple of days. Just in case."

"There is really no need for that, but you may do as you please. Just make sure it is delivered before we return next week."

Draco walked back out to the front room where he collected his backpack. He and Hermione were going to use the Floo network to get to their first destination, so once they had their belongings in hand they returned to the back room and headed to the fireplace.

Before they had a chance to leave, Ollivander came up to them and said, "I almost forgot to tell you. Ms. Labelle owled me, asking that the two of you meet her and Mr. Prior at her family's chateaux in France once you are done collecting all of your items. They have a bit of an end of summer celebration planned."

"Sounds fun," said Hermione, smiling as she remembered their first time staying at the chateaux. That vineyard would always hold a special place in her heart.

Hermione and Draco said goodbye to Ollivander and took out their Floo powder, finally leaving for their last week of summer. Even though so much had happened it still felt like it had gone by in a flash. But all good things must come to an end. It was just hard not knowing how final their ending would be.

XXX

Since they had a lot to do in a little amount of time, the week flew by even quicker than they had hoped. Sophie had called and said she expected them to be at her parent's chateaux on morning of the seventh day, so they only had six days to collect everything. One less than they had planned for.

Tracking the unicorn in the Caledonian Forest was a challenge since Muggle's resided in that area. Normally unicorns chose to live in wizard regions only, but this one was a bit of a rebel, which it all but proved when it only tried to buck Hermione, and not Draco. So much for the theory that all unicorns preferred a woman's touch. This one clearly preferred something else. Once they realized that, collecting the hair was simple. Draco just went right up to it and yanked one out. It didn't care in the slightest, but Hermione had to stand twenty feet away while he did it.

Collecting the woods was easy, of course. But, as usual, the majority of their time was spent traveling between distant locations, so when the time came to acquire the dragon's heartstring they only had one day left to do it in.

Luckily, they were able to get to the foot of the mountain it dwelled on the night before. It was called Eve's Peak and it was located in Sri Lanka, protected by a magic shield only a short distance from Adam's Peak.

After Hermione and Draco pitched their tent they planned strategy. Hermione had already found information on the dragon in the book she had purchased earlier that summer. It was small for a dragon, only ten or fifteen feet long, and bright green. It did not breathe fire but it was said to be fierce. Magic kept it imprisoned on that peak, and when witches and wizards dared to try and approach it, it either acted very tame or very angry. There was one reported case where it actually let someone pet it. The wizard could have sworn he heard purring until it bit his hand off. So, no matter which mood it was in, they would have to be careful.

Even though it was very warm, that did not stop the rain from pouring powerfully against their tent. Hermione's hair was out of control in this weather. Even Sophie's hair potion was no match for the humidity. She fiddled with it, trying to stuff it into a massive, afro-like ponytail while Draco watched her and laughed.

"It's not funny!" she snapped. "Now, we need to formulate two plans. One for if it's raining tomorrow and one for if it's not. Any suggestions?"

"Maybe if you braided it or -"

"Not about my hair!"

"Oh, calm down, Mione. We both know you're not going to concentrate until you stop fidgeting with it. You look fine."

"Really?" she asked, looking very unsure while continuing to use both hands to pull the hair back by the roots.

Draco reached over and grabbed her hands, holding them affectionately in his while leaning forward and kissing her. When he pulled away he looked into her eyes and said, "You look beautiful."

Hermione groaned. "Oh, I hate it when you do that," she said, pulling her hands out of his.

"What? Compliment you?" he smirked.

"Yes, exactly. And all sincere-like. It's weirding me out so stop it."

"You're beautiful, Hermione."

"Stop it!"

"Radiant, ravishing, enchanting, magnificent -"

"Now you're just being rude."

"Oh, come on. Weasley never compliments you?"

"Of course he does!" She paused, looked off to the side, and added, "But never just because. He tells me I look beautiful if I'm dressed up to go somewhere."

Draco sighed. "He's a fool."

"He's honest."

"I'm honest," said Draco, nudging her chin back towards him. "You're beautiful, frizzy hair and all. Now, can we get back to work so we don't get to bed too late? I still plan on shagging you tonight."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You see. That's the charm I'm used to."

Their plan was simple. They would approach the dragon first, rain or shine, and see what sort of mood it was in. If it was in a good mood this would be easy. And if it was in a bad mood … well, that's where their plan split.

If it was sunny they were going to remain on foot, apparating to the highest points to use their ropes they had purchased and charmed to trap him. But if it was raining their vision would be too skewed. Luckily, so would the dragons. They would use their brooms and get it to chase them straight up, above the clouds, where they could get a clear shot and lasso it before steadily bringing it back to the ground. As long as they stayed above the peak the dragon could follow.

Once their plan was decided, Draco and Hermione headed to bed. They, of course, didn't go to sleep right away, but they weren't up for long. This was their last mission and they wanted to be well rested for it.

When they woke up the next morning, neither of them were able to eat breakfast. Their stomachs were in too many knots.

There was no need to take down their tent since they would be returning to it after they acquired the heartstring. Hermione and Draco still had one more night together before they had to be at the chateaux, and they weren't going to give it up by arriving early. As much as they loved Sophie and Phillip they really wanted this time alone.

With their brooms in hand, their ropes tied around their waists and a small satchel of supplies strapped to Draco's hip, the two of them headed for the top of Eve's Peak. It wasn't a horribly tedious venture. While the sky was overcast there was currently no rain falling. They used their brooms and stayed low to the ground for the majority of the way, but once they got close they traveled the remaining distance by foot.

And then they were there. Only one more step around a rock wall until they would be at the tiptop of the peak. Draco looked back at Hermione and smiled. "Ready for this, Granger?"

Hermione smiled back. "Malfoy, I was born ready."

They both chuckled before reaching their hands out and grabbing hold of one another. "This is it," said Draco, giving her hand a squeeze.

Hermione squeezed back and the two released before walking around the corner. The moment they did it started pouring. "Of course," said Hermione, hiding the fact that she was secretly happy to have her hair wet and mildly under control.

The dragon was not hard to find. It was bright green and curled up on a flat rock directly in front of them. It lifted its head when it saw them, tilting it while staring at them with wide, yellow eyes. It didn't seem to know what to make of them. Who knew how long it had been since it had last seen a person.

Draco grabbed back onto Hermione's hand and the two of them took slow and steady steps in the dragon's direction. It kept bobbing its head from side to side while continuing to watch them approach him.

"Everything looks good so far."

"Draco, don't jinx it!" Hermione said in a harsh whisper.

They were now halfway across the peak. The dragon jumped off its rock and took several steps forward, sticking its head out and sniffing around like a dog.

"Does it like us?" asked Draco.

"I don't know," said Hermione, pulling him back as she slowed her steps even more.

The rain was coming down heavy now, making it so all they could see was a green blob approaching them. They stopped. A horrible rumbling sounded. At first Draco thought it was thunder but Hermione shook her head.

"No. It's the dragon."

"So … it doesn't like us then," said Draco, releasing her hand and moving his broom in front of him, ready to mount it at a moment's notice.

The dragon roared and pounced for them. Apparently, this was their notice. Draco successfully got onto his broom and took off into the air but Hermione was knocked to the side, her broom thrown out of her hands and far across the peak, all but lost in the rain.

"Distract it, Draco!" shouted Hermione before darting in the direction her broom had gone.

The dragon tried to chase her, but Draco kept zooming in front of it, annoying it to the point where it decided to go after him instead.

"Where is it? Where is it?" Hermione repeated to herself, all while searching the ground for anything broom-like. Eventually she found it. Unfortunately, the moment she reached for the broom the dragon jumped in front of her, smashing it to a million tiny pieces. It roared loudly, releasing its disgusting dragon breath all over her face.

"Well, damn you!" she roared right back at it.

It tried to take a bite out of her, but Draco zoomed by and scooped Hermione onto his broom, flying high above the peak.

"So what's plan B?" he screamed over the wind.

"No plan B!" she shouted back. "I guess we're going to have to wing it!"

"You? Wing it?" He smirked back at her. "Hold on tight, Mione!" She did as he instructed. Draco sharpened his angle and shot straight up into the clouds. Hermione clenched her eyes shut, but they had only been like that for a couple of seconds when Draco shouted back to her, "Keep your eyes open!"

Hermione opened them, letting the wind and rain hit her face as they zoomed high into the sky. And even though a dangerous dragon was chasing after them, that did not take away from the joy she felt. She and Draco laughed together as they hit the clouds, swerving around a bit to mix up the dragon before flying above them.

Unsure of how they were going to lasso the dragon effectively on the same broom, Hermione carefully turned around so she was facing the back of it. She untied the rope from around her waist and tried to toss it over the dragon's neck while it chomped at the bristles of their broom. But her elbows kept hitting Draco's back.

"This isn't working!" she shouted, knowing very well what she had to do. She gulped. "Pick up the pace!"

Draco did as he was told. Once he was a decent distance from the dragon, Hermione tossed the rope around her neck and held firmly onto the broom while lifting one of her feet up. Once it was planted on the handle she leaned forward and lifted the other.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" Draco reached back and tried to pull her down but Hermione pushed him off.

"If I'm going to get it I need to be higher than you!"

"But you'll whip right off once you have it!"

"Then get ready to levitate me!"

Hermione let go of the broom and steadily straightened her legs, holding both arms out to balance her. Draco wanted to cast a glue charm on her feet but she told him no. If he did then he would be the one to go flying off the broom when she got the dragon.

Once she was steady, Hermione removed the rope from around her neck and began to swing it above her head. "Slow down a bit!"

Draco did. The dragon flew closer, letting out a deafening roar. Hermione released the lasso, catching it directly over the head and around the neck. The dragon pulled back and she was whipped off the broom, holding onto the rope for dear life.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

While Hermione no longer felt like she was falling, it was hard to pull back on the rope with nothing but a levitating spell to brace yourself. Draco would have to lasso the dragon before she would be able to do anything more.

But seeing Hermione dangling like that was enough motivation for him to immediately swoop around the back of the dragon and swing his rope at it. He got it on his first try.

Draco pulled one way while Hermione pulled the other, creating a sort of deadlocked game tug-o-war with the dragon in the middle. It ravaged around but wasn't successful in getting free.

With Hermione levitating it would be impossible to lower the dragon to the ground without her losing her hold, so they would have to obtain the heartstring up here.

Since Draco's wand had been used to levitate Hermione, it was up to her to perform the extraction spell, which was hard since Draco had the satchel with their supplies. He took out the potion and held it flat on his palm. Hermione cast her own levitating spell and carefully moved it in front of the dragon's head, but still out of its reach. When it opened its mouth to roar she shot it in.

Since she had done this several times before, Hermione now knew the spell by heart. Before long a glowing silver string no wider than a hair was emerging from the dragon's chest and headed towards her. Since she did not have a jar on her and it would be too much of a hassle to bring one from Draco's satchel, she wound it up and put it securely in her pocket, all the while still keeping a firm grip on the rope.

"You're amazing, you know that?" shouted Draco from the other side of the dragon.

Thunder sounded below them. Both of them whipped their heads in its direction. Draco's levitation spell released and Hermione went tumbling towards the ground, her hands sliding down the rope until there was nothing left to hold onto.

Forgetting all about the dragon, Draco let go of his rope and went flying for Hermione. She drifted farther from him, almost invisible once she hit the clouds. When they got through them he picked up his speed even more, reaching out his hand until their fingers were touching, then their palms, and then he had her.

The dragon was right behind them and Draco didn't have time to pull her onto his broom. He started flying towards the foot of the peak, hoping to hit the edge of the barrier that kept the dragon imprisoned here before it could get them, but it was hard to fly fast with Hermione dangling from one of his hands.

The dragon reached one of its talons out and knocked the back of the broom. Hermione and Draco went flying, rolling across the ground to a spot that was just beyond the dragon's reach. It hit the barrier like a brick wall, its face becoming bloody as its ferocious roars became more of a howl. It sat down on the other side of the shield, watching Hermione and Draco climb back to their feet with sad eyes.

"Draco," panted Hermione. "I think it might have liked us after all."

"You mean it was just playing? Someone should teach him about the appropriate amount of roughness to apply when dealing with humans."

Hermione tore a branch off of a nearby tree and used her wand to toss it to the top of the peak. The dragon wagged its tail before taking off after it.

Bending at the stomach and placing his hands on his knees to catch his breath, Draco glanced sideways at Hermione. "I just realized something."

"What?" she asked, attempting to catch her own breath.

"Why the bloody hell didn't we use the invisibility cloak?"

Hermione and Draco looked at each other, their faces frozen. They were exhausted and covered in dirt and sweat, their bodies aching with unnecessary cuts, bruises, and rope burns. And then they smiled, both of them suddenly overcome with a burst of hysterics. They fell to the ground in laughter, holding their stomachs as tears fell from their eyes while they exuded breath they did not have.

But then their tears became real and, before they knew it, they were crying in each other's arms. This was it. Their summer was over. Even if they did decide to stay together it would never be the same. Hermione and Draco had spent their last three months in a bubble, only slightly poked by the outer world. Now their bubble was bursting, and plenty of people on the outside were standing there, just waiting to watch them fall.

The dragon reappeared with the branch in its mouth, tossing it over the barrier so it landed beside them.

Hermione and Draco looked at it and chuckled between their sobs. Draco picked it up and used his wand to toss it this time. The dragon went after it excitedly. "Maybe we should write to other Weasley and have him and his dragon pals come and pick this guy up. He seems pretty lonely."

Hermione looked at Draco pensively and smiled. She hated that he knew what it was like to be lonely. Grabbing his hand, she said, "I think that's a wonderful idea."

The two of them moved so they were sitting against a rock, their arms around each other while they waited for the dragon to return. The least they could do was play with it for a little while. Hopefully, with a little companionship it could have a better life.

Over the course of the summer Draco had discovered that this was what he had always needed, and Hermione, Sophie, and Phillip had given that to him. No matter what happened next, this summer had changed him forever. Hermione had changed him forever.

XXX

The next morning Hermione and Draco woke up at sunrise. They had promised Sophie and Phillip they would arrive at the chateaux early.

While in the middle of packing up their backpacks, Draco went behind Hermione and hugged his arms around her waist. She squeezed back against him. They stayed like that for a long moment, only breaking their hold when Ollivander's owl flew in. Hermione moved and grabbed the jar they had put the heartstring in, handing it off to the owl. She also handed it a letter they had written to Charlie Weasley about the dragon. They had named it Summer after Hermione brought her dragon book out and discovered it was a girl.

Once the owl was gone the two of them got back to their packing, neither of them saying a word as they kept stealing glances at each other.

When they had everything that belonged to them cleared out of the tent and into their backpacks, Hermione and Draco headed outside. It was a beautiful day without a cloud in the sky. They looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Of course the weather was perfect now.

They worked together to pack up their tent for the last time. A lot of great times had been had in that tent. It was hard to believe they would never sleep in it again.

As soon as it was safely put away in Draco's backpack, they shared their last kiss alone before mounting their only broom and heading to the closest wizarding town. Sophie had already setup a Portkey at a friend's house there to take them to France. Her friend worked at the Ministry of Magic in Sri Lanka and made all of the arrangements for them to travel between countries in a timely manner. Normally, the use of one for this great of a distance would not have been approved so quickly, but she called in a few favors. For some reason Sophie wanted them in France really badly. They couldn't help but wonder why.

Hermione and Draco arrived a bit early for the Portkey and Sophie's friend insisted they eat some breakfast. Neither of them was very hungry, but they didn't want to be rude so they each managed to stomach a few bites of food.

"So are you excited?" asked the witch. "I am just so bummed I cannot be there."

"Be there for what?" Hermione asked.

The witch's face went white. "Oh … right. Never mind." Before Hermione could ask more, a timer went off. "One minute until the Portkey is ready!" She jumped up and grabbed an old spatula off the counter, plopping it in the middle of the table. "Have fun, you two! And tell Sophie good luck for me!"

Draco and Hermione grabbed hold of the Portkey. When their minute was up it felt like a hook grabbed them behind the navel and pulled them across a great distance in record speed. Neither of them was very good with Portkey's, and when they arrived in France both attempted to land on their feet, only to fall on their bum's a second later.

"Zis ees zem! Queeck! Get zem to zeir rooms!"

Someone grabbed Hermione's arm and pulled her to her feet. They took her backpack and shuffled her over to a woman who guided her inside. Once her eyes had a moment to focus she realized it was Sophie's mother.

"Oh, hello, Mrs. Labelle. I didn't know you would be here."

The woman smiled over at her. "I know. Let's get you upstairs to Sophie."

Hermione looked around for Draco but he was nowhere in sight. But there were tons of other people, all moving quickly with flowers and chairs and food and a million other little things while a wizard with a clipboard ordered them around. Sophie's mother shouted something at him before ushering Hermione upstairs.

"What's going on? Are you and Mr. Labelle having a party or something?" she asked, honestly clueless. The soiree they were apparently preparing for was definitely larger than the end of summer celebration she had been expecting.

Mrs. Labelle did not answer her, but continued to smile as they walked down the second floor hallway to the master bedroom. She opened the door and Hermione was immediately greeted by someone squealing her name and grabbing her in a big hug.

"Eet ees about time you got 'ere."

Sophie pulled away. Her dark hair was pinned up in an elaborate style and her makeup was soft, other than the bright red lipstick that made her emerald eyes pop. Currently she was wearing her pajamas, but a long, white dress was laid out on the bed.

"Uh, Sophie, what's going on?"

Sophie laughed. "Oh, come, on, 'Ermione. I zought you were supposed to be smart?"

"I think … I need to hear you say it."

"Alright zen." Sophie held out her hand, showing Hermione the sparkling diamond ring on her finger. "Phillipe and I are getting married!"