A/N: To everyone asking, here it is. The truth. This is it, everyone. This is the last chapter. Well…almost. Keep an eye out later today for a special epilogue. :) I hope you enjoy.

"Are you ready to go home?" he asked, the softest smile on his face as he watched her. His hand gave a reassuring squeeze.

Hermione grinned at him, her heart thumping at home, and swung her beaded bag over her shoulder. "I've been ready for days."

Hermione expected home to be different somehow—so much had changed since she'd last set foot in her own house—but it looked exactly the same.

There was the fire crackling away in the fireplace. The couch still facing the TV where she had watched Christmas movies with Draco and her parents. The guest room with all of Draco's stuff still in it, the covers still messed up from where they'd climbed out Christmas morning.

The only thing different was that all the Christmas decorations had been taken down. The tree was packed away in the garage. It made Hermione feel like she'd slept through the whole week.

"Are we doing anything for New Year's?" Hermione asked, standing in the middle of the living room. She'd spent so much time in bed that she couldn't convince herself to sit down now. She was restless and she wanted to keep moving. Draco stayed standing still in the corner, just watching her.

Hermione's mum shook her head. "We figured we'd just hang out here."

"Okay." Hermione sat down on the couch and immediately stood up again.

Unable to stay in one place any longer, she wandered up the stairs and into her room. Draco watched her go but didn't follow behind. Some things seemed to have been moved since she'd last been in her room. Probably when her parents were looking for her beaded bag.

It was sitting on the end of her bed, empty now. She was almost tempted to tap it and whisper the countercurse, but she didn't.

Old habit said she always had to be prepared. And it would be nice to have something this small to carry her textbooks around it. She wouldn't even need a trunk anymore if she didn't want one.

Hermione sighed and sat down on the edge of her bed. The sun shone down outside as cars drove past. A pair of laughing children sprinted by on the sidewalk, chasing each other.

So much had changed but the world went on as it always did.

There was a knock on the door. Hermione looked up to see Draco and smiled. He looked hesitant, but he walked in and sat next to her anyway.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine." She rested her head on his shoulder. "I guess I just thought things would feel different. I feel different."

Draco ran his fingers through her hair. "I know what you mean. You've been stuck inside for a long time. Fancy a walk with me?"

Hermione nodded eagerly and accepted his hand. "I would love one."

They went downstairs and told her parents where they would be and promised not to be gone long. The crisp winter air outside nipped at Hermione's face and made her feel more awake than she had in a long time.

Across the street, a woman yelled at the kids still running around on the sidewalk.

They wandered down the streets, taking in the people removing strings of lights from their homes and yards, and the ones getting an early start on New Year's celebrations.

By the time Draco and Hermione returned, her parents were in the kitchen preparing dinner.

New Year's was a private affair, just the four of them. They drank champagne and talked in the living room. At midnight they stared at the TV and counted down just like everyone else.

Five...four...three...two...one...

Happy New Year!

Hermione turned immediately to her parents, wrapping them both in a hug at once before she went to Draco. He stiffened slightly in surprise as she grabbed his collar and pulled him in for a kiss.

When they parted, she whispered, "To a new year and a new start."

"To new beginnings," he replied. She felt his hand twitch next to her and when he held it up, there was a yellow orchid clasped in his fist. She let him tuck it behind her ear before he was pulled away into hugs of his own by her parents.

Draco didn't look like he was quite sure what to make of all the physical affection, but Hermione just watched with a smirk. He'd get used to it.

They celebrated for another hour before everyone finally tired out enough to go to bed. Hermione took Draco's hand and guided him directly to her own room. She wasn't even going to try to sleep without him tonight. He'd been a constant presence at her side for the last week in St. Mungo's and she wasn't ready to give that up yet.

After that, the last few days of the holiday flew by. Draco divided the rest of his holiday between Hermione and his mother. He would disappear early in the morning, pressing a kiss to Hermione's forehead before he went, and then return in time for dinner. Once or twice Narcissa came along, mostly to take about housing possibilities with Hermione's parents.

Hermione didn't waste any time before she started studying for the new semester, but she didn't neglect her family either. They seemed to be accepting of everything that she'd told them, but she also felt like she was walking a wavering line.

Sometimes she'd look up and catch her dad staring blankly at the plant that they must have gotten in Australia. Others she'd see her mum flipping through old issues of the Daily Prophet like they might be able to explain everything.

On January fifth, everyone who had gone home for Christmas headed back to King's Cross to catch the train.

Hermione kissed her parents goodbye and then hugged them so tightly that she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to let go. "Be careful," she said. "I'll see you in a few months."

"We will be," her dad said.

"See you in a few months." Her mum still hadn't let go. "Be careful. Good luck. Don't study all the time. Keep us updated on how you and Draco are doing."

"Don't worry." Hermione pulled away gently until her parents let go and grabbed her trunk. "I'll write you all the time."

She hopped on the train and waved goodbye. Just a few cabins down were Neville, Luna, and Draco. They were sitting in complete silence when she walked in, but it didn't seem to be awkward at all.

People passed by, staring it at the four of them and whispering to their friends.

"Word travels fast," Luna said. For a second Hermione thought she was just staring dreamily out the window, but then she realized Luna's eyes were really focused on the reflections in the glass. "They tried to keep your names out of the Prophet but someone let something slip. Everyone knows that the two of you were involved in the Auror rescue."

Draco slumped a little bit in his seat. "I suppose I'm the one who led everyone else into the trap?" he asked dully.

"No." Luna shook her head. "You were one of the ones who rescued the Aurors. No one knows about your mum's involvement because the Aurors would have a field day if their agents' names got out, but you four aren't agents yet."

Hermione squeezed Draco's hand. "What are you saying?"

"She's saying be prepared to have a lot of people talking about the two of you and in a good way this time," Neville said.

They spoke easily the rest of the way to Hogwarts. Hermione spent most of the trip digesting that idea, but she didn't really realize quite how true those words were until they stepped off the train.

No sooner had they walked into the entrance hall when a fourth-year Gryffindor who Hermione was almost sure was named Jackie hurried up to them. "I'm sorry," she said breathlessly, clutching at her side like she'd just ran down all seven floors to reach them in time. "I'm sorry that I was so mean to you and that I spread so many rumors."

"Apology accepted," Hermione said and the girl beamed. When the girl left, Hermione turned to Draco. "I"ll see you for dinner?" she asked.

"Of course." He leaned in for a quick kiss. For once there were no hisses or catcalls or angry comments. "I'll see you then."

Throughout the day a few more Gryffindors came up to Hermione to offer their apologies, but for the most part she was left alone. Her other housemates didn't seem to know how to react to the change and neither did most of her other fellow students. They stayed almost solemn in her presence, like they were afraid to say anything at all.

As the afternoon wore on and Hermione settled back down into her familiar space in the Gryffindor dormitory, she started to relax more and more. She was ready for her final months at Hogwarts and ready to step out into the world.

A world with Draco.

Dinner surrounded them with whispers as usual, especially when Harry and Ginny joined them at their usually isolated section of the table. It didn't bother Hermione in the slightest. They'd taken on the world together many times and they could do it again if necessary.

When they all stood up to leave, Draco caught Hermione's hand and held her back. "I need to go back to my dorm for a little bit, but will you meet me in the Room of Requirement tonight? For old time's sake?" His voice was hushed and just the slightest bit hesitant.

Hermione squeezed his hand in reassurance, nodding. "Of course. I'll see you soon."

She allowed herself to be swept along up to the dormitory, but it wasn't long before she was heading back down the stairs again.

The Room of Requirement produced the same room it had when they'd first run into each other. It felt like decades ago, her walking through this door looking for solitude and finding Draco instead. There was the couch and the books and the crackling fireplace.

Only this time, when she wanted to see someone, there was no one there. Hermione let out a sigh and settled down on the couch. A book floated from the shelves of its own accord and settled into her lap gently, almost like a cat.

Hermione snickered and opened it, running her fingers over the pages. She found that she couldn't concentrate and she was relieved when the door finally opened.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Draco said as he settled next to her on the couch. He held one hand behind his back and Hermione thrummed with anticipation.

"It's fine." Hermione smiled back at him. "What are you hiding?"

A shadow of nerves clouded in his eyes. "It's a gift. Well…it's not exactly a gift but…" He pulled his hand from behind his back to reveal the necklace he'd given her once already. The family heirloom, the one she had worried might be cursed, the one he'd taken back. She reached out, resting the leaf pendant against her fingers. The slender metal didn't feel as cold as she remembered.

"Will you accept it?" Draco asked, his voice lacking his usual confidence even though his heads were as steady as ever.

Hermione leaned in to kiss him. "I'm sorry that I didn't trust you before. Of course I will." She turned around, raising her hair into her hands so that he could clasp it around her neck. His fingers raised goosebumps on the back of her neck as she let her hair back down.

"It looks good on you," he said as she turned around and touched the leaf where it hung just below her collarbone. The heat in his voice made her almost shiver.

"Now I feel bad because I didn't get you anything," Hermione joked.

"Yes you did," Draco replied, his voice lower than normal, and then he laughed as he pulled her against him on the couch. Outside of the Room, the world kept spinning and life went on, but for them it felt like time had stopped, if only for a little bit.