DISCLAIMER: I own nothing and am not worthy *bows down to the goddess and her publishers in hopes of not being sued*

~*Here it isssssss! Finally, the end to the fic. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Sorry it took so long.

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Lydia crept silently toward Draco as the others were taken out. She bent over and stared at him closely, holding her breath. Finally, a faint rising and falling of his chest signaled that the plan had worked, and he was still alive. She looked up at Lucious and her father, who had their backs turned from her. Moving swiftly she covered Draco with the cloak, and immediatly felt his hand grab her wrist as she helped him up.

They got out of the room safely and soon ended up outside the closet where Harry, Hermione, and the other Lydia were. Draco reached for the handle, but Lydia stopped him. "We have to wait until I leave, otherwise I won't have gone back in time to save you, and you'd still be dead."

He nodded, and they waited for what seemed like an eternity before they finally heard Harry, "Lydia, don't! You can't change the past, it could be dangerous!"

They heard a heavy sigh followed by a great deal of cursing and figured that she had left, and it would be safe to go in. Harry looked up as they entered. "So, it worked then?"

Lydia smiled sheepishly at him. "I'm so sorry.... I just had to... well I couldn't have just let him...the opportunity was right there!" She cried.

Hermione glared at her, "You really could have messed up, you know. That was a very stupid thing to do, Harry could have ended up being the one that died."

"Come off it Granger, you know you would have done the same thing if it had been Potter instead of me," Draco said, coming to Lydia's rescue.

Hermione scowled and looked at the floor, as Lydia burst into tears and threw herself at Harry, "She's right, you could have died, and it would have been all my fault!"

He hugged her, "It's alright, you did what you had to. I would have made the same decision."

Draco looked at Lydia, as if suddenly remembering something. "How did I live through that? You didn't push me out of the way, and I felt the spell hit me."

Lydia smiled, "When I first grabbed the time turner and went back, I didn't realize that I might have to choose between you and Harry. Luckily, I found my wand, so I put a disarming spell on it that made the first spell out of it not work. What hit you was just a small beam of light."

Hermione cleared her throat, obviously not impressed with Lydia's intellect, "I think we should concentrate on getting out of here."

They all looked at Draco, who sighed, "Right, well I guess it should be easy escaping, after all I've done tonight..." a small smile crept on to his face and he gave a furtive glance toward Lydia, who promptly blushed and looked up at the ceiling.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "That's something I really didn't need to know. Just get on with it, will you?"

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"Don't think of it as a big loss, Lucius. He didn't even show any potential. No devious instict whatsoever, he would have proved useless anyway. It's better this way."

Lucious looked up, a cold fury burning in his eyes, "That must be extremely easy for you to say. Afterall, your kid is still alive. I may not have been the best father, but I loved Draco like a son!"

"Er... but he was your son," Voldemort replied, sounding a bit confused.

"AND YOU KILLED HIM!" Lucius spat, gesturing wildly toward the spot on the floor where Draco's body should have been.

His arms stopped flailing as they both glanced around the room. "D...Draco?"

Suddenly there was a loud bang in the hallway, followed by distinct voices and scuttling footsteps.

"They're escaping!" Voldemort cried, suddenly giving a primal shriek and flying toward the door.

They bounded into the hallway in time to see the last pair of feet sliding through the window. "Well, I guess that's that. How about a game of chess?" Lucius commented nonchalantly.

Voldemort turned slowly to face him, the anger building as he ground his teeth and began to snarl. "You mean to tell me that our prisoners have gotten away, and you want to play a board game? What kind of bad guy are you?"

"The parental kind... and those prisoners that just escaped... well, I don't know if you noticed or not, but they were our children. I'm not about to put them in any more danger."

Voldemort advanced on him, "Why you traitourous..."

"STUPEFY!" Lucius yelled, before the dark lord could utter one more insult.

Lucius smiled proudly, as he walked out the door, making sure to step on Voldemort as he passed, "I beat the dark lord! I am master of the Universe... AND I'M KING OF THE WORLD!"

"What's going on, here?" Wormtail asked nervously, peeking around the corner.

"It's alright, my friend, we're free!" The former death eater cried joyfully.

"Y-you mean he's..."

"Dead? No, we'll let the Ministry take care of that. But he's not going anywhere for the time being. Come, let's go have a drink."

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"We need to get back to Hogwarts as soon as possible. It's the only place we're safe," Draco yelled breathlessly as they all sprinted toward the train station.

"But it doesn't look like they're chasing us anymore! Can't we slow down a ... what's that?" Lydia suddenly asked, stopping to look up at the sky night sky where a dark shadow was rapidly aproaching.

"DUCK!" Draco screamed.

They all flew to the ground as the shadow thing soared right over their heads to crash on the ground behind them, with a loud thud and yelp of pain. Draco was the first to lift his head, gasping in surprise,"Weasley ... what are you doing here?"

"I... came to... save you," Ron panted, pulling himself into a sitting position.

"But we've already esca-" Harry started, before Hermione cut him off by elbowing him in the stomach, "just let him play the hero for once, will you?" she whispered quickly, then smiled at Ron, "We need to get back to Hogwarts... and fast. Voldemort is trying to kill Harry..."

Ron nodded, "Come on, we need to get into the village, there's a portkey in one of the shops."

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Dumbledore glanced up causually from his work as the door to his ofice burst open and five of his students bounded in, all frightened and out of breath.

"Professor..."

"Voldemort..."

"tried to kill harry..."

"Draco died!"

Dumbledore calmly held up a hand, silencing them all, "Yes yes, I am already aware of that. However, there is no need to worry. Voldemort has been taken into custody, you are all safe."

They gaped at him, "But... how?" Draco stammered.

Dumbledore smiled, "I believe you have your father to thank for that. He was the one who stopped the Dark Lord from chasing after you. If you don't mind, he'd like to have a word with you."

"He's... he's here?"

"Right in the next room. Go on," Dumbledore urged, "Now," he started, after Draco had left, "I need you four to tell me exactly what happened."

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Lucius turned as his son entered the room. They stared at each other for a moment, before Draco finally wandered over to an armchair opposite the one Lucius was currently seated in.

"Draco," Lucius started, searching for something to say, "I... I'm sorry."

Draco made no move to speak, so he continued, "I really never meant to put you into any danger..."

Draco glared at him, "I DIED! It doesn't get any more dangerous than that. I don't know if you realized it or not, but I was reluctant to go through with your evil plan from the beginning. And it's not only me that could have been seriously hurt... Lydia could have gotten killed, or maimed, or... what the hell are you laughing at?"

Lucius supressed another chuckle, then pointed at Draco, "You looooooooove her," he gasped in a sing song voice.

Draco began to blush, but this did not deter from his anger, "I do not!" He cried indignantly.

"Yes son, I believe you do."

Draco gaped in disbelief, "Are you arguing with me? How immature can you get?"

Lucious was not paying attention at the moment,however, the answer soon presented itself as he began to sing and do a little jig, "Draco and Lydia, stitting in a tree ... KISSING!"

Draco suddenly felt the urge to strangle his father, although he managed to compose himself just in time. "It's wrong," he said quietly, pouting and folding his arms across his chest.

"Excuse me?"

"The song, you sang it wrong. You're suppsoed to spell out the word kissing, not say it."

"Well, you would know."

"I can't love her," Draco comented distractedly.

"Why not?"

"BECAUSE I'M DRACO FUCKING MALFOY,THAT'S WHY!!!"

Lucius appeared taken aback by his son's sudden outburst.

"I'm the most hated Slytherin, and sworn enemy to Harry Potter...not to mention a death eater's son ... I don't think I'm capable of love."

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"...and then he put Lydia under the Surfice Evilis curse and-"

"What did you just say?"

Hermione looked befuddled, "He put her under the Surfice Evilis curse..."

Dumbledore paled, "That's what I feared..." he turned to Harry, "take her to the hospital wing, right away."

"W-what's wrong?" Harry stuttered, giving a fearful glance toward Lydia.

Dumbledore turned back to Hermione,"Ms. Granger, where did you learn about the curse?"

"It was in a book I read."

"Did you happen to read about the side affect of the curse?"

"Errr... no sir, I didn't."

The headmaster gave a weary sigh, "I think it would be best Harry, if you escorted Ms. Rose to the hospital wing, now. Ms. Granger, you and I must pay a visit to Professor Snape."

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The discussion with his father had made Draco more than a little depressed, he realized as they made their way back to Dumbledore's office. They entered to find it empty, save for a house elf lighting a fire in the fireplace.

"Excuse me," Draco spoke up wearily, "Could you tell me where everyone went?"

The house elf turned around, "Professor Dumbledore and Hermione have gone to see Professor Snape."

"What about Harry and Lydia?"

"Harry Potter has taken the other girl to the hospital wing."

Draco paled, "Why, is something wrong?"

The house elf nodded, "I heard the professor say something along the lines of 'side affects of the curse' , and that Harry had better take her to the hospital wing-"

Draco was out of the room before the house elf could finish talking, hoping to find Lydia and Harry. Unfortunately, it was Professor Snape he happened to run into, literally.

"Mr. Malfoy, is there any specific reason why I was ran over?" Snape asked irritably, struggling to stand up.

"Professor, what's wrong with Lydia?" Draco cried, ignoring the question.

Snape sighed, "I never thought I'd live to see the day when a Slytherin could get so worked up over a Gryffindor," he said, mumbling to himself, "As to her condition, its nothing a simple potion can't cure, as long as she gets it in time."

"What if she doesn't?"

"That won't happen unless you keep asking questions. Now stand aside, I must get to the hospital wing."

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"What's going to happen to you?" Harry asked Lydia nervously.

She tried to smile reassuringly as she sat on the hospital bed, "I'm sure it's nothing."

At that moment Snape burst in the door, followed closely by Draco. The Potions master thrust a bottle of murky looking liquid in Lydia's hand and stared at her expectantly.

She held it up gingerly, giving a mournful glance at Snape, "Am I supposed to drink this?"

"Cures aren't meant to taste like candy," he replied stolidly.

"Thanks, but I think I'll pass on this one."

He stared at her a moment, "Would you like me to explain to you what will happen if you don't take it? Lets start at the beginning. I believe Ms. Granger explained to you all that the curse was broken by one confessing their true love?"

They all nodded, including Hermione and Dumbledore, who had came in only two minutes before.

Snape continued, "Well, she was partially right. The curse is slowed by a confession of true love, however it is not stopped altogether. Only this potion can do that. If you fail to take it, the evil inside you will act like a parasite, draining you of energy until you can't even lift your own head without help. Once it has succeeded in sucking out your power, it will act through your body to cause destruction, first to the ones you love," he paused, " and believe me, it'll know who they are, because it will still have your memory. Then it will move onto innocent victims, throwing lives away carelessly, until it finally has finished the work it was set out to do. Then, you will die."

Without hesitating, Lydia picked up the bottle and drained it, shuddering as gulp after gulp of the oozing liquid was poured down her throat.

"How'd it taste?" Harry asked, trying to hold back a grin.

She glared at him, "Tasted like chicken, Harry."

Snape cleared his throat, "We'd better leave and let her rest, soon the potion will make her drowsy."

All but Draco exited the room. Madam Pomfrey gave him a reproachful glare, to which he responded with a charming smile, "I'll be out in a minute, I just need to talk to her."

"So how'd the talk with your father go?" She murmered sleepily, already feeling the side affects of the potion.

"Not so good," Draco confessed, "We had a fight. He seems to think I'm in love with you."

"He's right though," she replied, stifling a yawn, "you do love me."

"How do you know that for sure?"

"Because you told me so, right before you died."

"That was only because you told me to. How do you know I meant it?"

"I didn't tell you to the first time. That was completely your idea. And you had to have meant it, otherwise the curse wouldn't have been broken," her eyelids began to flutter shut, although he could tell she was still listening.

Try as he might, he could't come up with another decent argument. He simply squeezed her hand and sat with her until she fell asleep. Back out in the hallway, he was confronted by his father, who at the present time was grinning like a madman.

Draco gave him a disgusted look, "You were listening in on my conversation, weren't you?"

"Don't think of me as a sneaky former evil-doer son. Consider me a fatherly figure whom you can trust and take advice from. Life will be much easier that way."

Draco sighed, knowing when to give up, "Fine, you were right. I lover her, okay! I've loved her since the day we met, I've just been hiding it for so long that I got used to the idea of people not knowing."

After he left the Hospital Wing, Draco wandered aimlessly for awhile, trying to collect his thoughts. They were both right, Lydia and his father, he knew they were. The question wasn't whether or not he loved her, but what he planned to do about it.

"How's she doing?" A quiet voice asked behind him.

Draco whirled around to find Harry standing there, an unreadable look on his face. "Sleeping. She's going to be in alot of pain when she wakes up though," he paused a moment, "Potter?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"For what?" Harry asked, looking surprised.

"For giving me a second chance. Not many people would trust the guy sent to spy on them."

"Oh... it's alright. As long as you remember what I said to you."

Draco thought for a moment, "You mean the violent threats you made if I ever hurt your violent ex girlfriend again?"

"She's not my ex girlfriend."

"What is she then? Because there's no way you two have always been nothing more than friends."

"Nothing! She's... nothing." he turned around and started walking,Draco following close behind.

"Let me guess. The feeling wasn't mutual?" he asked solemnly.

Harry shook his head,"I never got a chance to tell her how i felt. I wanted to, but then you came along and it was too late... she just fell for you." he finished simply, looking Draco directly in the eyes.

"You don't seem mad about it."

"I want Lydia to be happy... you can do that for her. If you choose to, that is."

Draco looked away, "I don't know... it's a very complicated situation."

"What do you mean, complicated? You like her, she likes you. Nothing else really matters."

Draco remained silent.

"You're going to break her heart, you know. It won't make you feel any better, either.

Draco nodded slowly, "I know."

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A couple days later everything was back to normal at Hogwarts, save for a few choice students moping around. Although Harry had Hermione now, he still felt bad for Lydia, who hadn't gotten the happily ever after they all thought she would. Draco hadn't gone back to his old friends, but he didn't seem to want to be around Harry and Lydia, either. He became moody and secretive, usually sitting by himself in the great hall or the library, where he spent most of his time.

One day at dinner, Lydia got up the courage to go and talk to him. "Hi," she started meekly, hoping he wouldn't ignore her.

He looked up from his potions homework and gave her a weak smile.

"Mind if I sit?"

He motioned for her to have a seat across from him.

"Look, I just wanted to ask you-"

"Why I've been acting like this?"

She nodded.

He shrugged, "just scared, I guess."

"It's not like you to admit fear... or any kind of emotion for that matter."

"Well I haven't really been acting like myself lately, have I?"

"You have a point."

"Look, the reason I'm scared is because I've never loved anyone like this before. I've never even been this close to anyone before, it's all new to me."

"And it never ocurred to you that trying new things is a healthy trait amoung humans these days?"

He laughed a little, realizing how much he'd missed her, "I suppose you're right. I'd just like to take things slow, if you don't mind."

"Of course I don't. So does this mean we have you back?"

He grinned and kissed her, in front of everyone in the Great Hall, then pulled away, looking around at all the eyes on them and feeling a bit sheepish, "Yes, I suppose it does."

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FINITE INCANTATUM!!!! or, in the more commen tongue, END!!!

Yes my friends, this is the end. Nothing left to do here, it's all over. *fingers beard evily* or is it!?!? MAWHAHAHAHA*coughhackcough* erm, review please.