Disclaimer: Sadly... I don't own the characters only the plot.

This is the last chapter. Thank you for all the people who took the time to read and review this story. A big thanks to charmed-one by helping me big time on this specific chapter. Thanks for the reviews! It's so sad to know that this is all finally over. I've really enjoyed writing this story and making you guys smile, angry, cry or whatever feelings this story may have invoked in you.

I'm writing a new story, though it's not a Draco/Hermione one. I'm going to formulate a Draco/Hermione story plot soon. But only after I finish "Wishing for a star". Thank you again for your support! You guys rock! :)

Chapter 11

The next morning, Hermione woke up as the rays of morning sun shone on her face. The curtains in Draco's bedroom were draped open and the room was brightly lit. Beside her she saw Draco still asleep, looking so innocent, and lovely. She reached for his face and touched his cheek, feeling the warmth of his skin touching hers. And as if by signal, Draco's eyes opened slowly and as he saw Hermione there beside her, he gave her the most heartwarming smile.

"Good morning," Hermione whispered softly.

"It is," Draco responded with his smile.

Suddenly, Draco noticed that Hermione's expressions had changed, so he sat straight up and took her hand. "What's worrying you?"

"I'm afraid of what might happen when we walk out that door."

Draco followed Hermione's line of vision then reached for her face to make her look back at him. "Look at me. What do you see in my eyes?"

"I don't know," Hermione said in confusion.

"You're not trying hard enough. Focus."

"I see..." Hermione gasped. She felt it more than see it. And she wanted to. "...love."

"That's right. I do love you, Hermione. And I know it's not yet late for me to prove to you how I feel." Draco said this with the deepest sincerity in his eyes that Hermione was drowning in happiness.

"Why are you doing this? Why are you loving me?" Hermione muttered, looking down.

And as she looked up at him again, Draco said the very words that made her heart scream in joy. "Because you're worth it."

All she could do was wrap her arms around him and try to hold on as long as she could. She didn't need to put to words how she felt for him; Draco, himself, felt it while he was locked in her embrace.

"We're in this together," Draco whispered in her ear. "And we'll get out of this together."

It was one of the happiest moments of her life, better than anything else she had ever felt. It was more than the comfort of a soft mattress after a day's work, or the warmth of a mother's embrace, or the joy of savoring your greatest achievement. It was, as Hermione put it in her mind, perfect. But as all sadness end joy, and all tears end laughter, Hermione couldn't help but think that if she felt this happy now, she would definitely be dreading the next moments to come. It was the rule in her life: when something great happens, everything falls after. And she couldn't bear to pull Draco into the curse. Not the one she loves.

**

The both of them went down after changing their clothes. Breakfast was served in the dining hall, and to their surprise, Lucius was not there. They barely touched their food as they were both nervous about what's going to happen next. Draco promised Hermione that he will never leave her side. Hermione only hoped that the day would end soon, but time seemed to be slowing down.

Lucius Malfoy was pacing back and forth on the lounge of the drawing room, looking anxious as well. But nothing of his cruelty was painted in his face that when Draco and Hermione entered the room and saw him there, they both panicked and grabbed each other's hands.

"This isn't right," Draco said.

"Ah, Draco, Ms. Granger, glad you could join me." Lucius moved forward but not too close as Draco and Hermione stepped inside the room and stayed put beside the enormous bookcase. Lucius stopped a few meters in front of them, leaning at his table and picking up his baton.

"What do you want, father?" Draco asked.

"Who said I wanted anything? Your mother does, actually, she wants to see you." Lucius wore a smile that made them sick. It didn't match his face.

"That's exactly my point. Mother's not here. Where is she? I need to talk to her. That's the reason why I came here." Draco was starting to get impatient. Nothing was going right. And worse was that Hermione was just standing there, without a clue of what's happening, or going to happen. Draco compulsively stepped forward and covered her from his father's vision.

"She's in her bedroom, waiting for you. You could see her right now, if you want."

"You said she won't be back until Sunday afternoon," Draco said.

"Change of plans. Go, Draco, I'd like to have a word with Ms. Granger." Lucius' eyes darted from Draco to Hermione's shadow. Hermione moved towards Draco and clutched his hand.

"I won't leave her here. She's coming with me," Draco muttered.

"Oh, I'm sure she will." With one motion, Lucius had thrown his baton like an arrow, which shot straight outside the room, past Draco and Hermione, and stopped by the mouth of a serpent statue hanging on the wall opposite the door. "Forgive me, too much practice."

Draco was burning with rage but he was not moving. Hermione kept on looking at Draco, then to Lucius, then back to Draco again. In her face was shown fear, confusion, and worry.

"Will you get that for me, Draco." Lucius commanded his son.

"What if I don't want to?"

"You've never disobeyed me all your life. Don't tell me you'll start now just because you want to show off to your girlfriend. You've always been weak, Draco, never in control of your self. You've always depended on people around you, expected them to give you what you need. You never exercised free will because you liked being everyone's puppet." Lucius chose his every word properly and made sure that they would strike Draco hard where he wanted them to-- his ego.

"You're wrong!" Draco shouted.

"Am I? You could never live without me, or your mother, Draco. You could never take care of yourself. What makes you think that you could take care of anybody else?"

"You don't know me enough for you to say that!" Draco was furious. Hermione tried to help him control his temper but he just shook her away. There was nothing she could do now.

"I'm your father, Draco. No one else knows you like I do," Lucius said matter-of-factly.

Draco had the last straw. After one mean glance at Lucius, he darted towards the door, then outside to reclaim the baton. Hermione suddenly had a thought. She knew what might happen. She felt danger. She tried to follow Draco but the very moment Draco pulled out the baton, the door closed and locked Hermione inside, with Lucius.

**

"Open the door!" Hermione screamed.

"I'm glad to have your company, Ms. Granger. Now that we are alone, I want to clear some things up about your relationship with my son." As Lucius spoke every word, he began to walk towards Hermione. The door was banging loudly from the outside. Draco's voice was barely heard but Hermione knew he was calling for his father to open the door. Lucius knew better.

"There's nothing to talk about. Clearly you've seen everything. Draco and I are together now, and there's nothing you can do about it." Hermione had to stand up for herself. Though she was terribly frightened, she was not about to let Draco down.

"Such passion, rarely heard nowadays. You see, Ms. Granger, as accustomed in our family, every wife of a Malfoy must vow to serve her husband until the day she dies. She must offer herself to him, like food and water." Lucius seemed to be looking through Hermione for a second, but when his eyes were back to her he spoke once more. "Are you ready to do that?"

Hermione's back was already at the door, which was still banging heavily. She turned and looked at it, then she pressed her palm on the door, closing her eyes, and taking one deep breath. She turned around and responded, "Draco would never let me be his slave. He loves me."

"Ah, love. Are you sure you know what that means? Draco has had many girlfriend before you, and he has never claimed love for any of them. How can you be sure that my son has fallen for you? A mudblood to say the least. My son is awfully fond of games. You might be in one at this very moment."

Hermione was trying not to let all that sink in. The banging of the door had stopped. She knew Draco was tired. But without that noise, that loud noise that distracted her from who's with her in that very room, the noise that reminded her of her life on the other side of the door, the noise that told her that Draco would never give up, she felt like she was alone. But then she remembered what Draco said before "What do you see in my eyes?" Hermione had answered she saw, or rather, felt love. And she knew it. Even if Draco was away from her, even if they were separated by that door, even if Draco was not holding her hands right now, she still loves him, and she still feels his love for her. They were united by love. Then she spoke, "How can you speak about love and never be able to show it? How can you judge me by my blood and never even know me? How can you tell me I am in a game when you've already lost your own? How can you tell me I am not in love, when I am?"

Lucius couldn't say a word. He was beaten in his very game. He didn't want it to happen, but he had proved that this girl really loves his only son, and that his son, his heir, loves her back.

And just like that, the door opened and Draco ran to Hermione and hugged her. After what seemed like an eternity, he surveyed her and asked her, "Are you alright? Did he hurt you?"

"I'm fine. I think I beat your father." Hermione managed to smile.

"You did." Draco's eyes were locked on the table. The room was empty except for him and Hermione and Lucius was nowhere to be found. He let go of Hermione for a moment and approached the table. There was something shining on top of it, something not visible from Hermione's distance.

"What is it?" Hermione asked, following Draco. When she turned to see what Draco was holding, she saw a strand of white blond hair on his palm. "Is that... your hair?"

"Yes, it is. Father pulled it out when I was little and kept it ever since. He was very fond of mythology, always told me that as long as he kept this lock of my hair, he would always be in control of my life. The irony of it all was that once he let it go, I wouldn't die, instead I would live, because he would be setting me free." Draco was silent for a moment then he turned to look at Hermione. "I want to do something important, something worth my time, my freedom. I don't want to waste a single second regretting what I've done. I want that when I grow up and look back into these years I'll be smiling because I did everything I was suppose to do. Without any regrets."

"What is it?" Hermione asked with the greatest anticipation on her face.

"I want to spend my life with you."

**

Hermione Granger had just finished studying for her final exams. She has prepared well for this and is greatly determined to finish with top marks. Though her bestfriends Harry Potter and Ron Weasley kept on reminding her that she didn't need to stress a lot, she kept on spending her free time in the library rereading books and looking for information she might have overlooked. After almost three hours of endless scanning and searching, she finally gave up and started to pack her things to head to the Great Hall for dinner.

As she opened the door of the library she noticed one person standing outside. She felt all her burdens being released and gave the handsome young man a warm smile. "What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you." Draco Malfoy took her hand and they started to stroll down the corridor of Hogwarts.

**

Never in her life that Hermione thought she would be looking back at this moment many years after as she sat on her rocking chair on one starry night admiring the stars. And how could she not stay there forever? For she could see the loving face of her true love being formed by countless glitters in the open sky.