Chapter 22:

Author's Note: Last chapter! But don't worry! I'm planning on writing a sequel, so I will be back…to be a bit Arnold about the whole thing. I really want to thank all my readers, whether you reviewed or not, and I'm so glad that you gave the time to reading this. I hope you enjoyed it. To my ever faithful reviewers:

PyroAndrea- Thank you! I loved that chapter, and I love good!Draco as well. I just can't get away from him. If you wait a bit, I'm in the midst of writing a fic where Draco will be the main character. Thank you for the great review!

Sylvia Malfoy- Sylvia, thank you so much for reminding me of those things I forgot, at least, for the necklaces and for Augery and Noss. The notebook and bet I have under control, and they are connected, hehe, but you'll see. I'll probably email you about the sequel I want to write soon. Thank you so much for being my most faithful reviewer ever! You're awesome! Your reviews have kept me going so many times when I felt like quitting, and you're just too shrewd at knowing what's coming! I hope you'll enjoy this last chapter. Just tell me if I need to edit it.

Hrei-seisn- I'm so glad you've read it! Thank you for the awesome review and I hope you like the last chapter, feel free to read any of my other stories! *blatantly advertises herself*

Leigh- Eep! That was so fun, wasn't it? Sheesh, that book was dark, good, but dark. And to respond to Ron dying, I wouldn't have forgiven myself for killing Ron either, I would never do that, don't worry about it. He had hardly enough of a part in the new book! I was so angry! And I'm starting to hate Hermione, she had way too much of a part. *snuffles, and cries even harder at the mention of him* Enjoy the last chapter!

gah- Thank you for your extraordinarily strong flame! It will be used to cook Sam's tAters, precious. Enjoy the last chapter!

Spaced Out Space Cadet- Awesome! I'm excited that you found my fic! I hope you like this last part, and please look for my sequel, it should be starting in a week or so. Thanks for the wonderful review!

Gigaku- I'm so flattered! You're review has completely brightened my day. Thank you so much, and please look for the sequel! My humble thanks for your great support while I was writing this. I hope you like the last chappie!

Ickle Ronniekins- I don't mind your review at all! I'm so glad you read it! And I'm glad you like it! And yes, OotP was brilliantly written. It was so dark and psychological! I wasn't expecting that…and there definitely wasn't enough Ron in it. Though I was proud of him. Thank you for your great compliments, **ron! I miss you muchly! Hope you like this last chapter.

owlpost1992- Bump! They didn't apparate because they knew that sooner or later the battle would have to be fought, and it was the appropriate time to face the challenge that was coming towards them, and they assumed that Voldie might have some sort of device that would stop them from disapparating. Good question, thanks! I really appreciated your reviews and your support for my story through my time writing it. Thank you very much…enjoy the last chapter!

Disclaimer: My biggest thanks is to J.K. Rowling, who owns Harry Potter, Ron , Hermione, Draco, Ginny, and all those other people and things we know so very well. I take no credit for creating anything but specified objects. By the way, if any of you see a Warner Bros. associate wandering around here,  kill them for me, will you? Or just wait until I get there, I will take care of them. Thanks!

Chapter dedication: This chapter is dedicated to one of my reviewers and one of my greatest helpers in this story: Sylvia Malfoy.

A Feast of Conclusion

            A few weeks later, most people were out of the Hospital Wing and the rumor mill of the school had started turning out stories so wild that Dumbledore knew he would have to tell everyone what had truly happened quite soon, or he would have some very curious parents on his hands. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, Ginny, and Genevieve were staying in Gryffindor tower once again, but surprisingly, Hermione hadn't seen Augery or Noss anywhere. It was starting to worry her; what had happened to them? Were they alright? It seemed so strange that they should simply disappear without any trace. She'd asked other girls in the dormitory where Augery was, but they didn't know who she was talking about.

            In the common room the fire was warm and the air was filled with the laughter and chattering of all the Gryffindors, eager to tell their own story of what they thought had happened. Hermione was snuggled deep into one of the squashy armchairs, reading an old, tattered copy of Hogwarts: A History that she had found on a table nearby.

            "Hey, I wanted to show you something," whispered a voice near her ear. Hermione jumped and turned around with a slight glare on her face to see Ron grinning.

            "Did you have to do that?" she demanded, trying to sound angry. She actually felt unexplainable warmth when he was nearby, though, and it was al she could do not to smile. He gave her a sad puppy face. "Alright, what do you have to show me?" she said, giving in to him. Her necklace had turned rather pink. His was a deep red.

            "Come with me," he said, taking her hand and leading her out of the portrait hole. Suddenly he started to run, Hermione clutching onto his hand and trying to keep up. They jogged through familiar corridors, went down the trick stairway (Hermione remembered the right step), passed the great hall, and suddenly she remembered the route.

            "This is the way to the kitchen, Ron! Why are we going there?"

            "We're not," he responded, "we're going past that." And indeed they did pass the painting of the bowl of fruit, complete with ticklish pear. Instead, they stopped five portraits after that to see an intricately detailed picture of a highly unusual house. It looked as though it was held together by magic. There was a Christmas tree in one corner, a bright orange fire blazing with dozens of stockings hung above on the mantle. There were children running everywhere, a few women were baking in the kitchen, and out the window Hermione could see several people playing quidditch. Ron was not looking at this painting, however, he was looking at her.

            "I came down here for a midnight snack one night and went the wrong way when I left. I found this…do you know where this is, Hermione?" He took both her hands and she turned to face him. There was a look of earnest longing in his eyes.

            "Y-yes I do, but, b-but it doesn't make any sense. Why would there be a picture of the Burrow here?"

            "I have no idea why. Not many things in Hogwarts Castle make sense, though. Those people in the picture, I have no idea who they are, but they are in our house. It must mean something, it might be the past, it might be the future, but it's my house."

            Hermione glanced at the painting once again. Yes, there must be a message in there somewhere. "But what does it mean?" she asked him. He stared at her for a long time without speaking; he looked into her eyes with a discerning nature. He reminded of Mr. Weasley the slightest bit. Then he looked away again, back to the painting, where there were a few kids sitting around, listening to an adult tell them stories. As though he'd been electrocuted, Ron suddenly looked at Hermione and opened his mouth to speak.

            "I, I need to tell you something, 'Mione. One of us was going to have to say it at some point, why not now?" He seemed to be trying to gather courage. "I think, in normal circumstances, if this whole ordeal hadn't happened, I would probably be in some sort of argument with you, shouting at you from ten feet away to say this, and launching into a speech about how I was right and whatnot…but that isn't how it happened, is it?"

She laughed, thinking he was probably right, but let him continue.

"We weren't always together like I thought we'd be. I thought me, you, and Harry would all be living near each other with the same or similar jobs, and we'd never be apart, but it was so much worse than I thought it could be…how am I supposed to say this?"

Hermione smirked at him. "You're stalling, Ronald Weasley."

"I know I am, just lay off. This is difficult, okay?" He grinned back at her, but suddenly pulled her into a hug, enclosing her small figure in his lanky arms and pressing his cheek against hers. He had to slouch slightly and she was on her tiptoes. They both closed their eyes in the sweet contentment of the moment.

"I love you, 'Mione," he said hopefully, still hugging her tightly.

"I love you, Ron," she said back, a tear of bliss falling from her eye to his shoulder. Finally he pulled back, and, giving her a mischievous, ecstatic expression, said, "This must be the part where I sweep you into my arms and kiss you, right?"

"Oh no, Ron, I don't think," but her feet had already left the ground and she had her hands clasped around his neck for support. He brought her closer and she saw that for the first time, the darkness had flown from his eyes and a crystal clear happiness was exposed in them for what it was: love and nothing else. He leaned in and placed his lips upon hers in a chaste kiss. That didn't last long, however, and it deepened, Hermione taking one hand away from his neck and running it affectionately through his bright red hair. He almost dropped her at this surprising action, but regained himself and laughed, bringing her even closer so they could rub noses a bit. It was a long and meaningful kiss between the two of them; it wasn't awkward at all, but no more or less than the kiss they had both dreamed of sharing since they had fallen in love. When they finally broke apart, the faint sound of two people clapping could be heard. Turning to the painting once again, Augery and Noss were in the foreground, smiling and cheering them on.

"Hurrah!" said Augery.

"We knew it would only take a little bit of encouragement to get you to finally confess it," Noss declared proudly. "It took you long enough, though."

Ron and Hermione looked at each other in surprise and turned back to the picture on the wall. "Are you saying," Hermione asked, "that you two are actually," but Augery interrupted her.

"Well, not officially, not yet. Just wait, though, you'll see. But don't you dare go doing something foolish again, or we'll have to intercede."

Ron gaped open-mouthed at her. "I can't believe we are being lectured by our own"

"Shh!" Hermione said, putting a finger to Ron's lips.

"Right. Not yet, yeah, I know. I want to carry you into the Gryffindor common room like this, it'll be fun, let's go." Augery put her hands to her mouth in laughter and Noss stifled his by turning it into a cough. Hermione tried to put up a fight, but Ron was just too strong for her, and he happened to have taken her wand when he first picked her up, so she couldn't hex him.

"Ron! Let go!" she said, kicking her legs furiously.

"Nope," he said amusedly, and with a hasty good-bye to Augery and Noss, continued to carry her up to the common room. Finally she gave in and put her arms around his neck again.

"I love you, Ron," she whispered, sighing, and burying her head in his chest.

"I love you too," he said faintly, kissing her brow.  As they reached the portrait hole, the fat lady in the pink dress gave a gasp and elbowed the snoozing witch beside her.

"Vi! Wake up! It's Ron and Hermione! They've finally found each other!" Violet woke up with a violent elbow to her ribs and looked very pleasantly surprised by this too. She quickly hurried off to tell all the other portraits in the castle what had happened.

The fat lady cleared her throat importantly, and with an air of pride demanded the password. "Montrose Magpies," said Ron and the painting swung open. With some difficulty, Ron managed to climb through the hole carrying Hermione, and stumbled into the room.

It was relatively empty by now, but the four people in the common room stopped talking in shock as they saw the two peoples' expressions, Ron carrying Hermione. It was a long-awaited event indeed, and it was a welcome remark when Harry spoke up.

"Finally!" he said loudly. They suddenly noticed that there were others in the room. Hermione blushed furiously and bit her lip, but Ron turned beet red and his ears were burning deeply.

"Yes, that is definitely the right word for this occasion," said Draco, laughing, "And, if I am not mistaken," he continued, taking a small notebook out of his pocket and giving it to Harry, "I won the bet. I told you that this was going to happen, didn't I?" He smirked widely, and with a humbled expression, Harry consented that Draco was right.

"Okay, you beat me this time Malfoy, but just wait!" Harry took some galleons out of his pocket and handed them to Draco, who accepted them happily enough. Ron and Hermione were taken aback at this blatant talk about a bet concerning them. Putting Hermione down, they both settled themselves on the couch. Ron summoned his wizard chess to play a game and at the same time asked, "So, what were you betting on?" It was definitely a dangerous question, but Harry didn't seem to have any problem with it.

"We were betting on how long it would take you to finally come to your senses and tell Hermione, (and for you to tell Ron) how much you love each other. I betted for a longer time, but Draco was right. That battle did seem to have a catalyst effect on the pair of you. I was wrong."

"Hmm…" Ron said simply, and with a small smile, started playing chess with Hermione, who gave him a furtive look of joy, no matter who was betting on their love life.

*~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~*

In light (or heavy) of the great destruction of Lord Voldemort, and the capture of his Death Eaters, Dumbledore decided that a feast should be held in order to explain the details of the Last Battle, as it was now being called (because of the Daily Prophet headline), and all the wizards who helped out (the Soldiers) were called to join it, too. At the Gryffindor table sat all the Weasleys except for the twins and Molly. Harry sat next to Ginny, Hermione sat next to Ron (of course), and Draco sat next to his cheerful and excited wife, Genevieve. Snape, Lupin, and Black were all there also, but they sat at the staff table, gracing it with their presence. Fudge was also there looking shocked but pleased at the outcome of all the fuss. Ron, Hermione, and Harry weren't too happy about him, though.

Dumbledore stood up, his bright red robes glimmering resplendently, and held his hands out to silence the vast, chattering crowd of students, teachers, and other…well, frankly, random people who happened to be there. He looked around eyebrows knitted with more concentration than the usually worried expression he carried.

"A few words and a toast, before we begin," he said, his old, strong voice filling the whole chamber with relative ease. There was that familiar twinkle in his eyes once again, as he prepared to speak. "I would like to ask you to please remain quiet until I have finished explaining, so that everyone may hear the true story of what happened three weeks ago tonight." Everyone settled more comfortably into their seats and turned to Dumbledore, readying their reservoirs to receive the usual amount of stunning and amazing information he liked to confide in them. Ron slipped his arms around Hermione's waist and placed his head on her shoulder. She couldn't help but grin at that warm, irresistibly perfect feeling of them being together. Harry winked at Ron from across the table. Ron winked back with a grin.

Dumbledore continued to tell the story of Harry's disappearance, Ginny's kidnapping, and the recovery of both these people, he even told with intricate details (including that of the death eaters trapped in lavender bubbles) all about the Last Battle and what had happened. Then he raised his glass and began a toast.

"The Dark Lord, as some call him, more properly known as Voldemort, has finally been vanquished. Today, we are here to celebrate this spectacular occasion of the return to peaceful normalcy in the wizarding world, and to recognize the courageous and hard-working people who helped to bring it about. Professors Snape and Lupin, first of all, lent their homes and aid in order to help Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Draco Malfoy in the earlier stages of this quest. Ginny Weasley is also very worthy of thanks. She is now, I might as well announce this here," he said with a small laugh, "soon to be the wife of Harry Potter. Congratulations, dear. I'd like to thank you for bravery in the midst of captivity, and for your indefatigable strength during the Last Battle!"

Ginny turned slightly pink, turning the gold and ruby engagement ring on her finger absentmindedly. Harry gave her a hug, and they sat happily, listening to Dumbledore address the next person.

"Now, to a boy who has turned and trusted his own heart instead of the heart of one who forced him to listen to evil and unjust decisions: a true enemy and friend alike in times of trouble and dire need, I thank Draco Malfoy." The Slytherin table was having trouble containing itself. Everyone there was smiling like Hermione had never seen before, they all seemed extraordinarily proud of their former house member. There were very few who were scowling, though there was a present minority. Draco didn't know whether to smile or frown it seemed, and just sat there, looking more than usually pale and shocked at the reaction he was getting from other students; positive, encouraging reactions.

"Ah! I'd like to thank a clever…no…brilliant young woman who we couldn't have done without, and who, I daresay, may have future commitments with a certain, present redheaded boy. Miss Hermione Granger!" He raised his cup and bowed his head politely. Ron was going very red indeed and seemed to be hanging onto Hermione for support. She patted his hand confidently, and wondered if Dumbledore could be right.

"To the man I have just mentioned, he seems to be capable of turning a variety of colors, apart from his other talents. Ron Weasley has held the group together the whole time, acting responsibly and with good strategy and tact. You are dear to our hearts, another noble and valiant Weasley whom we all love dearly." Many couldn't help but laugh at this, and Ron held to Hermione even more tightly. She turned around and gave him a small kiss on the cheek to take his pressure away. He immediately loosened his grip, and just kept smiling with a silly expression.

"Finally…hm, it seems this word has been used a lot lately, and why not? It seems to fit with several situations right now," Hermione could have sworn she saw Dumbledore look towards them for a moment, "we come to the last person. He is called the Boy Who Lived, and he has survived Voldemort's darkest reign. When he came back from a long absence, this boy killed him. He has saved us from years of devastation and destruction and has created a fertile and potentially prosperous, healthy world for us to live in once more. Order has been brought back to this society by a boy who sits here now, humbly sharing all his worth, bravery, and knowledge with friends and allies. Harry Potter. I am finished. You may eat your meals now."

There was a pause of continued, respectful silence from everyone until Dumbledore sat down, and immediately, an ear-splitting roar of applause, shouting, stomping, goblets being clanked, songs being sung, laughter and cries of joyful conclusion rang out through the hall, filling everyone with an inescapable mirth. The plates were loaded with every good food imaginable, from roast ham to Shepard's Pie and on and on, multiple courses, multiple cases of Butterbeer and ale, and deserts were consumed, the talking of some was loud and cheerful, the silence of others was content and thoughtful, and the beautiful evening ran on and on, until, finally, McGonagall ushered the students off to bed, and most others left. In the end, only Ron, Hermione, Draco, and Harry were left in the Great Hall talking to one another, all but Harry with deep blue necklaces showing their emotions. Draco sat silently, just listening to the others' conversations, a new and improved look of enjoyment evident on his face.

"You know what, Ron?" Harry asked him.

"No, what?" he replied.

"You saved my life."

"Oh, yeah, right Harry. I think you've been hexed just a few dozen times too many." He tapped his head knowingly, took a generous swig of Butterbeer and wiped his mouth on the sleeve of his robes. "Ron!" Hermione chided him. Ron just smiled as if he knew she would say that.

"No, it's true." Hermione became interested now.

"Really? Why's that? What happened?" she asked curiously, leaning in.

"You had fallen when Voldemort cast those curses on you, and Ron had tried to get Voldemort's wand away from him, but it didn't work. Voldemort took our wands away instead, and gave them to Wormtail. Then Ron just had to show high moral fiber and threw himself in front of me to block any curses, saying Voldemort would have to kill him first. And he tried to."

"But you deflected most of the curse, it shouldn't have had any of the effect you're mother's protection had on you," Ron interrupted, trying to modestly disprove Harry's theory.

"I deflected most of the curse," Harry replied emphatically, "meaning that some of the curse had hit you, and I could see what effect it had on you. I'm just glad no one else saw it. It was horrible. That saved me, though. He couldn't kill me."

"Dumbledore said you reflected the other curse with your sword completely. It wasn't me, it was Godric's sword."

"I know that. I deflected the first curse he sent with my sword, but he sent another one when I was running toward him, and it didn't hit me at all. It was like I had some sort of force field around me and the curse completely disappeared, sort of…broke up and diffused. It was strange." He looked like he felt inferior in descriptive words to convey how the curse bounced off of him. Hermione sat at the table, her eyes wide and both her hands covering her shocked face. Ron gazed blankly.

"What's a force field?" he asked confusedly. Draco seemed to share the same bewildered expression.

"The curse shattered, it never hit him…it bounced off," Hermione said briskly, trying to explain. "Exactly," Harry said, feeling slightly taken aback at the way Hermione could tell his feelings to others better than he himself.

"I was like a mirror," he added pathetically. Ron now looked at him in understanding, and a smile spread across his face.

"Wicked! I never would have thought I could save the life of Harry Potter!" Ron said with a gleeful laugh, puffing out his chest like Percy. They all laughed, and continued their discussion with ease. Harry was beaming at Ron and Hermione, until finally Hermione got annoyed and demanded to know why he was so incredibly interested and cheerful about them.

"I'm just really happy for you two, that's all! I mean, I've known it since second year, but what took you so long to know that you loved each other? I'll never know, I guess. Perhaps it has to do with the stubborn streaks you both have."

There was an angry outburst from both of them at this, and the hall was filled with rather loud explanations of not being at all stubborn, and that that was a terrible assumption on Harry's part. Then they both looked at each other and humbly quieted.

"Oh, yes!" Ron exclaimed suddenly, "thank you, Harry!" He said, trying to stand up, one hand his fumbling in his robe pocket. "Now, Hermione," he said, taking her hand and having her get up as well, "stand right here." Ron was grinning madly at her, but he wasn't red at all, which was unusual. Hermione looked pleasantly anxious at what was going on.

"You're our witnesses!" Ron said pointedly to Draco and Harry. They smirked at each other. He then took a tiny package wrapped in brown paper, and handed it to Hermione. "Open it!" he urged, looking expectantly at her.

She slowly unraveled the wrappings of this mysterious package, her necklace a bright red around her neck. Inside, in a simple box, was a gold ring with a beautiful diamond set in it. Hermione gasped in amazement. "Ron," she whispered helplessly.

Ron bent down on one knee, and, still grinning, asked, "'Mione? Will you marry me?" She looked down at me and immediately thought, I don't need asking twice!

"Yes!" she shouted, and they embraced, both as happy as could be, Draco and Harry smiling at them in amusement. They were together at last, and would be together forever. When they finally broke apart, it seemed to be hours later.

"I was just thinking," Ron said, "we'd better get back to the Burrow soon if we want to watch It's A Wonderful Life. I'm not about to break that promise, it sounds too…educational."

"Sounds like a good plan to me," she said, with complete satisfaction.

The End.

~Evyfleur