Draco stared in disbelief at the faces of his mother and Hermione. Only the slight rise and fall of their chests assured him that they were still alive. Hermione's eyes, normally full of warmth, remained empty and unblinking. A sick feeling rose into his throat as he looked at them, and for several moments he was positive he was going to be sick. Severe bruises in the shapes of hands and fists marred his mother's ivory skin. One of Hermione's arms was bent at an odd angle and was already showing signs of swelling. Still they didn't move, didn't speak, didn't blink. Seeing the only people who had ever cared about him, unconscious on the floor, united him with the people he was standing with. They all hated the person who had done these things.

Harry stood opposing Voldemort, red eyes facing green, evil facing good, dark facing light. Time went by unnoticed as the two shares a silent mental duel. They east stood calculating who would make the first move. With feline grace, unexpected from such a decrepit man, Voldemort stood from his granite throne and walked towards his nemesis. Harry grimaced as he got closer. The spell placed on his scar faded with every stop the man took until there it was, more vivid than ever before.

They both drew their wands and suddenly it was as if they were the only two in the room. Everything else faded away into an obis, unseen to them. Their eyes remained connected as Voldemort came to a complete stop several yards from Harry. Draco could nearly feel the anger coursing through them, the feeling was so intense. It made the room turn dark and cold and the tiny hairs stand up on the back of their necks. No one said it, but no one needed to. They all knew the outcome of this duel would be crucial to the fate of their world.

"You were dead." Harry spoke at last. The tremble in his voice from long ago had faded now. He was no longer afraid of the man who stood before him. "I watched you die."

"Yes, I was." Voldemort replied. Has the iciness in his voice not been so strong, Harry might have noticed the trace of amusement when he said this. "However, due to the extreme precautions by my servant Wormtail, I stand before you now very much alive and powerful once more." His eyes fell on Snape and his expression turned to one of pleasure, much like the one worn when a child plucks the wings off a butterfly. "Potions can come in very handy."

Snape's eyes grew wide in shock and realization as he fully processed what his former master had said. His grip on his wand loosened and he remained motionless in disbelief. Draco looked from Voldemort to the professor in confusion until he realized no answers were going to be spoken now. The Dark Lord returned his attention to Harry, who had remained unmoving as if frozen by an unseen force.

Finally, he opened his mouth to speak. Everything from that moment on seemed to happen in slow motion. The first spell of the duel was thrown by Harry. A stream of red light bounced off his opponent, but Voldemort remained untouched. He grinned smugly and cast a spell of his own. Harry dropped to the floor in pain. His body writhed as the curse flowed through his body. His eyes, however, remained open. He watched the caster of the spell with increasing hatred. The vivid green of his eyes darkened in anger until they were nearly black. Yet he didn't scream. During the entirety of the spell he remained silent. Even as Voldemort jerked his wand away and ended the spell, he didn't utter a sound.

After the curse ended, he stood up and brushed himself off. The angry fire in his eyes now burning brighter than ever. Clutching his wand so tightly his knuckles turned white, he spoke a curse none of the people present ever dreamed they would hear him say. He preformed the spell to end all spells. As the green light poured from his wand tip and hurtled towards Voldemort, the snake lord just laughed. The spell reflected off him exactly as Harry's first spell had. For the second time, someone had survived the killing curse.

"You didn't really think that would work, did you Harry?" he said with a sneer. "You cannot kill me. I told you, I went through extreme measures to prevent that." Harry frowned at him and slowly lowered his wand. He turned to Ron.
"We have to go to plan B." he said seriously, his voice cracking from fear or nerves. Ron shook his head and didn't meet his eyes.

"No, Harry. No." He choked out. "I can't do it."

"Ron! We've talked about this. We've always said this is what we'd have to do if it came down to it. Its has! Just do it, now!"

"But Harry-"

"Ron! You'll never do it if you keep thinking. Tell Hermione-"

"No Harry. You're going to tell her yourself."

"Tell Hermione I said good-bye." He said slowly. He turned and ran at Voldemort. "Now!"

"Avada kedavra." Ron said, his voice like a benediction. The light emitted from his wand wound around the two men. After a fleeting glance to his best friend, Harry's eyes closed for the final time. His glasses fell from his face and were crushed as the men hit the floor. The sound of their falling bodies echoed across the room and faded until the only thing remaining was the gentle sobbing of Ron. One would have thought that the death of the two most well known people in the wizarding world would have been more spectacular than simple a silent spell. Ron stared at the wand in his hand, broke it over his knee, and cast the pieces to the ground.

The rest of the men stared as Ron ran to the side of his best friend and held him. They watched on, afraid to disturb such a scene. Each of them relived the moment in their heads, wondering what could possible have driven him to do such a thing.

"You're so stupid, Harry. There are other ways we could have defeated him where you didn't have to go to." but by the tone of his voice they knew he didn't believe what he said. While he talked and cried, Draco's eyes wandered the room. They finally came to rest on his mother. She seemed not to move, and for a dreadful moment Draco was afraid that somehow the spell had affected her as well. Then she blinked. Draco immediately raced to her side, only to find that someone else had been quicker.

Sirius crouched by her side, a line of concern on his forehead as he studied her bruises. Carefully, he fingered the purple skin beneath her right eye and frowned. Draco watched in horror as the ex-convict slid his arms around Narcissa and gently held her there. They were talking too quietly for him to hear what they were saying, but by the looks on their faces he was sure he'd rather not know.

Turning his attention to the woman on the floor next to him, he sunk to the floor beside her. She was still coming about when he preformed a pain killing charm on her broken elbow. Looking up at him, she didn't have a trace of surprise on her face. On the contrary, she looked almost relieved.

"Draco." She said, more of a statement than a question. "Finally."

She reached up to tuck a stray piece of hair out of his face and smiled wearily. Before he could tell her anything, she passed back into unconsciousness. He gazed down at her limp form in confusion. Nothing had made sense to him today. He did his best to lift her without hurting her and carried her to where the rest of the group was waiting. He could feel the unevenness of several of her ribs under his fingers. Sirius stood with Narcissa cradled against his chest, and one look at their happy faces told Draco all he needed to know.

His mother gave him a tired smile and glanced at the woman he held in his arms. The playful look on Narcissa's face told Draco that she would surely question him later. For now she simply closed his eyes and let herself be carried through the castle. No one noticed until long after they were gone that the potions master had fallen dead to the floor along with the pair, the dark mark throbbing red. They paid no heed to the fact that all around the camp there were death eaters lying dead on the ground. No one wondered why their party seemed smaller than before. And what a strange party it was. Two women being carried by men who looked as though they hadn't slept in weeks led the way, followed by a man who looked far too old for his age, and a man with violently red hair levitating the body of his former best friend brought up the rear.

All around them people were celebrating their freedom at last, but the group could not have looked more grim. They silently walked back towards the port hole out in the lonely English countryside. No one said a word as they stepped through it and appeared on the other side. No one said a word as they apparated back to the Ministry building. No one said a word as they each went their separate ways. They had a silent agreement about what they all had to do.

Sirius and Draco carried the two women towards the hospital wing of the building while Remus accompanied Ron to his father's office. The gasps could be heard to the other end of the hall as people witnessed the lifeless body of the Boy-Who-Once-Lived float by. Men, cursed, women cried or fainted, and it left and impact on everyone.

The nurses in the hospital rushed to the two men. They levitated Hermione and Narcissa onto two of many beds in the facility. Spells were cast, potions given, and the men silently waited. An hour went by before the nurses pocketed their wands and stepped away. The blonde and brunette were left sleeping peacefully.

"They'll be out for a bit." said the head nurse. "That was some powerful magic that did that to 'em, make no doubts about that." She eyed the men un-trustingly, but they were too tired to care.

"You can wait in here if you like." said what appeared to be her assistant. They showed them their chairs beside each bed, and they sunk into them without question. Soon they were sound asleep as well.

Night gave way into morning, and the sun creeping in through the window woke Hermione from her dreamless state. She blinked as her eyes became accustomed to the light. The surroundings were unfamiliar to her, and a sense of panic began to grow in her heart. Frantically, she glanced around the oversized room. She found herself in a place similar to one she had frequently been admitted into during her school days, and she sighed in relief as she realized it was only a hospital.

She relaxed back onto the bed again and nearly cried out in pain at the jabbing in her ribs. They would clearly be sore for a while. It took her a moment to notice the people around her. Sirius held Narcissa's hand the next bed over as they both slept on, and then there was Draco. Draco who was sitting in a chair next to her bed. Draco who was using her mattress as a pillow. Draco who, whether he meant to or not, looked like an angel when he slept. Draco. He slept on silently, oblivious that the eyes of Hermione watched his every intake and exhalation of breath.

"Draco," she called out to him softly and shook his shoulder. He frowned in his sleep and reached up to bat her hand away.

"Five more minutes, still to early." He said and nuzzled his head further into the mattress. Grinning, she shook him harder until he finally opened his eyes. He groaned and looked up at her sleepily.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. Slowly, he sat up and ran a hand through his untidy blonde hair.

"I don't know where to start." he confessed. The strain was evident on his face as he tried to begin explaining. "Hermione, for the past few months I've been fooling all of you. You see, I AM Adonis. I know that's hard for you to understand, but it's true. I used appearance spells and-" "No, no. I know that part already. It wasn't that hard to figure out. I mean, why are you still here?" She attempted to sit up, but the pain in her chest kept her bed ridden. Instead, she tilted her head to look at him.

"Well, we were tired last night and I guess I just fell asleep. I'm sorry, if you want me to leave-" he let his sentence hand in the air and half stood out of the chair.

"No!" she said a bit too quickly. Recollecting herself, she repeated her answer more calmly. "No, you don't have to leave. Please, tell me what happened yesterday. Where are Harry and Ron? Is there another Hospital Wing for men?" His tired expression grew grave at her question. He knew he couldn't be the right person to tell her what is was that she wanted to know.

"My guess would be at the funeral parlor." he quietly told her and kept his eyes on the ground.

"Funeral parlor? But why would-" she began to say, but as realization of what he meant set in, her eyes glazed over with tears. "They had to go to plan B." she finished just above a whisper. "I hated plan B. You know, I was supposed to be the one to actually preform the spell. We all figured that I was the most skilled with a ward and would be able to do it. I guess Ron pulled through after all."

"I'm sorry, Hermione. No one wanted it to happen." he said sorrowfully. It was almost painful for him to watch her so downtrodden. He grabbed a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her. With a mumbled thanks, she took it and dried her eyes. "He wanted us to tell you that he says good- bye."

That was more than Hermione could handle. Ignoring the pain in her ribs, she let out a loud sob and threw her arms around Draco's neck and buried her head in his shoulder, looking for comfort anywhere she could find it. Draco wasn't used to anything this physical. He could feel his body stiffen protectively under her touch, and he remained motionless.

For several minutes they stayed like that before he finally loosed up and patted her back soothingly. She began to calm down and looked up at him, as if realizing for the first time exactly what she was doing. Her eyes grew wide in astonishment and she released him as if he had burned her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" she trailed off. Draco could almost still feel her arms around him. The skin on his neck tingled from where she had touched him. For a moment he thought about holding her again, just to get that feeling, but the terrified look on her face kept him from doing so.

"It's all right." he finally managed to say. "I don't mind, er, what I mean to say is, we all have a loss. I know you just needed to touch someone. I'm going to go check on my mother." He shot out of the chair and went to the next bed. Had he kept his eyes on Hermione he would have seen the small smile on her face as she watched him. She knew that she didn't need to touch just anyone.

Sirius had left his post next to Narcissa's bed to find the pair something to eat. Draco took his chair and watched in admiration as his mother gazed out the window. One couldn't help put respect her poise and strength. She had been through so much in the past several years and still managed to come out smelling like a rose. Her eyes fell on his and she smiled broadly, happy to be able to look at her son without black hair again. She motioned for him to come closer, and when he did she traced the lined of his face with her fingertips, as if to make sure he was real. When she was satisfied they both relaxed and sat back. Narcissa was the first to speak.

"I like you much better this way." she stated. "Adonis never suited you the way Draco does."

"I don't know about that, mom." he replied sadly. "I found it much easier to be myself when I was Adonis. People didn't hate him, they didn't judge me before they knew me. It's kind of silly, really, if you think about it. I was more at home as someone else." His mother smiled grimly and turned her head to gaze out the window. The view was enchanted to look like the perfect day outside. Every now and then a flock of robins would fly past and chirp at the people inside. Draco knew that in reality the sky was dreary and gray, but the hospital tried to remain as cheerful as possible. Her blue eyes remained empty and sad, the window couldn't change that. She sighed and reached blindly for his hand.

"Draco, Adonis was not who you really are. Like it or not you are a Malfoy, you can't change that. You may run from it, but I still see it in you. I can see it in your eyes, and your hair, and your nose, and here-" she pressed her hand to his heart. "It's in your blood. The pride and history of this family flows through your veins. You can't escape it, but you can improve it.

"I know you'll never become the Malfoy your father was, and I'm extremely grateful for that. I'm only just now regaining my life from him. Some of the people he drove away from me may never come back, but I'm trying."

"The day of dad's funeral, you told me about a man that you used to love-" Draco interrupted quietly. "That was Sirius, wasn't it." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes," she answered with a shy smile. "It was. I don't know what's going to happen between us now, if anything will. It may have been too much time apart, emotions fade."

"It'll work. I can see the way you two look at each other when you think no one's watching. It'll work." he reassured her.

"Thank you. I hope you're right. I only have one request from you though. No matter what path you take for your life, go and live, Draco. That's all you have to do." Whether she meant to or not her eyes drifted to Hermione's bed beneath the window. "Go and live."

Before Draco could respond, Ron burst through the doors of the infirmary, closely flanked by Remus.

"Harry James Potter was pronounced dead at 12:34 a.m. last night." he said. His stiff posture revealed he was trying to be strong about the situation at hand. "The funeral service will be held tomorrow afternoon in the field at Godric's Hollow. I'm sure he would have wanted all of you to come."

His shoulders sagged as if a heavy weight had been lifted, and he lowered himself into the chair beside Hermione's bed. He took her hand and squeezed it gently. Holding out her arms to him, they embraced. All the times Ron had forgotten her lately or left her out didn't matter anymore. They shared the same pain. They were comforted by one another, although they both knew things would never be the same between them. Harry had been the link that held them all together, and now that he was gone they knew things would change. Both reminded the other too much of their lost friend. With a silent good-bye, they released each other and Ron left without another word.

When Draco turned back to his mother he found her fast asleep. He knew Sirius would return and wake her up soon to make her eat something. Placing a soft kiss on her forehead, he walked to Hermione's beside again.

"I was going to go see what they have in the cafeteria. Do you want me to bring you back anything?" he asked her. She pondered this for a moment before nodding slightly.

"If they have some coffee that would be wonderful."

"You have to have more than just coffee." he replied with genuine concern. "Eat something."

"Fine," she was secretly amused by how much he sounded like her father just then. "Some fruit then, if that satisfies you. Thanks."

He smiled at her and silently left her bedside. With a happy sigh, Hermione watched him leave. Her eyes drifted around the room and settled on Narcissa's clearly not asleep face. The woman looking back at her was chuckling quietly.

"I haven't seen him look at anyone that way since the last time that French modal stayed at our manor. Oh my, how he fancied her. Draco would follow her around like a love-sick puppy. It's nice to see him like that again." Hermione's eyes grew wider with every word the blonde spoke.

"Oh no, Mrs. Malfoy. Draco doesn't think of me that way." she said quickly. "We hate each other, we've been enemies for years. Surely you knew that."

"Oh of course." Narcissa replied. "But tell me, do all enemies wait by each other's side when death is knocking at their doorstep. Do they all go through such peril to save each other?" she paused and lowered her voice. "Do they all gaze at each other like they never want to look away?" Hermione reddened at her questioning and averted her eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about." she said unconvincingly. "It wouldn't work out anyway. We're too different."

"Really now?" I would have said the problem was that you were too alike. Bright, studious, and blind to what's staring you in the face. It would work, you might just have to work at it a bit more than most." she finished with a flair.

"What makes you think I would even want for it to work? He did nothing but be cruel to me at school anyway?" her voice sounded doubtful even to her.

"Because you're not in school anymore, dead, and you know he's changed." Hermione didn't have a response for that. She opened her mouth but said nothing. The older woman seemed satisfied with this and turned away. They both waited in silence for their breakfast.

-=-=-=-

Draco wandered the halls in search of the cafeteria, cursing the building for not having a map handy. He passed a door reading "Minor Curse Relief: Dr. Louve Ere" and he stopped. This was the third time he'd passed the door; he was going in circles. With an exasperated sigh her turned and took a different hallway. After many more changes of direction and flights of stiars he found himself back in front of the door. However, this time he was not alone.

Sirius was also there, looking just as bewildered as he was. He walked up and stood beside the older man, but neither spoke for some time.

"I think every hall in this building leads to this room." he said grimly. "I've been looking for the cafeteria for an hour now and keep coming back here."

"I think we should just admit defeat and go back to the infirmary." Draco answered. "If we can find it that is. Otherwise we'll probably never get back."

"Oh, I know where the infirmary is." Sirius said. "Turn around."

The sign above the large double doors behind them read "Healing Ward." Through the window he saw his mother talking to Hermione, who blushed and turned away. Whatever they had been discussing had made her uncomfortable. "So what will we do about food?" Sirius wondered aloud.

"Well, we could conjure some. I don't know how good your cooking skills are, but mine leave something to be desired." Draco answered, grimacing at the memory of the last meal he'd made himself.

"It's worth a shot." They both raised and made a real effort to make the meals correctly. Narcissa's pancakes were burnt, her orange juice was lumpy, while Hermione's coffee smelled of salt, and her fruit was over- ripe.

"Maybe they won't notice." Draco said as he balanced the mean in his hands. "Or at least not say anything about it. We tried."

The two men entered the hospital and gave the women their food. Both women grimaced as the aroma reached them but politely tried their means anyway. Hermione first took a sip of her coffee and promptly chocked. She quickly took a bite of her apple to wash the taste out of her mouth but couldn't even bring herself to swallow it. Draco blushed, embarrassed that he'd done such a horrible job with her meal.

"What is the cafeteria serving these poor people? It's not enough that they're sick, but not their going to be poisoned as well?" Hermione said, her voice filled with disgust. Narcissa looked equally sickened and they both dropped their food in the nearby trash bin.

Sirius and Draco stayed silent and kept their eyes on the ground. For a while the wing was quiet, then a moment of realization came over Hermione as she watched Draco.

"You two made this, didn't you? You're the ones trying to poison us."

"We couldn't find the cafeteria." he mumbled, and Hermione burst out laughing.

"It didn't occur to you to ask for directions?" Draco looked up, stunned.

"Well, no, actually. I didn't think it would be so hard to find." Hermione smiled and shook her head in amusement.

"You're both hopeless. Hand me my want, I'll make my own breakfast." She said and held out her hand.

"You don't actually HAVE a wand anymore." Draco told her. "He snapped it after he took you prisoner. Your's too Mum." he called over his shoulder. Hermione's face fell at his statement.

"I'll have to get another then as soon as we can leave. Whenever that is."

"You can go as soon as you've eaten breakfast." said a passing nurse. "Your personal belongings are in a box under your bed."

"Thank you." Hermione answered. "Draco, give me your wand so I can have a decent meal and get out of here please."

Draco handed it to her and almost instantly the smell of freshly brewed coffee filled the air around them. She drank and ate quickly, eager to leave confinement and get back to the real world. Changing into the hospital provided clothes, she returned to her bed from the bathroom and pocketed the few personal items in her box.

"I'm going to go on down to Diagon Alley to buy a new wan I guess. I'll see you all tomorrow afternoon." She hugged them all good-bye, thanking Narcissa for her advice but when she got to Draco she paused. She held onto him perhaps a little longer than she shoudl have. He stiffened under her touch and for a moment time froze and he couldn't move. Slowly, his arms wrapped around her waist and he once again relished the feeling of her in his arms. For some reason she felt right there. He didn't realize how much time had passed until he felt her push against his chest to pull away. With some reluctance he released her and averted his eyes so she couldn't see his embarrassment.

"Good-bye Draco," she said with a smile before leaving the room. She laughed under her breath; she had never thought that Draco would be shy at anything, but over the past few hours he's proved her wrong several times. Despite what she knew was probably wrong, she was drawn to this new side of him she'd come to know over the past several weeks. Narcissa had been right; he had changed since their school days.

He watched as she left the room with a small pop. Turning his attention to his mother, he found both Sirius and her watching him with identical smug grins. In Narcissa's eyes, he could read her delight. She opened her mouth to speak, but he shook his head and silenced her.

"I know mother, go and live." with a whip crack, he too apparated to Olivander's in Diagon Alley. Before he arrived he could hear her voice and Mr. Olivander rummaging through dozens of dusty boxes.

"You say it was 12 3/4 inches? I doubt I have any more of those; they were quite rare. Only about a dozen made I'm afraid. A very unique size." The old man dais, quickly reading labels on boxes.

"Yes, I'm positive. 12 3/4 inches, maple, with a-"

"Unicorn hair at the core." he interrupted. "Oh yes, I remember now. Very flexible, wonderful for charms work. I'm afraid I don't have another. Why don't we just try several until you find another that suits you?" It was at this moment that he noticed Draco. "Ahh, young Master Malfoy. 14 inches, ash, dragon heartstring at the center if I'm not mistaken. How has it been treating you? Don't tell me you've lost it too. Young people today, never keep track-"

"No sir, thank you. It's been treating me find; I still have it. I actually came to talk to her." he said before the wandmaster's famous "back in my day" speech could begin. Hermione's ears had perked when she heard his name, and she turned to face him, smiling inwardly at the appropriateness of his wand core. The old man gave him a knowing look.

"Well all right then, I'll just be in the storage room looking for the young lady a new wand." He silently retreated to the back of the store.

"Draco? What is it? Is your mother all right?" her questions came fast and frantic.

"No, no. Everything's fine, it's nothing like that." he said to calm her nerves. "I just wanted to ask you if maybe you'd like to-"

"Yes?" she asked as his voice failed him mid-sentence. Her question brought him back to reality and he panicked. What did he think he was doing? He couldn't ask her out; he wasn't good enough for her. How could he have even thought he was capable of doing such a thing?

"I just thought you might like some company." he said quickly. Hermione smiled in thanks and nodded, but inwardly she sighed. She had been so sure that he was going to ask her out. Her heart, which had begun beating double time, slowed back to its normal rate. "And Sirius is keeping my mother company so, you know, I didn't have anything else to do."

"Thanks, I'd like that." she said, though her voice sounded a disappointed. "I don't know how much fun this will be for you, I'm afraid. Unless you want to be my test subject that is." she smiled mischievously and he laughed, not quite sure if she was being serious or not.

"I think I'll just watch if that's okay with you." he said and took a seat near the front of the shop.

"Suit yourself." said Hermione with a shrug. As if sensing a lull in the conversation, the shop owner came bustling into the room, his arms heavily laden with boxes. He promptly deposited them onto the table and thrust a wand in her hand.

"Try this. 12 inches, maple wood, phoenix feather core." She swished and flicked like the professional she was, and the light bulb above them exploded. Dusting glass bits out of his hair, he replaced the wand with another.

"Perhaps this will be better." Time and time again she tried out wand after wand presented to her. His instinct for wands impressed her. On several occasions, he would take the wand back almost immediately, muttering to himself that it wouldn't work. After a pile of empty wand boxes began to grow, Hermione grew discouraged.

"Here, try this. 11 ½ inches long, dragon heartstring, with holly tree wood." The moment her hand touched the wand she knew she would take it home with her. With a turn of her wrist, the wand box was transformed into a delicate jewelry box. Soft music filled the air as she opened it. A tiny silver star figuring stood inside and turned with the song. Gently closing the box, she transfigured it back into its original state.

"I'll take this one," she said and deposited her money on the counter.

"Splendid! Let's hope that is the last one you have to buy. Reckless children-"

"Thank you very much, good-bye!" she said and pulled Draco out of the store. She too had heard stories of his infamous speech and wasn't interested in researching their truths.

"Sorry that must have been really boring for you." she apologized as they walked towards the Hogsmeade portal.

"On the contrary, I thought it was enjoyable. Trying to stay out of the way of all the flying objects was certainly an adventure." he said and gave her a sideways glance. "Although, not moving fast enough proved to be rather painful." He rubbed the side of his head where a candlestick had crashed into him.

"I'm sorry about that. You're sure you're all right? No bleeding or anything?" she said and ran a hand over her own ear as if feeling the pain herself.

"Yes, Hermione, I'm fine. Stop worrying so much. You'll start to sound like my mother."

"I could think of worse people to sound like." she mused absentmindedly and stepping into the portal. They appeared in a damp alley behind the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. Several rats squeaked and hurried away. Hermione shivered. Every since her third year she had been paranoid about rats, and for good reason.

They walked in silence to the front of the pub. The streets were filled with people celebrating over the final defeat of the Dark Lord. However, through the windows they could see the inside of the building was somber. Black drapes were hung over everything that would hold them, and a large picture of Harry hung on the west wall. The people inside were also dressed in complete black, mourning the loss of their hero.

Seeing this brung tears to Hermione's eyes again. She had pushed the thought that Harry was dead to the very back of her mind, but now that she'd been reminded there was no stopping her crying. Her tears spilled freely down her cheeks, but she felt no need to brush them away. She cried without a sound, only the slight shaking of her body alerted Draco that something was wrong.

"Hermione?" he asked and turned so that they were facing one another head on. "What is it?"

She couldn't find her voice to speak, and could only lift her hand to point to the pub. He glanced inside and immediately saw what had gotten her so upset. He quickly pulled out of the way, to where she couldn't see inside and bent down so that their heads were level.

"I know you're upset. I'm sorry about that, so sorry. I don't know if there's anything I can do to fix it, but if there is just tell me and I'll try. Anything." She looked up at his with water filled eyes, and he couldn't help thinking that he'd never seen her this way before. She looked alone and vulnerable right then, and it scared him. It was as if-

He didn't get to finish his thought.

Because right then, Hermione tilted her head up and pressed her lips to his in a gentle, salty, sorrow filled kiss. Draco was surprised to find that his body didn't freeze up at her touch this time. On the contrary, he found himself reacting quite eagerly to her. Her nose bumped against his as they both tilted their head in the same direction. She opened her mouth to apologize, but he silenced her quickly with a swift movement of his lips over hers that made her knees threaten to buckle.

She wrapped her arms around his neck for support, and he in turn placed his hands on her waist. Even through the material of her skirt, his hands seemed to brand her skin. Hermione had kissed many men before, but it had never been like this. This was spontaneous, and sudden, and absolutely mind blowingly wonderful. No man had ever made her feel this amazing with only a simple kiss.

By the time she pulled back they were both out of breath. She looked up for the first time and stared into the faced of half a dozen people that had gathered to watch. Her cheeks burned brightly and she buried her head in Draco's shoulder. He smiled politely at the spectators and led her away from the mass of people. Neither of them spoke, because there were no words that needed to be said. The walk to her apartment was silent, but not awkwardly so. He walked her up to the doors and they stopped.

"I'll see you tomorrow at the funeral." he said and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Until then, don't worry too much. I just live a few blocks away if you need anything."

"Thanks, but I think I'll be okay." she said with a small smile. After saying good-bye, she walked inside, up the stairs, and through the door of her vacant apartment. Through her window she could see his tell-tale blonde head walking down the street. He held his shoulders higher than before, and he was facing the world head on with his eyes. It gave her a sense of pride to know that she was the one that had done that to him. Hermione fell into bed and slept soundly for the first night in weeks.

-=-=-=-

The following afternoon, a group of around three dozen people who knew Harry well gathered in Godric's Hollow. Condolences were shared, and many tears were shed on his behalf. Draco stood off to the side, he had already seen Harry's open casket and said what he had planned to say, now there was nothing for him to do but wait until the service began. Many of the people who had arrived had given him queer looks when they saw him, but no one had breathed a word to him.

He was constantly on the lookout for Hermione, but he hadn't seen her arrive yet. He knew that she would probably have to talk to every person at the service once she arrived, but that she would eventually come to see him. He was impatient for that, and yet scared stiff at the thought. Thoughts of her had kept him awake the night before, he was sure the effects of lack of sleep were now showing on his face. He wanted to see her, but he was terrified that she would tell him everything she did yesterday was a mistake made out of her grief. Then he would look like a fool for behaving the way he did when she kissed him, and responding without any hesitation. He knew he had fallen for her, and fallen hard, but he couldn't be sure if she felt the same way.

While he was contemplating, Hermione had arrived. She graciously thanked all the people who expressed their sympathies to her and walked through the crowd to where Draco stood. They looked at each other in unspoken understanding, and in one fluid moment, they touched their lips together again.

For them time seemed to stop, the people around them vanished, because nothing mattered anymore. Hermione had found someone who made her forget her troubles, and Draco someone to make him forget his past. Neither of them knew what would happen to them tomorrow, or even after the funeral was over, but they didn't care. For the time being they had each other, and that was enough.

-=-=-=-

I'm sorry this took so long guys, but I hope the length made up for it. I wanted to end the story well, I hope you liked it. I've enjoyed writing this story, but I can't say I'm not glad it's over. I'll keep you all posted on my future writing. Happy reading everyone!

Review please, it makes my life worthwhile. :)