Disclaimer: I own nothing… All characters and places belong to JK. Rowling. The only thing I own is my computer I write on and the clothes on my back.

Thanks: To all who reviewed for this last chapter or who have earlier. I'm so sorry that I wasn't able to update. My computer has been on the fritz but because of the reviews, I got inspired.

The End Draws Near

As reinforcements continued to arrive from areas of the magical world, the fighting became more fierce. Already many had died after receiving the killing curse from one or more of the Death Eaters. Same amount of Death Eaters, maybe more had been killed.

Pansy Parkinson had lost her wand and was now fighting Lavender Brown with her bare hands. She swung her fist around and it connected with Lavender's jaw, immediately knocking her unconscious.

"Parkinson," a voice hissed to the young woman.

"Yes master," she bowed low to Voldemort as he came up to her.

"Where is our Young Malfoy? I would have thought he'd be here enjoying this."

"He took the mudblood to a secluded area, my lord, where he could have his way with her. I just hope he keeps her alive so I can kill her."

"You fool!" He swung his bony hand, making contact with the side of her face, knocking her to the ground. Her cheek burned as the imprint of his hand glowed a fierce red on her face.

"He wanted her because he loves her! He cares for the young woman enough to take her away!"

Pansy sat dumbfounded as Voldemort yelled out his frustrations. Draco? Love a Mudblood?

"Why? How did this happen?"

"I don't care how this happened. All I want you to do is find him and bring them both to me." Pansy stood, brushing off her robes and collecting her wand once again.

"Yes sir," she whispered before running to the Great Hall entrance, never stopping once until she got to the edge of the forbidden forest. Closing her eyes, she pictured Draco and whispered an incantation before disappearing into the night air.

Draco felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he kissed Hermione slowly. He pulled back, jumping up and out of his bed to find his clothing.

"Draco, what's wrong?" Hermione sat up, allowing the sheet to slip off her chest as she watched him search for his clothing.

"We need to get dressed right now. Someone's coming." He pulled on his boxers, followed by his black pants.

"What? How do you know?"

"Just do it!" he ordered fiercely. He threw her clothes to her and got his wand ready.

Hermione watched him as she finished buttoning up her shirt and began to pull her socks and shoes on. It surprised her how he could go from being charming and loving to angry and defensive.

'Is this what I'll be living with?' she asked herself. Her heart jumped at the thought of them living together. He must have sensed her change for he turned around to look at her, his expression immediately softening.

"I love you," she whispered, walking over and pressing her lips to his.

"I love you too." He smiled as she pulled away. Their quiet moment was interrupted when a loud snap echoed throughout the room.

"Petrificus Totalus!" A voice yelled, causing Draco to fall to the ground.

"Expelliramus!" Hermione's wand flew to the opposite side of the room as she looked down at Draco.

"Well, well, well. What have we here?" Hermione slowly looked up and her eyes met with Pansy Parkinson's.

"Here I find the Mudblood and her lover."

"What do you want Pansy?" Hermione slowly tried to make her way between Draco and her enemy, but she maneuvered her way around so he was exposed to her, her wand still trained on Hermione.

"I want Draco back. He doesn't really love you, he loves me. Crucio!" Pansy aimed the curse toward Draco and all she could do was watch helplessly as her husband was being tortured.

"Why are you doing this to him? If you love him so much why are you hurting him!" Hermione yelled, attempting to block Draco again.

"I wouldn't try it Granger." She smirked as she looked around the familiar room. "This room brings back memories. This is the first place where Draco and I had our first shag. I lost my virginity on that bed. Did you know he took me here most often? All the others were taken in closets, dark hallways, even empty classrooms. But I was the only one fortunate enough to be taken to his bed. I bet this is your first visit to his bedroom, am I right?"

Hermione felt herself becoming more angry as she let her jealousy begin to take over.

"I'm guessing your silence means I'm right. Did he tell you that you're beautiful? Did he tell you that he needed you? That he's wanted you for so long?"

"I don't think that's any of your business," Hermione stated while crossing her arms.

"I knew it. He says that to all the girls. What, did you think you were special? Did you think that he actually cared for you? Did you think he loved you?"

"No, I didn't think, I knew he did. Because unlike any of the other girls he's been with, he married me." Pansy look stunned at her statement but refused to listen.

"That's a lie."

"Ask him if you don't believe me." She outturned her arm, showing the cut that wasn't all the way healed. She smirked as Pansy finally realized she was telling the truth.

She turned to Draco, pointed her wand at him, continuing on with his torture. His body writhed in pain and all Hermione could do was watch as his skin began to open up in places from the curse.

"No," Hermione whispered as his eyes rolled to the back of his head. "Stop! Pansy why do you keep doing this?"

"Because he will be punished for his sins: sleeping with a mudblood, betraying the Dark Lord, marrying a mudblood. And you will be punished by watching him being tortured knowing there's nothing you can do to save him." She smiled evilly as she threw another curse his way. This time, the curse was so powerful it threw Draco back against the wall. Hermione heard a crack and saw him fall to the floor unconscious.

"He's weak. And it's entirely your fault. Crucio!" His body began to shake again but he made no other movement.

Hermione could only watch as he was tortured over and over again. There was absolutely nothing she could do. Her anger began to build and she felt some surge of power to through her.

Candles began to flicker as a slow wind began to swirl around them. Pansy paused with her actions and looked around. Her eyes landed on Hermione who stood where she had before, her eyes staring intently into hers. And without warning, Hermione screamed throwing her head back, lifting her arms as a wave of energy pulsed from her body. Pansy was thrown against the wall, wand in hand as she continued to watch the young girl as she began to glow.

Hermione looked back to Pansy, her eyes were a black void staring as she brought her hands out in front of her and put them together, pointing them at her. An incantation, even unfamiliar to her ears, was whispered all around her as Hermione's hands were surrounded by a red glow.

Bringing up her wand, Pansy pointed it towards her and whispered the killing curse. But her spell was no match for the other witches.

The red glow flew towards Pansy in a line and connected with her green curse. They fought for only a second. Hermione had heard Draco's cry of pain in her mind and she put all her strength into it and pushed harder. The room was flooding with a blinding red glow. And the only other sound that could be heard other than the sound from the spell was that of Pansy's scream as the light consumed her.

She fell back against the wall and looked down at her hands. They seemed to be steaming but they weren't burnt. She looked around the room which now had all it's contents in disarray. Pansy was no where to be found where she once stood as she continued to look for Draco.

She found him sitting up against the wall, the spell obviously gone that Pansy had cast on him. He was cradling his left arm on his lap and his head hung on his chest.

"Draco," she whispered as she took him in her arms. She could still smell his scent even after all the fighting. "Oh baby, please be ok."

"Hey," he whispered back as she let out the breath she didn't know she was holding.

"I was so scared that I had lost you." She kissed his forehead as he took her hands in his.

"No, you haven't gotten rid of my just yet." She smiled at him and kissed his lips gently. As she pulled back, she noticed the confused look he possessed.

"How did you do that?"

"I don't know," she whispered honestly. "I just thought of how much she was hurting you and something inside me clicked. It was unbelievable though. Just the amount of power, I felt… I could do anything."

"And you say all I want is power." She smiled at his comment as a tear fell down her cheek. She looked at him as he sat there, head leaning against the wall, eyes closed, his breathing uneven. He had so many bruises already and such deep cuts. Blood seemed to be flowing down from just below his hairline. He needed to get to Madame Pomfrey quickly.

"Hermione," he whispered. She looked up and found him watching her. "I love you."

"I love you too. But this isn't goodbye. You're too strong to give in." She brought his hand to her cheek and kissed his palm. "Please stay with me."

"I'll always be with you. With both of you." Confused by what he meant, she placed her hand on his cheek.

"What do you mean by 'both of us' Draco? Please tell me!"

"Goodbye…" he whispered before his head fell back down on his chest, becoming silenced forever.

"No," she whispered. "NO!" Her scream echoed throughout the room and once again she felt the power flow through her veins. The same red glow erupted from within her but stayed with her as she stood up. The flames around her were warm but not hot enough to burn as she let her tears run freely. Her black eyes looked down at her beloved and she knew what she had to do.

Grabbing Draco by the collar, she lifted him up and turned around. Tears still fell from her eyes as she suddenly disappeared, his lifeless body in her arms.