GremlinTownIdiot: Ha. I like your name. And I'm also glad you like it.

I know you said not to ask, but what does 'Friggen ma se hare' mean?

Nattie88: Oooh, I do the same thing…

Soofija: Hrmm. Draco is a stubborn guy, that's all I have to say. And of course he does…

miss kris: So you expected that to happen? Wow, I didn't. I think Rowling is unnecessarily cruel. About this Draco, well…sorry.

SalemWitch, HiraTsubasa::bows head in shame: Sorry about that.

Sam: Man, you flatter me.

LillDevil: You flatter me too.

Maddudewalking: He's getting it.

Badgurl13a: Well, ok; just don't read the spoiler section I've got at the end.

Harrison J. Pecans: Well, I'm thinking there may be a way that I don't have to mention certain elements of HBP…

Liz: You may get your wish.

Captain-Ammie: Thank you. I'm confused; 1337?

eventers club: Heheh. Well, I would, but there are a few other people who don't want it spoiled…perhaps you can convince him to look at the last section in my notes?

And thanks to rat-gal2000, gopher2806, Weaselbee, lissag, dracosgal769, padfootedmoony, Arime Setta, NorthStar2005, Pippin1177, FeLiCiTy RoXx, and Moonglitter2 for reviews.

So, um, this is the last chapter of the story…

The End?

The first thing Hermione noticed upon waking was the lack of warmth at her side. Draco was usually up before her, but he would stay in bed until she awoke. Slightly dismayed but never one to wait, Hermione rolled out of bed and left her room. She entered the common room to find that Draco was heading towards the exit.

"Hey, can you wait for a few minutes?" she asked him. Draco didn't seem to have noticed her appearance in the room.

"I was actually planning on leaving now..." he said, not breaking his stride towards the portrait.

"Is there something wrong?" Hermione asked him.

"Not at all."

He hadn't even spared her a glance before the door closed behind him. In spite of that feeble attempt to convince her otherwise, there was obviously something wrong. Usually his mood swings were the signal that she should pay him some attention. Hermione had to wonder at this behavior, though; this was definitely something different. She couldn't think of a time when he'd deliberately refused to acknowledge her. But of course, the shower and her schedule beckoned, and Draco had already left the dormitory, so there was no way to figure out what was irking him until later. Hermione hoped that whatever it was, it wasn't somehow going to have a negative effect on their vacation.

Draco had experienced the entire spectrum of emotion that week; happiness when Hermione was with him; sadness in recalling that his happiness would be over in a few more days; anger at seeing how Potter and the rest of her friends so obviously fawned over her; smug satisfaction in knowing that in spite of them, he had been the only person to ever get truly close to her; and then ultimately despair because he was acutely aware that in a fast-approaching moment he would be losing the only piece of his life still his to control.

But for the moment all he felt was sick. It had not been a complex or difficult thing to ignore Hermione that morning, but it had left him with the feeling that a coiled snake was nestled in the pit of his stomach. And to know that he would have to do more of the same…surely the feeling would only increase.

Unfortunately the moment had already come. Where had the day gone? It was already after hours, and he couldn't put it off anymore, especially not when Hermione had been waiting for him to come back to their common room. She was sitting rather rigidly on a couch and didn't look upset, just perplexed.

"What's wrong this time?" Hermione asked. Her arms and legs were crossed, Draco noticed, so perhaps she was a little angry at him—not that it would matter in a few minutes.

"Honestly…"

If Draco kept his eyes focused on her there was the very likely chance that he wouldn't be able to continue. But she was just as likely to realize that he was lying if he turned away. With not a bit of effort Draco held her gaze and continued.

"I wasn't sure how to let you know without all the crying, but…this isn't going to work out," he finished simply.

Sarcasm. Yes, sarcasm was best.

Hermione's face scrunched up, and she seemed to be considering his words. "So you're trying to break up with me again?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"Pretty much."

Draco glanced towards his staircase. If he was lucky, she would let him go without any more elaboration. However, Hermione seemed to sense his eagerness to exit the situation.

"And you think I'm just going to accept that?" Hermione asked. She still hadn't adjusted her positioning on the couch.

"Well…what else do you think I should say?"

Hermione simply stared at him as if in disbelief of what she'd just heard. And with good reason, Draco thought; he was more surprised than her that he'd managed even those few sentences.

Hermione seemed to have come to a decision, though she didn't look completely sure of herself. "Stop joking, Draco," she said. "This isn't funny."

"You think this is a joke?" Draco asked, stepping towards her. Yes, be intimidating. "Let me assure you, it's not."

More silence, in which she seemed to be studying his face and beginning to lose her composure.

"We can't just keep breaking up and getting back together, Draco."

"We won't."

"Why?"

Because there's a very likely chance that one or both of us would die if we were really together, Draco thought.

"Well, I don't see why we would get back—"

"No. Why are you doing this again?"

Draco wanted to pretend that he didn't know what Hermione was talking about. Unfortunately he remembered every moment of their past with perfect clarity. Never, in the time since he'd made this decision, had he been sorrier to have wasted those few weeks deluding himself. But once again, his mouth was betraying his heart. Draco would've been proud of his ingenuity had he been using it on someone else—anyone else but the girl sitting in front of him.

"Well, I don't really expect you to understand…but you know relationships aren't my thing. I like to be on my own, you know?"

"But then why…you said it was a mistake…"

"Oh yes, that…you've got to admit the sex has been pretty good." He attempted to smirk, but it failed miserably. Though it didn't matter because Hermione's hands were covering her eyes and the rest of her face. She was beginning to cry, and making a half-hearted attempt to both cover her tears and wipe them away.

At that point Draco could feel his resolve slowly crumbling away. Why did she have to cry, she was only making it harder for them both…

"This isn't worth crying over—I'm not worth crying over, really."

It was all he could think of to say, and still it was true. He was a bastard for doing this, Draco realized.

Hermione stopped rubbing her face to look up at him, but said nothing.

"Don't cry, really," Draco repeated, kneeling in front of her.

In forming his shoddy plan to break up with, Draco had not anticipated that there would be tears. Their last breakup had shown him that Hermione was not going to fall apart that easily. Draco had only joked about her crying in the hope of making her angry, to speed the process along. He realized then that he couldn't bear to see her cry, and it was worse to watch knowing that he was the cause of it.

Draco reached up to wipe away the tears that were now running freely down her face, and leaned in to kiss her. He could taste the salt of her tears as he let his tongue trail along her lips. He really couldn't keep himself away from her, Draco realized. Not even when his mind was screaming at him that time was up, that he was ruining everything and making it harder on the both of them. But his heart rejoiced in this failure, and that was all that mattered. And then Hermione punched him in the stomach, seemingly with all the force she could muster. Draco gasped and groaned in pain, clutching his torso and falling sideways when she pushed him away.

"Don't you ever touch me again, you bastard!"

She left the room quickly, and Draco kept his eyes closed because he didn't want to see her go. How long he stayed there and waited for the slight pain to recede Draco would never know. Eventually he picked himself up and slowly walked to his room, all the while telling himself that he should be happy, that he had succeeded. But no, he shouldn't be happy, not when his happiness was with Hermione. His happiness had been effectively destroyed.

It was done. Somehow he had succeeded in doing the very thing that was just as likely to be his death as the Killing Curse. Needless to say, this was not going to be a happy Christmas for Draco. At least he wouldn't have to endure the ignominy of seeing his father at the station. Draco awoke that last day—the beginning of the vacation and what the rest of his life had in store for him—with a mixture of sadness and resignation in his stomach. At the least, the very least, he had done what he was supposed to.

It was cruelly fitting that he did not see Hermione until he had settled into a comfortable state of self-denial. Draco's thoughts were in a haze; he replayed the scenes of the previous night in his head in an attempt to distance himself from them. Understandably, he did not expect to see the real Hermione walking along the side of the Hogwarts Express towards him. But when he did Draco almost stopped in his position; she noticed him too and blanched, then averted her gaze and continued walking. Draco had almost completed the idea of saying something to her when he realized who was at her side, currently smacking into his shoulder—Harry Potter.

"What the—"

The cage Harry was holding flew out of his grip and clattered to the floor. The owl inside let out a loud angry screech and Harry hurried over to right the cage, picking it up and drawing his wand at the same time.

"I think there's enough time for a duel, don't you, Mal—"

"Don't bother Harry; he's not worth it."

Hermione tugged at his arm, and Harry lowered his wand. He glared at Draco for a moment before continuing down the platform after Hermione and the Weasleys, who had suddenly appeared on the scene. Hermione did not give him a second glance, and Draco was not going to stand there and follow her with his eyes, in spite of how badly he wanted to; not when there were other people around to notice. He was not going to linger on something that was now non-existent. Hermione had let go of whatever had been between them, and even so, it was at that moment that he knew he loved her.

:lets out long-withheld evil laugh:

There will be a sequel. Expect the next chapter about mid-week.

There was a reviewer who gave me this idea (before the story was first deleted), and I am shamelessly using it. cherbi161, thank you very, very much :)

So, to all you guys reviewing, I would like to say once again, how thankful I am for the reviews you send in. Arguably the best part of my day is reading what you say to me. And while I don't completely agree with those of you who say this, I can't help but blush when someone says that my writing is amazing and this story is the best you've read. That really is the greatest of compliments.

One reason for this sequel is so that I can separate this part of the story from what will follow, and write a bit differently. Also, it might be interesting to see what I can do to the characters away from the Hogwarts setting. And then there's the whole HBP business, which reminds me…

Yes, that's all I have to say to you who haven't read the sixth book. Until next time.

Beginning of HBP Spoiler Section: (DO NOT CONTINUE IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE SIXTH BOOK)

Also there's a lot of theorizing that might bore you, so there's another reason not to read…

So, like I said, it was quite the shocker. I'm not sure if I think Snape is evil. I like to think, because I had so much faith in Dumbledore's character, that he wasn't misguided in trusting Snape, but I don't know if I can. My theory for what happened is that Snape told Dumbledore about the Unbreakable Vow (which apparently meant that if Draco couldn't kill Dumbledore, then Snape would have to do it), but I doubt Dumbledore would have been happy about it; or maybe Snape did not. In any case, when Snape reached the Astronomy Tower with Draco and Harry and Dumbledore and all the other Death Eaters there was no other choice for him but to do it—especially when he was surrounded by a gaggle of Dark Lord supporters, who most likely would've killed him, and maybe Draco, and most definitely Dumbledore had he not. And if he hadn't killed Dumbledore then, both he and Draco would have lost the chance to do it, and then Snape would have died himself (though I'm not sure how the Vow would have worked in that case).

My question is whether or not Snape is protected from Voldemort when Hogwarts is not in session. We saw that he resided in a building that was not Hogwarts before the school year began (where he made that stupid Vow in the first place…). So I would think not, if he was going to keep up the appearance of being a loyal Death Eater. You know, freedom from the castle to do the Dark Lord's bidding. And so Dumbledore had to let him do it, if he wanted a good spy into Voldemort's plans, right?

But back to my theory :) Even if Snape is on the Light side, he's definitely not completely faultless. Harry catches up with him just before Snape Apparates away, and calls him a coward, and of course Snape gets all angry and overly defensive and nearly kills him (but doesn't, which makes me wonder more…). Snape says that he's not, which of course means that he is. According to the Vow, Snape would have died had he not killed Dumbledore. But surely Dumbledore would have been more of an asset to Harry's fight against Voldemort than Snape—something which Snape himself was probably well-aware of. But instead of giving up his life for the cause, he goes and kills Dumbledore. Cowardly.

I still think Snape supports the Light side (excuse my Star Wars references), since he could've killed Harry multiple times, especially after he killed Dumbledore, but he simply deflects Harry's spells. Also, we don't know where he Apparated off to. I've also been rereading the section where Snape teaches them DADA, checking out his lingo and whatnot; perhaps he is trying to improve Harry's chances against Voldemort? Or am I trying to prove something that's unquestionably false…? Also, anyone think there may be a little Cissy interest on Snape's part? Can't prove it, but the Vow…that's some serious stuff, man.

Still, I'm with Harry on this one. It would be fitting for him to off Snape after all the trouble he's caused. And I'd also like to shake a fist at Rowling. I loved Dumbledore's character…

As for canon Draco, well…being the shipper I am, I've got to hope. He didn't kill Dumbledore (and I'm hoping Rowling doesn't off him), and he only attempted it to protect himself and his family. He's a little better off in my book.

So, what do you guys think?

coldlove