Soo sorry guys! My beta who's on vacation, went on another, where she couldn't access interent, I'm guessing, so she couldn't beta the chapter, andI wanted it to be perfect so, I waited till she came back...Also, my friend whom I haven't seen for awhile came over and slept over for two nights straight…and we also went…erm…camping, in a way…except we only actually spent two hours exploring and at least six hours on the car…and we came back that day…and later we went to the beach…but anyway, I'm sure y'all are waiting for this chapter so, I'll get on with it…wahh….it's the last one!
Disclaimer: I own nothing associated with Harry Potter.
Claimer: I own Amanda…(but thankfully, she's not in the story anymore)
UGH…I'm SO PISSED ABOUT THE WHOLE JKR INTERVIEW…I'VE GOTTEN INTO HUGE ARGUMENTS OVER IT….
I'd do reviewer replies...but according to some people, it's not allowed? So I'm not going to...
But, thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter!
I'd just like to say one thing: I totally think that JKR might've been a bit lazy, (please forgive me for saying so!), because she went with the obvious pairing, r/hr, so there'd be no problems…I mean, Harry wouldn't be jealous and everything would be fine…but if she went with h/hr..(yeah, right), then she would've had to deal with the whole Ron being jealous thing…and that's not what she wants in HBP probably, just the whole Horcrux stuff was probably the main point…
Argh, I keep forgetting to do this! But I've finally remembered this time! THANKS SO MUCH TO MY BETA…A LOT A LOT A LOT! WITHOUT HER, THERE WAS NO WAY I'D CONTINUE WITH THE FIC…I WAS REALLY DISAPPOINTED ABOUT THE H/HR SINKING…BUT SHE WANTED ME TO CONTINUE…SO WITHOUT HER, YOU WOULDN'T BE READING THIS RIGHT NOW! DON'T FORGET TO PUT A BIG THANK YOU TO CRYSWES IN YOUR REVIEW!
(of course, you don't have to, but just trying to emphasize that she helped A LOT...)
Finally, on with the story…wah…the last chapter!
As Harry lay on the ground, hovering between life and death, Malfoy and Hermione had Apparated in front of the Malfoy manor. They landed just outside the Anti-Disapparition shield and the charm blocking out anyone that wasn't a Malfoy. Malfoy, still keeping a firm grip on Hermione's wrist, impatiently waved his wand and disarmed all protection spells. Dragging Hermione behind him, Malfoy stormed past the gates that opened automatically, up to the front door, and burst into the manor. In his anger and rage, he forgot to place the spells back up again. Hermione staggered behind Malfoy unwillingly as he dragged her up the stairs relentlessly. Pulling open the door to Hermione's room, he sneered at her and threw her inside. Hermione stumbled forward and collapsed in a heap, crying. She kept her back to Malfoy, who was standing at the doorway, even though she knew he had his wand pointed at her. The tears streamed silently down her face as she thought, 'I guess this is the end.'
Malfoy was still seething and through gritted teeth, he whispered harshly, "You're lucky that I won't kill you right now or even press charges for cheating on me!" His voice had grown to a roar and Hermione was reminded of a ravenous lion. Hermione whipped around, her eyes glaring. Her face was now dirt and dust covered, her beautiful dress torn and ragged. She screamed, "You're lucky that you don't get thrown in Azkaban for using Crucio on Harry!"
Malfoy's eyes turned to slits. "How dare you mention Potter's name in my house. This is for your cheek! Crucio!"
Hermione screamed in agony and pain for only a couple seconds before Malfoy took it off. Then he abruptly turned his back on her panting form, laid spread-eagled on the ground, and slammed the door. He walked off in a much better mood, smirking and whistling, as if he hadn't a care in the world.
Hermione didn't move from her position. She lay there crying, knowing that marrying Malfoy had been one of her greatest mistakes, perhaps even the most painful. She knew now that there was no hope for her…or so she had thought.
Back at Harry's manor, Harry was still lying on the ground, wanting to give up, when Hermione's smiling face suddenly appeared in his mind. Reminded of his mission, he struggled to sit back up, only to fall back down again, still panting.
All of a sudden, he heard a sudden noise from the stairway. Bern came stumbling up into the hallway, his eyes rolling and unfocused. He seemed to have great trouble walking.
Harry lifted a trembling hand towards him and whispered, "Bern."
Bern was carrying a wand loosely in his left hand. Looking at Harry, he lifted the wand and pointed it towards his face.
Harry first thought that Bern was drunk then he faintly realized that Bern was still under the Imperius Curse. Luckily, Harry had taught both his servants how to throw the curse off as a requirement for the job. However, Bern always had a bit of trouble shaking it off for it always took him a while to do so.
"Come on, Bern, you can do it," he whispered hoarsely with his eyes clouding.
Bern came closer to Harry, his wand still in his hand, pointed to the floor. It looked as if it will fall out of his hand any moment. He locked eyes with Harry, then suddenly, his wand flew up again.
"Nooooo!" screamed Bern. From his facial expression, Harry could see he was fighting with all his might. Harry was also fighting hard to stay awake, although he thought if it would be kinder to let him die unconsciously.
With his trembling wand pointed to Harry's chest, Bern opened his mouth and said, "Avada…"
"No!" Bern dropped his wand and gripped his left hand with his other, still trembling. Crouching down on the floor, he seemed to be sobbing.
"You can do it…" whispered Harry quietly.
Then, Bern stood up, shaking his head and clearing his mind. Harry interpreted it wrong for he thought Bern was giving up, though Harry could not blame Bern for wanting to give up.
Then, suddenly, Bern noticed Harry who was lying on the ground. Bern seemed to not be in agony any more, though Harry wasn't sure if that was because he had thrown it off, or because he was now completely under the Imperius Curse. Harry desperately hoped for the former.
Bern picked up his wand and knelt down by Harry, who shut his eyes tightly.
"Sir, are you all right?" Bern whispered hoarsely.
Harry's eyes fluttered open in relief. Letting out a big shuddering sigh, he replied, "Yes, I'm fine, thanks. But I must get to Hermione."
"Yes sir, I know that. But first we must help you." Bern took Harry's arm, helping him get up, and Harry thanked Bern gratefully. As soon as Harry was on his two feet, leaned heavily upon Bern, who struggled a bit, but managed to keep his balance, still supporting Harry.
Bern slowly and painfully guided Harry towards the stairs. Bern could see that Harry was still in excruciating pain. (A/N: Just a random note, the word "excruciating" is in honor of my friend…not like she died or anything, just one of my oldest friends, and she loves the word!) They stopped every few steps and when they finally reached the top of the stairs, Harry remembered something and turned weakly to Bern.
"Where's Al?"
"Well, sir…well, you see, before I could shake off the Imperius Curse, I…well, I Stupefied him."
Harry grinned, surprisingly.
"Well, as long as you didn't kill him. And I'm glad I taught both of you how to throw it off. See, it wasn't that hard."
Bern snorted and muttered, "Yeah, right" under his breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing at all, sir."
They continued down the stairs, painfully. Finally, Bern reached the living room, where he dumped Harry in his armchair.
"Wait here, sir. I'll go and Enervate Al."
Harry shut his eyes and rested. He wanted to find Hermione as quickly as possible, but knew that he couldn't until he was fully restored back to health.
Both Bern and Al came back quickly. Al was looking a bit stunned and weary, but he grinned at the sight of Harry.
Hurrying over, and pulling out his wand from his pocket, he joked to Harry, "You're lucky that I took a Healing class in my school."
Waving his wand over Harry's body, he healed any bruises or cuts that Harry had acquired from his fight with Malfoy while Bern stood and looked on.
He also muttered another spell, one that Harry didn't recognize. He suddenly felt completely energized and felt totally alert.
"Whoa," he said, getting to his feet. "what spell was that?"
Al stood up straight and stowed his wand away in his coat pocket.
"Just something I picked up from school."
"Well, whatever it is, it definitely helped, because now, I can go after Hermione. I must help her."
"Sir, would you like some help? Al and I would be glad to assist you." Al nodded eagerly.
"No, thanks guys, I'll be fine. This is something that I've got to do alone." Harry took off for the front door and ran down his driveway.
Bern and Al looked at each other. "Why didn't he just Disapparate?" wondered Al aloud.
Harry ran to the edge of the street and flung out his right hand.
Bang!
The Knight Bus appeared in front of him.
"Good evening, my name is…" Stan started before he was interrupted.
"Move aside," snarled Harry as he forced his way past him.
"Well, I never..." Stan followed after Harry into the bus. Ern turned around from the wheel and took one look at Harry's face.
"Mr. Potter! Why, Mr. Potter, what ever is the matter?"
"Get me to Malfoy's manor, quick!"
Ernie noticed the urgency of Harry's voice and nodded firmly.
The Knight Bus took off crazily, going faster than it had ever before. (A/N: that's really really fast!) Harry merely paced the length of the aisle, looking nervous, but angry at the same time.
Stan stared at Harry. "So, you mind tellin' us wha's goin' on?"
Harry stopped his pacing and gave Stan a piercing look.
"Just asking!" protested Stan.
"All right," said Harry. "Hermione Granger came to my house, and I didn't know what to do, if I ought to take her in or just leave her, like she did to me eight years ago. I let her stay, because I felt sorry for her. Later, Amanda, my girlfriend, and I went out to dinner, but when I came back, Draco Malfoy was in my house. He came to get his wife, Hermione, back. While at dinner though, I finally realized that I loved…and still love –…" Harry's rambling was cut off by a deafening sound as he whipped his head around.
Bang!
The Knight Bus arrived abruptly in front of the Malfoy manor.
Hurriedly, Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out a large amount of gold and shoved it into Stan's hands.
"Sorry, gotta go!" Harry tore out the door and into the night.
Stan stared at the Galleons in his hand and then turned to stare at Harry, looking very baffled. Finally Stan came to his senses and yelled out the open doors, "Hey, this is too much!" When Harry didn't respond, he sat down in his chair, shaking his head, and looked to Ern. Stan asked, "Did you get anything of what he said?"
Ernie shook his head and happily replied, "Nope!"
"Take 'er away then, Ern! We'll leave Mr. Potter to his business." Stan pocketed the gold cheerfully.
Harry gazed up at the manor.
"Wow," he whispered, shocked by the castle's size.
'But then again, they are the Malfoys.' Ridding his head of the thought, he walked up slowly, approaching the gate, hoping that there wouldn't be some kind of charm around the manor. Surprisingly, Harry made it all the way to the gate without being thrown backwards, away from the house. Now, it was easy to get in.
Using a spell, he widened the gates' bars so he could slip through them. He ran up the driveway, and realized that he couldn't just burst through the front door.
'No, I'll need another way to get in without Malfoy noticing. Let's think…where would Hermione be? Considering the way he treats her, she certainly wouldn't be living in a huge, special, master bedroom. No, knowing Malfoy, he'd probably put her…in either the basement or the attic.'
A quick search around the manor proved that there was no basement. Looking up, Harry realized that Hermione was probably up in the attic.
He Disapparated up to the roof. Catching his balance, he looked around for an attic window.
Suddenly, he noticed a window, the highest and smallest window, which only had a tiny stream of light flowing from it. He knew that would be Hermione's "room."
A swift look confirmed this and he knocked gently, ever so gently, on the window glass.
Hermione, who hadn't moved from her spot, was still laying on the ground when she heard the knock. She was frightened to move at first, but the knocking persisted.
She got up slowly, hiding at the bed's foot, seeing how the window was at the bed's head. She peeked above the bed to see Harry crouched by window, still knocking.
She gave a yelp of surprise, but quickly muffled it with her hand. Scrambling over the bed, she opened it quickly.
"Oh, Harry!" Hermione let Harry come in, and then hugged him tightly. "I'm so sorry for not listening to you, I know that you were right now…Please, you've got to help me."
Harry hugged her back, muffling her voice against his chest.
"Shh…" he said soothingly, "it's okay, I'm going to help you get out of this mess."
Hermione hugged him even harder. "Thank you so much!" She almost squealed with delight, but knew Draco would hear it and investigate. Without thinking, she kissed him on the cheek.
Harry was shocked, but then let go of Hermione, who was now standing in front of him, blushing.
"I've got to go and find…"
Suddenly, the door to Hermione's room/attic flung open. There stood Draco Malfoy, absolutely seething with anger, and his wand was pointed at Harry and Hermione. Harry swiftly put Hermione behind him.
"What…are…you…doing…in….my…house…Potter?" His voice was trembling with anger. Without waiting for him to answer, Draco shot a Killing Curse at Harry.
Harry, thinking quickly, turned around, put his arms around Hermione, and forced her to the floor. The Killing Curse exploded into the wall behind them, leaving a gaping hole.
Harry scrambled onto his feet and shouted, "Sectumsempra!" Malfoy's chest started spurting with blood again. As he was distracted with the blood, Harry turned around to Hermione who was still on the floor and shouted, "Hide!"
Hermione clambered under the bed. (A/N: Ugh, sick, under the bed, but where else?)
When Harry turned back to Malfoy, he had already healed himself and was glaring hatefully at Harry.
"Crucio!" bellowed Malfoy.
Harry ducked and dodged. Then, jumping again, he shouted, "Sectumsempra!"
'Let's see…if I use Sectumsempra enough times…Malfoy will have too much blood loss…he'll faint…or even better, die…' Harry had barely finished thinking when Malfoy, not bothering to heal the cuts, roared, "Avada Kedavra!"
Harry dodged by rolling onto the bed and flipping on to the other side as a green jet of light flew out the gaping hole. In the second he did so, Malfoy healed himself. Draco just remembered that Hermione was under the bed, walked to the opposite side of the bed, glaring and panting at the same time.
Unexpectedly, in one fluid motion, he reached under the bed and grabbed Hermione's arm, forcing her in front of him. Draco raised his wand to the side of Hermione's head. She shut her eyes and began to sob relentlessly.
Draco chuckled evilly. "Well now, Potter, wouldn't want your precious Mudblood to die, would you now?"
Harry raised his wand even further. "Let…go of her…"
Draco laughed again. "Or else what Potter? In case you haven't noticed, there's no way that you'll be able to hit me without hitting your oh-so-special Hermione…"
Harry knew it was pointless, and that Draco was right. 'But what to do? It looks like a stand-off…I've got to get him without hurting Hermione…'
Before Harry could think of a plan, he heard footsteps pounding along the hallway and towards the attic. He whipped his head in the direction of the doorway.
Draco moved his wand from Hermione's head to Harry's body. Taking careful aim, he grinned evilly, then said, "Avada…"
"Harry! Watch out!" screamed Hermione.
Harry, trusting Hermione and his instincts, ducked to the floor. The footsteps were coming closer. It sounded like there were two people. (A/N: I'll give you three guesses as to who they are!)
"Shut up, Mudblood!" screamed Draco at Hermione. As much as he wanted to kill her right away, he knew that Harry would want to save her…and Draco wanted to have as much fun as possible before he actually killed the both of them.
Harry, lying on his back on the floor turned his head towards the doorway again, a shadow stepped up to block the light streaming into the room. Another one was standing behind it.
"Mr. Potter…"
Harry scrambled up and found Al grinning at him. "There was no way you could've stopped us from coming along sir."
Bern stepped into the room after Al. "Aye, sir."
Draco snarled. "What the hell do you think you're doing in my manor? Avada Kedavra!"
All three ducked the Curse. Al flung out his wand and yelled, "Stupefy!"
"No!" shouted Harry. He flung out his arm to knock aside Al's arm. "You're going to hit Hermione!"
Draco mocked, "That's right, Potter. Finally using that brain of yours?" He used his wand to indicate towards Hermione's tear-stricken face, and then he moved his wand hand across his throat, signifying that Hermione would die. (A/N: DUH!)
Bern and Al moved so they were in front of Harry. Al inclined his head towards Harry.
"Well, Mr. Potter, looks like we've got a stand-off. What can we do?"
Harry was silent for awhile, keeping his eyes on Draco and Hermione. Suddenly, an idea struck him like a bolt of lightning.
"I've got it!" he whispered, "Just leave it to me, I'll bluff my way through."
Harry motioned for Bern and Al to stand aside. He raised his wand threateningly at Draco.
"Now, now Potter, wouldn't want to kill Hermione, would you?"
"Actually," started Harry nonchalantly, "I think that killing you along with Hermione would be worth it."
Hermione stopped crying. Could that be true? Did Harry really not care about her?Draco's eyes started flickering back and forth, between Harry's raised wand and Hermione. He paled a little and started sweating.
Harry noticed that Draco was getting panicky, and walked even closer, around the bed. Draco turned around, still holding Hermione in front of him, nervously backing away.
He laughed nervously. "Now, now Potter. Be reasonable, it's Hermione, your precious Hermione."
Harry chucked inwardly. He knew that Draco would be one who was afraid to go down with the ship.
"I am perfectly aware of that, Malfoy. But ridding the world of you versus Hermione? I think I'll go with ridding the world of you."
Draco backed up against the wall, narrowly avoiding falling out the hole and into the dark.
"No…no..Potter you're not thinking clearly. It's Hermione, the one woman who's always supported you."
"I don't care, Malfoy, as long as I can get rid of you…then all's well. So…ready?" Harry grinned malevolently.
"No…no!" Draco flung Hermione away from him and shouted, "Crucio!"
Harry's eyes flashed. "Hermione! No!"
Something white came whizzing from the other side of the bed and forced Hermione out of the way. Harry ducked just in the nick of time.
When Draco quickly turned his head to see what the white thing was, Harry said a quick prayer, hoping that this was a special enough circumstance for him to use one of the Unforgivable Curses, and shouted, "Imperio!"
Draco, never having trained himself to throw off the Imperius Curse was immediately forced under the spell.
Harry forced Draco to sit himself down and drop his wand. He waved his own wand at Draco, binding him with an Anti-Disapparition rope. Harry also told him to sit peacefully and quietly until further notice.
Hermione, who had been forced up against the wall, ran over to Harry and flung her arms around him.
"You did it, Harry!" Hermione cried happily, "Thank you! Thank you so much!"
Bern and Al, who had been standing there, mouths agape at seeing their master in battle, suddenly turned their heads to the doorway.
Standing there was a group of Aurors, looking tough, yet sympathetic at the same time. The leader took one look at Harry, another at Draco, and figured out what had happened.
"Mr. Potter, we received notice that someone here was using Unforgivable Curses. Since it obviously can't be you, because well, you're Mr. Potter, I'm assuming it's the vermin on the ground there?" He nodded his head towards Draco Malfoy, who was sitting quietly, like a child.
"Yes, it was," replied Harry, who had gladly put his arms around Hermione, hugging her tightly.
The leader Auror inclined his head towards Draco and barked out a swift order, "Get him!"
Then, as his Aurors were forcing Draco up, he walked over to Mr. Potter.
"So, what exactly did this scum do?"
Hermione spoke for the first time in a long while. "He used Crucio on Harry sir. He also tried to use the Killing Curse, not to mention he used Imperio on one of Harry's servants."
The leader snarled as his Aurors, holding Draco Malfoy tightly between them, came to his side.
"The filthy…That's enough to throw him into Azkaban for a long time, maybe the rest of his life, perhaps. And I understand that you're Mrs. Malfoy?" Without waiting for Hermione's approval, he continued on, " Don't worry, we'll make sure you aren't anymore, I can see it in your eyes that you'd rather be with Mr. Potter. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get to the Minister and inform him of what has happened.
The leader nodded his head sharply at his group. "Let's move out!" (A/N: Haha! Just like an army!)
They marched out the door and down the stairs.
Harry let go of Hermione and held her at arm's length. His eyes twinkling, he asked, "So, what's to be done now?"
Hermione grinned and answered innocently, "I don't know, Mr. Potter. How about you tell me?"
Harry smiled, then leaned down and kissed Hermione lightly and pulled away.
"I've got a couple ideas. Would you like to hear them?"
Bern suddenly coughed. "Well, we'll be off now…we have to…err…finish…our chores. Let's go, Al."
Al reluctantly left, winking at Harry before he disappeared out of sight.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I would." Hermione giggled childishly, and hugged Harry again.
"Well, first things first," he started as he laid his cheek against the top of Hermione's head, "how about…you move in with me?"
"I think that will be a wonderful idea, Harry!"
"And then…after you're not Mrs. Malfoy anymore…"
Hermione looked up at Harry, a smile tugging at her lips. "Yes?"
"A mysterious person will propose to his lovely lady?"
In mock indignation, she replied, "Why would I want to marry you?"
Harry lifted Hermione up into the air, then lowered her back down. He put his mouth next to her ear and said the words that Hermione had always longed to hear from him.
"Because I love you…"
Hermione giggled, then standing on her toes, she whispered to Harry. "Good, because I love you too."
Harry laughed loudly and hugged her tightly.
"Wonderful…now we can live together happily ever after! Just like fairy tales!"
"And how exactly can you make sure of that, Mr. Potter?" asked Hermione in a mock serious voice.
Harry, leaning down again, whispered, "Just trust me…"
Those three words set off something similar to a muggle movie in Hermione's head and she was the main character in her little movie. The flashbacks included her dispute with Harry, all eight years of marriage to Draco, the abuse for eight years, running and hiding at Harry's house, and up to the fight that had just occurred.
Shaking her head, she looked up at Harry, her eyes smiling, and before she raised herself to kiss him, she said softly, "I do…"
THE END
A/N: (bursts out into tears) It's over! It's over! Wow, long chapter! Well…thanks to everyone who read this story! And thanks especially to all of you who reviewed! And a special thank you to cryswes! DON'T FORGET TO THANK HER IN YOUR REVIEW! I'm sure that she'd be very happy, and I'd be very thankful!
Until next time!