Draco stood on the balcony of St. Paul's Cathedral, hearing the roar of the crowds as they celebrated Voldemort's defeat.

Only a few moments ago, a victor had emerged, visible through the smoke and the rubble. Draco had known it was Hermione long before the allies had shouted her name.

"She's done it," he said, turning to Snape. "Voldemort's dead."

Draco's knuckles turned white as he gripped the balcony's railing.

The poison in his bloodstream triggered his nerves to fire all at once. He hit the floor before Snape could catch him.

He shut his eyes, trying to block out Snape's voice as he tried to delay the curse with useless spells.

Draco thought of the grounds at the manor, the wisteria trees he'd run through as a child when he hid from the elves…he'd always left a shower of lavender petals in his wake when he'd barreled through them…

And then from far away, Draco heard a lighter voice, felt softer hands, and he knew it was her.

Hermione had found him.

And he imagined that she was on the manor grounds with him, taking his hand as they ran through the trees.

"The poison has spread," Snape told Hermione. "There's nothing we can do."

Hermione leaned over Draco, trying to check his breathing, and as she did, something fell out of her robes.

A small, wooden box clattered to the floor.

Hermione stared at it, remembering Nerina had given it to her.

She opened the lid of the box.

There was a small vial inside, wrapped in a thin piece of parchment.

Hermione unfurled the paper, finding a note:

On my way out of the catacombs I was badly cursed…near death, Ms. Granger…and I was asked to solve a riddle. If I succeeded, I was to be rewarded with this vial. The mixture in the vial healed me, and I believe it might heal other curses. There is very little of the potion left, and I don't know if it will help Draco, but it's worth a try. I hope he still lives…but if his curse is too strong…I hope you are at least, able to say goodbye.

-Nerina

Hermione stared at the note in shock.

She removed the stopper from the vial and pressed it to Draco's lips.

"Slow down, will you!" Draco shouted, as he chased Hermione through the manor grounds. She was heading for the lake.

He doubled his speed, finally catching Hermione by the waist. She was wearing a beautiful, rose-colored dress that billowed in the wind. He spun her around to face him and she laughed, leaning into him. Draco imagined a life at her side, free of secrets. He looked down at her lips, eager to kiss her, but suddenly, Hermione gave a small gasp of pain.

"What is it?" Draco asked.

She clutched at her stomach.

Draco froze.

There was blood blossoming on the front of her dress.

Hermione backed away from him, unaware that she was too close to the lake.

Draco panicked.

He reached for her arm, but her feet slid and she fell into the water.

The manor started to disintegrate, and Draco watched as Hermione sank deeper and deeper into the lake…

He screamed, jolting himself awake.

There was a great pressure in his head and a tightness in his chest. His skin was on fire…

He grimaced as the cathedral came back into view.

He froze when he saw Hermione's face hovering over his.

So he hadn't imagined her…

She was trying to lift his head, and she was pressing something cold against his mouth, a vial of some kind...

"Please, Draco," she whispered. "I need you to drink it, it's the only way to stop the poison…"

And then he saw it.

A spot of blood blossoming on the front of Hermione's robes.

Just like at the manor.

Draco seized Hermione's wrist.

She stared at him, shocked. "What—what is it?" she gasped.

Hermione followed his gaze and became very still.

There was a tear in her clothes, and a deep gash across her stomach.

Something or someone had attacked her, and she was bleeding to death.

Hermione thought back to the vault and the catacombs. She remembered the black-winged demons, and the witch with white eyes and tangled, black hair. Wings had sprouted from her shoulders, and she'd dug her talons into Hermione's flesh.

With a chill Hermione remembered the woman had sewn her skin with a pointed dagger and a chain for thread.

The magical chain was melting into her skin now, cursing her.

Snape rushed to Hermione's side. He tried every spell he could think of, but the harder he tried to save her, the more blood she lost.

Hermione began to feel light-headed and she fell sideways, landing beside Draco on the stone floor.

She stared up at the cathedral's dome, watching it go in and out of focus.

Draco reached for her hand and she turned to him.

They locked eyes, and for a moment time was suspended.

Hermione thought back to their first kiss on the Astronomy Tower, when he had only been a mission to her. She had no way of knowing then, that everything would change.

Draco's eyes landed on the vial in her hand.

Hermione's eyes widened.

"Draco, no—"

He took the vial and tilted her head back, forcing her to drink the potion.

It scalded her throat, and an invisible force tugged the chain inside her. Hermione's back arched violently. Screams tore from her throat as the cursed object freed itself.

The edge of the chain glimmered in the sunlight and Hermione watched, terrified, as the rest of it slithered out of her and hit the floor.

Snape raised his wand and blasted the chain to pieces.

Black smoke rose in its wake.

Hermione looked down, watching her skin sew itself back together.

Slowly, the color returned to Hermione's face, but as she grew stronger, Draco grew weaker.

Hermione reached for the vial, desperate to give him what was left of it.

Her blood ran cold when she saw that it was empty.

"You'll be alright now," Draco whispered. ""You'll..."

His voice trailed off and he struggled to breathe.

"Draco please..." Hermione whispered. "You can't leave me here..."

He shook his head. "I should have joined the Order. I should have found another way to protect my mother. I'm sorry I turned Harry over, but I'm not sorry for loving you."

Hermione's eyes filled with tears. She lowered her lips to his, kissing him fiercely.

"I'm not sorry either," she whispered.

Draco's body trembled beneath her and his eyes lost focus.

"Draco?"

Hermione shook him, calling his name over and over again, but he couldn't hear her.

Voldemort's curse slowly found its way to his heart, and Draco took his last breath in her arms.

Muggles and wizards alike celebrated Voldemort's defeat late into the night.

Hermione remained on the balcony. She couldn't breathe. Her shoulders shook and hot tears pricked her eyes.

She lay beside Draco, running her fingers through his hair.

He had loved her, betrayed her, but in the end, he had chosen to lay down his life for her.

She rested her head on his chest, imagining he was only asleep.

Maybe she should sleep too, and forget that any of it had ever happened…

"It's time to go," said Snape.

Hermione stiffened. She'd forgotten he was here.

A door opened and Hermione looked behind her. Members of the Order were arriving.

"They've come to take Draco's body," said Snape.

Hermione stood and shook her head. "No—"

"They must report how he died and—"

Hermione gripped Snape's arm. "I want to bury him at Hogwarts, no matter what happens, promise me they'll let me bury him."

"I'll do what I can."

Hermione's breath left her as members of the Order wrenched Draco out of her arms.

"Hermione?" said a voice.

She looked up and saw the blurred outline of Bill Weasley.

He kneeled beside her. "Let me help you—"

"No, Bill."

"Hermione—"

"I need a moment alone," she said, her voice sharp.

Bill nodded and left her side.

Hermione's legs trembled as she forced herself to stand. She took several steps forward, but then her blood rushed to her head and she had to grip onto the railing.

She looked over the balcony.

Night had fallen, and bright stars illuminated the city.

She wrapped her arms around herself, knowing that when she left the cathedral it would be the end of many things. The end of the war, the end of her days at Hogwarts, and the end of the journey she'd taken with Draco.

Suddenly, Hermione heard movement.

She spun around.

A pair of golden eyes watched her from the shadows.

"Sebastián?" Hermione whispered.

He was standing in the doorway that led to the cathedral's gallery.

"Lumos," Hermione whispered, raising her wand.

Her footsteps echoed on the stone floor as she approached him.

His face came into view, and a rush of wind swept his dark curls against his marble skin.

Suddenly, Hermione remembered the battle, Harry's impostor…

'The man with the golden eyes. He asked me to fly around the city and pass for Harry. The patronus…the stag…it was an illusion.'

"You hid Harry's body," Hermione said slowly, inching closer to Sebastián. "You fooled everyone into thinking he was alive."

Sebastián merely stared at her, his golden eyes betraying nothing.

"I want his body back," Hermione said firmly. "I want to bury him at Hogwarts—with Draco."

Sebastián stepped closer to her. "Very well, Ms. Granger, you may bury him as you wish, but you must promise me one thing. You must never tell anyone that Harry is dead. We must maintain that he lives—no longer a mere mortal, but something greater."

Hermione stared at him, stunned."But it's a lie," she argued. "Harry died on the beach at Inverness. The boy at the battle was an impostor."

"That may be so, but there will come a day," Sebastián continued, "perhaps decades or centuries from now, when people will need to call upon The Boy Who Lived once more."

Hermione's jaw clenched. "And you'll be there, won't you? Ready to fool the crowds with another pretender."

"So what if I am?" Sebastián interrupted, calmly circling her. "A mere shadow of Harry's image can inspire thousands."

Hermione resisted the urge to strike him. "So you'd reduce Harry to a legend? A symbol?" She swallowed. "You can't—"

"Enough," Sebastián interrupted. "Your grief does not allow you to see clearly."

Hermione opened her mouth to argue, but in a flash, Sebastián's hands were on her shoulders, his face inches from hers.

"Hope can win wars, Ms. Granger. It can save nations. People need someone and something to believe in."

Sebastián nodded to the crowds gathered below the balcony. "Would you take their hope away?

Hermione stared at him, shocked.

Suddenly, there were loud blasts.

Fireworks exploded behind them, and the people on the streets cheered, their faces glowing pink and purple under the lights.

Hermione turned to Sebastián, a piece of her soul breaking. "You'll bring Harry's body back to Hogwarts?"

Sebastián tipped his head forward. "You have my word."

Hermione nodded at him. "Then you have mine too."

In the days that followed, Hermione learned that the Order liberated forty prisoners from Greymoor Castle. George and Mrs. Weasley were among the survivors, and Fred's body was recovered by the alliance. The Weasley's buried him shortly after the final battle, and it was the first of many funerals that would take place that week, as wizarding families everywhere mourned those they had lost.

Three days after the war ended, the Bulgarians returned to Étretat to recover the students that had taken refuge on its shores. Ginny returned home in time to say goodbye to Fred. She tried to comfort Ron, but he blamed himself for his brother's death, and Hermione suspected it would be a long time before he allowed himself to heal.

Hundreds of Voldemort's muggle prisoners were released from the Keil caves in Scotland. The captives had been forced to manufacture magical weapons throughout the course of the war. The Alliance and the Order promptly destroyed the weapons and turned their attention to capturing Voldemort's fugitive allies.

While spirits were high, everyone still grappled to come to terms with the new and changed world they lived in.

For the first time in over three hundred years, wizards and witches no longer lived in secret, and the muggles had proven that they were not weak or easily manipulated.

They would have to learn to live side by side, free of secrets.

Hermione kept to herself in those first few days, returning home and arranging for her parents to come back to Britain. But when nightmares of the war overwhelmed her, she put her thoughts into writing.

I still see his face sometimes, Voldemort's—his red eyes rushing towards me in the mist. Other times I see a blur of faces. I dream of running to Harry on the beach at Inverness, or tearing Draco away from Bellatrix in the muggle prison, but I'm never in time. They're always just out of reach.

I think I need to go back to Hogwarts…it's time to say goodbye.

In the hours before sunrise, a fog rolled over the ruins of Hogwarts castle. Vines had climbed the walls, and glass cracked underneath Hermione's feet as she walked past battered pillars and crumbling arches.

Despite the castle's austere appearance, Hermione heard birds singing in the distance, promising new life.

She raised her wand. A jet of gold light shot from it and formed a protective orb over the ruins of the castle, then vanished.

It was a concealment charm of sorts. For the next two hours anyone who walked into the ruins would become invisible to the outside world.

Figures emerged from the Forbidden Forest and walked through the fog. Hermione recognized Sebastián's outline. He led a procession of vampires onto the grounds.

The Arévalos carried two bodies on wooden pallets, each wrapped in silver cloth.

"I'd like to see Harry," she said firmly.

Sebastián's golden eyes stared into hers, unflinching. "We've done our best to preserve his body, but he won't look the same as you remember."

"It doesn't matter," Hermione said firmly. "I need to be sure it's him."

The other vampires lowered Harry's body.

Hermione reached for the cloth that covered him, trying to stop her hands from shaking. She gasped as she pulled it away.

Harry's eyes were closed, and thin, purple lines covered one side of his face, the remnants of Voldemort's killing curse.

The Arévalos had dressed him in a beautiful crimson cloak with a velvet collar. The wind ruffled his hair, and with a shaking hand Hermione reached for his arm, feeling the softness of the cloak.

She bent down to kiss his forehead, but his skin was ice cold, and she held on tighter to him, foolishly trying to keep him warm. Her tears trickled down her cheek and fell over his scar. She pressed her lips to it too, regretting that he had to be buried in secret. Given the chance, the entire wizarding world would have paid their respects, but Harry was to remain ethereal, a vision, the people's hero—to be called upon when they needed him.

Hermione swallowed. "I'd like to say goodbye to Draco too."

Sebastián nodded, and one of the vampires carried forward the second pallet.

Hermione pulled back the cloth.

Draco was wearing an emerald cloak, his blonde hair was swept back, and his hands were folded over his stomach.

He had never looked so peaceful in life, when he'd carried the burden of his family's secrets.

He looked like he was sleeping now, the way he used to do under his favorite tree at Hogwarts.

Hermione would watch him on her way to her Herbology, admiring the way the sun lit up his golden hair as he slept by the lake.

Pansy or Blaise would call for him, and he'd open his eyes and dust the leaves from his robes.

Once he had caught Hermione staring, but he hadn't sneered at her like she'd expected, instead he'd held her gaze and she'd continued down the path to the greenhouses, wondering why he hadn't turned away.

Now those days seemed so far away.

Hermione pressed a soft kiss to Draco's lips.

After the battle, no one had stepped forward to claim his body. Lucius was on the run, and the rest of the Malfoy family was dead.

And so, like Harry, Draco only had Hermione to mourn him.

She struggled to stand.

The sight of Harry and Draco lying on the wooden pallets, so young and so lifeless, made her knees give way.

Sebastián caught her before she fell.

"Sometimes, to know the greatest victory," Sebastián whispered, "you must also know the greatest loss."

Hermione shook her head.

"In time, you will find purpose again—and it will be a different life, but you must open your heart to it, or perish."

Sebastián helped Hermione to her feet, and when he was certain she could stand on her own, he let her go.

She raised her wand, gathering her strength, and whispered a conjuring spell.

A brilliant white light flew across the ground.

The vampires turned away from it, and Hermione's arm trembled as the light grew stronger then turned to smoke. Two shapes began to form underneath it, and when they solidified, the smoke dissipated to reveal a pair of magnificent marble tombs.

A lion was etched at the end of one, and a serpent on the other. But there were no names to delineate who Harry and Draco were.

Sebastián waved the other vampires forward.

They lowered Harry's body into the first tomb, and Draco's into the second.

An odd realization struck Hermione.

They were going to bury them in the place where the entrance hall used to be.

A lifetime ago, Draco and Harry had crossed words here, just before the start of their first year…

"You will find Potter, that some wizards are better than others, I can help you there."

The blaze of fury in Harry's eyes was still etched into Hermione's memory. She could almost see the younger version of Draco offering his hand, waiting for Harry to take it.

"I think I can figure out the wrong sort on my own, thanks."

Draco's hand had fallen limply to his side, and a line was permanently drawn between them.

Hermione looked at the marble tombs again.

Now Harry and Draco would lie side by side, their souls finally at peace.

Hermione turned to Sebastián. "How do you go on century after century, watching everyone around you live and die?"

Sebastián turned to her. "It is the punishment I bear, for betraying my brother." He looked at the carving of the snake. "As a child, Salazar loved me, but I betrayed him time and time again, until his heart turned cold."

Hermione reached for his arm.

Sebastián's gaze locked onto hers, and his pupils dilated. Hermione saw two figures reflected in his eyes, walking through a courtyard. He was no longer at Hogwarts but somewhere in the past…

Suddenly, everything around Hermione rippled, and Sebastián let her into his mind.

It was like falling through water.

The image of a courtyard swam in front of her. It didn't stop moving until she stepped forward.

Hermione spotted a younger version of Sebastián. He looked no older than fifteen, and he was walking hand in hand with an eight year old Salazar.

A beautiful garden surrounded the courtyard, and long vines scaled the walls.

The two boys walked under a tiled archway, stopping by a small fountain.

A pair of snakes slithered onto the cool stones of the courtyard, releasing their forked tongues, and when they spotted Salazar, they moved towards him. He reached out a hand to touch them, but his brother caught his wrist.

"Ten cuidado Salazar," Sebastián said. "A las serpientes les da un gran placer propagar su veneno, nada las satisface más que vernos caer."

Somehow, Hermione could understand what he'd said.

"Be careful Salazar, serpents take great pleasure in spreading their poison, nothing delights them more than watching us fall."

The little boy shook his head.

Again, Hermione understood the words.

"No, Sebastián, snakes only attack if we provoke them. They're strong and agile, but they're also careful, and they prefer to hide, rather than sink their teeth into us. They choose not to use their venom. They're capable of making that choice. They've told me so."

"They've told you so?" Sebastián repeated.

"Yes," said Salazar. "I speak to them all the time."

Sebastián's body went very still, but before he could reply, the memory faded and Hogwarts materialized again.

Hermione took a deep breath, feeling like she was pulled from the depths of a great lake.

Sebastián's pupils contracted as he released her.

"I loved my brother, Ms. Granger, but I was always envious of him instead of proud. Salazar was much like his beloved snakes. He only used his venom against me when I left him no other choice."

"You've never forgiven yourself for what you did to him, have you?" Hermione asked. "That must be a terrible weight to carry."

Sebastián clenched his jaw. "My sins are many, Ms. Granger. I fear an eternity is not enough to make up for them."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Maybe Salazar would want you to forgive yourself."

Sebastián looked at Hermione carefully. "I see now, why you are the Greatest Witch of the Age, Ms. Granger."

Hermione was silent.

"There are those who take destiny into their own hands. They alter the way of things. They come in many forms. Some lift crowns from battlefields and place them atop their own heads, some charm and enchant their way to victory. And then there are those who sacrifice their hearts and their minds—pushing their limits, devoted to saving the ones they love." Sebastián nodded to Harry and Draco. "As you did for them."

Hermione looked at the marble tombs.

She felt her throat close, knowing it was time to say goodbye.

She conjured a pair of roses and placed one over Harry's chest, and the other over Draco's.

She stepped back and flicked her wand. Bright white flames engulfed the tombs, sealing them. Slowly, they began to sink into the earth.

"They're here!" shouted one of the Arévalos.

Hermione looked up, distracted.

By the lake she recognized the familiar outlines of Bill, Charlie, and Ginny Weasley.

"I asked them to come," Sebastián told Hermione. "They won't be able to see you until your enchantment fades, and they don't know about Harry, but once the graves close, you can reveal yourself to them." Sebastián rested his hand on her shoulder. "You should be among friends. You've spent enough time alone."

"And you?" asked Hermione, turning to face him. "What will you do?"

"I must return home to Segovia."

Hermione stared at Sebastián, realizing they would have to say goodbye.

She reached into her cloak and pulled out the remnants of Gryffindor's sword. "I'd like you to take this," she said, holding it out to him.

Sebastián accepted the sword, then he took Hermione's hand and kissed it. "I won't soon forget you Ms. Granger, not if I walk this earth another thousand years."

He tipped his head to one side.

"And remember, you are always welcome in Segovia."

Hermione watched as Sebastián and the Arévalos swept past her, moving through the fog in their black cloaks, then they became streaks of color as they disappeared into the forest. The trees shook slightly in their wake, the only sign that they had passed through the grounds.

Hermione watched the earth close over Harry's tomb. She rested her hand on the carving of the lion, watching its mane disappear underneath her fingers.

What would happen, Hermione wondered, as the years passed, and the two of them became nothing more than legends? The Boy Who Lived and the Greatest Witch of the Age?

And what of Draco?

Would he become a footnote in history? Would the world only know him as Voldemort's youngest Death Eater?

To Hermione, he was so much more than that. Draco had freed himself from the dark path his family set him on, and bared his soul to the light. And he'd never expected her to forgive him. His one hope had been to keep her alive, and in that, he'd succeeded.

Hermione could almost feel his presence...his hands on her shoulders...the soft brush of his lips on her neck…

She reached into her robes and pulled out the Founder's book, letting it fall into Draco's grave.

Maybe one day, centuries from now, someone would read its pages again.

And they would learn her story…

Draco's story.

The tale of a Slytherin and his Gryffindor.

And as Hermione walked towards the Weasleys, a new set of words appeared on the cover of the Founder's book:

The Secret War

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Thank you for letting me into your imaginations. I don't have enough words to express the emotions I'm feeling right now. I'd never shared anything I'd written until I posted this story, and the support I received on here was mind-blowing. If this tale has entertained you in some small way, then I consider my time writing these pages well worth the effort. Thank you for your patience between updates, sometimes weeks or months apart. Whether you're been here from the beginning or just picked up the story, thank you for reading and reviewing! And although we've never met face to face, I'm glad we can connect here, on this platform, to live for a little bit longer in a world filled with magic.

Special shout-out to yanabhatia2008 for your constant encouragement :)

Until we meet again, whether that be in a new fan fic or maybe one day, on the printed page ;)

Much love,

njcov

(p.s. If you'd like to help new readers to find the story please feel free to recommend it on Dramione facebook, reddit and tik tok pages, thank you again!)