A/N: Just one more chapter after this!

Sometime later my heavy lids opened to a stark white room. I appraised my surroundings and realized I was in St. Mungo's. As I groaned in frustration there was a movement to my right.

"There you are my beautiful girl. Don't ever scare me like that again."

Draco's face showed relief, but it couldn't completely erase the worry or the tear stains down his cheeks.

"What happened?" My throat was dry and I wondered how long I had been out.

"Save your voice. Let me get the healer to make sure you're all healed up and then I promise to tell you."

I nodded and Draco pressed a button that would call the healer. A tall man in his late fifties came sauntering in almost immediately. I was surprised to Harry trailing right behind him.

"It's nice to see you awake Ms. Granger. I'm Healer Anderson and I've been taking care of you."

"What happened?"

"The good news is, the potions we gave you left you sedated through most of the healing. As soon as you're fully awake from the potion, we can release you to go home as long as you have someone to stay with you."

I glanced at Draco.

"Hermione, don't worry, I'm not leaving your side any time soon."

Satisfied with that answer, I turned back to the healer.

"There was plenty of tissue damage, but it didn't run deep. You might have a few light scars, but healing magical cuts is a specialty of mine and it should be minimal. There was some slight nerve damage from the cruciatas curse, but we've given you the proper potions and all of your tests have come back clean from lingering effects. Now, do you have any questions?"

"I don't think so. Thank you for helping me."

He smiled widely. "My pleasure. Now, why don't I go get the release paperwork started and by the time I get back you should be alert enough to head home."

The healer left and I turned on Harry and Draco. "What in Merlin's name took you guys so long?"

I didn't mean it. I know they did their best and for a while there I wasn't sure they even knew I was gone.

Draco looked upset. "Blame Boy Wonder over here. If he hadn't detained me we would have got there sooner."

My eyes widened in shock. "Harry! You didn't!"

Harry rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well Hermione, you were missing. Draco was the last person to see you and you know in domestic incidences that it's a high probability for the boyfriend to be involved."

"But this is Draco! You know he would never do anything to harm me."

"See!" Draco pointed a threatening finger at Harry and I knew there would need to be some healing between them. "Hermione knows I wouldn't never so much as cause her an ounce of pain or distress."

"I screwed up, ok? There is a protocol to follow and I did what I thought was right!" Harry was getting defensive which wasn't a great sign.

"Ok, I understand Harry why you felt you had to do that. I still think it was wrong and I probably could have been saved some pain and humiliation had you got there sooner, but it's done and over and I'm fine." I turned to Draco. "I'm assuming once they cleared you, you were involved in finding me. What happened?"

"It was quite simple really. And if we had stayed a bit longer and cleared out the rest of the inbox, we would have come across a warning letter. It was poorly written and it didn't take a genius to figure out it was in regards to the Burke case. After some quick digging, we realized that Brielle Bonacord was previously married to Steven Swan. I recognized the name instantly and not in a positive way. He wasn't in the inner circle of Death Eaters, but he was definitely involved in some pretty shady activity. It turns out he's a relative of Burke and they had a history. The pieces fell into place and I realized it had to be he who took you."

Harry chimed in here. "Draco was brilliant here. His knowledge of Voldemort's reach was imperative. We would have taken much longer to realize where you were if he hadn't had so much intel."

"And where exactly was I?" This question had been bothering me a bit.

Draco scoffed. "Where every good villain takes their victims. The dungeons of his manor."

I opened my mouth to respond, but the healer came back in.

"Alright then. You're all set to go. Here are the rest of your things," He handed me a bag. "Make sure you're not left alone for the next 48 hours while the blood replenishing potions finish their job and just take it easy. Other than that, you're free to go!"

Draco's shoulders relaxed a bit as he realized the worst of it was truly over. "Come on love. Let's get you home and then I'll finish telling you the rest."

Harry looked between us. "I'll get a statement from you tomorrow. Rest up Hermione."

I gave him a grateful look. He was not so subtly giving us some much-needed alone time.

Draco took the lead and apparated us home. It was clear to me that he wasn't ok.

"Draco, I'm your girlfriend and your partner. Talk to me."

He looked at me with anguish in his eyes. "Seeing you like that once was enough for a lifetime. Having to walk in and see you bloody and barely conscious..." His voice trailed off and he shook his head "This is all my fault. If it wasn't for those bloody death eaters this would have never happened and I allowed myself to be a part of them for so long."

I crossed the room and wrapped him in a hug. "You can't continue to hold your past against yourself, Draco. I certainly don't. You did what you had to do to survive. Today, you did everything you could to save me and despite others being against you, you still managed to be my hero. I owe a great deal of gratitude to you. Not just for physically saving me, but mentally too. When he was using the cruciatas, it was your face I focused on. You kept me sane and grounded."

His eyes searched mine. Looking for what, I don't know, but he must have found it because a few seconds later he has his mouth on mine. I could feel the desperation seeping through the kiss.

"I was so scared." I see a tear lead down his cheek and I realize that in all the time I've ever known him, I've never seen him cry.

Despite everything I had been through, my heart was full. Draco was there for me when I needed him. He didn't care what stood in his way. Through this all, one thing was flashing at me like neon lights. Draco was the most important thing in my life.

He balances me out. He's funny, thoughtful, charming, good at debating, the list goes on and on. Most importantly, I love him and in what I thought might be my last moments, the thing that mattered most was spending even a few more minutes with the memory of him. That was pretty telling.

"Draco?"

"Hmmm." He causally wiped at the tear and pulled me close as if trying to put as little distance between us as possible.

"Marry me."

He stilled instantly and I couldn't help but smile at having caught him off guard. He's always so cute when he's flustered.

He backed away to look at me. "What was that? I don't think I heard you right."

"Marry me." I said again in very clear tones.

"What brought this on? I thought you weren't ready for marriage yet."

"That was before, this is now. I'm ready."

He still wasn't buying it. "Love, you've just been through a very traumatic event. As much as I want to marry you, maybe now isn't the time to make rash decisions."

"There's nothing rash about it, Draco. If anything, it's logical. I went through a traumatic event and through it, I learned that you are the most important part of my life. I thought of no one but you to calm myself and keep a level head. There is no one else I would rather spend the rest of my life with than you, Draco Malfoy. So, I'm going to ask you again. Please, marry me."

Draco ran a hand exasperatedly down his face. "You're going to be the death of me you know. I had it all planned out in my head and you're just going to swoop in and propose instead." He seemed to think for a second. "Well, I can't let you take away all the customs."

He got down on one knee and pulled out the most beautiful ring I had ever seen. My hands flew to my mouth in surprise.

"You see, I've been carrying this around ever since our conversation on marriage. I had an idea of how I wanted to propose, but just in case the moment seemed right before then, I wanted to be ready. Since you asked the question first, it hardly seems appropriate for me to ask again. Instead, I will kneel before you and tell you that you are the most amazing person I have ever met. I would be honored to stand by your side as your husband and grow old together." He slipped the ring on my finger. "Of course I will marry you."

I squealed with glee as Draco rose and kissed me once more with palpable joy and passion.