Sorry for the long wait but the start of classes has kept me busy.

Thank you all sooo much for your reviews and support throughout this story. It was my first fan fiction and I really truly enjoyed the experience. Trying as it was at times, especially during those late night when I should have been studying rather than writing, I'm glad to say it was more than worth it. Anyway, for your enjoyment, I'm including some deleted scenes from the story. These aren't polished nor do some even fit into the story, but I do think you will enjoy them. Especially when it comes to:

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THE ALTERNATE ENDING

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Okay, so I'm sure a lot of you are wondering why exactly I ended the story as I did. Well, I wrote a few different plots each with its own different ending, but by the time I got to the end of the Yule ball chapter, I realized (during a rather odd conversation with my best bud) that I had finished the story I had intended to tell. Hermione had learned all I had needed her to learn, and though I could have continued the story for an nth number of chapters more, the story I NEEDED to tell had already been told.

In the pursuit of this grander truth though, I walked quite a few paths and well, here is what this story could have been:

Here is one version of Hermione's conversation with Dumbledore in the last chapter that would have led to a rather different ending.

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"I want in" she declared, not even bothering with explanations, her voice filled with a bravado she had come to criticize in the Golden Boy.

"That, my dear, is impossible" he replied softly but sternly. "I will not place a student in danger, Head girl or not. You will have to rest assured that the situation is being taken care of".

"He didn't make it, did he?" she asked, though she already knew the answer. "He was going to run away, I knew he would. But if you guys are planning anything, that means he didn't make it, did he?" The old man nodded sadly, motioning for the girl to sit.

"We have identified a number of locations of where he might be." he explained. "The Order is monitoring the Death Eater movements in these locations to try to establish the most likely candidates. It will be a small operation, parallel hit-and-run strategies once we can narrow down the location further. Assuming he is still alive". The words were not meant unkindly, but as the truth. She needed to face it, and Dumbledore was never one to shy from the truth before his students.

"I'll go with you." she insisted, even as he moved to deny her request once more. "You need me". He lifted an eyebrow at this but said nothing as she continued. "I have no pretension of being the hero here, nor do I expect to compare at the level of fully trained aurors. But you need me. Because if he is alive, you have no idea how far gone he'll be. And if you hope to bring back anything beyond the shell of a man, a hollow shadow of whom he used to be, you'll need me to be there. The Order can find and save Malfoy. I can save Draco." The old man looked at her calculatingly, his eyes wrinkling as he considered her words. For the first time in her many years at Hogwarts, she noticed how terribly old he looked, beyond that which could simply be attributed to age. He looked tired and tired, worry lines marking his once vivacious eyes. It was a humbling thought, to think that the great Dumbledore, the most powerful wizard of the modern world, was in fact only human. And what a terrifying thought it was.

"You may come on three conditions" he finally declared, and despite her fears she allowed herself a small smile of triumph. "Firstly, you will follow orders. No matter how much you disagree with them, you will be there under my charge and will act accordingly". He waited until she nodded before continuing. "Secondly, under no circumstances are you to inform any of the students, and this includes Miss. Weasley, of our plan." She nodded, making a mental note that not informing Ginny of the plan did not necessary mean keeping her friend completely in the dark. "Lastly, if a fight breaks out, you will aparate to a location I will disclose to you before the mission and wait for further instructions from the Order members from there. You will stay there and not move, no matter what might have happened to Mr. Malfoy, the Order members in the mission, or myself." She nodded again, a little more reluctantly than the first two times, but determined to go no matter what.

"Good" he concluded, standing from his seat. "In that case, be ready to be called upon at any moment. We will see if we have a location to make our move soon. In the mean time, I suggest you get some rest. Merlin knows, we'll need it."

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author explanation:

Like I said, it isn't polished. But it might have been fun to write out a military sort of mission to save Malfoy, which I have never tried before. Nice writing exercise, to say the least. Fortunately (unfortunately?), I changed my mind before I wrote it. I did, however, write the first conversation between Malfoy and Hermione during and after the rescue which I am rather proud of. Here we go:

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"Draco" she whispered, her hand touching his cheek. He twitched involuntarily, as if preparing himself for more pain and degradation. "It's me. Hermione. Look at me". Slowly, as if his head was too heavy to lift, he struggled to look her in the eyes. When he did, all the tears he'd been holding back burst.

"I've died, haven't I?" he asked, crying like a lost boy. "They finally got tired of waiting for me to change. They killed me" She shook her head, pained at seeing her strong friend so broken.

"No. I'm here to get you out of here". She said, her hands already working at the bonds that held him. She noticed that his wrists were bloodied, probably from trying against the binds in the past. How many times he had suffered a night such as this one were beyond her. Suddenly, as if struck by understanding, his eyes fluttered open and widened.

"Get out of here" he whispered, with an intensity that had thus far been lacking. "Get out! They'll come back. They always do. And when they find you... I won't be broken Hermione. But I don't know what I'd do if they laid a finger on you". She was touched by his concern but there was no time to argue. She was gonna get him out of here, whether he liked it or not.

"We're leaving together"

NEXT SCENE : ALREADY BACK AT HOGWARTS

"Nothing permanent" said Madam Pomfrey after a thorough exam. "At least, not physically. The rest... well... only time will tell. He's a strong boy though. Most would have crumbled with so much as half of what he went through. Tough indeed". She patted Hermione kindly on the shoulder and left the girl to stand vigil on her friend.

Sam refused to leave his side, even as nightfall came. Ginny brought her food and Pomfrey set up an adjacent bed for her, just in case she wanted to rest up. Ginny stayed up for as long as she dared before heading to the common room, promising to come check on them first thing in the morning. However, he was to awaken near dawn.

She must have fallen asleep, or at least dozed off for a few seconds, because when she opened her eyes from what seemed to her to be a long blink, she found his blue eyes staring into hers. Almost by instinct, she launched herself to hug him, causing him to start back in shock. She clung to him as if her life depended on it, fresh tears flowing onto his shirt. He allowed himself to pat her on the back to calm her down.

"It's okay" he reassured, a smile gracing his face for the first time in what seemed to be ages. "We're both safe now. I have no idea how you did it, but we are. And that's all that matters". She nodded into his shirt and managed to sit up straight, pulling the chair by his bedside closer to where he lay. Her hand never left his. He then grinned and added, almost as an afterthought. "Thanks for the Christmas present. I regret to say I might have... misplaced it in my travels" He laughed, a sad laugh, and she allowed herself to smile in reply and gave his hand a small squeeze. (IN THIS VERSION, I HAD THOUGHT SOME STUPID PRESENT OR OTHER – IGNORE)

"A small price to pay for having you back" she replied, glad to hear him express some degree of humor given the circumstances. "Besides, what did you expect me to do? Carry on an entire semester doing all the Head girl tasks on my own?". To this, he laughed, and a weight was lifted off her chest to hear it sound so... normal. As good a time as any, she gathered. "I know you don't want to talk about it, but Madam Pomfrey says that the healing will only begin when you let it. So if you want to talk... now, later, whenever, I'm here. Just so you know". He nodded, his eyes filling up with dreadful memories that made her hate herself for bringing up. But it was necessary, and they both knew it.

"It began... Christmas day. It had been... a good day, until that moment, I dare say" he stopped, closing his eyes as a tear dropped past his cheek. She longed to wipe it away but was terrified of doing anything that might interrupt him. "I even had your present, which had definitely made me happy. Put it away in my trunk, away from my father, that is. I'd had just about enough of his death eater talk to warn me to keep my things ready to leave on a moment's notice." He let down a long sigh. "Must have missed my window cause next thing I know I'm shaken out of my room by three death eaters. I stunned one, I think" he allowed himself a pride filled smile and she gave herself a small moment to breath. The worst was yet to come. "I... my father had me pretty figured out. He knew I wasn't Dumbledore's man. Knew I loved power. Knew I was ambitious as any Slytherin before me. All the right traits, I guess. God knows I've considered it before. I guess I never did because... I never saw myself following his orders, being his pet, bowing to his every whim for fear of my life. But you already knew that, didn't you?" He smiled to himself, thinking back on the few sentences he'd read that first day on the train to Hogwarts. She only nodded in reply. "The torture began that night. Simple crucio curses, nothing too fancy. Just pain, pure and simple. It... its agonizing. Mind numbing, if you will. But not deadly. And most definitely not the sort of thing that breaks your spirit. I needed... more persuasion". It was at this stage that he broke into sobs, losing all grip he had on his emotions and letting the avalanche loose. "I ... I killed him... I killed a man. And I couldn't stop it, wasn't strong enough. One thing is to withhold my father's imperious curse, quite another that of the dark Lord himself. Oh god... and his daughter was crying... begging... I..." She edged into the bed besides him and held him in his arms, whispering soothing words into his ears as though she could make the memories go away.

"It was not your fault" she whispered, talking his chin and forcing his eyes to meet hers. "It's not your fault" She repeated, rather forcefully. "Whatever evils you might have committed, it wasn't you doing them. It was him, Voldemort. Face it, face him, and let go of your guilt. You couldn't have done anything more than what you did"

"I could have killed myself" he said simply. "Spare the kid, spare the father, and kill myself before it all happened. My life was worth less than theirs'.

"Stop" she snapped. "Never, ever, say those words again. Your life is as worthy as any other and you did the right thing standing up to Voldemort. He would have killed them regardless of whether or not you were there to witness it. It's his way. He's lost whatever humanity he has left and now relishes in pain, suffering, and all the shortcomings of human existence. Your pain will only feed his power. Let it go".

"But the killings didn't work" he continued, almost as if he'd never heard her. "I... I denied him again. Told him I wouldn't be a death eater. Begged him to let me go. God, I how I begged to be left to die in peace. And then he entered my mind... I felt violated. He couldn't read my memories, that much I know for it was the only thing keeping me sane and I held on to those." Then he stopped and with a sad smile added "They were all my life was worth... a few happy memories with you, Zabini, and even that unbearable Weasellette But as he entered my mind and made me... see things. Hogwarts in flames. All the students slaughtered. Death. Destruction. And then... I know this must have been father's doing. Know it and I hate the bastard for it. He... they... I don't know how they found your picture... I had it hidden in my room, I swear... they made me see you dying by my own hands, being ... raped... by that filth... being... oh god..." He broke down in her arms, holding her to him as if afraid she'd disappear if he let go. "They... it almost broke me. That was it. That was the point of no return. One more day of that and I would have been done for. I would have given up my soul and that of everyone I'd ever known to stop the images." He closed his eyes and pushed her away, startling her as she was forced back into her seat. "I am indeed my father's son. That is undeniable. I would have traded anything to him, been his lap dog and puppet for his terror. I am as weak as my father. I don't deserve your pity". She stood up, looked him in the eye, and slapped.

"I have never pitied you". She snapped, looking him in the eye with a fury so unlike anything he'd seen in her. "I've felt compassion, solidarity, friendship, and love, but definitely not pity. And you are worthy of all those, as worthy as any human being is. More so because I have chosen to give you my trust and it just so happens to be accompanied with every good wish I could ever hope to send your way. But not pity. Pity is for a man like your father, who sees nothing but his own fear of death and his own greed. Pity is a man like Voldemort who has destroy all of his humanity for the sake of power." She let out a long, deep sigh. "I would have given my life, my body, my soul in an instant to spare you from everything you went through. But I can't, you have to face it. And you have to face it knowing that you beat it. You survived. Your father, Voldemort, and the lot of his death eaters were left confused and shocked as to how a kid could get away from them. Because you did. You are safe". She sat down by his bed side once more, letting his arms surround her as she lay her head against his shoulder. By the time Ginny came with breakfast, she found them both fast asleep in each others arms. Leaving the tray by the bed stand, she hurried out to class with a wide grin on her face.

Author's Note: Hehe. Hope you guys enjoyed that. They are poorly written since I never got around to proofreading, but they were fun to write anyway. And now, without further ado, here are the REVIEWER AWARDS:

Most Dedicated Reviewers (Who win major brownie points and maybe even a cookie):

reject from the back of the...

AND

rizahawkeye21

Thanks guys for making me want to keep writing.

Other top runners for this category included (Who would get a cupcake if I send it over the internet):

Silent Kunoichi aka.Fiona (At a close 2nd!)

dracosxonexandxonlyxlioness

elizabeth elliot

c-dog

marajade64

Mrs. St. John Allerdyce

plzkthx101

Special Thanks to:

JustYourAverageReviewer – Because you got it! A single review that reminded me why I was doing all this! Thanks

Marajade64 - For my first review EVER

P.t2 - Because I made you want to write, and there are few things are rewarding as that

oneamsoundstage and stu6cle - For loving my diary pieces!

siese - Because you were the only one who made me tear up in your review

Oh! And DnCnChIcK369 and some others had mentioned some of their stories in their reviews! Feel free to post those up in reviews or send me a message and I'll be sure to check them out!

A big hug to the rest of my reviewers:

Pepermint patti, point of singularity, kichiko, pinker belle, mysticpam, lovelydeaths, Floating Goddess, Meg-z Peg-z, FarDeep, sosweet22, InvisibleBlueDice, waddlethepenguin, 1.778Aspectratio, Akkithewolfdemon, IsI Wisi, EmilyWallace, Aduro, Tzefire, princess-emeralda, DnCnChIcK369, jkrowlingismygod1990, tropicana31, Odi et amo., CaMoUfLaGeD-cOoKiE, rachhulk, eliot z., whetherbee, Azuriae, wednesday the 4th, Ebony-Amanda-brittany44, Unusual Name for a Girl, Kiyu.Kiliko, Silverdragontamor1317, thegataway-xx, herovillain, Camilia Vincent, daddysgirl101989, Roxxi05, nelygirl, princessmia89, venusseranade, Kathea, GooseyCorsair, xxclick-mexx, bloodwitch88, classicmovielover, JazzDancin', Anne06, BlueEyedGirl91, rejected7571, mcsrocksmysox, James Jago, contagiousbeauty, lilred-07, darkened-angle22

And FINALLY: This story is dedicated to Kinley, best friend and future editor, for being my harshest critic and greatest fan.