A/N so this is it the point I finally had to break from the original and change up a scene to make it fit this story. I fought and fought with my writing to make everything stay nearly identical to the original but it just wouldn't work here, I had to make what felt to me like bigger changes but hey it meant I could keep writing and get this story done for all you amazing readers who've been hanging on and for those that just found this story and are asking me to be sure to finish, hope you like it. As always some of these words belong to JKR not me and I lay no claim to them. This was supposed to be the last chapter with an epilogue (which is already written lol) but it needed to be split in two. I'm already at work on ch 25 and will have it out as soon as possible. My New Year's resolution to write at least 100 words a day is paying off. Also as always reviews are appreciated.

Hermione stepped into the drawing room. When Harry looked at her from the chess game he was playing by himself, she held up a vial with a questioning look on her face.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "We don't have to continue today. It's probably better to wait a few days or even until next Saturday. Even though it was only three memories it was a lot already."

She shook her head, "No, I want this done. I'm feeling fine. I expected that last memory to have more of an impact."

"So did I," he replied.

"And so did Draco obviously but it didn't, maybe because I was focused on him and not me. I did brace myself for it as soon as I knew what we were going to see. It could also be that with all of the memories we've seen I'm becoming used to it, or maybe it's the fact that I have read the Wizengamot transcripts and know more of what to expect, but whatever it was I don't feel the exhaustion and mental weakness I have before."

He stood and twisted his lips considering her, "You're sure it's not just your determination to be done that's outweighing everything else?"

"No," she said gently, smiling at his concern then explained what she had done over the past two hours. "I want to be done, yes, but not enough to risk further damage. The last thing I want is to wind up with Lockhart at Mungo's. Besides this has to include the Fiendfyre so I know what to expect with that."

"You remember?" His eyes were wide.

"No," she said quickly though loathe to dash his hopes, then continued, "well I remember it happening but in my memory it was Theo which means it had to have been Draco. It's so obvious now because the real memories I have of Theo and Blaise they're always on the periphery. They're there but not in any real important sense, just someone else in class or someone else sitting at the Slytherin table and the fact that Crabbe and Goyle don't consistently follow one or the other but switch back and forth makes it more obvious. I can't believe the Unspeakable never thought of that."

"They never really believed we'd even try to retrieve your memories or that we'd be successful in the least. You don't get to be an Unspeakable without serious skills as an auror and a hefty dose of ego."

She nodded, "Well they're going to be rather disappointed, because even if I've not recovered my memories yet I'm building new ones through this process. And there have been those small changes that are becoming more consistent with each day."

"Why didn't you tell me that? Have you told Draco?"

She shook her head and shrugged, "No I haven't told him and I don't know why I didn't tell you other than it's not really anything that hasn't happened before. It's not a big change. If it were I'd have said something. I'm not sure there will ever be a big change and honestly I'd rather not watch anymore if nothing is going to make my brain click and bring back what I've lost. I don't need to see them. I'd rather just continue on making new memories."

"So why do it then?"

"Because Draco asked me to," she said simply. "There are obviously things he thinks I need to see in the memories that I won't get from the transcripts."

Harry stepped closer to her, "So you've made your decision about him then?"

"You'd rather I not?"

"It's not that," he replied quickly. "I want you to be happy and if Malfoy makes you happy then you should be with him."

"You still don't trust him do you?"

"I don't know. I can admit he loves you. All the work he went to to try and help you recover your memories knowing that you might not come out loving him again proves that, and yes the things we all three experienced look different in his memories and they don't have the feel of that memory of Slughorn's that he changed but…"

"You testified on his behalf," she reminded him.

He shrugged, "It was the right thing to do. I don't know, maybe if I could see your side of the memories we've seen to be sure they're not colored by his perspective then I'd be more convinced. I also don't want to lose you."

She hugged him, "You won't lose me, no matter what decision I make or we make in the long run you won't lose me. We'll always be friends, more than that. You know you're like a brother to me. I just won't live here with you anymore, most likely thought that's true no matter what I decide about Draco and I."

"I guess it's just part of growing up and being adults," he sighed.

"Yeah. You're going to find someone, be it Ginny or someone else and you'll need the rooms here." she grinned, "I'll still always be here for you just like you have been for me, so shall we go get this over with? I know you don't want to relive this anymore than I wanted to relive the torture but let's do it."

He nodded and before long they were standing in a hallway at Hogwarts during the height of the battle.

"We have to find Potter," Crabbe insisted as he and his mates suddenly appeared in the same hallway.

"We have to get out of here before someone hexes us," Draco retorted.

"Scared Malfoy?" Goyle sneered.

"More like smart, there are any number of those Order people here and they could come up behind us at any point and we wind up dead or wishing we were."

"Not bloody likely. Besides, Potter is here and the Dark Lord wants him. We take Potter to him, we'll be his favorites," Crabe said.

Goyle snorted, "Cept for you Draco, maybe he just won't kill you. Let's go."

"Go where?" Draco asked.

"In that room" Goyle said pointing to the wall across from them.

"I'm not going in there," the blonde said.

"Yes you are," Crabbe grabbed him by the collar and shoved the blond forward and ordered, "open it."

"And it better be the right room," Goyle added.

Draco tensed and looked around but seeing no way out he opened the door. They began working their way through the aisles of junk towering in teetering piles above their heads. At any second the bootles, hats, crates, chairs, books, weapons, broomsticks, bats and other things could fall over and crush them.

Suddenly coming towards them was Harry. The three stopped, with Malfoy stuck behind the two hulking brutes. All three raised their wands though Draco held his straight up right in front of his chest defensively and looked rapidly back and forth at his two former minions.

"Hold it Potter," Goyle growled.

The other boy did.

"That's my wand you're holding Potter," Malfoy said before either of his companions could speak.

"Not anymore," panted Harry, tightening his grip on the hawthorn wand. "Winners, keepers, Malfoy. Who's lent you theirs?"

"His mother," guffawed Crabbe.

Harry laughed as well. "So how come you three aren't with Voldemort?" he asked.

"We're gonna be rewarded," said Crabbe. He was smiling like a small child promised a large bag of sweets. "We 'ung back Potter. We decided not to go. Decided to bring you to 'im. We knew you was 'ere, hidin'."

"Good plan," Harry said in mock admiration. "So how did you get in here?"

"He," Crabbe stubbed a thumb backwards at Draco, "was in here all the bloody time last year. He knew how to get us in."

Draco's head dropped a bit and his jaw clenched.

"We was hiding in the corridor outside," grunted Goyle. "We can do Diss-lusion Charms now! And then," his face split into a gormless grin, "you turned up right in front of us and said you was looking for a die-dum! What's a die-dum?"

"Harry?" Ron's voice echoed suddenly from the other side of the wall of detritus to Harry's right. "Are you talking to someone?"

With a whiplike movement, Crabbe pointed his wand at the fifty foot mountain of old furniture, broken trunks, old books, and robes and unidentifiable junk, and shouted, "Descendo!"

The wall began to totter. Draco held his mother's wand up and waved it wordlessly, then the top third of the pile crumbled sideways instead of straight down landing in the aisle next to where Ron stood.

"Ron," Harry bellowed, as somewhere out of sight Hermione screamed, causing Draco to spin in place, eyes wild, and go pale. They all heard innumerable objects crashing to the floor on the other side of the destabilized wall. Harry and Draco both pointed their wands at the rampart. Potter cried out Finite, and it steadied.

"He cast it too," Hermione said to Harry beside her.

"What makes you think that?"

"I love you and you are powerful but that is a massive pile of junk. I think it's only because you both cast Finite that it stopped."

He considered, then replied, "You could be right."

"No!" shouted Malfoy, grabbing Crabbe's arm as he moved to repeat the spell. Eyes wild he said, "If you wreck the room you might bury this diadem thing!"

"What's the matter?" said Crabbe, tugging himself free from the blonde. "It's Potter the Dark Lord wants, who cares about a die-dum?"

"Potter came in here to get it," said Malfoy sounding a bit wild and desperate, "so that must mean-"

"Must mean?" Crabbe turned on Malfoy with undisguised ferocity. "Who cares what you think? I don't take your orders no more, Draco. You an' your dad are finished."

"Harry," shouted Ron again from the other side of the junk wall. "What's going on?"

"Harry?" mimicked Crabbe. "What's going - no, Potter! Crucio!"

Harry lunged to the side for the tiara so Crabbe's curse missed him but hit an old stone bust which sent it flying up into the air, tiara with it, both dropping out of sight.

"STOP!" Malfoy shouted at Crabbe again grabbing for the boy's arm, his voice echoing through the enormous room. "The Dark Lord wants him alive -" His voice grew more desperate as he spoke.

"So? I'm not killing him, am I?" yelled Crabbe, throwing off Malfoy's restraining arm. "But if I can, I will, the Dark Lord wants him dead anyway, what's the diff-"

A jet of scarlet flew past Harry by inches; Hermione had run around the corner behind him and sent a Stunning Spell straight at Crabbe's head. It only missed because Malfoy was still trying to restrain him and they were struggling.

"It's that Mudblood! Avada Kedavra!"

Hermione dove aside. And Harry shot a Stunning spell at Crabbe who lurched away from Malfoy causing the spell to disarm Draco. The wand rolled out of sight beneath a mountain of broken furniture and boxes.

"Don't kill them! DON'T KILL THEM!" Malfoy yelled at Crabbe and Goyle who were aiming at Harry and Hermione respectively. Their split second's hesitation was all Harry needed.

"Expelliarmus!"

Goyle's wand flew out of his hand and disappeared into the bulwark of objects beside him; Goyle leapt foolishly on the spot, trying to retrieve it; Malfoy jumped out of range so Hermione's second Stunning spell aimed for Goyle wouldn't hit him. Ron appeared suddenly at the end of the aisle and shot a full Body-Bind curse at Crabbe, which narrowly missed.

Crabbe wheeled around and screamed, "Avada Kedavra!" again. Ron leapt out of sight to avoid the jet of green light. The now wandless Malfoy hid behind a three legged wardrobe as Hermione charged towards Goyle who she finally hit with a Stunning spell.

"This all happened so fast the first time I guess I didn't see exactly what Malfoy was doing," Harry muttered to Hermione as the previous version of him yelled about the tiara.

"Or you saw what you expected to see because you had no reason not to."

"Possibly," he admitted.

They both froze as the roaring bellowing sound of the Fiendfyre filled the room and Crabbe, running past Draco and memory Harry with Ron right on his heels, yelled, "Like it hot, scum?"

They turned and ran following Draco who had grabbed the Stunned Goyle and dragged him along; Crabbe outstripped all of the others now looking terrified since he had no control over what he had done.

As they turned a corner the flames chased them as though they were alive, sentient, intent on killing them all, even their creator. Now the fire was mutating, forming a gigantic pack of fiery beasts: Flaming serpent, chimaeras, and dragons rose and fell again, and the detritus of centuries on which the were feeding was thrown up in the air into their fanged mouths, tossed high on clawed feet, before being consumed by the inferno.

Soon they were alone with the three Slytherins as their memory counterparts had been left behind.

Malfoy began berating Crabbe, "What the bloody hell were you thinking? You idiot!"

"They'll die like the Dark Lord wants," Crabbe jutted out his chin as he defended himself but his eyes were darting about madly.

"And what good will that do us if we're dead too? You don't have any idea how to stop this and neither do I."

Crabbe didn't respond, instead he turned and started climbing up the pile of old desks next to them.

"Hey, help me out here," Malfoy yelled to be heard over the flames as he began trying to climb while carrying Goyle who outweighed him by a good five stones.

"Leave him," Crabbe said as he climbed higher.

"No. What is wrong with you, he's been your best friend your entire life."

"Who needs friends? Just leave him. I'm not saving either of you."

Draco scowled and shifted Goyle in front of him trying to shove the other boy up the pile. When that didn't work he began to climb and instead attempted to pull his former follower up the pile. Suddenly the fire flooded up the aisle and the blonde seemed to gain strength from fear. He climbed and pulled the unconscious boy up the pile in a rush staying just above the flames licking at the wood.

Seconds later the pile of desks shifted and Crabbe lost his balance. Draco reached out to grab him but missed and the boy disappeared into the inferno he had created. Malfoy flinched but turned quickly to continue climbing and pulling until he was perched on the top of the fragile tower of now charred desks holding Goyle in his arms. Looking up he saw Potter, Weasley and Hermione on brooms above everything.

Harry spotted him at the same time and dived, Malfoy raised an arm but even as Harry grasped it they knew it was no good: Goyle was too heavy and Malfoy's hand covered in sweat, slid instantly out of Harry's.

"IF WE DIE FOR THEM, I'LL KILL YOU, HARRY!" roared Ron. As a great flaming chimaera bore down upon them, he and Harry grabbed Goyle shifting him onto Ron's broom. Hermione clambered up behind Hermione.

"The door, get to the door," screamed Draco in her ear as he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and she sped up following Harry, Ron and Goyle through the billowing black smoke, hardly able to breathe: and all around them the last few objects unburned by the devouring flames were flung into the air, as the creatures of the cursed fire cast them high in celebration: cups and shields, a sparkling necklace, and an old discolored tiara.

At the sight Harry split off from his friends, made a hairpin swerve and dived.

"What is he doing?" Malfoy yelled "The door is that way. He's going to die."

Suddenly there was a rectangular patch on the wall and they all flew through it. Moments later clean air filled their lunges and they collided with the wall in the corridor beyond.

Malfoy fell off the broom and lay face down, gasping, coughing, and retching. Hermione rolled over and sat up: The door to the Room of Requirement had vanished, and Ron and Harry sat panting on the floor beside Goyle, who was still unconscious.

"C-Crabbe," choked Malfoy with tears in his eyes as soon as he could speak. "C-Crabbe…"

"He's dead," Ron said harshly.

Draco flinched at the tone and closed his eyes curling up on himself. Hermione placed a hand on his shoulder momentarily and he peered up at her mouthing "Thank you" when the words wouldn't come again.

There was silence, apart from the panting and coughing. Then a number of huge bangs shook the castle, and a great cavalcade of transparent figures galloped past on horses. As the Headless Hunt passed the trio rose to their feet. Malfoy and Goyle remained slumped hopelessly on the corridor floor.

The trio began to discuss the now ruined diadem and the Fiendfyre, when Ron commented that if Crabbe hadn't tried to kill them he might be sorry the boy was dead Draco again flinched.

Fred and Percy backed around the corner engaged in battle with a pair of Death Eaters. Soon the Death Eaters were lying on the floor and the hallway exploded. When the dust settled Fred was on the floor with Percy and Ron at his side. Harry grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her in that direction.

Draco staggered to his feet and took a few halting steps towards them then looked back over his shoulder at Goyle.

"Hermione," he rasped but seeing her surrounded by friends and then pushed to the floor as a curse came through the hole in the wall he froze. Then again he stumbled forward but seeing the debris between them, the giant spiders coming through the wall, and Harry pushing her forward. He turned back and grabbed Goyle dragging him away in a grim mirror of Harry dragging Fred.

The memory faded and once again Harry and Hermione stood in the little room in number 13 Grimmauld Place.

"Ok that's it, we're done for today," Harry said. "You know I love you and want this to be done as much as you do but I can't take more of that. I can't relive anymore today. That was too much. I don't know what's next and I don't care. I'm not going back in again today."

Reluctantly she nodded, "You're right. I thought I was prepared for that because I do remember it and the last one was easier than I expected but reliving the fire and Fred was so much more intense than I expected."

"Will you be okay if I go to see Ginny?" he asked suddenly.

"Yes," she reassured him "Go. I'd go and see Ron if I didn't think it would give him the wrong idea. Maybe I'll swing by Diagon Alley instead."

"A visit to WWW is definitely a great way to cheer you up and distract you," he replied leaving unspoken what they both knew that George was the Weasley still suffering most besides Molly who would accept a visit from Harry but not from Hermione as she'd broken her baby boy's heart.

She nodded, "Thank you Harry."

"Love you Mione," he said and hugged her before leaving the room.

She cleaned up the room, put away the vials, and the Pensieve and then taking one last look around the room, turned off the light and left.

3/11/00

To: dlm80ATyahooDOTcom

From: hg79ATyahooDOTcom

Re: taking a break

Dear Draco,

Just wanted to let you know we watched three of the memories and both of us needed a break before moving on. I'll write again after we've finished the last one.

Hermione