Hermione neatly folded her clothes and placed them in her trunk. Last night at the Winter Ball, she and Blaise had finally become a real couple, and she felt happier than she could remember being in years. A light knock at the door shook her out of her thoughts.

Blaise leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed and a raised eyebrow. "Packing the muggle way?"

"I've always done it this way. I've got remind myself of my muggle part heritage," she replied with a smile. "You should try it sometime you know. It can be rather therapeutic."

He came over and hugged her from behind. "I'd rather just watch you do it."

She turned her head to place a kiss on his cheek. "You're so weird. Are you all packed?"

"Yup. Draco wants to come up and say goodbye before he leaves. He should be here any moment." A moment later there was a loud knock on the door to their common room.

Hermione untangled herself reluctantly from Blaise's arms and they went to open the door for Draco.

He took one look at them and gave them his trademark smirk in full. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything."

She swatted his arm. "Don't be silly. Come in."

"How'd things go with Astoria last night?" Blaise asked cheekily. He was also met with a swat on his arm from Hermione. "What? It's a valid question!" He cried indignantly as they sat down on the couches.

"It was fun. We promised to write each other over vacation. She's going to travel with her parents to France, so I won't be able to see her."

"Are you doing anything fun with your mother?"

Draco thought about it for a moment. "I think she'll just want to rest. She's still technically in a recovery period after all."

Hermione nodded sympathetically. "Well it's good that she's getting better."

"So you two are spending vacation together?" He asked, looking at Blaise's trunk by the door which had Hermione's coat draped over it.

"Yes. I invited her to come stay at the manor. You're welcome to come visit too anytime," he added.

"That might be nice, although my main focus will be helping my mother." Draco said. "Alright, well I think I'd better be off. I'll see you two sometime over winter break hopefully. If not, have a great time."

Hermione and Blaise each gave him a hug before he left.

"Ok. Time for you to finish packing," Blaise said to her. "The magic way!" He emphasized as she retreated to her room.

Hermione stuck her tongue out at him before closing the door at his comment.

As Blaise waited for her, he reflected on their semester. It had been a crazy journey over the course of only a few months. They both had lost a lot after the war, but somehow they managed to build each other up again. Losing his mother had been the hardest thing he had ever gone through, but having Hermione in his life helped him move forward. The student body had seen their friendship and became more accepting of people from other houses, finally learning to put rivalry aside.

After a few more minutes Hermione came out from her room with her suitcase all packed and ready to go.

"Ready?" He asked her as he stood up.

"I think so."

"Alright then," he said looking around the common room one last time. "Hopefully this place won't get too dusty for the month we're gone."

"I'm sure it will be fine. One last thing before we leave," she said. As he turned his head towards her to ask what it was, she stood on her tiptoes, wrapped his arms around him and kissed him.

She finally pulled away with a big smile on her face. "Okay. Now I'm ready to go."

He pulled her tightly towards him, as if he never intended on letting go. They grabbed their suitcases and held hands to apparate, ready for whatever adventures the future had in store for them.

The End.


Author's Note: And that's it! I know it may seem like an abrupt end to the story, but I AM planning on writing a sequel sometime in the future to address the second half of the year and their winter vacation. Thank you for all of your support – it truly means the world to me. This was my very first fanfiction and I'm so happy that so many of you liked it.

I want to give a special thanks to sunset oaisis and HoneyBear84. You two were some of my earliest reviewers and voiced your support all the way from beginning to end. I can't even put into words how grateful I am.

I'm also thankful to those who gave me constructive criticism and feedback. I know my writing isn't the best, but everyone has to start somewhere and this is only my beginning.

My plans are to work on some new stories now and begin planning out the sequel. I currently have Theo/Hermione and Draco/Hermione story ideas floating around in my head, so please follow me and keep an eye out for the first chapter of one of them going up soon!