Chapter Eight

My eyes see it all

When I met you on the outskirts of town, and I said

Romeo save me I've been feeling so alone

I keep waiting for you but you never come

Is this in my head? I don't know what to think

He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring

And said, marry me Juliet

You'll never have to be alone

I love you and that's all I really know…

"Shhhh," a voice whispered in her ear.

"Draco?" she asked. She looked around they appeared to be in a room not unlike a large greenhouse but with no flowers or plants instead butterflies filling the air around them.

"Do you like them?" he asked.

"I…I…I," Hermione seemed to have lost her voice amazed by the beauty that surrounded her looking particularly at a large blue butterfly that was resting on Draco's left shoulder. Losing herself in the beauty for a moment Hermione forgot the long nights, the ignored looks, the days she cried for no reason. Hermione looked up at him what's this she wavered her hands at the butterfly that had just landed on her right hand.

"A month Draco I have been feeling so alone. I kept waiting for you every day I thought you would look at me and say something." Her voice had reached had crescendoed as she spoke and scared some of the butterflies. "Is this in my head I don't know what to think anymore," at these words she was almost crying. Draco however remained impassive as though he had not heard a single word she had said. He knelt down in front of her and fumbled with a little blue box he had in his pocket opening it to reveal a beautiful white gold ring with a square cut diamond on it. For once Hermione did not have anything so say in deed her mind was in shock so much so that she wasn't even thinking straight.

"Hermione," Draco said seriously "marry me. You don't have to feel like that. I will never hurt you again you have no idea how much it had hurt me to see you cut up like that knowing I was the cause but I thought I was…" this all came in one garbled mass. Draco was only silenced by a finger over his mouth.

"Yes," she said quietly. Draco looked up at her as though he had misheard her and she smiled at him "yes," she said again and he slipped the ring onto her finger.

Hermione could have sworn it contracted a little making it the perfect fit. Draco got up from the mud, his expensive jeans thoroughly ruined and picking Hermione up spinning her up before placing her back on the ground and kissing his new fiancée. Hermione had been trying to forget for a month but it was better than she even remembered.

"Finate Incantartum," Draco said as they broke apart and the butterflies and surroundings vanished to be replaced with the starry sky.

"How wonderfully toughing," they both heard a mocking voice come from the trees to their left. "Young love," Hermione recognized that voice and soon enough her fears where confirmed as Bellatrix Lestrange come towards them surrounded by Wormtail, McNair, Rockwood and Avery. Draco pushed Hermione behind himself grabbing his wand.

"You dare touch her." He shouted trying to keep his wand on all five simultaneously.

"Really Draco is that the correct way to speak to your auntie Bella," she said in mock shock.

"I am warning you," he said louder.

"Oh its not you or her who my master is after anyway," she said in an almost bored voice looking behind them. Draco and Hermione both spun around to see Luna, Lavender, Neville, Ginny, Ron and at the front Harry.

Hermione swung back round to Bellatrix Lestrange she somehow doubted that Bellatrix would let her just walk away because she wasn't looking for her. Draco was still pushing Hermione behind himself when a black cloud of smoke appeared in front of them and out of the mist came Lord Voldemort.

Since Draco had seen him last his eyes looked not just evil but mad his long fingers like a pianist and his face much more inhuman than usual. He pointed his wand forward and Hermione crumpled backwards hit in her arm pushing her onto the firm ground.

"A little spell I invented only works on," he looked and Hermione crumpled on the ground her breathing shallow and her face deathly pale. "mudbloods,"

"What have you done?" Draco roared at him but Voldemort simply smirked. Draco could feel a weak pulse but Hermione did not respond. Draco looked at Harry and Ron who both looked as murderous as he felt. Harry and Voldemort were starring at each other with nothing but pure loathing.

"Remember this?" Harry asked Voldemort pointing at a cup he held in his left hand with a large dent in it "The last one."

"Avadra Kevedra," they both yelled simultaneously their wands connected again this time and Harry could feel himself winning over Voldemort whose wand was shaking violently in his hand. Draco's, Ron's and Ginny's who were looking furiously at Voldemort as they joined with Harry fighting against Voldemort. It was Lavender who anticipated what would happen next as she saw Bellatrix Lestrange rush to aid Voldemort.

"Petrificas totalus," she shouted at Bellatrix Lestrange who deflected it shouting something back at Lavender that Draco didn't catch as he kept his wand pointed at Harry and felt the power building as it head to Voldemort. Lavender screamed grabbing her jacket pulling it off her left arm deeply scarred was now glowing red.

"Stupefy," Ginny roared with hatred at Bellatrix Lestrange who froze. MacNair, Avery, Rockwood and Wormtail where engaged with their own battles with Neville, Ginny and Luna. As Ginny managed to put a full body bind on MacNair. All looked away from their little battles to see Voldemort flying backwards as his eyes rolled backwards into his head apparently dead.

Less than a minute later Professor Dumbeldore appeared in the square looking slightly flustered which in itself Draco considered odd but the circumstances themselves were hardly normal.

"I saw in my glass that Tom Riddle has died," he said looking at the heap of robes in front of him. "Harry why didn't you inform me when you cracked the last Horcrux. Instead of going looking for Voldemort."

"I didn't," Harry began to explain when Dumbledore saw both Lavender and Hermione lying unconscious on the cold ground. He conjured stretchers for the two girls and Ginny who had a nasty cut on her right arm and Neville who looked like his leg was broken.

"Ron, Harry and Draco I would like to see you immediately in my office when the three made to follow the stretchers into the hospital wing.

"But Hermione," Draco said angrily at the same time as Harry said "Ginny," and Ron

"Lavendar."

"Miss. Granger, Miss. Weasley, Miss. Brown, Miss. Lovegood and Mr. Longbottom will all be fine." Dumbeldore said soothingly "I really do need you all in my office."

They trudged up the staircase after Dumbeldore the password "mint imperials" was uttered by Dumbeldore they all stood around the headmaster's desk.

"So?" Dumbeldore asked kindly "I believe you have achieved something that I have failed to do." Draco raised an eyebrow and Ron and Harry looked puzzled at each other.

"Tom Riddle," Dumbeldore said solemnly "has been vanquished."

"He's dead?" Ron spluttered.

"Yes Mr. Weasley."

"Professor?" Harry asked "is he really dead I mean it's not like the last time?"

"No," Dumbeldore replied "Tom Riddle was departed from this life forever and whilst it as always loathsome to see a life lost he will no longer affect the magical community or indeed muggle community again."

"But how?" Harry asked.

"Well Harry I was rather hoping you would answer that."

"I said Avadra Kevedra at the same time as he did and the phoenix song begun again and our wands joined but Malfoy and Ron joined their wands to mine and Voldemort just flew back."

"I see the phenomena you observed in your fourth year has not weakened across time. The addition of Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy's wands having no connection to either of you allowed the connection to work like a normal duel." He paused "at least that is my theory."

His eyes sparkled almost happy and Harry noticed Dumbeldore looked a lot lighter and carefree than he had been in a considerable time. "Harry what were you doing so far from Hogwarts on a Thursday evening?"

"We followed Hermione," Ron interjected she was acting oddly so we used the Maruader's Map to follow her. We were worried about her."

Harry stood completely still and tried to absorb what people were saying around him as well as what was coming out of his own mouth, yet he still could not take it in. Less than a day before finding out about the wizarding world had he learnt about Voldemort and now one existed without the other whilst he was overjoyed and glad it still felt like a dream.

Dumbeldore looked from the deep cut on Ron's forehead to the dazed look on Harry's face,

"I suggest you go to the hospital wing I will be there myself shortly. First I have to talk to Draco alone."

"Ah Mr. Malfoy I would like to know if you know why Miss. Granger was in Hogsmeade and why you where there yourself." Draco's heart jumped he had been sure that Draco was going to ask him why Voldemort and his followers had been in Hogsmeade to which he really didn't know an answer.

"I sent a note to Hermione,"

"For what purpose?" Dumbeldore asked although Draco was sure he already knew the answer.

"Well I don't want to say professor but I didn't put her in any danger nor did I plan to I don't have a clue how those death eaters found us or…"

"Mr. Malfoy." Dumbeldore said firmly to cut through Draco blabbering. "I am quite sure that you had Miss Grangers best wishes at heart. I just wanted to know why you thought it necessary to pull her to Hogsmeade to answer a question. "

"Because I didn't want anyone to know Draco said through clenched teeth. If my classmates found out…"

"They," Dumbeldore cut him off again "would know that you were not faithful to Voldemort's ideals."

"Yes," Draco said heavily.

"But imagine Mr. Malfoy the situation you now find yourself in those you considered your worst enemies will know you are in face an ally. Your relationship with Miss. Granger…"

"I can tell them," Draco said.

"Indeed you no longer have to lead a double life." He slouched back in his chair like the point of his debate had been reached.

Draco rushed down the hall skidding in front of the hospital wing doors pushing them open.

"Madam Pompfrey is…"

"Dear Lord boy this is a hospital wing not a Quidditch pitch," she said sharply. Draco ignored her and looked around the beds. Neville was sat upright looking pale but gingerly eating some chocolate Madam Pompfrey was giving him. Luna was asleep or unconscious but apart from that she looked fine. Lavender was sat upright her whole left arm and collar covered in a deep blue potion and although pale and shaken she too looked fine. Ron was sat next to her his forehead healed but a little dried blood was still on his face and splattered on his robes.

Ginny was like Luna was either asleep or inclusions Draco suspected the former because he could hear a slight snore come from her. Harry was sat with a much more somber expression than he had expressed all night in a chair between Ginny and Hermione's bed. Out of all the people in beds Draco had passed Hermione looked by far the worst. She was as white as the sheets next to her and her curled hair flopped in disarray around her head her left hand was under the cover and her right sat on the bed was as chalk white as the cover it was on.