Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter!

Sorry for the long delay! Ugh, seems like I have to say that everytime I come on here! Anyway just been bogged down with studying for the leaving cert!

This is the second last chapter of m'anam chara! There will be another one chapter to tell what happened to Draco in the years before he saw Hermione again. And it kinda tells what happened to Hermione too!

Anyway hope you enjoy! and please tell me what you think! :)

"An mar sin é?"

("Is that so?")

She edged closer to him. She kept her eyes locked with his. His eyes were confused. She reached up on her tip-toes and pecked him on the lips. Just a tiny little kiss. It lasted barely a second. But it had an effect. She knew it did. She knew him too well. He sighed and closed his eyes. Trying to control his emotions. Trying to control himself. Trying to keep his focus.

"Go n-ithe an cat thú is go n-ithe an diabhal an cat." He muttered after a moment.

("May the cat eat you and may the cat be eaten by the devil")

She smiled softly. "Ta mé i ngrá leat. Thabharfainn fuil mo chroí duit. Beidh grá agam duit, go scaradh an bás sinn"

("I love you. I'd give you the blood of my heart. I'll love you until death do us part.")

"Ní shea, tá an ceart agat níos luath. Is é ró-dheanach dúinn."

("No. You were right earlier. It is too late for us")

"Bhí sé sin bréagach ach tá sé seo fíor; geallaimse duit. Tá cion agam ort."

("That was untrue but this is true; I promise you. I love you.")

"Conas go bhfuil sé sin ar eolas agam go bhfuil sé fíor?" he asked, thinly veiling his doubt.

(How do I know that it's true?)

"Tuisc gur dúirt mé é" Confidence that she didn't possess colouring her voice.

("Because I said so")

He raised an eyebrow. Obviously, that wasn't going to do the trick. She decided to try a different approach. She wanted to show him that she would be totally committed to a renewal of their love. There was only one way she could think of to show him that.

She took a deep breath, exhaled slowly and began. "We don't need to use Irish anymore, you know. I don't want to hide this…to hide us." She took a step towards him. "I want everyone to know how I feel about you."

"I'm not ashamed of you" she put her two hands on either side of his face. He didn't slap them away. That was a good sign, right? "We don't have to hide anymore. I'm not scared. I just want to be with you. Now and forever."

She knew that it was him she wanted. It always had been. Even though she had done her utmost to convince herself otherwise; she had never really succeeded. She had always known deep down that it was him. It had always been him. It would always be him.

They had used Irish to hide their relationship. To ensure that nobody at Hogwarts suspected that they were lovers. But she wasn't going to hide the fact that she was his any more. And he was hers. Well, she hoped he would be at least.

She wasn't going to do that anymore. This was the part where the end of that phase of their relationship began. If he had her back she would announce it to the entire Wizarding world. She would announce it to the globe on Muggle TV. She would announce it to extraterrestrials on a satellite. She would do anything.

Absolutely anything for him. For happiness. For love.

"Hermione…"

She stood up on her tippy-toes and pressed her lips lightly to his. He didn't respond for a second, as if he was still doubtful of her intentions. She didn't falter though. This was her last chance. She needed him and he needed to know that.

And when he wrapped his arms around her waist and applied more pressure to her lips, she knew that they belonged to each other, once more. She knew that he desired the same things she did. She slipped her arms around his neck and kissed him back deeply, overcome with passion and love.

She could have kissed him forever, but it still would never have been enough. Unfortunately oxygen was an annoying necessity. She broke anyway from their kiss softly.

She lowered her gaze to the ground. The butterflies started fluttering madly in her abdomen. Fear rose in her chest. What if he didn't want this? What if he didn't want her?

She wanted to speak but words wouldn't come easily. But then she felt Draco kiss the top of her head. She relaxed a little. She leaned her head against his chest, as she concentrated on the feeling of love seeping from every fibre of her being. From every corner of her soul. From every drop of blood in her heart. It called out for him. For his touch. For his kiss. For his heart in return.

And now that she had his heart, his body and his soul, she couldn't stop the feeling of exhilaration she felt. That feeling you get when you're with your anam chara, your soulmate.

She felt him raise his hand. His fingers started to play with a curl. She gazed up at him. He gave her a slow smile. She couldn't help it. She blushed pink but couldn't hide the gloriously happy smile on her face. Nor did she want to. She had everything she wanted. Everything she desired. Everything she had always hoped for. She was blissfully happy.

Draco cleared his throat and started to speak. He captured her eyes with his. His voice was rough and saturated with emotion and most of all…love. "Is tusa grá mo shaol. Is tusa chuisle mo chroí…Is tusa m'anam chara. Tá mé i ngrá leat. An bpósaidh tú mé?"

("You are the love of my life, the treasure of my heart…my soulmate. I love you. Will you marry me?")

"Cinnte, pósfaidh mé thú" she whispered.

("Yes. Of course I'll marry you.")

His fingers moved from the curl to trace her lips. "An féidir liom?" he asked.

("May I?")

"Póg mé"

("Kiss me")

He bent his head and kissed her. It was electric. She could feel it to the tips of her toes. She could feel it everywhere.

Behind her was the lake; the lake which had seen the many stages in their relationship. The lake they had lain before on warm summer as the silver moon shone down on them. The lake where Draco had told her he loved her for the first time. The lake where she had just now consented to becoming his wife. Hermione knew that you can drown in water and you can drown in love. And even though they can both be dangerous, they're impossible to live without. And so you may have to go to great efforts in order to obtain either. But it will always be worth it. For you need both to survive.

A/N: "Go n-ithe an cat thú is go n-ithe an diabhal an cat."

("May the cat eat you and may the cat be eaten by the devil") - This is an old Irish phrase it pretty much means "may bad things happen to you"

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Lots of Love,

Shadowdustxxx