The next two weeks went by too quickly for all of us. It was like hell on earth pretending that nothing was going on all throughout the day while staying up almost all the night to prepare. Of course it came time to tell Harry and the others that Draco had been working for our side for over a year. Initial reactions were about what I had expected, anger, denial and the like. Everyone was more than a little surprise and incredibly suspicious. However, with Dumbledore backing Draco there wasn't much that anyone could say. They accepted that he was there to help us, albeit warily. Unfortunately both of us were all too aware that everyone would make sure that Draco wasn't at their backs, just in case.

Ron and Harry realized almost immediately that something was going on between Draco and I. Well, mostly it was Harry, who then proceeded to tell Ron. Neither was very pleased, but thankfully we were so busy that they didn't have time to sit down and have the talk with me. I was more grateful that they didn't have the time to beat Draco's head in. I knew we would have to go their eventually, but as long as things didn't get bloody between the three of them I was fine with everything.

I hadn't done enough combat training so I wasn't going to be fighting the day of the battle. I would be assisting Madame Pomfrey in the makeshift hospital we'd be setting up in the Great Hall. Since Draco would be fighting we hadn't gotten as much time as we would have liked to explore whatever it was we had.

The night before the battle you could have cut the tension with a knife. Draco and I had a meeting to go over final details and Harry came along; it was mostly him running the show anyway. Draco and Harry talked mostly and I interjected when necessary. I was a pensive mood so I didn't have much to say. I didn't even notice when Harry left leaving Draco and I alone.

"Hermione?" Draco's voice broke into my thoughts.

I started. "Yeah?"

He looked at me curiously. "Potter's left. You should probably get to bed, get some rest before tomorrow."

I nodded. "You too."

"I've got a lot more to do tonight before I can get to bed."

Suddenly I was filled with an intense feeling of dread. I stepped up to Draco and took his hand. "Be careful tomorrow. All of Voldemort's people will be out for blood when they realize you're fighting with us. I just have this horrible feeling." I trailed off as he pulled me into his arms and stroked my hair soothingly.

"I'll be careful. We've barely had a chance to explore what we have, or what we could have. I'm not going to get myself killed now, I promise." He kissed me, told me it was for good luck, and then ushered me off to my quarters.

Needless to say I didn't sleep well that night; the worst of what could potentially happen kept floating through my dreams and I couldn't shake the dread that kept creeping into my subconscious. I didn't see Draco, Harry or Ron the morning of the battle so I found myself sending up a little prayer for each of them. I threw on my clothes and tugged my hair into a ponytail and went down to face the music.

We knew immediately when the fighting began; shouts rang out, then screams and soon it sounded as if we were being bombed. The walls shook and we heard the line of students and professors specifically placed to keep anyone from getting in the castle begin to shout spells almost nonstop. The first injuries came in within minutes and after that they came pouring in, staying long enough to let us fix them before they hurried back out. Then it happened.

The first casualty came in, and I wept as I stared into Seamus' lifeless face. The only thing I could do was close his eyes, cover him with a blanket and keep working. More gradually came in and in the blink of an eye Cho, Justin and Colin were all gone. Then someone brought Padma in and my heart broke for Ron. All I could do was work through the pain and promise myself that we would make sure that they were given the entire honor they deserved. I was surviving. Hours into the battle my heart leapt into my throat when Ron stumbled in carrying his little sister.

"What happened?" I asked frantically as I cleared a bed.

Ron shook his head as he wrapped a Slytherin cloak tighter around Ginny's shoulders and laid her down. "A Deatheater, he… he tried…" He swallowed hard and looked up at me before he continued. I've never seen that kind of horror in anyone's eyes. "He tried to rape her. He had her up against a wall and she kept screaming for Harry and me but we just couldn't get to her."

"Did it actually happen," I asked, trying to keep calm even as tears welled and my heart pounded.

"No, but I don't know what happened to her pants and…" He trailed off and gazed down at her, wiping a tear from his face.

"I'll get her something to wear," I said soothingly. "How did she get away?"

"Malfoy saw what was going on. He went after the guy but Ginny got slammed against the wall. He took care of the bastard and then wrapped Ginny up in his cloak and passed her to me."

In that moment I knew that no matter what came of us, I would be eternally grateful to Draco Malfoy. "Thank God."

"I'm glad he was there Hermione. When I saw him he asked me to tell you that he's okay."

I nodded gratefully. "Thank you."

Ron stayed for as long as he could before he went back to the battle, trusting Ginny to my care. I slipped a pair of pajama pants on the younger girl and waited for her to wake. When she came to she told me the story, but she wasn't all that open to talking. When she asked me if she could be alone I obliged. I certainly had plenty to do and I sadly watched as the bodies of Professors Trelawney and Flitwick, Angelina, Ernie and Blaise were brought into the hall. From where I stood it didn't seem like we were winning. I was checking on Ginny when I heard Dean call my name. I turned to respond and the world came crashing down around me. The figure on the stretcher between him and Neville had white blonde hair, and though they were closed I knew that the eyes were bright blue.

"Oh God, oh God," I gasped, feeling the world close in around me.

"Its okay Hermione, he's not dead, just unconscious," Neville told me as they put him on one of the nearest beds."

"Yeah," Dean chimed in. "He's been fighting like mad all day. Tons of Deatheaters have been coming after him. They got them out of Azkaban Hermione."

I was immediately fully alert. "His father?"

"He did this. He was so angry when he saw Malfoy that he completely forgot about his wand, he just went after him. Beat the hell out of him before he lost consciousness," Dean said.

"Lucius was about to perform the killing curse when Harry got to them. Lucius is dead."

"Good," I spat. "He deserves worse than a quick death but I'm glad the bastard is gone."

A huge sound like thunder filled the room and Dean and Neville ran off. I gazed down at Draco, torn between duty and desire. I had promised to help Madame Pomfrey but I truly needed to help Draco.

"Stay with him, I'll take over for you," Ginny said.

I turned around to see her standing behind me. "Gin I can't."

"Please Hermione. I'm okay, nothing happened, but I can't just sit here and think about what could have happened. Draco saved me and he deserves someone with him when he wakes up. Plus I can't stand to sit and wonder what could be happening to Harry. Please let me do this so I can think about something else."

I nodded; the desperation in her voice wouldn't let me do anything else. She hurried off to help and I stared down at Draco. He was covered in blood and so many injuries I could barely tell it was him; even his hair was ribboned with blood. I set immediately to work, checking him for internal injuries and healing the minor ones. Madame Pomfrey did the rest and I settled him in a bed in a more secluded corner of our makeshift hospital. Then I waited.

I sat there by his bedside for two hours without any sign that he was going to come back. I felt panic well up in my chest; I needed him to wake up. Grasping at straws I took his hand in mine and began to speak absentmindedly.

"Do you remember the day I hit you? Of course you must, I'll never forget the look on your face. I felt so proud of myself for standing up to you. Then there was the time at the Quidditch World Cup when you warned Harry to get me out of the way because they were looking for muggle. You were so malicious but I always wondered why you warned me instead of just letting me get caught. I have to admit that Moody turning you into the amazing bouncing ferret was on the funniest things I've ever seen, even if you could have been hurt. You should have seen it from my point of view, it was hilarious. See this is why you need to wake up. There's so much that we've never talked about, so much we need to talk about. I need to know if we could really have something, and we won't ever know if you don't wake up. You've help fix me and if you don't come back to me I'm going to break again, and I'm not sure I'll be able to pick the pieces up again. Wake up, wake up!" I dropped my head to his chest and cried.

"Hermione!"

I started as Ginny cried out. "What happened?"

Tears were streaming down her face, but she was smiling. "It's over; Ron's just told me Harry defeated Voldemort."

I let out a scream before jumping up and hugging her tight. "So it's completely over?"

"Not quite. The Deatheaters are out for blood, but it's only a matter of time before it's done."

"Thank God." I fell back into my chair next to Draco's bed as Ginny ran off to spread the news. "Did you hear that Draco? We won, we won so you need to wake up and see the world without Voldemort."

It was another hour before Harry burst into the room followed by what seemed like an endless stream of people. Everyone gathered around the savior of the wizarding world but he only had eyes for Ginny. She ran to him and he caught her and wrapped her tight in his arms.

"I'm so sorry Gin, I heard you but I just couldn't get to you." A single tear slipped down his cheek.

"It's okay, nothing happened. I'm just so happy you're alive, I'm so happy you're safe."

He bent and kissed her fiercely. "I'm never letting you out of my sight again, and as soon as you graduate I'm going to make sure I never have to."

"If that was a proposal the answer is yes," she said on a sob.

"Good. I love you."

"I love you too."

A massive cheer rose up as they kissed once more. I felt a grin spread all the way across my face as I brushed away a tear.

"Well, I miss everything don't I?"

I turned with wide teary eyes to see clear blue eyes scanning the room as Draco sat up. "Oh…"

"Winning the battle, marriage proposals, I never manage to see the good stuff."

I threw myself at him and felt like I was going to weep with gratitude when he wrapped his arms around me. "I'm so glad you're awake," I whispered.

"Hey I promised I wouldn't get myself killed," he told me.

"I'm glad you kept your promise."

"Me too." He raised my head gently with one hand and kissed me sweetly. We were interrupted by a hesitant male voice and looked up to see Harry with Ginny glued to his side.

"Sorry, we didn't mean to interrupt."

I shook my head. "It's okay, congratulations." I shifted back to my chair but slipped my hand into Draco's.

"Thank you for everything Malfoy," Harry said. "I don't know what we would have done without you."

"I just did what was right."

"Well thank you nonetheless. You look considerably better than the last time I saw you," Harry said.

Ginny spoke up then. "Hermione healed him."

Draco looked at me with a wondrous smile. "Did you really?

"Yes, with Madame Pomfrey's help."

He leaned over and kissed me soundly. "Thank you, the last thing I need is another scar."

I nodded while Ginny and Harry looked at us curiously. "So did you take care of everything?"

Harry frowned. "Well we think so."

"You think so?" Draco asked. Neither of us liked the direction this was going.

"There's one body missing."

Fear seized my heart as Draco spoke. "Who?"

"Lucius, we can't find Lucius."