Jaysus...I'm so bad at doing regular updates...apologies...

Disclaimer: No, no and no, I still do not own Harry Potter or Fairy Tail •^_^•

The train whistled, and everyone hurried to get on, Lisanna growling at anyone who came to close to Enyo, who was huddled close to her feet.

"Phew!" Hermione said as they got onboard, joining the others in their carriage. "That was a close one!" As if it could tell what she was saying, the train suddenly jolted and started to pull out of the station.

"Bye, mum! Bye, dad! See you soon!" Hermione yelled out the window as they pulled away.

"Bye Dan and Jean! Thanks for letting us stay!" Everyone else yelled, crowding round the windows.

Hermione grinned at Ginny. "Ready, Gin?"

The redhead smirked. "Of course!"

With that, the two began banishing the walls between compartments - similar to what they had done at the Manor. When that was done, they got rid of the benches and made several large plush couches.

As Ginny sank onto one, she sighed happily. "Aaah, this is the life!" Minerva nodded in agreement, and the two watched Enyo and Frosch play with Frosch's butterfly.

"Hang on...doesn't Frosch normally wear a pink frog outfit? Why's it blue?" Yukino said, confused.

Rogue grinned. "That would be Hermione, actually. That was her Christmas present for Frosch - the suit changes colour to whatever she wants at the time."

As they watched, the suit melted to purple, then pink, as the little exceed jumped on top of Enyo to reach the butterfly.

As the girls cooed over the duo, Rogue wandered over to where the other dragon-slayers were sat, their eggs in a circle.

"When do you think we should hatch them, then?" Sting was asking.

"Let's just do it now!" Natsu yelled, and Wendy glared at him.

"Are you an idiot, Natsu?! We're on a train right now - a train with wooden floors! Spoler alert! Fire burns. Seriously, don't be so stupid. Plus, I think we should do it with Laxus as well - or did you forget he has an egg?" The young girl said threateningly, and Natsu trembled.

"D-do you have to act like Erza, Wendy? It's scary!" He said, flinching away from the girl.

Wendy laughed. "Good! I've been watching how she acts, and it seems like I'm finally starting to reach her level!"

Natsu shivered at the sky dragon-slayer's obvious delight, and took his egg over to where the majority of the guys were sat.

A few hours later, everyone was back at Hogwarts, and settling back into their routines.

Hermione had seen Draco once since they got off the train, and had shot him a pointed look. Tonight, she mouthed, and he nodded.

After the feast, she was pacing in her dorm, waiting for an elf to come and give her the message, and when it did, she jumped up, grabbing her notes as she raced to the Room of Requirement.

As she went through the doors, Hermione grinned at Draco, who raised an eyebrow at her.

"Why are you smiling, Hermione? It's rather disconcerting," he said, smirking slightly.

"Oh, shut up! You know what emancipation is, don't you?" She said, and he nodded.

"But-" Hermione shut him up with a glare.

"I'm not talking about normal emancipation - rather magical emancipation. There's a bunch of rules and laws and stuff about it that aren't worth explaining, so I'll just skip to the relevant bit - 'if the patriarch of a family physically abuses his offspring, his consent is not required for magical emancipation, and the matriarch can conduct the ritual instead.' See? Its perfect!" Hermione grinned at Draco's shocked expression.

"I...can be free of him? Mother too?" He asked unsurely.

"Yes! If you and your mother perform the emancipation ritual, then she leaves him, he can't do anything to you. If you want, you can go a step further, and do the Blood Disowning as well, you will no longer be your father's lawful or biological son," Hermione said, and Draco's head shot up.

"How soon can I do this?" Was his only response.

Hermione shrugged. "As soon as you want. You could even do it now, if you wanted!"

"Can I? Actually do it now? I don't want my mother near that bastard for a moment longer than she has to be," Draco asked, and Hermione nodded.

"Ally!" She called, and a house elf appeared.

"What can Ally be doing for Missy Hermy?" She asked.

Hermione smiled at the elf. "I need you to go and collect Narcissa Malfoy and apparate her here - to this room, without anyone seeing."

The elf nodded and disappeared with a pop.

A few minutes later, she reappeared with Draco's mother, the woman looked rather disheveled.

"Draco, darling, what is going on?" Narcissa asked, yawning delicately.

Draco ran forward and embraced his mother. "Mother, this brilliant girl is Hermione Granger, and she's found a way for us to be free from father - forever!"

Hermione blushed, her eyes going wide as Narcissa hugged her. "This-this is...Oh, thank you, dear! This means more to me than you can ever know!" She cried.

Hermione smiled as she extricated herself from the woman. She explained what she had found, and briefed them on how to perform the ritual. "Okay, Mrs Malfoy, according to what I've read the ritual is pretty simple. You just have to read out these words, and magic will do the rest." She handed a card to the older woman.

Narcissa cleared her throat, before beginning to speak.

"I am the Mother, and in my right of blood I set free Draco Lucius Malfoy from the bonds of childhood. The Father has betrayed his offspring, and forgoes the role of patriarch. May magic judge my plea and grant it." As she finished, a silvery light engulfed Draco, and when it cleared, he was unharmed.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. "That's a sign that it's worked. If it hadn't, Draco would be injured, or even dead. Do you want to do the Blood Disowning as well now?" Draco nodded, gripping his mother's hand. "Alright, this one will be a little bit different." She summoned a bowl and knife, and lay them on a table that had appeared. "First of all, Draco will need to slice his palm and let the blood drip into the basin. The he will need to chant these words." She handed him a card. "After he has done that, that's where you come in, Mrs Malfoy. You'll need to add your blood to the bowl, and then Draco will need to drink from it, to finish the ritual."

Draco sucked in a sharp breath as he drew the knife across his palm, watching the blood drip into the bowl. "I am Draco, son of Narcissa Malfoy née Black and Lucius Malfoy. Magic hear my plea; I disown my father for crimes most heinous, and cleanse my blood of his taint." The blood in the bowl glowed slightly before the glow faded, and Narcissa added her blood. Draco drank from the bowl, and Hermione watched in awe as his features began to change.

The shape of his face softened, becoming rounder, and his hair darkened a few shades until it matched his mother's ashy blonde. A few freckles appeared across the bridge of his nose, and even his skin changed, gaining a slight golden tinge. His eyelashes changed as well, becoming as dark as his mothers, and he shrank about an inch before the changes stopped.

"Wow..." He said, studying his hands, and staring at the mirror that had just appeared. "Mother..." He turned to Narcissa, and she gathered him in her arms.

"Oh, Draco! You're free!" She cried, holding him close.

"As you will be, mother," he whispered, silently thanking Hermione with his eyes.

When he was released, Narcissa turned to Hermione and thanked her profusely. "This is more than I had ever hoped for, Hermione, dear! Not only is Draco free, but I will soon be as well! From the bottom of my heart, I thank you, Hermione Granger."

Hermione grinned. "Don't worry, Mrs Malfoy. It was nothing. Ally! Take Mrs Malfoy to the Ministry of Magic - Sub-Department of Marriage and Divorce. Then, when she's done there, take her to my parents."

"Hermione, no matter what you say I will always be in you debt. And please, call me Narcissa," she said before being whisked away by Ally.

Once Narcissa was gone, Hermione turned to Draco, and was practically tackled by him. "You...Hermione...thank you," he said gratefully.

Hermione caught sight of his hands, and saw the burns on them, still as bad as they had been at the ball. "Draco, why haven't you been to see Severus about these? He is your head of house after all."

Draco snatched his hands away. "He knows father. I didn't want word getting back to him, and-wait a second, did you call him Severus?"

"Obviously," Hermione drawled, imitating their potions professor. "He tutors me in potions. I think he's trying to groom me for a Mastery. C'mon, we'll go down there now."

If anyone had seen them, they would have been extremely confused. Why was Hermione Granger walking down to the dungeons with a boy that looked a bit like Draco Malfoy - his cousin, perhaps? So it was a good thing that they made it all the way to Severus' office without meeting anyone else.

"Enter," the cranky potions master called after Hermione knocked.

"Hermione!" He greeted, far more warmly than Draco would've imagined. "And who is your companion. He looks a bit like-"

"Like Draco Malfoy? That's probably because he is Draco," Hermione said, and Severus' eyes grew wide with shock.

"Did you...not that ritual, Hermione?!" He said, realisation dawning on him. "You...you...absolute genius! I wish I'd thought of it before now!"

Draco frowned at his godfather. "You knew about fath-Lucius?"

Severus nodded sadly. "I'm sorry, Draco. I only had my suspicions, and there was nothing I could do."

The young boy tensed up, but took a deep breath and relaxed. "It's okay. Everything worked out in the end."

Severus saw his hands and the burns on them. "Draco! Those burns...how could he?!" He yelled, grabbing a vial of greenish paste, slathering it over his godson's hands.

"Fuck that bastard!" Hermione could hear him muttering as he searched for some bandages. "You need to keep these on for the next three hours. After that, take them off and wash the paste away."

"Thank you, Professor," Draco said as they left the office. Severus didn't look up from the piece of paper he was furiously scribbling on, and just waved with his free hand.

"Hermione..." Draco trailed off as they stood outside the Slytherin dorms.

"Draco Malfoy! If you thank me one more time, I swear to god I will set Enyo on you! And then tell Lisanna you kidnapped her cub, and set her on you!" Hermione yelled, making Draco grin.

"I wouldn't dream of it!" He exclaimed with mock indignation. "Also, it's Draco Black now. Draco Malfoy is gone. Thank god." With that, Draco winked at her and walked into the dorms.

Hermione rolled her eyes, and started the long trek back up to Gryffindor tower.

A/N - This part of the story came out kind of...clunky, but Draco and Narcissa are soon to be completely freeeeee from ol' Lucy *yay* and Wendy is copying Erza...Natsu should probably start running right about now...

Ah, how I love a sweet review! Nothing better, except maybe chocolate...•^_^•