Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

It had been a long two months following Hermione's rescue from Zabini Manor, but as she and Draco left the courtroom following the final trial of that ordeal, it was as if a massive weight had been lifted off of their shoulders. The desperate cries of Dolores Umbridge, who was the final person to be convicted, remained a distant echo as they walked towards the lifts hand in hand, a united front once more.

"And that's that," Draco murmured as the grate closed behind them and they began to rise upwards. "We can now start to live a normal life again."

Hermione smiled and shook her head. "Our lives will never be normal, Draco," she replied. "That's just not who we are. Besides, in two months' time we're going to be parents – that's going to be an adventure in itself."

Draco let out a dry chuckle, smiling wryly. "True, very true," he agreed, as the lift came to a stop and they stepped out into the atrium of the Ministry.

"Over here," a voice called, and the couple turned to see Harry, Ron, Ginny and Colette standing by the fountain.

"All over then?" Harry asked, wrapping an arm around his wife.

"Yes," Hermione said. "Umbridge has been sentenced to five years in Azkaban for perverting the course of justice through bribery. I'm sure her and Mrs Zabini will become the best of inmates." She smiled sadly. "I know Nott got ten and Parkinson's cousin six months, but it still doesn't seem enough, not really. After all I went through, a stint in prison just doesn't seem..."

"Victims of such crimes always tend to think that," Colette replied, smiling softly at her friend. "It's only natural."

"I still don't understand why Parkinson got off though," Ron growled, sneering as he thought of her. "I know that if it hadn't been for her we would have never been able to work it out and save you in time, Hermione, but she was just as much a part of it all as the others were. Three years of probation and a suspended sentence is hardly justice, is it?"

"You're quite right, Weasley, it isn't."

The group of friends turned round, all stunned into silence as they took in the sudden appearance of Pansy Parkinson herself. Since the last time any of them had seen her, it was safe to say that she had improved remarkably; no longer did she have a gaunt and haunted look about her, instead she looked relatively fresh-faced and alive.

"Pansy," Hermione cried, startled to see her there. "What are you doing here?"

Pansy shrugged. "I had to call in with my officer," she answered. "It was just by chance that I saw you all here. I forgot that it was Umbridge's trial today. How did it go?"

"She got five years," Draco explained.

"Oh."

Hermione surveyed the woman before her, a tumult of emotions coursing through her body. She supposed she ought to feel angry towards Pansy, considering all she had done to ruin her life, but instead Hermione felt an ebb of respect for the woman Parkinson had become in the space of a few short months. Standing before Hermione, head held high in quiet confidence, the Slytherin was no longer the selfish girl that had so-desperately wanted to ruin her life; instead, having faced her troubles, she had been transformed. Naturally, she still had a long way to go, but for the most part Pansy had managed to break free from the demons that had held her down for so long.

In time, Hermione knew that she would also be able to move past all she had experienced as well.

"I forgive you, you know," Hermione uttered, believing it to be true. "In some ways, you suffered just as much as I did. You were trapped in the past, and despite how long you'd been living in it, desperate to have your life back to that time of life, you managed to break free from it. I can't even begin to imagine what that may have been like for you, but you're here and that's the most important thing. You made it." She bit her lip, and looked down.

"Thank you, Granger," Pansy whispered, somewhat stunned by Hermione's admission. "That means a lot." And without another word, Pansy turned on her heel and walked away.

"You're amazing, do you know that?" Hermione turned round at the sound of Draco's approaching voice, and beamed up at him. "What you did with Pansy earlier – telling her that you forgave her – that takes a lot of courage."

"She needed to hear it," Hermione replied, briefly glancing behind Draco's shoulder to watch her parents as they talked amicably with Narcissa and her three closest friends. "And, if I'm honest, so did I. It helps break chains; both Parkinson and I need the closure."

"But what of the others?" Draco asked, resting his forehead against hers, his grey eyes penetrating. "Can you forgive them? Could you ever forgive Zabini?"

The pregnant witch slowly pulled away from her fiancé, looking up into the night sky which was dotted with stars. Behind her, in the background, she could hear a low murmur of talk and laughter. Following the final court-case, Hermione's parents had insisted on a celebratory dinner.

"In time, perhaps," Hermione finally told him, her voice quiet but laced with truth. "Right now, I can't say. For some reason, Pansy was different – perhaps because she helped right at the very end, I don't know. It's one thing to forgive someone, Draco, but it's another thing to forget. Even years from now, this will never go away, not really."

"But as long as we have each other…"

Hermione sighed, nodding. "Yes, as long as we have each other," she echoed, placing one hand over his.

The couple fell silent, momentarily at peace with all that they had experienced in the past months. It was now time to look ahead; it was now time to think of the future, a future in which they would soon become parents for the very first time. Right now, they had all that they needed. Their friends and family were a constant, and more valuable than any material object. Through thick and thin they had stood by them, and after all Hermione suffered, she found that the richest thing of them all…

Author's Note: Wow, I can't actually believe I've now finished it (save for the Epilogue of course). This is a slightly filler-based chapter which is kind of tying up some loose ends as it just didn't feel right to go straight into the Epilogue. I'm not sure if I'm happy with it, but there is a finality to it and that's the main thing. Epilogue will be up next week which is when I'll say my final goodbyes.

In the next few weeks I'm going to be starting on a new Draco/Hermione called Catalyst, which I will tell you more about in the epilogue of this story. Thank you so much for sticking with me through this very, very, very long journey. As always, reviews are loved.

Thank you for reading,

VickytoriaGreengrass