Okay, so I know I have been teasing you with the whole Draco and Hermione relationship, and I know, like a git I've done it again in this one, but please stay with me, we are getting close :). Also thanks so much for all the reviews and follows, as I've said before they mean a lot, cannot stress how much. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks for reading.

"Arden said it was hate," Hermione said suddenly, and Draco looked up from the strange contraption he'd been fiddling with. It was a globe that mapped out the night sky with gold arms that protruded, tapering off to fine points that pinpointed certain stars.

"Yes," He answered suspiciously, turning to watch Hermione pace, an amused smile on his face.

"Well, think about the people that were there, we know the spell worked because we're here…but what if the spell only affected those that cast it and…what was it that Arden said?" She paused in her pacing to look at him and Draco was instantly stilled by how beautiful she looked. He grit his teeth and looked away. "What if it was subtle?"

"Like generations worth of muggle prejudice?" Draco asked drily, and Hermione caught herself, remembering who she was talking to. Draco found the widening of her eyes and the opening and closing of her mouth rather amusing.

"I'm so…" Draco waved his hand at her, not letting her finish.

"Don't be, you make a valid point; Malfoy, Knott, Parkinson, Lestrange, Greengrass," he rattled them off quickly, and Hermione found herself wincing when he said the last name, "not exactly high up on the list of muggle lovers are they? In fact, I'd go as far to say they aren't exactly known for kindness, ever." Hermione didn't want to agree with him, he was right of course, but admitting it felt like she was tarring them all with the same brush and she knew from experience that it wasn't true, especially when Draco had shown her that he could be different.

"But how could it last so long?" She pondered, tapping her chin thoughtfully, her eyes roving the cabinet, wondering if any of the memories they hadn't viewed held any answers. She didn't exactly want to go jumping back into the Pensieve, but she didn't like to leave things unanswered.

"Come on Granger, all you need to do is dice some ginger roots and your potion is ruined." Hermione furrowed her brow at him, remembering the destruction of their potion that had landed them a detention together, the start of everything.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," he heaved a sigh, fiddling with the edge of the scroll on the table beside him, "all you need is one thing to throw everything off. Hate is…well its tricky to get rid of and then it gets passed down and gets passed down and before you know it," he grinned sardonically, "generations of hatred and no one having a clue why. My guess would be that it wasn't even muggles in the first place, they just found someone to blame."

"It's amazing the things you come out with," Hermione mumbled.

"You keep saying this, Granger, you should be used to it by now."

"Don't think I'll ever get used to it." She grinned at him cheekily and he looked away quickly, hiding his blush behind a fake interest in whatever was on the table beside the strange globe.

"That's quite hurtful."

"You don't think that." She countered, and he chuckled.

"No, but its fun to wind you up."

Hermione shook her head and began rifling through some papers, leaning closer to read the fine writing. Draco carried on the search too, choosing to ignore the scrolls and picking up the various strange implements that were scattered haphazardly around. There was no real guessing as to what their intended purpose would have been, but they were interesting none the less, he was so caught up in his musings that the sound of Hermione's voice again made him jump.

"It's pointless."

"What is?" He asked, placing small knife he'd been examining back down.

"All of this, there's nothing here." Hermione tugged at a stray curl in frustration, blowing it out of her face as she scanned through yet another pile of scrolls, huffing when she once again found that they contained very little in the way of useful information.

"Well unless Sornious and Arden labelled their writing nefarious plots and the like, we'd have to go through all of this to be sure." He gestured around the room and Hermione let out a strangled sound, her shoulders slumping. There was no way they were going to get through all of this in one night and he was right unless they read everything meticulously there was no guarantee that they hadn't missed something. Something important.

Fearing that the pile she had been searching through might still have some answers, she began reading again, blinking her eyes quickly when they began to sting, determined that something as stupid as tiredness wouldn't get in the way of her finding answers.

"What were they up to?" Hermione finally ground out and Draco sighed, walking across the room and putting his hands on her shoulders, turning her round to look at him.

"You think maybe that some things are just better left…I don't know where they belong, well and truly in the past." Hermione looked up at him and his heart ached when he saw the look of sheer defeat on her face/

"It's just, I saw what happened to those people, he took something…something that was them…"

"Making all the sense." Hermione scowled at him but carried out talking.

"I just want to know what happened to them and I thought it would be here, of all places."

"Hey, Granger, we can come back. Sure, there's a heck of a lot of stuff to get through, but what's one more sleepless night studying the tiniest text imaginable." He felt like a king amongst men when she smiled up at him, joy glimmering like a little speck of light in the corner of her eyes. "Now," he cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head uncomfortably, "I think we should probably be making a move, I have no idea what time it is exactly but…"

Hermione nodded, he was right, after all, they didn't have all night, but maybe another time…she smiled at his back as he picked up his torch, pushing the button and smirking when a circle of light appeared on the wall. She struggled to fight a smile growing on her face, warmth coiling in the pit of her stomach. He had done so much to make her feel better that night, being the perfect gentleman, offering to bring her back to the Manor. A part of her hoped it was because he wanted to see her happy, that there was a small part of him that felt the way she did. It was a vain hope and she knew it, reminding herself that he had a girlfriend. But a girlfriend that he had chosen not to spend Christmas Eve with.

Draco was heading to the door reminding himself over and over again why making a move on Granger would be a bad idea. Sure, he was probably a coward, but there were so many other things to consider, like the hate that they had spoken about only a few minutes ago being very real within his family, so much so that they were willing to put their lot in with a crazy powerful wizard that just wouldn't die. Then there was the other more pressing consideration, which made him gulp to even think about. What if she didn't want him? It was a genuine concern, one he hadn't truly considered but had snuck up on him and settled in his heart unannounced. He wasn't sure he could take the rejection, her pushing him away the first time had been bad enough. What if she did it again? He turned around checking to see that she was in fact following him out the door, only to find that she was lingering, glancing sadly around her.

"Veritaserum for your thoughts, Granger?" He quipped, walking back towards her and leaning down so that he caught her eye, which had turned their gaze to inspect her shoes.

"It doesn't matter." The sigh was deep and heavy and betraying everything she was trying to keep hidden.

"Come on, Granger, I'm a Slytherin, you're going to have to lie better than that."

"You're probably going to laugh at me." Draco clicked off his torch and grinned at her.

"Probably, but I'm willing to risk it if you are."

"Haha, very funny."

"Isn't it? Now, come one, talk to me." Draco mounted a desk, swinging his legs back and forth as he looked at her expectantly. Hermione fought back a grin, shaking her head.

"You know, your arse is probably crushing some priceless documents." Hermione raised her eyebrow at him, pointing out the pile that was cushioning his behind and Draco grinned, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Thinking about my arse, Granger?" Hermione felt her cheeks burning at his statement, mightily grateful when Draco carried on talking, "now, tell me, what's got your hair all in a frizz."

Hermione took a deep breath, drawing Mina's wand out of her pocket and examining the detail.

"It's just, it's sad that's all. All this magic that is within us and that we're connected to and we are just…cut off from it all."

Draco sat back, absorbing her words. He had thought about it too, there was something so real and right about using his ancestor's wand. Yes, it thoroughly petrified him wielding that much magic, but he also felt as though he were finally in place, his magic apart of something greater, moving and shifting as one with it. It was a shame that others weren't able to share in the experience, but he supposed there was a really good reason for that.

"It sucks but it's probably a good thing, I mean, think about how badly things could have gone if You-Know-Who got his grubby paws on such a power." Hermione did her best to school her surprise when Draco spoke out against Voldemort, but he caught the flicker of emotion and scoffed. "I'm a dick, Granger, not an idiot. I don't see the point in idolising a megalomaniac." But my father might. He winced as the thought came unbidden into his head.

"I know…I know and you're right, it's just…You know what your magic looks like and- well I've seen Mina's and I…"

"You want to know what yours looks like." Hermione nodded when he finished her sentence, blushing a little that her thoughts were that easy to read.

Draco realised why something as simple as that would be so important to her; all his life he had been reminded of how powerful he was, of his place within the magical world and how important his family way. Granger, on the other hand, had found out about her magic all too late, catching up and surpassing others easily but still having to cope with the other looking down on her simply because she didn't come from a magical household. Guilt burnt in his gut at the part he had played in making her feel that way. She had always pretended like his words didn't matter, lifting her chin and sauntering past him like she didn't feel their sting, but he saw now that they had. Everything he had ever said had stayed with her and he had never hated himself more.

He removed his ancestor's wand from his pocket and twirled it in his fingers, all the while berating himself for being such a first-class dick.

"There's a spell you know, it reveals magic." He knew she'd probably disagree, prattle on about how there were rules and while one spell was okay, they didn't want to tempt fate. He was surprised however when he looked up and found that she was staring at the wand with such hope, her bottom lip tucked between her teeth.

"You think…I mean, it would just be one spell."

"Just one spell, Granger."

"And it's not like any of the others have…you know."

"No, they haven't." Draco clarified.

"And you're sure it's…"

"Wow, seriously, I'm sure. I haven't been expelled yet and, I'm pretty sure we are safe for the foreseeable." She quieted but carried on worrying her bottom lip which Draco was finding incredibly distracting. He shook his head violently and concentrated on trying to remember the spell, slipping off the desk onto his feet.

"Now, no guarantee this will work, my memory is shoddy." He muttered, focusing on his magic watching it grow brighter as he focused on it, imagine it travelling through him and into the wand. He muttered the spell and smiled when he heard Hermione gasp.

When he opened his eyes he realised his mistake, he'd revealed her magic alright and the magic of everything else in the room, meaning it had become blindingly bright, filled with so many colours and vibrant light that he was only able to squint, his eyes struggling to adjust to the glare. Hermione, however, seemed to have no such trouble, twirling around to take it all in, her brown eyes wide, the colours dancing within her brown orbs in the most tantalising way. Draco cleared his throat.

"This is, this is the magic of, I guess everything." Hermione trailed her fingers over the streams of light emanating from the Pensieve's cabinet, little left-over bits of magic from all the witches and wizards who had deposited their memories, creating a kaleidoscope of colours some of which Draco was sure there was no name for.

"Granger." She looked up at him as he walked towards her, gently turning her around so she could see where she had been. The pearlescent light that floated in the air and clung to her very being was so very Hermione that he couldn't catch his breath for a second. He remembered when he had first seen it, completely blown away by the sheer beauty of it and the fact that there was no denying it anymore, her birthright had quite literally blinded him. He trailed his hand through it, flushing slightly at how intimate it all felt, this was apart of her and he was sharing it with her, revealing it to her.

Hermione gently lifted her hand too, following Draco's through the air. His next words came out as hoarse whisper because there was a lump in his throat that he couldn't explain or understand, but he felt at that moment he was so connected to her, so unbelievably intertwined with all she was that speaking seemed almost impossible.

"That's you."

Hermione's mouth was open, and tears were once again slipping down her cheeks, silent and glowing in the light. She would have never believed that she would feel this right about who she was with someone like Malfoy, but there he was; her back cradled against his chest as he mapped out her magic in the air. She had expected it to feel strange seeing it, but it was so right as if she had known all along and she just needed pointing in the right direction. She had no words to describe her joy, her gratitude to Draco for showing her something so important, for risking expulsion to make her feel better about her magic.

She whirled around, flinging her arms around him and burying her head in his neck, holding him so close that she could feel his heart racing with her own. He gently lifted his own arms to hold her close, his hands shaking slightly because he was thinking about what Daphne had said again and it seemed like the only sane bit of advice he'd ever received. The fear was there, it was knotting in his stomach making its presence well and truly known, but he realised that it didn't matter. Even if he got to taste her just for a few seconds, to reacquaint himself with just how good her bottom lip felt between his, then he could probably commit himself to celibacy and spend the rest of his life avoiding her out of sheer embarrassment, but at the very least he'd have the memory.

He pulled away from her slightly, looking down at her, at her lips, licking his own because suddenly they were so dry. She stared back at him like she knew the thoughts in his head, her hands clutching the back of his head unconsciously, dragging him down towards her. That was all the invitation, imagined or not, that he needed, fully committing to swooping down and finally getting to breathe her in. They both paused, lips just millimetres apart when they heard a crash, like rocks tumbling over each other from a great height.

"What was that?" Hermione whispered as the sound erupted again, the walls around them seeming to shake.

"I don't think I want to know." Draco murmured, his arms slipping from around Hermione's waist as she stepped away, grabbing her torch and switching it on.

"Granger." He whispered her name furiously as she made her way to the safe door, waving her hand behind her in a gesture that he guessed meant either shut up, or come here. He decided to ignore both.

"Granger, seriously…" He paused when a loud rumble echoed throughout the Manor and he lost his footing when the whole place seemed to shake. He managed to stumble his way after Hermione, exiting the safe and pointing his beam of light down the corridor where Hermione was peering.

"What the…I don't see anything." Hermione mumbled, flitting her torch about, shining it at a gap in the ceiling. Draco shook his head, wondering maybe if the foundations were finally giving up the ghost or simply shifting about into a comfier position.

"We should probably close up the safe and get out of here," Hermione muttered, and Draco nodded in affirmation.

"What do I say?"

"Muro a'din." Draco nodded, quickly closing the door and muttering the spell, watching it disappear from sight. He tucked his ancestor's wand in his pocket. "You have everything?" Hermione nodded, tapping the pocket where Mina's wand lay.

"Right, let's get out of here." Just as he said that a great stone hand broke through the floor of the corridor, scraping at the falling rubble as it pulled a hulking figure up through the gap. Hermione's mouth opened wide as one of the statues from the lower floor stood before them, Greatsword held in one giant hand.

"Ummm, you think that's supposed to do that?" Draco asked, his face somehow much paler than usual as he backed up into the study, grabbing Hermione's arm and pulling her with him.

"I don't…I don't…" The statue roared at them and Hermione stumbled over the detritus on the floor, twirling around to find some sort of escape as it approached.

"Okay, would really love that brilliant brain of yours right about now." Hermione registered the compliment but couldn't quite think, glancing around the bare room and coming up blank.

"Shit there's another one." Draco cried, watching as another hulking piece of rock heaved itself through the gap and shambled towards them. Draco tried calling on his magic, using his ancestor's wand to cast all manner of spells that seemed to ricochet off the giants and make very little impact.

"You should not be…"

"Not the time, Granger, seriously not the time. We need another plan." He tried casting more spells, mumbling bits of them wrong in his fear. The corridor was only so long, and the statue seemed to be gaining fast, in spite of the precarious state of the Manor around them.

"The passages," Hermione said suddenly, blinking past her disbelief at having forgotten all about them.

"What?"

"Oh my, how could I forget, the passages. This Manor it has loads of them and…" Hermione began inspecting the furthest wall, quickly finding the hidden door and swinging it open with pride. She turned quickly to Draco, her face morphing into horror as the statue filled the doorway trying to bring its sword down on Draco's head.

"WATCH OUT." She shrieked, sucking in a breath when Draco managed to vault out the way, hurrying her into the small passage and following close behind.

"Where does this lead?" He whispered, glancing behind him every few seconds.

"Umm." Hermione had a vague recollection of the passageways, but she had to admit it was a little sketchy at best, especially with the Manor so changed.

"What do you mean, um," Draco all but shrieked, crying out when the tunnel behind him seemed to fold in on itself, stone fingers grasping through the rubble, "doesn't matter, just keep going."

The tunnel seemed to wind in all directions till it eventually opening out into a room whose outer wall had collapsed. Hermione could see the outline of the trees in the darkness, branches reaching high up to the grey clouds.

"Quick, through here." She grabbed Draco's hand drawing him through only to double back in horror. There was a statue standing in the doorway, axe in hand, the one side of the fearsome weapon broken off, however, the other edge looked surprisingly sharp. It hunched under the doorway, its shoulders dislodging stones as it pulled its way in, cold blue eyes fixed on them.

"We've got to go back…" she turned to where they had come only to find the wall crumbling in on itself, the other giant having undermined the tunnel entirely.

"Granger get behind me." Hermione glanced at Draco shocked as he tugged her arm, pushing him behind him even as she noticed that he was shaking all over. He began hurling spells as they inched their way across the wall. Hermione found it difficult to think, she had been in so many situations with Harry but there had always seemed to be some way out, something that they had overlooked that suddenly made things right again. When she looked at their situation, backing up towards the gaping hole in the side of the building and looking down at the drop onto the stones and snow below, she realised that there might not actually be a way out.

"Malfoy." Her voice shook as she gripped the back of his coat. He kept backing them up till Hermione only had to lean forward a little and she had a dizzying view of the ground below. Draco moved her aside, looking down himself and tutting when he couldn't see anything.

"My broom," he muttered, his eyes lighting up with realisation, checking on the statue that now had a companion struggling in behind it. Draco froze mid-spell when the first statue lifted its axe, bringing it down on the floor with an extraordinary amount of strength. Draco stumbled, gaping as he watched cracks appear, the ground beginning to give way beneath their feet. He felt as though time had slowed, they were going to fall, that much was obvious, they were going to fall and probably going to die. He thought about so much in such a short space of time, drawing Hermione into his arms as he imagined a world without her brilliance, without her mind, without her frustrating way of biting that bottom lip of hers.

"Hold on to me." He shouted, not sure if she heard, but her hands were fisted into his coat as they fell together, the statue moving forward and falling with them. He pointed his wand towards the sky, his brain finally supplying the right spell and he focused on it, willed it with all of his being to be right and shouted it as loudly as he could.

"MOLLIARE!"

They both suddenly came to a stop, as though there were something soft and cushiony beneath them and gently fell the rest of the way until they landed on the ground with a thump. Draco groaned when Hermione fell on his chest, knocking the wind out of him.

He glanced up, his heart once again racing as he watched rocks teeter then begin crashing towards them. The statues seemed to be flinging themselves out as well, following their path, weapons raised above their heads. Spells hadn't worked on them before and he was almost sure they wouldn't work now, but he had to try, for himself, for Granger. He thought of his lessons with Snape and cast a protection spell around them, rolling on top of Granger as his magic spread around them, creating a dome of light over where they lay

"Malfoy." Hermione gasped, feeling helpless as she watched the rocks descend, knowing all too well that if it didn't work then they would both be crushed.

The rocks and statues smashed against the barrier and crumbled, breaking apart into a thousand pieces and pebbling the earth around them. They were still for a few moments, both breathing heavily, the realisation that they were both alive still sinking in.

"You okay, Granger?" Draco asked, looking down at her, she nodded at him mutely, unable to find her voice. He had saved her, Draco Malfoy had saved her, deliberately putting himself in harm's way. It was so unlike him, so unlike everything his house professed to be that she was sure she must have imagined it all. Draco quickly rolled off her, letting out a breath and running his hands over his face.

"Remind me never to do this again. I don't know how you golden lot manage it." Hermione let out a shaky laugh, her hand reaching down to check that Mina's wand was still in her pocket and still intact. She closed her eyes in relief when she found that it was safe.

"It gets easier. Everything works out in the end." Draco tried to laugh, but his chest hurt, and his heart was still hammering in his chest. His thoughts of a world without Granger had been petrifying, mainly because the feeling was new, he was only supposed to care about himself and that was how he'd always operated. Being selfless was definitely not something he'd ever thought would come naturally and yet, he'd somehow managed it, without even thinking. He looked at her, trying to capture the moment in his mind forever, she was alive and taking deep, real breaths that clouded around her face. Her eyes were gleaming, and she was staring up at the sky with wonder.

"Malfoy," she breathed excitedly, sitting up and smacking his arm.

"Ow, what?"

"Look, look." Draco glanced up, small specks of light were rising up into the sky, blue mist trailing behind them.

"What are they?"

"It's the souls." She recognised the trail of blue from Mina's memories, knowing in her heart that these were the people that Arden had trapped. She guessed that he had encased them in the statues, using them as warriors to protect the Manor. She had no idea why they had woken when they had and come after them, but at that moment it didn't matter. They were no longer trapped and Arden or Sornious could no longer get to them.

The Manor began to fold in on itself, it's walls finally giving way as more lights flitted out from its ruins, rising into the sky and disappearing into the thick clouds. Draco looked at Hermione and realised that this was what she needed. It wasn't an explanation but now she knew that the souls were safe, and he knew that would make her happy. He put his hand over hers, smiling slightly. Yes, he had faced near death because of her, but at that moment he felt like a hero, a real to goodness hero. It was a nice feeling and he wondered if that was why Potty got so caught up in everything he could, just so he could bask in the heroic afterglow.

"They're free, Malfoy, they're finally free." Hermione breathed in awe and Draco smiled at her, it faltering slightly when he realised that he had seen this night somewhere before, Edward had seen it and he couldn't help but wonder why.