This is the final chapter of the story! Hope you enjoyed it. Have some warm fuzzies to celebrate…

Chapter Fifteen

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The sound of hundreds of voices chattering rose steadily from the Great Hall. It was later than usual, the lunch hour almost finished as students meandered around lazily, filling up their Sundays with half-hearted study and leisure.

Draco walked through the doors, a twinge of nervousness twisting in his gut. But unlike his last appearance, this time he wasn't alone. This time when he faced the glares and suspicions of his peers, he felt like he was on steadier footing.

Because Hermione was right beside him, grasping his hand and refusing to let go.

It had been three days since she'd visited his room late at night. Three days since their shared confessions and the feeling of euphoria that had ensued. Draco was still riding a mixed wave of happiness and disbelief.

Madame Pomfrey hadn't been too pleased by her patient's escapades. Hermione had been under a fairy strict watch ever since then, monitoring her condition and ensuring she recovered enough to return to classes.

Not that she needed to.

McGonagall had visited a few times in the Hospital Wing, where Draco had been sitting dutifully every day by Hermione's bedside. The two had been reading books and chatting mindlessly, biding their time until she was discharged with a clean bill of health. But the Headmistress had addressed the elephant in the room on her most recent visit.

"You're free to take your NEWT exams whenever you feel ready, Hermione," she'd told her that morning, "I can arrange for the testing to be done at the earliest convenience."

"My NEWTs?" Hermione had repeated a bit numbly, as if she hadn't even really thought about them for a while now, pushing it to the back of her mind with everything else that had happened.

"Why yes, dear. You no longer require a cover story to stay here. And you certainly are more than ready to sit them."

Draco had sat silently, watching his girlfriend mull this over for a moment. He felt a slight twinge in his chest at the thought of her leaving, but he couldn't exactly expect her to hang around here waiting for him. Eventually the witch's eyes had flicked over towards him then back again. She licked her lips and spoke directly to McGonagall, a determined glint in her eye.

"I'll sit them tomorrow if you'll let Draco test with me as well."

The Headmistress lifted one elegant eyebrow, a wry smile on her face.

"Draco's tenure here is at the discretion of the Ministry of Magic," she responded with a slight hint of derision at the mention of the flawed government organisation, "he is expected to sit the exams in March along with the rest of the Eight Years."

"March?!" Hermione exclaimed, a scornful look on her face, "he's ten times smarter than the rest of the students doing their NEWTs. He could do them with his eyes closed and get all Outstandings."

Draco snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Jeez, Granger, you're making me blush," he'd drawled, but she just waved him off. McGonagall had regarded him cautiously then, drawing in a deep breath as she considered the two of them.

"I suppose a glowing report on his conduct and readiness for the tests might sway the Ministry."

"You think so?" he'd asked sceptically, but the older woman seemed willing to give it a shot. She'd promised to try, and that had been enough to put Hermione in a good mood for the rest of the morning.

She was still smiling and buzzing with energy as they entered the Great Hall for lunch together.

As soon as they made their entrance, heads were swivelling, and whispers were trickling across the hall like fiendfyre. He saw several mouths drop open in shock and he suppressed a grimace of annoyance. He hated being in the spotlight. But Hermione had insisted that they had nothing to be ashamed of and no reason to hide from people's scrutiny. And he trusted her. Wholeheartedly.

Hermione smirked at him knowingly, tugging his hand and leading him towards the Eighth Year table, a purposeful skip in her step.

They arrived to a sea of stunned faces. It might have been the sight of the bright and beaming witch, flushed with good health despite rumours that she was basically on her deathbed (the gossip mill had continued to exaggerate her sickness more and more each day that she was missing from classes). But more likely it was the sight of the two of them, holding hands and looking all too comfortable together as they sat in their normal seats.

"Could you pass the potatoes please, Dean?" Hermione asked breezily, taking no notice of the many dumbstruck expressions around her. Dean blinked but hurriedly reached to do as requested.

"Yeh, sure thing, Mione-" he murmured as he handed her the plate. She dished herself up some food while Draco tried to appear as nonchalant as possible next to her. It was very hard to ignore all the incredulous stares, but he did his best.

"Heeey! You're back!" the cheerful voice of Neville Longbottom called out as he arrived at the table just after them, sunburnt from being in the outdoors all day.

"Hi Neville!" She greeted warmly, pecking his cheek affectionately as he reached down and gave her a brief hug.

"Feeling okay?"

"Much better, thank you. Madame Pomfrey deserves an Order of Merlin, bless her, and Professor Flitwick worked an absolute miracle with the counter-curse! And of course, Draco helped uncover everything. I had a solid team on my side."

"Draco? But…I thought… we all assumed…" one of the Ravenclaw girls stammered, exchanging glances with the others, before trailing off uncertainly. Hermione just snorted and shook her head in bemused derision. The reaction seemed to say more than words ever could. Then she started digging into her food with gusto. Draco followed her lead, focusing on his lunch for a while.

After a pause, that nasty boy Timothy finally worked up the courage to confront them.

"Granger, you can't seriously still be entertaining this wanker, after everything he's done!"

Hermione took a long moment to swallow her mouthful. Then she lifted a goblet to her mouth and took a long sip of water, her expression dangerously calm.

"What's he done exactly, Timothy? And please, be as specific as possible." she responded in an eerily steady voice, only when she had finished drinking. Most people would have been too scared to answer her. It was like she suddenly had ice in her veins. Draco adored her.

"Well…he…that is to say… he was…he's a death eater! And… a bully!"

"Seems like the only bully at this table right now is you," she retorted rationally with a casual shrug of the shoulders.

"Yeh but… he deserves it!" Timothy protested.

"I haven't actually spoken a single word to you all year, mate," Draco interjected, deciding to speak up for himself for once, "and you can't seriously still believe that hogwash about me cursing Hermione?"

"How can we be so sure it isn't true?"

"Because it's the stupidest evil plan I've ever heard. And your brother Jeremy is clearly a lying little twit."

A couple of others giggled, muffling the sound behind their hands or food.

"But… what… are you just like…her boyfriend now or something?"

"Obviously," Hermione drawled. She said it so unceremoniously, without any artifice at all, as if it were the most sensible and logical progression of things. A few people looked surprised at her cool demeanour. Dean Thomas snorted into his pumpkin juice, wiping the liquid from his lips before turning to Timothy.

"Come on, Timothy, you're just miffed because you've had a crush on Granger since fourth year," he ribbed. Timothy flushed a bright shade of red and sunk lower into his seat.

"Have not," he mumbled, avoiding everyone's eyes. Neville chuckled as well, slapping his hand on the table.

"Well, I for one am not surprised at all!" he laughed, "It's about time the two of you made things official and stopped mooning over each other every day. Congrats, man!"

He said the last part for Draco's benefit, giving him a grin of encouragement. Draco was quite touched by the other wizard's support. Even though he would have once found it positively mortifying to rely on Neville Longbottom's approval of all people, he couldn't help but admire the boy's gumption.

"Thanks, Neville," he said, deliberately using the boy's first name. Longbottom's grin widened even further. Then Draco cleared his throat and powered on, "Oh, and don't let me forget to give you some Melladonia pods later. My mother sent me some this morning by floo. She said they can have healing properties or something…?"

Neville's eyes widened in interest.

"Melladonia? Those are extremely rare! Even more so than fanged geraniums! Are they in a crescent bloom?"

"Err…I think so."

"Wow! They're linked to serenity and good mental stability. Your mum knows her plants. What a cool gift."

Draco rubbed the back of his neck. It was probably the most he'd spoken aloud at the table for the entire year, as he normally kept to himself or spoke directly to Hermione at his side.

"Yeh…well, you're welcome to come take some clippings."

"Seriously? I could re-plant it and harvest some myself! Thanks Draco, that's super generous, man. I've never worked with Melladonias! Did you know-"

From there Neville launched into a speech about the various potions and balms that used the plant and when to pluck its blossoms. Draco just nodded and contributed here and there with what he knew. Slowly everyone else returned to their meals. At first, they still seemed a bit wary of him, but Neville's easy charm and Draco's willingness to indulge him in a conversation about plants was slowly pouring cold water over all their concerns. Beside him he could practically feel Hermione smirking smugly as she diligently ate her food. She'd been the one who'd suggested that he talk to Neville about the new plant. It had arrived the previous day from Malfoy Manor with a short note attached from his mother that read:

Draco, I hope this plant blossoms soon and brings you joy. You deserve whatever happiness you choose. All my love, mother.

He had cried reading the note, the dam bursting open as he finally saw a glimpse of his mother's heart. She had been so cold and distant after everything that had happened. But he felt like that chasm wasn't quite so vast now. He still didn't know where they stood with each other on the topic of his father, and he would never again return to live at Malfoy Manor even if she chose to remain there. But this was a start. It was something.

The conversation slowly turned to other studies, and Draco was surprised when Dean Thomas asked him a question about Ancient Runes. From there they drifted to Potions and a Ravenclaw girl shyly mentioned something to him about the pewter cauldron set he'd been using and where he bought it.

It wasn't exactly groundbreaking chit-chat… but for the first time all year Draco wasn't being actively blocked out and ignored.

Hermione gave him a beautiful smile as they finished their food. She jumped to her feet and dragged him up with her.

"We really should go and study! I haven't opened a textbook in ages," she moaned, pulling him by the arm.

"Liar. You made me sneak your Arithmancy tome into the Hospital Wing, remember?"

"Oh yeh. Even so… we might be doing our exams soon! What if I'm not ready?"

"Don't be ridiculous. You're so beyond ready it's embarrassing. Let's go for a walk instead. The sun's out."

"Pish posh. What if we take our books out and sit by the lake?"

The two of them continued to bicker as they made their way towards the Entrance Hall. Finally, Draco relinquished and agreed to a compromise; they would quiz each other on spells and important facts while also enjoying a walk in the crisp sunshine. She declared that it was the perfect afternoon activity. Draco just shook his head indulgently.

Then, with a beautiful smile, Hermione leaned in and gave him a small peck on the cheek, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Insufferable witch," he grumbled, aware of the hundreds of stares fixed on them as they made their way past the four house tables. With a surge of boldness, he grasped her hand again in his, linking their fingers. And as he did, he couldn't prevent the mirroring smile from stretching slowly at his lips.

Hands entwined and both beaming from ear to ear, Draco and Hermione left the hall together to enjoy one of their final days around the castle. Beside each other as always.

…

…

And that's it! Just a quick little resolution – I'll leave it there and anything else can be up to the imagination!

Let me know if you enjoyed this story and thank you so much for reading!