36. Chapter 36

Hey guys! I know it hasn't been a week, but I feel really bad about making you guys wait three weeks for the last chapter, so I got this to you as soon as possible.

We are almost at the end of our journey together. Less than 5 chapters left.

I hope you all know how incredible this experience has been for me. Thank you for sticking with me during it.

It doesn't matter who was here first, but who has stayed until the very end.

I love you guys for giving me this journey.

The aurors burst into the room with alarming speed. The death eaters who had circled the golden duo turned, shocked. It only took them a moment to understand, however. The moment they did, they raised their wands at the aurors.

Draco caught a look at the golden duo. Besides several bruises and cuts, they seemed to be in fairly good shape. It was incredible what those two could accomplish when they worked together.

The aurors and the death eaters advanced on each other. The curses began to fly, lighting up the room. Potter and Weasel didn't pause for a moment before jumping into the fray.

Draco turned back to where Yaxley was standing. Hermione was still motionless on the floor in front of him. Draco's heart broke looking at her still form, just feet away from the broken shards of her life.

Yaxley looked furious at the arrival of the auror squad. Draco almost laughed. Was he actually dense enough to believe that the three of them, Draco, Ron and Harry, had come alone? Maybe he wanted to believe it.

If you believed something was true, in your own reality, it could be.

Yaxley turned towards Draco, lifting his wand. Draco raised his as well.

He guessed it was the two of them.

Until death crowned a winner.

Yaxley smirked at him. Draco's anger inflated. He hated this sorry excuse of a man. He hated him for what he had done to, not only Hermione, but everyone who had crossed his path. Draco felt himself get angrier and angrier as Yaxley smirked.

The death kicked Hermione's crumpled as he stepped over her, towards Draco.

That was his breaking point.

Draco screamed, a long, bone chilling scream. He screamed for the life Hermione had lost when that ball had been created. He screamed for the chance she had lost when that ball had shattered. He screamed in hatred for Yaxley. He screamed in pain at seeing Hermione unconscious. He screamed for what had been, what might've been, and what would never be again.

With his scream, he sent the first curse at Yaxley.

Yaxley jumped to dodge, and sent his own curse in return. Draco dodged. That's how it began.

Draco barely knew what was happening in the rest of the room. Potter and Weasel didn't matter right now. What was happening between the other death eaters and the aurors was the least of his worries. Right now, Draco only cared about ending Yaxley.

He had never killed of his own accord. But this motherfucker seemed like a good place to start.

Draco used every curse he could think of, from defense against the dark arts class to death eater training. With every spell he fired at Yaxley, and every spell he blocked in return, Draco felt his anger increase.

Nothing mattered right now. Nothing, but winning this duel.

This had started seven years in the Great Hall of Hogwarts. Back then, Draco had only been interested in living long enough to see his parents again.

Now, it would end, thousands of kilometres away, in a manor in Egypt. It would end with Yaxley at his feet, begging for mercy, as Draco destroyed the monster's life as the monster had destroyed so many others.

As he had destroyed Hermione's.

The battle raged on.

Draco felt sweat dripping down his neck as he flung curse after curse at Yaxley. A wand flew past his ear. Someone had been disarmed. He didn't flinch. Yaxley was his focus.

Neither side seemed to be winning. They were well matched.

Good, thought Draco. It would feel even better when he won.

"Why do you fight, Malfoy?" Yaxley hissed, as he dodged one of Draco's curses. He replied with a jet of green light.

Draco dodged it narrowly. "For her, you bastard." It sounded cheesy without the "you bastard" at the end.

Yaxley laughed viciously, sending a red jet at Draco. "You love the little pet, don't you?"

Draco sent multiple jinxes at the death eater. "What would you know about love?"

He dodged the jinxes, firing some of his own. "I know it makes you weak."

Draco shook his head. The death eater raised his eyebrows. Draco smirked, the trade-mark Malfoy smirk. "Nope. It makes me stronger than you'll ever be."

Yaxley smiled.

"Let's test that theory."

The duel exploded.

Every second was spent dodging and casting. Neither of them paused, for it would mean defeat. Draco had never fought this hard in his life. But he wouldn't stop. Not now. Not ever.

Hermione wouldn't have stopped.

Draco couldn't see her anymore. Yaxley and he had moved while dueling. His back was to her now. He prayed that she was still alright.

As the duel between him and Yaxley raged on, Draco began to hear noises from the other fighters in the room. He had completely blocked them out, but Draco could hear them loud and clear now. Something was happening.

A chill ran down his spine.

Then, the world exploded.

Draco was knocked off of his feet. He slammed into one of the tapestries, ripping it down as he fell to the floor. His head felt a little off, but he looked up anyway.

He understood immediately what had happened.

Someone had exploded half of the room.

The wall and roof of the other side of the room had fallen. Rock chunks lay in piles. Almost everyone else was knocked to the ground. Draco looked at the piles of fallen rock and tapestries.

He hoped that no one on their side had been standing there.

Suddenly, he froze.

Draco looked around the room quickly. He saw a lot of unconscious people. He saw Yaxley struggling to stand up. Potter had stayed up, still dueling, who was that? Avery? Weasel and Kingsley were fighting death eaters on the ground. The aurors were regaining their footing.

But, no where did he see Hermione.

With dread, Draco realized that the piles of rock had fallen right where Hermione had been lying.

He almost blacked out.

Draco jumped up and raced over to the rock piles, running faster than he had ever run before.

He arrived at the rock piles in a few seconds.

"Hermione!" he screamed in agony. He reached forward to dislodge the rock. Then he felt himself being yanked back.

Yaxley had regained his footing. He had his wand pointed at Draco's back. With a flick, he sent Draco flying back across the room. Draco felt his wand slip out of his fingers.

He landed in a heap. Yaxley advanced on him, smirking.

Yaxley stopped a metre away from Draco, his wand pointed in the rescuer's face.

"Well, look at that. Pet's gone. Just like that. All that love, pointless. Her entire life, meaningless. Now, it will be as if she had never existed in the…." Yaxley trailed off as the ground began to shake.

A loud crash suddenly shook the room, almost upsetting Yaxley's feet. The other death eaters looked up in horror, as if judgement day had come at last. The tapestries all fell from the still-standing walls. The still standing walls crumbled to the ground.

The sky exploded into a million colours, rocking the world.

What the hell was happening?

The rock piles shook, finally exploding into a million molecules of dust.

Draco shielded his face from the exploding rock. He couldn't see a thing.

Suddenly, from the dust, came a voice.

"I wouldn't bet on it, bastard."

Draco almost blacked out again. He'd know that voice anywhere. Whether it was answering a question in class or saving the world.

Hermione.

The dust cleared, and there she stood, in all her beauty. Her clothes were torn. She was covered in scrapes and bruises. Her hair was a wild mess.

And yet, Draco had never seen such a goddess.

Her face was blinding. The power aligning her features was both wonderful and terrible. A smirk played at the corners of her mouth.

In her hand, she held a wand. It must've been the wand that flew by Draco's face.

Around the room, all the others had frozen, watching Hermione.

The Gryffindor Princess raised her wand, pointing it at Yaxley.

"I knew you'd regret taking me."

Draco took several moments to register her words. They bounced around his head, blanking out anything else. He couldn't understand what she meant. How could she know he regret it? She seemed so confident, so sure of herself….

As if she was her old self again.

In that moment, Draco's brain exploded.

Hermione stood in front of them all, clothes ripped. Skin bleeding. Bruises covering her face and body. Her hair was a bird's nest. Her eyes were filled with fire. Her face was glowing with pride. Her wand was raised. She was glorious.

She was Hermione Granger.

Standing in front of them, for the first time in seven years, was Hermione Granger. Bruised, and hurt, but here. Alive. Back. Strong. Beautiful.

Draco had never been happier.

He found himself standing up, his feet were moving of their own accord. He stood up tall, ignoring the aching feeling in all of his body. He looked forward, at the beautiful girl he had fallen in love with.

For as he looked at Hermione, the Hermione he had known for years, he loved every inch of her. From her messed up hair to her confident expression. He loved the Hermione that had sat with him at Tim Hortons. He loved the Hermione who had punched him in the face back in third year. He loved the Hermione who had allowed herself to be tortured. And he loved the Hermione who stood before him, pointing a wand at the bastard who had almost ruined her life.

Over the past month, he had thought of Hermione in every way possible. His Hermione, Hogwarts' Hermione, the bookworm, the student, the Gryffindor Princess. In front of him, now, he saw every single one.

And he was in love with them all.

Hermione was glaring at Yaxley, who was standing in front of her.

The death eater looked terrified, quaking in his boots. His face showed nothing but fear. Hermione without memories was harmless.

Now, he was dealing with the real goddess.

The only reason he had been able to capture her beforehand had been the lack of sobriety. Now, she was sober. She was capable.

And she was angry.

The hate radiating off of her face towards Yaxley was choking him. Physically. Draco saw the death eater struggling to breath. Hermione smirked. It shook Draco to his core.

With a flick of her wand, Yaxley's snapped in half. He dropped the pieces like they were on fire.

Hermione flicked the wand once more. Every death eater in the room, whether standing or not, went flying, hitting the floor with resounding thuds.

Yaxley spun around, and tried to run. Hermione laughed, a chilling, terrible laugh. Yaxley kept running.

Suddenly, he fell back, swearing. He had hit something.

Draco looked on with apprehension. What had happened to Yaxley? He noticed quickly a thin circular wall of mist, surrounding Hermione and Yaxley.

A shield.

With horror, Draco realized that it was a two way shield. They had studied them in charms back in sixth. Flitwick had talked about a powerful type of energy shield. A barrier of mist that could stop anything from either entering or exiting. Anything that touched it would be violently thrown backwards.

Flitwick hadn't taught it to them. He'd told them the incantation, but with great discretion. He said that only the most powerful witches and wizards could complete the spell effectively.

Hermione had completed the spell non-verbally.

Right now, she was one of the most powerful witches in the world.

And she was mad.

Oh no.

Potter was looking on the scene with amazement. He began to walk forward, as if entranced.

"No! Potter!" Draco yelled, but it was too late.

Potter walked straight into the shield, and was sent flying back twenty feet.

Idiot.

Hermione had blocked them out, and locked Yaxley in. She wanted to finish this herself. This was her battle.

"Everyone back up!" Draco shouted. The aurors nodded. They recognized the danger. Weasel had to be pulled back.

Hermione, for reasons unknown, had become one of the most powerful witches in the world within the last few minutes. Her magic was terrible and wonderful. She was glowing gold now, the magic radiating off of her skin.

She was also emotionally unstable. Having been robbed of her life, she was filled with anger at the man who had taken it from her. She could do anything right now.

They needed to get out of the way.

Hermione advanced on Yaxley, taking her sweet time, heightening the tension. She was smirking again.

"Scared, Yaxley?" she said softly. It was one of the most terrifying things Draco had ever heard.

Yaxley held his hands up. "Now, Hermione….."

A flash filled the air.

Yaxley cried out, clutching his cheek. Blood poured out through his fingers.

"Don't say my name!" Hermione's eyes flashed.

Yaxley fell to his knees.

Hermione twiddled the wand in between her fingers. She paced around, like a lion stalking her prey.

"You once told me that love was weakness," she said slowly. Her voice radiated power. She was whispering, but it was sounding effortlessly around the room "But it's not. It's power. You, all of you death eaters have spent your time thinking you are the most powerful creatures on the face of the planet. But you're not. You're the weakest. Because you can't love."

Yaxley skidded backwards a few feet. Hermione barely noticed.

"You don't know anything about love. You don't know how it lifts you up, fills you up. Some of the people I love most in the world are standing in this room. That doesn't make me weak. That gives me more power than you will ever know."

Yaxley was on his knees. His face showed no sign of the arrogant confidence that had aligned it when the rescuers had arrived. It was gaunt and shallow. It was fearful. It was the face of a man at his execution.

Hermione smirked and raised her wand.

"This is for the Masons, you bastard."

Then, the world exploded. Again.

Colours filled the sky, as Hermione released all of her magic. It knocked everyone off their feet. A piercing scream filled the air. Draco closed his eyes. He could still see the flashes through his lids.

Draco felt wind knocking against him. He felt something hit his leg. And yet, he couldn't open his eyes. Hermione wasn't herself right now. She was terrible and beautiful. Draco would probably run for the hills if he opened his right then.

Eventually, it stopped. Draco opened his eyes slowly. He was seated near the back of the room. He turned to where Hermione had been.

The shield was down, now. And Yaxley was gone. All that was left was a small pile of dust where he had been kneeling. Good, Draco thought viciously. Good and dead.

It felt strange, rejoicing for a death. Yet Draco felt no remorse. There was only one thing he cared about right now.

Hermione was standing next to the pile of dust. Her face was ashen. She was no longer glowing. Draco saw her sway.

The wand slipped through her fingers and clattered on the floor.

Hermione looked across the room, and made eye contact with him. Then, her eyelids fluttered to a close.

Draco jumped up just as she fell to the ground.

It took an eternity to race across the room. His heart was pounding faster and faster with every moment. All he could think was not now.

Not after everything.

Not after seven years.

Not after finding her.

Not after getting her memories back.

Not after Draco fell in love with her.

Not now.

Draco finally reached her. She was breathing, at least. Shallow breaths, but breaths none the less. Draco cradled her head in his lap. She was so pale.

"Hermione, wake up," he whispered frantically. "Come on, you can't quit on us now."

Potter and Weasel arrived. They were both deathly pale. Each one kneeled by Hermione, their hearts beating loudly.

Hermione's eyes fluttered open.

"Oh thank merlin," Draco whispered.

Hermione smiled slowly. She was still deathly pale. Her eyes were still fluttering.

"Everything's fuzzy," she whispered.

Draco smiled. "It's all going to be fine."

Hermione's eyes stopped fluttering. She looked up at Draco, making perfect eye contact.

"Draco?" she asked wondrously.

He nodded, almost breaking his neck.

Hermione closed her eyes and took a deep breath. A strange buzzing filled the air, and a few sparkles fluttered down from above her. Draco watched with amazement.

She opened her eyes once more and looked at him.

"You were the pattern," she said with absolute certainty.

Then her eyes closed again.

"Hermione," Draco whispered. When she didn't respond, he shook her slightly. No response.

He felt tears run down his face.

"I love you," he whispered.

Her breathing grew shallower.

*Sequel news!*

I have been asked by several people about writing a sequel. I can honestly say that I don't have a story idea for that.

But I have something else.

I was thinking about writing a side-quel. Not a story in its self, but a lot of little stories. In Fates, there are a lot of scenes that are discussed, but never actually written. I was thinking about writing those scenes.

For example: Lucius and Narcissa's first kiss, the fight at Grimmauld Place the night Hermione disappeared, Arthur Weasley telling Harry about Hermione's disappearance , the night with Harry/Hermione in the woods among others.

I was thinking also of writing scenes from different perspectives, like the funeral from Harry's perspective, or this scene ^ from Hermione's.

Have you ever watched Lost? Well, you know in the last season how there are the flash-side ways? Well, this story would be kind of like that. Not a prequel, or a sequel, but a side-quel, just a combination story of multiple scenes that are part of the greater Fate Has Its Ways story.

Then, if I get an idea, I'd write a sequel.

So yeah. Let me know if that would be something you'd be interested in.

Oh yeah, review :)

Thank you for sticking with Fates. It's been a pleasure.

I don't know why I'm making a speech, its not the end of the story.

Oh well.

Carry on.

Ducks.