39. Chapter 39

So here we are. Second last chapter. The only thing left is the epilogue.

I'll do a big speech next week. I promise

700 reviews. Can't understand. 300 favourites. Same issue.

I love you all and I love this story. I'm sad to have it end, but I'm already working on other stories. The magic isn't over, even if Fates almost is. Thanks for sharing this journey with me. I think some of you are in for a surprise down in this chapter.

Disclaimer: No

Everyone stared at Hermione for several beats of pure silence. She smiled bashfully, and ran a hand through her hair. Her cascading curls.

Another image flashed through Draco's mind. A hand pulling a pin out of her hair. The curls falling onto her shoulders.

The image disappeared in a moment, causing him to blink in confusion.

Everyone else was still staring at her, too. She chuckled. She looked around at all of them for a few minutes before speaking.

"I've missed you guys, too."

She was engulfed immediately.

It was Weasel who got to her first. He picked her up and spun her in a circle. She threw her head back in laughter. Draco saw tears on the ginger's face. He put her down, and they just stood there, holding each other, like best friends do.

Seven years apart had put their arguments in perspective.

Eventually, they had to let go of each other. They seemed to share a moment before Hermione gave a small nod. Weasel returned the nod, and stood back.

Hermione was almost tackled.

Draco stood back and watched as she hugged Looney, made a joke with Longbottom, cried with Molly, and lost herself in Hagrid's coat.

Draco smiled, and leant on the side of the house. There was so much love for that woman within the surrounding twenty metres. It touched him.

"Aren't you going up?"

Draco turned towards the voice. And then he swore. He turned back to watching Hermione.

"What are you doing here, Ginny?"

The ginger bitch stood next to him. He hadn't seen her before, she must have just arrived. She looked a little tired, very pale, with her hair tied up in a high ponytail. She was wearing all black.

It matched her soul.

She leaned onto the house. "I'm sorry about what happened at Grimmauld Place."

Draco shot her a look. "Your apologies mean shit to me. Grovel to people who actually matter to you."

Ginny laughed. It sounded hopeless. "I can't. Harry won't speak to me, Ron is still in shock, and Hermione just got back. My parents are ignoring me and my brothers won't look at me. Everybody hates me."

Draco felt a twinge of sympathy.

"Why did you do it, anyway?" he asked, the question escaping his lips.

Ginny stared forward. "I'm not going to defend my actions. But, I honestly just lost control. I became blinded. I was just so angry. And Hermione was there."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Why didn't you just yell at Harry? I would've."

Ginny smiled a humourless smile. "Because I've been in love with Harry since I was ten. I don't even know how that happened. He was just this little boy that I met at the Platform. But, he stayed with me. You know?"

Draco nodded, looking at Hermione. He knew.

Weaslette continued. "Then, when we were older, he finally noticed me. I was over the moon. I finally got what I had always wanted. But then, I lost it. The war happened."

Draco had no idea why he was still listening, but he found himself actually paying attention.

"Then, after it was all over, I thought I would be with him again. I hadn't moved on. But he had. To a girl who I had always felt inferior to. A girl who every guy loved and wanted to protect. A girl who my own mother adored more than she adored me. Hermione didn't realize how much she had and how much I wanted it."

"Ron told me about Hermione being at Harry's house that night. I didn't think they had sex. It didn't seem like Hermione. But, I guessed that Harry's feelings for her were more than sisterly. He always denied it. And eventually, he asked me to marry him."

"I said yes in an instant. I thought I had finally gotten him. But, I realized that it didn't mean anything to him. He was always somewhere else. He'd be standing in front of me, and be miles away. I figured it was about her."

"I started to hate her, blaming her for Harry's lack of interest in me. But, now that she's back, I remember how much Hermione means to me. I love her like a sister."

Draco turned and faced Ginny. "What about you and Harry?"

She met his eye. "I've been thinking about it. For me, our relationship became more about me winning against Hermione than actually being with him. And he never loved me anyway, so there's nothing left to do but split up."

Hmm. The golden couple, getting a divorce. Expected yes, but still a shock.

Draco looked at her. "But you still love him?"

Ginny looked down. "I can't deny it. But, my idea of loving Harry has been twisted and almost destroyed. I think I love him, but I'm not sure I know what love is, really. I wanted to possess him. But, now I can't. So now I'm just here."

Ginny looked back at the crowd engulfing Hermione. "To answer your original question, I came to apologize, and have Harry sign the divorce papers. Then I'm gone."

Draco started. "Gone? Where are you going?"

Ginny got a faraway look in her eye. "Italy. I learned Italian last year, and I think it'd be good for me. All those fiery personalities, I'll fit right in."

Draco stared at Ginny shamelessly. With her words, he realized that she had gotten over Harry, finally. Maybe not fully, but she was starting. He realized that she had matured. That she had grown up.

That she had become Ginny.

Ginny stood up straight and turned to him. "Thanks for listening to me ramble."

Draco shrugged. "No problem."

She looked at him, and at the group, then back at him. "Well, Draco Malfoy, it has been a pleasure trying to ruin your life for years."

He smiled. "And, Ginny Weasley, it has been an honour to forget your name. I mean really. Ginny."

She chuckled. Then she stuck out her hand. "Good luck, Draco."

He shook her hand. "Ginny, you are a priority to someone. Don't forget that."

She cocked her head, but Draco saw the happiness in her eyes. His words had touched her.

Ginny turned towards the group that had engulfed Hermione. She took a deep breath, and without looking back at Draco, she strode forward.

The group froze as Ginny approached. The tension rose exponentially. Weasel's face alit with rage. Harry went white. Hermione just stared at Ginny, unblinkingly. Not a single emotion appeared on her face. She watched as Ginny walked forward, stopping right in front of her. Draco saw Ginny's lips move. Hermione nodded. Then the bookworm reached forward and wrapped the ginger in a hug.

Draco was shocked for a moment. Hermione must know what Ginny had done. But, it didn't matter to her. She had moved past it. She had forgiven.

Hermione must really care about Ginny, Draco realized. More than anyone had thought. They had been close friends, but Draco didn't know if that lasted after attempted murder. But apparently, for Hermione, it had.

Being gone for seven years must have really put things in perspective for her. She forgave Ginny in an instant. She hugged Weasel, who had yelled at her after her parents had died. She had forgiven them both for unforgivable things.

Of course, there was a lot of healing that needed to happen. Hermione wouldn't just be best friends with Weasel or Ginny again. But, she was on track. She had forgiven. Now, they just needed to rebuild.

Hermione let go of Ginny, and smiled. Ginger choked on a sob. She was crying. Understandably.

She turned to Harry. The boy who lived stared straight at his wife. He turned, and started walking to the other side of the yard. Ginny followed wordlessly.

About fucking time for them to talk.

Draco stared at the golden couple, as they walked to a more private location. They were both crazy, he decided, after mulling it over for a few minutes. Harry because he was in love with Hermione. Ginny because she was in love Harry. Love made you a little crazy. Sometimes, it worked, having so much craziness that the two people melded perfectly.

But, sometimes it didn't, and you ended up being in love with someone who didn't love you for seven years.

Dammit Harry and Ginny. Get your shit together.

Draco saw that the group surrounding Hermione was migrating behind the house. Draco followed.

When they got to the other side of the burrow, Draco saw a large table laid out with every type of food imaginable. People were taking their seats all down the table. Hermione was at one end, chatting with Weasel on her left.

Draco strode forward, finding a seat near the end of the table, next to Blaise and Seamus. He took a seat.

Someone levitated fire-whiskey around the table. It filled every glass. Draco must've left his glass over by the front of the house. A new glass filled in front of him.

Draco looked at the glass and felt a stare burning into him. He looked up.

It was her stare, of course. She was staring right at him. Her big brown eyes met his grey ones. Draco felt an electric shock go through his body. He felt tingles from his head to his feet. Hermione smiled at him, the corners of her lips turning up a tad. Draco felt warmth explode in his heart.

Thank you, she mouthed.

Draco smiled and gave her a slight nod.

This was a good first step.

Blaise stood up, holding his glass in the air.

Yay. Toasts.

"It's been a long seven years. For everyone. But now, that's over. Hermione Granger is back. Personally, I didn't know you before, Hermione. But I've spent a few years learning everything about you, from your hair colour to your childhood. Leading your case has allowed me to get to know you on paper. I'm glad I now have the chance to get to know you in life." Blaise nodded his head at her. "To Hermione Granger."

To Hermione Granger echoed across the table.

Hermione smiled.

Molly stood up. She was beaming. "It has been a long day for everyone. So, right now, I suggest digging in. Hermione is still going to be here in ten minutes."

Seamus raised his eyebrow. "With our luck? Mrs. Weasley, please tell me what you are smoking, because it must be good."

Everyone laughed. Draco chuckled a few times, and reached in front of him to grab a chicken leg.

He had never fully appreciated food before. It was like he hadn't eaten in a thousand years.

He ate ravenously for several minutes. When he lifted his face from the food, Hermione was looking at him again.

His heart fluttered.

Fluttered. Merlin, he was soft.

Harry and Ginny arrived at the table eventually. They sat at opposite ends of the table, Harry next to Parvati, and Ginny next to Dean. Subtlety.

Down the table, Dean set down his food.

"Oi, Hermione," he asked. Everybody put down their food. "What was it like, losing your memory?"

There was a slight pause as Hermione contemplated her answer.

She cocked her head. "While, when the spell was cast, everything kind of went blank immediately. I woke up a few days later. I obviously didn't have the memories. I couldn't access anything. Eventually I got used to the blank spot in my life. It took a while, but I did get used to it. For seven years I got used to it. Then, Draco arrived."

Everyone looked at him. He waved.

Hermione chuckled. "Everything felt very strange after I ran into him. It was like a constant headache. Constant pressure in my head. My brain was tugging at something important, but I couldn't figure it out. My entire life changed that day."

Draco smirked. "That's what I do, change lives."

Hermione laughed. "I got some memories back, as you guys know, and I just wanted more. Then, I got brought back, and you told me the truth. It felt like a light had been lit in my brain. Then I just wanted to remember what you were telling me."

She sighed. "But then Yaxley arrived. And the Manor happened. And then the memory ball broke."

"My head exploded. Everything came back, and everything made sense. So, to answer your original question Dean, losing your memory sucks. It really sucks."

Everyone laughed. Someone else asked Hermione a question, and the conversation started.

Draco tuned out. He just stared at her, taking her in. The way her brow crinkled when she was thinking. The way she threw her head back when she laughed. The way she smiled when she remembered something that made her happy. The little things.

"So, Hermione," Seamus asked, eventually. "Do you remember everything about your memory-lacking period?"

She nodded. "Every second." Her eyes flashed to Draco at that moment.

Every second, he mused. Every single second.

The conversation droned on.

It went on for four hours without the energy subsiding. Everyone was so excited about Hermione returning. But, eventually, the conversation wore down.

A bunch of people began to leave. They each spent a moment with Hermione before departing.

Eventually, only the Weasleys, Potter, Ginny, and Draco were left.

Ginny approached Hermione. They spoke for a few minutes. Eventually, they shared a hug. Ginny said goodbye to her parents, and her brothers. She and Potter shook hands. Then, she turned from everyone and left. Draco wondered vaguely if he'd ever see her again.

After Ginny left, Hermione and Weasel walked over to the side of the yard to talk. Draco understood immediately. They ended on bad terms. They needed to fix things as soon as they could.

Hermione needed to fix things with a lot of people, in all reality. He was glad that these people had finally understood the power of communication.

But, that meant that Draco was left with Harry.

"So, Harry," he begun awkwardly. The boy who lived shot him a look. "How'd your conversation with Hermione go?" He was honestly just curious.

Harry stared off across the yard. "It went. We talked about some things that really needed to be said."

"Is everything out in the open?"

Harry nodded. "It is. We're not best friends right now. There is a lot of hurt and pain that we need to work through. Same with me and Ron. But, I think that one day, we might just manage it."

Draco looked at him. "I hope you do."

Harry looked him in the eye for several moments before speaking. "I hope things work out for you as well."

Draco almost fell over. Did Harry just give him his blessing?

What in the fuck.

Harry smiled at him, and turned away. Without saying a word, he began to walk out of the yard. Draco heard the pop that meant he was gone.

Draco hoped he figured things out.

"Hey, Draco."

He turned around.

Hermione was standing behind him, looking up at him with her famous Gryffindor confidence. Weasel must've left. Draco didn't see him anywhere.

Hermione looked at him. "Can we talk?"

Draco nodded, feeling something down at the pit of his stomach.

Hermione started walking, and Draco followed blindly. She eventually arrived at a pond. She sat at the edge. Draco sat down next to her.

For a few minutes they stared forward at the unmoving water. It was so peaceful, Draco mused. So calm. But, a single splash could disrupt ever single inch of the water. It was so easy to disrupt. Draco was surprised it was ever calm.

"How's your mother?" Hermione broke the silence.

Draco shrugged. "I haven't seen her since before Yaxley Manor. But, I'm sure she's fine. She's with my father somewhere, and I'm sure that she's happy."

Hermione looked at him. "She's not at the manor?"

Draco shook his head. "The manor's exploded."

Hermione started. "What?!"

Draco nodded. "Yep. After the wards fell, most likely. The death eaters probably burnt it to the ground."

Hermione looked shaken. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be," Draco replied. "The manor didn't really mean that much to me."

"It was still your home," Hermione said.

Draco chuckled. "Hogwarts was my home."

"I think it was everyone's home," Hermione said softly.

There was silence once again.

"I saw you talking to Harry," she said.

"Oh yeah," Draco nodded. "I asked him how your guys' conversation went."

Hermione nodded, understanding. "That's a conversation I'm never going to forget, memory charms be damned."

Draco looked at her. "How did it go?"

Hermione took a deep breath. "Well. It went well. It was just, we had to talk about a lot of things that we didn't want to talk about. We had to work through seven year old issues. We had to talk about where we both messed up, and how we should've fixed it at the time. We had to figure out what we were."

"And what are you?" Draco stared at a frog jumping into the pond.

Hermione looked forward. "We're people. People who make mistakes. People who don't always know what they want. And Harry and I are people who love each other very much. All that combined nearly destroyed us."

"Did you honestly not know?" Draco questioned her.

"That Harry was in love with me?" she replied, brushing a piece of hair out of her face. Draco nodded. "No. I didn't, not until Nott's memories. Looking back, I can't believe I didn't realize it before. But everything's easier in hindsight."

"Did you love him?" The words slipped through Draco's lips before he could stop them.

Hermione stared down at the ground. "No, I didn't."

"Then why…sorry, it's just….it's Harry…" Draco couldn't form words.

Hermione chuckled. "Why did I sleep with him?"

Draco nodded.

Hermione looked at the fields in the distance. "I don't know. I was upset, and he was there. I know it sounds terrible, but it's Harry. He's always been my rock. I just needed him to be a rock in a different way."

Draco scrunched his nose. "Bad picture."

Hermione laughed. "Sorry."

Draco looked at her. "What about Weasel?"

Hermione shook her head. "We kissed during the final battle. It was a spur of the moment, hey we might die thing. He wanted more afterwards. I didn't."

Draco nodded. That made sense.

They both stared forward.

"What happens now?" Draco asked.

"I don't know," she replied. "I'm happy to be back, with every memory, but so much has changed. Harry and I aren't best friends right now. Same thing with Ron. We could be again, but not right now. We need to heal, and move forward. Some things can't be forgiven that easily. Then Ginny almost killed me. She was angry, but still. I've forgiven, but I can't forget. I don't know how to move forward. I lost my life for a very long time. I don't know how to start it again."

Draco stared at her shamelessly. He opened his mouth, and out slipped the question that had been bothering him.

"Was I really the pattern?"

Hermione looked away, before meeting his eye. "Yes."

"Why?"

Hermione looked at the stars that were beginning to fill the evening sky.

"Do you remember the Yule Ball?"

Draco chuckled. "Only the beginning."

She raised her eyebrow. "Really?"

"I was drunk."

"Ah," she understood. She looked back at the pond. "Well, then let me tell you a story."

"At the Yule Ball, there was this girl. She was the school bookworm, the nerdy girl. Everyone brushed her aside, all the time. But, she showed up at the Ball looking beautiful and on the arm of an International Quidditch player. Her best friend got angry at her for coming with this guy, saying she was fraternizing with the enemy. She got upset, and ran out of the Great Hall. She ran out into the Entrance Courtyard. She stood there, shivering in the cobblestones for a few moments."

"Then, she heard a voice call her name. She turned around and saw a boy whom she had detested. He had teased her for years. But that night, he was different. His eyes were soft, and caring. He asked her if she was alright. He listened to her cry. And then, he asked her to dance. He took her in his arms, and took the pin out of her hair. He had said it looked better that way. He held her in his arms in the middle of the courtyard, and danced to the music that twinkled out through the front doors. Then he told her something that has stayed with her to this very day."

" "You are nobody's last resort", was all he said."

"She was so confused that she started to run off. He called her back. He looked at her with his deep grey eyes and told her that she looked beautiful. It was a moment of her life that she never forgot. Even now, as she looks into those grey eyes, that's all she can see."

There was a potent silence, as the words of the story flowed through Draco's mind.

Then, in an instant, it all came back.

It had been right after he had started drinking at the Yule Ball. He had seen Hermione run out, looking upset. He hadn't even thought about it before following her. He found her crying in the entrance courtyard. He had felt terrible for her. He had asked her what was wrong. He had explained about Weasel liking her. He had listened to her ramble. Then, he had asked her to dance. It had seemed like the perfect opportunity, and she just looked so beautiful. Then, he had told her that she was nobody's last resort.

She had run off, but before she had left, Draco had told her that she looked beautiful.

That had been the moment, Draco realized. That was the moment that he had fallen in love with Hermione Granger. No wonder he hadn't realized it until years later. He had forgotten the moment because of his drunkenness.

He had danced with Hermione. He had held her in his arms. He had taken the pin out of her hair, letting it bounce around her shoulders.

He had told her she was beautiful.

And Hermione had remembered it after all these years.

"I remember now," Draco said softly.

Hermione smiled at him. "I always remembered what you said to me that night. It stayed with me. It gave me the confidence that others had ripped away. It changed me."

"That still doesn't explain why I was the pattern."

Hermione turned her entire body to face him. "Have you ever heard of finding the one?"

Draco nodded. Finding the one you were going to spend the rest of your life with. Your true love, your soulmate. The love of your life.

Hermione continued. "I think of the one a little differently than most people. I believe that the one is someone you could grow old with. Someone you could spend your life with. Someone you could love."

"You asked me if I was in love with Harry. I said no. And that's true. But it isn't at the same time."

Draco opened his mouth to swear, but Hermione kept talking.

"Harry is my one. I could grow old with him. I could live with him. I could fall in love with him, and sometimes I think I already have."

"Ron as well. They're both my ones. I could love them that way, I know it. They are two of the most important men in my life. But there is one other factor that stopped those two paths from happening before I even began to walk down them."

She looked straight at him.

"You."

Draco couldn't move.

"I said that Harry and Ron were my ones, and that's true. But you're more. You're my one and only. You're the one I want to grow old with. You're the one I'd want to spend my life with. You're the one I want to fall in love with. And I already have."

The words echoed in Draco's head.

"When you said those few words to me, years ago, they stuck. After the Yule Ball, I began to watch you more. I began to understand who you were. I'd get into arguments with you just so we could interact. I defended you against Harry's slander in year six. Then, I ended up on your drawing room floor, and I saw your face. The horror you felt at watching me be tortured. You couldn't believe that I was being tortured right before your eyes. That was the moment I fell. It was the moment when all of your humanity was spilled across your face for the whole world to see. And I saw it."

"That's why I chose to remember you over Harry and Ron and the rest of my life. Because you were someone who had touched me in more ways than anyone else, even if you didn't realize it. I couldn't forget you. And now, after everything, I'm glad I chose to remember you. You were there with me in Canada, from day one. You were with me, always."

Draco struggled to breathe. All of Hermione's words were bouncing around his head, he couldn't fully make sense of them.

Nobody's last resort. One. One and Only. With her. Moment she fell. Glad she remembered him. Always.

Hermione was in love with him, and she had been for years. Draco could barely believe it.

"Am I dreaming?" he asked without thinking.

Hermione chuckled. "Is it really that unbelievable?"

Draco looked at her. "You've hated me for years. It was only in Canada that we were friends."

"I had to hate you. Harry and Ron would never speak to me again, and I had no idea if you would either. In Canada, I didn't know all of this. All I had left was a feeling of complete rightness when I was you."

She cocked her head. "But, why were you?"

"What?"

"Why were you friends with me? You hated me for years. But, in Canada, you were the sweetest person ever. What changed?"

Draco stared forward. "All the reasons I had hated you disappeared with the end of the Wizarding War. All that was left was the mystery. I wanted to figure out what had happened to you. Blaise was running your case, and I wanted to get you back for him. But, the more time I spent with you, the more I liked it. The more you trusted me the more I trusted you. Then, you became such a big part of my life that I just couldn't escape."

"And then I realized I was in love with you."

Her breath hitched, but Draco kept going.

"It was after you had been taken by Yaxley. Harry and I got into an argument, and I just screamed it out. But I knew it was true immediately. I thought about it, and found that I'd fallen in love with you during the Yule Ball. I think during that exact moment you were talking about, I just didn't remember. I thought about every moment we had ever experienced together, and I knew it was true. I had fallen in love with you."

Neither of them spoke for several moments. A few crickets chirped.

"Do you ever think Fate is messing with us?" Hermione asked. Draco nodded. He had thought that a lot the last few weeks.

Hermione looked at the pond. "Of all the people who could've found me in Canada, it was you, the person I had chosen to remember. Of course I ran into you again. And those little incidents change our lives like we never thought. I feel like someone is writing us into a story. Only fate could've set this up."

"Well," Draco smirked. "Fate does have its ways."

Hermione smiled. Then, without hesitation, she leant in and kissed him. He didn't resist.

Draco had been right earlier. It wasn't the end of an era. It was the beginning. The beginning of something beautiful.

As Draco kissed Hermione on the bank of that pond, he felt every emotion go through his heart and every memory flood his mind.

That's what Hermione did to him. She made him feel everything he could feel and remember everything he didn't want to remember. She made him want to run through the streets screaming. She made him want to be every level of crazy. She made him want to hold her like he would never let her go. She made him want to be a better person.

That's why he loved her so much.

From the hockey night, to Tim Hortons, to the funeral, to explaining who she was, hiding from reporters, the drawing room, sleeping with her in his arms, to their argument, to Hogwarts, to the Quidditch Pitch, to the Weasley's for dinner, to Blaise catching them snogging, to Nott's memories, to his father at the manor, to Grimmauld Place, to losing her, to Yaxley Manor, to the hospital and to this moment.

All those simple moments were now memories, perfectly preserved in his mind. He would never forget them.

Hermione pulled back from him and giggled.

Draco smirked. But, then again, who could ever forget her?

So "Nobody's Last Resort" was a part of the story the whole time.

For those who don't know, Nobody's Last Resort was a story I wrote back in October (it's July now). It's on my profile.

Review. I'll see you next week for the crying and goodbye statements.

JK it's not really goodbye after all ;)