A/N: Thank you so much guys for 1.7k+ views! It means a lot. Hope you guys liked the last chapter, and that you all didn't find the ending so abrupt. I will try to make it better in thic chapter. How? Well, you will see once you read it. Read the A/N at the end to find out when the next chapter will be out. On with the chapter!
"Drop your wands everyone." Goyle said.
Every head turned to him. Except two, one of them being dead, the other, well, staring into nothingness.
Draco looked down at Hermione. She had one of her hands on top of Andy's, rubbing the back of it with her thumb every now and then, thinking that he would wake up if she continued to do that. Her other hand was clutching Draco's side, as if making sure he was there with her, and not leaving her.
He lightly shook her, but she stayed the way she was. "Hermione." He whispered, but still she didn't respond. "Hermione." He said a little louder and shook her,.
As if breaking from a trance, she immediately looked up at him and said, "Draco?"
"You okay?" He asked her, and then a second later found him mentally slapping himself. Of course, she was not okay. She just lost her close if not best friend, who was trying to protect her, he thought.
"What hap-," She started to ask him but then she remembered everything, and said, "He died while protecting me."
Draco nodded and said, "Hermione, Goyle is here."
At that, she looked up at the man she hated more than Umbridge now, and that was saying something. "Oh God, he has Ginny and Harry held in front of him. We need to save them now!" She exclaimed.
"We just can't go like this, we need a plan. He currently can't see us because we are behind this boulder, but we can see his moves properly. Everyone, excluding us, has dropped their wands, and we can't risk any more lives. We need to plan according to that." Draco said.
"I don't have my wand." Hermione told him.
Draco took her wand out from his pocket and passed it to her. "Here."
"How did you get it?" She asked him as she took her wand.
"I took it from Alecto when I petrified her. I swear I will kill them after we take care of Goyle." He muttered the last part, glaring at the Carrow brother sister duo.
"I have a plan." Hermione told him.
"What?" He asked her. Hermione leaned in and told him her plan. "Are you crazy? You will let yourself be in danger again? Andy didn't die in vain, Hermione. He died while protecting you. And now you want to go put all of his efforts in vain?" He whisper-shouted at her.
"Draco, this is the only plan that I can come up with right now, and it may work. Goyle thinks that I am dead, he won't be expecting me. And besides, I have got Harry's Invisibility Cloak that he gave me before we left, in my bag right here." Hermione tried to reason with him.
"Fine. But promise me, Hermione, you will stay safe and you won't kill Goyle. Do you understand me?" He told her.
"What? Draco he is the reason Andy died! And you are stopping me from killing him." Hermione told him.
"Take a moment and listen to yourself, Hermione. You are not a killer. Goyle will be captured and thrown into Azkaban. He will receive the Dementors' Kiss, and I will make sure of that, I promise you. And I just want you to promise me in return that you won't try to kill him or anyone else here. Justice will be served, Hermione." Draco promised her.
"Fine. But that won't stop me from taking my revenge from him. I should go now. Be careful, Draco, you have to fulfill your promise." Hermione said.
But before she could do anything, Draco placed a hand on her cheek and kissed her forehead. "I will."
Hermione smiled at him and pulled the cloak out from her bag. She put it on herself and quickly stood up.
She glanced back at Draco and then made her way towards Goyle. She crept behind him and stood there, her wand pointed at him. But she knew that she had to save Ginny and Harry first.
So, to distract him, she pointed her wand at another death eater and non verbally cast the Flipendo spell. The death eater flew backwards and hit the wall behind him.
And apparenlty that was enough to distract Goyle and the other death eaters. He immediatley walked towards the death eater who was lying unconscious near the wall, leaving Ginny and Harry.
Hermione immediately walked up to them and released them from the Petrificus Totalus spell. They both turned around, looking confused for a moment, but Harry smiled as he understood what was happening. "Hermione?" He asked, just to be sure.
"It is me, Harry. You both take your wands, Goyle was stupid enough to leave them here, lying on the ground and help the others in capturing the other death eaters. I will take care of Goyle." Hermione told them.
"Thanks, and take care, Hermione." Ginny said, before Harry could argue with Hermione on her decision. She knew there was no use of it, Hermione's voice was more determined than ever, even more than it was during exams. If she was determined to do something, she would do it. And Ginny was just proven right, when Hermione told her, "Thanks."
Ginny nodded and picked up the wands, giving Harry his wand. They immediatley went away to help the other death eaters.
Hermione, on the other hand, went towards the little group that was standing near the wall, their leader standing the nearest to the unconscious death eater.
She stood a little over three feets away from them and petrified all of them, excluding Goyle. He turned around, perplexed by the sudden movement.
"Who is there?" He shouted.
Instead of answering, Hermione thought of showing it to him. She removed the cloak from herself and put it in her bag, all the while Goyle was watching her with his mouth hanging open.
"Y-you-wha-how?" He stuttered.
"That is for me to know, and you to find out. But not now, okay? I think we something rather interesting to do now." Hermione told him as she pointed her wand at him.
And thus, the duel between them began. Goyle, surprisingly, was a good dueler. He could keep up with her, and was constantly casting spells at her.
Hermione was moving backwards, and was about to cast a spell at him, when she tripped over a rock and fell to the ground.
Hermione was trying to sit up from the ground while Goyle was standing there and smirking at her. He too was about to cast a spell at her, when they heard a shout.
"EXPELLIARMUS!"
Hermione looked behind her to see Harry casting the Disarming spell at Goyle. She caught his eye and he grinned at her.
She mouthed a 'Thank you' at him, and he nodded, leaving to help someone else. Hermione quickly stood up and used the Petrificus Totalus spell at him.
He fell down and she rushed over to him. "If I had wanted to hurt you, believe me, you would have received a lot worse than this petrifying spell. But I promised someone that I wouldn't kill you, and I won't. But I won't let Andy die in vain either. He was a hero, unlike you. You and the others will be sent to Azkaban, and would receive the Dementors' Kiss, I would make sure of that. But now, I have a little left over work to do." She told him.
She looked back at the people who were fighting in front of her. She picked up Goyle's wand, though with a little difficulty, managed to remove all the spells that were preventing everyone to go out or come in from Hogsmeade. Then she used her own wand to cast a shield around her and Goyle. After doing that, she quickly cast her otter patronus, thinking about one of her most happiest memories, when Draco helped her to bring back her parents' memories, and delivered her message to it.
She watched as it crossed the boundaries of Hogwarts' grounds. Pointing her wand at her throat, she cast the Sonorous charm and turned back to the people. Most of the death eaters were captured and those who were left, were on the verge of being captured.
"Stop fighting everyone!" Hermione said, her voice amplified because of the charm. Everyone turned towards her and stopped fighting for a moment. Funny how everyone listened quietly to her and her commands.
"As you all death eaters can see, your leader is here lying on the ground, petrified by me. He has lost, meaning you all lost too. Most of you all are already captured, and others well....." She signalled the students and Professors to capture the left over death eaters as well. Once that was done, she continued, "Now, you all are captured, and the Ministry officials are on their way to here. They would come here any second."
"There is no point in fighting anymore now. You all tried to take the Elder Wand and re start what Voldemort already did when he was here, but as always, good won in the end. I believed, and still do, that people can change. They can become better if given the chance, death eater or not. And I know many death eaters who fought for us in the Second Wizarding War, and helped us win it. And after that, many helped us by telling us the hide outs of Voldemort, and the dark objects that he had in possession."
"But some death eaters, like you all, didn't learn the lesson the first time and tried once again. But what happened? You all lost. If you hadn't followed your leader, Goyle, and started on the path of being good, you all would have atleast been free, you could have gotten jobs, and education to those who are younger. But unfortunately, now that's not possible. You all deserve Azkaban and even worse than that. I could have killed Goyle easily here, but I didn't, because I am not like you all. I will let the Ministry do their work." She finished.
She told the students and Professors to bound the death eaters in ropes and take their wands and to make sure that they don't run away. She removed the shield and cast Incarcerous at Goyle. Once that was done, they all levitated and placed the death eaters in the dungeons.
The wounded were taken to the Great Hall to heal them, and Madam Pomfrey and several other Professors followed them.
Hermione, too, was about to go there when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see none other than Headmistress Minerva McGonagall standing there.
"Thank you for saving all of us. And you did a great job, again. I am proud of you." She told her.
"I haven't saved you all alone. I got loads of help from you all, Draco and A-andy." She said, her voice breaking as she said his name.
"Oh yes. I would like to thank them as well. I saw Mr Malfoy somehwere around here, but I haven't seen Mr Mayfair. Where is he?" McGonagall asked her.
Hermione sighed sadly and said, "He is not here anymore. He died, while trying to save me from the Carrows."
McGonagall closed her eyes for a moment and then said, "I am sorry. That boy was really brave, till the very end. I had my doubts about him when he first came here, but he cleared all of them by his kind acts. But, now I feel guilty that I ever doubted him of being the one behind those attacks."
"Don't worry. Andy didn't blame you. I mean, he did at the starting but before we came back here, he told me to tell you that he didn't blame you for anything in case he didn't make it out alive. He even said that you were his favourite professor, and that he learned a lot from you, and that he was grateful that you allowed him to join here." Hermione told her professor and Headmistress.
McGonagall just nodded in reply. Andy had become one of her favourite students, and sad would be a understatement to what she felt now.
"Anyone else died?" Hermione asked her.
To her relief, she shook her head and said, "No. Most of them are injured, and some of them are very minor injuries. Nothing major to worry about."
Hermione repeated Headmistress' action and nodded.
"Let's go inside. There is something that we all need to do." McGonagall said and led her inside the Great Hall.
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"Wait. There's someone else that you need to arrest too."
The Ministry officials turned their head towards the source of the voice. They had arrived shortly after the students were taken to the Great Hall. The Professors had explained everything to them. Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Minister of Magic, promised them they would all receive their punishments.
"You need to arrest a Hogwarts' student as well." The source of the voice, Draco Malfoy, told them.
"What are you talking about, Mr Malfoy?" Kingsley asked him.
"You need to arrest Astoria Greengrass." He said simply, as if naming the students who need to be arrested was his daily habbit. And who knows, it might be?
Gasps could be heard throughtout the Hall. Everyone turned towards the said person, who was lying comfortabley on a Hospital bed, trying to convince everyone that she played a huge part out there, and showing everyone her non existing injury. Upon hearing her name, she quickly snapped her head towards her lover, atleast that's what she called him, her mouth wide open.
"I am afraid I don't understand your point. Explain your reasons, Mr Malfoy." Kingsley told him.
Draco nodded and looked at Hermione. She knew what he was telling her and quickly walked towards Astoria. She petrified her and bounded her with ropes.
"To ensure that she wouldn't escape." Draco told and started telling everyone the reasons to arrest Astoria Greengrass.
Flashback
"T-there i-is something y-you both n-need to know." Andy croaked out.
"Andy, you are only hurting yourself by talking. We will take you to Madam Pomfrey now, okay?" Hermione told him and started to stand up, but Andy stopped her by grabbing her hand.
"No, Her-rmione. I-I don't have much t-time-" Andy started but Hermione cut him off by furiously shaking her head.
"Andy, stop talking like that-" She started but soon was cut off by him.
"Hermione, stop b-being optimistic f-for a moment and l-listen t-to me. Astoria Greengrass" cough, "was t-the one w-who Imp-periused us. And she started t-the rumours about my girlfriend. Y-you need to arrest her, o-okay? She w-was the one to c-create misunderstandings b-between you too. She t-threatened me to tell my secret, my relations with V-voldy, t-to everyone, and to harm y-you, Hermione. I c-couldn't tell anyone. I am sorry f-for this. B-but p-punish her, okay?" Andy told them, with much difficulty seeing as his breathing was becoming uneven.
Draco's face flashed with anger for a moment and he said, "We will, Andy. Don't worry. And you have nothing to be sorry for, it wasn't your fault."
"And o-one more r-request. P-ple-ease bury me n-next t-to my parents, please. And d-don't you b-both dare t-to f-feel g-guilty f-for this, o-okay? I-if you h-had ever c-considered me y-your friend, even o-once, t-then y-you w-won't. Goodb-bye both o-of you." Andy said.
"No, Andy!" Hermione cried while Draco didn't have anything to say.
Flashback over
As Draco finished telling everyone what had happened, everyone was lost in deep thought, while some where saying whispering about Astoria.
"We need solid proof to arrest Miss Greengrass if she had really used on the Unforgiveables." Kingsley told him.
"You can use the Veritaserum to check, Minister." Draco told him.
Kingsley told one of the Aurors to do the Veritaserum test. Hermione removed the Petrificus Totalus spell but still kept her bounded by the rope.
The Auror did the test, and Astoria told just what Draco had told them. She did use the Imperius Curse on them.
Kingsley ordered the Aurors to arrest Astoria for the crime and left the place, but not before using the spell to silence her because they were tired of hearing her shouts.
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They all stood together, raising their wands for the fallen warrior. Tears fell from everyone's eyes as McGonagall told them about Andy's past and what all he did for them, leaving the part where his parents and Amelia were killed. Hermione had told her that Andy wouldn't have liked anyone else knowing about it.
Hermione, Draco, Ginny, Harry, Blaise, Theo, Luna and Pansy, they all gave short speeches about Andy to everyone that day at dinner. The Hall was covered in black banners, instead of the usual colourful ones, for Andy.
They all were sitting together. That day, there was no Gryffindor, no Slytherin, no Ravenclaw and no Hufflepuff. They all were sitting with each other, irrespective of their houses. McGonagall and the other Professors smiled as they looked at the students. The dream of House Unity of Dumbledore finally came true, and Andrew Mayfair had played a huge role in that.
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"So, was there anything else that told you that this all was a trap?"
A week later found the group, consisting of four Gryffindors, three Slytherins and one Ravenclaw were standing near the Black Lake. Ginny and Harry were sitting on a rock, while Hermione and Draco sat on a similar rock next to them. Pansy, Theo, Luna, Blaise and Ron were sitting on the ground in front of the four.
Hermione looked up at Harry and nodded. "We thought that since this horcrux, or more likely the fake horcrux, was so important, the death eaters would have surely kept 'Horcrux' or 'Voldemort' as a taboo. But when Andy did the acting of kidnapping me, he said 'Voldemort' and just when I was about to stop him, I noticed that no death eater arrived, atleast that's what I thought before Andy told me the truth. But those death eaters had arrived with us, not when he used the word, so I thought, a tiny bit, that this could be a trap."
"Nice thinking skills, 'Mione." Ginny complimented her.
"Of course, she's the Brightest Witch of Her Age after all." Draco said, making Hermioe blush. And he saw it, no matter how much she tried to hide it. He nudged her and smirked when she blushed deeper.
"And you are the Amazing Bouncing Ferret of His Age." Harry said, smirking at him.
"Says the Boy who just wouldn't take a hint and Die. And my favourite, Captain Immortality." Draco retorted.
"Shut up, ferret." Ginny said.
"Ooh, why should I do that, Weaslette-soon-to-be-turned-Potterette?" Draco asked her.
And so began the war of calling each other names. It would have gone perfectly well for three hours, than the half an hour it actually did, if it weren't for Luna.
"Your children will be so cute, Hermione and Draco. Blond hair and brown eyes." Luna, smiling dreamily at them.
Draco choked on his saliva and Hermione snapped her head so fast at her, she was sure she heard a crack.
This caused everyone to laugh uncontrollably. Harry even fell on the ground and Ginny kept making hearts between Hermione and Draco with her wand.
"Ahem." They all heard a voice say.
The group turned around to see McGonagall standing there. "You can continue your fun, but I just wanted to inform you all that the final of the Quidditch season this year, Gryffindor versus Slytherin will be held after three weeks. And you can start your training whenever you want."
They all nodded and were about to turn back when she called Hermione towards her.
"Miss Granger, I would just like to say that I heard what Miss Lovegood said." She told Hermione once she stood in front of her.
And if it was possible, Hermione blushed even deeper. "Uh-Pro-I mean Headmistress, Luna was just... Joking, yeah, she was just joking. You know how she is, right, saying weird things." Hermione stuttered.
McGonagall just smiled at her student and said, "I am just here to tell you that you can be happy, too. You don't need to drown yourself in guilt. Mr Mayfair told you what he wanted you to do, didn't he? So you should respect his wishes, and stop feeling guilty."
"I understand, Headmistress." Hermione said.
"And I will repeat what I said to you before, Mr Malfoy is a good man, remember that. He has changed remarkably after the war. Keep that in mind." And just like that, leaving Hermione standing there in confusion, she bid her goodnight and left.
"What did she say?" Draco asked her as he walked towards her.
Hermione jumped as she hadn't noticed him. "Nothing. She just told me a few things that she had told me before as well. But I don't think it will help me." Hermione told him.
"And why not?" Draco asked her.
"You really want to know?" Hermione asked him.
"Yes." He nodded.
Hermione nodded as well and told him to follow her.
She led him away from them, behind a bush that they had discovered a few weeks ago when they were trying to find a peaceful place to talk. Nobody could see them when they stood there, and it was a perfect place for them to talk.
"What was the promise that Andy was talking about, Draco?" She asked him.
Draco heaved a sigh and told her everything that Andy had told him the day he had come to explain everything.
"But why would Andy make such a promise to you? You love someone, so why did he?" Hermione asked him, he hadn't told her about 'him liking or probably loving her' part.
"How do you know that I love someone?" Draco asked her.
This time it was Hermione who explained everything to him.
"So you heard our talks? All of it?" Draco asked her.
"Yes, I think from the point where Blaise asked if that....err kiss was a mistake. I am sorry for that." Hermione told him.
"And you still didn't understand why Andy made that promise?" Draco asked her, bewildered. There was no way that she could be more oblivious than Harry.
"No. You love someone else, so why would he?" Hermione asked him.
Draco started laughing at this. He clutched his stomach as he tried to control it, while Hermione glared at him.
"Oh Hermione, you silly little witch. I was talking about you. The girl that I love is standing in front of me right now. I love you, Hermione." Draco said sincerely.
"R-really?" Hermione asked him, not believing what he was saying.
"Yes, Hermione, really. I have liked you for a very long time now, though it took the Ball for my idiot self to realise that. And slowly, I fell in love with you." Draco said.
Hermione smiled at him as her eyes filled with tears. Draco noticed them immediately and asked, "It's okay if you don't love me back, Hermione. Don't cry for me, I am not worth your tears."
Hermione only smiled wider and hugged him tightly. Confused, he wrapped his arms around her. "You idiot ferret!"She said and lightly hit him on his arm.
"Wha-" He started but she cut him off as she pulled back.
"I love you too, Draco. Really. And I was scared that you loved someone else, and when you said that you loved me, I was really happy, and those were tears of happiness, okay?" She said.
"R-really?" This time it was Draco who asked this question.
Hermione nodded and Draco picked her up, spinning her around. They both remembered the last time what had happened when they did this.
He slowly set her on the ground. His arms were on her waist, and her arms were around his neck. Draco slowly leaned down and Hermione leaned up.
The moment their lips connected, it was as if electricity had shot through both of them. Their lips moved in sync as Draco pulled her a little more closer. Her lips still tasted of the chocolate that she had been eating before, and his lips still tasted of the three green apples that he had eaten after he ate his meal.
They slowly pulled away, but this time Hermione didn't run away. Instead she blushed as Draco smiled at her.
He heaved a sigh and asked, "Can I ask you something, Hermione?"
"Yes." She said in reply.
"You know I really love you, right?" He asked.
She nodded.
"And that you love me too?" He asked her.
"Yes." She said.
"So, you can say no if you want, but, will you be my girlfriend, Hermione? I am not at all perfect but, I promise that I will do anything for you, and I will always keep you happy. So will you be my girlfriend, Mia?" He asked her, saying the nickname he had given her at the end.
"Yes!" Hermione shouted and smiled at him. He grinned at her and hugged her tightly while she wrapped her hands around him.
"I have been meaning to ask, why do you call me Mia? I mean I like it, very much. But how did you come up with it?" She asked him.
"Ahhh... That's a story that I will tell you some other time." Draco simply said.
Before she could say anything else, they heard a voice speak, "Finally! I told you they loved each other."
They pulled away to see the group standing there. Blaise and Theo were smirking at them, Luna was smiling dreamily at him, Ron was simply smiling and Ginny and Harry were grinning at them.
"I have to say that I knew about your kiss. I heard it when I was going back to my common room and you, Malfoy, were telling about it to Blaise and Theo. And I knew from the way you talked about her, that you liked her very much." Harry said.
"Finally something that he's not oblivious about." Blaise muttered.
"You knew. You knew and yet you didn't tell me." Hermione said.
Harry just shrugged in return.
"HARRY JAMES POTTER! I WILL KILL YOU!" Hermione shouted and ran after him, her wand in her hand.
Ginny too followed her saying, "You didn't tell me either. YOU ARE GONE, POTTER!"
And the two ran after him as he ran as fast as he could.
They all laughed as they heard Harry shout, "I DID NOT KILL VOLDEMORT FOR THIS! WHERE IS VOLDEMORT WHEN YOU NEED HIM?"
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As the trio came back panting, they saw the others laughing at them. Harry's hair had turned a combination of red and green, and had suffered more hexes courtsey to Hermione and Ginny.
They all shared a laugh and talked for a few minutes before deciding to go to sleep. The other left leaving Hermione and Draco standing there.
Draco pulled Hermione to his side and asked, "Will you tell me what McGonagall told you?"
"Ahh.... I will tell you when you tell me the story behind Mia first." She said and smirked at him.
"I think I am growing on you." He said and pulled her cheeks to which she replied with, "Very much."
He grinned at her and asked, "So do you know now that why Andy made that promise to me?"
"I know." She said.
"I swear that I didn't force him or anything, it was completely his choice." He said.
"I know, Draco." She said.
He hugged her tightly and she did the same in return. "I love you so much, Mia." Draco said.
"I love you too, Draco." Hermione said.
They both smiled, though they didn't know that the other person was smiling as well. And the next moment found them both thanked their best friend, Andy, silently. After all, if it wasn't for him, they wouldn't have been together now.
A/N: That was it for this chapter. It was 4600+ words. Hope you all liked it. I really felt sad when I was writing the scene about Andy, and when Hermione and McGonagall talk about Andy. Finally they are together! I hope it wasn't cheesy or rushed. Random question: Favourite Quidditch Match? Answer in the comments below. Vote, comment and please share my story. Reviews are always appreciated. Thank you!
Next chapter on 5/4/20(Sunday).
Until next time.