Hermione could barely keep it together as they all gathered in the Great Hall and tended to the wounded and counted the dead. Harry had disappeared after Voldemort's request and she feared he had done something incredibly stupid.
Silent tears had been streaming down her cheeks ever since she had seen George Weasley hunched over the lifeless body of his twin, Fred, and only flowed quicker the more she realised what had been lost.
It had been an hour since she'd seen Draco and she couldn't shake the feeling that he was among the fallen. When she saw the Death Eaters walking across the courtyard, and a lifeless body in Hagrid's arms, she let out her first sob. Ron held it together for the both of them as the crowd formed and they listened to Voldemort shout about Harry's death.
She was momentarily relieved when she heard Voldemort say Draco's name, realising he was alive, and stretched her neck to find him in the crowd. He was near the back, eyes wide and his hands shaking, when he caught her gaze. He took a deep breath and pushed his way towards her, bowing his head and whispering something to her before he crossed over to the Dark Lord's side.
'Trust me.' He had said.
As it always does, the next ten minutes passed in a blur. The final fight. Harry wasn't dead, Draco saved his life by throwing Harry a wand, and Voldemort was finally gone for good.
Without knowing why, Hermione found herself walking along the corridor to a familiar broom cupboard and laughed to herself when she realised she had actually come back here like she promised. She'd left the Great Hall when it became too much, the emotions overwhelming her, and she slipped out to get some fresh air but her feet had carried her here.
As she wandered down to the end of the corridor, which was filled with rubble after part of the roof had been destroyed, she found the broom cupboard with the door detached and lying a few feet away. She found a relatively clean spot to sit facing the open cupboard, and calmed her mind for a while.
'Fancy seeing you here, Granger.' A voice drawled over her left shoulder. She whipped her head round to see Draco limping towards her over the rubble.
'I once made someone a promise about a broom cupboard.' She said with a smile.
'Looks to me like we'll have to retire this spot, it's not very private anymore.' Draco replied, sitting next to her with a wince and pointing to the discarded door.
'Are you hurt?' She asked as he clutched his side and winced some more.
'It's nothing.' He said, trying to take a deep breath over the pain and letting out a yell.
'It's not nothing!' She exclaimed as she turned to face him, pulling her wand out. 'Tell me what happened.'
'My father.' He said through gritted teeth as she undid his buttons and opened his shirt to reveal the bruises.
'Shit.' She mumbled as she traced his ribs with her fingertips. 'I think they're broken.'
'That's what it felt like when he gave me a good kicking for "defying the Dark Lord".' He mocked with a laugh, which hurt like a bitch.
'Do you trust me?' Hermione said quietly, looking into his eyes. He nodded and she helped him lay down so that she could heal him. 'This is probably going to hurt.'
'Can't hurt anymore than it does right now.' He mumbled, but he took her free hand in one of his and gripped it tightly.
'Brackium Emendo.' She said with a wave of her wand. They both heard a harsh snap as Draco held a scream behind gritted teeth.
'Merlin, Granger...' he mumbled as he caught his breath. 'You're trying to kill me.'
'Do you feel better? Did it work?' Hermione asked, running her hand across his ribs once more. He didn't flinch this time, only let out a sigh and grabbed the hand that was on his chest to hold against his skin.
'Right as rain.' He said, pulling himself up to a seated position.
'Where did you learn that Muggle saying?' Hermione asked, assessing his other injuries while she spoke. He had small cuts and bruises and a sprained ankle which she bound by hand with bandages from her bag.
'You said it to me before.' He said, watching her as she wrapped the bandage around his bare foot and handed him his shoe to carry.
'When?' She asked. A small smile spread across her face as she realised he'd remembered an insignificant conversation of theirs.
'Fifth Year, I think. You were upset about something when we met in there.' He explained, pointing to the broom cupboard. 'I asked if you were alright, you said "right as rain" then proceeded to snog my face off.'
Hermione blushed and tried to hide it, but Draco's hand cupped her warm cheek. She looked into his eyes and brushed his messy hair out of his face.
'I did much prefer snogging your face off than talking about my problems in Fifth Year.' She mumbled. Draco let out a breath, as if he was trying to laugh but was in too much pain.
'Help me up?' He asked quietly.
As he staggered to his feet, one arm around Hermione's shoulder and the other holding his shoe, he contemplated what would happen next. He had two choices as far as he could tell; choose Hermione and hurt her when he was put on trial for his part in the war, or let her go and hope that it didn't hurt too much. He dragged them over to the cupboard and she laughed when she realised where they were going.
'Really?' She asked, helping him sit on one of the shelves.
'For old times sake.' He replied, pulling her onto his lap and looping his arms around her waist.
They sat there for a few minutes, kissing occasionally, and wishing that everything had turned out differently. Wishing that the last two years had been as normal as Fifth Year without the war and without Voldemort.
'We should get back.' Hermione whispered against his lips. Draco's hands were in her hair and he sighed when he realised she was right. He painfully put his shoe back on his injured foot and got up to leave the cupboard. He didn't use her for support this time, instead holding her hand and limping next to her.
Before they entered the Great Hall he stopped her, kissed her one last time, and told her that he'd meet her soon. She smiled, her first genuine smile in a long time, and pecked his cheek before rushing off to find Harry and Ron. Draco stood rooted to the spot and watched as she went back to her friends.
'So, are you finally going to admit that it was Granger you were snogging all through Fifth Year?' Blaise said behind him. Draco laughed and looked over his shoulder as Blaise stood next to him with a huge smirk on his face.
'How the bloody hell would you have known about that, Zabini?'
'You had a new love bite every week.' Blaise deadpanned. 'And Pansy was whining about you all the time so I knew it wasn't her. Doesn't take a genius like myself to work it out.'
Draco sighed and shook his head.
'I'm surprised Potter and Weasley took it so well earlier.' Blaise said.
'So am I.' Draco admitted. 'I don't think they really thought into it too much at the time.'
'So when's the wedding?' Blaise joked.
Draco sighed again. Decision time. 'I can't Blaise. I can't be with her when I could be sent to Azkaban for being a Death Eater.'
'Don't say things like that, Malfoy.' Blaise said, his face deadly serious as he turned to face Draco. 'You helped Potter win earlier, at great personal risk. They won't send you down because your father's a git who forced you into a cult at the age of sixteen.'
'I can't guarantee that.' Draco said, frustrated. 'I can't promise Granger anything until I know that I'm cleared. I won't do that to her.'
'You really care about her don't you?' Blaise asked. 'It's not just snogging in a broom cupboard?'
'If I didn't care about her, I wouldn't be making the choice to leave her out of this.'
'Are you planning on telling her this?' Blaise asked hesitantly. Draco shook his head. 'What if she hates you for making this choice without talking to her first?'
'She wouldn't let me make this decision.' Draco sighed. 'She's too nice. She'd try to act all high and mighty like it wouldn't bother her if I was convicted a war criminal.'
'Isn't that a good thing?'
'No, Blaise!' Draco spat. 'It might not bother her, but it would bother me. Now drop it.'
Blaise held his hands up in surrender and walked towards the Great Hall, wand out and ready to heal. Draco took one last look at Hermione and turned to leave the building. He wasn't planning to run away, just sit and watch the sunrise one last time before he was inevitably taken to the Ministry.
'Not so fast, Mr. Malfoy.' A deep voice said behind him. He turned and faced Kingsley Shacklebolt.
'Is it time?' Draco asked, earning a small flicker of surprise from the soon to be Minister of Magic.
Hermione looked towards the Entrance Hall, looking for Draco, and tried not to let the disappointment show on her face when she realised he was gone.