A/N: Hey folks! Because this is a difficult time for everyone, and because difficult times bring out the hope and light in me, I've written an alternate, happier ending for "Memoriae." Some of you had said how sad the original ending made you feel, and looking back I feel there definitely was room for a happier ending. Have a read and it is up to you to decide which ending you prefer :) Thank you all once again for reading and reviewing, your lovely comments make my day every time.

It's raining. Because of course it is.

She walks unhurriedly, the cold rain soaking through her coat, because there is nothing left.

There is only one way she knows how to handle grief anymore. And it sits in a glass vial tucked deep in her pocket.

The rain feels cleansing. The way a wave carries the sand back to sea. She lifts her face up, like a child to the rising sun, except there is only a broken sky.

Her heart thumps an erratic beat when she thinks of him.

You've made me happier than I've ever been in my life.

I wish I'd never met you.

She holds it close to herself, the knowledge that people hurt because they love. It's a secret she clutches to her chest, like a rare pearl, terrified it would one day slip from her fingers.

And yet she had loved him anyway.

Hermione.

She was amused the first time he had said her name. The moon peered from behind a tuft of clouds and he was wrapped in her. His eyes were closed as if in benediction and her name tumbled from his lips.

Hermione.

She whips around to the sound of splashing footsteps. He appears blurry through a film of rain and his features warp inside the droplets that cling to her eyelashes.

He says something but she cannot hear him through the sheer force of the gale. She shakes her head, pushing away his outstretched hand.

"Don't… sorry… said!" he shouts, his voice drowned out by the wind and rain. His fringe clings to his forehead and there is a look in his eyes she has not seen in a very long time.

"Let me go, Draco," she says simply, too tired to fight back.

"No," he cries, bringing his face close to hers. "Let me help you."

"You can't help me, Draco. This is the only way for me."

"You know that isn't true!" he yells, gripping both her shoulders. "I know you do. This isn't who you are!"

"Yes, it is," she retorts, her temper rising. "I've lived with myself long enough to know that."

"Then there's your problem!" he cries, frustration welling in his eyes. "You've decided to shut yourself away from the world and let your worst fears rule you. Tell me, when has that led to anything good?"

She falters, tearing her eyes away from his as she blinks back fresh tears. There he goes again, rocking the ground beneath her convictions in a way only he can do.

"You may believe you have no choice," he says firmly, brushing his lips against her ear. "But let me tell you, Hermione - there is always a choice."

"I- I just don't want to hurt anymore," she sobs, swaying slightly into him."I'm so tired. I just want it to stop."

His expression softens and he brings both his hands to cup her face. "It is going to hurt, Hermione. And I can't pretend to know if it'll ever go away. But what's changed now is that we have each other, and that means I'm not letting you face this alone."

"I don't want to lose you, Hermione," he continues, brushing a tear from her cheek. "Not for anything."

She thinks of how used she's become to waking up beside him, even on the few nights they've spent apart. She'd reach her hand across the bed and expect to find him, warm and breathing gently under the covers. No matter which way she looked, she would find a version of him, reading on her armchair by the fire, stepping out from a cloud of steam in her shower, or holding her hand as she fell asleep on his shoulder.

Sometimes, when she dared, she'd go further and see him with streaks of grey in his golden hair, and a faint wrinkle around his roguish smile.

He is already more than a collection of memories. He is her future, cut in the shape of all her tomorrows.

"Are… are you sure?" she asks slowly. Because people hurt when they love.

He tugs her into his arms, holding her like he was never more sure of anything in his life.

"When you walked out of my apartment, and I realised it could be for the last time, I almost lost it," he says. "Maybe, if we'd never met each other, we could have avoided all of this, and gone on with our lives. But we did meet, and I can't live knowing I willingly let you go when you needed me most."

Even now, in this moment, she wonders if she is dreaming, because she's grown suspicious of happiness.

The moon glows from a rush of rainwater on the road. A crack of lightning strikes and spreads across the sky.

And she sees herself, illuminated in his eyes.

She sees a frightened child in a crowded train station. She sees a teenager, steeling herself for war. She sees a woman, fighting alone for far too long.

"Okay."