Disclaimer: Harry Potter and his world belongs to J.K. Rowling, not me. I own nothing except the characters you don't recognise, basically Abigail Serpent. I don't own the song either!

Author's Notes: Please don't hate me! I'm sorry if I made people mad and cry but I did give out warning. Anyway the sequel is finally up and its called Here Without You! So check it out!

Now here is the epilogue, it's not very long but it's the conclusion to the Dragon, the Lion and the Serpent (it should have been Lioness really, didn't think of that till now!). I added the song Everybody Hurts, I know its by REM but I was listening to the Corrs version.

The epilogue is short, from a general point of view and it is also a link for the sequel. Not as emotional as previous chapters but not rushed either.

Check out the shout outs at the end, I've given hints and clues about the sequel for those who are interested. Thank you for all the feedback, I was happily surprised.

Enjoy!

..~**~..

Chapter 39

No one had noticed Hermione's disappearance from the feast therefore everyone was surprised when Hagrid brought back the unconscious, soaked to the bone Gryffindor girl in his arms. She was immediately taken to the infirmary on Dumbledore's orders and Hagrid informed him and Madame Pomfrey that after hearing distant shouting in the Forbidden Forest, he had made his way to the clearing and found Hermione lying on the ground.

Hermione stayed unconscious for a couple of days in the hospital wing alongside Abigail. Harry watched over both of them night and day. Nobody knew what Hermione had been through and when she finally woke up, she didn't give any answer. She had truly thought it had all been a dream and when she realised it wasn't, tears fell down her cheeks despite her will. She sat in her bed for hours, remembering the terrible night, trying to make sense of it. But the truth continuously stabbed her through the heart: he had left her and he was never coming back.

And then the memories suddenly shot through her mind and images of Draco haunted her day and night. She would think about him all the time, she would think about the times they had spent together, think about his touch, his scent, his silver eyes and it killed her. She barely spoke, barely ate and her once soft chocolate eyes turned dull and cold. She cried when she was alone and nobody knew what was wrong, she wouldn't tell. In the space of a week, she had lost the will to live.

She couldn't go on without him, she had told him so.

The day after she woke up, the Ministry held another party to award the defeaters of Voldemort the Order of Merlin, Second class. Harry got a First class. Cornelius Fudge at the same time publicly apologised to the Serpent family for their mistake and allowed them to come back to England.

Following the feast, all Hogwarts students were given a week off before classes started again. Ron and Ginny came back during that week. They had changed; the loss of another brother had scarred them deeply for life. After keeping to themselves for a few days, they finally began talking again and having fun with Harry and their other Gryffindor friends but it was never the same. Harry, to everyone's surprise, began to appreciate his new celebrity and gave many interviews for the press. The rest of the time he spent it at Abigail's bed, talking to her, waiting for her to wake up. Abigail's aunt, Isabelle, and her Muggle husband came to visit a couple of times to check up on their niece. She explained to Dumbledore and Harry that Abigail had been disowned by her father. The rest of the family had to follow his decision. but she did not care about family rules when her niece's life was in danger. She had apparently already bent the rules when she had married a Muggle. She was glad to meet Harry and soon realised that the Defeater of Voldemort would take good care of Abigail.

Hours turned into days, days into weeks and before Hermione knew it, she was living again. As time passed, she went back into her Head Girl routine and studied even harder for her NEWTS, trying to forget the pain eating away at her. She kept away from her friends but spent as much time as she could with Abigail. She found it easy to talk about Draco to the unconscious girl when Harry wasn't around but she ended up in tears most of the time or angry with him or herself. Once she threw a vase across the room.

And then, shortly after the Ministry party, the Daily Prophet announced Draco was the new head of Malfoy Enterprises. He was shown on the front page, shaking hands with Cornelius Fudge, along with other wealthy businessmen, whose companies he had successfully bought. That morning at breakfast, Hermione saw his picture and it caused her to spill her drink. She hadn't thought she would see him so soon and it caused her more pain than she could endure.

She kept it all to herself.

Abigail finally woke up with the arrival of spring. She soon found out that she had lost all her magic and freaked out. After Harry hopelessly tried to calm her down, Madame Pomfrey soon arrived and informed her that she had temporarily exhausted her powers during the night they had defeated Voldemort and after much rest, her magic would return. Therefore she stayed another month at the hospital wing before she was released. Harry came to see her everyday and as promised, he made plans to take her on a long holiday to some exotic place.

Hermione barely visited Abigail anymore. The Slytherin kept asking questions about Draco and Hermione couldn't bring herself to talk about him anymore. Answering her would mean that Draco was truly gone and it was too hard. Instead she kept to herself and her books. Abigail eventually noticing Hermione's uneasiness, decided to drop the subject and let her be. However, Hermione continued to avoid Abigail as it broke her heart to watch her and Harry, the latest gossip in Hogwarts. They were always smiling, always kissing and it brought back yet again too many memories for Hermione.

Before Abigail was released from the hospital wing, Dumbledore came in to see her and her four Gryffindor friends, who were visiting. After a long speech stating how proud he was of them all and how he was impressed with their fighting skills, he offered them each a place within the Order. Although the Order had no longer a reason to be, Dumbledore informed them that many Death Eaters were still out somewhere hiding and preparing for revenge. They all agreed to join him except Hermione who scowled, shook her head and left the infirmary before anyone could stop her. She clearly remembered what he had done to Draco and couldn't forgive the old man for it. From that day on, she distanced herself from the old Headmaster and always spoke coldly to him.

Eventually, exams approached and for weeks Harry, Ron and Hermione studied relentlessly. They all passed admirably. Hermione got top grades and was automatically accepted at the Ministry for high official training. Her ultimate goal was to become a judge for the Ministry. Ron, following his brother's death, had sworn to become an Auror and bring all Death Eaters to justice. His grades were good enough to be accepted in the new Auror training program, headed by Alastor Moody. As for Harry, he decided to take a year out, think about what he really wanted to do and finally enjoy his life. During graduation day, he could think of nothing better to do in the future than be with Abigail.

After the graduation ceremony, all five friends sat on the Hogwarts grounds, lying in the hot sun, talking among themselves and reading the latest Daily Prophet. The head news was the mysterious disappearance of a Muggle community the previous night. Aurors hadn't found any clues on site and the Ministry expressed its concern that Death Eaters, still at large, were targeting Muggles for revenge. However, they simply couldn't prove their theory.

In the business pages, Draco's face was shown once more as he bought yet another large wizard company. He was recruiting them everyday and everyday his power over the wizarding world was increasing. No one could legally stop him.

"Hermione, what really did happen to Malfoy?" Harry suddenly blurted out, Abigail in his arms. "Did he simply just up and leave?"

Everyone turned their eyes to her and she felt obliged to give them an answer.

"Yeah," She informed them quietly, lying back down on the grass. "He simply left - for good."

..~**~..

If you're on your own in this life, the days and nights are long,
When you think you've had too much of this life to hang on

Well, everybody hurts sometimes,
Everybody cries. And everybody hurts sometimes
And everybody hurts sometimes. So, hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on
Everybody hurts.

You are not alone.

(Everybody Hurts - The Corrs)

..~**~..

The end.

I can't believe I actually went through and finished this fic but now its official! The sequel is up for you to read but before you leave, don't forget to REVIEW!

Thanks xx Hathor

Shout outs:

MissDitzy: When writing chapter 38, I was listening to a lot of sad music and when I re-read all in one go - it made me cry! I couldn't believe it but I guess the ending is very sad. Draco IS a very stupid man as you say but he'll definitely be back for the sequel. I hope to hear from you once I write the sequel, thank you for your wonderful reviews!

Malfoy'sAngel: Hey! Thank you so much for reviewing! Your reviews are so nice and make me smile like an idiot when I read them! Lol! I'm so happy you enjoyed this fic so much! About Draco, well I'm sorry I had to make him leave but to be honest, it was in the mind since the beginning. The sequel won't be up for a while although I am working on it nearly everyday! Take care!

Annie: Hey, I don't know when the sequel will be up but trust me it will revolve around Draco and Hermione's romance as well as Harry and Abigail. Thank you for your reviews!

DracosMine89: Hehe, I was considering of ending the fic with chapter 38 but then thought against as it was just plain evil. Thank you for reviewing, I'm glad you liked the fanfic!

xOxOkIsSmYaSsXoXo: Thank you for reviewing faithfully! It was really cool! I'm glad you thought chapter 38 was something new. I guess fanfics usually have a happier ending but then again the sequel will also be about Hermione and Drano's romance. See you soon!

JTfanaddict: Your review nearly made me tear up! It brightened up my day so thank you so much for it and for reviewing the previous chapters! I'm so glad you enjoyed it and I must admit, I'm quite proud when I read that people cried over chapter 38. It tore me apart as well when I decided that Draco had to leave. I was horribly hard to write but I was rewarded with wonderful reviews such as yours. I hope I'll hear from you soon when the sequel is up, take care!

: Thank you for reviewing, I'm glad you liked the fic. It is pretty sad but hopefully the sequel will be more cheerful!

Tomfeltonlover1400: Hehe, I believe Tom Felton is probably 4 years younger than me. My friend who worked on the third movie met him and his older brother and said they were wicked, really cool kids. I was so jealous! Thank you for the wonderful reviews, its nice to hear people praise my work, as none of my friends or family know that I write. Hope you'll enjoy the sequel!

Twinklerbell23: Hiya, don't worry, I'll find a way to fit your request in the sequel, lol! I'm sorry about the epilogue, maybe I didn't explain very well that is was supposed to be deadpanned and unemotional. Its basically a statement of what occurred after, like at the end of movies when they tell you through images or writing what happened to the characters. I intended to shock the readers by writing an unemotional epilogue, I guess. But do not worry, things will be back to normal with the sequel. Thank you for both your reviews!

Juicy-Fuit for Drako: Hey, unfortunately I won't be updating anytime soon. My new fic will be up very soon, its another Draco Hermione romance! I'm glad you enjoyed this fic as well as your friends; thank you so much for the reviews! The sequel although it isn't started yet will probably be longer than this fic!

Spicecat38: I don't know what the sequel will be called yet but its definitely not The Dragon, the Lion and the Serpent 2 or the Sequel, lol! Thank you so much for the reviews and as I've said before, the sequel should have more chapters than this fic.

Pippin1177: Hey, I'm glad you liked this fic, especially the ending! The last reviews made me smile a lot when everybody kept going "Oh my God!" and such. I think I shocked quite a few people with the ending but it was all intended. Once again, thank you so much for the reviews!

Eriador: I hope chapter 38 didn't make you cry too much… feels guilty… Hermione unfortunately won't become a business tycoon but she will definitely but there will definitely be some serious ass kicking! Hehe! I will warn people on my personal bio when the sequel is up, thanks for reviewing!

Dracocrazyem: Hiya, I was so glad when I read your reviews, you always notice the important details in the chapters and I love it. I'm glad that you were touched by Harry crying in chapter 36, it took me a long time to write that final bit. Draco certainly has two sides to him which stood out through the entire fic, I didn't want him to become mushy, sweet Draco as I was already thinking about him leaving Hermione and leading the Death Eaters. Unfortunately it was the real Dumbledore who laughed in Drano's face, the massacre had just occurred and made him angry and bitter when Draco went to see him. If you look back at chapter 33, Dumbledore after talking to Hermione expresses his regrets towards having turned his back on Draco. Hermione, however, will hate him for it…. Anyway I don't want to spoil anything and only say that I was touched by your long reviews, especially when I read that the ending made you cry! So thank you for appreciating my fic and I'll hope to hear from you soon, cya!

LadyDevilBlessed: Hehe, of course I couldn't end the fic on chapter 38 that would have been so mean. I hate it when you read a great fic and the author leaves it on a bad note, you feel so frustrated! Thank you for reviewing and check out the sequel, out soonish..

May: Hiya, thanks for reviewing! I have thought of a title for the sequel but its not definite so I won't give it out! I'm glad you enjoyed this fanfiction so much and look forward to hear from you again!

kriCket xO: I'm sorry you had a sucky day when you read chapter 38, I'm not surprised it didn't help with your mood, sorry! I hope you enjoyed the epilogue, thank you for reviewing!

Aaliyah: Hiya, I was so glad to hear from you and your friends! In the sequel Hermione and Draco will definitely cross paths again but that's all I can say… for now! I was touched that you cried over the tragic ending, at least it means that my writing isn't so bad after all, lol! I'll promise to email when the sequel is up, thank you for all the reviews!

Hpcrzyfb: Hey, what can I say? I'm a hopeless romantic who also likes a touch of tragedy! No seriously, thank you for your review, it made my day when I read it. When I wrote that chapter I also cried, I couldn't believe I had chosen such a tragic ending but the sequel will make it all better, right? Anyway, thank you so much for reviewing, glad you liked it!

LadySnake: There is a sequel, I can't just leave everybody unhappy like that! But you're right about one thing, there will be a suicide attempt in the sequel but who I can't tell yet… Thank you for reviewing and I assure you the sequel should be up soonish!

Dracosgirl2515: Hey! Quite a few people compared the ending to Star Wars Episode III actually so I'm going to see it this afternoon actually! I love star wars but I hadn't had time et to see the last episode. As for Draco coming back to Hermione, you'll have to check out the sequel, thanks for your reviews!

Evilbananaz: Thank you for the review! You're so right, the REM version is better but I only had the Corrs version at the time, which I was listening too so I decided to put their name in instead. Draco and Hermione will definitely see each other again in the sequel, I also like happy endings!

UpTheIrons: Oh no, another Iron Maiden fan! Lol! All my friends of fans but I've never got round to listening to their music yet. I realised just how much chapter 38 was sad when many reviewers wrote that they had cried over it (I also did, a little! I can't help adding tragedy in my fics) but hey the sequel will sort things out, hopefully! Thank you for reviewing!

A special thank you also to: Pepperea, samiha, Dodger M, Forestrosespirte, BrownEyedQT715, Absh, AllyCatHerm19, kerry, Im a lazy heffalump, LJ924, chinesefireball88, QueenofAngels90, Miranda, princess of star, undercoverfreek, poorpadfoot, autumn rain, sApPhire rAiin, Sam, roguish muse (thank you for reviewing so faithfully!), LJ and Alex