A/n: Thanks to my beta loveinthemadness! **Not yet edited. And as always, check me out on facebook! The link is up on my profile.

On her way into the courtroom the following morning, Hermione found herself on the receiving end of more hostile stares than she recalled in a long time. The Weasley's seemed torn, Lavender was hostile, and the reporters were crazy. She just gripped Draco's hand on the way in, ignoring the questions that arose from the action.

Despite her thoughts the previous night, Hermione was still uneasy about things. What if it didn't turn out in her favor for some odd reason? The divorce would be granted, but would Ron pay for what he did? She began chewing her nails before the judge even appeared, and Draco resorted to holding her hands to keep that from happening. Harry took up residence on her other side, first apologizing again for having never noticed, and then tried to comfort her as well.

"Don't get so worked up," Draco reminded her just before it began, "You can't lose. You're on the right side of things."

Somewhere in the back of her head she logically knew that, yet she couldn't convince herself to believe it. Not until she heard someone else confirm the facts. Maybe then she could breathe easily again.

Instead of replying, she just squeezed his hand, holding on as hard as she could.

"Order," drawled a judge at the front, looking around. They had been sitting there for a while now, but Ron had yet to appear. She was beginning to wonder if he would at all. Part of her wanted to see him; she wanted to see his reaction if she won the trial.

"Not if," she reminded herself, "when. You have to win this."

There was no jury for the case. The judge would solely decide her fate, and Hermione was at least thankful that this man seemed to semi like her. Maybe he would vote in her favor, and save her from anything horrendous if she didn't win.

If a divorce wasn't granted, she would have to go back to living with him for the rest of her life. It was hard to get a divorce trial to start with, and if the attempt failed the first time that was it. She would be with Ron for the rest of her life, happily or not. And she just wasn't prepared for that. She had to win this.

Besides, how could she not? They got both Ron and Hermione to admit to things under the influence of truth spells, so it wasn't like they could lie. And after learning the real truth about her husband, she was more than eager to get away from him forever.

Ron appeared a few minutes later, handcuffed and spellbound to stay in place. The room grew quiet as people realized what was happening, everyone pausing to hear a verdict. Draco stroked the skin of her hand when he noticed that she was tensing up.

"Order," the judge drawled again, standing once Ron was seated. It surprised Hermione a bit that Ron got to appear even after the judge arrived. "A decision has been reached regarding this case."

A hush fell over the room, as though no one dared to breathe in that moment. Briefly, Hermione thought she heard Lavender speak, but decided it was simply a trick of sound.

"Ronald Bilbus Weasley," the man said, nodding down to the ginger, "As the judge in this hearing regarding your trial against both divorce and abuse, I hereby allow Miss Granger the separation from you on the account of both spousal abuse and faithlessness since the beginning."

To that Hermione shut her eyes, relief washing over her. It was over. Thank Merlin it was over! Suddenly lost in her bliss, she forgot to listen, and Draco nudged her quickly when the judge continued.

"-Azkaban on the sentence of abuse. Parole after one year, two years at the most."

The brunette frowned at that. Had Ron just been sentenced to jail? Her answer came a moment later.

"Are you insane!? That's ridiculous!" An entire courtroom looked over at the head of Lavender Brown, her face about as red as the blouse she wore. "This is unjust!"

From somewhere on that side of the room, an Auror stepped out, grasping the woman's shoulders as he led her from the silent room, still screaming about the entire ordeal. Once Lavender left though, the room broke into a bustle of movement.

Ron attempted to scream about his situation as well, struggling from his seat only to end up on the floor. The Auror who escorted him in reached over and pulled him up, ignoring the profanity that spewed from his mouth as he was dragged from the room.

"Miss Granger?" the judge continued, speaking over the noise that was quickly escalating in the room. Hermione hadn't even noticed until that moment that she was being hugged by Draco, someone else rubbing her back. She quickly detached herself from the flurry of hands, a bit dazed by the entire ordeal. Reality hadn't really set in yet.

"Yes?" she replied, the conversation still having only caught half the rooms attention. A lot of people seemed to be talking amongst themselves after the outcome was released.

"There will be some papers to sigh after this. Make certain that you sign them before leaving."

Hermione nodded silently. "I will."

The brunette's daze didn't last long. Everything compiled onto her as she walked beside Draco on the way towards an office to sign her divorce papers, the reality of the situation finally sitting thoroughly in her brain.

She was done. She would never be attached to that jerk again. Before she reached the door, she jumped on the blonde right there in the hallway, wrapping her legs tightly around his waist. He was unsuspecting of the onslaught, and stumbled under her weight briefly. But he was quick to regain his balance, holding the slim female against him.

"It's over," she muttered quietly, her head buried into his neck. "It's over."

"Why yes," he muttered smugly, ignoring the looks of people as they passed, and a few surprised reporters who only stared at first. "I told you you were on the right side."

She nodded against his collarbone, ignoring the fact that she was probably drawing a lot of unneeded attention from their current situation. So what? She spent years loving someone that couldn't find it in him to really love her in return, and even stood around and let him lay his hands on her for a while. She felt that she had every right to be happy and ecstatic in that moment.

Without thinking, she pulled away and hopped out of his arms, his hands pulling away from their position on the bottom of her thigh. Back on the ground, she grinned at him, leaning up to kiss him softly on the lips. If he was surprised that she wanted to kiss him again, then it didn't show on his face. And the photographers snapping shots didn't make her pull away either.

When she did pull back, she grinned at him. "It's time to start something new."

"I agree," he replied, looking less flustered than one would suspect after having both been jumped upon and kissed all in the same few minutes.

Nodding her head in the direction of the door, she grabbed the handle, before using her other hand to grasp his own. "I just have one more thing to handle."

Draco nodded, but pulled his hand back. "This isn't a matter that involves me; it's a legal matter. Just go ahead and sign, I'll wait out here." She didn't argue, and disappeared inside.

The moment she was gone, Draco dropped the relaxed expression and turned away, ignoring anyone who had bothered to hang around, thankful that the reporters had been shoved back out into the lobby, despite the fact that they really weren't supposed to be in the Ministry. He looked around quickly as he walked, hoping to find his target before Hermione finished.

Turning a corner, he quickly backtracked. Potter and his wife stood in the hallway, muttering to the girl's parents.

"It can't be helped," Potter said, attempting to keep his voice light. "Ron has to pay for what he did."

"I know," said another male voice that Draco recognized to be the father of the family, "I know. I only wish he hadn't done it to begin with."

"Well we all do dad," Ginny argued, "But nothing is going to change that. Ron made his own decisions, and now he has to pay for them."

The three bantered on a bit more, drawing Draco's attention. The mother had yet to utter a word, and he wondered why that was. Daring to peek around the corner, he regretted his action.

Molly Weasley sat against the wall, staring ahead of her, eyes void of emotion. He met those eyes briefly, immediately looking away. He left immediately after that, unwilling to remain there.

Her eyes, they were so dead and expressionless, so scarred from the realization of her life, that they had taken on a horrific dull hue that left you with a funny feeling, as though she was deprived of someone. Like a life. Like a good life.

Draco had seen that expression mirrored far too much in his mother's eyes. He couldn't fathom looking back into her pupils again. The expression was simply too familiar.

He didn't tell Hermione about the brief bit of information he heard, because he didn't want to dampen her mood. Something she had needed to do for ages had finally come to be, and the girl was walking on air the rest of the day after she signed the divorce papers. The woman was single now, free, and she couldn't be more excited.

Then again, Draco also failed to mention that he technically hit Seamus while wandering around the Ministry. He couldn't help it really, not after knowing that the prat helped Brown help Ron. He still didn't really know the true motive of Seamus helping, but he doubted he ever would at this point. It just felt nice to attack the man- after all, he very well knew that Finnegan had a thing for Hermione.

And at this point, that just wouldn't do.

Hermione however, danced around his room oddly enough, even going as far as to jump on his bed. It was a bit surprising, but Draco didn't argue. He only gripped her arm, laughing when the woman fell on top of him.

"See what you do," he grunted, feigning hurt. From her position on top of him, she smacked his shoulder.

"Quit it!" She let out another laugh as he rolled them over, pinning her to the mattress now. "You're no fun!"

"I'm no fun?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Whatever gave you that idea?"

She huffed from beneath him. "Yu ruined my jumping!"

"I ruined your jumping?" he mocked, laughing when she attempted to slip out from under him. The wiggling awoke parts of his anatomy that had been quite lively lately though, and he almost regretted pinning her for fun.

Hermione seemed to notice too, and stopped, peering up into his eyes. She obviously noticed the affect she was having when he tensed up.

"Or maybe I'm ruining your fun?" she asked, peering up at him.

"Maybe," he grunted, glancing away from her. She got divorced that morning, and he wasn't quite sure she would appreciate him pouncing upon her, even after everything.

The tie he wore that day suddenly became something to use against him, and the woman hooked her hand around the piece of fabric, pulling his face closer to her. "Well, maybe I should help instead."

He could immediately tell that seduction really wasn't something she was thoroughly familiar with, but he didn't argue when she pulled her further against him, kissing him hard. He responded eagerly, all too happy to comply with her lips. He did want to touch her after all, and he would take kissing this woman over nothing.

Draco waited his turn; he waited until the legal work was cleared and she was safe and free before he did anything. But she was free and single now, and he had no intention of ignoring the woman in his bed now. He didn't need to.

She wanted him it seemed, and he certainly wanted her. He would even go slow, if that's what she wished.

Lost in his need to kiss her, feel her, devour her, Draco forgot about his troubles. For some time as he laid there kissing Hermione, he just let life be. Right now, things were perfect.

And down the hall, simmering to perfection, sat a vile of the salve for Draco. One more coat, and the Dark Mark would disappear. And just maybe, Hermione would use some too.

~FIN~

A/n: Okay so before everyone starts saying that this ended abruptly, let me explain. Since I decided to do a sequel, I want to make sure that there's at least a bit to cover. I have no plans to write a long sequel as long as this one, but it has to have at least a bit of content.

You can read this as a stand-alone story or read the sequel, but either way this story is complete. The sequel will be called "His and Her Scars" and will hopefully be up in a week or so. That's why this story is a bit short, so that a sequel can have at least some content.

I hope you enjoyed the story. For those of you who follow me onto the second story, I hope you enjoy it too. I'll be posting a chapter when I do post the second story on here, just to let you know. That will only stay for a short time before I paste it on here instead.

Hopefully you enjoyed the story. You might have an opinion about the ending, but since it's my story, this is how I've decided to do things. Let me know what you thought, since this is the final chapter :)

A/n: "His and Her Scars" is up now lovelies!