Chapter Twenty-Seven

The End

Draco pulled Miley's face into his chest so she couldn't see her Grandma Cissy. He whipped around and handed her to Addison. "Get the kids out of here, now," he demanded. Ginny and Addison did just that and Draco turned to Hermione. "Hermione, go with them, please."

Hermione nodded and he bent down to kiss her cheek. She reached up to hold his head next to hers and whispered, "I love you."

"I love you more, now go please," Draco whispered urgently.

"C'mon, Hermione," Ginny said from the doorway.

"No, no," Lucius said, stepping in front of the door. "Everyone will leave except my son and the Mudblood."

Draco took in a deep breath as he reached for Hermione and held her behind his back. "Hermione only stays if Potter and Weasley do, too," Draco negotiated.

"Malfoy, what the hell?" Ron said. "She has to go. Are you trying to get her killed?"

Before Draco could even defend his motives, Harry voiced Draco's thoughts as if he had been using Legilimens on Draco. However, that wasn't the case. They were both just thinking along the same lines. "She has to stay, Ron," Harry said. "It'll be worse if we don't do what they ask." He turned to Lucius. "But Ron and I are staying."

"Suit yourself," Lucius said maliciously.

Draco moved to face Hermione. "Let us handle this, okay?"

"No way, I'm fighting if I have to. I can do this, Draco."

Draco pursed his lips and considered her for a moment. "You have your wand?" he checked.

Hermione simply nodded and pulled it out to show him.

"Fine, but be careful."

"I always am," she said completely serious.

Draco brought her forehead to his lips roughly and kissed her before turning back to Lucius. "I hate you," Draco informed him unnecessarily.

"Now, now, Draco…play nice."

"Is that what you're doing? Is that why you tied up your wife and shoved her in the corner?" Draco took a step toward Narcissa, intending to free her, but Lucius stopped him by sticking his wand in Draco's chest.

"I really wouldn't do that if I were you, Draco."

Draco glared at Lucius, resisting the overwhelming temptation to spit in his face. "What have you done to her?"

"She's simply stunned. I won't harm her any further…that is if you four cooperate." Lucius sneered and threw a quick glance at his silenced wife. "I tried to Imperius her, but it appears someone's been teaching her to resist that curse."

Harry smirked and Draco and Hermione looked toward him. He shrugged. "She came into the Ministry one day to my office and asked me to help her. I couldn't say her suspicions that she was being used were completely ridiculous, so I taught her to resist the Imperius."

Draco smiled at Harry. "Thanks, Potter."

"My pleasure," he said.

"So," Draco spat, turning back to Lucius, his moment of gratitude coming to a close. "What's this plan you have here?" He was doing his best to hide his fear. He couldn't help but feel that his night with Hermione would forever mean more than either of them hoped that it would need to. He stuck out his hand for her, and she came up and took it.

Hermione certainly didn't want to look weak, like she needed Draco to protect her, but she just wanted to touch him. They stood perfectly still, their hands still clasped, while Ron and Harry stood warily in the background, ready to defend if need be.

Lucius stepped closer to Draco and Hermione, and walked in a circle around them, every step careful and slow. Draco held his breath and squeezed Hermione's hand tighter as his father's long black cloak grazed his shin. His face was turning as red as it could go, taking into consideration how pale his complexion was.

Lucius finally spoke. "I assume you've understood by now that I've only been pretending to redeem myself."

"I can't believe I didn't see it," Draco said, with hatred toward himself. "We told you too much."

"That's right, Draco. Even your mother trusted me, and when she informed me that you would actually be leaving the house tonight, I saw it as the perfect chance to have backup around you. You see, I know that you and your little friends are much too clever; I could never have done it alone."

"So Amycus and Alecto really are involved then?" Harry asked.

Lucius looked up from Draco, toward the sound of the voice. "That's right, Boy Who Hopefully Won't Live Much Longer," he snarled. He called out toward the dark house, "You can come out!"

From somewhere that was assumed to be the kitchen, the sibling Death Eaters came out of their hiding place. Alecto walked up to Harry and Ron. "You must be the infamous Harry Potter," she said. She reached up to touch his face and squeezed his chin. "Aren't you a handsome little thing?"

Harry said nothing but glared at her with eyes that could kill. Ron, however, said, "Infamous to your lot, maybe, but among the good wizards he's more famous than infamous."

"You must be Weasley," she snapped. "Always known for speaking out of turn, your family is."

"Enough, Alecto," Lucius said calmly, "let's just do what we came here to do."

"And what's that?" Harry asked as he and Ron inched closer to Draco and Hermione, all four wands now drawn to match the three wands of the Death Eaters.

"Kill your little Mudblood friend of course, and maybe even you as well! Wouldn't that make the Dark Lord happy?"

"Yeah, in his grave," Ron muttered under his breath.

"What was that you said, blood traitor?" Amycus shouted.

"I said Voldemort's dead! He's in his grave, how the bloody hell could he be happy?" Ron retorted, face turning all red.

"You dare speak his name?"

"What difference does it really make? Why have a name if no one's going to use it?" he reasoned.

Amycus just scowled, causing Ron to chuckle in triumph.

"Are you quite finished, Ron?" Draco asked. "We have better things to do than argue about what to call that dead fucker." Even though he was technically telling Ron to shut up, Hermione, Ron, and Harry cracked a smile at Draco's not-so-subtle agreement with everything Ron said.

"Quite," Ron answered.

"Now," Draco said. "I hate to inform you, but your plan's not going to work."

"Why's that son?" Lucius asked with mocking interest.

"Simple. We'd all rather die than let you kill Hermione." Draco choked out the last two words with difficulty. "What did she do to hurt you anyway? All she's done is mind her own business."

Before any of the Death Eaters could answer, Harry said, "Draco's right, wouldn't you rather kill me?" He didn't actually want this to happen, but he'd do anything to take the attention off Hermione. "I'm the one who killed your precious leader, not her. She didn't even go on the Horcrux hunt."

"It's not about her," Lucius said. "Killing her is more of a punishment to all of you than harming you physically would be. If our assumptions are correct, it would be worse than a thousand Cruciatus curses." He eyed Draco. "Isn't that right?"

Draco gulped and scowled. He didn't even have to say the word "yes" because the answer was in his reaction.

Lucius returned his attention to Harry. "And I daresay it will be quite unbearable to you as well to lose your best friend, no?"

Harry engaged himself in a staring contest with Lucius, considering his answer. Finally he said, "No, I rather think it would be worse to be punished myself. I'd miss Hermione, but I don't know anyone who'd willingly submit themselves to torture."

Behind Lucius's back, Draco looked ready to kill Harry, but Hermione caught on to what he was doing. She whispered in Draco's ear, who looked at her and muttered, "Are you sure?" Hermione nodded and Draco turned back to watching Harry.

"I must say, I'm shocked to hear you say that, Potter. I never knew you were so clever, I must admit. Lucky for your wife, I'm not falling for your lie. I know it would kill you to lose Granger here," he said, gesturing toward Hermione.

"I don't know what you're on about," Harry said, never breaking his hard gaze.

"Are you saying you'd rather get tortured than see her die?"

Harry shrugged. "I'm just pointing out that it may not be as effective to hurt us emotionally as physically, if it were permanent."

Lucius grinned. "Nice try, Potter. I know you're bluffing. I know any of you would sacrifice a body part to keep her alive. Therefore, I shall let you keep your limbs, and I'll take something much more important."

Draco moved in front of Hermione and Ron and Harry walked up to stand on either side of Draco. "If you think any of us are going to move, you're sadly mistaken."

"Think of your children, Potter," Lucius negotiated. "They need a father, do they not?"

"I love my sons," Harry said, "but Miley and Tyler need a mother, too."

"What about your little fire-crotch wife? Won't she miss your ugly scar face?"

"I'm sure Ginny will miss me, but she'll be proud that I died defending my best friend."

"How noble," Lucius said through gritted teeth. He moved to stand in front of Ron who was pointing his wand steady at Lucius. "I'm sure my niece will be upset if she never gets her wedding, will she not?"

"She loves Hermione nearly as much as I do," Ron answered steadily, and that was answer enough.

"Very well," Lucius sneered. He appeared to be assessing the situation at his hands. "I suppose it wouldn't be too difficult to rid of all of you in the process of getting to her."

"What would be the point of killing her after all of us if you're doing it to punish us?" Draco reasoned.

Lucius shrugged. "Funsies?" That caused Alecto and Amycus to laugh.

Draco grimaced and said through his teeth, "At any rate, you can start with me."

"Draco, no!" Hermione whispered urgently, gripping his hand.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Can I have some time with my wife please? We promise we won't go anywhere."

Lucius considered this option. "I don't see why not," he reasoned. "Say your goodbyes, then."

Draco turned around to face Hermione, but she stepped around him and faced the Death Eaters. "You're really going to kill me, aren't you?"

Instead of giving her an answer, he pointed his wand at Harry, then Ron, and their wands flew towards him.

"Fuck," Harry said aloud.

Draco looked at him, as if trying to convey some sort of message, and nodded. "Hermione," Draco said, turning her to face him.

They stepped away to have a moment together. "Hermione, he's not going to do this. No way."

Tears welled in Hermione's eyes, and she said, "Draco, I'm not seeing much other option, and now he has Harry and Ron's wands. We're officially outnumbered."

"A simple Summoning spell is easy enough to do wandless, Hermione. You know that. I just told Harry—at least I hope he understood what I was saying—that he should wait to Summon their wands back until he absolutely needed it."

Hermione nodded her understanding. "Can we just say for a minute, that something will happen to one of us? I want to use this time to say goodbye to you just incase…"

"…Hermione," Draco started, but she shushed him by putting a hand over his mouth.

"Just incase this really is goodbye, let's do it right. If someone gets killed here, I don't want to never have said goodbye. You agreed to taking those pictures last night, and it was pretty much for the same reason." Hermione wrapped her arms around Draco's waist and continued to look into his eyes. "I love you, Draco. If I die, make sure you tell Miley and Tyler every day that I love them."

"Hermione…" Draco managed as a tear rolled down his cheek. "If anyone dies here today it'll be me."

Hermione shook her head. "Dray, they're going to kill me whether they kill you, Harry and Ron first or not. Miley and Tyler need at least one parent. Don't do this to them, you need to stay for them. It's me who doesn't have a choice. You do. You also have to promise me that you won't harm yourself. I know you, Draco, and you're going to feel like you have to punish yourself. Please don't, I'm begging you right now." She viciously wiped tears off her face and he kissed her cheeks where she had just rubbed them.

They heard Harry ask Lucius something, but paid them no mind. "Do you promise?" she asked.

Draco nodded slowly. "I promise, but I'm still going to do everything I can not to lose you."

Hermione shook her head yet again. "I'm not seeing any other solution to this."

Draco squeezed her body to his. "I'll kill him first," he whispered.

"It's never going to work, Draco. I love you so much, baby."

He stroked her hair and kissed her head over and over again. "I love you, too. Oh, God, I love you." He was sobbing freely into her hair and he could feel his shirt being quickly soaked, too.

After a minute of standing like that, Harry came over and said, "Guys, sorry to interrupt, but this really doesn't look good, which I can see you realize."

Hermione nodded. "We're saying goodbye just incase."

"I know," Harry said softly, "that's why I asked Lucius if we could step outside for a few minutes if we promise to come back. One of us will stay in here at all times so they know we'll return. I'd hate to see what happens if we tried to make a break for it."

"Thanks, Potter," Draco said. "Let's go by our babies, love," he said to Hermione, who nodded in agreement.

Ron stayed inside as the three of them went out to the street where everyone was witting on the porch waiting anxiously. Ginny's leg was bouncing up and down, and Addison was biting her nails. Dean and Seamus were standing with their arms crossed, looking grim.

"Harry!" Ginny shouted, jumping up and throwing herself at him.

Addison's eyes grew wide and she put James down onto the steps as she stood. "He's fine, Addison, we're using him as collateral so they know we go back," Harry explained. "When I go back in he can come out."

She seemed to relax but said, "You have to go back there?"

Harry, Hermione, and Draco nodded. "It's looking pretty inevitable," Hermione said sadly. "If Lucius, Amycus, and Alecto have to go through the three of them to get me, I'll still be killed, so I may as well just give myself up and save them."

"Hermione, no!" Ginny exclaimed. "You can't do that!"

"She has to," Draco said, in barely a whisper. "Unless you want to lose Harry, and unless I want Miley and Tyler to be orphans."

"Well, why don't you kill them first?" Ginny argued. It can't be that hard! I'll go with you!"

"No, absolutely not," Harry said quickly. "You're staying out here where it's safe."

Draco reached out and picked up Miley while Hermione lifted Tyler from the porch floor.

"Hi, honey," she said to him. Draco brought Miley closer and she addressed both of them, touching Miley's hair with her free hand. Tears began to fall as she spoke. "Mummy loves you both so much. Never forget that. It's going to be just you and Daddy now," Hermione looked at Draco and saw his cheeks shining with wetness to match her own, "but I will always love you both and Daddy very, very much."

As if they knew exactly what was going on, Miley and Tyler started to cry, too. "Where you go?" Miley asked.

"I'm going to Heaven, Smiley, and I'm going to see Uncle Fred, and so many other people that we all miss very much. And," she looked at Harry, "I get to tell Harry's mummy and daddy hello, too."

"You come back?" Tyler asked.

Hermione smiled and wiped tears away from her cheeks, then shook her head as she kissed his forehead. "No, baby, I can't come back." She reached her free arm out, indicating to Draco that she wanted to hold them both at the same time. She pulled Miley close to her and held them both tight. She kissed them both as many times as she could, and Draco came behind her and wrapped his arms around the three of them, resting his chin on her shoulder. He thanked God that they took family pictures at the Burrow last weekend.

"I love you, my babies," Hermione sobbed.

"I lub you, Mummy," Miley said, tears falling down her tiny cheeks.

"Me too," Tyler agreed with his sister, his little lip quivering.

"Hermione," Draco said, "we have to go back in."

Hermione shook her head. "Let's make a run for it. What's the worst that could happen?"

"They find us, and it's even uglier than this, that's what."

"God, Draco, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to rush this along," she said as she reluctantly handed the twins to Harry and Ginny, stretching her arms toward them until she couldn't touch them anymore.

She was not expecting anything like his reaction to that sentence. For the first time in ten years she saw the old Draco emerge. He turned around and kicked the flower pot on the porch and it shattered to pieces, dirt spilling everywhere. "Dammit, Hermione!" he yelled. "If that's what you think, why don't I just do it myself and get it over with right now?"

Draco's eyes opened wide as Hermione covered her mouth and turned away from him. He couldn't believe he just said that, and it made him want to jump off the top of the Big Ben tower. He looked at Ginny, who had tears spilling over her lower lids, as if that comment was her breaking point. Harry just looked sympathetic, not angry. He knew Draco didn't mean what he just said; he knew Draco was panicking.

Draco walked swiftly to Hermione and turned her around, drawing her roughly into his arms. "Shit, Hermione, I'm so sorry. You know I didn't mean that, don't you? Oh shit, shit, shit. I hate myself so much right now." He rocked her back and forth, then put his hands on her face and forced her to look at him. "I'm so sorry, baby. I don't know why I would say that, especially now."

"I know you didn't mean it, Dray. I just couldn't believe you said it." She tucked her arms under his jacket and wrapped them around his waist.

He returned his arms to their original position around her shoulders. He put his forehead to hers. "This is so not happening right now. I can't seriously be about to say goodbye to you forever, can I?"

Hermione shook her head. "I wish you weren't, believe me, I do."

"I'm gonna miss you so much, love. No one else can ever fill your place in my heart, ever."

"At least we have a chance to say goodbye. Some people don't," she pointed out.

Draco ran his fingers through his wife's hair for what would probably be the last time. It would be the last time he'd ever touch her precious chocolate curls. "I love you, angel."

"I love you, too. Did you realize you just called me 'angel'?" she asked. She thought it was somewhat symbolic.

"I did, actually. I said it because I know you'll be my guardian angel, and the twins, too. You'll have your hands full, Mrs. Malfoy." He kissed her forehead. "Thank you for being such an amazing wife."

"Eh, no problem," she joked. "Thank you for being such an annoyingly egotistical husband." She laughed.

"Think that's funny, do you?" he asked, tickling her under her chin. Even as they laughed, heart wrenching tears still rolled down their cheeks.

Hermione nodded then said, "But I'm just kidding. I couldn't have asked for a better husband, or father to my children. Take good care of our babies, Draco. They'll need you."

"I feel bad that they'll be growing up without a mother figure, especially Miles," Draco said.

"They'll have Ginny and Addison, Draco. Don't forget that the four of them will always be willing to help when you need it."

"Just like Granger," he said, "sounding like you're giving me instructions like I'm a babysitter." He smiled. "I won't forget. I love you so much. Do you know how much I'll miss you?"

Hermione nodded. "I can imagine. I think this might be harder for you than it is me, and I'm the one about to die."

Draco ran his hands through her hair again and didn't speak. Then, with no warning, not caring who was watching in the slightest, he kissed her…good. He didn't waste time being gentle. He parted her lips right away and tasted as much of her as he could. He kissed her like that for a good three minutes, and he never pulled away, but dragged his lips across her wet, salty cheeks and rested his face in her hair by her neck. He pulled her closer to him and rocked her left and right, over and over again. Then he put his hands on her face and his thumbs rubbed across her cheeks lightly. He moved his right hand down and traced her lips with his fingers to memorize them before kissing each of her closed eyelids. When she opened her eyes again, he moved towards her and kissed her slowly this time. He pulled away for the last time and said, "That's the last time I'll ever kiss a woman until I see you in Heaven, Hermione. I had to make it good."

"And I appreciate it," she said quietly. "I appreciate the kiss, and the fact that you'll never be with another woman, selfish as that sounds."

"Hermione?" Harry said quietly. They turned around to look at him. "I'm so sorry, but Ron just stuck his head out the door and said they're getting impatient. I need to switch with him, so I need to say goodbye."

Hermione nodded and ran her hands through Draco's hair and kissed him softly on the lips. She let go of him and turned to Harry, who pulled her into his strong arms. "Are you sure about this, Mione?" he asked.

"It's the only way," she answered.

"I love you so much."

"I love you too, Harry." She pulled away and he kissed her forehead. "Take care of Draco for me," she said quietly. "He's going to need you, Harry. You'll need each other. You're his best friend, you know."

"I know," Harry said. "I'll look after your whole family. Miles and Ty are gonna be okay. They're lucky they're so little."

Hermione nodded. "They are."

"I have to go, Hermione," he said. "I'll miss you. Say hi to everyone for me, will you?" he asked. "Sirius, Mum, Dad, Dumbledore, Lupin, Tonks, Cedric…hell, even good ole Snape."

"I'll be sure to do that," she promised. She kissed his cheek and hugged him tight one last time before he retreated into the house and Ron came out.

"Hermione…" he said. He walked quickly to her and hugged her. "This is such bloody bull shit. I hate this."

"Me too, Ronald, me too," she assured him. "I wish I could be at your wedding. Man, you were even waiting for me."

Ron nodded. "I know, I wish you could, too. You can be there, though."

Hermione nodded. "I'll be watching. I'll try to make a ghostly appearance," she joked, though Ron frowned and didn't find it very funny.

"Hermione, that's not funny at all."

"Sorry," she said seriously. "I think we're running out of time, though. I love you, Ronald Weasley, don't you ever forget that."

He nodded and kissed her chastely on the lips. He had always, after all, been special to her, and she to him. "I love you more, Hermione Granger."

"Malfoy," she corrected.

He shook his head. "You'll always be Granger to me."

Hermione shrugged. "I guess so," she conceded before hugging him for the last time.

She said her goodbyes to Ginny and Addison together. "Addison, I'm so sorry I can't be your Matron of Honor, but I know you'll be a beautiful bride. You were the best cousin in-law." She turned to Ginny. "Oh, Ginevra Potter, you're the best girl friend I've ever had. I love you so much."

"I love you, too, Mione," she said through her tears.

"I need you both to be like a mother to the twins and help Draco as much as you can." She looked just at Addison and said, "And Narcissa, make sure she knows I blame her for nothing. Tell her I love her, okay?"

Addison nodded her head. "Absolutely, Hermione."

"And take care of Draco…please. God, my poor Draco," she said. She looked over to where he was sitting, crying into Miley's hair, who was in his lap. Miley was attempting to soothe her daddy, wiping his cheeks with her tiny baby hands. James, in turn, had his hand on his sad best friend's back. It was strange, Hermione thought, how insightful little kids could be, no matter how young.

"We both will," Ginny promised.

"I guess we have to go back in there in a couple minutes. Let me just say goodbye to James and Al." She gave Ginny and Hermione one last hug and went over to Albus's stroller.

"Hey there, little man. I know you won't remember me, but I bet you'll hear lots of stories about me and your daddy and Uncle Ron when we were kids. You be good for your Mummy and Daddy, okay? I love you, Al," she said, and kissed his tiny head.

She went over to James and picked him up. "Why is Miley crying, Anny Mione?" he asked.

"She's very sad, honey, because I'm going to go away. That's why I want to say goodbye to you, too. I love you very much, James. I know Miley's your best friend, so you have to take very good care of her for me, okay?"

James nodded. Hermione was still in awe at how much he looked like Harry, but with Ginny's brown eyes. He definitely had his mother's eyes. Hermione kissed his cheek and put him down then laid her hand on Draco's shoulder. He looked up at her and she said, "Time to go." He nodded slowly and lifted Miley off his lap, setting her down next to James.

Dean and Seamus walked up the steps and each hugged her. "We'll miss you, Hermione," Seamus said.

"Bye, Hermione, I'm so glad I knew you."

"Thanks, both of you. Be good, I'll be watching," she warned with a smile.

She turned and knelt down by the twins. "Give Mummy a hug," she said.

They both came to her and wrapped their arms around her neck. She kissed them each on the forehead and said, "I love you."

They didn't say anything in response, but kissed her on each cheek at the same time.

Hermione stood and grabbed Draco's hand. "Ready?" she asked.

"Hell, no!" Draco said, but walked inside the house anyway, followed by Ron. When they were just inside the door, Draco leaned in to kiss Hermione again. "Goodbye, my beautiful girl," he whispered in her ear.

"Bye, baby," she said, letting the fresh tears flow as they walked further into the empty front room where Lucius was still waiting with his minions behind him. Harry was just standing there with his arms crossed.

"Are we finally ready to be taught why you don't betray the purebloods by marrying a Mudblood? And why we don't kill the Dark Lord and expect to get away with it forever?" Lucius asked with a smile, as though he was asking to take their order in a restaurant.

"Never will be," Draco retorted.

Hermione said, "Let's just get this over with you fucking arse hole." She turned to Draco and kissed him with as much fervor as she could, knowing this was the actual last time their lips would touch, while Lucius drew his wand.

"Just wait a minute," she heard Harry say. Lucius must have listened, because she didn't hear any curses.

Hermione turned around to face her fate. "I'm ready," she said, trying without success to keep her voice steady. "I love you so much," she whispered to Draco, then heard him respond.

Lucius drew his wand higher and smirked. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Harry raise is wand hand and Summon his and Ron's wands without being noticed, for Alecto and Amycus were watching Lucius intently.

As if in slow motion, Lucius opened his mouth, Draco spun around to shield Hermione from the spell, but as the word "Avada" came out of his mouth, Hermione gathered enough force to turn herself and Draco back around. By the time "Kedavra" was uttered, she was turned back around and the shot of green hit her right in the stomach.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!" Draco screamed loud enough to be heard across the Atlantic in New York City as Hermione fell and he caught her, sinking to his knees.

Lucius lowered his wand and smiled. Harry and Ron ran to Draco's side. Draco put his face next to hers as his body racked with silent sobs. Every now and then he would wail, and no one said a word to him for the next five minutes, not even Lucius. Harry and Ron's own tears soaked the front of their sweatshirts. Finally, Draco whimpered, "I tried…to save…her, and she was stronger than me. She…she wouldn't let me save her."

Harry and Ron had no idea what to say, except for one thing. Harry said, "Are you ready?" He was referring to a plan they had never discussed, but a plan that was going to be put into action right now. Draco gently lay Hermione down and stood up with help from Harry and Ron. He drew his own wand from his pocket as Amycus and Alecto stood on either side of Lucius. "Expelliarmus!" was the first thing Harry, Draco, and Ron shouted and the three offending wands flew to their new rightful owners.

They lined themselves up, Harry in front of Amycus, Ron in front of Alecto, and Draco in the middle…in front of Lucius. Harry, Ron, and Draco looked from one to the other and nodded as they raised their wands. "AVADA KEDAVA!" they all shouted at once.

When all three were fallen to the ground and Hermione was avenged, Draco kicked Lucius hard in the stomach, then once more in the face…hard. He went back to Hermione and gathered her body in his arms to Disapparate her to the Burrow, where Miley and Tyler wouldn't have to see her, but where the funeral was sure to be held. Harry and Ron went to untie and wake Narcissa.

Life would never be the same for any of them, and they had no idea where it would lead. The one thing they did know, is that for the sake of Miley Montana, Tyler Brett, James Sirius, and Albus Severus, life would indeed have to go on. Draco Malfoy would, however, curse the family (except Narcissa) he was born into until the day he died and could be with Hermione again.

On a side note after some sad news Wisconsin received on Tuesday, I'm even happier I named Tyler Brett after Brett Favre…being a Cheesehead will never feel the same.