Author's Note: And with this chapter, we reach the end of this story! Aww! It's been a blast sharing this with you and thanks for all the enthusiasm! Glad to hear that this was enjoyable for you all. :) As for my other stories, I WILL be updating them. Starting Anew will be first and then Unexpected Attraction. My goal is to wrap SA within the next three months and then take over UA. Just please be patient with me. I *may* be a little slow with updates on those stories. Mostly due to time and work. But I will finish them!

Anyway, here's the last chapter. At the end of this, if you posted an Anon message, I will be answering it since I will not be able to answer back via PM.

Enjoy! :D

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns it all. I only somewhat own this plot.

Chapter 8:

The snow was falling softly against the window as Hermione sat there, leaning her head against it. She had a decent view of the boathouse at the bottom of the hill along with the endless river and mountains. During the autumn season, it all looked spectacular. But now that it was snowing, all she was able to see was a blanket of white. She didn't mind, though. To her, it was still a beautiful sight and reinforced the arrival of the winter holiday season.

Over the last four days, Hermione had gotten to know her shared living space very well. She finally decided earlier that day that it was one of the major perks for being a Head student. The common room was spacious, with a comfortable sofa and recliners by the fireplace. Their worktables were pretty decently proportioned and placed by their personal book cases respectively. On the other side of the room by the entrance, was a small kitchen area where they could make tea and request snacks from the house elves, though she hardly used - until recently. She mostly avoided it because she didn't like to use the school house-elves for her own personal use. That reason had amused Terry to no end, causing him to shake his head with a grin whenever he saw her ignore the area. But now that she'd had to swallow her pride and indignation, she was a frequent visitor. Oh, how things have changed.

The other nice thing about the room was the way their house colours were wonderfully blended, without being ostentatious. They also didn't clash, despite the colours being burgundy and navy blue, they rather accentuated and combined quite nicely. Ravenclaw and Gryffindor were equally represented in the common room.

As for their bedrooms, they were also very generous and spacious. Each was equipped with its own full-sized bed and decorated in their house colour respectively. It also had a small desk next to their closet cabinet and had its own private bathroom. Humorously enough, this addition had made Hermione squeal in glee that first day. Though she wouldn't have minded sharing one with the Head Boy, it was rather nice to have a bit of privacy. And not have to worry about taking too long in the shower.

Though all of these things were quite lovely, her upmost favourite part of the whole room was the two long-paned windows that were on the right side of the fireplace. Since they had an area to sit, she would often sit there to enjoy the view as she read, drank her tea or just got lost in her thoughts.

Coincidently, this was where she could be spotted during the last four days. Instead of heading out towards her favourite haunts after classes, she had been coming back to sit in that spot. The reason was simple: it was in order to avoid running into a certain somebody that happened to be in the majority of her classes. But she didn't really have to worry about that, however. That person had been making an equal effort to avoid her as well.

Just remembering how awkward things were had her closing her eyes as she released a breath softly, causing the window to fog up.

"Hermione."

At the sound of her name, she opened her eyes slowly and saw her dorm mate, Head Boy Terry, standing in front of her. He was shifting from one foot to the other with an uncertain look on his face.

"Yes, Terry?" she asked.

"Are you sure you want to stay here instead of going to the festivities?" As per tradition, there was a Christmas mini fair in the Great Hall instead of their regular lunch period.

"Yes, I'm sure. You go on."

"But...what if McGonagall asks why you're missing?"

"Oh, don't worry about that. I already told her that I had a mild cough and that I wasn't coming."

His eyes widened. "Hermione Granger, did you lie to the Headmistress?"

She smirked. "So what if I did?"

"Nothing, I'm just...Wow. I'm impressed."

She shoved him playfully but to her disappointment, he hardly wavered. Instead, he chuckled at her effort and she rolled her eyes.

"OK, enough laughing at my expense. Go."

He gave a grin as headed towards the door. But before he walked out, he looked back at her again with a wary look.

"And what about if...someone asks me about you?"

She snorted. "He hasn't been looking for me these last couple of days, so I highly doubt he'll ask you anything."

"Well, you never know. Especially since this is the last day we'll all spend together before we part ways for the holiday break tomorrow."

"Like I said, he won't ask you. And if he does, tell him the same story. Tell him I'm sick."

He sighed. "OK, will do."

Once more, he made his way towards the door and walked out. But before he closed it, he poked his head back in.

"You sure you don't want me to bring you back anything?" he asked.

"I'm very sure. Now go! Have fun for the both of us!" She gave him a wide smile that hurt her face.

Taking that as a good sign, he gave her a lazy salute and shut the door firmly.

Once he was gone, she dropped her smile and sighed softly.

Terry was such a good person and she couldn't help thinking again just how lucky she was to have him as a partner. He was smart, trustworthy, kind and hard working. Not to mention, open-minded. When he had seen her coming back to their room too frequently, he asked what was wrong. Since she had had things building up inside her for a few days, she made a decision and told him what had happened. When she was done, she expected him to be horrified. But instead, he just nodded his head and offered her words of comfort. From then on, he would accompany her occasionally while she was in the room, just so she wouldn't be alone.

Hermione was rather grateful by that turn of events. It was nice to have someone understanding on her side that wasn't being judgemental. Though now that she thought about it, he was just a gracious person overall. When he had initially learned about Malfoy, he had taken the news with a lift of his eyebrows. Not once did he get upset or criticize her about it but rather, much to her bewilderment, he revealed that he wasn't shocked by the development.

"I'm just surprised it didn't happen sooner," was all he'd said before heading to his room.

That reply had baffled her. If this was the way that Terry responded, were there others that thought the same way?

She shook her head. That thought was neither here nor there. Despite what he or others may believe, the whole thing was a lie.

Or...it wasn't. After what had happened a few days ago, she didn't think she could say it was any longer. Not on her end anyway.

As she thought back to the last couple of weeks, she couldn't help but be surprised at how their relationship had evolved. From maintaining their mutual dislike to becoming civil and then to evolving to what happened just a few days ago. She was in awe of it all. And it also made her shiver just remembering that night's event.

Speaking of 'the event' (as she and Terry had dubbed it), her nights had been unbearable. Without fail, as soon as she shut her eyes, she saw herself snogging Draco within an inch of her life with vivid clarity. It made her eyes snap open, causing her to flush pink as never ending questions ran through her head in a loop: What had she'd done? Had she really suggested that they should have done more? Would she have had sex with him if he hadn't stopped them? Did he pick up just how much of an effect he had on her? Did he think that she was like those other girls, only looking for physical release?

She had begun to hate closing her eyes but she hated that she was missing out on sleep even more. It was a vicious cycle; one that was starting to take its toll if one watched her closely.

Just thinking about 'the event' again made one of her hands touch her neck to stroke the bruise that was there. Though she could have healed it long ago, she had decided not to. Instead, she'd placed a glamour charm on it while she was out in public in order to avoid questions and gossip. In a way, she left it there as a reminder of what she'd been close to doing. And what she probably wouldn't experience with him ever again.

There was no use denying it. The whole dynamic in their relationship was different from the beginning. Well, to her at least. Ever since she realized that she really did care for him, she couldn't help but wish that what they had was real. But she knew that that was an impossible wish. For one, Draco had told her more than once that she was just a temporary cover. Two, their relationship was to end in a few more weeks. And three, despite his enthusiasm a few days ago, she knew that he didn't care for her as much as she did for him.

It was because of all those reasons that she had chosen to hide herself. She knew it was childish and very un-Gryffindor behaviour, but she couldn't help it. She knew that eventually she had to face their awkwardness head on, but she honestly had no idea how to go about it. She also didn't want to go about fixing things yet because she knew that she would be the one that ended getting up hurt once it all blew up in her face. That was one of the major reasons she decided to leave things as they were. And so, here she was, skipping out on her favourite event of the winter holiday, just for the sake of avoiding a run-in with Draco Malfoy.

The bad part about this, however, was that it gave her too much time alone with her thoughts. It caused her to think about things in much more detail. For example: his reasons for avoiding her. After running every possibility in her head for the last couple of days, she came up with a few. Though he claimed that her blood wasn't an issue, it was possible for him to be embarrassed or angry about the way he reacted to her. He had never been so enthusiastic or overly zealous before in any way, so that may have caused him to think over things twice. She once played with the idea that it was her virginity that had turned him off. Though she'd never mentioned it or said it out loud, she was sure that he suspected it. So maybe that was what he was probably trying to avoid- being her first. Honestly, did she really think she would have been pleasurable for him? Him, the seasoned lover? She didn't think so.

Another possibility for his avoidance was possible regret for being so turned on by someone that many claimed to be below him in looks. Did she really invoke such a strong reaction that day? She knew she was a plain-looking girl compared to the kind of girls he'd been with in the past. With the exception of Pansy who had black hair, she knew that he preferred leggy blonds with plenty of cleavage. She was none of those things. So how could she have inspired that much lust from him? She didn't really think she was capable, no matter what he'd said that night. And that thought made her depressed.

But whatever the reason, his avoiding of her had made her avoiding him relatively easy. Despite sitting in the same classes together, neither glanced at or acknowledged the other and, once they were dismissed, each went their separate ways without further comment. And if they had to speak to each other about Prefect duties, that was the extent of it. At times, even Terry would chip in on her behalf so she didn't have to deal with him at all.

It was comforting and frustrating all at the same time. The only thing she was thankful for was that no one around her had enough nerve (sans Terry) to ask about the awkwardness or what was happening. Even Ginny seemed to have lost interest in her investigating, something that Hermione was quite relieved to know about. In fact, it seemed like the red-head missed her if her longing looks were any indication. Hermione took that as a good sign. If she understood Ginny's behaviour correctly, they were bound to mend bridges during her stay at the Weasleys. She hoped they did. She missed Ginny too.

Especially in that moment, when she wished she had someone to talk to about it all. And not just about what happened a few days ago but about everything. Oh, she knew that she couldn't share it all but that didn't make her wish any less that she could. Or wish that she had someone give her a solution to end the awkwardness and avoidance.

Wouldn't that be lovely?

With a deep sigh, she closed her eyes once more and pressed her forehead against the window.

No use wishing for nonsense.

After a few hours of being in the common room by herself, Hermione started to get a bit of cabin fever. It was their last day at school after all and she was spending it by herself, in her room. Pathetic.

Would it be so bad if she walked outside by the lake? Surely almost everyone was still going to be inside the Great Hall, enjoying the festivities. They usually tended to roll into the dinnertime so she highly doubted that she would have a run-in with anyone or…the blond. He was probably held up in his dorm anyway.

With her mind made up, she went to her room to put on her winter coat and scarf while stuffing her gloves and beanie into her pocket. But as she passed by her mirror, she couldn't help but do a double take and be a bit shocked by what she saw. Though she looked a little sadder than usual, she also looked thinner and had dark smudges underneath her eyes. She cringed at her reflection. She definitely did not look presentable to the public. Maybe it was a good thing that she was had stayed away. With a sigh, she made her way to the door.

She was a few more steps from exiting the castle when her plans got somewhat thwarted. Out of nowhere, a hand flashed out and grabbed a hold of one of her wrists in a hard grip. She gasped in shock from the pain but quickly it gave way to irritation once she saw who caused it. Pansy. Just who she needed to deal with in her already messed up personal life.

"What do you want?" Hermione snapped as she pulled her wrist back.

"To talk to you, obviously. Honestly. Did you really think I enjoyed touching you just now? Fucking repulsive," she pouted as she made a scene of wiping her hand on the front of her blouse.

"I don't have time for this," Hermione said with a shake of her head. She began to walk her towards the exit.

But before she could step out, Pansy called out, "I suppose you're proud of yourself, Mudblood."

"About what? My heritage?" she responded over her shoulder. "Yes, I have no reason to be ashamed."

Pansy sneered as she began to follow her out. "Cute. But I suggest you stop being coy. You know damn well what I am talking about."

"Actually, I don't and honestly don't care. So, if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be."

But before she could walk further away, Pansy grabbed her wrist again.

"You selfish whore!" she cried as she tightened her grip. "You know exactly what I'm referring to!"

"Oww! What part of 'I don't know' don't you understand?! Now release me!"

"Oh, so you're really going to deny that it's not your fault that Draco is disinherited?"

Wait, what?

When she didn't answer, Pansy released her and said, "Please wipe that dumbfounded look off your face. It doesn't suit you."

"What in Merlin's name are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about Lucius Malfoy being so angry that Draco chose to stay with you over duty! Now, thanks to you, he might not even have a home!"

Hermione's eyes widened in shock. Didn't he say the other day that his parents didn't care about their relationship?

"How...Who told you this?"

"If you must know, my father just owled me the news. Thanks to you, you've ruined my chances with the one person that I loved and loved me back."

"I did nothing of the sort! You know as well as I do that he never loved you! In fact, the whole of Hogwarts knows it."

"Shut up!" Pansy cried, her cheeks turning red in anger. "And yes you did! You ruined my engagement and now you're ruining his life! If you really care about him, you would break up with him and end your so-called relationship to save him."

"If you must know, I-"

"But of course, I already know that you won't," she went on, ignoring Hermione. "All you care about is messing with people's lives in general! Tell me, Granger, if it wasn't for your purity/good girl routine, do you really think he would have stuck with you for so long?"

"I have no such thing! There's no routine, you slag!"

"Of course there is! I'm not an idiot! Draco has needs and you being the untainted virgin must have been a major ego boost for him. Only problem is that he can't help but be addicted to your 'goodness' now. Merlin knows why that is."

Hermione blushed scarlet at her assumption. How dare she?

"And now, thanks to you, you've gone and destroyed him and the Malfoy name," Parkinson continued. "How very selfish and Muggle of you."

"Stop saying that! I'm not selfish!"

"It's the bloody truth! You've gotten his head so far up his arse about you that he can't even tell when he's screwing up his own life anymore!"

"He does not-"

"You better fix this," she interrupted again, screeching. "And you better do it now! If you really care about him, do the right thing!"

"And what's that, exactly?" Hermione finally snapped. "For me to send him back to you? He doesn't want you! Get that into your thick head!"

Pansy balled her hands into fists and they shook at her side. "Yes, he does! He just thinks he doesn't!"

Hermione almost felt sorry for her, shaking her head at that reply. She took a deep breath.

"Pansy, you're with Theo now. Isn't it selfish on your part, to drag him around while you still have unresolved feelings for someone else?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but Theo knows what he got himself into by dating me."

"Either way, you're being unfair."

"So? What it's to you?"

"So, my point is that even if I did 'let Draco go', there is no guarantee that he'll go back to you. Why can't you accept that? Why can't you commit yourself to someone else? Someone that, from the looks of it, really wants you?"

At her question, Pansy's eyes watered but she said nothing. Instead, she glared as a few tears fell from one of her eyes but didn't bother to brush them away.

Both stood in the corridor, but didn't say anything else for a few seconds. Finally, with a shake of her head, Hermione spun on her heel and walked away. To her relief, Pansy didn't follow her.

Once she reached the courtyard area, her mind began to reel at what she discovered. If Pansy's news were true, Draco was being threatened with disinheritance along with being banned from his home, and all because of her!

If he knew this, why had he kept insisting that they stay together? What was the point if it was only damaging him instead of helping? Is this why he had been avoiding her? Did he think that he had failed somehow because it hadn't worked out the way he planned? Or did he honestly think that if he avoided breaking up that the threat of his father would go away?

It made no sense! Why hadn't he ended it if he had been notified of the consequences?

As all these questions whirled in her mind, she found the blond by the very lake she had wanted to walk around. With determined strides, she walked straight up to him.

Awkwardness be damned.

Caring feelings be damned.

This was important.

And if he wasn't going to fix this for his own good, then she would. She refused to be blamed for being the cause of his misfortunes, just because he feared a dent in his pride.

Draco was sitting on a boulder by the lake when she reached him. He had been there since the beginning of the festivities in the Great Hall and nobody until then had found him. He was actually pretty proud of that accomplishment. He had been having a hard time ducking away from his mates.

Despite being successful at avoiding Hermione, his friends had been a different story. He knew that they had noticed a change in him and though they hadn't asked or made comments about it yet, he knew it was only a matter of time. Therefore, that day, he decided that he would rather remove himself from them temporarily. He knew that it was a wasted effort. They were still going to ask about his whereabouts later.

But he didn't care. He felt he had made the right choice. Or he did at first, anyway.

It wasn't too bad being outside for the day. The cold air had helped clear some of his worries and though it was snowing, it wasn't too chilly. Nothing a Warming Charm couldn't fix in a second. So he put one on himself as he sat there, watching the snow fall softly onto the frozen lake.

When he saw her approach, he was actually surprised. The last couple of days had passed by without so much as a glance in each other's direction and now here she was, right in his face. She also seemed to be surprised to have spotted him but it quickly turned into defiance. Just by the look on her face, he knew that Pansy had told her about his dilemma. He frowned. Of course - that stupid, meddling harpy.

After Draco had sent his refusal to his father, he had received a reply right away. It wasn't a Howler again but just his father phrasing his disapproval...colourfully. He also mentioned that he wasn't going to hide anything from the Parkinsons and so Draco knew that Pansy would then be privy to the news as well. Needless to say, when she received her father's letter, she had cornered him to reprimand him on his choice and offered herself again. But he remained adamant with his decision and told her to get fucking lost.

After that day, he knew it was only a matter of time before she opened her big fucking mouth to Hermione. And here she was, both of them staring each other down by the lake. When neither said anything, Draco stood up and walked towards the lake's edge, turning his back on Hermione. Finally, his movement prompted her to say something.

"So when were you planning to tell me?" she asked.

"Tell you what?"

"You know what."

"Nope, sorry. You're going to have to elaborate."

"Fine. When were you going to tell me that dating me was causing you problems with your father?"

"Why should I? It's none of your fucking business."

"None of my business? Are you serious?" she asked as she pulled on his arms to turn him around. But instead, he jerked away from her.

"Sod the fuck off. I've already said it's none of your business. And I'm not in the mood to deal with you."

"No. And too bad for you because I'm not leaving," she said while crossing her arms.

"Fine. You stay here, I'll leave." He turned around to walk away. But before he could step around her, she blocked his path.

"Get out of my way."

"No."

"Granger-"

"No! Not until we talk."

"For fuck's sake! We've already made it through the rest of the week without seeing each other. Can't you just forget about the whole damn thing?!"

"No! So you better start talking!"

"Fuck this. I'm done." And he moved to the other side. But again, he was blocked.

"Is it true that your father has threatened to disinherit you because of me?"

He groaned in frustration and closed his eyes. He did not want to get into this.

"Well, did he?" she persisted.

He snapped his eyes open and closed the gap between them until they were face to face. Hermione didn't even flinch, to which he frowned.

"And if he did?" he asked in a threatening tone.

"Then break up with me. Tell him the truth."

"No."

"Draco, be reasonable!"

"I've already told you to shut up about this."

"Stop being so stubborn!"

"Look whose talking?!"

"Just tell him the truth! I'm not worth the trouble!" she cried out in vexation.

At her statement, he had had it. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her a little.

"Not worth the...? For the love of Merlin! I fucking love you and you say you're not worth the trouble?!"

The anger from her face slipped slowly as her eyes widened at his statement.

Fuck! Did he just confess that he loved her?!

"What?" she asked in a small voice.

Damn it, he did. He groaned.

Now that he'd confessed, he might as well give her an explanation.

"Why do you think I've been avoiding you?" he asked her while squeezing her arms slightly, almost digging his fingers into them. "It's been absolute torture wanting you and not being able to do anything about it! I know you don't reciprocate my feelings so I backed away! But you couldn't let me have some dignity, could you? Here you are, telling me to stop being with you, demanding that I should do what I don't want to do! Just because you think it's the right thing. Well, I have news for you! I don't give two shits about my father's threats! He can take away my inheritance for all I care. I am so sick of people telling me what I can and can't do!"

At his statement, he saw her face go from shock to…was that pity?! Great, just what he fucking needed! He scowled.

"But if you insist that I should end us," he continued, "I'll do us both the favour. I'll do it. Just say the word."

She remained still, staring at him with big eyes. But she didn't say anything. His scowl intensified.

"Fine," he bit out as he released her with a slight shove, causing her to stumble. "Don't say anything, then. You've already mentioned it many times before that you want out of this. So fine. Consider this our break-up."

He turned, trying to walk away in another direction. But, once again, Hermione blocked his path.

"Don't make me shove you again," he threatened her.

"You can be so stupid at times," she replied with a huff, placing her hands on her hips.

"How so?"

"Not once have you even bothered to ask me how I feel about you."

"Because I already know the answer."

"No, actually, you don't."

"Yes, I do. I can see it on your face just now. You feel pity."

"That was not a look of pity. That was compassion."

"Didn't look like that from where I'm standing."

"So are you going to ask me, then?"

"I already said I wouldn't."

"Oh my God, just ask me already!" she snapped.

"Fine! What the hell does Hermione Granger feel for me?"

"Love!"

"Love?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes! As in I'm in love with you. I love you too, you blundering idiot!" she yelled in frustration.

At this reply, Draco's heart began to beat faster. She loved him too?!

Before she could move, he grabbed her face with his hands and kissed her soundly on the lips. From there, it proceeded to snowball into a frenzy of grabby hands and arms and violent groping of each other. Both seemed as if they were trying to get as close as possible as they panted for breath in the process. He didn't dare let go of her neck.

It wasn't until Draco pushed her to the snowy ground with him on top of her that she seemed to come back to her senses. She pushed against his chest softly, trying to look at his face. But he was having none of it and proceeded to press his lips to hers again. If she was already regretting her declaration, he wanted to get in as much as he could.

"Wait, wait," she panted, as she turned her head away.

"What?" he growled as he began to kiss her neck. When she pushed his chest again, he pulled back with a frown. But it quickly disappeared when he saw a bruise. Holy hell, she still had that on her neck?! It left him in awe.

"I just…I want to know if you meant what you said," she said, taking a deep breath.

"What part? You have to be more specific."

"About your father. Despite what we feel, I don't want to be the cause of you losing your inheritance."

"You're not. Besides, he can't do anything anyway," he replied with a smirk as he rubbed his lips against hers.

"Huh? What do you mean?" she asked while turning away. When he tried to angle his face to hers, she said, "Draco" in a warning tone. He groaned again. Leave it to her to want to have a full discussion when he had other things in mind.

"I mean that he can't even make it legal since it requires him to see his notary in person and that goblin is at Gringotts. And since he's under house arrest, he can't do shit. So no matter how much he rants or thrashes, nothing can be done. But regardless, even if he could, I still wouldn't have cared."

"And what about you being homeless?" she pressed.

"What?" He was momentarily distracted by the pink colour on her cheeks.

"Pansy said that you were also threatened to be without a home."

"Fucking Pansy," he muttered under his breath.

She raised an eyebrow at that but waited for his answer. With a deep sigh, he lifted himself a bit off from her so he could see her face.

"Yes, he's threatened that as well but he can't do that either if Mother has anything to say about it. Nevertheless, it would be a good idea to steer clear away from him at the moment."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

He then brought his lips down to her once more, kissing her softly. But before he could take it anywhere, she broke it off again.

"What the fuck do you want to know now?" he asked with a bit of irritation.

She scowled. "Is this what I have to look forward to? Hearing you drop the F-word over and over again?"

He gave her a lopsided grin. "Of course. And you know you wouldn't want it any other way."

She sniffed as she lifted her chin a little higher in indignation. Salazar help him, she looked more appetizing that way since her neck was now peeking out from her scarf. Now, all he had to-

"I was going to say," she said, cutting into his thoughts, "that since you currently have nowhere to go for the start of the holiday break, that maybe you should come with me."

"I'd gladly come with you," he replied, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Not like that, you git," she snapped while blushing at his innuendo. "I meant that you are welcome to join me in Australia."

"Oh," he said. "I almost forgot." He then lifted himself off her, making his way back to the boulder he was sitting on earlier. This caused Hermione to sit up in surprise.

As he made his way back, he smirked when he saw her face and lifted the two small black backpacks higher. He knew that she hadn't seen them earlier since they were hidden on the other side of the boulder.

"Here," he said as he offered her one.

"What's this?" she asked as she unzipped it.

Her curiosity gave way to surprise as she realized that they were various items in there. Since it was charmed to be bottomless, there was a map, books with tourist information on Australia, small snacks, a few water bottles, some healing ointments and potions, and a small tent.

"I figured that you may need one of these," he said.

Hermione stared at the contents for a few more seconds before lifting her eyes to him.

"You made…a supply bag?"

"Two supply bags. I wasn't going to let you go off on your own. Besides, we can't have you sharing supplies with me now, can we?"

"I don't know what to say," she replied softly. And then she frowned. "How exactly were you going to get this to me if we continued to avoid each other?"

"Well, you did give the password to your common room."

"And you were planning on stalking me?"

"No, I was planning to shadow you. It's a completely different concept."

Instead of frowning at his reply, a small smile tugged at her lips as tears weld up in her eyes. She put the bag aside and stood up in front of him. Both her arms lifted and he was pulled into a tight hug.

Though she felt wonderful against him, he shifted slightly. He'd never been one for those kinds of affections.

"Alright, alright," he said while clearing his throat. "No need to get all mushy on me."

She laughed as she pulled back to wipe away some wayward tears.

"So I guess that means you are coming with me to Australia?" she asked.

He rolled his eyes. "Obviously."

"And I guess this also means we're staying together."

He gave a small chuckle. "And they say you're the brightest witch of our age."

She gave him a playful smack on his arm and he laughed. But before she could smack him again, he caught her hand and, while biting his bottom lip in anticipation, pulled her in for another kiss.

FIN

A/N: Here are some replies to those Anonymous/Guest reviews!

Guest on Chapter 3: Thank you! Glad you liked the story so far!

lovealan: Thank you for all your comments. Hope the ending was satisfying!

Guest on Chapter 6: Yes, sorry. It's only 8 chapters but I hope they were satisfying!

C.G.: Hopefully you found out the answer in Chapter 7 :D

Gee: Hope you were able to read the last couple of chapters!

Guest on Chapter 1:...is that a good whoa or a bad whoa? lol

Guest on Chapter 3: I agree ;)

Guest on Chapter 6: I'm SORRY! Cliffhanger ends in Chapter 7 :D

Again, thank you to all of you that have read and enjoyed this story! PLEASE REVIEW! :D