Demons, Death Eaters and Malfoys

Epilogue

Chain Reactions/The Butterfly Effect

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It has been said something as small as the flutter of a butterfly's wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world.

~ Chaos Theory

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When Hermione and Draco arrived back at Hogwarts all was quiet. It was the dead of night.

They entered with caution and looked around the entrance hall. There was no one.

Hermione gripped Draco's hand tightly as they made their way up to the corridor on the second floor, where Professor Dumbledore's office lay hidden behind a stone gargoyle. When they reached the statue they found Professor McGonagall pacing impatiently. She looked up, her tired old face hopeful.

"Did you?" she started. Draco nodded and her lined face filled with relief. Then she caught sight of Hermione and horror replaced the relief on her face.

"Miss Granger!" she exclaimed. "Hospital wing! Now!" She turned to Draco. "Why didn't you take her straight to the hospital wing?" she cried, a pained expression now mixing with her horror.

"She insisted!" he exclaimed. "She-"

"I want to see Dumbledore," slurred Hermione stubbornly. "I- I want- want to-" McGonagall gazed into Hermione's pale, tired, cut face and her heart softened considerably - that is, until Hermione collapsed, fainting dead away into Draco's arms.

"Oh, Dear," she said. "Mr. Malfoy, can you carry her?" Draco picked her up gently and nodded.

"Yeah," he said quietly. McGonagall nodded and started up to the hospital wing.

Draco gazed into the most beautiful face in the world, now the most silent face, and as he followed McGonagall up the stairs, he wondered whether they would ever get over this - really get over this.

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Five days later...

Hermione walked into the Great Hall that morning at breakfast, feeling refreshed and alive. She immediately looked to the Slytherin table, where Draco sat, laughing, talking and looking happy with his friends. She smiled and felt only a slight twinge. She frowned. 'Huh?' she thought.

Then Hermione looked over to the Gryffindor table, and her heart warmed at the sight of Harry so happy. He had so much on his shoulders...with Voldemort and everything...yet, he was genuinely happy here. He was at a good place in life.

But then she looked over to Ron, and her heart tugged with feelings for him more than for either Draco or Harry. She was suddenly lost.

'What is going on in there?!' she screamed silently to her heart. 'Just when I think I'm in love with Malf-'

"Hermione!" cried a voice. She broke out of the fog in her head and found Ron and Harry running towards her. Ron slowed down only to embrace her in a huge hug. She grinned as she remembered Second Year, after she had been petrified, and she had run up to hug Harry...but had only shaken hands with Ron. Oh, how much had changed since then. But...he was actually comfortable with this? To be hugging her like...like this? She contemplated a thought.

'I wonder...'

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Three Days later...

Ron and Hermione were wandering the grounds, while eating ice creams and waiting for Harry to finish Quidditch practice.

"So, erm, you, uh, you'reficially going out with Malfoy now, eh?" Hermione nodded, suddenly looking uncomfortable.

"Erm, yeah, I-" she racked her mind for an intelligent response. Draco had gone to see her in the hospital wing, and asked her out. She had been completely shocked, and wondered whether or not he really wanted to risk all of this...all of the talk, all of the fights that would ensue - and not necessarily between herself and Draco. What about his father?

"You don't need to worry about him," he had assured. But Hermione had still wondered. Sure, he had seemed sincere enough, but something still niggled at her.

'Is it him...or is it you?' that nagging little voice had asked. And that had made her think. Was it her? Did she really love him as much as she thought she did? As much as everyone else thought she did? As much as she wanted to?

"Yeah," she finally mumbled, looking away.

She looked back to Ron, and he looked away. She wished that he would just look at her, give her some answers...and even if he couldn't give her answers, he could make her feel better. Ron could always make her laugh; make her feel better, no matter what. Tears filled her eyes as she came to a stunning revelation...a revelation that told her that it wasn't Malfoy that she needed...

Ron looked at Hermione, and as she looked away, his heart ached from the sadness he saw in her eyes. He wanted her so badly...he wanted to make her happy more than anything in the world...and as much as he wanted to keep his mouth shut about Malfoy, he just couldn't handle seeing her with him. It tore him apart. It was his turn to look away again for a moment.

"Hermione..."

Hermione looked back up at Ron, and, in a spur-of-the moment decision, she kissed him. Shocked, Ron didn't do anything at first, but once he realized what was going on, he kissed her back.

'This is it,' thought Hermione. 'This is what I want...this is all that I need...'

"Hermione?" came an incredulous whisper from behind her. She pulled away from Ron and rapidly spun around, to face the gorgeous, but incredibly hurt, silver-eyed blonde that stood behind her.

"D- Draco!" Hermione stammered. "I-"

"You- you- Hermione! I- I-" he took her hand and pulled her away, leaving Ron to stand back awkwardly. Feeling so jealous, so enraged, Draco wondered what the hell had possessed her.

"What are you doing?" he asked angrily. Hermione looked away, unable to answer. When she looked back up at Draco, she had tears in her eyes.

"I- I don't know," she replied honestly. "I-"

"How long?" he demanded. She shook her head wildly.

"It was the first time, I-"

"Why?" he cried. "What did I- Have you-"

"I can't...do this with you," whispered Hermione, looking at her feet. A tear dripped out of her eye and fell into the dirt. She smudged it into the dirt as fast as she could, determined not to let her frustration and confusion show.

"What?" his voice dropped down to a whisper. "Why?" Hermione shook her head.

"It...it isn't right," she said. "It doesn't feel right and I-" she looked up to him with her big, brown eyes, and smiled sadly. "-and you can feel it too, can't you?" Draco looked away. It was true, something had been nagging him about this, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it...and then Hermione said something that she didn't even realize that she was saying until she said it...but the moment she said it, she knew it was true...

"I'm in love with Ron," she said. Draco bit his lip. He didn't want to say anything, for fear that the lump in his throat would dissolve and-

For God's sake! He was a Malfoy! He wasn't supposed to be feeling like this! Malfoy's didn't feel anything! No hurt, no sadness...and especially no love. Draco angrily punched the wall behind him and instantly regretted it. His hand throbbed, and out of his knuckles trickled a little blood.

'Screw the Malfoys'!' he thought. He was sick of the way they were; the way they were - well, just them altogether. He turned back to Hermione.

"I love you," he said. "Doesn't that mean anything to you?" Hermione let out a sob as her heart tugged in despair.

"Of course it does," she whispered. "And I did - do - love you...I just..."

"...don't now," he finished for her. She nodded.

"Yeah," she whispered. "I...yeah." Hurting beyond belief, Draco turned to walk away, when Hermione suddenly grabbed his arm. He slowly turned back around to face her, and was surprised to find tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I- I'm sorry," she choked through her tears. He felt his eyes begin to sting and turned to leave but found that she hadn't let go. He looked back around, surprised.

"You will get over this," she whispered. He snorted, but remained silent for fear the growing lump in his throat would dissolve. "You will," she whispered. "You'll see."

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Seven months on, at the Yule Ball...

Draco Malfoy watched on as the stunning girl danced by in the crowd, talking and laughingis heart ached with longing. He knew that she belonged to someone else but he was also willing to take his chances. Bravely, he stepped up to her and her partner and tapped him on the shoulder.

"May I cut in?" he asked politely. The partner looked at him slightly suspiciously, but nodded. Didn't he understand that Draco had changed? He was no longer the snobby, pretentious asshole that he used to be - but maybe that was what her partner was worried about.

He laughed out loud as he spotted the look of surprise that she was giving him. He didn't say anything- he didn't need to. She would know when the time came.

When the dance finished, he bowed slightly and stepped back to again watch her dance with her partner, who looked extremely relieved to have her back.

It was then that Draco realized something. He realized that Hermione was right- that he was over her. He felt a sense of relief. It wasn't that he didn't like her as a friend - they talked quite frequently - but the sense of relief came because he was in love with somebody else. And it didn't matter that this person was who they were- his mother was dead, and his father was in prison so he quite literally had no right to tell Draco who was and who was not a "respectable choice". Draco would start a whole new breed of Malfoys - one that wasn't snobby, wasn't shallow and most certainly wasn't allied with Voldemort. And he smiled at the event that started it all, the little attraction that possibly started one of the biggest chain reactions of all time. He smiled at the memory of his first kiss with Hermione. But then he sighed. Good memories, yes. Anything more? No. She was his first, true love, and nothing would ever change that, but it was time to move on, time to head into the future, and he liked where he was going.

Gone were the days of Demons, Death Eaters and Malfoys.

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