And then there were two.

A/N My deepest apologies for keep you waiting on this extremely short chapter. RL had been very busy I'm a single Mom of two in midtransistion between two jobs. Enough excuses on with the show


Hermione woke to the sun filtering thru the sheer curtains in her bedroom. Stretching she thought back to the night before. Draco had kissed her goodnight at the door to her room and whistled his way down the hall to his room with his hands in his trouser pockets. The witch could not suppress the smile she felt on her face at the thought of spending the day with Draco. He had told her to expect his mother and Severus and to be ready for a day of sailing.

Hermione got up and took a long shower and put on one of the swimsuits Draco had insisted she try on. It definitely was not something that she would have chosen for herself. The whole top consisted of two triangles of white fabric and various strings to hold them in place at least the bottoms were made with a little more fabric. But it did have a matching wrap skirt and button down sheer blouse to wear over it. Making sure the top was held in place with a quick sticking charm she took one last look in the mirror and made sure her high ponytail held all of her hair and her light make up was in place before she went in search of breakfast.

She found Draco and Narcissa having breakfast on a large flag stone patio overlooking the harbor. The black wrought iron table and matching chairs would comfortably seat six. The table had platters of fruit and pastries and a carafe of some sort of citrus juice as well as the ever present tea and coffee. The picture of the two blonds laughing and waiving their hands as they spoke with the harbor dotted with sails behind them was a sight Hermione wanted to remember.

The witch jumped as a low silky voice behind her purred,” They look the happiest I've seen them in many years." Turning slightly to look at Snape she saw he had a small smile on his face as he looked at his betrothed and the young wizard he considered a son.

"I think that is due in no small sum to you. Draco says his mother is the happiest she's ever been in her life. And I haven't seen him sneer in weeks." Her quiet reply was noticed by Draco who turned to smile at the pair watching them.

"I believe we have an audience Mum," he said nodding toward the witch and wizard watching them. He gave Hermione an appreciative smile when he saw what she was wearing. The wrap skirt and the sheer blouse kept the revealing swimsuit just demure enough to acceptable in any situation.

Narcissa turned to their guests and gave a smile of her own. Severus had finally given up wearing all black and had on a pair of light drawstring cotton pants in a deep green. His shirt was unbuttoned at the top three buttons and was a pale sage green. This was the wizard who played with her as a small child. Before his father squashed his spirit. Narcissa and Severus' mothers were old friends and spent allot of time together before Tobias Snape began drinking. After that no one in the Wizarding world saw Severus or Eileen until the young man attended Hogwarts.

The day was passed on the Malfoy yacht. Draco persisted in calling it a sailboat. Hermione knew it was a full fledged yacht with 2 bedrooms a full galley and a glass enclosed lounge. They sailed the coastline and did a little diving and fishing. Lunch was served by a house elf who also piloted the vessel. It was a smiling happy group that returned to the villa to change clothes for dinner.

Hermione, ever one to over analyze any situation debated the pro's and con's of falling in love with Draco. The lists were both rather long. Finally she walked over to the fireplace and threw in a handful of floo powder calling out,” The Burrow".

Molly came immediately into view with a concerned look in her careworn face. "Hermione is something wrong?" she asked.

Smiling the young witch said,” Yes, and no. I'm falling in love Molly. I don't know if Harry and Ron could forgive me for falling for Draco. And people were so mean to us in Diagon Alley yesterday. Am I doing the right thing?"

Molly came close to the fire and sat down. "No one can tell you who to love. The fact that you love makes it wonderful. As for the boys, since when did they tell you how to live your life? I believe you were usually the voice of reason in that trio. If they were alive and they had objections to this what would you say to them?"

"I'd tell them to buggar off and stop treating me like a child" she snorted with a sad smile.

"Well there's your answer. Tell those fools in Diagon Alley the same thing. Hermione, follow your heart. It's a chance we all take someday. Sometimes it's all worth it and sometimes it's painful but don't fill your life with "might have beens". Face the challenge with Gryffindor courage and don't regret one minute of happiness you can have together" Molly said with conviction.

Laughing with joy at the suddenly light feeling that invaded Hormone’s chest she leaned through the floo and hugged Molly. "Thanks Mum! I needed that." Leaning back into her room at the villa she cut the floo connection before she heard Molly say,” So did I" as she wiped a tear from her face.

Hermione came down to dinner with a new feeling hope that she realized had been missing since the final battle. It was OK to go ahead a live her life even though many of her most beloved people couldn't. Draco and Severus noticed the change in her immediately. There was a lightness to her step and a gleam in her eyes. The older wizard heard Draco catch his breath at the vision in front of him. He could see why. It was if the butterfly had finally left it's cocoon.

Narcissa didn't know her well enough to immediately see a difference as the girl partially floated into the lounge. Her hair was back in an upsweep with a riot of curls falling down her back. The silver evening dress that she and Draco picked out yesterday had a halter top that hugged her ribs and fell in soft shimmering folds to the floor. Her earrings and necklace were diamonds and emeralds set in platinum. They lay in a delicate contrast to her newly tanned skin. Narcissa thought the young witch looked beautiful.

The four decided to dine on the terrace of the same restaurant the younger couple visited the night before. As they made their way to a table near the rail several of the people from the night before waived a greeting to them. Throughout dinner people casually dropped by the table to say hello. Dinner passed pleasantly and soon everyone decided to retire for the night.

After bidding Narcissa and Severus goodnight the young couple stood looking out over the ocean from the same patio they had breakfasted on. Draco wrapped his arms around Hermione from behind and rested his chin lightly on her head.

"Galleon for your thoughts" he whispered.

"I was thinking that I don't want this last few days to ever end. I'm not sure I want to go back home to the narrow minded idiots," she replied quietly.

Draco's hopes soared. Could she possibly mean that she wanted to stay with him forever? Pulling her closer too him he asked,” Would you like to stay here with me then? We could you know."

Turning in his arms too look him in the eye she said, "I would love nothing more but have responsibilities waiting for us at Hogwarts." The small witch wrapped her arms around Draco's neck and pulled him down for a soft kiss. One kiss turned into twenty. They both allowed their tongues to duel and their hands to explore. Finally Draco swept his witch up and carried her down the hall to his bedroom.

A/N; My deepest Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. It really makes my day!!!