Mudblood slave trade

Part Eight
Harry was dazed. He was on his way to save Hermione, something he had dreamed of doing for eight years, and all this just seemed to fall into place all at once. Even though it was Draco at his side and not someone he liked more, he was filled with joy.
Everything that had happened in the last few months came into Harry’s mind: the drop of ink that had splashed onto Lucius's name…seeing Lucius at that shop...why had he not seen the signs?
“I really am sorry for not telling you sooner,” Draco said abruptly, breaking into Harry’s thoughts.
Harry looked sideways at him as they walked.
Draco’s face was honest and not a hint of sarcasm crossed his face, though his cheek shone red where Harry had hit him earlier.
“If we succeed in rescuing her I will begin to forgive you,” said Harry harshly, though his heart softened towards Draco as he noticed the sorrow upon his face.
Before long, Malfoy Manor loomed before them. As they dashed up the winding path, the sky was dark and stars twinkled above the great house.
When they reached the door Draco tried the handle, but the door would not budge. Pushing Draco aside gently, Harry blasted the door off its hinges with a swish of his wand, the true desperation to rescue Hermione shown in his actions.
Harry passed over the threshold that was littered with broken wood, Draco not far behind him.
“Where now?” asked Harry quickly, as he stood in the entrance hall.
“Well, the cells are that way,” replied Draco, pointing towards the bookcase in the parlor, but his eyes were fixed on the stairway that led to his father's study and, undoubtedly, his son.
Harry noticed Draco’s determined look and placed his hand on Draco’s shoulder.
“Let's go get your son first,” said Harry humbly.
Draco’s eyes filled with shock at his words.
“But what about Hermione?” Draco asked in a gasp.
Harry smiled warmly at him.
“I’ve been waiting for this day for eight years. I can wait a little longer…besides, if we go to Hermione first and Lucius hears, he might do a runner with your son,” said Harry, his eyes lingering on the secret passage in the parlor where he knew Hermione was.
“So where’s the study?” asked Harry, tearing his eyes away from the bookcase.
“Upstairs and to the right,” answered Draco. Leading the way, he ran up the stairs.
Draco dashed down the hall, Harry at his heels, then stopped outside the far door that Lucius must have restored so abruptly Harry nearly bumped into the back of him.
“This is his study,” mouthed Draco, leaning closer to the door to listen.
Harry, still filled with determination, raised his wand to blast this door apart as well, but was stopped when Draco placed his hand on his arm.
“My son’s in there…you might hurt him by mistake,” he said.
Harry lowered him wand.
“How do you suppose we get in, then?” Harry whispered. Draco thought for a moment. Then, doing the only thing he could think of, he raised his hand and knocked upon the new wood.
“Come in, Draco,” called Lucius from within the room. The door made many clicking sounds as it unlocked from the inside.
Draco pushed the door open and stepped into the room. Lucius was seated in his usual place at his desk, and Connor was placed in a cot beside him.
“Decided to come back then, have we?” asked Lucius in a mocking tone.
“Have you come back because you have seen sense…or is it because you found your wife?”
“Both, really,” said Harry, walking in from the hall outside and stopping beside Draco.
“What the hell is he doing here?” Lucius snarled, his eyes turning into slits.
“I brought him here to put a stop to your…business,” said Draco, not sure how to phrase his words.
Lucius’ face dropped slightly in realization of what his son meant. “How long have you known?” asked Lucius calmly.
“Two weeks…I saw you raping her,” replied Draco, feeling sick at the memory.
Harry was still standing beside Draco. Anger had filled him at the sight of Lucius. Knowing what the man had been doing to Hermione made bile build in the back of his throat, but knowing this was Draco’s fight, he had stayed silent.
“So what have you come to do, kill me?” asked Lucius sarcastically, looking at Harry.
“Damned right I have!” snarled Harry, moving further into the room, but Draco flung out his hand and caught Harry in the chest to hold him back.
“We…as In Harry and I...have come to collect my son and Hermione and take them out of here, and we never want to hear from you again…If we do, I will go straight to the Ministry,” said Draco, his eyes glancing towards the cot, then back to his father. He was surprised that he felt no fear.
Lucius’s face had turned red with anger before Draco had finished his speech.
“You ungrateful little swine…I have always catered to your every wish and this is how you repay me…your mother will be turning in her grave!” shrieked Lucius.
Draco barked with sarcastic laughter, glaring at his father in disbelief.
“Yes, you catered to my every wish, spoiled me rotten…but you were never a good father. You tried to buy my affection instead of earn it and in doing so lost my respect,” cried Draco, his face growing redder with every word.
“And you dare sit there and say my mother would be turning in her grave because I’m apparently being ungrateful…what do you think she would say to you if she knew you were raping and beating a girl, not to mention beating my wife and kidnapping my son…do you think she would be proud? And let's not forget who put her in that grave in the first place!” shouted Draco, his face turning purple with lack of breath.
Lucius opened his mouth once, then twice, but no words left his lips. He was obviously astonished at Draco’s outburst, and before he found his voice again, Draco continued.
“I’ll tell you what she would say, Father…she would say, 'God, what a sick son of bitch I married'!” Draco shrieked, all of his anger for his father bubbling up to the surface in one great wave.
Lucius’s face suddenly turned back to its normal colour and a smirk graced his lips.
“Take him, then,” Lucius purred, nodding his head towards the cot and holding his hands up in defeat.
Draco looked taken aback, then suspicious as he took a step towards the cot, but Lucius remained motionless, his hands still in sight.
Harry could practically smell the tension that lingered in the air. His eyes narrowed and fixed on Lucius, knowing if he made a move for his wand he would try and stop him.
Draco stepped slowly closer to the cot. His every nerve was on end and his body tense with mistrust. Not being able to control himself, Draco lunged at the cot and reached down to pick up his son but felt something like electricity pass though his body as his hands hit some kind of barrier and he found himself lifted of his feet.
Harry watched open mouthed as Draco flew across the room and crashed into a grand bookcase that stood in the corner, knocking it back against the wall. His body slammed to the ground with a tremendous thud. The bookcase seemed to move in slow motion; it creaked as it tipped forward and books slipped off its many shelves as it started its descent.
Harry gritted his teeth as the bookcase crushed Draco’s body beneath it.
Still open mouthed, Harry stared in horror at the bookcase. Draco’s head was the only visible part of his body though the many books that surrounded him and as Harry watched as Draco’s pure blond hair turned red with blood, then leaked onto the floor, creating a pool of crimson.
In Harry’s shock he had not seen Lucius pull out his wand, nor had he heard him get out of his chair and walk towards Draco.
“Draco…Draco, you useless child…what a disappointment you turned out to be,” Lucius sighed with no remorse in his words.
Harry’s breathing had doubled in only a few seconds, making his head spin, and all he could think about was how Ginny was going to feel and how Draco's six children were going to have to grow up without there father.
Lucius had his wand pointed at Harry, a grin on his face. Harry raised his green eyes from Draco’s lifeless form and found Lucius's dark gaze. Harry wanted to hurt this man more than he had wanted to hurt anyone in his life - more than Voldemort, more than he had wanted to hurt Sirius when he had believed that he had betrayed his parents…more than anyone!
They just stared at each other for a long moment, Harry still with no wand, Lucius still with a grin on his face.
Harry’s hand itched for his wand so he could wipe the smirk off his damned face for good, but knowing he would be dead before he even touched the handle, he stood still as a statue.
“You make this too easy, Potter,” said Lucius, absentmindedly kicking a book from Draco’s body.
The book landed at Harry’s feet and he chanced a glance at the cover and read it.
The Darkest arts - The power of pure blood
“Taking a leaf out of Voldemort’s book, I see,” said Harry snidely. “One thing you seem to forget is that he was nothing more that a half-blood.”
“That’s why I will do better than the Dark Lord…for one thing, I will succeed in killing you…I admit, the opportunity has arisen sooner than I expected, thanks to my son…at least he did one good thing in his pathetic little life,” hissed Lucius, prodding Draco’s head with his foot.
“You’re the pathetic one! At least Draco realized his mistake and woke up to reality,” snapped Harry.
“Watch your mouth, Potter…Let's not forget who has the upper hand here,” said Lucius, pointing his wand more firmly towards Harry.
“And I do have one request before I kill you,” he added sadistically, his blond hair casting shadows across his handsome face.
“Take off your glasses…I want them intact when you're dead so I can take them to your precious Mudblood to mourn over,” Lucius said, remembering his promise to Hermione, his voice returning to his calm, almost bored, tone.
Harry remained motionless and silent. He did not intend to comply with any request Lucius made of him.
“Go to hell, you sick pervert” Harry said softly, afraid that if he opened his mouth too wide he would throw up with disgust.
“My, we do have a mouth on us today,” sniggered Lucius, moving closer to Harry.
“She’s not worth all this trouble, definitely not worth dying for…she’s crap in bed,” said Lucius viciously.
Harry’s anger flared in his chest. He knew Lucius was trying to provoke him to attack and Harry felt at this rate he was going to succeed.
“So-why-do-you-keep-her-then?” asked Harry, his voice shaking with anger.
“She makes a good punching bag,” Lucius said maliciously, raising his right hand and showing Harry a set of bloody knuckles.
Harry’s heart seized as he spied dried blood over Lucius fingers - a mixture of his and Hermione’s blood.
“What have you done to her?” asked Harry, his eyes glued to the blood that covered Lucius right hand.
“Oh, nothing much,” Lucius mocked, looking at his hand lovingly.
Harry felt his stomach clench with fear and he knew he had to act fast and get to Hermione quickly.
“Well, let's not beat around the bush,” said Lucius lazily.
Harry chose to act, kicking the book that had landed at his feet hard enough to fly at Lucius’s face. He was so shocked that he just flung his hand up to defend his face instead of attempting to just blast the book out the air with his wand.
Before the book had even reached Lucius, Harry was out of the door and running at full speed down the hallway, pulling his out his wand, the many doors whizzing by him.
Before long Harry could hear Lucius crashing after him. Harry reached the stairs and leaped down them, still at top speed. His ankle suddenly collapsed beneath him and pain shot up his leg but he did not stop until he reached the bottom step.
Harry halted for a moment as he tried to remember where to go next, His eyes fell on the bookcase and he ran towards it, his ankle crying out in protest.
As he reached the bookcase, he tore it away from the entrance. Harry chanced a glance behind himself and saw Lucius fly down the stairs, jumping the last five and landing in such an animal way that Harry was reminded of a lion on the hunt.
Harry’s ankle groaned in protest with the concept of more movement but Harry pushed forward and ran down the few steps, then found himself thrown into his own nightmare.
The long hallway that had plagued his dreams was now laid out before him and the only thing that was missing was Hermione’s screams of pain and he feared he may be too late.
Harry started to run forward and ran past many call doors that stood open or ajar. The only one that was closed was at the far end.
As he drew close, Harry was hit with the smell of rotting flesh. Gagging, he raised his cloak over his nose and mouth to try and block out the smell.
The source of the smell came into Harry’s view as he spied what looked like a pile of filthy rags just outside the closed cell.
As drew even closer, he could see a pair of lifeless eyes staring out of the rags.
Harry quickly noticed that this was a dead house-elf; the smell was starting to make him feel nauseous.
Hearing Lucius behind him, Harry spun around to face him and stepped in front of the cell door, his wand at the ready.
Lucius looked livid with his long blond hair fanned around his face.
“No more running, Potter. It's time you faced death,” growled Lucius, his lip twitching.
“Take your best shot,” snapped Harry, anger overriding his fear.
Lucius eyes flashed with murder as he raised his wand, “Avada kedavra!” he yelled and green light filled the hallway as the spell sailed towards Harry.
Thinking quickly, Harry dodged aside and, like history repeating itself, the door behind Harry blasted apart and splintered wood showered the hallway.
Shaking broken wood out of his hair, Harry straightened up and his eyes searched the cell that had opened up before him.
The room was dank and dark and Harry could smell a mixture of blood and vomit from within the room.
His eyes finally fell on Hermione, who was sprawled out on a tatty mattress with only a dirty torn sheet covering her naked body. Her eyes were closed and bruises adorned her face. Many cuts littered her legs, and her skin was stained red with her blood.
Harry made to move towards her when Lucius's hands pushed Harry into the cell.
“If you want to be with her that much then you can die with her!” Lucius spat.
Harry’s eyes widened at his words. She can’t be dead! Harry screamed inwardly.
Lucius's grin was back on his face as he raised his wand once again. Harry hesitated for a brief moment before he realized that he still had his wand clutched in his hand.
Before Lucius opened his mouth to say a spell, Harry raised his own.
“Expelliarmus!” he roared.
The spell flew at Lucius but was blocked with a quick flick of his wand. The spell rebounded and struck Harry’s hand, making his wand fly from his hand.
“Pathetic!” Lucius sneered, raising his wand again then bringing it down like a sword.
“Crucio!” he cried, deciding to torture Harry first before rewarding him with death.
Harry fell to the floor and his body jerking as pain ripped though his body. Unable to stop himself, he screamed out in pain.
Lucius relived Harry of the curse when he grew bored and loomed over his body, a grin on his face.
“Give my regards to your mudblood mother,” said Lucius coyly, raising his wand over his head.
“Avada kedavra…”
Bright green light had suddenly filled the small cell and the source of it had just gone though Lucius’s chest. His eyes bulged for a moment then, lifting his eyes from his chest, he found Hermione standing before him with the torn sheet held close to her body with one hand and Harry’s wand clutched in the other.
She watched as Lucius staggered backwards, holding his chest and looking at Hermione in disbelief. No fear graced Hermione's eyes but anger and hatred filled them.
“You…you mudblood whore,” Lucius gasped.
“Not anymore,” breathed Hermione weakly, her body tense, Lucius staggered again and fell to his knees, still holding his chest. He slid sideways to the floor as his life ended.
Harry rolled onto his belly and looked up at Hermione. Her eyes had not left Lucius’s dead body, Harry’s wand still held tightly in her hand.
“Hermione,” he said gently getting to his knees. Hermione slid her eyes to Harry and her emotions took over; he legs started to shake uncontrollably and her breathing became irregular.
“I did magic….” she said dreamily in an I-can't-believe-I-just-did-that sort of way.
The small amount of magic had taken what little strength she had had left and she slumped forward onto her knees. Harry caught her as she fell.
Harry looked down at her and despite her bruised face, he drank her in. He had waited for this moment for eight years.
“Harry...” she whispered uncertainly. Lifting her hand, she touched his face.
“Yes, it's me…I’m here,” replied Harry, taking her hand and kissing it softly, tears in his eyes.
“You came for me,” she said quietly, feeling dizzy. Her hand slipped out of Harry’s hand and thudded to the floor as she fell unconscious.
Harry checked to make sure she was still breathing before removing his cloak and covering her with it, throwing the dirty sheet aside.
Getting to his feet, he lifted her into his arms and carried her from the cell.
Harry walked slowly back up to Lucius’s study to collect Connor but was surprised that when he entered the room he saw Ron and Ginny in it.
Ginny was leaning over Draco who had been moved from under the bookcase, Connor was in her arms and Harry was relieved to see Draco breathing and coming around.
As Harry entered the room Ron ran over to him and helped him lay Hermione upon a small sofa.
“Is she alive?” asked Ron. Fear shook his voice.
“Yes, but her breathing is faint. She needs to go to St Mungo’s,” replied Harry, glancing at Ginny, who had remained with Draco but looked over with a worried look on her face. Harry nodded to let her know that Hermione was alive.
“What are you two doing here? What about the kids?” asked Harry, his eyes returning to Hermione.
“Mum and Dad came home early and when we told them what had happened they told me to come and help and naturally Ginny wanted to come along too so Mum said she would watch the kids” Ron answered, he too scanning Hermione.
“When we arrived we didn’t know where to go first, but then we heard moaning and we found Draco,” he explained, waving his hand towards the bookcase.
“How is he?” asked Harry and was surprised how much concern he held for his former enemy.
“He had lost a lot of blood…Ginny has sealed his wounds and wanted me to come find you but I was about to leave when you came in,” said Ron. Suddenly, he realized the most important question had not been asked.
“Where’s Lucius?”
“Dead” Harry answered quickly.
Ron looked worried for a moment.
“Don’t worry, Harry, no one will blame you, not even Draco probably...if you had no choice but to kill him…” Ron stopped mid-sentence when Harry shook his head.
“I didn’t kill him. Hermione did,” he said, then laughed in a bitter way.
“I came her to save her and she wound up saving me,” said Harry running his hand over Hermione’s hair.
“She wouldn’t have had it any other way,” said Ron, smiling weakly. Harry smiled back, still stroking Hermione’s hair.
“Harry!” called a voice from the other side of the room.
“Keep an eye on her, would you?” asked Harry to Ron. As he turned and walked across the room Ron swiftly took his place.
Harry walked over to Ginny and Draco. Draco was now conscious but pale and sick looking, and Ginny was still kneeling beside him with Connor in her arms.
“Is Hermione okay?” asked Draco weakly, glancing over to where she lay.
“She’s a bit worse for wear but she should pull though,” said Harry, looking over his shoulder at Hermione, then back to Draco.
“How about you?”
Draco’s blond hair was matted with dried blood and he seemed unable to move the lower half of his body without suffering a great deal of pain.
“Ginny thinks I have a few broken bones, but nothing that can’t be fixed,” said Draco, grimacing as Ginny tried to move his leg an inch.
“Oh, stop being a baby,” said Ginny fondly, massaging Draco’s legs with one hand, Connor in the other.
“My father's dead, isn’t he?” said Draco, catching Harry off guard.
He eyed Draco and realized he held no sadness at the thought.
“Yes…Hermione killed him,” Harry replied with bitterness still in his voice. Ginny took a sharp intake of breath with shock.
Draco went silent for a moment.
“If my father deserved to die at anyone’s hand it was by hers…so don’t feel bad about her killing him instead of you,” said Draco, smiling despite his father's demise. Harry smiled back and turned to go back to Hermione.
“Seem as though she is safe and everything. Dose that mean you will start to forgive me?” Draco asked.
“I’ll think about it,” Harry joked, feeling that things were starting to look up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three days passed before Hermione opened her eyes and found herself in a dark room, but her surroundings were comfortable.
She sat up slowly. The memory of her rescue was sketchy in her mind. The first thing she remembered was hearing Harry screaming and then opening her eyes. She had seen Harry’s wand in front of her and she had absentmindedly reached out and picked it up.
She remembered feeling scared at first, worried she would not be able to do magic again, but she had stood up and, sending all her hatred towards Lucius, she had no doubt she could perform magic.
Thinking of Lucius made fear grow in her chest and she looked around wildly, but all she could see was darkness.
She forced her mind to remember more and a flash of green light filled her memory and Lucius’s dead body flashed before her eyes.
Then Harry’s face floated over her, telling her that he was really there and that she was safe now, then nothing.
Hermione felt clean and, touching her face, she felt no swelling or pain. She ran her fingers though her hair which was clean and soft. Hermione smiled with joy but she still wondered where she was and what had happened to Harry.
As if to answer her, Hermione heard soft breathing to her right hand side. Leaning closer, she could make out Harry’s outline fast asleep in a chair.
Reaching out, Hermione brushed his face with her hand and almost laughed in relief when he didn’t disappear like she had feared.
Harry stirred and opened his eyes. ”Hermione! Thank Merlin!” he cried and with a flick of his wand, a pair of curtains behind Hermione’s bed zoomed open and sunlight flowed into the room.
No words were spoken for a long time as they just stared at each other. Then, moving at the same time, they were in each other's arms, hugging each other tightly.
Hermione started to sob on his shoulder uncontrollably, her body shaking with emotion.
“Don’t’ cry,” hushed Harry, even though tears of his own threatened to fall. Wiping the tears of her face with his thumb, he looked into her eyes.
“You’re safe now “he said reassuringly. Hermione nodded gently and smiled weakly.
Harry kissed her head and pulled her back into the hug.
Just then a Healer came bustling in with a chart in her hand…but stopped in her tracks.
“Merlin, you're awake!” she cried with a tremendous smile on her kind face.
“I’ve been your Healer since you were brought in…Oh, I’m so pleased you came out of your coma!…I’m Healer Selkie by the way,” the woman said cheerfully.
“Nice to meet you,” said Hermione politely, liking the woman straight away.
Selkie took Hermione’s temperature and checked her blood pressure.
“Everything seems fine here. I’ll be back to check on you later,” she said. Flashing a warm smile to the pair, then leaving the room.
“She’s great, that Selkie. She's been bustling around you the entire time you've been here,” said Harry, smiling.
He held her again. “Your parents are in the waiting room…I should go get them,” said Harry.
Hermione pulled away from him and looked at Harry with worry on her face.
“Harry, Lu…” she stopped and licked her lips, then took a deep breath.
“Lucius did some awful things to me. How to I begin to explain all that?” she asked, biting her lower lip.
“They already know,” said Harry. He had not failed to notice Hermione’s fear to say Lucius’s name.
“Did you tell them?” asked Hermione, filling with shame.
“No, as you have been in St Mungo’s they have had access to the Daily Prophet and...well, look for yourself,” said Harry, pulling a copy from under his chair and passing it to Hermione, who looked down at it and read:
TheDailyProphet

Muggle-born witch discovered in ex Death Eater's secret prison: evidence of underground slave trade
The Ministry of Magic has growing concerns of Muggle-born witches being used as slaves by ex Death Eaters.
In the early hours of the 8th of May, Ministry officials were called to the home of a Mr. Lucius Malfoy, where a horrific tale of rape and abuse began to unfold.
A Muggle-born witch (whose name will not be disclosed for safety reasons) suffered horrific torture at the hand Mr. Malfoy. She was raped and beaten on many occasions and was kept locked in Mr. Malfoy’s secret cells beneath the historic Manor.
The girl in question is now recovering from her ordeal in St Mungo’s hospital and will be questioned when seen fit to do so.
Also, a large number of Dark Arts books were found all over the house, as well as dangerous artifacts, and we are led to believe that he was performing Dark rituals to become stronger. This undoubtedly disturbed his mind as along with the girl, they found his rotting house-elf’s corpse just outside her cell.
Mr. Malfoy’s son, Draco Malfoy, was questioned by Ministry officials and it was determined that he had nothing to do with his father's actions and, in fact, had a hand in rescuing the girl from her imprisonment.
Lucius Malfoy’s body was found within the cell that held the girl (who, eyewitnesses said, had been the one to put an end to the madman’s life).
The Minister of Magic had this to say on the matter:
”We will be launching a full-scale search on all known Death Eater's homes, including those individuals who claimed to be under the Imperius Curse.”
This gives us little comfort, however, as while the girl was in captivity, several Ministry officials searched Malfoy’s home previously and found nothing, so how do they expect to find anything else…this reporter would like to know.
More on this story as it unfolds (which is likely to be when the girl comes out of her coma and I’m sure my readers agree that our hearts are with her).
Story by
Colin Creevey
Hermione lowered the paper. She was glad that they had not revealed her name to the public and the familiar reporter almost made her smile.
“So Colin’s a reporter…what else have I missed?” asked Hermione sadly.
“There will be plenty of time for that conversation,” said Harry, getting to his feet.
“I really should go get your parents. Tey’ve been waiting for you to wake up for so long,” said Harry, heading for the door.
“Harry, wait a moment,” Hermione called.
“Yes,” he said sweetly, stopping in his tracks.
“Could you answer me a few things first?” she asked, scanning the news report again.
“Of course I can.”
“First of all, how long was I in the coma?” Hermione asked.
“Three days…it was awful. You were screaming in your sleep and the Healers had to restrain you a few times,” Harry answered honestly.
“Do you remember anything from the coma?” asked Harry, tilting his head to one side.
Hermione thought for a long moment, and then shook her head from side to side. “No, nothing,” she said thoughtfully, her eyes raking the article again.
“What happened to Wulf's body?” she asked, a lump of sadness forming in her throat.
“Wulf?” asked Harry in confusion.
“The house-elf,” said Hermione calmly.
“Oh…he was buried within the Manor's perimeter. What had happened to him?” asked Harry.
“He tried to help me escape and, as I’m sure you guessed, we failed and Lucius killed him…it was entirely my fault!” Hermione wailed as guilt engulfed her.
“Sounds like you were close,” Harry said in a comforting way.
“He was my friend,” Hermione whimpered her, lower lip trembling; Harry went to her and held her close as she cried afresh.
Once her sobs subsided once again, Harry got back to his feet.
“I must go tell your parents you're awake. It's unkind to keep them waiting,” said Harry, looking at Hermione for her confirmation. When she nodded, he smiled at her one last time before he left the room.
Five minutes later, Harry stood in the doorway and watched Mr. and Mrs. Granger hug and kiss their daughter while Hermione sobbed at the sight of them.
Mrs. Granger kept taking Hermione’s face in her hands and looking at her intently as if she had never seen her before which, in a way, was true.
Harry closed the door and headed for the waiting room, deciding to give them privacy.
Harry knew Hermione had more of this to come. There was Ron, Ginny, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Fred, George, Percy, Bill, Charlie, a band of old school friends and even Draco to put up with, not to mention the interview with the Ministry, but Harry knew that this was the first day of the rest of her life and knowing Hermione must feel the same way, he smiled as he looked to the future.
Epilogue
After years of therapy, Hermione started to rebuild her life. She studied hard and found the perfect job at Hogwarts as a councellor and found herself happy.

Two years after her ordeal, she married Harry and had two children, a girl and boy.

Ginny and Draco are happily married still and their family has never been stronger. After Lucius’ death, Draco inherited Malfoy Manor. It now stands unused except one day per year when Hermione places flowers on Wulf’s grave and faces her demons from within the Manor. To this day she is plagued by the memories
Ron cleared of his guilt, married a few years later and has a happy family of his own.
The End