Elaine's POV:

The next day, I found myself getting ready to meet Draco at the Leaky Cauldron. Despite Hermione's concerns about Draco, I went anyway. I wore shorts and a sweatshirt, because it was always a little chilly in the shops that lined the alley.

Right before 1pm, I apparated near the Leaky Cauldron, passing many muggles on the busy London street that weren't able to see the pub. When I stepped inside, all eyes were on me and some people started clapping for me. "Miss Granger!" the barkeep, Tom, exclaimed, welcoming me inside. He shook my hand and began pouring me a drink when I spotted Draco in a shadow of the pub. He was being cornered by Fred and George's friend, Lee Jordan. "Lee!" I yelled, watching as he grabbed Draco's shirt by the collar and raised his fist to punch Draco. Lee immediately let his hand drop and released Draco's shirt. "What are you doing!" I yelled at him, walking over to where they were and pulling Draco towards me. "His friends killed Fred!" Lee yelled at me, tears in his eyes. "No...Lee, the castle wall...it collapsed...I was there!" I said, as Lee avoided making eye contact with me. "And besides...Draco has been on our side," I added as I watched Lee roll his eyes. "Whatever you say, Elaine...doesn't change the fact that Fred's gone," he shouted, pushing past Draco and I to exit the pub. "Are you okay?" Draco asked me when he noticed how shocked I was. Lee's never spoken to me like that. "Yea...suppose some people just don't understand," I said, leading the way out of the pub's back entrance that actually was the entrance to Diagon Alley. "Why didn't you yell back at him?" I asked Draco, rolling my eyes at the thought of Lee. "Well, I didn't want to cause any trouble...he's not wrong...Fred's gone because of me," he said, shrugging the topic away. "Draco...that's not true," I said, feeling awful to have asked in the first placed. Draco only shrugged again, hinting that he didn't want to talk about it any longer.

"So...where should we start?" Draco asked me as we moved through the crowded street. "Well...I'm kind of hungry," I said, smiling slightly as he smirked. "Of course you are Granger...come on, follow me," Draco said, leading the way to a small, yet crowded restaurant. "Table for two, please," I said to the witch working the front. "Oh my god...you're Elaine Granger!" the witch squealed, loud enough for the entire restaurant to hear. "Miss Granger! What an honor it is to meet you! I am the owner of this fine establishment...please, follow me to your table!" an older man with black hair said, shaking my hand. He led Draco and I to a table that was somewhat secluded from the rest of the restaurant, but still had a great view out of the window showing the bustling shoppers and excited children passing. "Your menus," a waitress said, handing Draco and I each a menu before taking our drink orders. Draco and I both ordered burgers...extra fries on the side, of course. Once our food came, we began talking about Hogwarts.

"No...I'm not going back in September," he said for the tenth time. "But...I just don't understand...why not?" I asked, pleading for him to come back. "You saw what just happened with Lee...not everyone will be so forgiving," Draco said, popping a fry in his mouth. "We'll see about that," I said, more to myself than to Draco. I wasn't sure why I wanted Draco to come back to Hogwarts...but it wouldn't be the same without him.

By the end of our meal, I had annoyed Draco so much that he finally agreed to coming back to Hogwarts for the last year. "Fine...fine, you pain in the ass...I'll come back," he said, grinning at me as I stood from the chair.

When we left the restaurant, our task was to get everything Draco and I needed for school, as well as getting Draco some regular clothes he could wear in the meantime. "Remember when we first met...right there," Draco said as we walked into the robes shop, pointing to the spot where he insulted me. "Of course...you called me fat," I said, pretending to get mad at him over it. "Get back here!" he said, grabbing my waist and pulling me closer as I tried to escape. "Hm," someone from behind us cleared their throats loudly. Draco quickly let me go when we both spotted it was Madam Malkin, the store owner. "What can I help you two with?" she asked, arms folded in front of her.

Once Draco and I both got our robes sorted out, we purchased some regular "muggle" clothes, our school books and smaller things like potion ingredients, parchments, and quills for the year. When our arms were about to give out from all our purchases, we decided to call it a day and say goodbye to each other. "It was great to see you," I said, hugging Draco tightly. "You too...write to me," he said, winking and then apparating back to Hogwarts no doubt. I apparated as well and I landed right in front of the Burrow.

"Elaine!" Ron yelled from the kitchen window as I walked across the lawn towards the front door. He opened the door for me, taking my shopping bags and putting them on the floor. "Look at this!" Ron said taking the Daily Prophet from Hermione's hands and shoving it in my face. "Oh my god," I whispered, reading the front page article. The article read:

My eyes immediately darted to the picture below the article. The picture on the right was taken today. It was a moving picture of Draco and I eating and laughing during lunch. The picture on the left showed Draco kissing a woman in Diagon Alley a few weeks ago...and the woman was me! It was that picture from the day we broke into Gringotts...when Hermione had changed my appearance in order to break into the bank.

"We did not have our hands all over each other!" I exclaimed, handing Hermione back the paper. "That foul Skeeter woman," Hermione grunted, crumbling the paper and throwing it out. "What the hell is with this paparazzi! They never did this kind of crap before," I said, sitting across from Hermione at the kitchen table. "They're calling us the fantastic four...us three and Harry," Ron said, sort of proud that he was apart of the group. "They won't leave us alone anytime soon," Ron added, almost happy to be getting this kind of attention. I rolled my eyes...it was so ridiculous I couldn't go eat lunch with a friend without it ending up on the front page.

After what happened with Rita Skeeter and her article, Draco and I decided to stick to writing letters to each other until we could hang out at school.

School was actually approaching much faster than I thought it would. I was spending a lot of time with George, helping him reopen the joke shop. It was wonderful to have a real job to keep me busy, and it seemed George appreciated all the help he could get seeing as the shop was filled everyday with people.

About a week before September 1st, Hermione and I were going to the Ministry of Magic to finally see our parents and Jason. The ministry workers had found them a few days prior to us being allowed to see them. We had to wait because it took quite a while to bring back their memories. "You two sure you'll be alright on your own?" Mrs Weasley asked. "Molly, they'll be fine," Mr Weasley said. "We'll see you later! Watch each other!" Mrs Weasley called after us as we walked away from the house. "Ready?" I asked Hermione. She nodded, grabbing my hand and we apparated to the Ministry.

Our visit to the Ministry was much different this time around. No disguises, death eaters, or horcruxes. Instead, Kingsley met us at the entrance and led us straight to the memory modifying floor where our family was waiting for us in a private room. "Whenever your ready," a wizard named Joe told us. I pushed the door open and was smothered in a gigantic hug from Jason. "Oh Elaine," he whispered, crying in my shoulder. "Jay!" I exclaimed, happy tears streaming out of my eyes. When our hug broke, I was able to take a good look at him. He looked amazing...he looked like home. "My girls!" my dad exclaimed, pulling us all in for a family hug. "We really should be mad at you for what you did...but I don't think I can be," my mom said, kissing both Hermione and I on the cheek.

"Where are we meant to live?" Hermione asked my parents as we all walked towards the exit of the Ministry of Magic. "Kingsley got our house back somehow...great man, he is," my dad explained.

Hours of driving in the car (my parents hate apparating), we finally arrived back home. When we walked inside, it was almost like we never left. All of our things were exactly as we left them. "Oh it's so great to be home," my mom said, hugging Hermione and I again. When Jason and I walked into the room we shared, I noticed someone had brought all my stuff from the Burrow. On top of my stuff was a note. It read:

You're welcome for bringing your stuff :) I'll see you tomorrow at work...9am sharp - Love, George

I smiled, putting the note on my bedside table as I started unpacking my stuff. "Uh...excuse me miss," Jason's voice said from behind me. "Yes?" I said, sarcastically, already knowing what he was going to ask me. "Aren't you going to tell me what happened?" he said, sitting on his bed, motioning for me to sit next to him.

And so, I told Jason everything. I was careful not to leave out any details. And just like that, we were right back to where we left off...two best friends reunited.