Secret Smile. *Complete*

Back To School Again

It wasn't long before the gang were back at Hogwarts again. Hermione had to admit that she was a little nervous to be heading back. There would be plenty of rumours floating around about what had happened. Where she had been for the past few months, Draco too, and why Ron was nowhere around anymore.

Astoria, whom Hermione defended to the highest hill to keep her out of Azkaban, was not permitted back to school but was allowed to finish her final year at home. So, at least she would graduate. Everyone in the group thought it was more than fair, but Hermione was rather annoyed about it all. 

After all the girl, never meant Hermione any serious harm. She thought her father was simply going to take her away to start over. She just wanted her boyfriend back. Hermione imagined she would do pretty much the same if not worse if someone tried to take Draco away from her. 

The teachers were pretty astounded that Hermione and Draco both caught up on all their school work so quickly. Although considering they were the top two students in the year, maybe it wasn't that big a shock. But their days returned to normal. They went back to living in their shared dorm and having their friends next door. They also resumed Prefect duties, including patrolling and organising a party for the final day of exams. 

Draco kept his promise of thinking of extra special ways to make sure that Hermione's remaining few months were magical. He planned dates in Hogsmeade, picnics in the castle grounds by the lake, or in the Quidditch stands or the Astronomy Tower. He would take her flying almost every night. They would spend days in the library reading or in their dorm room, just getting to know each other even more. 

He had bought and enchanted for her a new camera, and a new scrapbook to fill with her memories, making sure to snap everything from Quidditch matches, to revision sessions to just spontaneous pictures of them throughout the castle. 

She had never before had such a carefree time at Hogwarts, and although their time was very limited, she knew she would take these memories with her for the rest of her life. It was pretty damn perfect in her eyes.

Hermione became like a tutor to all her friends. She set up study sessions and introduced them all to highlighters and revision cards on which she had written down almost everything they could possibly need to know. She made everyone a revision pack with Draco's help. Each pack consisted of revision cards for each student's subjects, instructions for wand posture, tricks for potion brewing, class notes which she had duplicated and highlighted the important bits, as well as a timetable for their exams and for their studying. 

She handed them out to bloody everyone: her and Draco, Harry, Blaise, Pansy, Theo, Luna, Ginny, Dean, Ezra, Seamus, Rolf, Padma, Daphne Greengrass, Neville and his girlfriend Hannah. She even sent one to Astoria, who wrote back a letter of thanks, and so the two began to correspond regularly. 

By the time their exams came around, she was confident that she had revised as much as she could and done her best to help her friends. Hermione actually loved this time of year. Classes were for independent study, and with each exam, she ticked off her timetable, she smiled, knowing that she was finally completing her education and would be graduating.

Not that the exams were easy. They were bloody not. Even for Hermione. But she couldn't be more prepared if she tried and she could only try her best. 

This did not stop her from having a nightmare in the middle of their final exam week that she had failed them all. She had jumped awake, causing Draco to jump up too (the two were now fully sharing a room). But unlike Ron, Draco did not laugh at her for a stupid nightmare. He actually consoled her and held her in his arms until she fell asleep, soothing her and telling her that no matter what, everything would be alright.