Rise Above is a completed Dramione story only on AO3!
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Chapter 20: The Potion
Draco’s lips tugged into a small, crooked smile of his own. “Good to see you looking more like yourself.”
“Thanks,” she said, a little shyly.
“I mean, you’re a pain when you’re sick.”
Hermione rolled her eyes, even as the tension in her shoulders softened. “Of course. Why would I ever think you were being sincere?”
Draco smirked in return, but there was something warmer in it this time. Something that didn’t quite reach mockery.
“So why are you suddenly so… interested?” she asked, narrowing her eyes slightly.
“Because you’ve been occupying my library for the past few months,” he replied dryly. “Not seeing you here was… noticeable.”
“Likewise.” She bit back a smile.
Continue reading here.
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Summary
The battle had ended and Voldemort was gone. Still, what the war had carved into its survivors did not fade so easily, and even with his fall, his alliances endured.
Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, and Neville chose to remain for a time at the Noble Black Family’s house, hoping the old walls might offer them some measure of healing. They made a promise to shape their future through love and peace, together.
But life rarely honors promises. It tests them. And for Hermione, that test arrived slowly, tangled in a quiet suffering and emotions she was not prepared to confront. She had no idea that her end might come from something as simple as a book.
And sometimes, salvation does not come gently, nor from where it is expected. This time, it came in the form of Draco Malfoy.
