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Epilogue: The World

Hermione stared at herself in the full-length mirror, shrewd eyes scrutinizing the girl who looked back. It was just... odd. The way her waist still dipped in, her hair still fell in messy curls, and her skin seemed to be equally fair. With the exception of a bit of roundness that had accumulated around her mid-section, she looked practically the same.

The door to the bathroom creaked open and Draco stepped into the room, half-dressed in dark grey slacks and no shirt. His hair was strewn to the side, raked hastily back as he glanced up at her with a short huff.

"I can't figure out which tie to wear," he said.

He held up a silk black tie with a faint shimmering fleur-de-lis pattern in one hand, and a stark, sleek silver one in the other. She could sense his nerves from across the room, from the way his eyes darted from one piece of fabric to the other and the tension in his lips as he chewed the inside of his cheek. He was normally quite decisive with his fashion choices, and had been pouring through his closet all morning with short sighs of frustration.

"You'll look fine in either, but I like the silver with your grey suit," Hermione said.

"But - " Draco glanced up at her, words no longer seemingly needed when his eyes landed on her reflection in the mirror, standing in cotton hip-hugging knickers and a plain black bra.

"The black is fine too, love," Hermione responded, arching a brow as her eyes followed him through the mirror.

Draco wasn't listening. The ties were all but forgotten as his hands fell to his sides and he prowled toward her, his eyes blatant in their admiration of her half-naked form. She wondered if he could see the difference in her body; whether he had any indication of what she knew, or if he was blissfully ignorant of the secret she kept to herself for the few days that it took her to process what she now knew was going to change both of their lives forever.

"Did that answer your question?" Hermione asked, biting back the smirk that pulled at her lips as his fingertips, then palms gently curled around her waist and circled forward toward her stomach that she'd been staring at in the mirror moments prior.

His palm drifted over her ribs and up toward her breasts which had grown unpleasantly sensitive over the past week. Their tips hardened effortlessly under the suddenly constraining bra as Draco buried his face in her neck. Her spine arched and a sigh passed her lips as he pressed hot kisses down her neck.

"I was asking a question?" Draco murmured into her skin before playfully nipping at the juncture between shoulder and neck. "Oh, do you need help figuring out what to wear? I can help. First, we need to get rid of this wretched bra."

Hermione laughed and squirmed away as Draco's hands wandered toward her back.

"You want your wife to go to the gala naked, then?" Hermione grinned, her tone a playful admonishment as she reached to re-hook the bra he'd deftly unclasped.

Undeterred, Draco reached forward and twirled a curl around his finger, eyes trailing over the curves of her breasts.

"I dare someone to say something." Draco's fingers slipped into the cups of her bra and effortlessly found her nipples which he rolled around his fingers.

"Oh God - " Hermione groaned, letting her head fall back against his shoulder.

"It's my house, I make the rules."

If Hermione wasn't in the midst of a tidal wave of shivers, she would have rolled her eyes at his absurd statement.

"That would do nothing to settle my nerves," Hermione said, her eyes catching his in the reflection. A rosy hue had suffused across her face.

Draco lifted a brow. "You're nervous?"

She was. Not for the same reasons as he - Draco had been vocal about the fact that he dreaded the event for months now. It was a significant evening, a celebration of the fall of Voldemort, a gala meant to gather the Order members and press in an effort to show the Wizarding World that good had, after years of violent war, prevailed.

Beyond that, it was an opportunity for the Malfoy name to be finally redeemed in the eyes of society. Draco had, after all, spent two years with Harry, Hermione, and Ron finding and destroying Horcruxes and Narcissa's intel on Death Eater safehouses and strategies had all but helped them secure victory. Many were lost in the final battle against Voldemort, who had returned as predicted, weakened and withered. This night - this opportunity to finally celebrate an end of an era of tyranny and chaos, was much needed and appreciated.

It was Draco's decision to host the event, at Malfoy Manor no less, but that didn't help quell any of the anxiety Hermione felt. It was significant and magnanimous, and not exactly Hermione's cup of tea - though, it seemed, it wasn't exactly Draco's idea of a fun evening either. After being raised in the glamour of Pureblood society, all he seemed to want was a quiet life as newlyweds, enjoying each others' company. Hermione couldn't disagree with that.

Hermione smiled at her husband, trailing her fingertips over the sharp line of his jaw when she turned to press a kiss to his lips.

"It's just a few hours," Draco said, and she could tell it was meant more for himself than for her.

"I know." She lifted a mischievous brow. "But, I suppose you could help me relax a little beforehand."

"That was my idea all along," he replied, his lips lifting in a faint smirk that still made Hermione's stomach flutter.

Draco's palm trailed over the dip of her waist. His fingers hooked in her knickers as his lips found her neck again before he trailed hot kisses over her throat. She threw her head back. Her hands drifted over the broad expanse of his back and shoulders, over the faint scars that had faded to silver, up into his hair as she gently led them both into bed.

His lips found hers, his familiar hands still exploring her body though he knew every inch of her skin.

Suddenly, he pulled away, his grey-blue eyes searching hers, his lips already pink from their kisses.

"Why are you nervous?"

Hermione would have laughed at his question and the abruptness of his thought as they lay in the near midst of lovemaking. His hand trailed over her breasts which she couldn't determine had darkened or if it was the trick of her mind, over her stomach that had not yet started to change.

It was silly to be so nervous about that evening; there could be a perfectly good reason for why she would choose not to toast with a glass of champagne or eat tuna tartare. She was clever, she could come up with a reason or two to conceal her pregnancy from the magical world, but as Draco's hand trailed over the supple skin of her breasts and down over her belly on his way to the apex of her thighs which had grown damp for him already, Hermione knew she could no longer conceal it from her husband.

It was silly to be scared. Though they hadn't anticipated it or even discussed it much, new life was coming whether they planned it or not.

Hermione's gaze lifted to his as she smiled. His eyes trailed over her, half-dazed with arousal, half-expectant as she cupped his cheek and reached up to press a small kiss to his lips. She pulled back, her head falling against the pillow as she let out a short breath and licked her dry lips, nervousness bubbling in her - in her belly which was made into a home for their future child, which she could not see but felt and loved with all of herself after knowing it for only a few short days.

"Draco," Hermione said, tears welling in her eyes, "I have something to tell you."

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Author's Note:

Hello my loves.

Thank you so much for sticking through this whole fic and filling me with such open support the whole time. This story has been with me throughout so much of my life and I couldn't have asked for better readers; for my first fic to be so full of love has been an overwhelmingly nurturing journey for me.

If you are interested in reading more of my writing, I am currently posting/updating my absolute favorite thing I've written thusfar. It's a Lumione titled Disdain Me Still. If you are on AO3, I have MANY more works posted there (same username) as they are mostly smutty and way more explicit in nature.

As always, please leave a review if you enjoyed this fic.

Thank you.

All my love,

Syren