and this is it! The epilogue!
don't forget to give my other story Vinculum Terrae a follow. It is a 6th year war time soul bond fic that I'll be spending all my time on that one now!
And thank you. from the bottom of my heart it means the world.
"Lyra Helen Malfoy. Bed. Now!" Hermione whispered for the third time that night through her daughters' doorway.
"Mum! Please! One more chapter!"
"You said that an hour ago. If you wake your sister, you know how mad she'll be. Bed!"
Her curly, brown-haired, silver-eyed daughter huffed a very familiar annoyance as she snapped her book closed, turning off the reading lamp on her head. Hermione simply swung her head side to side, trying to hide the satisfied smile on her face at her daughter's love for learning, closing the door with a crack.
Hermione Jean Granger Malfoy paced back to her own room then, down the hall, passing by Scorpius' vacant bedroom with a rueful smile. He had gone to Hogwarts last month, and she missed him terribly.
But nowhere near the level of the man she crawled into bed with as she stepped into their room.
Draco had been an inconsolable mess when his only son boarded the Hogwarts Express. Not to mention the tears while Scorpius was fitted for his robes. Or buying his first books. Or any time he asked to stay the night at Harry and Ginny's with Albus in the period leading up to his departure.
And each time he had wept, Hermione loved him that much more.
After their first official date in his home, their relationship had been an incredible whirlwind. Something buried inside Hermione nagged, assuring her everything about Draco was precisely what she wanted. What she needed. And she had taken a deep plunge immediately.
By the time of their third official date, when he took her to see a movie after a quick dinner in Diagon Alley, she had remembered their first kiss. How she felt when he had all but assured her he was guarding her in their fifth year. The fervent spark within her soul that she hadn't genuinely acknowledged at that time. And the fearless rush of brashness that had connected their lips.
That night they ended up in her bed at Pansy's, and the morning after had been quite the scene.
After weeks of dating, she eventually returned to work. Draco had appeared in her doorway at lunchtime with bag meals and a bundle of flowers because he knew "she wouldn't have time for anything else." And he had been right. She barely touched the food he brought as he sat on her office sofa, staring at her with a sappy smile.
On the first anniversary of her accident, the pair had visited her parents' grave for the first time. She had broken into loud sobs while he held her on the grass around their tombstones. She cried for days after, and he simply held her, loved her. Allowed her to feel as much grief as she needed without humiliating her for it.
One year after their first date, he recreated their memorable night, down to observing the stars in his garden. At the end of the evening, as she laid naked in his arms, he had asked her to move in. And she graciously accepted. They spent that weekend moving her possessions out of Pansy's estate. Both women cried at the thought of living separately after being so connected for so long.
It was a tense month after his father died in Azkaban. He fervently disputed that he cared. Asserting that he wasgladthe "bigoted old fool" had died. But when she found him weeping in the library over a barren bottle of bourbon, all she could do was embrace him. Comfort him through the grief he held, unable to lay to rest his contempt.
Her curriculum reform passed unanimously in the Wizengamont days before New Years, and Draco had thrown her a party. Nothing extravagant, just all their friends. Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff alike squeezed into the Leaky Cauldron, jostling each other as they toasted her. And Neville, who had been a massive help from within Hogwarts. Beers, whiskeys, and wine were consumed by the plenty that night.
And nine weeks later, she discovered she was pregnant.
And Draco had wept happily when she informed him.
During her pregnancy, they attended wedding after wedding. Pansy and Theo were first, followed shortly after by Blaise and Luna. Ron and Susan's marriage had been a greater shindig that she imagined, and the Burrow has been a loud ruckus all night. Millie and Daphne had gone to a Healer education exchange. Both came back with rings on their fingers and American men on their arms.
When Scorpius Draco Paul Malfoy was born, the spitting image of his father, memories had engulfed her. By the time they were released from St. Mungos, she could recollect virtually all of their relationship. And almost her whole life before they had remet on the muggle streets of London.
Pansy was made Scorpius' godmother, and as loath as Draco was of the prospect, Harry had been named godfather.
On the morning of their wedding, two months after Scorpius's first birthday, Hermione was considerably sick. And while their rather lavish wedding had gone off without a glitch, planned by none other than Narcissa, she couldn't enjoy it fully. Too nauseous to eat or drink anything.
They had to call their honeymoon short because of her consistent sickness, portkeying directly to St. Mungos on their way home.
And at her Healer appointment, she had been in the bathroom when the doctor told Draco that Hermione was pregnant - with twins. And when he told her, a splendid grin on his face, she had raced back into the loo to retch. From sheer exuberance and morning sickness.
They spent months looking for the perfect house before Draco cracked and built Hermione the home of her dreams. A 2-story cottage was very similar to her parents' home in size and structure. He had conceded the small size in favor of a library taking up its own wing.
It was finished mere days before she gave birth, and their friends had pitched in to helped them move. Well most. Ginny and Pansy had both been nearly as swollen as Hermione. So the three sat and supervised their husband's work. Mostly grinding their nerves through laughter.
Lyra Helen Malfoy and Carina Narcissa Malfoy were born 5 weeks early, spending a week under St. Mungos' care as Hermione's body healed. Lyra favored her mother much, her brown hair already curled whisps on her head. And Carina had straight blonde hair with golden eyes. A beautiful mesh of their genes.
When three young children tried to tug at the ends of her sanity, Narcissa had offered to move in and support her. And Hermione had wept into her shoulder tears of relief. She moved in that night, and Draco started construction on her in-law suite in the land behind their home.
As their children grew, Draco slowly stepped back from work. By the time Scorpius was six, Malfoy Enterprises was helmed by a council of trusted wizards and witches, leaving Draco home free caring for their children fulltime.
Hermione popped back into the working world then, stepping into a role in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. It didn't take long for formal legislation to be introduced to the Wizengamont, establishing the House Elf Livelihood Preservation Fund (or H.E.L.P. Fund.)
It had been met with a vigorous bit of skepticism from a particular sect of wizardkind, Hermione even being hit with tomato once. But the program had soared to successes as she was promoted to Department Head.
That had been two years ago, and the Malfoy's life hadn't gotten any slower. Narcissa has donated a rather large sum of money to open a new wizarding primary school a year ago. And while it wasn't within her department, Hermione was fighting vigorously to allow muggle-born students to be admitted. Giving them early access into the world in which they would eventually live.
Draco shifting beside her pulled her from her memories, where she often lingered after having spent so much time clouded.
Scanning his form, she smiled somewhat. He had aged beautifully, his sharp features softening as he matured. He kept his hair long and his beard full but short. And the laugh lines that circled his eyes from the happiness is their marriage pervaded him.
Hermione trailed her hand over Draco's back, leaning in and kissing the space between his shoulders. He stirred slightly, and she kissed him again.
"Hmmm," he hummed, and Hermione kissed the back of his neck. "Love, I'm sleeping."
"I'm feeling nostalgic…"
Draco rolled over then, his eyes still closed as his arm fell open for her to lay within. Which Hermione did quickly. He wrapped his arm around her, similar to their first night, and she nuzzled into his chest.
"What's on your mind?"
"You."
"What did I do this time?" He chuckled.
"Given me 3 beautiful children, a lovely home, and a wonderful life."
His eyes finally cracked at that, gazing down at her with a sweet smile.
"Lyra was reading again?"
"Mhm," she laughed.
"You've got such weird triggers, Malfoy," he smiled. His free hand cupped her face then, and Hermione leaned into it.
"I love you, Hermione Jean Granger Malfoy. And all those brats you birthed."
"They're only brats because you are!"
"Doesn't change how much I love you," he chuckled, kissing her softly.
"I love you, too, Draco."
"Now, go to sleep."
She laid awake a while more, her husband's strong arm around her, as she gazed at the picture beside her bed. Of her parents smiling faces on a beach in Australia.
She missed them, terribly, every day she woke. Every memory she made with her own family. But she knew everything she had suffered, even their loss, lead her to be the resilient woman she was this day. And that they would be genuinely proud of her for everything she had accomplished.