Well it's been a rough couple of days for me so writing this final chapter was a good distraction. But be warned, it might be a bit of a tear-jerker. I've already been emotional enough so I figured why not go ahead and write a sad ending too. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this final chapter.
Hermione sighed as she entered her house. Her half-empty, cavernous house. She had grown so used to Draco always being there to greet her, only now he would never be there to welcome her home again. For the first time in her entire life at age ninety-four, Hermione felt truly alone. How could she not, when her husband was now gone?
Losing Draco had been so sudden and unexpected. He hadn't suffered a long, agonising death like his father had. Only two weeks ago Hermione had woken up like she did every morning, only for Draco to not wake up at all. He had died naturally in his sleep, though it all still felt somewhat unnatural to Hermione. Over the past few decades, Hermione had lost other people close to her, and she had been dreading the time she and Draco would be torn apart like this. She just hoped that they would pass on together, so that neither one of them would have to go on without the other.
For nearly seven decades, they had built a life together. They'd had four beautiful children, followed by precious grandchildren and even great-grandchildren. Her children had been invaluable support during this time, but at the same time they were a painful reminder of what she had lost since Hermione had always seen more of Draco in them.
With Draco now gone, Hermione had their old house to themselves. They had moved into a regular muggle house nearly twenty years ago once their oldest grandchild moved into their bigger mansion. Hermione's oldest daughter had tried talking her into moving in with her, but Hermione insisted that she was just fine on her own. Although she was six years shy of turning one hundred, Hermione still felt like she was capable of taking care of herself. Besides, as much as it pained Hermione to deal with these reminders of Draco, she'd rather grieve on her own than make it any harder for her children.
Hermione tightly gripped onto the locket that Draco had given her for their fiftieth anniversary. It was hard to believe that they had even been together for that long and then some. Even when she was younger, Hermione had tried envisioning what her future life would be like, though she had never pictured herself being happily married for seventy years. Hermione was proud of everything that they had accomplished during their time together. Despite having a very successful career of her own at the Ministry for three decades, Hermione felt like she had done more with Draco than she could've figured doing anywhere else.
Following her retirement from the Ministry, Hermione changed her career path by becoming a historian and philosopher. She even dabbled in metal-charming, with her contributions resulting in ground-breaking progress in the wizarding world. But what had to be Hermione's greatest accomplishment was discovering the long lost magic of the conjoined books. Despite searching for her answers for years, it wasn't until Hermione threw herself into her career as a magical historian that she was able to find the answers that she was looking for. Of course it wouldn't have been possible without Draco either, and the two received lifetime achievements for their contributions to the wizarding world.
But without Draco, Hermione felt as though there was truly nothing left for her to do. There had been nothing that she had done without him for nearly her entire life. Now Hermione was just content to wait out the rest of her time until she could be reunited with him.
The first few weeks after Draco's passing had been the hardest, as Hermione had been unable to resist going through his old belongings despite the old memories it brought up. Some of those memories, Hermione had even thought that she'd forgotten about them, only to be reminded by seeing mementos of their time together. It wasn't until Hermione thought that she had sorted through everything that she thought this was it. That was, until she came across a box hidden underneath their wardrobe.
That was only a place where Hermione and Draco had stored their most precious items so that they would be secure, and Hermione thought that she knew what was in there, until she came across a folded piece of paper in the corner. Curiously, Hermione pulled it out and opened it, though she had to stifle back a sob as she recognised Draco's handwriting. This was the place where they had also hidden all of their letters, though it seemed like Draco had added a new one since the date at the top implied that it had only been written a few short months ago. Not sure of what to expect, Hermione held her breath as she read what she knew would be her last letter from Draco.
Hermione,
If you are reading this letter, then it means that I am no longer with you. But if you are reading this letter and I am still with you, I suggest you stop reading now and tell me you found this letter so I can obliviate it from your memories. Now that that's out of the way, I suppose I should say why I'm writing this letter. I'm writing this letter because I fear that my time is near, and yes that means what you probably think it means.
These past few days, I just haven't been feeling like I have much life left in me. I feel weaker, more tired and it has gotten to the point where I think that every time I close my eyes will be the last time. You're probably wondering why am I writing you this letter instead of just telling you this? Well, the truth is that I do not want to worry you. I know that if I voice my concerns, you will be concerned as well and I do not wish to cause you any stress.
My hope is that if my feeling is correct and that my time is slowly coming that this letter may provide you with some form of comfort to know that I had prepared myself for this. I'm sure that I do not need to say how much comfort your writing has given me in the past, so it is about time that I returned the favour. Although I know that you know how much I have appreciated our ways of communication over the years, I don't think that you know just how much these letters have truly helped me.
When we first started writing to one another, I was just a terrified sixteen-year-old who didn't expect to survive the war. I had already accepted my fate, but then one day, I received the most surprising message. A message from no one, it was, but it was a message that changed my life. It was those messages from you that gave me hope in my darkest hours, since relying on a ghost for comfort was hardly doing anything for me at all.
Despite my refusal to accept your help, you kept trying anyways, and I am so glad that you did not give up on me like I already had. I appreciated every letter when I was stuck in my own house with him and while I was awaiting my trial at Azkaban. Now I hope that this letter, and possibly even the others, may give you some comfort with me gone.
Until we meet again,
Draco
When Hermione had finished reading the letter, she was just about ready to burst into tears. It was almost disheartening for Hermione to discover that Draco had almost been expecting himself to die, which was reminiscent of the Draco she first tried to help when she was a desperate sixteen-year-old girl trying to save him. Only now, Draco had lived a full life and he was seemingly at peace with his fate rather than waiting for it to happen.
It was only fitting that after their relationship began through letters this was what Draco would leave her with now that he was gone. Although nothing would ever be able to fill the hole that was now in Hermione's heart, this letter and all the others would be enough to provide her with comfort to move on. Thinking of the letters, Hermione looked down in the box where she knew the rest of them were and she couldn't help but look back on them and reminisce.
After feeling so down these past few days, it helped for Hermione to look back on their letters over the years. There were so many of them since there was hardly ever a time when they wouldn't write to each other. One of Hermione's favourite memories was on their twentieth anniversary when Draco had been unable to be there with her on the day, so he had left her an absurd amount of notes in various places, with some of them being more suggestive than others. Hermione could still remember the borderline horrified look on Harry's face when he accidently stumbled upon one of the more explicit notes. He hadn't been able to look at Draco and Hermione the same way for ages after that.
There were plenty of other memorable occasions over the years, like when Hermione gave birth early right when she was writing to Draco. Their children had always asked for stories about their relationship, but that one would have to be their eldest daughter's favourite, since it was her birth that followed. It was amazing how many chapters Hermione and Draco's life together had, with each one being even more eventful than the last. There was never a dull moment between them, and Hermione had treasured every moment that they had together.
Now, all of these letters were all that Hermione had left of Draco. He was now buried, and Hermione was now alone. It would be next to impossible for her to think of him now without there being a twinge of sadness. But despite that, Hermione would always look back on their shared memories with fondness and she would always be thankful for the time that they did have together. So until Hermione joined Draco, she was content to remain with their memories and of course, their messages that started from no one, but would go on to be the beginning of their life together.
And so that marks the end of the story. This was my first major piece for Dramione, and I'm reasonably satisfied with how it all turned out. I'm almost tempted to give a glimpse of what this story was like from Draco's perspective, since this largely focuses whole story is basically from Hermione's point of view. Though if I am to do that, it will probably end up being something small like an epilogue of sort, but definitely not a full story. Of course I cannot end this without thanking those who have read this story and left their reviews because any feedback that I have received has meant a lot to me. As for future stories, I previously mentioned that I have plenty ideas in the back of my mind, though I have currently narrowed them down to three potential picks. Until then, check out my other WIP Little Bear, which is mostly about my OC, but there will be plenty of Dramione on the side for you to enjoy.