A/N: Guess who woke up from the dead? That's right; I did. Thank you for reading and loving my work. I'm so grateful, so fucking/strong I hope you enjoy the final chapter of Treasure Hunt
Treasure Hunt
Chapter Thirty-Three
The sun was rising amidst the thick layers of passing clouds. Hermione inhales the fresh morning air and closes her eyes.
It had been a week since that incident in the Slytherin Dormitory. A week since she'd last seen him. Ginny had called for the headmistress and Aaron Nott had been arrested for attempted murder and harassment. Draco had vanished shortly afterwards. Nobody knew where he was. The Prophet was filled with columns on Lucius Malfoy and his wealth. Nobody mentioned his only heir.
Hermione opens her eyes when the wind blows on her face. She misses him. She misses him so much.
She really doesn't know if he'd even want to see her now.
She lets out a sigh.
"Hermione!," Ginny calls from the door. "Luna is waiting for you downstairs," she informs her. Hermione runs a hand through her messy curls and nods. "I'm coming."
"Are you fine now?" Luna asks her, gently, as if afraid that she'd break. Hermione loathes that. "Yes, I am," she answers stiffly. "How's Theo holding up?"
"Alright, I think. He has trouble sleeping at night though because he never had dark circles before," she says in her dreamy voice.
Hermione bites her lower lip. "And Draco?" She finally manages to ask," does Theo know where he is?"
Luna gives her a friendly smile. "I was very young when I lost my mother, Hermione. And even though I didn't understand it completely back then, I still wasn't very comfortable with the idea of living without her, so I'd go to her study room and sit there for hours. I'd sometimes fall asleep there too. It became my home," she says dreamily, her blue eyes shining brightly. "I reckon Draco has found his home, too," she adds.
Hermione worries her lower lip. Draco's home...
Malfoy Manor.
"Thank you, Luna," she says gratefully. "I'm really not sure if he even wants to see me right now," she adds with a dry chuckle.
"Of course he does, Hermione. In times like these, a person needs a reason to stay alive and still look at life like life. And I think you're his reason," she says as she gets up to leave.
Hermione nods, slowly, feeling a burden on her chest, "Tell Theo I'll come to see him soon."
Years had passed, but this place still haunted her. In front of her stood Malfoy Manor in all its might and glory. It was a work of art, she had to agree. It'd probably fit 10 if not more of her houses in there.
A strong wind blows and she suddenly feels it. The magic. She remembers Draco vaguely telling her about the wards that keep the imposters out. She wonders if she's one of them.
She shakily lifts a hand to touch the large brass gate, expecting a magical push. But instead, her hand glides on it and she can feel the magic welcoming her. At once, the gate creaks open.
Hermione swallows and steps forward, almost waiting for an old house-elf to pop up out of nowhere and throw her out of the gates.
Another step.
Nothing happens.
She exhales shakily.
The pathway to the Manor was long; breathtakingly beautiful, but long. Hermione didn't expect to see so many different types of flowers flourishing on either side of the pathway. But then again, even she didn't know what to expect.
A sweet smell hangs in the air and Hermione takes a deep breath, smelling lavenders. Upon finally reaching the door, she thinks if she should knock.
How would he even hear it in this ginormous building?
Something pops up into thin air and Hermione lets out a startled shriek and jumps back. "Kreacher!" She exclaims, placing a hand on her chest.
"What is Miss doing in the Noble House of Black?" He asks her grumpily.
Hermione's lips curl. Bloody hell.
"I'm here to see Draco," she declares.
"Master is not wanting to see anyone," he replies, looking at her like she was wasting his time.
"Master?" She questions, surprised.
"Kreacher will serve the Noble House of Black until he dies," the old elf hunches his back even more.
Hermione takes a step towards him and Kreacher's eyes narrow. She passes right by him, pushes the door open and walks into a gigantic sitting room that looks more like a ballroom than a living room. "Draco," she calls out. She has no idea where to go.
Kreacher was still staring at her with narrowed eyes.
"Draco," she calls out again, walking towards the staircase. The hallway upstairs was dimly lit, and even though the sun was shining outside, the inside was quite gloomy. She wonders if it was a charm. Stay Calm, Stay Calm, she repeats inside her head.
Kreacher follows her upstairs and glares at her. "Miss is disturbing Master. Please leave," he says. Whispering, he adds, "dirty blood in the Noble House."
Hermione hears it just fine and almost rolls her eyes. Ignoring the elf, she continues down the hallway and a particular red-painted door catches her eye. The handle was gold and she slowly turns it and pushes the door open. Walking in, Hermione almost collapses when she sees him for the first time after a week.
"Draco," she breathes out, eyes wide. She hadn't known what to expect, but this certainly wasn't it. There he was, dressed in his black robes, sitting on the stool, his hands still on the white piano.
His eyes fly up to meet hers and he stands up at once. "Hermione," he breathes.
The corners of Hermione's eyes begin to sting as she stares at the hollows of his cheeks and the dark lines underneath his eyes. He looks sick. "Oh, Draco," she cries, running forward and throwing her arms around him. He catches her at once and his arms come slide across her back. He pushes his nose in her curls and takes in a deep breath. Hermione sighs in contentment and sniffs, wiping her eyes.
Pulling away, she cups his face in her hands stares into his cloudy eyes. She wipes the moisture that had gathered in them and shakes her head. "I'm here, it's okay," she whispers, her breath ghosting over his face.
Draco stares at her, his lips quivering slightly. She knows he's at the edge. Knows he hasn't cried, has tried to bury the pain deep inside. But it always resurfaces. Always.
"It's okay," she repeats, whispering, and swipes her thumbs across his cheekbones.
And one after the other, the tears fall.
Hermione Granger had never seen Draco Malfoy cry before. He was an orphan now. The only one in his family.
The only living Malfoy.
Three months later.
"He's going to get the Kiss," Harry informs her as soon as he steps out of the fireplace. Wiping off the soot from his robes, he gives her a reassuring smile. "Don't," he warns when he sees her biting her lips.
"Harry, can't he just stay in Azkaban for the rest of his life?" Hermione questions.
"No, Hermione. Don't feel sorry for him. He deserves it."
"I'm not-," she sighs, "I'm not feeling sorry for him. It's just that...making someone relive their darkest memories and then sucking their soul away is a bit too harsh in my opinion."
"Hermione," Harry takes off his glasses and rubs his eyes. "He almost killed you. He imperiused innocent men. He bloody murdered Lucius Malfoy who, by the way, is your boyfriend's father. He used the unforgivables. He deserves it," he deadpans.
Hermione looks at him. "You're right," she exhales. "He deserves it."
Ginny enters the lounge with two steaming cups of mocha in her hands. "Evening, Harry," she greets him with a kiss. "Mmm," he hums," is this for me?" His hand inches towards the cup. Ginny turns it away from him. "No," she scowls," this is for me and Hermione. We're gonna have a long chat," she smiles slyly.
Hermione presses a cushion to her face.
Hermione looks at their interlaced hands and smiles. Walking through Diagon alley, hand in hand with the love of her life felt nothing short of a fantasy. The sun was shining bright and she had to squint to keep her eyes open.
Draco barks out a laugh when he looks at her. "Can't keep your eyes open in the sun, Granger?" He clicks his tongue.
Hermione scowls up at him, eyes way too narrow. "It's too bright," she complains.
"There's a charm for this, you know?" He teases her.
Her eyes widen. "No there isn't," she says.
"Yes, there is," he nods his head.
"No, there isn't," she argues.
"Are you sure?" He pauses to look at her.
"Positive," she nods confidently.
Draco leans down and brushes his lips against her ear. She holds her breath. A light ghost of a whisper touches her and she loses all sense. He chuckles in response. That bastard.
He pulls away and gives her a smug look. "Feeling any different?" He asks.
Hermione looks up at the sky, shocked to find her eyes wide open. "How- What's the spell?" She asks him at once.
He only smiles in response.
Hermione knows right then that it was going to be a long day. And night.
6 months later
"What are we going to do?" she whispers, her voice muffled by his shirt. "You are going to college, Miss Hermione," he says, his finger tracing a circle on her arm. "And you, have you decided yet?" she asks.
Looking down at her, he smiles. "I have," he nods.
"What is it?" she sits up straight.
"Well, for starters, I'll buy a house right next to your college. Then I'll build my own potions lab in the basement. I'll become a crazy scientist and you can graduate," he was grinning. Hermione swatted his arm playfully, her eyes widening. "Are you kidding me?"
"No, Granger, I'm not. The house- our house- will be ready in about a month's time."
Hermione gasps, "Draco!"
"Granger," he mocks, a smile gracing his lips.
"You'd do that for me?"
"You have no idea what I'd do for you, Granger," he says as he pushes her curls behind her ears.
2 months later
They'd moved into their new home. Hermione realized that Draco had paid attention to even the tiniest of details when she entered the sunroom. It was exactly how she'd once told him she wanted it to be. It was spacious, sun-filled and there was a plant in every corner. The right wall was filled with books charmed to float, arranged in chronological order. The left was full of photo frames. She smiled when she spotted a picture from the Tri-wizards tournament. There were photos of her parents, the Weasleys and the Notts. Yes, Luna and Theo had gotten married and even had a little angel on the way. Draco was the God-father, of course.
The little desk in the corner had a vase with fresh lilies in it. And best of all? The door to the library opened into the sunroom. He'd paid attention to every little detail. He'd hired a designer for the rest of the house but had taken full responsibility for the sunroom and library. Hermione's heart could've burst with the love it held for him.
Just then, two arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her back. His breath fanned the hair at the nape of her neck as he laid his head on her shoulder. "I hope I didn't miss anything," he mumbled, making her shiver. His voice could do things to her that she couldn't explain.
"It's perfect," she whispered, turning around in his arms to look at him. He graced her with a smile that he reserved just for her. "Like you," he said, bumping his nose into hers. "My, my, is Malfoy becoming soft," she teased. "Malfoy is putty in front of you, Miss Granger," he mumbled, turning his head to place a kiss on the corner of her mouth. She sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I love you."
"I love you," he said as he dipped his head to kiss her.
"Hermione," Draco shook her shoulder lightly. She sat up straight, eyes wide. "What?" she asked, grabbing her wand. Draco winced, this probably wasn't the best time.
"I- uh," he stumbled.
"What?" Hermione groaned, wanting to sleep.
"Why don't we get married?"
Hermione's eyes widened, her mouth dropping open. "What?" she asked, breathless. "Why don't we get married, Hermione?" he asked again, his eyes full of wonder. Hermione shook her head to knock some sense into herself. "Draco, where is this coming from?"
"Look," he said, grabbing her hands, "We love each other. We live together. We're going to live together forever. Till death do us apart. So, why don't we make it official?"
Hermione chuckled, shaking her head in disbelief. "You want to?"
"I do," he affirmed. "Then let's get married," she said, pecking his nose. "Wohoo," he punched his fist in the air, making her laugh. "This is going down in the books, Malfoy."
"I'm counting on it, Granger," he said, smirking as he smothered her face with kisses, making her laugh out loud.
5 years later
Tears began to fall from her eyes as soon as the whaling baby was put on her chest. Draco stood by her side, his eyes wide and watery, mouth agape and shoulders sagged. Hermione held out her hand for him to take, and beckoned him forward. He bent down to look at his child, his eyes filled with wonder. "Lyra," Hermione declared her name. "Lyra Cissa Malfoy." Draco's head snapped up, his eyes filled with unshed tears. Hermione's lower lip trembled as the baby squirmed in her arms. She had Draco's hair and nose, her eyes chocolaty like her mother's.
Draco placed a kiss on his wife's forehead and then looked at his daughter, his heart beating erratically fast. He felt whole, complete. He had never known this kind of love before. This was what Potter had meant when he had said that everything will fall apart, and then everything feels new. That's exactly how Draco felt; strange, fulfilled, new.
He was a father now.
The nurses took Lyra for their routine procedures, leaving the couple alone. Hermione burst into tears, her hand reaching for Draco's. He, too, let some tears fall as he chuckled. "Why the fuck are we crying, Granger?"
"Because she's so perfect. Because she's ours," she whispered, a chuckle escaping her lips as she watched him struggle with his emotions. "She is perfect, isn't she?" he said, wiping his face. "She is," Hermione nodded, squeezing his hand.
/
Harry and Ginny had thrown Lyra a welcome home party. James, their 3-year-old son, was eagerly waiting for the arrival of his new best friend. "James, baby please put your toys away," Ginny pleaded as she tapped the banner to the wall. "I'll put it in Mione's room?" he asked, holding his toy car. "No, put them in your toy basket, the one that Uncle Draco bought for you."
"Okay," he said as he ran towards the toy room that his aunt and uncle had built for him and Oliver. Now they'd have to share it with the new baby.
"Gin, Theo will be here in a minute," as soon as Harry informed his wife, the fireplace came to life and the Nott family stepped in. "Wooh! Can we go again," Oliver turned to his father. "For Salazar's sake, no," Theo scowled at him. "Hello everyone," Luna greeted them with a hug. "I brought the cake," she said, holding up the box. "Thank you!" Ginny thanked her as she took it from her hands. "Theo," Ginny bumped her fist with his. "Oli!" James came running. "James," Oliver grinned. "Our baby sister is on the way!" Ginny's eyes widened as she looked at the couple, a question in her eyes. "Oh, bloody hell. He's talking about Draco's child," Theo snickered.
"James hasn't shut up about it either," Ginny laughed. "When's Ron coming?" Luna asked as she took a seat. "Next week," Ginny sneered. "We told him not to leave so close to Hermione's due date, but he said it was a once in a lifetime opportunity."
"That makes sense," said Luna, smiling as Theo kissed her forehead. "You're a simp, Theodore Nott," Ginny cackled. She loved taunting him. "Too bad Potter isn't," he smirked in response. Ginny rolled her eyes, "Oh please, he's practically the definition of the word."
"Draco is," said Luna. "He's the biggest simp out of all of them."
"Merlin, don't say that in front of him," Theo joked. "She's right," Ginny said after a moment of pondering. "He really is the biggest simp," she snickered.
The doorbell rang and they all rushed towards the door. The chief guest had arrived. Harry opened the door, and then there was chaos all around.
"Oh my God, she's a mini Malfoy," Ginny gushed.
"Mate, she's too cute to be yours," Theo stared at Lyra in awe.
"She's perfect, Hermione," Luna congratulated them.
"I'm in love with her hands, oh my God," Harry cried as he held her little pinky.
"Can we hold her? Can we hold her?" the boys cried, jumping up to get a closer look at the baby.
Hermione laughed as they made their way inside the house. "Alright alright," she said. "Everybody, meet Lyra Cissa Malfoy," she announced. Draco's arm wrapped around her waist as he helped her sit. "Lyra!" they all gasped at once. Theo smiled knowingly, he knew how much her name meant to Draco. Hermione had not only kept his family's tradition alive but had also given her the name of his mother to keep her memory alive. It was a truly noble thing to do, considering she could've named her after her own mother. She hadn't even met Narcissa Malfoy properly.
These two were a perfect match, Theo thought to himself as he watched them dote over their daughter, their hands joined and nothing but love for each other in their eyes.
Fin
Thank you so much for reading. I started writing this story back in 2018, and it's 2021 now. Safe to say it took me a while, but I think I'm happy with how it ended. Thank you for being a part of their journey. I love you guys.
P.s I do have something else cooking, but I won't start posting until I have the final draft. So please follow me to be notified *insert hearts*