Chapter 60: The Farewell

The sound of clinking glasses and conversation meshed almost harmoniously with the smell of freshly cut wood and alcohol that filled the dark pub. In the back corner, a group of women were arguing loudly about the upcoming World Cup and whether or not Ireland would win for the third time in a row, and by the bar a group of rather tired looking wizards were nursing large steins of beer. A group of loud young men lumbered through the door, their clothes disheveled and their eyes red. They sat down, the sound of scraping chairs and raucous laughter rising up above them. Money was slapped onto the table and shuffled around, to both the delight and dismay of various members of the group.

"Albert, I warned you not to bet on Germany," Callum chuckled snatching a pile of gold coins off of the table.

"And I warned you not to bet against me in any match, remember?" Said Draco, prying a bag of more coins out of Albert's limp hand. Albert groaned and dropped his head into his now-empty hands. "You, too, Theo. Pay up." Begrudgingly, Theo handed Draco some money.

"I should have listened to Dominique," Theo muttered, taking a swig from his glass.

"Yeah, well you should know better not to bet against France anymore, mate," Callum exclaimed, nearly dropping his winnings on the floor. "They've got the best Keeper in the world."

"Well, I thought the best Chaser in the world would be a worthy opponent for her," Theo snapped.

Draco laughed. "On home ground? Not a chance!"

"Well, there were definitely more Germans in that stadium than Frenchmen," Albert whined.

"That's because no one wants to waste their money on an easy match!" Callum replied happily. "Now, drink up, lads, we've still got work in the morning. How's your story coming along, Albert?"

Albert suddenly shot up. "Shit! Shitshitshitshitshit." He grabbed his coat and ran out of the pub. He made it nearly three meters out the door before he rather into a lamppost and collapsed in the street.

"I'll get him," Draco said tiredly. He downed his drink, wiped his mouth, and headed for the door. "I'll see you all for the next match!" He called over his shoulder, stumbling slightly. Once outside in the cool night air, he took a deep breath and trudged over to Albert, who he promptly pulled upright. "Alright mate," he grunted, Albert's weight throwing him slightly off-balance. "Time to head home." Clumsily, Draco turned on his heel and whisked them back to their flat. Once inside, he threw Albert onto the couch and drank a glass of water before falling onto his bed. He fell asleep within seconds.

Draco awoke the next morning to the sound of his alarm clock. Still half-asleep, he slammed it hard and rolled back over. Five minutes later, it rang again, and he begrudgingly pulled himself out of bed and got dressed.

"How's your head?" Albert asked when Draco finally entered the kitchen, eyes still puffy.

"Awful," Draco replied, rubbing his face. "You?"

"Took a potion, so I'm fine- I had to wake up early to finish my article, remember?"

"Merlin, Albert, learn some time management," Draco muttered, half-joking.

"How can I when you lot are dragging me to Quidditch matches every other night?!"

Draco chuckled. "The rest of us manage!"

"Well, your job is taking photos of the Quidditch matches. Now hurry up and eat."

As usual, Albert and Draco reached the office just as the clock struck nine. Or, rather, cuckooed nine- Claudine had recently traveled to Switzerland and had adorned the office with cuckoo clocks that were secretly disliked by everyone on the staff. Everyone found Albert's work passable that morning, much to his relief, and Draco's photos were deemed unusable, as Theo had apparently charmed his camera to only take still photographs. As such, Draco did not have a good rest of the day. His camera broke, his assistant editor spilled coffee on his photos from the Austria-Kenya match, and he was forced to work through lunch.

At the end of the day, however, he found solace in a cup of tea and a plate of biscuits at the cafe down the street which he still visited once a week, more out of habit than an expectation of a certain teatime companion's return. Although for the first few weeks it had been the latter. Now, after a month and a half of spending his Monday afternoons nursing a broken heart and poring over old letters (no new ones had arrived) he felt confident that he had numbed his pain enough to return to whatever state he'd been in before his trip to Australia. But his confidence was shaky.

Occasionally, someone would join him. Last week, for instance, Blaise visited, and he and Draco had a laugh over the results of the previous night's match. The week before that, Dominique and Theo had come to town to start buying things for the baby. Today, however, he sat alone, resisting the urge to open up the notebook in his pocket and fall down a rabbit hole of sadness.

Around 6, he paid his bill, picked up his bag, and headed down the street for a quick walk around town. It was nearly twenty minutes before he realized he was walking in the wrong direction, and another ten before he realized where he was going. He stopped in front of Hermione's flat, his hands going cold and his breath catching in his throat. A "For Rent" sign hung pathetically in the dusty window. Draco turned away. He couldn't keep coming back here. "You made a choice," he muttered to himself as he started heading back up the street. "Now live with it, you coward." His feet dragged behind him slightly as he walked, his coat slung over one shoulder.

As he turned onto Main Street, Draco's pace slowed even further, and he tried not to look at the cafe coming up on his left. Everything was nearly the same as when he'd left, save for a woman in a blue coat standing with his back to him. He stared deliberately at his feet as he continued forward, trying to force himself to walk faster. His body did not want to cooperate. A group of children ran past him, and he looked up to make sure he wasn't in their way. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the woman in the blue coat turn around and face him. She started running. She was running right at him.

And then Hermione was in his arms, kissing him with such force that he staggered back a few feet and dropped his coat. His arms wrapped around her waist and his eyes closed as her grip on his shoulders grew tighter. Her lips tugged at his, communicating a sense of urgency that made his heart pound. She tasted just as she had the first time she had kissed him, all spearmint and summer. He buried his hands in her hair, and she cupped his face.

And when she had conveyed all she wanted to convey, Hermione leaned back, looked up at Draco through her eyelashes, which were laden with tears, and whispered, "I love you. I love you, you bastard Draco Malfoy."

Draco pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and smiled. "I love you, too, Granger," he whispered back before kissing her again. When they broke apart for the second time, Hermione slipped her hand into his and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Shall we head to my place?" Draco asked, his heart soaring, a grin plastered across his face.

"Lead the way."

Sunlight streamed in through the windows of Draco's bedroom the next morning, illuminating the two figures that lay wrapped up in the sheets. Draco woke first, one arm still wrapped around Hermione's waist. He stoked her hair and watched as her eyes fluttered open, straining against the morning light.

"Good morning."

"Good morning," she replied, snuggling closer to Draco's chest and yawning. "D'you have to leave for work soon?"

"No, I can go late," he said, running a thumb over her left cheekbone. "Doesn't matter. I'd rather be here anyway." Hermione smiled.

"How late can you stay?" She asked after a few minutes, sitting up and tying her hair.

"I can call in sick if you'd like," Draco replied, leaning against the headboard."No one would blame me after the day I had yesterday."

"No need for that," Hermione said, falling back onto the bed as Draco pulled at her arm. "I wanted to see if you'd come see a flat with me. The one across the street from my old one is avaliable."

Draco groaned. "But that's so far, Granger," he said, pulling her closer. "I haven't seen you in a month and a half. Just stay here with me." He kissed her forehead.

"With you and Albert, you mean?" She asked, one eyebrow raised. There was a loud clanging noise from the kitchen.

"He's not that bad! We could send him off to Callum's if you'd like. Poor bloke's been lonely since his girlfriend went back to Italy or wherever."

Hermione frowned. "Are you sure? I don't want to throw him out or anything."

"I don't mind!" Albert called out from the other room. "Callum's place is nicer anyway!"

"Oh, shut up!" Draco snapped back, a smile crossing his face. He turned back to Hermione. "Will you please stay?"

"Fine," she replied, rolling her eyes playfully. "But only if you let me paint the walls red and gold!" Draco scowled, and Hermione laughed merrily. "I love you," she said before kissing him.

"That box goes in this room," Draco called out, his voice echoing in the empty flat.

"Alright," Hermione called back. "Make sure you're out of the way!" She waved her wand and sent a box flying inches past where Draco stood in their new, soon-to-be bedroom.

"Merlin, Granger, are you trying to kill me?!" Draco exclaimed as he jumped back and caught his breath.

"I told you to move!" She replied, sending another box flying into the room. Draco caught it as it flew above his head. He placed it in front of his feet and tore it open, desperately searching for something. In the next room, Hermione was waving her wand and trying out couch configurations while simultaneously setting the curtains to hang themselves.

"What do you think about this-?" She began, turning to Draco as he entered the room. She cut herself off when she noticed what he was holding in his hand.

"Look, Hermione," Draco began. "You know I'm not one to make speeches and-" He was silenced by Hermione covering his mouth with hers.

"And you know what my answer is," she said, taking the ring from his hand and sliding it on. "It's wonderful." She looked down at the gold band, its tiny ruby and emerald glittering in the sunlight. "Thank you," she said softly. "Now let's finish unpacking." Draco laughed as Hermione began handing him more boxes.

A couple of hours later, an owl flew through an open window and landed on the newly-assembled dining table, holding out a letter. Draco untied it, read it quickly, then jumped out of his chair.

"What is it?!" Hermione exclaimed, dropping the bowl she was cleaning.

Draco beamed and turned to her. "Dom's just had the baby!" He quickly waved his wand and mended the broken bowl before grabbing Hermione's hand and Apparating them away.

"This is Madeleine," said Dom, handing Draco the newborn, all swaddled in a pale blue blanket.

"Oh, she's lovely," Hermione sighed, looking at the blonde baby over Draco's shoulder. "Congratulations!"

"And congratulations to you, too," said Theo, clapping Draco on the back.

"Thanks," said Draco sheepishly.

"So, Hermione, you'll be Madeline's godmother then," Dom said happily, smiling at Draco and Hermione a little tiredly.

"Oh!" Said Hermione, looking at Draco. "Well, yes, I suppose so."

"Brilliant," said Theo, sitting down next to Dom on the bed. "Couldn't have asked for better godparents."

Draco smiled shyly. There was a knock at the front door, and the Lerouxs came bustling into the bedroom. Draco handed the baby to Mr. LeRoux and took hold of Hermione's hand. After a few minutes of small talk, they said their goodbyes, and Draco and Hermione stepped out into the warm July sunset.

Hermione laced her fingers with Draco's as they walked down the dirt path to the main road. Once they reached exited the front gate, Hermione turned to Draco.

"I don't think any of this could have worked out better, could it?" she asked, taking hold of his other hand and pressing her forehead to his.

"No," Draco replied, shaking his head. "This is...perfect." Hermione smiled.

"Not for long!" She cried, letting go of his hands and racing down the road. "Because I'm going to get to your Mother's first and eat all the pudding!" she called over her shoulder. Draco leapt into action and began running after her, the sound of their laughter filling the silence of the French countryside as the sun dipped below the horizon and turned the sky red above the fields of green grass.

Fin.