Author's Notes

EEEEEEEEEEEEK! Here we are then... I can't believe that this story is all finished and that I'm posting the epilogue!

This story has been such good fun to write! We have been blown away by all the lovely comments and kudos (ao3) and reviews ( ) that we have received.

THANK YOU if you have read this story. Double THANK YOU if you have left Kudos and THANK YOU times about a million if you have left us a comment or a review too. We both appreciate it from the bottom of our hearts!

I hope you all like the ending.

THANK YOU as well to my wonderful alpha/beta champagneandliterature, I literally could not have written this story without your help.

Bring Me To Life -

Epilogue - Two months later

"Seriously, Draco, do you not think this is a little….. flamboyant?!" Hermione asked, ignoring Harry as he stood beside her laughing.

"Of course it is." Draco smiled, taking her hand and shooting Harry an affectionate glance. "But I'm a Malfoy. We have exorbitant amounts of money to be flamboyant with, and neither of you ever lets me spend more than a few knuts on you at a time. People will think I've lost my touch if we don't arrive at this party in style. Plus," he dropped his voice to a whisper, "this will really get on Posy Parkinson's nerves, and the woman is a nightmare. Please, let me at least treat you to this. It's an hour-long journey to get there after all."

"Not if we just apparate there…" Hermione protested fruitlessly, putting down the bag of gifts she was holding to gaze properly at the black, chauffeur driven limousine that had just drawn up outside the house.

"You can spend excessive amounts of money on Daph and me anytime you like, mate. Just saying," Theo winked as he and Daphne followed them out of Grimmauld and went to inspect the flashy car.

Hermione glanced at Harry for backup, but he just looked impressed, so she shook her head and smiled instead. "Alright, okay! I guess I'm just not used to having this kind of money, that's all."

Draco dropped his head to kiss her, and the now-familiar blood bond tingle started to zip through her body once again. As Draco had predicted, the connection they shared hadn't diminished in the slightest. If anything, it was still growing in strength every time they were together. "Get used to it then, sweetheart. Oh, and while we're on that subject of gifts, here. This is for you. And one for you as well." Draco dropped a gift-wrapped box into both Harry and Hermione's hands, then stepped forward to join Theo and Daphne, who were now peering into the back of the car.

Hermione unwrapped her neatly gift-wrapped box and gasped. Inside was a most unusual, beautiful silver necklace. It was large, round, and was embellished with runic symbols that instantly reminded her of the ritual they had all performed. "Draco, it's beautiful…." she trailed off as he turned back to her, and she saw the raw emotion shining in his eyes. Theo's jaw dropped, and she swallowed, somehow knowing that she was holding a rather significant piece of jewelry. "What is it?"

"It's goblin made, and it's from the same batch of silver that was used to make Salazar Slytherin's locket. But this necklace had none of the dark history that the locket had. Legend tells that this is the necklace Slytherin had made for his best friend at the time, Godric Gryffindor, to give to his beloved Sarena the night before they married. It made its way into my family, along with various other Founders' treasures several generations back, and they were all wrapped up and hidden alongside the silver blood magic knife in Malfoy Manor." Draco grinned at her raised eyebrows, "this is about the only piece in the collection that doesn't have a dark past. It became tradition in my family for the male Malfoy to pass this on to his beloved to wear on special occasions. Since Pansy and Neville are insisting on a private wedding, this is the only big occasion we have coming up for a while, so it seems like an appropriate time to give it to you."

Hermione nodded, her eyes wide as Harry gazed at the necklace in surprise. "In case you're worried, my father declined this particular tradition. He viewed this necklace with distaste because it came from the founder of Gryffindor house. I'm hopefully a lot wiser than my father is. I know that excellent things come from that house."

Hermione smiled as Draco took the necklace out of its box. She lifted her hair to let him fasten the clasp around her neck, and she reached up to touch it reverently as it hung heavy and cool against her skin. "Thank you," she met his eyes, and he smiled, reaching out a thumb to stroke her cheek. "What if I lose it, though? What if-"

"You won't," Draco said simply. "But if you're worried about that, I'll add a sticking charm. Here." He pointed his wand at the clasp, and Hermione felt the ancient silver heat briefly against her skin. Draco gave her one last smile then turned to Harry. "Like them?"

Hermione looked at the open package in Harry's hands for the first time and gasped. "Yes!" Harry said sincerely, "I love them. But they must have cost you a fortune."

Harry trailed off as Draco just laughed again. "I happen to enjoy spending money on the man and woman I love. Believe me, Potter, I can afford these."

Two silver cufflinks lay in Harry's palm, each one inset with an enormous emerald. Draco grinned. "You can decide if they represent my house loyalties and are, therefore, my not so subtle way of laying a claim on you, or if they simply remind me of your eyes."

Harry unbuttoned his dark blue shirt sleeves and refastened them with the cufflinks. The emeralds sparkled against the dull material and did indeed reflect his eyes perfectly. "I think I quite like both ideas. I think I'll tell people it's the second reason and tell myself it's the first. But just remember, love, you're not the only one who has an overflowing vault at Gringotts that they can spend on the ones they love."

Draco's eyes lit up as he leaned in to kiss Harry. "That's good enough for me. You look stunning, by the way, even if we can't control your crazy hair."

Draco turned to face Hermione, and she smiled rather shyly as his eyes swept up and down her body. "And you look spectacular in that new dress," he said, leaning in to brush his lips over hers.

"Thank you," she whispered, inhaling the subtle scent of his cologne. She smoothed the red fabric rather self-consciously, she had gone shopping with Ginny the previous weekend, and had fallen in love with this dress the minute she had seen it, but now she felt a little less confident. She rarely got this dressed up, and the dress was quite a bright, attention grabbing color.

"Stop worrying. You look beautiful." Draco gave her one last, heated, lingering look and took her hand in his own. "Come on, the car's waiting."

"And, the car has champagne in it!" Theo grinned, holding out a bottle. "Not only have I been in a muggle car about three times in my entire life, so this is exciting in itself, but I have definitely never been in a car that has a bar in the back!"

"Come on, Hermione!" Daphne said, helping Hermione into the back seat and excitedly passing her a glass. "I just heard Draco comment on that dress. He's right, you know, you really do look sensational tonight."

"Thank you," Hermione said, settling herself onto the soft leather seat and gazing at Daphne's turquoise and blue halter neck dress with an equally broad smile. "You look beautiful yourself, Daphne."

Hermione looked around the posh limousine and grinned as Harry and Draco settled into the seat beside her. "Maybe I should concede here though Draco, you're right. This does seem a much better way to arrive at a posh party than apparition."

Parkinson Manor was big, bold, and just as ostentatious as Draco had described it to be. The limousine pulled to a halt on the gravel drive and a large woman in an elegant if rather garish, multicolored dress hurried over to greet them.

The chauffeur stepped out to open the car doors, and Hermione followed Draco out of the back seat. "Draco, how lovely to see you," the woman who could only be Pansy's mother gushed, giving him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. She pulled Draco and then Hermione into a showy hug then paused, regarding Harry strangely for a moment. "Harry Potter," she said, giving him a particularly stiff hug, "here, in my house. Who would have thought?"

"Indeed, Posy, who would have foreseen that back when you were supporting the dark side, huh? Isn't it funny how things change?" Draco didn't bother to hide his amusement, and Posy narrowed her heavily made-up eyes into a scowl as he strolled casually away across the lawn, completely ignoring the 'keep off the grass' sign.

Hermione glanced awkwardly at the sign, then at Harry, who shrugged, and they both followed Draco, leaving Posy to scowl at their retreating backs, then greet Theo and Daphne in a much friendlier way. "Don't look at me like that, Hermione," Draco said, waiting for them to catch up, "I know I was rude, but I don't like her, and more to the point, she hates me. She may not have a mark, but it's still rather obvious where her loyalties lie." Draco frowned. "Also, at one stage, my father and Posy wanted Pansy and me to marry, but we both hated the idea, so Posy's doubly annoyed that we wouldn't do what she wanted. My being here with you two now is probably really irritating her. She really is a vile woman."

"Draco!" A familiar high-pitched squeal broke through the sultry summer evening, and Pansy ran skillfully over the forbidden lawn in her high heels to greet them all. "Hermione, Harry, you look… Oh, My Gods!" Pansy clapped a hand over her mouth as her other hand fingered the necklace around Hermione's neck, "you didn't?" she grabbed at Hermione's left hand and glanced at her ringless finger, "but you've…. Oh, darling, that's as good as!"

"Easy Pans," Draco laughed, "we all know I will. It's just a bit early to propose just yet. For us anyway, not you, of course. I've just irritated your mother, by the way, so look out. Where's Neville?"

"Nice one!" Pansy grinned. "I admire anyone who pisses her off, as you know. Neville's over there, or he was the last time I saw him. I tell you, if that bloody Lavender girl looks at him like she fancies him one more time, I'll scratch her fucking eyes out!" Pansy said, sighing dreamily as Neville broke away from the group he was with and wandered over to greet them all. "Look at him, isn't he just perfect?"

"Pretty much!" Hermione agreed as Neville approached, looking very dashing in a shirt and tailored trousers, and with his hair styled a lot more smartly than usual. Even Neville's fingernails looked clean as he shook Harry and Draco's hands, kissed Hermione, then glanced at the potplant Draco was holding.

"Here, this is for you two. It's a-" Draco paused, looking to Hermione for help.

"Stephanotis," Neville finished for him. "It's perfect. Thank you," he turned to Pansy and smiled, "look darling, it symbolizes happiness and new adventures in marriage. I think that sums us up perfectly, don't you?"

Pansy smiled as she pulled Neville towards her and kissed him sweetly, then turned towards the sound of apparition pops. "Yes. It really is perfect. Thank you. That's very thoughtful of you all. Oh, good heavens, does someone want to rescue Blaise from my Mother?"

"Rescue Zabini from a woman? Really?" Draco asked with a grin, "he's survived his own mother's homicidal tendencies this long Do you really think he can't handle yours?"

Pansy looked as though this was debatable, but Neville hurried away to help Blaise and Ginny. "My mother's had a soft spot for Blaise for years. It must be that Italian accent he puts on when he's being charming. At least he's brought Ginny tonight, so he's got some protection. Ginny looks, oh wow! she looks fantastic, if a little putout, what's that old bag said now?!" Pansy scowled as she hurried after Neville, the potplant still in her hand.

It was effortless, Hermione found, as Draco handed her a glass of champagne taken from a tray carried by a passing house elf, to fall back into being sociable again. Stepping into the open-topped marquee was like stepping back in time. Hermione closed her eyes, took a deep, slow breath, and mentally ran through her sensory checklist, although these days, that was more out of habit than because she couldn't cope without it.

The majority of their old friends from Hogwarts seemed to be at the party. Hermione faltered slightly when Gregory Goyle greeted Draco like the old friends they were and settled quickly at their table with them. Still, Draco merely explained that the three of them were attending the party together and were in a committed relationship, and Greg didn't seem the least bit surprised. He nodded, shook Harry's hand, kissed Hermione's cheek, and smiled rather shyly as he told them he was glad to see them all happy.

It seemed that Hermione wasn't the only one who had changed recently.

She glanced around the marquee, sipping her champagne while she listened to Ginny and Daphne chatting beside her. Milicent Bulstrode arrived a little later, with Tracy Davis in tow, but there was nothing to be concerned about there either. Tracy didn't seem to have any hard feelings at all towards Ginny. In fact, the two seemed to be getting on quite well, a fact which Theo loudly and cheerfully pointed out to Blaise as the pair of them pulled more chairs over to the now very crowded table.

Dean, Seamus, and Ron joined them as well, Ron had a beautiful blonde girl on his arm, and Hermione did a double-take when she realized that it was Hannah Abbott. Lavender and Parvarti had both brought their respective partners too, and when Pansy and Neville finally managed to extricate themselves from various different family members and sit down for a minute's peace, the evening felt like one giant Hogwarts reunion.

The only difference was that there was no trace of any house rivalry or war divisions between them now.

Hermione thoroughly enjoyed herself. She danced individually with Harry and then Draco, and then with everybody else in a big group until they all grew hot and in need of drinks and fresh air.

Hermione, Draco, Harry, Blaise, Ginny, Theo, and Daphne made their way out of the marquee to find an unoccupied table in the cool evening air. They sat down across the way from Augusta Longbottom, who was deep in conversation with a couple of Pansy's aunts, and Hermione tipped her head back, enjoying the cooling breeze that ruffled her hair as she gazed up into the inky blue heavens. "Good evening!" she jumped as Gareth Greengrass and his wife Emily paused beside their table.

"Good evening Sir." Ever the gentleman, Blaise stood up to pull a chair out for Emily. She thanked him as she sat, quickly concealing the flash of annoyance that crossed her face, and Hermione frowned, remembering that both Blaise and Draco had been less than gentlemanly with their past treatment of Astoria. Their indiscretions clearly hadn't been totally forgiven yet.

"Thank you," Gareth replied, sitting down to exchange pleasantries with them all. "Tell me, Blaise," he asked with a twinkle in his eye a little later, "do you still play Quidditch?"

"I do, yes. Only as a hobby, though. Why's that?" Blaise answered, looking confused.

Gareth nodded thoughtfully. "I'm thinking of setting up a Department of Mysteries team. The D.M.L.E. has its own, as do various other departments. I thought we could do the same. I wondered if you'd be interested in playing for us?"

Blaise nodded, sipping his champagne as Ginny clapped her hands excitedly. "That sounds good. What positions have you got up for grabs?"

Gareth smiled ruefully. "Most of them. There wasn't a huge amount of interest amongst the other Unspeakables, to be honest, since many of them are nearing retirement age or have family commitments. I could do with stealing a seeker from the D.M.L.E., too if either of you are interested, boys? You're both linked to the D.O.M. already, so I'd actually describe it more as borrowing than stealing. It seems rather unfair that the D.M.L.E. wins every match and has the two best seekers in the Ministry on its side. Which one of you wants to join me instead?" He looked up hopefully at Draco and Harry, both of whom laughed.

"You want us to play in matches against each other?" Harry asked with a raised brow to Draco, who grinned, clearly keen to take the challenge on. "You go if you like Draco," Harry added, "I'll stay and hold up the honor of the D.M.L.E."

"In your dreams, Potter, you'd better prepare yourself to lose," Draco smirked at the defiance showing in Harry's face. "All right, Gareth, you got me. Consider me officially borrowed to whip the D.M.L.E.'s arse." Draco held out his hand, and they shook, while Gareth laughed at their competitiveness.

"Chaser or beater then Blaise? Although, since we are outside of work and I can therefore speak more freely, with your aim, I think I'd rather have you as a chaser."

Blaise furrowed his brow. "I've always played chaser in the past," he said, narrowing his eyes further in suspicion, "but why did you say it like that?"

Gareth shrugged and sipped his drink casually."Well, since we are outside of work, I'll just say that it takes a good aim to hit every single sensor inside the D.O.M. with an Obscuro charm on the first attempt. I'd have thought you'd have missed one, but no. Not even slightly. You're on the team too, by the way, Theo, you as well, Daph, since both of you seem to know your way around the D.O.M. quite well. There's a place for you too, Hermione, if you'd like it."

Gareth laughed again as the table fell utterly silent. Hermione sat wide-eyed and frozen with shock until Gareth took pity on her and smiled sympathetically. "Hermione, it's alright, I'm not trying to trigger you. Relax, please. I just like to apply a bit of heat to these boys so that I can watch them squirm. And that goes for my rather devious daughter too."

Gareth caught the eye of a passing house elf and passed them all fresh drinks from the tray the tiny creature was carrying. "The D.M.L.E. picked up the energy surge on their monitors, Blaise. I've been investigating it ever since. You're lucky, Theo,that it was me that searched those security guards' minds and not Gaiwain Robards. As are you, Harry, for deleting two Unforgivable curses and not reporting their use."

Gareth leaned forwards in his seat as they all stared at him in shock. "I apologize for not trusting you to do the ritual you had planned. I have my reasons for mistrusting blood magic, but you seem to be quite at ease with it and very capable too. I don't know exactly what you did to bring Sirius Black back, nor do I wish to hear specific details. However, if something like this comes up again, I promise to be more open to your ideas and proposals. We will discuss them properly and come to a compromise between us all. Next time I don't want you going behind my back because I will not cover for you twice. Do you all understand what I'm saying?"

He looked around as everyone nodded with varying degrees of relief. "Yes, Sir," Blaise said. "And thank you for your discretion."

Gareth nodded. "Good. Blaise, you're my newest chaser then. You too, Daph. I'll sort you out a contract too. How does D.O.M. linked healer grab you? And Theo, you can be a D.O.M. consultant. It's a real shame I can't have professionals on the team, or I'd rope you in as well, Ginevra." He looked around the table and smiled. "Theo, you're more of a beaters build, so I'll have you there please, Hermione are you interested in being on the team?"

"Umm," she stared wildly at Draco, who just raised an eyebrow in question. "No. Thank you, Sir. I'm getting better, but I've still got a little way to go. I won't rule it out forever, but for now, I'd prefer to keep my feet on the ground."

"Understood. We'll need scorekeepers and general support staff too, and that will keep you on the ground until you're ready to play. Well, come on, Emily, my darling," Gareth said, "It's a beautiful evening for a dance. Our eldest daughter seems well taken care of here. Let's go and find our youngest one, shall we?"

It was nearing midnight, and Hermione found herself dancing in Harry's arms with her hands linked behind his head as she gazed up into his loving eyes. Draco had disappeared somewhere, she had no idea where he was, and he'd been gone a while, so she was enjoying a little alone time with Harry. Or as much alone time as one could get in the middle of a vibrant dance floor at what was considered to be the social event of the summer.

The music changed to a much slower number. Harry pulled her tighter into his arms, and she accepted his tender kiss, then stilled as Draco appeared out of nowhere and closed his arms around her from behind. "Just so you know, we have the undivided attention of more or less everyone in the marquee," he whispered as Hermione twisted in Harry's arms to welcome him.

"Oh." She closed her eyes and swayed gently against them both. Throughout the evening, she'd had enough to drink to lower her inhibitions, and she found she was feeling rather bold. "Where did you go?"

"Outside. I was talking with the others. It's hot in here." He accepted her kiss gently. "Am I alright doing this, or are you worried about what people will think, seeing the three of us properly together?"

Harry and Draco both grinned as Hermione shook her head. "I'm fine about showing our relationship to the world. Are either of you worried about it?"

Draco's smirk was sinful. "Absolutely not. In fact, there's a couple of photographers hanging about. If we do it right, I reckon we can get on the front page of the Prophet tomorrow. What do you think about that idea? We could get the coming out as a triad all over and done with in one go."

Harry grinned. "That would definitely save telling people separately, wouldn't it? Hey, Draco, if you and I were to kiss over Hermione's shoulder, it would be like repeating the scandal of us snogging at school."

Draco's eyes lit up. "Fifty points to Gryffindor for that idea. Come here, Potter." Draco turned Harry to face him, and just as the song ended, he pulled him into such a heated kiss that Hermione's knees buckled just as the light of several camera flashes filled the marquee.

"I think that should do it, don't you?" Draco grinned, letting Harry go and pulling Hermione close to kiss her instead.

"My turn," Harry said, leaning in for his own kiss as Hermione pulled back from Draco. "Living on the edge is more fun than toeing the line. Isn't that what you say, Malfoy?"

"I do," Draco agreed, "and it's a philosophy I live by wholeheartedly. But stop taking my beliefs to heart. They'll only lead you astray."

"They already did," Harry admitted. "They led me to a whole world of understanding. I spent a hell of a long time being confused, you know, wondering if I was straight, gay, bi or whatever else you want to call it. And the labels don't matter at all. Now I just know that I want to have two partners, specifically you two, as my partners, and I want the world to know it. I don't care what anyone says when they read about it in the paper tomorrow. Your philosophies, Draco, have led me to where I need to be, and that's right beside the pair of you."

Draco smiled. "I think it's called being demiromantic, Harry. But you're right. The labels don't matter. I'm just glad that you both love me."

"Me too," Hermione said, laying her head on Draco's shoulder and gazing up at him.

"And me," Harry said, swaying gently in time with the music. "And what's more, I think we're going to do alright together. The future looks good to me."

The End…!