80 Years Later
Haythem watched the coffin slowly lower into the ground. It was beautiful piece with a dark cherry finish. The flowers were covering the coffin, making funerals seem so oddly light. It didn't make him feel any better that one of his best friends were being lowered into the ground. Uncle Scorpius was standing there with his three sons and wife. Uncle Scorpius, Uncle Orion and Haythem's mother, Jenita took after Haythem's grandfather. Uncle Phineas was a perfect mixture of his grandparents. He had hazel eyes and ended up having his father's nose and high cheekbones. Aunt Robin was a carbon copy of Haythem's grandmother. When Haythem went through old pictures of his grandparents, he always marveled at how incredibly similar Aunt Robin and his grandmother looked. Uncle Scorpius and Uncle Orion, Haythem supposed, were carbon copies of Haythem's grandfather. They all stood there with their husbands, wives and Haythem's cousins, mourning. His mother had been crying for the past two days, uncontrollably. Haythem wanted to console her but he ended up taking care of his grandfather who wouldn't separate from the body.
He wept all over again, feeling his heart break. Haythem felt his grandfather give his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. He was a small frail man, his hand clutched on his cane, trembling softly. Haythem put an arm around his grandfather who had tears in his cloudy gray eyes.
"Father, are you all right?" Scorpius asked, touching his father's arm. Scorpius's father shook his head, his body still shaking. He pulled out a handkerchief and started dabbing at his eyes. Everyone looked at him, agonized at the old man's broken heart.
"Haythem, why don't you take your granddad home?" Jenita asked.
"I'm not going anywhere. I won't leave until I've said goodbye to my wife." Haythem's grandfather said, hoarsely.
After the funeral, the rest of the family allowed Haythem's grandfather to mourn by himself. They all returned back to the house that they grew up in. Everyone was planning to stay there for a few days, to help Haythem's grandfather with a few things and to keep him company. Haythem was more than happy to stay. He had been visiting his grandparents for almost every single day since he was born and loved to play with them. They unconditionally loved their children and their grandchildren but Haythem liked to think that he had a special bond with his grandparents. Even as a grown adult, Haythem loved the feeling of laying down with his head on his grandmother's lap and hearing of the wild stories she would tell him with Haythem's grandfather.
They toured the world with each other, trekking mountains, running through jungles, rafting through dangerous rivers and acting as if they were castaways on tropical beaches. He almost couldn't believe his grandmother was shot in the arm by a tribe but he saw the scar to prove it and she would always lean her head on her husband's chest and say 'My hero.' Haythem had also been aware of his grandparents being committed to other people before they were married to each other. He knew Uncle Scorpius was from a first marriage but he had lost his mother at a very young age. Now Uncle Scorpius had to deal with a second mother's death.
Everyone had been preparing to go to sleep. Haythem watched his uncles and aunts help his grandfather get into bed. After talking to him, they turned the light off and walk out of the bedroom, leaving his door slightly open.
Draco woke up in the middle of the night. The hallway light was still on but it sounded like the entire house was asleep. He remembered that all of his children and grandchildren were sound asleep in their rooms. Draco heard the soft ticking of the clock in the living room and he decided to get up. He finally got to get out of bed without any difficulty, feeling young again. He slipped out of his room, hearing the floor underneath croak under his weight. He passed the rooms that his children were in and slowed down to see the pictures on the walls. His wedding with Jade were up and she also included pictures of his wedding with Astoria and some pictures of her with Fred. There were intimate pictures of Jade and Draco with their newborn children, smiling and cooing at them when they were born. Pictures of their adventures together and their children growing up. There were also pictures of them holding their grandchildren in their old age, smiling brightly. He had passed these beautiful memories of all these years like they had passed him.
He walked down the stairs to see Jade standing in the living room, looking at the pictures as well. She was young and beautiful, wearing the long sleeved soft lavender gown that he had picked for her to wear for her funeral. Her hair was long and brown in wavy curls. She looked at Draco, giving him a warm smile.
"Hey handsome. You came to see me in your nightie?" she asked.
Draco looked down at his grey nightie and looked back up, embarrassed.
"There must be a store we can stop by before we leave?" Draco asked, seeing her giggle. She walked up to him, took his face in her hands and gently kissed him.
"These two days felt like an eternity." She said, seeing him nod, looking her over, softly touching her face.
"We don't have to wait anymore. I'm here with you now." He said, taking her hand.
"Are the kids all right?" she asked, seeing him nod.
"They'll understand." He said.
"Are you ready, darling?" she asked, seeing him sigh and take one last look at the house.
"I'm ready." He said.
They both wrapped and arm around each other and walked out of the house.
Haythem stirred awake. He blinked and looked at his watch. It was so late right now. He decided to have a glass of water and check on his grandfather before going back to sleep. Haythem went downstairs and poured himself a glass of water. He didn't pay attention before but something had caught his eye from the kitchen window. He looked out to see a woman in the same dress his grandmother was buried in, holding hands with his grandfather in his younger form. They were standing there with a tall redheaded man and a beautiful brunette which he would later realize who they were.
They turned their heads and Haythem watched wide eyed, as they gave him a small wave before disappearing.
The End