The epilogue's epilogue

5,5 years later, June 2023

"And you're absolutely sure they're alright with me being there?" Draco frowned at himself in the full length mirror in the bedroom, making sure he looked as impeccable as he did three minutes before. He ran a hand through his hair again and fiddled with his tie, closed his eyes and sighed. "Cos I'd be very fine with staying here and marking that pile of essays that year 7 handed in yesterday."

"Draco Malfoy, your presence was not only condoned by the brides, but also requested. It said your name on the invite, didn't it?" Harry smiled at his partner and looked him up and down, congratulating himself on his excellent choice in men.

"Yes, but surely Weasleys and Malfoys don't mix, unless I have to teach them…" Draco tried once again. Harry knew how hesitant he was about going to the Burrow, despite having been at numerous gatherings, but he supposed that a wedding, which was going to be fairly high profile - in as much as a Weasley event would be this since Ron and Hermione's wedding, almost twenty years previous - was different from a birthday meal with Harry's surrogate family.

"Draco will you stop…" Harry grinned, and wrapped his arms around the waist of the light-haired man in their bedroom, standing party behind him. "You know how much Lucy likes you, and Freya as well, so that in itself should be enough, surely?" He placed his chin on Draco's shoulder and breathed in his aftershave, filling him with happiness. "You look amazing, as always, so stop fussing…"

This earnt Harry a smile from Draco, and he turned around in his embrace, facing the man he was sharing his life with, and smiled.

"Yeah, you're a lucky bastard, Harry Potter…" Draco grinned and kissed him.

"Likewise, Draco Malfoy," Harry grinned back, once he had sole use of his mouth again. He gave him a quick kiss, and then extracted himself from the hug. "We need to get going now, or we'll be late, and that would make Molly annoyed. And then you'd really have something to worry about…"

Harry walked down the stairs of the cottage and checked to see if the presents were where he had left them, and found his jacket hanging on the back of the nearest wooden chair around the big table that sat in the kitchen. It was one of the items that was left when he bought the cottage, now almost six years ago, after he decided he wanted to leave the big house in London. The happiness he never found there was so plentiful here in Hogsmeade, and once Draco decided to spend more time here than at Hogwarts, his sense of bliss knew no bounds. The cottage became the first place where he had been at peace with life since he and Ginny were in the early stages of their relationship. Having Draco is his life helped, he knew, but it wasn't the only thing that he felt anchored him. Being in Scotland, in an area where he was so near woodlands and mountains and nature and the village and the lake and the easy way in which magic was a part of his life everywhere without having to worry about freaking out Muggles - it all added to his feeling of finally belonging. In ways that even being with the Weasleys didn't quite.

True, it had been good, living with them in the years after the war. Even despite them mourning the loss of a son and brother, it felt immensely comforting to be in the house where Ron lived, to be near Ginny, to see Arthur tinkering with illegal Muggle artefacts in his shed (even though he knew it was to hide while he felt awful), or to smell the food that Molly had cooked or conjured (knowing that she was probably compensating, or suppressing feelings that Harry had no ability to help her out with), and he knew they all helped each other cope with their sadness and despair, and everything they were left with. But it was also an incredible relief later on to live in the house he shared only with Ginny for a few years. Just to be a couple, just to be Harry and Ginny, once they were home from Quidditch practice or Auror training. Something he hadn't really felt since James came along, when he suddenly had to be a father - a skill which took so much more out of him than he thought it would. He had no example, apart from Ginny and Ron's dad, but he knew he was no Arthur Weasley. And Ginny was no Molly… And uncle Vernon was the last person he wanted to replicate, obviously…

He heard Draco come down the stairs, and he knew that the time to leave for the Burrow was almost there. He quickly checked to see if his greying locks were not too unkempt, deciding it was fine, rubbed a hand along his beard, and smiled at his partner, who now seemed more relaxed.

"Right, here it goes then," he heard him say.

"Yup, let's hit that Floo," Harry replied. He grabbed the presents, gave one to Draco and grabbed some Floo powder, stating 'The Burrow' clearly as he threw it into the flames.

..o0o0o..

"Rose! Where did you say Lucy wanted you to gather?"

Hermione shouted up the stairs, hoping her daughter and nieces weren't too engrossed in whatever gossip they were sharing up in one of the bedrooms. Rose had mentioned something about a quick rundown of their entrance, something to surprise Freya, apparently, but didn't include a time, or a place, so Hermione felt a rush of anxiety now that the time of the ceremony was nearing with speed.

Harry and Draco had arrived half an hour earlier, and were chatting with Ron, Teddy and Charlie, while enjoying a beer. Molly was making sure that the catering elves were doing what they were supposed to, and Angelina, Ginny and Penny shared out buttonholes and drinks to new arrivals, showing them to their seats. Freya's family had arrived a few days earlier, but weren't quite mingling with the Weasleys, Hermione noticed, so she had taken it upon herself to make them feel more welcome. One of Freya's brothers, a gorgeous but serious man in his late-twenties called Lukas, was incredibly distracting, she noticed. He had taken a shine to her, something Ron couldn't fail to notice, and she herself found it a bit annoying, while at the same time was rather flattered by the attention. She kept peeking at him from the corner of her eye.

"Rose! Answer me, will you!" she shouted up the stairs again, trying to extract herself from Lukas's gaze.

"Keep your hair on, mum," she heard being shouted back, followed by the sound of stumbling and more giggling. Four girls filed out of the room, and bounded down the creaking stairs, all dressed in the colours of the rainbow they were assigned. Rose was wearing green, which suited her ginger curls, done up in a relaxed braided bun, which made her look breathtaking. She had been a tad worried about her daughter outdoing the brides, but Lucy was herself stunned by how delightful her cousin looked, and showed no signs of feeling envious. Freya's mother was less easy-going, but was told in angered Swedish by her daughter (Hermione assumed) to shut up. Which she did.

The garden was looking beautiful, with the marquee up and decorated to the nines, flowers everywhere. The seats were slowly filling up, as relations and friends of the brides arrived either by Floo or Apparition, and Hermione looked for Hugo, who was hanging out with James and Fred, and one of Freya's nephews. She thought quickly back to her own wedding, when Ron and herself tied the knot under that same marquee, now almost twenty years ago. It had been a happy day, although she realised now that her need to be in control didn't help it to be the relaxed event it could've been, but it was fun, and Ron looked so handsome in his suit, and Harry very dapper in his, as their best man. Ginny had been too busy with baby James though to enjoy herself, and Harry drank too much, she recalled, and there was a slight hangover in the sense that there were so many people not there, and the sadness of that hung over the ceremony blighted that somewhat, but overall Hermione had fond memories of the day. Her first dance with Ron was brilliant. He had practiced for months, he had told her afterwards, and they waltzed to a beautiful classical tune, and it had Molly and her own mother dab handkerchiefs to their eyes, and Hermione felt like she was floating on a cloud, as Ron swerved and swooped her around the dancefloor, the space seeming a blur as she was held in his arms, and his smile was so incredibly infectious.

"Your daughter looks amazing," she heard a deep male voice next to her, making her almost jump. "She takes after her mother…"

Hermione looked sideways and was treated to a smile that knocked her sideways. Shit, Lukas was a good-looking man… She smiled back, blushing.

"Thanks, I guess… Though I have my husband's side to thank for some of her looks," she replied, sounding calmer than she felt. She nodded towards where Ron was still chatting with Harry, noting that Draco had wandered off to the house elf with the drinks tray, grabbing two glasses of Elderflower Wine and taking a seat on the edge of the wall that sectioned off the vegetable plot. "He's the one with the ginger hair."

"Ah," said Lukas, underwhelmed. "Freya tells me that you work for the Ministry. Impressive!"

"It's hard work, mostly. But very rewarding as well." Hermione avoided eye-contact, as she knew she'd be in trouble if she didn't. "What do you do?"

"I'm a Music Healer in Stockholm, in a special clinic. Freya is an Arts Healer there, as you probably know."

Hermione nodded, it's where Lucy met Freya, doing her training as an assistant Healer in Sweden. They would be living in a small house along the coast there, she knew, much to Penny and Audrey's dismay. (They had divorced soon after Penny had declared her intentions of changing from Percy, as Audrey found it impossible to remain married to her, but they were still friends, Hermione knew, and Audrey still attended a lot of the Weasley gatherings.)

Music sounded quietly in the background, increasing gradually, and they were motioned to take their seats by a witch in a long white dress, who Hermione knew to be the ceremony official, and she nodded a goodbye to Lukas, found Ron, and took her seat next to Harry, who looked over to where Draco was still seated, gesturing to him to join them once he caught his eye.

"Is he okay?" she whispered, as an anxious Harry kept looking at Draco.

"Yeah, bit nervous. He still thinks he'll be hexed by a rogue Weasley…"

"Bless him," she said, and smiled at Draco as he walked along their chairs to his.

"What did that bloke want from you?" she heard Ron grizzle on her other side.

"Nothing Ron, just some small talk."

"Hope he's not getting any ideas."

"Not from me, he won't," Hermione replied, staring straight ahead at Freya who was standing in front of the official in a white suit, and a bouquet of pink and purple flowers. She hated Ron's jealousy, and tried to blank him out for the duration of the ceremony. To her gratitude, they were treated to a piano intro, playing loudly through the room.

..o0O0o..

God, he hoped all this lark would be over soon… James was sitting a few rows behind his mum and dad, wondering when he'd be able to chat with Alex again. Magic was seriously interfering with reception as well as his phone itself, and not until the ceremony was over was he even allowed to leave the area where his grandparents' house and gardens were, he had been told. Much as he loved them and Lucy, he knew Alex was only available to talk to him for an hour a day, restricted as he was by the bloody stupid rules of his college in Switzerland - why the fuck he chose that particular college was beyond James' grasp… Of course, Alex's parents had persuaded him to choose one well away from James, and okay, it may also have the best reputation as an art school in Europe, and Alex's aunt was headmistress there, and, and… But still - Alex could have shown some balls and defied his parents, for Merlin's sake… Surely their relationship was way more important than a dumb art college…

Glitter confetti was still sparkling around the marquee, minutes after the entrance that Lucy had made with the four bridesmaids, his cousin Rose being one of them - by far the most pretty looking, he thought. The others were a bit plain. How did Lucy have plain looking friends?! Anyway, it didn't matter, the entrance they made was one to haunt his dreams for a while to come. Muggle pop music had sounded suddenly, and James could make out a tune he knew from the radio, something lame from the 70's, and the bridesmaids and Lucy herself dancing into the area where Freya was patiently waiting, trying not to laugh. It looked daft, although a lot of the people there were dabbing their eyes with a handkerchief, possibly from embarrassment. Fred looked at him once, and had trouble stopping himself from sounding like a hyena, and James didn't dare look at him again after that. His mum had the audacity to stare at him in a discipling way, trying to tell him off like a child, while looking all serious and as if she was admiring it.

Oh god, now his father was making a spectacle of himself, by leaning against Prof-... Draco (it had taken ages for it to start sounding okay to say his first name, and not refer to him as Professor Malfoy…) and oh fuck no! Kissing him?! Why did his dad have to be so bloody publicly affectionate?! Yuck…

He had never told his dad about his own crush on his partner (surely that wouldn't have gone down well…) and it had taken quite some effort on James' part to feel okay with them being together. Only Lucy knew, because she figured it out during a Weasley gathering years ago, and he made her promise never to speak to anyone about it. And actually, talking to her made him realise what a sad and pathetic loser he was, and soon after that he found a way to make up with Alex, and their on-off relationship took off again.

He so wished Alex was there with him. He had pleaded to try and find an excuse, trick his parents, but to no avail. James had had trouble staying faithful in his absence (fuck it, he was only twenty one… He shouldn't have to tie himself to one bloke when there were so many who wanted to get inside his pants…) and he had a hunch that neither was Alex, but they never really talked about that. Alex just wanted to know what he was up to in the shop (he had taken on a position in the second store that his uncle George had opened up a few years ago, something that was meant to be a temporary thing but he enjoyed it a lot, and uncle Ron seemed less and less interested as time went by) and told him about the long hikes he went on (he lived near some posh resorts near Bern) or projects that he was asked to join in with.

Oh good, the vows were being said now. Freya, who had a very fit brother, promised her undying love and commitment to his cousin, looking for all the world like she meant it (and she probably did - he should stop assuming everybody was as depraved as he was) and was promised the same by Lucy, who looked so pretty. The ceremony person was now bleating on about the example they should all take from the love shown, blah blah blah… James looked on his watch to see how much time he'd still have left if he was allowed to leave this second, and he pondered on how difficult it would be to lure Freya's brother out to the back of the woods where his uncle Charlie had built a wooden summer house, for some light relief… Maybe this party would finally be fun.

..o0O0o..

Who'd have thought that Draco Malfoy danced like a pro?! Ginny certainly didn't…

After Lucy and Freya had danced their first dance together as a married couple, it was a free for all, and she had asked Harry to dance with her, but it became very clear that he hadn't improved from the last time they were on the dancefloor together, which was at their own wedding. It was nice to be so close to him again, she felt, but it was also obvious that he wasn't really enjoying himself, so she let him walk back to his table the second that music stopped. An hour or so, and speeches of the parents and some friends and the brides' best man and woman (both had chosen their siblings for the task) later, the music resumed and to her astonishment she saw Malfoy approach her and ask her for a dance. She was talking to Freya's brother, the handsome one, and was under the impression Malfoy had come for him, but he had turned to her, and asked if she wouldn't mind, and as it turned out, he had wanted to chat.

"Nice ceremony," he had started, smiling. He had improved so much from the obnoxious ferret he had been at Hogwarts, making her brother's and her family's life impossible, towards the end of his time there. She had no idea what Harry had seen in him, at all ever, and was hurt when she had found out from Hermione that they had started a relationship, choosing him over another try for them. It had taken some time to get her head around it, and a chat with Harry himself, explaining why, had cleared the air a little. And now she was dancing with the other love of her ex's life.

"Yeah, it was really sweet, how they did it," Ginny smiled back. They moved so smoothly together over the floor, swirling and avoiding the edges neatly. She noticed a few envious looks from the sides.

"Do you think you'll ever get married again?" he asked.

"No, I don't think so," Ginny replied truthfully. She was dating a man called Frank, who sadly couldn't make it to the wedding, cos he was away on an Auror mission in Slovenia, and although she was serious about him, and he about her, she valued her life the way it had become too much to give up for matrimony. "You?"

"I've never been married, but I might one day make an honest man of Harry," he grinned. "Purely for practical reasons."

"I can imagine you doing that," Ginny smiled. "He deserves to be happy."

"Hm…"

"How is the teaching going? For you both…"

Malfoy made her do an elaborate twirl under his arm and he caught her elegantly.

"Yeah, fine, I suppose. Harry has settled into his position well last year. He's a natural, of course," he smiled. "He told me about the stuff he did in Year 5, back in the day… and how much he enjoyed it, and McGonnegal was elated when he finally took her offer."

Ginny smiled thinking back on how much in his element he had been, all those years ago, and how much it would probably mean to him to be Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher properly. If only Dumbledore could see him now…

"I bet she is. He loves doing it, and he's good at it as well." Ginny looked at her dance partner. "Rose and Hugo love having him as their teacher, apparently. Hugo is especially proud that his uncle Harry is there."

"They're lovely kids, both of them. Despite their heritage…" he looked at Ginny with a cheeky smile, and she swatted him on the arm. Merlin, they had come a long way if she didn't feel the urge to hex Malfoy at this point…

"Talking of heritage, did you never want to have kids?"

Malfoy looked at Harry, then at her, and nodded. "Yeah, I did, at one point. When I was with my previous partner, it crossed my mind once or twice, but he wasn't ready, and I didn't want it enough, I guess. My father isn't happy about the lack of continuation in the Malfoy name, of course, but I'm sure there is some poor sod in the Malfoy line in France somewhere they could adopt as their other son and he could create babies for them…"

Ginny laughed out loud at the look of disgust this notion produced on Malfoy's face.

"And Harry I think is quite done with kids, until your James finds himself becoming a father…"

"Yeah, no, I don't think that will happen, not for a long time yet…" Ginny's eyes glazed over. "He wants to travel the world with his boyfriend, last time I heard…"

"He's still young, at twenty one it's not what you want to think about, I suppose."

"I had James when I was twenty one…"

"Were you really? I suppose you were, never given it much thought." Draco moved back a bit to look at Ginny, then carried on with the dance. "You guys seemed so young when you became parents. So Harry must've been what, twenty two? I was too busy being incredibly promiscuous at that age." He smiled after that.

"Yeah, both Harry and I hit that stage a bit later in life…" Ginny grinned, casting her mind back to the days that it felt okay to be less picky about who she was going out with. "You seem to have tamed him a bit, it seems."

Draco leaned back again to look into Ginny's eyes, and smiled. "Suppose we met at the right time. For us both. Sorry it didn't work out between you two."

"No, don't be… We were never going to last the course, not like my mum and dad, or yours…" Ginny smiled back. "I'll never stop loving him though."

"He speaks very fondly of you, by the way, so I guess the feeling is mutual."

"Just make sure you'll never hurt him, or I will make you suffer…" she looked into Draco's eyes earnestly. "I mean it…"

"I know…" he looked earnestly back at her.

They carried on dancing in silence, as if an agreement had been reached, one that needed no words, only their new-found trust in each other and their desire to want the best for Harry.

The music then segued into a slow piece, and Malfoy bowed to thank her for her time on the floor with him, and Ginny smiled and curtseyed. They walked to the side together, then split as Draco walked back to Harry, and Ginny joined her dad and Teddy, who had been watching her dance.

"Nice bit of bridge building there, my sweet," she heard her dad say.

"He asked, and I accepted," Ginny replied, as if the last five minutes had meant nothing.

"You could've declined," Arthur added. "Been a lot easier."

"It's time we all moved on, dad," Ginny said, smiling, knowing her head knew this to be true more than her heart did, yet.

"Will you dance with me in a bit, auntie Ginny?" Teddy asked then, suddenly. "I haven't danced in years, and you're really good!"

Ginny looked at the young man standing next to her father, the guy she helped raise into the steady, kind, accomplished person he now was, with a life of his own, sharing it with a group of artistic and idealistic wizards and witches, living on a big sprawling Tudor estate in Wales. His hair had grown longer, and today he had tied it in a loose bun, which suited him well. She nodded, and smiled at him.

"Yeah, I'd love to!"

..o0o0o..

Ron had taken another beer from the large table that stood at one edge of the marquee, and spelled the top off it smoothly. He walked back to where he had been spending rather a lot of time, chatting with Harry, Draco, Bill and George. He had a good view of the rest of the proceedings, especially the Swedish contingent, which sat near to the pond, and the blond, fit looking one who was trying to chat up his wife. Despite Hermione's pointed conviction that he had nothing to worry about, it didn't escape his notice how much she seemed to relish what's-his-name's attention. Mr. bloody 'oh, look at me I'm so earthy and fit and ooh, no I don't work out, I naturally look like this'...

What was Bill talking about? Oh right, Fleur had taken up pottery. Riveting… If only Hermione was taking up pottery, and not Yoga, with that young bloke with the long hair who insisted on helping her personally with the poses she had trouble with. The amount of times Ron had to stop himself from using a Stinging Hex on the guy… Although, knowing his luck, the pottery teacher would probably also be late twenties with a cute smile and upper-arms the size of Hagrid's head…

He took another sip of his beer and tried to remember the name of the Guidance Healer George had given to him a few weeks ago. Maybe it was time to figure out where this insecurity came from.

Oh wait, though… was he… was he touching his wife? What the actual bloody fuck…?!

..o0o0o..

Darkness surrounded the cottage when they got back to Hogsmeade. Brian, their cat, meowed at them when he woke up from his snooze, lying on the sofa by the fireplace. The Knightbus had delivered them to the front door, shaken by it's violent jerks, but Harry somehow seemed none-the-worse for it, Draco noticed. He had been a tad tipsy, but the ride on the bus, which had been especially hired by Arthur Weasley for the guests of his granddaughter's wedding, must have sobered him up a little. Draco had walked him into the cottage, supporting him slightly, as he made the lights go on inside.

"That was fun!" Harry said once he sat down on the sofa, making Brian leave. "Did you think it was fun? You looked like you had fun."

"Yeah, it was nice." Draco sat down next to Harry, and leaned his head back against the cushions. "Those Weasleys know how to party."

"Yeah, shame that Lukas bloke spoiled it for Ron, though," Harry said, slumping sideways onto Draco's shoulder. He then progressed to move his arm over his torso, nestling his face in his neck.

"You sure it wasn't Ron that provoked Lukas?" he tried to recall the incident, which ended the party abruptly for Harry's oldest friend. "He seemed to have a bee in his bonnet about him chatting with Granger so much."

"Yeah, well, I suppose he's never been the most confident bloke…"

"They've been married for how long now?" Draco ran a hand over Harry's arm, feeling his warm skin underneath the shirt.

"Yeah, well, let's not talk about them now…" Harry planted a slow kiss in Draco's neck. "You were dancing with Gin, that was very decent of you…"

"She's a good dancer… And I wanted to have a chat with her, show her I'm up to the job…"

"Job? Of keeping me in line…?" Harry lifted his head a little to catch Draco's eyes.

"Precisely… It takes a big man to do that…" Draco grinned, catching Harry's mouth in a gentle kiss.

"And you're plenty big enough in my book…"

"Oh stop it, you!" Draco gave him a playful shove. "No, it felt like the right thing to do, somehow. She wants the best for you, to see you happy, and I guess I wanted to show her that we're good together. That I'm serious about you. Us…"

"Ahh… That's nice," Harry said, having put his head in Draco's neck again. "Does anybody doubt that then?"

"I'm pretty sure enough people still doubt my good intentions," Draco replied. "I don't think I'll ever be flavour of the month, no matter how much Minerva approves of me, or I get on with the other teachers, or the Weasleys allow me to attend weddings on their property."

"Do you really think that?" Harry now moved up a little, leaning against the back of the sofa sideways, looking at Draco.

"Yes, of course I do."

"Despite us having been together for years now?"

"I was a Death Eater, Potter," Draco frowned. "That doesn't tend to be forgotten."

"Yeah, for like a week, and then you regretted it."

"I know that, and you know that… Remember how strongly Markus reacted, back then? He surely isn't the only one who thinks that way…"

"But… You're with me now… Surely I wouldn't call you my life partner in public if I couldn't trust you…"

"Harry, it's fine… I can live with it. We've talked about this, it isn't going away. I love you, and I chose to be with you, and you choose to be with me, and that's enough for me…"

"And I love you…"

They sat in silence for a while, caressing each other, as if to contemplate life from now on. Figure out what was next…

"Let's make us legal," Harry spoke.

"What, get married?" Draco looked confused, as Harry had made it very clear he didn't want to be bothered with all that again.

"Sort of, let's do a Binding Ceremony, just us two and an official…"

"What, elope to Gretna Green?" Draco was still confused.

"Minerva can do it, she's initiated…"

"But, wouldn't we need witnesses?"

"Cassandra would love to be part of it…" Harry's eyes were gleaming. "And Fillius as well…"

"Harry, have you gone bonkers?"

"Well?"

"Well what?"

Harry was grinning like a loon. "Let's tie the knot!"

"Harry, you're drunk…"

"Maybe a bit." His smile continued.

"Let's think about it, yeah? Leave it till tomorrow."

"...Will you, Harry James Potter take this man, Draco Lucius Malfoy, to be your lawful husband…" Draco heard him say in an arch voice, then in his own, "Yeah, why not… don't mind if I do…"

"Bed, Harry, come on…"

"...And will you, Draco Lucius Malfoy, take this man, Harry James Potter, as your lawful husband…" Dreamy eyes met his, eagerly awaiting his reply. He was serious, by the look of it.

"Oh, go on then…" Draco smiled, moving on to catch Harry's lips, but was stopped by a hand on his chest.

"Uh-uh, hang on… You have to say it first."

"Harry! I want to go upstairs…"

"What is your reply?"

"You're mad, you know that…"

"I know, and now you know…"

"Oh alright then… If it shuts you up…"

"Um, I don't think you're taking this very seriously, Draco Lucius…"

"I am! And I do… I do, Harry James bloody Potter… I do. I would very much want to be your lawful husband. Now, please let me kiss you…"

"Alright, you may now kiss the bride- eh, groom! You may kiss the groom!" Harry laughed and puckered his lips for Draco to meet his.

"Completely bonkers…"

Draco moved over to meet Harry's lips and their kiss intensified gradually, until Harry broke it off for a moment.

"Took you long enough to notice," he said with a stupid grin.

"Shut up, Potter, I have better things to do than discuss your mental state…" Draco mumbled, then moved to carry on their kiss.

end