Chapter Eight – Starting Anew

Two weeks later, I had begun my vacation from work. It was a three week vacation. During the first week, I traveled to Chamleigh to look at some of the listings I had found.

The first apartment I looked at was a three bedroom apartment. Two other women, who were in their late 30's like myself, lived there and worked nearby. They were looking for a roommate, since someone had moved out. They were very nice people and the more I talked to them, the more I liked them and the more I thought that living with them could be a very enjoyable experience. The apartment, which was really a rented house, was also very nice, very modernized, had a nice sized kitchen and living room, and the amount of money (a third of the total price) I would be paying was very affordable.

I looked at several other apartments and rented houses, but I knew that what I really wanted was the first apartment I had looked at. At the end of the week, once I had looked at all the apartments I was going to look at, I went back to Appledore.

The day after I got home, I woke up at 9:00am to an owl tapping on my window. I opened the window and let the owl in. I took the letter off the owl's leg and read it:

Dear Ms. Granger;
We were delighted to meet you at the open house last Saturday. We have looked through all people being considered as potential roommates, and we have chosen you as our new roommate. You may move in next week. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Carly Fedin
Sarah Calmeier

I decided to write Draco to inform him of the news:

Draco,
Last week, I went to a few open houses in Chamleigh, since I am looking for an apartment. One apartment, which was really a rented house, I looked at was shared by two women about my age who were looking for a roommate. I got a letter from them today saying that I was chosen to be their roommate. I'll be moving in next week.
Just thought you'd like to know,
Hermione

I sent the letter to him with my owl, Elise.

Three days later, I got reply:

Hermione,
It's wonderful to hear that you found a new place to live. It's also wonderful to hear that you will be living with roommates instead of by yourself. Keep me up to date on what's happening!
Signed,
Draco

A couple of days later, I began packing everything that I owned, which wasn't a lot; just my clothes, a few nicknacks, a few (okay, maybe more than a few) books, my wand, my robes, my hat, some jewelry, and any toiletry items I needed at my new place. The next day, I drove to Chamleigh and moved into my new place. After I unpacked my stuff, I ate dinner with Sarah and Carly, then went to bed.

The next few months went surprisingly well. I got along extremely well with my roommates and work went very well.

Six months later, I began dating Noah, a guy who owned The Golden Owl, a cheap wizard's diner in Chamleigh. He was 35 at the time I met him, so he was a tiny bit younger than I was. He was tall, thin, blond and was very sweet. He was also very fun loving and was a blast to be around. He was from the United States and had gone to a wizardry school there. He was muggle-born, like myself, so he had gone to muggle school before he went to a wizardry school. Because he lived in Louisiana, French was taught and spoken at the muggle school that he went to, as well as at the wizardry school.

A year later, Noah proposed to me. I accepted and our wedding ceremony took place a year later. I owled Draco and he attended, surprisingly. I thought he wouldn't attend because of our breakup, but he did and he seemed very happy for me and Noah. He also brought along his new girlfriend of six months, Rosie. Rosie was a very sweet, intelligent, funny person. She was kinda short and was a brunette. She was 30 years old when Draco met her. Draco had met her at the The Silver Broomstick, a cheap wizard's diner in Appledore where she worked as a waitress and sang on Thursday nights. She mostly sang pop-rock music which she wrote. Sometimes, she would do covers of classic pop-rock muggle tunes. My roommates, Carly and Sarah, also came. So did many of my colleagues at St. Mungo's. Many of Noah's friends from America came and so did many of his employees from The Golden Owl. His mother, younger sister, older sister, and younger twin brothers also came of course. His father, Carl, would have no doubt come, but unfortunately he had died when Noah was 9, due to a car accident. Harry, Ginny and their three month old daughter, Hallie also came. So did, Ron, Mara and their two month old son, Eric. The rest of the Weasleys came. There was quite a few of them, since all of the brothers had married and some of them had children. Many of my friends from Wizard's college and Hogwarts came. My dad and my mom also came. Following the ceremony and reception, Noah and I went to France for a week for our honeymoon. When we got back, I moved in with Noah at his house.

Two years later, Draco invited me and Noah to his and Rosie's wedding I accepted, and Noah and I went to the wedding. Noah thought that I shouldn't go at first, because I was six months pregnant, but eventually agreed that I had to go! Draco was one of my best friends. Many of Draco's friends from college and Hogwarts came, including Blaise and Rosa, who had gotten married about a year after Draco and I broke up. I didn't know them personally until the wedding,but I had heard a lot about them from Draco. Draco's colleagues from work also came. Draco had lost contact with all of his family members, so none of them were at the wedding.

Three months later, I gave birth to my son, John. Time went on as Noah and I watched our son grow up. While we had our share of family troubles, we never forgot how much love we shared.

Now... I am looking back, as an 87 year old woman, on the life I have lived and I have to say that while I had my share of disappointments and hurts in this life. It was all worth it. I met many people in this life, some of which had a small influence on my life, some of which had a small influence on my life, some of which had a huge influence on my life, and I don't regret meeting any of them... any of them. I don't regret the experiences I had. I learned from them and they made me stronger, made me who I am...

THE END