Author's Note: So this is our final chapter! My epilogue is not quite as far in the future as Rowling's because…well, you all know how corny epilogues can be when they're set nineteen years later. So this is a bit sooner.

I want to thank all my faithful reviewers (you know who you are) who have left lovely messages every chapter. You kept me going. Make sure you read my note at the end, otherwise ENJOY!

For the last time… JKR is as sweet as a trip to Honeydukes!

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Epilogue

Draco stretched his arms out high above his head, his knuckles brushing the headboard as he stretched out his tired muscles. He felt that pleasant sort of popping along his spine, and groaned in relief. There was still a nice ache radiating from every inch of his body, even though it had been put through the ringer last night. Hermione had decided impulsively that she wanted to celebrate the anniversary of the day he rescued her and brought her to their beloved cottage. She had arranged a special dinner for him, but after that it had gotten wildly out of control, as they both often did. Draco hummed happily as he contemplated the ease with which they had become intimate with each other over the last year. It had been many months now since the first time they made love, almost approaching the anniversary of the Final Battle, and it still felt like the first time. They were insatiable. Once the mourning period and the whole mayhem of the war had died down a bit, it was like they couldn't keep their hands off each other. After the battle, Hermione had moved into the cottage with very little ceremony and they had proceeded to quickly christen every surface in the house at least ten times with their passion. He remembered one particularly fond occasion when he had needed her so desperately he wiped the kitchen plates clear off with a sweep of his hand in the middle of lunch and took her on the table. That had been just one of many memorable experiences. He honestly wondered how he could still function normally, when his brain seemed to turn to mush every time she was around. He thought that would have faded over time, but she still had the uncanny ability of setting him on fire with just a glance.

Draco smirked a bit when he remembered Potter and Weasley showing up out of the blue and knocking loudly on the front door, both red in the face when they realised what they had interrupted. They had been concerned about their friend's hasty decision to live with the big bad former Death Eater, when she didn't return with them after the clean up at Hogwarts. It seemed as though Potter hadn't been quite prepared for the fast pace their relationship took. Potter didn't quite remember that Hermione had lived there in the cottage happily for months while she was recovering, and that it had become her home too. He was only looking out for her interests, though, and Draco was happy to put up with the intrusion as long as they didn't tie her up and drag her away against her will. It took a bit of persuasion on Hermione's part, but she had managed to placate the boy-who-lived-twice. In the end he had just given her a warm hug and made her promise to come visit as frequently as possible and send him a patronus if she was ever in trouble. Weasley on the other hand had much more self-serving interests. He had demanded petulantly that she move back into Grimmauld Place with them, where both boys were staying, and had thrown a right old fit when she refused. It had put a big wound in their friendship, and had plagued Hermione for months as he persisted in ignoring her. She had hated not speaking to Weasley, but had also remained stubborn throughout and determined to be true to her feelings. She wanted to live in her dear little cottage. It was home. And Draco certainly wasn't going to complain. He had designed it for her; he had always wanted her to be here with him. And despite everything, such as their fairly young age and inexperience, it just felt right. It had taken a long time, about three months, for Weasley to finally show up, grovelling of course, missing his friend and apologising for how he had treated her.

They had a lot of visitors to the cottage these days. He still had some protective enchantments up around the place, but not as heavy as before, and friends and family were quite welcome to come through. Draco had been working hard for the last year getting his family's business in order, so he was often gone for long periods of time. Lucius had kept the various Malfoy corporations and investments alive through some underhanded connections. There was a lot of corruption that needed to be rooted out, and Draco attacked the task with a zeal he had never felt before. He was determined to make this a business that he could be proud to helm; one that blended into the new wizarding world order, and with Shacklebolt's more rigorous ministry of magic. But it wasn't easy. There were a lot of ties to be cut, and most of them were rather complex to back out of without receiving a hundred death threats a day.

Hermione had been a saint throughout the whole thing. She had been so understanding, especially when he had been required to travel away for a few days here and there, and throughout it all she had supported his determination to transform the company back to some of its former glory and respect. She herself had been busy researching for ways to reverse intricate memory charms like the one she had used on her parents. She was getting closer and closer to figuring out the answers, with all her meticulous notes arranged in colour coded binders and piled around the cottage. He had been amazed by the progress she had made, and genuinely awed by her skill with charms and obliviates. If it were possible he had fallen in love with her all over again, just watching her piece together everything in a way that proved beyond a doubt that she was brightest witch of her age. She was figuring it all out so efficiently, in her typical pedantic manner, so Draco had already booked them both first class tickets to fly to Australia later in the year. He planned to surprise her with the tickets soon. She deserved a little reward to show that he cared, and that he would stick by her side when the time came to put her hard work into action. Her success with inventing the charms had already attracted a lot of attention from a magical research company in Germany who had written to her to offer her a permanent job. She could even do it from home if she didn't want to move to Berlin. Draco was so proud of her. She hadn't decided what to do yet, but it didn't matter. This feisty little muggleborn was going to take the wizarding world by storm no matter what she chose to pursue.

The amazing witch in question chose that moment to enter the bedroom, making Draco's smile widen into a cheeky grin. She was clearly a bit frazzled, which only made him chuckle. She looked over at him with a bossy little frown. He couldn't help but drop his eyes to her body, still glistening with water droplets from her shower, and wrapped only in a thin white towel.

"Don't even think about it, Draco!"

He tried to blink innocently up at her from where he was sprawled on the bed, the sheet draped down around his waist. But he knew that he couldn't hide the interested leer on his face.

"About what?" he asked in feigned ignorance.

Hermione put her hands on her hips, glaring daggers at him.

"You know what," she said with a little pout, even though he saw one corner of her lips twitching upwards, "And we're already late, thanks to you!"

Draco shrugged, flexing his arms as he did and liking the way Hermione's gaze lingered on his bare chest.

"I'm not the one who decided to wear that sexy green skirt to a children's birthday party."

Hermione scoffed.

"What is it with you and that colour?"

Draco just smiled and bit his tongue, sending her a mischievous little wink. She wasn't kidding. He loved it when she wore green, which she did a lot more these days. It had taken them a few weeks to fully realise some of the changes in the cottage when they returned. It turned out that Tilly had done a lot more than they had known at the time. Hermione had a whole wardrobe full of clothes, and he had been quite pleased to discover that a lot of them seemed to be designed in Slytherin colours. The little elf must have worked so hard to put together a beautiful trestle of clothing for the witch; she had a wardrobe fit for a duchess now! And Draco had almost cried when he saw the project that the elf had been working on in her cosy attic bedroom. Tilly had been sewing together a beautiful patchwork quilt with the Malfoy crest on it, a beautiful blanket designed for a tiny baby. It even had some protective house elf charms woven into it, to make sure it was always the right temperature, never needed washing, and was impervious to any hostile spells

Hermione had been touched by the gesture. They weren't ready to have children, and wouldn't be for many years probably – bloody hell, they were still just teenagers! But it was such a sweet thought, and he was sure it would be a very meaningful family treasure to them in the future. After she had found the quilt, Hermione had decided to plant a small garden full of the most stunning pink flowers in a patch of soil out the back where Tilly's body was buried – her favourite colour.

"Draco, are you planning on getting ready soon? We should have been there half an hour ago!"

He drew his eyes back to Hermione's sinful body as she tossed some clothes on and took a quick look at herself in the mirror. He sighed reluctantly, knowing he should get dressed. This was her second attempt at getting ready. The first time she had started to strip off her clothes to change, and he had taken one look at the naked curve of her back and had pounced her. One fast and unbridled romp on the bed later, and she was trying again with much more success. He just couldn't help himself. He loved the little dip in her back where there were two dimples in the skin just above her hip. It made him want her so bad. He hadn't been able to stop himself from throwing her on the bed and devouring her in a heavy fog of lust. She wasn't particularly pleased that she had to take another shower afterwards. But her anger was tempered by a fairly dazed, satisfied smile that she couldn't seem to wipe off her face no matter how hard she tried to scowl at him, so he was feeling pretty smug.

"Alright, my little temptress," he drawled with an exaggerated groan, tossing the sheet off and moving to get changed into the clothes laid out on his dresser. He had let Hermione slowly coax him into wearing more casual clothes lately, since she claimed that he looked sexy, and today's ensemble was a pair of navy blue jeans and a smart grey shirt. He looked like a muggle, he thought with a frown as he studied himself in the mirror. But he loved the casual sneakers she had bought for him; they were actually pretty cool, he thought. And the laces were a bright, Slytherin green.

"Perfect," she murmured, giving him a look up and down, and fiddling with his hair a bit as he watched them both in the mirror, "very…normal."

He smirked at her and cocked his head to one side to consider.

"I'll never be normal, darling," he teased after a pause, leaning down to place a chaste kiss on her lips. She tasted like whatever berry glossy concoction she put on them that made her pout look so irresistible.

"Just the way I like you," she whispered back, before turning to start winding her hair into a thick braid, knotting it at the back of her head. She looked gorgeous. Draco smiled at her when he was done, holding his hand out for her to take. She quickly grabbed the wrapped blue and red present from the dressing table and took his hand, and they strolled out towards the apparition point together.

"I still think you were a bit excessive with the gift, Draco."

He shook his head with a smirk.

"What's the point in being a spoilt millionaire if I can't splurge on my family?"

Hermione giggled, bumping his shoulder affectionately with hers. It was a habit he was glad she hadn't lost over the months of living together. He liked how she teased him.

"He won't understand it. He's only just one year old."

"All the more reason to get him started early."

Hermione just shook her head as they both looked down at the gift. It was a little toy broomstick, much like the one from the photograph of Harry as a toddler that Hermione had proudly shown him when they were visiting Grimmauld Place one evening. But of course, Malfoys were notoriously extravagant, so it wasn't just any old infant broom. Not only did it have about a thousand protective wards on it, it was also charmed to grow as its owner did so that he could keep using it for many years, as he got older. Until he wanted a proper one, and Draco would probably buy him that one too.

When the two of them reached the apparition point, Hermione turned to him, running her fingers through his blond hair. It was nowhere near as slick as it used to be, but fell in baby soft strands across his forehead. He thought it made him look a bit younger, less pretentious. And Hermione loved to touch it delicately with her fingers, and he enjoyed that too.

"Don't stir up Ron today, please," she warned, earning a devilish smile from him, "and try not to let George convince you to play too many silly pranks. You're both insufferable."

He just smiled more widely, not even bothering to hide the mischievous glint in his eye.

"Yes, dear."

Hermione just sighed in resignation and then stuck her tongue out at him cheekily. He raised his brows in surprise at the impish gesture, but before he could comment she had taken hold of his arm and he felt the suffocating pull of apparition. His lungs seemed to collapse in on themselves and he took a deep gasping breath as the world stopped spinning with a loud pop.

"Damnit, Granger," he grumbled, blinking to get his eyes to focus properly on their destination. He peered up at the cute little white house, connected to rows of other similar townhouses in a pretty little neighbourhood. There were parks all around, and the air was warm and tangy like salt from an ocean breeze.

"Draco! Hermione! Wothcer!" The voice called excitedly from the door, and they turned to see Tonks beaming down at them from the open front door of the house. Her hair was a sunny yellow today, to match her bright yellow dress, and her ears were pointed upwards like a pixie. Hermione dashed forwards and the two women hugged fiercely, spouting off a hundred things in squealing voices as only women could. Draco followed at a much more dignified pace, and was soon caught in an equally warm embrace by his cousin. He hugged her back tightly, before he drew back and looked down on her with a smile.

"No fires to put out?"

Tonks laughed and gestured for them to come in.

"Not yet. I did burn the cake, but luckily Molly had made a back-up cake. Which is actually much nicer than mine. I dunno why she was so sure I would fail…"

Hermione giggled, as Draco scoffed at his cousin.

"Maybe because you can't even toast bread without setting the drapes alight."

"Oy! That was one time!"

Tonks led them through the house and out to the back garden, and the two of them both gasped simultaneously as they saw the beautiful decorations all around. It had a jungle theme, with big animal statues that were charmed to look lifelike, and, the tent was made out of what seemed to be a small forest.

"Wow," Hermione whispered in awe. A lot of effort had clearly gone into this little garden party.

Tonks leaned over with a conspiratorial smile.

"It was all Bill and Fleur. They basically took charge. And look at how sweet Victoire is in her little giraffe costume."

Draco snorted again, but made sure he fixed his expression to be politely interested as his Aunt Andromeda approached them with a warm smile. He owed a lot to his aunt in the months since the final battle. There was no other way to describe it; she had taken him under her wing. At first he had been a bit hesitant to take up her time. She had recently lost her husband; Ted Tonks, the man whose death had made Hermione upset so long ago now. And she was also trying to support her daughter who had also lost her husband, and who was trying to raise a baby by herself. He hadn't wanted to be another burden for her. But Andromeda had been stubborn and rather persuasive, and she had insisted the two of them meet up for lunch. One Sunday lunch had turned into two, and two had turned into three. And soon they were meeting every week; it became their little routine. In many ways she reminded him of his mother, but there was also a quiet strength she had that his mother had lost when she was a very young woman, thanks to Lucius. She was a fiercely intelligent woman, with strong opinions and a forthright manner. He genuinely liked her. And he respected her. They had both lost family in the war, and it was nice for them to have found each other amidst so much tragedy. He suspected that she enjoyed spending time with him because he was a link to her old family; to the sister she had lost. She had told him a number of times how pleased she was that he had grown up with his own sense of integrity in the face of overwhelming prejudice. Just like she had, he supposed. They had a lot in common.

"Draco," she said, taking his hands in hers and leaning in to place a kiss on his cheek, "You're late!"

"My apologies, Aunt Andromeda," he said in his most overly courteous, gallant tone of voice, "I was…distracted, and got held up."

He saw Hermione shoot him a glare over Andromeda's shoulder, but it didn't exactly hold much weight when she couldn't stop smiling and blushing at the same time.

"Hmmm…yes, well. Try to control yourself please, Draco," his aunt suggested with a knowing smile, before turning to Hermione and giving her a hug.

"So where's the birthday boy?" he asked, looking around in beaming anticipation, clutching the present he had taken off Hermione's hands. Andromeda pointed over to where the Weasley parents were standing.

"Arthur has him right now. Tonks tried to sew him a lion costume yesterday, but I'm afraid my daughter isn't known for her skills with a needle."

Tonks, who had moved over to talk to Fleur Weasley, shot her head up in outrage.

"Ey! I heard that!"

"Sorry sweetheart. But maybe Hermione can try to work her magic on it, so to speak. She's so good at transfiguration charms."

"Oh, actually that's a wicked idea. Please do something, Hermione. He looks like a cactus!"

Hermione giggled and promised solemnly to do her best, and Draco steered them both over to where Arthur and Molly Weasley stood cooing over the little one-year-old. The Weasleys embraced Hermione warmly, and although Molly pursed her lips a bit in disappointment when she saw him, Arthur didn't hesitate before offering one hand for Draco to shake. It was a little awkward because he was holding onto baby Teddy, but somehow they managed.

"Oh dear, he does look like a cactus," Hermione said with a soft laugh, fiddling with the strange spiky cuff around the poor boy's neck. She swished her wand a few times and the costume morphed into an impressive and colourful mane of fur. It was very cute.

"You're wasted on memory charms, Hermione! You should go into the magical children's fancy-dress business," George said with a smile as he joined the little group. Draco gave his friend a big grin and they shook hands. He had come to know George more and more the first few times he had been forced to join Weasley gatherings. When they had struck up a warm acquaintance, the lone twin had actually started to come along to dinners with him and Blaise. George and Blaise were becoming firm friends, not that he was really surprised, since they could both be a bloody pain in the ass. And while the ginger boy was still suffering from the battle, he had good days and bad, and the good were increasing all the time. But he was much less boisterous than he used to be, and would often keep quiet to avoid making jokes that ended up in tears when he realised that the other half of his act was gone. He had found some kindred spirits in Draco and Blaise though, because the two Slytherins hadn't known him as much when he was a twin, so they didn't treat him like one. He was able to come out of his shell again with them, since they never saw him as only half a person, but as someone with his own unique personality.

"Mate, I've been thinking about your idea for that firecracker-"

"NO, George," Molly interrupted immediately, her best motherly death stare firmly on her face, "No fireworks or crackers or fizzlers or anything like that at this sweet little child's party. Or I will hex your face bright pink."

George smiled a bit tentatively, shuffling his feet.

"Well…I do look delightful in pink-" he began, but one slap to the back of his head from Molly made him go skipping off, threatening to catch up with Draco later. Arthur turned back to Draco after he had placed his present on a small pile of gifts building up higher on a nearby table. There was a tiny grimace on the older man's normally jovial face.

"Draco, you should probably know that Ron's been in a bit of a mood this morning," he said in a kindly voice, speaking in an undertone so he woulnd't be overheard.

Hermione groaned a bit and rolled her eyes, but Draco just nodded in acknowledgement. There was no use getting upset. The Tonks and Weasley families had been so kind in accepting him into their folds, that he could hardly complain about one person who still distrusted him and sneered at him. He could deal with one person, especially Ronald Weasley. The boy was harmless really, but he simply treated Draco with a sense of disgust and suspicion. That might never go away, so he had to just get used to it. It was hardest when the other boys arranged fun little quidditch matches, and Ron now refused to play on his team. He always accused Draco of cheating, even when they were supposed to be on the same side. It made everyone very frustrated. Potter worked quite hard to keep the peace, but as Arthur said, sometimes Ron just had bad moods.

"I'll try to keep my distance," he assured the Weasley patriarch, who smiled kindly at him before turning his attention back to the birthday boy.

Potter and his girlfriend were the last to turn up to the party. Little Teddy's godfather had a big, genuine smile on his face, and a laugh that echoed above the voices of others. Draco realised that Harry had never looked so innocently happy when he was at school, when the weight of the world had been placed on his shoulders too many times to count.

Him and Potter were…quite cordial these days. It was just as well, because the scruffy haired Gryffindor was almost constantly stopping by their cottage to spend time with Hermione. The two were still inseparable friends, and they usually spent at least two dinners a week with him and Ginny.

As he saw Harry twirling around his godson in his arms like an aeroplane, Draco couldn't help but give a wistful thought to his own godfather. Severus Snape had been remembered as a hero, but he had lived his life as a villain. Snape had never been this openly demonstrative or playful with Draco when he was a child, but there had been a quiet, meaningful support that he had provided all his life in so many different ways. It was like he had tried to compensate for the poor job Lucius did as a father. Draco's biggest regret was that he couldn't have done something to help his godfather at the end. If he'd known what was happening in the Shrieking Shack…

He sighed. There was nothing he could have done. He needed to be where he was, helping Potter. And Snape had known the risks. But his heart still ached when he thought of the second opportunity at life the dark man might have been given if he'd survived.

Draco felt a warm weight on his shoulder, and two arms wrap around his waist from behind. He breathed deeply and smelt Hermione's sweet skin brushing up against his as she nestled close.

"You okay?" she murmured quietly into his ear.

He sighed and turned to press a gentle kiss to the tip of her nose.

"Yeh. Just thinking about Snape."

Hermione smiled sadly.

"He would have hated this party," she teased gently, drawing a laugh out of him.

"That's true," he agreed, turning closer into her and wrapping his arms around her, "I'm just being morose."

"It's alright to miss him," she whispered, "It doesn't make you weak."

Draco nodded, lowering his head to kiss her bottom lip.

"I love you," he said in a breathy voice against her mouth, "Thank you for giving me a family."

Hermione looked around them at all their friends, laughing and playing games with the few little toddlers as they enjoyed the party. He saw her eyes lingering on Tonks who, despite being alone now, was working so hard to be brave for her son.

"Draco, this is your family!"

He shook his head and pressed his forehead into hers.

"No. You brought me here. You saved me."

"You saved me," she retorted with a giggle.

He just smirked at her and inhaled a deep, calming breath. He took a moment to savour this feeling with her. The gratitude and love almost overwhelmed him. He had been in love with her for so long, but he could never have predicted the happiness that it would bring him one day. It had been completely unexpected. A part of him still felt undeserving, but that part was growing steadily smaller as she made him feel…like he was worth something. And damnit, he was going to hold on as tightly as he could, and never let her go.

….

So I am very sad that this is the end of my little story – I have had such a blast writing it for you all and for myself. Thank you for your perseverance with reading this through to its finale!

SOOOO… What did you think? I would love all my readers to leave a review and tell me what they thought of this story as a completed work!

I am actually keen to write another one at some point, and I have some thoughts brewing. Do you have any ideas for Dramione stories you'd like to see? Set during the school year, perhaps? Please let me know.

Farewell for now.