Epilogue
(19 and ½ years later)
Hermione was on a tropical island with the soft waves rolling around her. She felt the warmth on her skin as she sipped her martini happily. She couldn't help but enjoy the scenery around her as Draco was giving her a back rub. This was true paradise.
Suddenly, the smooth movements that Draco was making on her back got rougher, she felt him shaking her and she mumbled for him to stop.
"Mom!" she heard a voice call out from the distance. "Mom, wake up! Wake up, wake up, wake up."
She felt herself start to drift away as her eyes opened and her dream had ended. As they adjusted, she saw four bodies on the bed shaking it and trying to wake her and Draco up.
"Good," she heard her youngest, Rose Arabelle Malfoy say as she tied her dark brunette curls out of her face. "You're up." Rose took after Hermione in her physical traits, and was the baby of the family, despite being 14 years old. But when it came to her personality, she definitely took after Draco, and managed to have him wrapped around her finger from a young age. Being the only daughter tended to both be a burden and a blessing for her, depending on the matter at hand. Hermione hadn't been surprised when she had been sorted in Slytherin, just like her brother Scorpius had back when he had been at Hogwarts.
"What time is it anyway?" she asked, as she sat up on the bed. It should be no surprise to her that they had chosen to wake her up this way. It was their tradition for her kids to jump on the bed and wake her and Draco up, and no matter how old they had gotten, it never faded away.
"Six," Leo Harry Malfoy said sheepishly. "But we let you guys sleep in an hour later than we did last Christmas, so that has to count for something right?" Her third child was in his final year of Hogwarts, but despite his age he still managed to act like an excited child at times. Not that she minded it; she was so relieved that her children never had to grow up as quick as she did due to current events. His blonde hair managed to have slight curls, and he had her brown eyes. Unlike his sister, he had been sorted in Ravenclaw, and had even managed to obtain Head Boy just as Jamie had.
Hermione laughed as she saw Draco attempt to bury his head into his pillow and fall back asleep.
"Wake up, Dad," Jamie said in a singsong voice as he shook his father away. While Jamie wasn't biologically either of theirs, he was just as much a part of this family as the rest of her children. They all knew the truth, but it hadn't mattered to them. Jamie had done some searching a few years back to try and find out more about his biological parents, and Hermione had helped him every step of the way. She remembered how her Gryffindor had promised that he loved her, but he needed to know about them, and she had agreed, knowing how much it had meant to him.
Jamie had decided to follow her into her line of work. She had been promoted a while back to the Head of the entire department when Harry had agreed to run for Minister. Her friend had been unsure of whether to take the position due to the publicity it would bring, but she reminded him that no matter what he chose he would always be in the centre of the media due to what he had done in the past. At least this way he would be able to help make the changes to the wizarding world which would benefit everyone.
Draco groaned as he sat up with a grumpy look on his face.
"It's Christmas, Daddy," Rose said as she kissed her father on the cheek.
He softened at her words, "That it is, Sweetheart. So, are we doing the presents here, or in the sitting room?"
"The sitting room," Scorpius said with a roll of his eyes. From the captain of the Slytherin team, her son had directly been recruited to play for Puddlemere United fresh out of school. She had been worried that her son would not be able to handle the media; fears stemming from what had happened to Ron all those years ago. But Draco had reminded her how their son had been brought up in the limelight and never once had given in to the attentions. Five years later, he managed to keep his private life separate from his professional one, and she couldn't be prouder of him.
She and Draco had been married for exactly nineteen years come January. Moving in with him all those years ago had truly made them feel like a family even though none of it was official. She remembered how he proposed over dinner with both their children at the time there to witness the even. She had felt a few tears fall down her face as he kneeled before her with the ring in his hand as she accepted. Later that night when they were in bed together, she had asked him to adopt Jamie, and he had laughed saying that he was just about to ask her the same for Scorpius. They agreed first thing in the morning they would sign the papers then tell the two boys about it. Scorpius had been overjoyed as he kept hugging her and calling her Mommy and Jamie had been nervous until Draco assured him that he truly wanted to be his father. After that, Jamie fell into the pattern of using the new name he had been granted to call Draco.
When Scorpius had gotten older, he had asked about Astoria, and Draco used that as an opportunity to talk to him about it. He knew who she was, due to seeing her every so often, so finding out she was his mother had been slightly confusing for him. He had wondered why she didn't want to be in his life in that capacity, so Draco had to explain her past to him. Even now, Astoria had chosen to remain childless despite being married in the recent years. She lived in Italy, so Scorpius only saw her a few times a year at the most.
As they made their way to the sitting room, Draco wrapped his arm around her waist, "What are you thinking about?" he whispered to her.
"I miss having them all here in the house," she admitted softly. "I know we still have a few years with Rose before she leaves too, but the house is just so quiet without them here all the time."
"We still visit you, Mum," Scorpius said as he kissed her on the cheek lightly. "I promise we'll make an effort to come by more often though."
"Besides, I see you every day at work," Jamie reminded as he entered the sitting room. As she entered she saw Lucius and Narcissa sitting on the couch, with an exhausted expression mirroring hers.
It had taken Draco five years to talk to his father after Ron's arrest. He had been so stubborn about not wanting to see his father, but Narcissa had come to her and asked if she would talk to Draco. She had said that Lucius wanted to apologise for everything that had happened. Hermione had agreed but under the condition that she would not force Draco into anything and whatever he chose she would support.
When Lucius had been released, Draco reached out to him. It had been rough at first, but slowly it got to a place where he would let his father meet his grandchildren. He had been hesitant seeing his father's stance during the war and the beliefs he had held towards people like Hermione and their children, but Lucius had proved such things did not to him, as if it did he would have helped Ron by seeing to it that the relationship was brought to an end, in a permanent manner.
"Nana," Rose said with a smile as she hugged her grandmother, before hugging her grandfather as well, "Papa."
Draco smiled at his father as he settled on the couch beside Hermione. The kids immediately went to the tree as they began to sort out the presents.
Her own parents weren't able to make it as they were currently spending the holidays in Spain, so they had sent their presents over prior to their departure.
Draco used his wand to summon one of the gifts from the tree as he handed it to her.
She smiled as she did the same, "Shall we open it at the same time?" she asked as she leaned into her husband slightly. He nodded as he placed a quick kiss on her lips.
She unwrapped the present and as she lifted the lid to the box she was met with a sliver locket.
"Open it," Draco said before lifting the lid to his own present. She obeyed and saw the engraving 'I'll love you for thousands of thousands years more, -D'. Beside it was a picture of her family the day they had brought Rose back from the hospital. After he helped her put it on she brought him in for a kiss.
"It's too early for that," Leo complained as he opened the present Rose had got him, "Cool, chocolate frogs! Thanks Rosie!"
"You didn't open mine yet," Hermione reminded him. He smiled as he lifted the box and was met with a bound book.
"Is this?" he asked, speechless as he stared at the titles.
"A journal based on all the potions and medical techniques you've developed to heal those with rare cases," Hermione said with a small smile. "I got it published for you; you deserve some recognition for all that you do."
He pulled her back into him, and when they pulled apart he said, "I love you so much."
"I love you too," she said with a grin as they watched their children continue to open presents, and opening those which their children had gotten for them. Their life together had been good so far. There were ups and downs, but those were to be expected for any marriage. They were still young enough that if they wanted to they could have more children, but neither seemed to want anymore. They had four amazing one already.
Once all the presents were open, Hermione stood up, "You guys better go get ready, the Notts, Uncle Blaise, and the Potters are going to be over for brunch soon, and you don't want to still be in your pyjamas." It had become a tradition of sorts for the three families to join together after the presents had all been opened to have a light brunch together before heading over to the Burrow to enjoy a larger dinner with the rest of the family. It had started years ago when Hermione wanted her different sets of friends to meet, so she insisted they all come over one day for dinner. She had been slightly nervous of course, given all the history, but it had gone smoothly (with a few minor bumps), and eventually they had decided to have the brunch at Christmas to become a tradition, rotating between who hosted it each year.
Pansy and Theo had taken slightly longer to get married, but their love was a beautiful thing. They made each other better people, and their little family with their daughter Ava was complete.
Leo jumped to his feet at the mention of the Notts. He had been dating Ava for a few months, even though she was a year younger than him, and they had known each other their entire lives, he had begun to feel nervous around her parents. Personally, Hermione thought the couple was adorable, and she knew Draco agreed with her.
A few hours and a lot of hard work later, the food had been cooked and the table set. The guests would arrive any moment now and Hermione had yet to finish getting herself ready.
"You look beautiful," Draco said as he come up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She knew she was aging slowly, but Draco never made her feel a day under thirty. He was aging gracefully and she couldn't help but feel slightly envious.
As he pressed his lips to her neck she had to force herself to pull away before the two of them engaged in activities which would take much longer than they had.
She laughed as she said, "We need to head downstairs."
He grumbled, "Fine, but after this I'm taking you on a holiday somewhere, just the two of us."
She felt herself get swayed by the notion, "Somewhere warm," she said softly, "A tropical island of sorts."
"Sounds brilliant," he said as he rubbed her shoulders tenderly, "I can't wait."
She slipped her fingers through his as they made their way down the stairs. When the floo activated, she saw an excited Ava step out and toss her arms around Leo.
Theo and Pansy followed moments later; she could tell the former was struggling slightly with his daughter dating, just as she knew Draco would whenever Rose brought home a guy, but he was slowly beginning to warm up to the idea.
"I brought dessert," Pansy announced happily as she handed over a wrapped item to Rose. Hermione gestured for her daughter to bring it to the dining room where the rest of the food currently was as she greeted their guests.
Seconds later the floo activated again as Harry came through with Ginny, and their three children, James, Albus, and Lily.
Due to the closeness of age between Rose and Lily, the two had become fast friends, and even along the lines of sisters. Both girls understood what it was like to be the youngest in a family with several older brothers, something which Ginny sympathized with. While their brothers were wonderful, Hermione knew how the boys had a tendency to get overprotective of their sisters at times.
Leo and Albus had also bonded and Hermione could tell the two were thick as thieves.
As they began to socialize, Harry approached her and Draco, "Do you both have a second to talk about something?" he asked.
She nodded as they walked over to a corner of the room.
"I hate to do this today of all days, but I found out yesterday and I thought you both deserved to know. Ron's sentence is up in two weeks and he's going to be released. They decided to let him out slightly early due to good behaviour. I can always pull some strings if you wish and have him stay to finish his sentence, but I'll do whatever you both feel comfortable with," Harry said softly.
She nodded, "I figured something like that would be happening soon. We knew when he got twenty years of a sentence that the day would come for his eventual release."
"I don't want him anywhere near my family," Draco said protectively as he wrapped his arm around Hermione tightly. Over the years they had given Ron little thought and having to do so was a strange feeling.
"There's a tracking spell placed on him," Harry answered immediately, "If he ever gets too close, he'll immediately be surrounded by half a dozen Aurors."
She nodded slightly, "Am I foolish for wishing we could be somewhat friends despite everything that's happened?" she asked.
Harry shook his head, "I miss him more than anything, but the man who once was my friend long since has been gone. I'm not going to get my hopes up that he could have changed."
She sighed as she leaned into Draco. The floo rang again and Hermione turned to see Blaise exit it. He had remained a playboy into his thirties, and Hermione had always attempted to set him up with ladies in the hope that he would one day settle down. But he insisted that marriage and serious relationships weren't for him, which is why she was so surprised to see him exit with Gabrielle Delacour.
She made her way over to great her latest arrivals. As she kissed Blaise on the cheek he said, "I hope you don't mind that I brought someone," he said as he gave his date a squeeze.
Hermione smiled at Draco who leaned in to hug his friend, "Of course not," she insisted. If Blaise had finally found someone who made him happy, then who was she to stand in the way of that?
She watched in amusement as her husband and Theo began to tease Blaise about finally choosing to settle down and how Gabrielle had made an honest man out of him. She couldn't help but laugh at their antics. They might be well into their adulthood, but it didn't stop them from acting like children at times. Harry, who had been lecturing Albus about teasing Rose, began to join in as well, and Hermione wanted to laugh at the irony. Personally Hermione suspected Albus' teasing to be the result of a crush, but her daughter was far too innocent (for now anyways) to be able to tell. Her own daughter seemed to have a bit of a fancy on the boy as well, causing her to be frustrated with his actions.
She walked to the centre of the room as she admired her family around her before saying, "How about we all head over to the dining room for some brunch?"
As the crowd of people started heading over, she couldn't help but feel happy for all she had in her life. Twenty years ago she had felt so alone when she had been broken up with; she thought she would never have a chance at happiness again, yet here she was now. If she could go back now she would tell that broken girl to keep fighting for tomorrow, because you never know what lies around the corner.
A/N: And so it comes to a close. Thank you all so much for your continuous support, favourites, follows, and reviews. It means so much to me that you joined me on this journey, whether you were here from the start, or you're a recent addition. You have no idea how hard it was for me to finish this story. I loved writing every second of it.
For now I shall be taking a mini vacation while I brainstorm some new ideas, but here's to seeing all of you again soon with a new story!
Love,
mayarox95