A/N: Ah, the long-awaited epilogue! Thank you for all the lovely reviews and encouragements! I hope you enjoyed reading this story just as much as I did writing it. Thanks for staying with this story, too! It means a lot to me. Review and tell me how I did! Good? Bad? Okay? I love all you lovely reviewers! :) Okay, I'll let you get on to the story now.

They met again, eight years later, in the heart of London. She was leaving the coffee shop with her purchase. He was entering. She turned with her order and almost ran into him, and they both glanced at each other to apologise. Then their eyes went wide.

Hermione had become a successful Auror along with Harry and fought for house elf rights on the side, even though she was sometimes fought by the house elves themselves. She had become wealthy, but it had not deterred her passion to help those less fortunate; instead, it had made her more passionate, if that was possible. She looked like an adult; she dressed classy, her brown hair was tamer, and her pale skin impeccable.

Draco looked cleaner than he had in seven years. He was clean-shaven, his fair hair short and clean, and his skin pale as always. He was fresh out of Azkaban and had just finished his probation five months earlier. With prison on his record, he had almost no chance of getting a job, so he was working on starting his own business selling wands. He still had the whole stack of untouched wands in the manor that Ollivander had fashioned long ago. Not only that, but he'd taken up a class to learn how to make wands. He was adamant to get back into society and to make a name for himself as Draco Malfoy, the reformed Death eater.

Hermione had no knowledge of his ambitious plans, and even if she had, it might not have mattered right at that instant. She glared and pushed passed him, indignant. Old grudges die hard.

"Wait," Draco called. "Hermione, wait!" He followed her outside and grabbed her arm, and she turned angrily.

"What do you want?" she snapped.

"I…I missed you, Hermione. I miss you. Please talk to me again. Please."

She scoffed. "You want to talk? Fine. So how was Azkaban, Malfoy?"

He winced. "It was horrifying. I paid my dues, and I never want to remember any of it. It was even worse because everyday I tortured myself, regretting my whole life because you hated me and I had no chance with you. Not anymore."

"Oh, cut the bullshit." She grit her teeth and turned to leave again.

"I'm telling the truth, Hermione! I don't want you to hate me anymore."

"You should've thought of that before lying to me." She wouldn't turn to look at him.

Draco sighed, exasperated. "Hermione, look, I was a fool, okay? I was a messed up, confused fool, and I'm so sorry. You don't know how sorry I am."

At his confession, Hermione laughed. "Really?" She turned and put the hand not holding her coffee on her hip. "Well does admitting that make you feel any better?" she asked sarcastically. "You're a brilliant actor, Malfoy, but you let me in on the act, remember?" She clenched her jaw and turned to walk away yet again.

"Hermione," Draco called desperately. "What can I do to persuade you to forgive me?"

She shook her head in disbelief at his stupidity. "Malfoy, I don't think you understand just the severity of your actions during the war. By using me, you helped kill some of my friends, put us through unbearable torture, put my parents' lives in danger, helped elongate the war even more—"

"Look, Hermione," Draco interrupted angrily. "I'll admit to that and more—"

"Oh?" she muttered. "What a surprise."

"—but I wanted to end the war just as much as you did. I'd been brainwashed into thinking that following my father to the Dark Lord's side would end the war and would be better for us. I was all about self-preservation until I really got to know you. Granted, I didn't like you at first, but I grew to love you because, well, you're just so beautiful and intelligent and clever and everything a man like me wants in a woman."

Hermione scoffed.

"If I hadn't been a spy and if I hadn't used you as you said, I wouldn't have helped you capture those few Death eaters. And do you remember how I helped you plan to kill Nagini?"

"Yes, but Voldemort told you to do it!"

"He never meant to actually get his snake killed. I lied about the time and told you to come sooner than he expected."

"Oh, well bully for you!"

"After a point I didn't want to follow him anymore, but it was too late. I couldn't keep anything from the Dark Lord. You know how powerful he was then."

Hermione stuck her chin out, an age-old habit. "But I wasn't afraid and neither was the Order. And we beat him."

"But I told you, I'm not like you. I was a coward who wanted only to preserve himself and his family. Doing so then meant living for another day and trying to avoid upsetting the Dark Lord so he wouldn't kill me and my family. And now I'm a coward who seeks redemption. Really, the only redemption I seek is from you, Hermione. The world can hate me, but if I were with you, I wouldn't care. Please understand. Forgive me, Hermione, please. I'll beg you on my knees if I have to." He did just that, getting onto his knees and placing his hands on the cold ground.

Hermione frowned and felt her resolve slipping. She loved him still, she couldn't help it. At least she was level-headed. Her brain didn't want her to get hurt again.

"Get up, you fool. I can't trust you and I can hardly forgive you for everything you've done."

"I know," Draco said desperately, "and I'll do anything for as long as I live to atone for everything."

Hermione pursed her lips. He was being rather sincere, and it was hard to forget that she still loved him. She sighed and looked down at her feet. "Everyone deserves a second chance," she said softly, verbalising her new mantra, "no matter what their position was in the war. But," at this, she looked up at Draco's handsomely tortured expression, "it's going to be quite a long journey to gain my trust back. You can't just expect to waltz back into my life and have our feelings be exactly as they were before."

"I understand completely," Draco said, looking immensely relieved. "I'll spend a lifetime making it up to you."

Hermione huffed. "That's one way to get my trust back. Remember, actions speak louder than words." She couldn't help the small smile that crept onto her face then, though she was quick to keep up her stiff and upset demeanor. Draco's eyes lit up at her little encouragement, however, and smiled back. A bright new chance at life had never looked so wonderful.

~fin~