Author's Chapter Notes:

Reminder – the epilogue and the previous chapter were posted together, so be sure you have read the last chapter before you read this epilogue – otherwise, you might be quite confused!

A big thanks to everyone who has followed and read this fic! I'm not one of those writers who will only write for reviews, but the constant praise and reminders I've received from readers has certainly helped. Thank you!

"Forgiveness is the economy of the heart… Forgiveness saves the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, and the waste of spirits." - Hannah More

Ginny smiled impishly as she, Will, and Draco approached the front door of the Burrow. The sun shone brightly overhead in a clear sky, leaving the air cold and crisp this Christmas day. "Thank you for coming along with us," Ginny said sweetly.

Draco scowled, and when he spoke, the air in front of him misted with his breath. "Stuff it, Weasley."

"I mean it," Ginny protested.

"It's just this once," Draco warned. He shivered, rubbing his gloved hands together. "Just this once, because you asked—never again. I don't care if I have to spend Christmas alone."

Ginny coughed to disguise a laugh. "Of course."

Draco glared suspiciously at her.

"It's just that Ron's back," Ginny said by way of explanation. Even though she had already explained this to him several times, in her attempts to convince him to come. "For the first time in—"

"—years and years, I know." Draco rolled his eyes.

"And there will be so many people there," Ginny said breezily, "almost no one will notice you, anyway."

"Wanna bet?" Draco muttered.

Ginny smiled. She and Will had stopped by the Burrow on Christmas in years past, but Draco never, ever came with them. Truthfully, most of her family was probably as pleased by this as Draco himself was, and really, future Christmases with Draco and her family together was not something she really wanted, either. But after the year they'd had, and with everyone back together now, a wild sense of sentimentality had seized her, and she'd bullied Draco into coming along for Christmas lunch this year.

Ginny paused at the door, looking between Draco and Will. "Ready?" she said brightly.

"Ready!" Will said enthusiastically, punching the air with a small fist.

Draco grunted noncommittally, a sour expression on his face. Ginny stifled another smile, knocked briefly, and then pushed the door open, leading them inside. "Hello?" Ginny called, as Draco and Will followed in behind her. The warmth of the house enveloped Ginny as the door shut behind them, and she sighed in contentment as she removed her gloves.

Somewhat unluckily, the first two people that bounded out from the living room to greet them were Fred and George. Even though Ginny had let everyone know that Draco would be coming, Ginny braced herself for unpleasant reactions from the twins. But to her surprise, they both grinned broadly.

"Malfoy!" George exclaimed. "Just the person I've been waiting for all morning!"

"Draco, old chap!" Fred clapped Draco on the back enthusiastically—and hard, judging by the way Draco winced and rubbed his shoulder. "Really excellent to see you here!"

"Why is that?" Draco asked warily.

"Well," George said pleasantly, "Fred and I were talking the other day—"

"—and it just so happens your name came up," Fred put in.

"We realized," George continued smoothly, "that we never did get to finish that Quidditch match of ours."

Draco's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Our Quidditch match? Our Quidditch match from nearly two years ago?"

"Yes," Fred said. "The one Ginny interrupted by falling off her broom."

"As though it was my fault!" Ginny said indignantly.

"So we were thinking," Fred went on, ignoring this protest from Ginny, "that it's about time we finished it. Are you free tomorrow?"

"You do want to finish it, don't you?" George asked, his eyes narrowing. "Or would you rather not risk it?"

Draco's eyes flashed. Ginny groaned inwardly.

"Of course I want to finish it," Draco said. His grey eyes gleamed competitively. "Tomorrow works just fine."

"Good," Fred said brusquely. "And we've got two new players, so we can play with Bludgers this time. Will you be wanting Ron on your team, or Harry?"

Draco looked like he was trying not to choke on that. Luckily, Will interrupted and spared his father's reply by tugging on George's hand. "James?" he demanded.

"Ah, he's out back with Victoire and Mel," George said, smiling down at Will. "C'mon, I'll show you." He led the little blond boy off, and with one last smug look for Draco, Fred followed.

Ginny stared at them in dismay. "They didn't even say hi to me!"

"Count yourself lucky," Draco groused. "Well, come on, are we doing this or not?"

The rest of the family was either in the kitchen or watching the children play out back—Ginny's parents, Bill and Fleur, Charlie, and, of course—Ron and Harry. Tonks and Remus had come too, and with a dark look for Ron and Harry, Draco made a beeline for Tonks. Ginny smiled, amused, as she headed over to greet Ron and Harry with hugs and wishes of 'Merry Christmas.'

"I still can't quite believe you're both here," Ginny said to the both of them. "After so many Christmases without you both—"

"Yeah," Ron said, "it's great to be back." His expression did not quite match his words, however.

"Still no word from Hermione?" Ginny said gravely.

Harry shook his head. "We've sent her Patronuses and owls, but we haven't heard anything back." He shot Ron a quick look. "Still, I'm sure she's fine. She could be anywhere, after all. Halfway across the world. It might take her awhile—"

"It's been more than two weeks since I've been back," Ron said glumly.

"I'm sure she's fine, Ron," Ginny assured him.

Ron grunted. He threw an annoyed glance in Draco's direction. "Did you really have to bring him along?"

"Yes," Ginny said flatly. "And before you say anything rude, you might remember that he spent years trying to track you down. For me. Since you couldn't be bothered to let us know where you were—"

"I did! I can't help it if you didn't get my messages—"

Harry cleared his throat loudly. "I think lunch is ready."

The table was packed in, even though space had been added on for everyone. Draco and Ginny sat near one end next to Charlie; Will was seated with the rest of the children down near the other end, and quite happily so, judging by his animated expression as he interacted with Melanie, James, and Victoire. They were all so big now, Ginny thought, especially James, the eldest, at five years old. It was hard to believe so much time had passed since they'd all been born.

They were all set to eat when a knock on the door sounded out. Ginny's mother looked around in confusion. "Who could that be?"

To Ginny's surprise—and everyone else's, judging by their expressions—Draco shot to his feet. "I'll get it," he said quickly, vanishing from the room in a flash.

Ginny stared after him, lost for words.

"Don't tell me," Ron muttered, "he invited some old Slytherin pal to our Christmas dinner—"

"Don't be stupid, Ron," Ginny shot back. She heard the front door open and Draco's muffled greeting to whoever it was, though she couldn't hear what he was saying. "He's probably just—"

But Ron, seated closest to the foyer, suddenly stood, nearly toppling his chair over in his haste. His face went pale and his eyes were wide. He turned in the direction Draco had gone, taking half a step. "It can't be—"

Just then, Draco reappeared at the kitchen entrance. And beside him stood—

"Hermione!" Ginny exclaimed. Her cry was echoed by several others at the table as they all stared at their old friend in astonishment.

Ron didn't say anything. He only stumbled forward, threw his arms around Hermione, and kissed her.

Draco hopped away from them as though he were standing on a hot plate, a revolted expression on his face.

What seemed like a long minute later, Hermione pulled back from Ron. There were tears on her face, and a big smile, too. "I can't believe you're really here," she said hoarsely. "I can't believe you're alive."

"Join the club," Ron said, grinning.

Harry cleared his throat, coming around the table. "We're all here too, you know."

"Harry!" Hermione cried. She pulled him into a hug as well, and then everyone was up and gathered around her, exchanging tearful hugs. Ginny wanted to greet her too, but she hung back for the moment and joined Draco, who had retreated into the kitchen and was nicking bites of pudding.

"You did this," she accused him, "didn't you?"

"Did what?" Draco asked blankly.

"Got Hermione here, of course!" Ginny said, exasperated. "You found her or got word to her or—or something! You knew it was her when you got up from the table."

Draco widened his eyes innocently, but before he could respond, Hermione said from behind them, "Yes, it was him."

Everyone fell silent, looking between Hermione and Draco. Draco shot her a glare, but if that was meant to keep Hermione silent, it didn't work. "Malfoy said you'd all been sending me owls and Patronuses," Hermione said, "but I'm afraid I didn't receive any of them. I was laying really low—I'd had some Death Eaters on my tail a little while back. Malfoy's contact was the first I'd heard that you were back here, Ron."

"I didn't even know you were trying to find her," Ginny said, looking at Draco in amazement.

Draco shrugged. He looked quite disgruntled at being outed like this in front of everyone, shifting his weight and not quite meeting anyone's eyes. "I spent all that bloody time hunting him down," he said sullenly, throwing a nod in Ron's direction. "I wasn't going to let it all go to waste."

"But how did your word get through when ours didn't?" Ron demanded.

Draco shrugged again, his expression a little smug now. "I have channels of communication open to me that you don't, Weasley. Legal channels," he added, when Harry shot him a speculative look.

"Hang on," Fred interrupted, "what do you mean you spent time hunting Ron down?"

A short silence met his words. Ginny's eyes widened as she realized she had never mentioned that Draco had looked for Ron—she didn't really think he'd have wanted her to, and besides, in the end the word that Ron was alive had come from somewhere else.

Or so she thought.

"Malfoy came to me over two years ago," Hermione explained, "because he'd found some evidence that Ron might be alive. It took a long time, but he eventually got Bellatrix to admit that Ron had escaped the Death Eaters."

Ginny blinked. "Wait—that was you?" She rounded on Draco, shock and gratitude mingling within her. "The Ministry only said a Death Eater admitted it in questioning—they never said it was you that found out!"

"They promised they wouldn't," Draco said darkly, glaring at Hermione. "Much good it does me now!"

"Oh, really, Malfoy." Hermione rolled her eyes. "Is it really such a pain to let people know the good you've done? I'm not saying it can wipe out the past—"

"I know it can't," Draco mumbled, looking at the floor.

"—but after all you've done to help me and Ron, I'm willing to let bygones be bygones," she said firmly. "So will you just accept that we're even and let it be?"

"I guess so," Draco said sourly. "But don't think I'm doing you anymore favors, Granger, because I—" Whatever else he was going to say was lost as Ginny's mother suddenly stepped forward and enveloped him in a tight hug. Draco's eyes went so wide, Ginny thought they were going to pop out of his face. She clapped a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing.

"Thank you," Mrs. Weasley said, tears in her voice, "for bringing my son back to me."

"Yeah, thanks, Malfoy," George said grudgingly. "I don't have to hug you, do I?"

"Please don't," Draco said weakly, as Ginny's mother finally let him go. "Can't we just eat already?"

"Eat, eat!" Will and James cheered simultaneously.

"Yes, let's," Arthur Weasley said, though Ginny thought he looked like he was trying very hard not to smile.

Sometime later—quite a bit later, after everyone was stuffed full of turkey, parsnips, and pudding—Ginny left Hermione and her mother in the kitchen to step outside, onto the back porch. Draco sat there alone, watching the children play. Ginny stopped for a moment before joining him, taking in the sight of him. He wore a dark green sweater with no coat, though the light wind was icy in the darkening day. His pale cheeks were red with the cold.

As though sensing her behind him, Draco glanced up, over his shoulder. "You'd think they'd be tired by now," he said, tossing a nod in the childrens' direction. "I could certainly do with a nap."

Ginny stepped forward, and lowered herself onto the step beside him. "Me too," she said, tugging on the ends of her red scarf. She smiled mischievously and leaned over, planting a kiss on Draco's cold cheek.

He frowned suspiciously. "What was that for?"

Ginny leaned back on her hands. "Oh, that was just my way of saying thank you," she said innocently, "to the great hero, Draco Malfoy—"

"Oh, don't," Draco grumbled, looking away.

Ginny laughed. She looked out at Will, who was chasing after Victoire with James, while Mel looked on from a little ways away. The yard looked gray in the oncoming dusk, bits of frost clinging to the sparse grass, hazy clouds hanging low in the violet sky. Ginny rubbed her hands over her cold face, then clasped them together for warmth.

"Draco," she said suddenly, "there's something I have to tell you."

Draco looked at her warily. His eyes were dark in the low light. "What?"

Ginny swallowed. "Actually, it's—another secret I've kept from you."

A muscle twitched in Draco's jaw, his expression tightening with suspicion and unease.

"But not really on purpose," Ginny added hastily. She shrugged an uncomfortable shoulder. "It's just, it's been such a long while, and—and I sort of forgot, and, well…" She sighed. "All right, if I'm being honest, I'd never really planned to tell you. But we did say no secrets, and—"

"Ginny," Draco said irritably, "will you just tell me already?" A trace of apprehension laced his words.

"Well," Ginny began. She blew out a long breath, watching it visualize in the chilly air before her. "Remember, when Will was born, and I brought him to you? And you asked what Carina had wanted to name him, and I told you—I told you she wanted to name him William."

Draco nodded slowly, looking confused.

"I—I lied," Ginny said in a rush. She squeezed her eyes shut. "I don't know what Carina wanted to name him. She never told me, and I didn't mean to, I was going to tell you that I didn't know—but then you wanted to name him Scorpius, which, I'm sorry, is a gods-awful name, everyone would have made fun of it just like they made fun of your name—so I just blurted it out—" She stopped suddenly. "Because—that's what I would have named my son," she said in a small voice. "William. After—after Bill. I—I named your son after my brother." She stopped then, and looked over at Draco tentatively.

Draco only stared at her. A flicker of emotions passed over his face, too quickly for Ginny to process them all—shock, incredulity, indignation, annoyance. Then his face went quite blank, and Ginny couldn't tell what he was thinking at all.

"Are—are you angry?" she ventured.

"Not everyone made fun of my name," Draco said icily. "There's nothing wrong with my name."

"No, no—of course not." Ginny fidgeted with her hands, daring a quick glance at him. "Erm—aren't you going to say anything else?"

"About what?"

"About what I just told you!" Ginny said, exasperated. She turned fully to face him. "About me naming Will!"

Draco shrugged. "Why should I be angry about that?" he said simply. "You're his mother. And as I told you then, he should be named by his mother. It's only right."

Ginny blinked. A warm, ridiculous feeling blossomed within her, like a little ray of sunshine in her chest. He couldn't possibly know what it meant to her to hear him say that—then again, she thought, maybe he did.

"Thank you," she said softly. She took his hand, threading her fingers through his, and leaned against his shoulder. His sweater was soft against her cheek.

"Yeah, well," Draco said. He turned his face towards her, gazing down at her through his long eyelashes, and his warm breath tickled her nose. "If you really wanted to give me a proper thank you…"

"Well," Ginny said, lifting her face, ever so slightly, "maybe just this once. It is Christmas after all."

"Yes," Draco said, his lips brushing hers, "it is."

As Ginny kissed him, she felt, for the first time in a long while, that she was safe, and content, and secure. No longer afraid, no longer chased by the ghosts of her past. She wasn't perfect, and neither was Draco. But together, maybe, they could be.

THE END

End Notes: That's it! I hope you liked it. If you're interested in any future fics I may write, check out the latest post on my fic journal at livejournal – username is rainywinters.