A/N: You guys are seriously the best. I love all of your reviews and encouragement and excitement for the end. Spoiler alert, (but I was always upfront about this) you will get your happy ending! Eventually…

~o0o~

"If you'll just sign here." Lucius' lawyer pointed out a line on the long sheet of parchment. "And then an initial here."

Lucius signed his name and then watched as the same piece of parchment was pushed across the table to Narcissa and her lawyer. The official from the Ministry stood at the head of table as a witness. She signed and gave her now ex-husband a small smile, which he returned.

"Well, then. I now acknowledge that you two are legally separated and this change will be filed with the Ministry. Good day Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Black." The Ministry suit nodded to each in turn and left the room. The lawyers shook hands after a fairly painless morning where the four of them went over Draco's inheritance, the property, and the asset divisions that had been drawn up with Narcissa over the last few months. After the papers were shuffled together, Lucius and Narcissa found themselves alone.

"Would you like to have lunch?" Narcissa could tell he was hurting. As much as she was happy that this was all over, she didn't want him to be upset. She had Remus to go home to. He had no one.

"That would actually be very lovely." Lucius thanked her and stood up to open the door for her. It had been three weeks since he was last in London and it was nice to be around people, even if it was just the commuting crowd on the Strand.

Narcissa knew better than to go to Diagon as there was a high possibility that they would see Lacey now that she had moved back to her old apartment, so instead she led him to a wizard-friendly French restaurant by the Thames and they took a seat in the back of the dimly lit café.

"I'm just going to come right out and address it. You can't go on like this." Narcissa pursed her lips as she looked over the menu. When he had stepped in the room with her that morning, it looked as if he hadn't shaven in at least a week. His hair was lackluster, as were his eyes, and he looked miserable.

"I intend to. I'm doing what is best for her." Lucius quickly ordered a scotch. He had been sober all morning and it had been hard.

Frustrated, Narcissa looked him in the eyes, "You love her. I'm not that callous to go off with my happy ending and let you ruin yours. We may not be in love any longer, but I do care for you."

"She doesn't remember a thing. How do you propose I solve that?" Lucius crossed his arms. Maybe lunch hadn't been such a good idea.

"She fell in love with you once, by some miracle." The smile on Narcissa's face gave her teasing away, "Why can't she again. Paris isn't doing you any favors." She didn't hide her disgust when she gave him a good once over and he bristled in annoyance.

"I can't take a risk of seeing her. It would hurt too much." It was the most honest thing he had said in a while. His distance, deep down, was mostly for himself.

"The Hogwarts Ball is coming up in a few weeks. Will you go?" Narcissa and Remus had been discussing this ball that would coincide with the end of the war. They thought it a perfect time for Lucius and Lacey to reconnect.

"I haven't decided." Lucius thought about the owl that had delivered the gilded invitation last week and how the thing was more than annoyed at having to track him all the way to France.

"Consider it. "

"How's Lupin? Black? Ginny?" Lucius didn't want to sound too eager for information, but those days spent in St. Mungo's watching the life fade out of Lacey had brought about some unlikely connections for him. He never cared for Remus, but if he made his ex-wife happy, whom he now considered a dear friend, then Lucius cared about his well-being. The same went for Ginny and her dog, as loathsome as he was.

"Well. All of them. If not extremely disappointed in you." Narcissa took every chance she could to reiterate that. "Sirius is proposing to Ginny this weekend. It's a shame you can't be there." She hadn't bothered to ask when she had found out. The guaranteed presence of Lacey was enough of a discouragement for him.

"How charming. I care about that girl." Lucius sighed and took a long sip of his scotch. "Maybe I'll disillusion myself and sneak into the back of the ceremony when the time comes. You'll have to keep me informed."

"I'm hopeful that you won't have your head so far up your arse by then that you'll be on the guest list as Lacey's date."

~o0o~

After lunch, Narcissa apparated to a block away from Grimmauld place, hoping to spend the rest of the day with Remus. Although her heart had been with the werewolf for months, she was a completely free woman now and wanted to celebrate that.

Out with Padfoot all day planning for this weekend. Completely forgot to pick up what I need for my next wolfsbane brew from the apothecary. Could you run to Diagon for me? Won't be home late.

XX

Remus

Narcissa read the note left on the table and turned to walk right back out of the walk-up to run the errand for him. She was a bit disappointed to not be able to see his face immediately after such a morning, but knew he wouldn't keep her waiting too long. She made her way to Diagon and found the road unusually busy.

"I see her! She's right by Madam Malkins!" Ginny pointed out through the open window facing the street in Lacey's apartment. She and Lacey were peeking out behind the curtains as Sirius adjusted his best friends' tie and sent him running out the door with a heartfelt 'good luck!'.

Remus' heart was beating out of his chest as he took the stairs down from Lacey's apartment two at a time. When he reached the street, his eyes scanned for his love and found her looking in the window at a pair of dress robes, completely unaware. It was the perfect moment.

He had been planning this with Sirius and Ginny for a while, and today was the perfect day. He didn't want today to always be a reminder of an end of something for Narcissa, but rather a beginning. They had enlisted Lacey's help once they realized her apartment was the perfect place to view the street from, even though they all knew Lacey was still more than a little confused about this odd relationship.

Remus sighed in relief after he purposefully bumped into her and her bag dropped from her hand, just how he had wanted to. Narcissa immediately crouched down to the cobblestones to pick up the things that had fallen out and Remus was careful to keep out of her peripheral vision as she did. It was exactly like the day they found each other.

"I think this belongs to you, Narcissa?" Remus' voice shook as he was on bended knee next to her and she turned to realize that whoever had bumped into her had stopped to help her. Her eyes met his with a smile that then transformed into confusion, but he kept his stance, holding up a glittering diamond ring between his thumb and forefinger.

Finally her eyes dropped down to see what he was holding and her mouth fell open in the most ungraceful way.

"Remus?" Her voice shook as well. She didn't care that people were stopping to stare, or that her things were still strewn on the ground.

"I've loved you from the day my eyes met yours almost exactly like this. And I will always love you. Narcissa Black, will you marry me?" Remus whispered so only she could hear it and she didn't even need time to consider his question. She leaned forward, almost falling against him, to kiss him hard.

He lifted her up so that they were standing and he wrapped his arms around her to kiss her back. All of the fear drained out of his body. He had her.

"Absolutely. Yes!" She pulled back and looked at him with the widest smile as he slipped the engagement ring on her left hand. It was simple, but elegant, and she fell in love with it instantly. He had planned all of this for her and she would never forget this day.

"I love you so much, Remus."

~o0o~

"I'm so nervous." Lacey's left leg was shaking uncontrollably under the table at the Leaky Cauldron.

"Why? We've known each other for most of our lives." Fred smiled at her. He had finally gotten up the courage to ask her out on a date. So, after watching Remus' proposal to Narcissa from her apartment window, she put on some dark jeans and a nice shirt and met him at the Leaky. When he had asked a few days prior, Lacey had been smiling ear-to-ear. Oliver had been a part of her life two years ago, but so had Fred. She had grown up with a crush on him, but he had never reciprocated. All of her friends were acting so touchy and quiet about whatever love life she had these last two blank years, so she figured now was as good of time as any to start dating again and give them something they could all speak about out loud.

"That is probably why. I've had a bigger crush on you than any best friend of your sister has a right to." Lacey blushed a bit. She didn't know what had gotten into her. Maybe it was her full stomach from dark ale and shepherd's pie, or the goofy smile on Fred's face, but she felt a little uncomfortable.

"Likewise." He grinned. "But opposite…yeah…" He stumbled over his words, reaching for her hand that was resting on the table and she let him take it. "This has been a wonderful night. I know it's just pub food and some conversation, but I enjoyed it and I hope we can do it again."

Fred wasn't eager to rush anything with Lacey. She had always meant a great deal to him and although her accident had been horrible, he viewed it as a fresh chance for the both of them to finally connect. He had never been aware of her crush on him, but when he reciprocated, she had instantly gotten herself into a relationship with Oliver. It was all poor timing. But now Oliver and Lucius were out of the picture.

"I'd like to." Lacey nodded and he offered to walk her up Diagon to her apartment. She once again felt a twinge of something familiar along with the gnawing discomfort that had been in the back of her mind all evening when she walked out of the Leaky. It was as if she knew something important had happened there in the years she couldn't remember.

"Draco?" Fred and Lacey both said the blonde's name with different degrees of surprise as they alighted the stairs to her apartment door. He was leaning against the door, looking as if he had been waiting a while.

"I need to speak with Lacey." Draco simply said.

"Sorry, mate, but we're kinda on a date." Fred cocked his head toward the stairs with a desperate look in his eye for Draco to not bring up Lucius.

"Oh, a date?" Draco looked genuinely shocked. "How absolutely adorable. I'll leave you two lovebirds to it then." His voice was filled with sarcasm and as he tried to brush past them on the narrow landing, Lacey put her hand on his shoulder.

"Draco. Stay. If it's important, come inside and tell me." Lacey meant it. Draco had been good to her since her accident and although she didn't know why, she wasn't going to cut him out of her life now.

"Please, don't leave on account of me." Fred's voice was an insincere as it could be and Draco glared at the tall redhead.

"I'll catch up with you later." Draco told Lacey over his shoulder and disappeared into the darkness. He had less time and hope to make things right than he had previously thought, now that Lacey was dating again. He couldn't blame her; she didn't know. But Fred did. And Draco knew his father needed to know as well.

A/N: Thanks for reading!