Epilogue

1 year later

Lucius hung the last ornament on the Christmas tree and stepped back with his hands on his hips.

"Do you think it's too close to the other gold one?" Hermione pointed to the diamond-shaped golden ornament not far from the one Lucius just hanged.

"I think there are too many gold ones." He smiled and chuckled, and Hermione's head flew back in laughter.

"Okay," she said, reaching back into the box of ornaments and grabbing a sparkling red ball. "How about red?"

Lucius looked at the red ball in her hands and then back to the tree. He nodded and smiled, taking the ornament from her hands and placing it on the tree. He tilted his head and studied the now assembled Christmas Tree.

Ornaments of different sizes and shapes in red, gold, green, and silver sparkled against a green tree. Twinkling white lights strung along the limbs and shined throughout the inside of the store. The day wasn't over, but night had crept over them due to the changing seasons like a thief in the night.

She looked at Lucius, who had just grabbed the golden star from the box sitting on the blue armchair, and reached with ease to place it on the top of the tree. He turned and stood next to Hermione, looking over the tree and the ornaments that had been arranged. He smiled in approval and wiped the freefallen glitter from his grey slacks.

After Maggie's death, Lucius sold his mother's home. At first, Hermione didn't like the idea. His mother's home was the first place she'd kissed him, the place outside of the store that she called home, and the place she could escape to whenever the store became too much for her grief. After much talking, bickering, and even romantic endeavors, she stopped arguing with him. After receiving the money from his mother's house, Lucius decided to buy Maggie's Tailoring from the city of Hogsmeade.

Eight months ago…

"You did what?"

"This," Lucius gestured to the inside of the store. "I bought the store."

Hermione couldn't believe her ears; momentarily, she wondered if she was hallucinating. She had become almost desperate to find a way to keep the store as her home. If she couldn't keep it open for Maggie, she at least didn't want it sold to some random stranger.

She knew Lucius would eventually need a place to live after selling the house on Shadowmourne Dr., but she never expected him to buy Maggie's Tailoring.

"I don't need all that space; I just need you," he had told her.

Tears sparkled behind her eyes as her hand trembled to cover her mouth. She looked up, her eyes glistening, and smiled behind her hand. "I can't believe this. I'm so happy, I could cry!"

Lucius had bought the store for her, and he quickly, almost eagerly, moved himself in. They moved what little he brought into her bedroom. He purchased a giant bed and a larger dresser for the two of them, and soon, the store re-opened to the public. They worked tirelessly to reconnect with their previous clients, the ones with whom Maggie had spent her entire career forming bonds, and slowly, they began to thrive.

It felt strange to be working the store with Lucius. For a while, it felt like she had stolen everything from Maggie: her life, her dream of running the store, even her education at Hogwarts.

"You cannot blame yourself," Lucius would tell her endlessly.

She knew he was right, but her heart longed for her friend.

Present day…

It took a while, but she was slowly grasping her new reality, which was perfectly molded to her desires.

Lucius wrapped his arm around her waist as they stood a few feet from the tree. His warmth next to her made her body buzz like a bee. The night felt magical for them. Christmas was a week away, and business had finally slowed down enough for them to enjoy an evening together. As the light sparkled and illuminated the space around them, Lucius grabbed the two blue armchairs and scooted them closer together, flipping them around to face the tree.

Lucius grabbed Hermione's hand and led her to the chair beside him.

She smiled, letting out a deep sigh as she admired the tree further. "I think it looks amazing. It reminds me of the tree they would put together during the season at Hogwarts."

Lucius nodded, his eyes falling on the side of her cheek. "Do you still think about your friends often?"

Hermione eagerly shook her head no. This was the first time she'd thought of them since Maggie's passing. "No."

"Not at all?"

Hermione narrowed her gaze and smirked. "If you're asking about Ron, you have nothing to worry about."

Lucius giggled as his head fell.

Hermione adored the way he sought her affections. It confirmed his admiration and gave her everything she needed. He wanted her, and she wanted to be his only.

Lucius rested his palm against her cheek, creating a pool of warmth in her belly. He quickly kissed her cheek until she grabbed onto his wrist and crashed her mouth to his.

His deep breath sounded like hunger, and the two kissed as if they had been starving each other. Her fingers moved behind his head and entangled themselves in his hand as his hands climbed up her thighs.

He pulled away from her and stood up.

"What are you doing?" she asked him, his silhouette becoming the only visible thing she could see, the tree illuminating behind him.

"Hermione Granger—He knelt before her, and she felt the urge to scream out.

What is he doing?!

"I have not always been a good person. Before I met you, I was greedy and egotistical. After I met you, I had only gotten worse."

She chuckled as tears burned at the corners of her eyes, remembering how he spat insults at her and her friends. Lucius had changed for the better, and she couldn't get enough of it.

"But after getting to know the real you, I've never wanted anything more than to change who I was. You made me want more for myself. Since I've known you, I've always known somehow that you would change my life."

He reached into the pocket of his slacks and pulled out a tiny black velvet box. Hermione gasped, her cheeks burning like fire as she watched the lid pop open to expose the most dazzling white diamond.

"I want to change yours."

She couldn't help it any longer as the tears streeked one by one down her cheeks. The corners of her lips trembled as she tried to smile through her tears of joy.

"Hermione Granger, you are the most outstanding woman I've ever come to know. Since that night I saw you outside the Witching Hour, I've wanted to be by your side until the stars fall from the heavens and the world ceases to exist."

His words felt like the softest silk against her skin. The timbre in his voice cracked as she watched a single tear grace his cheek.

"Will you marry me?"

Hermione's heart felt like it could explode inside her chest. She giggled as her mind reeled with the reality of Lucius proposing to her. She sniffled and nodded her head.

"Yes. Yes. Yes!"

Lucius plucked the gorgeous round diamond-incrusted band from the box and reached for her hand. Hermione watched as he slid the ring onto her finger. The fit was perfect, and she could hardly believe her eyes as they dazzled beneath the twinkling Christmas lights.

After it was secured on her finger, he leaped from his knee and grabbed her cheeks in his palms, kissing her lips with a passionate force that told her he loved her.

Lucius had become her world. Everything she ever wanted, she found within him.

And then she thought of something:

I'm glad I never boarded that train.

NOTE FROM AUTHOR:

"I wish I could thank everyone who read and supported Unlikely Alchemy. It was my very first fanfiction and serious piece that I actually finished and let the public read haha.

I know I have a lot of work and pressing to do, but I hope everyone who liked UA will join me and my journey on Destined for Darkness, a story about Lilly and her complicated journey through Hell…Literally."