Chapter Text
Epilogue
Eight Years Later
Hermione Granger, Head of the Department of Magical Spectrum Integration
Running her finger over the nameplate, she sighed. It felt like she had just been handed this very plate, just been given this hand-made position and asked to run with it. And now, she was leaving it behind.
Walking into her office was bittersweet knowing it would likely be the last time she would do so, but it helped to not be alone.
Pansy sat atop Hermione’s throne chair, Astoria in her lap, giggling. Beside them was Theo, who leaned casually against the far wall, Blaise propped up beside him. Daphne and Draco were both sitting on the floor on the far side, deep in some discussion.
Her Slytherin Renaissance painting, alive and well. Though, with time, it had certainly aged and become some haphazard version of itself.
Hermione found she liked it far more this way.
“Wasn’t that supposed to be gone by now?” Hermione asked playfully, looking towards the witch sitting atop her chair.
Pansy had found nothing but success, her shop now becoming a household name. After expanding- three times, ultimately requiring her to buy out multiple nearby businesses to afford the space- and hiring staff to help out, she was overrun with customers. While grateful for it, business also seemed to take the least important spot on her priority list; truthfully her head of staff Grace was overseeing nearly everything at the shop. And while Pansy popped in as needed, she was much happier spending her days at home.
The witch just rolled her eyes. “Calm your tiny tits. We’re taking it on our way out.”
“Pansy,” Astoria gasped, though there was humor under the horrified surface. “Claws away, yeah?”
“Too harsh?”
“You think?” Astoria laughed, blushing.
Astoria had found a new love in painting while she had been sick, so much so she had decided to pursue it afterwards. The start was rocky, and had it not been for her wife’s encouragement, she would have all but given up. Thankfully she had not, for a project had ultimately caught the right eye. She had now had multiple gallery showings, was hired or collaborated on projects near constantly, and had one particularly moving piece displayed at a wizarding museum in Prague.
Pansy sighed heavily. “We’re going, we’re going. Meet you there?” At Hermione’s nod, Astoria stood up, Pansy following and shrinking down the chair to transfer more easily.
“You sure you don’t need any more help?” Daphne asked, standing now as well, brushing off her arse after rising.
The shop was near empty, but Hermione wouldn’t point that out. It had been a kind question.
“Go on,” Hermione urged her.
Daphne had found her calling with rune work. Apparently the particularly challenging translations were her specialty, having found an affinity for them along the way. One promotion became two, and all too quickly she had become head of her department and was receiving owled translation requests weekly.
“Would you take your wife and get going?” Hermione asked Blaise, who had come over to join the conversation.
He simply shrugged. “She’s right, we’re here to help if there’s more.”
Blaise, unlike Daphne, had followed a path away from runes. Though an excellent translator, his heart wasn’t in the work, and he ultimately quit. Staying at home, he took care of Bellamy full-time during his pre-Hogwarts years. When Clara- his and Daphne’s beautiful baby girl- had come along, he stayed home with her as well. The ever comforting and warm man found such peace being a stay-at-home father, which was rather fortunate considering Daphne was pregnant once again, with twins.
“You two need to get to Hogwarts,” Hermione prompted, knowing what time Bellamy’s Quidditch match would start. “I appreciate everything, now go.”
“Fine, but Sunday?” Daphne asked, Blaise already leading her along towards the fireplace. “Dinner is at our place this week!”
“We’ll be there,” Hermione called back.
After they went out, Neville came back through. “Any more?” he asked, looking around the place.
Neville had retired his Professor robes in favor of Headmaster ones, taking over for Minerva at Hogwarts. It had been a slow transition, and truthfully Hermione thought it had been hinted at far earlier than Minerva had actually mentioned it to Neville. He was as brilliant at the position as one may expect, and between him and the legacy Minerva left behind, Hogwarts had already improved conditions ten-fold.
“Just this one,” Theo said, heading to the floo.
“I’ll take that,” Neville said, effortlessly taking the box from Theo’s grasp without missing a beat. “Now you grab what you need from your office. I don’t want to have to come back here late tonight if we can help it.”
Theo was still head of the Curse Breaking department at the ministry, though his Hollow Theory- amongst his other influential work- had landed him accolades and multiple chapters in various texts. His would be a name fondly remembered in history books. And though he didn’t yet know it, Hermione had it on very good authority that Kingsley was about to offer him the Minister position, should he want it.
“You’re taking work on your anniversary trip?” Hermione asked, both shocked and appalled.
Theo looked at her as if she had sprouted horns. “Absolutely not. I already distributed all necessary work so I wouldn’t be disturbed this week.” Not entirely convinced, she studied him, prompting an elaboration. “If you must know, I’m retrieving the handcuffs I had Nev in during my lunch hour yesterday.”
“Theo!” Hermione cackled.
He simply shrugged. “Curiosity killed the kneazle.” Turning back, he kissed Neville’s temple and retreated back out the main door, his husband still chuckling embarrassedly in his retreat.
“I’ll, uh… Just take this…” With a gesture to the box in his arms, Neville walked to the floo, disappearing in a flurry of green smoke as he made his way back to her new office.
And with that, everything was gone. Pansy and Astoria must have snuck out at some point because only she and Draco remained. Without furniture filling the space between them, it was too large, too hollow. Hermione cradled her name plate in her hand, running her finger along it to bring her comfort.
“Feeling a tad sentimental?” he asked.
Draco had been so supportive of Hermione working for the ICW, even buying a home on the coast closer to work so she didn’t have to travel quite so far. Though he still worked for the DMLE- and absolutely loved every minute of it- he rarely needed to come into the office anymore, and his calls took him everywhere, so staying near the Ministry was unnecessary. Akingbade was still trying to entice Draco over to the ICW as well, so they may move even closer to headquarters should the wizard be successful with his bribery. Hermione, now knowing the depths of his brilliance and magic, knew he would flourish in either position.
“Perhaps,” Hermione admitted, looking around the now empty office. The shell of it barely reflected what had once been inside.
Draco nodded, arms wrapping around her. “Understandable, love. So much happened here.”
“We happened here,” Hermione mused. “Do you ever think about how you came into my life, right here, all that time ago? How much would we have missed if you hadn’t?”
“To be honest, I’m simply grateful I don’t have to,” Draco replied, holding her tight in his embrace.
“Me too,” Hermione sighed, revelling in the feel of his palm resting on her upper chest right below her neck, the sparks that still shot out at the contact.
The bond between them had only strengthened with time, and now she need not be touching him to feel him. All she had to do was turn inward and search for the pull of the bond, feel him on the other side, steady and sure. Still, the sparks reminded her of the early days of the bond, bringing her joy every time.
“I would be lost without you.”
“And I without you love,” he whispered in her ear, fingertips playing with hers as she clasped her hands with his. He chuckled lightly as a single finger slid across her ring. “Are you ever going to wear anything else?”
Hermione smiled. “I like this one.”
There on the ring finger of her left hand lay the very signet ring he had proposed to her so many years prior, on the floor of his old flat, clothes half-on and stuck in a post-sex haze.
They hadn’t been engaged long. Instead, they married a week after curing Astoria, too ready to start that future together that had almost slipped through their fingers.
And what a beautiful future it was turning out to be.
“I’ll buy you something nicer. Anything you want,” he offered, as he always had.
“I know,” she smirked, knowing there were already three rings at home in her jewelry box, rarely worn. This one just meant so much to her, too much to be able to give it back. Her first anniversary present to him had been another signet ring- a replacement- from the same shop.
“Would you-”
Draco was interrupted when Neville came back through the floo, Harry beside him, laughing at some shared joke.
Harry had quit the aurors. It had been a long-time coming; the job had not only taken a toll on his mental, emotional, and physical health, but it also had negatively impacted him and Ginny. Eventually, after many post-work chats with Draco that typically transformed into evening drinks shared while soul-searching, he realized the dream he had once held as a boy was not the same one he had now. So he put it away to return to another day- or never- and quit. He was now immensely more happy and far less stressed in his new occupation: Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts.
“Come on, come on,” Harry urged, rushing back into the room from the fireplace. “Gin will kill us if we’re late.”
Hermione smirked as Draco caught her eye, knowing. “She won’t be the only one.”
–
To absolutely no one’s surprise, Ginny was a fucking natural.
Ginny had taken over the youth flying camp and expanded it, both her and the organization flourishing. Things had been difficult for her for a long time, but time brought growth and healing. This, amongst many other wonderful things in her life, had brought her happiness again, and if she wasn’t damn good at it.
Today was their annual performance, the stands nearly full to the brim with loved ones supporting all the flyers, Ginny positively beaming. Her smile only faltered slightly as Hermione, Draco, Neville, and Harry slid into their seats right after her opening speech, missing it by that much.
The first group was the oldest, starting the show with a synchronized flight routine- for they’d come back at the end to highlight their tricks- with fireworks exploding behind them, a handful coming together and forming into its own flyer that joined the ranks. Hermione knew without needing to be told it was a Weasley original, but seeing George in the crowd smiling brightly at the display only confirmed her suspicion. He caught her looking, grinning, giving a small wave.
George was doing well. Fred had truly been his other half, and the void made by his absence would never be filled, but George had found happiness again. He seemed to enjoy experimenting and creating new things for the shop again- especially with Kingsley now acting as a collaborator- and he found such joy in gardening- which had grown beyond a simple hobby. Avoiding anything for organizations or other large-scale hires, he opted for small-scale jobs. Backyards and memorials were his specialty.
Hermione returned the smile, waving herself. But George’s movement had caught his brother’s attention, and he turned to look as well.
Ron was doing better as well. Working with George at the shop full time, he had found himself sliding into a more managerial position, taking on the brunt of the workload and happy about it. He had also been nearly seven years sober now. Though things had been tense at the Burrow for a while, he had apologized until Hermione thought her ears would surely bleed, and they were nearly back to being friends.
Ron studied her, the smallest grin eventually forming followed by a shadow of a wave. With George on one side, Parvati was at the other, and at his elbow and point, she lit up at the sight of Hermione and waved excitedly. Hermione returned it.
It had been unexpected when Ron had brought Parvati home to the Burrow and announced they were together, but after seeing them together it truly made sense. They just worked together, simple as that. And Hermione was not only glad to see they had both found happiness in each other, but she was also excited to have such a close tie now to someone who she had considered a close friend back at Hogwarts.
“Oh dear, has there been a Weasley sighting?” Draco asked.
Smirking, Hermione elbowed him. “As if they wouldn’t come to support Gin.”
“Yes, I imagined so, but-” A thought must have struck Draco, for he stopped mid sentence, now turning and looking. Hermione laughed, already knowing before he even asked, “Is Molly here?”
It cracked her up how close the two had become over the years, sharing recipes and conspiring together.
“Yes, she’s here.”
“Good,” Draco smiled, settling. His eyes scanned over the field for a moment before he suddenly gasped, sitting up taller and directing her attention back to the field. “This is them, love.”
One by one they entered in a neat and tidy line, but Hermione could see the head of white-blonde curls from anywhere. Even pulled back and secured in a knot atop his head, like his mother, it was hard to contain. His maple eyes slid over to the crowd every now and then, scanning furiously. And when he finally found them, eyes widening and smile growing, he answered Draco’s tiny wave with a hilariously oversized one of his own. Coming back to himself, he looked around as if checking to see if anyone noticed, then he was quickly masking his smile and falling back in the orderly line, trying to blend in even as his eyes kept flickering over.
Theo, still snickering in his seat on the other side of Neville, leaned over his husband. “He is without a doubt the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. I still don’t know that I believe he actually came from you two, of all people.”
But Scorpius was glancing back again, so Hermione smiled, even as she gritted out, “Bite me, Theo.”
Blessedly, he shut up, and Hermione was able to focus entirely on the performance.
And if it wasn’t precious enough to melt her heart entirely.
Scorpius was a natural on the broom, just as his father had been, though it brought Draco such joy when she went ahead and told him as much anyway. Between Draco, Harry, and Ginny, Scorpius had been riding a broom in some capacity since he had been big enough to fit on the tiniest model Draco could find, but he had truly developed skills at Ginny’s camp. It appeared he was well aware of that as well, for the pride was beaming off him as his feet eventually touched the ground and he dismounted. Cheering loudly, they got excited waves as he exited the field.
“I’m goo,” Theo sighed. “I’m literal goo every time I see him, I swear.”
Neville nodded next to Hermione. “He is absolutely precious.”
“Are we still on for our sleepover when we’re back?” Theo asked.
Hermione nodded, though her mouth was full of crisps she had stolen from Harry’s bag, so Draco answered for her. “You think he would actually miss a night at his Uncles’ house?”
Theo smiled bright and excited. “Good.”
“Is that the look of someone with baby fever?” Hermione asked Theo, believing she knew the answer but starting to question herself considering his nearly heart shaped eyes.
“Oh, please,” Theo gasped.
“Absolutely not,” Neville said at the same time Theo added, “Never.”
Hermione laughed. “But you love Scorp.”
“I do,” Theo nodded, agreeing. “I love him very much.”
“But from afar,” Neville said, immediately getting an enthusiastic nod from Theo.
“Yes! That sort where you see him in doses, spoil him relentlessly and pack him full of sugar and sweet treats, and then send him home. I think I speak for both of us,” Theo continued, gesturing to him and Neville, “when I say we are very happily not ever adding on. Children are too much work, they’re always sick, they depend on you entirely to live...”
“Plus they’re always so sticky,” Neville added, Theo nodding in agreement immediately as he snagged more chips from the basket his husband held out to him. “Don’t even know where it comes from, but it’s like it oozes from their pores or something.”
Hermione rolled her eyes at the theatrics. “Remind me again why I made you godparents?”
Pansy cleared her throat. “Co-godparents,” she corrected.
“Co-co-godparents,” Harry chimed in, snarkily.
“How could we ever forget?” Draco snorted.
It had been an outrageous affair, truly. The only blessing was Daphne and Blaise had not in fact been there at the time, otherwise, it would have really been out of hand.
“Don’t act like it’s such a hassle,” Theo mocked, elbowing her.
“It was a hassle!” Hermione exclaimed. “We had to use Harry’s fame to add more lines on the godparent listing.”
Harry just shrugged. “I was fine with it.”
“Poor you, having so many people love your baby,” Pansy scoffed sarcastically.
“As if you lot wouldn’t have loved him just as much without the labels,” Hermione bit back.
But then Story was pulling Pansy’s attention back to the field where Posie had just mounted her broom, taking over Pansy’s entire focus with it. The sweet little girl wobbled slightly, still so small and learning. Her black hair was pulled back, though some pieces had slipped through, and as those bright blue eyes searched for her mothers, she had to push some hair out of the way.
But then she found them and immediately lit up, blowing a kiss to Pansy, who melted in her seat. Astoria blew kisses back, as did Daphne, then Theo until Posie threw her little head back, pretending to topple over from the weight of them all. She was still giggling as she ascended into the air.
Theo gave Pansy a hard time, as they all so commonly did, as her daughter melted through her cold exterior near immediately.
When this group landed, it was time for the finale. After showing their trick skills, Ginny surprised everyone by having all the flyers return to the field in some capacity. Draco slid his hand into hers, the spark alighting her fingertips, as they watched Scorp do one more route.
Looking to Draco, she watched him watch their son, such joy and bliss evident on his face. It was an amazing sight to see, honestly, still catching her off guard at times with how open and vulnerable he could be. Draco loved so purely and so very deeply, having given everything to their little family.
Of course, it was worthless to pretend she wasn’t staring. Turning, those silver eyes met hers. “What?” he asked.
Everything.
“Nothing,” she said instead, heart full and beating fast.
–
Draco re-entered the room, sighing tiredly.
“He finally went down?” she asked.
Draco nodded. “You do not want to know how many times we had to read Good Night Hogwarts.”
Hermione smiled as she heard the bed shift behind her, knowing he surely had all but collapsed on it.
“Tired?” she asked, nervously.
“Yes,” he sighed.
“But happy?” she wondered aloud, needing to check.
“Very,” he replied, smile audible in his voice.
Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. The entire time he had been putting Scorpius to bed, she had hyped herself up to finally tell him.
It wasn’t that she worried for his reaction, but rather, she had been afraid to voice the words aloud and put them into the atmosphere where the universe could overhear and take it all away.
With a deep breath and a firm gathering of her courage, Hermione turned around and walked to the bed. She sat beside Draco, his fingers parting from their previous position on his face so he could peek out.
“Do you love me?” she asked. Removing his hands altogether, he sat up to face her.
“Endlessly.”
“Good.” Hermione smiled. “I have something to show you.”
“Ooh a surprise?” Instantly intrigued as he always was with unknowns, Draco sat a little taller and focused entirely, his dangling legs now dancing slightly as they hung in front of the bed’s edge. “A good one?”
I hope so
Wordlessly and without looking, she cast the charm over her stomach. Out of the periphery of her vision, she could see the green glow, but she didn’t dare look away from his face. No, she wanted to see…
That.
Hermione watched as understanding crossed his face. The knit brow and narrowed eyes of confusion quickly morphed into wide eyes and slightly parted lips.
They hadn’t been trying. But they hadn’t been not trying either.
Perhaps the trouble they had with Scorp had warped her perception because she actually forgot it could be this easy. That it could be so unplanned.
Silver eyes danced from hers, down to her stomach, and back again.
Silver eyes that now glistened.
“You’re...pregnant?” he managed to ask. “We’re having another baby?”
His lip trembled, causing Hermione’s heart to clench. She felt her own eyes tear up then, unable to hold them back as she nodded.
Then his face erupted into the brightest, most beautiful smile Hermione could ever remember seeing. His eyes were alight as he looked at her. She could feel the pulsing excitement and awe between their bond.
“We’re really having another baby?” he repeated incredulously, a smile still plastered on his face.
He needed to hear her confirm it again.
Hermione knew he may have been worried because of all the trouble they had with conceiving Scorp and maintaining the pregnancy. The medihealers would all say it was a complication from Hermione’s curse, though with how many times Draco had received the Cruciatus Curse during his childhood, it was likely he could have been impacted as well.
But she also thought it was incredibly likely he simply hadn’t let himself believe it could be true quite yet. Even after all this time, it was hard for Draco to accept when good things happened to him. He was always waiting for them to be ripped from his grasp.
As if he wasn’t the best father to Scorp.
Hermione nodded but she knew he needed more. He needed to hear it.
“Yes,” she whispered.
Then she was yelping as he pulled her tight into his arms, feet leaving the ground as he stood with her, spinning her in circles. He was planting kisses all across her face and neck, anywhere he could reach, and she couldn’t hold in her joyous laughter.
“I love you, I love you, I love you,” he whispered against her as he gently set her back down. Shaking his head to himself, he pushed the hair from her face, sighing, “Fucking hell, Hermione, how did I ever deserve a life like this?”
She understood. Fuck, how she understood.
Life was chaotic and loud and often imperfect. Happy and joyous and terribly sad. Sometimes grief was so strong and all-consuming that it seemed there was little else. And others, there was nothing but love.
It was all these things and more.
As she looked into Draco’s eyes, standing on the precipice of everything that was to come, Hermione felt it: each contradictory, clashing, extreme, and all-encompassing emotion. Every win. Every terror. Every hope.
She felt it all.
And it felt good.