Author's Note: Happy New Year, everybody! This story is at last complete. It feels good. I'm still not sure what my next story is going to be—I've written a few pages that could be the start of a sequel to this. I'm also thinking of revising and finishing We Were Here which I started a long while ago. It was a one shot that grew some scenes from the Marauders days of Hogwarts. Still considering possibly writing something totally different since I've spent the last few years on Dramione (but really…Dramione, need I say more?). Anyway, thank you all for all of your encouragement and support this year, and thank you again to SunshineKatz for beta-reading. This epilogue is set about 6 months after the proper story left off. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Epilogue

Draco wandered around the flat with his hand in his pocket. He rather wished the party was over and it was just the two of them. Still, all things considered, it was going surprisingly well. He'd even managed not to call Potty and Weasel by his preferred nicknames for them. He was all charm and grace—the perfect host. He eyed his mother and father, talking with McGonagall. He suspected they'd chosen the lesser of two annoyances in deciding whether to engage her in conversation or speak to Molly and Arthur Weasley.

Molly was fluttering over the food as if checking to make sure there was enough for everyone—Draco knew he'd planned well and there was plenty. He knew how to throw a party.

"You look like you could use a drink," a redhead said, offering him a glass.

Draco gratefully had the glass halfway to his lips before he hesitated. "George."

"Relax, I haven't put anything in it this time. I figure you've got enough to worry about."

"Hmm." Draco murmured an all-purpose counter-charm before taking a sip. It wouldn't be proof against everything the redhead might have put in his glass, but should cover a fair bit of it. He would never forget coming home and finding out his hair had turned blue after running into George at the Leaky Cauldron and agreeing to a drink. As brilliant as the man's spells and potions work was, it didn't do to get too comfortable around him.

George grinned, elbowing him slightly in the ribs. "Come on, Hermione doesn't want you looking sour on her birthday."

"And she doesn't want anyone turned into birds either. I saw the Canary Creams." And threw them in the fireplace.

"Can't blame a bloke for trying to liven things up. Tell the truth, wouldn't you like to see him sprouting feathers just once?" George jerked his chin at Lucius, who was looking a bit bored. Feathers would make things interesting.

"Maybe next time." He patted George on the arm and moved on. He saw Hermione talking animatedly with Molly.

"So, how are Teddy's lessons going?"

"Really well. He's a bright little boy when you get him to focus. I think having the others there is really helping too."

"He's getting along well with Victoire and—" She hesitated for a second, trying to remember Arthur's coworker's son's name. "—Falco?"

"Oh yes." The Weasley matron lowered her voice. "Mind you, the first week was a little rough. Teddy isn't really used to sharing. But they're fast friends now."

Hermione nodded. Teddy had spent most of his time with adults. Starting to spend more time with children his own age was definitely going to be a learning experience—a valuable one. "And how is Harry handling it?"

"Oh, well enough. I think he was worried that first week, but it's all sorted out. On Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, Harry's taking him back after lunch for science classes. This mostly seems to involve spending a lot of time in our garden, as best I can tell."

That brought a smile to Hermione's face. She could imagine the sort of science experiments Harry would do with a five year old Teddy—learning about the life cycle of a butterfly perhaps, or understanding how plants grow. She excused herself as a figure on the other side of the room caught her eye and she started towards him. It took a moment for her to realize he wasn't alone.

"I suspect you could substitute a lot of things as part of a wand core. Hippogriff feathers might be a good choice," Blaise offered.

"Hippogriffs might be classified as magical, but they aren't really magical enough to serve as a good focal point for which your own magic can resonate off. I'm hoping to convince Ollivander and McGonagall to let me try a Thestral mane hair one day. Thestrals really are misunderstood." Luna was sitting on the floor with her feet tucked under her robes. She never turned her head in Hermione's direction, but she suddenly said, "Hello, Hermione," as the woman walked up behind her.

"Hi, Luna, it's good to see you. Would you…would you like a chair?"

"Oh, no, I'm quite comfortable here. Sometimes when you're stuck on a problem, it helps to see things from another point of view."

Blaise looked at Hermione as if expecting an argument, and Hermione just shrugged and said, "As long as you're having a good time, sit wherever you'd like." She looked over at Blaise, offering him a rescue in case he wanted out of the conversation. "Can I get you anything?"

A smile played on his lips. "I think I might engage in a little…change of perspective as well. Do you have a cushion I might borrow? The floor looks rather hard."

Hermione found him a pillow off the couch and watched with amusement as Blaise settled himself on the floor next to Luna to continue their conversation. Blaise could talk to anyone when he really wanted to. Hermione was just on her way back to the drinks table when she spotted Draco and Ginny speaking to one another. She was going to head that way when she found herself pulled aside by Teddy tugging on her arm and asking for more cake. From the smears around his mouth and on his clothes, he'd already had plenty. Time to get him cleaned up.

Ginny had caught Draco by the arm. He looked down at her.

"Well?"

"Well?" he mimicked.

She sighed, looking up at him, and he gave in and answered.

"Not yet. I'm sure you'll know sooner rather than later." He quirked the corner of his mouth at her. She was a tenacious little thing when she set her mind to it. It was a good thing she'd come around sooner rather than later. "How was your match against the Magpies?"

The redhead grimaced. "We scraped a win, but barely. We were down right until the Snitch got caught, and Gemma sure let us know about it."

"A win is a win."

"We were down 30 to 120 before the Snitch. It was a bad game."

Draco winced. That was a bad game. "Their Keeper?"

They were still talking Quidditch when Hermione found their way over to them. Draco put his arm around her waist and murmured in her ear, "Having fun?"

"Yes. Definitely one of my better birthdays. I'm amazed there's been no bloodshed yet."

"Well, it's still early."

"I could punch Malfoy in the nose if that would help," Ginny offered cheerfully.

"I'll pass," Hermione said. "I like his face the way it is."

Ginny muttered something that may have been "spoilsport."

"I'm very glad you no longer want to punch me in the face," Draco said. "Definitely one of the perks of this relationship." They wandered the room together for a while talking to their guests. They overheard Narcissa telling McGonagall that they made a lovely couple. Hermione would have sworn that McGonagall was smothering a look of disbelief. Augusta saved her friend by pulling her into a conversation and leaving Narcissa to find a new target. She settled on Hermione and Draco with a charming smile.

Draco put an arm around Hermione's waist and spirited her away to see Susan at the drinks table as Hermione called out that she'd see Narcissa at the office tomorrow. They had a lot of work to get done-Hermione was hoping to plan an outing into the Muggle world for some Hogwarts students over the upcoming Christmas break. In the meantime, Narcissa had asked for Hermione's assistance in choosing suitable Muggle clothing so she could have a few things on hand when it was required. Hermione wasn't a fan of shopping at the best of times and it was hard to believe that shopping with Narcissa would be the best of times.

Eventually the last of the guests filtered out through the fireplace and Hermione and Draco finally allowed themselves to collapse on the couch.

"I thought they'd never leave."

She squeezed his knee. "You always host an excellent party—they didn't want to go."

"Remind me next time; less food and they'll leave earlier," he muttered. He turned towards her, slightly sideways, slightly nervous. "You had a good time?"

"A great time. My highlight was Neville's gran and McGonagall telling stories about your father as a Hogwarts student."

"Yes, I've never seen his face go quite that color before." Eleven year old Lucius Malfoy had most definitely not been the poised and suave man Draco had known all his life. It might be worth trying to get some more stories out of them. "I thought the highlight might have been Blaise lying on the floor with Lovegood."

Hermione laughed. The pair of them had lain down to "feel the energy of the room." She was sure Luna had been awake the whole time, palms pressed to the wooden floor. Maybe she really was doing something. She was also equally certain that Blaise had fallen asleep after a few minutes of it. She rested her head on his shoulder for a minute. "I suppose we should clean up."

"It can wait." He held her hand. "I wanted to do this earlier, but I knew you'd never forgive me if I made a spectacle of it." He'd weighed his options carefully and he knew Hermione would not want this to be a public moment. "Hermione- ," he stopped, trying to find the words. He'd written them all out several times. Nothing had quite sounded perfect. "I know we have a long history, that hasn't always been pleasant—to say the least—but these months with you this year have been everything I never knew I needed. You're resilient. Determined. No matter what you've been through, you still manage to find the good in people. Even me. You're always pushing yourself—and everyone around you—to choose to be better than they are. You're beautiful, and brilliant, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?" He slid off the couch, still holding her hand in one of his, and produced a ring from his pocket. He'd been fiddling with it all day, waiting for everyone to leave.

She stared down at him and whispered, "How did we get here from where we were?" Where was the arrogant teenage boy she'd punched in the nose? The one with no empathy for anyone? Where was the overeager young witch with something to prove?

"You actually let me have a conversation with you," Draco answered, still holding her hand, eyes locked on hers. "It was probably the first time we were both really listening."

"And you saw me. You really saw me when I felt invisible. When I was trying to be invisible." She didn't feel invisible anymore and she didn't want to. She was unapologetically herself. And Draco loved her for that.

"This may be the first time you've ever been asked a question, and not actually provided an answer," Draco said dryly, trying to hide his nerves.

She squeezed his hand. "Ask it one more time, please."

"Hermione Granger, will you marry me?"

"Yes, Draco. I will."

He slid the ring onto her finger and got back on his feet, pulling her to hers as well and kissing her.

She kissed him back. A lifetime with Draco Malfoy by her side—who would have thought? She rested her head on his shoulder after pulling away.

He stroked her hair. "By the way, Ginny wants to be your maid of honor."

"Ginny knew about this before I did?"

"She caught me picking out your rings a few weeks ago. I didn't want to risk giving you a family ring—it's hard to say which ones may be cursed." At some point he'd get the things over to Bill Weasley for evaluation, but even so…Hermione deserved a fresh ring, not one that had been worn by his bigoted ancestors for generations.

"She never said a word."

"Good. It was supposed to be a surprise." He rested his forehead against hers. He was exactly where he wanted to be.