Epilogue

Seven years later.

The sound of a spoon clinking on a champagne glass called on everyone's attention. All the guests at the magnificent wedding turned around to look at the father of the groom and smiled.

"For those of you who do not know who is paying for the drinks, my name is Draco Malfoy. If you do know me, you probably went to Hogwarts with me. And if you did, you know that in my third year Hermione Granger punched me in the face."

The guests laughed.

"So I thought about that episode a lot, for a long time. After about twenty years of thinking about it, I said screw it, I'll marry her."

More laughter and applause.

"Sometime during those twenty-something years I managed to have a son -he said signaling with his glass towards Scorpius- and Hermione had a beautiful daughter –he signaled towards Rose- and what you might not know is that the very first day I met Rose she actually punched me in the face too"

The room exploded in surprised yelps and laughter.

"So I thought about it for a bit and said, screw it, I'll adopt her."

More laughter, awes and applause.

"But now Rose and Scorpius are all grown up, and they have decided to spend the rest of their lives together. And I could not be happier. My son is the light of my life, and to know that he has a Granger woman in his life makes me feel that I can let go and rest assured that he has found the best companion a man can wish for in his life. So here is to Rose and Scorpius. May you have love, health and all the happiness in the world. And please keep in mind that I am always available for babysitting little Malfoys to come. Cheers!"

"Hear hear" chanted all the guests, giving him a big round of applause. Draco sat back next to his wife, who pulled him in for a passionate kiss.

"Oi! Get a room!" squealed Rose Malfoy, nee Granger, who was dressed in a beautiful bridal gown that made her look like a fairytale princess. She had tiny white rose buttons in her up-do and some curls fell beautifully down her neck. Her young and gorgeous brand new husband nodded in approval.

"Yeah, you cannot ask for grandchildren and then give us a preview of your geriatric sex. It totally kills the mood."

"Oh shut it you two," said Hermione, throwing her napkin at them, laughing.

She had been married to Draco for five years now. They had a long engagement to give Rose and Scorpius time to adapt to the unusual situation. The parents knew how much the kids liked each other so they decided to wait before fusing their households, so the kids could have time to evolve their relationship. Scorpius and Rose sort of dated during their fourth year then broke it off but stayed closed in a more best friends type of relationship, so the parents were more comfortable with the idea of getting a house for all of them. After all, the kids were at school most of the year and they were not even in the same Hogwarts house. Hermione did move in with Draco when they got married and flooed every day to Hogwarts to teach, but now she spent the weekends away. Rose was happy about that; it gave her the chance to be more like the other kids that didn't have parents at school every day. They were all together for the holidays but both Rose and Scorpius would spend about half of their vacation at the Burrow with the new generation of Weasley kids. Hermione and Draco would go there on and off too, and Draco had become a big fan of the weekly Quidditch game at the orchard behind the Burrow. He and Harry loved playing seeker against each other and they were almost as ruthless at it as they had been back in school. But in an effort to keep things balanced Ginny would always team with Draco, so she could keep an eye on the two man-children.

On their sixth year of school Scorpius and Rose, both asked to go as exchange students to different schools. Rose headed for Ilvermorny thinking maybe that would get her a bit closer to her father, who played in an American Quidditch team. Scorpius headed for Beauxbatons, reconnecting a bit with his French Malfoy heritage, and also getting to be closer with his grandparents, who were now living at their cottage in the French Riviera. Both kids had a great time, made new friends and learned a lot about their hosting countries. Scorpius returned first, and his father and Hermione were thrilled to have him back. A couple of days later they all sat at the drawing room anxiously awaiting Rose's portkey. When the flash of light appeared Hermione jumped to her feet and was the first one to hug the gorgeous young woman that arrived. Draco held both of them in his long arms and kissed Rose's forehead.

"You look stunning, my daughter. What did you do to your hair?" he asked tilting his head like a confused dog.

Rose laughed. That was such a dad expression. Her hair was now shorter, just above her shoulders, in perfect red curls with purple highlights. She looked very grown up.

On a side of the room, Scorpius was paralyzed. He was expecting his best friend Rose. This woman was a goddess. He didn't move for a few minutes, then saw her run towards him, arms open for a hug

"Scorp! Come here!" she said squeezing him tightly. He had had a mind to wrap his arms around her but was feeling very confused. Then she looked up

"Wow, you are a giant!" In fact, Scorpius had his growth spurt during the year away and was now as tall as Draco and almost as equally broad shouldered. He smiled down at her and run his fingers on her hair

"Wow you, this is very cool. You look amazing Rose."

She squeezed herself against his chest again and breathed his cologne. It felt like heaven. He held her tight, breathing her perfume while his mind raced a million kilometers an hour; he was already fearing the commotion she will cause when they went back to Hogwarts, and jealousy overtook him. Rose on her part had thought that a kid she kissed a few times back in America was very cute, but Scorpius was now a hunk. He had always been very cute and sweet, but now he felt in her arms like he bathed in testosterone every day. She was already planning on getting herself a figuratively stick to scare away simpering girls.

Draco and Hermione watch them and exchanged looks. Oh-oh. This is not looking like sibling behavior anymore. But both kids were about to turn seventeen and they would then be of age and free to do as they please. And both parents quietly thought Rose and Scorpius were the best pairing they could wish for their children. But they would keep their opinions to themselves.

Rose and Scorpius rekindled their romance that very day. Of course, there were not many chances to do much around the house. The house elves were indeed very serious about younglings' virtues. So besides a couple of stolen kisses in the gardens and an intense make-out session hiding in the orchard at the Burrow, they only let themselves loose when they got on the Hogwarts Express for their last year. They were named headboy and headgirl and spent almost every day of the year together except for sleeping, though they managed to sneak a few nights in the room of requirement by cheating on their head duties. When they came back home after graduation they announced their engagement. Their parents were supportive but asked of them to do their apprenticeships first. The young couple obliged them and now they were done and more than anxious for their wedding.

After the toast came the first dance. The newlyweds took center stage. They swayed slowly, looking into each other's eyes.

"How are you today, Mrs. Malfoy?"

"I'm quite well, Mr. Malfoy. I feel like a princess."

"Well, I am a Prince of the Universe, and you are my Princess."

"What are you talking about?" Rose said laughing. She was used to Scorpius' artistic mind, but sometimes he forgot to give her some context. It was kind of adorable.

"Long story. But for now I will tell you, it is amazing that this is actually the second wedding to happen thanks to the meathead of your cousin James."

"How come?"

"Well, back in third year he bullied me into trying to slip a potion on your mom's tea. That went well. So she called my dad for a parent-teacher conference and the rest is history."

Rose laughed and said

"Actually I just found out something disturbing about that story. When we went out for my hen night my mom got drunk and told me about that parent-teacher conference. Apparently, he fucked her brains off right there on her desk that very same day."

"Eeeew! Too much information! I don't want to think about our parents going at it on the desk that we innocently put our homework on!" he made a cringe gesture.

Rose gave him a shrug

"Well, you are my husband now, and you must bear the embarrassing secrets with me."

He smiled and pulled her in for a sweet kiss.

Other couples had joined them on the dance floor.

"How are you today, Mrs. Malfoy?" said Draco with a seductive smile

"It's Granger-Malfoy, and I'm quite well, Mr. Malfoy."

"Can you please let me have my pleasure? I want you to be a Malfoy on the streets and a Granger in the sheets" he said in a lustful drawl.

"Fine, have it your way."

He smiled and pulled her in for a kiss.

After the dance, the bride and groom went up on the stage in front of the band. Scorpius set up four old-fashioned microphones and spoke

"Thank you so much for coming. We want to share something very special for us with all of you. So now we want to invite Mr. Draco Malfoy and Mrs. Hermione Granger –Malfoy to the stage with us."

A big round of applause resonated and Draco grabbed a glass of firewhiskey from a self-levitating tray and downed it in one gulp. His son, his wife and his daughter in law had ganged on him to make him rehearse for this. He took a deep breath and thought back to the last seven years. If he made a fool of himself, it was totally worth it. He was an incredibly happy man. And he actually had learned to sing.

The four of them stood in front of the microphones and started a soft, slow chorus

Can

Anybody

Find me

Somebody to love