A/N: A lot of my readers asked for an epilogue...and I kind of wanted to write it, because I already knew how it would be... But I do agree with some of you that this story was always about these two, and explaining too much wouldn't do the story justice. I was tempted to leave the epilogue out to leave the rest to the readers imagination, but then this came out of my 'pen' ... so here you have it, an epilogue!
Hope you find it satisfying!
Kisses and endless thank yous for all the support!
EPILOGUE
Love will conquer.
That's what they tell you in fairy tales.
Well, it's bullshit!
Conquering will need much more than love… so much more!
Because we did have love… more than needed!
And it was still fucking hard!
I can say 'fucking' when the kids are sleeping… can't I?
When we were having our adventure through various timelines, I learned that pureblood wizarding families have one rule over any other: Family stands united.
There was a time I thought that rule was bullshit too… that it made people stand behind decisions they weren't really committed to.
I thought it was that rule that kept Slytherin's apart from everyone else.
I still do… partly… but I don't think it's completely bullshit rule anymore!
Because I became part of that family… and having mine stand united with me… it's one of the best things in the world!
That rule forced Narcissa Malfoy to get to know me… that rule made Blaise Zabini, Theo Nott and Pansy Parkinson see me as something else than a know-it-all mudblood… that rule made them look… made them see… and for that, I'm ever grateful!
Without it… we might have had to fight both sides… again!
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.
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When we first went to meet Narcissa…I was terrified.
Terrified what she might say… and terrified what her words might do to Draco.
But when we entered, she smiled at me… cold and overly polite, yes… but a smile nevertheless.
Then she looked at her son… and her smile grew so warm, I had no idea she was able to smile so warmly.
Her smile made me think of her sister, Andromeda… and I realized… it's going to be fine!
"So, this is the girl you love?" She asked her son.
And Draco nodded firmly, taking my hand.
That was the moment I knew… for absolute certainty… that I was his family still.
Even now, when we were back in the real world… the promises we made in our time together in silence… wouldn't fade!
He was my family… and I'd stand by him… and we'd do this together!
His certainty was all his mother needed… she turned to me again and then she embraced me.
"Welcome to the family, Hermione."
And that was it!
I thought they were the prejudiced ones… and that was all that was needed!
When I had Narcissa's approval… all else was easy!
Blaise and Theo and Pansy… they had no word over the Malfoy matriarch.
"This is Hermione, my future daughter in law." She'd say… and no one dared to insult me… or question me being there.
And without the doubt between us… That's how they became my friends.
How I… ME! for real!... let Pansy drag me to fashion stores and sample clothes I never even dreamed of wearing.
How I came to appreciate the straightforwardness and sarcasm in their words… how I learned how it was to be surrounded by people who, in private, were brutally honest, but in public stood by each other, no matter what!
And I also realized how the world treated them still.
You'd think four years would be enough for people to let go of the grudges of war… but it wasn't.
Theo, Blaise, and Pansy didn't even have marks, but the way people yelled after them in the streets, might make you think they'd murdered more than one family.
And the shit they gave me when I started to stand with them!
You wouldn't believe how people can turn their backs in mere seconds!
The moment the picture of me and Draco together was plastered in the cover of the Daily Prophet… I turned from a hero to a heretic!
And my friends… the family I knew, before my adventures in time… I wished we had some rule of standing together then!
The only one even willing to listen was Ginny.
She told me she knew what it was like to be brainwashed by Voldemort… she knew how it was when you thought you didn't have a choice.
So, she came with me to meet them.
And for that, I'm ever grateful!
Because with her approval, came Harry too.
And you don't believe how light my soul felt when he finally, FINALLY! Offered his hand for Draco to shake and agreed to "move on".
Ron was a different matter… I knew he'd be… I knew it! And still, it hurt!
But eventually he, too… came around.
Maybe we'd never be friends like we used to be… and maybe he'll never like Draco…and Draco will never like him… but we were okay.
I knew it was partly my fault… I kept the thing between us going, even when I knew it wasn't what I wanted… I agreed to marry him and felt trapped looking at the ring in my finger.
It was never right for him… but then I didn't know… I thought it was my life!
But now, as I think of it… it would have been fair for him to end it sooner than I did.
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.
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We never told anyone, how this, me and Draco, came to be.
Never said a word about the other timeline… the experiments and our year together in the silent castle.
Draco never told anyone about his dreams in the deserted beach where he came to meet me on our sixth year.
He did tell though, in on drunken garden party when everyone else had gone home and Harry and Ginny were the only ones left, about going to Dumbledore for help.
It was after Harry had confessed, how Dumbledore walked him to Voldemort like a pig for slaughter… Draco told him, that's what happened to him too.
And I think that was the point Harry and Draco really became friends.
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.
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We made our home to one of the Malfoy estates in the moors.
It's a quiet place, with just the wind humming in the grass.
The manor is too big for us… but it reminds me of a castle, so the size doesn't bother me.
And the silence… it never bothers us again.
If anything, our steps echoing in the corridors, make us more alive and freer than anywhere else!
Of course, little by little the silence fades… because the family I dreamed with him… I'll get!
Our three beautiful children fill our days with sunshine… and the manor with light laughter and childish joy.
And silence never returns.
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.
.
Keeping our extraordinary love story a secret hasn't been so big of a deal… except when it comes to our children.
It makes me sad to think they'll never know how their parents really fell in love.
All we were able to tell them is that we were rivals until we got to know each other.
Despite it's a good lesson: never to judge a book by its cover when you don't know the whole story… but it's not the complete truth!
So, I stored the memories… our memories about the silent timeline… and hid the bottles, so that they'll find them when we're already gone.
The truth will not die with us.
Because what we are… will never die!
LYRA MALFOY 2080
There are love stories we read to children… love stories we make up in our heads when we're teens… love stories we live through…
And then there are my mother and father.
All my life I thought they were made for each other… as long as I can remember, I thought that someday I'll find a love like theirs.
A love where you can be angry… where you can bicker and disagree… a love where the other can make you so angry, you want to tear your hair out… but the love between you never fades… not even a bit.
They were made for each other… and they knew each other better than anyone.
Even when they fought… it never felt real enough… the fight… because they always seemed to know what the other was about.
I think I'll never know anyone, as well as my parents, knew each other… not even myself!
And all my life I thought it was self-made… that they'd just worked harder than any other couple I knew!
But now… as I sit in my mother's study… four months after her death… I realize that what they had, wasn't made in this world.
And maybe it was never even possible for anyone else to find love like theirs.
So, I collect the bottles and take them to my brother and sister to see… so they can tell the story to their children… and their grandchildren.
I'll make sure this story never fades.
Because It's a love story made for fairy tales…
It's destiny at it's best!
THE END