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Chapter 63 – Epilogue
"Madam Pomfrey, please do something for her!"
The healer rolled her eyes. "Mr. Malfoy, I am doing everything for her that I can. She is fine. This is normal. Now, please, sit down. All you need to do is sit there, hold her hand and wipe her forehead. Other than that, please, let me do my job."
Draco! Stop…arguing…with…Madam…Pomfrey! AHHH."
"Moira, love, please try to…"
"Don't you even lecture me on how to give birth. I'll reach down your throat and rip your heart out."
"Moira, love…"
"Don't! And if you ever touch me again…AHHH…" She panted with the effort of her labor.
He heard a snicker come from the side of the room where Madam Pomfrey had her back to them, putting items on a tray.
Draco sneered at the woman's back. "That's enough out of you!"
"Just leave, Draco, before I make you regret living! Madam Pomfrey, get this baby out of me, NOW!"
The door squeaked open and Draco looked up hopefully at the newcomer. "Oh Ginny, thank Circe."
Ginny smiled at the distraught blonde. "Draco, why don't you go out and keep Harry company, and leave the women stuff to the women, ok?"
"But Moira…"
From the bed where she labored to bring the child into the world she growled. "Draco, go. NOW. I don't want you here!"
Ginny walked him to the door of their bedroom and whispered. "When she gets closer, I'll send for you. You shouldn't miss the birth of your son. Harry is in the library waiting for you…"
"AHHH."
Both of their heads swiveled toward the young woman struggling in the bed. Draco started to go to her but Ginny stopped him. "Draco, I will watch over Moira, you go check on Nina."
"But…"
She looked at him sympathetically. "Go. I'll send for you."
With a defeated sigh, Draco left his bedroom in the manor and stopped in Nina's room to make sure she was sleeping. To his surprise, she was wide awake. She was sitting up in her crib rubbing her bright blue eyes. As soon as she saw Draco she held her arms out to him. "Da."
He picked her up and pulled her close to his chest. "Hey, princess. You should be sleeping."
She settled into Draco's arms and went immediately back to sleep. He sat in the rocker with her and just watched the little face in dreams. After a long while he laid her back down and went to the library.
Harry was sitting there reading a book and looked up when he came in. "You look like crap."
"Well, it's a match set because I feel like crap." He threw himself into a chair and stared into the cold fireplace.
"Moira's going to be fine, Draco. Women have been bringing children into this world for forever."
Draco sneered at him. "Let's see how you react when it is Ginny that is struggling."
"You're probably right. Do you want a drink?"
He nodded his head absently and Harry shoved a small shot glass containing a brilliant blue liquid into his hands. Draco looked at it, then up at Harry. "What is this stuff?"
"It's a liqueur that Albus gave me. It's pretty amazing stuff. But it's really strong, you should just…"
Draco downed the shot glass in one gulp and immediately his eyes started to water and he began coughing. He shot out of the chair gasping for breath then looked accusingly at Harry.
"Sip it…Geez Draco, are you trying to kill yourself?" Harry shoved a tumbler of water into his hands and laughed.
Draco downed the water and sat down again.
The two sat in companionable silence for a while, Draco staring into the room at nothing in particular and Harry reading his book.
Then Draco turned to study the dark haired wizard as if trying to figure him out.
With a sigh, Harry closed his book and decided to get the conversation that they had not had yet, over with. He stood up and poured himself a shot of the blue liqueur. He had his back to Draco as he took a swallow to steady his nerves. He knew that this was not going to be pleasant. He returned to his chair and looked at the blond. "You did a good thing, Draco. Because you are rebuilding the Residence Home the kids will have a great place to live; better than before."
Draco shrugged his shoulders. "It's no big deal, I've got the money and the kids need the home. It doesn't take a genius to figure that one out.
"I'm also glad that you are finally adopting Nina. She loves you a lot, you know." Draco nodded but said nothing.
The two men were quiet for a while then Draco broke the silence. "I don't deserve this."
Harry's brows knitted together. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, Harry, that I don't understand why you would, or how you could, for that matter, put aside…everything…" he stood up and threw his hands in the air. He continued in a much lower voice. "…just everything."
Harry was quiet for a while. He took another fortifying drink then he leaned forward with his elbows resting on his knees. He wasn't looking at Draco. He suddenly had tears in his eyes that he tried to hide by standing up and looking out the window at the predawn sky. It took him a while before he could speak with a steady voice.
"I don't pretend, Draco, to understand why or how you could have done what you did. I don't understand how you could take everything away that I held dear. I don't understand what I did to deserve being treated that way. There are still things that I am struggling with…most of it, in fact."
He turned and looked at the other wizard. "If I were to be perfectly honest with you, it is a struggle for me to be in the same room with you at times."
Draco's eyebrows knitted together. "Then why…?"
Harry held up a hand. "Let me finish. This whole thing with you coming back to live here is purely selfish on my part. You've heard the saying 'Keep your friends close and your enemy's closer'? Truth be told, I haven't figured out which one you are yet."
Draco hung his head as he sat in the chair. "I'm sorry, Harry. Merlin, I am so sorry."
"I'm not telling you all of this to make you feel guilty, Draco. I'm just trying to tell you where I am coming from. And you didn't let me finish. The other side of me wants to have things the way they were. That's completely stupid and unreasonable, I know, but…" Harry's voice shook with emotion that he struggled, unsuccessfully, not to show to the blond. "I know that that will never happen."
It took Harry a minute to compose himself enough to talk. He looked at Draco. "Can you explain any of this to me? Can you make it make sense? I would really like to know. I still don't have all of my memories. Maybe I never will. I want you to explain it to me. Were you under the Imperious Curse? Did he threaten your life?" Harry threw the glass he was holding across the room splattering the remnants of the blue liquid over the walls. "Tell me Draco. Tell me how you justified this to yourself."
Draco was quiet for a long time. Then he looked up at his friend. "I have no excuses, Harry. There is nothing to tell you except that I was a coward."
Harry interrupted him. "No, Draco! That's not good enough. I want to know what you were thinking. I want to know what your justification was." Harry stood in front of him and grabbed him by his shirt and shook him in anger. "I want to know, why." Then he pushed the blond away from him and Draco stumbled back a few steps.
"I wish our relationship had never changed. I wish I still hated you like in school. I wish I could still relish beating you and rubbing your face in it…"
Draco's eyes got wide and he looked at him. "Ahh…Harry."
"I want to beat you at Quidditch and revel in the feeling."
"Harry…?"
"Merlin, that was the greatest feeling in the world."
"Harry!"
He started pacing in his rant. "I want to steal your House Elf again." He looked pointedly at Draco and waved a hand at him. "You know, the look on your father's face was a rush."
"Harry!"
"I want to punch you in the face like Hermione did. Buckbeak didn't deserve to die, and you knew it. You were just an evil git."
"HARRY! Will you shut up and listen to me? Do you realize what you are saying? Do you remember all of those things?"
"I…" He stopped and stared at Draco, and then a slow smile spread across his face. "Merlin, I…I remember it all. I remember the first time I saw you at Madam Malkins." His eyes got wide. "Hagrid! Ron! Hermione! Snape!" His eyes looked distant as he looked into his memories of those people that he cared about. It was suddenly like a dam burst. Vision after vision assaulted him. He couldn't have stopped it if he had wanted to.
His breath was coming in gasps and he was overwhelmed by the emotions, he allowed Draco to lead him to a chair.
"My first time on a broom…" He looked up at Draco. "You were picking on…Neville!" Then Harry smirked at him. "It was always you! You were an evil git! Geez, what a jerk!"
Draco shook his head. "Well, come on, let's have it. Get it all out, Potter, because this is the last time you will get the opportunity. Bring it on."
Harry's eyes narrowed. "Oh! Is that true? Well I've got news for you, you sodding, barmy tosser, I'll yell at you when I want, as long as I want, and what's more is that you will take it. You got that?"
Draco snorted. "In your dreams, Potter. Come on, is that the best you've got? What a whimp!"
"Whimp? Whimp! Did a whimp defeat Voldemort?"
"Geez Potter, how long are you going to play the Voldemort card. You killed him. He's dead. We both know it. Merlin's beard, the whole world knows it. Play a different tune will you. You're boring me." Draco purposely egged him on, hoping that the flood of memories would continue.
"I'd like to know where you'd be if I hadn't killed him. Probably dead! You're such a bastard!"
Draco looked at him. "No, but I wish I was!"
"You…huh?" Harry stood there with his mouth open.
"Oh, now there's an attractive pose. Close your mouth, Potter. Fly's are gathering."
"Maybe, but if you notice, they are all on your side of the room." Then Harry began to chuckle. The chuckle grew into a laugh and the laugh turned into a guffaw. Soon both of them were practically helpless with laughter. Harry had tears in his eyes and he hung on Draco so he could remain standing.
Draco wiped his eyes. "Harry, what are we laughing at?"
Harry shook his head. "Haven't a clue!"
"Ok, just so that I know."
They were interrupted by the door squeaking open. Miki entered and had Nina by the hand. "Daddy, you in here?"
Nina was rubbing her eyes. "Da?"
Draco went over and picked her up and cuddled her.
Miki went to Harry. "Daddy, mum says that Uncle Dray needs to come."
Draco looked up from his little girl. "Moira! Harry…"
"Give her to me, Draco. You need to be with your wife."
About an hour later, an exhausted Ginny came into the library. "Well, at 5:03 a.m. Noah Draco Malfoy made his appearance; and I'm tired. Do you mind if I go catch some sleep for a while?"
He kissed her forehead. "Can you hold on for just a minute, Gin? I have something to tell you. I think that I actually fell in love with you in the Chamber of secrets. But at twelve I wasn't sure how to handle it." He stopped talking and let what he had said sink in.
With a smirk, he watch realization dawn on her face.
She kept her voice carefully calm. "Harry, does that mean that you…remember?"
Harry only nodded his head.
"Everything?"
"Everything; well I think everything. Of course, I wouldn't know would I? I mean if I didn't know that something was missing…" He suddenly had his arms full of his wife.
Ginny spread kisses across his face.
Harry laughed and spun her around. He couldn't remember, ever being this happy.
The End (138,782 words, 412 pages, 63 chapters)
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A/N: To all of you who made the journey, I thank you. There are those who thought the story too long. To those I say, the journey was planned out before the first word was written. I could have rushed the story, but then I wouldn't have been true to my characters. The true impact of the story would have been lost. The moral is that the human spirit can withstand many things if one would only allow forgiveness and love to dominate them. We will all be richer for the experience with very little to regret. I would like to say a very special thank you to ProfessorChris. She has been with me from the beginning of the story and has brightened my day with her comments. I also thank everyone that took their precious time to read my little offering here. Dean's Darling.