Epilogue

June 14, 1824:

A knock on his study door brought Draco away from his daydreams. He had been remembering a time, long ago, when he first saw his wife again, during the war. He thought of that time often. He often wondered if he hadn't spoken to her that day, would they be where they are today.

He looked at the paneled door and before he could utter a single word of admittance, his wife walked into the room. He smiled at the sight of her. After twelve years of marriage, he still smiled every time he looked at her. She still caused his heart to soar and his feelings to stir…not that he would ever admit such nonsense.

"Lord Malfoy, I have a bone to pick with you," Hermione said as she skirted into the room.

"Call me Husband, my dear," he reminded, although he knew it was of no use. She called him Husband when she was happy or in a playful mood. She called him Draco when she was serious or when she was discussing something of importance, such as their children. She only called him Lord Malfoy when she was vexed, which when he thought on it, was often. Each time she did, he always gave her the same response. He would always remind her to call him 'Husband', yet she never did.

"Lord Malfoy," she repeated. He bent his head so she would not see his smile.

He stood from his seat and walked up to her and said, "Yes, Lady Malfoy?"

She raised one eyebrow. "Lady Malfoy? Since when do you call me Lady Malfoy?"

"Since you call me Lord Malfoy, now get on with it, I haven't all day," he said, though he leaned against the desk, as if he did indeed have all day.

She stood in front of him and offered him something black and sleek. He reached for the material, and as it passed from her hand to his, he noticed what it was. "Why do you have my old highwayman mask?"

"The better question would be why did our son, Dante, have it? The better question, Lord Malfoy, would be why did he show it to his younger brothers and sister, and why did I just find them in the garden playing, 'Highwayman'?"

He fingered the mask and then looked up at her. He flung it over his shoulder, and took her hands. He pulled her between his legs and said, "Perhaps we could play highwayman whilst we are alone tonight, in our bedchamber."

"Lord Malfoy, this is serious," she said, though he noticed that she neither pulled her hands from his, nor did she move away from him.

"Children play all sorts of games, my love," Draco said. He brought her right hand up to his mouth and kissed it gently. "I remember when I was young, Marcus Flint and I used to play 'Torture the mudbloods'. Of course, the children playing the mudbloods were never very happy." He smiled, hoping his humour would not be lost on her.

Apparently it was.

She continued to glare at him, and he swallowed hard, released her hands, and moved to the other side of his desk so that he might place the mask in the top drawer. He sat back in his chair and said, "Hermione, have I told you today how much I love you?"

"Not today," she said, sounding bored.

"Come to me," he said. He held out his hand.

She smiled and said, "Come to me? You sound ridiculous." However, he noticed that she did 'come to him'. She stood by his chair, and he reached for her waist, and pulled her onto his lap.

"Who was the highwayman?" he asked as he nuzzled her neck.

"Dante was the highwayman, Benedict was the hero, Cristo was the highwayman's accomplice, and of course, our dear little Eleanor was the other hero, because she refused to be the damsel in distress," Hermione said.

He laughed and said, "She is so like her mother." He thought for a moment, and then said, "Wait a moment, Wife. If Dante and Cristo were the highwaymen, and Benedict and little Eleanor were the heroes, who were the victims?"

"There was but one, and it was Pyle, but of course. They had him tied up and everything," Hermione said with a smile.

"Do you want me to scold them?" he asked. He squeezed her tighter.

"No, because you never scold them, you spoil each one worse than the next. I have already done so," she said.

He actually clapped his hands together, as they still encircled her, and said, "Splendid, my job is done, then."

She turned her head slightly and said, "My quarrel is over what happened afterwards. They had untied poor Pyle and they had all settled down, or so I thought. It was too quiet, which you know, with a house that has an eleven year old, a ten year old, and an eight year old boy, as well as a six year old little girl, never happens."

He nodded.

She continued, "I went to the garden, quietly, to find the three younger ones sitting on the ground, and Dante holding out this mask, telling them the story of a real highwayman. He told his story very accurately, and it also sounded quite familiar. In fact, he told his younger siblings, that was how their mother and father fell in love for the second time. He told them the first time was during a war, and the second time was after their father, as a highwayman, robbed a carriage in which their mother was riding."

"And?" he asked.

"Lord Malfoy!" she exclaimed. She turned slightly in his lap. "Why would you ever tell an eleven year old boy such a story?"

"Because it is true, and I promised you many years ago that I would never lie again," he said plainly. "Besides, it is our story, and they are our children. He asked me stories about the war, but I told him that was a story best told by his mother, since she was the war hero, not I." He smiled at his wife and she smiled back. She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Expect some questions at bedtime tonight, Wife."

"I see, so I am the war hero, and you are the highwayman, is that how you want our children to see us?" she asked, suddenly serious.

"No," he said, with a slight frown. "I want them to see us as a couple, who is in love, and as a family." Hermione placed a hand on his cheek, and leaned down to kiss his mouth sweetly.

She stood from his lap, and took his hand. She started to lead him from the room, and he asked, "Are we going to go play highwayman and hero?"

"No," she said, looking back at him as they walked down the long hallway. "I think it is time that we do tell our children about the war."

They had just reached the large drawing room, when he pulled her to a stop. She looked back at him, and he was frowning. "Do you not think they are too young?"

"No, Husband, I do not," she said. She smiled, and brushed her fingertips down his face. "I do not want them thinking of you as only a highwayman. I want to tell them that you too were a hero during the war. That you were a spy and that with great danger to yourself, you did what was right."

He merely stared at her, and then he drew her into his arms, and kissed her long on the mouth. When he released her, he said, "Then let us tell them the whole story. We will tell them of school, and how I was horrible to you, because I was brought up to believe terrible things, and how things changed during the war, and then we will tell them the battle that ensued."

"The battle? Do you mean the final battle?" she asked.

"The battle to win your love again," he said.

"Oh, Husband," she laughed, "You had my love all along."

They walked out of the room, through the French doors to the back garden, where they found their children. They called their brood to them, and then they told them their story, and when they finished, it was…The End.

A/N 1: Thanks to my two beta's for this! Paula, who started it, and Kelly, who finished it. Thanks to them! Thanks also to everyone who read and reviewed. I know I don't post as often as I used to back in the day, when I used to post almost daily, though I still post my major story at least three times a week, and my minor stories at least once a week. My excuse is that I do have two stores in which to manage now, so I am so busy at work, and I do have three stories going on, (two HP stories, and one Trueblood Story) so that is my excuse.

A/N 2: The first chapter of my new story is posted, and I promise everyone right now, if you read it like good girls and boys, I will reward you all with a nice, little, lighthearted, romantic comedy next. Something a bit different maybe. I have plenty of ideas brewing. I just need some love from all of you, to prove that you want such a thing. (HA!!!)