Author's Note: Dear Readers, I present to you the final chapter of my story, the Epilogue! I hope you enjoy it!

Epilogue

A train's dissonant whistle filled the station, steam pouring from the engine over the bustling crowd on platform 9¾. Three of these people are making this trip for the first time, one group of many. One is a tall, thin man in a dark suit coat, his pale blond hair combed back against his head. He is accompanied by his wife, she in a semi-formal green dress and blazer, dark hair brushed to perfection, and his only son, a boy of about 11, nearly a mirror image of his father at that age.

The boy hadn't said much since they had arrived on the platform, save for a polite "thank you" when a porter lifted his belongings—all labeled with his initials and the Malfoy family crest—into the baggage car. He was trying to act collected and calm, like his father, while hiding the nervous excitement and anxiety he felt. And, because he was so like his father, the boy's mother could read him like a book.

She sensed his unease and spoke gently, "How are you doing, love?"

He met her gaze, Charlotte's chocolate brown eyes searching her son's gray ones, just like Draco's. Glancing furtively at his father, the boy replied, "Fine. Just… a little nervous."

"That's all right, son. I was nervous, too, leaving home for the first time." Draco placed a calming hand on his son's shoulder.

"But what if I get put in the wrong house? What if I don't do well? What if I… get homesick?" he mumbled the last part, as he was trying to come across as grown up and ready for going off to school, and not doing a good job.

His mother assured him, "You will do just fine. And nobody gets put in the wrong house. You'll make friends, and learn so much, you'll be too busy to feel homesick! But if ever you do, you can write to us about anything. We'll write to you as well, right, Draco?" she looked imploringly at her husband, who nodded.

Noting the time on a nearby wall clock, Draco observed, "It's almost time to board, we best get you to on the train."

The three of them maneuvered through the crowds, halting near a car entrance. Draco patted his son's shoulder affectionately, and then handed him off to Charlotte, who embraced the boy and gave him some last-minute advice. Feeling eyes on him, Draco turned and caught sight of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley staring at him with curious expressions. They were surrounded by what could only be their children. Draco flashed them a small smile and nodded curtly before turning back to his family.

The five-minute warning whistle sounded, and the last people began boarding the train. Glancing around and taking a deep breath to collect himself, Draco embraced his son and said sincerely, "Good luck, Scorpius, your mother and I love you dearly."

Scorpius returned the embrace, replying, "I love you, too, Father. I'll miss you!" With one final wave, he boarded the train.

After waving goodbye to his parents from the train door, Scorpius walked down the aisle of the passenger car, looking for an empty compartment. Upon finding one, he sat by the window, daydreaming about what was to come, apprehensive but eager to go to Hogwarts. After a few moments, he heard a knock at the open compartment door.

A boy with messy dark hair stood there, and said, uneasily, "Um, can I sit in here?" Scorpius nodded, and the boy sat on the opposite bench, waving out the window to his family.

After the train started rolling, the boy with the messy hair broke the silence between them once again, "I'm Albus Potter."

Determined to make a friend the first day of this new adventure, Scorpius held out his hand with a smile and said, "Nice to meet you, Albus. I'm Scorpius Malfoy."

Albus shook the offered hand without hesitation, returning the smile and commencing to share with the young Malfoy how excited he was to start learning all about magic and becoming powerful wizards, like both of their fathers. ~

As the Hogwarts Express rolled away, Charlotte heard a sniffle beside her. She turned to Draco, concerned, and saw her husband was blinking hard and pointedly clearing his throat.

"Are you… are you crying, Draco?" she asked gently.

"No!" he replied too quickly, unconvincingly, "Can't a father be emotional about sending his son off to Hogwarts?"

"Of course." Charlotte embraced him, "I already miss him, too. But he's not gone forever—we'll write to him, and we'll see him during holidays."

"But what if something happens, and he gets in trouble? What if he turns into a screw-up, like me?" Draco released Charlotte, starting to panic slightly.

"If anything happens, he'll learn from it and move on. But don't worry, Draco, he will be fine because you're a good father and you've taught him well. Scorpius really looks up to you, do you know that?" She intertwined their fingers.

"Does he now?"

"Yes, he does. Just the other day he said the sweetest thing to me. He asked if he could get a tattoo like yours." She said as they walked back through King's Cross Station on their way out.

Mechanically pulling his already long left sleeve down farther, Draco asked, "Why would he want that?"

She took his left wrist in her hand, causing him to look at her as she continued, "I asked him why, and he said, 'I want to be just like my dad, the most brilliant wizard in the world, and the best father, too'. It nearly melted my heart."

Draco was touched by this knowledge, as it was something he definitely didn't expect. He looked at his covered left forearm and smiled, "Scorpius is a good kid. But I doubt he'd really want a Dark Mark if he knew what it really means."

Charlotte shrugged, "You might be surprised."

"What do you mean?"

"One night, he asked me what the picture of your arm was. I told him it was a Dark Mark, and that it meant you were once a Death Eater." She said, avoiding his gaze sheepishly.

Draco pulled Charlotte off to the side of the crowds and muttered angrily, "You told Scorpius? Without my permission or my being there?"

Wrenching her arm out of his grasp, Charlotte retorted, "What was I supposed to do? Lie to him? He's a bright boy, and he'd probably have figured it out himself sooner or later. And if he found out that we were lying to him, he wouldn't trust us, would he?" She braced herself, meeting his gaze, expecting him to criticize her.

When her explanation didn't result in any further derision, she hesitantly continued, "Anyway, I told him you were a Death Eater, that you followed an evil wizard, but that you didn't like it, and got out when you were able to. Of course I didn't tell him everything, some things he isn't ready for—but what I did say didn't seem to upset him. And it was a few days later that he asked me about getting the tattoo. It's almost like he respects you more. Did you see him try to imitate your façade today?"

Draco nodded, unsuccessfully hiding an amused smile.

"He wants to be just like you, that isn't so bad, is it?"

"It is when you emulate someone who almost became an assassin."

"But you didn't, did you? That's the man Scorpius wants to be when he grows up. The one who knows what's right, who teaches his son to be a good person, and does anything in his power to keep his family, and himself, safe." She looked deep into Draco's eyes, trying to make him understand.

Draco nodded, sorry he doubted Charlotte's judgment. He studied her, admiring every visible aspect of his wife. She still looked beautiful, hardly aged at all since the day he married her. And her unwavering love for him, accompanied by a headstrong desire to show him how to be the best man he could be made him realize how incredibly lucky he was to have her.

She sighed, finishing her thought, "You can tell him more yourself when you think the time is right. But no matter when or what you tell him, Scorpius will always love you, just like I do. It seems that, despite your fears, you've become a much better father to him than Lucius was to you. He couldn't have asked for a better father, and I couldn't have asked for a better husband."

Draco couldn't meet her eyes, as he felt quite unworthy of her praise. "You are too much, Charlotte. I'm still not sure what I could have possibly done to deserve you."

She thought for a moment, and said simply, "I daresay you tripped over my book bag in Potions."

Unable to think of a comeback, Draco shook his head and smirked at her. "Oh, hush, devious filly," he said playfully, and they promptly Disapparated.

Upon returning home, something occurred to Charlotte, "That's right! I have to go check on the griffin that was brought in last night, but I'll be in before long. Is that all right, Draco?"

In response, he kissed her briefly, tenderly, and said, "Yes, Charlotte, but don't be too long. Lunch will be ready within the hour. And we have plans later, remember?"

She nodded, a little bewildered at Draco's unexpected, affectionate gesture, and went to tend to her patient.

Draco watched her go, pondering the morning's events and those of the last 19 years: they hadn't been perfect, and they had faced some trying times, but the good things far outnumbered the bad, and Draco Malfoy would have never chosen another life over the one he shared with Charlotte, and his son Scorpius, for anything in the world. ~

The End. ~~