Epilogue

October 1999

Hermione took a deep breath as her new found father looked over at her carefully.

"How are you so okay with all of this?" she asked him in wonder, as he placed an arm around her. "You just found out you have a daughter who is an adult, and you've known for the better part of her teenage years. How are you so calm about this?"

"I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a bit strange," Remus admitted to her, "To find out that after all these years, a part of my first love is still here. Hermione, I regret every moment of going on that mission all those years ago. I needed to feel like I was contributing, and in a way, that selfishness placed all my friends in danger. I lost their trust, and they lost their lives. James and Lily trusted Peter because they knew I would suspect Sirius as their secret keeper. Marlene had you and raised you in secret because she lost trust in those around her when they stopped trusting me. Hell, if I never went on that mission, maybe I could have protected her when they came for her. It could have made it a fair fight. I could have known about you, and raised you, Hermione. All the 'what ifs' have been circling my mind for years."

"Are you sure you want to see these?" she asked, holding up the vial of memories in her hand, which had belonged to her mother. Memories of things Remus had probably been a part of, and memories of thing he missed.

"I do," Remus said softly, "I need to know the truth of what happened after I left."

Hermione took a deep breath as she poured the memories into the pensive in front of them. She looked over at Remus.

She closed her eyes, as she submerged herself into the memories around her.

As one memory faded from the next, she watched her mother grow over the years; a woman she had barely known of in days before. She watched her mother and her friends as went through school. She watched as Marlene McKinnon fell slowly over the years, more and more in love with Remus. She saw them get together, fight, make up, while the war grew outside their doorsteps. She watched as her mother graduated from Hogwarts, and go off into the real world. She saw Remus struggling to find his place, and as the war cost them friends and family. She watched Remus leave, and at that moment, her father's face had paled, as he realized that it was their last night together which resulted in Hermione's conception. She watched as Marlene fell out of contact with her friends, hiding in the muggle world to protect her.

She watched as Marlene entrusted in Peter Pettigrew, one of the few friends she had been in contact with, to be her secret keeper. She watched as the Death Eaters came, and Marlene struggled to hide Hermione.

She didn't see her mother's death, but it wasn't hard to piece together that when she returned back to the house, she fought, but had ultimately died.

And when she emerged from the pensive, there were tears streaming down her face for this woman she had just met, and would never get to know again.

"Hermione," Remus said softly, as he pulled her into his arms. She knew he was affected too by the memories, and it had been hard on him to see the woman he loved fall while he was off on some mission or the other which he had deemed to be important.

"I wish I had gotten to know her," she said softly, wiping her tears. Because in the last few days, she had lost three parents all at once, and it hurt knowing she would never get to see any of them again.

"I know," Remus said as he rubbed her back. "She would have loved who you've become, Hermione. She loved you so much, and there's nothing anyone can say to change that. You don't have to be alone, you still have family. You still have the Weasleys, Harry, Sirius, and you have me. I'm not going to leave you, not when I just found out you exist. You have people who love you still."

She nodded as she leaned into her father, as the exhaustion of the last several days began to set in.

"Let's get you home," Remus told her, "Sleep. We can talk about it more in the morning."

Hermione took a deep breath as she looked at herself in the mirror. It had been two months since they had faced Theo at Morgana's castle and broken the curse. And in those two months, Theo had been locked up in Azkaban, this time in a cell with no windows, and a door that could not be easily slipped out of.

The wizarding world of course knew all about what had happened at the castle, thanks to Draco broadcasting the confrontation to the entire wizarding world.

"You look radiant, Hermione," Narcissa said as she stood behind Hermione in the mirror, placing her hands on her shoulders.

"Thank you," Hermione said to her soon to be mother-in-law. She wasn't sure there was even a point in getting married, what when she and Draco had already bonded earlier. She had all but moved in with him in recent weeks, and the two of them, despite not working together anymore, still made a point to meet up for lunch, or to go for walks during their breaks, whenever they could. And she loved living with him.

But if the two of them were basically married, did they really need to? Or so Ron had made a point of asking when she showed both him and Harry the engagement ring.

They might have been bonded, but she still wanted a ceremony, even if the Grangers or Marlene couldn't be here today. She had grown closer to Narcissa however, while the two of them, along with Draco, planned the wedding.

"Thank you, Narcissa," she said as she turned to face the woman.

"Hermione, are you ready?" Remus asked, knocking on the door before entering, "They're ready for you downstairs."

She smiled at her father, looking at him brightly.

"You look so radiant," Remus said as he kissed her forehead lightly, "So much like your mother. So lovely. I know she would be so proud of the woman you've become. And she would have loved Draco."

"Thank you," she said, swallowing lightly. "I'm ready. I'm ready to get married."

Remus nodded, as he extended his arm to hers, and she slipped hers through it. As they made their way down the stairs of the Gryffindor tower, and down to the Black Lake.

She supposed she could have gotten married anywhere, but she had always felt so at home at the school. It just felt right to get married there. She had been nervous bringing up the idea to Draco, but when she had, he had simply cupped her face and told her that they could married at the bottom of the lake if it were what she wanted. And that he thought it was a bit poetic, getting married at the place they had met, where they avoided each other like the plague, but come together to spend the rest of their lives together.

And when she stood at the beginning of the aisle, ready to start the next chapter of her life, as her father stood by her side.

The music began to play, and she began to make her way down the aisle, as she spotted Draco standing with Blaise and Bill on his side. She supposed she should have matched her bridesmaids with his, but Harry and Ron had been her friends for so long, that it felt wrong not to have them by her side. She had, however give the role of maid of honour to Ginny.

She saw Draco look at her and swallow hard, as she smiled at him. She could feel his heart beating loudly, with the rush of emotions in him, which echoed through her equally.

"Hermione," he said softly, as she met him at the end of the aisle, joining her own hands through his. "You look amazing."

"We have gathered here today," Kinglsey said, as he looked at both of them with a smile, "to join Hermione Jean Lupin and Draco Malfoy in matrimony. These two individuals have fought battle after battle both against and with each other, to end up where they are today, and it is not a surprise to any of us who know them well enough, that they have decided to join each other in marriage."

"Hermione," Draco said, as he started his vows. "From the moment I saw you, I wanted to hate you. I wanted to hate you, because of how much I was in awe of you. You were everything I always wanted to be, brilliant, smart, witty, and kind, and you always fought for what you believed in, no matter how rough the battle may have been. But I fell for you, even when we were back at school. I didn't know it back then, that you were the one for me, but I loved you nonetheless. And I promise you, that I will love you for every day that we spend together."

She felt herself unable to breath, as a rogue tear slipped down her face. Her fiancé smiled softly, as he released one of her hands from his, to wipe it away, before taking her hand back into his.

"Draco Malfoy, you were the biggest git I've ever known. And back at school, I hated you. But more than anything, I wanted to punch you on more than one occasion, and once I actually did," she said, pausing there, as the crowd laughed. "But you changed since then, we all did. And the man you are today is one I am so in love with, one I couldn't imagine my life without. You've changed my life so much, since I've met you, and I want nothing more than to continue to love you every day for the rest of my life."

Draco grinned at her, and she felt her heart beat faster slightly at that. Not many people knew the truth of their relationship and their bond, but she had trusted all of those in the room to their secret. The guests were their friends and family, and most of them had known her secret before hand anyways.

She looked around the room, at all the people who had come out to support them, her heart feeling like she would explode.

She could see Ron grinning at Luna, who was in the audience wearing flowery pale pink robes. While the couple were still in fairly early stages of their relationship, despite being together for several months already, she knew that the two of them were meant to be. Luna's quirkiness had a way of meshing with Ron's personality, and the two of them appeared to be happier than she had seen either of them.

Harry and Ginny, on the other hand, despite being right beside each other, were holding hands throughout the ceremony. He had proposed to his childhood sweetheart a month ago, after finally working up the courage and planning for months how he wanted to do it. He had settle for taking her out to the Quidditch pitch of her team, lighting the entire field with floating candles, and getting down onto one knee to pop the question.

McGonagall was sniffling, as she tried to cover her tears, and Molly didn't even try to hide it. Remus had joined Sirius, Narcissa, Andromeda, and his wife, while Teddy sat beside Victorie Weasley, holding her hand. While it hadn't been easy for the Narcissa to rejoin her estranged family due to all of their history, they had slowly been moving past all of their differences. It certainly helped that their family had become far more intertwined with Hermione and Draco getting married, as the wedding had brought them closer together. And while Tonks wasn't a mother figure to her, she had become a close friend.

Bill was smiling at the two of them, with his arm around his once again pregnant wife, as he had recovered within a few days once the curse had been broken. Hermione had been worried about it, and had all but insisted on rushing back to their co-worker's side as soon as the curse had broken to see if he was alright.

And it was like that with the majority of the population; those who had been infected in the current stage of the curse, were still in early stages of the illness, and as a result recovered rather quickly. It didn't help those who had already been lost; there was no way to bring back the dead, despite how badly one may have wanted to for whatever reason or the other.

The public had been confused after the curse was broken. For so long they had no idea such a curse existed, and when they had finally been informed by Theo, they had given him their support. And later, Hermione listened to a copy of the broadcast of what had occurred, she could see why the public was conflicted. Theo had told them the truth, but lied about his intentions to manipulate them. And after Voldemort, who had done so much damage himself, they didn't know who to trust. In an effort to regain public trust, Kingsley had released all information pertaining to the curse, shy of how it was actually cast. It seemed to be helping, as the public seemed to finally be understanding what was happening.

Not that it helped Theo in any way. If anything, it had only given Wizengamot ample evidence that Theodore Nott was guilty of attempted murder, use of an Unforgiveable curse, the murder of her parents, and trying to enact a dark curse to result in death. There wasn't exactly a formal charge for the last one, but it was enough to hold and ensure that Theo's wand was snapped, and he was locked in solitary for the remainder of his life.

It had been hard on both Blaise and Draco; they had been friends with the man for the better part of their lives, but he had betrayed them both. She was thankful they had each other however, as they were able to help grieve their loss and move forward.

Kinglsey took his wand out of his robes, as he said, "Then I declare you bonded for life," he said, smiling at the two of them. He lifted his wand in his hand, showering the couple with a stream of stars. Draco grinned at her at that, as he scooped her up into his arms.

"Hello, Mrs. Malfoy," he said with a smile, as his lips came down to meet hers.

Hermione smiled, as she kissed back her new husband, feeling a spark as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Her lips met his, and she wanted nothing more than for this moment to last forever. The happiness she felt, being with him, knowing he was hers and she was his, for the rest of their lives.

She wished her adoptive parents could have been here. They might not have been her biological parents, but they had raised her, loved her, and cared for her. She had always thought they would be here, whenever she thought of getting married. She wished Marlene could have been here too, and her heart hurt as she pained for a mother she couldn't remember, and would never have.

The war had cost her a lot, but she was still grateful for the fact that she still had family who loved her and cared for her.

But in this moment, she was Mrs. Malfoy, and she was surrounded by her friends and family.

Years later, as she found herself back on the platform 9 and ¾ as her youngest daughter, Lyra, was about to board for the first time, alongside her oldest, Scorpius, and middle child, Cassiopeia, she found herself thinking back to the day when she stood there herself for the first time, and how much her life had changed since then.

Draco wrapped her arms around her, in that moment, as he did so often throughout their lives together, and she leaned into him, as she watched Lyra and Lily Potter talk to each other, nervously trying to figure out what houses they would be in, as Hugo Weasley tried to convince Mia Zabini that when she started school, they would still be friends, despite the fact that she was an obviously Slytherin and he a Gryffindor.

Scorpius, on the other hand, was going into his fifth year of school, and didn't seem at all worried for his OWLs, but rather, seemed to be busy flirting with Dominique Weasley, Bill's middle daughter, who was giggling in return. The couple had all but grown up together, what with Draco and Bill as co-workers.

Her own career had blown up, over the years. She had gone from working as an Unspeakable, to the head of the Department of Mysteries, before eventually deciding to run for Ministry of Magic when Kingsley retired. She knew that she would be able to help far more people by running for the position, and Draco had stood by her side as she did so.

"Look," Draco whispered into her ear, as he gestured in the direction of Cassie, who had been standing close to James Potter. Despite him being a full two years older than her third year self, his hand was discretely slipped into hers, as she chatted with the other Weasley children. She smiled brightly at that, and despite none of her children being of age for their veela genes to activate, she couldn't help but wonder if two of her three children had found their mates already, or if it was just a childhood crush.

She pulled away from her husband, as the train whistled, and her children began to gather their things up.

"I'll write to you every week," Hermione promised, as she kissed Lyra on the cheek. "You're going to have a great time at school, so don't worry too much. And anytime you want to come home, Professor Longbottom or Headmistress McGongall will floo you home."

She hugged each of her children, "I love you," she told them as Scorpius looked a little off out by the show of emotions, but hugged her back, Cassiopeia smiled as she promised to take care of her little sister, and Lyra looked like she was a mixture of terrified and excited.

"They're going to be fine," Draco told her, as the train took off, leaving them with the other parents as their youngest child left home for school.

"I know," she said softly, as Remus and Tonks approached them. Her brother, Teddy had just finished school, but her father wanted to be there to see off his grandchildren. It certainly helped that Teddy was eager to see his girlfriend off for her final year.

Her life had calmed significantly over the last decade and a bit. Despite her childhood and early adulthood of people constantly trying to hurt those she loved, the wizarding world had come together, and stood strongly as they grew together, and healed.

She still felt all the memories of the past, of her mother, of Morgana, and of all the family she had never known, and never would know. But she was surrounded by those she loved, and there was not a day she wished her life would turn out differently.

She loved her father and Tonks. She loved her husband, and their children. And she loved Harry and Ron, and how the years had not torn them apart.

It was a Wednesday when her children all left to go to school together, and there was not a thing she would have changed.

A/N: Thank you all so much for following me on this journey. I had so much fun writing this story. I plan on taking a small break to plan out my next story. Once again, thank you so much for the reviews; I loved reading your reviews every step of the way, and hearing your reactions. See you soon!