EPILOGUE

End-July 2002

His hair is shaggier, a jagged scar runs across his left cheek to his ear, and the corners of his eyes are lined from horrors she can only imagine, but it's definitely Draco. There's no mistaking that bright, platinum head of his, even dirty and speckled with blood as it is.

He has sought her out, and he finds her in Hogwarts' library. Or rather, what is left of it; shelves are collapsed into each other and books lie strewn everywhere. She is searching for the First Folio, worried that the enchantments upon it may have been broken the same as those upon the castle when Voldemort destroyed the wards.

"I took it back. Soon after that day. I snuck in and stole it back. It's in a safe place."

Her vision blurs as his beloved, familiar voice–matured with time and tinged with suffering–resonates in her ears. "That's good to know. I'm glad."

Her joy is only half-hearted though, as she is still too shocked by the day's events. The war has ended, Harry has prevailed, and too many are dead for it. She has killed to protect her right to live, and in doing so has blackened her soul.

Was it worth it? Yes, of course it was. If not for her, then for others like her. And for him.

Draco is cautious in his approach, stepping with care over piles of burnt books. He does not rush to her side as he once had. The fire of their youth has apparently been burned out by the war, and there is no spirit for wildness left in either of them, surrounded as they are by the ashes of their former life.

"Are you injured anywhere?" he asks, perfectly polite.

Weakly, Hermione raises a hand to her chest, placing it over her heart. She does not need to explain.

"You?"

"The same."

They are an arm's length separated, and yet it feels like miles to her as she stares up at him, painfully aware that neither of them is attempting to sew shut those final inches.

For her part, she knows why that is: over the years, she has occasionally woken up in strange beds, and not as a result of battlefield injury. She feels a bit of shame in not having waited for her first love, but the fact is there has been no guarantees, no promises made between them, and the need to reaffirm life after dangerous missions has been her coping mechanism for getting through the war. And although there has never been anyone who has made her want to let go of her memories of Draco, a part of her greatly fears that may not hold true for him. How many women has he bedded since they parted ways four years earlier? Is he married, as she's witnessed many in the Order do just before major battles? Is there a witch out there who wears his ring and bears his name, and is that why he keeps his distance now?

There is only one way to find out…

"They'll arrest you if they catch you," she warns him.

He waves off her concern. "Potter will vouch for me, and for Snape."

"Him, too?" She huffs a surprised laugh. Her former potions professor was a spy as well. Who'd have guessed? "The slippery eel. I should have known."

And she very well might have if Harry had trusted her enough. But then, that is the nature of a Secret-Keeper: Nemini dixeris –'Tell no one'.

She has her own vow just like it, so she can't play the indignant without appearing a hypocrite – as Draco had once pointed out to her so elegantly in regards to a certain book of their mutual acquaintance.

The vow. Merlin, she's already feeling the anxiety of having that discussion in the near future with her baby girl's father. Draco's going to lose it once he learns he's daddy to a precocious three-year-old who loves wrapping men around her little pinky finger.

She runs a hand over her face, trying to wipe away the sudden wave of exhaustion that rolls over her.

"O, that I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek!" Draco quietly jokes.

Glancing at him, she realises he is attempting to bridge the gap between them with teasing banter, and to tell her he still cares.

Her hand drops to her side once more. "Are you free to? Touch me, I mean."

His eyes widen as he comprehends her meaning, and then that mocking, sexy smirk of his appears on the scene… and suddenly it's as if they have started at the beginning of their tale, rather than picking up the pieces at the end.

"If I did want to touch you, would you let me?" he asks.

"If I let you, would you do more than touch?" she dares him.

"If I did more than touch, how far would you let me take it?"

"If I let you take it all the way, would you – right here, right now?"

His grin widens. "If I fucked you, would you stop asking me inane questions all the time?"

She is not amused. "If I slapped you a second time, would it finally teach you some manners?"

"No hitting," he negotiates, closing the distance between them. "You've got a nasty right hook, you violent harpy." He takes her into his arms and hugs her tightly to him. "Hell, I hear McLaggen's still bitching about that time in the library, the mammering, ill-bred pansy."

They are quiet for a long while after that, just holding each other, relief pouring off them in waves. They have survived against all odds, and they are as they were before – a little older, definitely more cynical, both well-seasoned, but their connection is as familiar to Hermione as the feel of her wand in her hand.

They are two raging fires, and this is how they smoulder.

"I love you," she tells him, simply, quietly.

Draco takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "Doubt thou the stars are fire. Doubt that the sun doth move. Doubt truth to be a liar. But never doubt I love... thee."

With her heart pounding so hard it threatens to leap from her chest, all Hermione can think to say is:

"Is there a 'thee' on the end of that speech? Because I could swear there wasn't."

Draco arches an eyebrow at her, shakes his head once, mutters something about her being a 'know-it-all swot', and then dips his smiling mouth to hers to shut her up.

As the kiss deepens, Hermione realises she is finally all out of questions.

~FIN~

Author's Final Notes:

Dear friends, here at last we come to the end of our fellowship... I mean, story. No sequel planned. I like it just as it is. I hope you do, too.

"with_rhyme": I hope you enjoyed your gift for the exchange!

Everyone else: Thank you so much for your lovely reviews & for reading this tale!

Please review!

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