A/N: So, I decided just to skip to the epilogue, since there isn't much I could do with another chapter. But don't worry, there is a sequel coming, I just want to finish my other unfinished stories before I start another one. But I'll finish the others ASAP and get started on the sequel! Stay tuned! And without any further ado, here's the epilogue…

Two months later…

Summer vacation was no longer a symbol of freedom and rest for the students of Hogwarts. It was a time to reflect on what had occurred at the school at the end of the school year. Students and professors had given their lives to defeat Voldemort, and for many people, going back to Hogwarts would be among the hardest things they had ever done.

Seamus, Michael, and Zacharias had been only a few of the many students who had died. When most of the rubble had been cleared, Ministry officials discovered the bodies of Blaise Zabini and Lavender Brown, along with Fred Weasley and Colin Creevey.

There was no one at the school, since it was summer vacation; no one except for Hermione Granger, who walked slowly down the corridors one last time. Everything was empty; new ghosts roamed the halls, but Hermione wasn't paying attention; she was lost in her own thoughts.

"Why? Why her?" Ron had sobbed, his face in his hands. "Why Lavender? And why Fred?"

Harry shook his head. "I don't know," was all he could say. The three of them sat in Ron's living room several weeks after the battle.

"Why couldn't it have been Malfoy instead?"

Hermione felt rage surge through her. "How dare you!" she shouted, dropping her books all over the floor. "Why couldn't it have been Malfoy? How dare you even think such a thing?"

Harry threw Ron a dark look. "He didn't mean it, Hermione. He's still in shock."

"That's no excuse!" She gathered up her books and walked out the front door, Disapparating when she was far enough away.

Hermione leaned against the repaired gargoyle in front of the headmaster's office. Granted, Ron had enlisted Harry's help to use the telephone to call Hermione and apologize later that same day. But the fact remained that Ron didn't have Lavender, and he'd lost Hermione to Malfoy. He would always be bitter because of that.

At that moment, her cell phone rang, Flipping it out and expecting to see a text from Ron, she was pleasantly surprised to see that it was Draco.

Where r u?

She grinned. At the castle.

When there wasn't a reply, she tucked her phone into the pocket of her jeans and let her mind wander again. There was so much that she never got to tell her fellow schoolmates. She'd never thanked Blaise for ending Fenrir Greyback's life. Thanks to him, Greyback would never threaten her again.

A pair of hands came to rest on her shoulders, and she turned her head to see who it was. As she turned, Draco Malfoy leaned in the rest of the way and kissed her.

"How did you get here so fast?" she asked once he'd stepped back.

"I was already here. I guess we both had the same idea." He wrapped his arms around her waist, and she leaned against him, tears coming to her eyes as her mind went back to the demolished corridors and dead students.

"I need to go," she whispered, closing her eyes.

"Why?"

"It's—it's just too painful to be here."

"I know," Malfoy whispered back. "But I have to show you something." He took her by the hand and led her up to the third floor corridor, where the Room of Requirement was. The patch of wall that had been destroyed by dark magic could not be repaired, but the room beyond had been restored to its previous state.

"Why are we here?"

"I'll tell you in a minute," he answered, leading her into the Room. The furnishings and decorations were exactly the same; Hermione let go of Draco's hand and ran her fingers along the edge of the wooden table.

"I never thought I'd say this, but I…I miss hearing this thing talk," she confessed. "It was annoying, but it never failed to make us laugh."

Draco nodded. "I was absolutely thrilled when I found out we could smack it without getting shocked."

"And then there came a point where we could eat separately without getting shocked. I think that was my favorite part." She laughed. "I keep remembering the way the table said, "Oh, the Pureblood likes the Muggle-born's curves. How adorable."

"And it was telling the truth," Draco whispered in her ear. "I lied."

Chills ran down Hermione's spine at his warm breath on the back of her neck. "Why did you want to show me this?"

"Because this is where everything began," he answered simply. He stepped forward and took her hands in his. "The past two months that I've spent with you have been amazing—the best two months of my life."

Hermione smiled. "That's because for the first time in your life, you don't have to worry about Voldemort or his followers. You're free."

He grinned back. "Hermione, I want you to know that I love you more than anything else in this world. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Hermione's eyes widened, and as he reached into his robes, she put one hand over her mouth in shock. He drew out a small black box, and knelt before her.

"Hermione Granger, will you marry me?"

She stared at him for several seconds; finally, she nodded slowly. "Yes! A thousand times yes!"

He grinned and stood up, wrapping his arms around her. Then he took her hand and slipped a beautiful diamond ring onto her finger.

There was a "Pfft" sound, and then a voice said, "Well, it's about time!"

Hermione's eyes widened. It couldn't be—could it?

The table let out a stifled sob. "So, am I invited to the wedding?"

"Absolutely—"

"Not!" Draco interjected, giving Hermione a "you're insane" look.

"And why not?" Hermione questioned, placing her hands on her hips and raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, Drakey, why not?"

Draco reached over and smacked the table. "If you call me that one more time, you'll lose any chance you've got," he snarled, but Hermione was laughing.

"We've been in here for two minutes and you're already fighting?" she managed to ask, holding her stomach. "And I think we should invite it to the wedding." Draco saw a mischievous glint in her eye. "If it agrees to wear a dress."

His face split into a grin. "Perfect."

"No. Under NO circumstances will I be wearing a dress to your wedding. Please, break my legs instead!"

Draco pulled Hermione into his arms and kissed the top of her head. "Don't tempt us," he warned, grinning into Hermione's hair.

1 year later…

Today marked exactly two months since their wedding. Draco was working at the Ministry, and Hermione sat on the couch in their living room, flipping through a photo album she'd started. Pictures of their wedding day covered the pages, bringing back memories that she was sure would make her forget about the stomachache she was dealing with. The stomachache that had kept her home from work today.

Much to the astonishment of Kingsley Shacklebolt and other Ministry officials, the table was invited to their wedding, and, as Hermione had requested, it was dressed in white ribbons and bows, almost as though it was wearing a dress. In the picture, Hagrid had mistaken the well-dressed table for a special chair just for him. When he'd attempted to sit on it, he had nearly died of a heart attack when the table began shouting profanities at no one in particular.

Hermione stifled a laugh and turned the page, but suddenly she jumped up. Nausea had swept over her and she raced into the bathroom, where she threw up almost as soon as she was positioned over the toilet. On a hunch, she wiped her mouth with a tissue and reached under the bathroom sink, taking out a rectangular box. A pregnancy test.

She looked at the result several minutes later. This time, she wasn't horrified. She wasn't scared. She didn't feel like she would pass out. She was absolutely thrilled; she had to stop herself from running to the fireplace to Floo to the Ministry and tell Draco the news.

That evening, when Draco came home from work, she was at the door to greet him. "How was your day?" she asked, softly kissing him.

"Awful," he answered, wrapping his arms around her. When she looked at him questioningly, he continued, "You weren't there. I didn't get to have lunch with you, I didn't get to walk by your office and spend some time with you during my break, and I didn't get to walk home with you. How could my day be anything less than awful?" He leaned in and kissed her again. "I know we do those things every day, but they never get old for me. I wake up every morning looking forward to those times we have."

She smiled. "We may have to put those on hold in the near future." He looked confused, and she led him over to the couch. "I've been looking at our wedding pictures."

He sat down, still looking puzzled. "What does this have to do with our time together at work?"

She flipped to the middle, where there was a picture of Cho Chang and Ron holding hands. Cho Chang was laughing, one hand pressed over her pregnant belly.

"Ron and Cho?"

"Yes…" she answered vaguely, wondering if he was going to catch on.

"What about them?"

Hermione's face was positively radiant. She took Draco's hand and pressed it to her stomach. He stared at her for a moment, then looked back at her stomach.

"You—you mean—?"

"Yes!" Hermione exclaimed, and she leaned into Draco's embrace once again.

A/N: And that's the end! I've got a sequel planned, but first I want to finish my other stories. But who knows? I might decide that I can't wait for ya'll to see what the sequel's going to entail, and I'll post the first few chapters within a couple of weeks instead. But only if you review and tell me what you think! I know a lot of people said they thought the last chapter moved fast, and I was trying to take it slower with this chapter, and I wanna know if I succeeded. Tell me! :D Love ya'll!