His Veela Heritage by RiverWriter

chapter 30

Epilogue

Hermione relaxed against Draco, careful not to disturb their youngest daughter who was asleep on his chest. They were stretched out on a blanket watching their older children play in the shallows of the river along with their cousin Teddy and a group of elflings.

“Are you okay?” He asked, wrapping an arm around her and kissing the top of her head, an action he quickly repeated on the white-blonde curls of the toddler sleeping peacefully on top of him.

“Happy,” she clarified, burrowing as close as she could get.

“Don’t be gross!” Carina called out. At eight years old she was the keeper of her siblings, and of her parents’ propriety, even when it wasn’t strictly necessary- everyone here was family and very used to their open affection.

Hermione heard laughter from behind her where Lucius and Narcissa as well as Andromeda and Kingsley- who had patiently waited in the wings for Andromeda to be ready for a relationship, and who had finally married her two years ago- were lounging in more luxury than the simple blanket she and Draco had chosen afforded. She rolled her eyes to herself. As if they weren’t imminently grateful for her and Draco’s scorching chemistry. There wouldn’t be four children to dote on if they weren’t quite so in love. Hermione was certain she would have torn any other man to shreds by now, or pulled all of her own hair out in frustration.

Scorpius used his sister’s distraction to sneak up on her and jump on her back. She squealed and Teddy quickly came to her aid. He’d taken Hermione’s request to act as her big brother very seriously. Nobody had ever had a greater champion than Carina Malfoy.

“Leo!” Scorpius called out, and his little brother quickly entered the fray, leaping at Teddy.

Hermione would have been concerned. It was far from a fair fight against the older children, but she knew that Teddy and Carina would be careful with them. On top of that fact was her absolute certainty that Scorpius and Leo were so frightfully cunning that they would probably find a way to best any opponent, despite the odds.

Draco thought it absolutely hilarious. She knew about the bets he’d made with various friends over their House sorting. She couldn’t disagree that they’d both be placed in Slytherin despite her younger son’s namesake. It had been a point of contention between he and Harry- who was adamant that any child named ‘Leo’ belonged in Gryffindor- until Draco had reminded the other man that he was one of the most famous Gryffindors of all time and yet he had almost been placed into Slytherin. At which point Ginny had intervened to say that she could easily see their second son being sorted into Slytherin as well. Harry had promptly shut his mouth.

Harry and Ginny had married a year after they’d originally planned- much to Molly Weasley’s chagrin- but Hermione was certain their relationship was stronger for the delay. Her own relationship with Harry was stronger as a result of those tumultuous months during her courtship and early marriage to Draco. It was also very different from the one they’d shared at Hogwarts and just after the war. They loved each other deeply but they led separate lives. Though they’d become a lot closer again since Scorpius had been born just two months before Harry’s first son, James. And now Harry’s three children were the same ages as her youngest three.

Her friendship with Ron, on the other hand, had never really recovered from their confrontation following the revelation of her relationship with Draco. Things were no longer hostile, they simply weren’t close. They were more like acquaintances with a lot of history. He had married Lavender, had two children, and retired from the Auror corps and bought into Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes. He was a good man who led an honest life, it just didn’t align with hers. In retrospect it wasn’t a surprise, the two of them had never really been on parallel paths. They occasionally met for dinner, socialized at events hosted by mutual friends, and reminisced about old times; but they didn’t really understand each other. And that was okay.