The Dragon and the Angel - [Draco/Hermione]

Epilogue

It was the morning of September the first, the day Scorpius had been waiting for since his very early childhood. He was doing a very good job at pretending to be calm, but Draco could see the fear settling into his eyes the closer they got to the wall in between platforms nine and ten.

He crouched next to his son, fixing his hair slightly.

"You'll be fine, Scorp." Draco assured him warmly, patting his shoulder.

"What if I'm not in Slytherin?" Scorpius whispered, finally voicing his worries.

Astoria was tactful enough to pretend to be straightening out the luggage as Draco sighed. He did not think this moment would come - he hoped it would not have. Did this mean he did as poor of a job at parenting as his own father, because Draco himself had asked Lucius Malfoy the very same question when he had been standing in front of the barrier.

"It doesn't matter, Scorpius." Draco admitted. "I asked the same thing, and I was put in Slytherin. You don't know how relieved I was. But now, I wish that I had been courageous and a good enough person to be Sorted into Gryffindor."

"Wait," Scorpius said, suddenly alarmed. "Does this mean getting Sorted into Slytherin is a bad thing?"

"No, it isn't. It means you're clever, and ambitious. You'll make great friends in Slytherin, Scorpius, but I know for a fact there will also be a few new Gryffindors that ought to be befriended as well." Draco murmured, nodding to a group behind his son's back.

Scorpius turned around to see Harry Potter, a man Draco still saw on occaison, and his wife, Ginny. Ginny mouthed a greeting to Draco, smiling, and Draco returned it. Scorpius was now preoccupied with the Boy Who Lived's children, one of whom who asked softly, "Why is everyone staring at us?"

"Oh, it's me. I'm extremely famous." said a familiar voice.

Draco looked slightly more to the left to see Ron Weasley, grinning as Harry laughed. Ron had gained a bit of weight, but this was natural, since he had been almost too skinny as a teenager. The woman next to him, however, still took Draco's breath away.

Hermione stood next to her husband, giving Draco a small wave as if they were old friends. Draco remembered with a pang that they had been. He waved back, smiling warmly, mouthing, "It's been a while."

"Too long," she mouthed back.

"We should invite you all," Draco suggested, nodding over to the Potters. "for dinner sometime."

"Yes." Hermione agreed, and Draco could have sworn a single tear was swimming in her eyes but she smiled once more and leaned over to help her daughter's moral, like Draco had done for his own son.

"Ready, Scorp?" Astoria asked finally, pulling Draco away from his daze.

Draco smiled at his wife; he did love her, very dearly, but whatever he had briefly had with Hermione would always be stowed away in a small corner of his heart. He vowed, however, never to release it again.

As Scorpius boarded the scarlet steam engine, Draco saw him approach the youngest Potter boy, Albus Severus, who would be in the same year as Scorpius. Draco's son introduced himself as Draco had, though he doubted with the same words. Surprisingly, when Scorpius extended his hand, Albus took it.

Astoria intertwined her fingers with Draco's contently.

While the other parents waved to their children, reminding them to write, to be good and that they would see each other again during Chrismtas break, Draco let his eyes wander. Astoria had always been the motherly type and would be taking care of all the reminders for him.

As he looked around, an emerald green eye caught his, but it wasn't Harry's.

Across the platform, a little girl with long, washed black hair and a cheerful face was smiling at him. She was wearing a nice green dress to match her eyes, but Draco - no matter how many years it had been - would have recognized her anywhere:

Miah.

"I knew you were a good man." she mouthed to him, beaming proudly.

Before Draco could respond, a man shoved by him, blocking his view for half a second, and Miah was gone.

[AN: Miah's character is supposed to stay mysterious. Anthea's, however, will be explained in Meeting the Marauders.]