The Potter Twins and the Deathly Hallows {7}

Epilogue: The Last Goodbye

"I saw the light fade from the sky,
On the wind, I heard a sigh
As the snowflakes cover my fallen brothers
I will say this last goodbye."

- THE LAST GOODBYE, BILLY BOYD

It is a strange thing, indeed, to find oneself so suddenly free of all torment and responsibility. That which has hovered over you forever like an eternal storm, each cataclysmic lightning strike constantly fulfilling its promise to leave naught but destruction and tragedy in its wake. And with each subsequent clap of thunder, the impossibility of survival weaves itself more intricately into the fabrics of your life, until all you have left is your instinct to fight, and keep fighting, until the bitter end. There aren't words powerful enough to describe the relief and euphoria you feel to finally see the sun emerge from behind the clouds, lighting the way forward for a future you never thought possible. It feels like taking your first gasp of air after drowning for all your life, only, you don't know you were underwater until the moment your lungs fill with oxygen.

But every storm is not without its collateral damage... it's broken power lines and flooded walkways. The days following the Battle were the worst: I have only vague memories of anxiety-riddled Ministry meetings and interviews I could not get through sober, of countless funerals which seem to melt together...Fred, Remus, Tonks, Colin, Lavender...of many lost days where Harry was the only one I could bring myself to speak to. But together, supported by those who loved and understood us, we came back to life. It wasn't easy -- it still isn't, but on the days where I feel myself slipping I remember what Dumbledore told us so many years ago: that darkness might be kept at bay, though never quite eradicated.

Draco certainly made things easier. I'm not sure how long I slept in his arms by the lake after the Battle, only that his promise to guide me through the nightmares, and to be there when I woke, turned out to be his lifelong vow. We continued to grow and heal together, until, finally, on our sixth anniversary, he proposed, forsaking his family's ancestral ring for a brand new one, assisted by the ever-enthusiastic Dad and Sirius. To Lucius, his actions were nothing short of sacrilegious: to single-handedly destroy the purity of the Malfoy bloodline and disregard everything his ancestors held dear, and yet, Draco did not care. He was determined to break tradition, to show the world, and most importantly, himself, that he would no longer follow blindly in his Father's footsteps.

But despite everything, despite all the underhanded insults and near duels, we gave Lucius his final chance of redemption -- to attend our wedding and extend an offering of peace to all those he had harmed. In retrospect, it was an opportunity Lucius never deserved, he who had inflicted so much pain and suffering, but I was blinded by my orphan's mentality: I refused to be the reason Draco walked away from his family.

And on the day of our wedding, when all of our loved ones gathered at the Burrow to celebrate, and the sun shone blissfully upon us, Lucius made his decision; he deemed blood status and purity to be more sacred than his son's happiness. When I heard the news, I worried that Draco would resent me for it, if not now, then maybe ten, twenty years down the line. And almost as if he felt my distress and worry like a dagger to the heart, Draco sent a piece of parchment to my room with a singular phrase scribbled upon it: you are all the family I need, my love.

And as I walked down the aisle, Dad on one arm and Harry on the other, Sirius stood proudly at Draco's side in Lucius' place, a hand on his shoulder as tears filled both of their eyes. For who better to take the place of the absentee, malevolent Father if not the man who understood Draco's plight best, a man who was already family in more ways than one? Sirius even shared an awkward, admittedly drunken dance with Narcissa, who had finally run out of excuses for her husband.