Healing the Heart (Dramione)

49 || Epilogue

The leaves outside had just begun turning as autumn neared. Brilliant yellows and oranges tipped the edges of each leaf as the last bits of warmth from summer slowly grew colder while the sun set. The final rays of the evening stretched across the walls and bookshelves casting shadows on the pictures and houseplants. The couple had moved into Hermione's house a couple years ago and the apartment had finally begun to feel like home. Pictures lined the bookshelves; one particular photo of Teddy standing between Draco in a suit and Hermione in her white gown was displayed right in the entryway for everyone to see when they visited. Another picture of Harry, Ginny, Luna, Blaise, Hermione, and Draco at an outdoor market sat next to it, and finally a picture of his father, the Weasley's, and her parents sat on the side opposite it.

Without looking away from the page he was reading, Draco lifted his hand and with a quick snap, the lights in the apartment turned on. With the days growing shorter, it was getting harder to read in the evening without artificial lighting. As he turned the page, the doorknob jiggled before Hermione stepped through the entrance. He glanced up before smirking at her mess of hair. "Long day?"

She sighed deeply and kicked her shoes off. "Always." Padding over to the couch, she placed a gentle kiss on his head before walking toward the kitchen.

"Sit down and rest," he called. "I already have a kettle heating." Draco snapped his book shut and rocked forward onto the balls of his feet so he could follow her into the kitchen.

"I'll sit down after I eat something. Aren't you hungry?" She knew he'd only gotten home an hour before her. She managed to get stuck with some extra paperwork which kept her a little later than she had expected. "Or did you eat already?"

"Never without you." He stopped behind her, wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and pulled her against his chest. She responded by leaning into him and closing her eyes.

"I need to run, I'll see you two tomorrow!" Blaise called out as he ran through the living room toward the front door.

Draco's head snapped around and he whipped out his wand in response to the unexpected visitor. How did he get inside the apartment? And how long had he been there?

"See you tomorrow, Blaise!" Hermione didn't respond in the same manner as Draco. Calmly, she picked up the kettle and poured herself a cup of hot water.

"My dear... how did Blaise get in the house?" If Draco had been home only an hour, then that meant Blaise had to have arrived before that and somehow managed to stay quiet the entire time. Where was he even hiding?

"He has a key." She turned and walked back into the living room.

"And how did he get a key? I thought the point of us not living in my apartment but instead moving into yours, was for us to be alone together." He caught up to her and gently took the tea cup from her hands.

"Well, you moved into my apartment because we got married and one usually lives with one's spouse after one gets married." Hermione patiently explained like you would with a small child. "I gave him a key." She took the tea cup back from him and shot him a side glance.

Trying not to sound irritated, Draco cleared his throat and plastered a smile on his face. "Why would you do something like that, Dear?"

"He wanted one and I thought it was a good idea." Hermione raised her eyebrows and leveled Draco with a look which dared him to argue.

"You thought it was a good idea?" He let out a slow and measured breath. "I just don't know if that much excitement is such a good idea in our lives right now." He wrapped his arm around her waist and lightly spread his fingers against the side of her stomach. Draco knew Blaise wasn't anything to worry about, but he really wanted some peace and quiet in their lives without that overgrown man-child running around their house.

"I'm fine, really. Blaise is harmless."

"But is he?"

She placed her hand over his and rolled her eyes. "You worry too much."

He shrugged. Blaise was harmless, for the most part, but he wanted peace and quiet, and Hermione certainly didn't need that extra nuisance hanging around.

"Think of it as practice." Her eyes sparkled. "Just think, if you can control him, surely you'll have no problem with a child of your own." She walked back toward the couch and sunk deep into the cushions.

Draco sighed and slid onto the arm of the couch beside her. "He's like five kids put together." He chuckled. "Between him and my dad, we're kind of raising six kids, aren't we?"

She grinned up at him. "True. Speaking of which, we're visiting your father tomorrow, don't forget." Each Sunday they visited his father, whether he wanted them there or not. Most of the time, Mr. Malfoy tolerated them and even seemed to enjoy their visits. Draco seemed to enjoy their visits less so.

"Why?" He groaned. "Every time we go he's so rude to you."

Hermione scoffed. It was true that Lucius was rude each time they visited him but it was no longer directed at her. "You're just tired of him picking on you."

"You both gang up on me." He muttered. His father had lessened his hostility toward Hermione and had instead gone back to his favorite pastime: nagging his son.

"True. But don't worry, pretty soon," She placed her hand on her stomach. "pretty soon you'll have three people picking on you constantly."

Draco rolled his eyes and gave her shoulder a light shove. He would gladly take the brunt of his father's grumpiness any day it wasn't directed toward her.

"He's just nervous. He's never been a grandfather before. He's worried he'll mess up." She rested her head against his leg as he began rubbing her back.

"How would you know?" He scoffed. Draco highly doubted his father expressed any of those concerns to her.

"Your mother." She closed her eyes and let out a long sigh.

"I don't recall her mentioning this."

"I talk with her whenever we go over, and sometimes on my way home from work, or even on my days off."

She said it so casually, so easily, that Draco had to pause. They would always greet his mother when they would go to The Manor, and they'd talk with her, but he had no idea Hermione would go out of her way to visit his mother. Softly, he wrapped his fingers around her shoulder and pulled her up to face him. "How did I get so lucky?" He kissed the back of her hand before sliding onto the cushion next to her and gathering her into his arms.

She grinned and shrugged a shoulder. "I honestly have no idea." Hermione placed a gentle kiss on his lips before her eyes softened. "I love you."

Draco could feel his heart begin racing, just like it did every time she told him, every time she held his hand, every time he kissed her; just like it always would, every time he met her gaze. "I know."