Of Doves and Dragons

Epilogue: Forget Me Not

"I'm here to remind you, what's lost is never gone. You will forget, forget, forget, forget me not."

-Marianas Trench, Forget Me Not

            They stayed together always.

            When they had been summoned to the ministry in front of a jury to answer for the crimes that they had been a part of, it was with their hands clasped together. Draco had always known that it would end there, had always expected that howler to find them. What he hadn't expected was to get a pardon based on the testimony of Harry Potter himself.

            Harry had met them in the court and irrefutably cast out all charges given to them. The court, while not happy that two known Death Eaters were going to walk away scotch free, could not dispute the word of Harry Potter himself. Ember had hugged the boy tightly and after they had parted, Draco had hugged him as well. He had given them back their future and had become a trusted friend.

            When Draco had decided to go back to Malfoy manor, Ember was right by his side. Lucius Malfoy had been sentenced to the rest of his life in Azkaban after a nasty trial and Draco had not seen him since the battle. Narcissa Malfoy had been harder to put behind bars, and it was only by Ember's testimony that the ministry had decided to place Narcissa on house arrest-indefinitely.

            When they had walked into the house of their nightmares, it was with a sense of closure. The black interior was not so intimidating, and clearing the air with Narcissa was much needed, but it was the stories the walls would always shelter that kept the couple from returning as often as they would have liked to see Narcissa.

            Her ability had come back to her very gradually. The days spent bound to Voldemort and the act of returning Bellatrix from the grave had broken her connection to that magic that had rest inside her. And when they did come back, it was without their full strength. No matter how hard she worked, she was never again able to force her patronus to another, nor was she able to shield herself completely. She could only heal minor injuries and hold her glow amongst herself, and even then she would be out of it for days recovering.

            When the fall had rolled back around it was filled with choices. Professor McGonagall had asked for a meeting with Ember, where they discussed all that had passed. Her powers, her work with Snape, her magic background; all of it was up for grabs. And at the end of it, McGonagall offered Ember a place at Hogwarts to finish out her sixth and seventh year.

            It wasn't a hard choice. Ember didn't know if she wanted to stay in the wizarding world forever, but when you are offered a spot at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, you don't reject it. She had been resorted, then and there in the same office that she had been sorted in with Dumbledore, at the insistence of McGonagall, and this time, without all the blurry confusion and long gone influence of her parents in her head, she was sorted in Hufflepuff.

            Draco had laughed at the idea that he was dating a Hufflepuff, but was insanely proud of her all the same.

            And so, when September first rolled around, Draco and Ember (with her very own wand) boarded the Hogwarts Express and sat with Hermione, Luna, Ginny, and Harry.

            Ron had decided to ignore the last year of his education in lieu of a position as an auror. At the end of the war, the golden trio had all been awarded the opportunity, but in the end, only Ron had accepted. Hermione would not be Hermione if she did not complete her education and as for Harry, he became the new Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts for there was no one better.