Two Sides of the Serpent // Draco Malfoy

Chapter Thirty-Eight: A New Beginning

The end of the school year came sooner than anyone had anticipated. The castle was in ruins, its walls scorched and battered from the battle. The very heart of Hogwarts had been shaken, and its students and staff had the same scars, both physically and mentally. Many were too injured, too exhausted, too broken to carry on with their studies. Repairs to the school would take months, if not years. And so, for the first time in centuries, Hogwarts closed its doors early.

For those who still had homes and families to return to, the Ministry provided safe passage. But not everyone was so lucky. Many had lost their homes, their families, and their futures to the war. The Ministry, in the process of reforming under Kingsley Shacklebolt's leadership, arranged housing for the younger students with families willing to take them in until their own lives could be rebuilt.

But for those like Draco and me.. students who had finished their final year and whose families had been torn apart by the war-- there was no home to return to. Instead, new communities had been constructed along the Scottish hillsides, where the displaced could find a sense of normalcy once more. Rows of modest but comfortable homes lined the rolling green hills, a fresh start for those who had lost everything.

We found ourselves in one of these neighborhoods, nestled against the misty highlands. At first, the idea of living together under the terms of our arranged marriage felt surreal, a reminder of the twisted world our parents had tried to mold us into.

The engagement had been forced upon us, a way to solidify the Malfoy and Ashthorn alliances. But after everything we had been through; the loss, the pain, the war-- we now saw things differently.

No one else could possibly understand what we had endured. No one else could comprehend the depth of the trauma we carried, or the bond that had grown between us. It had started as necessity, survival, and slowly transformed into something deeper, something neither of us could have predicted.

In the quiet moments after the battle, when the world finally stopped spinning, we realized that what we had now was not just the remnants of an old agreement but something built on love, trust, and shared experience.

Draco sat by the window of our new home, watching the fog roll over the hills, his gaze distant. So much about him had changed, his once cold demeanor had been replaced by something much deeper. Even a physical change had overtaken him. His jaw sharp and defined but a softness in his eyes.

I approached him from behind, placing a hand on his shoulder. He didn't break his gaze, staring at the fog settling over the morning dew. He brought his hand to mine, the feeling grounding him in our new reality. The silence between us was comfortable, filled with an understanding that words couldn't capture.

"I never thought it would end like this," I whispered after a while, my voice soft but steady.

"Neither did I," Draco admitted. "But maybe... maybe this is better."

I looked down at him, my brow furrowing slightly in question.

"Our families... they wanted to control us, to shape us into something we're not. But this... us... what we've become; it's ours. Not theirs. We get to choose what happens now." His tone was gentle and hopeful.

I smiled. A sense of peace I had never known settled over me. I was no longer bound by my familial expectations; no more darkness, no more secrecy and lies. We were finally free to rebuild a life we want together.

"I know we never wanted any of this," I spoke softly, my fingers tracing along the outline of Draco's, "But after everything... I can't imagine going through life without you."

He finally broke his gaze from the window, glancing up at me. "No one could ever understand what we have done, or who we have been; who we had to become." His hand tightened around mine, "I can't ever lose you, Evelyn."