Let's Play Murder (A Draco Malfoy Fanfic)

Epilogue

"I am hope." –Neil Gaiman

*

     Pansy Parkinson moves to her balcony early in the morning to watch the city wake up. Blaise is still asleep, so she's quiet, trying not to wake him up. It's been about a year since the war ended. She never thought she'd admit this, but she is so grateful that Harry Potter won. If he'd lost, she would've lost everything; her life would've been even more hellish than it was before.

But now that it's over, the entire Wizarding World is recovering together. The Ministry of Magic is nearly functional again; any veteran of the war gets a job immediately, which includes her and Blaise. They have an apartment and there's nothing they need. Pansy never thought she could be so content with the current state of things.

Pansy spots a familiar blonde, even from twenty floors above the ground. It's definitely Draco—it's the way he walks—and he's with someone else, someone she doesn't recognize. They turn the corner and they're gone, but they were holding hands, which means he found someone who's as cynical as he is.

Familiar arms embrace her from behind; Blaise is awake and has joined her outside.

  "Did I just see Draco turn the corner?" she asks.

"I did, too," he says quietly. He's not a fan of talking in the morning.

"Do you know who he was walking with?"

"I'd assume it was Darcy."

Pansy falters. "Darcy Xenner?"

"That's the one."

"What makes you think that?"

Blaise sighs. "I never told him I figured it out. In our sixth year, y'know how Draco was always disappearing and stuff?" Pansy nods. "He was going to the Room of Requirement to fix a Vanishing Cabinet. That's how the Death Eaters got in that night and killed Dumbledore."

"The Vanishing Cabinet my grandad built and my dad fixed?"

     "Yes, but the twin of it."

     "Well, what's that have to do with Darcy?" Pansy remembers how she almost destroyed her cousin's shop, but she's over it. She hasn't been to Azkaban since—maybe she's called it quits.

"Draco snuck Darcy into the castle to help him fix it since he doesn't know shit about mechanics," Blaise reveals with a snort. "He'd sneak her back out during Hogsmeade visits. I'm guessing they fell in love sometime then."

  "He could've just asked you for help," Pansy reckons. "You know how to fix things."

"He didn't trust me much back then."

Pansy feels a small smile appear the more she thinks about Draco dating Darcy Xenner. "I knew they'd be cute together. I was right. They'd better get married and be happy forever."

Blaise clears his throat. "Speaking of marriage..."

*

     An owl taps at the kitchen window of Draco and Darcy's penthouse apartment. Darcy blinks at it for a few seconds, not completely comprehending what's happening due to the fact that she just woke up and hasn't picked up her wand to make coffee yet. It screeches at her; coming to her senses, she opens the window and takes the wad of letters from it, throwing them carelessly on the counter as she feeds the owl some bread and water.

     "Can wizards stop using owls to deliver everything?" Draco sneers as he enters the room, ready for work. Even after the aftermath of the war about a year ago, he was able to secure a job at the Ministry of Magic. "I've never minded it until last week when they tried to send our imported wine by owl post. The ruddy thing nearly broke the bottles!"