Time Heals (D.M. - COMPLETE)

Time Heals // Epilogue

The repairs to Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry took only a week. The mass destruction caused at the hands of Lord Voldemort and his followers was not simply suffered by the witches and wizards of the United Kingdom who had studied there but was keenly felt by witches and wizard around the world. The influx of magical beings apparating to the nearby town of Hogsmeade meant that the repairs to the school were completed a lot faster.

By the end of the week, Hogwarts had been returned to its former glory.

But the scars remained; visible only in the faces of students and teachers alike as they walked the corridors and mourned their losses.

The war touched everyone; it left no stone unturned.

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Draco Malfoy stops to return home three times. His palms are sweaty and his heart pounds in chest.

He paces the train compartment; unable to sit still very long for the fear of intruding thoughts and memories.

It has taken him months to get to this point. Every time he thought he was close; he would have a setback. Which was okay because in order to do this; in order to achieve his final target set so long ago, he has to be ready.

And he finally is.

The first breath of air after departing the train is sweet; he had forgotten how claustrophobic the train compartments could be. The second breath holds sentimentality and nostalgia rolled into one as he remembers departing the train to start a new academic year.

A hand slides into his; delicate fingers tangling with his and squeezing tight. Anchoring him to this very moment.

"Are you ready?" She asks; attention solely on him and not on their surroundings.

Draco releases a shuddering breath, "As I'll ever be. The path is this way."

It had been organised weeks ago; this very moment. Draco sent a letter to Professor McGonagall detailing his journey and final target left to achieve, but also begging a boon to have the muggle avoidance charm removed for (Y/N)'s benefit.

Professor McGonagall responded in kindness. Offering a date where student interaction would be minimal and offering the whole day for both of them to take their time.

She also added that she was pleased to hear he was doing so well and that he had found someone to share the rest of his life with.

The wind blows (Y/N)'s hair into her face which she brushes away with her left hand. The promise ring given to her a month ago sits prettily on her middle finger to avoid the confusion of an engagement. One day, Draco thinks.

He leads her down the familiar trail; one his feet have travelled so many times but did not think they would do so again.

Draco hears her intake of breath when her eyes land on the grand castle in which he received his formative education. The towers loom over the Scottish Highlands making the caste's presence here dominant and foreign yet the school would belong nowhere else.

As they draw closer and closer to the castle, Draco realises that the feeling from First Year; of seeing the school for the very first time in all of its glory, never goes away.

He took it for granted, he realises. His love for the place and its love for him. He took it all for granted.

The ornate wooden doors that signify the entrance to the school are soon in his line of vision.

With a gasp, he stops.

Everything is pristine and perfect; not a brick out of place, yet he's seeing it exactly as it was all those years ago. The dead had been moved to the Great Hall where their souls could pass to the afterlife without fear of being trod on. The dead had been removed but rubble covers the courtyard and have destroyed the doors. Doors that have stood for over a thousand years but now hang on their hinges as if nothing more than an insignificant piece of the castle.