dislike ↠ draco malfoy

epilogue

"You've got to go through the barrier, honey," I said, placing a hand on my son's shoulder. "Just run into it."

He frowned. "But... what if I slam into it, hit my head, and die?"

Draco laughed. "You're not going to die, Scorpius. It's a magical wall, and you'll just pass right through it."

Scorpius nodded, still staring warily at the barrier at Platform 9 3/4. It was his first year at Hogwarts. He was excited, of course, but also nervous. Everyone knew that the Malfoy family used to be Death Eaters. He was afraid that the other kids would make fun of him, and no one would want to be his friend.

"Stop being such a baby, Scorpius," Aurora, our nine-year-old daughter, said. "Just run through the stupid barrier."

"Rory, don't be mean to your brother," I scolded, even though I secretly agreed with her. He was making a big fuss over nothing.

"We'll go first, okay?" Draco said. "Then you can go."

Scorpius nodded. "Okay..."

Draco grabbed my hand and we ran through the barrier together. We emerged on the other side. Families bustled around the Platform. I hadn't been here in years. It felt good to be back.

We turned around, waiting for Scorpius and Aurora to come through.

"Maybe one of us should've waited with him," I said.

"He'll be fine," Draco said.

Aurora came running through the barrier.

"Where's your brother?" I asked her.

"He made me go first," she replied. "He's such a baby."

Scorpius came running after her, crashing into her. Draco stepped forward and caught both of them before they fell.

"Ouch, Scorpius," Aurora said.

"Sorry," he said miserably.

"Come on, the train leaves soon," I said, prompting them forward.

We walked toward the train. I bent down and hugged Scorpius. "I'll miss you. Don't forget to write."

"Yeah, you've got to write at least once a week," Draco added.

"I will," Scorpius promised. He tightened his grip on his trunk.

"I love you," I said, planting a kiss on his head.

He blushed. "Love you, mum," he said quietly. "And dad."

"Love you, kid," Draco said.

Scorpius looked at Aurora. "See you."

"Wow, you're not even going to tell me that you love me?" Aurora mused, crossing her arms across her chest.

He smiled. "Love you, Rory."

"Love you too, big brother," she said. She hugged him.

Scorpius took one last look at us before turning around and getting onto the train.

"Oooh, mum, look!" Aurora said, tugging on my sleeve. "They have a pygmy puff! Can I go look? Please?"

I laughed. "Okay, but stay in sight."

She jumped up and scurried away from us.

"Oh god, there's Harry," Draco muttered, putting his head down.

I looked around. Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron were there with their kids. I was still friends with Hermione, and I had tried to get Draco to be friends with the rest of them, but it was hard to let go of their old grudge.

"Oh, come on, Draco, we can go and say hi," I urged.

"You can, I'll just stay here..."

I grabbed his arm and practically dragged him over.

"Evangeline!" Hermione said. "I thought I would see you here."

"Hey, Hermione," I replied. "Yes, Rose is starting, isn't she?"

She nodded. "And Albus, Harry and Ginny's boy." She looked at Draco. Her face had a hint of distaste in it that she was trying hard to conceal. I didn't expect her to forgive him. He had called her a Mudblood for years, but it still hurt. "Hello, Draco," she said.

"Hello, Hermione," Draco said stiffly.

"So," I said, trying to break the awkwardness, "how are things at the ministry?"

Hermione smiled, glad to not have to talk to Draco anymore. "Wonderful! I'm finally getting laws passed about protecting house elves, which I've been working my entire career to do. How's St Mungos?"

I worked as a Healer at St Mungos. "It's great. You know, a lot of injuries to treat."

"Look, the train's leaving," Draco said. He pointed to a window, where Scorpius was sitting next to a boy with black hair.

I waved at him, and he waved back.

"That's Albus," Hermione said, gesturing to the black haired boy.

"He looks a lot like Harry," I said.

"Why is he sitting with Albus Potter?" Draco said stiffly.

"Oh come on, why can't they be friends? Just because you and Harry hate each other doesn't mean your sons can't be friends."

"I guess they can... and Harry and I don't hate each other," Draco said.

"Could've fooled me," I said.

I jumped as Aurora suddenly appeared by my side. She was small for her age, and fast. She waved at her brother as the train left.

"Mum, can I please get a pygmy puff? There so cute!"

"We'll see, honey," I replied.

We all waved as the train disappeared into the distance.

"Thank god he's gone," Aurora said. "It'll be nice to be an only child."

"Just because your brother's at school doesn't make you an only child," I said.

"Yeah, but it'll be nice to get some peace and quiet for once," she replied.

"I don't think your brother is the one who needs to be quiet," Draco said with a laugh.

Aurora frowned. "Okay, true." A smile reappeared on her face.

I took Draco's hand and leaned against him, my other hand holding Aurora's. I was finally happy. I was with my beautiful daughter and my husband. I couldn't believe that I used to dislike him. I couldn't imagine being with anyone else. All was well.

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Okay, so I'm SO sorry that this epilogue took literal months for me to publish. I've just had a lot of things going on in my personal life and I was not in the mindset to write. I don't want to go into the details, but I just wanted to apologize. Thank you so much for reading this story! If you made it this far, I love you and appreciate you so much <3