DRAGON'S HEARTSTRINGS || dramione | harry potter

Epilogue

"Dad, hurry! I'm going to miss the train because of you!" a girl yelled at her father for being so slow which wasn't surprising for a man his size.

Draco groaned when his daughter Rose Malfoy grabbed his arm and started dragging him forward with even more ferocity than she had before.

It was time to go through the wall which was Draco's least favorite part – he hated the sickness that came after it ever since he was a child. This time, he could feel, would be even more sickening because he hadn't gone out of the Manor properly for over almost twelve years – and this time he was allowed to leave only to see his daughter out to Hogwarts. Naturally, it was all possible because of his brilliant wife who had put all her efforts – which were a lot – to get him a special grant from the Minister of Magic himself.

Still, if it had been his choice, he wouldn't have left the Manor. He ignored the nasty looks that came his way from people who most definitely recognized him from the wartime, although he couldn't help but shot deadly glares at those who dared to stare the wrong way at his wife or either of the two children. Draco felt like he was slowly suffocating – his family seemed to be the center of attention in the Kings Cross station.

"That's exactly why we came early," Hermione said, seeming completely oblivious to everyone else in here but them. She held their five-year-old son Scorpius closer to her chest – he seemed to be so intrested in everything, looking around the Kings Cross station with wide eyes but Draco had a feeling he would soon get tired and start crying. The people annoyed the boy as musch as they did his father. Still, Draco continued walking slowly, and Rose was taking it as a personal attack.

"You're doing this on purpose!" Rose exclaimed. She sounded angry, but both of her parents knew she could never be truly angry with her father, she simply adored him. "You don't want me to go to Hogwarts!"

"And where are you getting that idea from, sweetie?" Hermione asked, barely holding in her smile.

That was true – Draco did not want Rose to leave. He wanted her to stay with him forever—even though that was impossible.

"I know because he's always doing that," Rose scoffed.

The train was already there, and the luggage was being brought in, yet Draco didn't let go of Rose's hand. He knew that if he did, everything would be over. His brows were furrowed with tension that got released only when he felt Hermione's hand on his shoulder. He looked at her, his expression softening immediately. It was always like this when he looked at her – as if he were seeing her for the first time. And every time he fell in love all over again.

That same love extended to his son and daughter – the daughter he was now struggling to let go of.

Rose, with her curly platinum blonde hair and Malfoy name, will be unable to avoid everything that came with having him for a father. That's what he was scared of – that the students as well as teachers at Hogwarts will know who Rose is and that they will resent her for it, thinking that she is just like Draco. She was nothing like him, of course—smart and cunning, brave and kind, she was a stunting image of her mother, but Draco feared she would be judged not for who she but for the baggage she came from.

Draco was the baggage. He was ruining his daughter's life before it even started.

"Remember what we spoke about, Draco?" Hermione addressed him tenderly. "She needs to get into the world. It's going to be good for her."

Her words helped the dark thoughts dissolve a little. He looked down at Rose who now had this sad look on her face that only appeared when she was worried about her father. He let go of her hand.

Rose smiled wildly, honestly, the way only a child can.

Hermione crouched down to say goodbye to her little girl, disguising it as fixing her jacket.

"Have you got everything you need?" Rose nodded. "Are you scared?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "No, I'm not. Why would I be scared? You said Hogwarts is amazing."

Hermione smiled. "Yes, it is. You're going to have perfectly good time there."

She hugged Rose. Their daughter ran for the train, waving back for them all the way. She was already on the first step, reaching for the door, when she looked back at her father.

The next moment, she was running back to him, racing to give him a hug that almost knocked him from his feet. When she looked up, Draco saw tears in her eyes. He wiped them off with his thumbs, hugging her back, messing her curly hair.

"I'm going to miss you all so much," Rose said.

"Your mother and I will be waiting for your letter. Tell us everything," Draco told her.

That's exactly what she needed to hear. With another tight hug around her father's middle, Rose climbed into the train. The windows were all open because it was a very hot day. They could hear the chatter of the children inside.

"Why was Rose cwying?" Scorpius asked.

"Because she can't imagine living without you," Hermione explained to him.

Scorpius frowned. "She'll have to wait a few yeaws for me then," he added seriously.

"She will," Draco assured his son.

They watched the blonde head of Rose move through the corridors of the train. She entered a compartment with two other children – a boy and a girl. They smiled at her and invited her to sit with them. He heard her say, "My name is Rose Malfoy," and heard as the two other children immediately went to chatter about other topics – of her favorite spell, of her pet, of her wand – because anything was more interesting to them than her heritage.

Draco felt his body immediately relax.

"See? She will do great," he heard Hermione tell him.

He had no doubts about that.

__

Draco woke up the next morning from someone yelling, "Daddy! Daddy!", and then he felt a weight on his chest. When he opened his eyes, he saw Scorpius sitting right on him with a letter in his hand. Next to him, Hermione was also slowly waking up.

"What time is it?" his wife asked, groaning from being awoken so early once more.

"No idea," Draco mumbled. In this bedroom, time didn't exist for them.

"Mommy! Daddy! A lettew came from Hogwawts!" Scorpius exclaimed, catching his parents' attention.

Draco immediately sat in bed and took the letter. It was from Rose. He opened it and started reading out loud while Scorpius climbed into his lap to follow the written words. Ever since Draco started teaching him how to read, which was a few months ago, there were no more private letters or books only for adults that could be hidden from Scorpius' eyes in this household. Now was no exception.

Scorpius fidgeted in his father's arms until he found a comfortable position – with his tiny hand resting on his father's left forearm. It was on of the very few moments when Draco didn't feel the need to cover up his Dark Mark. It was one of the magnificent things of becoming a dad – he found that his children didn't care about his tattoo or where it came from. They had no idea about the horrors it implied. To them, it was only a silly-looking skull with no important history behind it.

The letter Rose sent talked about her first night at Hogwarts, every line brimming with excitement. Draco stopped reading when he stumbled upon the house, she was put in.

"Ravenclaw," he breathed out, then looked at Hermione who was already smiling up at him.

"That's amazing," she said softly.

"Yes," he answered. "It is."

Now he knew – they were all going to be alright.