I am a Riddle | Draco Malfoy, 18+

E p i l o g u e,

Five years later.

'' Hi, love.'' Blaise smiled. His head tilted against the stone as he slipped down next to it. '' It's me, again.''

He couldn't help but chuckle a bit for himself, '' If I were you guys — I would've been tired of me already, but a promise is a promise, right?''

He huffed, looking out over the lake in front of him as his head tipped, and his cheek felt cold against the rock.

'' I missed you this week. Life is busy. Work is boring as always, and Dean—''

Blaise held his breath, '' Dean is Dean, you know.''

'' Your mother wanted me to give you my best. It feels strange to tell her that I am meeting you when she doesn't know...''

He quieted down, crossing his legs over the soil he was seated on.

'' Let's not talk about that.''

The warm breeze stroked his cheeks, and a flushed color stained them.

It felt calm — easy to be here now in the aftermath of it all. After the war. After the dark ruling turned into a fair one.

To feel the world he was living in, peaceful.

All the darkness his two best friends lived in — faded, as they did.

Blaise's eyes dragged over the world before landing on the hands placed in his lap, and the smile still coated his lips.

He noticed the nail-polish covering his nails.

'' Do you remember when you painted my nails, love?'' The tips of his fingers rubbed over the yellow polish, '' You colored mine black, and I colored yours yellow.''

'' That's the only color I let her paint on them these days. I can't bear another color than that soft yellow shade you always wore.''

His mind fled to when he was still in school, tucked up in his dorm with Leiah — laughing at some mean comment she made about Draco, or when they used to lay on the grass in the sun, reading to each other, and she fiddled with that necklace of hers.

The necklace Draco gave her.

But all he saw on Leiah's small fingers was her yellow nail polish.

" We should have painted your nails too, Draco. Don't you think?"

''Dad!''

Blaise flinched, quickly pushing himself off the ground as the sweet, chuckling voice shredded closer,

'' Speaking of her.'' He smiled, and the little girl running towards him slammed into his chest as he lifted her, spinning them both around in the sunlight.

'' Hi, darling.'' Blaise whispered into her curly hair, '' Are you ready to meet your auntie Leiah again?''

The child in his arms smiled cheekily as she bent over in her father's arms to place one white rose on top of the stone standing next to them.

'' Hi, auntie Leiah.'' The little girl giggled, stroking the rock with her hand, '' I missed you.''

Blaise smiled, feeling how his eyes prickled in tears by the sight of his daughter placing a flower on his best friend's grave.

'' You know what, princess?'' Blaise put her down from his hold, hunching down next to her as her dress danced in the wind, '' I just know she missed you too.''

'' But don't you forget to say hi to your uncle Draco too.''

The girl twirled a lock of hair in between her fingers as she stumbled up to the stone, and again — she stroked it, whispering, '' Hi uncle Draco, I missed you.''