The Stars Aligned

Epilogue 1

October 3, 2040

Deep in London there is a retirement home for witches and wizards, specifically those with medical needs. In the corner room on the top floor, an elderly woman is sitting on a plush red couch as the final rays of the sun sink into oblivion. She has wild brown curls, the color faded with age and streaked with silver. She has many laugh lines, as if her life has been full of nothing but laughter. Her eyes are as golden as they always have been, but with a slight dull, the haze of damaged mind that cannot remember it's life.

Across from her in a plush cream armchair is an elderly man around the same age as her. His hair is bright silver, although it doesn't look much different from his white blonde hair when he was younger. His laugh lines seem to match hers. His eyes are precisely the same as they have been his entire life, a sharp silver that seemed to have a mind of its own, changing and ebbing with his emotions.

"Is that it, Mr. G?" The elderly woman asked, looking hopefully at the man reading to her.

"No, no, there's plenty more."

"Now Mr. G, tell me, please!" The woman pleads, sticking out her bottom lip. "I want to know how her life was!"

The man nods, closing the white leather book on his lap. "Well, they got married in a small ceremony with close family and friends. They had the reception in a grand library with strawberries in every meal and tables themed after classic books, just like they planned all those years ago. The wedding table was themed after 'To Kill a Mockingbird', of course."

"Of course. What else?"

"They moved into Malfoy Manor but renovated the entire inside, replacing all the dark colors with light ones and opening up the space so it truly felt like home." The man opened the front cover of the leather book, taking out a photo. He leans forward and hands it to her, his lips pulling up at the corner. "They had three beautiful children whom they adored: a daughter Jem, named after 'To Kill A Mockingbird'; a son Scorpius, named after Draco's favorite constellation; and another daughter Theodora, for obvious reasons."

The woman studied the picture with interest. Jem was a carbon copy of how she imagined Hermione, though her hair was straight and strikingly blonde. Scorpius looked exactly like her image of Draco, save for his golden eyes twin to his mum and older sister. And Theodora's silver eyes seemed to glint with mischief, paired with her mother's wild curls. The woman thought that the humor in her face matched Theo's exactly, and she realized how perfectly the little girl's name fit her.

"That's so beautiful," she said in awe. "And..." She hesitated. "Did Hermione ever swim again?"

His smile was warm yet distant, being dragged into his memories. "Not for a long time. It wasn't until her kids wanted to go swimming with her. Her family helped her get through it, until the good memories in the water outweighed the bad."

She sighed in relief, glad that Hermione overcame her trauma. "What about everyone else?"

"Well, everyone pretty much stayed together and ended up getting married and having kids: Blaise and Luna, Harry and Ginny, and Ron and Lavender. Oh, and Pansy didn't get married, but she was the best aunt to all the kids. She would bake Snickerdoodles for them and tell them stories, stories of knights and pirates and faraway kingdoms. She even opened her own fashion line."

"What a perfect story," She said contently. She cocked her head. "Did you write down these people's life stories, Mr. G?"

He shook his head. "No. Someone I love very much wrote it."

"Your wife?"

The barest of smiles. "Yes."

She clapped her hands together. "I'd love to meet her."

His smile faded, but he hid his disappointment swiftly. He does it easily; after all, he's had more than five years of practice, more than five years of reading to her every day. "She is the loveliest person to ever exist."

She nodded, hoping to meet his wife sometime. She glanced out the window, at the wind rustling the trees and the glimmering stars. "It looks nice and cool out there. Can we go outside?"

"Of course." He stood up and offered his arm to her. She took it gladly, looping her arm through his. Where their hands met, he slipped his pinky through hers.

They walked the short way to the elevator and went down to the very first floor, making their way into the garden. He led her to a bench in the center of the clearing of the trees, a seat with a perfect view of the night sky. The side of the bench read: reserved for the Granger-Malfoys.

They sat next to each other, pinkies still locked, gazing up at the sky in silence. "I think there's supposed to be a meteor shower tonight," He says quietly.

Her eyes brighten. "Oh, how perfect."

He hums. "The moon is beautiful, isn't it?"

She freezes. Turns slowly to him. He's staring at her, his eyes quicksilver, the soft silver of the clouds. He tilts his head to the side, stray curls falling across his brow.

Like a raging storm, the chains on her mind shatter free.

She gulps, tears already spilling down her cheeks. His eyes widen, barreling into her, hoping, praying. "I can die happy, Draco," She whispers finally.

His eyes flash. He grips her pinky tighter, staring at his golden girl with golden eyes and a golden heart. He reaches up, taking her face in his hands. "Granger?" Draco says hoarsely.

As if the gods above were looking down on them, the meteor shower begins. Hermione sobs, memorizing his handsome face, vowing to never forget it again. "Draco..."

And as the stars fell from heaven down to earth, so their lips collided in a supernova.