In The End

Epilogue - In The End

Author's note: So this is it! The story is complete! Part of me can't believe it's over... but anyway, I'll probably be editing and adding photos in the future so be prepared for annoying updates... Sorry >-<

Draco woke up to a warm ray of yellow sunlight pouring through a gap in the curtains. Stretching he felt beside him, and was surprised to see that the bed was empty.

Getting up, he finger-combed his white hair and pulled on a pair of boxers, before heading towards the kitchen. Boiling the kettle, as Eliza had called it, he prepared two mugs and put a tea-bag in each, adding one spoon of sugar to each cup and some milk to his one.

After brewing the tea, he carried to the two mugs out of the kitchen, being careful not to spill. Then he saw her. His angel.

She was sitting by her easel, painting light brush strokes in striking orange and yellow, while occasionally looking up to enjoy the view out of the gigantic window of their luxury apartment.

The window was what had sold her in the first place.

She hadn't heard Draco enter the room, which wasn't surprising, as she often forgot about the rest of the word when she painted. Draco didn't want to disturb her.

She looked so peaceful, sitting there, her mind far away. The sunlight landed on her perfectly, highlighting the golden tones in brown hair, which had been dyed back a few weeks after the Battle.

He noticed another thing about her. Her shoulders weren't tense anymore. When she painted, they relaxed, as if the cords inside loosened after years of being pulled tightly across her shoulder blades.

Draco wished he could stay in that moment forever, just watching her paint peacefully. Then it hit him. Setting the mugs down quietly onto the coffee table, he tiptoed to the bedroom and retrieved Eliza's wizard camera.

He quickly tiptoed back, desperate to take the picture before the moment was over, and peered into the lens, before snapping the perfect photo of her.

Eliza heard the snap and turned around.

"Good morning, love." She said happily, getting up from her stool and walking towards him to give him a small kiss.

"Morning angel." He said, smiling.

"Did you take a picture of me?" She asked, smirking, as she peered over the camera to see the little image on the screen of her camera.

"I did. I think it's the best one yet." He said, grinning now.

Eliza simply laughed and shook her head. Draco was such a sappy boyfriend. If his friends ever knew about it they would be shocked.

"I brought you some tea." Draco said, setting the camera down and handing her the mug filled with aromatic black tea.

"Thanks." She said, taking a sip, and feeling the warmth spread through her body.

The sun may have been out, but it was still freezing. Eliza looked out the window once again as she took another sip. The Irish countryside was so beautiful in spring.

It was hard to believe that she and Draco moved there two whole years ago.

Eliza's train of thought was interrupted by a knock on the door. Snapping out of her daze, Eliza walked to the door and opened it to reveal her father and Narcissa.

"Good morning dad. Good morning Narcissa, please, come in." She smiled, letting them inside.

"Good morning Eliza. So nice to see you again." Narcissa said, giving Eliza a big hug.

"Mum? Why are you here so early?" Draco asked with a yawn, standing around in nothing but his boxers.

"8 o'clock is not that early, dear. Get some clothes on, would you? I'm getting cold just looking at you." She said affectionately.

Draco grumbled and went into the room to get dressed while Eliza went to make some tea for Narcissa and her father as they sat and chatted on the sofa.

After a few hours of family time, Fabian got up.

"I think we ought to go, Narcissa. Don't want to overstay our welcome." He said, winking at his daughter.

"Yes, that's probably a good idea. I just can't wait for the day when we are in-laws and get to intrude on them whenever we want." She teased.

"Very funny, mother." Draco said sarcastically, getting up to open the door.

"No, but seriously, dear. When do you plan on marrying this beautiful young woman?" She asked, resting a hand on Eliza's shoulder.

"When the time feels right." He stated, before shoving his mother out the door, Fabian following her out, chuckling at the whole scenario.

Draco closed the door and let out a sigh of relief.

"That woman drives me mad sometimes." He chuckled, taking a seat next to Eliza on the sofa and crawling under the fluffy blanket she had taken out.

"Oh, don't be dramatic. She just wants grandchildren." Eliza chuckled, snuggling into Draco for warmth.

"I suppose you're right. I know I sort of answered of your behalf too, but I do want to know, is getting married something you want to do anytime soon?" He asked.

Eliza looked up at him and smiled.

"Darling, please don't take this personally, but I just want us to live our lives a little before we rush into things. Don't get me wrong, I do want to marry you at some point. Just not right now. We were in a war for so long. We were deatheaters. There was a time in our lives when we weren't sure we'd make it through the day. I think we need to catch up on all that time spent miserably by learning to enjoy the simple things in life first." She said, smiling gently as she stared into Draco's silvery eyes.

"I see."

"Please don't be upset." She said.

"I'm not. You're right, you know. We have plenty of time to get married and have kids. We don't have to do it right now. I mean, I'm just happy to be with you. Who cares if we aren't married? We know who we belong with. We don't need a marriage to prove we love each other, I mean, in the end, it doesn't even matter." He said, kissing Eliza on the head.

Eliza let out a sigh of relief. She had never felt so content...