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Black Widow	By : goldhorse Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 35497 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 6
Disclaimer: I don't own HP, JKR does. I make no money doing this but I do get carpel tunnel.

Chapter List
- 16
- 17
Okay, okay, since everyone asked so nicely....

“Damn, are you okay?” Harry asked Draco, panting and holding his side as the Knights scrambled away from their last fight, bruised and shaken but victorious.
“Yep,” Draco hissed, shaking the darkness around until it was manageable.
“Are you sure?” Hermione asked as she limped along. “That was a lot of magic.”
“Nothing I can’t manage,” he said hoarsely. It really had been a lot of darkness but he’d taken more.
“You mean we,” Hermione growled.
“Of course,” Draco said, chuckling weakly. “I just wish we had more than a few hours to sleep before our appointment tomorrow.”
“Who was it that said you could sleep when you were dead?” Severus asked dryly.
“I wasn’t damn near 40 then,” Draco said, wincing when the darkness smashed against his ribs.
Severus snorted. “Now you know how I felt.”
“Yes, you’re quite a bit older now, aren’t you?” Draco asked snidely.
“Don’t let his age fool you,” Harry said quietly. “He’s still plenty young enough.”
“You would know,” Draco said, laughing when Potter ducked his head.
“Good to see you all in good spirits,” Luna chirped when they reached base camp.
“We were worried,” Neville said, glancing over to Kingsley who was leading a group of captors off to meet with aurors.
“We caught them just in time,” Harry said. “They were about to start with the rituals.”
“There are still several that need help,” Hermione said.
Draco didn’t need to see her face to know that her eyes were glued to Justin’s. When given the choice, the Hufflepuff had of course chosen self-preservation and had agreed to have his magic stripped over drooling in a cage the rest of his life. His first year in the labor camp had proven difficult. He’d been shocked more than any participant they had ever had before and since then. After that, he didn’t try to escape but it had taken about five years after that for him to realize exactly what he was doing.
Draco realized later that Justin had immersed himself in so much dark magic that he had truly gone insane. He’d made it a point to see that Justin took the cleansing potion. After that, the next five years saw a sullen Justin, obviously realizing what he’d done. The last few years, he’d been repentant and thrown his all into helping those they rescued. Twenty years after the war, Justin had finally become himself again and had settled for his lot in life. He took his punishment stoically and had even asked more than once if he could apologize to his victims. He was denied because he was supposed to be drooling in Azkaban, but he still asked every few months. Draco considered it a good sign.
Hermione was almost ready to give in and accept. It had taken her several years to get over it as well, but she was doing splendidly. Once in a very great while she would revert and he would have to use a heavy hand with her. The domination seemed to bring her out of it every time and he was grateful for it. He thought that her acceptance of Justin’s apology might be the final step. And perhaps Justin would quit beating himself up about it as well, though it made for an even better punishment. Draco still hadn’t quite forgiven him, but he understood what people did when they weren’t in their right mind. Everyone needed peace before the end.
“How many are there?” Justin asked quietly, not really looking at the Knights. He’d given up trying to focus on them years ago.
“Thirty,” Hermione said gravely. “Perhaps more, mostly women and children. There are a few teenage boys who are still in decent condition, more than a little overprotective.”
“Conditions?” Justin asked.
“Poor to very poor. I’m afraid a few won’t make it,” she said softly.
Draco was happy that her voice hadn’t broken. It had proven the hardest part for Hermione, leaving the victims behind to be tended to later. She and Potter both had the same overwhelming Gryffindor sense of bravado. They thought they could save everyone. Sometimes they just couldn’t.
“Will they survive healing?” Neville asked, watching as Justin gathered his supplies and barked orders to the others in the labor camp.
“Not sure,” Hermione answered.
“Let’s go,” Luna announced after the aurors had disappeared.
Only one auror even knew they were there and he wasn’t talking. Weasley had proved to be a valuable member of the team, minimizing injuries and even helping them recruit a few new members. They weren’t getting any younger, after all. The new generation, fresh out of Hogwarts, were auror recruits who had shown amazing abilities and a certain disregard for the rules, the same characteristics that Dumbledore had chosen the first recruits for. The four new members were sent in on fishing raids mostly, gathering evidence and saving as many captors as they could. They helped organize the labor camps and freed up time for the others, who were busy putting pieces together. The original members still took out the leaders though.
“Come on,” Draco said after everyone had mobilized. “Let’s go get patched up and in bed. It’s going to be an exceptionally long day tomorrow.”
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Draco stood stiff as a board while the nurses gathered the paperwork he’d been waiting for two decades for. He signed with a shaking hand and waited as everything was filed. Once that was finished, he was led to the one room he hadn’t held any hope that he would ever see… the discharging room. When he entered, he almost fell over.
“Wha… what are you doing here?”
Hermione, Neville, and Potter smiled at him from their chairs, not bothering to get up. Severus was standing in the corner, dressed in a Knight robe but there nevertheless. Draco was elated they were here but he didn’t know why.
“We’ve been your friends for a very long time, you prat,” Harry growled. “You didn’t think we’d just leave you here after working so hard for this?”
Draco sighed and nodded. “Thank you… all of you. It’s more than I could have hoped for.”
“And if we hurry, we can get them settled before we need to be at the train station,” Hermione said pointedly.
Draco nodded and jumped when the door opened. “Father… mother?”
“Son,” Lucius said warmly.
“Oh, Draco,” Narcissa said tearfully, reaching out to hug him.
Draco bit back the tears and gingerly took his mother into his arms. It had been an extremely long and hard battle to bring them back from insanity. With the help of a new potion Neville and Severus had worked on to bring Neville’s parents back and a few more than racy sessions with both Potter and Hermione, they were able to break through the shells his parents had become. Slowly but surely, he was able to help them reconstruct their minds. It was a miracle. An even greater miracle was Kingsley granting them a full pardon due to their duress under the blood stone curse set on them by Voldemort. They were finally free. He blinked back the tears and reached over to shake his father’s hand. Lucius scoffed and pulled him away from his mother, embracing him in a hug that Draco had only dreamed of.
“Let’s go home,” Narcissa said softly.
“Of course, mother,” Draco said, taking her hand.
“Mr. Longbottom,” Lucius said stiffly. “I couldn’t possibly thank you enough.”
“It was nothing,” Neville said, blushing at the praise. “But you’ll have to excuse me. I have patients to tend to.”
Draco watched as Lucius nodded. Neville had made quite the name for himself, becoming a healer. His specialty was obscure diseases. Rumor had it that he had gotten in touch with a Potions Master who was even more astounding that Severus Snape and together they created miracles. Draco had to smile at that, watching his friend of many years walk around with confidence and a smile.
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“Watch your step,” Draco cautioned, adjusting his hood so no one could see his face.
“Dad, I’m eleven. I’m not a baby anymore.”
Draco smirked as his son, Altair, rolled his grey eyes and guided his cart at the wall to Platform 9 ¾. He fearlessly ran through, not even sparing a glance backwards.
“Um, are you sure I won’t bump into him?”
“Darling, you’ll never bump into someone on the other side,” Hermione said softly to their daughter, Gemma. “The magic prevents it.”
She nodded and flicked her light auburn curls over her shoulder before running at the wall.
“You’re sure they won’t be found out?” Hermione asked nervously, tugging at her hood as she and Draco made their way to the wall.
“Positive,” Draco said. “Luna said she would protect them like her own.”
Hermione nodded and stepped through, smiling at the hustle and bustle as children boarded the Hogwarts Express. He was never so glad that Luna had become the new Headmistress after McGonagall retired. It meant that she saw all the records of every student and could hide them accordingly. It was their one and only mistake, having the twins. But neither one of them couldn’t bring themselves to regret it.
“They’re so excited they can hardly stand themselves,” Harry said, making them spin. He grinned at them, shoving off the wall and standing beside them in regular muggle attire.
“You decided to come out, did you?” Draco asked with a raised eyebrow.
Harry nodded. “Can’t have my little girl attend her first day without her father, can I?”
Draco nodded. He supposed Natasha did need support. She was too shy for her own good, and much to closed off. They had found her mother in a raid shortly after Hermione found out she was pregnant. Too weak to survive the birth, Harry and Severus and taken the wee child in and raised her as their own. It was hard raising children when the world still chomped at the bit for any juicy story from old war heroes. But with the help of the Knights, the children flourished.
“Her other father?” Hermione asked under her breath.
Harry smiled and nodded behind her. “Here he is.”
Severus stepped up beside them, well hidden in his Knight cloak. “How is she?”
“Doing fantastic,” Harry laughed, watching as their little girl practically tackled the twins.
“Their cover story?” Hermione asked softly.
“Orphanage I volunteer at,” Harry said. “I offered to take the magical ones to school. The fact that there are only five of them shouldn’t come up.”
Draco frowned and searched the train. “Where are Joel and Jonah?”
“Neville should be dropping them off shortly,” Harry said. “Ah, here they are.”
They turned to see a cloaked Neville helping his and Luna’s twins to the luggage car.
“Someone had to have spiked the punch that night,” Severus grumbled as he watched.
“I think it was Kingsley,” Harry said, startling everyone. “What? I can put two and two together. Hermione and Luna pregnant on the same day both with twins despite contraception. And Kingsley didn’t even bat an eyelash, just warned that their parentage was to be kept a secret. And he also approved for Sev and I to adopt Natasha shortly after.”
Draco wanted to smack himself. Of course. It was so simple now. Then he laughed aloud because he realized that once again, their leader had given them exactly what was needed.
“Hey guys,” Harry said, welcoming their children who were dragging Neville over. “Ready to go?”
“We’ll write every day,” Gemma promised.
“And we’ll be friends no matter what house we’re in,” Joel said shyly.
“And we’ll be careful to stay out of trouble,” Jonah said.
Altair and Natasha grinned at each other before Altair leaned forward and whispered to the others. “You mean we won’t get caught.”
“I still have exceptionally good hearing,” Severus warned.
Natasha blushed. “Sorry father.”
“Give my love to the Headmistress,” Neville said softly.
“She does have our other names, right?” Gemma asked, worrying her lip between her teeth just like her mother did.
“Of course she does,” Harry said. “And if you look really hard, you might see someone you know.”
The children’s eyes grew big as saucers and they each squealed before hugging their respective parents. Then they hustled off to the train.
“Harry, mate,” Ron called. “Didn’t think I’d see you here.”
Harry turned and gave his best mate a friendly handshake. “Yeah, just seeing some of the orphans onto the train. Didn’t have anyone, you know?”
Ron raised an eyebrow and glanced from person to person. “I can see that. Well, it’s Rosie’s first year but Hanna wasn’t feeling well this morning so I volunteered to take her and Hugo.”
“Is Rose excited?” Harry asked.
“Truthfully, she’s a bit scared,” Ron said, glancing over to the train. “Hugo has made it clear that as a third year, he doesn’t have time for little children.”
“That’s too bad,” Harry said.
Ron grinned. “Yeah, but the twins have been pranking Hugo nonstop for months since he said that. He refuses to budge. I’m sure she’ll be fine though. He’ll look after her. He just wants to act tough.”
“She’d probably get along great with the orphans,” Harry said, clearing his throat uncomfortably.
Ron sniffed and leaned in close. “I think we all know they aren’t orphans, Harry.”
Harry paled. “What?”
“You think that after all these years I wouldn’t figure it out?”
“Um,” Harry stammered. “Figure what out?”
Ron smirked. “I’m immune to the robes, mate. Have been for years. Besides, Natasha looks just like her mum… and I do remember her.”
The Knights were speechless as Ron walked away whistling a merry tune.
“Son of a bitch,” Draco breathed in astonishment. “Weasel can keep a secret better than I thought.”
Harry and Hermione burst into raucous laughter. Over thirty years of friendship and Ron could still surprise them.
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“How did you manage this, Potter?” Draco asked as they snuck into the castle.
Harry grinned. “Scouting mission.”
The others snorted as they silently entered and slunk into the corner of the Great Hall. Luna grinned and stood, making a whimsical speech to the returning students and welcoming the new ones. The first years piled in, looking rather nervous. Draco wondered if he had ever been that small. He also noticed that little Rose had a death grip on Altair’s hand and wrinkled his nose. Damn. A Weasley. Hermione giggled silently and poked him in the side before settling in to watch the sorting.
“Altair Langory,” Luna called.
Draco watched his son gently remove Rose’s hand from his and stroll out to the middle of the room with all the swagger of a Malfoy. His only saving grace from being spotted as one was his mother’s unruly light auburn hair because he was a dead ringer for his father everywhere else. He winked at the corner to let them know he’d seen them and proudly sat on the stool so Luna could place the hat on him.
“Slytherin!” the sorting hat called.
Draco nodded. He figured his son would be a Slytherin. He was a sneaky little thing who kept them on their toes constantly.
“Gemma Langory,” Luna called.
Gemma’s eyes darted everywhere, finally settling in their corner. She let out a huge breath of relief and climbed on the stool. She’d been nervous since she’d gotten her letter, worried that people would figure out who she was. She did look so much like Hermione with her father’s eyes and pale complexion.
“Ravenclaw!” the sorting hat called.
Gemma frowned and went to sit at her new house table. It wasn’t surprising. She was a very smart girl but she didn’t seem to have the blind courage that many Gryffindors did. She thought things through twice before moving, which annoyed Altair to no end.
“Joel Montgomel,” Luna called, smiling softly at her little boy.
Joel and Jonah were identical twins with Luna’s blond hair and Neville’s soft brown eyes. They were both soft spoken and gentle but very quick to strike out if they thought an injustice had been done.
“Gryffindor!” the hat called.
Luna grinned and patted Joel on the shoulder. “Jonah Montgomel.”
Jonah shuffled up to the stool and sat board straight as the hat was placed on his head.
“Gryffindor!”
Draco could feel Neville beam. He was actually surprised at the placement but he had seen the boys take another little boy to the ground for insulting Natasha before. They would be a good fit.
“Natasha Panters,” Luna called.
Natasha kept her head down as she trudged up to the stool. Her white blonde hair covered her entire face as she stared at the floor, hiding her purple eyes. That was another reason that Kingsley had allowed Potter and Severus to adopt the sweet little girl. She had been an experiment, a dragon blood hybrid. As such, she had a nasty temper that would flare at the worst times and strength that was quite alarming. Severus, having vampire blood, could manage her. And Potter, to whom Dark creatures seemed to gravitate to, could calm her. They were the perfect placement, really.
“Slytherin!” the hat called.
Draco had to choke back a laugh. He knew Severus would be gloating later. He and Potter had been arguing about her house for years. Potter thought she belonged in Ravenclaw but Severus had seen how devious she could be. He could just imagine the scene that would happen at their house later.
“Rose Weasley,” Luna called after a while.
They all stilled, watching the little girl tip toe to the stool. She looked like she was scared of her own shadow. Draco scanned the tables to find Hugo sitting at the Gryffindor table, his eyes glued to his sister. He smirked. No time for his sister indeed.
“Hufflepuff!”
The Knights froze as Rose started crying. Her mother had been in Hufflepuff and she was very meek so it wasn’t a surprise really. But ever since Justin Finch-Flechley had been tried, the house had a bad name. It was all a bunch of hogwash anyway. Two of the new generation were Hufflepuffs and there hadn’t been a more loyal and fierce couple of Knights. But the stigma stood and Rose was devastated.
Draco held his breath as Altair calmly strode forward and pulled her into his chest for a hug. He walked her to the table, no doubt reassuring her that there was nothing to be ashamed of. Draco and Hermione had said those words too many times when the children had been fighting over which house was better. Gemma, Joel, Jonah, and Natasha all got up to join them, making Draco’s heart burst with pride. This generation would be different. They would know love and be blind to prejudice, though they were more than aware it existed. Yes, this was the new start. The world they’d been waiting for.
As the Knights slunk away, Draco stopped to survey the castle once more. He put his hand on the wall and closed his eyes.
“Thank you,” he told it.
The castle seemed to shift and he felt it in his mind.
“Thank you brave Knight. Bring Peace for us all.”
“Coming, Dragon?” Hermione asked as he walked out the door.
He grinned. “Coming Spider.”

AN: And there you go. Some people hate epilogues. Feel free to tell me how you feel about this one. As always, thanks to everyone who reviewed. I read over them twice while waiting for an interview. Manager, baby. Everyone cross their fingers, yeah? And since this is the end of this one, until the next one... love you guys!
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Black Widow