"Look Dad, just give him a chance, I'm sure you'll end up loving him, just like I do."

Draco balked as he stared at his twenty year old daughter in horror.

He couldn't understand where the time had gone. It had only seemed like yesterday that she had been an adorable little daddy's girl.

And now his dark haired beautiful daughter was stood in front of him, informing him that she was about to get married. To a man.

"But why a Longbottom?" He cried, driving a frustrated hand through his hair. "Of all the names!"

"Draco," his wife said warningly, giving him a sharp look.

He knew that look. It was the look she gave him when he was acting like his father. Even after all these years of trying not to be like him, he still found snatches of Lucius's ways and means emanating from him.

He supposed you couldn't completely deny your parentage, even if he had tried his damnedest to do so.

"I love Johnny, Daddy!" Nova cried, making Draco's heart twist at the use of the redundant endearing term she used to call him. "I would have thought you of all people would understand that!"

Draco exhaled a long breath. Of course he understood that. It was the reason he still didn't talk to his own father.

He felt a hand touch his arm, instantly calming him; Aurora's. He placed his own hand on top of it, smiling at her as he gently squeezed her fingers in his.

Even after all these years his heart still flooded with such love upon looking at her. He never took her for granted, feeling blessed every morning he woke up to another day with her.

Because when you've been so close to losing someone so many times, it's not difficult to appreciate them.

"I'm sorry, Nova," he said, turning back to face his eldest and now grown up child. "It just took me by surprise. Of course if he makes you happy, then it makes me happy."

"Oh Daddy!" She cried, her face lighting up with joy as she flung her arms around him. "Your blessing means so much to me, I was so worried you would hate me!"

"Darling, I could never hate you!" Draco uttered, completely thrown by her train of thinking, "I've loved you since the moment I knew of your existence. And you must understand that to me no one will ever be good enough for you. And I'm afraid that will never change. But I do want you to be happy. And if this Longbottom makes you happy, then... so be it."

Johnny Longbottom; second cousin of Neville's who had attended Hogwarts in the same year as Nova. He had been a Gryffindor. Unlike Nova, who had followed in her father's footsteps and had become a Slytherin.

Romance hadn't blossomed until after Hogwarts though, when Nova had found herself working in the same office as Longbottom. Draco had Granger to thank for that. Bloody S.P.E.W.

"She's happy," Aurora reassured him later that night after they'd both turned in for the night. "It's all we ever wanted for her."

He gathered her to him, inhaling her scent as he kissed the top of her head.

"I know," he murmured, nuzzling his face in her hair. "She'll never stop being my little girl though."

"Well we have our other little girl to worry about in the meantime," Aurora sighed heavily, "I worry about her, about how she's going to cope starting Hogwarts tomorrow."

Draco's thoughts turned to Ariel, a child so different to their first born. Where Nova was dark haired like Aurora, Ariel had the Malfoy white-blond locks. Where Nova was fierce and confident, Ariel was quiet and withdrawn.

"Scorp'll be by her side though," he said, thinking of his only son who simply adored his twin sister.

Everyone told him Scorpius was Draco's mini-me. But Draco couldn't agree with that in the slightest.

For sure, yes, he looked exactly like him in so many ways; but personality wise, their son was all Aurora.

Bright, loyal, kind. Caring.

Something Draco strived to be but had always had to work at. It all came naturally to his son, however.

"I just want them all to be happy," Aurora breathed, snuggling against him. "I can't bear the thought of them not being so."

And that right there is why he loved her. His wonderful, perfect, caring, darling Aurora.

The person that had finally made Draco Malfoy want to be, and had become, a better person.

*****

The feeling of dread hit me before I had even opened my eyes.

The first day of September.

I felt the familiar pang in my heart that I had experienced nine years previously when I had first waved Nova off.

Arms circled around me and I opened my eyes to be met with a pair of intense silver grey ones.

"It'll be okay, Aurora," Draco murmured huskily in my ear. "They're stronger than you give them credit for."

But it wasn't necessarily their strength that bothered me. It was Hogwarts. The place where Cedric died. The place where Fred died. Not to mention countless others.

If it wasn't the fact that I hated the thought of sending them to another country, I would have begged Draco to have our children attend a different wizarding school. Literally any other school felt safer than Hogwarts.

But as Draco, my parents and Narcissa kept pointing out to me - it was the war that killed them all, not Hogwarts.

"Hey, Nova survived without drama, didn't she?" Draco chuckled in my ear. "Which is a miracle considering the fuss she likes to make about everything."

He leant down to brush his lips softly against mine, cupping my face tenderly in his hand. I sighed contentedly into his kiss, relishing in the comfort of his embrace.

"Mum! I can't find my socks!"

We broke apart at the sound of our son's voice coming from the other side of the door.

"Early night tonight?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"You just try and stop me." Draco grinned, a wicked glint in his eye.

Two hours later we had left the confines of the Manor and were making the familiar journey to platform nine and three quarters; the twins dragging their trunks behind us as Draco led the way, clasping his hand in mine.

I couldn't help but keep glancing at Ariel fretfully. She looked nervous, scared; vulnerable.

Scorp, on the other hand, was looking as chilled out and relaxed as anything, taking everything in his stride.

"Mum, I don't want to go,"

The timid, frightened voice made my heart twist horrifically in my chest.

"Ariel," I said, dropping Draco's hand to crouch down by our youngest daughter, whose eyes were wide with fear, swimming with terrified tears.

"I don't want to be a Slytherin, Mum. But I know Dad and Nova were, and I bet Scorp will be too and I don't want to be left on my own."

Her bottom lip trembled and I threw my arms around her, holding her close to me.

"Darling, it doesn't matter what house you will be in. I was a Ravenclaw, remember? And I made the most wonderful friends there, as well as being close to both Slytherins and Gryffindors. And don't forget, your uncle Ced was a Hufflepuff."

"I wouldn't mind being a Hufflepuff," Scorpius spoke up, causing Draco to make a funny sounding noise between a scoff and a snort.

"Well, Scorpius Cedric Malfoy," I said defiantly up at my son, who's sparkling bright eyes very much resembled my dear brother's, "your uncle would have been very proud."

"I still wish I could stay at home with you and Nova," Ariel said quietly, squeezing her arms around my neck tightly.

"Well it sounds like your sister won't be at home much longer, anyway," Draco sulked. "Now she's going off to become a Longbottom."

"What's this?!"

We all swivelled our heads to the always handsome face of one of our dearest and closest friends.

"Uncle Blaise!" Scorp cheered, giving him a high five.

"Hey, my main man," Blaise chuckled, doing this weird fist bump action thing with him.

"Blaise, what are you doing here?" I asked, standing up and giving him a hug as he kissed me on the cheek. "Is Cho with you?"

"Nah, she's at home with the bubs." Blaise explained as he affectionately rubbed the top of Ariel's head who looked up at him with adoration in her eyes. "I thought I'd swing by on my way to work and wave off my little dudes."

"Hey, man," Draco said, stepping over to share their usual manly hug. "Good to see you."

"What's this I hear about my goddaughter becoming a Longbottom?" Blaise asked, looking pained. "Please don't tell me that that twerp has popped the question?"

"Hey-" I started, but Draco spoke over me shaking his head in disappointment.

"It hurts right here, man," He said morosely, beating a fist to his chest. "Of all the names."

"Merlin," I muttered, as they commiserated with one another. Anyone would've thought Nova had declared she was moving to the other side of the world with Voldemort's offspring the way they were acting.

A loud toot sounded and Draco and Blaise immediately helped Scorp and Ariel get their things loaded onto the train.

I hugged them both so hard, trying desperately not to cry.

"Please look after Ariel, Scorp," I whispered furtively in his ear, "she needs her brother so much."

I didn't add that I knew how that felt. Or that I knew Scorp would be every bit as good a brother as Cedric had been to me.

The words stuck in my throat; some things still too hard to say even after all this time.

My eyes met Draco's and he looked at me with a mixture of sadness and compassion. He knew.

"Of course I'll look after Ariel, Mum," Scorp answered back with such solemness, "she's my sister, I'll never let anyone hurt her."

And then my heart stilled; for as his eyes met mine, in a mere fraction of a second, I was looking at Cedric.

"I love you," I breathed. And I closed my eyes against a ripping tide of pain.

I felt a hand place gently on my shoulder.

"Come on Aurora, it's time," Draco murmured softly, as I stood up and let him gather me to his chest.

We both watched as Scorp and Ariel boarded the train. I couldn't stop my tears now, the emotion too much to hide.

Blaise ran along side the train, waving animatedly to the twins as it chugged away, steam billowing all around.

"We did alright in the end, you know," Draco said, kissing the top of my head as he held me tightly to him.

"We did, didn't we," I agreed, wiping my tears as I waved over to Harry, Ron and Hermione who were stood in the distance. I sensed Draco give them a brief acknowledging nod.

He lifted my hand that still bore the faint scars of Umbridge's torture, Harry Potter is a liar, kissing the back of it with such a loving tenderness.

I, in turn placed a gently touch to the sleeve of his left arm where his own scars lay; faded but never gone.

The scars that remind us everyday of how lucky we are; remind us of the battle we fought and of those that we lost along the way.

And, as we followed Blaise out of the station, agreeing to go join him over coffee and cake whilst we caught him up with Nova's latest news; I knew that I would do it all over again.

Because our love had always been worth fighting for.

And it would continue to be so, until the very