hi!
i finished rereading broken and it was beautiful, heart wrenching, and it made me cry all over again lol. i have a few questions if you don’t mind answering them? i was wondering if you could tell us who said i love you first? i know draco said it once when he thought she was asleep, but would it be him or h who would say it, and how would the other person act about it? also, do you know how many children they would have? i was thinking at first that they might not want children, but i think hermione would love to be a mother again. if they do have children, how would dracos demeanor be like? would he still use his occlumency shields with them, or not use it at all, and would he embrace fatherhood readily? sorry about the questions lol. thank you for sharing this story with us! it was actually the first book that made me get out of my reading slump and had me awake until 6am lol. it will always have a special place in my dramione brain. best wishes! xx
Hmmm I think I hurt everyone on discord with this answer.
1. Who said I love you first? Hermione. Not long after the epilogue when she found him and Apollo in a stare-off over his chair.
2. As for the children, my original plan for an epilogue was a snapshot of their future. I'll just copy and paste what I put on discord here.
the original planned epilogue takes place five years after the one I actually wrote. Draco and Hermione are married. They have a son and a daughter who is 4 months old. I gave no names.
Draco is teaching their son how to swim in the lake behind their house. They've moved there permanently and made it a home. Hermione is nervous about teaching him. She's the helicopter parent. So she sits on the pier with their daughter and watches. Fretting. Worried about water temperature and stupid stuff. Draco is amused. He's changed over the years, still surly, still side-eyes Harry, but he's a lot more secure in who he is. And happier. He is pretty open with her by this point. They both are.
and when they get out of the water after the lesson, Draco is like he needs to learn and she's like he's young, what if he gets hurt or sick or...and he's like he's healthy. They both are.
He knows what she's thinking about. Hermione loves Draco, their children and her life. She fought like hell for her happiness. But she tells him she's thinking about Matthew while looking at their son. She often does. She never forgets. Their son has some of Matthew's quirks that he inherited from her. She knows they're different.
Their kids look like Draco for all the labor she went through and the stress from getting him on board with fatherhood the first go round, something that sent them both spiraling when she found out. But they got it together in the end once she reminds him that he's not his father and he reminds her that not every child has the same story. They work together.
But years later, after their second is born and she's watching their first march along back to the house, independent and loud, she can't help but think about how old Matthew would be, that he would be on his way to Hogwarts soon, what house would he be in, how he would love his siblings. She's sad in a bittersweet way. Draco has had years of experience with this so he knows and understands and there's some mention of them telling their oldest about his brother. Little bits at a time, because their son is the same age as Matthew when he died.
They don't let his memory die.
Should mention they still keep their tradition from the epilogue. Flowers every month on the first sunny day. Oh and Draco and Apollo still have stare-offs.
The end.
Hope that answered everything
