Hello all! This story, "Antebellum", is a sequel to my story "The Slowed Decay of Time". If you have not read SDoT, you should. If you don't feel like going to find it, I'll indulge your lazyness just this once and give you a basic summery:

"The Slowed Decay of Time" takes place 32 years after the Battle of Hogwarts. Minerva McGonagall has been living in seclusion all those years, as during that battle she was bitten by a Vampire, and fears infecting the woman she secretly loves - Hermione Granger. Meanwhile, Hermione divorces Ron and becomes Headmistress of Hogwarts (upon the death of Flitwick) and some of the portraits 'spill the beans' on Minerva. Hermione realizes she loves the older woman back, and they get together. Other point of interest are that, as with most of my stories, Severus Snape is NOT dead.

If you have not read SDoT, you do not get the spoiler gave. Anything I didn't mention above is explained in this first chapter. Oh, I promise, this story does have a plot, but as I realize Chapter 1 of "Antebellum" doesn't do much more than introduce the cast - who they are, what they do, blah, blah, blah - I just wanted to ask for your patience. This story is going to be awesome. Also, for those who DID read SDoT, and were perhaps disappointed with the lack of smut, I promise this story will have some. SDoT was rated T. This story is rated M.

Normal disclaimers apply. I'm not JK Rowling. I don't own the Harry Potter universe. If I did, I would not have killed Severus Snape.

"Minerva, are you ready?" Hermione Granger, Headmistress of Hogwarts, called to her spouse. "Simon Owled and said he'll just meet us there!"

Simon Tobias McGonagall was their son. About a year aver the two women got together, they had decided to have a child, before both of them were too old. Like Minerva, Hermione had only been partially infected by the Vampirism, and so while both of their lives were dramatically extended, they would eventually age. Minerva had been bitten almost sixty five years ago now, and she had hardly aged at all.

Simon had just turned thirty, and was currently dating the recently of age Vivian Potter. Vivian was Harry Potter's granddaughter, through his eldest, James. James had married a Ravenclaw girl, Susanna, and had three children with her. Vivian, a recent Hogwarts graduate, was the middle child. Her older brother, Jimmy, had graduated Hogwarts four years ago, was getting ready to start his final year at the Auror Academy. Vivian's younger brother, Quinn, was getting ready to start his fifth year at Hogwarts.

Harry's second child, Albus, had married a Slytherin (much to Harry and Ginny's dismay!) named Kate. She was muggleborn, like Hermione, and nearly as intelligent. Albus and Kate had two children. Helen was getting ready to start her seventh year, and her little brother Will was about to begin his fourth. Both were Slytherins, like their parents. Albus himself had been the first Slytherin the Potter family had produced in known history. Harry's middle child often said to his father that he was in Slytherin because he spent too much time with his Godfather, Severus Snape, as a child.

Severus had recently celebrated his one hundredth birthday. He was an active part of the lives of all the Potters, Weasleys, McGonagalls, and to his never ending dismay, Longbottoms. Hermione's son, Hugo, and Neville and Luna's son Giles, had come out as a couple some thirty years ago, and were still together. They had never married, but it didn't matter to any concerned. They were all one big family, wedding rings or not. After more years of seclusion than Minerva had put herself through, Severus had decided to be a more active part of his two godsons' – Albus and Tobias – lives. Like it or not, the grumpy old Potions master was part of the family. In his defense, neither Harry and Ginny or Minerva and Hermione had asked his permission when naming him godfather to their respective sons.

Harry's youngest and only daughter, Lily, had taken a leaf out of her Aunt Hermione's book and surprised the family by introducing Amanda Hooch, granddaughter of the former flying instructor, as her girlfriend. This has happened about five years ago. Prior to that, Lily had been and several relationships with men, but they never seemed to last more than a few months.

Hermione's own daughter, Rose, had married Teddy Lupin the year after her mother had gotten together with Minerva. Rose had inherited the Weasley fondness for large families, and had six children. Their oldest, Remus was the oldest of the cousins at twenty three. He was following his father's footsteps and had joined his father's business. Secret Requirements was a company that made secret rooms and passages in both Wizarding and Muggle homes. His sister, Dora, was three years younger and was her cousin Jimmy's training partner at the Auror Academy. Albie was getting ready to start his seventh year with his cousin Helen, though while she was in Slytherin, he was all Gryfindor. The two were polar opposites – she was prim, proper, and was most often found in the library, while he was wild, had a rather odd style about him, and had inherited his great-grandfather Arthur's insane love for Muggle devices. Jeannie was about to start her fourth year with Helen's little brother Will. Again, one a Slytherin, one a Gryffindor, but in this case the two cousins were as close as brothers, both Seekers on their respective Quidditch teams. The youngest of Teddy and Rose's brood were Ronnie and Billie. The twins had been born a mere month after their grandfather, Ronald Bilius Weasley, had died suddenly of a heart attack, ten years ago now. While Ron and his daughter Rose were often at odds because of his taste for much younger women, his death had still hit her hard, and so she had chosen to name both the boys after him.

"Minerva!" Hermione called again, getting impatient. It was nearly the end of August, and as tradition, the whole family was getting together at the Burrow, which Teddy, Rose, and their children now lived in. Molly had passed away three years before Hermione's ex-husband, Ron had. After that, Arthur had gotten a small apartment in Muggle London, giving the Burrow his granddaughter and her growing family, until he too passed away five years later.

"Blast woman, I'm coming!" Minerva shouted from the other room. Moments later, she walked out in a pair of blue jeans and a button down emerald shirt. Likewise, Hermione was wearing blue jeans, though she wore a light tan turtle-neck. "Unlike you, I don't look gorgeous just rolling out a bed," she quipped. "Patience, dearest."

Hermione chuckled. "You ready to go?"

Minerva nodded, and walked over to join Hermione in front of the fireplace. They would Floo over. "The Burrow!" Hermione clearly stated, throwing the green powder into the flames. The stepped in, and moments later they were greeted by shouts and squeals all around them.

Hermione's children, Rose and Hugo, were arguing by the kitchen sink. "I'm just saying, Hugo, you and Giles should start a family. You are the son, you are responsible for carrying on the family name. Uncle Bill had all girls, Uncle Charlie never had any kids, Uncle Percy's son died when he was 13, Uncle George's son joined a Muggle Monastery up some mountain…"

Helen and Albie, the soon to be seventh years, were having a verbal stand off by the front door.

"Albert, I'm just disappointed. I think you are a reasonably intelligent wizard, and you are wasting your potential," Hermione heard the new Head Girl saying to her cousin.

"You are so not understanding how amazing electricity is, cous," Albie replied. "Muggles can do a lot of the same things we can, using what nature provides. I gotta wonder sometimes if electricity is better than magic. My buddy Henry says…"

"Oh do not get me started on Henry," Helen groaned. "I don't know who told Professor Finnegan he should reproduce. He's odd enough."

Ronnie and Billie were running around the table, shirtless, covered in paint. "You can't catch me, you can't catch me!" they shouted in union. Merlin save her when those two come to Hogwarts next year, Hermione thought. They were Fred and George Weasley all over again.

It was when Hermione's eyes finally found her younger son, Simon, that all hell broke loose. He was in the next room, on the couch with Vivian Potter, and they were snogging and groping like a couple of sixteen year olds.

"Simon Tobias McGonagall!" Hermione shouted.

By this point, Minerva had spotted the couple as well. "Oh boy," Minerva muttered.

Hermione had always been the disciplinary parent, as she had already raised to children by the time Simon came along. "Young man you were raised to be a gentleman. You are thirty years old and should sure as hell know better than this!"

Rose now shifted her attention from her brother to her cousin's daughter. "Vivian, you were Head Girl last year. You should more than know better!"

"Yes, Aunt Rose," Vivian mumbled.

"Sorry mum, mother," Simon apologized to Hermione and Minerva in turn. "Just got carried away."

"Not your fault what you inherited from your father," Minerva jibed.

Hermione rolled her eyes. Minerva's cousin, Nero, had been the sperm donor when she and Hermione had decided to have a child. Both women had been naturally proper all of their lives, and so anytime Simon did something not proper, they blamed Nero. It was all in good fun -most of the time Simon did something not proper, it related to his personal life, and Hermione blamed Minerva for that one. Her long time lover might be nearly one hundred and thirty years old, but she was still a wild animal when the lights when off.

That in mind, Hermione just nodded curtly to her son, and she and Minerva found a seat at the table. Too late did they realize that they'd both sat in puddles of paint.

Hours and plenty of chaos later, the children were let to play outside, and the adults were in the living room drinking a quiet cup of tea, chatting about their lives and the things to come in the next year.

Hermione sat close to Minerva on the couch, leaning on her partner's shoulder. In a few short days the new term would begin and the two women would suddenly find very little time for each other, at least for a few weeks until things settled. One would think that it would be the first years, the new students, which caused all the start of term anxiety, but it was actually the fifth and seventh year students – OWLS and NEWTS years. For some reason, without fail, a good handful of students would have little breakdowns when they got to school and realized that the rest of their lives depended on how they did on their exams this year.

Neville and Luna were well acquainted with this phenomenon. With Neville being Deputy Head, he got just as much of an increased workload associated with out of their minds teenagers. One of the things Hermione liked about having a male Deputy was that while she dealt with the girls, he could deal with the guys. It seemed to make the students more comfortable, knowing that the girls could talk to a woman who'd been through the same thing, and the boys could talk to a man who'd been through the same thing. Luna, while not a teacher at the school, lived on the grounds with Neville and had sort of become the unofficial school councilor. Hermione was starting to think she could make the position official, and pay Luna for her troubles. The blond woman counseled girls, boys, and staff alike. 'Problems don't have age or gender,' Luna had once said. 'They only have solutions.'

Harry and Ginny probably had more stress to deal with than Hermione, Minerva, Neville and Luna combined. Two years ago, Harry had been made Minister of Magic. He had been Head of the Auror Department prior to that, but when Kingsley Shacklebolt finally kicked the bucket, and most of Harry's co-workers had nominated him to replace the former Minister, Harry had gone ahead and run, thinking that it would be better if he wasn't boss to two of his family members, Dora and Jimmy, anyway. In retrospect, Harry often said that he wishes Ron had still been around to talk him out of it. 'Your bloody mad.' Ron would have said. Being Minister of Magic was like herding flying cats.

Ginny found that it was now impossible to walk around the Wizarding public without being mobbed. Between being "friend of The Boy Who Lived", and then "wife of the man who killed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named", and then "holder of highest record for goals made in professional Quidditch history", and now "wife of the Minister of Magic", Ginny could hardly leave the house. If she could help it, she Owl Ordered anything she needed, or went shopping in Muggle London.

Teddy and Rose living as calm a life as they could with six children. Remus has his own flat now, but as he worked with his father he was at the Burrow most mornings for breakfast before the two men would head out to work. Dora still lived at home, though she spend most of her time at the Auror Academy. She couldn't justify getting her own place where she would do nothing but sleep. Albie and Jeannie would be headed back to Hogwarts in less than a week, and after that it would just be the twins, Ronnie and Billie, at home during the day. Rose didn't think that it was particularly fair that the only trouble maker she'd given birth to, Ronnie, was the only one of her children to have a twin – a twin that would do anything his brother asked him to. Ronnie was the leader, and Billie was the follower, though Rose thought that Billie was the smarter of the two.

To avoid the insanity that came from being related to the Golden trio, Hugo and his long time boyfriend Giles actually lived in America. There was a small Wizarding Town in south Arizona, and it was quite close to the city of Tucson, where there was a booming gay scene. Both men preferred their privacy, though they took Portkeys back home often enough.

James and Susanna had done pretty well for themselves. James worked with his Uncle George at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, with the intention of taking over the shop totally when George eventually passed away. Susanna, despite being very intelligent, had never worked. She had gotten through about half of her Healer Training before she'd married James. She'd gotten pregnant shortly after that with Jimmy, and by the time he was born James was making enough working for his uncle that they'd decided to just let Susanna be a stay home mom. She wasn't a Molly Weasley, but she was a great mother to Jimmy, Vivian, and Quinn. The kids adored her.

Albus and Kate, the resident Slytherins, were both in politics. Albus had made Undersecretary to the Minister when Shacklebolt was in office, and his father, Harry, was just Head of the Auror department. When Harry had become Minister, Albus had thought it best to step down, but his father had almost begged him not to. Harry had never been great at understanding of the nuances of politics, though his Slytherin son was the resident expert on the subject. His wife, Kate, was on the Wizengamot, and together they had considerable political power. Malfoy level power, Harry had once tried to explain to his daughter, Lily.

Lily Potter was the family goofball. Clumsy, outspoken, and sexually open minded, she rented a small flat in London, but was rarely there of late. She and her current girlfriend, Amanda Hooch, had been doing a lot of traveling recently. They were back in town for the end of summer family bash, but right after the Hogwarts term began, they were off to visit Giles and Hugo in America for a while.

Amanda had been an oopsy baby – illegitimate daughter of Scorpius Malfoy. She had her mother's name, but her father had made certain she'd never have to work a day, despite the fact that he refused to publicly claim her. Though he would not tarnish the Malfoy name by admitting to cheating on his wife, he did love his daughter, and Amanda knew it. She'd lived pretty much under the radar until Simon McGonagall, her best friend from Hogwarts, had introduced her to his older cousin, Lily. Twenty four years in age difference hadn't bothered Amanda one bit when she'd fallen head over heals for Lily Potter.

Simon, though quite the matchmaker, had a hell of a time finding a lasting relationship. Most of the time things ended because the girl couldn't handle dating the son of their former Headmistress, Hermione Granger, and Minerva McGonagall, who was well known as one of the most powerful witches is the world, who would do anything to protect those she loved. Currently, he was dating the young Vivian Potter. They were technically related through various marriages, but not by blood. That had been a bit weird for him in the beginning, though over the course of the three months they'd now been together, he was starting to love the fact that his mum and mother didn't scare her one bit.

Harry Potter stood, and yawned. "Well folks," he said. "I'm headed out. I've got to get in to the office early tomorrow to find out who won the election." He was referring to the Muggle Prime Minister election going on right now. Once the new Minister was settled in his or her office, it would be Harry's duty to go explain the Wizarding World to them.

Hermione stood also. "We should all start clearing out," she said, nodding to Minerva. "I'm sure you're about ready to get the twins in bed, Rose."

Rose nodded. "Yea, mum. A few blissful hours of quiet, coming right up."

Hermione smiled at her daughter. "Let me know how that works for you," she winked.

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