Epilogue: Battle at Hogwarts

Lucius heard the scream even as he threw his arms around his son. He heard the scream and knew in a moment whose it was. He closed his grey eyes, trying to block out everything it brought to mind. Trying and failing.

He had pulled that scream from her himself and he had paid dearly for it. He turned in spite of himself and locked eyes with November, who lay on the floor across the corridor screaming in pain.

And as he watched her bleed a thousand memories flooded his mind.

Lucius had indeed gone to Azkaban. He had heard rumors that it was better for him to be there at that time and he had not doubted it. He had hoped, foolishly, that his good standing would go on forever but the cold truth that he was now disposable gripped his heart.

As any happy thoughts were immediately washed from his mind, he had dwelled on the wrongs that had been done to him. Wrongs done to him by Narcissa, by Voldemort, by Potter, and, more immediately, by November. The traitorous bitch had deceived him, hurt him, and repaid his affections with an Azkaban jail sentence.

When he had been broken out, there had been talk of killing November in return for her betrayal. But she had disappeared and honestly Lucius had not worked very hard to find her. She would be very hard to get to with the Order in front of her and he did not need another failed mission on his neck.

Or so he told himself.

One thing continued to eat at him to a point he finally could not ignore it. November had told him he had chosen this and that he could be good. While he doubted a search for goodness was in his soul, the weight of his decisions had eaten away at him. He was by nature a man that would push the blame away, placing it on anyone but himself, until no other options were left. And now, faced with the dead end that was his life, he had to acknowledge what he had chosen, what he had gotten himself and his family into.

Narcissa had reentered his life after his release. You could never really leave the Dark Lord, and in an attempt to further mock him, the Dark Lord had brought her back to live in the Manor. In a very rare moment, Lucius had apologized to Narcissa, for maybe the fifth time since they had married. They both needed someone to hold on to as the night had closed around their lives and they had begun their relationship again.

And not a moment too soon; the battle was soon on at Hogwarts with his son on the wrong side of the battle lines.

In a desperate attempt to change the dominos he had set into motion years and years ago, Lucius and Narcissa had abandoned the fight, searching only for their son in the melee. And with an astounding amount of luck, Lucius was able to wrap his arms around both his son and his wife once again.

And then he heard her scream. Her words rang in his ears and he began to move towards her, drawing out his wand slowly.

November had been distracted when the slashing spell hit her. The force of it had blown her onto her side. It took her a moment to realize that her left arm lay on the other side of the corridor. A quick spell sent a pile of rubble at her attacker, burying him, and she tried to move. Only then did the wave of pain hit her.

Despite herself she screamed, more in frustration and surprise than pain. Realizing her mistake she looked around quickly and found herself once again caught in Lucius' gaze. She watched as he began to move toward her, slowly pointing his wand at her.

When the Azkaban breakout had been announced there had been instantaneous panic in their home of two. But November insisted they wait. Bill and Fleur's wedding was fast approaching and they all needed something to celebrate. Remus was needed for moving Harry as well.

Though November had begged him to let her go but he had insisted she wait with Molly. It had been the worst few hours of her life. Molly was so good at containing things but she was not and she paced the entire house, floor to attic a dozen times before she heard anyone approach. Instead of a warm hug, however, she found her husband's wand at her neck. But once it was clear she was not a Death Eater in disguise her bones were nearly crushed in Remus's arms. Her relief was so strong it made her weak in the knees.

And then there had been the wedding. Something so fresh and hopeful. But the Ministry had fallen that very night and Remus was instantly convinced the Death Eaters would be out looking for her, if they had not been already. She had turned on them, put Lucius Malfoy in Azkaban, and married a werewolf: three offenses against their system.

There was only one real way to hide now.

But how could one be locked up in a house with a werewolf for years on end? Snape could not be relied on to provide potions and November had never been inclined towards Potions herself.

And in some stupid attempt to "help," Remus had left her. November still refused to think about the following two days.

It was Tonks that had offered the solution. Fleur had an uncanny knack for Potions and they could be brought to Tonks through Arthur Weasley. The couple was only too glad to make her their Secret Keeper and they were then able to pass the next year or so in relative safety.

Neither being ones for simply sitting out on the sidelines, Remus had helped by working through Potterwatch and November had transferred information in an out of Hogwarts and the Hog's Head through Sir Cadougan. And on the full moon, November read aloud by their fire, stroking her husband's scarred muzzle.

The news of the battle had been brought to them by Sir Cadougan. They had heard his shouting from the second floor and had rushed down half dressed to the grim news.

November had acted immediately, pulling her wand on Remus before he could get to his own across the room.

"I swear to you," she whispered, "I will drop you if you try to keep me here. I would die for you and I would die without you."

These were the very words Remus had used when he asked her to marry him. He nodded, knowing it would be stupid to fight her in this and craving her presence if he were to go to what could very well be his death.

They had managed to stay close for most of the battle, but the natural progression of things broke them apart. Each had raced through the Great Hall when the ultimatum from Voldemort had been announced and the Death Eaters had withdrawn, looking among the bodies and dreading what they might find. When they found one another, they had collided with enough force to knock Remus back a few steps.

And then it had been time to grieve, for many of their friends, their Secret Keeper among them, had been killed in the first wave. Fighting off tears, Remus had explained to the remaining Order members how Tonks had died at the hands of Fenrir Greyback while protecting Remus herself. And for that Fenrir had paid with his life.

But again in the second wave they had been separated and now November lay alone in a corridor with only Lucius for company.

November fought hard to ignore the growing pool of blood. And the approach of Lucius Malfoy. If he was here to kill her, she just hoped it would be quick.

There was a scrambling sound to their right and they both jerked around to face the sudden menace. But it was Remus, climbing over the pile of rocks she had thrown at the Death Eater and holding his side. Blood oozed from between Remus's fingers and he appeared to be holding some of his insides inside. His face was grey and if he kept screwing around on the rock pile he would kill himself.

Remus had never been more happy, nor more disbelieving than the day he had married November. His only regret was the timing of it all.

She had refused to go into hiding after Malfoy was broken out of Azkaban. The Weasleys were important to her and she would go to that wedding one way or another. The anxiety gave him ulcers but after the Battle of Seven Potters he could hardly deny her the right to be there; he had insisted she stay at the Burrow which he knew would be harder for her to bear but much safer.

But the attack at the wedding…even thinking about it made cold panic wash over him. He had forced her to leave, taking Bill and Fleur with her, knowing that she was a marked witch.

Now it was clear they would have to go into hiding. But facing the actual logistics of it, Remus realized how much his presence complicated everything.

He would not lock his wife up with a werewolf for an indeterminate length of years. Any good husband would never do such a thing and Remus Lupin had left. He had located Harry at the Black home and tried to join with them, knowing he was an experienced and capable wizard. But he had gotten only loud criticism and a fight. Remus had holed up in the Three Broomsticks after he left, with only his guilt for company.

It was a dilemma he had not faced since November had been tied to Lucius. He would not endanger her like this and yet Harry had been right. He could not abandon his wife; he could not damage the relationship he valued most. But by leaving he had already torn that treasured fabric.

Remus returned early the next morning. November was sitting, awake and with a face puffy from tears, in their living room staring at the dying embers of the fire. She had risen slowly and walked up to him. He had begun to speak but she had slapped him with all of her might and left the house.

Remus knew that with her pockets magically enlarged she could theoretically be carrying everything she owned on her person. If she left he may never see her again and why this had not occurred to him earlier he had no idea.

So outside their home, in the dirt, he had fallen to his knees and begun to cry for what was maybe the sixth time in his adult life. And as much as November had wanted to hurt him back, she could not stand hearing his pain and she had returned to him. His apologies had only stopped hours later when Tonks had appeared at their door with the solution.

The next months were, despite being increasingly dangerous and dark, some of the most comfortable since they had gotten married. They each had something to do, something that gave them a sense of purpose, and they were safe for the first time since they had met.

But all of this had been leading up to one point: the Battle. And though he had wanted her to stay safe, Remus knew if he was going into this he needed her beside him.

He had lost her in the chaos and ended up in the owlery. And wile it had at first seemed that chance had brought him there, it was quickly shown to be the machinations of Fenrir himself, looking to settle the score between them. But they had not been as alone as they had thought.

Tonks had somehow discovered the trap and her appearance had distracted Remus. Taking his chance, Fenrir had thrown a spell Remus had never seen before. Tonks had blocked the spell but it had reacted to her shield, throwing itself back on her. She was dead before she hit the floor. Without mercy, Remus had thrown a barrage of crossbow bolts at Fenrir's back, ensuring the death of one of the most brutal werewolves in wizarding history.

At the announcement of temporary cease-fire, Remus had brought Tonk's body to the Great Hall and had begun looking for the body of his wife. But mercifully she had not been among them and was very much alive as she flung herself onto him.

And then the brief and horrible time when they thought Harry was dead. The fighting had resumed and once again Remus had lost November.

He had been working with some dragontamers to bring down a troll when he had heard her voice, up and to his left. The distraction had earned him a swipe of the huge club across the gut, but he tore off after November. He had lost a lot of blood and was blocked by a huge pile of rubble when he heard her scream.

Forcing himself to climb he pulled himself to the top of the heap in time to see November lying at the feet of Lucius Malfoy in a pool of her own blood.

November tried to shield her face, to prevent Remus from trying to make it over the pile but it was too late.

"Get away from her, you bastard!" It took so much of his energy just to shout at Malfoy and his vision was swimming.

Reaching out a hand unsteadily, Remus began to make his way down the rock pile. But the rocks had grown slippery with his blood and he tumbled over them heavily and landed face down. He tried to move for only a moment before sinking into unconsciousness.

November would have screamed but she was so weak. She could only watch Lucius train his wand on Remus for a moment before turning back to her.

The former Death Eater did not speak but she could feel something happening to her. As she looked around she could see the pool of blood receding, seeping back into her arm. She looked up open mouthed as she realized what was happening: Lucius Malfoy was healing her. It was far too late to save her arm but he was saving her life.

The wound closed and scabbed.

Lucius Malfoy lowered his wand.

"You were right." The words were so quiet that even if someone else had been present they would not have heard. And with that, he turned and left, back to his family and out of her life forever.

November raced to Remus, tipping over almost immediately now that the counterweight her arm provided was gone. Laying hands on him, she was still and focused for several solid minutes, growing new skin over the gaping hole and giving him all of her own vitality that she could afford. She would have opened her veins for him if she had thought it would help.

But finally, mercifully, Remus's golden eyes opened and through cracked lips he breathed her name.

And it was in the next moment the news reached them that Voldemort had been defeated.

Remus was grading when the door downstairs opened and closed again, loudly blowing shut from the chill winter breeze. The sounds of a choir in the main street of Hogsmeade reached his ears in the brief interval.

"How was the Ministry?" he called down, turning away from his grading and rubbing his temples.

"A bitch," November called up to him, pulling off her boots and cloak. "What's new there though?"

Remus laughed dryly and meandered downstairs. He kissed her quickly on his way to the tiny kitchen. He cooked when she had to stay late on the Ministry and invariably he made a stew. Otherwise he forgot there was something cooking and burned it.

Sneaking up behind him, November slipped her freezing hand up his shirt causing him to gasp in surprise and squirm away from her. He pulled her close to him and blew on her hand to warm it as he spoke.

"Still a wreck?"

"Not Kingsly's fault at all of course but yeah."

November had been working as a sort of de facto Auror, seeing as the Minstry needed all the help it could get to pull itself back onto its feet. While she had not been a particularly valuable spy and had no desire to continue on as an Auror (especially with only one arm), she knew more than enough to disprove some of the Imperious claims that came up in courts and she was handy enough in a duel.

"You talked to Kingsly?"

"Yeah," November grinned. "He reacted as you said he would but in the end I talked him into just letting me be an assistant to someone or other when all this cools off. He was talking about putting me into the Department of Magical Law Enforcement's werewolf regulation offices on account of my lovely husband. I might take him up on that. We've been having great luck with werewolf defectors recently."

"And Malfoy?" Remus asked, calmly. He asked this every so often, refusing to completely let his guard down.

"The Younger's a real ass but the Elder is quietly living his life in the Manor and apparently running an apothecary of all things."

"The Younger's at the Ministry?" Remus asked with surprise.

"That was my reaction but yeah. Working his way already, the worm. He's been useful enough though."

"Hard to believe they're old enough now."

November laughed. "Hard to believe we're old enough. How were classes?"

November began setting the table with a flick of her wand and she glowed inwardly as a smile lit up Remus's face. He had been offered the Defense of the Dark Arts position by McGonagall, who was now the Headmistress of Hogwarts (the Order of Merlin combined with the permanent removal of Lucius Malfoy from the school board had helped) and November had never seen him this happy. She knew him very well but she had met him at a point in life and in history that did not allow for prolonged joy and because of this they had both known sadder sides of one another. But now…Now they had come full turn.

November found Remus to be more languid and trusting than she had first thought. And charming! He had always been winning but now it was nearly impossible for her to believe that he had only had a handful of girlfriends. Remus found November to be one of the most organized and efficient witches he had ever met, making it very clear why Mad-Eye had sought her out himself when he discovered she was not dead. She was also much more grounded emotionally. Apparently living a double life with the man who "killed" her could really do a number on someone's emotional stability.

November marveled out loud as he described the winter final he had devised for his students, swearing up and down that she could never teach as well as he did.

She had adapted to eating and working one handed, though she never lost the feeling that she was lopsided. Her robes had been tailored to close on the left side and Remus woke up half an hour early every morning to help do up the back of her robes. Kingsly had offered to look into possible arm replacements, but November had declined. Everyone had their scars and hers were not a priority.

For example, the patch of shiny pink skin across Remus's torso. But thanks to a new amendment to the list of critical life-long illnesses deserving treatment, Remus could receive the Wolfsbane Potion every month from St. Mungo's. That scar had been his last.

Later in the evening they curled up together in front of their fireplace, for they had both insisted any home they ever had must have a fireplace. With glasses of wine and a book each, they both knew that this was the life they had always wanted and this was the person they were meant to spend that life with.

THE END! :-D

Big thanks as always to everyone who read or commented! I had a lot of fun writing this!