XXXXXXX

Epilogue: More Weddings and Rekindled Flames

XXXXXXX

July 2001

'Who is your new partner?' cried Ron.

Hermione laughed. 'I told you, Draco!'

'You're calling him Draco now?'

'That's his name, silly.'

Ron frowned. 'I don't like this. I don't like this at all. He better keep his bloody hands off of you.'

Hermione rolled her eyes. 'He will. Come here, your tie is crooked.'

'Why do I have to wear a tie? They make my neck itch.'

'Because,' said Hermione, redoing Ron's red tie, 'it's a wedding and you're suppose to look nice at weddings.'

'Aren't ties a Muggle thing?'

'The invitations said to wear "you're best Muggle-dress." Of course, saying that to a group of wizards could have ghastly results, which is why Lavender sent out detailed instructions on what to wear. Lavender is very big on fashion. It's why I went shopping for you. Don't you like it? You look brilliant.'

Hermione stepped back from Ron and ran her eyes up and down him. He had on a suit, sans jacket, which he refused to wear, with a silk tie she had bought him at a very posh Muggle store. He looked really great, the dark pants and blue shirt looked rather smashing on him. Hermione couldn't help but smile.

'We match,' said Ron, holding up his red tie next to Hermione's red dress.

'Ron, I've been meaning to ask you, when are you going to quit Quidditch?'

Ron straightened up, his body going rigid. 'You know the answer to that. Let's not talk about it.'

Hermione frowned and nodded. Clearing her throat, she stood up straight and looked in the mirror. The dress fit nicely on her; it was smooth and bright red and hugged her hips in the way she knew drove Ron mad. She looked much older than she had two years earlier. She was twenty-one now and settled in her job at the Ministry, with a set salary and an intelligent new partner (even if it was Malfoy). Ron looked much older as well. Playing so much Quidditch had really tanned his skin and bleached his hair. So far, being twenty-one had done well for him. He'd had an accident during one of the games against Bulgaria and broke his femur. After that, he'd taken a job as assistant manager for the British National team, which Hermione knew didn't make him as happy, but he was much safer. They had both mellowed out as a couple and didn't have the same blow-out fights they did when they were first together. They bickered mostly and lately they only fought about Ron quitting Quidditch and going to work for the Ministry.

'Are you ready to go?' Ron asked. 'You look a bit peaked.'

Hermione nodded. 'I'm all right. Let's go,' she said softly, 'I'm ready.'

XXXXXXX

The marriage of Lavender Brown to George Weasley was a quiet affair. Most of the guests seemed to be on edge, though, waiting to see who was going to turn into a giant turkey first. They all knew of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes – now with locations in Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, St Petersburg, and Paris. Paris was their latest opening and it was proving to be difficult since the entirety of the Parisian wizarding community was located underground, directly beneath the Eiffel Tower.

There were quite a few children from Lavender's side of the family at the wedding, and several from the Weasley side. Bill and Fleur had their two-year-old son, Charles Reed, who had a mop of curly red hair on his head. After the ceremony, he ran around and laughed and clapped his hands, although no one was sure exactly what was so funny.

William Ignatius Weasley, son of Charlie and Gina, was barely a year old and tried his best to keep up with Charles, but his short little legs couldn't get him very far. He'd fall down, cry, and then pick himself back up and try running again. His hair was also red, but it was cropped very short. Unlike Charles, William's face and arms were covered in freckles; he looked as though he had a tan they were so clumped together on his skin.

Then, there were Lupin and Tonks' boys. Theodore Rollin Lupin (nicknamed 'Teddy'), who was two, and John Randolph Lupin, who was one month. They both looked exactly like Lupin, sandy-coloured hair, light eyes, and thin frames. The youngest one fell asleep half-way through the wedding in Tonks' arms and stayed asleep all throughout the party afterwards. Teddy, on the other hand, took it upon himself to use his dad as his personal playground, climbing up his leg or sitting on his shoulders.

Percy and Penelope also had a little boy and a little girl – Peter and Paige, ages three and two – but only Percy came to the wedding. Penelope stayed home with the kids because Molly always caused such a ruckus about Penelope and Percy not being married.

'Once Ginny starts having kids, this family is going to be huge,' said Harry at the after-party. 'You're going to have to triple the size of The Burrow when everyone comes over for dinner.' He was sitting at a table with Ron, Hermione, Mandy, and Ginny. The table had two empty bottles of Dragonisky's Plum Wine and from what Harry could tell, everyone was feeling very fine.

'I have to get married first,' said Ginny, grinning.

Harry winked. 'You will. Maybe not soon, but you will.'

'I'm going to get another bottle of wine,' said Mandy, standing up and throwing her blue shawl around her shoulders. 'Will you lot drink it if I bring one?'

'Yes,' said Ron, holding up his empty glass. When Mandy walked off, Ron leaned over the table, close to Harry. 'All right, so what's going on with Mandy? I know you said you weren't together anymore, but you always show up with her!'

Harry shrugged. He taught one full year at Hogwarts before deciding to leave the magical world for a while. Taking Mandy, he travelled around Europe, doing everything the Muggle way except for the use of Hedwig to keep in touch with Ron and Hermione. After six months, Harry and Mandy decided to go back to England. Harry enrolled in the Auror program while Mandy opened up a magical bookstore in Diagon Alley to compete with Flourish and Blotts.

Shortly after McDougal was sent to Azkaban, before they left on their trip, Harry and Mandy became lovers. They remained lovers even after they decided to just be friends and date other people. Their connection to one another seemed to be strong enough to maintain a friendship while they watched each other have other relationships (although Harry's seemed to be feeble and worthless). Mandy found a boyfriend for several months this past year, but she always seemed to turn up in Harry's bed. He thought that it was because neither of them were really willing to give up what they had. Although, now that he thought about it, they hadn't made love since June, well over a month. Perhaps they were growing apart.

'We're just friends,' said Harry, realising for the first time that this was true. They owled one another almost every day, still had dinner every Wednesday, but their sexual relationship seemed to have dwindled away.

'Oh? Friends who sleep together, yeah?'

Harry shook his head. 'No, not anymore.' He looked at Ginny. 'How's it going at St Mungo's?' he asked, completely changing the subject.

'Oh, it's all right.'

'Whatever happened to that Richard bloke?'

Ginny rolled her eyes. 'It didn't work out. He broke things off after...'

'After what?'

Ginny blushed. 'Nothing. Maybe I'll tell you one day.'

Just then, George came over. 'How're you lot doing?'

'We'll be doing a whole lot better soon as Mandy comes back with more wine,' said Ron. 'Where's your wife?'

George pointed to the dance floor. 'Dancing with my twin.' He looked at Hermione. 'Can I take you away from your husband for a minute?'

Hermione smiled and nodded. 'Sure. Ron doesn't dance anyway.' She took George's arm and went out to the dance floor.

'She looks good,' said Harry appreciatively.

Ron nodded. 'Yes. Excellent.'

'How is the... y'know coming?'

Ron turned and looked at Harry. 'The what?'

'The baby thing?'

Ron groaned. 'It's been over two years and nothing.' He lowered his voice. 'She went to this Muggle Healer—'

'Doctor,' corrected Harry.

'Whatever. He ran these tests and told her everything was fine. Then, and this is the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to me—'

'More embarrassing than the first time you tried to have sex and you came early?' asked Harry lightly, with a large smile on his face.

'Fuck you and yes, more embarrassing than that. This "doctor" gave me a cup and had me... y'know... wank in it.'

Harry let his head fall back as a loud laugh escaped from his throat. He laughed long and hard, noticing that Ginny was giggling as well. When he had regained his composure, he smiled sympathetically at Ron. 'And? What happened?'

'He said I was perfectly healthy as well. I didn't need to do that to know there's nothing wrong with me.'

'So, why can't you have a baby?'

'Doctor says there's no reason. Just our luck. It's beginning to really get to her. She wants me to quit Quidditch when we have a baby so that I won't be travelling weeks at a time. I told her I'd quit once she got pregnant, but it simply has not happened yet.'

'Why is she so hell bent on having a baby?' asked Ginny.

'She wants to start a family before another Dark wizard invades our world. It's her greatest fear. I think she fears that above anything else.'

'That's not going to happen,' said Harry.

Ron shrugged. 'I can't control her fears,' he said. 'Let me tell you, though, that it's been fun trying to have a baby. The positions that witch comes up with that're supposed to increase fertility... wow.'

'Eww!' cried Ginny. 'You're my brother! I don't want to hear shite like that.'

'Anyway, we haven't been trying too hard the past month or so. Hermione hasn't been herself. She's been working really hard on a new project with fucking Malfoy of all people.'

'How's Malfoy doing?' asked Harry.

'Fine, I suppose. Still a raging git from what Hermione's told me. He and Rebecca are still together, although she's in Russia as a part of some project between the British and Russian Ministries for more inter-magical peace or something.'

'Why'd they choose her?'

'Her mum's Russian,' answered Ginny. 'They go to Moscow every Easter to visit her grandmother so she's familiar with the country. She came to stay with me for a week before she went over there. I really like Rebecca; she's good for Malfoy. I miss her. International owls are very expensive.'

'You can borrow Hedwig,' said Harry. 'She'd love the fly and I wouldn't charge you very much to use her.'

Ginny reddened. 'Thanks.'

'I mean it. Let me know the next time you want to owl Rebecca and I'll send Hedwig over to your place.'

Mandy came back with the wine. 'Sorry that took so long. Your brother's in charge of the drinks, apparently,' she said. 'And he didn't want to give up this bottle readily.' She sat the wine on the table and waved her wand to open it. She filled all the glasses.

Harry drank his quickly, feeling even better afterwards, his buzz giving him a pleasant feeling all over his body. He watched the dance floor. A fast, rock song began to play and several more couples moved to the floor. Harry didn't like to dance, so he just watched. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a familiar looking wizard with dreadlocks approach his table.

'Lee!' cried Harry. 'I haven't seen you in ages.'

Lee smiled and held out his hand for Harry to shake. 'Yes, I know. I've been in Paris helping to set up the new store there. I don't know any French so it's been interesting. The Parisians love me, though. I stand outside the store, turn myself into a canary, and they all laugh and come in the store to buy things.'

Harry laughed.

'I came by, actually, to see if you want to dance,' said Lee, his eyes turning to Mandy.

'Oh! Oh, of course! Sure.' Mandy got up, smoothed her blonde hair behind her ears, and followed Lee away.

'You don't mind that she's dancing with another bloke?' asked Ginny.

Harry shook his head. 'No. We were brilliant together while it lasted, but it never felt real. I still really like her, though. We'll just never be together again.'

Harry turned and looked at Ginny. Her eyes were focused on her wine glass and her cheeks were red.

'Hey, Gin? D'you want to dance?'

She jumped as if startled, but smiled and nodded. 'Sure.'

As they made their way to the dance floor Harry turned and looked at Ron and he swore he thought he saw Ron wink.

XXXXXXX

'Mm, I'm really drunk,' said Ginny. 'Mum's not around is she?'

Harry looked around. The party had dwindled done to only a handful of people. George and Lavender had long since gone and Ron and Hermione looked as though they were about ready to leave as well.

'No, I don't see her or your dad.'

'Good. Pour me another glass of wine.'

'There's no more wine,' said Harry, turning the empty bottle over and shaking it for good measure. After they had finished dancing, Ginny insisted on going back and sitting down. She didn't want to ruin her good buzz and so that required more drink. Frowning at the lack of wine, Ginny looked around for a bottle of something else. She found a half-empty bottle of Firewhisky and filled up her glass.

Putting the glass to her lips, she gulped it down. Tears sprang to her eyes as her throat heated up.

'I cannot believe you just downed all that,' said Harry. 'I'm impressed.'

'Thanks.'

From across the table, Ron and Hermione stood up. 'I think we're going to go home. I have practise tomorrow afternoon.'

'Bye, Ron!' said Ginny.

'See ya, mate,' said Harry.

Ron and Hermione waved good-bye as they Disapparated. Ginny felt Harry's eyes on her. She'd felt them on her all night long and it was beginning to make her heart beat in an uncomfortable way.

After Stebbins had died, she stopped going to her Defence classes all together. Even though Harry hadn't killed him, she had nightmares that replayed the death every night in her head. The killer looked just like Harry... sounded just like Harry... and pointed his wand right at her boyfriend. She almost went mad after that. The entire year had been an emotional whirlpool. Round and round and round... she felt everything from depression to anger to love to loss.

The best thing that could have happened was Harry leaving with Mandy once the term was over. She heard from Hermione and Ron that they were visiting all sorts of countries and Muggle towns and villages. Ginny was too emotional to be jealous or sad by this information. The summer of '98 was subdued for her. She stayed close to The Burrow and didn't visit St Mungo's with the rest of her family when Charles and Teddy were born. That summer was the first time Ginny had a break to deal with sorting out her life. She was able to focus on fully healing from Harry, Stebbins, and McDougal and Voldemort.

When the New Year came around, Ginny applied for a job a St Mungo's. She worked there until the end of the summer, bringing around food trays and magically cleaning up any unsightly messes. It felt good to be on her own. She moved into a very small flat near Ron and Hermione and for the very first time felt the amazing feeling of independence. Her life was completely together and she entered the Healing program at St Mungo's on 14 September 1999. With everything going her way, Ginny felt strong enough to date. And she did.

The perfect man kept eluding her, though. It was no matter, Ginny had fun dating several interested wizards. On Halloween night in 2000, Ginny met Richard, her first serious relationship. After eight months, they broke up, but Ginny was mature enough to deal with it. She cried that first night and bought a pint of ice cream to eat from Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour the next day. It took her twice as long to laugh or smile, but after a couple of weeks, Ginny fell back into her old, single routine.

For the first time since Richard, a wizard was keeping all eyes on her. Relationships didn't seem to be her strong suit. Ron and Hermione had been together for five years, never dated anyone but each other. Ginny, on the other hand, had dated several people – starting with Michael Corner and ending with Richard Wolcott.

A sudden shiver ran down Ginny's spine as a hand clamped over her forearm.

'Hey, Gin, are you all right?'

Ginny's eyes focused on Harry. 'What?'

'You completely tuned me out.'

'Oh, sorry. Must be the alcohol.'

He nodded and withdrew his hand. She did not need to lose her composure tonight over Harry Potter.

Thankfully, Harry didn't have a chance to respond; Mandy came over, a large smile plastered across her face.

'Having fun?' she asked.

Harry nodded. 'Yeah. I'm glad George and Lavender decided to have an open bar. I'm disappointed that I didn't get to see Hermione get rip-roaring drunk, though.'

Mandy giggled. 'I can't imagine. Anyhow, I came over to ask if you'll be all right if I left you here.'

'Huh?'

'Well, we were supposed to be one another's dates tonight, yeah?'

Harry nodded.

'But I've spent all my time with Lee while you've been cavorting with Ginny.'

Ginny shook her head. 'No, no, there's been no cavorting.'

'Yes, I suppose we've neglected each other,' said Harry.

'Well, Lee's never seen a Muggle movie, so I thought I'd take him to one of the theatres in London.'

Harry nodded. 'Sounds fun.'

'Well, bye, then.' Mandy smiled at Ginny. 'It was nice seeing you again.'

'Yeah, sure,' said Ginny, returning the smile, even though it wasn't entirely sincere. Once Mandy left, Ginny said, 'I think I'm ready to go home.'

'Want me to walk you?'

'No, I'll just Apparate.' A rush of dizziness invaded Ginny's head as she stood up. She swayed and Harry jumped to his feet to steady her.

'You'll splinch yourself if you Apparate as drunk as you are.'

'Well, how will I get home?'

'We're in the middle of a rented ballroom in London. We can walk you home.'

'I know how to walk. I don't need you to help me.'

'I'm not going to help you,' said Harry. 'I'm just going to walk with you in case someone tries to mess with you. I don't know if you can use that wand of yours properly in your state of drunkenness.'

'Ah,' said Ginny with a nod, 'well, whatever. Let's go.'

XXXXXXX

After the wedding, Ron and Hermione dragged their tired bodies home. Ron felt drunk from all the wine, but Hermione seemed fine. Once they entered their bedroom, Ron turned Hermione around and undid the zipper to her dress. He slid the straps off her shoulders and let the dress fall to the floor.

'I think I'm going to take a bath,' said Hermione, sitting on the edge of the bed and undoing the buckles to her sandals. 'Do you want to come?'

'Take a bath with you?'

Hermione nodded.

Ron grinned. 'Of course.'

Hermione stood up, barefoot, and reached for Ron's tie. She undid it and began to work on the buttons of his shirt. Once he was divested of his clothes, he went into the bathroom and turned on the hot water. Hermione came in a moment later, with their bathrobes in her hands. She hung them up on the hooks on the inside of the bathroom door.

Ron climbed into the semi-filled tub as Hermione poured bubble bath under the running water. She got in as well and leaned her back against Ron's front.

'Where are George and Lavender going on a honeymoon?'

'I don't know,' answered Ron. 'They never said.'

'Lavender's pregnant,' said Hermione.

'What!' cried Ron, very surprised.

'Yeah, Ginny told me. Lavender found out a few days ago, but they were going to wait to make an announcement in another few weeks. Your mum hasn't reacted well to Percy's kids, so Lavender and George wanted to make plenty sure that they were married until they said anything.'

'Another baby in the family. Mum'll go nuts, y'know. She's already on Bill and Fleur to have another one, but I don't think they will. Bill said Fleur didn't like being pregnant.'

'Fleur probably didn't like being fat,' said Hermione, rolling her eyes.

Ron ran his wet and bubbly hands over Hermione's stomach. He dipped one hand under the water to slid in between her thighs while the other hand massaged her breast.

'Ron, stop.'

'No,' he said, nuzzling her neck.

Hermione reached down and took hold of Ron's hand. 'Stop. Just wait.'

'Well, fuck, Hermione. We haven't had sex in almost three weeks. We've never gone that long since... Well, since after you were hurt during the final battle with Voldemort!'

'I know. Will you be quiet?'

'Fine.'

'I think when I tell you, you're going to be upset, but remember that you love me and you married me through better or worse.'

Ron took in a deep breath. 'All right. What did you do?'

'For the past month and a half...' Hermione paused.

'For the past month and a half you what? Gambled away our money? Kissed Malfoy? Killed a puppy? What?'

'No, been pregnant.'

'Wait, what?'

'I didn't tell you because I didn't think it was real. It took us so long to get pregnant, I wanted to make sure I really was before I told you.'

'A month and a half!' cried Ron.

'Yes, I'm sorry. I should've told you sooner.'

Ron was silent.

Hermione turned her head to look at Ron. 'Are you all right?'

'I suppose I should look for a Ministry job.'

'There's still another eight months, so there's no real rush. There's some parenting books we should read. I bought a few yesterday after work. I think that How to Raise the Modern Witch or Wizard is a good one. Ohh, and Baby Tips for the Magical Dad for you. There's also Never Too Soon to Learn: How to Teach Your Child the Fundamentals of Quidditch. BUT! I do not want you teaching our baby Quidditch until they're old enough to at least walk.'

'You bought me a Quidditch book?'

Hermione nodded.

'You're the best. Can we shag now?'

'In the bath?'

'Do you think I care where we do it?'

Hermione laughed. 'I suppose not.'

Ron patted his legs. 'Just hop up on my lap and we can get going – wait! It won't, like, jar the baby loose, will it?'

'Having sex?'

Ron nodded.

'No.'

'I won't dent its head or anything?'

'Ron, the baby is about this big,' said Hermione, holding her thumb and forefinger very close together. 'Even when he or she is eight months in my stomach, you won't dent his or her head.'

'Are you sure? Because when Charles was little, he had a funny shaped head.'

'That's because he slept on his back; that happens to a lot of babies.'

'Oh. So, it wasn't Bill's fault?'

Hermione laughed. 'No.'

'How is it you know so much?'

'I don't know. I suppose I just read a lot.'

'You read loads of stuff. Let's shag, c'mon.'

Hermione laughed as Ron pulled her to him, attacking her neck with his mouth and letting his hands dive under the water, splashing everywhere and getting the bathroom all wet.

XXXXXXX

'You didn't have to walk me home,' said Ginny, swaying a bit.

Harry shook his head. 'I was afraid you'd splinch yourself if you tried to Apparate home. And I'm hardly drunk; I can defend you if anyone tries to mug you.'

'No one is going to mug me,' said Ginny, walking sideways into the front of a brick building. 'Oops.'

'Well, either way, my date to the wedding went home with another bloke. It's only fitting I go home with another bird.'

'You're not coming up to my flat, Potter,' said Ginny.

'That's all right. Walking you home is enough. Say, Gin, are you drunk enough to tell me what happened with Richard? Why did you two break up?'

'Oh, well, things didn't work out.'

'That's what you said before.'

'Truth is,' Ginny began, stopping in her tracks, 'he got a bit upset when I told him I didn't want to sleep with him.'

'Hadn't you been dating him for several months?'

'Yes, eight.'

'Can't say that I'm not surprised he asked for sex. Why did you say no?'

'Because!' cried Ginny. 'I've already used up my one lover!'

Harry furrowed his eyebrows. Did she really just say..? Yes, she did. Ohh, shite. 'You can't possibly never have sex ever again.'

Ginny shrugged. 'I can take care of myself.'

'Oh, fuck, that's hot.'

Ginny laughed and began to walk down the sidewalk again. She hummed loudly.

'Hey, Gin, wait up!' Harry jogged to catch up with Ginny. 'I'd hate for you to have to take care of yourself for the rest of your life. Why don't you let me help you?'

'Oh, don't be silly, Harry. We've tried that. It didn't work.'

'We were both immature then. I was only seventeen.'

'And turning twenty has really changed all that?'

'I'll be twenty-one next week and yes, it has. We're both different. We've got our lives together now. You're working for St Mungo's and I'm working for the Ministry. In another few months I'll have finished with the Auror program and you'll be a fully qualified Healer. Plus we have all that old baggage behind us, yeah?'

Ginny shrugged.

'I've dealt with killing Voldemort and with being targeted by McDougal. You've dealt with what happened when you were a first-year and with Stebbins dying. I'd say in the past three years we've actually grown ten.'

Ginny stopped walking again. She turned and looked at Harry. Her mascara had smudged a bit underneath her eye and Harry reached out with the pad of his thumb to press it away. He smiled, but her face remained expressionless.

'You've been with other girls,' said Ginny.

'So?'

'How many?'

'What?'

'How many other girls? It can't be only Mandy.'

Reluctantly, Harry shook his head. 'No… there's been three others.'

'Including Mandy?'

'No.'

Ginny let out a bitter-sounding laugh. 'Wow.'

'I'm sorry.'

'Don't be sorry. You didn't have any ties to me. If Mandy hadn't gone home with Lee you wouldn't even be here right now.'

'Well, no, I would have taken her home, but nothing would have happened. We're not lovers anymore. Look, Gin, you and I… we have ties. We were friends, then lovers, then enemies, and now we're friends again. I can't seem to ever stay away from you. I feel as though a part of you has always been in my head and in my heart since the day we first kissed on the Hogwarts Express. Just looking at you now is intoxicating. I can't believe I ever let you go.'

'Well, you did,' said Ginny.

'I should never have done that. I'm the world's biggest git.'

'I'm not going to disagree.'

'I could learn to love you again if you give me the chance. We're totally different people now, but exactly the same. D'you understand what I mean?'

Ginny's laugh turned into a cry.

'Oh, no, I didn't mean to make you cry!' said Harry, suddenly feeling like a complete heel.

'You can't say things like this to me! I've got a life without you! I've had a life without you for years now!'

'I know. I'm sorry, you're right. Isn't your flat up this way? I'll walk you home then we'll pretend this never happened, all right?'

Ginny nodded. She walked down the sidewalk again, Harry at her side. When they reached her front door, she didn't stop or even look at him; she just continued on inside the building and shut the door.

Harry stared at the closed door for over a minute before shoving his hands in his pockets and starting down the sidewalk. He was sober enough to Apparate home if he wanted to, but he felt that walking might clear his head.

Why had he opened his big mouth? He'd been sleeping with Mandy for three years, hadn't he? Although, for the past year it had been purely physical, on both their parts. And for the past few months he and Ron and Hermione had been socialising with one another more than usual and Ginny had joined them on several occasions. She had matured; she was a woman now and Harry liked it. He was drawn to her, just like he had been when they were at Hogwarts. He couldn't help but wonder if he hadn't been a professor during Ginny's seventh year if they would have got back together.

We would have, thought Harry. I know it. He sighed. He'd said that he could learn to love her again, but that wasn't the truth because he was already in love with her again. More so than the first time they were together and more so than when he was in love with Mandy. This was intense. He and Ginny had a strong bond that nothing could break – or, at least, that's how he felt.

Harry stopped walking. He thought he heard someone running behind him. He turned and saw a flash of red hair coming up the sidewalk.

'Wait!'

That was definitely Ginny's voice. The redheaded girl continued to run down the sidewalk and about four feet in front of Harry, she jumped in his arms. Her legs wrapped around his waist and her arms went around his neck and it took most of his strength not to fall over from the force of her jump. His arms curled around her hips and he held her flush to him.

'I don't need time to learn to fall in love with you,' whispered Harry. 'I think I already am.'

Ginny laughed through her tears as she pulled back just a bit to look Harry in the eye. 'I need some time before I can say that I love you again,' she said.

'That's all right,' said Harry. 'I don't mind.'

'But I don't want to lose you again. Not to a Dark wizard or a veil or from our own stupidity. This is for life, Harry.'

Harry nodded. 'I wouldn't have it any other way,' he said softly. 'I miss you. I've missed for a long, long time.'

Ginny nodded. 'Stop talking.' She bent her head down and kissed his lips.

XXXXXXX

The End

XXXXXXX

A/N: I'm a nerd. I wanted the names of the children to be significant in someway, so here's how I chose the names.

Charles Reed Weasley, born 2 June 1999 – Charles, after Charlie (I always imagined Bill and Charlie to be very close) and Reed, which means 'red hair'.

William Ignatius Weasley, born 15 July 2000 – William after Bill and Ignatius, which means 'fiery' since Charlie works with dragons.

Theodore Rollin Lupin, 1 May 1999 – Theodore after Tonks' dad whose name is Ted and Rollin, which means 'wolf'.

John Randolph Lupin, 4 June 2001 – John, which is Remus' middle name and Randolph, which means 'wolf with a shield'.

Reviews – I appreciate everyone who left a review and appreciate it even if they weren't singing praises. Honesty is good and I'm glad if you had problems with the story, you told me so in a very constructive way. Now, to the gits who flamed me (at ff . net; not CM – all you CMers are the best) – first of all, flaming is silly because it doesn't offer any constructive criticism. If you don't like the story, then take a leaf from MandyCroyance's book. She left a detailed, thought out review about the story. She didn't say 'I hate this story. You're not a good writer any more.' Please. We're not in kindergarten anymore, are we? I write fanfiction because I love Harry Potter. I don't write it to gain popularity with readers. I'm glad that so many people enjoy my stories, but if you don't, you don't need to leave me a nasty review saying so. Just stop reading. I won't know if you don't read the story anymore. For those of you who DO enjoy my stories, I'm glad you like them and your input and comments are always welcome – as long as they are constructive. But yes to those of you who genuinely liked it – I'm glad! I aspire to be novelist, so gaining readership is important.

Ohh, and to Ferrisbmnkm – I'm glad you get to read the story on fanfiction dot net even if it is a censored version. When you can join the Bedchamber, check out the outtakes from this story.

This story has come to an end. I do have several, short, one chapter stories planned for the continuation of this story. When will I write those? I'm not sure, but you can put me on 'Author Alert' and find out when I upload a new story. The next story I'm writing is called, Sailing the Dark Ship, and it's a Draco/Ginny story. It's going to be dark and angsty. It'll have its romantic moments, but it won't be anything like Finally! I pride myself on it being very well-written and plot-driven. It should be rated R so it can be posted in its entirety here on ff . net. You can expect it to be posted on 1st August 2005 – the same time the queue reopens on Checkmated . com. I've already started it and I'm very pleased with it and the outline thus far.

That being said, I hope you like the D/G story even if you don't like the pairing. It's going to delve deep into Draco's psyche and his relationship with his parents. It'll also explore Ginny's involvement with the Dark Lord when she was eleven as well as her relationship with Harry and her brother.

I know that my user name is DanielGilmore, but I'm a girl. DanielGilmore happens to be one of my best friends. I'm the one who had the baby and I'm the one who is in school. I find myself having to clear that up a lot. So, yes, there it is again. DanielGilmore - chick.

Lastly, I have to thank my beta, Doraemon. She's excellent and always talks about my story with me and I'm excited to have her on board for the next fic.

Cheers, and see you guys in August!