Here it is - the end! Thank you for the book recommendations, and to the reviewer who complained that my writing is too American, sorry. Also, there are really no courthouses in the UK?

Epilogue

Hermione held her six month old daughter, Victoria, close to her chest as she awaited the arrival of the Hogwarts Express. The platform was crowded, and she had lost her husband when a coworker had pulled him aside. Spotting Harry and George, she smiled as she approached them. George took the giggling baby from her mother's arms.

"Merlin, I can't believe how big this nugget has gotten," George remarked. "It seems like she was just born last week."

Chuckling, Hermione disagreed. "You've clearly forgotten about the sleepless nights and multiple nappy changes and constant crying," she replied. "To be honest, I had too. Thank God for Draco. Most nights, he's casting charms to keep me from hearing her cry so he can handle the nighttime feedings."

"You should put the kids to work on those," George suggested. "Every time Freddie and Rox ask for a sibling, we mention that little stipulation and they stop asking."

Draco finally caught up to his wife. "Are you kidding? We're never going to see Victoria again once those two are home," he told the two men. "Christmas was a mess, the two of them fighting over who got to do what with their baby sister. Although, Pansy wasn't much help. Apparently godmothers trump siblings."

"That'll wear off," Harry advised. "James and Al were like that when Lily was born. It lasted about two weeks before we received requests to give her back to St. Mungo's."

It was Victoria's birth that brought Harry back into Hermione's life. Fred and Angelina had been invited to the house to meet the newborn, and Harry asked if he could tag along. Though hesitant to say yes, Hermione gave him permission to come. Scorpius had been starstruck to have The Boy Who Lived in his home. Rose, on the other hand, kept her distance, staying by Draco's side while Harry was around.

The train pulled up and the doors opened. Streams of happy children, glad for another year complete and a summer vacation, ran to their families. Draco surveyed the crowd, looking for his own children, and breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted them. Scorpius and Rose ran to him and hugged their father tightly.

"Why's Harry here?" Rose whispered.

Draco shrugged almost imperceptibly. "Probably to pick up his kids," he guessed. "Don't worry though. Ron's not here."

The little girl breathed a sigh of relief. The year before, Ron had shown up at the train station, intent on seeing the new family. When Rose spotted him, she had marched up to him and told him he had no business being there. After all, he had no children in the school and she was now a Malfoy. There had been pain in his eyes when she informed him of her new last name, a pain she almost relished. It was the last time she saw him.

"Can we go home now?" Rose asked as she hugged her mother.

Hermione chuckled. "Can you say hello to your uncles?" she asked in reply.

Rose turned and did as her mother requested. "Now can we go home?"

Handing Victoria back to Hermione, George pulled Rose to his side. "Are you telling me, my favorite niece, that you're not excited to see me?" he asked. "That I, your favorite uncle, am less interesting than whatever is happening in your empty, empty house?"

"Do you really think it's fair to call me your favorite niece in front of Harry who has a daughter who's also your niece?" she wondered.

George shrugged, giving Harry an apologetic look. "He'll just have to accept that you're my favorite," he replied. "Now, tell me what's so great about going home?"

Rose looked longingly at her parents. "I just really like home," she said.

He removed his arm from her shoulders and tucked a loose curl behind her ear. "You come see me over the summer, you hear?" he asked. "It better not be September the next time I see you. And tell that brother of yours he's more than welcome to come too. There's no need for him to avoid the shop. Remember what I told you - your family is my family."

Rose nodded. "I'll let him know, my favorite uncle," she replied, hugging him goodbye. She gave a hesitant wave to Harry and returned to her family as James, Albus, Freddie, and Roxie joined their fathers. The Malfoys left, returning home. Leaving her trunk and bags by the door, Rose flopped onto the sofa.

Draco sat down beside her as Scorpius followed Hermione upstairs to put Victoria down for a nap. "What's going on?" he asked. "Why were you in such a rush to come home?"

She glanced at the stairs, checking to be sure they were really alone. "I got a letter from Ron," she admitted. "He asked if he could come see me at the train. I told him no, that I didn't want him to. I was afraid that he might though. Mum always said he wasn't much for listening."

Sighing, he held her close. "Do you not want to see him because you really don't want to, or are you worried about hurting someone else's feelings?" he wondered.

"I really don't want to," she told him. "And while I never want to hurt you or Mum, it never occurred to me that you might be upset if I did. Nice as it is that he's finally reaching out, he gave me up a long time ago. I don't know. Maybe I should thank him for letting me having a new dad."

"Does your mother know that he wrote to you?" Draco asked.

Sitting up, she shook her head. "No, and Daddy, please don't tell her," she replied. "I know she still feels guilty about what she could have done and should have done and didn't do, and I'd just rather not add the stress of this. She's got enough to worry about. Ron shouldn't be on her mind too."

"You're a good girl," he murmured, kissing the top of her head. "Now, go put your things away."

Later that night, Draco folded laundry and Hermione readied Victoria for bed. Scorpius and Rose sat in their room, both happy to sleep in their own beds. The trundle bed was gone, and a real one took its place beside Rose's. "Mum's worried about you," Scorpius said as he unpacked.

"When isn't she?" Rose wondered with a roll of her eyes. "You didn't tell her about Ron, did you?"

Scorpius shook his head as he sat down. "You told Dad though, which means he'll tell Mum," he warned his sister. "We both know secrets don't stay secrets between them. Well, except about that tea cup. I don't think Mum knows that I broke it."

"Oh, she does, but she's not going to hold something that happened when you were four over your head," Rose replied. "Maybe it would be better if Dad told her about this. At least I won't have to."

There was a knock on the door, and Draco entered. "Rosie, your mother needs you for a moment," he told her.

Leaving her bed, she heard her brother wish her luck as she followed her father to the master bedroom. "Am I in trouble?" she asked, shutting the door behind her.

Hermione shook her head and beckoned her to join her on the bed. Carefully, she shifted a sleeping Victoria into her sister's arms. "Daddy told me about the letter," she admitted. "I'm proud of you."

"For telling the man who gave me life that I wanted nothing to do with him?" Rose clarified.

"No, for making the decision on your own," her mother replied. "All I've ever wanted for you was to have a good, happy life."

Smiling, Rose placed her head on Hermione's arm. "That's all you've ever given me," she said.

The End