Hey guys! I'm so, so sorry that it's taken me this long to get this up! :/ I've been trying so hard, but I just could not seem to write it. Since I'm staying with my sister until mid-July, I might not update regularly for a while. I apologize so much, but it's just not possible for me right now. I will do my best to update at least once every other week, but I just don't see me making my weekly updates like usual. I feel like this chapter is a little bit rushed, especially in the end, so PLEASE tell me what you think! Thank you for being so patient with me the past two weeks. I love you all!

~Ouaysis.

I went to see Danielle at St. Mungo's before leaving to pick up Emilia. Yesterday after talking to Sally I had arranged with the Ministry to travel by Floo Powder to Sally and Bret's. The Healers still hadn't found an antidote to the snake venom slowly travelling through my wife's veins, but they had promised they were nearly there. She still had to take the Blood-Replenishing Potion every hour, but she didn't look much worse than she had yesterday, so I took that as a good sign. James was released this morning with orders to get a lot of rest. I doubted that he would listen, but we would all do our best to make certain he didn't overexert himself. Lily helped him limp over to Dani's bed to Remus and Tonks, where they were all waiting for me. Danielle and I had decided that it would be best to tell them all the news before I went to get Emilia, just in case she mentioned something to the others.

"Everyone all right?" I asked, looking around at my friends. Remus nodded tiredly and James did the same reservedly. Both their wives gave me small smiles, which I took to mean 'yes'. I stepped up to the side of Dani's bed and took her hand in mine. We shared a smile before I cleared my throat and looked up.

"I…er, we….have something to tell you all." I started tentatively. Four pairs of eyes blinked back at us curiously. I didn't know about Remus' reaction, but I knew James was going to be at least a bit hacked off that I had waited until now to tell him I was married.

"You know how I mentioned we were…..well, together?" I asked James, who nodded.

"The reason Danielle didn't marry Stan is because she married me."

There, it was out. I held my breath, glancing from face to face. Tonks burst into a smile and stepped forward to hug me.

"I knew something was odd last night," Remus said with a grin.

Lily shook her head with a smile. "Congratulations, you two."

She hugged me and then Danielle. I glanced over at James, who was avoiding my gaze. I squeezed Dani's hand before approaching the man I considered my brother.

"James?" I asked uncertainly. He continued to ignore me for a few minutes.

Then he turned to me and yelled, "You're married? You wanker!"

"Er…I—"

"I can't believe you two got married without me! A man gets married, his best mate expects to be there!"

"I'm sorry, James," I said. "I would have got you there if I could have. It all happened so fast, I didn't have time to let anyone here know what was going on."

He narrowed his eyes at me for a moment and then sighed. A smile slowly spread over his lips. Standing up, he pulled me into a hug. I laughed and hugged him back.

"Congratulations, mate. But don't think I'll be letting you off easy."

I laughed again and glanced at my watch. "I'll remember that. I've got to go; Emmy will be waiting for me."

I Apparated back to my flat and then pocketed my small bag of Floo Powder. After making certain I had all I needed I pointed my wand at the fire and muttered, "Incendio." Taking a small handful of Powder from the box on my mantle, I threw it into the flames. I recited the address Sally had given me and then stepped into the emerald green flames. Glimpses of peoples' homes flashed by as the uncomfortable sensation gripped me. Then suddenly I was stepping out into the posh living room of Bret and Sally Wilson. It was still odd to think of them as my in-laws, rather than just Emmy's maternal grandparents.

"Daddy!" Emilia exclaimed from the doorway, where they all had just appeared. I quickly brushed myself off before Emmy launched herself into my arms. Grunting, I held her tightly to my chest.

"There you are, love," I said softly, kissing the side of her head. "Have you missed me?"

Emilia pulled away and nodded vigorously. "I thought I might never see you again."

"Do you remember what I used to tell you when you were younger?" I asked her. I put Emilia down and knelt in front of her, gripping her shoulders gently in my hands.

"Yes." She said with a nod. "You always promised me that you'd never leave me."

I nodded in agreement. "That's right. And even if something had happened to me, I would still be with you."

Placing a hand over her heart, I looked my daughter in the eyes. "In here. I love you, Emilia, and not even death can take that away."

She nodded again more seriously, biting her lip. I smiled and pulled her close to me once again. Emmy wrapped her arms around my neck and for a long moment we stayed there. Eventually, I stood up and looked over at Bret and Sally. Danielle's parents were both smiling at me, which was a bit of a shock considering Bret had spent the last decade hating me. He gave me a curt nod as I took Emilia's hand.

"Have you got all your things?" I asked her. Emmy nodded before running off to get her bags. Before Emilia could come back I told them about Danielle.

"She's not as critical as she was last night, but they're still working on an antidote."

"What happened?" Bret asked, worry in his brown eyes. I shifted my position uncomfortably, uncertain of how to explain the war to a couple of Muggles. Even if they knew about our world, they weren't exactly informed about what went on.

"She….er, was attacked. By a snake."

"A snake?" Bret asked incredulously. I nodded.

"Yes. She bloody jumped in front of me." I said, sighing and shaking my head.

"How did she get so hurt by a snake?" Sally frowned in confusion.

"It was….er, poisonous, you could say. It's hard to explain."

"Can we see her?" Bret wanted to know. Sally nodded beside him, wrapping an arm around her husband's waist.

"They don't allow Muggles in St. Mungo's," I explained. "But as soon as she's released you're welcome to come stay with us a while."

Just then Emilia returned, struggling to pull her trunk into the room, her knapsack over one shoulder. I walked over to Emmy and helped her with the luggage.

"Say goodbye to your grandparents, love." I told her.

Nodding, Emilia went to give both Bret and Sally a hug. Sally hugged me before I could protest and Bret even shook my hand. I gave them both a small smile as I stepped back.

"Love you, Gran, love you, Papa." Emilia said as she pulled away, a large smile on her face. They nodded, peppering her with kisses and more hugs.

"Stay safe, darling," Sally said. Emmy smiled, nodding.

"All set to go?" I asked my daughter, pulling the pouch of Floo Powder from my trouser pocket. Emmy beamed up at me and smiled. Squeezing her hand, I stepped up to the fireplace once more.

I threw the powder into the fire I'd created before reciting my address. Picking up Emilia's trunk, I stepped into the flames with Emilia by my side. I felt her grip my hand tightly beside me and the squeezing sensation of Floo Powder suddenly took over. Within a few moments Emmy and I were stepping into the living room of our flat. Emilia coughed a few times before brushing herself off and then dropping her rucksack onto the sofa.

"Can we go see Mum?" She asked, looking up at me expectantly from where she sat beside her bag.

"Soon, love," I said as I gathered her things and took them to her room. "I said we would go over in an hour."

Emilia sighed but nodded. I knew we needed to talk before we went to see Danielle. Emmy didn't really know what had happened, or what the aftermath of the war would mean for me in my work. I made each of us a cup of tea before sitting down beside her.

"C'mere," I said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Emmy curled up against me, sipping her tea quietly.

"You remember about the war and the Death Eaters I talked to you about?"

"The ones that hurt you?" She asked softly, looking up at me with those deep chocolate eyes.

I nodded. "Yes, love, the ones that hurt me."

"Do they have Mummy?" I felt her small body tense up next to me.

"No," I reassured her quickly. "No, Mummy is in the hospital recovering. The reason we had to leave was because the war escalated and we had to come fight, to protect everyone."

"What happened?" She asked, her voice quiet and reserved.

"We won," I said, looking down and giving her a small smile. My expression soon turned to one of sadness, however, as I thought of all that we'd lost. "But not without losses. Many students and adults gave their lives to stop the Dark Lord….and….Uncle Peter was one of them."

Emilia was silent for a long time, the tea in her cup steadily growing cold. I took a drink out of my own cup as I waited for that bit of information to sink in. Finally she looked up at me, tears in her eyes and a few trailing down her cheeks. Peter and Emilia had never really spent time together, but he was my friend and truly like an uncle to her. It was a hard blow to all of us, especially Marie. I tightened my grip around Emmy's shoulders.

"What….what about Uncle James?" She asked quietly. "And Uncle Remus?"

"They're fine. A bit battered and cut up, but nothing too serious."

She nodded and took in a deep breath.

"With the war ending, there's going to be a lot for me to do. I know I've been round all summer, but that's going to change in the coming weeks. As an Auror I've got to help clean up the mess the Dark Lord and his followers have created. With your mum recovering in St. Mungo's, I'm not sure where you should stay. However, I already know that you'll choose to stay with Lily and Harry. But Uncle James is still recovering as well, only at home, so you'll have to help round the house and keep out of mischief. Can you do that?"

Emmy nodded. "I think so, yes."

I managed a smile and pulled her into my lap.

"Good," I said as I hugged my daughter. "I don't know when you'll be going over there, but I'm sure it'll be soon. We'll pack a bag just to be prepared."

After we gathered a new bag filled with clothes and other things she'd need at Lily and James' I took her through Side-Along Apparation to St. Mungo's. I led the way to Danielle's bed, Emilia trailing at my side. Thankfully she was awake and sitting up when we approached. Emmy ran the remaining distance to Dani's side. My wife's face lit into a smile when she saw our daughter. Danielle pushed herself up and reached a hand for Emilia. I stepped to the other side of Dani's bed and brushed her hair back.

"How are you?"

She looked over at me, Emilia gripping her hand with both of her own.

"Alright," she said. "The doctor said she might have found an antidote. She'll be back in about twenty minutes."

Nodding, I leaned down and pressed my lips gently to her forehead. Emilia told Danielle about her time with Sally and Bret and I was happy to just sit and listen. Just as Dani had said, a healer came by not quite twenty minutes later. She held a tiny steaming cauldron in her hands and hurried forward to place it on the bedside table.

"Here we go, love," the woman said, scooping out a goblet full of the potion and giving it to Dani. Danielle winced as she leaned forward and sipped the potion gingerly. Once the goblet was empty the healer refilled it and she and Dani repeated the process. I took my wife's hand as Emmy stepped to my side, wrapping an arm around my waist. I put my arm around her shoulders and held her tight for a moment. If someone had told me a month ago that I would have my family all together, that I would be married to Danielle after everything we'd been through—I would have laughed in their face and told them to shove off. Despite all the sadness and grief that I also felt at the loss of friends and mentors, I was filled with a surprising amount of joy. Once the cauldron had been drained Danielle leaned back against the pillows and smiled at me. Was it my imagination, or did she look better all ready? She squeezed my hand and closed her eyes.

"Let her get some rest," the healer told me. I nodded and lifted Emilia into my arms.

"What d'you say we go get some lunch?"

"Okay," she said with a nod. "Love you, Mummy."

Emmy kissed her mum on the cheek. Setting her on the ground, I leaned forward and kissed Dani's lips gently. I felt her smile faintly, but she was too exhausted to do much else. I gave her hand a gentle squeeze before reluctantly letting go and leading Emilia out of the ward.

I stared at my reflection in my bathroom mirror, the sorrow evident in my gray eyes. There was a rustle of clothes and I turned to see Dani walking up from behind. She'd been released from St. Mungo's yesterday, but she was far from healed. She was still weak and had to take a Blood-Replenishing Potion once a day. Even still, she was the most beautiful woman I'd ever known. I smiled and wrapped my arms around her in support. She was in a soft pink dress that brushed her knees and reached her elbows. The bandage on her shoulder was thoroughly concealed under the fabric. Other than the slight paleness to her skin, no one would be able to tell Danielle had been attacked by Voldemort's snake four days ago.

"It'll be okay," she said quietly, brushing the palm of her hand down my face. I nodded but avoided her eyes. How could she say that? Dumbledore and Mad-Eye Moody were both dead, Peter was gone—the destruction left after Lord Voldemort's defeat was endless. A part of me knew that she was right, that eventually, things would get better. But for the foreseeable future, everything looked pretty bleak.

"How are you?" I asked in order to stop thinking about all the dead.

"I'll be fine." Dani straightened my tie and dress robes.

She ran a hand down my chest and then asked, "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," I replied. The funeral for Dumbledore and memorial for the fallen was about to start at Hogwarts. Emilia peeked her head into the doorway and I saw her from the mirror. Gesturing for her to join me, she rushed forward.

"You look great, love," I told her with a smile. "All set?"

Emmy nodded and I took her hand, an arm wrapped around Danielle. I looked at my wife, who nodded. Together we spun around and Apparated to a spot just outside of Hogwarts. All assortments of witches and wizards were arriving, a colorful mixture of robes and jackets and dresses. The heads of houses were busy in the castle gathering and organizing their students. There were a few witches and wizards at the gates, directing us to the rows and rows of chairs set up near the Black Lake. We were escorted to the aisle of the chairs, then left to find our own seats. I spotted James near the middle and led Danielle and Emilia to where he and Lily sat.

"All right?" James asked after I'd helped Dani into her seat. I give him a solemn nod before sitting down myself. It wasn't long before the students, or at least those of which hadn't been taken home prematurely, filed into their seats. Not long after the ceremony began.

A short man stood in front of Dumbledore's body after Hagrid carried him slowly down the middle of the chairs and placed him on the white marble table. The speech was very eloquent, though I suspected that Dumbledore would simply smile in amusement if he'd been there to hear it. The merpeople and centaurs gave their own tributes, a testament to the fact that Albus Dumbledore had touched the lives of not only the witches and wizards of our world, but all manner of creatures. Screams rent the air when flames engulfed Dumbledore's body and I jumped a bit myself. After a moment smoke curled into the air and a marble tomb encased his body and the table he'd been lying on. Once the initial shock had worn off the Ministry wizard stood up once more.

"And now we would also like to commemorate all of those who sacrificed their lives for the defeat of Lord Voldemort. A few people would like to speak in memory of a small bit of the brave wizards and witches who died during the Battle of Hogwarts."

James and I stood up, along with Remus on the other side of Lily. A lump began to form in my throat as I thought about what it would mean. Peter was dead, gone…. We'd forever be missing a Marauder. Maria stepped out of the second row, and James and Remus and I all reached out a comforting hand. She gripped mine in both of hers for a moment, tears in her eyes but a look of determination on her face. She had only asked us to be there for support and I was glad of that. If I'd had to speak about Peter in front of all these people, I would have lost it. Maria stepped forward once the applause had gone down after Kingsley was finished with his commemoration of Moody. She took in a deep breath, and I couldn't help but admire her courage.

"My husband, Peter Pettigrew, was never very brave or daring, though I suppose he was a bit chivalrous. But he was always a good friend and an honest man. And that is why I believe he would not want me to stand here and talk about all the good and great things he did in life. In the end, he sacrificed his own life to save mine, and to me he will always be one of the most courageous men I've ever known. I know not many of you knew my husband, but I think those of you who did will agree when I say that I will miss him until I die, and that I will always have him in my heart."

Remus hugged Maria for a moment, then stepped back and allowed James to hug her. I pulled her into my embrace in turn.

"He'd've been proud of that," I told her with a watery smile. "C'mon, sit back down."

The rest of the memorial went well and soon we were standing up. Conversation started up all around as James, Remus, and I stepped closer.

"How are you?" I asked Remus; the full moon was tomorrow, and I knew this had to be hard on him. He grimaced as he shrugged. I gripped his shoulder for a long moment, then shared a knowing look with the pair of them. After saying goodbye to Lily and Tonks, I found Emmy and Danielle, little Harry in deep conversation with Emilia.

"Daddy?" Emilia asked once I told her it was time to go. "Can I stay with Harry for a bit?"

Looking over at Lily, I saw her nod. "All right." I smiled and gave her a hug. "I suppose that's okay. Mummy and I will come get you in a couple of hours."

Emmy nodded and then skipped away with Harry. I took Danielle's hand and we Apparated back to my flat.

"What'd you want to do?" I asked after helping her onto the sofa. She curled up next to me and sighed happily.

"Absolutely nothing."

I chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Kissing the side of her head, I was inclined to agree with her. I felt my eyes start to close and the deep, even breaths of Dani beside me. Taking advantage of the quiet house, I allowed myself to fall into the embrace of sleep.