Epilogue: Five Years Later

The gentle breeze blew through the Highland moors, carrying with it deep red leaves and the scent of hay. Sitting at a table outside the imposing residence, two young women enjoyed a cup of tea as they waited for the rest of their group to arrive and help with further preparations. A gigantic white and gold marquee stood further away, signaling a nearing wedding.

"I miss caffeine," McKenzie whined, shifting to sit more comfortably on her chair. "Scratch that, I miss not being pregnant. My fingers swelled so much all of a sudden that I had to take my ring off."

As if on cue, her husband came out of the daintily designed glass double doors to worry over her.

"Here, love, I found you something to prop your feet up," Callum fussed, carrying a small ottoman.

Gratefully, Kenzie put her feet up, letting a sigh of relief as she felt somewhat more comfortable. Moire shook her head, a small endeared smile on her face.

"Do you know when Leah, Erin, and Emma will be here?" She asked instead of commenting on her cousin's overprotectiveness as he fed his wife a piece of shortbread.

"Leah and Emma are coming in an hour from Diagon Alley, they just had to pick up our dresses. Erin should be here later tonight. Are the Potters and the Weasleys arriving today?"

"Any minute now," she declared.

Moire breathed in the fall air. It was still one of her favorite smells after the years. And, just as the tranquility set in, loud conversation interrupted her inner peace. She didn't mind. After all, it was what she had signed up for. Her Aunts Gavina and Greer came out first, both on either side of Hermione, while her mother was deep in conversation with Ginny. Lainie, Nairne, and Fleur spoke of floral arrangements while Cadha had Angelina and Ron in a debate about which teams were most likely to make a comeback. Molly, holding a box in her arms, was catching up with Aoife, who seemed to have taken a liking to the Weasley matriarch, while the Laird, Bill, and Harry stayed back in the parlor, seemingly discussing the upcoming events, before they shook hands and made their way out through the double door leading to the large garden. Moire stood up to greet them, while Kenzie struggled a bit but followed stead.

"Hello, my dear!" Molly greeted with a large smile, engulfing her in a bone crushing hug.

"Hi, Mrs. Weasley," she saluted back with a smile of her own for the short woman.

"None of this, darling, you know you can call me Gran. You're family after all!"

She smiled at that as Ginny and Harry came up next, hugging her with less force but just as much love as Mrs. Weasley, followed by Lily, who now towered over her by a few inches but still revered the ground she walked on. One by one, she welcomed all of the Weasley-Potters, her chest filling with joy as she saw each of them.

"How are the rooms?" She asked.

"They're perfect as always, dear," Hermione assured.

"Quick, while James is still moving gifts into the Manor with Albus, Fred, and Scorpius," Molly ushered, setting the wooden box down on the table. Flipping the lid, she revealed Aunt Muriel's tiara.

"That is absolutely gorgeous," Lainie complimented.

"She is going to look stunning," Ginny assured as Molly placed the tiara on Moire's head.

There was a small silence as they took in the sight of the tiara on Moire's deep red hair and how the moonstones and diamonds shone in the light. Fiona's eyes watered which prompted the Laird to pull his wife to his side and hand her a handkerchief.

"You look beautiful!" Victoire exclaimed as the toddler in her arms clapped her hands with a wide smile on her face.

"I can't believe this is finally happening," Roxanne sighed dreamily.

"It seems like only yesterday they were pulling their wands out at each other in the corridors," Dominique giggled.

"To be quite fair, I think Moire was the more aggressive one out of the two," Kenzie commented. "James was all talk."

"Now, now, let's not bring up those times in front of my future in-laws, shall we?" Moire declared, taking the tiara off and placing it in its box.

With a flick of her wand, Molly sent it to her room, and they magically enlarged the table to fit all of them, as well as summoned more chairs. Just as they settled down, the boys walked in. Moire took a second to appreciate her fiancé. Professional Quidditch had put a lot more muscle on him, but he kept a laughing glint behind his spectacles. Walking up to her, he dropped a kiss on her lips.

"Hi," he greeted, looking completely enamored.

"Hi," she replied, amused.

"Oh, get a room," Fred complained.

"Frederic, behave," his mother chastised.

"Yes, mum."

"And George, no pranks!"

"Same goes for you, Ronald," Hermione warned.

"We wouldn't dream of it, love," Ron assured, with George nodding a few seats away from him. She did not look convinced.

Moire smiled at the sight, holding James' hand under the table. Her left hand was on display, the platinum band decorated with one large diamond flanked on either side by one smaller one, the stones shining every time she moved her fingers. She looked around the table. Teddy and Victoire were just as in love as they were the day of their wedding, little Andy sitting on her mother's lap and munching on Fiona McLeoch's famous shortbread cookies. Scorpius and Rose had moved in together a year ago, and while it had seemed to be quite a sore spot with both of their fathers at first, they had both gotten used to it. Rose was studying magical law, surely following after her mother's footsteps, while Scorpius had just finished his Healer training. Fred, who was living his best life as a ladies' man, had unsurprisingly become an Auror, and as did Albus, who he had finally managed to start dating Alice Longbottom a year and a half prior and seemed to be moping as she would not arrive until two days before the wedding. Lily, who had proven to be quite talented at Charms, had just finished her education at Hogwarts the previous summer, and seemed to be training under Advanced Charms Masters, and there were talks of her taking over Flitwick's position in the next few years. After years of pining, she had finally confessed her feelings to Lysander, who had seemed quite shocked as he had been under the impression the two of them had been dating since Lily's fourth year and his fifth. He was currently studying under his great-grandfather and was willing to apply for the position of Care for Magical Creatures as soon as Hagrid decided to give it up. He definitely had the qualifications for it and working alongside Lily would be perfect for the both of them. It was similar for the rest of the family, who were slowly but surely figuring out their careers and love lives. With no doubt, the Weasley-Potter family was as lively, supportive, and whacky as they were the first time Moire had met them, and she was quite happy she would be part of it.

James had proposed quite unorthodoxly, but then again, what else did she expect from him? He had climbed the ladder quite fast when he had first started with the Magpies, becoming a starter in record time, and it was no surprise when had been selected to be part of England's national team at the Quidditch World Cup the year prior. After a long game against Spain, England had brought home the World Cup in a close victory, and as the reporters had interviewed each player after the game while on the field, their voices magically amplified, James had decided now was his time.

"What was your biggest hope for tonight's game, James?" They had asked him.

"Well, I promised myself that if we won, I'd finally do this. But, now that we have, I want to ask my girlfriend, who is currently watching from the box seats, a very important question. Moire McLeoch, I have loved you since we were eleven years old. I confessed that in front of all of Hogwarts, so it seems fair that I do this now, with both of our families here right now, and in front of half of the Wizarding World. So, will you marry me?"

The stadium had exploded in exclamations and gasps, and it had taken quite a while to settle down. Moire had almost passed out, her entire face red, as both Ginny and her mother had been losing their minds. Harry had facepalmed at his son's choice in timing. Moire had then flagged down one of the nearest attendants to take her to the commentators' box so she could give her answer.

"We have word that Miss McLeoch is on the move," the reporter had said, as she hurried. The commentators had stepped aside at the sight of her, and she had taken a shaking breath before leaning over the microphone.

"James Sirius Potter, you absolute fucking twat," she had exclaimed. "Couldn't you have waited until you got back to the tent?"

"It was a spur of the moment thing, love," he had replied with a cheerful tone into the reporter's wand. "So, will you marry me?"

"Of course, I'll marry you, you idiot!"

The stadium had the erupted in cheers and songs, although she later saw quite a few tear stained cheeks from young witches wearing James' number, and the rest was history.

"What are you thinking about?" He whispered in her ear.

"About you proposing. I'm still mad, by the way."

"And you're still marrying me."

"We're here!" Emma cheerfully exclaimed as she walked out to the garden, holding Leah's hand, followed closely by Erin. "And look who finished work early and met up with us! Oh, my! The marquee looks beautiful!"

Gavina, as usual, gave them an approving glance, never failing to mention she had seen that coming from a hundred miles away.

"There's a week until the wedding, and yet there's still so much to do!" Aoife lamented.

"Don't worry, we have quite a lot of helpers," Cadha assured.

Most of Moire's cousins were arriving between that evening and the next morning. McLeoch weddings were always a large affair, considering the sheer number of them, their allies, and of course, with the Weasley and Potter families and their own friends, this wedding would be particularly taxing. However, as Aunt Cadha had said, there were quite a lot of them and hopefully everything would be taken care of before the wedding.

"You know what's funny?" Erin mused. "Emma predicted this."

"I did?" Emma questioned.

"Erin's right! When we found out that Moire smelled James in Amortentia!" Kenzie exclaimed. "Moire said it was just because he smelled good, and not because she fancied him. And you said you'd remind her of it in five years at their wedding!"

"I will now be opening a divination shop!" Emma declared, making Leah shake her head at her girlfriend's antics.

"If only you could have predicted the results of the Slytherin-Gryffindor game, I would've won my bets," Hugo mumbled.

In a split second, the energy shifted around the table. Moire frowned, opening her mouth, ready to argue about the one subject they had never satisfyingly put a lid on. She saw James' expression mirror her own. Albus was halfway up his chair already while the shortbread cookie in Scorpius' hand was crushed into crumbs. Fred was already turning red. Everyone else's expression turned into one of horror at the mere mention of the one argument that usually rivaled the Third Year Showdown, as it had been affectionately nicknamed, but only this time, included the entire Slytherin and Gryffindor teams of the 2021-2022 school year instead of just two thirteen year olds. Before anyone had had the chance to start yelling, Kenzie slammed her fist on the table.

"WE DO NOT TALK OF THE SLYTHERIN-GRYFFINDOR GAME!"

And it is the end! This sprouted from me wanting to read a fanfic where James, who is usually portrayed as the poster boy for Gryffindor, fell for a Slytherin. And since I couldn't find any, I wrote this. As for the last bit, it originated because I genuinely didn't know who I wanted to win the Quidditch Cup for that year so I leave it up to you to imagine what happened.

I hope you enjoyed something that was quite literally a result of my insomnia.

I will see you at the next fanfic hopefully. So, one final time, enjoy this chapter and let me know your thoughts in the reviews section!