A/N 20/01/2021: This was an epilogue that I had written out a while ago, but which I did not upload because I thought it was somewhat bland and unneeded, since the previous chapter closed the story well enough. I came across this chapter again by accident today and thought that I might as well put it up as a sort of 'bonus epilogue', so here it is.
1998
In September, Harry returned to Hogwarts as the youngest-ever Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher in the school's history. The jinx on the position died with Voldemort, and Harry quickly became in successive years one of the most popular teachers Hogwarts had ever had.
Hermione joined the Ministry of Magic as a member of the post-reform Wizengamot while simultaneously pursuing a Bachelor of Laws at Cambridge. Under the short tenure of Augusta Longbottom as Chief Warlock, the body had been democratized, with members being selected by election. The judiciary was made independent of the Wizengamot through the establishment of a new High Court.
Harry and Hermione moved in together, finding a modest but abundantly comfortable flat in the City of Westminster. Hermione could walk to work at the Ministry in the mornings or apparate north to Cambridge, while Harry would Floo to Hogwarts to teach. Harry did not understand how Hermione could juggle both full-time enrolment at muggle university and work as a high-level official in the new government. Then again, Hermione was capable of many seemingly impossible feats.
Neville, like Harry, returned to Hogwarts to work under Professor Sprout. He went on expeditions to exotic places, sometimes for months at a time. Occasionally, on days like Hermione's birthday, Neville would cover the Defence Against the Dark Arts class for Harry.
Daphne joined the Department of Mysteries and kept up her relationship with Neville, though she often huffed good-naturedly about her boyfriend's tendency to disappear for months at a time to anywhere from Antarctica to Iceland with little warning. She did not seem to mind in reality, though. When Neville asked her to marry him in December that year, she gladly said yes.
Susan followed in her aunt's footsteps and joined the Auror force, training to become a specialist investigator.
1999
Harry and Hermione formally married in a small ceremony with their close friends and family. Neville was Harry's best man just like in the 'old timeline'. As Harry had promised, they did it 'right' this time, with wedding rings, Josh walking Hermione up the aisle, and a little too much champagne.
Luna and Ginny graduated from Hogwarts in June. Ginny had gotten a contract with the Holyhead Harpies thanks to her excellent performance as Quidditch Captain in her final year, with Gryffindor outstripping the next highest-ranked House, Hufflepuff, by over three hundred points. Luna, meanwhile, decided to travel to study magical creatures around the world.
Teddy Lupin was born in April that year. Harry and Hermione were made godparents again, with Remus saying that if it were not for their subtle matchmaking, he and Tonks may not have gotten together in the first place.
Daphne and Neville were married in the autumn of that year. Neville reciprocated and named Harry his best man. As part of Neville's vows, he humorously promised to not disappear for more than a month at a time without telling his new wife. Once more, there was a little too much champagne.
There was no sight nor sound of Voldemort or the Death Eaters. It seemed like it was all truly over at long last.
2000
Ginny and Dean got married. Harry thought that Dean was being a far better boyfriend to Ginny in this timeline than the old one. Not only that, according to Amelia, Dean had become one of her top Aurors in a short time. Harry was beyond happy for his 'little sister'. The same could not be said for Ron, but by this point, the entire Weasley clan barely talked to him outside of the occasional letter or Christmas card.
The last Harry heard, Ron was working as a junior groundskeeper at the Chudley Cannons' home pitch. Harry had heard from Amelia and Dean that Ron had failed out of the Auror Academy after three weeks, and had been jobless for more than a year before finding his current employment. He also knew that Ron had married Lavender after accidentally getting her pregnant. Outside of the occasional piece of news, Harry did not keep up with his old ex-friend, nor did he care to.
Dudley was apparently released from Young Offenders Institute. Harry only knew this because he saw on the BBC one night in November that he had been arrested in a bungled robbery and hostage-taking at a bank in Glasgow. The police stormed the bank after only three hours and arrested Dudley along with three accomplices. He was sentenced to twenty years in prison. Harry could feel nothing but pity for 'Big D'.
2001
Dumbledore died in Azkaban in late February, having served a little more than five years in Azkaban. The suppression of magic hit his body hard, it seemed. There was not much mourning for the late Headmaster this time. When his dirty laundry was aired at his trial in 1995 and then by Rita Skeeter in the years following, the public had very little admiration and even less sympathy left for the old man.
Harry became the Head of Gryffindor House, beating Neville to the position, much to the amused dismay of the newly appointed Herbology teacher.
Hermione graduated from Cambridge in June. With her muggle law training, she quickly became one of the most powerful and formidable members of the Wizengamot. Harry joked that even he was a little scared of her sometimes, which Hermione proved right by displaying her power to seduce him whenever and wherever she felt like it.
Neville and Daphne's first baby, a girl named Mia Alice, was born, ironically, as the seventh month died. They made Harry and Hermione her godparents.
Luna returned from her travels, having earned an Ibn Sina Prize for her work on magical creatures of the far north. She never did find a Crumple-Horned Snorkack, but she did discover more than fifteen species of previously unknown creatures. Luna refused McGonagall's offer of a position at Hogwarts, instead continuing to pursue her own independent work and lecturing at schools and conferences all around the world.
Fred, George, and Remus became three of the wealthiest men in magical Britain as a result of the runaway success of the joke shop. They began branching out into working with muggle technologies and adapting them for use with magic. Their Fellytones – adapted muggle mobile phones – earned them a collective two million Galleons in the first year alone. Never once did they even stock love potions of any variety. Fred and George married Angelina and Alicia, respectively. The twins explained that they were the only women they had ever met who could put up with the constant explosions coming from their rooms.
Hermione was pregnant.
2002
Hermione gave birth to her and Harry's first child, a daughter they named Lily Rose. They reciprocated Neville and Daphne's gesture a year earlier and made the pair the girl's godparents.
It was the best thing that had ever happened to Harry. Besides getting married to Hermione.
They visited the flat in Northern Ireland that they had begun calling 'home' around this time in the future. Seeing it brought distant memories of the long-ago past surging back, but also an even stronger appreciation of the life that they had now.
Fleur had died around this time, they remembered. They were still in contact with her in the form of cordial letters, though she did not marry Bill this time around. She had returned to France and was working as an Auror there. They occasionally saw each other when Harry or Hermione visited France, or when Fleur visited Britain.
Severus Snape received recognition for inventing a version of Wolfsbane Potion that stopped werewolf transitions altogether – and whose effects were not inactivated by sugar. Remus, with his newfound wealth, ironically became one of his old nemesis's biggest customers.
2003
Susan became the youngest ever Head Auror with her exemplary work taking down the last remaining Death Eater sympathizer cells in Britain, continental Europe, and Africa. She was left in the awkward position of answering directly to her aunt, who ended up not being any less hard on her as she would on any other Head Auror. It seemed like Susan, much like her aunt before her, was not much interested in dating or marriage, preferring to devote all her energy to reforming the DMLE.
Daphne became Deputy Head Unspeakable off whatever research she had been doing in the Department of Mysteries. Nobody knew, and she seemed perfectly happy to play up the mystery for as much as it was worth, to the amused chagrin of her friends. Her and Neville's second child, a son named Lawrence Frank, was born later that year.
Hermione was offered the position of Chief Warlock, but declined it, preferring to continue pushing through her reforms as a leading member of the Wizengamot. She and Harry moved to a larger house in Oxfordshire to accommodate their family.
2004
Harry and Hermione had another daughter. They named her Iris Helen. They made Luna and Susan jointly her godmothers.
They celebrated their 'deathday' on August 9th that year, marking the day when they had 'died' in the 'old timeline' and were transported to this one. They gathered with all their friends that they had come to think of more as family as they had become even closer in the years after they had left Hogwarts. There were just some experiences that one could not go through without becoming friends for life.
And then, of course, there was their actual family. Little Iris, who was five months old, and Lily, who was a little more than two. Harry secretly wanted a son, but that all depended on what Hermione desired. If she wanted to end at two, then Harry would be more than fine with it.
'Do you have any regrets about the way things had gone?' he asked her later that night.
Hermione kissed him tenderly. 'No. Not even one.'
And all was truly well.
