A/N: Holy shit it's the final chapter! (epilogue to come)

Thank you ever so much everyone who has reviewed/favourited/followed this story all along, you're absolutely amazing and I love all of you, and reading your thoughts and predictions as we go along has been great! I can't believe the response this story has gotten it's been amazing! (To all future readers reading this when it's complete I love you guys too!)

27th March 2000
7am
Potter Manor - Barnstone, Nottinghamshire

Hermione jolted awake early the morning of James' birthday, unaware for a long moment what had woken her. She'd planned on getting up early anyway and surprising her boyfriend, but not this early. She was pulled forcefully from her thoughts by the reason she'd woken in the first place - James had apparently taken the initiative himself to wake early on his birthday.

"Fuck- James- What-" Hermione spasmed when James sucked her clit into his mouth again, lapping over it forcefully as her legs shook around his head. "I- It's your birthday-" She trailed off with a keening moan, reaching down to thread her hands through his messy black hair as he slid two long fingers into her. He immediately started pumping in time with his licks and sucks on her clit, driving her fast towards her peak. "James!" Hermione arched into him, her mind blanking as pleasure wiped out all thoughts.

He pulled away from her slightly, and when she glanced down, a protest on her lips, he was looking straight back at her. His fingers were still steadily pumping in her as his dark eyes locked on hers. His lips were plump, and they and his chin were shiny with evidence of her arousal. Still holding her gaze he leant back down and flicked his tongue over her clit rapidly, bathing it as she shook in pleasure. Her mouth dropped open, her eyes wide and dark as she watched her boyfriend take her to new heights.

"Come for me, 'Mione." He mumbled into her, then sucked her clit back into his mouth, scraping over her ever so lightly with his teeth. She did, unable to hold back against the onslaught of pleasure, she convulsed around his fingers, her thighs clenching around his head whilst she came, crying his name to the ceiling.

He brought her back down with gentle licks over her clit that made her jolt with oversensitivity. His fingers still buried in her, and stroking her gently to keep the embers of her pleasure burning, he rose til he was looming over her, a smug grin on his face.

"I thought it was supposed to be your birthday?" She panted out once she'd gotten some of her wits back about her, the others still missing in the face of James' continued manipulation of her body with his fingers.

He grinned, and kissed her, the taste of herself still in his mouth, "And what a birthday present that was." He murmured when he pulled back, hazel eyes dark with lust.

"Oh shut up, and get in me. Now." James grinned, but obliged, pulling his fingers out of her, and replacing them with something bigger. He slid into her in one long stroke that had them both groaning loudly as he stretched and filled her. "Fuck, James!" Hermione tossed her head back against her pillow, clenching around his hard cock as he immediately fell into a rhythm that had her panting.

"Shit, 'Mione. You feel so fucking good." He dropped his head to her shoulder, nipping his way down her collarbone as he pumped his hips into her, stroking hard and deep.

"Faster." She moaned, reaching one hand up and threading it back through his hair. The other dropped to his arse where she dug her fingers in, "Please-" She tilted her pelvis and widened the stance of her legs on the bed so he slid even deeper into her.

He whined, a sound he'd deny making if asked, and sped his thrusts up. He was practically pounding into her now, every hard thrust knocking the breath out of them as he wound them up towards what would no doubt be an explosive end. "Fuck. Please tell me you're close again." He pulled back from the hickeys he was leaving against her throat, looking into her lust filled eyes as he steadily pumped into her.

"So close!" She keened when he leaned back and lifted both her heels to his shoulders, getting the leverage and angle to go even faster. She clenched tight around him, her eyes fluttered shut, and, with a scream that swelled his ego, she shattered around him - the clenching of her walls sending him tumbling over into oblivion with her.

Two hours later, with more sleep under their belts, they emerged freshly showered into the kitchen. Hermione wearing James' Quidditch jersey and some shorts that were so short the large jumper hid them. Harry groaned and covered his eyes, "Merlin, you two need to get better at being discreet." He complained, refusing to look at Hermione, who looked freshly debauched despite the shower - hickeys standing out stark even against her dark skin.

James laughed, pressing a kiss against the side of Hermione's head as she took a seat at the table, looking a little flushed with embarrassment. He headed to the stove to get started on some coffee for them both, "Sorry, Harry."

"Ahh, give the man a break. It is his birthday after all." Sirius said with a grin from his seat at the table, wiggling his eyes at Hermione when she looked at him. "Though silencing charms might've been nice." He added with a chuckle when Hermione flushed and avoided his gaze.

"James!" Hermione scolded her boyfriend, who also flushed, obviously not having realised he'd forgotten. Sirius burst out laughing, watching the two with amusement.

5th June 2000
1pm
Cromer, Norfolk

"Wait. Did you remember to pack everything?" Hermione put a staying hand on Harry's shoulder as he went to apparate.

He sent her a long suffering look, "Yes, 'Mione. I remembered everything. Do you have and dad have all the food packed?"

She huffed at his snippy tone, "Yes."

"Let's go, then. You're the only one who's been to Cromer before. If we don't get there soon, who knows what mischief Sirius will get up to." Hermione sighed, but nodded, grabbing Harry's hand in hers and apparating them, and the two bags of things they'd each packed, to the apparition point in Cromer, hidden between two buildings.

"Finally!" Sirius barked, "What took you two so long."

Harry laughed and rolled his eyes, "Hermione had to make sure I'd remembered to pack everything, even though she'd checked an hour ago." Hermione shoved Harry a little, frowning when he laughed. James slung an arm 'round her shoulders, pulling her close and pressing a quick, but heated, kiss to her lips.

"Don't worry, love. I appreciate your efforts." Hermione huffed and poked him, but allowed him to keep his arm around her as they walked out into the town proper.

"The beach is this way!" She shouted after Sirius and Harry who had started heading towards the call of the high street and its cafes and shops.

They both stopped and pivoted, hurrying back to follow her down the narrow streets to the seafront. Remus laughed, and picked Teddy up in his arms whilst Tonks grabbed the chairs and blankets (unfortunately they couldn't be shrunk down to accommodate easier carrying as there would be no way to unshrink them without breaking the Statute of Secrecy).

Harry still had a hold of the umbrella and windbreak, and Sirius had grabbed one of the baskets of food off of James, who held the second in his free hand. Hermione had a third smaller basket containing the chilled drinks. She didn't let the tantalising smell of fish and chips stop them as they passed by one of the many chippys in Cromer.

The large group - who would be joined later by Draco, Ginny, and Pansy - made their way onto the beach, searching for a large free area of sand to set up on that wasn't already occupied by anyone. Once they found somewhere they got set up quickly, Harry and Sirius hurrying off almost straight away to go and grab ice creams for everyone.

Remus carried a giggling mini-wetsuit-wrapped Teddy down to the water, Tonks following with a large blow-up boat. James laughed as Remus waded straight into the sea, fearlessly, Teddy's shrieks audible even from the back of the beach where they'd set themselves up.

Hermione lay back on her towel, her sunglasses over her eyes, already in a Muggle bikini that James was having a hard time keeping his eyes off. She heaved a large book out of her small bag, propping it up so she could read whilst she was lying down. James grinned at the sight, she wouldn't be his Hermione if she didn't bring a ridiculously large book to a beach.

"Stop loitering." She said with a laugh, looking up at him from over her sunglasses.

He grinned, and yanked his shirt off, revealing a toned body that Hermione loved nearly as much as him. He flopped onto his towel next to her, wiggling his eyebrows as he propped himself up on his elbow facing her.

"Are you going to just lie there and watch me?" She asked incredulously.

"Am I not allowed?"

"It's rather distracting." She admitted, flushing a little when his eyes swept down her body and settled on her breasts wrapped in a flimsy white bikini top.

"You're rather distracting." He retorted, carefully taking the book from Hermione and setting it down on one of the bags to the side. He then wrapped his spare arm around her waist and pulled her close against him with a cheeky grin. "Hey, you."

She giggled uncharacteristically, threading her fingers in his messy hair and pulling him into a kiss. He groaned into her and pulled her closer, pressing her generous curves all up against his hard body. She whimpered at the feel of his erection pressing against her through his flimsy shorts and her bikini bottoms.

"Merlin, we can't leave you two alone for a minute!" Harry exclaimed, dropping cross-legged onto one of the towels.

Sirius barked out a laugh taking one of the chairs with a snort, "Like horny teenagers."

James groaned in annoyance and pulled away from their kiss, throwing his two fingers up at his best friend. He didn't pull too far away from her, not wanting them to see his arousal.

Hermione blushed a little, and rolled back onto her back, reaching over James to grab her book back up. She cracked the tome open and settled into reading it whilst Remus - who'd just returned, leaving Teddy with his mother - and Sirius started getting the food out of the baskets. "Here, 'Mione." Harry passed her the 99 flake they'd picked up for her, which she accepted with a happy grin.

"Thanks Harry." She nibbled on the flake first, dipping it in the ice cream and licking it off the chocolate bar, unaware of the heated look James was sending her until Harry cleared his throat pointedly.

The afternoon passed lazily, with lounging in the sun and good food. At one point, with a large smile on her face, Hermione put aside her book and watched her friends. Sirius had transformed and was galloping about the beach after a hysterically giggling Teddy. James and Harry had found a Muggle football somewhere and had convinced Tonks to join them in a game of kick-about with Remus refereeing.

Draco and the others joined them not long later, and the two young couples disappeared off down the beach (in different directions). Tonks and Remus took an exhausted Teddy home not long after. Leaving Sirius, James, and Hermione lounging on the towels and chairs. James sent Sirius a significant look, causing the older Animagus to roll his eyes.

He pushed himself to his feet, "I'm going for a wander." He grabbed his jacket off the pole of the windbreak it had been hanging over and strolled away with a grin.

Hermione raised an eyebrow and looked at James, "Was that you?" She asked with a laugh, going willingly into James' arms when he pulled her into his lap on the chair he was sitting on.

James looked up at her innocently, "Was what me?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, but laughed when he pressed a quick kiss to her lips. "You're terrible," She gave him a little shove, but he held onto her as he leant back in his chair so she went with him.

"You love it." He winked, and pulled her into a deeper kiss, moaning into her mouth when she pressed her hips back into his. "Wicked woman." He whispered, and nibbled his way down her throat, sucking kisses here and there. She dropped her head back onto his shoulder and reached up one of her hands to thread it through his hair.

"More, please, James." She grinded back into his growing erection, easily able to feel his generous arousal through his shorts and her bikini. He moaned and bit a little harder into her throat, causing her to whimper. One of his hands wrapped around her waist, pulling her tighter back against him.

"Shit." He pulled his mouth away from her neck, dropping his head back and grinding up into her when she ground her covered core down on his hard cock. "'Mione, we have to stop." She moaned, turning to look at him with wide eyes, dark with lust, "Fuck, babe, we're in public."

"You started it," She protested against his lips when he kissed her again.

"Do you think anyone would mind if we went home?" He asked cheekily.

"I think they'd get over it." Hermione grinned, grabbing his hand as she stood from his lap. They grabbed up their clothes with haste, and Hermione discreetly threw up some quick spells around all their stuff to stop anyone from stealing it whilst no one was there. Then with a cheeky grin James threw Hermione over his shoulder and hurried off the beach with her, apparating them home in haste.

31st October 2000
4pm
Barnstone, Nottinghamshire

"Why did we agree to this?"

"So that Remus and Tonks could have a night off. And I wanted to see Teddy all dressed up as a little werewolf." Hermione bounced the toddler in her arms, grinning at the little werewolf costume they'd dressed him in to take him trick-or-treating in the local village.

James grinned too, watching the small Metamorphmagus, dressed as a little fluffy werewolf, giggle in Hermione's arms. He and Sirius had found the outfit in a Muggle charity shop and spent a good ten minutes laughing about it before grabbing it up for Teddy for Hallowe'en. Hermione had sighed and rolled her eyes, pointing out Remus' reaction if he ever saw his son in the outfit. Luckily they'd already agreed to take Teddy themselves so there wasn't much chance of him seeing it.

"Well, he does look pretty cute." James conceded, grinning at the toddler. He lifted him out of Hermione's arms, smiling when the little boy's hair shifted to look like his as it always did. "Hey, little man. Ready to go get some sweeties?" He grinned at Teddy's laugh and eager nod.

"You look great, by the way." Hermione said with a grin as she followed him out of the Manor. He was dressed as a cowboy; tight blue jeans, hat, and Western shirt. She'd been shamelessly checking out his arse since he'd emerged from their room.

He turned and sent her an inappropriately heated look, "So do you." He ran hot eyes down her body. She'd capitulated to Ginny's insistence and dressed as catwoman. The leather outfit had taken much too long to wriggle into but his reaction when she'd stepped out had been rather gratifying.

She linked arms with him and they made their way out onto the country road, heading towards the lights of the village. Teddy was swinging between them happily on their arms, usually his hair would be shifting colours with his happiness, but as they'd left the grounds of Potter Manor Hermione had spelled him so that his powers weren't visible.

They spent the early evening taking the small Metamorphmagus around the Muggle village, collecting sweets from the adoring residents and watching with amusement as Teddy exclaimed in amazement over the carved pumpkins as though he'd never seen them before.

As they walked home in the twilight James watched Hermione. She was carrying a surprisingly sleepy Teddy, the little boy worn out from the excitement of the night. She was smiling softly down at him, love in her eyes as she looked at the toddler. Said toddler was cuddled into her arms, his hair - charms now removed - drifting between the brown curls he'd been copying from Hermione and his natural dark blonde. James' heart had clenched when he'd first seen Teddy in Hermione's arms looking like nothing more than her son, images of a child both of theirs filling his mind.

He smiled sappily as she carried Teddy into the Manor and upstairs to take him to bed. His thoughts were swirling with affection for her as he built a fire in the hearth in the drawing room. She entered the room behind him, coming up and wrapping her arms around his waist, resting her head between his shoulder blades. He put his hands on top of hers and squeezed briefly before spinning in her hold so he could look down at her.

She'd changed out of the cat woman outfit, her wild curls loose in a halo around her head. He looked down and groaned at the realisation that she was only wearing his Quidditch jersey, the neck sliding off her shoulder one side to show bare shoulder and no bra strap. He looked into her dark eyes and his heart swelled in his chest, the image of her with their child still burning in his mind. He opened his mouth and before he could stop it or comprehend what he was doing, he'd spoken. "I love you."

Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open, true shock on her face as she looked up at him. "You-" Hermione trailed off, seemingly speechless. She blinked a couple of times, and James' heart clenched in his chest with fear, his arms loosening around her. She shook her head and tightened her arms around him. "I love you too." She breathed out, looking amazed now. Everything released and he felt the grin stretching across his face as he looked down at her with awe.

"Yeah?" He breathed.

She laughed lightly, looking as awed as he felt, "Yeah."