A/N This bit has played itself out in my head for the past two years, plaguing me to write it down. I'm still not sure if I should add it, but I did anyway. Hope you like.

Epilogue

Her eyes fluttered open as a snort issued from the other side of the bed. Ron shifted, muttered unintelligibly and lapsed back into slumber. She kept her eyes closed, relaxing into the pillows propped around her, as she waited to be certain that he was indeed asleep. She didn't know what had actually awakened her. It could have been almost anything, considering how lightly she had been sleeping lately. It was rather difficult to find a comfortable position.

She shrugged out from under the covers and slowly slipped from the bed, trying not to wake her new husband. He looked so peaceful. He always did now that she was finally home with him, for good. Even when he was at his most lecherous, like he was the night before, it delighted her to see his perfect contentment with her continuous presence.

As she listened to the night sounds slowly give way to their day replacements, she considered the events that had played out just six months before. A sigh escaped her as she remembered the look of joy on her professor's face as he eagerly embraced his long awaited release. She glanced over at her Ron, wondering how he would have reacted to seeing his old nemesis finally die. After all, that's basically what he had done. Die. And she was instrumental in his death, regardless of the fact that he would have been actually killed fifteen and a half years before by the most evil of sorcerers had she not interfered. She pursed her lips and shook the memory away.

She wandered out to the kitchen and got the coffee going. She wasn't supposed to be drinking any at this point, but she couldn't resist the occasional cup. As she waited for it to brew, she stood by the window facing the east, and watched the sky fade along the horizon. The hills slowly deepened to stand in contrast against the dim glow of predawn light. As the coffeemaker gurgled and hissed behind her, she watched the sun tiptoe into the morning. It was a soft sunrise, nothing spectacular.

Hermione knew that her future with Ron was secure, and was going to be happy. He had waited so long, so patiently for her, even since the Winter Ball at Hogwarts, so he said. She hadn't been aware of his growing infatuation at first, but it had probably mirrored the one that she had for him. Krum had just been, well, a fling so to speak, as far as teenage romance goes. Even as she had dated him, she had found herself attracted to the freckled faced friend that had supported and cared for her through their years at Hogwarts. She was happy that they had finally gotten started on their life together.

Her mind drifted back to her last visit at Hogwarts. Although the night was never far from her thoughts, the sting of Snape's last farewell had begun to fade. She touched her lips softly, remembering the one and only time her teacher had reached out to her fondly. What might have been. Or would there have been? Hermione didn't think she would ever know, as divination was definitely not a favorite school of magic for her. How Professor Trelawney could have been so right in the end escaped Hermione's comprehension. All she could speculate was that had she not have succeeded, however unsuccessfully, with her spell that cursed Snape, she would not have needed to research for so long and so diligently. But had she not done so, she never would have gotten to know Snape as she did. It was all so dreadfully confusing.

She felt a movement in her abdomen. How odd that whenever she reflected on that night, the baby would stir. Maybe it sensed her mixed feelings. Maybe it could hear her increased heart rate and responded. She didn't know. Again, she may never know. Either way, she would always be curious as to how quickly after that night she had gotten pregnant, considering that they had actually tried more than once beforehand and hadn't succeeded. She rubbed her belly, soothing the kicks as she crooned to her baby boy. Oh, yes. It was definitely going to be a boy. She didn't know how, but maybe that was just her payback for spurning Professor Trelawney's class.

"I remember now why I love you. You look beautiful," came a low whisper from the doorway. She turned to stare into big blue eyes and a sheepish grin. For a fleeting instant she imagined a sardonic smirk play across a pale face, framed with greasy black hair. She shook off the image and went to melt into her husband's arms.

"I love you, too … Ron."