The End

Epilogue: One Last Time

Neve sat in the home of Thaddeus and Cassandra Vitalis. She had no idea exactly where she was. All she knew was that it was in the middle of nowhere. She lived with two grumpy people who had nothing better to do with their time than go to parties every other night and make Neve do the housework. Many times, Neve had contemplated leaving the place and disappearing for good. She was bored stiff in this large mansion. She felt like she was being held prisoner. She was not even allowed to set foot outside. She'd been trapped in the house for three weeks and she missed her sister dreadfully.

At that very moment, Neve was dozing in front of the fire in her white pajamas. The idiot socialites had left her alone again. So, Neve was left to her thoughts on how lonely she was. As she stared into the fire, she thought about her sister. She missed Aurora so much that sometimes she would cry herself to sleep thinking about how she failed her.

Neve was just about to fall asleep on the plush couch when a knock at the front door jerked her awake. Neve looked over at the clock. It was nine o'clock, but there was supposed to be no calls tonight while the Vitalises were away. Yawning, Neve walked to the door. Neve opened the door and the humid summer air hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Whew, it's thick out here," she mumbled. There was no one in front of her. Neve stuck her head outside and looked from side to side. There was nothing but open fields in front of her. Scratching her head, she mumbled a few curses in Italian.

'Get it together, Neve. Now you're hearing things,' she thought to herself. She closed the door and put the locks on it. She yawned again as she turned around. She came face-to-face with someone's chest. Neve stood there for a moment. She looked up and gasped at the face before her.

Tomás Zaviera stood before Neveah Assante, looking down on her with blue eyes. Neve took a step backwards, speechless. Neither knew how long they stood there, just staring at each other.

"Neve..." Tommy took a step forward. Neve took another step back, still staring him in his eyes.

"How'd you find me? I don't even know where I am," Neve said.

"I have my ways," Tommy stated.

"Have you come to kill me, Tommy?" Neve asked. Tommy just smirked as he continued to stare at her.

"I could never kill you, Neve." He took another step forward. Neve did not move this time. He reached out to touch her. Neve watched his hand get closer to her face.

Taking Tommy completely off guard, Neve grabbed his hand and pulled him closer. Tommy stumbled forward and Neve drove her knee into his stomach. Tommy coughed harshly. Neve stepped back and punched him in the jaw. Tommy stumbled backwards as she threw another punch. Tommy caught her fist, surprising her. He twisted her arm behind her.

"Why are you hitting me?" Tommy asked. Neve growled something illegible as she squirmed to get out of his grasp. "What was that?" Tommy twisted harder. Neve sucked in air through clenched teeth.

"You're trespassing," she said. Tommy smirked. Neve looked down and stamped down on his foot. Tommy released her. Neve turned around and looked at him. Tommy frowned and tackled the small girl. He sat up and looked down on her.

"You want to fight? We can fight," he said. Neve smirked and in one swift motion somehow ended up straddling Tommy. She began squeezing his ribs with her thighs. Tommy groaned in pain. He rolled back over. Neve kicked him off of her. She stood up to run. Tommy chased after her. Neve whirled around and kicked him. Tommy fell on his back. Neve raised her leg to kick him again. Tommy tripped her up. Neve fell forward, landing hard on her face. Tommy crawled on top of her and grabbed her by the hair. He pulled her head up. Neve winced slightly.

"You're beautiful when you fight, Neveah. I've never wanted you more," he whispered in her ear. Neve smirked and pushed her body up with her hands, shocking Tommy. He didn't know she was so strong.

"Don't call me 'Neveah,' Tomás." Neve rolled over under him and kneed him in the groin. Tommy recoiled and rolled off of her. Neve stood up and ran off. Tommy regained his composure and followed her, cursing in French. He turned into the kitchen, narrowly missing a knife. Tommy grabbed Neve and head butted her. He picked her up and slammed her on the kitchen counter, her back hitting the wall. Tommy held her against the wall. Neve struggled.

"Stuck?" He taunted her. Neve frowned.

"You jackass..."

"You love this jackass." Tommy smirked. Neve did as well. Suddenly, the sound of a pan hitting someone in the head was heard. Tommy released Neve and stepped back, holding his head. Neve released the pan. Tommy stumbled backwards, his eyes squeezed shut. He bumped into the counter on the other side of the kitchen where the knife was lodged in the wall. Neve stalked over to it. She pulled it out.

"Don't move," she whispered. Tommy opened his eyes. He realized that he was looking down the business end of a knife. He looked into Neve's eyes.

"Are you really going to kill me?" Tommy stared at her. Neve stared back. He hand faltered only for a second, but Tommy quickly took advantage of it. He held out his hand and the knife left Neve's fingers. Neve cursed his Soliopathic power. Tommy threw the knife to the side.

They just stood there, out of breath, sweaty, and bloody. Neve sighed deeply.

"What do you want from me?" She asked. Tommy walked towards her and kissed her. Neve kissed back willingly. It took a moment for her to realize what was happening. She pulled away from him and backed up into the wall. "No," she whispered. Tommy looked confused.

"What's wrong?" Tommy closed the distance between them. He put his hands on either side of Neve's head and stared down at her.

"Tommy..."

"What is it, Neve?"

"Don't start anything you can't finish," Neve said, looking up at him. Tommy just stared down at her for a moment, mulling over what she might mean by that. He leaned in closer to her ear.

"Oh, I'll finish it..." He kissed her deep and hard. Neve melted into the kiss. Tommy broke the kiss after about a minute to say one word. "Room?" He whispered. Neve opened her eyes.

"Upstairsleftlastdoorontheright." She said quickly. Tommy understood her and picked her up.

Nearly an hour later, Tommy stood over Neve, staring down at her. He kneeled down beside the bed and looked into her sleeping face. He traced her jaw and she shifted a bit. Neve only ever looked truly at peace when she was sleeping. He sighed.

"I love you, Neve," he whispered. He didn't know whether or not she heard him.

'Probably not,' he thought as he headed towards her door.

"You do?" A soft voice said. Tommy stopped dead in his tracks. He turned around and blinked. Neve was still lying on her stomach, asleep. She had definitely said something, though.

"Yes," Tommy answered. He watched her for a moment.

"I love you, too," she whispered. Tommy raised an eyebrow. He smiled. Her next question caught him off guard. "Why did you try to kill me?" She sighed out. Tommy's smile disappeared.

"I let my anger get the best of me," he replied.

"Oh," Neve breathed out.

"Will you forgive me?" Tommy asked.

"I already have." Neve sighed as if she were awake. "Will you leave me?"

"I have to. I'm a fugitive," Tommy responded grimly. He saw something sparkly roll down Neve's caramel cheek. "I'm sorry," he whispered, looking down.

"Don't be. I love you," Neve repeated. Tommy walked over to her and wiped the tear away. He leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"I love you, too." He turned and walked towards the door. As he opened it, Neve said one more thing.

"Don't leave me alone." Tommy looked back at her one last time.

"You'll never be alone," he said. With that, he disappeared.

9 months, 1 week, 2 days, 6 hours, and 12 minutes later...

"Push, Miss Assante!" The Mediwizard yelled. Neve held her sister's hand. She was sweating bullets and breathing hard. She shook her head.

"I...can't..." Neve whispered. Aurora nodded.

"Yes, you can. This is the last one. You are almost there," Aurora wiped her sister's forehead. Neve nodded and braced herself. She squeezed Aurora's hand tightly along with the bar on the side of her bed. Aurora winced as she felt one of her fingers break. She didn't release her hand, though.

"One more, Miss Assante. Give me one more big push," the Mediwizard said. Neve nodded.

Down the hall in the waiting room, many people had congregated for the birth of Neve's babies. All of her friends and family were there. Draco looked up as he heard two girls scream.

"Was that Aurora, too?" Ginny asked, looking up from Witch Weekly. Draco nodded slowly.

"Why is this taking so long?" Ron asked from his seat. Hermione glared at him.

"She's having BABIES, Ronald. She's just not having one." Hermione said. Ron rolled his eyes.

"It takes five hours to have five babies? That's like an hour per baby," he groaned. Hermione shook her head.

"She was in labor for five hours, Ron. Even I know that much. I didn't know you were that dense." Harry said. Ron shot Harry a dirty look. Harry just smiled jovially. That was when Aurora came into the room, her hand wrapped. Giuliana and Alfonso stood up.

"How is she?" Giuliana asked with worry in her voice. Aurora nodded.

"She is doing well. She is about to name the in a moment."

"What happened to your hand?" Draco asked. Aurora looked down at him.

"Unfortunately, Neve happened to it. I'm going back to check on her. I'll bring you another report." Aurora left the room again. Harry let out a long sigh.

"It appears that you were right, Hermione. This was indeed inevitable." Harry said. Hermione nodded.

"Our days of peace are now numbered," Draco whispered.

"This seems a bit familiar," Ginny said.

"It's how Tommy and I came to be. History has a way of repeating itself," Ava said.

Aurora walked back in the delivery room. The nurses were wheeling the babies back in the room. Aurora walked up beside Neve. She wiped some of Neve's damp hair out of her face. Neve opened her eyes and looked at her sister. She smiled.

"You made it," Aurora said, smiling back. Neve nodded.

"Yeah. Aurora?"

"Yes?"

"Never have more than one baby at a time. At least not the natural way." Neve laughed weakly. Aurora giggled along with her. "Who was born first?" Neve looked past Aurora. A nurse stepped up carrying a pink bundle. The baby girl was crying loudly and fidgeting wildly. Neve stared at the child. The child caught sight of her mother.

"She was born first," the nurse said. The child stared at Neve and then continued to scream. Neve smirked.

"My, my. Isn't she the spirited one? Elektra Veronique, like my aunt," Neve stated. The baby now named Elektra stopped crying once again for a second, as if answering to her name. Once her crying started again, the mirror across the room shattered. Aurora and Neve looked at each other.

"Well, she has your qualities," Aurora said. Neve nodded. Both could feel the power that the little girl possessed.

"He was born next," the nurse lowered a baby boy down to Neve. He reminded her of her great-uncle, Quentin Domani. He was also being extraordinarily loud like his sister.

"Salvatore Quentin." Neve motioned for the nurse to come a little closer. She did so. Neve leaned over and kissed her son on his forehead. He was instantly quiet, staring at his mother. Another nurse stepped forward holding another girl. Both Aurora and Neve gasped.

The child was beautiful. She had an almost angelic aura about her. She would've been a little angel is she was not screaming at the top of her lungs.

"Isabella Angelique. Doesn't she look like a little angel?" Neve said. Aurora noticed her eyes were drooping. Neve's exhaustion was starting to take over. The Mediwizard was watching her closely. Another boy was brought up. Aurora looked down at him. Hadn't she just seen this one?

"He is identical to Salvatore?" She asked the nurse. The nurse nodded. Neve opened her eyes and looked at the boy who was letting everyone know of his displeasure.

"Leonardo Jacques..." Neve passed out completely. Aurora took a step forward. The Mediwizard crossed the room in two strides and began checking Neve's vital signs.

"What is wrong?" Aurora asked. The Mediwizard let out a relieved sigh.

"She's just asleep. She's exhausted. Having quintuplets will do that to you. She can name the other one later. Corey, Michael, move her to a private room." The woman barked orders. Aurora took one last look at Neve and left the room. When she got back to the waiting room, Giuliana stood up.

"Is everything okay?"

"Sì," Aurora said.

"What are their names?" Draco asked. Aurora took a deep breath.

"There are three girls and two boys. Their names are Elektra Veronique, Salvatore Quentin, Isabella Angelique, and Leonardo Jacques," Aurora said. Ava counted in her head.

"I thought you said there were five."

"There are. Neve passed out before the last baby could be named. I guess she can be named later." Aurora said.

Late that night, after everyone had gone, Aurora and a nurse were watching the babies in the nursery. They were sleeping, gurgling, or being Elektra. Elektra was currently expressing her irritation. The nurse looked wearily at Aurora.

"No matter what we do, she cries," the nurse said, picking Elektra up and trying to comfort her. Aurora looked at the screaming child. The other three named babies were making little noises.

"I will take her," Aurora said. The nurse handed Elektra to Aurora and promptly left the room. Aurora began singing softly to Elektra in Italian. Elektra quieted down eventually. Aurora stopped singing. Two seconds later, Elektra was screaming again. Aurora sighed. The child was less than a day old and was already a pain.

"May I try?" A voice said from behind Aurora. Aurora stopped moving. She turned around slowly to face a hooded figure. Aurora squinted. She knew exactly who it was. She handed the squalling child to him.

Instant silence.

In one minute flat, Elektra was sleeping soundly. The figure gave Elektra back to Aurora. Aurora put her back in her crib. She sighed and faced the hooded figure. She crossed her arms.

"I suppose you want to know who they all are, Tommy."

"You suppose correctly." Tommy pulled his hood back slightly. Aurora shook her head.

"The wild one you just encountered is properly named Elektra Veronique. So far, you've been the only one to get her to shut up for an extended period of time. The boy next to her is Salvatore Quentin. The pretty one is Isabella Angelique." Aurora paused as Tommy walked over to Isabella.

"Hello, Bella," he whispered, touching her soft cheek. Aurora noticed how well he seemed to get along with his children. Tommy looked to his right at his other son.

"He is Leonardo Jacques. He seems to just enjoy staring at people and occasionally crying," Aurora said. Tommy nodded and looked at the inquisitive boy. He seemed to be analyzing his father. Tommy tore his eyes away from him and looked at the sleeping baby girl. "She has not been named," Aurora said quietly. Tommy kept watching the little girl in awe. She was so...serene and tranquil. This child fascinated him the most by how different she was from her siblings.

"Serenity..." Tommy whispered. Aurora blinked.

"What?"

"Serenity. Name her Serenity."

"You cannot do that. You are not..." Aurora stopped herself in mid-sentence. Tommy whirled around and glared at her. For the first time since they had been in the same room, Aurora saw his eyes.

"I'm her father. I can name her as I see fit."

"Fine."

"Serenity Dominique. That's her name. Where's Neve?" Tommy asked. Aurora looked away from him.

"I cannot tell you th..." Aurora gagged as Tommy grabbed her by the neck.

"I'm not going to hurt the mother of my kids. Where is she?" Tommy released Aurora. Aurora rubbed her neck and glared at him.

"In room thirteen on floor up." Aurora said. Tommy nodded and left the room.

Neve opened her eyes lazily as she heard the door to her room open. She turned her head towards the door and saw a dark figure approaching her. It took a moment for her to realize what was happening. Before Neve could scream, the figure's hand clamped over her mouth. With the other hand, the figure pulled the hood down. Neve relaxed when she realized who it was. Tommy removed his hand.

"Tommy..." She whispered with a hoarse voice. Tommy nodded and kissed her. When they broke apart, Neve just stared at him.

"I named the last one," Tommy said. Neve nodded.

"What did you name her?"

"Serenity Dominique."

"I see you kept in tradition with the girls' middle names. Did anyone see you?"

"Just Aurora. No one else. I really just came to see the babies and you. I can't stay," Tommy said. Neve hung her head.

"I know. Will I ever see you again?" Neve asked. Tommy nodded.

"Of course. Now is not the time, though." Tommy kissed her and stood up. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Neve whispered. Tommy nodded and Disapparated. Neve sat back in the pillow and closed her eyes. She was back to being lonely.

The next day, the group came back to see Neve and the babies. They told Neve of the prophecy with her babies. She just stared at them with disbelief.

"You mean to tell me that my children will become Dark witches and wizards?" Neve stared at Harry with intense eyes. Harry nodded solemnly.

"That's about the gist of it." Harry said. Neve shook her head.

"This can't be happening. So, am I doomed to watch everyone I love suffer or something? Am I cursed?" She said loudly. Aurora sat next to her sister.

"No, Neve. You are not cursed. We just need to make sure that they grow up the right way. Maybe, somehow, we can change their destiny by raising them differently."

"How?" Neve asked.

"We keep their identities secret. Don't tell them who their real father is until they are older. Teach them to hate the Dark Arts," Draco said.

"What about splitting them up?" Ginny suggested.

"Well, it wouldn't make much sense to split them up. The moment they look at each other, they will realize that they are related. We'll just have to keep them shielded from everything," Harry said. Neve nodded.

"I guess I could do that. Hopefully we can dissuade them from wanting to be Dark witches and wizards," Neve said quietly. Harry nodded.

"So, where do we go from here?" Ginny asked, looking around the room.

"Who knows..." Harry whispered.