I decided to add two more chapters instead of just leaving it as a one-shot. Thank you to Shdwcat27, aniamifan1988, and Color Me Gray for your wonderful reviews. This is my first story and your compliments were so encouraging. I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Peace, Love and Insanity,

Black Moonlit Roses.

Amat victoria curam

I made her swear she wouldn't fight. She was seven months pregnant and I was terrified of losing my wife and unborn child. She never did listen to me though. I told her to stay away from me, that I would corrupt her and she defied me. I pleaded with her to leave me and let Potter help her raise the baby; I was no man to be caring for a child. She pulled my head down to hers, whispering softly that she would never, in a million years, let another man raise my child. So, I was not surprised when I saw her standing on the front lines of the Light Army. She looked magnificent with the cold, winter wind whipping her hair, giving her the appeal of a strengthening goddess. She had abandoned her robes for jeans and a plain tee-shirt; it would be easier for her to fight without the hindrance of the long garments. It was unnerving the way I could see her pregnant belly protruding from her small frame. Waves of fear coursed through my body as numerous thoughts hit me all at once. The awe I felt at her appearance quickly turned to blind horror at the thought of her dying. She was strong, but she would not be able to move as fast as the other fighters.

My reverie was interrupted by a shout to my left. Lucius Malfoy fired the killing curse at no particular person on the opposing side. I held my breath as I watched the beam of emerald light shoot to the side of my true loyalties. Lavender Brown was the first to fall. Parvati Patil shrieked in horror as her friend collapsed next to her on the cold, hard ground. Out of the corner of my eye I saw another person fall, though I had not heard a sound. Time stopped as I witnessed my love descend to the ground. I started to run to her side, but Draco grabbed my arm and shook his head in warning. He too was a spy, and knew my brash action could bring dire consequences to both Hermione and me.

A person unknown to me hurriedly picked up my wife and carried her swiftly to the hospital wing. I was caught unawares as curses and spells began to fly from both directions. I took that as a signal and sprinted to the other side of the battle. Many Death Eaters stopped firing and merely watched as I, followed by Draco, removed my cloak and mask and stood proudly on the side of righteousness. I knew they would come after me, and indeed they did.

The battle raged as I fought off scores of Death Eaters. It seemed that hell had truly broken loose and assembled on the lawns of Hogwarts. Wryly, I recalled one of many ancient Roman adages. Fiat Justitia (Et Ruat Caelum)Let There Be Justice, Even If Heaven Should Fall. The phrase seemed to fit the situation perfectly. All around me people were being slaughtered, all for the name of goodness and freedom. Heaven was sinking quickly and we were being pulled down with it.

It quickly became apparent that I was to be outnumbered. Many of my ex-comrades felt the need to exact revenge upon me for betraying the Dark Lord. I knew I was lacking the resources to combat them all, so I did the one thing I despise most; I ran. The aurors had erected strong anti-apparation wards so that no Death Eaters could escape by that route. I cast a disillusionment charm upon myself and ran for the Forbidden Forest. In my hurry to escape, I paid no attention to the place I was apparating to. So, when I reached a remote tropical forest, I knew something had gone horribly wrong.

I dropped my damn wand when I landed. It snapped cleanly in half and I was stuck in some godforsaken rain forest without a wand and, coincidently, no way to get home. With my superb observational skills, I determined it was sometime around midday, telling me I was probably in South or Central America.

To shorten the painfully long tale, I trekked through the forest during the day and slept (rather uncomfortably) in trees at night. My main source of nutrition was fruit. I tend to dislike most fruit to a rather extreme degree. The only fruits I will eat are pomegranates and strawberries with whipped cream. Hermione introduced me to the kinkier aspects of food.

Hermione. I thought of her all the time. The dreams of our nights together seemed almost real. She was the motivating force that kept me from ultimate despair and quittance. My thoughts always drifted toward our soon to be born daughter, growing inside my love's womb. I was terrified that something had been amiss when Hermione became the second to fall in the Final Battle. I needed to get back to Hogwarts and return to the arms of my wife, lover and angelic redeemer.

I fought my way through the wilderness for what must have been close to two months before I reached a city. I never learned the name of the town, I was just interested in finding a wizarding establishment that could provide me with a floo to Hogsmede. Fortunately, there was one located in the heart of the city and the owners spoke enough English to understand my plea.

They imparted to me that Voldemort had indeed been defeated in the Final Battle. I had sensed it nigh an hour I had appeared in that damned forest when my Dark Mark began to burn. All that is left there now is a deeply scarred burn that slightly resembles the shape of a skull.

All floos to Hogwarts and Hogsmeade were disconnected. The nearest available floo was twenty miles from the school, but I could easily make the journey in one and a half, possibly two days.

The floo trip was a long and nauseous one. I suspect I was in the system for a good ten minutes, which can seem like an eternity in a world of spinning fire places and ash. I finally found myself collapsed on the floor of a dingy wizarding pub in Scotland. The owner was rather shocked, to say the very least, to find his fearsome ex-potions teacher lying in a ragged, dirty heap on his tavern floor.

One of the locals was paying a visit to his son, a Slytherin, and offered to apparate me there with him. The owner of the establishment was kind enough to lend me a bathroom, soap and clean set of robes free of charge. Unfortunately though, the patron was a former Gryffindor dunderhead and I was stuck with a putrid shade of maroon robes. I was still grateful nonetheless.

It was sunset when I reached the hallowed village of Hogsmeade. I parted ways with the kind stranger and was instinctively drawn to the battle field I fled from two months prior. To my immense surprise, I spied a young woman sitting in the center of the once blood soaked lawn. As I grew closer, I began to recognize the woman. She was my Hermione. The blood-red sun escaped behind the dark clouds. Somehow, the environment seemed almost intrinsically connected to all of the emotions I had been under going the past couple of months.

She began to move and from my angle I could see her swollen stomach silhouetted against the last rays of the setting sun. She would be giving birth soon, and I would be there to welcome my daughter into this world, free from war and overshadowing evil.

I stealthily moved up behind her. She must have sensed my presence because she awkwardly pivoted around from her spot on the earth, wand in hand. I placed my hand to the level of her eyes and watched as they widened in recognition at the appendage. She grasped it and I pulled her from the ground to my arms. We locked eyes and I knew I was finally home.

Amat victoria curam. Fortune favors those who take pains. My life had been wracked with pain for decades and finally, a blessed fortune had been granted to me. I held within my arms my lover and salvation. My pains were over.

You know the drill, review please. I would really like some constructive criticism before I start on the next and final chapter.