Epilogue

Twelve years later

Ron grumbled and crossed his arms in exasperation after confirming that his mountain of paperwork hadn't decreased and the number of interdepartmental memos flying over his head had, on the other hand, raised.

Being Head of Aurors was not a job for the mission-loving wizards. He had been in the position for four years now and loved it at first. Now, Ron accepted that he sometimes got bored. His dad came to his mind and how he had never complained about his job except in special circumstances.

Ron passed his hand through his hair and tiredly sighed. He knew that with each passing month he had less and less hair. Merlin, time flew. One of the photos on his desk drew his attention: his two best friends and him with each of their families, eight kids making funny faces.

The Head of Aurors smiled amusedly and glanced back at the paperwork. Well, sometimes you have to sacrifice some things for others, he considered. He had raised from his chair having decided to fetch a cuppa to give himself more energy to finish his day when his door opened. His long-time secretary entered with wide eyes.

"Excuse me, Head Weasley. A visitor… has arrived." Secretary Thompson whispered mysteriously.

"Well, lad, send him in!" Ron almost rolled his eyes.

"No!" Thompson loudly whispered, "He arrived! In the … in the other room…" Thompson lowered his voice even more by the end of his sentence. His eyes went round again and his lips pursed.

Oh! Ron frowned and nodded, understanding, though inwardly he was cheering for the opportunity to get away from his office and delegate some of his work. He swiftly seated again on his chair and wrote the code on a piece of parchment. The falcon is with otter. He rolled it carefully, sealed it and gave it to Thompson.

"Thompson, owl this to Professor Potter as soon as possible." The secretary's head nodded vigorously as it always did when Ron mentioned his best friend, "Also, review the memos, answer them if needed and file the reports." After receiving a complying nod from his secretary, Ron harrumphed "Excellent, lad. I'll be out of reach. See you tomorrow."

"Yes, sir." Thompson hastily moved out of Ron's way, walking already towards the pile of parchments.

Ron hurried before anything stopped him. Greeted various colleagues and officials in the elevator and got off when a voice announced he had arrived at level 9. He was one of the few to have clearance to cross the black door, outside of the wizards and witches working in there, of course.

After rushing in, his steps slowed, careful to not bump into someone who might have carried a dangerous potion - it had happened to him twice- and, without any interruption, arrived at the steps of a purple door.

"Ron! My man!" As soon as he opened the Space Room, Sam Wilson happily greeted him, various steps away from the bright portal he had just crossed.

"Mate, good to see you! Come, let's scurry out of this room before we cock something up."

Sam knew the protocol. He would ignore every pair of eyes set on him and would not talk to anyone. His presence in that universe was a top-secret cooperation project only known by a few. A project that had given muggle objects resistant to magic to one and magical defences to the other.

As they entered a final room after various turns, Ron and Sam took a handful of Floo powder intending to use it in a secluded hearth connected to the network.

They nodded to each other.

"The Holt," each called in a clear voice before passing through the green flames.

When Sam crossed, a warm and cosy foyer in an English cottage received him. He smiled as he dusted his clothes from the soot. Sam loved visiting his friend's house and enjoyed it as much as being with his sister and nephews. His eyes travelled to the window on his left. Trees, flowers and a white fence were visible, as well as a steady, heavy rain.

"And as usual, it's raining cats and dogs," Ron sighed, shrugging. "It's four-twenty in the afternoon by the way. Right on time for tea." The wizard winked, turned and headed towards the nearest exit, "Oi!" he yelled, his robes willowing behind him, "Is anyone home?!"

"Uncle Ronny! We're here! In the kitchen!" a little girl's voice answered; some chuckles could be heard in the background.

"Punk! How come you always arrive when we're about to eat?" joked Bucky, his voice slowing as he saw Sam standing under the frame of the kitchen door.

"Uncle Sammy!" Rosalind happily exclaimed from her chair. "Goody! Can you take me flying again?"

Sam chuckled, "Not in this rain Linnie. Your parents would kill me if something happened to you."

Sam gave a heartfelt hug to his friend, then Hermione, and finally to a jumping little girl.

Hermione waved her wand, and two extra seats were magically prepared for Sam and Ron. She then charmed the pot which started pouring an afternoon blend and immediately charmed a knife which cut and served a good slice of Victoria sponge each.

After Rosalind finished eating and left to play, Bucky asked Sam what had been troubling him since he saw his best friend arrive. "Sam, what brings you here? It isn't time for your visit and I'm scheduled to cross in a couple of days," Bucky's voice was calmed, however.

"It's nothing to worry about," Sam shook his head. "I hope your latest invention is finished," he said to Hermione instead, "because we're gonna need to use it soon."

Ron's eyes got wide. "You found him?!" he blurted out with his mouth full.

Bucky and Hermione just stared at Sam, waiting for his confirmation. But before Sam could confirm or deny anything, someone loudly entered the kitchen.

"Sorry, everyone! Sorry! The owl went straight to the owlery instead of looking for me. Bloody bird!" Exclaimed a ruffled Harry Potter as he entered the room, hovered his pointed green hat towards the counter and conjured a stool. "What did I miss?" Harry inquired as he sat between Sam and Ron. "Mate," he greeted Sam before conjuring the pot to serve him tea and the knife to serve him a big slice of sponge.

Bucky and Sam shared an amused glance. It had been twelve years since that day when they met the magical trio, and the magic still ignited that childish delight in both of them.

"He found him," Ron shared the news, to which Harry ungraciously opened his mouth, his cuppa mid-air poking him on his arm.

"You have?" Harry asked and glanced between Sam, Bucky and Hermione, ignoring the cup. Ron rolled his eyes and took the charmed warm cup that still hovered in front of his friend, placing it on the table.

"I have. I visited him yesterday. Came here as soon as I could." Sam announced.

After Sam's words, Hermione straightened and nodded, "The item is finished. It's ready to be used. I made a copy for you too, Sam." The day had finally arrived after so many years of searching. She held Bucky's hand under the table. It was cold as ever and when she looked into his eyes, she saw hope.

"How is he?" Bucky asked, his voice strained.

"Man, I thought he wouldn't be happy to be found. But now I think he's been waiting for one of us to find him."

Bucky shakily nodded and made eye contact with his wife who nodded back, squeezing his left hand. She then magically cleaned her side of the table and conjured parchment and ink.

"What youdoin?" asked Ron again with his mouth full, making Bucky narrow his eyes the same way he did when reprimanding his kids.

"Notifying the Minister we're going on holiday, of course!"

"You're all going!? Can the kids cross?" Ron questioned open-mouthed, which caused Bucky to groan loudly now. Ron, oblivious to this, continued, "Is it even legal?"

Sam raised his eyebrows, amused, and Harry started chuckling, knowing what was coming.

"Tomato, tomato." Hermione said in American and British accents, waving her left hand. With the other, she charmed her quill to start writing.

Ron shook with laughter, "Bloody hell! After all these years, you still surprise me. Your own kids will be crossing!"

Sam smirked and smiled at Bucky who smirked back before lovingly watching his wife. God did he love her.

"When are you crossing?" Harry asked.

"In a couple of days? What do you think? We could cross with you." Hermione asked Bucky who nodded back.

"Ron, we'll have to prepare a special package for Shuri and Okoye from WWW." Harry amusedly said. The grown men shared a wicked look.

A tall man that sported some patches of white hair, with one little dark-haired girl in one hand and an older boy in another, came out of the floo at the Ministry of Magic a couple of days later. He immediately moved forward, the little girl looking back at the green flames. When a woman and a boy came out of it, the little girl grinned.

Bucky and Hermione's family were heading for their yearly holiday. But this time, the destination caused a commotion of excitement in their three kids. Finally, they would visit the universe from where their dad came from.

"Uncle Ronny!" The little girl dressed in leggings, a pink skirt and a t-shirt that read 'future powerful woman', happily ran towards a man that took her in his arms as soon as she and her stuffed otter reached his legs.

"Oi! Linnie! Have you grown in the last couple of days? You're heavier!" Ron made her squirm with tickles, and then he whispered to her brothers, "Steve, Mikey, Uncle George gave you some new presents, right?" The two boys, dressed as well in muggle clothes, grinned and signalled to their backpacks. "Good, good."

Together they passed the security point, a formality as the guard obviously recognized the Head of Aurors, the Head of the Department of Mysteries, and the only known muggle in history with clearance to work there. The kids, it was the first time they visited. And if he was being honest, he couldn't imagine why the children were there, but he was just a guard and kept his mouth shut.

The three dark-brown-haired children, two of them with curls, were well behaved and kept close to their parents and uncle in the elevator.

"Level 9. Department of Mysteries," said a voice.

As they entered the Space Room, Hermione held her breath and tightly grabbed Mikey's hand.

"Woah!" Exclaimed Steve from his father's side.

The room was a representation of their universe, ever-changing with galaxies, stars, planets, light holes, nebulas… and dozens of light portals that circled the now disappeared entrance door. Rosalind held tightly to her uncle's neck, slightly frightened at the vastness of the room.

They headed straight to a bright, ethereal door that had a green light on top of it. As they neared, Ron gave Rosalind to Bucky, the little girl immediately clinging to her father.

"See you in a fortnight. I'll be waiting for you here. Enjoy!" Ron waved and grinned when all five of them waved back.

Together, twelve years later from that first time when the magical trio crossed, the Barnes-Granger family passed through the bright portal. As little feet step for the first time in the Kingdom of Wakanda, Queen Shuri, Sam, Okoye and Ayo received them with an emotional welcome.

A lone white house in the middle of nowhere looked for no visitors. And yet, there they were as soon as they knew where it waited only for them.

"Why are we here?" Rosalind asked, scrunching her freckled nose. "I want to go to where daddy was born."

"Daddy's best friend lives here," Mikey whispered, a finger on his lips. "And I want to visit the Smithsonian, Linnie. Mummy told us to be patient." Rosalind only huffed after her brother reprimanded her. She rolled her eyes for good measure and then held tightly her worn brown otter.

Bucky stood in front of the closed door, absorbed in the past until his wife's comforting hand brought him back, receiving an encouraging smile from her.

He rang the bell.

Some seconds passed until they heard steps. Tired steps. An old man opened the door, and as soon as he saw them, a wrinkled grin appeared on his once handsome face.

"It took you long, punk. I've been waiting for many years." He was now Bucky's height, his relenting hair was all white, but his eyes were as kind and loving as ever. "Come here!" He said as he and Bucky tightly embraced.

"Blimey! Daddy's friend is old!" Rosalind exclaimed, making the two men chuckle. Bucky stepped back so Steve Rogers could meet his family.

Stevie smirked, Mikey stood taller, and Rosalind stared back under the old man's eyes; their mother and father smiled.

"You have a family. " Steve proudly said to Bucky, a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "And a British one if my old ears don't trick me. Come inside, Peggy would scold me for my manners to her fellow British citizens if she were here. I think she would say it's time for tea."

"Thank you, tea would be lovely," Hermione said as she made sure her three children came inside the house before her.

"That accent," Steve murmured to his friend.

"That accent." Bucky knowingly nodded with a wide smile, causing Steve to silently chuckle.

Some time later, the children played on the shore of a shallow stream in the backyard. Hermione, keeping an eye on her magical children, read under a tree, giving Bucky time alone with Steve.

Both men were sitting on the steps of the back porch, a bottle of beer between each pair of hands, watching the kids play.

"I'm sorry it took me this long to come, but you didn't make it easy either pal," Bucky explained.

Steve shook his head and took a sip of his non-alcoholic beer. "How are you, Bucky?"

Bucky's eyes gleamed with joy and grinned. "As happy as I could be." Still watching Hermione and their kids, he continued. "I have something I had wished with all my heart since you rescued me."

"A family?"

"Yes, and peace. A place where I belong. I don't fight anymore, I don't kill anyone. I have a life."

"What do you do?"

Bucky smiled, remembering the time Hermione asked him that same question. Now it had a different answer.

"I'm a weapon instructor. I train kids both at the Wakandan Royal Military Academy and a similar program in Hermione's home Ministry."

Steve raised a white eyebrow in amusement. "You teach kids?"

"More like I torment kids for some weeks," Bucky chuckled. "But, after someone else took the White Wolf mantle, I must confess I enjoy it, the normal job I mean. The normal hours. The routine."

A sigh came from Steve. "I am so happy for you, Buck. You deserve it."

"And you, Steve? Now that Peggy's gone… I can only imagine what it would be like to not have Hermione in my life."

"We shared a wonderful life. And now, I'm just waiting to reunite with her."

Bucky took some seconds to think.

"Steve. I know Sam and I will visit you occasionally but, I also know you live a lonely life.…"

"It's all right. I can get by on my own."

"But you don't have to." Bucky took a sip of beer remembering that same conversation decades ago when Steve's mother had died. His friend hadn't changed. "That's one of the reasons I'm here. You know of Hermione? What she is? Where we live?"

"Sam told me something. I know you live in another universe. And that she has magic. Is she like Wanda?"

"No, not like Wanda. More like Gandalf."

"Ah! Tolkien. I loved his books when they came out."

"Me too." Something eased in Bucky's chest as he gave Steve a lopsided grin. God, he had missed his friend. "Hermione designed a new way for you to travel to our universe, one that isn't as taxing or limited as the ones we currently use." Bucky took out from his pocket a simple combination lock. "Once you enter the right passcode, it will open a door to the back of our cottage."

"You have a cottage, Buck? Really?" Steve playfully smirked.

"A typical, traditional, English cottage with its white fence," Bucky rolled his eyes but then sobered, "with enough land to build a smaller one for when family visits." Bucky stared at his best friend. "And I'm talking about you if you didn't get it."

Seconds passed as Steve pondered what Bucky had just said.

"Isn't this illegal?" Steve finally asked, then he raised an eyebrow as he took the lock in his hand, weighing it, and gaining time to mull over his options.

"Potato, potato." Bucky waved a hand like Hermione usually did when the legality of things she did was not clear -according to her, of course-. "There isn't a law that prohibits it. Not here, not in our universe."

Steve gave his friend a piercing look, then a half-smile.

"What's the passcode?"

"Peggy's birthday." Steve's lips pressed together but Bucky continued, "She wouldn't have wanted you to live lonely Steve. You have a family. You rescued me and now you have me. You trusted Sam and now you have him as well. We… I want you in my life."

Moments of silence passed, the chirps of birds and loud buzzing insects the only sounds to be heard.

"Steve! No magic here! And put down your brother! It's not right to levitate a person! You're not even supposed to know that spell!" Hermione yelled from under the tree, causing Bucky and Steve to chuckle.

"But mum! Mikey asked me to!"

"No buts young man. Headmistress McGonagall is going to send you straight to detention if she sees you using your wand like this next September. Not even Uncle Harry will be able to save you. And believe me, cleaning the cauldrons without magic isn't a day in the park!"

Steve turned to Bucky. "Why Steve?"

Bucky frowned, remembering those painful weeks. "Remember Doctor Doom ten years ago? As White Wolf I joined the New Avengers to help destroy the bastard. It was a long mission. Hermione was pregnant at the time and, because of it, she was forbidden to cross into this universe. We spent two months apart, with no communication." Bucky sighed as he remembered the guilt of leaving her and their unborn child. "The stress was taxing for her and the baby; he was born during week 27. When I went back home, I received the news that he was in the hospital under magical care, a premature baby that looked so small and weak. Hermione was…" Bucky shook his head, attempting to forget that moment when he rushed into St. Mungo's ward and saw her alone, with red-shot eyes, curled in a chair in front of their baby that lay protected by a magical cocoon.

"I knew then and there that it was time to leave the White Wolf mantle. I wouldn't be able to continue anymore." Bucky gave another drink to his beer, remembering how even Okoye had fiercely supported his decision in front of the elders. "Hermione knew about you. Your story. So, we thought if we gave him a strong name he would survive… And he did." Both watched the eldest of the Barnes-Granger kids effortlessly climb one of the trees. "He's so smart but likes to get in trouble, sometimes feigning ignorance."

"He obviously got your genes, Buck," Steve amusedly remarked.

"Yeah. Now I understand my parents," Bucky chuckled and continued. "Mikey likes order, logic, and reading. He's as astute as his mother. Linnie… She's my little strong girl that asks me to teach her how to fight and assemble guns."

Steve laughed. "What does Hermione say about that?"

Bucky shook his head, a loving smile on his face. "She says that if I'm gonna teach them, to teach them right. So now, for the last year, once a month, the four of us practise with guns and knives."

A sigh came out of Steve, "Buck, you can't imagine how happy I feel right now. I knew I couldn't give up on you. If I had, those kids wouldn't be here."

"That's why we want you to be part of our lives, Steve. Will you let us be part of yours?" Bucky pressed Steve's shoulder, "Remember? I'm with you till the end of the line, pal."

Steve sighed. He was just an old man with memories, waiting to die and reunite with Peggy. What could he possibly offer Bucky? His family? He also didn't feel like leaving his house, full of Peggy's memories.

Rosalind, Mikey and Steve chose that moment to return to their father, running and laughing. Their mother calmly followed them.

Linnie sat on her father's lap while Mikey and Steve rested on the grass in front of them. Hermione leaned on a nearby column.

"Dad says you were the first Captain America." Steve asked the older Steve, his eyes flickering with curiosity. "And that I'm named after you, that you were weak."

Steve turned to Bucky who only shrugged his shoulders after sharing a smile with Hermione.

On Steve's old face, the corners of his mouth turned up.

"Well, Stevie, you see, I was a weak and sickly young man that stood his ground. Your father here was my best friend, and would always have my back…"

Bucky watched his entranced kids and heard Steve's amused voice before sharing a knowing look with Hermione. Yes. The new little cottage was hopefully going to be occupied soon.

A/N: We've come to the end of this short story. Thank you so much for allowing me to be part of your days through my words. Would appreciate if you click the like icon if you have enjoyed it, or leave a review.

Also, I have two -almost finished- short stories about other rooms in the DOM. Follow me if you don't want to miss them. :) - Aniara27