A/N: This is the final installment in my spooktober fic. Thank you everyone for your lovely comments! As always, extra hugs and love to my beta turtle_wexler and my alpha qdrew for being awesome. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

EPILOGUE

The Shrieking Shack closed in around her. The air was still crackling with magic, the smell of blood and something putrid hung in the air. Shakily, Severus rose to his feet in front of her.

Hermione couldn't move. Her chest tightened. Her skin was prickling and she couldn't breathe. She needed to get out.

Severus raised a hand to his throat, and blood started seeping from his fingers.

No, no, no, no, no. She squeezed her eyes painfully shut. This couldn't be happening again. Not now. She couldn't bear it.

A voice, at once familiar and foreign, wrapped over her. Come back to me.

It wasn't real, it couldn't be. She choked down a sob.

Unseen arms, warm and strong, touched her face. Hermione, it crooned. Come back to me.

A feeling of security and love washed over her. She knew then everything would be all right.

Hermione's eyes opened slowly. The black nose and whiskers of a fluffy tortoiseshell cat was in her line of vision. The cat sniffed her face, meowed and licked her nose before jumping off the bed. Early morning sunlight streamed through the window, showing a light scattering of dust floating through the air.

Rubbing her eyes with her hand, Hermione stretched, though she was slightly hindered by the body wrapped around her back. The arm around her waist – pale with black hairs and long, sinewy fingers – tightened slightly as its owner awoke.

"Morning," his voice was rough with sleep, and he placed a soft kiss on the back of her shoulder.

Pushing back into him, Hermione smiled. "Good morning." Careful not to dislodge his arm, she turned around.

Severus' eyes were narrow black slits in his face, and even the deepest lines on his face were smoothed out. Faint stubble lined his cheeks and chin, his face relaxed. Her heart fluttered.

Shifting closer, Hermione pressed a soft kiss to his lips. He hummed against her mouth, arm encircling her waist and fingers tightening on her back. They kissed languidly, neither feeling the need to take things further. Warm tingles shot through her entire body.

It had been a year since that night in the woods where they bargainedwith Death. After the force field exploded, Hermione had truly expected Death to deny their request, and terror had wrecked her body. Then she came to with Severus' frantic voice in her ear. She had sat up, head still spinning and her ears ringing. Her entire body had ached, but she'd been alive. They both were. Clinging to each other on the ground, Hermione had cried.

"I've got you," Severus had spoken lowly in her ear, voice thick with emotion.

In the days that followed, Hermione had run Arithmantic charts and checked their lines obsessively. She couldn't let herself believe Death had shown them mercy. In the end, she had to accept what their lines were showing: the ritual had worked. Death would not come for them.

Hermione pulled back from the kiss and reached to tuck his hair behind his ear. "I want breakfast."

"Mm, I'm feeling a bit peckish myself," Severus smirked, the back of his fingers brushing against her left nipple.

Hermione half-chuckled, half-moaned and pushed his hand away. "I meant actual food, you dolt."

"Ah. How disappointing." He kissed her swiftly. "Breakfast it is."

Getting out of bed, Hermione put on her flannel dressing gown and went across the hallway to the bathroom. She heard Severus get dressed and walk downstairs, then Minnie's loud insistence of being fed. Once finished in the bathroom, she stuck her feet in the fuzzy slippers Severus insisted looked like two stuffed Pygmy Puffs strapped to her feet and headed downstairs.

Sunlight streamed through the front windows, casting a warm glow over the floor. The sitting room looked much bigger without any furniture. Next to the fireplace sat a shoebox which contained the shrunken contents of the sitting room. Two more were stacked on top, labelled 'office' and 'books'.

The kitchen was still largely unchanged, except for the empty shoebox on the corner counter with 'kitchen' written in Severus' spiky handwriting on the side. Hermione stroked Minnie's back but received no love back as the feline was busy eating.

"Have we got any juice left?" she asked, opening the cabinet next to the fridge and reaching up to grab two glasses.

Strong arms encircled her from behind, gently gripping her arms and bringing them back down. "Will you sit down, witch?"

Scoffing, Hermione leant back against his body. "I'm not some delicate flower, Severus. I'm pregnant, not an invalid."

His hands splayed over her swollen stomach. "You still shouldn't strain yourself. Sit, I'll fix breakfast."

Hermione had only started showing – rather than looking bloated – about two weeks ago, and it was the first time she actually felt it was real. A child was growing inside her. Doing a pregnancy charm at the end of summer and seeing the white light showing a positive result had been a shock; she and Severus hadn't discussed their attitudes towards children and she wasn't sure herself where she stood on the matter. Then she imagined a curly-haired toddler with large dark eyes bouncing around on Severus' lap – the rare smile she loved so much on his face – and she had realised she wanted that.

Fortunately, so did Severus.

Hermione huffed, twisting her head to kiss his cheek. "All right, I'll sit."

The bookshop was almost all set for changing ownership, and Hermione chatted with one of the employees – a middle-aged woman called Marge – while Severus handed over the keys to the new owner.

"We'll be sorry to see you go," Marge said with a motherly smile, "but I know the feeling of wanting to be close to home when you're expecting."

"It will feel a bit strange," Hermione admitted, hand resting on her small bump. "Neither of us have been back to the UK in a decade. I'm excited, though."

Marge patted her hand. "I'm sure it'll all work out fine."

The door to the office opened. "Hermione, are you ready?"

Saying goodbye to the people – and the shop – was more emotional than Hermione anticipated. She had spent so much time there in the last year, and it felt strange that she likely wouldn't ever see it again.

They left the shop, and Severus chuckled softly when she wiped at her eyes. "Are you all right, love?"

Her arm tightened around his waist. "I'm fine. Just hormones. Can we get a coffee before we go back home? And a brownie?"

They had argued plenty over Hermione's caffeine intake whilst pregnant, though Severus had to admit defeat in the end. No one got between Hermione Granger and her caffeine – not even him.

The coffee shop was another place that felt like home, even though Richard had retired several months ago. His daughter had taken over the business, and she was as friendly as her father.

Hermione all but moaned when she took the first sip of coffee. Heavenly. Next to her, Severus chuckled.

They spent the rest of the day packing their things, which was both harder and took longer than they anticipated, even with using magic.

"Harry is meeting us at the Ministry tomorrow," Hermione said, pushing a frizzy strand of hair behind her ear. She was beyond comfortable, sunk down in a fragrant bath with tea light candles littered around the room. The door had been cat-proofed, as Minnie was too curious of the candles for her own good.

The water gently lapped over her body when Severus shifted, drawing her foot into his lap and scoffing. "Do you trust him not to make a scene?"

"I do." She let out a small moan when he dug his fingers into the bottom of her foot.

Hermione had written to Harry as soon as they'd decided they were moving back to the UK, and before sharing anything she had requested his silence. Only after he agreed had she shared that Severus was alive, they were together and moving back to the UK. It had taken Harry a week to reply, which had been surprisingly civilised. She'd half-expected him to show up to yell at her.

"I don't," Severus said. He continued kneading her foot, extending his ministrations to her calf.

"I'll protect you," Hermione said, eyes fluttering closed. His hands felt good. She shrieked when he pulled her towards him, water splashing over the edge of the tub. "Severus!" Her eyes opened as he settled her into his lap, wet skin sliding against each other. Her hands settled on his shoulders, lightly gripping his skin. Underneath his wet hair glimpsed the white scars from Nagini's bite. She ran her finger over the textured skin feeling him shiver against her.

"Are you looking forward to moving back?" he asked, hands touching her waist and around to caress her stomach.

"I am," Hermione smiled. "It probably won't be easy, explaining how you're alive and the such, but it's the right thing to do. We can't hide anymore, pretending to be people we're not."

He hummed in reply, hands still moving over her skin.

"How do you feel about it?"

"I'm not worried. If anyone tries anything, I can just hex them."

She rolled her eyes. "You can't just- oh!"

Severus had slid his hands up to cup her breasts, thumbs softly flicking her sensitive nipples. Her gasp turned into a moan, and she pressed her chest against his hands.

"Don't think you can try to distract me with sex," she said firmly, her words losing their punch by her hips undulating against him.

"Are you saying no?" she could hear the smirk in his voice.

"No," she whimpered, hand blindly reaching for him in the water. He turned rock solid once she started moving her hand up and down.

"So it's a yes?"

She nodded frantically. She would die if he didn't touch her soon. "Yes, Severus, yes."

When he was finally inside her, she almost cried. Everything was so much more sensitive, and it only took a couple of thrusts for her to be right on the edge. Squeezing his hips with her knees, she moved faster. The hot water around them amplified the sensations on her skin and when he wrapped his lips around her nipple, she came.

She had barely caught her breath when another climax approached, and her grip on his shoulders tightened. Pregnancy had made her sensitive almost to the point of absurdity – something that Severus had taken full advantage of.

Burying her face in her neck as she came, Hermione clutched his shoulders. Her body shook against his, her moans echoing in the room.

Severus pressed kisses against the side of her face and neck. "You're so beautiful," he murmured, voice strained. "I could watch you come all day."

Hermione whimpered.

"Once more for me, love."

Lifting her head from his neck, she kissed him fiercely. His hands on her hips guided her movements, pulling her against him faster and harder. The hairs on his chest rubbed against her sensitive nipples and before she knew it she was teetering on the edge again.

She pulled her mouth from his, drawing in deep breaths that didn't seem enough. His face was clouded with lust, eyes seemingly boring into hers. Then she was falling, shaking and whimpering his name and she felt him come as well, hands tightening on her hips and a growl leaving his throat.

Panting, Hermione rested her forehead against his. She chuckled. "You are going to be the death of me."

He pushed her hair from her clammy forehead. "That was only three times. I'm planning to get you to double digits before we leave."

Hermione whimpered. Sweet Circe.

Hermione looked around the empty bedroom. Her feelings were all mixed up - excitement and sadness battling for dominance. She wasn't sure which one would win. Everything they owned had been shrunk and packed into shoeboxes – which then had been shrunk and put into her beaded bag – the house was clean and waiting for the new owners to arrive in a few days. She would miss the house – miss teasing Severus about buying a house that was maroon and goldenrod, miss the way the sunlight would shine through the circular window in the office, miss sitting on the front porch with a book and a cup of tea.

"Hermione?" Severus called from downstairs, and Hermione tore herself from the room. After all, it was just a house. He was her home.

He was waiting for her on the bottom of the stairs, beaded bag in one hand and Minnie's carrier by his feet. Minnie was not happy about having been stuffed into a carrier and was now sulking. An old metal alarm clock sat on the top of the carrier – the Portkey that would take them to the Ministry of Magic in London.

"Are you ready?"

Stepping down onto the floor, she smiled. "I am. Are you? You've been away from our world longer than I have."

Severus shrugged. "I don't think I'll ever be fully ready. That doesn't mean I don't want to. It's a new chapter of my life – of our lives."

Blinking back sudden tears, Hermione wrapped her arms around him. "I'm glad I'm sharing this with you."

He pressed a kiss to her curls. "As am I. And if they decide it was easier to exonerate a dead man than a living one, we'll deal with it."

She leant back to look at him, brow furrowed. "I fought Death to keep you, Severus. I will not let anyone take you away from me."

The corners of his mouth twitched – that half-smile she loved so much – and he caressed her face. "You are magnificent."

Rising on her toes – and having to use his chest as support to not topple over – she kissed him softly. Coming back down, she grabbed Minnie's carrier in one hand and the Portkey in the other. It showed 15 seconds until departure time.

"Let's go home."

Severus wrapped his arm tightly around her waist and grabbed the Portkey. They disappeared with a pop, the sound of Minnie hissing clinging to the air.

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