Notes:

Jan 2019: I have edited this story. Nothing major is changed, but some parts are expanded (all chapters have been edited). Due to this I felt like the story worked better as 6 chapters instead of 5.

Thanks for the love you have shown this story.

…

Chapter 6 – Epilogue

With the curse broken and free of the enchantment, everyone affected had to decide what they wanted to do. Tom emptied the vaults and everyone received a large sum of money, which meant they could go live their lives as they wanted. With their memories restored, they could choose to search for their lost relatives or move on with their lives. As more than four hundred years had passed, the world had changed around them, and their families and friends would be dead. They could however still go back if they wanted to. Only one person was curious enough and that was Lumiere. He wanted to know what had happened to his family, the Finnigans, and especially his cousin Fergus. He would seek them out pretending to be a historian and not mention his familial connection. Dean Cogsworth, who had no idea what to do with himself, decided to go with Lumiere. The two friends set out with big smiles on their lips and the best wishes from everyone.

Tom would allow anyone to stay in the castle if they so choose. Quite a few of the servants decided to stay there, as the outside world scared them. The castle was secure and would provide protection for anyone who remained. Those who stayed would never leave the castle, but they were happy to be forgotten by the world around them and live the remainder of their lives forgotten by all but their friends, who had shared the same struggle. Hermione thought it was all very sad and tried to convince them to explore the world instead, but they were utterly unyielding in spite of all of her appeals. Finally, Tom had to interfere; he argued that though she didn't like their choice, it was still their decisions and that should be respected.

"Ask yourself; are you really helping them or are you actually interfering in something you don't understand?" he asked patiently. "You know what their wish is, yet you appear to care more for your own moral crusade than the people you are pretending to be helping."

"I care about them, of course," she replied feeling stung by his words.

"Then trust them to make their own choices," he requested kindly. "Would you appreciate it if I told you I knew what was best for you?"

"No, I would not."

"Because I probably do," he said with a wry smile, "but I have no right to decide your future. I can tell you my suggestions, but I cannot tell you what to do."

"I just don't want them to be forgotten," she said in small voice.

"Then don't forget them," he replied before hugging her close. "I will miss them too, but we can decide to keep them forever in our memories."

Hermione took his words to heart, and changed the way she viewed the people around her. Perhaps she didn't know best in all circumstances.

…

Plumette was unsure of what she wanted to do, so she had asked Hermione about the city and her experiences growing up there. After having talked for hours, Plumette decided that she wanted to see it for herself. She longed for the freedom to travel after having been stuck in the castle for so long.

Before she could go however, Draco asked her to come with him back to the village. They hadn't known each other for long, but he had found her a breath of fresh air and her ease when discussing magic, had impressed him. He had found talking with her stimulating and he found himself dreaming of her brown eyes and wide smile. He had fallen in love with her and she was everything he could ever wish for in a wife, but he was unsure of what she felt. However, he did not wish to see her leave the castle, and him, before he had told her of his feelings.

She didn't hesitate for long, and though it was not the big adventure she had been hoping for and dreaming of, she never regretted going with Draco. He made her smile just by walking into a room, and when he looked at her, the butterflies in her stomach came alive.

They married and for their honeymoon, he took her to the city and showed her the sights there. He told her that if she found the city amazing, they could move there. She loved her husband for his willingness to move to the city for her sake, but she thought the city was too crowded, too big, and generally just too much. Seeing it with her own eyes, made her appreciate her life in the village and she was happy when they returned home.

Plumette, with her open nature and helpful attitude, quickly became very popular in the village and her opinion was asked on a multitude of questions. She was able to bridge a gap between the villagers and the Malfoys.

Narcissa had thought no woman would ever be worthy of her son, but Plumette had surprised her most pleasantly, and the two women got along easily. Narcissa was very ecstatic when she could welcome her first grandchild, a girl called Parvati named after Plumette's sister. She was quickly followed by two more siblings; Lucius named after Draco's father, and Hermione nicknamed Minnie, who was named after her mother's best friend.

…

Tom and Hermione were finally able to sit down and discuss their own future. The others had swarmed them with questions and asked for their opinions, and whenever they found themselves alone for even a short period of time, discussing the future was not the first thing on their minds. They might walk around with their clothes a little askew and with sated looks on their faces, but where was the harm in that? It did mean that when they finally sat down to discuss their future, the rest of the inhabitants of the castle had already made their decisions and some had already left.

"Even with you by my side I will never feel comfortable here at the castle," Tom admitted. "Anywhere you wish to go, I will go too. Just don't ask me to stay in the castle, please. There are too many bad memories here."

It was not difficult for her to agree to leave the castle. Sure, it was grand and luxurious, but it had never felt like home to her. Knowing how much it pained him to stay, she felt no need to remain, and suggested moving to the village instead. However, she did inform him that she expected him to ask her father's forgiveness.

He looked at her with dread, "I had come to that conclusion also. I just hope he will forgive me for hurting him, kidnapping you, throwing him out on the street, risking his life, risking your life…"

"He can be very stubborn, but just don't give up," she begged.

"Never," he swore smiling at her. "I love you too much to walk away from us."

He told her how important Poppy Potts was to him. She was family in all but blood and he wanted to take care of her as he had always wished he could. Hermione had no objection to that and happily informed him that it would be fantastic for their future children to have a grandmother like Poppy. He was taken aback by her mention of children, but he hid it well. Though he had never wanted children before, imagining children with Hermione was not difficult, and he swore never to act like his own father had.

Mr Granger found it most difficult to forgive Tom for imprisoning his daughter, but slowly as he saw how much Tom loved his daughter and how much she loved him back, he finally forgave him, but only because Hermione begged him to. However, he didn't look at Tom with fond eyes, but he did respect his daughter's choice.

Hermione and Tom had a house build next to Mr Granger's cottage. They had the funds to move into something even bigger or move to the city, but they both wanted the quiet life of the village and being near their families. Poppy Potts lived with them in the beginning, but quickly felt she was intruding on the newlyweds, and she moved into the cottage with Mr Granger, because as he said, "we old folk have to keep an eye on our children, but not too close an eye if we want grandchildren." Mr Granger and Mrs Potts found great enjoyment in each other's company.

Though Tom tried his best to mend his relationship with Mr Granger, it was not an easy task. When Hermione gave birth to her and Tom's first child, he looked to Mr Granger as a guide on how to be a proper father. When Mr Granger questioned him about it, he told him the truth of his broken home and sorry upbringing. That day marked a turning point in Mr Granger's life; he had disliked Tom for a long time, but he found he respected the other man for surviving such a terrible childhood. The two men eventually became quite close due to their shared love for Hermione, and Mr Granger eventually saw Tom as a son and not the man-who-stole-my-daughter, and finally they were able to put the past behind them.

When Hermione fell pregnant the second time, there were complications and she was forced on bed rest. To cheer her up Tom moved their bed into the living room and threw open the windows. When she saw the garden through the windows, she burst into tears of happiness. With a bit of magic and some guidance from Mr Granger, Tom had been able to grow the loveliest roses for her to enjoy. The roses where more beautiful than any Hermione had seen before, and Mr Granger suggested a new business for them; selling bags of rose seeds. It was a prosperous business, but required very little work, and Mr Granger was happy to take care of the business of it.

Tom and Hermione never stopped loving each other and their love resulted in five children, who all grew up to be clever, stubborn, and kind. "No child of mine should ever bear my name or that of my family," Tom swore when Hermione mentioned it, so their first child was a boy named Lewis after her father. He was followed by a sister named Michelle after her mother. Then came Plumette named after Hermione's favourite friend. She was followed by the twins Tomkin and Rose. Hermione wanted a boy named after her husband, but Tom would not have it; eventually he agreed to Tomkin, nicknamed Tommie.

Tom and Hermione enjoyed lifelong friendships with Draco and Plumette. Plumette and Tom were able to bond over their shared confusion about the world they now lived in, and they quickly forgot their previous roles of master and servant.

After many years, Lumiere and Cogsworth arrived back in the village with stories of the world. They had travelled to countries beyond the known lands. The stories they could tell of sultans in far off places, of riding sleighs across ice-covered countries, and walking on the highest mountains sounded almost like make-belief. Only the gifts and paintings they brought home were so fantastical and peculiar, that the stories had to be true. Lumiere and Cogsworth decided to settle down in the village with their friends. They found great pleasure in being the weird uncles to all the children. Later in their lives they wrote fairy stories from their travels, but their most popular book was the fictional tale of an enchanted castle with a lonely prince under a curse and the beautiful girl who saved him with her love.

And so it was that a small group of people from an enchanted castle ended up living in a little village. They never forgot their time at the castle, but they never let it dictate their lives, and they lived happily for the rest of their days.

The end