Epilogue. A/N at the bottom. ;)

Always Forward

Hermione stopped the moment she had entered the hospital room. She hadn't been in one in over a year and before then it had been almost a year on top. Now though she didn't know what to do, she was frozen as she gazed upon the sight before her. Finally it had happened, success, and it was so perfect. A true sight to behold which had Hermione's chocolate eyes filling with tears and her breath absent.

"Come here." Narcissa' voice was full of everything Hermione was feeling in that moment. Surprise, affection, relief and above all an over whelming love.

With stilted movements Hermione approached the bed and more importantly the woman on it. The closer she got the faster her heart had beat and the longer her breath deserted her. But once at edge of the bed her breath came back in a gasp and her heart stopped beating for laying there quietly in the older woman's arms was a tiny little pink baby. Their baby. The baby Hermione never thought she would have. The baby she had her wife to thank for.

"Meet our daughter." Narcissa coos softly looking from the little girl to her younger wife.

"Hello, sweetie." Hermione finally spoke and it came out a soft coo barely audible. The baby looked up at the sound but couldn't quite focus.

"What shall we name her?" Narcissa asks smiling as the child tried to make sense of the blur she was seeing.

"You name her. You made her. She's perfect." Hermione returns gently as she reaches over and carefully takes the baby from her wife. Closer now the child was able to make sense of the face before her and she wiggled almost excitedly.

"We made her. But if its ok, i thought maybe Blake Arden Black would suit." Narcissa spoke almost shyly but Hermione smiled.

"It's perfect. She is perfect and you are incredible. Thank you for loving me. I know how hard it was after we lost our first baby, you've done so amazing." Hermione speaks gently a sincere smile on her face as she looked from her daughter to the mother of her child.

"It was hard, but we are here now." Narcissa smiles though she was clearly tired. She had just had a child after all.

"Blake! I hope you havent jinxed your cousin again." Narcissa chastised. She watched her smug daughter, a raven haired version of Hermione with a mean streak, come sauntering in from outside as she was being shouted at angrily by Teddy Lupin.

"You know i hate disappointing you, mumma." Blake says sweetly and Andromeda cant help but laugh as she gets up to go and rescue her grandson.

Teddy was starting his fourth year at Hogwarts while Blake was only due to start her first year in the next few days. It was abundantly clear, how ever, that Blake had been coached in her magic, likely by both her mothers. Teddy on the other hand was getting a little more girl-worried than he was with his actual schooling. He took after his mother though, in that he was clumsy in a charming way and a total fire-cracker with a wand. The young man took after his father too though, he had a very friendly and mellow attitude.

Blake on the other hand was out going and confident but sly as a fox. She was very intelligent, clearly taking after Hermione but she had the Black beauty as she was turning into quite the striking young lady. She was handy with her magic even though she had only had the wand for the last two weeks. Blake was one of those children who liked to push themselves and had managed to do a few tricks with her raw magic. Blake had two real loves so far though, helping Hermione with potions or helping Narcissa with the store and especially the animals.

"How is mum? With Ronald having gotten out yesterday?" Blake asked as she sat down with her mother and her Aunt came back in, this time with Molly in tow as the Weasley Matriarch had just arrived for the invited lunch.

"She's a little worried. But mostly she is sure that Ronald will be avoiding her like the plague." Narcissa explains looping her arm around her only child.

'Its likely. He cringes at any mention of her. Arthur still won't have him at the house but... well he is my youngest son. I helped him get set up in another cottage. He is thinking about leaving the country though. Apparently a Wizard he met in Azkaban told him about Ilvermorny, the school in America." Molly explains mildly as she sat down. It had been 12 and half years since he had been sentenced to Azkaban.

"We visited there on the Honeymoon. It's an amazing place." Narcissa nods, she would never forgive Ron for what he had done to Hermione but they had all adapted. Hermione even joked that it made things easier, having a fully functioning arm she can take remove.

"Hopefully he doesn't make a blunder of this second chance." Andromeda comments and the others nod.

"Indeed." Molly agrees and then smiles.

"Are you excited, sweetie?" Molly then asks looking at the little witch snuggled into her mothers side.

"Yeah! It's going to suck not getting to see, mumma all the time but i mean i get to see mum instead so its not all bad. Besides i really want to see the first years freak out the first time mum stirs a cauldron while helping the students with their work." Blake says excitedly and Teddy, who had seen this first hand, and Narcissa both chuckle.

"My class freaked out. They thought Aunt Mione was dying the first time she did it to us." Teddy laughs happily.

"She's a menace, that wife of mine." Narcissa says with nothing but affection and adoration on her tone.

"She's brilliant." The rest of the room corrected.

"Are you excited?" Minerva asks the woman sitting beside her at the staff table. Since Filius had retired Hermione had accepted the role as Deputy Head of Hogwarts.

"Absolutely. My little snake is finally here. Now if only my wife were here." Hermione grinned.

Hermione had been in a rather depressive state for a while after getting out of the hospital, the only time she had seemed happy was when she was with Narcissa, which was most of the time but her mood was situational. When her wound was finally healed, Minerva and Harry had made a trip to Muggle London and purchased the young witch a prosthetic arm. It had been uncomfortable at first but ultimately it had helped Hermione come out of her depression. Despite being a daily reminder of what she had endured she had found it a fabulous distraction as she created and used many charms on the arm. It was now easily an extension of her and really quite the handy tool. Pun intended.

Yet Hermione really only got over it when Blake had been born. Both women had been depressed after their first attempt at having a child ended in Narcissa miscarrying. But Narcissa had eventually agreed to try again and they were finally gifted with their gorgeous daughter. The Weasley's had accepted Narcissa willingly and things started to get better for them all. The war was over and it as too much effort to hold hate in there hearts. Andromeda had also made an effort and apologised to both Hermione and Narcissa. They had all lost a lot during the war but they had all managed to find more after it as well.

"You really think she will be a Slytherin?" Rolanda Hooch asks curiously and Hermione grins.

"Absolutely. She's a Black after all." The young Deputy chuckled and watched as her daughter was up next.

Hermione clapped loudly when her beloved child as sorted into Slytherin. She was a little surprised when the young witch ran over and kissed her on the cheek twice.

"The second one was from, mumma, she said she will wait up for you." Blake explains with a grin before running off to the Slytherin table.

"She is going to go places." Minerva smiled rather impressed the young witch was not embarrassed to be seen kissing her mothers cheek by all her peers.

"Minister of Magic one day. Scorpio will her head Auror." Hermione says as if she had seen it written somewhere.

"You think Draco will go for that?" Neville asks from along the table amused.

"As far as Scorpio is concerned Draco is a serious push over. Nothing like Lucius was at all that one." Hermione smirks and the others gave a relieved laugh. Draco had come a long way and was obviously a doting husband and father. Hermione adored Astoria and Narcissa thought the young woman was a blessing.

"Sounds about right. Who would have thought we would be here. Who would have thought our biggest problem would be those three from Ravenclaw?" Neville inquired. The rest of the table groaned.

"I've missed you." Narcissa admits breathlessly as the two women fall gasping and sweating onto the bed.

"And i you. Thank Merlin, Min let us link the floo to our home." Hermione chuckles also as breathless as her wife.

"Indeed. Even after all this time i find myself loving you a little more every day." Narcissa confessed gently before pulling the sheets over herself and her naked wife.

"I am glad then, that i am not the only one who feels this way. You are my heart, you and Blake are my world." Hermione snuggles into her wife and wraps her arms around the woman before kissing her softly.

The two women fought, just as every other couple did, but at the end of the day they never went to bed mad at one another. Theirs was a love that others envied as they simply seemed to mesh so well together. Harry and Ginny as well as Angelina and George were impressed that the two usually hard headed women could get over a quarrel so simply but it all boiled down to worth. Neither witch thought any argument was worth disrupting their relationship for long. Fleur and Narcissa had become fast friends and Hermione and Harry had fallen back into an easy friendship and everything get on going. Never backwards, always forward.

Hoping this will suffice as i hadn't planned to do an epilogue but you devoted reviewers raised some good questions. Hermiones arm is fairly well explained but for Blake i went a different way as it seemed a lot of people wanted some sort of magical healing to happen to Hermione to allow her to carry children but ultimately i went with Hermione being the 'father' instead, and i didn't explain how that was possible mostly out of pure laziness but lets just go with she is the potions master at Hogwarts and made a potion to interact with the transfiguration spell Minerva had earlier tried out on herself.

I tried to explain most things you'd asked about, Ron was explained. Also yes i agree, Hermione didnt simply get over losing her arm and how but i didnt go into detail on her depression from that.

Reviews most welcome and i hope i havent disappointed you guys.