Epilogue: Safe and Sound

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" and "The Heart of Everything: Shallow Bay" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

Two Years Later

Katie ran her hands through her long blond hair as she stared down over hill at the large lake. Things had been quiet for over two years now. She scanned the mist. Where was he? He didn't normally take this long. He just had to be up to something.

"I'm here," a figure said, coming out of the mist.

Katie put her arms around his waist. "I know. I just don't like all of the mist. I really bothers me, you can't see if anyone is coming."
"It's been two years. Nothing's going to happen." Marcus put his hand on her stomach. "You need to stop worrying. It's not good for you."
She smiled. "So, you're the one telling what to do and not to do?"

He just smiled. "You know I would ever do that."
Emily came up and wrapped her arms around his legs. She stared up at them. "Mummy's just worried about dinner getting cold."
"Oh, I see how it is."
"Damon and Haley are here, now," Katie said.

"And you left them with our parents?"
She shrugged. "What else was I supposed do?"
Teddy ran out onto the deck. He and Emily had formed some kind of friendship over the past six months. "I'm hungry!"
"Well, we can go eat now that we are all here," Katie said, giving Marcus a pointed look.

"Yay!" Teddy yelled. He grabbed Emily's arm and they ran back inside.

"I suppose that's our cue," Marcus muttered, following the children inside.

Katie nodded. "Yeah, I guess it is." She only hoped that she would be able to actually keep this down. The food looked so good. Granted, it hadn't been too bad so far, but she did find herself holding her breath while she ate and wanting to kill Marcus for doing this to her. Why couldn't the male suffer a little bit?

Marcus looked back at her. "You coming?"

"Yeah, I guess." She joined him at the sliding door. "I'm the one eating for two, so I have a reason to eat more. You don't." She brushed past him. There, let him think on that.

"I do play Quidditch for a living and burn a lot of calories."
Of course, he would have a comeback!

"Whatever."

"Are you admitting that I won?"
"I'm not admitting to anything."

Marcus grinned at her. "Did you ever think that two years ago we would be standing here?"
The house looked untouched, everyone was finally safe and sound. Katie peeked in through the window. Everyone was gathered around the table, laughing and smiling. She peered back over the lake, the Dark Mark had not appeared in the sky for two years. All was well, the battle was won.

The teardrops had stopped, the storm was over. Everyone was safe and sound. The sun had set down over the darkness and in the morning light everything was beautiful.

"I never lost hope," Katie whispered, leaning into him.

"I knew you were going to say that."

She stood up tall and kissed his sweet lips. The best adventures were yet to come and she was looking forward to spending each day with the ones she loved, because that truly was the heart of everything.

~Fin~

Gasp! It's over! Thanks for reading! I don't know if I'll ever write another series for fanfiction. I am getting to be more and more active on fictionpress. Feel free to check me out over there: AlysonSerenaStone.