Epilogue: The End of The Beginning

Always the last to arrive (and often without notice that we were coming at all), Jay and I landed on the path that led through the sprawling yards to the Burrow's front door with a resounding crack. I stared at the ramshackle house, which had grown by several rooms in the most improbable ways in the last five years alone.

James joked that one of these days, someone was going to have the great-grandchild that would act as the proverbial straw to break the camel's back, convincing our grandparents to finally cave and allow our parents to begin hosting all of the family gatherings at Castle Faerie, as they had been asking to do for years now.

For now, however, we kept to tradition and occasionally made our way to the Burrow for our outstanding Sunday dinner invitation. We were better about attending semi-regularly when Jay was on-season for Quidditch, but we sometimes went months without showing up when he travelled with me for my work after the league concluded.

It had been six weeks since we had last been at the Burrow, as my work had taken me to the magical portion of Osaka for training in a new branch of defensive magic that the DoM was preparing to share with the Auror department sometime in the next couple of years. As Jay didn't have mandatory practices, he had gone along with me, as he always did when he was able.

Jay gave my hand a squeeze as we made our way to the garden gate. "It's nice to be back," He said, turning to glance at me as he spoke and nearly tripping over Circe for his troubles.

"It is," I replied, barely smothering my laughter in a way that had him glaring playfully at me. "I am looking forward to going home after this, though. It's been too long."

My husband gave my hand another squeeze. "Bets on how many plants Lily and Ali thought they could get away with sneaking into the greenhouse while we were gone?"

"At least seven. One of them will be a tree," I responded with a fond grin. My sister and her wife had their own greenhouse, but it was mostly full of medicinal plants and Lily's "rescue projects". They used the space at our house, to which they had a direct portkey, for produce. Jay had told them in jest about five years ago that they had added entirely too many plants to the greenhouse, so now they tended to try and sneak new plants in without us noticing. In the time since Jay's declaration that they had more flora than we had space, they had added seventy-two new plants. I suspected that they were using undetectable expansion charms in order to keep cramming them in, though the greenhouse was so overwhelming that I really couldn't be sure.

"That's good," Jay mused as a scream went up from within the Burrow. "It's been a while since we've had a new tree."

Before I could respond, the front door flew open and several figures sprinted across the yard in our direction.

"Auntie Phoenix! Uncle Jay!"

Dropping my husband's hand, I held my arms open as the two red-haired boys slammed into me, elbows flying as they both jostled each other in an attempt to hug me closer.

Smoothing a hand over one of the curly heads before me with a smile, I said, "Hello Jax. Felix, please stop shoving at your brother."

James had whined for ages about his twin boys having my red hair rather than his or Coleen's, though his wife had been thoroughly delighted at the vibrant color. They looked like James in every other way, save Jaxon's left eye, which was the same shade of brown as his mother's.

Albus and Lily constantly complained about how I was all of our brothers' children's favorite, but I know the truth—Jax and Felix were Roxy's boys, through and through.

I did, however, hold the top spot for Teddy's kids.

"Godmother!"

Jay shot me a grin as three heads of blonde hair joined the fray. Though the girls had to squabble with Jax and Felix for space to hug me, Gabriel simply leaned over all of them to fling his arms around my shoulders.

"I missed you," He told me, grinning when I brushed the pink tips of his silvery hair from his eyes. Though the Veela genes had held out for another generation, my godson had inherited my brother's flat grey eyes, not the silvery-blue ones that Victoire and his sisters sported. Gabriel was the only one of my brother's children to be a metamorphmagus, though he did not normally do more than change the tips of his curls. He rotated through every color imaginable, but bubblegum pink was his favorite.

"I've only been gone for a little over a month, Gabriel," I laughed lightly, to which he pouted. "I missed you too, though."

"Aunt Annie!" Gabriel's youngest sister, Camille, turned my name into a drawn out wail. When I glanced down at her, she stomped her foot once. "Talk to us now!"

Though my eldest brothers had won at convincing Gabriel what to call me (for the only time that he deviated from Aunt Phoe was when he called me godmother) the girls insisted on calling me some variation of my middle name, as their mother always did.

I smiled at Cami and her sister, Florence, cupping the younger girl's chin as she dropped her pout to beam up at me. Though they had both inherited Victoire's coloring precisely, they were entirely Black in looks, much to Narcissa and Grandma Andy's delight. The two women frequently cooed over the girls' curly hair, smiling at each other with extremely pleased looks every time.

"Hello my sweet loves," I greeted Camille and Florence in French, causing them to squeal in delight. "How are you today?"

Before they could respond, Jay apparently got tired of waiting for his nieces and nephews to acknowledge him, for he held out his arms and said, "So am I chopped liver, or what?"

With what could only be described as a battle cry, Felix led the charge as all of the children that had swarmed me tackled my husband into the grass, an echoing shout coming from the side yard as four more children sprinted towards the dogpile.

Laughing as Lucy's son Ivan, Lana's daughter Laurel, and Molly's daughters Artemis and Athena fought their way into the fray, I jogged over to scoop up the toddler that was attempting to follow the bigger kids, though she appeared to have been distracted by a patch of daisies.

"Hello, Evanna," I cooed at Rose and Lysander's daughter, who giggled happily when I peppered one of her chubby cheeks with kisses. She then held up her fist, which was covered in dirt and clutching a few flowers as well as a blade of grass. Taking one of the daisies, I said, "Oh, thank you."

"My turn for a hug," A voice sang happily, and I shifted the baby further onto my hip so that I could wrap my free arm around my mother. "Hi, baby. How are you? We didn't think you would be home today."

"Hey, mum. Yeah, we figured we would surprise Grandma and come home early. We were actually supposed to have time to stop by the house and shower, but we got delayed," I responded, letting her take Evanna from my arms as she stepped back slightly.

"Oh, that's what that smell is," My twin teased as he walked up, laughing as I swatted at him before allowing him to wrap me in a hug. "Missed you, P. You two still coming by next week for the boys' party?"

"Course, Jamie. We wouldn't miss it. I missed you, too," I said, squeezing him tightly before turning to his wife.

"Potter," Coleen grinned as she moved to wrap me in a fierce hug.

I laughed lightly, returning the gesture at once. "Potter," I returned, for Coleen never failed to delight in us having the same last name. James and Coleen were the first to get married, and we had all expected the woman to take James up on his offer to hyphenate their last names. She had happily declined, however, joyfully calling Lily, Albus, and I by our last name for years, if only to hear us call her the same. Though Al and Lily hyphenated their names when they got married, I opted to keep my last name as it was, so she never missed an opportunity to remind me that we were now sisters.

"Hello, Asha," I sang after letting Col go, cupping my brother's only daughter's cheeks in my palms. James and Coleen had thought that they were unable to have any more children after the twins were born, so Asha had come as a very welcome, very pleasant surprise. I strongly suspected that the two were hoping for another surprise or two in the coming years, though they hadn't said anything about it yet. "You are so beautiful. Yes you are."

The baby let out a happy shriek, her head of jet-black curls covering the tips of my fingers as I placed a kiss directly between her wide, brown eyes.

My father wrapped his arms around me then, grinning when I squeezed him back as tightly as I could. "I missed you, little bird. So glad you're home."

Jay's parents were next. Oliver still required his cane to get around, but he had, through much hard work, climbed back on the broom for several more years. Eleven years after my graduation, Jay, Alicia, and I were the starting chaser team for Puddlemere United's fifth European cup victory, led by our Captain and keeper, Oliver. It was Jay's first cup, Alicia's third, and Oliver and I's last. We both resigned from our positions after the season ended, with Oliver's three European cups easily earning him the job as Puddlemere's coach, while I determined I was happy with one cup to mark the end of my Quidditch career and accepted a job as an Unspeakable.

Jay had apparently escaped the kids, though the screams and cheering in the distance told me that they were probably still wrestling in the grass where he had left them. He and I were passed around for hugs from the adults. Grandma, as I had expected, cried when she realized that we had come, kissing me on both cheeks as she talked about how she had just been wishing to see my face.

The rest of my siblings and their partners surrounded me once she moved to hug Jay, with Lily elbowing the others out of the way to give me a hug first. Teddy, who had caught one of her blows directly to the stomach, shoved her into Levi once he recovered and used the embrace that he wrapped me in to whisper that Victoire was pregnant again.

Vic beamed at me as my brother stepped back, mouthing that she would tell me more later as I was physically lifted into the air by Levi. His partner, Blue, smiled shyly at me. I waved back, knowing that they didn't really care for physical contact.

Albus had a million questions about Japan, not even seeming to realize that he had not so much as said hello until Scorpius rolled his eyes and loudly greeted me over his husband's onslaught of inquiries. Though Al's cheeks grew red at Scorp's teasing, he only asked a follow-up question when I finished telling the blonde hello.

From across the yard, Robin, Hugo, Mike, Conner, Ross, Ava, Lorcan, Julia, and Justin were playing a game of football. Rose was curled into Lysander's side on a blanket nearby, giving me a serene smile and a wave, though she made no move to get up. I didn't take offense to it.

After having apparently nursed a crush on the younger boy for the entire duration of her time at Hogwarts, four years after her graduation, Rose finally worked up the courage to ask Lysander to dinner. The two had been blissfully happy ever since.

"My grandparents came," Ali signed at me, returning my grin as I scanned the crowd for the couple.

After their graduation, Lily and Ali had surprised everyone by immediately packing up and moving to France, where they still lived. I had been the only one who knew about their plans before it happened, for I had been the one to get the couple permission to study at the same healing center that Jay and I had stayed at after I graduated.

There, they had conducted eight years of extensive research into the magical mind, frequently working with Dr. Lewis and Allison, as well as the healers in the center. Four years into their stay, Neville gave permission for his parents to be transported to the center and allowed his daughter to become their primary caretaker, giving her the ability to make medical decisions surrounding the couple once they were settled in France. My godfather had accepted that the strict rules surrounding the place might mean that he struggled to gain permission to visit his parents because of how the two girls gushed about the treatment of patients in the center.

He had not realized that the girls were actually planning on applying their research to the minds of his own parents. It had been a very complicated procedure, which took place over the span of two years. Magical surgery was used to carefully repair the damage that had been done to the Longbottoms' nerve endings, gradually allowing them to regain control of themselves. Ali and Lily had not been able to give Frank his ability to walk or talk back, but they easily taught him sign language and he got around just fine in his wheelchair.

Neville had been reunited with his parents at the girls' wedding, which his father had officiated. It had been a very beautiful ceremony, after which my godfather and his wife had taken his parents home with them, where they began the very long process of catching up.

Alice-Neville's mother, not my sister's wife-often forgot our names and struggled so badly to be around magic that the couple only really did so when they came to the Burrow for dinner every few months. The friendship that they had happily jumped back into with my grandparents, however, meant that my grandfather had gladly helped them figure out how to live like muggles, with quite a bit of help from his best friend, Coleen's muggle grandfather. After the first few years of being out of the healing center, Neville's parents had moved into a house just up the lane from the Burrow, and my grandparents regularly walked over to have dinner with their friends, with Coleen's grandfather occasionally picking them up in his old Volkswagen and driving them there instead.

Before I could make my way over to say hello to my godfather's parents, I was wrapped in a tight hug by Allison. She was, as always, immaculately dressed in white pants and a blush colored shirt, and would probably be the only one to walk away from dinner without grass stains despite the light palette that she had chosen to wear. A quick glance downwards showed me that her pale pink slippers were completely pristine, though my own converse were already covered in mud.

I had finally stopped officially going to Allison for therapy shortly after my twenty-seventh birthday, for the woman had practically become family at that point, and we both agreed that it was no longer appropriate. Lily and Ali had worked with the doctor to advocate for therapy to be normalized in the magical world, so I was still able to meet regularly with the man that Allison had recommended I see when I stopped going to her.

It had wound up working out nicely, for Allison had asked Leanne Bernet out less than a week after we agreed that I should see someone else for therapy. I would have teased her about it, had I not been the one to tell her that I wanted to stop meeting her in an official capacity so that she would be able to feel more comfortable coming to family gatherings.

They had decided to elope after two years of dating. Allison always told me that they were very happy together and the smiles that the two women always wore when they looked at each other proved it.

"How are you?" The tall woman asked me with a warm smile.

"I'm good, A."

Looping my arm through hers, she led me over to where Frank and Alice stood chatting with Coleen's grandfather. I braced myself as the silver-haired woman turned towards me with a delighted smile.

"Oh, Evans, perfect timing! Come here and tell them that motorcycles are bloody brilliant. Merlin, I'll never forget my first ride on Sirius's bike."

Though the damage done to Alice Longbottom's mind presented itself in many ways, it was most obvious when she was faced with James and I, for she could only see our grandparents when she looked at us.

Frank was giving me an apologetic look as I bent down to press a kiss to his cheek before saying, "She's right. The only thing better than riding on a bike is a broom."

"Thank you!" The woman exclaimed, spinning around to face the muggle and flinging her hands in the air for emphasis.

"Good to see you, kiddo," Frank signed, smoothing my hair back with a hand that only trembled faintly.

"You too, gramps. I've got a gift for you, can I pop by the house and drop it off later?" I asked, which caused him to beam and nod eagerly. With another kiss to his cheek, I wrapped my arms around Alice before ducking back into the crowd.

"Hey," Jay said, catching me by my upper arm and spinning me around to face him. "I've got a little surprise for you."

As I opened my mouth to ask him what it was, he stepped to the side, revealing a figure at the far end of the yard.

"Uncle Freddy!" Almost all of the kids screamed in unison, but I outran everyone as I sprinted across the lawn to fling my arms around my best friend.

"Merlin, I've missed you," He exclaimed, spinning me in a circle before setting me down. "Six weeks is too long, yeah? In the future, plan your non-negotiable business trips so that they don't overlap with my sickly dragons, you hear?"

Uncle Charlie often liked to complain that Freddy made him look bad for how often he came to visit Jay and I. In addition to regularly spending a night or two at the house, Freddy often tried to plan his vacation days around my summer work trips, in order to tag along to the incredible places that the DoM sent me. When he was able to go, he and Jay loved to explore while I worked, figuring out the spots that they liked best and bringing me to visit them during my free time.

Shoving at his chest with a laugh, I responded, "Tell your besties not to get sick when I've got to go out of the country. We missed you, by the way. Jay wants to go back in the spring, assuming their season ever ends early enough for that to happen. You'll love Osaka."

"Oi!" Roxy's voice cut through the air, and I glanced over my shoulder to find her standing several meters away, arms crossed, toe tapping, and all of the bigger kids gathered around her. "Are you two going to stop pretending like you don't see each other more than any of the rest of us see you, or am I going to have to sic the littles on you?"

Freddy and I exchanged a glance, grins splitting both of our faces. In sync, we said, "Bring it."

It took several long minutes to extract myself from the resulting battle. My hair, which I had grown back out over the years, was falling out of the updo that I had put it in, but I didn't bother to fix it as I dodged a few side conversations in order to finally make my way towards the head of magenta hair that I had spied from across the yard.

Bella grinned at me as I collapsed into her side, moving to fix my hair as I made grabby hands for the baby that Ben held across the blanket from me. My best friend handed over his daughter easily, chuckling when I bounced her once, marvelling at how much the eleven month old had grown since I had last seen her. Cradling Mariposa to my chest, I glanced at the fifteen year old girl who sat between Don and Ben.

"You didn't want to hang out with the other kids, Alissa?" I asked, watching as she shook her head furiously, a blush spreading across her cheeks. "Well, lucky us then, to get to have you all to ourselves."

Don wrapped an arm around the girl as she hid her face in his side with a smile. They had adopted Alissa seven years ago, and she had always been on the shy side. She adored Bella and me, but there were still days when even the two of us didn't hear more than a few words from the brunette (not that we minded her quiet days). The other children were always kind to her, but she only typically sought out Gabriel, whom she had told me four years ago she wanted to marry when they got older.

Gabriel, for his part, tended to give his attention almost exclusively to four things in life: his sisters, me, his plans to become a healer, and Alissa. All things considered, I figured it was going to work out well for the pair.

"Did you ditch Jay?" Jack asked as he sat down, wrapping an arm around Bella, who immediately shoved it off. He gripped the place where his prosthetic met his shoulder and cried, "Ow! You wound me, Arabella."

"Liar," Bella responded at once, eyes narrowed, to which Jack grinned roguishly.

"You caught me."

I rolled my eyes at Don, who returned the gesture. Jack had been shamelessly flirting with my former roommate for ten years now to no avail, but he didn't seem particularly inclined to give up any time soon. Alissa noticed the exchange between her dad and I, giggling quietly and then sticking her tongue out at Jack when he raised an eyebrow at the laughter.

"There he is," Ben said, lifting an arm and waving it until my husband sank onto the blanket beside me, leaning down to press a kiss to the baby in my lap's cheek. Circe followed Jay over, flopping down on Don's legs and making him laugh.

"How's the house?" I asked Ben. He and Don lived down the lane from us, so we typically had them keep an eye on our home while we travelled.

"Good. The blackberry harvest this year was really excellent. We made jam and left a few jars on the counter. They did a pop-up market in the square yesterday, so we dropped off some groceries for you, too."

Alissa leaned forward with a bright smile highlighting the dimples set into her freckled cheeks. "And bread! Appa and I learned how to make it. I hope you like it."

I grinned at the girl, who tended to be totally consumed by a new interest every couple of weeks, much to the delight of her fathers. Ben liked to brag that they were going to have the most well-rounded child in the Wizarding World by the time she graduated Hogwarts. "That sounds great, sweetie. Thank you for thinking of us."

She nodded, pleased, while Don mouthed over her shoulder, "Use unsalted butter."

Jay bent forward, pressing another kiss to Mariposa's cheek to hide his grin.

"Alissa," My seventeen year old godson nearly fell over on top of us as he came to a screeching halt beside our blanket, seeming to have just noticed the girl sitting before me. "There you are! Come on, we're going down to the pond."

The brunette did not so much as look back as she shoved herself to her feet and darted through the yard after Gabriel. Don watched her go with a chuckle.

Around us, everyone was beginning to settle down, though I knew that the food would only make its way into the yard once the kids had worn themselves out a bit. Five years ago, Grandpa had finally convinced Grandma Molly that it was time to stop dragging the tables out once a week and simply let everyone eat on blankets spread in a circle around the yard. It wound up actually allowing for more mingling, as it was far easier to get up and find a spot on a different blanket to chat than it was to move around at a table.

Spotting two familiar figures, I passed Mariposa to Jay so that I could dart across the yard and wrap my arms around the taller woman.

"Hello, my dear," Minnie breathed, squeezing me tightly before passing me off to Luna. The woman had, as promised, given her position of Headmistress up, though she was still happily teaching Transfiguration.

Luna, too, had given up her position at Hogwarts the same year that Minnie stepped down as Headmistress, though her reasoning was that, since her sons had graduated, she was ready to return to travelling the world with her husband. The French healer that had been in charge of Jack's care had accepted the job of teaching Hogwarts' newly created Healing class the year after I had graduated, and she had recommended a man for the role of school healer when Luna quit whom I heard was exceptional.

Luna and Rolf had stopped by Osaka for a few days at the beginning of our trip, since they had been in the area, but I had been so busy with work that I had hardly seen them. As I stepped back from the blonde's hug, Neville called both of the women over to sit with him. I made the two promise to come visit with me later in the meal, offering to tell them as much as I could about my trip, and walked back to my seat.

Draco, Astoria, Cassiopeia, Myra Techen, Narcissa, Scorp, Al, their son Leo, and Grandma Andy sat on the blanket closest to us, laughing so hard at something that Cassie was saying that they were all flushed.

Lucius Malfoy had passed away a year ago. We had all attended the funeral to support Narcissa, but not even she seemed truly sad at the loss. She confessed that he hadn't been the man that she had married in a very long time, and she was simply grateful that he had finally found peace. The woman now lived with Grandma Andy in a very charming house near the sea, and no one said a word when they named the place Castle Moirai. The sisters had one of the most beautiful libraries that I had ever seen, and I had a standing invitation to make use of it whenever I pleased.

Jay had given Mariposa back to Ben, who was bouncing her on his knee while telling Jack, Bella, Freddy, and Arnold a story about Alissa's recent endeavors with baking. My husband pulled me into his side when I sat down.

"I miss her," I said very softly, for I knew that he was thinking about Nikki, as he often did on sunny days when our friends came together.

He nodded, pressing a kiss to the side of my head. I turned in his grasp, gently cupping his face in my hands. He smiled at me in response, and I marveled at how beautiful my husband was. Though we were far from old, Jay was now undeniably a man, something that I never thought I would live long enough to witness. We had been together for about twenty years, which was over half of my life, but I still managed to learn new ways to love him every day.

My nightmares had never fully faded, but they were now few and far in between. We all had bad days, but the good outweighed them by far. Jay, Ben, Don, and I regularly dueled in the front yard, partially because we knew better to become complacent, but also because it was fun. We warded our homes as though expecting an attack at any time, but I reminded myself every day that I did not have to live as though one were coming.

Jay and I exercised daily because it helped to keep our minds and bodies healthy. I also flew almost as frequently, though I sometimes did so in my Animagus form rather than on a broom.

Though my love for flying and Quidditch had completely returned over the years, I didn't have a single regret about ending my professional career. I got enough of the spotlight simply by stepping out of the house to buy eggs. There was no way to play professionally and avoid constant interviews, photo shoots, and, of course, the matches themselves. The decade that I spent playing only served to further my respect for my mother, who had done it for years without ever complaining.

A distant crack echoed from the front of the house, making everyone else turn towards the sound curiously. Jay and I were normally the last ones to arrive, so Freddy showing up after us had already been a surprise. A few of the parents got up to investigate, followed by an eager Gabriel and a much more reluctant Alissa.

Ben nodded at me, clearly noticing the way that I had not turned to investigate. "Know something that we don't, bug?"

Before I could respond, Gabriel's cry of, "Uncle Lou!" Caused a few more people to leap to their feet and rush around to the front of the house.

Louis had waited until it was announced at his graduation to tell most of the family that he had accepted a job as an Unspeakable. It was, undeniably, the perfect job for my cousin, and not because of how quiet he tended to be. Though I could only vaguely tell our family about his incredible success, I had expressed it enough to make sure that everyone understood the truth: Louis was the very best in our department. Even Aunt Penny and Theodore Nott knew how excellent he was, and they worked in a different part of the DoM than us.

Bella slid over on the blanket to make a space between us as Louis finished his greetings and walked over to sit on our blanket.

"Hey, boss," I teased, making the blonde blush furiously, though he was spared from answering as Alissa and Gabriel made everyone shift about again in order to find room. I wound up sitting between Jay's legs, leaning back against him while he rested against the side of the house, which made my godson demand that we "stop being gross".

"Never," Jay said, his grin audible to me before he pressed a kiss to my cheek, causing Gabriel to fake a gag. Ben gave me a look of pure, fond exasperation as Alissa giggled at the boy's antics.

As everyone began talking about the upcoming school year, I leaned to the side slightly so that I could whisper in Jay's ear, "I love you, Jay-bird. Thank you for loving me for all these years."

"There's nothing else that I would rather be doing, Marigold. I love you with everything I have," My husband responded, his fondness for me clear in his tone.

Fingering the rings that sat on my finger, I thought about how to word the feeling that was spreading through my chest at the sight of our family spread in the grass around us.

Jay had proposed with a simple, but beautiful golden ring, which featured the most stunning piece of fire opal that I had ever seen. At our wedding, I had asked that he use the promise ring that he had gifted me during what we had come to refer to as the final summer of the war as my wedding band.

"You know, I spent many years of my life thinking that my life would end before it ever got the chance to truly begin. Now, I'm thirty-three, and I still have so many wonderful parts of life to live. What I thought would be the end of my story was only the beginning of it," I explained, watching as he took my hand in his and pressed a kiss to the rings that I had been fiddling with. Underneath my rings, I had a white jay bird tattooed into my skin, and he had a phoenix in the same spot. Our careers often required us to remove our rings for safety, but we were never without a reminder of our love for each other. "You gave me hope when I had none. I couldn't have figured out everything that I needed to do in order to end the war without your help. There was once a time in my life when eighteen felt like an impossible age for me to reach. In a few years, I'll be twice that. I just…thank you, for helping me live this long."

Jay twisted until he was facing me completely, kissing me soundly, much to my godson's obvious, vocal disgust. Softly enough that I alone could hear him, he whispered, "Time has always been on your side, Phoenix Potter. Thank you for choosing to spend it with me."

I leaned back against him again, listening to him hum the song playing on the magically amplified radio that was just audible over the conversations going on around us.

Near the edge of the woods, my twin had most of the children gathered around him, arms waving as he told them one of his incredible stories, which clearly involved a sword, based on the way he kept holding his hands. Coleen sat between Lily and Ali on a log nearby, the three women talking as they watched James and his enthralled audience. They each had a clip shaped like a butterfly fluttering in their hair. Asha, who was sitting in Col's lap, kept trying to grab Lily's barrette, making the women laugh each time.

A few meters down, Teddy was spinning mum in rapid circles, clearly having been at it for a while, if the color of her cheeks was anything to go by. Victoire and Levi were dancing properly nearby, seemingly in deep conversation as my eldest brother expertly avoided the blankets around them whilst leading them through a complicated waltz that I had never quite gotten the hang of. Levi's partner, Blue, sat nearby with Grandma Molly, listening attentively to whatever Grandma was saying, though they kept glancing at Levi with a smile. We suspected that Levi would ask them to marry him soon, if they didn't beat him to it.

Dad had moved to sit with Neville and his parents. Though Alice Longbottom rarely remembered anyone, she never mistook her husband, Neville, or dad, who was apparently her godson. She never seemed to run out of stories of Grandma Lily, who had been her very best friend, and Grandpa James. My father had once told my mother late one night in the kitchen, when he thought that they were alone in the darkness, that he had lost every one of his parents' friends before he had ever really had the chance to know them, let alone his parents by proxy. Now, he never missed an opportunity to sit with his godmother and listen to any story that she could remember.

Albus had reclaimed his son, Leo, from Narcissa's lap, though I doubted that she had let the boy go easily. My youngest brother and his husband had adopted the seven year old two years ago, simply showing up at the Burrow with him one day without even telling anyone that they had been planning on adopting. He had had a different name then, but apparently had been very eager to change it when Scorpius had told him that he could do whatever he wanted with every part of his name. Though Leo was even shyer than Alissa, I thought that he might love no one on Earth more than his Great-Grandma, and Narcissa certainly seemed to return the sentiment wholeheartedly. He had consulted her on what name to choose, and two months ago we had thrown a giant party to celebrate Leo Regulus Potter-Malfoy.

I took a deep breath, enjoying the warm summer breeze that brushed my cheeks. Someone said something that caused a great shout of laughter to go up a few blankets down. A dragonfly flitted about near my feet, its wings shining in the sun as it bobbed lightly in the air.

Just because I could, for a moment I let golden magic pool in my palm, unnoticed by everyone else. After a second, a swirl of black magic joined it, and then I set both spinning towards the sun.

Sixteen years ago, Bella had told me that she thought everyone's goal in life should be to find themselves content. As she always seemed to be, I had learned over the years that Bella had been completely correct in her assessment.

The good in my life outweighed the bad. Though I was sad some days, my happiness was consistent, and I knew that I would always wind up feeling it again.

Best of all, I was incredibly loved, as I had been my entire life and as I would continue to be, until the very end.

The End

I would like to thank all of you for the love and support that you gave Phoenix's story. This story was written to be shared, so thank you for letting me share it with you.

Though this story is officially finished, I will occasionally post bonus chapters to the fic on my profile titled "The Moments in Between". They will either be from Phoenix's time at Hogwarts, or about life after the war, but they will not all be about her or from her POV. Obviously, you do not have to read these bonus chapters, as the story is complete without them. It's completely up to you.

Though this story about time is full of quotes from and parallels to many other pieces of media, there are still several quotes that I simply could not find a way to work in. I have listed them at the very end of this author's note, so that you might read over them, if you'd like.

Thank you all again for sticking with this story. It's been a wild ride, and I can't believe that we've finally reached the end.

All my love and gratitude.

Arwen (IIOWAW)

Additional quotes:

From my favorite song in the world, Wasteland, Baby! by Hozier: "All the things yet to come are the things that have passed."

From William Shakespeare's play The Tempest: "What's past is prologue."

From J.R.R Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring: "Time doesn't seem to pass here: it just is."

From Anthony Bourdain: "I'm not going anywhere. I hope. It's been an adventure. We took some casualties over the years. Things got broken. Things got lost. But I wouldn't have missed it for the world."

From Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of by U2: "It's just a moment, this time will pass."

Lastly, there were several quotes I would have liked to use from Invisible String by Taylor Swift, but I will leave it simply to: "Time, mystical time, Cuttin' me open, then healin' me fine."