Epilogue

The little girl ran across the playground, her straight, red hair streaming behind her. Harry could hear her tinkling laughter as he walked by. He was surprised when he saw who was chasing her.

"Hermione?" When Harry had decided to go for a walk during lunch that day, he'd never imagined he'd run into a woman he hadn't talked to in five years.

She scooped up the little girl before she turned to him. "Harry!" She sounded delighted to see him, and Harry couldn't help but feel happy too. Hermione had always been good about infecting others with her emotions.

As she neared him, Harry's attention fell to the little girl in her arms. Her hair made it obvious that she was a Weasley—the almost carrot-coloured locks simply weren't found in any other wizarding family in England. He was surprised to find that the little girl had bright blue eyes; he had always thought that Hermione and Ron's children would end up with Hermione's brown eyes and bushy hair.

"It's... nice to see you," Hermione said, nervously straightening her daughter's clothing.

Harry smiled. "It's good to see you too," he said and meant it. He smiled at the little girl and held out his hand to her. She giggled and shook it. "And how old are you, sweetie?"

She giggled again and buried her face in Hermione's shoulder.

"Come on, Vi. Tell Harry how old you are," Hermione cajoled her. She shook her head.

Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes. "She's two. She's very, very two."

The little girl popped her head up then. "Two!" she shouted into Hermione's ear. Harry laughed when Hermione cringed at the noise.

"What's her name then?" Harry asked, watching the toddler twirl her arms around wildly, struggling to escape from Hermione.

"Violet, though most of her family calls her Vi." Hermione shifted her from one hip to the other, but the little girl's struggles didn't stop. "Would you stop that?" she asked sharply.

Vi burst into tears.

"Oh, hell." Hermione seemed to realise she had just said a curse word. "Shit. Damn. Oh, bugger it all!" she said, giving up.

Vi's tears dried up as quickly as they had appeared. "Bugga! Bugga!"

Harry chuckled when Hermione groaned. "Her father is going to kill me. I just can't seem to keep a civil tongue around her..."

Harry held out his hands when the little girl began to struggle again, even as she sang "bugga, bugga, bugga!"

"Can I hold her?" he asked. Hermione nodded and handed her over gratefully. "How is Ron?" He settled the small girl on one hip, tickling her until she was giggling too hard to talk.

"He's good. This little ankle-biter tends to run him ragged. He's working at George's shop now, part time so that he can stay home with Vi. Molly keeps her when he's working, unless her mother manages to get a day off from work."

Harry nodded, amazed at the changes in Hermione. He'd never imagined she would have a child, let alone take time off from work to care for it. "And how have you been?"

"Good, good." Hermione smiled tiredly. "Work's been a bit crazy recently. I know that the Auror department has been working hard on the latest international problems, but we're still trying to get werewolf rights passed right here. The Wizengamot is incredibly prejudiced. Today was supposed to be a big meeting to discuss some new laws, but they decided that they wanted to make it a closed session. When I found out that I didn't have to work today, I decided to take a break and spend the day with Vi. I don't spend enough time with her."

"'Mione play!" Vi shouted. "Down! Wanna play!"

Harry shook his head. "Stay here for a minute, sweet pea. I want to spend some time with you and 'Mione." He smirked at Hermione's nickname, wondering why the toddler called her that instead of Mum or Mummy.

Hermione just shook her head. "Blame Ron for that one. I hate that blasted nickname."

"Blasted Ron! Blasted, blasted!"

Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose, and Harry fought laughter. "She enjoys bad words," Hermione said sheepishly.

"I can tell." Harry shifted his feet and bounced Vi up and down on his hip for a moment, distracting her from her new word. "I've... I'm on lunch. Are you two headed anywhere, or do you want to grab something with me?"

"Fish and chips!" Vi crowed. "Want chips!"

Harry quirked an eyebrow. "Ron?"

"Unfortunately... that's my fault too. I rather live on fast food, so she lives on it too when I'm watching her." Hermione grimaced. "I'm terrible with childcare. It's the reason I never wanted a baby when we... when we were still together."

"I remember." Harry lowered Vi to the ground, grasping her by the hand before she could escape. "Let's go get some fish and chips, and we can talk."

They walked slowly to the small diner next to the Ministry, letting Vi toddle along at her own pace as they talked. Harry knew that he would be late getting back to work, but he didn't care. As the head of the department, it didn't really matter if he wasn't back right on time. He had his Porta-Floo, and if they needed him, they'd let him know.

They had a wonderful lunch, reminiscing over happy memories as if the years had never separated them. Vi babbled at them about everything from the food to her shoes. Harry found himself charmed by the little girl.

Finally, the conversation took a turn for more serious subjects.

"I... I heard about you and Draco. I'm sorry," said Hermione.

Harry shrugged. "It wasn't meant to be. We get along well, but we couldn't keep up with a relationship. We needed too much from each other that neither of us could afford to give. I'm afraid it was mostly my fault—Draco loved me, but I never felt quite as much for him. When he met Jackson, I was happy to give up our relationship so he could be happy. We're still best mates now though."

"Oh, Harry." Hermione's hand clasped his. "Why do you do that to yourself? I wish you could find someone for your own who you wouldn't give up on."

Harry blushed. "Well, actually... Draco introduced me to his cousin. She's a sweet girl and we've been dating for about six months now. She's... a lot like Draco, but without the history."

She squeezed his hand. "As long as you're happy."

"I am." Harry smiled at her and then pulled his hand away to stop Vi from dumping vinegar all over herself. "I'm just glad you and Ron are happy."

"We are. In the long run, the break-up was good for us."

Harry tried not to feel wounded by that. He'd known that he was hurting Hermione and Ron's relationship, but it was painful to hear Hermione confirm it.

Hermione's Porta-Floo beeped then and she answered it by lighting the fire inside with her wand. Then she placed it up to her ear. Harry could hear Ron's tinny voice coming through the small flame that flickered in the casing, though he couldn't make out what he was saying.

"Yes, we are eating lunch now, in the diner by the Ministry. Do you have time to Floo in and join us?" Hermione asked. Ron must have replied in the affirmative because she replied, "Good, we'll see you in a few then. Oh, and Harry's eating lunch with us too. Yes, okay, see you then." She snuffed out the flame. "Ron'll be here in just a few minutes." She turned to Vi. "Daddy's coming to eat lunch with you!"

Vi's face light up. "Daddy! Chips for Daddy?"

Hermione nodded, her voice slightly higher than normal as she replied, "Yes, Daddy will probably get chips. Will you share your chips with him?"

Vi shook her head wildly. "No, no! Mine!"

Hermione and Harry both hid their smiles behind their hands. "Now, Vi, that's not nice. You should always share your things," said Hermione.

Harry heard the Floo across the room emit a belch and saw Ron approaching as he dusted off his robes. Vi, meanwhile, was pouting and her eyes were filling with tears. "No! Mine, mine, mine! Don't wanna!"

Ron laughed, his familiar chuckle warming Harry. He'd missed his best friends so much. "What's yours, love?" Ron asked as he gave Vi a kiss on the head.

"Daddy!" she cried. When Ron reached for one of her chips, she let out a loud cry. "No, mine!" She burst into tears.

Ron pulled back his hand. "Oh, dear. Is she being two?"

Hermione sighed deeply. "Yes. We were teasing her that she should share her chips with you and she had a fit."

Ron picked his daughter up, tugging her out of her highchair. "Aw, poor Vi. Was Auntie 'Mione being mean to you?"

Harry sat up straight. "'Auntie 'Mione'?"

"Just a nickname. Lavender doesn't like having children call adults by their first name, and Ms. Granger is a mouthful," said Ron.

Harry frowned. "But... Lavender? I thought Hermione and you..."

Hermione flushed. "I thought you knew!"

"Hermione and I... we didn't make it six months after we moved out of Grimmauld. We fought constantly without you there to keep us calm," said Ron.

Ron fed his daughter a chip and then offered her a cup of juice. "I ended up with Lavender again and... well, it worked out this time. Neither of us is very ambitious, and we both just wanted to settle down and start a family. We got married over three years ago and immediately started trying for a baby, which is where this little one came from." Ron's face brightened as he watched his daughter pour her cup into her plate, soaking her chips with juice. "I've never been happier."

Harry was completely stunned. "But... Hermione... what about you?"

"Oh, I'm happy too. I haven't met the right man yet, but I don't mind waiting. My work is important to me and... well, I'm not sure I'll ever want to settle down. As much as I love playing with Vi, I'm just not cut out to be a mother. Little ones with their illogical thinking irritate the hell out of me."

Vi looked up from her plate of juice. "Hell! Blasted! Bugga!" She was obviously pleased that she had remembered her new words.

Ron glared at Hermione. "I'm never letting you babysit again."

"Thank god," she muttered. "I'm so tired."

Harry watched them and was surprised to realize how unalike they really were. They had always seemed alike in their differences, but Harry could see now that this wasn't really a case of "opposites attract".

"I've missed you guys." Harry blurted suddenly.

Ron said, "I missed you too," and Hermione nodded.

"I don't want this to be the last time I see you for months," she said. "There are only a few weeks until the anniversary of the final battle. I'm throwing a quiet dinner the weekend before the anniversary. Ron, Lavender, the Weasleys, and some work friends will be there. Will you come?"

"I'd love to. What time is—" Harry's question was cut off by a beep. He excused himself from the table and answered his Porta-Floo. There was an emergency at the office. Sighing, he returned to the table. "I've got to go. There's a problem with a case, and they need me to come in and give them directions."

Ron stood and pulled Harry into a hug, crushing Vi between them. "Don't be a stranger, all right?"

Vi reached up and patted Harry's cheek. "Not stranger! Harry!"

The three adults laughed and then Hermione took her turn hugging Harry. "I'll owl you," she promised.

Harry said his goodbyes, kissing Vi on the cheek and tickling her until she was giggling so hard she turned red. When he finally broke away from his best friends, he felt as though he had been thrown back into the past. Even with five years of silence between them, there hadn't been any awkward silences in their conversation. The three of them were still best mates, probably always would be, and Harry was glad.

Leaving the diner, he headed for the Ministry with a smile on his face. The three of them hadn't made it work as lovers, but at least they still had their friendship. As much as Harry wished he could go back to the past and fix things, he didn't really miss their relationship that much. It had always been their friendship that he cherished the most, and he still had that.

The past was the past, and Harry was ready to look forward to the future.