Epilogue

Hermione Granger and Severus Snape were married in a small ceremony attended by their closest friends near the lake at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Draco stood for Severus, and Alicia with Hermione. Ron refused to attend the wedding, but was guilted into sending a large and expensive gift by his wife, Luna, who was expecting their third child.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron never truly reconciled their differences, thanks to Weasley stubbornness combined with Harry and Hermione's lack of remorse. Ron could not understand why his best friend would marry the "greasy git", or that she would turn down the opportunity to join the Ministry as a senior researcher for a desk job in America. He never bothered to learn that the "desk job" in America was the opportunity of a lifetime, or that it was precisely what Hermione had been looking for since she began to learn magic.

Nor did Ron get the fact that Harry still despised his fame, preferring instead to write and raise his and Alicia's children in peace in a small seaside villa near Boston. Harry gave up the opportunity to play profession Quidditch in order to stay with his wife, refusing to stay near the Ministry and be their pawn and show pony. Ron became even more angry with his lot in life, after years of struggle in the Ministry with little to show for it. Luna was happy, but her husband resented the ease with which the others adjusted to their lives of obscurity and, as he saw it, monotony. Time tempered his anger, but never to the extent that Hermione and Harry would consider him an important part of their lives. He never did learn to accept Severus.

Hermione and Severus moved to Salem, Massechusetts, the Wizarding side, where Severus was offered the job of Potions professor after Samantha Anderson was sacked for several violations of Wizarding copyright law. He was pleased to find the position came with a private lab, research funding, and the opportunity to earn grants for his research. He discovered the university students were not complete dunderheads, and that occasionally a student like his wife would surprise him with their presence in his classes.

Dean Erastus offered Hermione an apprenticeship with him, designed to teach her as much about magic as he could in four years. Once her studies were complete, she began to fill in for other teachers when they took sabbaticals or went on vacation, slowly learning everything there was to know about the school. Erastus intended for Hermione to take over for him when he retired – a fact which made Severus incredibly proud. He was constantly awed by his wife's accomplishments, even though she would never be as good as him in Potions, and encouraged her at every opportunity to improve herself and her magic. There were times when they fought about her ambitions, but the altercations were usually short and involved Severus' personal fears that Hermione would leave him.

The couple decided to wait to have children until after Hermione's apprenticeship, but to their dismay, several years passed without any signs of conception. The healers speculated that it was the abuse Severus suffered during his days as a spy combined with the spell he used to sterilize himself that destroyed his ability to have children. An overwhelming surge of fear nearly suffocated him when he and his wife were informed. He was afraid Hermione would take this as her clue to get out of her marriage to be with a younger man who could give her children. The tears in her eyes gave him pause, but then she squeezed his hand and quietly suggested they check into the possibility of adoption.

Severus and Hermione adopted two children, Silas and Amanda, both four years old, whose parents were casualties in the war. Several years passed before the couple experienced an unexpected event that changed their lives in ways neither would have imagined.

"Oh my god!" Severus awakened abruptly as his wife leaped out of bed and ran into the bathroom. Retching noises immediately followed the slam of the door, and he resignedly dragged himself out of bed to go fix another anti-nausea potion. This virus was really hitting his wife quite severely. Fortunately, it did not seem to be contagious, but he cast a Cleanliness Charm on the room anyway.

Hermione stumbled into the lab, the dark circles under her eyes far more pronounced than yesterday. He frowned, taking in her lank hair, hollow cheeks, and paler-than-normal face. Abruptly, he made a decision.

"We're going to the hospital, Hermione."

She frowned. "Severus, I'm fine. I just caught the flu, that's all."

"You seem to be under the impression that you have a choice, my dear." With two great strides he was in front of her, scooping her up into his arms. "We are going to St. Augustine's immediately. You do not look like a person who 'only has the flu'."

Silas, awakened by the noise of his parents' discussion, shuffled out of his room, bleary eyed and curious. "Father?"

Severus, who was in front of the fireplace, gripping his ill wife in one hand and Floo powder in the other, smiled gently at his son. "Go back to bed, Silas. Your mother and I are going to see the doctor. Aunt Alicia should be along soon to watch over you."

The dark-haired boy eyed his father worriedly. "Will mother be all right?"

"She'll be fine, Silas. She's just sick, but we're going to see the doctor so maybe they can help her get better faster."

Silas thought for a moment, and then shrugged. "Okay."

Severus waited until he heard the door to his son's room close before activating the Floo. "Alicia Potter!"

Less than two minutes later, Alicia stuck her head through the Floo, surprised and dismayed to see Severus and Hermione. "What is it, Severus?" Her worried eyes fastened on Hermione.

"I'm taking Hermione to St. Augustine's, Alicia. Would you please come and keep and eye on the kids?"

"Sure, Severus. Let me tell Harry." Her head disappeared from the fire momentarily, before she stepped through herself. She nodded to Severus. "Good morning, Sev." Looking at Hermione, who was lax in her husband's arms, she took the powder from him and gestured for him to move quickly. "St. Augustine's!"

Severus and Hermione stepped through, leaving Alicia behind to watch over their children.

In retrospect, Severus and Hermione both felt like fools for not seeing it earlier. Her illness began with bouts of nausea in the morning that often cleared up by lunch. Both attributed it to the potions her husband gave her, and neither suspected it was anything other than an odd flu bug. The illness continued for the next month, driving Hermione into the bathroom first thing every morning, and began affecting her appetite and ability to sleep. Glamours hid the severity of her illness from her husband and children, but she felt too sick this morning to use them.

Which is why they were at her doctor's office, gaping at his matter-of-fact announcement.

"You're pregnant, Mrs. Snape."

"What? That's impossible."

"On the contrary, Mrs. Snape, it is more than possible. It has been more than ten years since your husband last suffered the effects of the Cruciatus Curse, and the sterility spell was removed over five years ago. The damage has been slowly healing during that time. It really was only a matter of time before his reproductive system recovered enough for you to have children. Surely they told you that."

Incredulous joy shone in Hermione's eyes. "No. No they didn't." She turned to her husband. "Severus…"

Ignoring the decorum he usually practiced around strangers, Severus leaped from his chair to grab his startled wife and swing her around gleefully. "I love you," he exclaimed, kissing her soundly. "You have given me the greatest gifts I never dared imagine, my love."

She melted into his embrace as his silk voice continued. "Your love, yourself, two wonderful children, and now a child to carry on the Snape legacy. Thank you." Hermione almost cried at the sight of tears in her husband's eyes.

"I love you, Severus," she whispered, tightening her arms around him.

Both started when the doctor cleared his throat. "Er… actually, there will be more than one child, Mr. Snape."

Severus turned to the doctor, stunned. "What?"

"Twins, Mr. Snape. You and your wife are expecting twins. Fraternal, one boy and one girl, and they will be due in a little less than eight months. Congratulations."

Harry and Alicia, were, needless to say, overjoyed to hear that their best friends were expecting twins. The two were ecstatically happy with their own two children, both of which were handfuls (like father like son, stated Severus), and knew how much family had come to mean to Severus and Hermione. Silas and Amanda were overjoyed to learn that their parents were finally going to give them more siblings, although Silas expressed a certain amount of fear that their parents would love the twins more since they were not adopted. Amanda told her brother he was being stupid, and informed him matter-of-factly, in almost the exact tones of her mother in her youth, that they would be loved just as much since their parents picked them out from all the others.

Severus and Hermione talked the issue over with the frightened boy, assuring him that they would love them no less once the children were born, but that the twins would need lots of love and attention once they arrived. The two solemnly promised they would, and gleefully helped their parents prepare for the babies' arrival.

Elizabeth Minerva and Tobias Wulfric Snape were born at St. Augustine's Magical Hospice nearly ten years after their parents began their long and complicated relationship. Elizabeth was a beautiful girl, like her mother, thought Severus, with piercing green eyes, silky honey-brown hair, and the fair skin of both parents. From the instant her eyes met those of her father, Severus knew she was going to be a handful – as intelligent as her mother, but as rebellious as him. Tobias, on the other hand, was the embodiment of the older, wiser Severus. He was a spitting image of his father, without the oily skin and hair, but possessed the friendly charisma of his mother. Silas and Amanda promised to help the babies whenever possible, and all four children were doted upon by their parents as they grew up.

Along with the Potters' children, and those of Hermione and Severus' friends, the Snapes attended school at the Salem Academy of Witches and Warlocks, taking after their parents as regards to schooltime adventure.

But that, dear readers, is another tale.

The End.