Well here we are at the end! Kind of sad to end this one. It was a blast to write, and rekindled my love of fanfiction.

Also, I decided to go ahead and post my new story on Tuesday! I'm far enough along that I feel ready to share. Updates will be sporadic for the next couple of weeks, but I'll do so when I can.

Thank you all so much for all you do, whether it's leaving a review, favoriting, and of course, reading! The support this story has received is overwhelming. I deeply appreciate all of you!

When Harry returned to Britain from defending Severus' castle, he doubted he would keep his job, much less become the Head of the Auror Department. Still, Lucius was correct in stating Harry's silence in exchange for his job would be effective. In fact, under his leadership, the auror department ceased arresting people with only minimal ties to the Death Eaters and began focusing on actual criminals.

That didn't mean everything in Harry's life was perfect. If it was, he wouldn't be boiling in his uniform under the July, Monaco sun.

The second Harry returned to Britain was the second he commissioned designs for summer auror uniforms. Whether or not he would succeed in obtaining the funding for it was another issue. Creating summer uniforms would involve spending tax dollars sensibly, which is something the Ministry was incapable of doing. Still, the sweat caked on his forehead and clamminess of his hands encouraged him to try.

At least he had found his suspect without too much trouble. Across the beach in a pink bikini, sipping a blue daiquiri, was the fugitive he had been seeking for over two years.

"Angelina Johnson," Harry called.

"Harry," The woman's eyes lit up as she sat up straighter in a beach chair. "What brings you here?"

"I'm working a case," he began. "Namely one that involves Severus Snape."

"Severus Snape?" Angelina took another sip of her daiquiri.

"Yes, from what I understand, you had a run-in with him about six years ago."

"I may have."

"He didn't seem to get the better end of it."

"What happened? Is he dead?"

"No," Harry pulled out a newspaper from his pocket. "He's engaged."

"What?" She dropped her drink into the sand before picking up the paper and reading the headline.

Former Hogwarts Headmaster Severus Snape to Marry Healer Hermione Granger

"I," she shook her head. "I don't understand. He shouldn't be alive, not after what I did to him."

"Oh?"

"Yes," Angelina looked up.

"Why don't you explain to me what exactly you did?" Harry crossed his arms over his chest.

"I cursed him with something that would kill him if he couldn't find love."

"Why?"

"To prove you wrong."

"About what?"

"Snape can't love. He's incapable of love. He shouldn't be alive. Then there's Hermione," she looked at the paper and pointed to Hermione's face. "What is she doing with him? She's the Princess of Gryffindor, yet she's with the Half Blood Prince? That isn't right! Where is her sense of loyalty? Where is her love for the Side of the Light? Where is her taste in men?"

"So you admit to cursing him?" Harry asked in an emotionless voice.

"Yes, but I had to do it," she argued.

"To prove me wrong?"

"Yes, and to prove a point about Snape. He's a bastard incapable of love! I was going to rid the world of a Death Eater. I wanted to prove he's nothing but a fraud. I was supposed to help the world! Why can't anyone understand that?"

"I don't know. Perhaps someone will understand you in Azkaban."

"Azkaban?" She exclaimed as he pulled out his handcuffs.

"Yes," He began cuffing her. "You are under arrest for the attempted murder of Severus Snape and using a curse that's been banned for centuries."

"What? That curse isn't banned," Angelina argued. "It's an old family secret. It isn't our fault everyone else forgot it existed."

"Except for a storybook writer."

"Wait, Snape found the cure from a storybook?"

Harry nodded.

"I always knew Gabrielle and Suzanne were loudmouths!" Angelina exclaimed. "Gabrielle couldn't keep a secret about anything. The second you told her something was the second it was all over town. Suzanne just loved writing everything she said down. She was always looking for inspiration. Of course she'd put it in one of her stupid storybooks!"

"You can owl them from Azkaban and tell her all about how they ruined your plans." He began dragging her away.

"Don't worry, I will."

"Okay."

"Still, it was for a good cause. I was trying to prove Snape had no capacity to love."

"And you were wrong."

"I wouldn't have been wrong if Hermione had kept her nose out of everyone's business!"

"Thankfully she didn't. Now she and Snape are living a very happy life together."

"H-how can you even arrest me?" She snapped. "You don't have jurisdiction here."

"That's the amazing thing about international warrants," he chuckled. "They're difficult to obtain, but once you get them, they work very nicely for arresting people who have been on the run for years."

Angelina huffed as she was dragged to the apparation point.


Wizarding Britain was quite shocked to hear Severus had been hiding in France Once they understood what he'd been through though, he gained their unwanted sympathy. A few women shared chocolates and cards, begging to live in his mansion. Hermione always wrote them a letter of thanks. She did enjoy indulging in the occasional piece of candy. Severus smirked as she wrote them, knowing he was in love with the most beautiful woman of them all, both inside and out.

Chocolate was welcome after a long day at L'Hôpital de Sainte Paige in Paris. Thanks to Lucius' connections, Hermione was able to land a job in which she spent half the day with patients, and the other half researching various cardiac conditions. The other healers were impressed with her ability to empathize with patients, as well as how knowledgeable she was on the heart. Soon, the hospital inspired others, including St. Mungo's, to take a similar approach of mixing research with in-person care.

Severus was not lax in his work either. After a few months of relearning how to use magic without overexerting himself, he resumed the potions research he had abandoned upon being cursed. Once again, he was regarded as an expert potions master who created everything from a potion to remove the scars caused by sectumsempra to a potion which helped better control atrial arrhythmias. Soon, he was considered an honorary member of L'Hôpital de Sainte Paige.

For five years after they married, Severus and Hermione researched and treated patients. Every few months they took a vacation to somewhere in the world, giving Hermione the adventure she had always desired. Still, she wanted a new adventure, something she and Severus could create together which would be just as beautiful as their love.


"Papa?"

Severus glanced up from La Belle et La Bete. "Yes, Rose?"

"Can I stay up for another hour?" She held her stuffed cobra to her chest.

"Why do you want to stay up?" He asked.

"I like working on this puzzle," She pointed to the twenty puzzle pieces scattered on the ground. "And when I'm done with this I want to work on the puzzle of Hogwarts."

Severus hummed, wondering how long it took to do twenty piece puzzles, and whether he dared allow her to attempt a 100 piece puzzle.

"Please Papa." She gave her father the most innocent black eyes he'd ever seen. It was an expression she knew worked on him every time.

"I suppose you could stay up for a bit," he began.

"Oh thank you," She jumped on him, her curly black hair bouncing.

"But I may go to bed soon, meaning I'll be too tired to read you a bedtime story," he answered.

"But you promised me you'd tell me the story of how you and Maman fell in love," she argued.

Severus chuckled. He had no idea why his daughter insisted on hearing that story every evening, but he was more than happy to tell it.

"Look who wants to see his Papa and sister," Hermione began carrying a bundle of blankets into the library.

"Luca," Rose leapt off her father and went over to her brother. She stood on her tiptoes and looked into the baby's face. "You finally woke up."

The baby gave her a half grin which resembled that of his father. Across the room, Severus' chest warmed at his children. Never before had he considered himself capable of creating anything as beautiful as them. After all the death and destruction he'd caused, he was overjoyed to bring such life and love into the world. He could never express how much Hermione improved his life, though he did his best to ensure she and their children always felt loved.

"Be careful," Hermione told her daughter. "You don't want to startle him."

"I won't startle him." She gave him a kiss on the cheek. The infant's smile grew.

"Here," Hermione walked over to Severus. "He wants to see his father."

"His father would love to see him as well." Severus held out his arms, allowing Hermione to place Luca into his arms. "How are you doing, my sweet prince?"

Luca yawned before keeping his brown eyes on his father.

"Daddy was going to tell me a story," Rose jumped up on Severus' lap. He adjusted them so both children were as comfortable as they could be on him.

"You were?" Hermione sat on the chair beside her.

"Apparently she hasn't heard the story of how we fell in love enough times," Severus replied.

"No, I haven't, because it's romantic and it ends with me being born," Rose answered. "I really like that part."

"I like that part too," Severus laughed.

Rose folded her hands. "Can you tell me the story, please?"

Luca glanced up, just as eager as his sister to hear what his father had to say.

"I will," Severus cleared his throat.

As he told the story, he looked at the various members of his family. They all looked at him as if he was valuable and worthy of love. The man who everyone thought was incapable of love, had found a home, people who loved him, and a place to belong. Somehow, the Half Blood Prince found an ending to his story better than that of any fairy tale.

He would do everything in his power to make sure he and his family had the happily ever after ending they all deserved.