EPILOGUE 4

Author's Note: I don't own any of the characters.

The Weasley Home

Her life had changed greatly over the years. When she had first stepped into the magical world she was a small girl of eleven years old. Now twenty some years later she was a fully grown woman, wife, mother of twelve children, and leading candidate to be the next Minister of Magic, regardless of how she felt about the job. The house that had been Aunt Muriel's had become theirs quickly enough and now those that had known the old witch could barely tell that it was even the same house. The older children had all graduated from Hogwarts and moved out years earlier. Henry had married his first girlfriend, and at their wedding Ron had been forced to stomp on her foot to keep the brunette from objecting to the marriage. But it was not because she had disliked the bride in any way, but rather that she had felt that she was losing her baby boy and wasn't quite sure that she was ready to do that just yet.

Lexi had sped off to the south of Italy almost as soon as she had left the old castle, taking up in a small house with her old friend Rachel and making it a home for them both. Ana and Angie shared a flat in London and worked at the Ministry, though neither in any major role and both were just doing it to make some money and get their foot in the door so to speak. Shawn was still at Hogwarts but was already receiving offers from professional quidditch teams, and much to Ron's delight their middle son was giving each serious thought. The wizarding world was mostly at peace, or at least as much at peace as it ever could be. Since their retirement from the Ministry both Harry and Hermione had stayed true to their word and not gotten involved in much politicking.

"Are you sure Hermione, once you back out you can't change your mind and be elected," Ginny reminded her as she followed Hermione into the living room and set the tray of tea down onto the table in front of the couch as a nervous looking Hermione shuffled along behind her with a small tray of cookies and cakes.

"I'm sure Ginny, I have no interest in being the Minister of Magic, not now…not ever," Hermione replied with a bit of an anxious expression before she fully composed herself and smoothed out the wrinkles on her jeans and then sat down on the couch beside Ron, setting her tray on the table beside Ginny's tray along the way.

"But why…you'd be perfect for it," Dean wondered back softly, pushing the brunette's buttons a bit, as he tried to cover it up in the act of leaning forward in his chair to get himself a cup of tea.

"Because of Dumbledore…because of his reasons for not taking the job regardless of how overly qualified he was for the job," Hermione answered with a sidelong glare at Dean, who sat back quickly in his chair at the sight and looked away, as she picked up her cup of tea and then set it down on her lap.

"He didn't trust himself to have that much power, but surely you…," Ginny scoffed as she clearly didn't agree with the notion of Hermione's reasons in her head before she took a handful of cookies and took a big bite of one of them, stopping to chew.

"It's not exactly that…but it's the right idea, I fear that I'd try to do too much…that business with the time turner showed me that if I had that much power I'd get involved in everything, things would fall through the cracks…and in that position I'd have to keep secrets and tell lies…two things that after defeating Voldemort I swore that I'd never do again if possible…and my family is too important to me, I'm not going to miss birthdays and such, I gave up enough of my life to saving the wizarding world already," Hermione calmly answered as she did her best to carefully explain her position and reasoning for wanting to take her name out of the running for Minister of Magic as she made a point of looking both of them in the eye, as Ron had already heard the reasons several times before and reassured her many times that if that was what she truly wanted and believed then he was with her and wouldn't argue with her about it. All that he wanted was for her to be happy.

"Well said luv," Ron proudly commented with a warm smile as he slid an arm around Hermione's waist against the back of the couch and then pulled her over until he could give her a proper kiss on the cheek, which she happily received.

"Thank you Ron, but besides that I really love being a teacher at Hogwarts, I love interacting with the students…shaping young minds, and I love my family…there's really nothing about my life that I would change right now," Hermione warmly remarked softly at first just to Ron before she turned her head and addressed Ginny and Dean with a tired but determined look in her eyes before she took a rather large sip of tea to show that she was done speaking.

"Sounds good to me, just as long as we don't get someone like Draco as Minister…Merlin…how horrible would that be," Dean chuckled back with a relaxed and easygoing grin as he leaned back in his chair before he scared himself at the thought of a Malfoy in such a high position of power in the wizarding world.

"Don't even joke about that Dean," Hermione groaned angrily, a sudden feeling in the pit of her stomach like a lead weight made it almost impossible to drink any more tea for a few moments, before a laugh from Dean's directions softened her expression.

"Heh…don't worry Hermione, I don't see it happening anytime soon," Dean replied with a hearty laugh, that threatened to be more but was held back by the glare in Hermione's gaze that she silently cast his way just as he was opening his mouth to speak, before he caught himself and kept things as calm as he could.

"Good, because that's the last thing that I need right now, especially since Lexi hasn't written me back yet," Hermione relayed softly as she looked more than a bit put out and sad at not having heard from her oldest daughter in months and starting to become a bit worried about it even though she really had no valid reason to be.

"Your last letter to her was practically a book Hermione, she might still be reading it," Ginny reminded her best friend with a sly grin and a not so hidden wink before everyone in the room but Ron and Hermione let out a loud laugh, though Ron had to bite his lip to keep from joining in.

"When your oldest daughter moves so far away writing a book to her kind of becomes a necessity if it's the only means of communication that you have with her," Hermione almost snapped with a clear tone of barely suppressed irritation in her voice as she gripped her cup of tea so tightly that her knuckles started to turn white before Dean cut in.

"She didn't move away because she hated you Hermione, she moved away to be with Rachel…be with her so that they can be happy together," Dean cautiously acknowledged with an uneasy expression as he knew that the whole subject of Lexi was one that was a very sensitive topic with the brunette for many reasons, a fact that was only enforced when Ginny sent him an angry glare from her seat.

"I know that, I just don't like it that she's so far away, and Henry barely comes by anymore either," Hermione let out with a tired and nervous sigh as she leaned forward to refill her cup of tea and try to keep her emotions in check at her two oldest children being seemingly so far away for so long.

"He hasn't been married that long Hermione, they're practically still on their honeymoon," Ron cautiously tried to remind her in an attempt to calm her down and not make her angry at him, as he did miss spending time with his oldest son but knew that the younger Weasley needed his space with his new bride.

"I know but…he's my baby boy, and I…," Hermione tried to object as she steadily grew more and more frustrated at the knowledge that she was truly worrying about nothing that wouldn't work itself out regardless of what she did or how she felt.

"You're not comfortable no longer being the most important woman in his life…it's completely natural Hermione, my mother went through the same thing when I got married," Dean

"I am not jealous of my…," Hermione started to deny the truth with a look of total certainty before Ron's long fingers found her ticklish spot on her side and she had to stop talking and bite her lip to refrain from giggling, as she sent her husband a death glare instead.

"Heh…yes you are," Ginny joked out loud with a highly amused smirk as she gave Hermione a sly wink before the brunette scowled back and her and then glared again at Ron even though he merely smiled but otherwise kept quiet.

"I just worry about him is all, I worry about all of my children," Hermione snapped angrily, sounding as if her words settled any and all debate about the discussion that they were having and that she didn't really want to talk about it anymore, though she doubted if she would actually get her way on the subject.

"I know that you do Hermione, and that's one of the reasons that I love you…it's just that your worrying about the kids can go a bit…," Ron softly reassured her with a warm smile before his face and ears went more than a bit red as he tried to tell Hermione something that could make her upset before Ginny cut in with a snort.

"No more so than yours dear brother, how many times did I catch you spying on the girls…," Ginny commented with a singsong tone of voice as she tried her very best not to crack up through every word and ignore the confused furrowing of her brows look that Hermione was giving her, guessing that Ron hadn't told his lovely wife that little piece of information just yet, and apparently the elder Weasley hoped to never have to.

"Wait…I was trying to make sure that their dates weren't trying anything…funny, it's a father's job to watch over his…," Ron bluffed back as he tried to get something out as a reason that he would be following his daughters around on their dates in years past without making himself sound overly paranoid or weird, though in the end he guessed that he had failed miserably and thought more of how to get back at his little sister for her even bringing it up.

"Bullocks, you were afraid that your little girls were growing up to fast," Dean countered as he clearly wasn't buying any of Ron's answer as he tried to not spit up any of the tea that Hermione had taken so many pains to make for them.

"No…I, er…maybe," Ron sputtered nervously as he tried to defend himself but found the going impossible and then just ended up shrugging his shoulders and downing his tea in one gulp, looking anywhere but in Hermione's general direction.

"They did grow up to fast, though I guess that one small comfort that we can take in that it wasn't because of any dark wizard trying to kill them," Hermione responded with a sour glance towards Ron before her expression softened considerably at the scared look that he gave her before she gave him a sweet smile and then laid her head on his shoulder.

"And they didn't have to pretend that they weren't in love with their best friend all through school either," Dean muttered out softly, trying to act like he didn't know who had said the words as he hesitantly glanced around the room before he got a stern look from both Ginny and Hermione and he couldn't help but grin and cast his gaze down into his cup of tea.

"I…I don't know what you're talking about," Hermione replied through a very shaky tone of voice and a bit of a stutter as she tilted her head forward and let her hair cover her face though Dean could see enough to know that her whole face was going red.

"Y…yeah, me either," Ron agreed with an equally nervous blush with his ears glowing red before he cast Ginny a pleading look in the hopes that she's jump in to his defense, but he didn't get any such help.

"You're so full of it, I wish that the two of you had been honest with yourselves and each other back in school, things may have been so different," Ginny grouched back with an cheeky grin that she sent directly at Ron and Hermione before she used her cup of tea to shield herself from the glares that they sent back in her direction.

"Maybe…but you and Harry certainly could have helped us out…maybe I wouldn't have made the mistake of waiting too long to ask Hermione to the Yule Ball," Ron mumbled with a nervous look at some dirt underneath his fingernails, before Hermione guessed what he was looking at and she laid her free hand over his to break his gaze, before he lifted his eyes towards his little sister.

"Still Ron…I've long since forgiven you for that…and then some, I married you didn't I…and had twelve…," Hermione moaned softly as she let out a protracted sigh as she lifted her head off of Ron's shoulder and squeezed her eyes tightly shut as she wished that Ron would just get over that part of their history like she had years before.

"I know Hermione, it's just that sometimes I wonder how our lives would have ended up if we had gone together," Ron responded as he acted a bit guilty at still harboring thoughts about not taking her to the ball and how things could be different because of that change that he still felt would have been huge at the time before Ginny cut in.

"You mean you might have twenty kids by now," Ginny laughed merrily as she leaned forward to get another cup of tea, appearing to find the whole idea funny as to her the dance was so long ago that it now no longer really mattered in their lives so they should all just forget about it and move on before she offered up her wildest idea of how things could have been different.

"Well…that wouldn't be the worst outcome," Hermione sheepishly admitted with a happily curious smile, one that didn't budge when the others in the room gave her odd looks before she hung her head so that her curls would hide the growing blush to her cheeks.

"Bloody hell," Dean muttered under his breath with a clear tone of disbelief before he couldn't help but smile at what he guessed was Hermione's honesty, though a small part of him truly did wonder just how much she would have liked to have that many children, even more than she already had. Dean and his wife already viewed their own four children as more than enough of a hassle, let alone twelve or more.

111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

The Weasley Household-A Few Hours Later

"Ron, is all of this really necessary, I have to get Rose and Lacey ready for bed and you need to give Molly her bath," Hermione sighed softly with a tired but excited smile as she kept her eyes closed and her hands over them as Ron slowly guided her up the stairs and then down the long hallway past their bedroom.

"Of course luv, just wait a bit longer and everything will make sense…I hope," Ron replied with an excited but noticeably nervous tone to his words as he carefully guided Hermione around every obstacle in the hallway, whether they be toys left on the floor or a table with a vase of flowers on it, before they finally got to the doorway of his big surprise for her.

"It had better Ron, we need to get to sleep early tonight so that we can get everyone ready in time tomorrow morning for the trip to the Burrow if we hope to make it there before lunch," Hermione reminded her husband with a tense frown as she knew that he'd never surprise her with something bad but still she was getting a bit worried by how nervous and unsure of things he was.

"Mum and Dad will be fine if we're a little late, especially with so many of us, it's normal for us to be a little…behind, besides they love the kids," Ron answered as he tried his best to remain as calm as possible all while not letting her in on the secret, the one that he had been working on with Harry the last several days, before he reached for the doorknob.

"True, but none of that should be an excuse for us to be late, we'll just have to start earlier is all," Hermione cautiously admitted as she felt herself starting to side with Ron of it being okay to be late for lunch the next day at the Burrow before she caught herself and stood firm.

"Oh yeah, try telling that to the kids, sure they'll go for that," Ron joked softly as he ushered a slightly shaking Hermione into the room through the doorway and then left her only momentarily to go and shut the door behind them so that they wouldn't be bothered for a few more moments.

"Ron, what…I…blood…wow," Hermione started to wonder aloud as she didn't feel Ron's hands on her shoulder and waist before he slowly pulled her hands away and nudged her to open her eyes. When she did she saw his big surprise and very clearly was not ready for it, in the best way possible. What had once been a very large room that they had used for storing everything that they hadn't found a place for yet, which had caused the room to be locked and just ignored most of the time, was now a very well lit and welcoming library. The walls of windows had been cleaned and all of the boxes removed. A small fire flickered in the fireplace in one corner with a couple of chairs and a rather welcoming looking couch nearby. An impressive looking desk stood vigilant at another corner of the room banked by windows so that it would always have light. The remaining corners looked to be full of shelves of books and a rather healthy looking rug with a few of the children's toys on it, obviously there as a place for them to play while others read the books.

"Do you…like it," Ron wondered aloud softly with a very worried but hopeful expression as he shoved his hands deep into his pockets mostly just for something to do with them as he gave the room a quick glance before turning his attention back to his wife.

"Does that answer your question," Hermione whispered softly through a sea of tears that were on the verge of spilling down her cheeks after she put her hands on Ron's face and pulled him into a very appreciative and loving kiss that lasted.

"So is that a yes…or a no," Ron mumbled softly with a rather cheeky smirk and slight blush to his cheeks as his ears turned a bright red before Hermione couldn't help but laugh heartily with her forehead against his chest for a bit.

"Definitely yes you fool…how," Hermione playfully teased back in between a soft string of kisses to his lips before he grabbed her behind and pulled her into a kiss that left her both breathless and hungry for more.

"Had a bit of help from Harry, you got so busy with Hogwarts and all that we did it in our spare time and whenever we could, wanted it to be ready by the end of the year," Ron admitted softly with a bit of a nervous shrug as he pulled her into his arms so that her back was to his chest and her arms were overtop of his around her waist and his chin on her shoulder.

"I'll have to remember to thank him later on this week, as for tonight…," Hermione remarked as she glanced briefly at the room around her before her gaze fell back to her arms over his as she loved being in his arms and alone with him as she let her voice trail off suggestively.

"Tonight…wait, what's…," Ron pondered openly with his mouth agape a bit and his brows furrowed as he tried to think of what she could be meaning before she surprised him with her answer.

"Lock the door," Hermione commanded softly in a voice that sounded very much like the brunette was purring, a tone that Ron knew very well and was always excited by before he slipped away from her and locked the door to the new library and added in a muffling charm as well so that they wouldn't have to answer any awkward questions later on. A couple of months later the pair would receive a small scroll from Luna with a single word scribbled on it, congratulations.

END OF EPILOGUE 4

Author's Note: Thanks again to everyone for reading and reviewing this and the other chapters. As always reviews, comments, and questions are always appreciated. The start of this epilogue is an update on things since the last one and that Hermione and the others are still teachers at Hogwarts, except for Ron. Dean and Ginny are asking Hermione why she's not going to be Minister of Magic. It's not that I don't think that Hermione is fully qualified or could do the job but I liken her reasons not to as close to those that kept Dumbledore from taking the job. She'd had enough of keeping secrets, she'd try to do everything about everything, and then of course miss so much family stuff and after so many years of serving the wizarding world she wanted to be a bit selfish and do her own thing. The thought of Draco as Minister is a scary thought. The start is also an update about some of the kids as the older ones have graduated Hogwarts and moved on, with Henry getting married and Lexi moving in with Rachel and being so far away that Hermione is unhappy about it. She doesn't get to see much of her oldest children but has the younger ones still around. They joke around about how both Ron and Hermione have or have not dealt with their children growing up over the years before talking about how things might have been different had Ron and Hermione gotten together sooner. The idea that they'd have several more children is brought up and Hermione doesn't seem that upset by it. The last half is that Ron, with Harry's help, remodels the biggest room in their house into a library for Hermione and the kids. At the end the two have a little bit of fun and Luna somehow knows what is coming with her letter to them. As for the future I'll write one more epilogue to wrap everything up, giving this all twenty five chapters and then probably some one shots. The one shots will not be in this stories continuity but just their own. I still can't and won't read any stories that pair Hermione up with Draco as they just don't work, you'd have to change both characters far too much and he tried to kill her too many times for it to ever work. And I can't read Harry and Hermione pairings either, it's just wrong to me. I've been a Ron/Hermione fan since I watched the first two movies and then read the books and that won't change, as I don't change my ships once I get them set in stone. Thank You.