All right, here it is. The last chapter! The epilogue will go up in a few days, with answers to all your questions, a sneak peak to the continuation of this story, and a glimpse at what will happen! Stay tuned. :)

"Why, how, how could you possible think it is alright to show up at MY wedding after everything you've done, you prick?"

Ron looked up at her from the ground, a defiant glint in his eyes. "I wanted to see if there was one last thing I could do to stop you from doing this to yourself," he said before shooting Severus a glare. "I'm too late though, I see."

Severus looked down at Ron coldly, his body stiff, and his wand clutched securely in his hand. It seemed that Ron had learned nothing in the six months since they'd seen him last, which was odd, considering how he had left the redhead in his apartment. Aurelia should have removed all doubt from Weasley's mind about Hermione and his relationship. He stepped forward.

"Weasley. What makes you think your pathetic self would be welcome here?"

"I know I'm not welcome," Ron said as he stood up and wiped the trickle of blood from his nose. "I need to do it though, she doesn't belong with you, Snape. She belongs with me."

Severus stared at Weasley, his shock perfectly hidden by his expression. "You still believe that? After all this time? Well it appears I must have, once again, over estimated your meager intelligence."

Ron's face twisted in an ugly scowl as he lunged for Severus. He back stepped smoothly, and Weasley's swing missed and he lost his balance, wavering for a minute before Severus' fist connected solidly with his jaw, and he fell to the floor again.

"Come on, Snape, is that all you have?"

Hermione stared in open shock as Ron got up, and swung at Severus again. A niggling doubt in the back of her mind began to materialise, but try as she might, she couldn't pin point what it was. Again, Ron's punch fell short of Severus, and the taller man smoothly stepped in, landed his fist under Ron's, and kicked his legs out from underneath him.

Strangely, Hermione noticed that Severus seemed to be holding back his blows. Could he be feeling the same strange doubt in his mind as she was? Or, which seemed more likely, now that Hermione thought about it, he was simply trying his best to evade Ronald's attacks without killing him. Ron got back up, and started towards Severus again, but this time he advanced more slowly.

Severus eyed Ron, and debated on simply casting a spell to knock him out, but his sense of honour was telling him not to. It was apparent that Weasley was trying to make the fight more even by bringing it to a physical level. Severus snorted in disdain. He had no interest in fighting. He stood stock still as the redhead came closer.

"Weasley," he said. "Stop. Now. You won't gain anything from hitting me, and any satisfaction you glean from it will be gone soon. It's useless. Stop this now, and you can go. Move on. Live whatever life your pathetic existence will allow."

"No," Ron said. "It isn't. I have to do this Snape. I need to release Hermione from this spell you've put on her, she's mine and I'm tired of waiting for her to realise it!"

Severus looked closely at Weasley. His face shone with sweat, and he stood there, jittery and panting heavily. What was wrong with the boy? He looked back at his face, and Ron met his gaze.

There was a flash of black in Weasley's brown eyes, and Severus staggered as the weight of...something, crashed down on him. Ron took the advantage, and slammed his fist into the side of Severus's face. He stumbled backwards, but before Ron could take another step, something grabbed his wrist, and whirled him around. He flailed out wildly, and the back of his hand struck something, but he didn't have time to prepare before Hermione's fist slammed once more into his face. He dropped to the ground.

Hermione ignored the pounding in her head from Ron's blow as she rushed to help Severus up. He was pulling himself off the ground when he felt her hands on his elbow, helping him up.

"Severus," she said urgently, "I think there's something wrong with him. I don't know why, but he's never acted like this in his entire life, and before I thought he was just deluded, but he's back after all this time...are you okay?" Her voice flooded with concern when she saw Severus rubbing his jaw as he nodded to her words.

"It's just sore," he replied. "I know, I thought the same thing. You didn't see what I saw when I looked in his eyes, Hermi– what is that?" Severus demanded in a low voice.

Hermione followed his gaze, and her hand flew up to her cheek, where she felt a small trickle of warm liquid. "It must've been from Ron," she said carelessly. It didn't hurt, and she had been too concerned about Severus to care about herself. "When I grabbed him to stop him from going after you I pulled him around and he hit me before I hit him."

Severus' eyes had gone cold, and the edges of his vision pulsed with red. He didn't care how it had happened. The only reason why he had held back was that Ron had never actually hurt Hermione. But now, seeing his wifes blood, and knowing it was caused by that fucking idiot, well, he lost control.

He moved around Hermione, and went straight to Weasley, picking the coughing redhead up from the floor by his collar. "How dare you," he said. "How dare you lay a finger on her."

Ron simply looked at him, his eyes dark. "She's mine, Snape." He spat in Severus' face, his bloody spittle getting into his eyes and mouth. Severus flinched, but didn't back down. He felt an odd burning sensation in his eyes that grew, but then it was gone as quickly as it came. He sneered at Weasley.

"No," Severus said coldly. "She's no ones." And he slammed his fist into Weasley's side, causing the redhead to double over in a fit of coughs. He hit him again. And again. He knew that now, now was the time when he needed to drill it in. That he would never stop protecting Hermione, no matter what Ron tried. He slammed his fist into his jaw, and Ron let out a shout of pain before slumping to the ground, his fingers clutching at his bruised jaw.

Severus stood up, sneering down at the crumpled redhead, and turned to see Hermione staring at Ron, disgust plainly etched on her face. She stepped closer, and went down on one knee, so she could be closer to speak to him.

"I'm not yours, Ronald. Nor am I Severus's. I am no one's property. I chose to love Severus. I chose to marry him. And I'm choosing to spend the rest of my life with him. Not you. Didn't you learn this from the last time we saw each other?"

Ron looked up at her, a raw mixture of emotion in his eyes. "What? No. All I remember is Snape rushing in to kidnap you again, and that he...he cut you," he spat. "I was screaming at you to wake up, but you wouldn't. He had done something to you. Hermione," he said, his voice cracking. "What has he done to you?"

Hermione looked down at Ron, and felt the doubt in her mind grow stronger at his mixed up replaying of what had happened. "Ron...didn't Aurelia show you?"

Ron looked at her quizzically, before he answered, his words slurred from the dizziness he felt. "That gold bird? Show me what? All it did was flap around after you left, and then it flew out. Hermione, you're too good for him. You belong with me. Please, why can't you see that after everything he's done to you?"

Hermione stood up, and aimed a kick at Ronald's stomach, and he let out another cry of pain. "Shut up." She turned towards Severus. "Did you hear what he had said?"

Severus nodded, his eyebrows furrowed as he thought. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, the door opened.

Harry stood in the doorway, and took in the scene before him. Ron. Ron? Was sitting between Severus and Hermione. "Uh, guys? What the hell happened? "

"We had an unwelcome arrival," Severus said. "He attacked us. So I subdued him."

Harry looked for Severus, the light from the doorway making light of the cut on his jaw, and the purple bruise already forming around it. He turned to Hermione, and was shocked to see her face bore an injury of much the same. "He hit you, Hermione? Ron hit you?"

She nodded. "And he attacked Severus without cause. Harry," she said as she stepped forward. "There's something wrong with him. I don't know what it is. But he isn't right. I think he needs to be taken to St. Mungo's."

Harry stared at Hermione. "You really think so? He could just be bat shit crazy. I'm done with him," he said. He moved down to where Ron was sitting, and looked down at him. "Badly fucking done, mate. I'd tell you to get off the property before I hex your bollocks off, but someone is insisting you need hospitalization."

Harry turned to look at Severus inquiringly. "What do you think, Severus?"

Severus looked at Ron coldly, and then back to Harry. "I don't care what is done with him. Just as long as he never comes near me and my wife again. But, I cannot deny that his actions and words speak of an underlying issue. Do as you see fit. I do not care."

Harry nodded. "I'll take him to St. Mungo's. After that, he's gone from our lives. I don't ever want to see him again after what he's done to the both of you, and in a way, me. He can't come back from this. Not ever."

Severus didn't respond, instead he nodded his acknowledgement to Harry, and strode past Ron, to where Hermione stood, and repaired the wound on her face while she did the same for him. "If you don't mind," he said, addressing Harry. "I have no wish to be here any longer. If one is needed, I'm sure you can explain what happened to the people inside. We're leaving now."

Hermione nodded gratefully. "Let's go," she said. "Thank you, Harry."

Harry waved her on, giving her a smile before he focused his attention on Ron, which wasn't needed. Severus's blows had caused him to be too dazed to try anything. "Love you, Hermione. I'll take care of him. Just forget about him."

"I plan on it," Hermione said as she took Severus' hand.

They landed on the front steps of Severus' home. Severus led Hermione in quietly, and when they were in the hallway he closed the door behind him before turning to wrap his arms around her. "You shouldn't have had that happen on your wedding day."

"Our wedding day," Hermione gently corrected him. "I don't care how it happened. Our day was beautiful, and he's finally gone. There's just one thing I didn't quite understand," she said.

"And that was?"

"Didn't you leave Aurelia to show him that what you and I have wasn't a trick?"

"Yes," Severus said slowly. "She should have."

"With her phoenix powers, it should have worked. He should have realised in no uncertain terms what we felt for each other," she said. "I wonder what happened."

"Perhaps you should ask her?" Severus drawled out, amused by Hermione's furrowed brow as she tried to think out and answer her own question.

"Oh, yes, well I suppose I can," Hermione said with a smirk. She called for her familiar in her mind, and waiting patiently for her golden half phoenix to come gliding gracefully from down the hallway. The bird alighted gently on Hermione's shoulder, and she raised her hand to it. "I need to ask you something, Aurelia."

Aurelia let out a trill, and blinked at Hermione expectantly.

"What happened when you tried to show Ronald what me and Severus are?"

The bird dipped its head, and then placed its beak on Hermione temple. Hermione closed her eyes, and felt the connection between them widen. A series of images flashed through her mind, of the scene before Severus left with her body in his arms. She flinched as the spell that Ron cast hit her, and she felt the raw emotion that radiated from Severus afterwards.

The images continued until the final, scathing look Severus gave Ron before he turned and left. Then there was a close up image of Ron's face, presumably when Aurelia flew to place her beak to his forehead, Hermione thought. Then the images stilled.

Aurelia seemed...scared? Scared to show her what came next. Hermione prodded Aurelia gently with her mind, and the bird reluctantly let the images flow again. As soon as her beak touched Ron's forehead, the only image after that was a massive black cloud, roiling and heaving where Ron's thoughts should have been. The mass stretched upwards, and Hermione even thought she saw a brief image of a face in the cloud, but it was gone before she could be sure. The images stopped, she sensed that was when Aurelia recoiled from Ron.

Aurelia removed her beak, and Hermione opened her eyes.

"Well?" Severus asked.

"It was like...I don't know what it was like. But that explained why he came today. He's not himself, at least not completely. Aurelia couldn't get through to him," Hermione explained.

Strangely enough, as hard as she tried to remember exactly why Ron wasn't himself, she couldn't remember enough to tell Severus about it. Perhaps she should ask Aurelia. But wait, didn't she just ask the bird? Maybe...ah, well, Hermione shrugged. It wasn't worth thinking about it. Ron will get help, and she'll be free to live her life.

"Well then, thank you for the elaboration." Severus raised an eyebrow. "I suppose it is in his best interest to be in St. Mungo's, then."

Hermione nodded, still feeling puzzled about what had happened. But, again, she just shrugged it off. She was done worrying about Ronald Weasley. Done thinking about him. She was just done. She moved in to hug Severus, burying her face to the side in his chest. "I'm done."

Severus nodded, feeling relieved. "Well, do you still wish to go?"

"Go where?"

"Well, you will find out when we get there," he said with a small chuckle.

He nudged Hermione to look down the hallway, and she was surprised to see two neatly packed trunks sitting there. She looked up at Severus, the question plain in her eyes.

"I had a trip planned," Severus said. "But, given recent events, I am not sure any more if you wish to go. It was to New Zealand," he said, a bit sheepishly. He had seen her many times reading books about the place, and after a bit of research, he had decided it was a good place for their after-wedding trip.

Hermione looked up at him, and smiled brightly. "Oh, Severus. I'd love to go. Don't think I need special treatment because Ron got the beating he deserved. I'm glad it's over. I'm ready to forget him, to move on. I'm ready for our life."

"Excellent," Severus said as he tugged her closer. "Let's begin."