Epilogue


Thirteen years later…

Minerva nodded to Filius as she met him on the path down to Hogsmeade station. "Spying on your children again this year?" she accused.

He snorted. "As if you're not doing the same."

"Child," she corrected. "Only one of my children is old enough to be coming in on the Express. The other three are too young yet. Why Mal felt the need to ride the train when he bloody lives at Hogwarts is beyond me, but Hermione insisted we let him join his classmates."

He nodded. "Andromeda explained it to me as a rite of passage, and insisted that just because I can't be dragged away from Hogwarts except by wand point does not mean it's the same for the children. Remind me, how is it that thirteen years ago I was a single man with nobody to tell me what to do, and now I'm a husband and father of three?"

Minerva smirked. "Your mother and Godmother, that's how. I'm fairly certain Pomona helped. Besides, Andromeda came with one child from go, and wasn't it your idea to adopt war orphans?"

"I'll begrudgingly admit to that," Filius conceded. "We were busy enough with just Teddy, and then Harry started going on about the amount of orphans out there left over from the war, and I just couldn't get it out of my head. Next thing I know, we're bringing home Andrew, and the year after that, we're bringing home George. At least with George I got my Ravenclaw. Andrew went right to Hufflepuff with Teddy."

"I overheard Andromeda and Hermione talking the other day," she said pointedly. "I think your wife wants one more."

He scoffed. "She wants a full set is what she wants. I'm Ravenclaw and so is George. Teddy and Andrew are Hufflepuff. She's a Slytherin. What my wife wants is a Gryffindor, as if having Harry bloody Potter in and out of our house isn't enough Gryffindor, not to mention you and your wife."

Minerva laughed. "Hermione keeps telling me that one of ours is going to sort to Slytherin out of spite for the fib of her sorting when she was in the past. She also pointed out that my brother Robert was a Slytherin, so it wouldn't exactly be a leap. It's in the gene pool."

Filius looked thoughtful. "I'm not sure I see that as likely for Malcolm. He's all Gryffindor. Siobhan, perhaps. Cora I'd see going to Ravenclaw before anything else, to be honest. Eion is still so young. I'm uncertain for him."

"Eion is going to break his neck trying to fly by climbing up then jumping off high surfaces," Minerva mused. "Either he's a Gryffindor with bravery and lunacy, or a Ravenclaw attempting an absurd exercise in physics."

"Generally us Ravenclaws aren't prone to experiments that involve great risks," he pointed out.

"I'd believe you," Minerva countered, "but I've known Elise too long to think there isn't an exception to the rule. Speaking of, one of her great-grandsons is starting this year as well. He and Mal have been playmates for years, but I'm not sure they'll end up in the same House. Daniel is a good boy, but he's all Ravenclaw, and while my son may be intelligent, he leads with his emotions and couldn't give a toss about logic."

By now, the pair of them had arrived at the station, and she cast disillusionment charms on both of them so the arriving children didn't spot them. The Hogwarts Express could be seen slowly coming toward them, and Minerva relished in the fact that she was standing here waiting to watch her eldest son step off the train and head up to Hogwarts, to be sorted and begin his first year as a student here. This had been her dream for so long that it was hard to believe it was actually happening. She still went by McGonagall professionally speaking, especially considering her wife was also a Professor at Hogwarts, much as Filius' wife kept her former name professionally, Andromeda Black having taken over Transfiguration for Minerva the same year Hermione had taken up Defense Against the Dark Arts, freeing Minerva to focus on her duties as Headmistress, and to focus on her relationship with Hermione.

A glance at her left hand showed a ring she'd worn every day for nearly seventy years now. She supposed she might have upgraded to a nicer ring when they'd married, but the Claddagh could be worn as a wedding ring and she'd wanted to do so. It had been the thing to keep her grounded all those years she was without her lover, and it had been the symbol of hope on the days Minerva thought to doubt Hermione's love for her in times of hardship. When Hermione had come back to her, it had been the thing to shift from promise to proposal, making good on her commitment to marry once she was in a position to no longer be ripped away from Minerva. The Claddagh was about keeping the faith, and there was no amount of Galleons that could replace it. No matter what happened, for the rest of her life, Hermione Dagworth would always have her friendship, loyalty, and her love, just as she knew she had Hermione's.

That, along with Malcolm, Siobhan, Cora, and Eion, was their legacy.


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