He was greeted with love. Warm, incandescent love that radiated from the floo as soon as the world appeared around him.

"Daddy!" a tiny voice exclaimed, running toward him like he was the greatest hero that'd ever walked the Earth.

"Hi, princess," Enzo groaned as he picked up his wiggling, kicking five-year-old daughter. Andie was clad in a bright blue princess dress, a paper crown dangling from her head. Her thumb latched in her mouth as soon as she was in Enzo's arms, a habit that he and his wife had been trying to break to no avail. "Were you good for Mummy today on her day off?"

Andie flashed him the most wicked grin he'd ever seen, before saying in the sweetest voice, "Of course, Daddy."

Enzo knew then that her words were nothing but a complete lie.

True to her namesake, Andromeda Berkshire was a mischievous thing. This, of course, wasn't too terrible of a thing on its own—after all, Mattheo Riddle had always been a scoundrel, too, and he was still Enzo's best friend. No, the trouble was the angelic little smile Andie always flashed after being a complete and utter devil. It was all the more troubling that it worked on Enzo every damn time.

She'd magically light her mother's favorite curtains on fire before running up to Enzo and clutching onto his legs. She'd switch all the salt for sugar in all of their foods before kissing him on the cheek. One time, she'd turned Uncle Draco's legs to jelly before giving Aunt Astoria a handmade necklace that distracted the woman from her panicking husband.

It was true. She was an absolute nightmare. But she was also a dream, too.

In his defense, Cass was no better than he was. Though Andie's pranks seldom targeted Enzo—she was a Daddy's girl after all—even the ones made to torture her poor mummy rarely resulted in an issue. Cass adored her floral curtains but laughed when she saw the fireworks Andie had set off. Cass spat out her morning coffee when it tasted like seawater before ruffling Andie's golden hair. She'd laughed right with Enzo and Astoria as they watched Draco fail to walk. They disciplined their girl enough, but sometimes they couldn't help but revel in the chaos she brought to their home.

She would never say it in a million years, but Enzo knew that Andie reminded Cass a lot of her late twin. So despite the havoc she wreaked, Cass soaked it all in, in that little seed of the sister she lost, living on through her niece.

"She surprisingly was, actually," Cass laughed from the kitchen before playfully narrowing her eyes at Andie, who had crawled down from Enzo's arms at that point. "It's suspicious. Someone must want something really badly."

Most children would hide and pretend that they were only being kind because they wanted to be. But not Andie. She just grinned and said, "Yup! Uncle Matt told me all about Blast-Ended Skrewts."

Enzo was sure the shock was evident on his face. Even Cass—lovely, easygoing Cass—was taken aback. "And you want one?" he asked.

"Duh! Matt said they're cool!"

"I'm sure he did," Enzo said dryly. One of these days, Mattheo would have kids of his own, and Enzo would make sure those little terrors rained hell down upon them.

"I already have a name picked out!"

"You do?"

"Pippi!" Andie giggled at the little joke in her mind, descending onto the floor in a fit of laughter. Then, she stood and aimed the sweetest smile at Enzo. "Daddy, when can we pick Pippi up?"

Cass, thankfully, stepped in at that point. "Sweetheart, I don't think a Blast-Ended Skrewt would be very happy here. They like to live in the Forbidden Forest. You don't want Pippi to be unhappy, do you?"

Andie's lower lip trembled, and Enzo quickly stepped in before the tears came. He was always a sucker for them. "But one day, you'll go to Hogwarts, and you can ask Mr. Hagrid to show you one. How's that sound?"

She contemplated it for a second. "Are the Skrewts happy at Hogwarts?"

"Very," Enzo said. He had no idea in reality, but he knew that no one except Andie would be happy if a Blast-Ended Skrewt lived in the cottage.

Andie grinned. "Okay!"

She ran off into the living room, giggling to herself about Pippi. Cass watched her and rolled her eyes. "That's your child, you know," she muttered just as Enzo strode across the room and wrapped his arms around his wife.

They'd had many wonderful years together, and still, he was always amazed by her. With each day, he fell deeper and deeper in love with her and the life they created. Sure, it wasn't perfect—they had one daughter who took after her Uncle Mattheo far too much and another who barely slept through the night unless Enzo tucked himself in his crib with her—but it was lovely all the same. He worked odd hours at the Ministry while Cass took a few shifts a week as a Healer at Saint Mungo's. If they both happened to be working at the same time, Cass's parents offered to watch them. Sometimes, Astoria, Aria, or Evelyn deigned to watch them, but Andie was often a handful, neutralized only by a select few, and their respective partners were often terrified at the sight of Astrid, so those babysitters didn't come often. Especially now that Evelyn had become pregnant with their first child, and couldn't handle Andie's pranks anymore.

But still, it was wonderful. Enzo and Cass had date nights at least once a week and though he often had a crick in his neck from sleeping in a damn crib, they still made the best love morning and night. The cottage had become their favorite of their homes, though Enzo was partial to the American townhome, and the London flat was a good place to stay on visit days to Diagon Alley. The girls all loved visiting Nott Villa in Italy, but Aria could only stand her big brother so often, and he could only stomach so many kisses between his sister and his best friend. Yup, even years later, he still wanted to throw up a little in his mouth when he saw them.

Cass smiled. "What's that look for?"

He pulled her in for a brief but searing kiss. "Because I love you. And I—"

But he was cut off by the sound of crying coming from upstairs. Cass smiled apologetically before patting his cheek and running to grab Astrid from her nap. A few minutes later, a much happier-looking Astrid clung to her mother as Cass came down to the kitchen. Astrid's dark blonde hair was curling more every day, though the pigtails did a nice job of containing them. Meanwhile, Andie's hair was lighter, straighter, and just as messy as her father's.

"Someone's hungry," she explained, eyeing their one-year-old with a small smile. Astrid whined a little in the back of her throat and clung tighter to Cass. Enzo smiled when he saw them. It always amazed him how not only did two humans exist who were half him and half the woman he loved most, but those two were such different little souls. Andie, their spunky, five-year-old little spark who adored Enzo, and Astrid, their easy-going one-year-old who hated waking up from naps almost as much as she hated sleeping at night.

Astrid perked up at the sight of Enzo, though her tiny fists still clutched onto Cass's jumper. "You see Daddy?" Cass mock-whispered in Astrid's ear as Astrid sucked on her pacifier. "Is that Daddy?"

Astrid whined and then reached out her arms for Enzo. Enzo just about melted on the spot, partly because the sight was far too cute for his emotional heart and partly because Astrid never chose him over Cass. She was a Mummy's girl to the core.

"Hi there, sweet thing," he muttered as he kissed her forehead. "How's my little girl?"

"I'm your little girl!" Andie cried indignantly from the living room.

Cass rolled her eyes. "I spend eighteen months carrying the two of them, and they always pick you."

Enzo grinned and held Astrid's face to her shoulder as she attempted to nod back to sleep. She was going to be a night owl when she was older. "Can you blame them? They're just like their Mummy—can't resist my charms."

Cass smiled before walking up to him and kissing him. Six years later and the spark was stronger than ever. "Nope," she said. "And I'm so glad I can't."

This. This was what life was about. The little moment. His wife pressing her lips to his. His youngest daughter cuddling him sleepily. His other drawing a picture and muttering about her newest prank. The wind chimes tinkling from the patio. The sun shining brightly.

It was love. Warm, incandescent love that radiated from the Berkshire home, and would for years to come. Love that all started when one clueless boy met a girl as radiant as sunshine. Love that would move the skies for the rest of their lives.

Such a sweet ending to an equally sweet story. Thank you so much for sticking with it, and that's the end of the Original Slytherin Boys stories! Trying not to tear up but when I created these characters last January, I couldn't believe they'd grow to have their own little worlds with families I adore just as much. It's been wonderful bringing them to life, and wonderful having readers like you who help me do that! As always, I love hearing what you think so feel free to let me know in comments or messages!

As I said last chapter, this isn't the end. We still have plenty more to go, both Harry Potter and (maybe) not! Last night, I crazily outlined some stories that I'm reallyyyyy excited about, so look forward to a Tom&Evelyn sequel, James&Charlotte's story (I'm so excited for this one especially), Scorpius's story, and Albus's story! Also have some novellas planned, like a Regulus one and a Daphne one! And I still have my House of Black mystery, which I'm getting back into updating if you want to check it out. Needless to say, don't worry, lots of good stuff is still to come :)))