Chapter Text
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Epilogue
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TEN YEARS LATER…...
In a private room on the St. Mungo's birthing unit, a female voice rang out in the throes of heavy labor. Her husband's voice could be heard soothing her as he rubbed her back and murmured encouragement to her.
Sweat dripped from Hermione's forehead as another contraction eased it's grip on her abdomen. She laid her head back against the pillow and closed her eyes as she savored a brief respite.
"Severus, you are never touching me again."
A labor and delivery nurse bit back a laugh as she quickly turned away. The Potions Master ran his free hand through his hair and sighed.
A healer checked her progress and told her she was ready to push. As the next contraction tore through her, she grabbed Severus's hand and pushed.
For an hour, she pushed with each contraction as they came on. Her husband's hand turned white from the death grip she had on it.
With a final push and a grunt and yell, Hermione finally delivered a baby girl with a full head of black hair.
After the healer had assessed both Hermione and the child, the nurse wrapped her in receiving blankets and placed her in Hermione's arms.
"Hello, Helena Jane."
Severus sat down on the bed next to her and they both gazed at their newborn daughter. Helena was the name of the Norwegian healer they had met so many years before, and Jane was Hermione's mother's name.
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Ginny Potter sat waiting in a private room at the Ministry of Magic. Her eight year old son in the chair next to her was reading a magazine about Quidditch. His green eyes grew larger as he saw a picture of his father on a broom, golden snitch in his raised hand. Surrounding him was his fellow Gryffindor teammates.
"Mom, Dad was a seeker?"
"Yes, James. He was the youngest seeker in Hogwarts history."
"That's awesome. I can't wait to play Quidditch when I get to Hogwarts." The boy was already receiving lessons on broom riding from his mother and his Uncle George.
The door opened, and Harry Potter was led in by an Auror and his magical cuffs were removed. Then his wand, confiscated over ten years earlier, was returned to him. It was not the same wand Olivander had given him at the age of 11, but one he'd acquired right after the war had ended. The day he and Ron had been arrested, it had been taken from him. It sparked when it was placed back in his hand.
Ginny threw her arms around her husband and held him tightly. After ten years, he was finally free. For over nine years of that time, she had only seen him once every three months. The couple had been allowed conjugal visits, which was how their son was conceived. Once James was born, however, they ceased visits of that nature in favor of Harry seeing his son.
In the back of his mind, Harry always felt guilty when he was allowed to see his family. Draco never had the opportunity to be married or be a father because he was murdered at the age of just eighteen. Inwardly, he grimaced as the guilt that had been his constant daily companion reared its head again. Once upon a time, he and Ron had believed themselves to be vigilantes above the law, handing out justice to those who they believed had slipped through the judicial cracks.
Had Severus Snape not shared his memories with him, no doubt the two would have made an attempt on him as well. An attempt was all they would have managed.
Ginny had kept him updated on all the wizarding gossip, so he knew Hermione had married the professor. It sounded like she was very happy.
His son's voice shook Harry out of his thoughts. After ten years by himself, he had grown accustomed to solitude and getting lost in his thoughts for hours on end.
"Dad, I found a picture of you with the Snitch." James held up a picture in a magazine and Harry recognized himself. It was from the first game he ever played.
"I thought they didn't let first year students play."
"Well, I guess they made an exception for me after I caught a Rememberall in mid air after a classmate threw it."
"Why are we visiting you here?" Normally, the visits were at the prison.
"I'm coming home, son."
"You're coming home to live with us?"
Harry knelt down so he was on eye level with his son. "Yes, I'm coming home to live with you and your mom now."
James threw his arms around his dad's neck and hugged him. "Will you ride brooms with me and Uncle George later?"
"I suppose I can." He looked up at Ginny, who nodded at him.
"Your Firebolt is still at my parents' house, waiting for you."
Harry put one arm around his wife and the other around his son, and the three of them walked out of the room together.
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When an Auror brought Ron to a room to meet his family on the day of his release, he was unsure just how many family members would be there. His parents had visited faithfully every three months for his entire ten year sentence. His brothers had visited a few times a year and Ginny always visited him with James when she came to see Harry.
When he walked in the room, he was completely surprised to see his parents and all four of his brothers. Accompanying them were spouses and a slew of his nieces and nephews. Harry had just been released as well and was there with Ginny and James.
Ron hugged everybody in the room after his cuffs were removed and he had received his wand.
Standing quietly in the corner, not wanting to get in the way of a reuniting family, was Lavender Brown. They had not seen each other since the day he was expelled.
"Ron!" She pulled him into a big hug, so he hugged her back. He wasn't expecting that she would have waited for him. He knew he did not deserve it.
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After everybody had flooed back to the Burrow, they prepared a large meal. Ron and Harry ate their first home cooked meal in ten years.
After they were done eating, Harry and Ron hopped on their brooms with James, Ginny and George. Everything they knew about flying came back to them.
After they had all landed and put away the brooms, George put an arm around Harry and steered him to the cornfield. "You and I are going to have a long overdue chat, little brother in law." The younger wizard looked up and saw Bill, Percy and Charlie following them.
"What's this about you sprogging up our little sister and running off and getting yourself imprisoned for murder?"
Harry remembered the look George had given him the morning of Bill's wedding. His blue eyes had pierced straight into his green ones and conveyed a message as clear as a bell. If he hurt Ginny, he would have to deal with all the Weasley brothers.
He started to form an answer and thought better of it, instead closing his mouth. He looked down at the muddy ground and hoped he wasn't about to eat it. Lucius and the Lestranges had nothing on this band of brothers. At the moment, he'd take an angry Death Eater over four angry Weasleys.
"You know, you were lucky you were in Azkaban while our baby sister was in a coma. She never would have had that happen if you'd kept it in your pants. She almost died twice because she sought out a bad potion after your trial. Never mind that we had just lost Fred and Ron had just been sentenced."
Harry suddenly found himself hanging upside down in the air and hit with a tickling spell.
He was let down after a few minutes and immediately started vomiting slugs while bats flew out of his nose.
Ginny finally yelled out the door at them.
"I agreed you could have ten minutes with him. Your time is up."
As her brothers went in the house, she went outside.
"Sorry, Harry. They were pretty insistent. I got them down to ten minutes. They wanted two hours."
Harry looked around him at the slugs scattered on the muddy ground. The force of the gagging had caused him to fall down and now he was soaked.
"I guess I deserved that."
"I tried to tell them you paid your dues when you were beaten so badly, but they insisted they had to say their piece."
"Remember the look George gave me the morning of Bill's wedding? That said it all."
Ginny thought back and remembered the expression on her brother's face. No matter what, her brothers would always have her back. "It certainly did."
The End.
"...morning."