Epilogue

Disclaimer: All characters are for J.K.R. of course. Plot thought of by Betz. The other stuff belongs to me!

As always, a big thanks to the brilliant Charmed Nay for being my beta!

The weather this time of year was always lovely. Severus looked out along the beach and smiled. It was always private here. This particular cove had been the first place that he and Hermione had made love. He was glad that they'd chosen to come back to their little Wizarding village yet again. For the last five years, they'd returned to the same rooms they had shared on their first visit for that Conference that they'd never made it to. His eyes drifted back to the curly haired brunette a few feet away from him. He watched her intently as she squealed like an excited child as a small bit of water sloshed over her little feet. He smiled as she made her way over to him.

"Daddy, look!" she said, giggling. "A prezzie for you." She opened her outstretched hand to reveal a broken seashell.

"A treasure!" he exclaimed. "I shall keep it always." He took the shell and added it to the pile of others that had been accumulating over the last thirty minutes. His daughter plopped down in his lap. "Would you like me to take you out into the water just a bit?" he asked.

She nodded excitedly. "Yes! In the water."

Hermione sat down next to them. "Severus, please don't go out too far. I don't like her being out in the water. You never know what might happen."

Severus smiled at his wife before kissing her reassuringly on the cheek. "I think that I can keep her safe, Hermione. You, love, worry too much." He and their daughter made their way into the surprisingly calm water.

Hermione smiled when she saw that they hadn't gone very far. She always worried about everything. Janie had recently turned three, and she was very headstrong. Hermione found herself constantly having to keep an eye on the inquisitive girl. She and Severus had been married for almost five years, and she felt that her love for him grew with each passing year. A year or so into their marriage, they'd decided mutually to stop taking pregnancy precautions. Not long after came the news that they would be parents. The only thing that changed now that Janie was with them was time alone.

There never seemed to be enough of it. She couldn't bear to keep their daughter in another room when she was still only an infant, so she kept her crib next to their bed. The crib grew into a toddler bed, and they decided to try to put her in her own room. Most nights she would crawl into bed with them anyway. They took turns taking her back to her bed and staying with her until she fell back asleep again. After a few weeks, Janie finally started sleeping the entire night in her own room, so they'd been able to make love a lot more often lately.

"I suppose we should take advantage while we still can," she said to herself. She'd found out before they left for Cardiff that she was about six weeks along with their second and likely final child. She was waiting for the perfect time to tell her husband. They'd argued about having another child months earlier. She'd wanted to wait, but he didn't. He'd said that Janie deserved a sibling near her own age so she'd have someone to play with. Hermione knew though that was not his only reason. He felt as if time was slipping by, and he would soon be too old to have more children. That was ridiculous, but Severus was a very stubborn man at times. She'd stopped taking her Pregnancy Potion nearly four months earlier, and it had finally paid off.

She'd changed her mind when she held Harry and Gabrielle's newborn daughter for the first time. It brought back so many memories of how she felt when she first held Janie and how Severus looked as he smiled at his child for the first time. It was then that she decided she was ready for another child. Ron and his wife, Madeline, had decided to wait a while before having children. It was Madeline that helped with Janie while Hermione and Severus were teaching. Hermione couldn't have asked for a better nanny. Ron had really found a gem.

Hermione began snorting with laughter causing Severus to turn to look at her. "All right?" he called. She nodded and waved. Ron had met his wife through his long defunct gigolo service. He'd had quite an adventure for nearly a year, and he'd brought Harry along for the ride until Harry ran into Gabrielle Delacour again. Ron met Madeline, and he fell in love. His little side business shut down completely. They had all come a long way since she and Severus had begun a relationship. Life couldn't get any sweeter, could it?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oi! You going to move any time today?" Ron asked, clearly annoyed. Severus smirked at him but made no reply. He simply went back to studying the chessboard. "I mean," Ron began, looking at the others, "he's been staring at this move for twenty minutes now. Bloody hell! Can't he see that I've nearly got him?"

"Kindly shut your mouth, Weasley, or you will find that I'll have to shut it for you," Severus said angrily, narrowing his eyes at his opponent. "I don't whinge when you are trying to concentrate."

"Whinge? Whose whinging? I'd just like to finish at some point in the near future," Ron replied sarcastically.

Hermione shook her head as the pair continued to argue. She wondered if they enjoyed that the most when they played. Each time they got together, this would always happen. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked to see Harry grinning broadly. "Have a minute?" he asked.

"Always," she said, following him outside. They sat on an old log at the back of Ron's hut. It was still odd not to think of it as Hagrid's, but with the passing years, it was getting easier to think of their fallen friends without feeling such sharp pain.

"Can't believe how things have worked out," Harry said. "We're all still together here at Hogwarts. We're all married. You and I have started families. It's just perfect."

"I know what you mean," she said. "I feel so content."

"What of your parents?" he asked quietly.

"They still don't want to see us, but they do exchange letters asking after Janie. I guess they might come around one day. I just wish they would get to know her," Hermione said wistfully. "No matter. Minerva has become quite a stand-in grandmother. Molly as well. I don't know what I would do without the advice they have given me or the help Madeline has given us either."

"Sorry," Harry said.

"It's all right, Harry. I've had almost six years to deal with it. I guess it still smarts at times, but they've been drifting away from me for years. I suppose I just never amounted to what they thought I would."

"Their loss," Severus said, walking up. "I think we should snatch up Janie and return to our quarters. Weasley is going into shock, as he didn't realize my superior skills at Wizard's Chess would always surpass his."

Hermione and Harry laughed. "Where are Gabrielle and the little ones?"

Harry smiled. "She told me she would go sit in the sun with them near our old spot. Let's go get them."

Hermione pulled Severus' hand into hers as they followed Harry. Severus looked down at her hand and smiled. Small shows of affection still meant so much to him. After all this time, she still hadn't tired of him. He would never regret falling in love with her. She had given him a new life, and for that, he'd always be grateful.

They found Gabrielle reading to Janie as her own child slept peacefully at her side. "Hi," she said sweetly when they approached.

"Ready, Janie?" Hermione asked.

"No! It's story time," she said with a pout.

Before either parent could reply, Gabrielle laughed. "I think that I will really need help with Lilliana tonight if Janie would like to have a sleep over with us. I could arrange a nice little bed next to ours."

"Ooh! I want to," Janie said excitedly.

Hermione and Severus eyed each other uneasily. They'd never allowed Janie to sleep without them before. "I don't know," Hermione said. "I think you should just come with us."

Harry picked up Janie and began dancing around with her. "She'll be fine, Mione. We'll Floo you if she changes her mind."

Hermione smiled. Harry had been so good with Janie from the moment she'd been born. She looked to Severus who raised an eyebrow in return. "I suppose we could use a little time to ourselves," she said. "Are you sure?"

"Of course," Gabrielle said. "If she gets homesick, I'll have Harry Floo you."

"Agreed," Severus said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione leaned back against Severus' stomach in an attempt to get comfortable in the tub. The soapy water splashed over onto the floor. "Oops," she giggled.

"Making another mess, Hermione?" Severus asked playfully. "I shall have to be forced to clean things up again."

"So long as we can stay here for a while. It has been years since we've bathed together," she said. "I have missed this so much."

"As have I," he agreed. "Perhaps we could make time to do this more often."

"Yes, I think we should do it now that Janie is finally sleeping in her own room all night." She held his arms to her tightly. "We need to do it while we still have time."

"We have plenty of time. I don't think she'll break the habit of staying in her own bed," he said sleepily. "Speaking of bed, should we make our way back to ours? The water is cooling off. I'd hate for my lovely little wife to get too cold." Hermione turned around to straddle Severus. He smirked. "Can't wait for the bed?"

"I want to look into your eyes when I tell you this," she said mysteriously. Her lips found his for a moment. "I love you."

"And, I you," he said, wondering what she was on about.

"I meant that we only had a limited amount of time because in approximately 33 weeks, we will have another little one to look after." She grinned at his confused look. "I'm pregnant."

"How?"

"Really, Severus! I would think that you-"

"The Pregnancy Potion? I thought you'd decided to not do away with it," he said.

"Well, I rethought things, and I felt that I was ready. I had hoped to surprise you. Are you disappointed?" she asked, biting her lip.

"Of course not, you silly girl," he said, pulling her to him again. "I wish I'd have known you'd changed your mind though. I had given up hope that you would want another child before it would be too late."

"Severus!" she said huffily. "Too late for what? You've got about 110 more years in you I would think. We have all the time we need."

He smiled. "A father again! Janie will be pleased to know that she'll have a sister or brother. She has been asking for one since Harry's Lilliana was born."

"We'll tell her tomorrow morning after breakfast," Hermione said. "For now, I think I'd like my husband to make love to me again." She rubbed her body against his provocatively. "I do believe you are about ready for another go."

"Indeed I am," he said with a growl. He picked her up with him and carried her to their bed. "You've made me a most happy man," he murmured into her ear as he pushed into her.

"I think we'll always be this way, don't you?" she asked softly, wrapping her legs around his waist and placing small kisses on his shoulder.

"Definitely," he said and proceeded to make love to his wife. Later, as she lay sleeping in his arms, he allowed his hand to drift down to caress her stomach. It would be rounding nicely in a couple of months. The future was bright indeed.

A/N: Sorry the epilogue took so long to get up! Things have been hectic for the last couple of weeks, and I've been trying to finish up with The Succubus.

If you've liked this Gigolo story, please go see my other take on the challenge. It is called Vengeance is Sweet. I hope you've not been disappointed for the lack of 'lemons' here, but I felt this was good enough. It just shows that all is still well for our couple and their mates. Cheers!