Epilogue - The Future Awaits

I've come to the end of this tale. I hope you have all enjoyed it and I'd like to thank those of you who took the time to read this and give me some wonderful reviews.

All canon characters belong to JKR.

Thanks as always to my wonderful beta June. I appreciate all of your help.

Chapter 18 – Epilogue - The Future Awaits

Three weeks passed and Severus and Hermione's relationship grew stronger by the day. After their third week living together, Lucius woke them up at Hogwarts in the middle of the night via the Floo. Ginny had gone into labor and there had been no time to transport her to St. Mungo's.

Severus and Hermione made their way to Malfoy Manor, arriving in time to hear two new additions to the Malfoy household come into the world. In attendance were Albus and Minerva as well as Arthur and Molly. Poppy had been called immediately when Ginny's water broke. Harry and Draco were on the couch playing with little Godric, while Ron was having his fill of biscuits. Ron was the only one of Ginny's brother's at the Manor, since Arthur didn't want to drive Lucius completely insane with having to deal not only with Bill and Charlie and their own children. It would have been even worse if the blond wizard had Fred and George wandering the house unattended.

Lucius was ecstatic to learn that his wife had given birth to not only a little girl, but also to Draco's baby brother.

Poppy led Lucius into the bedroom and gave her three patients a final check, then went back to Hogwarts to continue her preparations for the new school year.

Lucius watched Ginny lay on the bed looking at her two new babies. He'd never had the opportunity to see Draco when he was newly born. Lucius had been away on family business then, and quite frankly at that time in his life he was still young and didn't care much for fatherhood. It was only when Draco grew older that he took a more active role in his son's life. But now, here he was, a father once again. This time he wanted to be part of his children's lives from the start. He sat down on the bed next to Ginny, who gave him a tired smile.

"Look at them, Lucius; they look just like us," said Ginny, as Lucius moved the blankets from the first bundle in Ginny's arms.

The first thing he saw was a small head with fine red hair. He smiled; this had to be his daughter. Knowing his little girl would look like her mother brought him great joy, as he thought Ginny was the most beautiful woman in the world.

"Ginny, she's beautiful." He kissed the baby's tiny forehead and heard the whisper of a mewl from his new daughter. He then looked at the other bundle in Ginny's arm. He knew this would be his son, and as he peeled away the blanket he saw a full head of blond hair. His son's eyes were open and he could see the dark grey color that would eventually turn into the ice blue eyes that were a trait of the Malfoy men.

"He's going to look just like you, Lucius," said Ginny as she beamed with pride.

They stayed in their room for almost an hour, wanting to be alone with their babies, when Lucius decided to tell their friends and family that they were welcome to come and see the new additions. Ron, Harry and Draco practically sprinted up the stairs, with baby Godric in tow. Arthur and Molly followed, with Albus and Minerva close behind.

Severus and Hermione walked up the stairs slowly and silently. They were in their third week of living together and found they got along very well. It was easy for them to work together silently, as well as just be in the same room with no need of one word passing between them. It was just as nice having another person to talk to about their day or a particular idea either of them had, and while they never discussed marriage it was always on both their minds.

They reached the room and looked on as Ron held his niece, while Molly held her grandson.

"Have you decided on names?" asked Albus.

"Yes, we decided on Lavinia and Gerard," said Lucius rather proudly.

Severus watched as Molly handed Hermione little Gerard. He imagined her holding their own child, and wondered if she was thinking about the same thing.

"Oh, Hermione, why you're a natural holding a baby," said Molly, hoping that her not-so-subtle hint was heard by Severus.

Hermione knew that Severus heard Molly, how could he not – Molly's voice traveled. Not wanting to meet his eyes, Hermione returned the baby to Ginny's arms and walked to Lucius who was now holding his daughter again.

"She's lovely, Lucius; they both are. Congratulations to both of you."

Lucius smiled. "Thank you, Hermione." He made sure they were not being watched, then leaned close to her and whispered in her ear, "Ginny and I hope you and Severus are in our shoes very soon." He winked at her and walked to the small bassinet next to the bed, where he placed Lavinia next to her brother.

It had been a difficult night, though. Ginny and Lucius were tired and wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and try to get some sleep. They knew they would need all they could get in the coming weeks. While Dari and the other elves would be helpful in the care of the babies, the couple wanted as much hands-on time as they could get. They bid goodnight to all and invited everyone to stop by the coming weekend to visit.

"I feel like some air," said Severus as he looked at Hermione. "Let's Apparate home and walk for a bit."

Hermione became nervous. She wondered if seeing their friends with their newly born babies might have been too much for him. Knowing that things between them might soon change, she readied herself for the inevitable.

They Apparated back to the gates of Hogwarts and silently walked the lawn to the castle.

"The babies are really adorable, aren't they?" asked Hermione.

Severus nodded.

"I can't believe how much they both look like Ginny and Lucius," said Hermione, now growing nervous. He looked pensive, almost troubled. She stopped abruptly, as he kept walking.

After several steps Severus realized she was not at his side. He turned and saw her standing behind him, wringing her hands.

"Severus, what's wrong? You've hardly said two words since we got to the Malfoys' home."

"I'm sorry, it's just..."

Hermione approached him. "Just what?"

"Hermione, you know that Lucius and I, in our time – well, we were ruthless in our service to Voldemort. I have seen and caused many a death." He looked up at the sky and noticed the half-moon peeking from the clouds. "Tonight, I saw my friend who's had the blood of so many on his hands, holding a new life, and I wondered...I wondered if I would ever know that happiness."

He looked down at Hermione now.

"And what happiness is that?" Hermione placed her hand on his arm.

"The happiness of holding my own child in my arms." He shook his head. "I never thought having a child would be something that I wanted. But when I saw you holding their son, I...I wanted it to be our child."

He looked away from her and continued walking, afraid he'd said too much, given away too much. Knowing he'd probably just ruined everything by pressuring her he walked faster. He'd noticed her blushing when Molly told her she looked natural carrying a baby. No doubt she'd been embarrassed because she had no interest in having his children.

'She would never saddle herself to an ex-Death Eater and her former professor forever,' he thought. He'd almost reached the castle when he was grabbed by the arm and jerked back to reality.

"Severus," Hermione said as she took his face in her hands. "I want nothing more than to hold our child in my arms." She wrapped her arms around his waist and held him close to her.

Severus wound his own arms around her and entwined his fingers in her lush curls.

"Classes begin in two weeks." She arched her body into his. "Until then, it seems that we have a new project to occupy our time with."

Severus pushed away from her slightly. "Indeed we do, but there is one thing I insist you do before classes officially begin."

Hermione looked at him questioningly. "What?"

"Marry me."

~*~*~*~*~

That weekend Lucius invited the usual suspects to the estate for a celebratory dinner. Severus took the opportunity to present Hermione with a beautiful wedding ring. Arthur jokingly made the suggestion that they just get married right then and there. Much to everyone's surprise they took him up on his offer.

Hermione simply explained that it didn't make any sense to wait, seeing as most of the people who they would invite were already there. Even Remus and Tonks made an appearance late that evening.

During a break in the festivities, Albus called Severus and Lucius to one side.

"We need to discuss what to do with Tom. With classes beginning soon, I want to be certain his access to the students is nil," said Albus as he looked over his spectacles at the two younger wizards.

"Why don't we meet at your office this coming Saturday?" said Lucius. "Ginny will be taking the children to St. Mungo's for their first check-up and Molly said she would go along with her."

They agreed on a time to meet, then continued on with the celebration.

That Saturday morning Severus slipped out of bed early for his meeting with Albus and Lucius. As he walked out of the bathroom, he noticed Hermione had shifted to his side of the bed and was hugging his pillow. He smiled and walked over to her, kissing her lightly on her cheek so that he wouldn't wake her. After he left her a short note, he walked up to Albus' office.

Lucius had already arrived and was pouring himself a cup of tea.

"Ah, there is Severus," said Albus. "Have some tea, Severus, we won't be long."

"I would think he wants to get back to his wife," Lucius said, with a lascivious smile on his face.

Severus rolled his eyes and shook his head. He thought it was amusing that Albus and Lucius would think that he and Hermione spent all of their free time in bed. He chuckled to himself as he realized they weren't too far off.

"Now, classes begin a week from this coming Monday, and the children will be arriving Sunday evening. Tom cannot come into contact with them, at least not without someone watching him at all times. I've decided that it's best he be magically bound to the grounds." Albus looked at the two younger wizards across from him.

Severus and Lucius looked at each other, not totally convinced that binding Voldemort to the grounds was such a good idea.

"While I agree that it is best to keep him away from the rest of the wizarding population, do you think it's wise to have him bound to the castle which is always full of young impressionable minds?" asked Severus.

"I wonder about that myself, Albus. I know my twins are a long way from attending Hogwarts, but knowing that he will be here makes me a bit uncomfortable," added Lucius.

Albus nodded. "I understand your trepidation, but this is the only place where he can be watched constantly, without revealing who he is. I've had him working with Hagrid, and Mr. Filch put him through the paces as well."

Albus related the story about Voldemort's day with Mr. Filch. It seemed that the castle's caretaker thought it would be a good idea to have the gnome help him clean the owlery. Voldemort thought it would be easier than being shoved up a hippogriff's ass, however it turned out not to be the case. It seemed that owls thought gnomes were quite a tasty treat, so Voldemort spent almost two hours trying to keep from being pecked to death. Then, as if that wasn't bad enough, the caretaker decided it would be a good idea for the gnome to give Mrs. Norris a bath.

Severus and Lucius laughed. Albus pointed their attention towards a small cage just off to the corner. For the first time this morning since they entered the Headmaster's office, they noticed the gnome once known as Voldemort.

He sat sulking on a small bed in the cage. His hair was a matted mess, and his beard scraggly and unkempt. He had several scratches on his face and upper body. He was a complete mess.

"I have the cage charmed. All he sees is an image of an empty office. He doesn't know we are here," said Albus.

Lucius looked at Voldemort. "I almost feel sorry for him."

Severus scowled at him.

Lucius raised his brows and shrugged his shoulders. "I said almost."

"I am assuming then that he will be accompanied by someone at all times when he is outside of this cage?" asked Severus.

Albus nodded. "Yes, I have spoken to Hagrid, and he has agreed to take on the task of watching him during the school year."

The three agreed that for now, Albus' plan was the best one, and decided to meet once a month to make sure the gnome was of no danger to the children or staff. They briefly spoke about obliviating the gnome, but felt it would be useless, as there would still be a chance of him some day remembering even a minute detail of his former life. And even if Tom Riddle had no memories of his deeds, he still had his evil nature.

The school year began and things ran on a routine once again – no murders, no mysteries, nothing extraordinary. It was like this for two years.

After their second wedding anniversary, Hermione found out she was pregnant. Severus was thrilled to know that he would be a father.

Hermione's pregnancy was difficult for the first few months. She suffered from very bad morning sickness and they feared that she had developed gestational diabetes. After a few days of thinking the worst Poppy gave her the news that she was perfectly healthy. Three weeks before the end of the school year Hermione gave Severus a son. The day Hermione gave birth had been so hectic, that Hagrid didn't realize he'd left Voldemort's cage unlocked.

That evening, gnome-Voldemort sneaked into the castle and made his way to the DADA classroom, where he immediately spotted a large anaconda snake in a display case. Severus, who was planning on giving a lecture to his class on the uses some dark wizards have for large snakes, had the snake on the table at the front of the class. When Voldemort saw this, he jumped up and down.

"Nagini! I thought you were dead!"

In his demented mind – the result of two years of cleaning up after Hippogriffs, Thestrals, and other creatures – the former Dark Lord thought that his old familiar was in the display case. He quickly began to push one of the chairs towards the table and made his way up and onto the table. He managed to crawl into a small hole on the top of the case.

It was several hours later, when Severus returned from the hospital wing after visiting with his wife and his new son, that he saw what had happened.

Severus had stopped by to check on the snake when he noticed a huge lump in the middle of its body. As he walked closer towards the display case he noticed the chair next to the table. He then saw two small boots next to the snake's head.

He immediately contacted Albus, who practically flew down to the classroom. They both stood next to the display case, watching the lump that was once Voldemort travel down the snake's body.

Severus looked at Albus and smirked. "A rather fitting end, don't you think?"

Albus patted him on the back. "Yes, I most certainly do."

And so the years passed quietly and with many happy events. Severus and Hermione gave their son, Balthazar, a little sister they named Genevieve. The children had their mother's love of knowledge and their father's snarky personality. Both children were sorted into Slytherin.

Lucius and Ginny's children were so much like their parents that they were often seen as miniatures of their parents. Little Gerard looked like his father, but had his mother's personality; he would join his friend Godric Potter in Gryffindor house. The Sorting Hat barely was on top of Lavinia Malfoy's head when it shouted Slytherin.

Ron married a young witch he'd met in America. He'd been traveling to the States to promote the improved potion Severus and Hermione had developed for him. He no longer had to take a daily potion for his condition. The potion came in either monthly supplies, or the more expensive yearly dose. Either way, the convenience of the two new doses made it possible for many wizards and witches to live normal lives without worrying about the embarrassment of being out in public and having something like their pubic hairs need a trim.

After Voldemort's death Hagrid was slightly bereft. He'd grown fond of torturing the little gnome with embarrassing tasks, but he quickly got over the loss.

Severus Snape often wondered what his life would have been like, had he not been under the spell that Voldemort placed him under. While he'd missed out on ten years of his life, he knew that it was the best thing that ever happened to him.

His original plan was to leave Hogwarts and buy a small home in some faraway country. He'd had enough of the wizarding world as it had been during those days. He would never have seen the grown-up Hermione and fallen in love with her. His children would have never existed. All of the joy he had now was the product of a curse cast upon him by a crazed wizard. Now, he looked forward to his future with his family and friends. Whatever the future held now, he would be there to enjoy every single bit of it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I briefly thought of having Voldegnome live the rest of his days at Hogwarts, but that would have been too easy for him.

I hope you enjoyed this last chapter.