Epilogue

Disclaimer: All things Harry Potter belong to JKR.

A/N: Many thanks to my awesome beta, Southern_Witch_69!

George stood around, gazing at all of the guests mingling in the ballroom. His mum had insisted on throwing an anniversary bash, guilting his brother and sister into it by claiming she'd not gotten to have proper weddings or receptions, so the least they could do was allow her this. They'd both given in to her, albeit reluctantly. Then somehow, she'd suckered the Snapes into her scheme as well.

Kingsley had allowed them to have the party at the Ministry's ballroom, and for that, George had been thankful, even if Molly had been slow to agree. Kingsley talked her into it by saying that he'd married all three couples, not to mention the Potters the month before, and it would be his pleasure to have the bash there. George believed what made her relent was that the Minister told her that with Arthur working there, it was perfectly fine. The Burrow was just too small for a party of this size, no matter how much magic was used to alter it.

George glanced at Angelina, speaking with Hermione, Luna, and Ginny, and smiled fondly, remembering their wedding. His wife had let his mum make a lot of the decisions concerning their wedding, which only endeared her to him more. George shook his head and decided to do some mingling himself.

He stopped at the first couple he came across, which was Dean Thomas and some girl named Phoebe. "...Can't believe that they've lasted this long," she was telling Dean. "Oliver always was a ladies man, and that girl he's married to doesn't look like the type that would know how to hang on to a man."

Oi! That's my sister you're talking about!

"Actually, Phoebe, Ginny's a great person. I've dated her meself, and I can vouch that she knows how to hang on to a man."

"Humph! If she's so great, then why aren't you still with her? Why did you break things off with her then?"

"I didn't. She broke things off with me to be with Harry."

Before she could answer, George stuck out his hand. He didn't want to hear her say anything else negative about Gin. "George Weasley at your service. How do you do?"

"George!" Dean said, obviously pleased to see the prankster. "How are you, mate? It's been awhile!" Turning to Phoebe, he said, "Let me introduce you to George. He's Ginny's brother. But don't let his wholesome look fool you...never take anything he offers you."

Phoebe looked him up and down as if she found him lacking, but George knew it was because of whom his sister was. "Charmed, I'm sure."

"Not exactly," he said dryly.

Suddenly, the conversation was interrupted by a few loud voices on the other side of the room. "You say it was Dean?" That sounded like Harry to George, and he looked at Dean and raised an eyebrow, but Dean only shrugged.

Wanting to find out what the commotion was about, he casually walked over to the group of men to see what they were talking about. "Right," Ron was telling Harry. "Luna told me he was her first when I asked her that night we had to spend in Azkaban."

George quickly glanced at his sister-in-law, who was ignoring those around her in favor of admiring the wedding band that his dim-witted brother had finally gotten around to giving her. Ron had told him the day before at work that he wanted to leave early and purchase one for her, but as he looked at his brother's left ring finger, it looked as if he'd gotten them a matching set. George ginned at the dreamy look on Luna's face, but quickly turned his attention back to the conversation the men were having.

"Odd," Harry was saying, "Cho told me that Dean, not Cedric as I'd believed, was her first."

"You know," Ron continued, "he was Lavender's first, too, come to think of it. Man, what is he, the stud of Hogwarts? Wonder if he's ever been with Hermione?"

"Oh, I can answer that," Snape told them smugly. "My wife was untouched when we were married."

Ron turned to Snape and scowled, but was too afraid to say anything in response.

"Hey, what are you lot over here scowling about?" Ginny asked as she and her husband, along with Hermione and the dreamy Luna, approached the group. George could tell she was being cautious around Harry. They'd become hesitant friends, but at times it was still hard for the two of them to be in the same room.

"Talking about Dean Thomas and his many conquests," Ron answered.

"You told your brother that you slept with Dean?" Oliver asked, astonished.

"What? What did you say? Not you, too, Ginny?" Ron demanded.

"Gin?" Harry questioned. "You've been intimate with Dean?"

George snickered as his sister gave her husband a very nasty look. "Once! It was only the one time! And no," she turned to Ron, "I did not tell my brother!"

"Sorry, love. The way he was going on, I just assumed that he knew."

George briefly wondered if he should tell them all that Dean had been Angelina's first... No, definitely not.

He looked over at Snape and Hermione then. He was standing extremely close to his wife with his hand possessively low on her back while whispering something into her ear that had her smiling knowingly.

They were ignoring the little Dean Thomas drama and seemed to be in a world of their own. It amazed George to see the two of them so obviously in love. He shook his head.

When he heard his sister gasp, he quickly looked in the direction she was, trying to figure out what was the matter. Did seeing Dean still bother her?

"Oliver! It's Phoebe!" She grabbed her husband's arm and pointed. "Look! She's with Dean!"

"I'll be buggered!" Oliver said, surprised. "I didn't know they even knew each other. Stop staring, they're coming this way."

"Ollie! How are you, darling?" Phoebe asked as she kissed his cheek, lingering a little longer than was polite.

George covered his grin with his hand at his sister's disgruntled look.

"Fine, just fine. And you?" he asked politely.

"Oh, I'm just dandy!" she exclaimed as she held out her left hand and flashed a diamond ring.

"Oh!" Luna said, obviously oblivious to the tension around her. "How lovely! A diamond. I've just gotten a wedding band myself," she told Phoebe proudly.

"Did you show it to Stanly?" Ron asked his wife.

"Honestly, Ron!" Luna admonished, but was apparently pleased with the question.

"Where did the two of you meet?" Ginny asked.

"When did you shag Ginny?" Harry asked at the exact same time, and an awkward silence followed.

George didn't want the good mood to disappear, so he asked Harry, "When is the baby due, Harry?"

Harry smiled a truly contented smile and told George, "Three months." He looked at his wife lovingly, who was walking towards him. "I can hardly wait."

As they'd been talking, the other three couples gathered around so that they were standing in a crude circle. Angelina walked up to her husband, slipped her arm through his and laid her head on her shoulder.

"What about the rest of you?" George asked. "Any baby plans in the works?"

"George!" Angelina reprimanded. "That's certainly none of your business!"

"What about you?" Snape asked. "The two of you have been married much longer than we have, and yet I see no offspring of yours. Thank Merlin," he whispered, but everyone heard him.

George inclined his head. "Touché, Snape. Touché. I have to say, it doesn't seem like any of you are in any hurry to end your marriages now that your year is up. Going to stay in wedded bliss, are you?"

This time, Angelina held her tongue, wanting to hear the answer to that question George knew. She was as big a gossip as his mum was, and the two of them together could go on for hours.

"Well, we're absolutely staying together," Luna said proudly. "I've never been so happy."

Ron hugged his wife close to him. "Without a doubt."

Ginny and Oliver looked into each other's eyes. It was Oliver who answered George's question. "We're sticking it out. Besides," he teased, "she's too much of a hellion to let her loose on other unsuspecting blokes."

Phoebe, who was standing behind Oliver and Ginny with Dean, snorted. "More like you are."

The group seemed to ignore her, and all eyes landed on Severus and Hermione. "That question is quite obtuse, Weasley, as we are here...at our anniversary party...together. Wouldn't you agree?"

"I'll take that as a yes, you're staying together," George affirmed, and Hermione laughed.

Just then the lights blinked off and on three times, and Arthur announced that it was time for the dancing to begin.

~*~

Harry took his rounded wife into his arms and sighed contentedly. He finally had the family he'd wanted, but with Cho, it was so much better. He loved her with all of his heart. "Tired, love?"

"A little," she admitted.

"Happy?" he asked.

"A lot!" she told him. "You?"

"Never been happier. I think that we owe Ginny a huge thanks."

"Oh?"

"Yes. If she'd never done that charm, I never would've come to Italy and found you again." He leaned his forehead against hers. "You're everything to me, Cho. You and our baby."

She tightened her grip around his neck and laid her head on Harry's shoulder. "I can't imagine anyone more happier than I am at this moment."

***

Ginny sighed contentedly in her husband's arms. It was her favorite place to be. "If someone would've told me a year ago that I would be so happily married to you, I would have laughed in their face."

Oliver laughed. "I should be offended, but I know what you mean. I hadn't planned to get married for another ten years at least. But look at us now." He bent his head and gently kissed his wife.

"I won't say it's been easy, but it has been awesome being 'Mrs. Oliver Wood.' I've wondered if working together would be difficult for us, but it doesn't seem to be."

"No, it's not. I love watching you play." He leaned in and licked her neck. "It turns me on actually."

Ginny shivered. "If you don't stop that, we're going to have to find a loo quick," she teased. "I can't get enough of you it seems."

"Ginny!" Oliver groaned. "Telling me that does not make me want to stop! It makes me want to Apparate you home and bury myself in you."

"Oh, God!" Ginny looked around and found her mum deep in discussion with Narcissa Malfoy of all people. She knew that most of the Ministry employees had been invited, but she never dreamed that the Malfoys would actually come, even if they were good friends of the Snapes.

"Mum's occupied, let's slip out for a quickie and come back," she suggested.

"No," Oliver disagreed. "When I get you home, we're not coming back. I'm going to love you all night long."

"That's it!" she said, taking his hand and walking up to her dad. "Daddy, Oliver and I need to go. We've... er... got practice early in the morning."

Arthur turned to speak to his daughter and suddenly turned scarlet. "Oh, right. Too right. Wouldn't want to keep you." He patted Oliver on his back. "Good man. See you Sunday at dinner," he said and quickly walked away.

Giggling, Ginny called to her father, "Make our excuses to Mum!" Then turning to her husband, she whispered, "I think he's onto us."

"I don't doubt it. You have 'I want to shag my husband within an inch of his life' written all over your face," he informed her, and Ginny blushed, quickly glancing towards her father.

Arthur simply waved and kept going. Turning to her husband, Mrs. Wood asked, "Ready?"

"Words cannot describe how ready I am," he told her as he grabbed her hand, quickly led her outside, and Disapparated them both home.

***

Ron was holding Luna as close as he could while he buried his nose in her hair. They were truly a married couple now, in every sense of the word. Though he'd not told her, he was completely in love with his wife.

"Do you really like your ring, babe? If not, we can exchange them for another matching set."

Luna quickly jerked back. "We absolutely will not exchange these! They're even more special to me because you chose them! They're perfect." She snickered. "I can still see the look on your face from when you placed the ring on my finger and your mum's Howler burst into flames."

Ron smiled and pulled his wife back into his arms. "It must've been waiting for me to finally show my true feelings for you. I can't believe how stubborn I acted those first few months." He shook his head. "I'm still sorry, Luna."

"Ssh," she told him as she placed a finger on his lips. "It's the past, and truly, your actions weren't wholly unwarranted. You were honestly wronged, even though it's all turned out for the best," she teased.

"Oh, it's definitely turned out for the best." Ron took a deep breath. "I love you, Luna."

Luna looked up at him and stared into his eyes for what seemed like an eternity to Ron, and then she finally told him, "I love you, too. I've always loved you."

"I don't get that part," he admitted. "Why?"

Luna smiled. "Because I think you're brave, handsome, loyal, and you've a big heart. You've stood by Harry and Hermione all this time. Oh, I know the three of you have had your spats, but nothing ever kept you apart for long. Even now, though you're not as close as you used to be, you and Hermione still love and care for one another. All the qualities I admire and love."

Ron squeezed her. "I don't know what to say to that. I don't think I've ever been loved the way you love me, and it humbles me. I can't say that I've always loved you, but I do love you now."

"That's what counts," Luna said and stopped dancing to give her husband a kiss. And then she began humming Weasley is our King.

***

Severus held his wife possessively, already wishing that they could leave and spend the rest of their anniversary alone and...preferably...in bed.

"Having fun?" she asked.

"I'm having fun holding you," he conceded, "but I'd rather be engaged in more... pleasurable activities."

Hermione flushed, which pleased him. After everything he'd done with her and to her, she still flushed when he spoke suggestively to her. He made sure to do so at every opportunity.

"Perhaps we can leave early. Within the hour?"

"If you're asking me, I would go now."

"NO! We can't leave now. That would be rude."

"There's the wife I know and love. Always proper, aren't you?"

"Not always," she teased and then flushed even deeper. Then suddenly, she looked up at him. "Love?"

Severus raised an eyebrow. "You sound surprised. You know that I love you."

"No, I didn't. I mean, well, you've never said that you do..."

"But I show you, don't I?"

"It's not the same," Hermione informed her husband. "It's very nice to hear the words...to know without a doubt."

"Well then, let me assure you that I do love you without a doubt."

Hermione beamed. "And I love you." She looked about the room. "Although I think that everyone in here is surprised that we're staying together."

"Hmm. Likely."

"I noticed you speaking with the Malfoys earlier. Everything all right there?"

"Perfectly fine. Actually, Narcissa was saying how she'd like to get to know you better and wondered if I thought you'd be amiable to having lunch with her."

"And what did you tell her?" Hermione demanded.

"That she could owl you later in the week. Whether you go or not is entirely up to you."

Hermione nodded, satisfied with his answer. "I'll think about it."

"What did you decide to do about that job promotion that was offered to you?"

"I'm going to take it, I believe. What do you think?"

"Again, it's entirely up to you, but I think taking it's a good decision. You'd be good at it, and it would challenge you the way you need to be challenged intellectually."

"Agreed. Say, what was Minerva doing taking all of those pictures? I can understand some, but she looked as if she was trying to capture the whole party on film. I haven't seen her take that many since Neville and Hannah's wedding."

"She'd promised Albus' portrait that she'd photograph as much as possible for him to see," Severus said, rolling his eyes.

Hermione said, "They've always supported our marriage. Too bad we couldn't bring him here enjoy things."

They danced a bit, enjoying the feeling of being in each other's arms when Severus told her, "You know, I believe you're right. People are staring at us as if surprised. What say you we give them something to be surprised about?"

"Well, that would depend on what you have in mind..."

"Oh, only this," he said as he twirled her away from him and then spun her back quickly, gathering her close in his arms.

Hermione was laughing until he bent her backwards over his arm, leaned in, and kissed her long and hard. Then she was breathless.

When he'd kissed her his fill, he glanced up and looked around the room. Most of the dancers had stopped dancing and were staring at them both, gobsmacked. Severus smirked.

"That concludes our entertainment portion for the evening," he told the room at large. "Now, we're off for some private entertainment."

Severus righted his flushed wife and led her none too discreetly to the door. Once they had their cloaks, he turned to face the party, bowing as he swept his wife out the door.

As soon as they were inside their quarters, Severus told his wife, "Our union may have begun as a Magical Betrothal, but I am very glad it's turned into a true marriage. Soul mates, indeed."

A/N: I hope you enjoyed my fic! Off to write another...