A/n: Thank you for sticking with this story! There will be a sequel, I promise. It is going to be my NaNoWriMo project this year! Like I did with this one, the sequel won't be posted until it's written and edited. Look for it sometime in December-January (depends on how the holidays treat me.) For the final time for this fic: The characters aren't mine, they're J. K. Rowling's and Eric Kripke's.

See bottom of chapter for follow up Author's Note!

Chapter title inspiration: Forever- Fireflight

Epilogue

Singer Salvage, Sioux Falls, South Dakota

It had been six months since he'd seen Hermione. Six long ass months, and a lot had happened. He and Bobby kept in contact, as best they could as hunters who were forced to write letters. Somehow, an owl always found them though, with a letter for each. She would write of all they were doing, and updating them on the lives of the people they'd met, and subsequently fought beside the night of the battle. She would even add something private for Dean in each letter to him, words he held onto until he got another owl delivered letter of hers.

Nights were spent dreaming of their last night together. The way she'd felt in his arms, the way they had connected in every way possible, and how much he had, and still felt for her. His days were full; at first, with hunting, then with helping his soulless little brother get his soul back. Spending the day as Death was an experience he wasn't likely to forget any time soon. He'd written Hermione about having to play Death for a day, but didn't tell her why he'd had to, and when he'd failed, he came back to a letter that yelled at him. It had scared the poor hunter worse than anything had in a long time. An inanimate envelope, transformed into a mouth, that started yelling in Hermione's voice. Bobby had been there when it happened, and merely laughed at the terrified look on Dean's face.

He remembered the day he'd gotten that howler. Death had just shoved Sam's soul back into his body, along with a wall in his mind to block out his time in the cage. Castiel had confirmed that Sam's soul, was in fact back in place, but that it was so raw that there was a good possibility it would kill him. He shuddered, when he thought back to what Castiel had said to him:

"If you wanted to kill your brother, you should have done it outright."

His intention was never to hurt his brother, but he couldn't let Sam run around soulless, especially after finding him poised and ready to kill Bobby. After Sam's soul was put back in place, Sam went unconscious, Cas predicting it was unlikely he would ever wake up again. When Hermione's howler came in, Dean and Bobby had been sitting in the study, drinking whiskey. Her owl had tapped on the window of the study, waiting for one of the men to let her in. When Bobby opened the window, she'd flew through, strait to Dean who took the red enveloped letter from her beak. She flew to the desk and perched herself on the edge, as if she were waiting to take a response back. Dean opened the letter recognizing the seal:

"Dean Winchester!" The envelope yelled in Hermione's distinct voice. "Playing Death? Really? That is the dumbest, most idiotic thing I've ever heard! What if Death had asked you to kill yourself? What the hell Winchester? If you're dead, I swear to God, I'm going to resurrect you just to kill you myself! Don't think I won't!"

When the yelling ended, both hunters watched as the envelope then burst into flames right before their eyes. Dean's wide eyes met Bobby's amused ones, the older hunter leaning back in his seat at the desk.

"What the hell was that?" Dean asked, his tone shocked.

"I believe that is something I read about, known as a howler. A special kind of letter for, well, yelling at someone. It always comes in a red envelope from what I understand." Bobby replied, taking a sip of his whiskey.

"Son of a bitch! I didn't know she could yell like that." Dean said, staring at where the ashes of the envelope had fallen onto the floor in front of him.

"Better get a letter off to your girl before another one comes for you." Bobby replied, handing Dean a paper and pen.

Dean took both, retook his seat, and drafted a short note to Hermione:

Hermione,

I'm fine. I failed at being Death though. I didn't make it all of the way through the day. I guess I just wasn't strong enough, or some shit like that. That being said, please don't kill me, I rather like being alive. Besides there's still monsters that need ganking. Until next time sweetheart.

~Dean

Dean quickly folded the paper, and shoved it into an envelope, on which he'd written Hermione's name on. Licking the glue, he sealed it and gave it to her owl, who immediately took off for Hogwarts. After the owl had left, Dean was left to sit back in his seat and continue his wait with Bobby. Hopefully his brother would wake, and soon.

Two days later, and Dean had been getting restless. Sam still wasn't awake, and Bobby was starting to run low on liquor. Neither knew if they could still sit around and wait any longer. Dean spotted an article printed on Bobby's desk and grabbed it.

"Job?" He asked the older hunter.

"Might be." Bobby replied, watching Dean scan the article.

"Could I help? Send me to the library? Anything?" Dean asked, rubbing his forehead with his fingertips.

"Couple goes up in a plane, wreckage was just found in the woods." Bobby summarized the article.

"Couple of Buddy Holly's doesn't really sound like news of the weird." Dean replied, sliding the article across the desk back to Bobby.

"Pilot was found 17 miles away, flambéed. The girl's just gone. No body, no nothing." Bobby said.

Dean's eyebrows rose with the new information. "Okay, I'm not changing the channel." Maybe it was a case after all. Before he could say anything more on the subject though, his brother, now with soul intact, announced his conscious presence. It was the best thing Dean could have had happen right in that moment.

Now, here he was, a couple of days later, and they were on a case. Dragons. The hunt was an okay distraction, but with Sam having a soul now, it freed up space in Dean's mind for a certain brown haired, brown eyed witch he hadn't seen for six months. He never got an owl back from her acknowledging the fact he'd played Death, failed, and survived. That surprised him, forcing her more to the forefront of his mind.

Another day had the brothers wrapping up their case and heading back to Bobby's.

Hogwarts, England

Hermione re-read Dean's letter for the third time since it was delivered 3 days earlier. No matter how many times she read it, she couldn't stop the rush of relief she felt when she'd read that he was still alive. She felt sad that he hadn't made a very good Death, and she figured he'd be beating himself up over it.

Slowly, Hermione lifted himself from her bed, the same one she'd shared with Dean months ago, and picked up her carefully packed duffle bag. Six months she'd thrown herself into the rebuild, much to Harry, Ginny, and Ron's protests. They were barely speaking to her anymore after she willingly chose to ignore their advice. She knew what she had to do, she was just scared of doing it.

Throwing on an oversized hoodie, she grabbed her wand, and exited the room. She made her way through the castle until she found Ron, Harry, Ginny, and Hannah Abbott sitting together at a table in the Great Hall. Shoving her letter in the front pocket of her hoodie, she sat down to address her friends.

"I'm leaving Hogwarts." She told them.

"Are you going to go to him finally?" Ron asked sharply.

"Yes Ron." Hermione replied, rolling her eyes.

"Hermione, this is for the best, and you know it. You should have done this sooner." Harry said in a gentler tone than Ron had used.

"I know, I just needed to come to that realization on my own, and in my own time." Hermione tried to explain.

"We're here for you Hermione. Just because you're leaving, doesn't mean you can't come to us for anything." Ginny said, placing her hand gently on Hermione's.

"Thank you Ginny, Harry, Ron for everything these last few months. They haven't exactly been easy." Hermione said, meaning every word.

"We know. Now, go get prince charming!" Hannah Abbott joked.

Hermione gave the group one last smile before going out to the courtyard. She walked to the same spot where she, Bobby, and Dean had landed the night of the Battle of Hogwarts. She could still remember everything from that night with stunning clarity, including this. Standing in that special spot, she closed her eyes and pictured Singer Salvage in intense detail. Taking a deep breath, she jerked her wand, and disappeared from the courtyard.

Singer Salvage, Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Dean and Sam were standing in front of Bobby's desk in the study, as the elder hunter laid an ancient looking book down in front of them, opened to a page that definitely was not written in English.

"Now, near as I can figure it, this dates back to around the 14th century." Bobby said, turning the book so that the brothers could examine it.

"What language is it?" Sam asked, not recognizing the writing.

"Da Vinci code?" Bobby replied sarcastically. "Real obscure Latin. It'll take me my golden years to translate it all. Oh, and uh, F. Y. I. that ain't paper."

Dean who was handling the pages with care whipped his eyes to Bobby, his brows pulling down in a disturbed frown. "What is it?" He asked hoping the answer was not what he suspected.

"It's human skin." Bobby replied as if it were no big deal, disturbing both brothers. Dean actually wiped his fingers down the front of his shirt. As if that's going to do anything, he thought to himself.

"Okay, I'm fairly clear on this first bit. It's basically describes this place, the backside of your worst nightmares, it's all blood, and bone, and darkness. Filled with the bodies and souls of all things hungry, sharp, and nasty." Bobby informed them.

"Monsters." Sam summed up.

"It's monster land. According to this it goes by many names, most of which, I can't pronounce, but I'm thinking you know Purgatory." Bobby replied.

"Purgatory?" Dean questioned. Bobby gave him a nod. "Awesome. Well that, is good to know." He continued in an unamused tone, while pouring a glass of whiskey. "So you're saying that these, uh, dragon freaks, were squatting in the sewers and reading poems about Purgatory?"

"No, no, they were reading an instruction manual." Bobby told him.

"What?" Dean asked. This was getting worse with every word Bobby said.

"If you're nuts enough to want access to a place that gnarly, this book will show you how to open a door." Bobby replied, his tone conveying the seriousness of the situation.

"Door to purgatory. I know a demon who would have loved to have known about that." Dean commented, taking a sip of the amber liquor. Sam nodded, and so did Bobby, while Dean stared into his glass contemplating another question. "So how do you open the door?"

"Ask Cloverfield. I'm pretty sure he's got that page." Bobby replied, gesturing to a spot in the book, where a page was obviously missing. "It gets worse."

"Worse?" Sam questioned.

"This ain't talking about how to take a vacation over there. This is all about opening a door, and letting something in." Bobby replied.

"Bring something here." Sam stated for clarification. "What?"

"I'm working on it." Bobby replied.

"Could you give us something?" Dean asked.

"I got a name." Bobby told him.

"Okay?" The older of the Winchester boys asked.

"Mother." Bobby said.

"Mother? Mother of what? Dragons?" Sam asked confused.

"I wish. It says it a few times here, Mother of All." Bobby told the boys.

"What the hell does 'Mother of All' mean?" Dean asked forcefully, not liking the sounds of what Bobby was saying.

"I don't know." Bobby replied honestly.

Everyone in the room was so busy taking in the seriousness of the situation they were faced with, that they never heard the crack of someone aparating. Hermione stood in front of the familiar homestead of Bobby's. Seeing the Impala, she knew Dean was here, which was good. It meant she wouldn't have to sit around and worry until he came back. She made her way, as best she could to the front door, her palms beginning to sweat with each step she took.

She went up the short steps onto the porch, and rapped on the door before she could lose her courage. Swinging her duffle in front of her, she stood and waited. When no one answered, she tried knocking again, only louder this time. Immediately, she could hear the sounds of heavy booted footfalls. The door swung open to reveal a haggard looking Bobby Singer.

"Hermione?" He asked as if he was afraid she wasn't really there.

"Hello Bobby." She replied with a small smile.

"Good to see you, kiddo! Come on in!" Bobby said, letting her walk by him into the house. He handed her the silver cup that she'd used last time, and again she passed as human with flying colors.

"Glad to see some things haven't changed." Hermione teased, handing the cup back to him.

"You know me, stuck in my ways." He replied, taking the cup into the kitchen.

"Wouldn't have it any other way Bobby." Hermione called, alerting both Winchester boys to her presence.

Hearing more heavy footfalls, Hermione turned to see her hunter come around the corner, followed closely by the tallest of the guys she'd seen in the cemetery the day she'd met Dean and Bobby.

"Hermione?" Dean asked as if he had seen a ghost.

"Hello Dean." She echoed the same greeting she'd given to Bobby.

Dean took a moment to study her. She was wearing a way oversized hoodie, and her face was somehow rounder than he remembered. Her eyes had dark circles underneath them, as if she hadn't been getting much sleep. Her hair, that he remembered seeing always up in a ponytail, or braid, was hanging down to brush against her shoulders. In many ways she was the same, but she was different somehow too. Hearing his brother clear his throat, jerked him out of his perusal.

"I'm sorry, Hermione, this is my brother Sam." Dean said.

"Sam? As in 'he's gone' Sam?" Hermione asked gently, her eyes widening slightly.

"Long story, but yes I am." Sam replied, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Hermione, friend of your brother and Bobby." The young witch replied, moving forward, with her hand out to shake Sam's. He accepted her handshake warmly.

"So why are you here?" Dean asked abruptly, startling Hermione.

"Dean!" Sam and Bobby admonished.

"It's okay, I caught you all unaware." Hermione started. "I just came to talk to Dean for a moment. If that's okay?"

"Okay sweetheart, let's go outside. We can walk and talk out there, without ears." Dean said, falling into his usual easy banter.

Hermione gave him a small smile before setting aside her duffle by the door. Dean let her go first out the door and down the steps before matching his stride to hers so that they were walking side by side.

"It's been a while." Dean commented.

"I know, we've been busy." Hermione replied.

"Understatement of the century." Dean said lowly, scrubbing a hand down his face. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"I want you to know, Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Ron's girlfriend Hannah, all told me I should have done this sooner. I know I should have, but well, I have no excuse for why I didn't." Hermione started, her nerves making her ramble.

Dean looked down at her seeing her face flush a bright pink color as she rambled, and recalled how attractive he'd thought it back when they'd first met.

"Hermione, it's okay, you can just tell me." Dean encouraged, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Taking a deep breath to steel herself, Hermione came clean: "Dean, I'm six months pregnant."

Hi guys! For everyone who has favorited, followed, and reviewed, you guys are amazing! I updated here, yesterday on the status of the sequel. Today, I have decided to make a twitter page for you all to follow if you want real time updates on how it's coming. I may even poll you guys if I get stuck! My handle is HisButterflygrl which is my NaNoWriMo username. If you're interested in real time updates, that's where y'all can find me! Much love!