A/N: Well, here it is! Last chapter! I wanted to get it up before the weekend and just before the year anniversary. Hope you all enjoyed this wild and thanks for sticking with it!

My only beta is Grammarly; all other mistakes are mine. If you liked this chapter (or hated it) let me know about it in a review! You can find me on Tumblr at crochetawayhpff or Facebook at Shan Crochetaway.

January 2004

Ministry of Magic

London, UK

It took almost three months to evict all of the Muggles from Diagon Alley, St Mungo's, and the Ministry and begin protecting them with Granger's improved Muggle-Repelling Charm. It seemed like every time they were ready to put up the charms, another Muggle popped up and by the end of it, Antonin was thoroughly exhausted. But it was necessary to complete before they took a tour of the old villages and began rooting people out of them and back into a fully wizarding world.

The biggest change from a year and a half of being exposed to Muggles was that there was now a much more definitive 'veil' between the two worlds. It was something that Antonin was surprised to learn that Granger was quite insistent on.

"It's safer for us all," Granger argued. Antonin didn't disagree with her, but Potter was a bit of a thorn in their sides over it. They were in the newly restored Ministry, trying to sort through residency records in an attempt to track down every witch and wizard still alive in Britain. The Ministry Archives were housed in a huge room, but it was dusty from being uninhabited for at least a year. There were some wards that even the Muggles were unable to break through.

"It's only going to increase tensions over the long run," Potter responded. His lips thinned and he slammed down the parchment he was holding.

"What do you know about it, Harry?" Granger hissed through gritted teeth. Antonin was enjoying watching how Granger argued with Potter. He hadn't ever given their friendship much thought before, but if pressed, he would have said that Potter was the ringleader, although, seeing him and Granger interact, it seemed like Granger more than held her own. "You weren't out here living it. Let me tell you, the Horcrux hunt and taking down Voldemort was a fucking breeze compared to the Muggle military. And honestly, it's worse for those of us who grew up in the Muggle world. They tracked me right down to my parent's house!"

"Alright, alright." Potter raised his hands placatingly.

"What we need from you is help in the old villages," Granger told Potter. As good as she was at riling Potter up, she was equally skilled in placating him. "The people still in hiding are scared and the face of The-Boy-Who-Lived would go a long way in soothing those fears."

"That's right," Antonin agreed. "We can send you out with Connor or Talen. Your face will ease a lot of the fear we're seeing now."

"Fine," Potter agreed. "But I hate being used this way."

"I know, Harry," Hermione said with a sad smile. "But this is a different world and as terrible as the last year and a half has been, we have a really great opportunity to shape the world into something we can be proud of."

Potter nodded his agreement and Antonin breathed a sigh of relief as he offloaded Potter onto Talen. Connor would probably come back with Potter's head on a stick. Better to have Talen put up with him.

One of the most shocking discoveries upon the recovery of Diagon Alley had been that the goblins were all alive and well, living within Gringotts. Apparently, the goblins had their own fail-safe's in place to survive any manner of world-ending crisis. Not only were all the vaults hidden from the Muggles, the goblins decided to only confiscate half of the accounts of the deceased as payment. The other half was given to the Ministry, which sorely needed the money.

Another month and a half passed while they contacted every witch or wizard they could find. They found more dead bodies than Antonin ever wanted to see in his life. After discovering an entire house of them, he ordered a census among those going out on contact tours. It would be infinitely useful to know their population numbers regardless, and if they were unsustainably low, well, perhaps they could appeal to some of their allies in the ICW.

By March, they had contacted every wizard in the Ministry's files. There were approximately three thousand. Pre-crisis numbers suggested that the population had been closer to ten thousand.

Once more, they were in the Ministry. Granger had commandeered the Minister's offices as their meeting place. Antonin wondered if that meant she wanted to be Minister for Magic when they inevitably held elections in a few months time. He wouldn't oppose her, but the more they worked on re-organizing the wizarding world, the more he wondered if he should run for Minister. He enjoyed the work, and he was so ingrained as leader of their little band, that people followed his orders without question.

"Seven thousand, just gone," Granger had bemoaned. The first time she'd heard the numbers, she'd gotten physically sick. It had sent Thorfinn off into a tizzy of making sure she was taking care of herself. The new number didn't sit well with Antonin either. Three thousand was barely viable. They were going to have to work hard to get wizarding Britain back on the map.

"Could we Obliviate the Muggles somehow?" Granger asked one day in mid-March. They'd succeeded in finding and disseminating information to all the remaining wizards in Britain. Elections for Minister for Magic and the Wizengamot would be held in June. And Theo Nott had been successful in getting the printing presses at the Daily Prophet up and running. Right now, it was being run more as an informational sheet on what they were doing, but Antonin hoped soon they would be able to make an actual go of it.

"How do you mean?" Potter asked.

"Well, look," Granger shoved an old copy of the Daily Caller, New York City's wizarding newspaper, at both Potter and Antonin. Antonin grabbed it before Potter could and read through the article she had indicated.

"We don't have a Thunderbird," Antonin said.

"Do we need one? We need Obliviate in a bottle, specifically formulated for Muggles. A generic weather spell would do for delivery," Granger pointed out.

"We're just going to Obliviate them all?" Potter asked.

"We have to," Connor replied. "We'll never have any peace from the Muggles if we don't Obliviate them all."

"It's wrong," Potter mumbled.

"Harry," Granger sighed. "I get it, you dislike using magic on Muggles. Frankly, I dislike it too, but Yaxley is right. Much as I hate to admit that," Granger shot a look at Connor who ignored her. "But having the Muggles off our backs is the only way we're going to be able to rebuild. If we have to constantly look over our shoulders, we'll never be able to make it. We might as all move to France or something and give up Britain entirely."

"Can't do that," Potter said. "What will the Muggle-borns do?"

"See, this is why we have to stay. Stay and mass-Obliviate the Muggles. It's going to be hard work, we'll miss some, and that's fine. There have always been eccentric Muggles," Granger chuckled.

"Fine, but again, I don't like it," Potter conceded.

"The question is how to bottle the Obliviate spell," Connor mused.

"Too bad we don't have any of Professor Snape's books," Granger said. "I bet he knew."

"We should put out a call for people proficient in potions," Talen mused. "Nott might be good, and I'm sure there are others."

"Why don't you do that, Talen," Antonin suggested. "Granger, you can start researching, right? Then, anyone who answers the call, we'll put in touch with you."

"Alright," Granger agreed. "There's something else. Harry mentioned Muggle-borns. I think we need to get the registry from Hogwarts."

"Why?" Potter asked. Antonin was getting tired of his constant suspicious nature. He wished the boy would just trust Granger.

"Because we shouldn't leave them until eleven to introduce them into wizarding society," Connor answered, surprising Antonin. He and Granger had both been about to say the same thing, so he was surprised when Connor said it.

"When should we contact them?" Thorfinn asked. "At birth? That's when they go in the Registry at Hogwarts."

"No, that's too early. They all have the Trace on them, right?" Granger asked. "That's part of the magic of the Registry when their name gets put in, they get the Trace put on them. So as long as that process is still working, we should contact at their first bout of accidental magic."

"How do we know if that process is still working?" Potter asked.

"Improper Use of Magic Office, right?" Granger asked. "We should go see what sorts of records have piled up in the last few months."

It was times like this that really showed just how cumbersome this project was. Setting up a new society was always going to be a huge undertaking, but stepping into the role of an old society was just as daunting, only now they didn't have enough people to even staff the ministry at half-capacity. Pre-crisis the Ministry employed almost three thousand people. There were going to be a lot of offices and roles that just went unfilled.

"Right," Thorfinn agreed. "I'll go down and check to see what we've got there."

Despite the overwhelming nature of it all, everyone in the Death Eater camp was willing to help out. Potter was still suspicious of them all, but Antonin was just grateful for the help. It's not like they could re-incarcerate three percent of their population.

Or, well, they could. That thought didn't sit well with Antonin, but he was reasonably confident that Granger wouldn't let that happen. Regardless of the blowback from the rest of the community, it stood that there wouldn't be a community if Antonin and his group hadn't found Granger and protected her for a year and a half while she worked on figuring out not just the Muggle-Repelling Charm problem, but also blasting the main encampment of the Muggle military off the map.

June 2004

Ministry of Magic

London, UK

Antonin looked down at the headline of the Daily Prophet and still felt a bit of shock: 'EX-DEATH EATER, ANTONIN DOLOHOV, MINISTER FOR MAGIC!' He'd known it was a possibility, but he had assumed that Potter or Granger would win as write-in candidates, despite the fact that neither of them was actually running for office.

"Well done, Antonin," Connor clapped him on the back as he read over Antonin's shoulder. They were still using the Minister's office as their headquarters. "Guess I should leave you to it then."

"What does Minister for Magic do?" Antonin asked in a bit of a daze.

Granger laughed. "What you've been doing all along, Antonin. Taking care of the people who put their trust in you. First step, form a Wizengamot. We can assume all the old laws still hold, but we shouldn't rely on them for any longer than we actually have to. There is a much smaller, more vulnerable population now. Our laws should reflect that. I think the first law to pass would be exonerating the surviving Death Eaters."

"And when will the Obliviation potion be ready?" Talen asked. "I feel like we can't really get started on governing until we know we're safe from the Muggles."

"I want to test it, actually," Granger said, her cheeks reddened in embarrassment and she glanced around the office. "I didn't want to say in front of Harry, but perhaps we could capture a few Muggles and test it on them first?"

"A solid plan," Connor agreed. Granger let out a breath like she had been afraid they would argue with her. If anything, Antonin was pleased with how ruthless she had become over the last two years. They were going to need that ruthlessness in the coming months and years.

July 2004

Diagon Alley

London, UK

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief as she took in her new flat. She and Rowle had just moved in the last of their things from their tent. It was strange, there was a lot of property in the wizarding world that didn't have an owner. The Wizengamot had decreed the month before that if the original owner and next of kin were both deceased, property reverted back to the Ministry and could be purchased back from them at pre-crisis market values. Which is how Hermione and Rowle had purchased their flat.

A knock on her door brought her out of her reverie and she opened it to find Harry standing on the other side.

"I would have brought a bottle of wine if any of the wizarding markets were selling it," he said with a shrug.

"It's fine," Hermione grinned and invited him inside. Rowle was still at the Ministry for the day. He'd taken on a role in the DMLE, which was just getting back on its feet with the small handful of personnel available to them.

"Are you ready to go?" Harry asked as he bounced on the balls of his feet.

"Nervous?" Hermione replied as she led the way out of the flat and locked the door.

"A bit," Harry said. "I'm hoping that the Fidelius Charm protected it from the Muggles."

"I'm just glad that now that the Muggles are all Obliviated, we can actually venture out into the Muggle world without fear," Hermione replied. The Obliviation rain had gone off without a hitch, and for the most part, every Muggle in Britain had forgotten completely about the existence of another society living just at the edges of their own.

"I hate to agree with you on that," Harry replied, "but I think you were right. It's easier for us as a culture to exist without the Muggles knowing about us."

"And it will hopefully keep tensions between the two worlds down, although, with the more stringent barriers in place, they will never truly disappear."

"True," Harry agreed. They took the short walk from Hermione's building down to the Leaky Cauldron. There was still a portal between the Leaky Cauldron and the Muggle world, but now, instead of an unmanned doorway, there was a booth occupied at all times by a Ministry official. The official checked the wizarding identification prior to allowing them out into the Muggle world and vice versa. The last thing they wanted was to let an unsuspecting Muggle walk back into the wizarding world because they either hadn't been covered by the Obliviation rain or because they were immune to it in some way. It felt like a small price to pay, for security.

Some small part of Hermione worried though. She worried that the wizarding world would forget the lessons so recently learned. Not just from the failing Muggle-Repelling Charms, but also from the recent rise and fall of Voldemort. She had vowed that she wouldn't let the world forget in her lifetime. She only hoped that it would be enough for future generations.

The moment they were on the other side of the customs booth in the Leaky, Harry turned to her with a small grin. "See you on the flip side." Then he Apparated away. Hermione rolled her eyes and also Apparated to the small park at the end of Grimmauld Place. Harry was waiting for her and they walked quickly down to number twelve.

Numbers thirteen and eleven moved apart to accommodate number twelve as Harry and Hermione approached.

"A good sign," Hermione said. Harry grabbed her hand and she squeezed his back in solidarity. Then the two of them climbed the stairs to the stoop and Harry opened the door.

"Who gave you a love potion in sixth year?" someone with a wand shouted, the wand pointed directly at Harry's nose.

"Romilda Vane," Hermione said, "but Harry never got it, Ron did."

"Hermione?" Ginny asked, lowering her wand, breaking out into a huge grin. "Harry! Hermione!" She leapt forward and wrapped her arms around both of their necks. She was half-sobbing into Harry's chest. Hermione hugged her back and looked up to see the rest of the Weasley's, along with Luna Lovegood and her father, and Andromeda and Teddy Tonks crowding into the entry hall of Grimmauld Place.

"Merlin, how long have you all been here?" Hermione asked breaking free of Ginny's hug. Ginny wrapped both arms around Harry and Hermione stepped around the reunited couple to enter Grimmauld Place properly. Bill and Fleur were both there, along with Charlie, Percy and Audrey, George, and Molly and Arthur.

"Almost two years," Molly said with tears in her eyes. She stepped forward to wrap Hermione in a hug. "It's good to see you. We'd almost given up hope."

"Oh, Godric," Hermione muttered as tears began to sting at the back of her eyes. All along, they were here. She'd thought they were dead. She'd thought she and Harry were coming to an empty house and yet here they were. Alive. Safe. And they had no idea, not expecting them to be here. "I have so much to tell you all."

After hugs were passed out among them all, Harry broke the news about Ron. It was hard for him to have to repeat it all again and his memory wasn't great after having been kept sedated for a year, but he told the family what he knew.

"I'm so sorry," Harry murmured when he was done.

Molly was in tears and Arthur comforting her. Ginny had her arm slung across Harry's shoulders. "You didn't do anything wrong, Harry," Ginny said. "Honestly, we thought all three of you were dead. And while it's awful that Ron didn't make it, at least you two did."

Hermione wiped the tears from her eyes. There was so much more to impart and she'd never get through it all if she spent too much time thinking about Ron now.

News of the current Minister for Magic shocked pretty much everyone. George didn't want to believe that Hermione was involved with Rowle to the point of having moved in with him.

"He's a Death Eater," George said for the third time.

Hermione sighed. "You have no idea what it was like. You have no idea how many times I barely escaped death. I guarantee that you would have thrown your lot in with Death Eater's if you had nobody else either. How could I predict you'd all be here? Or even think that attempting to come someplace in the middle of London? It would have been suicide."

"Why don't the Muggle's remember?" Andromeda asked, changing the subject.

"Hermione's idea," Harry said. He beamed at her. "Obliviation rain. Seems harsh, but the wizarding world's population is decimated. Which means that we wouldn't be able to have a wizarding world if we didn't first do something about all of the Muggles who knew about us."

That seemed to turn the tides of the discussion. Luna and her father were the easiest to convince to return to their home. Bill wasn't ready to leave until he understood the exact theory behind the new Muggle-Repelling Charm, so Hermione brought him out to the new ley line she had tied the charm too. After that, all of the Weasley's left the sanctuary of Grimmauld Place for their old homes.

August 2004

Ministry of Magic

London, UK

"Can we have Hogwarts ready to open by January?" Dolohov asked his cabinet. Hermione glanced through her notes.

"Possibly, although with a smaller number of courses on offer. I think the normalcy needs to be established, even if we aren't up to pre-crisis offerings. The library's been completely cleaned out, you'll recall. We'll need to restock that as well as the potions stores and hospital wing."

"Have we identified professors?" Yaxley asked.

"We have a few who are willing to teach for a couple of years," Hermione replied. She'd taken on re-establishing Hogwarts as her big project. She was the current Minister for Education and had a bare-bones staff of twelve other witches and wizards helping her get the school off the ground again. One of their first orders of business was cleaning the school from the slaughter it had endured.

"And where are we on a primary school?" Dolohov inquired.

"Not as close as we are for Hogwarts," Hermione admitted. "I'd like to get Hogwarts established and running on its own before worrying about the primary school."

"Fine," Dolohov agreed and moved on to other matters. Hermione had a to-do list for getting Hogwarts running by January that was over four feet long. It was a big task, but one she felt was vitally important. She had offered to teach if needed, but as Rowle had pointed out she was probably more effective as an administrator then she would be as a professor. She was sure that half the reason he made that argument was to keep Hermione in London, which she didn't mind in the least.

She found that she rather liked living with Rowle. Hermione had never really lived with a partner before and while technically she and Rowle had lived together when living in the Death Eater encampment, it seemed more real now, somehow. More permanent perhaps? It was hard for Hermione to put her finger on what exactly was different about it.

August 2004

Diagon Alley

London, UK

"Done for the night?" Rowle asked, his hands settled on her shoulders, rubbing the tension from them.

"That feels amazing," Hermione hummed as she leaned her head back into his flat stomach.

"Oh, darling, I can make you feel so much better than amazing," Rowle rumbled. His voice was low and made something delicious curl in Hermione's belly.

"In that case, I'm definitely done for the night," Hermione agreed. She set her quill down and capped her ink before standing to face Rowle.

"Thank Salazar," Rowle muttered just before pressing a fierce kiss to her lips. He wrapped one arm around her waist and the other gripped the back of her neck, angling her head so he could plunder her mouth more effectively. Hermione never felt as safe as she did wrapped in Rowle's arms. He was a large wizard, but Hermione couldn't help but feel that wasn't the only reason she felt safe. He took care of her in ways she didn't realize she wanted or needed before she ran into him that day in the Forest of Dean.

He lit a fire in her that she never wanted to extinguish.

"Need you," Hermione panted as Rowle's lips slipped from hers and down the column of her throat.

Rowle's chuckle rumbled his chest and tightened Hermione's nipples. "Let's at least make it to the bedroom this time."

"What? You didn't like the desk sex from earlier this week?" Hermione asked cheekily, as she buried her hand in his hair and pulled his head back so she could look at him.

"I fucking loved it, as you well know," Rowle said, narrowing his eyes at her. "But I have something else planned for tonight."

Before Hermione could answer him, he picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder, striding quickly for her bedroom. Hermione laughed as she slapped his arse.

"View's not bad from here," Hermione teased.

"Here neither," Rowle said, squeezing her bum.

He flopped her down on the bed, half-knocking the wind out of her as she giggled over his antics.

"Such a caveman," she said rolling her eyes.

"You fucking love it," Rowle said as he vanished their clothes and climbed on top of her, stretching his body along hers.

"Hell yes, I do," Hermione said. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and yanked him down so that he was lying flush on top of her, barely supporting his weight with his arms.

"Merlin, little witch, you're going to be the death of me," Rowle murmured as she cradled him in the vee of her thighs.

"I assure you that the feeling is mutual," Hermione hissed as his cock slid through her already wet folds.

Rowle worked his hands beneath her, one at the nape of her neck and the other her middle back, dropping his lips to hers in another breath-stealing kiss. Hermione groaned as he flipped them quickly so he was on his back and she laying atop him, her legs splayed to either side of his hips.

"I love watching you on top of me," Rowle said, breaking the kiss and helping to situate her in his lap. She slid slowly down his length, engulfing him in her tight channel. She loved the way he stretched and filled her every time. "Like a conquering Valkyrie."

Hermione sighed as she sat up straighter and began a slow, rocking motion. "I love the way your cock hits every sensitive spot inside me."

"I love the way you talk dirty to me," Rowle groaned. He ran his hands up her thighs, then over her hips and waist, until he was cupping her breasts and thumbing her nipples. Hermione arched her back as a line of pleasure jumped from her nipples to her clit, pulling her tighter.

"That's it, little witch," Rowle growled, "ride me."

Hermione whined in her throat as she placed her hands on his solid chest, using him for support as she chased her pleasure. It wasn't long before she was crying out and her movements slowed. The moment her channel stopped fluttering around Rowle's cock, he gripped her hips and began pumping into her at a truly frantic speed. Hermione tried to help him along by clenching her inner muscles, not entirely sure if she was doing it right. It was only a few moments more before Rowle stiffened and groaned as he came.

Hermione collapsed down onto his chest, cuddling into him and tracing nonsense patterns against his skin with her fingertips.

"Marry me," Rowle said quietly.

"Was that a question?" Hermione asked, looking up at his face to see he was gazing down at her seriously.

"Marry me, please? Please do me the honor of becoming my wife. I never want to live without you. I want to rebuild our world with you. I don't want to know what it's like to not have you in my life. Please, little witch, Hermione, marry me?"

He looked so serious and half-terrified. Hermione had never considered marriage with him, but she wasn't opposed, it had literally just never crossed her mind. When would she have had time to fantasize about a permanent arrangement between them?

"Yes," she said breathlessly after a long moment.

"Oh, thank Merlin," Rowle muttered as he half-lifted her so he could press his lips to hers. "I thought you were going to say no for a moment," he admitted just before he kissed her.

Hermione huffed in slight amusement before finally closing the distance to kiss him. "Yes, a thousand times yes. I want to marry you Thorfinn Rowle. I want you beside me as we fix this fucked up world we've found ourselves in. I couldn't imagine doing it with anyone else."

~Fin~