Thank you for reading and commenting, especially to those who have done so faithfully for each chapter! Here is a little more about where our lovers end up in the future. Enjoy!

~bccaw

Chapter Thirty: Epilogue

Love is the oldest and strongest magic: some say it is divine, the power of the mysterious and unknown gods diluted and sprinkled down upon mankind. It is the only magic that muggles can grasp. It heals, protects, transforms, and renews. Where it resides in one heart, it trickles down through generations and blesses those who are near. It refuses to be used for one's own ends, requiring self-sacrifice, often binding even the most unlikely of souls together in fate, seemingly at whim.

Severus had never expected love to touch him again after he lost Lily. Even his own mother, who had been something like caring now and then, had not seemed capable of love by the time Severus was old enough to remember her words and actions. She had closed her heart after her muggle husband took her love and twisted it, and held her captive by the jealous, cruel thing he had created between them instead.

Years had passed, the same ones in which Hermione Granger was born and grew into a bright young witch: years during which Severus had scoffed at the idea of love's value. After all, it was Dumbledore who had insisted that love could overcome all other magic, however dark it may be, if the circumstances were right. Dumbledore was a manipulative old bastard in Severus' book, and he had not for a moment believed that the man was sincere in such assertions.

Dumbledore had been right, though, and now Severus realized that he and Albus might have shared a common resignation to the idea that love was for other people, not themselves. Albus had been a solitary mastermind, carefully placing the right people for the necessary tasks on the correct path and guiding their decisions along the way... but he had truly believed in love's power, even if he had not let it influence his decisions. All the things he spouted about love had not been just a means of convincing lesser mortals to do his bidding, or an attempt to appear infinitely wise, as Severus had quite often suspected.

Severus had come around to belief, not that he had ever doubted love existed, only that it was not for him to enjoy. He had formed his mind into a many-layered sea that hid a deep, dark catacomb, into which he had banished all hope of a life beyond that of dutiful spy and servant. It had been easy enough, with no family or friends to tie him to any other life. Dumbledore might have used him, but he had indeed also saved him. If Albus had not seen the opportunities presented in Severus Snape all those year ago, the disloyal young death eater would not have lasted long against his dark lord.

It had not even hurt, admitting that he had been wrong about love. It had been like breathing again after holding one's breath until the darkness took over – he had been infinitely surprised and giddily relieved when it turned out he had not drowned after all.

The sort of love that Severus now shared with Hermione was more than breathing, though. It was akin to flying (and he felt qualified to make that judgement as he was now capable of more than one type of flight). She was both the air that held him aloft and pushed him higher, and the feeling of elation in his chest that such a thing was possible.

Such were the thoughts of Severus Snape on the morning of his wedding, at the tender young age of forty-nine, awaiting the first glimpse of his lover in the shade of a sprawling walnut tree. It had taken him years to freely ponder such flowery things in a mind used to squashing all but clean, logical thoughts out, but if ever there was an occasion for it...

All thoughts ceased in his mind when she appeared with a soft 'pop' of apparition and a wide smile. Her twenties had gone and bequeathed her with indomitable confidence and grace, settling those virtues on her visage like a regal crown, dusting them over her face, draping them also over her shoulders and sweeping down even to her fingertips which were now as nimble and sure as his own while at work. Otherwise, she looked very much the same as she had at twenty-two. Severus could count a few more fine lines on his own face now, but that was to be expected when nearing fifty. Even wizards could not keep their youthful looks forever.

"Shall we go, then?"

He closed the space between them with a few steps and looked down at her. Her lashes fluttered as she peered up through them, smiling still. Her hair had been tamed into an elegant mass on top of her head, with a few pieces teased out here and there, as curly and wild as ever. He gently took one curl between his fingers and looked into her eyes, words failing him.

"Come now, don't tell me you've finally gone sappy," she scolded him lightly after a moment, "I might be tempted to change my mind."

He raised an eyebrow in familiar warning.

"I know your mind well, witch, and it's told me otherwise."

He kissed her.

"You are beautiful, as always," he said.

"No, I am at least five times as beautiful as usual," she corrected him cheekily, "For that's how many witches it took to complete... all of this."

She gestured to her body, clothed in a flowing white robe, with both luminescence spells and the traditional good luck and good health symbols charmed into the very fabric of the gown. They shimmered faintly in the dappled shade of the walnut tree.

Her hair must have taken at least an hour on its own, and her face bore the mark of either Ginny or Fleur's handiwork with a make-up brush and subtle charms to keep everything in place for the day. Her eyes were more rimmed with darker shades than usual, but just as warm. The faint freckles on her nose were still visible, and her mouth perhaps just a bit more defined. It made the delicate dip in her upper lip stand out and drew more attention to her perfectly straightened smile.

"You are always beautiful," he reasserted, "Today, it is perhaps more obvious."

"Always so difficult," she said playfully, "but thank you. Now come on, or we shall be late."

"We have exactly four minutes, and I hardly think it will take that long to apparate to the back yard."

"Yes, but if I stand here with you looking like that much longer, we won't be making it to the ceremony... we will be starting the wedding night right here against this tree."

He smirked.

"Looking like what, exactly? A wizard in a fairly standard dress robe?"

"You know what I mean."

His sly smile grew as she looked pointedly at him.

"Looking like you can't wait to get this nonsense over with so that we can be alone."

He sobered. Under her calm and playful manner, she still worried that a ceremony did not matter to him.

"It... is not nonsense."

The playfulness in her eyes left, and they grew slightly watery.

"I know."

She took his arm.

Ready?"

They disappeared, and not long after that were officially bound together in love and life. The ceremony had been altered a bit by Hermione, which thankfully would not cause much of a stir within their small gathering of witnesses. Hermione's parents were the only family present. Minerva, Margaret and Miranda, Alan, and Hagrid were present, as were Harry and Ginny, and a number of Weasleys.

Hermione had insisted on including the quickly multiplying spawn of her friends as well, and there were many young Potters and Weasleys present that day. Ginny, Padma, and Fleur were all quite obviously pregnant at the moment.

Severus wondered if seeing her friends finish off their families together would awaken the desire in Hermione to start her own. Thus far, she was far more interested in her career and had shown no motherly inclinations other than to briefly hold the new babies and buy thoughtful, academically challenging gifts for the many young witches and wizards in her life.

For the children's part, they seemed curious and a bit in awe of their wild-haired auntie who often showed up in their homes for dinner, and sometimes came to the family gatherings with the tall, severe-looking man they had been told was the headmaster of Hogwarts. The children seemed to be scared of Severus, which was just as well, since they would all presumably be his pupils one day.

Once the ceremony was over, and the traditional kiss sealed the vows, the couple enjoyed a simple, comfortable reception in the company of their guests, accompanied by the music of a small strings ensemble comprised of Beauxbatons alumni.

Margaret and Alan smiled at Severus as he approached, happy for the company of those he could call good friends without reservation. Hermione was speaking to a few of the eldest children, all young girls, all Weasley and Potter cousins, giggling and blushing shyly at the attention from their Aunt Hermione in her wedding attire.

Victoire and Dominique were the most forward, and also the eldest of the group. Rose Weasley was more reserved but not far behind, taller by a few inches than both of them already, the spitting image of her infernally whiny father with long freckled limbs, bright orange hair and clear blue eyes. Her younger twin sisters pushed around her, demanding Hermione's attention next. Most onlookers would find the five-year-olds endearingly precocious, Severus noted, unwilling to admit that he might as well. One was red-headed, the other had her mother's black mane and darker complexion, but they shared the same large, dark eyes, a compact petite frame, and the unmistakable Weasley grin.

Not wanting to relinquish all the attention to their cousins, the Potter boys were soon gallivanting through the group of young witches, the younger one, named Albus, waddling along behind his brother shouting, "Hermy! Hermy!"

Severus looked on with some amusement as James Sirius (as of course the firstborn Potter been named) marched up to his new wife and told her she was pretty. The boy was a Potter, through and through, and would probably give Severus good reason to consider early retirement when he finally graced the halls of Hogwarts.

"Congratulations, Severus," said Alan warmly, as Severus joined them. He inclined his head in acknowledgement, "I had begun to think you and your lovely partner were either terrified of commitment or making a political point by waiting all these years."

"Which of those is your excuse, then?" Severus asked.

"We're too old to bother," Margaret chimed in, "and we like to fancy ourselves too independent for such things."

"A delusion at this point, I'm afraid," Severus remarked, "as I've rarely see one of you without the other since the day you were first introduced... by myself, I might remind you."

Margaret laughed, in good spirits.

"As you never let us forget! I believe you are quite proud of your foray into matchmaking."

Margaret was right – Severus considered it a great accomplishment that he had managed to bring two of the few people he genuinely liked together with great success. It was convenient to be able to always see them together, for even with people he liked Severus preferred to limit social engagements.

Hermione was the only person he allowed to intrude on his time as she pleased, though being of the same introspective nature, she gave him plenty of time alone while she was immersed in her books. Sometimes they would brew together for hours, barely speaking more than a few words and exchanging occasional glances across their cauldrons, communicating more with thoughts and touch than anything else.

When the evening finally drew to a close and their guests trailed off into the night, many to spend the night in Hogsmeade since they were under the influence of too much wine to magic themselves home, Severus and Hermione sat on the front porch of their Hogsmeade home and watched the bats swoop about, the owl that lived in the back wood hooting in the distance, and the cheery lights of the village twinkling at the end of the dirt road before them.

"It was perfect," Hermione said, leaning to rest her head on his shoulder.

He wrapped an arm around her and kissed her lightly on the forehead.

"You say that as if the night is over."

He could feel her smile on his arm where her cheek was pressed.

"I have no doubt that my appraisal will still stand in the morning."

She lifted her face and drew his down with an urgent hand pressed into the back of his head.

"Come, husband," she whispered, "let's get you to bed. You've been buttoned up in all those fine layers for far too long this evening."

She stood and trailed a light hand up his arm and over his shoulder, inviting him to follow her inside. He grabbed her hand as she made to enter the threshold and pulled her roughly back into his chest.

"Not so fast, wife," he said, kissing her there in the doorway, sensing her thrill of surprise and pleasure rise up as it always did when he suddenly took charge.

He lifted her up, and she responded with a mouth insistent against his, arms around his neck, legs wrapped tightly around him as he walked them inside. Nudging the door shut with an elbow, he took a few more steps and pressed her against the wall next to the painting of the Hogs Head Tavern that hung in the entryway.

Severus smiled against her mouth as she assaulted his mind with desire, losing quite a bit of control, and the image of a familiar fantasy flashed through her thoughts, the telltale stone of the castle walls in the background.

"Soon, witch," he said, "but certainly not on our wedding night?"

"No," she answered huskily, "tonight I want you here... in our house."

Severus returned to Hogwarts a week later, having left Minerva in charge with complete confidence, only select members of the faculty and staff any wiser as to where the headmaster had been. They had only been told he would be away for an important matter, and unless they looked very carefully at Severus' left hand, their eyes would tend to overlook the plain band that modestly proclaimed the news.

Of course, it was not long before word got around the village that a ceremony had taken place at the headmaster's house, and not much longer before Hagrid had told a few people about Severus and Hermione finally tying the knot. Days after the news spread through Hogsmeade, it hit the papers – the official documents had been filed, and it was now public knowledge that Hermione Granger had indeed married her former potions professor.

The rumors had been around for years, from the moment they had danced together at Harry's wedding, but they had operated so discreetly that only close friends had been sure of the truth. The house in Hogsmeade, like the castle, had its own ways of discouraging prying eyes. Though they went out often in public together, they both so detested the attention of fame that they had refrained from acting as any more than unlikely friends in the public eye.

By the time Hermione finally took Slughorn's place as Hogwart's potions professor, after many years and various notable accomplishments as a potions mistress, she no longer received stares and awkward questions from strangers and acquaintances alike. Professor Granger-Snape was welcomed warmly to Hogwarts, as she had made a name for herself beyond her past as the best friend of Harry Potter and her marriage to Severus Snape, her potions work including the creation of several new potions brewed with spell work, and improving the methods of applying wandless magic to the binding of delicate potions.

After coming back to Hogwarts to teach, working together with Severus, Hermione pioneered research into the small differences that make potions more effective for muggleborn magical folk, who are now known to metabolize potions more quickly and to build tolerance faster than witches and wizards from long pureblooded lines.

Years passed happily and peacefully for Severus and Hermione, until they welcomed the offspring of Hermione's friends to the castle at last. The various Potters and Weasleys spent their fair share of time in detention, despite knowing many of the professors and even the headmaster quite well. Severus had to admit, though, that the latest incarnation of James Potter was much improved over the last, and was far more tolerable than his father had been at that age. The boy seemed to have inherited some of Lily's academic prowess, and was quite average at flying considering his parents' talents on the quiddicth pitch.

The year the second Potter boy, Albus, came to Hogwarts was also the year Hermione spent a few months walking the corridors and pacing the classroom on tired, pregnant feet before their daughter was born nearly a full week late on the 24th of June. Severus might have been in his fifties, but nevertheless he still felt young and unprepared the first time he held her – Corva Sophronia Snape.

Whether it was a surprise or the result of renewed baby fever after seeing Hermione become a mother at last, Ginny Potter soon followed with her last child, born almost a year later on the first of May. The girl was the spitting image of Lily Evans, more so than her older sister who was their grandmother's namesake. She was fittingly named Asphodel Renee, and was called "Dela" all her life.

Over the years, Severus and Harry had become incrementally closer until they were something like friends, or perhaps more like relatives who loved one another despite being very different sorts of people. Time – and Hermione – pushed them together often enough that Harry grew to genuinely like and deeply respect the taciturn partner of his best friend, whom he had once hated.

Severus admitted to Hermione that he was now able to see much more of Lily in her son than just her eyes, and one fateful day had bid her to tell Harry some of what she knew about Lily's friendship and love for her childhood friend. Harry, of course, was not content to absorb the information without speaking to Severus openly about his mother. Eventually, he knew all there was to know about Lily Evans and Severus Snape, and treasured the details Severus could tell him about his mother as a child and young witch.

And so it came about that Harry Potter asked Severus Snape to be his youngest child's godfather, for she was born some years after Harry learned about his mother and Severus. Hermione was already godmother to Lily Luna, joining George and Charlie Weasley as godparents to James Sirius and Albus Remus, respectively.

James and Albus grew up to make their godfathers proud. James was an academically brilliant, creative smart-arse, and the ever-adventurous Albus traveled the wizarding world procuring rare and dangerous potions ingredients. Lily was nothing like Hermione, but the two got on well since she was very much like Ginny. Lily followed in her mother's footsteps and had a successful quidditch career before marrying and starting a family.

Asphodel Potter and Corva Snape became good friends as children and only grew closer as they got older. Both were overachievers and dedicated researchers who left a school of magical higher education as their legacy, The Dela-Corva School of Advanced Magical Studies.

Corva Snape was an only child, like both of her parents before her. She grew into a gangly, long-limbed teen who soon became a tall witch with an imposing presence and expressive dark brown eyes that were generally piercing but with the right person became warm and open just like Hermione's. She owned a slightly smaller version of her father's nose, and the delicate smile of her mother, when she chose to share it. Her black, shiny hair fell in thick waves, and she wore it long, often pulled back in a simple bun or braid to keep it out of the way.

Severus was nearly eighty by the time he met his newborn granddaughter, Elva Perryn Snape. Corva worked in Brazil for a year in her early twenties, and she returned home more than a few months pregnant, announcing her engagement to Albus Potter. Unfortunately, it was the last time anyone would see Albus. He took one last trip to Albania before the wedding to collect dragon's blood from a Venomous Lengaverde, took one too many risks, and was killed by the beast.

Corva and Asphodel raised Elva together, with the support of her grandparents and her godmother, Lily.

Elva Snape grew up smart, strong, and high-spirited, reminding everyone of her father with her bright almond green eyes and perpetually disheveled black hair. She too, traveled the world for a few years, working for the Department of Mysteries in some secret capacity. She then became an auror, returned to London to stay, and married a wizard named Amadeus Beale. Their daughter was born two days after Severus' one hundredth birthday. Delacorva attended Hogwarts just after Severus retired and Hermione took over as headmistress.

Severus lived to see his great-granddaughter marry a squib named Magus MacMartin in 2084, just two years after Delacorva helped Magus save the world – but that is another story entirely.

Horatia Bartram moved to the states with her brothers and became a successful actress. Muggles marveled at how well she aged, until one day at the age of seventy-seven, she mysteriously disappeared. Her true age was ninety-four when she moved to one of the numerous wizarding towns scattered across the west coast and was never seen by a muggle again. She married many times, all famous muggles, but retired alone. Severus received letters from her once a year from the time she left Hogwarts, and an expensive set of self-cleaning china as a wedding gift. She seemed determined to remind him regularly how exciting her life had become once leaving Hogwarts.

Neville and Luna married and had two children, twin girls named Lonicera and Liriope. Luna became a magizoologist and Neville eventually filled Pomona Sprout's shoes as the herbology professor at Hogwarts after a few years as an auror and a few more years traveling with Luna as she completed field work in various sites around the world.

Lavender fulfilled her dream of marrying a quidditch player, dating quite a few international athletes before settling down with the seeker for Belgium's team and having a little boy named Rune who was in James Potter's year at Hogwarts and became Gryffindor team keeper.

Ron and Padma had five children: Rose, who looked just like Ron, Chanda and Nisha, the twins, Selena, who was the tallest, and Archer, the only boy. All were freckled in varying degrees. Rose and Archer were nearly as pale as Ron, and all were red-haired but Nisha, who looked the most like her mother but acted the most like her Aunt Ginny. Padma briefly worked as a magical historian before her family grew, and later in life was hired as the librarian at Hogwarts.

Asphodel Potter never had any children of her own, but she was a mother to Elva, and became a beloved aunt and great-aunt many times over. Her siblings often teased her for being Harry's favorite child, since she was said to greatly resemble his mother Lily and was the youngest of the family by so many years she might have been an only child. Her features were mainly her mother's but unlike Lily Luna, she did not have Ginny's bright brown eyes. Hers were lively green, a sharp contrast to her fiery hair and pale freckled face.

Delacorva and Magus had three children named Soren, Hermes, and Liliana. Both Severus and Hermione lived to meet all of their great-great-grandchildren.

The Snape and Potter descendents remained tightly knit for many generations, long after Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Severus had moved on to the next great adventure.