Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.

A/N: Thanks to ObsessedRHShipper, who is beta-ing this story.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Epilogue

Hermione sat at her desk looking at the paper in front of her. The letter had come an hour ago and she had now read it several times over. She sighed and the ping in her heart of the last few days was loosening a little, but she still wished there was more. She couldn't help thinking back throughout the last nineteen years, from the time she had met Ron. She thought about how much she had changed in those first few months, how she had grown closer to him even when she hadn't realized it, and how she figured out that she loved him. They had gone through meeting his family for the first time, her introducing him to her family, going through the normal ups and down of a relationship, and waiting for Ron to ask her to marry him.

She remembered with a smile how wonderful he made her feel after he proposed, not just physically, but how touched she had been when he had described her kiss. It had been embarrassing being so late to her meeting but it had mattered little to her considering what had happened. It had been hard for her not to tell everyone she saw that she was engaged, and she didn't even bother hiding her smile. Then they were telling the Weasleys and the celebration that came of that. She remembered having many conversations with her mum and Molly about the wedding; she was glad to see the two women had liked each other immediately and her dad got alone with Arthur even better than the women did.

Thinking about her wedding brought a smile to her face and it cut through the melancholy she was feeling. Ron had looked so amazing in his dress robes and the smile that was beyond any happiness she had seen in him before. He had been hers since the day they met, but as soon as they got married, she knew it was more. She only had vague images of the ceremony, and the reception afterward. All she really remembered was how much Ron was smiling every time she looked at him, which was most of the time. His blue eyes on her, never seemed to want to look away … and she couldn't look away either.

They had waited two years before they decided they were ready for children. They wanted to enjoy being married for a while with just the two of them … and definitely did that. After she had stop taking the potion, they spent a long year trying to get pregnant. They had started to worry that something might be wrong when it happened. The joy that was caused when they found out she was pregnant had resulted in a very good week worth of memories. Her heart filled with an emotion she couldn't describe every time something new happened in their pregnancy and she loved how much more protective and loving Ron had become.

Ron was an amazing father, as she knew he would be. He took to it like he was born to be one, and she was a little jealous of how much their daughter seem to grow up to be like him. The girl was exactly as she had imagined her to be, red hair and blue eyes, though Ron had got what he wished for with the bushy hair just like Hermione's. Her mum had given them the idea for the baby's name. When she first saw the little baby girl in the hospital, Ron was holding her, making a face and the baby was so obviously happy. Her mum said, "She's so rosy. I don't think I've seen a baby that happy just after being born." Ron beamed with pride. His smile had widened when Hermione said that she wanted their baby to be called Rose, because of that.

He loved their rosy daughter, and doted over her like mad. As the girl grew, she realized that she had her father wrapped around her finger, but Hermione was glad to see that Rose never took advantage of that … well not as much as she could have at least. It had only been a year and half after Rose's birth that their son was born. Hermione had been afraid that Ron might show favoritism, but he loved their son just as much as he loved Rose. Unlike Rose, their son wasn't the one she had first pictured so long ago when Ron and her had discussed children. He did have Ron's blue eyes, but his hair was almost the same shade as her own, though there was a tinge of red in it. His features were a mixture of both his parents, whereas Rose looked just like her. It didn't matter though, because he was perfect in her eyes and she loved him so much.

This time they had discussed names before the birth and Ron had suggested the name Hugo after one of the muggle authors that Hermione liked. She had been surprised by this; he said that he had actually liked the book he read from this author, but there was no bloody way they would call their son Victor. She had just laughed at him and agreed. As close as Ron was with Rose, she was just as close to Hugo. Though Rose had taken on more of her characteristics and loved books and things of that kind, Hugo seemed to bid for more of her time.

It had been a few years after Hugo's birth that she had been promoted to Head of Law Enforcement. It had proven to be a difficult month to get used to the new workload and still have time to be with her family. There were still times when her job had interfered with her family life, but she struggled and refused to let either of her dreams cancel out the other one. Ron had become the head tactician in the Auror Department, but he made it clear to anyone that would care that he wasn't going to go any farther in his career than that. He knew that this job was what he was good at and he didn't need to be the Head of a department to make him feel better about himself. He was doing the job he loved and he was helping to keep the community safe; there was nothing more that he could ask for. He also liked that although the job was difficult; it wasn't as dangerous as it could be, since he didn't have to go on as many missions himself. He didn't want anything to happen on the job that would take him away from his family.

She thought about all of the Sundays they went to the Burrow to enjoy lunch with the Weasleys. Their family had grown steadily just like her own had. Bill and Fleur had another daughter, which meant that they had three children all together. Percy had married a very nice but reserved woman name Audrey and they had two girls together. Fred had married Luna and had twin girls the same age as Hugo; their boy was a few years older than Rose. George and Angelina had a boy and girl. Harry and Ginny had two boys, the second of which was the same age as Rose, and a girl that was the same year as Hugo.

The weekends all seemed to blend as she thought about them, just remembering the feeling of togetherness. The Burrow had always felt like a wonderful home to her and that feeling was only amplified as the family grew. She had noted how the feeling differed as the children grew and started to go off to school, but it wasn't until last year that she felt the full effects of this. Rose had gone to Hogwarts and she missed her daughter more than she realized she would. Now that Hugo had joined her this year, she wasn't sure how she was going to deal with the loneliness that had grown in her.

"Why haven't you answered me?" she heard Ron ask as he walked into the room.

"Huh?" Hermione said and he noticed the letter in her hand.

"Is that from Hugo?" Ron asked eagerly and she realized that her husband was missing their son as much as she was. She nodded her head and handed the letter to him. He read it and a sad smile grew on his face.

"He seems to like it there," Hermione said when he had finished.

"Yeah, and he's a Gryffindor," Ron smile was proud.

Hermione rolled her eyes; she didn't understand the whole house pride thing because there was nothing like that in Beauxbatons and she had to deal with people sneering at her when she said that she wasn't from any house. "Yes, yes, it's all good that he's able to be with the rest of his family."

"I miss him too, you know," Ron whispered.

"I know," she said standing up, resting her head on his shoulder. "It feels so weird not having them here."

"I know," Ron was the one to say this time. His arms went around her and he dragged her into their bedroom, laying them down in the bed. She automatically put her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. He still made her body react whenever he gave her a look, and his arms around her still made her feel safe and warm. Only being here with Ron could make her happy right now.

"Do you remember the night we first told each other that we loved each other?" Ron asked.

"Of course, I do," Hermione answered and he chuckled.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to insult you."

"What about it?" Hermione asked, rolling her eyes at his comment.

"That was the first time that we talked about the future," Ron said.

"I know," Hermione said, thinking about all they had said and how much of it had come true. That thought made her feel better about everything. Yes, she was sad that her children were growing up and she couldn't see them as much anymore, but that was part of life and she still had the wonderful man next to her.

"Do you remember what I said about children?" Ron asked.

"That you wanted two or three …" Hermione started to say rolling her eyes and then she stopped and looked at him. "And that you might want more later in life too!"

Ron's smile told her this was indeed what he was thinking about now.

"You're serious?" Hermione questioned. "You want more children!"

"I love the way you look with a baby in your arms," Ron shrugged, "or in your stomach too."

"I remember that," Hermione smiled, remembering how possessive Ron had become when she was pregnant. "But you know it's a lot of work having a child … and with the age difference, I don't think I would want just one child, it would almost be like being an only child then."

Ron beamed more than ever, "That sounds brilliant to me."

"We won't be able to have any time together," Hermione pointed out.

"We've always found time to be together," Ron said shaking his head.

"We're going miss these children too … when it comes to the time they go to Hogwarts," Hermione said.

"Yes, but by that time we might have grandchildren," Ron shrugged, both happy and wary of that.

"Maybe," Hermione said.

"Look, Mione, if you don't want more children just tell me," Ron said. "I know it's going to be hard and we're going to have to work a lot to handle it, but I love the idea of having more children with you. Rose and Hugo are the best things that I've ever had a hand in doing …"

"Shush," Hermione said, putting her finger on his lip and he quieted quickly.

"I never said that I didn't want more children," Hermione said. "I was just making sure you really wanted that."

Ron grinned again. His hand went to the back of her head and pulled her down so their lips met. He kissed her with a passion she recognized. It was the same intensity that he had the first time they decided to have children.

"You do know that it will take a few weeks for the potion to lose the full efficiency," Hermione chuckled as he started to kiss her neck.

"Yes, yes, I know that," Ron said, "That doesn't mean that we can't practice."

"As if we haven't practiced enough," Hermione said. Despite her words, her hands were unbuttoning his shirt.

"Well, then one more time won't hurt," Ron said, kissing along her collarbone now causing her to moan. He had removed her shirt and one of his hands was massaging her thigh.

"So we're only going to practice once more," Hermione said trying to pout, but it was impossible with how he was making her feel.

He gave a real laugh this time. "Fine than, fifty more times."

"That's more like it." She laughed too, before she pulled his head up so that she could kiss him properly. His hands continued to massage her and she could feel the heat building up in her. It had amazed and pleased her that his touch never lost its effectiveness on her. When he kissed like this, she lost control of everything as desire for him filled her being. Her hands removed his pants and boxers as he took care of her skirt and knickers. She knew she wasn't as tight as she had been before giving birth to their children, but Ron still felt as if he fit perfectly within her.

"Mione," he groaned as he slid into her. His lips moved to her neck and he kissed along her neck as they moved in very familiar and yet still exciting ways.

"Ron," Hermione moaned breathlessly as her nails scratched along his back, urging him on as her hips moved to meet his. As they got closer to their climax, their bodies were working in harmony together. Ron moved his head, looking into her eyes. He loved watching her as the pleasure rake through her and his name fell off her lips.

"Merlin, I love you," Ron said, staying where he was over her and moving his hand up to brush some stray hair out of her eyes.

"And here I was thinking that I was the one you loved," Hermione pouted.

Ron rolled his eyes, "you know I meant you."

"I know," Hermione giggled, "I love you too."

"I just have to say you were the best one night stand I've ever had," Ron chuckled.

"I'm not a one night stand, I'm your wife," Hermione pointed out, knowing what he meant. She never could have dreamed twenty years ago that she would meet a guy in a pub and he would end up being her husband.

"It was the first night of eternity to me," Ron informed her. "And I'm still surprised that I love you more every day."

"And I'm still surprised about just how romantic you really are," Hermione laughed. "And just so you know, I love you more everyday too."

A/N: As you can see that I was planning on this to be the last chapter, but I might put one more in about what happens right after Ron and Hermione get engaged and telling the family and all that ... but don't have that written yet and I had this one. I'm thinking that in week I'll post that other chapter and put it as chapter 38 and this one will become 39.

Now that I got that over with, I just wanted to say that I saw this story in arches, and for the most part I saw all the part play out in the order I had now. I just wanted to say that because I'm not sure if the chapters where Hermione was doubting Ron was the strongest chapters ... and they didn't come out as I first thought of them ... but it was how I had thought this would happened from the beginning.

And last of all I want to thank everyone that has read and reviewed this story:

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