Once A Marauder

Epilogue

July 31, 1998

The little two-story house in Godric's Hollow was filled to the brim with people to celebrate Harry's eighteenth birthday. As Finley and Sirius stood in the doorway of the dining room taking in the scene, Lily brought Harry's cake to the table and everyone gathered 'round to sing to him. Finley couldn't help but to smile at the outturn. To Harry's left was a gangly, red-haired, freckle-faced boy and a girl with bushy, chestnut colored hair, and two front teeth that were slightly too big for her face. On Harry's right was a red-haired girl, smiling largely as she took Harry's hand and he placed a chaste kiss on her cheek. Frank and Alice Longbottom, two Aurors and former Order members, stood off to the left with their son Neville. And Narcissa and Draco Malfoy, as well as Andromeda and Ted Tonks took spots next to them. Severus Snape stood in a corner, nursing a glass of Firewhiskey.

When the singing was over, the red-haired boy next to Harry, Ron, clapped him on the shoulder, grinning widely, and the brunette, Hermione, hugged him. Harry quickly kissed his girlfriend, Ginny, Ron's little sister, and walked over to Lily and his little sister, Jessica.

Sirius leaned into Finley and placed a hand on her protruding stomach as Remus walked over clutching two glasses of Firewhiskey and handed one to Sirius. "So, Padfoot, how does it feel knowing that your two oldest are almost done with school and that after the youngest heads off in September, you're going to be back on diaper duty?"

Sirius laughed. "Terrifying. Absolutely bloody terrifying."

Finley smiled and shook her head. "Orion and Leah have good heads on their shoulders. Besides, its Orion's N.E.W.T year and Leah's taking her O. ., so they'll be busy. Leah has Jessica to keep her company and Orion... Well, he's just like his father. His little group of friends.. Well, they're practically the Marauder's all over again."

"And Bailey?" Remus asked of the youngest Black daughter.

"You have to be joking. She's the one I'm the least worried about. She's the most level-headed out of all of them."

Sirius nodded towards Remus's pink-headed wife, Nymphadora, who was holding a teal-haired 3-month old, and grinned. "You'll have to remind me what diaper duty is like, seeing as I've forgotten and you're brand new to it."

"Yes, well..." Remus grinned goofily. "I'm glad he'll have a playmate his own age after yours gets here."

"I still can't believe you shacked up with my second cousin."

Remus smiled at Finley. "Ask your wife. I guess it was just... Written in the stars or something."

"You knew about this and didn't tell me?!"

"What are you yelling about, Padfoot?" James asked, walking up.

"Apparently, my dear wife knew Remus would end up fucking my second cousin! And didn't tell me!"

James rolled his eyes. "Well, I knew that Whiskers would end up fucking my second cousin and I didn't have a problem with it."

"Shut up, Prongs." Sirius mumbled. Finley laughed and looked out on the celebration fondly. "What do you think, darling? Isn't this better than what you first saw?" Sirius asked, as he watched his wife.

"This is nothing like what it was supposed to be. There are some similarities, though. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, the Weasley family, 'Dora... They were all there for Harry. Just under different circumstances. I'm glad some things didn't change." Then, he eyes trailed to the Malfoys and Snape. "And I'm glad some things did."

"So, you still think we did a good thing?" Sirius asked, kissing her temple.

"I think we did the best thing we possibly could. 17 years of happiness, no war, and friends and family? I don't think we could have made it any better than we did. I mean, take a look around. Look how happy everyone is. Look how happy Harry is. Wasn't that the goal? For Harry to grow up happy and with his family?"

"I think we did a pretty good job." Remus added, smiling.

"And I'm pretty glad you all did everything you did." James pulled everyone in to a group hug. "None of this would have been possible without you all."

"Prongs, we're the Marauder's. We'll always be there for one another. No matter what. Once a Marauder, always a Marauder, right?" Finley asked.

"Right." James, Sirius, and Remus answered, raising their glasses in a toast.

X X X

A/N: OMG. I actually can't believe it's over. I think I might actually cry. Thank you so much to all of my faithful followers and readers! I couldn't have done this without y'all! I might return to the world of Finley and the Marauders at some point. Maybe to have a series of one-shots that didn't make it into the story, but who knows. But for now, I'm beginning a story of my very own on ficitonpress called "Gifted" under my same username (Arin DeStruction), so if you have a fictionpress account (Or even if you don't), please go check it out! It's kind of a supernatural-sci fi-romance-crime story, so if that's your thing, go find it!

XOXO Arin DeStruction