Disclaimer: All original characters, situations and plot ideas belong to JK Rowling. I make no profit from this.

Warning: This story is rated M for sexual situations and scenes, language, and darker themes in the story.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and favorite'd my story so far, you guys are seriously awesome. I love the fanfic community! I'm so excited that this story is completed now and here is the epilogue. I may do another so be on the look out. I have also started two companion pieces to this story, but they will not be nearly as long as Pansy and Neville's story.

Also I would love to apologize for the long wait for this Epilogue, I was bombarded with family that *made* me go to the pool and spend time with them for the weekend. It was "terrible"! So I couldn't really spend some time writing. But here it is! :)

A Riven Heart

Epilogue

August 30th, 2006

Pansy sipped at her coffee as she sat on the new set of outdoor furniture Neville had bought her immediately following the events of the previous weekend. Now she sat back, enjoying the brisk, but beautiful morning as the sun rose over her garden and she wondered just where the hell Neville was getting all those rose petals from. The first one he had given her was still as red, as beautiful, smelled as great as it did the first day it had fallen out of the first letter Neville had sent. Now she had them all lined up in front of her, across the wicker. Deep red, sweet pink, sunny yellow, brilliant violet, and a new one, as vivid orange and enticing as a desert lily. It was something she had come to realize pretty quickly about her Gryffindor, he would never cut off flowers for her, the need to help things grow too apparent in him. Her garden that had flourished in the last month. Mostly due to the efforts of that man... it had been exactly one month and one day since Neville Longbottom had come into her life, taking her over in a storm.

One month and one day and so much had changed. Now he slept in her bed, curled up after a riotous few days at the Ministry dealing with the aftermath of the death of Lord Voldemort.

Their soul mate bond stretched between them, contentment and that sleepy-almost awake feeling sliding lazily through the bond. She took it in and sent some back, lounging on the wicker chair and sipping her hot coffee. The bottoms of her feet ended up being the worst of the burn injuries, waves of scarred flesh covering the soles and sweeping up her feet to her ankles. And while her hands didn't look the same, they weren't scarred either. Susan had done a fine job healing them.

Pansy had had a very early appointment with the Healer that morning, coming in at the crack of dawn for a quick check up. The witch had looked at her arms, her legs, her feet, clicking her tongue as she examined the skin. Then she sat down opposite of Pansy and explained some of the results she had received after all the testing Susan had done.

Now, coffee in hand, sun on her face, fresh air in her lungs, she could finally come to terms with what Susan had told her.

There was so much long term damage that had gone untreated for too long, that carrying a child to full term might be impossible.

Might be.

There were options for Pansy, and Susan was willing to help her along if she choose them. First she had to talk to her blue eyed Gryffindor... who was waking up.

The bond was new, but she could feel his wakefulness and his sexual desire that came with waking up from all the way out in her garden. It licked up her toes, made her heart constrict, made her body sigh with need. In the same way they had inadvertently amped up each others anger into a blinding rage, Neville had figured out how to amp up their sexual desires for one another. They hadn't put it into practical use yet, both of them being busy in the days following the weekend, but she knew he was officially on vacation starting today.

She sighed and finished her coffee, leaning back in her chair and enjoying having her feet up. They were still a bit sore, and she had a feeling, one of those feelings, that it would always remain so. But that was a small price to pay for the joy her life had turned to.

Joy.

Delight.

Need.

Neville's hands came down gently on her shoulders from behind the chair, his fingers digging in, massaging her. She groaned. "Good morning." His hands moved up the skin of her neck, expertly coaxing moans from her with his fingers, moving into her hair and digging into her scalp. He used the leverage he had now to turn her face towards him and laid a good morning kiss on her that was all tongue and possession.

"Mmm..." he released her only after her lips were thoroughly swollen and her breaths were quick. His voice was sleep rough when he said, "Good morning to you too."

He sat in the matching chair, interlacing their fingers. "What do you want to do today?" he asked.

She leaned back again, her lips tingling with sensation only Neville could give her. Her feet hurt, her heart felt a bit bruised, she was wandless and dealing with a headache-inducing magical gift she was no where near ready for. Like now... her mind's eye twisted, and she tried twisting with it. She saw Neville and herself having sex in the middle of her garden, her gardening apron pushed up and pushed to the side as she angled herself on top of him, clutching at his shirt as she rode him.

She blinked and Neville was sitting in front of her, his finger running back and forth on her lip. The bond between flared with his sexual hunger for her.

"Nothing." She replied with a smile, knowing he already had plans.

Lots and lots of plans.

"But first I have to tell you something..."

September 18th, 2006

Pansy sat in the lone chair in the small office for the Potion Master's program, her new wand, Willow, 13 inches, with a unicorn hair, tucked into her navy blue robes, and calmly crossed her legs and rested her hands in her lap. She was still researching the effects of the precious Charmed Lisianthus Neville had started breeding for her, how it affected magic between soul mate pairs (and how convenient was it she could test it on herself now) but that wasn't what she submitted today. No she had thought long and hard about what she wanted to make for her application, the 13th attempt to get into the program, twice a year for 6 years now and once this past spring, and finally came up with an idea... with the help of Ron Weasley.

It had been another one of Mrs. Weasley's dinners, dinners Pansy was now invited to, when Neville had causally mentioned that the Potion's Office was about to open up for Master Applications. And then conversation had turned to which potion she should brew. When she had turned down most of the ideas, simply because she had already submitted that particular potion, Mr. Weasley had asked how many times she had applied. The conversation had turned awkward until Ron had said, "You just need a bit of luck, don't ya?"

Liquid Luck. Felix Felicis. Beyond NEWT level potion making, it was one of the hardest potions to make. And she wanted so badly to have that Potion Master's title... all she needed was a little luck.

But she didn't take any. That would be cheating.

So she brewed it and bottled it, the liquid in the vial shining and bright gold, the consistency perfect. She scheduled an appointment and came down to the Ministry on a dreary September morning to submit her application.

The same lady sat at the desk, Cordelia Baines, an older witch with a mean frown, took her application wordlessly like she always did, and gestured for her to have a seat.

And several hours had passed. Cordelia reviewed other applications before hers, she talked to several people, pointedly ignoring Pansy the whole time.

And then Neville had walked in. He had leaned down and kissed her openly. "Hey you. I'm on lunch, thought I would wait with you for a bit."

Cordelia's eyes widened when Neville had walked in, her mouth opening in obvious shock. But before she could say anything the door to the office opened again, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley walked in with sandwiches in their hands.

"Hey Nev, hey Pansy."

"Hey Pansy we-"

Harry didn't finish whatever he was about to say because Cordelia had let out a loud squeak.

"Harry Potter? The Harry Potter? In my office?"

Harry smiled. "Nice to meet you. Mind if we wait with our friend?"

He and Ron sat down on Pansy's other side. Pansy raised her eyebrows, immediately knowing what they were up to. She watched Cordelia's face turn from happy shock to confusion.

"Your... friend? You're friends with... with that?" Her tone implied she thought of Pansy the same way she thought of moldy bread. "She's a Death Eater..."

She snorted. It was very loud and very unladylike but she couldn't stop it any more than she could stop herself from pushing up the sleeves of her navy blue robes, revealing her bare arms.

"Who? Pansy? No way, she helped us defeat Voldemort." Ron said, stuffing his face with his sandwich.

Cordelia stood up quickly, papers haphazardly shifting over the desk and falling to the floor. "What?!"

Neville leaned back, stretching his arm to come around Pansy's shoulders. "How many times did you say you applied for this program, Pansy?"

"Must be very tough to get into, right?" Harry asked, also taking a huge bite of his sandwich.

"Who runs the program?" Ron wondered out loud, mouth full.

Cordelia was still, mouth agape all through their conversation, until she spun around and ran into the back office.

Pansy turned saying, "Guys, what are you doing here?"

"Told you, we're on lunch." Neville shrugged, running his fingers under the collar of her robe.

"Ya, we're starving."

Cordelia returned then, followed by an older wizard in a pointed wizard's hat and old, but taken care of robes. "Harry Potter, oh my, Harry Potter what an honor, what an honor to see you here in our offices. Are you applying for the Program?" He took Harry's out stretched hands and shook it vigorously.

"Who me? No I am rubbish at Potions. I'm just here to support my friend, Pansy Parkinson." Harry shrugged, gesturing to Pansy.

"Oh lovely, lovely. Pansy Parkinson? How wonderful to meet a friend of Harry Potter's, tell me dear girl how long have you been brewing? I assume this is your first time applying, I can walk you through the process myself."

"Oh no sir." Pansy shook her head. "This is my 13th attempt."

"13?" He crooked his head. "My dear, I am the one who approves or rejects applications and I don't remember ever seeing your name before..."

Pansy looked around the eccentric old man and looked at Cordelia. "Are you sure you've even been getting my applications?"

December 25th, 2006

Neville had argued and fought and even exchanged some heated words about spending Christmas alone, just him and Pansy. No, it wasn't Pansy's idea. It was his. She had been through enough.

No, he said. Pansy didn't blame Hermione for the article featuring Pansy, in great detail, and her life and the role she played in defeating Voldemort. The depth of information on Pansy's ability to summon her wand to her, her gift to see the future, it was all written plain as day and that's when the letters had started coming.

Some were sweet, and some even apologetic. Some where hateful and had Neville pissed off for days.

No, he said. Pansy was just exhausted from the rigorous Potion's program she was going through and it would be her first holiday without her mum, she just needs some quiet time. Plus Grams was out of town and they had a chance to just spend the day together.

No, there wasn't anything wrong. They just wanted a quiet holiday!

Yes, Hannah still refused to sign the papers finalizing their muggle divorce, meaning Neville and Pansy still couldn't get married yet. But they weren't in any hurry and Hannah was having a lot of trouble dealing with the fact that Neville and Pansy were soul mates but no, that didn't have anything to do with their decision to spend Christmas ALONE.

No, no dinners. No meeting up. Nothing. Have a good holiday. Go away!

So it was with a sigh of relief that he woke up Christmas morning, Pansy curled on her side facing him, his leg shoved between hers and her mouth parted slightly as she slept.

His work load the past few months had dwindled to catching up on paper work and easy patrols with the Law Patrol. But Pansy's had increased to fanatic levels of potion making. She would come home with bits of ingredients in her hair that reminded him of the first time he had stepped foot in her house, her pissed off look firmly on her face, pieces of lacewing in her hair, cruddy suds up to her elbows. She had revealed her past to him that night in an emotional storm that had taken them both down.

Now, they were connected by more than just love, more than trust, more than just magic. Soul mates. Connected by the soul. And he used that to protect her when he could. Making her sleep when she was exhausted, laugh when she was overwhelmed.

Little lines marred her forehead between her brows. He got up silently, tucking the covers around her so she could continue sleeping, and made his way downstairs to the kitchen. A few moments later and the room filled with the dark aroma of coffee brewing. The scene out the window brought peace. It was a silent dark, the ground covered in a fresh layer of snow, the coming dawn barely a kiss on the horizon.

"I can't sleep when you aren't in bed with me." He set down his black coffee and went to her, a pair of fuzzy blue flannel pajamas and a long sleeved matching top, the least sexy thing he could think of, and yet she looked perfect to him. Her face was sleep heavy and her purple eyes looked smudgy in the dark lighting.

"I'm sorry, love. You were sleeping pretty heavily though." He wrapped his arms around her, picking her up, her legs wrapping around his waist.

"I can feel you right here." She brushed her fist over her heart. "And I can see the future. I knew you'd get up early."

He smiled. "Damn, it's going to be hard to surprise you on your birthday."

She laughed. "You're already thinking about my birthday? It's only Christmas."

"I'm always thinking about you."

Gods the things he says to her.

"So what did you get me?"

"For our first Christmas together?"

"No for my birthday?" She already knew what he got her for Christmas, a sparkling new cauldron she couldn't wait to get her hands on.

His smile reached his eyes and his hands reached down to grope her bottom. "One hour."

She grinned. "One hour?"

"Yep." He began walking away from the kitchen, towards the stairs. "One hour and I'll do anything you want."

It was much, much later while snow gently fell to the ground and they sat together with hot chocolate that he gave her a new cauldron... and inside the cauldron was a stunning silver band with a fire opal in the center that fit perfectly on her index finger.

March 31st, 2007

The Quidditch match was hilariously fun for two reasons. The first being Susan Bones ended up in the row in front of them, which just spurred her to make Ron go sit with the woman. The second reason was that Susan ended up being a huge Chudley Canon's fan and had spent the majority of the match arguing with Ron about who knew the team better.

Neville and her hand left the match, a little tipsy on cheap ale, and holding hands. The past three months, she had been helping Harry with some cases at the DMLE now that her time with the Potion's Master program was coming to a spectacular end. The Title was as good as hers. But today was Saturday and while the breeze was still a touch nippy, the sun was shining and she had the day to spend with Neville.

"Are you mad at me?" she asked, even knowing he wasn't. The feeling she got from him through the bond felt more like worry than anything else. Though she had quickly learned that emotions were heard to define.

"No why would I be?" He teased her, tugging roughly on her hand.

"Because this affects you too." They were causally strolling down Diagon Alley, soft music playing in the distance, and Neville's promise for ice cream leading them to the Ice Cream Parlor.

"It's your body, Pansy. I will always be mad at you for what you did to yourself, and I will always be mad that I didn't think to help you." His arm came up, wrapping around her shoulder, and bringing her body into his side. "But I am okay not having kids. I have you."

April 14th, 2007

She fucking did it. This was just what she needed after the day she had had. With some major practice, she was learning to focus her ability in a way that allowed her to pick up visions after touching items, or even being in a certain location. She was slowly becoming Harry's best friend.

But the case they had been working on the past week had taken a turn that had her throwing up her lunch.

This letter was just what she needed.

She was officially Pansy Parkinson, Potions Master. The owl bearing her certification came and went and still she jumped up and down in her living room. It was then that Neville walked in from work.

"Pansy?"

"Look!" She showed him the clean piece of parchment, the black ink smooth and perfect. "I am a Potions Master!"

He fist bumped the air as he strode over, picking her up in his arms and swinging her around in circles. "Fuck I am so proud of you."

"Oh Neville!"

"I got a letter today too..."

May 9th, 2007

He was sitting in his office when Hannah walked in. Draco raised his eyebrows and sat back from his own desk.

The blonde witch sat in the chair in front of Neville's desk and looked at Draco, matching his posture, raising her eye brows back at him. "Go." Was all she said.

Draco shrugged and gave Neville a good luck look before leaving without a word.

"Hannah?" Neville asked. The last thing he wanted to do was fight more with this woman. But she flat out refused to give him what he wanted, a divorce. He wanted to marry Pansy and make it official, but he couldn't do that knowing he was married to another woman, even if it was just a muggle union. He still knew about it. So would Pansy. It all just seemed so tacky. But it felt like any time they were in a room together, Hannah and him turned to fighting.

Now she sat in front of him with her arms crossed and a frown on her face. "Here." She reached into her bag and pulled out a stack of papers, throwing them down on the table aggressively.

"What are these?" He asked, immediately scanning through them. Divorce papers... Was she...?

"My daddy died." Her voice cracked, but she held her face.

He dropped the papers and reached across the desk, grabbing her fingers with his own. "Hannah, I'm sorry. Bill was a good man."

They were silent a long time, until Neville dropped her hands and leaned back again.

"Thank you."

"Is that why you waited?"

"I really did love you at first, it felt right... didn't it?"

He understood where she was coming from, remembered those first few nights... the whirlwind of promises and sex. It felt right then... but looking back, nothing would ever compare to what he had with Pansy. "It did... but it didn't last."

September 1st, 2007

It turned out the woman that had hugged her in St. Mungo's the day Denise had killed herself was Neville's mother. Neville had introduced her to his parents after she had the nerve enough to ask. They hugged her again and again before the two had headed home. That's when it had clicked, the question that she had a long time ago, something that had been in the very back of her mind. Why had Neville stayed sane through all of the Cruciatus Curse's that had been cast on him?

Because of sheer will power. Neville knew exactly what would happen to him if he succumbed to the insanity the Cruciatus Curse so often brought with it. So it had manifested in the form of physical scars. When he had escorted her out of the building, after a quick hello to Susan, she had wrapped her arms around his neck and cried for a long time, a fresh wave of guilt ripping her to shreds.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." she had mumbled between crying sobs. Because she was not the same girl she had been a decade ago. She was not the same girl she had been in 7th year. And part of her still couldn't stand that she had hurt this man, her soul mate, so much.

He took her home and ran her a bath, calming her down the best he knew how.

"It's just to be weird going back, you know?" He said much later, his hands rubbing circles on her back as they lay in the tub together.

"I can't imagine..." Pansy laughed, her back lying against his chest, the water perfectly hot around them.

"I'll probably be late... imagine me walking into the Great Hall right in the middle of sorting or something... jeez... they want me to be a teacher? I barely made it out of school in the first place."

Her hands were resting on his knees and she squeezed them. "You'll be an amazing teacher, Neville."

"I'll miss you while I am at school all day." he said, nuzzling into her neck, biting her skin there.

She moaned, mind going blank as soon as his teeth touched her. "Nev... again?"

"Yes..." he started working his hands up her body. "Make up for all the time I will be away this year... don't think I don't realize how sad you really are."

"Neville..." she gasped. "I'm sad because I have something to tell you, not because you're going to be the new Herbology Professor at Hogwart's."

His hands stopped. "What do you have to tell me?"

She shuddered at where his hands had stopped, his fingers teasing areas that made thinking hard. "I sold the house. I bought a lot at Hogsmead."

He was silent, unmoving. "You did what?"

She turned her head to look up at him. "You're going to be at Hogwart's for a long time, so I went ahead and sold the house. It's too small for two people anyways. I bought a lot on the outskirts of Hogmead so we could build a house there, for ourselves. And... there's lots of yard to grow on."

Neville ended up being very late for the Welcoming Feast.

June 13th, 2008

"I did something." was his greeting as he walked into the front door of the house they had built in Hogsmead. She had been sitting on the floor, attempting to channel her energies, because her work load for St. Mungo's had doubled since their other supplier was arrested for fraud on top of the work she had been doing for Harry... and stressed was just not a big enough word to describe just how frustrated she was with incompetent brewers and dark wizards who couldn't tell the end of a fake wand from a real one.

Neville immediately sat down behind her, massaging her shoulders and neck, making her go limp with moans. "What... what did you do then?" she managed to ask through the fuzzy mush her brain turned into when he touched her.

"McGonagall told me that Slughorn is finally retiring and she needed a new Potion's Professor for next year. I gave her your name. Mrs. Pansy Longbottom.

The fuzz retreated, panic taking over. "You did what?"

"Shh it's okay, you were just talking about cooling it down working at the Auror's office and I think it would be a great thing for you."

"You want me to work for Minerva McGonagall? You do have any idea how insane that idea is?"

"I do... and McGonagall loved it."

November 14th, 2011

"Do you know I am still finding tins of crystallized pineapple in hiding places all over those dungeons?" Pansy collapsed into bed next to Neville, the both of them worn out from the day.

He didn't even answer, just made a mmhmm kind of noise.

"One of the students asked me why we didn't have any kids today." she blurted out, she felt the zing of hurt shoot down through the bond at him, knowing there was no way to stop it. It was an old hurt, mostly because it had been one of the first things Neville had told her. Why he had jumped into bed with Hannah so quickly. He wanted kids. She couldn't have kids.

He lifted his head, his hands reaching out to tuck her body into his. "Shhh. Baby we have such a good life, if we had kids, I would be happy. But I am just as happy with you. Please don't hurt because you think I want kids and I am just settling for you. You know I am crazy about you."

They did have a good life. A life full of purpose and friends and growing things. It had taken a long time, but she was beginning to think her new wand was starting to connect to her magic the way her old Willow had. She had more control over her ability now, able to focus it and keep it from disrupting her life. And it turned out she had a knack for teaching.

And their friends were so crazy happy too. Theo and Percy were living together. Draco and Hermione were pregnant with their first child. Harry and Ginny had two kids already. Ron and Susan were still doing their weird dance.

And she had Neville. Her big, burly, possessive Gryffindor who made love to her all the time and made her feel like she would never be alone and still found ways to surprise her.

She sighed into him. "I love you Neville Longbottom."

"I love you Pansy Longbottom." he replied in a gentle tone. "You are my heart. Don't be sad." he said, switching back to his usual gruff voice.

She still had no idea where those damn rose petals came from.