Sorry for the delay folks, but here it is. The final chapter, the end of it all. I hope you enjoy it, and thank you again for all your lovely reviews and messages of support. I've treasured each and every one!

Atticus helped himself to the cake when no one was looking and ate himself sick. The Weasley women (there was now a Mrs Fred Weasley, a Mrs Ron Weasley, and a Mr Percy Weasley-Bassili who was close enough, in addition to Mrs Arthur Weasley, Mrs Bill Weasley, and Mrs Potter nee Weasley) all tried to soothe the little boy, but for a four and a half year old who's just vomited copious amounts of buttercream frosting, only a mummy will do.

Hermione had soothed him, given him a hefty dose of the stomach ache tonic Severus had fortuitously brewed the night before, and sent him off to the men. He was a big boy, after all, and had very important Best Man duties to attend to.

The castle was crawling with people, which should have been surprising, considering it was the summer holidays. But Hermione's old teachers (including a few professors who had come from Paris), the now enormous Weasley clan, the Potters, Longbottoms, Thomases, Butlers, Hagrids (including the almost normal sized triplet toddlers) and hand full of other friends managed to make the usually roomy castle seem chock-full. Those who had come from out of the country had arrived the week before and Minerva had generously opened the castle to them for accommodations.

Once she no longer had the fear of Phillipe hanging over her head, Hermione had wasted no time introducing her son to the people who'd once been her extended family. It had been tentative at first, breaking the news that not only was she divorced, with a son, but also now engaged to Snape, but all in all she thought it had gone rather well. No howlers were sent to the estate, and Harry and Ginny had taken a portkey into Great Britain for a visit not long after. Arthur, Molly, and Ron had been the next to visit, and instead of being awkward, as she'd expected, it had gone amazingly well. Molly was instantly in love with Atticus and doted on him like a grandmother. Arthur had been caught three times in the shed trying to enchant the riding lawn mower to drive itself, and Ron turned out to be the absolute best uncle any little boy could ask for. He took Atty on broom rides (with Severus continually casting cushioning charms below them), they played trucks in the dirt, and to top it all off, Ron had brought along the one thing guaranteed to enrapture a four year old. A puppy.

Hermione and Severus had been happy to see the Weasleys and their pet off again several days later, but it had started a ritual of visits that continued all the way up to Hermione's wedding. She and Severus had planned the whole thing themselves, tailoring it to their exact wishes. Hermione had eloped the first time around at Phillipe's behest, and Severus had never entertained thoughts on nuptials, but they both worked together to make it perfectly suited for them.

Hagrid, who, as it turned out, had been ordained by the ministry years before, preformed the ceremony. Molly cried, Atticus cheered, and Hagrid blew his nose loudly into his handkerchief as the newlyweds kissed for the first time as husband and wife.

Afterward, the many children set about eating the cake that Atticus had made himself sick on, and congratulations were passed around. When the evening began to wear to a close, Hermione and Severus sat down with Atticus to make sure he knew to behave for Arthur and Molly. With so many other children to play with and new things to explore, they didn't worry he would get bored. With so many adults around to watch him, not to mention the house elves that had taken it upon themselves to herd the children like sheep, they tried not to worry about any mishaps, but that was nearly impossible. Yes, they were newlyweds, but they were parents first.

They would only be gone a week, but by the time they'd caught their portkey to Vienna, they both missed him. Still, it would be nice to have several days of uninterrupted carnal bliss.

"Severus, did you remember to pack the expanding satchel?" she called into the bathroom. "I thought we might need-" she paused, pulling out the roll of official looking parchment she'd just unearthed in his suitcase. Thinking it must be their marriage certificate, she smiled and unrolled it. And froze.

"Did you hear me? I said it's in your-" Severus walked out of the bathroom with a towel slung low around his hips and another tousling his hair. He saw what Hermione was holding and his blood ran cold. "Hermione." His voice cracked. The towel in his hand fell to the floor. She turned to look at him, the adoption papers still clutched in her hand. They were already filled in with Atticus' name, Hermione and Severus' information, and the ministry seal. At the bottom was the name Atticus Wendall Snape. The only thing missing was the signatures. "It's not what you think it is."

She looked up at him then, shock written plainly on her features. "It's not?"

"No! I mean, yes, but not like that. I'm not rushing you, Hermione, I swear to Salizar I'm not. It's not something I would ever want to make you feel like I was forcing you into. It's a huge commitment for both of us. Bigger than getting married, even. If by some terrible occurrence we were to split up, I would have custody rights to him. But you've got to know that I would never separate the two of you. I couldn't do that to either of you. But... Hermione, he's my son now too. I want that to be true in every way humanly possible. I just wanted to have the papers drawn up for when you're ready. I don't want to wait a single second longer than I have to."

Hermione didn't even try and stop the tears that fell from her eyes. She looked at the parchment again, then moved to her suitcase. Severus reached out to her, but pulled his hand back at the last moment. Was she angry? Hurt? Scared?

"Hermione-" He was cut off when she handed him something. He looked first at her, then at the roll of parchment she'd given him. His heart began to pound when he saw at the very top the name Atticus Wendall Granger. Unable to read the words between, be yanked the parchment all the way open and read the very bottom. Atticus Wendall Snape. She'd had the adoption papers drawn up as well.

"I didn't know how to give them to you. It seemed wrong to just hand them to you and ask you to adopt my son. I know we've talked about it before, and I knew it was what you wanted, but it just seemed so-" She was cut off by Severus' kiss. He hauled her against his chest, hugging her close and trying to express everything unsaid between them. Hermione responded with equal fervor, meeting him stroke for stroke and holding him tight.

They broke apart finally, gasping. "Quill," Severus said hoarsely. "Where's a quill?" Hermione rummaged through her things quickly and came up with one. Severus unrolled one of the sets of papers again and dropped the nib to the signature line. He glanced up at Hermione at the last moment. "You're certain?" She nodded. With a few spiky strokes, he'd signed his name. He passed it to Hermione, who added her own signature below his. The parchment glowed a bright blue, then vanished. Severus looked down at Hermione's now empty hands and swallowed thickly. It was done. He'd just adopted Atticus and given him the Snape name. "Hermione." Emotion was bright in his eyes and made his voice ragged. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too. And so does Atty. We really are a family now, Severus. In every way we can be." She bit her lip and studied his face. "You became a husband and a father all in one day. Are you sure that's not too much to take in?"

"Not even remotely." He swung her up into his arms and carried her to the bed. "I want to hold our son so much right now it aches. You're going to have to distract me, Mrs Snape."

"Oh, the sacrifices I make for you," she sighed dramatically.

"I'm sure you'll find some way to bear the hardship," he assured her. "Though I think you might just have to distract me every possible moment for the next seven days. We might never make it out of this room."

"And wouldn't that be a shame? There were books I wanted to shop for for the new research paper, and obligatory honeymoon pictures to take..."

"I'm not opposed to pictures being involved."

"Wicked man," she grinned against his lips.

"Beautiful wife," he whispered back. Whatever retort she'd been about to say was lost as he began the thorough distraction. Soon, the room was filled with breathless moans and incoherent urgings. Climax found them tangled together as close as two beings could be. "I love you, Hermione Snape." He kissed her palm, then the tip of each finger, then her knuckles, and finally cupped her hand over his cheek. Hermione repeated the kiss back.

"I love you, too," she promised, staring into his eyes and seeing forever reflected back at her.