CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR:

CLOSURE

The day before the fifth year anniversary of the Battle at Hogwarts, Severus Snape completed a seventeen day ingredients-gathering mission and returned home to his wife eager for a hot shower, a cup of tea, and the physical comfort of his wife. Trotting happily at his side was Duchess, as usual. She seemed equally happy to be home.

"Severus!" Narcissa rose from the couch and rushed to him, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him soundly. "I've missed you!"

"I missed you, too." His hands went first to her hips and then to her arse, pulling her flush against him, envisioning her naked and hoping to make the fantasy a reality. "Is Hope sleeping? If so, I'll have you right here."

"Hope is sleeping..." she started, but her next words were silenced by his lips.

"Uncle!" shouted a small voice. Severus immediately unhanded his wife, who smiled and held out her arms for five-year-old Teddy to rush into them. Severus glanced around, confused (and rather relieved he hadn't already Vanished their clothes!).

"Andromeda is here?"

"Nana is sick," said Teddy. His hair and nose changed to mirror Severus'. Narcissa smiled and kissed the boy's cheek.

"You look better when you resemble your aunt," said Severus, poking Teddy on his overlarge honker. With a giggle, Teddy's hair went shoulder-length and white-blond.

"So handsome!" said Narcissa approvingly. He looked like a little Draco.

"Andromeda has taken ill?" asked Severus, concerned. Narcissa shook her head slightly.

"Let me settle Teddy down for his nap and I'll explain."

While Narcissa was reading the child a story and getting him to sleep, Severus took a quick, hot shower, dressed and dried his hair. The pair met in the kitchen where Butters had already prepared tea. Duchess lay under the table, probably hoping scraps would fall her way, but almost certainly to be disappointed as Severus and Narcissa did not drop food on the floor as the children often did.

"What happened?" asked Severus, adding sugar to his own tea, as he didn't like being served by the house-elf all the time.

"I couldn't reach you," said Narcissa, wrapping her hands around the warm mug. "Four days ago, Kingsley Shacklebolt arrived here unexpectedly via Floo with Teddy in his arms. He explained that Andromeda had returned to the rehabilitation facility. Once we had Teddy distracted by a treat in the kitchen with Butters, the Minister took me into the sitting room and explained he'd had her involuntarily committed."

"What? Why?" Severus set down his mug and took Narcissa's hand. "Drinking again?"

"Worse. Teddy contacted him at the Ministry using Floo Powder, as he's seen Andromeda do, and told him he couldn't wake her. Kingsley Flooed there immediately to find she had mixed powdered root of aconite with the Mandrake leaves used in a Calming Draught and some Elven Herb, soaked the mixture into a potion, and... and in..." Narcissa's eyes darted toward the sitting room fireplace, visible through the doorway, as if she could see the Minister standing there with the boy in his arms. "Injected it. With a... a... he called it a..."

"A needle?" supplied Severus. "Muggles used them for medicine. Or drugs."

"Yes, a needle, that was it." Narcissa sipped her tea and sighed. "Kingsley told Andromeda that was it, he was through being patient and trusting her to care for herself. He said she could either be arrested for concocting and using an illegal substance or she could return to that rehabilitation facility immediately."

"She wisely opted for rehab?"

"No." Narcissa nodded her acknowledgement to Butters, who'd just placed a plate of scones between the couple on the table. "She said 'arrest me then, but how will it look to the wizarding world, knowing the bloody Minister has been shagging an addict for years and hasn't done a damn thing about it?'"

"She didn't!" Severus did not usually engage in the gossipy conversations his wife, her sister, and, on occasion, Hermione would get into, but he found himself leaning forward, fingers tented, eager to know what came next.

"He said he told her she could bugger off with that Slytherin manipulation, arrested her, and had her involuntarily committed to the rehabilitation facility for a period of twelve weeks, the longest allowable for a first time long-term patient. He warned me her condition may make the papers but thus far, silence."

Severus swore, sat back in his seat, and reached for a scone.

"For the next twelve weeks we have two small children?"

"Yes."

"Are we capable of caring for two small children?"

"Harry Potter offered to take the boy, but I insisted we keep him – his wife is due any day, and besides... I like having two small children." She drummed her long, recently manicured red nails on the table, avoiding his eye. "Are you angry?"

"Not at all."

This came as an obvious relief. She hadn't been sure when she'd agreed to care for the boy whether her husband would be understanding or annoyed. Though he was wonderful with their daughter, now two-and-a-half, he wasn't terrible talented when it came to dealing with children in general.

"She needs help, Severus."

"That, she does." He spread jam on his scone and took a large bite, savoring the taste. He'd been eating relatively poorly during his trip, as he'd had to pack in advance and had no way of preserving anything too complicated. "You've told Teddy she's sick?"

"It's the truth, isn't it?"

"Tomorrow is... do you reckon tomorrow's date had anything to do with her... downfall?" he asked this delicately, as both he and Narcissa generally tried to avoid talking about certain anniversaries each year, including that of the Final Battle.

"I don't know. But that reminds me – are we going tomorrow?"

Narcissa had never attended a Final Battle Anniversary Remembrance Ceremony, but Severus had been to the last few, thinking it was necessary as he was both a famous survivor and a local business owner.

"Will you attend with me?"

"I think I'm ready." She picked up a scone too but did not make any attempt to eat it, instead pulling it apart and leaving the shredded bits all over the table for Butters to clean up later. Though Severus loved his wife as much now as he had nearly four years ago, this was a habit that drove him batty. Growing up hungry meant he still couldn't stomach witnessing the wasting of food, and as a boy leaving a mess like that would've gotten him beaten by his father.

"Must you?" he asked, gesturing toward the massacred scone.

"Yes," she said dryly. "I must." But knowing how he felt, she scooped it up, stood, and dropped it in the dog's dish so it wouldn't go to waste. She then returned to the table. "How was your excursion? Did you find everything you needed?"

From there, they dropped both the topics of Andromeda and of the anniversary. He told her about his travels, she told him about Draco's important recent shopping trip, and once he was done eating he stood, gathered her into his arms, and carried her upstairs to the bedroom.

"I missed you terribly," he admitted as he lowered her onto their bed, shooing Duchess away. "Did you fall in love with any better looking wizards while I was away?"

"Dozens," she teased. "But ultimately none of them had what you have."

"Enviable intellect, rapier wit, and a massive cock?"

She giggled and half-heartedly attempted to push him away. "No! A thriving apothecary, a Dilys Derwent Chocolate Frog Card, and an overly attached dog."

"Is she overly attached?" He paused in the middle of unbuttoning his shirt to glance at the Cocker Spaniel, who was seated beside the bed, tail wagging, head cocked to one side with pink tongue hanging out as she awaited being allowed back up on the mattress.

"I can't remember the last time I had sex without an audience."

"Hmm." He resumed unbuttoning. "I'd heard that was something you're into."

"Come here so I can kiss all of your scars and remind you of your bravery." She grabbed the open front of his shirt and pulled him down to claim his lips with hers. Within minutes both were naked and writhing, changing positions, breathing heavily and whispering words of affection, making up for over two weeks of lost time. When he finished, moments after she had, he stared up at her, his hands on either side of her thighs, and smiled, but the euphoria was short-lived.

"Severus?" She scritched along the center of his chest, pouting out her bottom lip, staring down at him with pleading eyes. "I want another baby."

"You're insane." He guided her down to lay flush against him, his arms wrapped around her back. "We have Draco, Hermione, Hope, and Teddy. That's quite enough."

"Two of those aren't ours," she pouted, but as she did, she felt a now-familiar heat crawling into her upper body, making her hotter than sex ever could. Her skin went red across her chest as beads of sweat formed on her upper body. He could feel the heat radiating from her.

"Are you... are you on fire?" He flipped them so she was on her back, then pulled off to examine her. "Have you a fever? Do you need–"

She burst into tears.

"I'll never have another baby!"

"Narcissa!" He gathered her close despite the warmth emanating from her body. "I'm sorry, but another baby could kill you, and I am not willing–"

"It's not that, it's... This is a hot flash, Severus!" She pushed him away grabbed for her wand, and flicked it, making a jet of cool air burst out, which she used to fan herself, wiping away the tears with her free hand, which she then used to grab his. "Feel my heart!"

She pressed his palm to the center of her chest. He couldn't feel anything, but she explained her heart was racing.

"Send an Owl to Minerva, because I'm going through the bloody change!"

"Wha... Oh!" Realization and understanding hit him. He bit back a chuckle. "Oh. Well, I don't believe you can hold it off by having another baby."

"I know!" She let loose an anguished cry. "This has been happening for months but this is the first time it's happened while you're present and awake! I've been trying to hide it, but... Merlin's beard, it's so bloody hot. Be honest, Severus. Am I blotchy? Am I hideous?"

"You're beautiful," he answered quickly, and not only because his wedding vows included telling her so even when she felt at her worst. Unable to lie, he added, "You are blotchy, though."

"I'm so bloody hot – this is how it starts, sudden heat! Then, sometimes, a headache or dizziness. And the sweating. I loathe sweating! Then in a few minutes I'll be freezing. Freezing! When did I get so damn old?"

"Don't be ridiculous," he said dismissively, but he couldn't help adding in a teasing tone, "You won't be old for two more years."

"Less than!" she exclaimed. "I'll be fifty in two months shy of two years!"

"But you'll always be younger than Andromeda." He kissed his wife's temple and extracted himself from the bed. Hope and Teddy were overdue to be awakened from their naps or they'd be up half the night. He did a quick cleaning spell and gathered his discarded clothes from the floor, where Duchess has taken pleasure in rolling over them, leaving dog hair everywhere. "You are forever the baby sister."

"That's true." This notion seemed to brighten Narcissa's outlook at least a little. "No matter how old I get, she'll always be two years older. Thanks, love. You always know just what to say."

He laughed.

Far away at Malfoy Manor, Hermione and Draco were readying themselves for an early dinner with her mother and siblings, whom they hadn't seen in over a month. Jean Granger had moved into her own place nearly two years before, after her divorce was finalized and Hermione's father agreed to pay support. Though her reopened dental practice meant she was too busy to spend as much time with her eldest daughter as she had when staying at the Manor, they sent letters often and were closer than ever.

"I can't wait to see Mum and the twins!" Hermione wrenched a brush through her tangled, frazzled curls with the intention of French braiding the mane.

"Yes, it's been a long time," said Draco... but this was a lie. In fact, he'd seen Jean Granger only three days earlier, when she'd joined him and his mother for a little shopping excursion. But Hermione did not need to know about that.

Dinner was pleasant, but Hermione couldn't help noticing the little looks her mother kept shooting her boyfriend. When they returned home that night, she placed her hands on her hips and asked, "How long have you and my mother been having an affair?"

"What? No! We... what?!" Draco sputtered, gray eyes wide with panic. It only took him a few seconds, though, to realize she was only needling him. "Shut it. It's nothng."

"I am certain something is going on! Out with it!"

"It's nothing!" Draco insisted. "She likes me, that's all. I'm a natural charming wizard. A philanthropist. An excellent older brother. And irresistibly good-looking."

Hermione snorted. "Sure, that must be it."

She and Draco changed for bed then, even though it was much earlier than they usually turned in, and held each other under the blankets, Crookshanks curled up by their feet. Neither wanted to acknowledge the fact that it had come – the five year anniversary of the start of the Battle of Hogwarts – and the next morning they'd find themselves at the ceremony again. Hermione hated that this was the way every damn year and almost missed being in Azkaban after her arrest on the first anniversary. She hated with every fiber of her being having to sit facing the crowd with Harry and Ron, Neville and Severus, McGonagall and the Minister – all the key players.

Hermione wished she could be like Mrs. Weasley, who refused to be recognized for having murdered Bellatrix Lestrange, an act she felt was right in the moment but had lived to regret, as even murdering a monster to protect one's child is capable of splitting the soul, at least symbolically. Mrs. Weasley did not even attend the ceremonies anymore. She stayed home with her grandchildren: four-year-old Freddy, three-year-old Victoire, and newborn Dominique, soon to be joined by James Sirius, due any day.

Ginny wasn't present this year either, for obvious reasons, but of course Harry was. He shook hands with Draco, hugged Hermione, and greeted Severus, who looked utterly miserable to be back on Hogwarts' grounds despite a warm hello from Minerva minutes earlier.

"We shouldn't have come," said a voice from behind Harry. He turned to see Narcissa, balancing Hope on her hip, holding Teddy's hand. Harry greeted his godson cheerily, lifting him into the hair and pretending to drop him, making the boy squeal and laugh. Teddy had bubblegum pink hair today, his favorite color, but otherwise wore his natural features.

"We can leave," said Severus in a low voice. "Have one of those hot flashes. I'll tell Shacklebolt you've come down with a fever."

"I can't 'hot flash' on command, love."

"Damn." Severus took Hope from his wife and pressed the back of his hand to her forehead. "We could say she has a fever. A lightly applied Aquamenti against her hairline should create the appearance of sweat..."

"Severus, Narcissa!" The booming voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt interrupted their scheming. "Good morning. You are ready for the ceremony?"

"Must we do this every damn year, Shacklebolt?" asked Severus. Though he'd gotten to know the former Order member better since the man had started seeing Andromeda, they weren't exactly close. Severus felt the Minister still didn't fully trust him, whereas the Minister felt that Severus could hardly stand to be social with anyone, let alone a man whose very presence reminded him of an unpleasant past. "Ripping open old wounds, and for what? Does it help the survivors to move on? Does it bring comfort to the loved ones of those lost? It's an excuse for the general public and the Daily bloody Prophet to gape at us, try to gauge our pain levels, and feel as though they're part of something they can never truly understand, not the way we know it."

"This is the end," said Kingsley, parting his hands and holding his palms up to the sky as if to say it was being given over to the heavens. "Perhaps at year ten or fifteen there will be interest in hosting a smaller ceremony of remembrance, and I am certain the people will demand something at year twenty-five, but I – and the Ministry – agree with you. We must remember those lost and honor their sacrifices without... this." He gestured around. They were in the grass overlooking the lake, near Dumbledore's tomb, where his funeral had been. Witches and wizards and paparazzi were milling about, chatting. Those who were hardly touched by the war shared war stories to make themselves seem more connected, just as Severus had said, while those who lived with the painful memories every day chatted about the weather or the Weird Sisters, or sat quietly in the preset chairs, simply waiting.

"Have you spoken to my sister?" whispered Narcissa. She picked up Teddy, just returned to her by Harry Potter, who'd been spotted by Rita Skeeter and was trying to make himself seem too busy discussing Draco's latest charity to have time to talk.

"I paid a visit, but she will not speak to me except to say I betrayed her and ought to kill myself using the knife I left in her back."

Narcissa winced. He shrugged it off.

"She has a long road to recovery and if being angry with me makes her feel better in the moment, I am willing to be made the sacrificial lamb."

"Minister?" called Hestia Jones, who was standing by the podium. Though they had no romantic interest in each other, not anymore, not in years, she had ascended to the role of his right hand in the Ministry. "We're starting shortly. I need you and... and the others to take your seats."

"Of course." He inclined his head at Narcissa. "Excuse me."

She nodded and turned to Severus. "I suppose this means you have to go, too."

"I sit up front." He kissed her forehead, then did the same to his daughter. "It's almost over."

Thankfully, the ceremony was the shortest to date. Harry, Neville, Minerva, and Kingsley spoke, but all kept their remarks brief, and afterward Narcissa and Severus used the children as an excuse to miss the VIP meal held in the Great Hall at Hogwarts, cleared free of students (who would be eating lunch in their Common Rooms).

Though they joined the others, including most of their friends, for the light repast, Hermione apologetically informed the rest of their table that she and Draco had to be going in short order.

"We're going on holiday," she explained. "Two weeks in the United States! Our sixth country in the last three years and the farthest away thus far. We're going to visit the Salem Witches Institute in Massachusetts and the MACUSA Headquarters in New York City and the Apparitions Library in Savannah, Georgia! It'll be Draco's first time on an airplane!"

"A giant metal bird with wings that don't flap," said Draco, looking a little green. "Can't wait."

Back at the little house owned by Severus and Narcissa Snape, the couple and the two children were eating lunch, speculating about how the trip would go.

"He's anxious," said Severus, passing the pitcher of gillywater to his wife. "I could sense it this morning."

"He needn't be. She truly does love him. I could sense it when we were last out to dinner together."

"I spent a few days at the Hogsmeade location before my trip, doing inventory while Patil and Carrow-Goyle covered the main shop. Draco stopped in for lunch. They're sickening together."

"More affectionate now than they were when they were first dating. I know, I noticed it too. I worried she might be pregnant but she's not."

"You asked her?"

"Don't be silly. I told her I was considering having another baby while utilizing Legilimency. If she were pregnant, I'd have seen a flash of something..."

"You could have simply asked her."

"I could have, I chose not to." She smiled. "If I am to be denied more babies, I would like – Teddy, get that carrot out of your nose – grandbabies."

"Getting married, assuming they do, does not guarantee children. Granger is highly capable as a potions mistress. Her experimental brewing has impressed me, especially as of late. She may – Hope, we do not wipe our hands on our shirts – wish to continue focusing on her career. She is in the process of patenting her first potion."

Narcissa sighed into her gillywater. "As far as I've evolved since the war, I still cannot fathom why any woman would want to work when she could marry a wealthy man and stay home instead. Especially if she's even reasonably attractive! Reasonably attractive woman should not work. Except Andromeda. She should work. That seems a proper punishment for turning down the proposal of the Minister for Magic, like an imbecile."

Severus, grinning, leaned across the table to peck his wife on the lips, much to the audible disgust of Teddy and to Hope's giggly amusement. "You're terribly spoiled, occasionally shallow, and a bit petty, but I wouldn't have you any other way, Mrs. Snape."

"I love you too, you overgrown bat."

Across the pond, both Draco (once he recovered from his airplane-induced motion sickness) and Hermione were thoroughly enjoying America, both the magical parts and the Muggle (or No-Maj, as they called them there). They perused the underground subway station where famed Auror Tina Goldstein and her not-yet-husband Newt Scamander helped MACUSA officials trap Grindelwald, mourned over the deaths of accused witches in Salem, where real witches escaped while their non-magic female peers (and one man) were victims of a literal witch hunt, and subtly chuckled at No-Maj's who were convinced their supposedly haunted pirate restaurant in Savannah was anything but, despite the ghosts Hermione and Draco could see floating between tables and looking longingly at the food.

The last leg of their trip was in New York City, where they'd flown into and would be flying back out of. Draco had done considerable research with the help of Jean Granger and had made arrangements to take Hermione to a restaurant in the borough of Brooklyn, across a large brown bridge, where they could sit outside in the dark, overlooking the bright Manhattan skyline across a river.

"The lights twinkle like diamonds," said Hermione, her chin resting on her hand as she stared at a particularly interesting building beyond the bridge, one with a tall lit up spire jutting straight up into the sky. The Empire State Building, she believed it was. "Don't you think so, Draco? Like hundreds of tiny diamonds – or stars. But you know they're not. They're from windows in buildings full of people in a city that doesn't sleep."

"Do you like diamonds?" he asked, but he immediately wanted to kick himself for such a stupid lead in.

"Sure," she answered casually. "They're pretty."

"Do you like this diamond?" He held out an open box, a little box he'd been carrying on his person for weeks, containing a silver, shiny piece of jewelry both his mother and hers had helped him choose. She tore her eyes from the Empire State Building, staring down at the object in his hands.

"That's a ring."

"Yes, it is."

"It looks like an engagement ring."

"It is," said Draco. "If you'll marry me."

She gasped, hands flying up to her mouth, and his heart fluttered wildly. Suddenly, he feared he'd made a terrible mistake, she was about to say no, and he would be heartbroken.

"Oh, Draco," she said, her voice muffled by her hands. Her eyes filled with tears.

"Your mother said she thought the cut and size would suit you. My mother suggested the ruby chip on one side with the emerald on the other, to represent our Houses. I chose silver because I know you're not fond of wearing gold jewelry, and..."

"Yes, Draco!" she cut him off, her hands dropping to the table in front of her. "Yes, I'd be happy to marry you!"

"You would?" He cleared his throat, straightened up, and held the box closer to her. "I knew you would. I wasn't worried."

She grinned at this unintentional admission of his anxiety before leaping from her chair to press a kiss to his lips. She let him slide the ring onto her finger and marveled at it under the moonlight, holding out her hand to see the diamond twinkle along with all the ones across the river.

"I'll be Mrs. Ferret." She returned to her seat, beaming across the table at him. He pulled a face.

"Will that make me Mr. Know-It-All?"

They were married on a Tuesday in June, just over one year later. Bridesmaids included Luna and Ginny, while Goyle and little Teddy stood up for Draco. Narcissa was thrilled to throw the reception, Aquila Hope was not too whiny about having to wear a fancy dress, and both of Hermione's parents attended, though she decided to forgo being walked down an aisle "like a piece of transferred property."

During the after party, while they watched guests chat and enjoy themselves, Severus and Hermione stood by the large picture windows in the Drawing Room of Malfoy Manor. He clinked his champagne flute to hers and offered his congratulations.

"It's funny, isn't it?" asked Hermione, smiling up at her former professor. "After the war, we were all suffering in our own way, and while I was assigned to help Draco and you were enlisted to aid Narcissa, I think they ended up helping us too. Don't you think, Sir? Or... or am I being silly and overly emotional on account of this being my wedding day?"

"Neither silly nor overly emotional," he assured her, glancing across the room. Narcissa was attempting to smooth down Draco's long, tied back hair, and while they couldn't hear what the two were saying, the groom's exaggerated eye roll was enough to give them an idea.

"Do you ever feel guilty, Sir, for surviving the war when so many did not?"

"You needn't call me Sir when we are not at work, Hermione." Severus had told her this before, of course, but old habits were hard to break. "And yes, I do, but not as much now as I did in the past. War is a terrible thing and I entered into the second with the understanding and acceptance that I would not live to see the end of it. At first, I was sorry to have been proven wrong, but once I had something – someone – to live for..."

"I still feel guilty sometimes," she admitted quietly, suddenly all too interested in the bubbles in her champagne, unable to look anywhere else but at her glass. "Draco still misses his father. I had a dream about Dobby a few nights ago. And Andromeda..." The face of Nymphadora Tonks flashed through Hermione's mind's eye so clearly, Severus saw it too even though he was not intentionally employing Occlumency. "I'm sorry Teddy is an orphan."

"He is sufficiently loved and well cared for," said Severus, his eyes now scanning the room for the boisterous, pink-haired boy. He spotted him in the center of the dance floor, twirling three-and-a-half-year-old Hope, who looked like her mother but with Severus' eyes, around under his arm. Both fell onto their backsides and got up giggling, as Orlando, Ophelia, and Freddy Weasley rushed over to join them.

"That's the best we can do, isn't it, Sir... er, Severus? Love them and care for them."

"That is the best we can do." Though he was not typically one for displays of affection, he leaned over and kissed her head in a fatherly way. He then glanced back toward Narcissa, who was now trying to adjust the collar on Draco's formal robes as if he were a little boy, much to his obvious chagrin. Severus smirked. "Now if you'll excuse me, Hermione, I am going to go save your husband from my wife."

Hermione nodded. She watched him walk over to the pair, suddenly shaken by the realization she had a husband. At once she felt both incredibly grown up and much like a little girl. Only six years and two months ago, she had been tortured in this very room. Held down by a sadist and carved into with a knife. Hit with the Cruciatus repeatedly, eventually going unconscious, but never breaking. She'd thought she might die that day. It was a very real possibility. And yet, here she was, most definitely alive. In love with a man who'd been the enemy, kissed on the head by an ornery professor who'd made her cry in class on at least two occasions, and happily married into a family that had previously caused her so much pain.

She watched as Hope and Ophelia ran up to Draco, each grabbing one of his hands and pulling him to the center of the dance floor. He lifted one in each arm and spun around with them, making them shout out with delight, as Teddy rushed over to say "Me next! Me too!" Draco grinned down at his little cousin as the sad reality struck Hermione that he and Tonks might have been friends, had they ever been able to get to know each other. Their mothers wasted a lot of years as enemies over something as stupid as blood status being more important than being blood. It seemed ridiculous now. Their world had certainly come a long way in the last six years.

Time heals, Hermione thought, finishing off the last of her champagne. Certainly, as the Stages of Grief book said, there was a process to it: Denial, shock, guilt, and anger, isolation, regret, depression, confusion, and fear, then, finally, reconstruction, acceptance, growth, and hope. All of these led to the desired last step: closure.

There were a number of ways to combat grief, to work through it and escape to the other side. But more than anything else, the healer was simply time.

And now, it was time to go join her husband on the dance floor.

A/N:

I know, this ending is even cheesier than the ending of the last chapter! I don't always do Happily Ever After style endings, but after all the characters went through in through their STAGES OF GRIEF, how could I not?!

Meanwhile, an Andromeda-related plot bunny attacked me while I was working on this, so she now has her own little ficlet, ANDROMEDA TONKS: LONG-TERM, ADDICT. If you want to learn a little more about what led to her drug use and being involuntarily committed, check it out!

I'm also working on a new Hermione/Snape called JUST ONE NIGHT, which is, unsurprisingly, about the two of them having an affair. She's the Minister for Magic, he's Hogwarts Headmaster, and they're both miserably married with two children each. It's not like this one – smuttier, darker in a different way, not linear, and I'm not ready to promise a HEA because I'm currently waffling between two endings – but I'm having fun with it.

I have also returned to ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME and hope to have a new chapter up soon. I fell off the wagon with that one for awhile when my outline fell apart and the muse tried to escape, but I'm better now.

Thank you to everyone who read, followed, and reviewed this fic! I hugely appreciate it. I loved reading your responses and hope if you've gotten this far you'll tell me what you thought of the ending and/or of the story overall. Specific reviewer thank yours will come in the form of PMs.

Thanks again!

-AL