Disclaimer: Simply borrowing these characters and not making a profit.

-- Chapter Twenty-Three --

- deathangelofdarkness, Shania Maxwell, siriuslyinlove, and Yana5 - thank you for reviewing!

A/N: This is the last chapter. This ends my story.

--

Harry awoke on the fourth floor of St. Mungo's. He immediately recognized where he was due to the lime green robes with the bone and wand emblem.

The moment he registered what had happened, tears streamed down his face and he broke into hysterical sobs.

A woman who looked very similar to Miriam Strout, the healer Harry had met in his fifth year. She had dissimilar markings about her however.

"Hello dearie. How are we feeling? My name is Marianna Strout," the witch fretted over Harry. "Just take this potion and you'll feel just fine, I promise," she offered Harry a violet potion.

He took the potion and looked back and forth between the healer and the potion.

"Nothing will be all right! Don't you understand?!" he bellowed, throwing the potion against the wall.

"Oh dearie, you must relax," she muttered a spell to clean up the mess. "You mustn't stress."

"Draco's DEAD!! Nothing will be all right! Don't tell me to relax! He's gone. He's gone just like Sirius, my parents, Cedric. They're all gone," his voice became calmer with each word.

"They're all gone," he whispered.

"Dearie, I'm sorry. I really am. I heard all about what happened. But please, take the potion," she offered him a fresh brew.

Harry swallowed the potion just as Ron walked in.

"Hermione had twins," he told Harry.

"What day is it?"

"August 26. You were unconscious for two months. We put off the wedding until Hermione's birthday, though."

"What are their names?" Harry asked as the drowsiness came over him.

"Chrescenthelia and Aidonis Aaronald Granger-Weasley," Ron replied with a smile Harry had only seen a few times. It was a truly heartfelt smile instead of his usual lopsided grin. Ron seemed to reserve those for special occasions.

"Can I see them?" Harry asked.

"Sleep first," Ron answered.

Harry obediently agreed and fell asleep under the influence of the Tranquil Dream Draught.

-

Harry grinned at Ron's cockamamie expression as he waited expectantly for Hermione's appearance down into the room where they were all waiting at Number 12 Grimmauld Place, which Harry had long inherited after Sirius' will had been found in the same package as the mirror, and towards him.

Before Hermione emerged, her parents had come out with the twins. The house had been cleaned and redecorated over the years that had passed. This room was decorated in shades of lavender and many, many lavender flowers filled the space. Silver dressed the various chairs and curtains.

Hermione had insisted against white. Instead, she was clad in a long, lavender dress sewn in a robe-type style, but still displaying the form Hermione had managed to somewhat regain. She carried a single lavender lily.

-

A half a decade down the road, Harry married Luna Lovegood. They never had children. Harry was too scared of losing them. He never loved Luna like he did Draco, but she understood him, just as she had with the Thestrals. He was happy. He had pursued his dream of becoming an Auror. Harry had many chances to put Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy into Azkaban, but out of his devotion to Draco, he let them go. They had receded into some deep, dark vicinity and hadn't had the nerve to reappear.

Ron and Hermione had bought one of shabby houses next to the Order headquarters, and Harry and Luna had bought the one on the other side. They had fixed up the houses and connected them. The Fidelius Charm was modified to encompass all three homes. Ginny, who had been dating Anthony Goldstein for quite some time, still lived in Number 12 with her boyfriend. Many other couples had moved into Number 12 as well as many other members of the Order.

Thelia (Chrescenthelia) and Aidon (Aidonis Aaronald) were only four years away from their first year at Hogwarts.

Fred and George Weasley had married Padma and Parvati Patil. Their joke shop business was still one of the most prosperous in the entire wizarding world.

They all knew that the final attack from Voldemort was coming, but they did their best not to let it command their lives. They led fairly normal lives, with a few exceptions.

And when the attack came, the ending was as close to happily ever after. Members of the Order suffered, that was inevitable, but as Moody had told Molly, they were far better prepared this time.

Thelia and Aidon had left school by the time the attack came.

Harry suffered great damages. He was unable to leave his bed for over a year. Luna was by his side throughout the affair. Slowly, he regained control of his body.

Albus Dumbledore, easily the greatest headmaster of Hogwarts, was weakened horribly by Voldemort. His age had caught up with him, and he wasn't able to recover as Harry had. He died at Hogwarts in the Hospital Wing.

Minerva McGonagall took over the school.

Many other lives changed dramatically.

Taoist philosophers say that the only thing constant in life is change. There is no way to deny that. Harry understood that. He was able to enjoy the rest of his life, even without the people he loved most. He died at the age of 80. Only Hermione and Ron remembered that it was the same date when La Pozione di Amore di Aura buona exploded in the Potions classroom.

-- End of Chapter Twenty-Three --

A note on the names of Thelia and Aidon:

I put in a lot of thought when it came to naming the twins and if any of you are interested, here's a very (I'm not exaggerating!) long explanation as to their origins:

Chrescenthelia is derived from a number of names and meanings. The "ch" represents the "ch" in Chris, an important name to me, in more ways than one. If you look closely, you can see "crescent" in the name as well, which means "moon", a sort of reference to Remus Lupin, but more so homage of sorts to Harry, via his attraction to the night sky. The last part, "thelia", is a more personal reference to my grandmother. Her name is Tsilia, but she goes be Cecilia. Although a faint connection, it is visible. The name Cecilia, according to Hermione, is a wish that her daughter be blind, the meaning of the name Cecilia, to the evils and pain that surrounds our existence.

Aidonis Aaronald is a bit more simple to explain. "Aidon" is a reference to the name "Aidan", which means fire. As explained in the story, it is in honor of Draco (meaning "dragon") who died for their friend. "Donis" is an indication to the name "Adonis", which holds the meaning "manly beauty". This is both Hermione's wish for her son and yet another sort of reverence to Draco. Aaronald is a combination of two names. The first, "Aaron", means enlightened. The second, "Ronald", holds two sentimental meanings. The name "Ronald" contains the meaning of "powerful" and "mighty". Similarly, "Harry" means "powerful army". Thus, "Ronald" is homage to Harry, Ron, and Dumbledore (Dumbledore's Army).

If you have any questions regarding anything to do with this story, feel free to e-mail me at anichka53, or you can post a comment on my LiveJournal: I hope you all enjoyed the story, I know I had fun writing it. Also, check my LiveJournal for any new stories that I might be working on.