Ginny watched proudly as William approached Headmaster Snape to accept his Hogwarts' degree. The tall teenager - uncannily resembling his father except for his wispy red hair - shook the headmaster's hand and then turned to face the crowd and pump his fists into the air triumphantly, eliciting applause and whistles from the crowd where his friends and members of his large family were scattered about.

Next in line was the deputy headmaster. When William approached the man who had raised him since he was four, he eagerly embraced Remus in a tight hug. William had no secrets; he'd told everyone about what had happened to him when he was young, and he'd always had immense support because of it. There were more whistles and exclamations from the crowd when the graduate gave a thumbs up sign to Neville's portrait that had been temporarily relocated into the Great Hall for the ceremony.

Wiping away tears, Ginny looked beside her at her other two children. John Severus had just finished his first year, and Luella would graduate in two more years. She couldn't believe how quickly time had passed. It seemed like just yesterday that she'd waddled into the orphanage - very pregnant with John – so that she and Remus could bring their daughter home. It had been a wonderful and exciting time in their lives, but she also knew that there was more excitement ahead as she placed a hand on the slight swell of her belly.

Remus and Ginny had been married for almost twelve years. At the time of their wedding, she'd been pregnant and, since it was Severus that had essentially saved the child from being terminated, Ginny and Remus named their son John Severus; John being Remus' middle name. John was not infected with lycanthropy, much to everyone's relief, and he found a home in Hufflepuff. He was an unpretentious young man who discovered that he was quite adept at Transfiguration. By the age of twenty-five, John became the youngest Transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts.

Luella was adopted when Ginny was eight months along with John. When Ginny and Remus saw the tiny child with a slight limp at the orphanage, they immediately wanted her. Luella had naturally curly blond hair, big green eyes and a rather happy disposition. Because she and William were only a couple of years apart, they'd bonded quickly and had got on very well together, which had worked out well since they'd ended up sharing the Gryffindor common room for five years. Luella was the nurse in the family, and after four more years of school, she became a medi-witch at St. Mungo's.

William Longbottom had been quite popular in the halls of Hogwarts, and everyone knew that he was destined for great things. He followed in his biological father's herbology footsteps and created an even better Wolfsbane for those who suffered from lycanthropy, as he and his surrogate father did, as well as created other medicines and tonics for those with life-altering diseases. His accomplishments earned him the prestigious honor of 'Herbologist of the Century', and he was awarded the Order of Merlin, First Class by the time that he was thirty-eight.

True to her word, Fleur didn't have any more children. She and Bill raised Richard in England not far from the Burrow, and they made sure to teach him about his French, part-Veela heritage. When Richard attended Hogwarts, he was sorted into Ravenclaw, along with Harry's daughter, Lily, and Thane Snape. Bill continued working with the Ministry in the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures while Fleur created, organized and ran the Veela Awareness Coalition; Veelas being close to extinction. She hoped that those with a higher percentage of Veela would be able to meet and possibly help build their kind back up.

Charlie remained in Romania working with the dragons that he adored so much, and he eventually found love with his Romanian assistant, Olivia, who was ten years his junior. They never married or had children, but they found immense fulfillment and happiness in their work with the hugely misunderstood creatures. They also founded the Romanian School of Dragon Science so that others who shared their passion could attend the school and broaden their knowledge.

Percy and Audrey continued living in Australia in the wizarding community that they'd established near Melbourne, and they had two daughters, Molly and Lucy. Like Charlie and Olivia, they only visited England to see their family every few years. Molly and Lucy both became teachers at the only Australian wizarding school. Molly taught History of Magic, and Lucy taught Muggle Studies.

Fred and Tilly and George and Tiara finally had their joint Christmas wedding. Two years later, Tilly gave birth to a son named Andrew, and three years after him, to a daughter named Michelle. In between those births, Tiara and George had their daughter, Brielle, and then their son, Michael. Years later when Fred and George found out that their sons had been sorted into Slytherin, neither was surprised. Andrew and Michael had been sneaky little hellions as children. Thank goodness Severus and Remus had been able to keep their mischievousness reined in some. Brielle and Michelle both found homes in Hufflepuff and excelled in Charms. All four children followed in their fathers' footsteps and worked at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes after graduation, eventually opening a string of successful shops across England.

Ron continued to work with the Wimbourne Wasps, eventually becoming the head coach. Tess stayed at home with the girls while they were young, but after Emma started Hogwarts, she joined her husband in the main office of the Wasps as an equipment purchaser. Elizabeth, Eliza and Emma had all found their respective places in Gryffindor, much to their father's delight. Elizabeth graduated in 2016, and on Valentine's Day last, she'd wed her boyfriend of two years, Vance Diggory, who was a cousin of Cedric. She and her husband opened a children's clothing store in Diagon Alley called Togs for Tots. Eliza, who also had graduated in 2016, had recently moved to France to study Ancient Runes, and she found her days spent in damp caves, dusty tunnels and deep burrows excavating and deciphering the archaic symbols. Emma had just finished her second year with a keen interest in Arithmancy. Eventually, she used the 'divination by numbers' method to create personality profiles for the couples that she counseled to help them learn how to communicate effectively with each other.

Cho gave birth to her and Harry's first son, Albus James, seven months after their wedding. Following shortly after were Lily Anne, Heather Renee and Sirius Xavier. Harry loved his family more than anything, and he retired early from his position as an Unspeakable to spend all the time with them that he could. Somehow, he and Cho had managed to provide a child for each house; Albus in Gryffindor (having just finished his first year with John Severus), Lily in Ravenclaw (who started the same year that Luella graduated), Heather in Hufflepuff (who started school with Michael) and Sirius in Slytherin (who started school the same year that Emma graduated). In fact, Sirius often hung out with Andrew and Michael. They all served many detentions together because they always got into trouble when together. After graduating, Albus acquired a position as a Curse Breaker at Gringotts, Lily worked in the Ministry's Muggle Relations department, Heather found her niche as assistant to the editor of The Daily Prophet and Sirius, ironically, became a Hit Wizard.

Headmaster Snape and Hermione had been married almost twenty years, and they were still very much in love. The last Friday night of every month had been reserved for their candlelight dinners, and the children always spent that evening with the Lupins or with their friends.

Malachai, now eighteen, was starting his first year as a potions apprentice under his father's watchful eye, having received O's in potions in his O.W.L.s and acing his N.E.W.T. level classes. He was polite, studious and often caught the girls' attention with his chocolate colored eyes, naturally wavy black hair and creamy fair skin. Though many were interested in him, Malachai was too focused on his studies to seriously date anyone. Eventually, he became a potions master like his father.

Sabine, who looked very much like her brother, was twelve and mastered simple spells as quickly as she could learn them. She was rather spirited, though, so Hermione had had her flying at a young age. Since she was a natural on a broom, a position on the Quidditch team seemed unavoidable and almost a necessity to expend her endless energy and penchant for mischievousness; a trait that neither parent took credit for, but that eventually contributed to her getting sorted into Slytherin. She ended up playing Seeker for the Slytherin team, and she was captain in her seventh year, which then carried over into playing Seeker professionally for the Wigtown Wanderers when she was noticed by a scout. There had been some very passionate chats between her and Ron subsequently, since he was the coach of the Wimbourne Wasps. The rivalry between the Wasps and the Wanderers had gone on for decades.

Thane was sixteen and their adopted child. He'd been skinny with dark hair and haunting eyes, and he had been very much a loner at the orphanage. His ability to talk to snakes was what had caught Severus' attention, though. Thane had often been found in the lab with Malachai and Severus peering into a bubbling cauldron or sitting quietly with his nose in a book. His greater interest was with animals, and he'd spent quite a bit of time with Hagrid, much to his father's dismay. Unlike Hagrid, however, Thane was perceptive to their instincts, and he seemed to have a natural talent with handling them. After the Ravenclaw student graduated the following year, he acquired a job with Bill at the Ministry in the beast division. He became well known for his natural ability to calm aggressive animals.

It had taken a little while, but Severus and Remus finally established a true friendship. With their wives best friends, their children friends and them running the school together, it was inevitable. They discovered that they had much more in common than either of them had thought possible. They still argued periodically, but the frustration didn't normally linger. They often sat in Severus' office after the children had bedded for the night and sipped glasses of Ogden's Best while rehashing whatever had caused words between them. It usually only took a few minutes to work out whatever disagreement they'd had, and then they spent the rest of the time together discussing the latest accomplishment of their children. Their families meant the world to them since neither thought they'd ever be fortunate enough to have them.

Severus also made sure that Neville's work was published, as he'd promised Ginny that he would. Advanced Herbology Theory was the first new class that he'd added to the curriculum after taking the Headmaster position. He'd interviewed some of Neville's colleagues, and he'd chosen Eugene Willoughby to teach the class. It was held in the greenhouse so that Neville's portrait could periodically participate. Thanks to Severus' efforts, a new generation of herbologists and discoveries was born.

"Remus," Ginny greeted quietly later that night when she approached the desk where he was hunched over double checking his course outline. "Coming to bed soon?"

Remus leaned back and pulled his wife into his lap. "Yes," he answered, sliding his arms around her hips and giving her a squeeze. "Just making sure that I haven't missed anything."

"Good," Ginny remarked, her arms slinking around his shoulders. "Because you're not going to believe what I have to tell you."

Remus nuzzled her neck and asked, "What's that, Love?"

Ginny grinned and kissed him. "I'm pregnant with twins."

I hope you liked the epilogue. Often readers either love them or hate them, so I do hope more of you fall into the first category. It was rather fun to write, and I'm considering maybe doing a spinoff from it. It won't be right away, but should any of the 'futures' catch your attention, let me know!

A big huge thank you hug to everyone who read this story, and a big plate a cookies for those who took the time to review chapters along the way and share their thoughts with me. Also, a special thanks to Cithara (go read A Brave New World!) and fury-shashka (go read The Radiant!). I needed some help with this epilogue, and they were kind enough to take a few minutes to lend their literary expertise. It was very, very much appreciated, Ladies!

If you enjoy my work, please check out my 'in progress' story When Irish Eyes Are Crying. It's a Lucius and Ginny piece that starts out after the war. They are no survivors (not their immediate friends or family members, anyway), and our couple flee the wizarding world and journey to Ireland where they start over as Muggles named Teague and Shayla O'Haire. Not everything is as it seems, though, and they find themselves having jumped out of one proverbial frying pan into another...