A/N: Still don't own, don't sue please. Yes, I'm posting again, despite high school. Love me, adore me. Read and review please. Enjoy. LAST CHAPTER! Sequel will cover the wedding. I'm pretty sure it'll be titled "Moving On". Thanks to all my loyal readers and yes, Annemarie will appear in the sequel.

Chapter 22

Albus stood before the graves of Lily and James Potter, tears pouring down his handsome face. His green eyes were wrought with despair and hopelessness as he stared down at the graves of his long gone grandparents. They'd been there for decades… longer than he wanted to think about. Whatever was left of their remains surely lay under the dirt before him, decaying if not already completely disintegrated. Harry had given him a picture of his grandparents at their wedding.

Albus knew that he looked almost exactly like James, the same hair, face, and body build. The only difference what that he had his grandmother's eyes- brilliant emerald green in color and almond shaped. How long had they laid there, unnoticed, insignificant? He couldn't bear to think how few people had visited their graves and paid their respects.

Suddenly, a pair of lean arms wrapped around him. Through his tears, he caught sight of a blur of red hair. Verity. "Potter men have a thing for redheads," he remembered Harry telling him. It was certainly true- Lily Potter had been a redhead, so was Ginny, Verity was a redhead and now James was smitten with Annemarie, yet another redhead to steal the heart of a Potter man. She had been there with him the whole the time, standing silently and crying her own tears. Now she joined him in their little sob fest, her face buried in his chest. He suddenly didn't feel so alone, as long as she was at his side. As he wrapped his arms around in her in return, he realized that she was all he needed in this world; memories of her would not sustain him alone. He needed her. He needed her to be there, physically and mentally, to talk to him, to bare her soul to him, to love him. She was his oxygen, perhaps something more and certainly nothing less.

She pulled away from him, saying, "Here." She stepped back, drawing her wand and pointing it at a rock. She transfigured it into a golden object, two bands of solid gold entwined together. Each was different, but destined to the same fate. She handed it to him.

"You put it there," he said softly, offering it back to her.

She shook her head furiously. "You should do it; you're their grandson." He sighed, taking the bands from her and placing them tenderly on his grandparents' graves. He felt more tears slide from his eyes as he did so, wrapping his strong arms around Verity again, holding her like he never wanted to let her go. He thought back to all the times where he had thought she was going to die and he squeezed her tightly, burying his face in the crook of her neck. "What's wrong, Albus?" she whispered softly, her warm breath tickling his ear.

"I don't know what I'd do without you," he mumbled into her skin.

"What do you mean?" she asked, looking at him with worry in her striking blue eyes.

"If you died… I'd probably die, as well," he replied. She sighed as a few more tears slid down her face, realizing that they both felt the same way.

"Same here, Albus," she said softly, her hands rubbing comforting circles on his back. "But if I die before you, I want you to promise me one thing."

"What?" he croaked, looking up at her. "Anything for you Verity."

"Promise me that you'd keep on living," she whispered fiercely, her blue eyes sparking with passion.

"Verity," he said slowly, sadly, "I couldn't."

"Yes, you could," she said passionately. "Promise me, and I'll promise you the same thing."

"It wouldn't be easy…" he groaned, pressing a kiss to her sweet smelling hair.

She laughed mirthlessly. "You think it'd be easy for me?"

"I promise," he said finally, kissing the corner of her mouth.

"I promise," she replied, her thumb tracing his lips. He moaned, drawing her to him.

"Verity…" he moaned, her tantalizing lips inches away from his…

"Yes, Albus?" she asked, her blue eyes brightening a bit.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too," she was surprisingly able to choke out before his lips crashed to hers, his arms circling her waist. Her arms looped around his neck, her hands playing absentmindedly with his hair. She broke away, breathless, asking, "Why do you love me?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment, biting his lip in concentration. "Well…" he said slowly, "I love you because I am me and you are you." He chuckled, cocking his head at her and asking, "Did that make any sense at all?"

She giggled, "No." She linked her arm in his and added, "But I suppose it doesn't have to." Her head rested on his broad shoulder, her warm breath tickling his neck. They stayed there like that for a moment, wishing they could spend the rest of their lives that way. Verity finally broke the silence, asking, "Do you remember when you miserable after Lily's death three years ago?"

"Yeah," he nodded sadly. "I still miss her."

"Me too," Verity agreed, trying to nod her head while keeping it on his shoulder. "But do you remember what I said to you?"

He bit his lip, digging through his memory for her words. "You said… that Lily would want me to move on with my life." He smiled at the memories… they were so happy… and they still were… as long as they had each other.

"Do you remember what you did to prove to me that you had moved on?" she asked, pressing a soft kiss to the crook of his neck.

He shivered in pleasure, replying, "I snogged you senseless." She giggled as he added, "Then I gave you the promise ring."

"Exactly," she whispered, showing him the engagement ring on her ring finger. "Albus," she said, her lips curving into a smile against his skin, "are you ready to move on? To leave the past behind? To start your life anew?"

"As long as you're with me," he said firmly. She smiled, reaching up to press her lips to his briefly. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders; she wrapped an arm around his waist. The happy couple walked forward as best as they could in this awkward position, knowing deep within that the words they had just exchanged were as true, genuine, and sincere as it was possible to be. Albus smiled, knowing that his grandparents and his little sister would always be watching over him, wherever they were. Verity grinned in confidence that she would be complete, as long as she had those she loved, especially the man who currently had his arms wrapped around her. Together, Albus and Verity walked away from the past, ready to move on, leave the past behind, and to start their lives anew.