Epilogue: A Love that Grows

Harry glanced out the window for the tenth time that hour. He should have been working on his homework for Stealth and Tracking, but he was bored, and his attention kept straying to the truly lovely day outside. If he hadn't needed the table, he would have taken advantage of the afternoon as Remus was.

The werewolf was sitting in Harry's line of sight, leaning against an old tree, cradled by two large, protruding roots, a book held open in his lap. His left leg was stretched out in front of him, the right was bent under the other. When he leant forward to read a line more closely, his greying hair fell in his eyes, and he brushed it away irritably.

As Harry glanced at the unchanged scene for the eleventh time that hour, he heard the back door open. Harry watched Tilia cross the yard, her short, dark hair blowing around her face in the slight breeze. Through the open window, Harry heard her say, "Remus?"

Her husband looked up at her. "Can I join you?" she asked. He nodded and folded over the corner to mark his page, before setting his book aside and stretching out his bent leg with a slight grimace, as though it had fallen asleep. Tilia made to sit beside him, but Remus tugged at her sleeve.

When she looked at him, he said, quite seriously, "There's a tree root there."

She glanced at him and noticed his change of position. "So there is," she said, smiling and taking his unspoken invitation. She carefully settled back against him, her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and leant forward, whispering in her ear what looked to be, "I love you," to Harry, who was reduced to reading lips with his drop in volume.

Tilia tilted her head back, and Remus leant farther forward to accommodate her as she whispered back, "I love you, too." Smiling, they kissed, and Harry glanced at his homework, embarrassed, despite his recent Pensieve mishap, for intruding on such a private moment.

He looked back up when he heard their voices again. Remus was leaning back against the tree, his arms wrapped around Tilia, who was resting her head on his shoulder, her hands clasping his. They looked supremely oblivious to the world around them.

As Harry began to work again, bits of their conversation floated through the window to him. It was idle discussion, about this book or that, but they didn't need to say anything more. They were completely comfortable with each other and themselves. It was then, as he listened to their laughter, that Harry realized he wanted a love like Remus and Tilia's, a love that not only withstood the trials of a lifetime, but grew through them, and would continue to grow until the end of time.

A/N: Many thanks to everyone who followed this story all the way to the end. In the next couple of days I will be posting two short one-shots-missing scenes, if you will, from earlier in the story. Please check them out if you'd like to read more about Remus and Tilia. Also, with my permission, Shadow-ofthe-Night35 has written three stories, Explosions, Promise, and Ashes of Our Youth, that are also about Remus and Tilia. She really manages to capture the same feel for their relationship while writing stories that are uniquely her own. So, thanks for following this story, and happy reading. -Russet