Epilogue

"Mum, I don't want Dad to go without me!"

Hannah Longbottom was holding her six year old son in her arms as he sobbed on her shoulder, throwing the same temper tantrum he had thrown the past two years when it came time for Neville to leave for Hogwarts. Neville wasn't sure what upset the child more - the fact that his father was going to leave for the night, or the fact that he had to wait five more years before he got to get his own wand and accompany him to school to become a wizard in his own right.

"Tucker, sweetheart, Daddy will be back tomorrow night!" Hannah told the boy, but he shook his head and dramatically rubbed his tear streaked cheeks on her shoulder.

"But I wanna go! I wanna go to school too!"

Ah, so it was the second one - the 'I-want-to-be-a-wizard-now' tantrum. Neville couldn't help but smile as he watched his wife bounce and coo at the boy in an attempt to calm him down.

"You remember our deal, don't you?" Neville asked him, walking up to Hannah and taking the boy from her arms. Tucker's brown hair fell in front of his eyes as he pouted, trying not to look at his dad.

"Our deal was you get a toy wand if you behave for Mum these next two days until I come back. Right now, you're off to a bad start," he told him. Tucker still wouldn't look at him, but he could tell he had caused the wheels to turn in his son's brain. Finally, the boy seemed to decide that the toy wand was worth it and he turned back to his dad, still frowning.

"How many more years until I'm old enough to be in school?" he asked for the twentieth time that morning.

Neville smiled and shook his head. "Doesn't matter, it'll be here before you know it. Now give me a kiss goodbye," he insisted, and Tucker smiled and gave his father a kiss on the cheek before Neville set him down. Tucker gave him a hug, wrapping himself around his father's legs.

"Bye Daddy, be a good plant teacher," he told him. Neville chuckled and ruffled his hair.

"Thanks kiddo. Remember, be good for Mum," he reminded him, and then Tucker ran off into the next room, probably to terrorize Trevor, their cat.

Hannah smiled and let out a sigh of relief that the tantrum had passed before walking up to him and resting her head on his shoulder. "Ready for another year?" she asked him.

Neville nodded. "Most definitely," he told her.

Sometimes, he felt like pinching himself when he thought about how lucky he had been these past few years - not only did he have a fantastic flat to share with his loving family, but he had been privileged enough to set up an arrangement with the Hogwarts staff that allowed him to Floo home every other night and spend it with his wife and child - he had always wondered how anyone who taught at the school had a family. In fact, when he first accepted the job, when Hannah had been pregnant, he almost didn't take it because of that reason. McGonagall was a saint, though, and had been willing to do anything to get him to come teach, including bending their boarding rules so he could be with Hannah and Tucker regularly.

"Don't worry about him - he'll forget all about you when your Gran comes to babysit tonight while I'm downstairs," Hannah joked, nudging him slightly. Tucker was completely enamored with his great grandmother - not that Neville blamed him. The woman was really amazing. He had lost track of what her "age" was years ago (she insisted she had stopped aging at 85) but she was still up and about, just as feisty as ever.

"Remember, don't let Draco drink too much - Scorpius is off to Hogwarts this year and I know he's going to be a mess, despite the fact that he insists he won't," he reminded her with a grin. It was odd that Draco Malfoy was one of his wife's regular customers - but the old bully had grown on him slowly over the years. He wasn't sure how exactly, but the war had changed Draco Malfoy. It made him somewhat bearable now, although he still had an arrogant air about him that made Neville want to punch him sometimes.

"I have already watered down some firewhiskey for him," she told him with a wink. Neville smiled and bent down to pick up his briefcase. It was getting late and he had some last minute setting up to do in the greenhouses before the kids arrived. A fresh pot of Floo powder was already sitting on their mantel, waiting to be broken in for another year of school.

"Neville, wait," Hannah whispered. Neville paused, confused at first, until Hannah took his face in her hands and kissed him, long and hard. He felt himself melting into her, hands going to her waist as he pulled her close. Damn, he wished he hadn't been running late - with Tucker in the other room they could easily sneak into their bedroom and get a quickie in. He shouldn't be complaining - he'd managed to get her off twice last night, which had been amazing - but still.

"I love you. Have an amazing time at the feast," she said with a smile, pulling away from the kiss before giving him a squeeze. Neville closed his eyes and breathed in her perfume - raspberry, just as it always had been. It was the most comforting smell in the world to him.

"I love you too, Hannah," he whispered back, giving her one last squeeze before he finally pulled away.

He walked to the fireplace and took a handful of Floo powder before hopping in and settling himself into position. He looked back at his wife - his beautiful, gorgeous wife - and couldn't help but feel blessed in that moment. He had never really felt lucky in life until the war ended, but now he counted his blessings each and every day. He had a great job, a loving family, a healthy son, and most of all, he had Hannah.

Hannah Abbot. His best friend, his lover, his everything.

He knew now that he had loved her since the moment he laid eyes on her all those years ago - and he couldn't wait to love her every day for the rest of his life.

OMG THE END!

Thank you thank you THANK YOU to every single person who has stuck with me all these years. It has been my dream to write an epic Hannah/Neville fic and it is finally DONE. This has been my baby and I hope you all enjoyed this wonderful journey with me.

I always thought that Hannah and Neville HAD to have kids. I know it's not canon (at least, not YET, you never know!) so I just had to add a little cutie in there at the end. I can't imagine them NOT having at least one little Longbottom, honestly.

I hope I did Neville and Hannah justice with this story. Thank you once again to everyone who has ever read, subscribed, and reviewed this story. I really have been thinking about almost every day for the past six years (HOLY SHIT IT'S BEEN SIX YEARS) and while writers block slowed me down in some places, I'm so happy to finally check this off my bucket list.

Thank you for reading and feel free to check out my other fics!