Chapter 21: Epilogue

Well, this was a bit more cheesy, almost cliched, than I had hoped. But everything seemed to fall into place...and I couldn't help myself.
Enjoy the epilogue and last installment of this story; I know I did :)
Oops, I posted this wrong, making some people unable to view it. I'm sorry if you already read this; just ignore it.

Two Years Later

"Welcome to the second annual Survivors Reunion." A smiling Headmistress McGonagall addressed a room full of jovial witches, wizards, and creatures who all hollered in reply. "I just wanted to take a moment to remember those who fought for us, those who weren't able to make it today because we lost them those two years ago." All of us nodded our heads as she listed the names of with whom we had worked and for whom we had cried.

After many moments of remembrance, Minerva ended her speech and urged us to "have a great time."

Glancing at the man next to me, I couldn't help myself. I leaned up and stole a long kiss. "Andrea, you promised you'd be good." Remus smiled down at me.

"I know; I just couldn't help myself." I took a quick look down at my left hand, which housed two rings. "Even after a full year, I still feel like a honeymooner."

Remus smiled, gave me a swift kiss, then found himself being pulled away by Minerva, who "wanted a word with him."

I giggled a little, remembering her indignation when she first found out about the two of us and her wondering, like so many others, exactly when our relationship had started. All of that had faded, though, after a couple of times of talking to us and seeing how we influenced each other; I was made to consider my actions more before I went through with them, and Remus began to look and act much younger, much more like his own age. After a few months, all consternation faded away as most everyone decided to take us as a couple at face value.

All of the sudden, I found myself eye-to-eye [oh poor boy; still hasn't grown an inch coming first to my mind] with the man of the night, Harry. We started up a quick conversation as he needlessly introduced me to his date. He had helped me (and brought Hermione on, too), after accidentally finding out about my lineage when he overheard Remus and I discussing it, research other children who had been born half-werewolf. We had all been surprised to find that it wasn't a rare occurrence, and no two cases were exactly alike. Some of the cases showed no signs of being a "mutt"-as they had affectionately referred to themselves- while others found themselves leading a similar pattern to full werewolves. One thing never varied from case-to-case, though; none of the studies we had ever found truly lost themselves to the moon. All of them kept their rational, human mind during the transformation, an anomaly that none of us had quite been able to explain though were curious of nonetheless.

In the midst of my reminiscing, I noticed Kaylynn, chatting across the room in a small group. Oh, Kaylynn. She had, somehow, been hit by a terrible memory spell during the final battle which left her confused, off-balance, with absolutely no memory, and, ultimately, unconscious. It was a wonder how Madam Pomfrey had kept me from finding out about my sister during the battle; the sneaky witch had tucked her away into one of the secret private rooms, the rooms reserved for those expected to be hurt for the long-term, any who needed more privacy than the flimsy curtains allowed, and the staff. After everything was settled, my youngest sister had been taken in to see a Medi-Wizard who specialized in memory and memory recovery, who had been working with her for nearly two years now and had so far helped her remember much of what the rest of us had feared would be gone forever. She caught my eye and smiled, surreptitiously cocking her head to one side and directing my attention a few feet away to Lilith.

My other sister looked as vibrant as ever, flashing around a shiny new engagement ring, over which all of the other girls fawned. Though I didn't notice her fiancé anywhere. He must be getting drinks I thought, smiling to realize that, yes I was probably correct. Lilith had likely been the first and one of the few to see through Remus's and my "newly dating" façade and see our relationship for what it truly was. For nearly two months, whenever Lilith was around Remus or I, separate or together, she always got a funny look on her face that I recognized as a combination of shock, anger, sadness, and loyalty, though the shock may have been imagined. I knew she was angry with both Remus and me, Remus for, in her mind, taking advantage of her sister, and me for not telling her immediately. I also realized that the sadness was an extension of that anger, a worry that we might be growing apart, not sharing everything. After a couple of months, I noticed the loyalty taking precedent, the loyalty to me, her sister, and my decisions, the loyalty that will back me up in any situation. Finally, the loyalty turned into something resembling trust, and I knew that all was forgiven; the words never had to be said.

But perhaps the most indignant about the relationship had been my father-my biological father. Speaking of…where was he? Oh, by the food table, chatting it up with Bill. He didn't know that the relationship was anything other than it appeared, but he was upset that his "little girl," who he had just met, was ready to throw all caution to the wind by marrying a werewolf, one that was nearly his age, for that matter. I had to spend so much of my time trying to convince him that, yes, I had always known that Remus was a werewolf, and that he wouldn't leave me for someone else, let alone someone younger. Once or twice, I almost broke down and told him a story or two about when we had first been dating and Remus's insistence that I was too young, but I stopped myself at the last moment. No one wanted that can of worms opened.

As I quickly scanned the room for more familiar faces and other memories, I found Remus beside me again. Hiding a knowing grin behind my hand, I asked what Minerva had wanted.

"She…she asked me to come back to work here, as Defense teacher, said she was never able to find a suitable one, and I was the best she had seen in a good while." He seemed quite confused.

"Oh?" I asked quietly. "And what did you tell her?"
He looked at me funnily, as though wondering what I was smiling about. "I told her she was crazy for wanting to take a werewolf onto the payroll and about what all the parents would say…but she told me she already had you on-" I snickered at the joke, "-and that, since Voldemort's been gone, much of the prejudice has been dropped too. And that I had another person to think about now…what did she mean, Andrea?"

My face dropped immediately. "Damn it! She ruined it…"

"Ruined what might I ask?" Remus eyed my pouting warily.

Taking a deep breath, I decided to just tell him. "Remus, I…I'm-" If I hadn't been concentrating on stilling my nerves, I would've wondered why my voice suddenly began to carry more in the now very quiet room. "I'm pregnant. I found out about a week aggo when I was standing behind a patient, helping to support him as Poppy did a scan, and she, well, missed. It came up on the scan, and…congratulations?"

Remus was utterly silent, though he was the only one.

"No, I know that at least three others didn't know about this before I do." A voice suddenly spoke up, making my eyes go wide.

"Lilith, what…?"

I saw a face as red as the hair atop it. "So, so, sorry, Andrea. I meant to put a sonorous charm on McGonagall, right there. It seems that Madam Pomfrey isn't the only one around here who misses…though we may want to give Remus here a few lessons in that." Most of the inhabitants of the space chuckled and shuffled nervously, waiting for my reaction.

"George! You couldn't have warned me sooner? This isn't exactly the way I wanted to tell everyone…" I smiled, though, and the tension was broken. There were many shouts of congratulations and a few "Remus, you dog"s that weren't quite all joking.

The last thing I heard, though, before Remus swept me into an earth-shattering kiss was Hermione, excitedly pointing out to Harry that soon, they would have more "research material."

What'd you think of it all? Here's your last chance to comment and tell me how it was.
Oh, and be on the look out soonish for a sort of second part...I don't know if I already mentioned this, but I'm also planning on writing about Lilith and Kaylynn. Any suggestions? Just comment or PM me. Thanks so much!