45-46

Chapter 45

Lucius stifled his reactions to the pain upon wakening, not sure where he was, or if he was safe enough to show his pain. He felt like he'd disappointed the Dark Lord once too many, and been severely punished. No, the Dark Lord was gone…he was…in Albania? Lucius' opened his eyes, and relaxed a little, letting out a pained groan. Confusion drowning out his features when he saw Narcissa? Had Severus summoned his wife? Had it been that bad?

"Narcissa," Lucius murmured, intending on touching his sleeping wife, only to end up grimacing in pain, perhaps he best not try to move. "Are you okay?" he asked, when she was roused, if she'd been there for a long time, she was going to have a sore neck. Wondering why she was even here to begin with.

"Lucius!" She said, sitting up straighter, "Here, drink this," plucking the vial from the table and uncorking it, pressing it against his lips, "Don't worry, it's Severus'." Knowing her husband didn't like to take potions that hadn't been brewed by someone he trusted.

Lucius accepted the potion, drinking it down, and the swell of relief that came off him would have probably been visible from the moon. Sighing in sheer happiness as the aches and pains disappeared from his pained body. "What…how long?" not quite coherent yet.

"It's only been twenty-four hours, it's lunch time the next day," Narcissa explained, "You were almost possessed do you remember that?"

Horror crept into Lucius' gaze at the remembrance, giving his wife a curt nod. The pain had been unbelievable, and the sheer terror…in all his years of working for the Dark Lord hadn't elicited that kind of reaction from him. He'd been terrified the Dark Lord would win and his wife and son would pay the price. Between the pain and that kind of fear…he'd been begging for death. Anything to end it, absolutely anything to end it. "Yes," he managed to rasp out.

"Here, drink," Narcissa held the goblet while Lucius nearly guzzled the entire contents of the goblet, wetting his parched throat. "Severus managed to get him out, and Sirius killed him once and for all." The bot had ceased to exist on the map, they had gotten every single Horcrux and his main soul piece, he would never return.

Lucius closed his eyes, never before had sweeter words been spoken, except perhaps when he and Narcissa said their vows and when Narcissa told him she was pregnant. "Good," he murmured, shifting slightly until he managed to prop himself up into sitting position. He disliked how vulnerable and weak he felt. "Why do I feel so weak?" he groused, sounding as petulant as his son did sometimes.

"You used all your magic trying to stop him," Narcissa explained, "You've had replenishers to replace your magic so that you're not in any danger. You should be fully recovered within a few days." She'd been surprised when Severus had Floo called, before worry had set in for Draco and Lucius, fearing something had happened. Her fears had been confirmed, but after Severus finished explaining after she'd used the Floo Network to get to their destination, using various other Malfoy' properties before getting to Albania. She hadn't even brought anything with her, she'd just literally ended the call and began using the network to get to them as quickly as possible.

"What does Draco know?" Lucius asked, worried about his son.

"That you were tired after your little adventure, and that you'd make it up to him today," Narcissa said, an amused smile spreading across her face at the list of her sons demands. "They're already swimming at the aquarium, if you'd like to join them? Draco did want you to come with them."

Lucius grimaced at the thought of moving, but swimming would help him get rid of those aches and pains. "I…perhaps after something to eat," he was starving, he realized, now that the pain was gone. He could feel the sticky residue of salve on his skin. "Did I have injuries that required salves?" he asked befuddled.

"Severus had to remove the debris from the wounds, bits of stones and wood from the forest floor," splinters, weren't nice at all, but thankfully easily removed. The salve would prevent any infections, which could be worrisome especially with his magical reserves being so low. It would take weeks for them to return to normal, but with potions the progress was jumpstarted. Thankfully none of his bones were broken in the fall and that he had survived.

Lucius nodded, well, he best not let his son down.

"I'll get you something to eat," Narcissa suggested, while Lucius got himself out of bed, "You have a quick shower and I'll set out some clothes for you to wear." Looking after her husband wasn't something of a novelty or new, she'd had to look after him so many times after he returned from an irate Dark Lord. Sometimes he'd been bed bound for days, and he'd hated it, so she'd been rushed off her feet looking after both Draco and Lucius.

"Thank you," Lucius said, kissing his wife on the cheek, giving her silent reassurances that he was quite well.

Narcissa smiled, and urged him on, if he wanted to catch up with his son he'd need to be quick. By the time she was finished digging through his clothes for something loose to wear he was already gone, and the sound of the shower was heard. It's not like Lucius would be wearing the clothes for long, as he'd be joining the others in the aquarium.

Once she placed them on the bottom of the bed, she moved out of the rooms to order him some sandwiches, something quick and filling.

"Are you coming with us?" Lucius asked his wife, emerging from the bedroom twenty minutes later, looking way more refreshed.

"No, I need to go and do some shopping, I came without anything," Narcissa said, as if she needed an excuse to go shopping normally! But today she definitely did, she'd been wearing the same clothes for two days now, and she never did such a thing normally. Clothes weren't the only thing she intended to get, but yes, she definitely had to go shopping.

"My card is on the nightstand," Lucius told her, not seeing her bag or purse anywhere, and she would have had it nearby if she did. He slid into the seat, and begun to eat the food that Narcissa had ordered for him, the trolly they'd used still at the side of the front door.

"Thank you, I didn't even think to grab my bag before I came, I just took the Floo powder," Narcissa confessed, she hadn't listened to Severus telling her he was fine, she'd just utterly panicked. She should have known better than to think for a second Severus would lie to her just to keep her calm.

"Would you like company?" Lucius enquired, trusting his wife could not only take care of herself, but handle any situation that arose while out and about. Wizarding Britain constantly forgot that she was a Black, she'd been taught from a young age how to defend herself. When she became his wife, and a potential target from both sides of the war…he'd made sure she could fight like nobodies business. She was lethal when provoked, so he had no worries for her going out and about, plus, she like him was multilingual, and could speak and understand Albanian. Draco would soon begin learning French and Latin before beginning the rest of the other languages he'd learn. Harry probably would too.

"I'll be fine, your son wishes to spend time with you," Narcissa said wryly, Draco was with her all the time, and Lucius worked a great deal, so whenever he could…Draco loved spending time with his father.

Lucius nodded, finishing off his food while Narcissa grabbed the Gringotts card, ready to do some shopping.

"I'll see you later," she declared, kissing him on the cheek before she left the room.

Lucius bemused shook his head and stood, time to find his son and not disappoint him. Especially since the potion wouldn't last forever, and he knew he'd find himself exhausted in a few hours. Narcissa would probably make it back in time for dinner…with a little luck. She absolutely loved shopping, and he knew she'd come back with a dozen things for him, Draco and Harry likely before she was done with getting what she needed for herself.

After asking a passing hotel worker, Lucius knew exactly where to go, and it didn't take him long to find Severus, Sirius, Remus, Harry and his son. Minerva it seemed was sitting this one out, having a coffee as she waited for them to finish. He certainly wasn't surprised to find Harry a little clingy with Severus, and his son excited to see him, almost blew his bubblehead charm up two sizes.

The rest of the afternoon went exceedingly fast, the massive tank housed hundreds of different fish, and Draco and Harry thoroughly investigated them all. Cooing over the sight of them, just enjoying their free time, free of tutors, homework, and enjoying their time with their nearest and dearest. Unaware of the measures that had been taken to safeguard their future.

Unsurprisingly Lucius was the first to call it quits, and the rest followed, thankfully they'd made it to the end, but only just. They left for the changing rooms to get dried and redressed, Severus handed Lucius a potion so that he could actually enjoy the rest of the day without being hindered by pain.

"Thanks," Lucius said curtly, giving him a nod, it wasn't as strong as the last one, but Severus knew what he could and couldn't get.

Ten minutes later they all joined Minerva who was sitting drinking and reading a book. There were platters of food which Draco and Harry quite quickly dug into – Harry asking first of course – too shy just to take, even with Draco and his dad there to back him up.

"Is Narcissa still here?" Sirius asked, wondering if his cousin was going home or staying for the rest of the vacation.

"Yes, she's remaining for the rest of the holiday," Lucius declared, he probably shouldn't have come without his wife, but she hadn't expressed any desire to come with them. "And thank you," he said grudgingly.

Sirius sort of grimaced too, "You're welcome," he understood why Lucius was grudgingly thanking him and why he was feeling grudging at all. He felt the same when he had to thank Snape for letting him visit his godson…they were getting on better nowadays though, more of a tolerance really but still, it was better than unconcealed hostility and hatred.

Keeping Harry safe was more important than old prejudice.

"I assume we're going to return to find the room covered in bags and packages?" Severus asked resignedly, knowing Narcissa as he did.

Sirius laughed, a wicked grin on his face. "Oh, man, Andromeda used to do the exact same thing," vividly reminded of what it was like when he had his family around him. It hadn't been all bad, he knew that, as an adult. As a teenager? It had been intolerable, so he'd left, ran away.

Lucius' lips twitched into a genuine smile for a few moments, "More than likely," he loved her regardless of her spending habits. He was just glad he had more than enough money to see that Narcissa could get whatever her heart desired. Her and Draco both, well, most of what her heart desired. The one thing they wanted above all else, they couldn't seem to achieve.

"Don't eat too much," Severus cautioned the boys, "I have reservations for a restaurant, you'll approve Lucius, it's expensive." He teased the wizard.

Lucius just huffed haughtily with his nose in the air, but he almost spoiled it by preening.

"I have booked eight seats," he confirmed before Lucius could make sure his wife had been invited as well.

"Perfect," Lucius agreed, today was going to be a good day. They deserved to truly celebrate the end of Voldemort's reign.

"How much panic do you think is going on back home?" Sirius asked a note of vindictive glee on his face.

Severus blinked, before understanding dawned on him, "Probably a great deal, especially behind closed doors," the mark will have faded completely, and the Death Eaters will know now that there is no coming back. No bringing back the war, Voldemort or going back to their old ways.

"Will any of them take that news out on their wives?" Minerva asked, concern shining through, most of those witches wouldn't have had a choice but to marry, otherwise they would have been cast out. To be cast out…well, most of society wouldn't have had anything to do with them. The pureblood society could be downright archaic and just vicious about these things.

Lucius pursed his lips, eyes darkening considerably, "I wish I could state that no, they wouldn't, but regretfully, I cannot." He couldn't stand people who took out their anger on their wives, and refused to associate with any of them. No more than he had to when it came to the Dark Lord's demands.

Severus' lips curled in distaste.

"They wouldn't…would they?" Remus asked aghast, surely not. "Just asking," he murmured, seeing the look that the three gave him that spoke of insulting his intelligence. Which, fair enough, some just didn't care after they had an heir and turn out to be right controlling brutes.

Sirius grimaced, "Nobody deserves that shit," whether he liked them or not, no one deserved to be beat on like that. it wasn't something he'd ever really thought on before. despite it being his job as an Auror and he'd seen the underbelly of the magical world more often than he liked.

"When are those reservations for?" Minerva asked, sliding her book closed, bookmark in place. Changing the subject, unfortunately, they could do nothing for those poor unfortunate souls that choose to remain with their husbands instead of protecting their children and leaving. Even at that, the chances were that they would lose their child and they'd end up with their father, who was the one with the connections and money to survive.

"We'll need to leave in half an hour," Severus informed them, "And it has a dress code," giving Remus a look, he'd need to be dressed a bit more fancy otherwise he wouldn't be allowed.

"Then I most certainly need to change," Lucius declared immediately, he wouldn't be seen in a fancy restaurant looking like this. He was his version of dressed down, although the thought of getting changed did fill him with a sense of dread. He still ached even with the potion, perhaps the swimming had been a bad idea after all. Yet, he didn't regret it, his son's happiness meant more than a few temporary aches.

They were quite correct, Narcissa had bought enough to fill the outer living area with bags and packages.

She'd kindly left a walkway though so they could get through to their rooms.

"I've got a robe that should fit you," Sirius told Remus quietly, as they both headed to change, Lucius informing his wife where they were going. She immediately snatched one of her bags up and everyone headed to their own rooms change for the restaurant. The chains and weights off their shoulders.

Freedom had never been so sweet.

Chapter 46

Epilogue

Clusters upon clusters of people were surrounding the conceal magical platform on the other side of the Muggle platform nine and three quarters. All of them saying their last minute goodbye's to their children, niece's, nephews, wards and magical foster children. Much had changed in such a short time, six years, six years had gone by since Severus and the others had returned from Albania.

A lot had happened in that time, Avery, Crabbe and Nott had just up and disappeared. Nobody knew what happened to them, and not a trace had been found. During that time Narcissa got in touch with their wives and gave them suggestions. Informing them to transfer funds – nothing outrageous – into a vault in their name in the years it would take for them to be legally declared dead. So that when it did happen, they weren't going to be without funds until their sons took over the estate when they were seventeen. To ensure that they always had money for the future, enough to buy themselves a little house, at least, in case the boys didn't want their mother living at the manor.

Not that it was required, since the three women had just taken on full time jobs at her husband's children home – or orphanage – having preciously worked part-time, during their sons tutoring practices. They had come out of their shells, and Narcissa was proud of the process they'd made. They were happier than she'd ever seen them, and she soon found out why. The abuse they'd suffered…Narcissa hadn't had any idea, it horrified her that she'd been so ignorant to their suffering. She had been even more glad that her husband had dealt with them, and considering there was never a hint of suspicion sent their way, she reckoned the wives were completely in the dark to their activities.

They weren't the only ones, many had come forward, after an extended heart wrenching stay in St. Mungo's after the mark disappeared entirely. There had been no guarantee that they would survive, and many of them had been a surprise since some were from so called 'light' families. The men were promptly arrested, unfortunately, they weren't sentenced for as long as they would have liked. With magically enforced contracts preventing him from approaching their wives and children, they were as safe as the Ministry could make them. The public outcry had forced the Ministry to offer better protection to the witches in magical Britain. When the laws changed…quite a few people came forward, not all pressing charges but wishing for protection.

Suddenly the wizarding world embraced the concept of it takes a village mentality. They were helping each other out more, less prejudice on whom they hired. It was wonderful, not seeing them all relegated to Knockturn Alley, which a few building companies had sorted out 'pro-bono' in order to advertise just how good they were at fixing problems. Another helpful idea from Narcissa of course, but don't go telling them that. They were after all, under the impression that they had thought it up all on their own.

"The student population has doubled in only a few years," Sirius said, in slight disbelief. "I know Minerva has told us…but seeing it is another thing entirely. Sure it's always packed…but never like this!" holding his four-year-old daughter in his arms, he had adopted her, she was so mischievous and well, he'd been unable to resist her little jokester nature. It was as if she was meant to be his.

"I want to go with them!" the aforementioned thought little girl protested, Cassiopeia made a grabby gesture to get to the boys.

"We'll write every day Cass! I promise!" Harry said, letting her clutch at his hand which was soppy wet from where she'd been sucking on her blood pop.

Cass pouted, but she'd already been through it, she knew she wasn't going to get to go with them. She couldn't go until she was older, which had been explained a million times.

"You too Al," Harry said, ruffling his 'cousins' hair, Alphard was definitely more composed and quiet, like Remus, and older, eight-years-old to be exact.

"Promise?" Alphard Lupin-Black asked, gazing shyly at Harry, his gold eyes – which he had gotten from Remus after taking the adoption potion – glowed. Thankfully though, that was all he'd gotten from Remus, the rest of him looked like a carbon copy of Sirius at that age.

"Yep!" Harry nodded vigorously.

Draco was having the same conversation with his own sisters, his twin sisters. Lyra and Delphinus unsurprisingly, keeping to the Black tradition in naming their children after stars. Narcissa at Severus' advice had gone to the Muggle specialists, which had been a very uncomfortable time in her life. It had been worth it, the second attempt she'd gotten pregnant, with twins of all things, there hadn't been twins in the Malfoy or Black family before. The rambunctious five-year-olds had been born with black wavy hair like the Black's but had Lucius' eyes. Narcissa had never felt more complete than the moment she finally, finally had that little girl she had been so desperate for, and she'd been gifted with two.

"Boy's the train is about to depart, go on, head in before they can't keep your seats," Remus urged them, as always the voice of reason. The 'they' in that statement were the Weasley twins, Lee Jordan and Neville Longbottom who Harry and Draco were friends with, along with Aiden Avery, Vincent and Gregory Crabbe and Goyle and of course Theodore Nott. Then there was Luna, but she wasn't going until next year, Pandora – who worked with Severus and Lucius on various projects both spells and potions – didn't like being reminded of her daughters impending and ever looming appointment that was her Hogwarts education. She'd made not only a name for herself, but enough that they had moved out of their property and bought a mansion, which was just as odd inside as their little abode. Which had been rented out, giving them more income.

"And remember it's Headmistress McGonagall," Severus informed them in faux seriousness, Selena coughed out a laugh, finding herself amused from where she was wrapped around Severus. Or rather Severus was wrapped around her protectively, she was currently eight and half months pregnant.

"We'll try to remember," Harry and Draco declared in faux innocence right back. "You'll tell me when the baby is born right?" Harry added, disappointed that he wouldn't be there to see his brother or sister born. Selena – who had married his dad a year ago – had wanted it to be a surprise so they didn't know.

"Of course, and send lots of pictures," Selena promised, she'd never asked Harry to call her mum, but she loved the boy like her own. She never grudged the time Severus spent with him, and she also knew the truth, that this little one was actually Harry Potter. Not so little anymore, he was still shy sometimes though, but with Draco's help he'd came into his own.

"Three months then you'll be home for the holidays," Severus added, letting go of his wife, who he had met at a potions conference, she was a fellow potions Mistress, no surprise there, and they'd decided to collaborate on a potion together, and to nobodies surprise when it happened, they'd begun a relationship. He hugged his son tightly, Lucius had been correct, the time had just flown by.

He couldn't believe his son was going to Hogwarts. Then again, he couldn't believe his wife was pregnant with their child or that he was married. It's not how he'd envisioned his future at all, but there you have it.

The whistle had every single student on the platform suddenly making a dive for the train. All of them waving last minute goodbye's, eyes alight with wonder and happiness at finally, finally getting to experience Hogwarts.

"I never expected the group home to take off so well," Narcissa commented, "Or for people to so adopt so many," which was true enough, she had contemplated adopting at one point, especially after the first failed attempts at IVF. She was grateful she hadn't, not when she felt the very real daughters she had in her arms. They weren't hypothetical they were much loved and she'd very much anticipated their arrival.

Hell she couldn't believe Sirius and Remus had adopted two of them! But in hindsight they had chosen well. Fortunately, Remus kept them all grounded but being a father had changed Sirius immensely. It was that change that heralded Harry's own transformation when it came with Remus and Sirius, no longer worried they'd take him away, that they just wanted to be part of his life. They had become 'Uncle Remus and Uncle Sirius' along with his 'cousins' the names no longer casting fear into his heart.

"It's a good thing," Severus murmured, there were pureblood's adopting 'Fosterage' to the eleven-year-old's that were due to enter Hogwarts. Some were smart enough to receive the scholarship, others had to rely on pureblood influential families for patronage a practice that had and still continued to this day, although England hadn't ever gotten into the Fosterage like the rest of Britain. Normally it was a gateway to a possible arranged marriage, but whether this heralded such an occasion…well, they would have at least seven years before they found out.

Back in the day Fosterage was big amongst clan leaders, and Lord's of estates children would leave their parents estates and be brought up in that other chiefs or Lords estate and create a bond of kinship that helped cement alliances and mutual bonds of obligation. It was the same here, and he wasn't blind to the fact those given 'Fosterage' had at least half-blood status. He would ensure they knew that they didn't need to do something they weren't comfortable with at all, that they weren't obligated to marry into the family for that aid. If they tried to put pressure on the teen…well it wasn't just him he'd have to deal with but Lucius and Narcissa as well.

"It is," Narcissa agreed, as much as they made in donations…it wouldn't have been enough to see them going to Hogwarts for seven years as well as making sure they were all eating and dressing well. Not too forgot the entire workforce, also. They had worked tirelessly for the past five years plus many months to get all the magical children out of other homes and foster situations and into their rightful world. Ensuring those that were adopted or Muggle borns were happy and safe in their living situations. Grunting a little, when her daughter got too enthusiastic in waving her big brother away as the train began to depart. "Did you give Harry the cloak and his wand?" she added, she knew Severus had been conflicted on whether or not to do so.

"Yes, we tried going to Ollivander's, but none of the wands felt right," Severus admitted, "In the end I just let him have the wand…I can only hope that this decision doesn't come back to bite me."

"And the cloak?" Narcissa queried.

"I did," Severus said grudgingly, "It isn't mine to keep from him, but I did make him promise not to use if for too many frivolous reasons…" trying to make him promise not to use it would be too much. "I did tell him if I suspected him of misusing it I'd take it away until he was seventeen." And legally an adult.

"They're too smart to get caught," Lucius commented smugly, finding no fault in his statement.

Narcissa and Severus groaned, while continuing to wave.

Before too long the train had gone out of sight, and people were Apparating away from the station.

"Thank Merlin, now can we go? I need to sit down!" Selena grumbled, grunting at the backache she had, "And I need to pee!" not shy about complaining in the slightest. She hadn't wanted to miss Harry going off on the train, so she'd forced herself to come. Now that it was done, she wanted to return home.

"Think you'll have another child?" Lucius whispered into Severus' ear.

Severus gave him a look that suggested he was insane, "I'm not going through this again," he whispered right back, it was insanity, he wasn't sure how she did it, he'd tried to stick it out with her, not going near potions…he'd failed within two weeks. She had been driving him up the wall since, but he loved her regardless, but couldn't wait until the little one came and things could go back to some semblance of normality.

Lucius chuckled, his gaze roaming over his wife and two daughters, "It's worth it," every single second of it. He wasn't sure they'd do it again, but they were definitely worth it though. He was so grateful to Severus for pushing them in that direction,

"We're heading home, we'll see you later," Remus said, "Although we have no doubt that both boys will end up in Slytherin." Draco had taught Harry well, a little too well really. It didn't help that he'd been raised by three Slytherins, and a guy who was more Ravenclaw – himself – than Gryffindor and of course, a Gryffindor through and through, going where even angels fears to tread.

"Of course they will," Lucius said insulted by the mere mention of it, course they'd end up in Slytherin, there would never be any other house for his boy.

Sirius chuckled, grinning wryly, a different man than he used to be, "Come on button, let's head home," he told Cass, clutching her close, he'd taken the day off to see Harry away on the train, but back to work tomorrow, Remus was the one who watched the kids, there were still some prejudice that ran too deep. So he spent his afternoon's reading to the children in Little Hangleton and becoming the unofficial librarian. Refusing to take any money, it didn't feel right, he was just doing his part, plus it let the children met kids their own age and play and have fun. He hadn't had that as a child, Remus had been so secluded so nobody would find out…so he always made sure they got to have fun with kids their own age.

With that the group begun to disperse, Lucius, Narcissa and the twins left, Sirius, Remus and their two little ones and that just left Severus and Serena to head home to Prince Hall.

Severus and Serena had a lazy day, Serena reading and Severus compiling lists of potential potions and working on one specifically. He and his wife didn't always collaborate, they worked on their own thing half the time.

"Severus…" Serena's voice had a vulnerable edge to it that Severus hadn't heard since she confessed to being pregnant.

Severus automatically looked up, a frown marring his features, "What's wrong?" his work abandoned immediately .

"I think…yes, I think it's time," Serena groaned, as her waters broke, that's what she got for ignoring the pain that had been travelling down her back all day.

"Let's get you dried up and in bed, I'll call the healer afterwards," Severus feigned calm, but he was anything but calm on the inside. His heartrate had shot up drastically, pursing his lips in pain as his wife grasped a hold of him with a grip that could break bones. "AHHHH" she screamed, unable to hold it in.

Great, now he was deaf, Severus thought wryly, soon he'd add broken bones to the list, because her grip was steadily getting more painful.

Within fifteen minutes, Selena was in bed, as comfortable as she'd get, and the healer and Medi-witch was helping her through it with Severus. She had absolutely refused to have her child in St. Mungo's instead electing to give birth at home.

Everyone was exhausted by midnight, but they did have a bit of good news.

"What does it say?" Selena asked, panting heavily, staring at her husband, who had a letter from their son.

"No surprises, he's in Slytherin with Draco, what IS surprising is Neville's placement," Severus said amused.

Selena frowned, staring at him, "Hufflepuff?" it would be her second bet.

"Indeed," Severus nodded, confirming her guess was correct.

It wasn't until four AM that little Tiberius Caligula Prince was brought into the world. Named after his wife's father and grandfather – who were both regretfully deceased – and Severus definitely didn't want any child of his named after his parents.

The Medi-witch took a picture of the family, which Severus intended on sending straight to Harry. He had a little brother, no doubt he was going to be ecstatic. Another little boy…Merlin, he prayed he didn't screw up too badly, but as he held onto his little family he realized he couldn't, he hadn't with Harry, and he wouldn't with Tiberius.

"You did so well, I'm proud of you," Severus murmured quietly and privately into her ear, she was exhausted after that long labour.

"I love you," Serena said, her voice hoarse but blessedly coherent and determined.

"And I love you," Severus murmured, pressing a kiss to her cheek as he closed his eyes, he was the luckiest bastard alive. "And to think it all started with a Vow," he added wistfully, if he hadn't seen Harry that day…he knew, he knew his life would not be this fulfilled. He'd still be a professor at Hogwarts, stuck in a job he detested with Dumbledore still running his life. The thought horrified him.

"To vows and their consequences," Serena whispered, she knew everything, Severus kept nothing from her, including the love he'd once held for Lily Potter.

"Hardly any consequences," Severus replied wryly. Good things weren't consequences but it had led up to them.

"To the vow and its consequences," he murmured to himself over an hour later, curled up around his wife and son, having sent off the letters to those he cared to know that he was now a father. Lucius and Narcissa, Minerva and surprisingly Sirius and Remus.

The End! :) Finally after years I managed to get this story complete...wonder if I should try to complete my twilight stories as well...hmmm guess we'll see :) I Hope you all enjoyed it and answered the majority of the questions you might have had throughout the story. Thanks for sticking it out with me.