It Had To Be You

Epilogue: Wonderful You, It Had To Be You

EIGHTEEN YEARS LATER

Harry strode through Diagon Alley, Severus at his side, while their brood did a combination of running about, and being far more reserved about the stores around them. They were due to meet Ron and Hermione, plus Draco, Ginny, Neville, and Luna at The Three Broomsticks for lunch, but Harry and Severus had plenty of shopping to do beforehand. So much had seemed to change within the wizarding shopping center, as well as within the hearts and souls of the people around them, but Harry and Severus had never fallen out of love with one another.

Lily Eileen Potter-Snape, their firstborn, was due to begin her seventh-year at Hogwarts in just a few short weeks; she turned and regarded her fathers for a moment, her brilliant green eyes off-setting her raven mane perfectly, and she adjusted her robes accordingly. Minerva had already written that Lily had been made Head Girl for the following term, and Lily was very proud of herself; academically, she was quite intelligent, and she had been Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team from her fifth-year. She had aspirations of joining the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and had been under tutelage from Moody from the time she was fourteen, already having mastered the ability to become an Animagus, and ultimately taking the form of a black wolf, which was a shock, due to her apparent blood lust, but Lily was the most in-control of all their children.

Their second child, Maximilian Francis Potter-Snape, who was a charming gentleman with brown hair and blue eyes, was about to begin his sixth-year at Hogwarts, and had been sorted into Ravenclaw, and was every-inch the rule abider. He was a great favorite of his Head of House, Professor Flitwick, and had been successfully making up charms and spells since he was about six. Max, as he much preferred to be called, had eyes for pretty Gryffindor Rose Granger-Weasley, only daughter of Ron and Hermione, and had already impressed her with his superior knowledge of spells and the like, with the pair commencing a relationship in the middle of his fifth and her fourth-year. Max's Patronus was that of a red fox, matching that of Rosie's, and the pair of them seemed to be headed for the wedding aisle upon their graduation from Hogwarts, although they both wanted to be established within the Ministry of Magic beforehand.

Their next child, a second daughter that Harry and Severus had named Guinevere Hermione Potter-Snape, was every inch the Slytherin at fifteen-years-old. Living up to her father's reputation, she had subsequently taken every title that Bill Weasley put forth within his potions classes at Hogwarts, and would share her father's basement lab at Potter Park. Her auburn hair and striking green eyes reminded Harry and Severus so much of her grandmother, Lily, but her stubborn streak matched Harry completely. Gwyn's sharp tongue and temperament was all Severus's, however, and when it came to potions debates, the whole of the rest of the family cleared the room, for there would be two black panthers prowling about and someone could get hurt if they weren't careful.

Their final two children were a pair of mischievous twins that could easily give Fred and George Weasley a run for their money. Conroy Sebastian and Toireasa Marcellina were about to begin their fourth-year at Hogwarts, and Filch had hated every moment that the Slytherin and Gryffindor had terrorized him and Mrs. Norris with their various pranks. Conroy also had striking auburn hair, but his eyes matched that of his brother, Max, while Toireasa had brown eyes and brown hair. Despite their pranks, their marks were good, and although they were kind and popular with the student body Lily, as a former prefect for Gryffindor House, hated to act the disciplinarian around them, especially around Desmond Rosier, a Slytherin who had successfully caught her eye, and who had been named Head Boy for the next term.

"Think she can manage to keep them in line?" Severus asked his husband as they left Madam Malkin's and made their way down the cobblestone street.

Harry smirked to himself at the question, already having an idea of where his husband's thoughts were going. "Perfectly," Harry told him. "Why do you ask?"