Alternate Epilogue

A woman about 23 with dazzling green eyes and blond curly hair appeared outside a house with ivy growing on it. She wore a thread bear cloak and very dirty baggy clothes. Her face was thin but with a tanned complexion. The sun was high in the sky it was a perfect July day not a cloud in the sky. She had not seen this house in 5 years; she had missed so much it hurt every time she thought about it. But she couldn't come back until now, she had longed to see her family again, her father, her stepmother, her boyfriend, her friends and her baby brother. She wasn't looking forward to seeing them and explaining to them where she had been, and why she hadn't come back until now. A young boy with bright red hair and green eyes so alike her own sat playing in the garden when she approached he stopped and stared at her.

"Hi, Josh," Anna said.

"How do you know my name?"

"I was guessing. Are your mummy and daddy home?"

"Daddy is at work and mummy is visiting grandma."

"And you're here all by yourself?"

"No uncle Lupin and aunty Clare are looking after us."

"Aunty Clare who's that?" Anna asked her heart dropping to her stomach.

"She is Uncle Lupin's friend. She is not my real aunty; but Uncle Lupin isn't my real uncle either. It's very complicated."

"It sounds it." She said grinning in spite the terrible feeling now forming in her stomach. Anna looked at the house not really wanting to go in anymore. Lupin, her Lupin, had found someone else, she had told Remus to make sure he did but it still didn't make her feel any better about it. Josh looked up at her.

"Do you want to come and play with us?"

"Sure." Anna followed her brother to the back garden. "Who are us?"

"Melinda, Orlando and Mia."

"Are they your brothers and sisters."

"You don't have any others?"

"I used to… she saved the world. Her name was Anna. I don't really remember her but everyone says she was really nice. Uncle Lupin talks about her all the time."

"Really what does he say?"

"He says she was the greatest thing that ever happened to him. He says he misses her so much it hurts. Sometimes he says she is still out there somewhere."

"Does your daddy miss her as well?"

"Yeah he gets very upset when ever anyone says anything bad about her. But that's not a lot; daddy says his baby Anna will always be alive in his heart."

Anna felt the tears form in her eyes, all she wanted to do at that moment was pick up her baby brother and hug him forever. But she wanted to talk to him more now he was there.

"What does Aunty Clare think about L--Uncle Lupin talking about Anna?"

"She goes all quiet and is mean about Anna. She says she doesn't want to hear about her because she can't live up to Anna expectations. I don't like it when she does that."

"Why not?"

"Because my sister was the greatest witch in the whole world. Can I tell you a secret?"

"Sure," Anna replied sitting on the grass next to him.

"When I go to sleep I see my sister in my head she is crying though and she is always alone, it makes me sad because I want to hug her."

"Have you seen pictures of her?"

"Oh yes we have lots Uncle Lupin shows us all the time he comes around," Josh said.

"What does she look like?"

"She's got blond hair, and green eyes, she looks like you really."

"Can I tell you a secret now?"

"Yes please." Josh said his eyes lighting up.

"My name is Anna. I am your sister too." At this Josh's eyes filled with tears and he ran inside. Suddenly Lupin and a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes who was very pretty came out both had their wands risen.

Lupin took a look at Anna and glared at her.

"Clare, go inside and stay with the kids." She obeyed and Lupin walked up to Anna his wand still raised. "Who are you? And what do you want? Leave this family alone what is wrong with you physcos? Don't you think they have suffered enough? What do you want?" Lupin said angrily as he stood in front of her.

"What do I want? Let's see I want I want to go back to my family, I want my baby brother to hug me not run away, terrified from me. I want my dad to know I am alive. I want to live a normal life but most of all I want my boyfriend to stop being a prat and come here and give me a hug." Anna said her heart overwhelming her she wanted nothing more than for him to kiss her right now.

"Like I haven't heard any of that before," Lupin shouted.

"Don't yell at me," Anna said.

"What did you just say?" he asked his voice growing quieter.

"I told you don't yell at me, it's not my fault." Lupin stood still as a statue his mouth hanging slightly open. The sun reflecting off his blond hair his blue eyes sparkling and a grin came on his face. He dropped his wand and launched himself at Anna, who felt his strong arms around her. His scent filled her senses and she breathed deeply. She buried her head into his shoulder and let the tears fall freely.

"I love you," she said. They heard a loud cracking noise from behind them, Josh and three other little children were standing at the doorway.

"Clare has gone, she said she knew this was going to happen and I was nice to know you Uncle Lupin."

"Oh well, she'll find someone else," Lupin said. Anna smiled and leaned up to him putting her hands at the back of his head and kissing him deeply. Letting 5 years of pain and longing flow into this kiss. When they had pulled apart, foreheads resting on each others, Lupin said.

It's defiantly you."

"Do you go around kissing all the girls who pretend to be me then?"

"Generally yeah," he grinned. Anna hit him on the arm but smiled.

"So did you miss me?"

"More than you could ever imagine. Where the hell have you been, if I wasn't so happy to see you I would kill you!"

Lupin took Anna's hand and lead her inside, Josh and the other 3 had also gone back inside.

"Are you really Anna?" Josh asked Anna before she even had a chance to sit down.

"Yeah I am." Josh looked at Lupin for confirmation, Lupin nodded. Josh broke into a huge grin and ran and hugged her, she scooped him up into her arms and she felt his head bury into her neck. He leaned back and started speaking quickly

"This is Orlando," Josh said pointing to a two year old boy with black hair and blue eyes. "Melinda she is 3 and Mia is 6 months."

He said pointing at two girls who both had red hair and blue eyes and lots of freckles.

"Where Awuny Cware?" Melinda asked to Lupin.

"She had to go I don't think we will be seeing her anymore."

"That's good I no liked her, she was mean to Mia." Lupin smiled.

"Orlando, Katie, Mia this is your sister Anna, she is here to stay and be therefore you," Lupin said bending down to pick up Mia. "And I will be your brother as well if Anna will let me?"

"Yey, Lupin will be my brother!" Josh exclaimed and Orlando and Mia clapped.

"Only if he is good," Anna said catching Lupin's eye, she grinned at him and he rummaged around in his pocket and pulled out a box, opened it and pulled out a gold ring with a diamond in the center. He walked over to her and Anna put down Josh. Holding out her left hand, which was shaking slightly he put the ring her finger.

"You always carry that around with you?" Anna asked.

"You never know what is going to happen."

"Merlin I missed you." Anna smiled at him and they stood taking in each other for a few moments in silence.

"Have you seen Harry or Ginny?"

"Not yet I thought they would be here."

"They will be back soon."

"Well that will give me time to quiz you on everything that has happened since I was gone."

"Yeah and you can tell me what happened to you. You go first."

"It's not that exciting really, after the battle I woke up 3 years later in the hospital where I was born and I spent the next year getting better I had lost my memory so I spent that year getting it back and recovering then when I finally did get my memory back and I could walk far without collapsing realized I wanted to be myself for a while just Anna Potter. No one really knew who I was in Australia since it was mostly muggles so I stayed there wandering around helping muggles who were sick, I volunteered at the hospital where I was staying, it was a muggle hospital so I guess that's why it took so long for me to recover. That's about it."

"Wouldn't it have been on the news or something?"

"It was but no one here obviously reads the Australian muggle newspaper." She said and Lupin tilted his head to the side and raised his eyebrows.

"Of course why didn't we think to look there?" He said sarcastically.

"Shut up."

"I'm glad your back."

"I'll always come back."

"I know I don't think we could get rid of you." She went to hit him but he grabbed her hand and leaned forward, they were an inch away from kissing when a voice exclaimed from behind Anna.

"Do you think that is appropriate in front of the children? Lupin I would have thought you would know better. Clare I know we haven't known you very long but really."

"I can think of worse thing you and my father did in front of me." Anna said turning around and seeing Ginny with her hands on her hips and Harry scowling at who he thought was Clare.

One year later Anna stood in a room by the mirror this time she wasn't looking at her reflection; there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," she called. Harry entered in his black dress robes.

"You look like an angel. A very tall annoying angel nonetheless," Harry said grinning as Anna raised her eyebrows.

"Shut up, I can still take you. You didn't teach me self defense for nothing."

"Yeah that was a waste of time—"

"No it wasn't I used it before the fight and then when my soul was battling with Voldemort." They fell silent and suddenly Harry pulled Anna into a hug that knocked the wind out of her. When he pulled away he said.

"You know I am proud of you and that you mean the world to me,"

"Dad stop you're making me blush," Anna said pretending to be embarrassed.

"I am being serious now, so if you ever sacrifice yourself to save the world again you will be in so much trouble," they hadn't really spoke about that since Anna came back.

"Don't worry dad I don't plan on saving the world anytime soon. I am planning on having lots of babies first," she said grinning bring Harry back to the reality of what they were about to do.

"That's something I didn't really need to know,"

"You can talk, three kids while I was away!" Harry laughed which in turn made Anna laugh.

"I have something for you," Harry said when they had composed themselves.

"What?" Anna asked taking the brown package Harry handed to her. She tore open the paper and a gold locket fell into her hand. "I thought I lost it," she said turning to her father.

"When you disappeared this was the only thing left we could find, and when you came back I didn't want to give it to you again because I didn't want to believe it was really you. But now you are going to be moving out and I am losing you all over again but this time it is good because I know I will be able to see you, you won't be gone forever."

Lupin stood in front of a garden of chairs as they filled up with mostly family members but there were a few friends. His best friend Remus Black, whose hair had been cut short ever since he married his wife Nicky Wood, was spiked up with gel, stood by his side. Lupin wore black dress robes with a white rose pinned to the front and his normal curly hair was gelled back from his face. But right now Lupin didn't care about his clothes or his hair or what anyone else thought of him he only cared that his beautiful fiancée was walking down the isle, leading the procession was 4 year old Katie Potter wearing a very beautiful flower girl dress scattering white rose petals on the ground, between the chairs that made the isle.

Next came Nicky Black, his best friend's wife of two years. Then came Harry in similar black dress robes and on his arm the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life. Anna had finally gone back to her normal weight since she had been back she wasn't a stick anymore. She wore the wedding dress her mother had bought for her, white silk with tiny flowers embroidered into it. Her hair, which caught the sun, was half up and half down. The top half was held up as if by magic and a few loose curls fell around her face. There was only one word to describe her face Lupin thought, Perfect.

A small scar above her left eyebrow and a faint scar down her right cheek reminders of her terrible teenage years. This woman had been through hell and come out fighting; she had acted beyond her years and better than most adults would have. She was the most amazing person he had ever met and each day he loved her more. Lupin knew too much about this woman not to love her forever, before her he had never known true suffering, but she had put him through a lot of it but, "Hearts live by being wounded. Pleasure may turn a heart to stone, riches may make it callous, but sorrow- oh sorrow cannot break it." He had heard that a while ago, it was a saying by an Irish Wizard, Oscar Wilde and Lupin had been through sorrow and his heart had been wounded. But it made him love her even more.

Anna was smiling at him now her green eye sparkling in anticipation. Harry and Anna approached the make shift alter in their back garden. Harry kissed Anna on the cheek and smiled at Lupin who took Anna's hand and they turned to Lupin's father who was proceeding over the wedding. Lupin would have like Albus Dumbledore to do it but a few months after Voldemort was defeated Dumbledore died. His death was not a sad one many wizards believed that now Dumbledore was dead Voldemort would not come back. Lupin squeezed Anna's hand and she squeezed it back.

The ceremony started but Anna didn't hear anything until she was told say the vows she had written. She spoke her voice breaking slightly.

"I love you more than anything in this world. I know I have left you twice but I promise I will never go anywhere again. I will be with you through everything life throws at us. You make me feel so special, every time you come into a room my heart skips a beat and everything goes out of my head. You were the first person who ever wanted to get to know me. For that I love you. I hated it when we were not together I never want to spend another day apart. I will Love now and for always." She finished tears in her eyes again. Then Lupin said his.

"You mean the world to me every time you died I felt a piece of me went missing. Then it would fall right back into place when you showed up again. I don't know how I survived when you weren't around. You make me feel like the only person in the room when you look at me. I want to build my life around you. I love you now and for always."

As the wedding came to a close Anna realized how well her life had worked out. From going from having no friends and only a father, the Weasleys had adopted her as a granddaughter, daughter, cousin, niece, Aunt, and friend. She had met the person who believed in her and made her come out into the light. She realized now that it was safe out of the shadows.