SO. Here we are. It says epilogue but this is almost full-length… oops. Hopefully it's not too rubbish an ending and gives everyone some closure… I tried to make it sweet without being REALLY fluffy. Hehe Fluffy.

OK, I may have gotten only one review on the last chapter but I deserve it coz I've never paid enough attention to my reviewers and I'm sorry. So here are some looooonnggg overdue thank-yous.

Let's start with Irony: you deserve a big, shiny reviewing extraordinaire award for your dedication and generosity. LOVELOVELOVE. Violet, you've been around – and wonderful, I might add - since the beginning and I can't express how much that means. It's been about a year, I think, which is bonkers. Other special shout-outs go to Mockingfire, Twinny and Lucy. I hope you guys are all still reading this.

And of course, ALL the fantabulous people who have reviewed, you have my deep gratitude and I just really hope it was worth your time, tbh. I loved writing this, so it was definitely worth mine.

One last time, all together now: PLEASE DON'T SUE ME.

oooooooooooooooooooooo

Professor Larch's deep voice booms out across the tense silence.

"Quills down!"

I let my quill drop sideways out of my throbbing, blackened fingers and huff out a breath as I lean back in my chair, stretching my aching spine. There it is. My NEWTs are officially finished and my education is officially over. I smile in triumph as the thick sheaf of parchment on my desk shuffles itself into piles and zooms toward the front of the Great Hall, where Larch stands with his wand held imperiously aloft. Everyone is letting out small laughs or sighs, and I can hear the sound of whispering start up towards the back. Larch snaps at us to stay quiet until he tells us we can go, waits a moment to make sure everyone is silent, and then graciously tells us we can go.

I stand and gather up my writing equipment, carefully screwing the lids back onto the inkpots and wiping the quills on the spare parchment. People are surging past me, impatient to get out into the sunshine, down into Hogsmeade for the traditional seventh-year celebration at the Three Broomsticks. Drinks will be half-price for us NEWT students.

As I turn to leave, though, I see that not everyone is heading towards the doors. One person is pushing through the throng towards me, a huge grin stretching his face. My own face echoes his as he reaches me and I let out a squeak as he lifts me off my feet in a hug, my arms still full of quills and inkpots.

"Ted! For Circe's sake, put me down!"

Ted sets me back on my feet, his grin unchanged.

"We're finished! All done. Doesn't it feel great?"

"It does," I laugh. "Come on, let's go."

I lead the way out of the Hall, Ted chattering enthusiastically beside me about the various questions in the exam. It was Transfiguration theory but I found it quite easy and I tell him so, earning myself an eye-roll and a muttered response. Our bags are where we left them, stacked outside in the Entrance Hall. We push through the crowd to reach them and for a moment, I find myself face to face with Perpetua Nott. She gives me a filthy look but doesn't even acknowledge Ted next to me. I sigh as she sweeps past me and I grab my bag, wishing that Perpetua were more like her twin sister.

I spend most of my time with Ted or, if he's busy, hiding on my bed. The dorm would be a pleasant refuge for me if it weren't for Perpetua. Louisa stills talks to me when no one else is around, Danielle ignores me but isn't hostile and the other girl, a loudmouthed loner named Helen, seems if anything friendlier to me since my 'transgression'; but Perpetua appears endlessly resentful of my presence in the dorm, even after a year, and it's exhausting.

I follow Ted out the doors into the balmy summer air and we're joined by two of his expansive network of friends, a Hufflepuff and a Gryffindor both from our year, who laugh a lot and make crude comments when they think I'm not listening. Although polite, none of Ted's friends ever seem to have warmed to me – the social refugee - and generally they don't talk to me much, nodding their heads in acknowledgement if they catch my eye and always greeting me with a cool smile. Only one of them, a shy Hufflepuff by the name of Michael, has ever properly tried to engage me in conversation. I get the impression that Ted is basically his only friend, but I don't know why; he seems sweet.

The distant attitude of Ted's circle of friends only serves to emphasise Ted's commitment to me, though. He seems utterly unbothered by how little time he now spends with them and half the time, I have to nag him into leaving me on my own and going back to his common room. I want to be annoyed by this – Merlin knows I'm not clingy – but no matter what, I can't seem to get tired of Ted and our relationship is starting to take on a decidedly permanent, settled air. It's almost as though we're-

"Andromeda?"

"Hmm?" I look up to find Ursus, Ted's Hufflepuff friend who joined us outside the castle, peering at me. He's actually related to the Black family through some distant, disowned cousin – hence his relic of a name - and is borderline chummy with me at times.

"I said, you want to come down the Broomsticks, don't you?"

He gives me an encouraging smile and I raise my eyebrows.

"I don't see why not… Ted?"

I turn to Ted. I might boss him around in private but I always defer to him in front of his friends, careful not to give them any more reason to resent me. He shrugs, looking at me sideways through his fringe.

"I thought you might want to get some air for a while," he hints. I smile at him and turn back to Ursus.

"He knows me too well," I joke, trying as always to be as friendly as possible. "You don't mind, do you? We'll catch you up later."

Ursus looks disappointed but shrugs and walks off down the lawn with his Gryffindor friend, shooting Ted an annoyed glance as he goes. I turn back to my boyfriend – it still seems like an inadequate word – and take his hand. It took me a while to be comfortable with public affection, but eventually I realised that most of my house would shun me with or without hand-holding.

"What's this about?" I ask him, tugging him off of the path towards the lake. "Why don't you want to go down to Hogsmeade? Drinks are half-price…"

"I know," he laughs. "Trust me, we'll join the boys and take advantage of that soon. I wanted to spend time with you first."

I snort, not bothering to reply. Ted chuckles again.

"Unless you're sick of the sight of me?" he teases.

"I am," I reply. "But that's OK… I don't have to look at you."

We come to a halt near the lake's shore and he moves behind me, sliding his hands around my waist and linking his fingers in front. His breath is gentle against my temple and I lean back into him, basking in the combined warmth of his body and the bright sun.

"This better then?" he asks, voice still amused.

"Much," I sigh. We're silent for a while, contemplating the undulating sunlight on the water and the ancient castle on the adjacent shore, looming up in familiar majesty. I get a slight lump in my throat suddenly, just looking at it. Ted echoes my thoughts, as is his habit over the past year.

"I'm going to miss it."

I make a non-committal noise and stare at the ground. I wish that I could miss Hogwarts as much as him, but the truth is that for over a year now, it's been a sort of prison, littered with people who despise me. That last term with Bella was hell and I spent all my time in either the library or distant corners of the grounds with Ted, creeping through the common room before the end of dinner and cowering on my bed in the evenings, skipping breakfast to avoid her and cringing if I saw her in the corridors. The situation only improved slightly once she was gone, as Narcissa proved as cold as Mother predicted. The old castle holds some of my bleakest memories, as well as some of my happiest ones. I'll be sad to see it behind me, but relieved too. Shaking off my melancholy, I turn in Ted's arms and curl my hands over his heart.

"What now, then?" I ask him quietly. He gazes back at me, light dancing in his brown eyes.

"We go home, first of all, and endure whatever congratulations party Mum and Dad throw for us. Maggie will make the cake, which'll mean food poisoning unless we're careful…"

I grin and punch him in the arm.

"She's not that bad. She taught me to make that cottages pie thing and that turned out alright, didn't it?"

"Cottage," he corrects. "And you used a spell to prevent burning. Not to mention chopping the vegetables and cooking the mince."

I shrug unapologetically. "Maggie likes magic."

Ted smirks. "She does. She's so jealous of us. Lucky she likes you."

"Yes. You, on the other hand…"

"My sister adores me!" Ted says in mock outrage. "You watch; her first-born will be called Ted, boy or girl."

"Ted, no one in their right mind would name a child after you."

"Yes they would!"

"Well," I sniff. "No child I raise shall have a name as utterly muggle as 'Ted', so you can count that out right away."

He smiles and opens his mouth to reply, but falters and seems to think better of it. An uncomfortable pause develops and I lower my eyes to my hands, still resting on his chest. Why must I always say things that imply more than I mean?

"Dromeda," says Ted seriously after a moment. "You asked what we're going to do now. Well, what do you want to do?"

I sigh, not knowing what to say. I decide to just be honest. Ted won't react badly to anything I say… I hope.

"I love your parents," I begin carefully. "They've been my family when no one else would and they've been so kind and patient with me. But… I want our own space."

I peek up at him. He's frowning at me.

"You're saying you want to move out?"

I nod slowly, feeling nervous. Ted snorts, surprising me.

"Well, yeah, Dromeda. Obviously we're going to move out. I thought you were…. Well. Never mind… we'll have to start looking soon, beat the rush. I don't think we'll be able to afford Diagon…"

I breathe a sigh of relief as he babbles on. I keep forgetting how different we are. To me, living together without being at least engaged is quite the scandal and not something I'd normally suggest. But the lure of living alone with Ted, having our own special place just for being us, our own bedroom rather than having to sneak into each other's under his parents' noses, our own independence… it would be wonderful.

"… and we'll have to get jobs," Ted finishes, trailing off as he considers the practicalities of leaving home. I scowl at him.

"What sort of jobs?"

"Horrible, low-paid ones, in shops and things," he says cheerfully. "At least until we get qualifications. Or promoted."

I consider it. We both want to do the same course at a London College, in Applied Charms. To cover both the tuition costs and the cost of living… he's right. We'll both need jobs. Ted laughs at my downcast expression.

"You'll make a lovely shop assistant," he teases.

"I could get bar work," I shoot back at him, smirking. "Lots of money in tips. I'd have to invest in a new wardrobe, I'll need all the cleavage I can get…"

It's Ted's turn to scowl and he does a marvellous job, glowering heavily at me.

"Or not," he snaps.

I smile serenely at him as I step back, linking my fingers through his.

"Come on," I say happily. "Let's go to Hogsmeade. I can get some pointers off of Lorita."

Ted's grumbling to himself all the way back up to the deserted path but I only chuckle at his sulking. Bar work doesn't sound so bad when I think about it. Nothing does, really; not when I'll be coming home to Ted afterwards.

I tug off my Slytherin tie as we stroll down the lane towards the school gates, pushing it into the pocket of my skirt. Ted squeezes my hand and I beam up at him, his face lit by the sparkling sun and framed by the bluest of blue skies.

It's a beautiful way to begin.

FIN.