A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows over this story! I can't believe we've finally reached the last chapter! You can follow me over on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.

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Hermione stretched and tensed her body like a sleepy cat, wiggling her toes to shake away the sleep that lingered in her limbs. While she would love to have stayed in bed all day, she knew that she wouldn't have the luxury of sleeping in. There was far too much to do that day.

Moving towards the edge of the bed, her progress was halted by the strong arm that was thrown over her middle pulling her back against the lean body behind her. "Where do you think you're going?" Theo's voice asked, still raspy from sleep. He spooned his naked body around her's, enjoying the way that they fit together like puzzle pieces.

"Getting up for the day," she explained smartly, gasping when his hand slid against the smoothness of her skin. A shiver raced up and down her spine at the feeling of his hot breath on her neck.

"Why would you do that?" he asked, letting his hand cup her sex, eager to have her again that morning, even if they'd had their fill of one another the night before. "When we could stay in bed all day and do this?"

Hermione batted his hands away from her, even though it was hard when he was teasing her with his fingers. "You know that today is Teddy's first birthday, Theo," she scolded, even though she didn't really mean it. "There is no way that I am going to be late for that."

Theo finally relented, rolling onto his back. "Is it really his birthday already?" he asked, rubbing the sleep away from his blue eyes. "The year has gone by quickly."

She hummed in agreement, propping herself up with one arm so that she could look at her mate. Theo was so attractive that she sometimes couldn't believe that she was the one that he loved. "Yes, hard to believe that we will be leaving her in just a few weeks," she agreed.

After the battle, Hermione had taken up Professor McGonagall's offer to return to complete her seventh year of schooling. Theo had joined her, knowing that he wouldn't be able to stand being separated from his mate for a whole school year, even though his time might have been better spent sorting through everything that his inheritance involved. But, Theo enjoyed schooling, so putting things off for a bit wasn't the worst thing in the world either.

McGonagall had been initially supportive of their relationship, until she learned all that it entailed. Knowing about the room that Theo had used for transformations during his sixth year, Hermione requested that they be allowed to room together there for the duration of the school year seeing as they were mates. The older woman had gone ballistic at the idea of two unmarried teenagers living together. Even Remus had not been able to convince her that their mated status superseded any silly wizarding marriage ceremony. She wouldn't budge.

So, Hermione and Theo had decided to do the reasonable thing and run away and get married in a very small, private ceremony. Hermione had never had any dreams of a big wedding and Theo had no family left to his name, so it suited the pair of them well. Their friends still insisted on throwing them some sort of reception, though, but it was not planned until after graduation.

Once McGonagall had no other reason to deny them, Hermione and Theo got the go ahead to share the room together. They also had the inenviable position as the first married couple that Hogwarts had seen in centuries, and were subject to a lot of gossip. It was only made worse by the fact that they were Slytherin and Gryffindor.

Hermione was glad that her friends and Theo's friends seemed to have no problems with their relationship. She had been surprised when a gruff Draco, who had also returned for his so-called eighth year, joined them for dinner one evening and that had quelled all the nasty rumors about her and Theo in an instant. Now, after much apologizing and discussion, she counted Draco as one of her friends, too.

Standing from bed, Hermione looked at Theo over her shoulder, giving him a cheeky grin. "If you get up too, we might be able to do a bit of multi-tasking," she said, raising an eyebrow. "Join me in the shower?"

Her question had Theo scrambling out of bed, suddenly wide awake, and leading her towards the shower hastily, pressing kisses to her bare shoulder blades.

It was nearly an hour later that the young couple emerged from their room, freshly showered and ready for the day. They made their way to the Headmistress's office, where they were meeting Draco, so that they could use her floo to get to the Lupins' cottage. One look at the pair of well-satisfied grins that they both wore and the blond scoffing in irritation.

"Good morning, Draco," Hermione said with a laugh, knowing exactly what he was thinking. She knew just how to turn the tables on him, though, too. "Are you excited to see Harry again?" she asked.

The Slytherin's cheeks turned a pink color, showing his embarrassment at being caught. For someone who normally could be so stoic, he was painfully obvious where his brewing interest in Harry was involved. There was no denying the spark that was burning between the two young men now that the war was over and they were no longer nemeses. While their first meeting after the war had involved a fist fight and rehashing hurt feelings, they had come to an accord by the end of the evening, sharing a pint, even. It had turned into something more, but neither of them seemed to want to admit it out loud for fear of what might change.

"Why would I want to see that four eyes?" he sneered, cheeks turning redder by the second.

"Very original," she chided him for his childish insult, with a roll of her eyes. Hermione shrugged her shoulders. "Oh, he just asked about you in his last letter, that's all," she said casually, knowing that he would take the bait.

"He did?" Draco asked, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Yes, he just wanted to be sure that you were coming to the party," she continued. "I think he really misses spending time with you."

Draco just coughed, unsure of what to say, but there was the unmistakable gleam of hope in his grey eyes. "Well, come on then, what are we waiting for?" he asked, ushering them towards the fireplace. "Teddy only turns one one in his life, and the pair of you have already wasted enough time."

The party had only just started when the students arrived, but they were immediately spotted by Remus Lupin. The older werewolf looked so much better now that the war was over and the Ministry was reviewing a lot of the policies that they had enacted during Voldemort's reign. Things were becoming much easier for werewolves to integrate into their society, even if general perception of the dark creatures remained mixed. He looked much younger and less tired than Hermione had ever known him to look, but she figured it was due in part to his son and wife's love.

"Hello Remus!" Hermione said, brightly. "Where is the birthday boy?" she asked, looking around the room for any sign of the tiny little metamorphmagus.

"Harry's got him right now," Remus answered with a grin.

"I'll just go find him then," Hermione answered, knowing that Theo and Remus could talk on their own for a bit. Their relationship was odd - not nearly as strained as it had once been, but cordial. While they had different opinions on how werewolves should compose themselves, they were in the unique situation of knowing exactly what the other's lycanthropy was like.

"I'll go with you!" Draco added, forging ahead of Hermione, wanting to see the boy-who-lived twice.

Theo watched as his wife and best friend made their way through the party, only to find Harry Potter talking with Ron Weasley. The pair had gone on to auror training and so the trio did not see each other as often, but still remained close. How could they not, after everything they forged together the year before?

"So, you only have a few weeks left before exams," Remus said casually. "Any idea of what you'll do after the pair of you leave Hogwarts?"

Across the room Hermione was hugging Ron tightly, before giving Harry a sideways hug. Then she happily plucked baby Teddy Lupin out of his arms, giving the happy boy a squeeze. "I haven't thought about it too specifically yet. My family home is falling apart, so I could work to repair that," Theo answered, eyes briefly flickering to the other man. "Or take up my family's seat in the Wizengamot, of course. That would leave me with plenty of free time to do whatever I want."

As soon as Draco had shown up at the party, it seemed he was the only thing that Harry could focus on. Before long, Hermione was gesturing to Ron and they were leaving the two men alone. From the looks of it, Draco was trying desperately hard to remain cool, while at the same time making Harry laugh. It was working.

"A noble aim, I'm sure," Remus said with a grin. "You could do a lot of good in the Wizengamot, and I think it's high time that they get some younger blood there. What about Hermione? Has she made any decisions?"

Hermione had received several offers even before she got her NEWTs, including a senior position in the Department for the Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures. She had told him that she was worried about taking the position at the Ministry because people might not think she had earned it on her own merits. She had also had offers to apprentice with various masters of magical fields, including a promising Ancient Runes mastery that Theo was personally hoping she would take.

"She's not quite sure yet," Theo answered, his eyes finding his wife once again, drawn into her like a magnet. "Still deciding, but she hopes to finalize everything shortly after the NEWTs."

"Kingsley looks as if he is trying to convince her to join the Ministry again," Remus said, sounding amused at the prospect. "I think he would consider it a personal win if he could get her to join Harry and Ron with the auror department."

Theo snorted at that. "No luck there, I'm afraid," he answered, knowing that Hermione had no desire to be a bad wizard catcher any more. She aspired to a more...safe life. "He won't be able to wear her down."

"Damn," Remus answered with a half-smile. "I suppose that I will lose that bet to Fred and George then."

The young werewolf couldn't even bring himself to roll his eyes at the thought of people taking bets on what his wife would do after school. Instead, he was far too entranced at the sight of her with a baby in her arms, looking radiant and lovely while she laughed with Kingsley and Ron. It moved something primal inside of him, some urge that he didn't even know was lingering under the surface. The desire to have a child, to pup his mate, hit Theo like a ton of bricks and he wasn't entirely sure what to do about it.

Remus must have noticed the clench in his jaw or the way that his predator's gaze lingered on Hermione's form. "Ah, I see that I might need to instigate a new bet," Remus said, clapping Theo on the shoulder. "How long until there are three Notts instead of just two."

Theo was stunned or perhaps a bit embarrassed at being so transparent in his desires. But then, why should he care? Everyone knew that Hermione was his, his mate, his wife, his life. He was very possessive of her and the wolf inside of him was purring at the thought of Hermione growing round with his child - let everyone see the proof of their love for one another.

"That's hardly fair, Remus. You've got inside information," he quipped. Clearing his throat, he smirked. He didn't think that it would take much convincing on his part either, given the loving way that she cradled her godson in her arms.

Needing to touch her, Theo left the other man standing alone. Slinging an arm around Hermione's waist when he got to her side, he pressed a kiss to the faded, silvery scar he'd left on her neck, enjoying her body's physical reaction to him. Theo couldn't wait to get back to their private rooms, to have her all to himself, to talk more about all their bright future had in store.