Oh Merlin guys, this is the final chapter of my story!! Its so strange, and so sad at the same time. As I was editing the story I was literally crying as I read, partially because it is a sad chapter, and partially because I'm upset that it's ending!

Anyways, this may be it but I'm still adding another little note in another chapter as a soundtrack. Also, I'm revamping some of the beginning stuff as well; it just seems appropriate now. And I'd really love some promotion of this fic too, a Youtube trailer vid, for example. I've already got a bunch of banners and stuff made for it, but I would love if someone did me a trailer!!

Soundtrack: It's Only Life by Kate Voegele, followed by All We Are by One Republic, followed by Hymn to the Sea by James Horner (it was on the Titanic soundtrac).

So, this is it. I'll let you read it and weep for the end.

Disclaimer: If I hadn't owned it up to this point, what makes you think I would now?

Epilogue: Scars Never Really Heal

Nineteen years later…

Life after Voldemort moved fairly quickly, but at the same time it moved very slowly as well. Before this, I had never really understood the meaning of time; now, with my life moving in such unusual ways, I began to realize what time meant.

The way your days pass with the people you love.

However, it was hardly a good idea for any of us—Harry, Hermione, Ron and I—to step back at let others clean up Voldemort's dirty work. And so, with the ending of such a terrible era, the four of us had to help pick up the broken pieces.

Until now, none of us had ever thought about the future and what the magical world after Voldemort might bring, but now everything was changing and before we knew it, the future was upon us and unfolding right in front of our eyes.

Harry, bless the brilliant man, became an amazing Auror within the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in the Ministry of Magic. Shortly after becoming an Auror, people saw fit to make him the Head of the department—none of us had any squabbles about that of course. He did defeat Voldemort after all.

Ron, always second in Harry's command, followed his footsteps into the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Most of us thought this was an odd choice for one such as Ron, but I knew that he had proven himself over and over again in the final years of Voldemort's life, and I knew that giving Ron the position right beside Harry would make the world of difference for the Aurors. Together, the two men helped reshape the office and the cleaning up of Voldemort's mess became a ten-fold easier than it would have been.

Hermione, accustomed to dividing herself from Harry, chose to take a different path and explore her opportunities in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures in the Ministry. According to Ron and Harry, back when she was in Hogwarts she had become obsessed with House-Elf rights, and so she continued her crusade well into her career. However, it became clear that House-Elf rights were not challenging enough for Miss Granger, and soon enough she transferred to the same department as Harry and Ron, except she chose to advocate for those not of pure-blood birth.

And, well, what would life be without a bit of love thrown into the mix?

Of course, Ron and Hermione ended up together—as everyone saw from the day they met. Believe it or not, it took Ron a year to muster enough guts to finally ask Hermione to marry him. They might have been young, but as I said, it was a destined match.

Ah, the wedding was a blissful one too. Simple and sweet, the two were married in the Weasley's backyard with the Burrow busying itself in the background. The crowd that Ron and Hermione's marriage drew in was spectacular thought; there must have been at least a thousand people ranging from family members to friends to people anticipating a glimpse of the famous couple sitting in the yard and watching the ceremony.

Hermione and Ron had a beautiful marriage and a beautiful love; I had never seen a love like that in my entire life. I was too young to remember my parent's relationship—though I was told it was almost exactly like Hermione and Ron—and I had been tossed around too much in my life to allow myself to view the simple things.

However, despite my rough beginnings I had a wonderful life after Voldemort. My happily-ever-after came just as Harry had killed the one person who thwarted all my attempts at a normal, simple life. Hermione and Ron might have had their simplistic, beautiful love, but Harry and I had something completely different…

The love we shared…well I suppose I could say it was special—very, very special. Although no one except seemed to understand exactly what it was all about, that didn't mind us in the least. We didn't feel the need to be formally united in front of hundreds of thousands of people—and of course the need to write it down on paper to make it official was hardly necessary.

But, due to the pushing from several of our closest friends and Harry's feelings, we did formally unite in a small—a very small—ceremony just outside the Burrow. The only ones in attendance were Hermione and Ron; they were all that mattered to us, and therefore they were the only ones to watch us become man and wife.

Despite our lack of belief in formal marriage, I can still remember the day that Harry had proposed to me. I still got a ring, he still kneeled before me and I still cried in joy. The day was so special, and so memorable that never was far from my mind when I looked into Harry's eyes…

Slowly, we danced in a circle beneath the stars; Harry's hand pressed the small of my back until there was no space between us. I looked up at him and saw him grinning with a glimmer of amusement in his emerald eyes.

Oh how I loved this man.

Gently, he twirled me around until he finally pulled me in and kissed me underneath the stars, with the magical candles glowing and throwing off their radiance in our path. Our lips moved together, having perfected our kisses in such a way that both of us always felt the same magic that had been there the first time.

His hands moved through my hair to the back of my head, and he cradled it as though it was the most precious object in the world. All the while, my own hands went to his neck and I pulled him closer to me, eager to experience the kiss.

Smiling into my lips, Harry pulled away and rested his forehead on mine. We stayed in that position, his eyes looking right into mine, for the longest time possible until he finally lowered his hands to mine, and took them.

Suddenly, he pulled away and kneeled before me, one of his hands searching in his pocket for something. And that's when I realized what was going on.

Squeezing his hands with more pressure than I mean to, I watched him pull out a beautiful diamond ring…a beautiful, perfect diamond ring meant to fit one finger in particular. I disengaged one of my hands and put it to my mouth in shock as I watched him look back up at me, smiling the entire time.

"Now I know you said it wasn't that important if we got married because we knew exactly how much we loved each other…but I want to get married to you Elizabeth, you are the only one for me—you are the only one that matters to me," He hesitated and took a deep breath before plunging in and asking the one question that sent shivers down my spine. "Elizabeth Jane Dumbledore, will you marry me?"

I closed my eyes, savoring the ultimate perfection of the moment, and then I opened them again. Tears were blurring my vision, but they were tears of profound joy. I grinned and nodded, my hand still pressed to my mouth in shock.

Slowly, Harry slid that ring onto the third finger of my left hand.

"Yes, oh Merlin yes Harry, of course I'll marry you," I said when I was finally able to catch my breath. Without waiting for him to stand up, I bent over and kissed him hard and passionately.

He pulled me to the ground beside him until we ended up lying in the grass next to each other, still kissing with as much love and emotion as ever.

I pulled away, my fingers still touching his cheeks, and I looked into his eyes. "I love you Harry, I love you so much."

He smiled and pushed a lock of hair behind my ear as he said, "I love you too Lizzie, you're my entire world."

The moment still dances around in my mind, even as I lie here in bed thinking about everything else that's happened up until this point, and as I think about it all I realize how wonderful everything has been; from what I've come from, to what I am now, things might have changed drastically, but it was certainly for the better.

As I think, I see Hermione and Ron's children dancing before me. Rose and Hugo, looking every bit of their parents as a child can. Of course, the closeness of our relationship permitted Harry and I to become godmother and godfather to Rose, while Ron's other siblings were godmother and godfather to the other.

I can never look back upon these memories without smiling…Hermione giving birth to Rose, that colorful, red-headed girl. And then Hugo, oh the little boy that brought such a light into Ron's life especially.

And though I was supposed to have just as much the fairytale as Ron and Hermione—though Harry and I were supposed to have that happily-ever-after—things happened to me that I couldn't explain, but now I can.

And I suppose I should begin the part where my life started crumbling so…why I sigh every time I think about all of these good memories, and why I look back upon the times before this golden age and realize that from the moment I was born I was marked for death.

Though it seemed a natural thing for any woman to want to have a child, a family of sorts, I never wanted a child. I had Harry, and he was everything I needed. If I were to have a child, I feared that I wouldn't be able to care for him or her well enough; I was so afraid that he or she would get hurt because of my inability to protect them. Even though Hermione and Ron had a wonderful child and it was simply perfect for them, I was still so frightened that my child would end up losing out on life like I did.

But then I got sick.

I simply thought it was nothing to be scared about, just a normal flu-bug or something like that, but it turned out to be much, much worse. I ended up being bedridden for at least three weeks before I could actually move again. At first I had come down with excessive vomiting, followed by a shakiness I could never curb, and then one day I ended up collapsing at work and had to be brought home. Soon after that a violent pain bloomed in my shoulder—the same shoulder that Bellatrix had hit years ago—and for some reason it began bleeding which scared me to death.

Once the bleeding had started Harry said he had had enough; he took me to St. Mungo's the following hour, and he expected them to cure me. He expected everything else to be just fine, but as soon as the Healers did their studies on me, I found out something that would change my life forever.

According to the Healers at St. Mungo's, I had been hit with such a terrible curse that there was no escaping it. The curse would kill me slowly—and painfully—until I had nothing left, until I had finally died because it weakened me so. This curse, this awful curse could not have been the doing of a Death Eater—no, it was the doing of Voldemort, not Bellatrix. The damned sorcerer was still affecting my life even after his death!

Harry, however, didn't know any of this. I refused to tell him what the Healers had said, and my plan was that I was never going to until it was absolutely necessary. He didn't need to have another added weight on his shoulders—he didn't need to worry about if today was his wife's last day to live or not.

Even so, being cursed by Voldemort changed my perspective on life, and suddenly something clicked that made me want a child desperately. I knew I couldn't leave the world without an heir of sorts, and despite my fears, the curse somehow made me see past them.

So, as soon as I was able, I told Harry I wanted to have a child and that's when Carson James Potter came into the world. Miraculously, I was in wonderful health when I had Carson, and I was also in exquisite health afterwards. I remember the day that I had Carson, oh the splendid baby boy he was—tiny and adorable, and so much like his father in every way possible.

And so, due to the sudden change in my outlook, a second child came along two years after Carson was born. This baby was christened Rowena Lily Potter, and she was a bundle of joy all her own. According to the photographs Harry kept up in our home, Rowena looked so much like his mother that it made him cry the first time he saw her. It was such a joyous moment bringing Carson and Rowena together in our home, and at last I knew that I had all the happiness I needed.

But then my luck ran quite thin again, and I became terribly ill once more.

This time…this time was so much worse than before; I was stricken down to my bed and I was unable to move for at least a month and a half. Merlin, this time I was suffering from twisting, agonizing pains that ran through my body and blood like wildfire; and then, I began to get nightmares that made me relive my worst memories that I tried so hard to forget.

Believing my life was over, I gave into the pain and horrors of everything as they consumed me, despite Harry's constant, reassuring presence. He never left my side, not even once. He was always there for me, stroking my hair or feeding me when I was too weak to lift a spoon. He was my guardian angel in the darkness, and then I realized I had to keep fighting…I had to keep fighting for Carson and Rowena, as he constantly reminded me.

Finally, eight weeks after Rowena's birth, the illness passed once more, but this time it left me in a terribly weakened state. Despite my health, I still wanted to have another child before I finally passed on…but before I could even begin to think of another baby running around, I knew it was time to tell Harry what was happening to me.

The day…that day I told Harry that I was slowly dying…well that would always leave a profound mark in my life—I could never forget the pain and terror I saw on his face the moment I let the words escape my lips.

Slowly, gently almost, I took Harry's hands in my own as we sat down on the loveseat. I wasted several minutes, simply by squeezing his fingers, or looking down at my knees as his own fingers moved with mine. He waited, oh Merlin he waited so patiently for me to confess something that I was having trouble pulling up from my heart.

Without even asking, he disengaged one of his hands and moved it so he could push the hair that had fallen in front of my face out of the way. "It's ok," He told me, his voice as quiet and peaceful as ever. Leaning forward, he kissed my forehead sweetly, and when he pulled back away and simply looked at me, I knew it was time to tell him.

"Harry…" I began, my voice shaking uncontrollably, and so I had to take a deep breath before I was even able to continue. Finally, I looked into his emerald eyes and said, "Harry there's something I have to tell you."

He squeezed my fingers for a brief second before saying, "I know you do….that's why I'm here with you."

I took a deep, slow breath, and upon exhaling I said, "There's something wrong with me."

Harry waited a long minute before saying, "There's nothing wrong with you Lizzie, you're absolutely perfect." He was confused by what I was saying, but he could still pick up on the fact that something was going on beneath the surface.

"No…that's not what I meant…" I dropped my eyes and stared at my knees for the longest time before finally saying, "Harry, I'm sick." I stiffened for a long moment, heavily anticipating what he was going to say, but even so, I didn't expect what I heard.

"For forever?" The question was so innocent, so plainly innocent that it made my heart jerk uncomfortably. His fingers played with my diamond engagement ring, and finally when I didn't say anything he asked, "What happened?"

My voice surprised me when I finally was able to talk again. Through tears that had suddenly built up, I choked out, "Voldemort…Voldemort hit me with a curse all those years ago…Harry…" But I couldn't even bring myself to say the last bit—to tell Harry I wasn't going to live forever.

"What is it Lizzie?" He asked, when I didn't finish my sentence. "What's wrong?" He put a finger under my chin and made me look up at him, and when I saw the fear in his eyes I began crying. "Oh Lizzie," He said and pulled me to him, and carefully he held me in his arms as I continued to cry into his shirt. Continually stroking my hair, he finally spoke once more, but this time his own voice was shaking. "When will you get better?"

I stopped crying and stiffened in his arms; he still didn't realize that I wasn't…that I wasn't going to live. "Harry," I said quietly, my voice muffled by his shirt. When I pulled away to look at him, I saw that he was crying as well. He knew…he knew, but he couldn't bring himself to accept it. "Oh Harry, I'm not going to get better…Harry I'm going to…I'm going to…" Closing my eyes so I couldn't look at his face, I finally managed to whisper, "Harry I'm not going to make it."

By this time, he was full-out crying and he pulled me to his chest once again saying, "No, oh Merlin no, I won't let that happen Lizzie—there has to be a way!"

I started sobbing again as he pulled me to him, and this time I didn't know what to say in response. I was so lost, and so afraid of leaving him…I didn't want to die, I was so scared…

From then on, our lives changed miraculously. I lived as if every day was my last day, and Harry was always right beside me. After a while, though, I told him to go back to his job, to go back to a normal life, and after much pushing, he finally did. For a long time my health remained in a positive state, despite the illness that was rapidly deteriorating my body.

A few years after I had Rowena, I was able to have another child, but this child would be my last. Harry and I welcomed Albus Severus Potter into the world three years after Rowena's birth, and this time our child looked more like me than anything. Not only did Albus have the same twinkling eyes as his grandfather, but he carried the same name. I knew that while I remained on this earth it was Albus who linked me to my grandfather, and for some reason I was able to remain happy with that thought.

Despite the rapid progression of the illness, I was able to live through the rest of my life smoothly; after Albus' birth I didn't get sick again, but I could tell that the next few years would be my last. However, I wasn't going to die before I saw each of my children off to Hogwarts—I would do anything and everything to make sure I saw Carson, Rowena and Albus board the Hogwarts Express for the first time.

Somehow, I think it was that utter will power, and the fact that I was living such a wonderful life with Harry and the rest of my family that kept me alive for as long as it did. I never let a day go by without being thankful for whatever positive came my way, and soon enough I was granted my wish.

Carson went off to school.

Rowena went off to school.

Albus went off to school.

I had seen them all board that train, and I had seen them all come home each year with the happiest looks on their faces as they came to greet their parents once more.

But then, I got ill again. Carson was in his seventh and final year at Hogwarts, Rowena was in her fifth year and little Albus was in his second. And without me even realizing it, Christmas would be the last time I saw my children again.

And now, I lay here, looking up into the ceiling above my bed, feeling the pain in my shoulder threaten to take me over once more. I feel a gentle pressure on my right hand, and looking to the side I see Harry kneeling beside me, his face distraught as always.

"I love you Lizzie, Merlin, I love you so much," He tells me, his voice desperate and soft at the same time. He looks so lost, so vulnerable and utterly scared as he watches my eyes fade several times.

Smiling weakly, I answer, "I love you too Harry; you brought me through this all—you brought me through everything. I love you so much." With my eyes, I beg him to come close enough for me to kiss him since I'm too weak to move forward.

And of course, Harry quickly lurches forward, but then he stops. Gently, he lowers his face near mine and our lips meet in a gentle, sweet kiss that seems to seal everything for eternity. He knows this is the last one he'll ever receive from me—he knows that this is it.

Someone in the corner of our room begins to sob loudly and as I shift my head to the side I see a bushy mane of hair lost in the sweater of a man with red hair. Both of them look up as my eyes rest on them and at once I see red, puffy eyes and tears falling freely.

"Oh Lizzie," Hermione blubbers as she runs forward and kneels beside me. "Why? You have to be strong!" Without warning, she seizes my hand and says, "Fight it Lizzie! You have to fight it!" It's almost as though she can't go on without me, and I'm stunned.

"It's ok Hermione," I reply softly. The effort to speak is draining on my last energy, but I have to let her know that everything's going to be fine when I'm gone. "Just watch…after Harry for me…and the children…" Unable to finish my sentence, I nod at her and she understands.

"Anything for you Lizzie," Ron answers for her since she's already dissolved into hysterical sobs once more. "Of course we'll take care of Harry and the kids." He smiles at me, but I can tell it's a strained one; he knows my life is ending too.

As I lay here, I recount every good, blessed thing that has come into my life; the feel of Harry's lips on my own, the rushing of his heartbeat as he proclaimed his love for me so many years ago…the light in Carson's eyes the moment I gave birth to him, and then Rowena's sleepy face…Albus, who reminded me so much of my grandfather…the end of an era…the end of a dark, tragic era that had marked the beginning of my life, and now it marks the end of it too.

Smiling tiredly up at Harry, I squeeze his hand one last time and let the light surrounding me give way to the darkness. "I love you," I breathe out slowly, and the vision of Harry resting his head on my stomach and Ron holding a shaking Hermione begins to fade before me. I am hovering between life and death, and I close my eyes against the glaring light that reminds me so much of that day I encountered my grandfather once before.

"I'm so proud of you Lizzie," My grandfather's voice interrupts the gentle fading of life. When I turn, I see him standing their before me, his eyes twinkling happily as he sees me once more. "You've done so much; you've done everything I've ever asked for…" He pauses and a somber look stretches over his already wrinkled features. "I'm so sorry that your life has to come to an end."

I stand in that in-between world and look at my grandfather. I want to say something, tell him it will be alright, but I can't force the words out. Too much of me wants to remain back where Harry is—back where my life is.

"I love you too," Harry's voice says, but it sounds as though he is a million miles away. I feel head above my heart and I know he's straining to hear my heartbeat as it beats slower and slower against my ribcage. "I love you so much," His voice says again and I can feel the squeeze of his hand around mine, as well as the tears splashing onto my face.

"Oh Merlin I'll miss you Harry, I love you," I say, but I know he can't hear me; by now I'm too far gone for anybody of the mortal world to understand me. I know that I must face the fact that I am not part of that world anymore…I'm no longer mortal.

Slowly, I let my hand slide through Grandpa Albus' as a smile makes its way onto my lips. "It's time, isn't it?" I ask softly, even though I know the answer. I can feel my body floating, I can feel my heartbeat come to a stop, and I can feel my soul being released from the confines of my body. Somewhere in the distance, I hear great, heaving sobs and I know they belong to Harry.

"Yes," He answers in that same, serene voice as the mortal life behind me begins to fade away. "It is time Lizzie."

Once again, I feel as though my life has come full circle; I came to my grandfather nearly dead, and I am with my grandfather now that I have passed on. I feel like a child beside the man who has cared for her since she was just a little girl, I feel like I can leave in peace.

Despite the sorrow I feel for leaving the ones I love behind, I know that I'll be safe once again. I am now in the arms of my grandfather, and now that's all that matters. I am ending my life with the man who had brought me out of darkness, and this is exactly where I want to be.

And now, as I look back on the life I once had, I realize I've been given a great many gifts in my life, what from joy and life, but I've also been given death and peace. Contentedly, I squeeze my grandfather's hand and my thoughts turn back toward Harry once more.

And through Harry I have been given the greatest gift I have ever been able to know. I have been given such a gift that has allowed me to see through the darkest of times; I have been given love—his love.

And love,

Well, love is the greatest gift of all.

&

The End.

I can't believe its really over, but it is! :O Wow.

Reviews? This is the last chapter after all... :)

On another note: as for Harry Potter fanfiction, I have another two in mind. One is where Hermione becomes a Death Eater, and another is if Voldemort had a daughter. They're really in the rough planning stages now, but I'll let you know if something happens--so put me on alert!