Harry opened his eyes and stared out at the forest around him; he had fallen asleep against that tree of his for the sixth time that week, and he knew that he had to stop avoiding Ron and Hermione and cut to the chase. They had been in hiding for nearly a week, and they still hadn't had the courage to look at the map of potential Death Eater hideouts. Harry got to his feet and went into the tent, summoning Hermione's bag over and taking a vial of blood from it, downing it quickly to curb his appetite until breakfast.

"Harry?" Hermione asked, coming out of the area that she used as a makeshift bedroom, which she shared with Ron. She wrapped her latest Weasley sweater around her and rubbed her eyes, before pulling up her hair into a messy bun. "Tea?"

"Yeah, thanks," Harry replied, clearing his throat and moving to the picnic table they'd set up in the upper portion of the tent, along with the cot bed he was supposed to be using to sleep in, which he always somehow managed to stumble into during the wee hours of the morning. He, too rubbed his eyes as he sat down, swallowing and minutely thanking Hermione as she set a steaming mug in front of him.

"Feeling any better?" she asked, looking him over. "Hungry?"

He sighed; he wasn't feeling hungry, but he had to eat, for Lily's sake, if nothing else. Of course, he would need some strength to face Riddle at some point, so he nodded his head. "Yeah. Some eggs if you've got them."

"You need more protein and carbs than that, Harry," Hermione reprimanded him gently, before going over to the bag across the room and summoning things without a word. After some quick Warming Charms, she brought enough to feed a small army to the table, and Ron stumbled out of bed and came to join them. "Eggs, rashers, tomatoes, and toast," she said, plating them up and scattering them about the table.

"Thanks, 'Mione," Harry said.

Ron pulled Hermione down so that she was perched on his lap, and kissed her cheek. "Yeah, thanks, love," he said, stabbing at his eggs.

Harry forced himself to eat his tomatoes by forming a sandwich with everything else on his plate; he never liked them on their own. Chewing slowly, he hung his head back, and finished more quickly than Ron did, but shook his head when Hermione asked him if he wanted seconds, and casted a Cleaning Charm on his hands. He summoned the bag again, and called out for the map, surveying the locations it sported.

"Malfoy Manor is too obvious," Ron said quietly, shaking his head.

Hermione nodded at her fiancé. "What about Lestrange Hacienda?" she asked.

"With Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and Rabastan dead, it's a possibility," Ron muttered, picking up another rasher and chewing on it.

"It's got to be Riddle House," Harry whispered, and Ron and Hermione turned to look at him. "I mean, I saw him resting there with Wormtail before the tournament, in those dreams I had. He was recovering, of course, but he thought that inheriting the manor was his due, despite his father being what he called a filthy Muggleborn—no offense, 'Mione," he said quickly.

Hermione shook her head. "None taken," she assured him.

"Didn't he kill his father there when he was still at Hogwarts?" Ron asked.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, likely seen as revenge for abandoning his mother while she was pregnant with him," he responded, hunching his shoulders. "I say we go there today. We get in somehow, and you and Hermione have to distract everyone enough so that I can get to wherever he's being kept hidden for his own safety. Then, I'll...you know, do it."

"Do you think that's a good idea, Harry?" Hermione whispered. "We could run into real trouble if we just show up..."

"Fred and George gave you the information on Notice-Me-Not Charms, 'Mione," Harry replied in a patient manner. "I also have to use a Concealment Charm," he whispered, running a hand along his belly. "Merlin forbid Riddle catches wind of my pregnancy..."

Ron sighed, swallowing slightly at the image of Riddle destroying both Harry and his child all in one go, and it didn't sit well with him. "Well, the sooner we go there and kill him, the sooner we can end this," the redhead said softly.

Hermione sighed as well, her shoulders slacking ever so slightly at the notion of what the three of them were about to do. "All right, then," she said, knowing full well when she was overruled and outnumbered. "Let's get to Little Hangleton, then, and finish this, once and for all."

~*~

"If anyone get can him to see reason, it's you." Ginny was staring at her husband, who refused to make eye contact with her, and so she reached out and took him by the end. "Love, you know that that's true."

Draco sighed, looking up at her; the sleepless nights for the past seven days had taken a toll on her sixteen-year-old husband, who had been distraught upon the knowledge that Severus had given in to his baser vampire instincts and fled the safety of Grimmauld. It had taken nearly five days, but he had been returned to that place, with Remus, Moody, Kingsley, and Arthur all hauling him in after searching for nearly all that time, and promptly brought him upstairs to Sirius's old bedroom. Draco leaned against the wall of the library, where he and Ginny were currently sitting, just down the corridor from the bedroom itself.

"I know that," Draco said, speaking at last, and noticed his wife's body language immediately relaxing in relief. He sighed, mulling it over in his mind. "Very well, I'll speak to him. Why don't you ask Neville, Luna, Mr. Lovegood, and Mrs. Longbottom to come?" he asked. "I'm sure Harry would want them here, what with the reports of the Death Eaters looking left and right, and the wards here are far superior..."

Ginny launched herself to her feet and threw her arms around Draco, kissing him feverishly before pulling herself back down. "All right, love, I will," she told him.

There was a tap upon the library door, and Tonks stuck her head in; ever since Harry, Ron, and Hermione had left, her hair had gone into a mousy brown. "Severus has woken up," she reported in a small voice.

Draco sighed. "All right. I'll speak to him," he replied, pressing a kiss to Ginny's cheek before he left the library, just enough to hear Ginny toss in some Floo Powder into the fireplace and call out for the Longbottom residence. Draco smiled at Tonks as he walked down the darkened corridor, and slowly opened the door, seeing his godfather sitting, rigid, in the window seat of the bedroom, Matilda in his lap. "Severus?" he asked softly.

Severus turned and regarded his godson, while Matilda gave a happy little yelp and jumped down from his lap, running around Draco's legs and eagerly waiting to be petted. "Even my damn familiar wants to leave me," he muttered.

Draco swallowed, gathering the Crup in his arms and crossing the room, and took the seat close by the bed, settling Matilda easily and regarding his godfather. "You make it seem as if Harry left you willingly."

Severus shrugged. "Well, it's perfectly obvious that he did, Draco."

Draco narrowed his eyes. "I don't believe that," he replied, proceeding to gently scratch Matilda behind the ears. "I was preconditioned to believe so many lies about the Wizarding World by Lucius, including that Harry was an enemy. However, in the wake of my refusal to take the mark, and Harry going out on a limb for me—as well as offering me his friendship and loyalty, for no reason other than out of the kindness of his heart—I knew that I had been lied to from the time I could fully attempt to understand politics."

Severus shook his head. "Friendships and marriage are hardly the same."

"And I am not saying they are," Draco said quickly. "I am merely saying that Harry is a kindhearted young man, and, for reasons I'll never begin to understand, fell in love with you, despite your former animosity towards one another."

Severus sneered. "What do you know, Draco?"

"I know about humankind," he said simply. "However, I also know that Harry would never leave you completely willingly. He fell in love with you, married you, became pregnant with your child, and was dead-set on forever with you."

"Then why would he leave me?!" Severus growled, causing Matilda to cry out, and Draco soothed the creature immediately.

"Perhaps because he wanted a safe enough world to raise your daughter in," replied Draco in a simple tone of voice. "Can't you see that?"

"I see that he has left me," Severus replied bitterly.

"He didn't do it for selfish reasons," Draco said firmly. "If he was selfish, and not the Harry we knew, he would have willingly stayed in hiding with you forever. I think you know that, but you fell in love with Harry for his selflessness. You knew full well what his destiny was, as I did; I mean, Lucius wouldn't shut up about the prophecy in the Department of Mysteries, especially when he escaped from Azkaban and attempted to force me into taking the mark. The Harry we knew wouldn't sit by and permit more bloodshed, Severus; he would have fought, with every fiber of his being, to ensure that there was a Wizarding World at the end of the day, one where he could have forever with you and your daughter."

Severus swallowed, gritting his teeth against the wave of emotions that flowed through him at the proclamation of his godson. "I just don't want anything to happen to him," he whispered then, his tone broken.

Draco nodded. "I know you don't," he assured him. "But, Harry knows what he has to do. He couldn't think of himself in this moment, Severus; he had to think about the entirety of the Wizarding World."

Severus dragged a hand down his face, shaking his head. "But at what cost, Draco?" he whispered, his voice shaking. "I don't want to trade his life for Riddle's."

Draco shook his head. "Even I cannot say for absolute certainty what the eventual outcome between Harry and Riddle will be, Severus," he said calmly. "All I know is, Harry needs to face him down, the sooner the better."

~*~

Luna and Neville stepped through the Floo, Xenophilius Lovegood and Augusta Longbottom just behind them. Ginny greeted them all in kind, Mr. Lovegood and Mrs. Longbottom heading downstairs to speak to the Order, and summoned Kreacher, who provided a tea service for the three of them in the library. Ginny sat back immediately upon the chaise longue, and stroked her belly absentmindedly, looking at how wonderful Luna and Neville looked together as a married couple, and hoped that Draco would return soon to engage in conversation with them. She knew how important it was to ensure Severus's well-being, but Ginny loved her time with her husband all the same.

"It's just a few weeks yet," Luna said softly, as Neville urged her into a chair by the fire, and perched upon the arm of it, "but Neville and I will be having a child by September."

Ginny grinned at her closest friend, next to Hermione. "That's wonderful news, Luna," she said warmly to her. "How did your father take it?"

"He's overjoyed," Luna said; she was beaming, and Neville kissed her forehead.

"And your gran, Neville?" Ginny queried.

"Gran is Gran," Neville replied with a slight shrug. "Said that it was too soon to even be thinking of having a child, but..." He shrugged.

"You know how to defend yourselves, and I'm positive your reflexes will increase twofold once the child is born," Ginny told them gently.

"And you?" Luna asked. "How is your son?"

"He is lively," Ginny replied, rolling her eyes, remembering the consistency of the nights she was literally kicked out of sleep due to her unborn son's antics. "I'm convinced we've another star Quidditch player for the brood, and Draco couldn't be happier."

"Try chamomile," Neville told Ginny with a smile. "It aids sleep and encourages calmness, thus permitting you to get a decent nights' sleep," he explained, knowing exactly what his friend needed in her pregnancy.

"I'm surprised it's only you here," Luna said, not unkindly. "We usually meet as a group. Is Harry all right? Is it the baby?"

Ginny sighed and shook her head. "No. Harry, Ron, and Hermione actually left a week ago," she said softly.

"To face down You-Know-Who?" Neville guessed.

Ginny nodded. "Yes. Severus is devastated, and Draco's gone in to calm him. He... Severus kind of lost it on the morning after Harry's departure," she informed them gently.

"Lost it?" Luna questioned. "How?"

"He turned to his baser vampire instincts," she said softly. "Nearly wrecked Sirius's old bedroom in doing so, and smashed through the window."

"The window?" Neville asked, shuddering.

"The same," Ginny told them. "He went off into the forest, and we all believed it was in an attempt to follow them, but his tracking was blocked somehow. Anyway, Dad, Remus, Moody, and Kingsley put steps in place to follow them, and they were successful, bringing him back in the wee hours of the morning."

"Merlin," Luna breathed. "Is he all right?"

"He was shaken up, according to Tonks," Ginny continued.

"Naturally," Neville said with a nod.

"Draco's in there now with him," Ginny went on. "I just hope that he can get Severus to open up and calm himself a bit. Naturally, it'll be difficult, what with him worrying about Harry day and night, and Harry's pregnancy," she whispered, shaking her head. "All I know is, Severus won't take this lightly, and Harry will have a lot to answer to upon his return."

"Plenty," said a voice from behind them, just after the door to the library opened, and Draco strode across the threshold. He clapped Neville on the shoulder, and was rewarded with the same in return, and leaned down to kiss Luna on the cheek. "How was your journey?" he asked the pair of them, as he moved to sit beside Ginny on the chaise, winding his hand around hers and pressing a kiss to her temple. "Was it all right?"

"Oh, very," Luna said in that lyrical tone of hers, as Adelpha and Crookshanks made their presence known, and hopped up onto her lap. Luna laughed indulgently and proceeded to stroke their fur.

"Gran was a bit irritated with it," Neville said, shrugging his shoulder as Crookshanks decided he wanted to be in his lap, and stroked the ginger cat. "She said the entire thing seemed a bit dodgy, but nevertheless said that superior wards couldn't be ignored."

"Harry would want you here," Ginny assured the two of them. "He wants everyone close to him to be here now."

"How have you been doing?" Luna asked, raising her silvery eyes to Ginny. "You wrote that Percy was killed at Hogwarts by Malfoy Sr."

Ginny nodded, leaning into Draco as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Yes. It was a bitter pill to swallow, especially given the information from Bill and Charlie that he had quit the ministry just before that, and was going to be coming home to us." She shrugged. "I suppose that, in the end, he was on the correct side."

"How are Bill and Charlie?" Neville asked.

"Bill went to France with Fleur to spend some time with her family," Draco put in. "They got engaged during the battle, and wanted to tell her family in person about the engagement. He also said that he would be getting her a ring while they were over there."

"Charlie went back to the dragon preserve the next morning," Ginny said softly. "I suppose, after helping all of us, he needed to go home, and we respect him for it."

"How did your mum take the engagement?" Luna wanted to know. "From the last you told me, she wasn't too keen on their relationship..."

"Mum tried to put a barrier in between the two of them, before she knew about it," Ginny said as she snuggled in closer to Draco. "Once she found out, however, she was a bit livid, to say the least. She even tried to make Fleur out to be a shallow person..."

"Didn't you think that that was the case as well?" Neville wanted to know.

Ginny shook her head. "No. When I saw how much her sister meant to her during the second task, my opinion of her changed. It takes a lot to love another person, even I know that, and the love one shows for their siblings is such a powerful force. The fact that she wept, and was so worried of her, shifted my opinion of her greatly. We've gotten along quite well ever since, and she's even asked me to be a bridesmaid at the wedding."

"Greyback got to Bill during the battle," Draco explained. "Slashed him across the face, but he was in his human form during, so no transformation will ever happen and, according to Remus, he will only have attributes of a werewolf."

The blonde witch cocked her head to one side. "So, your mum believed that Fleur wouldn't love Bill anymore, all because of a few scars?" came Luna's perplexed question.

"Apparently so," Ginny told her. "Appearances shouldn't really matter, in the end. While I love my mum, she spoiled me for years, and I was so surprised that she even let me marry Draco in the first place."

"I thought it was because of the pregnancy," Draco admitted, tracing patterns on Ginny's arm with his fingertips.

"It wasn't?" Neville asked.

"No," Draco said, shaking his head. "They could see that I had changed, and had gone over into the side of the Light. Harry helped convince them. And then there was the matter of me being madly in love with their only daughter to take into consideration..."

"And me being madly in love with you," Ginny put in.

Draco smiled down at her. "Yes. Of course, I'm positive that they would have made us wait, were it not for the pregnancy. However, they took our feelings into account, and permitted the marriage to take place, as you well know. Then there was the matter of the war being just around the corner, and they wanted to see the both of us happy, for it isn't known just how long we're going to have such happiness."

"Infinitely, if Harry has anything to say about it," Luna said with a smile.

"Definitely," Ginny replied.

Luna lowered her eyes then, taking in how Adelpha and Crookshanks seemed to be reacting to one another, and smiled. "Well, the two of you have more in common with many people residing in this dusty old house, don't you?"

Ginny blinked, lowering her eyes to the feline creatures. "What?" she asked, confused as to what Luna could mean.

"It's quite a simple matter, really," Luna replied, raising her eyes to Ginny, her smile staying constant. "Adelpha is pregnant with Crookshanks' children," she said, and Ginny clapped a hand to her mouth, wondering what Hermione would have to say about that.

~*~

Harry, Ron, and Hermione gathered up the tent and all of their belongings, spelling them into Hermione's beaded back. Then, behind the Protective Enchantments, the trio joined hands beneath Harry's invisibility cloak and popped out of the Forest of Dean. They almost instantaneously cracked onto the grounds of Riddle House, and spotted many Death Eaters guarding the various entry points of the old property.

Hermione and Ron casted Notice-Me-Not Charms upon themselves, before they slipped out from beneath the cloak and stepped forward. With scattered cries of, "Incarcerous!" and "Confringo!" and "Flipendo!", both of them managed to subdue the Death Eaters. Harry, who had whispered a quick combination of "Repello Inimicum", "Protego Maxima", and "Fianto Duri", as well as a spell of his own invention, "Integumentum", so as to conceal his pregnancy, before he stormed towards the main entrance of the house, and whispered, "Alohomora" and was immediately granted access. Stepping inside, hearing the shouts of Ron and Hermione battling the Death Eaters, Harry stormed in, slightly taken aback at the notion that he didn't encounter any further guards as he made his way upstairs.

"Homenum Revelio," he whispered, and the swooping sensation enveloped him as something called him further and further up the stairs. As he neared a beautifully-carved and ornate door, he moved to place his hand on it, and it opened immediately at his touch. As he stepped into the room, he noticed Riddle and Wormtail whispering to one another, the latter appearing in his typical simpering manner, while Lucius Malfoy stood more reserved to the right.

"Ah, who do we have here?" came Riddle's voice, and Harry promptly threw off the cloak, and glared at the creature who had made his life a living hell from the moment he had murdered his parents and subsequently marked him as his equal at fifteen-months-old. "Ah, I see it is Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. Has he come to die?" he whispered.

"Not today, Tom," Harry stated.

Riddle's red eyes immediately flashed at the name, and pointed at Harry with that long, bony index finger of his. "Get him," he hissed. "Bring him to me."

Wormtail, who immediately stepped forward to do his master's bidding, looked as if he would do anything for the man. However, his feet subsequently shuffled over the other as he hurried closer and closer to Harry, almost as if some unforeseen and hidden barrier was holding him back from completing the task. When he finally reached Harry, after a fair bit of struggling, he took out his wand from within his robes and raised it but, the moment he attempted to use a spell, his silver hand immediately reached up and bound itself around his neck, choking the life out of him, and causing him to fall dead at Harry's feet.

Harry looked up at Riddle and smiled. "One down," he said with a shrug. "Is that your best shot, Tom? What else do you have up your sleeve?"

"Lucius," Riddle promptly hissed, narrowing his red eyes further. "Get the boy!"

Lucius, although the man looked exhausted and resentful, stepped forward. He had no wand, Harry noticed then, and so Harry promptly raised his and narrowed his eyes at him. The older man, for once, looked taken aback at being literally faced down by a sixteen-year-old boy but, with no other means of defending himself, could do nothing.

"Everte Statum!" Harry shouted without hesitation, remembering how Draco himself had used the spell upon him in second-year, during the first meeting of the Dueling Club. Harry watched as Lucius Malfoy literally flew through the air, and collapsed against a far wall, hitting his head badly, and subsequently going unconscious. "That's for Percy," he growled, before turning to gaze at Riddle. "Looks like you're out of ammo, Tom," he said, and smirked at the Dark Wizard, who rewarded him with a heated glare. "Now what?"

"Avada—!" He started, bringing out his wand and launching to his feet.

"Expecto Patronum!" Harry shouted, numerous images of his times with Severus filling his mind in the milliseconds that followed. Severus rescuing him from Slughorn; Severus providing him with water at the Burrow and not making fun of him when he sicked up; the first kiss the pair had shared together; their wedding; their first time together; when Harry had revealed to Severus that he was pregnant; when they had found and subsequently decided to keep Matilda; and their wonderful night together at Grimmauld Place.

Harry watched at Riddle's eyes widened as the creature burst forth in a multitude of silver light, and let out a scream as he noticed that it was not the stag. No, the black panther charged forward with a mighty yowl, taking down the Dark Wizard easily, slashing at the air with its great claws as it toppled before him. The light absorbed the green of the Killing Curse, thus permitting it to rebound, and go directly into the body of Tom Riddle. The panther backed off as soon as its job was done, before turning around and gently butting Harry's hand with its head.

"Thank you, Valentina," Harry whispered.

Valentina bowed to him, before she waited for his next command.

"Please deliver a message to Madam Pomfrey," he said softly. "Tell her that Lucius Malfoy is broken and bleeding in Riddle House, and needs medical care immediately. Then, just rest," he told her.

Valentina bowed a second time, before she charged out the window, and beyond.

Harry gave a cursory glance at the trio of bodies around them and, once he was satisfied that they were all down for the count, he made his way out of the room. He went down the staircase and towards the main door of the house, opening it, and saw Ron and Hermione standing there, just waiting for him. Harry flashed them a smile and charged forward, throwing himself into their arms without letting go.

"It's done, it's over," he wept into their arms.

"Over, mate?" Ron asked.

"He's dead—dead," he managed to get out, his voice shaking as he let himself down. "Wormtail was up there, and his own hand strangled himself," he said as they walked towards the edge of the property.

"Was anyone else up there?" Hermione asked.

"Malfoy," Harry told them, summoning a vial of blood from her beaded back, and drank it down, all in one go. "I knocked him unconscious, and sent my Patronus to Madam Pomfrey to see to him, because, no matter how evil he is, he should answer for his crimes."

"You're better than me, mate," Ron said softly.

"Now what?" Hermione queried as Harry vanished the vial.

Harry smiled. "Now? Now, I go back to my husband, and the two of you get on a plane to Australia to find 'Mione's parents."

Ron nodded. "That's right! We've got to go and get them 'Mione! They have to be witnesses when we get married! We've got to go—!"

Hermione suddenly threw herself into Ron's arms, kissing him. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me, thank Harry," Ron said with a smile.

Hermione turned to Harry, pulling him into her arms. "Thank you for making the Wizarding World safe again, Harry James Potter."

"Potter-Snape," he reminded her with a cheeky grin. "Now, I've got to get back to my husband, and you two have to get Mr. and Mrs. Granger."

~*~

Severus had felt a stinging sensation in his arm, and, upon yanking his sleeve up, he saw that the Dark Mark was coiling around itself. A hiss emitted from it then, before it proceeded to vanish, his arm returning to pale and bare once more. He looked up then and out the window, feeling tears pricking at his eyes. "You've done it, then," he whispered, gently stroking Matilda, who was fast asleep in his lap.

There was a bang from somewhere down the corridor then, and then a pair of feet rushing down the hallway. The door to the bedroom was thrown open, and Harry himself stood there, his green eyes blazing. "It's done," he declared, and Matilda jumped off his lap and proceeded to run gleeful circles around Harry's ankles.

Severus got to his feet then, slamming the door shut behind his husband wandlessly, and stalking towards him. Without hesitation, he yanked Harry into his arms and kissed his fiercely, needing to have the taste of him in his mouth. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?" he growled between kisses.

Harry immediately latched onto him, his body language confirming that he never wanted to let his husband go. "I have an idea," he whispered, arching into Severus's ministrations. "And I don't expect to be automatically let off the hook..."

Severus yanked himself backwards then, and shook his head at his husband's words. "I'm not into punishments, Harry," he said softly. "If you're looking for that kind of relationship, then I am not the man for you."

Harry sighed, relaxation settling over his body. "Good," he replied. "I don't particularly fancy being beaten up black and blue."

"Nor do I wish to make you so," Severus replied, wrapping his arms around his husband's waist and cupping his arse. "You've had enough turmoil in your life, my love."

Harry nodded his head. "You've no idea," he said, leaning his forehead down onto his husband's chest and nuzzling closer. "Now that Riddle is dead and gone, I want... I want..."

"What do you want, Harry? Name it. Anything that I am in my power to give, I will give it to you, no questions asked."

Harry smiled, looking up at Severus. "I've signed the house over to Draco and Ginny, to keep it in the family," he explained. "I was at Gringotts just now, getting the paperwork in order. Did you know that they also have a realtor on staff?"

Severus raised his eyebrows. "No. I was not aware of such a thing."

"I bought us a house," Harry declared, wrapping his arms around Severus's neck. "A house to raise Lily, where Matilda can run free, where you can brew to your hearts' content, and where we can be happy, now that we're free."

Severus felt the tears pricking at the backs of his eyes at the notion that, not only was he indeed free, but he was with the man he loved, his mate, and he was real. "And where is this property, then, my love?"

"Dorset," Harry told him brightly with a grin. "I've already sent Kreacher to Diagon Alley to procure all the necessary potions to set up your brewing lab, which will be the entire basement of the house, all for you, my love. Furniture came with the house as well, and Gringotts has already sent for a top Curse-Breaker to do the wards on our behalf. Now that it's over and done with, my love, all I want is you, Lily, and Matilda by my side, day and night, for the rest of my life, if that is amenable to you," he said softly.

Severus leaned down and kissed Harry lightly on the lips, although it didn't take long for the kiss to turn passionate. "Always," Severus whispered against his husband's mouth, before wrapping his arms around his husband, mesmerized at the wandless magic as Harry packed up their room around them.

Harry pulled back from him then, catching up Matilda in his arms and grinning up at his husband, before he took his hand, adjusting his rucksack on his shoulder. Then, they cracked away from Sirius Black's bedroom at Grimmauld Place, before landing in a beautifully-decorated parlor, complete with books lining the walls within their shelves, two couches, a plus armchair, Persian rug upon the highly-polished wood floor, a fireplace, and a landscape painting positioned above it. Harry watched as Severus drank in his surroundings with trepidation, shock, and finally, awe, while Matilda jumped from his arms, and wandered outside to explore the expansive grounds.

"Welcome home, Severus Snape," Harry whispered.

Severus reached out again, dragging Harry so that he was lengthwise against him, and pressed his lips to his once more. "Welcome home, Harry Potter-Snape," he replied.