It was a rainy autumn day.

Though 12, Grimmauld Place was well hidden behind many walls, the sound of rain pouring on the ground and children running into large puddles could still reach the Drawing Room. The sounds blended with Marina's silky voice and notes from the piano as she pressed its tiles.

The faces of her ancestors were painted around her. She found it hard to enter or leave the room without looking at the portraits of her mother and father now. The Swans had finally joined the Blacks on her family tree after she had painted them on the wall herself. Under Darya and Regulus' faces, were Marina and Harry, and under them, their two sons.

Kreacher was rubbing dust and dirt off her wand. After all these years, he still considered Grimmauld Place to be his home. Even after she had freed him, he had returned to her family's headquarters. He placed the wand beside her when he was done. It had been a while since she had used it. The Elder Wand was the most powerful in the world. It still felt weird to hold it in her hand, but it was hers.

The melody she had created slowly faded away when she turned her back to the piano. She heard a door close in the hallway, and just by the sound of it, she understood that it came from Regulus' old bedroom, which was now occupied by Teddy. Her attention turned to him as he stumbled over the doorstep and fell into the room.

Teddy Lupin was like his mother; clumsy, bubbly, and enthusiastic. He was a Metamorphmagi, just like her, and his hair changed colors too often than Marina managed to keep track of. Right now, it was bubblegum pink. His years at Hogwarts had passed, but he was a Hufflepuff through and through, and would never let anyone forget that he had been a Head Boy.

He gained his balance in front of his own portrait on the wall. "When were you leaving, again?"

Marina smiled wide when her husband walked into the room. "In a few seconds," Harry said, "so we've got to hurry."

Her steady hands reached to adjust his tie. Humming, he leaned in to kiss her.

"Great." Teddy snickered behind them. "I'll try not to destroy the house while you're gone."

Never before had Marina pulled so quickly away from a kiss. She stepped away from Harry, met Teddy's eyes, and spoke, "You better be careful, troublemaker, we'll be back before you know it!"

A gentle laugh echoed around the room. Teddy's hair turned into a rainbow. "Kreacher would never let me do anything to this house! I promise I'm going to take care of it. When you come back for Christmas, everything will be whole and polished! Because I always have control, haven't I?"

Marina's eyebrows shot up. "Mhm."

"I suppose you've got your father's love for mischief," Harry said from behind them.

She walked to Teddy, ruffled his hair, and then kissed his cheek. Three months left until she would see him again. He was going to watch over the house while they were away, and when he found time, he would help George run the joke shop.

Hugging Kreacher good-bye, she heard Harry run to find their sons. One flick of the Elder Wand, and her suitcase followed her out of the Drawing Room and down the stairs. She looked around her home one final time before stepping out of it, grabbing an umbrella.

Marina's sons were out on the street, soaking wet, playing tag with their father. Their caged owl was standing on the staircase. She reached into her pocket and found her lunch. She planned on giving a piece of the bread slice to the owl, but the animal stole the whole slice before she could part it. "Hedwig!" she squealed. "What am I going to eat on the train now?"

When hearing their mother's voice, her sons came rushing to her. They had inherited Harry's uncontrollable black hair, her brown eyes, and Darya's freckles. Who knew twins ran in the Swan family?

"Mum," Louis Sirius said, "what house do you think I'll end up in?"

"I don't know," Marina answered. Harry picked up Hedwig's cage beside her, and looked at her as she spoke, "Which house do you want to be in?"

"Probably Slytherin, like you." Louis grinned.

Remus Rubeus nudged his twin brother. "I think you'll end up in Hufflepuff, like Teddy." He placed his hands on his hips. "As for me, I'm going to be a Gryffindor, just like dad!"

King's Cross Station was a twenty-minute walk away from Grimmauld Place. The Potter family walked there in the pouring rain, Marina and Harry sharing her umbrella, their sons seeing who could run the fastest.

They arrived at the station, hurried straight through the barrier that was dividing platforms 9 and 10, and got to Platform 9 3/4 minutes before the train was leaving. The downpour stopped, and the sun appeared. She waved her wand twice around herself to dry her clothes.

Louis had already run to greet Ron and Hermione's children when Marina was done. Harry was following right behind him. Louis tried to hug Hugo, and she could see Hermione's eyes widen at the sight of his wet clothes.

"Louis," Marina said quickly, "could you please come here so we can dry you, love-"

The twin who was still standing on her side jumped. "He's not Louis, I am!"

"Oh, Merlin."

Then he laughed. "I'm kidding, Mum, I'm Remus. It's just fun to taunt when you're stressed."

Marina sighed loudly. "Harry, please come back and get your son!"

Harry snickered and opened his arms. Remus ran into them. She was just about to join them when she heard a familiar voice ring in her ears. "Why so tense, Potter?"

Draco hugged her from behind. "Malfoy," she said, feeling her cheeks beginning to hurt because of how wide her smile was.

She had learned that Draco had saved Harry in the forest the day he died and came back to life. After Voldemort had cast the Killing Curse on her husband, Draco had checked his pulse. Discovering that he was alive, he had turned to Voldemort and lied to his face; he had told the evil wizard that his enemy had died. To make it even more believable, Draco had made Harry's body fly up in the air and crash back on the ground. That might have been the only reason why Harry wasn't hurt more badly that day.

After the war, Draco has spent time grieving his mother's death, but he had fully healed now, and did not blame Marina for it. As the last of the Swans, she had given him the Swan Manor since Malfoy Manor was gone. He lived there with his family now, and she visited them every Sunday.

His daughter ran to her, and threw her hands up in the air, showing that she wanted to get picked up. Marina threw her hands around her and lifted her off the ground. Little Narcissa was only four years old. She had her father's grey eyes and white hair, though a single lock of it was black.

"Look at my dress, 'Rina!" Narcissa exclaimed. "Dad bought it for me!"

"You look like a princess!" Marina freed a hand and found the Elder Wand. After waving it once, a tiara was resting on the blushing girl's head. "Perfect."

Draco's son looked more like his mother, Astoria. He was about to start his fifth year at Hogwarts, and a blue Prefect badge was pinned to his uniform. He leaned in to kiss his sister's forehead.

"Hi, Blaise." Marina stroked his cheek. "Looks like you've got yourself an admirer."

Blaise and Marina both turned to Rose Weasley, who was standing a few meters away from them, looking at him with her jaw dropped.

"Hey," he whispered gently to her, kneeling down. "Rose, isn't it?"

She dared to step closer to him. Her hands nervously fiddled with her skirt as she spoke, "Are you a Ravenclaw?"

Blaise looked down at his Prefect Badge. "I am."

"I want to be one, too!" Rose answered, the corner of her lips tucking upward.

Marina put Narcissa down on the ground again. Ron, Hermione, Harry, and the kids came to join them. Draco gave them a nod. After recovering from his mother's death, he had made up with them and apologized for his behavior when he was younger. Now, he worked with Hermione at the Ministry, and Harry would often join Marina's visit to the Swan Manor. Louis and Remus ran to embrace him.

Ron poked Marina's side. She turned to find him holding a small lunch bag. Bringing it close to her face, she breathed in the scent of cinnamon. "Heard Hedwig got your lunch," he said. "It's from the bakery. Brought a few for your boys, too."

Thanking him, she reached to squeeze his hand. The Weasleys' bakery had opened just beside George's joke shop a few months ago, and Molly's cinnamon buns were already famous in the Wizarding World.

"Dad," Rose said, "why is everyone staring at us?"

Marina looked around and discovered that most people on the platform were watching them, some eyeing the scar on her cheek.

"It's because I'm really famous," Ron answered quickly.

Harry reached for Marina's hand. She turned her back to the people watching them, and looked into his eyes as he spoke, "Are you ready, darling?"

She nodded, and went on to kiss Draco's cheek, waving good-bye to everyone else. Then, they boarded the train. Louis and Remus found a compartment on their own while Marina and Harry searched for the Professors' section.

"It feels weird to be back," Marina said.

They found an empty compartment in the front and sat down, looking out of the window. "Do you think the students will be confused with having two professors named Potter?" Harry chuckled.

She rested her head on his shoulder. "I think we should rather worry about not embarrassing the boys."

Watching Platform 9 3/4 disappear out of sight, the two prepared for returning to Hogwarts after a well-deserved, long break.

Harry was the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. She already knew that he was going to be excellent at his job, considering how he had taught every member of Dumbledore's Army some of the most advanced magic in the world when they were only children.

After the war - after she had lost him and found him again - she had learned how to fully use her abilities. Her healing powers would be to great help in the Hospital Wing, and Hagrid had asked her to join his Care of Magical Creatures classes so she could educate everyone about Sirens and their history.

Right before the train left King's Cross, Neville came trotting into the compartment. "Professors," he greeted, smiling. 

"Professor Longbottom." Marina gestured toward the seat in front of them. "Care to join us?"

He plopped down. It didn't take long before they were telling stories from their teenage years, and laughter was roaring around the train. Like salt becomes part of the sea, your memories become part of you. She did not push them away.

Marina has many regrets, and some issues with her past self, but she has forgiven herself, for she had been a young soldier with lies forced into her head. She still dreams about the people she lost to the war, their lifeless bodies and their dancing souls. Her scars are still healing, and she is still rebuilding bone by fragile bone, the taste of war never really leaving her tongue.

She had been misled, burned, injured, and destroyed, but like a phoenix, she had resurrected. And in the middle of the war and chaos, she had found love. She had found him. She had found herself.

Life is pain and suffering, but Marina still loves it with her fragile heart.

༻❁༺

Author's Note

So here we are, at the end of the road.

Exactly two years ago today, I sat down to write the first chapter of this book. I had never written fan fiction or fantasy before, but had decided to start writing creatively so I could explore my ideas. I was still learning English and my grammar was rusty. I had just watched and read Harry Potter for the first time, and wished to explore the Wizarding World. So I began writing about it.

The last two years have been beyond incredible. Every time I felt sad, lonely or ignored, I would start writing, and immediately entered a world where magic were real and my worries were not. Slowly, this story grew, and people began reading my work, which made me take writing much more seriously than I already had. I remember that I dreamed about reaching 1000 reads on this story when I first created it, and now, as I am writing this, we have passed 128 000 reads. That is so crazy!

Since this was my first story, it is a bit all over the place. But I still love it with all my heart. Through it, I have met so many wonderful people, I still have to pinch myself to check if this is not just a long dream. The amounts of times I have cried happy tears over comments on this book is ... alarming. So to you, reading this, who stayed with me until the very end, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. You have made my dreams come true.

I hope Marina and Harry's journey has inspired you. Not a day has passed these last two years without me thinking about them. I hope that you carry them in your heart, as well.

If you are interested in getting to know Darya Swan better, and learn her and Regulus' story, you can check out "Dear Darya", the prequel to this book.

Again, thank you for reading my words and staying with me. This story has changed my life and opened new doors for me.

With all my love, I say good-bye, and hope that Marina Darya Potter's story has made you happy.