Epilogue

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Two pairs of eyes watched a beautiful, sunny child - a kid with one parent who previously murdered for sport and the other, who nearly died to give birth to her. The little girl looked towards her parents, who were planted on a softly swaying swing-seat, her glistening blue eyes telling them that she was enjoying herself. The mother of the child giggled to herself. She moved her hand to her husband's, her wedding ring shining in the sunlight.

The girl bounced about their garden, the blades of freshly cut, dewy grass tickling her toes and fingers as she fell. But this child was not to be destroyed by such minute faults. She rose back up again, something that she had inherited from her parents - none of the three were open to being pushed down.

"I'm so proud of you, Tom," Elizabeth whispered to her husband. Her grasp on his hand tightened and they shared a loving smile. Making sure their child, Aria, wasn't looking, Tom moved forward and pressed his lips to his spouse's. 

Aria rushed over to them seconds after they pulled apart, interrupting the moment they shared when blue eyes met brown just like the old times, just like fire and water. They settled each other down.

"Mummy, daddy!" The little girl cried out in ecstasy, holding out her pale hands - something she'd inherited from her father. "I found a frog! Can I take it to Hogwarts? Can I, can I?"

The frog's eyes widened as it looked up at Tom and Elizabeth. They all chuckled at it. It leaped off of Aria's fingertips, making the child sigh in frustration. As aforementioned, she wasn't disenchanted by such events. She'd just get back up again and find another.

"I don't think that's the sort of frog you take to Hogwarts anyway, sweetie," Elizabeth laughed heartily as she pulled her daughter forwards into a bonding hug. The daughter snuggled into her mum lovingly.

"You've got a long way to go yet, Ari," Tom added with a grin. Aria flung herself into the space between her parents. The swing set didn't like this and protested by lifting all of their feet off of the floor, making them burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. 

"I'm seven, daddy!" Aria whined, plummeting her tiny fists into his arm. He feigned pain, crying out.

"Why don't you go see if you can find some more frogs, sweetheart?" Elizabeth suggested kindly, gesturing towards the garden. Aria was quick to move. She rushed to the end of the garden - where she'd found the last frog - and began her adventure, one of many she'd encounter in her future years. Little did she know, she'd be as extraordinary and excelling in all as her parents.

"I love you, Elizabeth," Tom said out of nowhere as he watched their child brushing dirt off of her small fingertips. "You gave up an awful lot for me - for Ari. You could've had a fantastic job, but you chose us. I'm grateful."

"And I'm grateful for you changing, Tom. You could've been so cruel, so evil. You could've ruined yourself, ruined who you truly are. I knew from the first moment I met you that I wanted to change something about you. Back then, I thought I wanted to stop being your shadow. But I didn't want to overtake you - I wanted to have the same shadow as you," Elizabeth replied as she turned her head to the side. Tom was staring at her like a lovesick child. His feelings hadn't changed a bit since the day he'd realised them.

"You and me?"

"You and me, Tom. Against the world."


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