The students were back and classes started the next day. Harry thanked Luna at dinner that evening for the book on dirigible plums and said he and his parents planned to plant some at his dad's manor house.
While everybody was still being cautious, Harry did not hear the voice again and no other students were petrified.
Severus had gotten a call from Mad-Eye assuring him that Tom Riddle Jr. bones had been destroyed. "Some Death Eater's going to become quite frustrated if they can't summon a bone that's no longer there," he chuckled.
Pomona reported daily on the success of the Mandrakes. "We may be able to prepare the Mandrake Restorative Draught sooner than I thought."
"Thank Merlin!" Minerva exclaimed. "I felt so sorry for the Creevy's and the Finch-Fletchley's at Christmas."
Albus was back and despite his suspension for mismanagement of the current crisis, he was still staring suspiciously at Harry and at the Slytherin table.
"He hasn't learned a thing has he?" Lily whispered noticing where Albus' gaze lay.
Severus sighed. "It appears not."
Harry glared right back at Dumbledore from his place at the Hufflepuff table where he and his friends were seated today. He shook his head speculating at where he might have been if his dad hadn't rescued him from the Dursley's. He would have ended up a timid, little puppet ripe for the picking by the headmaster. "The old goat is staring at me again," Harry muttered to Draco.
"Let him stare," Draco replied. "He knows his cause is lost and it was lost from the moment Uncle Sev delivered your Hogwarts Letter."
"Besides, he knows he's on his way out," Neville said. "Mum, dad, and Gran are really disgusted with him and my Gran said she was going to let the board members know about how he's been trying to make you into the next dark lord and how that's endangering the whole school."
"You know Sev, I've begun to wonder if Dumbledore did cast some kind of spell on Tuney and Vernon that would cause them to treat Harry badly enough to break his spirit. It would have made him grateful to the first person who treated him nicely and he'd be willing to do whatever they wanted," Lily said.
"It would not surprise me to find he had done something rotten like that. Despite his claim of always being for the Muggles; I don't think he would hesitate a minute if he thought they might stand in the way of his plans for a sacrificial savior of the wizarding world."
"I should convince Tuney and Vernon to go to St. Mungo's to see if there were any spells cast on them to change their behavior and if there was; who cast them."
"Perhaps they would be more amendable to the idea now that they have seen that magic is not anything to fear."
"I'm going to talk with Tuney," Lily decided. "She's got a lot of wedding plans she wants to show me, too." Lily had decided she wanted a spring wedding. It would be during spring break and would be at Hogwarts on April 10th since the heads of house would need to stay as most fifth and seventh year students stayed to study for their OWL's and NEWT's.
Minerva, Pomona, Charity, Poppy, and Aurora were going to help decorate for it while Tita and the elves from Witches Moon with help from Blinky and Lily's elf, Ninnia, took charge of the making the wedding meal and the cake.
Harry always had Sunday dinner with his parents. He listened as his parents talked about the wedding preparations. Severus poured himself a half-glass of wine and set the bottle down again. "Harry, I wanted to ask you something."
"Sure Dad," Harry nodded. "What is it?"
"I would like it very much if you would be my best man for the ceremony."
Harry was so overcome that he was unable to speak for a few seconds before he croaked, "I'd like it very much, Dad."
"I'll need to take my two men shopping for wedding robes in that case," Lily said with a smile. She waved her finger at Severus and teased, "And Sev, absolutely no black apparel will be allowed,"
"What?" Severus replied pretending to be shocked at her declaration.
Harry laughed. "I guess she's got you there, Dad."
"I guess," Severus admitted with a small bow to Lily.
The month was passing quickly even with the two blizzards they were being hit by. The Gryffindor/Hufflepuff Quidditch match would be the weekend after Valentine's Day and both teams looked distinctly unhappy at the thought of having to fly in the cold and snow.
"Do you think Potter and Black will be at the Quidditch match next Saturday?" Greg asked.
"I'd think they'd be afraid to show their faces here after what your mum did to them last time," Dean said.
Harry grinned and remarked, "That was rather brilliant, wasn't it?"
"They're thick-as-a-plank stupid so they'll probably come just to boo us," Vince said. He had made the Hufflepuff team this year as a Beater.
"Weaselbee will be booing the loudest," Draco added with a sneer.
The bell sounded to remind the students they had ten minutes to get to their classes. The group got up to go. "See you guys at lunch," Harry called to his Slytherin and Gryffindor friends. It was not the first time that he wished that he and his friends could all be in the same classes together rather than being divided by their houses.
Most of the older students at Hogwarts were looking forward to the Valentine's Hogsmeade visit that coming weekend even if it meant the inevitable visit to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Parlor and for the younger ones, the special Valentine's treats concocted by the Flumes at Honeydukes.
Everyone was also excited about the Gryffindor/Hufflepuff match the following weekend since all the houses were in close running for the Quidditch Cup and Slytherin and Ravenclaw were tied for the House Cup.
There hadn't been any attacks since November and Harry hadn't heard the voice either. While most of the school relaxed somewhat, Severus warned his snakes and Harry and his friends not to let their guards down. Whatever had petrified Mrs. Norris, Colin Creevey, and Justin Finch-Fletchly was still out there and they still had no clear idea of what it was.
Sunday was Valentine's Day and found the Great Hall decorated in gaudy pink flowers and with pink and white, heart-shaped confetti falling from the ceiling. The author of all this was Gilderoy Lockhart who for the day had donned lurid pink robes that even surpassed Dumbledore's in their garishness. He had also hired a bunch of surly dwarves to dress up as cupid wearing white togas, golden wings, and carrying harps to deliver the valentines or in some cases it meant running after and tackling the recipient of them. Most of the valentines were going to Lockhart anyway from his legion of female fans like the witch Severus, Lily, and Harry had met outside of Flourish & Blotts.
Severus rolled his eyes and shook his head at all the ridiculous antics the man had devised. He could not believe he had been a Ravenclaw. Gilderoy had been a year behind him and Lily. He leaned over to Lily and whispered, "Do you recall that asinine stunt he pulled on Valentine's Day his sixth year?"
"You mean the one where he owled himself about 800 Valentines?"
"That would be the one," Severus chuckled. "And they ended up having to cancel breakfast that morning because of all the owl droppings and feathers contaminating the food. I remember Stephen Avery promising he was going to set Lockhart's arse on fire because he didn't get breakfast and he was starving."
"I recall it did backfire and he ended up looking like a right fool," Lily laughed. "I think Avery actually did set Lockhart's arse on fire. I remember seeing him in the hallway and the seat of his robe was smoking."
"the only good thing the arse ever did," Severus muttered.
Severus opted to have dinner with Lily and Harry in his quarters rather than joining the Valentine's feast in the Great Hall. He had had it with the lurid pink decorations and surly dwarves. The meal he had requested from Tita started out with Blue Cheese and Pear Tartlets. The main dishes were Bake Dijon Salmon, Strawberry-Spinach Salad, Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus, Caramelized Onion and Horseradish Smashed Potatoes with French Chocolate Cake for dessert.
Severus gave Lily a heart-shaped locket that contained a picture of him and Harry. It was also magically enchanted so that if they ever had another child, his or her picture would automatically appear inside of it and was also a port key. From Severus, Harry got an eagle pin with blue and bronze surrounding it that also would serve as a portkey if he was in danger. Both Harry and Lily pooled their money to get Severus the latest in robes to wear while brewing. It was lightweight and had built in Charms to resist staining and burning. They also brought him a pair of safety glasses to wear while he was brewing. Some potions could be very volatile especially when you were inventing or experimenting.
The Gryffindor/Hufflepuff game was played on Saturday. As expected James and Sirius sat in the teacher's box next to Dumbledore and loudly made fun of the Hufflepuff team and booed them whenever they scored. Pomona got sick of it and cast Severus' Langlock jinx on them.
Filius watched her do it and chuckled then nudged Severus and pointed over to Potter and Black who were frantically trying to get their tongues unstuck. "Pomona warned me she would do it if they started in insulting and booing her house."
"Serves them right," Severus replied. "They are and always were incredibly bad sportsmen."
Severus, Lily, and Harry were watching the game from the Ravenclaw box. Hufflepuff won the game by five points due to Vince hitting a Bludger at the Gryffindor Seeker who had to swerve to avoid it, allowing Cedric to catch the Snitch.
They waited until the almost everyone had gone ahead before leaving their seats and Severus returning to the dungeon and Lily and Harry to Ravenclaw Tower.
The months were passing quickly as spring finally arrived. It was nice to see the lawn starting to green up, the tree budding, and the flowers Hagrid had planted in the fall beginning to come up.
Lily took Severus and Harry shopping at Twilfit and Tattings for their wedding clothes. Severus rolled his eyes and resigned himself to having his wedding robe tailor-made.
Once they were done, Severus admired the robe Lily had chosen for him. It was a shade of muted green with silver scrolling on the cuffs and lapels and it set off his dark hair, dark eyes, and pale skin. Its length was below his knees one of the things he liked about a tailor made robe. Usually they were too short for his 6'2 height and he ended up having to have them lengthened. What he liked most about this robe was that it billowed nicely in the back when he walked.
Harry's robe was a muted blue but with a slight green cast to it so that in certain light it would appear a dark aquamarine.
Petunia had volunteered to help Lily find a dress for her wedding and she would be going with her the next day. Petunia would be buying her dress also.
"Merlin's beard, Dad!" Harry exclaimed. "There's sure a lot involved in a wedding."
"Indeed," Severus answered. "But I do not mind because I want everything to be perfect for your mother."
"Me too," Harry said.
"By the way Lucius flooed me and said Draco had invited you to Malfoy Manor for a few days."
Harry ducked his head to hide the fact that he was blushing. "Umm…well, Hermione pointed out that you and mum might want to be alone for a bit and that's when Draco invited me."
"I see. Well, if it is alright with your mother, it is alright with me."
"Thanks Dad," Harry replied. "I'll check with mum."
Severus wondered why no other students had been attacked so far. Had whatever had been attacking gone into hibernation or a period of dormancy of some kind? He still thought it had to be a creature of some type, but had eliminated a Cockatrice and a Basilisk because of their size and he did not see how either one could have attacked Justin and Sir Nick in broad daylight without being seen by a professor or students. It was still a mystery. On the other hand, Pomona was reporting a continued healthy growth of the Mandrakes.
The night before Severus' wedding, Filius and Remus decided to take him to take him to the Hog's Head for a bachelor party after Aberforth had closed it for the night. Frank Longbottom and Reg were meeting them there and even though he was not invited, Gilderoy tagged along.
"Sorry Sev," Remus muttered. "Filius and I were being very careful not to let him know what was going on, but he found out anyway."
"Don't worry, I can always use my Langlock hex on him if he gets too annoying," Severus answered.
As it turned out, Severus didn't need to use his hex on Lockhart. He got completely drunk within a half-hour after drinking an entire bottle of Ogden's Old Fire Whiskey and ended up passed out on the sawdust floor with his feet sticking out from underneath the table. As they were getting ready to leave after Severus had handed out Sober-Up and Hangover Potions; he looked down at Lockhart and said, "I suppose it would be unkind to just leave him laying there." He sighed. "Remus, Frank, help me get him on his feet, please."
Frank and Remus, with help from Aberforth, hauled Lockhart to his feet while Severus poured the Sober-Up Potion down his throat.
Lockhart shook his head and then looked at them with a dazed expression. "Wha…What happened? Did the Wagga Wagga Werewolf attack?"
"No Professor, it was a bottle of Ogden's Old Fire Whiskey," Filius answered.
They got him back to the castle and taking pity on him, Severus gave him a couple of vials of the Hangover Potion and instructed him to take it before he went to bed.
The next morning dawned sunny if a bit cool, but Severus was glad to see the sun. One could never tell in April whether it would be sunny or rainy. The wedding was set for eleven o'clock.
After breakfast Harry was already dressed so he helped his dad get ready. "Bend down Dad," he requested and when Severus did so he used a Sticking Charm to place a sprig of white lilac on his lapel as he knew lilacs were his mum's favorite flower. He also stuck a sprig on his lapel.
"Do you think I will pass inspection with your mum?" Severus asked.
"You look great!" Harry said.
"Thank you, Harry. Shall we go outside since I assume your mother does not want us to see her before the ceremony?"
"Yeah, isn't it supposed to be bad luck or something like that?" Harry remarked.
"Something such as that, I believe," Severus replied.
They went outside and walked to the area where the greenhouses were located. The wedding would be held in the grassy area in front of them. Reginald Winchester who was Severus' barrister and also held the title of Queen's Council in the Muggle's court of law would marry them. He was authorized by the Ministry to both marry and bond.
Harry spotted Dudley seated already and went over to talk to him. Severus stepped over to visit with Vernon for a few minutes as he did not look too comfortable. "Uncle Sev?" Dudley asked.
"Yes, Dudley?"
Dudley hesitated for a second then said, "Harry's told me so much about his school and about his dorm, is it possible we could have a tour?"
"I believe your mum is what we call a Squib which means she has magic, but she's unable to access it for unknown reasons while your Aunt Lily could. You may be the same as your mum, Dudley, but obviously your mum and you have enough magic to be see Hogwarts and your dad by extension, because he's with you.' Yes, we can take you around before you leave and you can see Ravenclaw Tower. If anybody asks, we will just say your a student that considering transferring from another magical school."
"That would be great!" Dudley exclaimed. "And in exchange I'll take you on a tour of my school when your in Little Whinging again."
"Actually, Dudley, your headmaster probably does know about magic because his niece is one of my prefects. I remember her telling me her uncle was the headmaster at a Muggle school called Smeltings."
"That's awesome!" Dudley replied.
"It really is a small world," Vernon remarked.
Soon most of the other guest arrived that included the Malfoys and the Longbottoms and Regulus and his parents, Orion and Walburga.
At promptly eleven, the music that Minerva had charmed a grand piano to play started and Petunia appeared holding a bouquet of white lilacs. She was wearing a long silver dress and wore her blond hair in a French braid. She took her place to Reginald's right while Harry stood beside his dad.
Lily followed escorted by Filius. Just looking at her took Severus' breath away. She was dressed in a floor-length dress of pale blue with a sweetheart bodice beautifully accented by a cap sleeves and an illusion bateau neckline overlaid and adorned with exquisite hand-beaded detail. Soft ruching along the waist gathered at the side where a brooch ornament gave way to a ruffle that cascaded down the smooth skirt. A see through back channeled a double keyhole style. Matching pumps peeked out from the hem of her dress. Her hair was up in curls on top of her head and she carried a bouquet of white lilacs.
Reginald asked, "Do you both have rings?"
Harry gave Severus his ring for Lily and Petunia handed Lily's the ring she'd gotten for Severus when she suspected he was going to ask her to marry him.
"Please put them on each other," Reginald requested.
Lily handed her bouquet to Petunia to hold. Severus slid the wedding band on Lily's left hand and Lily slid his wedding band on his left hand.
"Now please face each other, join hands, and say your vows. Severus, why don't you speak first?"
Severus looked into Lily's eyes and said, "Lily, from the moment I first saw you, I knew you were the one with whom I wanted to share my life. Your beauty, heart, and mind inspire me to be the best person I can be. I promise to love you for eternity, respecting you, honoring you, being faithful to you, and sharing my life with you. This is my solemn vow." As Severus finished saying his vow Reginald pointed his wand and a narrow rope of what looked like golden flames issued from it and wrapped around Severus and Lily's wrists. Severus heard Tuney gasp. Reginald looked at Lily and nodded.
Lily looked into Severus' eyes and said, "Severus, today I take you to be my husband. Together we will create a home, becoming a part of one another. I vow to help create a life that we can cherish, inspiring your love for me and mine for you. I vow to be honest, caring and truthful, to love you as you are and not as I want you to be, and to grow old by your side as your love and best friend." A second golden flame shot out of Reginald's wand and entwined itself around their wrists and he then said, "By the power vested in me by the Wizengamot and as your Bonder, I hereby declare you legally married and bonded in love and magic." A third rope of golden flames issued from his wand and joined the other two already wrapped around Severus' and Lily's wrists. He smiled at Severus and said, "You may kiss your bride, Severus."
Severus bent and gave Lily a kiss, not passionate enough to raise any eyebrows, but not a chaste one either. Everybody clapped and then surrounded the newly married couple with hugs, kisses, and congratulations. There was also a lot of picture taking.
"Congratulation, Sev, and it's about time," Reg said shaking Severus' hand.
"As if you have any room to talk," Severus replied.
"Well, I'm just waiting for the right witch to come along," Reg replied solemnly.
They held the wedding lunch in the Room of Requirement and when the doors appeared and were opened; it was decorated perfectly for their wedding in Lily's choice of wedding colors; silver and blue.
There was champagne for the adults and a choice of pumpkin juice or milk for Harry and his friends. Dudley was entertaining them with stories about his computer and the games he could play on it.
"I wish the wizarding world would join the 21st century instead of staying in the 16th," Draco said.
The wedding cake, made expertly by Tita, was three layers of dark chocolate and was frosted with dark chocolate frosting and had two crossed sugar wands on top of it.
"Now you must save the top tier, freeze it, and then you eat it on your first anniversary," Petunia said.
"I'll put it under a stasis spell," Lily decided.
After the wedding lunch was finished, Dudley, Petunia, and Vernon got to see Hogwarts with Minerva's permission. They were accompanied by Severus, Lily, Harry, Filius, Pomona, and Minerva plus all of Harry's friends. The three of them were awed by the the views from Ravenclaw and Gryffindor and loved the hominess of Hufflepuff. The huge window in the common room that looked out beneath the Back Lake, was always the main attraction for anyone visiting Slytherin House. Petunia suddenly screamed when the Giant Squid swam up and peered in the window.
"It is alright. The glass is unbreakable and Cicero know better than to try and break it," Severus shook his head. "I swear that creature automatically knows when someone is looking out the window and comes right over."
"If you watch for long enough sometimes you can see the Merpeople swim past," Draco said.
"Is that like a Mermaid?" Dudley asked.
"They're not like the ones you see on TV though, Dud," Harry said.
"We seldom see them because they live really deep in the lake," Millie added. "Some of the 7th years have said they've only seen them once or not at all."
Before Petunia left again, Lily gave her a tight hug and whispered, "Thank you for all you did for my wedding. It was absolutely beautiful. Think about what we talked about. You have so much talent for this kind of thing. I couldn't do something like this even with magic."
"I'm planning to talk to Vernon about it," Petunia replied. "But about the other..."
"Sev and I will go to St, Mungo's with you. I'm pretty sure Dumbledore knew what James and Sirius did at your wedding. I think he may have encouraged them to do it - all in the name of fun, of course. I suspect he cast some sort of spell over you and Vernon so you'd always remember it when you looked at Harry."
"I'll talk to Vernon about that also," Petunia promised. "Do you think Dudley should be checked, too?"
Lily shook her head. She hated to say it but..."I think Dudley was following your example."
"Yes, we set him a horrible example and I'll take that to my grave."
"Not if Dumbledore spelled or cursed you to do it, Tuney," Lily pointed out. "I should take you to Diagon Ally and get you an owl so we can keep in constant communication."
"That's an idea, but you'll have to teach me about owls so I know how to take proper care of it."
"Why don't we make a date for next Saturday for lunch?"
"It's a date," Petunia nodded. She suddenly realized how much she had missed her sister and gave her a tight hug. Minerva was waiting waiting with Vernon and Dudley to side-apparate them back to Little Whinging. Severus had given her three vials of anti-nausea potion just in case.
As soon as all the guests had left, Harry came out of his bedroom.
"Have you got everything?" Severus asked,
"Yup." He gave Lily and Severus a big hug. "Now you're really my mum and dad."
"Forever," Severus said.
"Don't keep the Malfoys waiting Harry," Lily added with a smile.
"I'll see you on Tuesday Mum, Dad," Harry said picking up his rucksack. It had an extension charm on it so he could pack three days worth of clothes plus his textbooks, parchment, quills and ink in it.
"Bye Harry," they both called.
"Alone at last," Severus joked, scooping up Lily and carrying her into his bedroom. Even though Harry was only going to be gone for few days, they would miss him.
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
The next morning there was a discreet announcement in the Prophet about the Evans-Snape marriage. Sirius spotted it when he was lounging in the living room after having enjoyed a big Sunday breakfast, and was reading the paper. James was still in bed; he usually didn't get up until eleven o'clock on Sundays. He didn't know how James would react. He'd disowned Harry with a flick of his quill so maybe Lily marrying Snivellus wouldn't bother him at all.
At eleven o'clock, James walked into the living room, yawning and scratching his head, making his hair stick up even more that it usually did. He was still in his pajamas and dressing gown and plopped down into a chair opposite Sirius.
"Anything interesting in the paper, Pads?"
"Depends on what you call interesting Prongs," Sirius replied, handing him the paper he'd folded over to the announcement of Severus and Lily's marriage.
James didn't react with an outburst, but instead shrugged his shoulders, tossed the paper aside, and replied, "It's on her head when she finds out Snivellus has been a Death Eater all along. Neither she nor Harry is my concern anymore."
"Good," Sirius said.
"And you're right about me finding another wife so I can have an heir to prevent the Potter fortune from going to a dark family," James said rubbing his hands together.
"Like I said there are plenty of other witches out there that would be thrilled to be your wife, Prongs. Mary MacDonald is one for instance."
"Nah," James shook his head. "Not my type and anyway I always thought you had a thing for her, Pads."
Sirius shrugged. "Well, I did, but I always thought she had a thing for you."
"There's one thing I'm not doing again and that's marrying a Muggleborn witch. They have too many odd ideas."
"Not all of them are like Lily; you just got a lemon is all," Sirius pointed out.
"Well, whoever I marry is going to realize that I'm the boss and what I say goes," James declared.
"That's the spirit!"
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
Harry enjoyed himself at the Malfoy's with the exception of an annoying house elf named Dobby who looked at him the same way Ginny Weasley did.
"Does he always act like that?" Harry asked Draco after Draco had summoned Dobby to bring them some hot chocolate.
"He's worships you over the fact that you defeated You-Know-Who," Draco commented.
"But I don't even remember doing it and besides it was my dad, Professor Lupin, Aurors Moody, Black, Shacklebolt, and Crockford who made sure there was no way he could return," Harry pointed out.
Draco shrugged. "Well, you're still a hero to the house elves here, especially the ones here who had to serve You-Know-Who when he visited. He was horrible to them and even used the Killing Curse on a couple of them who displeased him."
"I guess in that case I can put up with Dobby's hero worship."
"Have you heard anything from your ex-father?" Draco asked curiously.
Harry wrinkled his nose in a way that made him look a lot like Lily. "No. I get regular letters from Gringotts about the four vaults I have that mum took from the Potter estate which by the way are doing really great thanks to your dad."
"Yeah, my dad definitely has the 'Midas Touch' so to speak," Draco agreed.
"Mum said she hopes if Potter remarries, he has all girls because only boys can inherit the estate," Harry chuckled.
"Yeah, a lot of the really old family estates were set up that way originally and a lot of them were lost because of it."
"Seems really sexist now, but I suppose back then girls weren't allowed to go to school except for whatever training they got from their mothers or governesses."
"And most of what they learned was how to take good care of their husbands, kids, and their household," Draco added.
"Despite woman like Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff too."
"Back then they were probably considered nutters because they didn't follow a proper 'womanly path'."
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
Severus and Lily enjoyed their time alone very much. When they weren't grading essays or tests, they were making love. Severus checked on his snakes twice daily in case they the older ones needed help with their studies for OWLs and NEWTs. He depended on his Prefects to keep an eye on the younger children who had stayed and let him know if there were any problems.
Severus was looking for something in his bedroom and stumbled across the two autobiographies of Salazar Slytherin that he had copied from the library of Witches Moon. With the wedding planning and everything else, he had forgotten completely about them.
He had some free time right now so he stretched out on the bed, opened one of the books and begin to read. This book rather than starting with his childhood, started with the founding of Hogwarts. He read until Lily knocked on the door and announced that Blinky had dinner ready.
"What are you reading, Sev?" Lily asked as he seated her.
"An autobiography of Salazar Slytherin. It is quite fascinating although the English he speaks is rather hard to read. I found a couple in the library at Witches Moon and I copied them. I am planning to add them to the Slytherin House library. What have you been doing this afternoon?"
"Mostly correcting essays and going over my lesson plans. I'll need to start reviewing for final exams."
"Yes, they are coming fast upon us," Severus agreed.
After dinner, Severus checked on his snakes, but found everything in order. He came back and continued to read.
Lily was deciding what she needed to focus on for final exams when she suddenly heard Severus exclaim loudly. "Merlin's hat!"
She got up and called, "Sev is something wrong?"
Severus came out holding the book he's been reading and said, "Salazar Slytherin had a Basilisk as a familiar and they can live for thousands of years."
Thanks for reading! Please review.