Out of Nowhere

Disclaimer: I own nothing herein but the original characters, and the plot. JK Rowling owns the rest.

A/N: Well, guys, this is it! Can you believe it? After 3 months and 165 pages of story, it comes down to this, the epilogue. I don\'t know about the rest of you, but I\'m going to miss Leah. I\'ll never admit it to anyone (but you guys!) but last night, as I finished, I cried. I\'ve never had a story leave me so proud, yet so sad as this one. I hope it\'s met your expectations and the ending does it justice. Also, it kind of jumps around, and I hope it\'s not confusing. Leave me a review and let me know what you thought. =) Also, for my reviewers:

AmandaD.: I\'m so glad you\'ve enjoyed this story. This is it, for it, though. *sighs* I\'m really glad you found it to be funny, too. I giggled throughout the whole things as I was sriting it. =)

Jenn: Thanks, Jenn!! This is it, the last chapter. Hope it surpasses everything you hoped for in an ending. Also, let me know if it\'s what you thought it would be!!


ON WITH THE STORY!!

The next morning, Remus woke to a cold bed; Leah was nowhere to be found. He stumbled downstairs and into the kitchen to find everyone but his lover. “Has anyone seen Leah this morning?” He asked stifling a yawn.

The group looked at him. “No,” Molly answered. “We all assumed that she was still upstairs with you.”

His eyes opened wide with panic and he flew back up the stairs. He threw open the bathroom door to find it empty, as was the room he’d given her to sleep in. Her bag was gone, but the robes and the clothes Albus leant her were still there. He hastily threw on his slippers and a ratty old tee shirt and ran back downstairs to the hearth in the sitting room. He threw floo powder into it and stepped into the green flames shouting, “The Dungeons, Severus Snape’s Quarters!”

As soon as he stepped out of the hearth, Remus yelled for Severus. The tall man stepped gracefully from his private potions lab. “What are you on about this early in the morning, Remus?” He asked rather irritated.

“She’s gone! Is she here? Please tell me you’ve seen her this morning!” Remus pleaded, panic radiating from his whole body.

Severus tilted his head to the side. “Who’s gone? Leah?”

Remus sat down on the well-worn sofa in the room and lifted a trembling hand to his forehead. “Severus, Leah’s gone. Her bag is gone. The bed was cold when I got up. No one’s seen her since last night when we went to bed. Severus, I…”

The distress the smaller man was in, unnerved Snape. “Are you positive that she’s not still at Grimmauld Place?”
“She’s not. She’s gone!” He exclaimed, looking at the tall wizard.

Severus sat on the couch next to Remus and opened his arms. The tawny haired man sunk into them and sobbed. “She’s gone and I didn’t get to tell her how I felt. Now, I’ll never get to! I didn’t get to say goodbye.”

The men sat like that for some time. Remus muttering to himself about things that he didn’t do and crying and Severus offering what comfort he could to the man while fighting the awful tightening in his chest. He refused to be weak in front of the werewolf and break down.

Two hours later, Albus flooed into Severus rooms to find the men still on the couch, wrapped in each others arms, sleeping, offering and receiving comfort. He held two boxes wrapped in plain brown paper. He set them on the coffee table in front of them and walked back into the hearth. He’d have to give the men a few days to sort everything out.

When they woke, immediately, they saw the packages. One had ‘Remus’ written across the top in calligraphy in red ink, outlined by gold and the other had ‘Severus’ written the same way in green and silver ink. They separated and stared at the boxes. Two set of trembling hands picked up their respective packages and together they carefully opened them.

There were several pieces of parchment in each. The men lifted the top parchments and opened them. It was a letter addressed to each man. They were almost identical in what they said.

If you have received this, then I am gone. This is what I spent the first day of my ‘exile’ doing after I was marked as Remus’ mate. If you don’t know about your parcel, then I didn’t get to say goodbye. I’m so sorry.

My time at Hogwarts has been some of the most treasured time I’ve ever had on this earth. I can only hope that when I get home that I’ll remember you. There will always be a place in my heart for my favorite Defense teacher and Potions Master.

Please keep yourself safe throughout this war and watch out for each other. Friends are hard to come by, and even more so in times such as war. Keep the faith and keep fighting for the light.

With all my love,

Leah

The men looked at each other and then back at the boxes in their laps. Remus’ box held a picture of a lone wolf standing upon a hill howling at the moon, framed and behind glass. It was done completely in red and gold ink. Severus’ box held a picture of a serpent coiled up on a boulder under the sun of high noon, also framed and behind glass and in green and silver ink. There were various other sketches in the boxes, but nothing like what was framed.

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~

Leah was awakened by the squeak of the bed beneath her as she turned over. The door flew open and the harsh light assaulted her eyes. Her mother groused at her. “I’d suggest you get up if you don’t want to be late for your first day of your senior year!”

It took a moment to register what had just been said to her and she sat upright in the bed as her mother closed the door to her bedroom. She looked around and gasped one word, “Paradox!”

She was relieved to be home, sort of, but she could not begin to fathom why she would still be in 1997. She missed both of her lovers tremendously already, but she did the only thing she could think to do, she got dressed and went to school.

In the coming weeks, Leah was overwhelmed by the chance to get another year with her best friend and couldn’t help but think of her lovers with every thought. She loved her friends, but it depressed her to know that she’d never again get to see Remus and Severus.

Amazingly, she never forgot what she was quickly coming to know as her ‘old’ life. She’d already managed to create a paradox, so she changed a few things that she always wished that she could do over. She cherished her friends and the young years of her nieces and nephews. She lived life as though she’d never get another day.

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~

Halloween morning, Leah woke up nauseous. She’d been getting strangely sick for a couple of weeks yet she’d been picking up weight, quickly. It baffled her mind, but she just pushed through, blaming it on depression and missing her lovers. Two days later, the whole neighborhood heard a whoop for joy, followed by a sob of relief, followed by many days worth of crying for things that would almost certainly never be.

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~

On the tenth day of March, Severus sat in the Headmaster’s office before daylight. He was very irritated that he’d been called up in the middle of the night while Albus just sat benignly behind his desk sipping lemon tea. “Can we get this over with, Headmaster?”

The old man smiled and replied, “In a moment, Severus. We are waiting on one other person before this meeting can officially…” At that moment, a disheveled Remus Lupin walked in, clearly still in a sleep induced stupor. “And here he is!”

The men greeted each other, as they had remained friends even after Leah left. They often sat on Severus’ couch in each other’s arms, musing on what she could be doing at the moment.

Remus sat and took the offered tea from the headmaster. “I have some excellent news for you both,” he said, eyes twinkling. “There is something I want you to see.”

Albus pulled out the Hogwarts student registry. He thumbed through to the very last page and turned it around, sliding it toward the two men. Two names graced the top of the page:

Sarah Elizabeth Smith ~ Born March 9th, 1998 11:58PM
Emma Jane Smith ~ Born March 10th, 1998 12:01AM

They looked at each other and then at the headmaster. “And?” They said together.

The old man rolled his eyes at the young men and pointed his wand at the names. “Paternus,” he whispered.

The surnames of the little girls just added to the register faded and were replaced. Both men gaped at the words in front of them:

Sarah Elizabeth Snape ~ Born March 9th, 1998 11:58PM
Emma Jane Lupin ~ Born March 10th, 1998 12:01 AM

Remus rubbed his eyes, still not daring to believe what was right in front of his face. He looked up at the beaming old man. “I? We?” He pointed between himself and Severus. “But that means…” He looked at a speechless Severus Snape. “She’s still here!” He jumped from his chair and hauled Severus onto his feet and into a huge hug. “We’ve got daughters!” He proclaimed loudly.

Severus looked at his friend and his eyes rolled back in the back of his head. Remus laid him gently in the floor and allowed the Headmaster to bring him back to consciousness. “We have to find them, all three of them and bring them back, Severus,” the werewolf said seriously.

Severus shook his head. “Not yet, Remus. We are still fighting in a war. Neither of us need anything that the Dark Lord can take away from us.”

Remus looked crestfallen at the prospect of missing the first years of his daughter’s life. Severus took his hand and tipped his chin up, looking into the amber eyes glistening with tears. “When Harry wins, we’ll go get them. Surely Leah’s known for months now that she was not in an alternate universe. She’s a smart, resourceful woman. I’m sure she knows that we will come after her and our daughters as soon as time allows.”

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~

Leah sat in the hospital bed holding both of her daughters. She kissed Sarah’s forehead. “Little one,” she said, “you look just like your father. You even have his nose.”

The child yawned and trained her unfocused eyes toward her mother’s voice. Her deep blue eyes an almost certain sign that they would darken to the black of her lover’s. Leah smiled again and looked at Emma. Remus’ daughter had a single small tuft of blonde hair on the top of her head and it stuck straight up. The little girl was barely twenty-four hours old, and already her father’s quiet, patient personality was showing through.

“No one knows the circumstances surrounding your conception, and until your father’s find us, they probably won’t. I’m so sorry, girls, that your fathers aren’t here with us as they should be,” Leah sniffed, fighting another bout of tears.

That night, between feedings, Leah’s dreams were filled with the two men she’d come to love over the summer, and she knew that it was definitely love. Her only solace was that she now had two beautiful daughters to remind her every day of the time they shared.

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~

The full moon shone brightly over the grounds of Hogwarts on May the 25th. Severus surveyed the destruction surrounding him. The green eyed young man he was helping to the infirmary had just killed the most evil dark lord in a century. Harry was exhausted, as was Snape, from the last thirty-six hours. The war was finally won and the light was triumphant. When he had Harry settled in a bed in the infirmary, he collapsed in the chair next to it and sobbed.

It had been two long and arduous months leading up to the victory. The stress of escalated aggressions from Voldemort, the thought of a daughter, and his classes had taken a huge toll on the stoic man. Moony emerged from Madame Pomfrey’s office where he’d delivered a note, and walked over to the dark man. He laid his muzzle across the crook of Severus’ arm. Looking into the golden eyes of the werewolf, Severus sobbed harder and slid into the floor, hugging the creature. “Sir?” Harry asked warily.

Moony wagged his tale at the young man as Severus stiffened. “If I had the energy to cry, I would too, Sir.”

Severus looked up at the seventeen-year-old man, eyes red from all of the tears. “Mr. Potter, you’ve not only liberated myself, but also mine and Remus’ daughters. We are free to bring them back to the magical world. You truly are the hero the people have hailed you as being. Thank you.”

Harry sat there speechless. “You have a daughter, Sir?”

“Indeed. Her name is Sarah, and her twin sister, Emma, is Remus’ daughter. Now we have to find them,” he stated smiling a genuine smile.

Harry’s face screwed up in concentration as the words sunk in. He really was too tired to continue, but he couldn’t help his Gryffindor curiosity. Moony jumped on the infirmary bed and settled across Harry’s thighs. He licked the young man’s arms and thumped his tail happily on the bed. “I must be delirious from lack of sleep, but did you just say Remus had a daughter and that she was your daughter’s twin? How’s that possible?”

Snape laughed. He really laughed at the question. “Obviously, dark lords are no problem, but sex, that’s just too much for you! Do you not remember walking into Remus’ room at Grimmauld last summer? I believe you made mention of ‘scourgifying that image from your brain’.”

The young hero blushed at his teacher. “Sir, I’m truly happy for you and Remus both. When will you begin looking for them?”

Moony barked happily at the question. “It seems someone is impatient to begin the search, but more than likely, it will be after the end of the term. Sadly, we will have to absent from all of the Ministry festivities,” Severus added sarcastically.

“Well, if I may, Sir, I’d like to offer up the Black family fortune to finance your search. Before you refuse, let me be clear, I have no use for it, and nothing is more important to me than family, mine or yours and Remus’. Every child should know his or her parents, both of them, and as soon as I wake up, I’m going to have yours and Remus’ names added to the vault.” With that, the delirious young man drifted off to sleep.

Moony jumped down from the bed and grabbed the end of Severus’ torn robes and pulled him toward an empty bed. “No, Moony! I will be resting in my chambers this evening!”

Had the werewolf been able to scowl, he would have. Moony finally gave up and followed Severus to the dungeons where he curled up at the foot of the bed next to the sleeping wizard.

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~

The girls were almost three months old. Sarah preferred sleeping throughout most of the night while Emma napped just about any time, unless it was around the full moon. May the 25th was the day of the full moon and Emma had been active all day, cooing and smiling at her mother and grandmother. Her eyes were just like her mother’s, one green and one blue, while her sister’s eyes turned the same black as her father’s.

That evening, Leah sat on the porch with her little night owl daughter. They rocked in the antique rocking chair that Leah’s mother gave her and she talked to her daughter. “Em,” she said, “somewhere in the moors of Scotland your father has made his monthly transformation. He’s a werewolf, and the most beautiful creature I think I’ve ever seen. He’d love you Emma. I hope he’s okay. Maybe some day, you’ll get to meet him.”

The little girl cooed at her mother. Her pale eyes trailed to the full moon where her mother watched and wished for her father. Suddenly, the child’s eyes flashed gold and settled back to their normal colors, now with golden flecks in them, the sign of the werewolf’s child.

It was almost dawn when Emma finally succumbed to sleep, followed immediately by Leah. It was about two hours later that Sarah woke, demanding to be changed and fed.

Leah dutifully changed her daughter and fixed her bottle before settling into the easy chair in the living room to catch the morning news.

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~

Finally it was the tenth day of June and graduation day for the Class of 1998 at Hogwarts. Over the past sixteen days, Remus and Severus had told anyone who would listen about their daughters. They’d both received many pats on the back and congratulations. They’d also both been informed that they were the recipients of the Black fortune. Everyone offered to help them find the two daughters that they loved so much, yet had never met.

As Hermione gave her speech for being at the top of the class, they were saddened by the empty seats of the students who passed in the final days of the war. The young witch gave a beautiful heart-felt speech about new beginnings growing from the end of something else. The mood was somber as she finished and there were many tears in the audience.

Harry approached the podium after she finished, to much applause and cheers. He cast a ‘sonorus’ spell and began speaking.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, Class of 1998, we stand at the dawn of a new age. As students, we are about to cross the line into adulthood. As witches and wizards, we are entering a time of peace after, for most of us, a lifetime of turmoil and unrest. Let us all stand together in unity and remember those in this class who gave their lives for a cause they believed in, for better or worse.

“First on this list is Ronald Weasley. He was my best mate from the time I stepped on the Hogwarts Express when I was eleven. He didn’t want to be my friend because I was Harry Potter. He wanted to be my friend despite the fact that I was Harry Potter. He and his family welcomed me in as one of their own, a black headed Weasley, if you will. He taught me that nothing is more important than family, blood related or otherwise. Ron lost his life to save Hermione, his fiancée. He’s truly a hero.

“Next is Neville Longbottom. When I first met him, he’s lost his frog, Trevor. He grew from an uncertain, rather clumsy boy to a confident man and a formidable dueling opponent. Before he took out Lucius Malfoy in the final battle, he’d proven himself time and again to be a true friend. I sincerely hope that his sacrifice doesn’t go unnoticed.

“Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle are the next on the list. These two young men surprised me when they approached me earlier in the year about joining the Defense Association. Along with Draco, they persuaded most of the Slytherin house to think for themselves. That’s saying quite a bit since these two followed Draco around for six years, agreeing with any and everything he said.” At this point, he smiled sadly at the young flaxen haired Slytherin. “I’m just kidding Draco. They were true friends to you as much as Ron and Hermione were to me in school. They will not be forgotten.”

Harry went through a list of his classmates from all of the houses that were on both sides of the war. Those who fought for the light and fell were deemed hero’s not to be forgotten. Those felled by the light were mentioned for their steadfast beliefs, and Harry warned the audience not to forget them, lest the lesson their deaths could teach be forever lost.

He ended by saying, “And though the deaths from this war weigh heavy on our hearts, two of our number are truly getting a new beginning. Professors’ Severus Snape and Remus Lupin have daughters who are four months old today. Their mother took them from the magical world, last August before they were born. The girls’ mother did not tell them where she was going, obviously for safety reasons, and they will begin their search this evening after our ceremony has ended.

“Professor Snape, Moony we all want to wish you good luck and god speed. May your daughters fulfill all your hopes and dreams for the next generation.”

He walked over and shook Snape’s hand before he hugged Remus, then he sat down. The rest of the graduation ceremony went well enough and afterward, everyone who knew the two men congratulated them and offered any help they could possibly need.

Early the next morning, both men stood outside Heathrow airport in London, nervous about their flight to Memphis International Airport in the United States.

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~
The evening of June 10th, Leah packed her daughters diaper bags with diapers and milk, strapped them in her car, and drove them to her favorite place in the world, the clearing in the woods behind her best friends house.

Her friends were all there, including a very sick Jenni. Everything was already set up, the circle of salt and the altar, everything was perfect. Leah opened the circle and called the corners using her oak wand from Ollivander\'s, the only thing that made its way back with her from Hogwarts. Though none of her friends were pagan, they had became those two little girls extended family, and they participated enthusiastically in Leah\'s naming ceremony.

She took Sarah from her friend Mike and settled with the infant in front of the altar. She dipped her finger in the bowl of water, purified by moonlight, and made the shape of a star on the child\'s head. \"I present you to the Great Mother, fruit of my womb. May she know you forever more as Ebony Willow. When you are in need, call upon Her. When you are joyous, praise Her. When you feel the world is too much, feel Her arms around you, comforting you, my child. For without the Mother, there are no children. So may it be!\"

The little black eyed girl cooed and gurgled throughout the ceremony. When Mike took her back, she smiled at his funny face and grabbed at his glasses. Leah took Emma from Christina. Her daughter\'s eyes were bright, even under the light of the stars.

They settled in front of the altar, Leah repeating the ritual proclaiming Emma Jane to be known forever more as Ivory Moon. At the closing of the circle, as Leah\'s friends carried the girls back to get them in the car, Leah was certain that she\'d seen a little man, similar to Ollivander, standing near a pine tree. She put her hand on the trunk of the tree. She smiled and nodded her head as she backed away. \"It does not yet feel ready for such a sacrifice,\" she said into the darkness.

After the naming ceremony, the two girls\' official nicknames were Ebony and Ivory. The summer wore on and the girls kept growing. Come August, they were both crawling and getting into everything. Leah enjoyed just lying in the floor and letting them crawl all over her. Every day, more of their fathers\' personalities came out. Every day, Ebony reminded Leah of Severus Snape. Every day, Ivory was more like the quiet docile man Leah had come to love and admire in Remus.

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~

The first day of August came and went and still the men had had no luck in finding Leah. It had been a year since they\'d seen her, and they were getting desperate. They decided that it would be best to enlist the help of the American Ministry of Magic.

With the help of the ministry, they discovered that Leah was attending a local community college in the coming weeks. The men fought for three solid days before reaching an agreement on how to handle the situation. \"Severus will you listen to yourself! You want to just walk up to her as she\'s getting into her car and demand she bring your daughter back to England. I thought you were supposed to be one of the most brilliant wizards of our time! She is not going to just jump up and come back to Hogwarts right now! She has two little girls to take care of and she\'s trying to do the right thing!\"

\"Lupin, you imbecile! Those little girls are our daughters! We can help her take care of them! And, of course I believe that she\'ll be so stunned to see us that she\'ll willingly do anything we want her to!\" Severus shouted back at the werewolf.

Remus pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, his voice quieting. \"Severus, listen to us fighting like children. What I am trying to say is that it has been a year. She obviously has other plans at the moment. If I know her like I think I do, she\'ll be finished with University in two years or less. She\'s already done it once, remember? I think we can give her that, don\'t you? The ministry can keep tabs on her for us while we are at Hogwarts during the year, and we can spend the summer watching her.\"

Severus sat down heavily next to the tawny haired man. \"You\'re right, you know? We should give her the time to get acquainted with this life.\"

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~

True to what Remus thought she would do, Leah declared herself to be an English major and promptly clept out of all of her classes except for her math classes. She spent two semesters at the community college, getting her two-year degree, and the next fall transferred to the closest University within driving distance.

Her daughters grew and began to walk. Soon, they were talking and reminded Leah of the Weasley twins. The girls could have a whole conversation with just a simple look.

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~

The two men came back the following summer in early May to learn from the American Ministry that Leah was graduating from college with her Bachelors degree in the next week. They procured the men seats near the back so they could watch their love achieve her greatest dream. When everyone left the auditorium, they watched as she, the two girls, and a very tall young man left together, laughing and joking.

Remus was almost in tears and Severus hid his trepidation behind his usual mask. “She’s forgotten about us, Severus. What do we do now?”

The dark wizard grumbled and ushered Remus into the car they’d been loaned. They followed the four to a local restaurant where they ate an early supper. Remus and Severus cast glamours on themselves and sat in the booth next to them.

They were entranced at the first close glimpse of their daughters. The little girls were two and both had the awareness of a child much older. They spoke plainly and asked intelligent questions, much too intelligent for children their age.

“Momma, you’re not happy,” Ebony observed.

“No, sweetheart, I’m not very happy right now.”

“Why not, Momma?” Ivory queried.

“I miss your daddies. I was almost certain they would come tonight,” she answered glumly.

Ebony stood up in her seat next to her mother and put both of her little hands on Leah’s cheeks. “They’ll come Momma. They love us too much not to.” She kissed her mother’s nose and sat back down.

Ivory giggled. “Yeah, Momma, they’ll come. Me and Uncle Punk have been watching out for them.”

The little black haired girl giggled with her sister. Leah smiled at her daughters. “Yeah, they’ll come. For all we know, they are still at war and just can’t. Both of your daddies are brave men.”

The girls beamed at the thought of having soldiers for fathers. Mike reached over and patted Leah’s hand. “Don’t worry, Leah, I know it’s been two years already, but they wouldn’t have forgotten you so quickly.” He grinned at her. “I’ve been your best friend for 13 years and when I want to forget you, I can’t!”

She laughed at this. “Ok, I give. I’ve just gotten my degree and I’m moping around. I did in two years what most people do in five, that’s an accomplishment!”

“You get an ice cream cone,” the twins said together.

Mike raised an eyebrow. “You really shouldn’t reward these girls with ice cream. It’s scary when they say things like that.”

“Uncle Punk, don’t be silly. There’s nothing scary about us!” Ivory said.

“Ivy, we are scary sometimes.” Ebony smirked to her sister.

“You are Eb, but I’m not!”

“Girls,” Leah said softly. They both grinned at their mother and took a sip of their drinks.

“It’s so hard to believe they are only two, Leah. They are developing so fast it’s almost unbelievable,” Mike mused.

“Well, I’ve worked with them from day one. You know that. It’s really not hard to believe that they are so articulate because I’m going to be an English teacher. I mean, if you think about it, I’ve been reading to them since the beginning and playing for them, singing to them. My daughters are brilliant, aren’t you girls?” The girls just grinned at each other and swung their legs from their seats.

Severus and Remus were both sagging with relief in the booth next to them. Not only had Leah not taken another lover, but she was waiting on them. The food arrived at Leah’s booth and the four ate in near silence. Remus and Severus sat in their booth nursing coffee and waiting for them to leave.

It felt like no time when Leah asked the girls if they were done, and she took them to the bathroom to clean up. Mike paid for the meal and waited for them near the door. He scooped Ebony up when she ran at him with her arms open. “Uncle Punk are we going to Aunt Ho’s house tonight to dance around the fire?”

He laughed at her question and shook his head. “We sure are, beautiful. Leah, I can’t believe that you are letting the girls call Chris ‘Aunt Ho’. That’s just plain awful.”

Leah scooped up Ivory and laughed at her friend. “It’s only as bad as them calling you Uncle Punk.”

He shrugged. “You’ve got a point.”

They walked out to the car with the girls. As Leah opened the door and put Ivory in her car seat, she began to sing. “Somewhere out there beneath the pale moonlight. Someone\'s thinking of me and loving me tonight. Somewhere out there someone\'s saying a prayer. That we\'ll find one another in that big somewhere out there…”

Both of the little girls began singing with their mother. Mike smiled at his friend, understanding her melancholy. When the two wizards stepped outside of the restaurant, they were both almost moved to tears by the beautiful voice wafting across the parking lot. Remus did tear up when he heard the two small voices singing with the one he loved so well.

“I’ve missed that,” he said as Severus started the car.

Severus’ voice was rough with emotion as he replied, “Me, too.”

They followed Mike’s car through town. Both men almost fainted when out of nowhere, a car sped through the red light and smashed into the passenger side door of Mike’s car. When the ambulance arrived, both girls were deemed okay, as was Mike, but their mother wasn’t. Mike used his cell phone to call a local friend of his to take them to the hospital.

The two wizards were in a near panic as they followed the ambulance to the hospital, both insisting the other come up with a plan to get in to see the young woman. When they finally arrived, they both sat in the car shaking. The spy in Severus came forward and he said, “Okay, here’s what we are going to do. We’ll transfigure ourselves a couple of lab coats and see what we can find out that way. If anyone asks a question, we’ll hit them with a ‘confundo’ charm and tell them what we want to. Now, let’s go find out how bad she is.”

They stepped out of the car and quickly transfigured themselves a lab coat each out of a couple of old wrappers in the car. They walked about the hospital, trying to find where they’d taken the young woman. The two men finally made it to the Emergency Room.

Leah was no where to be found, but they spotted Mike carrying their crying daughters. He was extremely flustered because the clerk at the desk would not tell him anything because he was not immediate family. They strode up to him and Severus looked up into his worried eyes. “Is there a problem here?” He asked.

The receptionist looked at him for a moment and replied, “Yes, doctor, there is. This young man is asking about a woman the ambulance just brought in, but he is not immediate family, and I can not give him anything!”

Severus looked him up and down before asking, “Son, what relation are you to her?”

He squirmed a bit under the scrutiny of the dark man, but quickly answered, “I’m a life long friend, and the godfather of these two little girls here, her daughters. I need this information because they are about to come unraveled.”

The tall wizard gave the young receptionist a hard look. “Do you not have any intelligence in that space between your ears? Those children are in a panic about the health of their mother. Give the boy what he needs to quiet them down!”

He stood there glaring at the receptionist. She opened her mouth to dispute him, but quickly closed it when he narrowed his eyes. She sighed as she typed on her computer. “Fine! She was brought in with a broken arm, minor lacerations on her neck and chest, and a concussion. It also appears that she might have broken her jaw.”

Mike thanked the ‘doctors’ and moved into the waiting room. He had the little girls calmed down in a matter of minutes. Severus and Remus wandered around for a few more minutes, asking orderlies and nurses about Leah. They found out that she was going to have to have surgery on her arm to fix it, but otherwise, she would be fine in a few days.

The next morning, they were waiting at the hospital. She’d been moved to a private room. They got the number and as they walked into the door, they heard voices, one adult’s and two children. Transfiguring themselves lab coats again, they strode in. “Good morning,” Remus greeted. “How is the patient this morning?”

Mike had purple circles under his eyes and he looked dead tired. Both little girls slid from his lap and took their copy of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to the other chair where they chatted happily, attempting to read the novel. The tall young man lifted his glasses to his hair and scrubbed his face with his hands. “She’s still sleeping, but she’ll be alright. I’m just glad I wasn’t going any faster. Had Ivory’s door been hit and she gotten hurt, I’d have never forgiven myself.”

The men studied the smiling little girls for a moment, then turned back to Leah’s friend. “We’re glad we could help you last night,” Remus said quietly.

Mike shook his head and thanked them both before slipping out of the room with the girls to grab some coffee. Leah began to stir as soon as he left. Both men were at her bedside in less than a second. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked into two pairs of familiar eyes.

She sobbed. In the two years that had passed since she left her lovers, very little about them had changed. Their hair was still long, though Remus’ was now more gray than blonde. Severus’ hard black eyes had softened and he was beginning to get a few crows feet. The biggest change, though, was that they both wore goatees. She sobbed again as she reached up with her good arm to touch Remus’ cheek. “Remy?” She rasped out. He smiled down at her and replied, “Yes my love.”

She closed her eyes and opened them again. “Dreaming,” she said.

Severus touched her face. “No, dear one, you aren’t dreaming. We’ve been watching you for the past two summers. We wanted you to finish school before we came to bring you and our daughters back to Hogwarts.”

She struggled to sit up and they helped her. She sipped some water through a straw and began to cry. “The girls…Hogwarts?”

Remus stroked her now short hair. “Yes, that’s how we found out. They’re both witches and as soon as they were born, their names were in the school registry.”

“We will be back later tonight. Your friend Mike is going to be back any moment with the girls,” Severus whispered. “Remember what you told me? You’ll never have to be alone again. That’s a promise.”

Both men leaned down and kissed her cheek before returning to their places across the room. She heard a muttered ‘Love you’ from Remus and smiled.

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~

They visited her every night for a week and caught up on everything that had happened. They wanted to know about their daughters and how at just two years old, they were as observant and articulate as they were. She cried in their arms most nights, thinking about how she’d missed them over the past two years.

Finally, after almost two weeks, she was released from the hospital. She made her way to her apartment with Mike’s help and allowed him to cook for her and the girls. When he left, she curled up on the couch with them both and said, “Ebony, Ivory, you know how I’ve always said your fathers would find us?”

Both girls shook their head, eyes wide with curiosity. “Well, they did. When I was in the hospital, those two nice doctors that were in there quite a bit; the ones with the English accent? They are your fathers.”

Both little girls gasped. “What are their names, Momma?” Ivory asked.

“Would you believe me if I said Severus Snape and Remus Lupin?”

Both girls giggled. “From Harry Potter?” They asked at the same time.

“From Harry Potter,” their mother confirmed.

“That’s not funny, Momma. They’re from a story book,” Ebony chastised.

“It wouldn’t be funny if it weren’t for real. They want to meet you both. Would you be willing?”

The little girls looked at each other and then at their mother. “What happens if we don’t like them?”

“Ebony dear, if you don’t like them, then you can send them away, but I want you to know that I love them almost as much as I love you two,” Leah said hunkering down on the couch and snuggling her children close.

The little girls again looked at each other. They nodded. “We’ll meet them, Momma, for you.”

Leah walked to the door and motioned to a blue sedan in the parking lot. The men stepped out of the vehicle and into the apartment. Both were nervous under the scrutinizing eyes of their daughters. Ebony reached over and poked Remus in the leg. “He’s real,” he said to her sister.

Severus laughed at this. “Little one, you are definitely a Snape to the core.”

Leah laughed at the look on her daughter’s face and began telling the children about her summer in Scotland.

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~

Three months later, five figures walked up the path to Hogwarts. As they grew closer to the castle, a small group of people stepped out of the oak doors to greet them. Albus Dumbledore stepped down the steps and swept Leah up into a hug. “It’s been entirely too long, Leah.”

“It has been, Albus,” she replied.

Both little girls gasped and he stooped down. “And who are these two beautiful ladies?”

Both girls tried to hide behind their fathers, but the men coaxed them forward. Leah hugged them and said, “This is Sarah and Emma. Everyone calls them Ebony and Ivory.”
“I’m Albus Dumbledore, but you can call me Grandpa Albus,” the old man said with a wink and a smile before offering them each a lemon sucker, which they took.

As Albus played with the girls, Leah stepped up the steps and stood in front of Harry. “It’s good to see you again, Harry, and who is this little Tyke?”

He looked at the little messy haired boy in his arms and smiled. The child had big brown eyes, and looked more like Hermione than he did Harry. “This is Evan,” he said. “He just turned a year old.”

Harry put his arm around his wife and Evan rubbed her swollen stomach. “We didn’t waste any time, did we?”

Hermione smiled at Harry and opened her arms to Leah for a hug. “I’m so glad you’re back, Leah. It’s been entirely too quiet without you these last two years.”

The women hugged and Leah looked at the smirking red head wrapped in the arms of none other than Draco Malfoy. “Ginny it’s so good to see you again,” Leah giggled, remembering what she said to the junior Malfoy, and hugging the fiery red head.

Albus walked back up the steps and put his arm around the muggle. “I see you remember my Defense and Arthrimancy professors, and my flying instructor. Did you ever meet Draco?”

“Once, in Diagon Alley, but I was under a glamour, so he didn’t really get to meet me. Draco, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

He shook the young woman’s hand and smiled. “It’s nice to finally meet the one person who gave my Uncle Sev reason to smile. Welcome to Hogwarts,” he proclaimed.

She smiled and turned to her lovers, who were holding each other’s daughter. Albus interrupted her musings. “Tell me, Leah, since you already know my staff, would you be interested in taking the vacant English teaching post at Hogwarts Primary School? I’ve heard on more than one occasion that the children come here not knowing how to properly write an essay.”

She smiled up at the old man. “I’d be delighted, Albus.”

She took her daughters around the castle and they finally made it to their rooms in the dungeons. When the quintet stepped in, it looked relatively the same to Leah. Immediately, the girls jumped from their fathers’ arms and began exploring. Upon hear twin squeals of delight, Leah followed them into the girls’ room.

There were two small four-poster beds. The first was made of dark cherry wood and the hangings were a pale blue, as were the bed clothes. The second was made of what appeared to be oak and the hangings were a dark Slytherin green. There was a hand-made quilt thrown on the top covering the forest green sheets.

Sarah enthusiastically clamored on to the cherry bed and pulled the hangings, while Emma bound over to the oak one and began jumping on it. Leah sighed a happy smile. They were home. She told Emma to stop jumping on the bed, as Remus pulled her from the room.

“We have a surprise for you.”


Severus stepped up behind her and covered her eyes with his large hands. Leah laughed at this. They stopped suddenly and her eyes were uncovered. In a room that had definitely not been there during her first stay she stood there staring at the ancient piano she’d played that day in Diagon Alley. Propped up against it was a beautiful antique acoustic guitar.

“Will you play?” Severus purred in her ear.

She stepped over to the instrument and sat down. When she began to play, both of her daughters ran and grabbed their fathers’ hands. “We dance!” Ivory exclaimed.

Leah began to sing ‘Somewhere Out There’ as the men danced with their daughters. The little girls never missed a word on the chorus. When they were done, Sarah grabbed both of her father’s cheeks and looked into his eyes. “We love you papa,” she said, then kissed his crooked nose.

Emma looked at her sister and smiled. “Yeah, we love you and dad both.” She then threw her little arms around Remus’ neck.

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~

After an exuberant supper in the Great Hall, the little girls were exhausted, as much from their trip as from all of the new friends they had and all their new surroundings. Leah bathed them and sent them to bed. Two hours later, the men looked in on them to find them both sleeping in Sarah’s bed.

Leah was sitting on the couch reading when her lovers sat down on either side of her. “Are they always like that?” Remus asked quietly.

The young woman smiled and answered, “Yes. I have taught them to love every moment of life because we never know when we’ll be taken away or left behind.”

Both men nodded their heads.

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~
Some hours later, Leah walked into the bedroom to find her lovers on their respective sides of the bed. Severus had his reading glasses perched on the end of his nose, reading a potions magazine while Remus sat on his side reading ‘The Hobbit’. She smiled at the picture they made. “Well, are you coming to bed?” Remus asked, grinning.

She stepped forward as Severus looked up. “You really don’t think you’ll be needing that tonight, do you?” He asked, pointing at her gown. “After two years, I hope you don’t think you’ll need it.”

She laughed as she unzipped the side of the silk gown. “I’m going to wind up in the same shape I was in when I left here, aren’t I?”

~finite~

A/N2: I know the girls seem older than two, but I actually know a child that was like that at that age. If that\'s not enough, we\'ll just attribute their congnisance to a combination of being witches and their mother treating them like little adults from the time they were born...