Tempus Fugit Praeterhãc

A/N as I said before there is an epilogue which is nearly finished, but this part of the story is complete. There is some dialogue from the Deathly Hallows in this chapter, but the storyline and the changes to canon are my own.


Chapter nine - in which this story ends

Three days later Severus stood outside the familiar gates of Hogwarts, feeling nothing but a deep melancholy at being here. This had always been home to him before, a sanctuary, but no longer could he feel that way. This was probably where Harry would die, would give his life to defeat the Dark Lord. Severus didn’t know how he had survived the last few days. By staying in denial, he thought, by pretending that this was not happening and by ruthlessly tamping down any tendrils of worry that might suggest that without Harry he might as well be dead - would want to be dead, in fact.

He felt so different in the here and now, buttoned up, as he was again, in his familiar dark clothing. It was almost as if the Severus who had lived in Rome, the one who wore a lose linen tunic and a handmade leather belt, was the figment of his imagination. In fact, their whole stay in the past seemed more and more like a dream. If it had not been for Harry – Harry’s hands on his skin, Harry’s kisses on his lips – he would have been hard pressed to believe that he had Harry in his life either.

They had taken the train from Rome to Callais and then ridden the ferry to Dover. During the journey homeward, and in the company of the Trio, he had felt all right, practically normal, in fact. Harry’s determinedly positive attitude had helped him stay positive, too. But at Dover Severus had been careful to separate from Harry and his friends just as soon as the ferry had docked on English soil.

So Harry was not with him as he approached the school. The three were making their own way North, and had hopefully already arrived in Hogsmead Harry was making his way to the school via one of the secret passages. They had arranged to reunite inside the castle, that is, once Severus had called the school together and disposed of the dreadful Carrows. Now that was something he was looking forward to.

As it turned out he was eternally thankful he’d had such foresight. In Dover he had stopped for something to eat and it was there he had literally run into Marcus Flint, a young man whose father had been a staunch supporter of the Dark Lord last time round and one who had eagerly followed his father’s footsteps into the Dark wizard’s service as soon as he rose again, not long after the boy had left Hogwarts.

Normally Severus felt a deep pang of sadness when one of his Slytherins joined the Dark Lord’s service, but when Marcus had been initiated he had felt no surprise whatsoever.

“You’ve returned then Severus, to welcome our Master to Hogwarts?” the slimy young man had said. He had gone on to inform Severus, somewhat smugly, that the Dark Lord had finally assembled his army and was planning an attack the following day.

Severus had sent a message to Harry. He had met the Trio in secret at a tiny cottage which had appeared to be constructed of shells. A plan of action had been formulated between them; one that he was about to begin as soon as he reached the school. He had been hugely relieved to find the Dark Lord’s forces had not yet arrived and he had time to implement the plans he hoped would keep the school safe.

As he walked up to the school, Severus tried to allow himself to do as Harry did, which was to try and find pleasure in whatever he did, even if it was only capturing the odious Death Eaters who had tortured the children in his school.

Whilst thinking these varied thoughts, he had been walking up the long twisting driveway that led to the school’s front entrance. He wearily climbed the final set of steps only to halt suddenly, his jaw dropping in stunned surprise. The heavy, wooden doors opened for him, automatically, as if welcoming him home.

Severus shivered. Nothing like this had ever happened to him before. In all the time after Albus’ death, Severus’ colleagues had treated him with distain; all apart from the Carrows, that was, and they hated him anyway. The innate magic of the school had allowed him to be Headmaster but, somehow, things had been difficult, little things always going wrong. It had never welcomed like this before.


As he walked into the entrance hall Minerva McGonagall was coming down the stairs and Severus almost smiled, she hadn’t changed at all. But then he chided himself, why would she have changed? In this time he had only been gone for just under a week, supposedly visiting a symposium for Headmasters of Magical schools at a hotel in the Hague.

But in truth, he had been away for much longer than that and he was a far different man from the one who had left one short week ago. He had discovered profound love and happiness since he had last been here. And even if fate decreed that was about to come to an end, he knew the experience had fundamentally changed him forever.

“Good morning, Minerva,” he said evenly.

She scowled at him and nodded curtly. “Professor Snape,” she said, making his name sound like a curse.

He remembered how hurt he had been by her reaction and that of his colleagues after he had killed Dumbledore. He could understand the reaction, for they had no way of knowing he had killed the Headmaster on his own orders, nor could they know he wasn’t the Death Eater he appeared to be. Still, it had hurt that they could believe the worst of him so readily.

She, of course, had known almost from the start that it was he who had cast the spell which killed the old man, and not Harry as Rita Skeeter and others would have everyone believe. She and Filius Flitwick, both members of the Order of the Phoenix, had seen him flee the school and communicated their intense dislike and distrust to the other teachers as well as other Order members.

The ten months that he had been Headmaster had, therefore, been a lonely time for Severus. He had not realised before how much he had enjoyed the somewhat formal interactions that he had been used to, until they had disappeared. He sighed, it had been a very difficult year, trying to curb the worst excesses of the Carrows without letting the Dark Lord realise what he was doing. He had felt torn so many times, trying to protect the students as much as he could without alerting anyone to his actions.

His idea of warding the Room of Requirement so the children
would be safe there had been a masterstroke, one that had occurred to him in the wee small hours one night when he couldn’t sleep. The wards allowed the children to come and go in relative safety while at the same time keeping the Carrows away. It had taken a good deal of time and complex spell casting to be specific enough to keep out all those unwanted while allowing entrance to all those who needed protection. This was a school after all and not a private dwelling, where such charms were normally used, but it had done well enough.

Minerva was still scowling and Severus sighed again. He had become used to the friendliness and admiration of his neighbours and friends in Rome. For a brief second he felt awash from an intense wave of loneliness but viciously tamped it down, steeling himself against it, now was not the time. He could ill afford to let himself be swamped with emotion, otherwise, with all the things that he was trying not to feel right now, he could easily be overwhelmed.

“I would like you to gather all the students in the Great Hall, if you please,” he told the woman whom he had once almost considered a friend.

“But it is mid-morning, they are all at lessons.”

“It was not a request, Minerva.”

The look that she shot him was filled with pure venom.

He turned away from Minerva, effectively dismissing her and strode into the Great Hall. It had been so long since he had been here. He was struck again by the beauty of the huge room with its richly decorated, carved oak panels. It reminded him somewhat of the glorious buildings in Rome, the ones in the forum that he had taken Harry and Apisus to visit.

He remembered the day they had gone to watch the great Cicero defend a case in the law courts and how they had sat outside afterwards and eaten fresh figs in the hot sunshine. The wave of homesickness that hit him this time, almost caused him to stagger. He took a deep breath to calm himself and looked upwards instead, the enchanted ceiling reflected the pale blue spring sky and that helped him regain his control.

He was already seated at the top table when the school began to file in. He watched them in silence as they moved to their house tables. They were much depleted in number as the Muggle-borns were here no longer and a number of pureblood or halfblood families had taken their children away from the cruelty of the Carrows. Even if Harry did defeat the Dark Lord, he wondered if the school could ever recover.

The children were nervous, quite justifiably in Severus’ opinion considering how difficult things had become. He waited until everyone was sitting down, including the teachers and then cleared his throat.

“I have much to tell you,” he said. “But before I continue I want you all to place your hands on the table in front of you.” A loud murmuring broke out and Severus had to shout to be heard above the noise. “Do it now, or I shall have to begin hexing you.”

Throughout the hall there was a strange rustling sound as all the children who were present placed their hands on the table as directed.

Severus turned to the teachers. “You also.”

The Carrows looked at each other and shrugged. They were nasty and vicious, Severus told himself, but they were also unbelievably stupid.

Once every one had done as directed Severus raised his wand and wordlessly cast Affigo, effectively sticking everyone’s hands to the table in front of them.

The hall erupted in a cacophony of noise. Severus watched for a moment longer the dawning horror on the faces of children and teachers alike.

He stood patiently whilst all around him people shouted and pleaded and swore at him, until finally they began to realise that he was not about to release anyone and slowly began to quieten down.

“As the Headmaster of Hogwarts, it is my duty to keep you all safe. I have been made aware that the Dark Lord’s forces are currently marching on the school.”

The room erupted again, this time in blind panic. Several people screamed and at least one third year Hufflepuff fainted.

“SILENCE!” Severus bellowed.

There were several gasps and someone began to cry, but otherwise Severus got his wish and the school did indeed grow silent.

Amycus Carrow spoke first. “Oh, very clever, Severus, you have effectively imprisoned the entire school. But why did you trap us too? Shall I go and open the doors for our master?”

“Silencio.” Severus said aiming his wand at Amycus first and then Alecto, effectively smothering her strangled squeak.

“I am not planning on letting him enter.” Severus said clearly. This time there was total quiet at his words and Severus felt the astonishment settle like a thick woollen blanket. Several jaws dropped, he had obviously been very effective in his disguise. Everyone in this hall truly believed him to be a Death Eater.

“But Professor Snape?” It was Malfoy who had spoken. Severus did not have time for questions and he only had to silence three more people in order for total quiet to reign. The entire hall seemed poised, waiting for him to speak. Confusion warred with fear in the faces staring up at him and Severus knew it was time to tell them the truth.

He had agreed with Harry the night before, when they were squeezed together in a narrow bed in the tiny attic of Shell Cottage, exactly what he would say. He would tell everyone of his work with Harry, work aimed at improving his spell casting skills and helping prepare the boy for his fight against the evil wizard. There would be no mention of Rome or of their relationship. Severus had insisted. There was no need to tell people things they couldn’t and wouldn’t believe.


“He-who-must-not-be-named,” Severus began, using the more common name for Voldemort, the one that was not usually used by Death Eaters. He was not going to risk using the booby trapped ‘Voldemort’, not even here in Hogwarts where he should be safe. He wanted to demonstrate that the subterfuge was over, Death Eaters always called him the Dark Lord. Severus was about to tell the truth, or a version of it, at least.


“He-who-must-not-be-named, is marching on the school,” Severus continued into the silence. “He wants to take it over completely and I will not let him do that. I have been working for years to prevent him winning and I am not about to surrender now.”

There were gasps all around him, but he heard Minerva’s sharp intake of breath most clearly of all.

“But… Albus?” Minerva asked.

Severus turned and gazed at her, steadily. “I did as he directed me to do. As I always have,” he said simply.

There were more gasps at this and a low buzz of conversation broke out.

“QUIET!” Severus shouted.

“I…” he began. But he got no further, the doors to the Great Hall flew open and Harry and a number of his friends poured in. The numbers were greater than Severus expected, there were an assortment of students whom Severus had barely seen for the last part of the term, students who included, Seamus Finnegan and Neville Longbottom. They had gradually stopped coming to most of their classes and had instead been hiding away in the Room of Requirement. They were here now though, supporting Harry. He was also accompanied by a motley assortment of ex-pupils, including the Weasley twins, Oliver Wood, Lee Jordan and several others. Molly Weasley came, too, and Arthur, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks and a goodly number of Order members.

In the lead, fairly bouncing with energy, was Harry.

“See, I told you he would have everything under control,” Harry was saying to one of the Weasleys.

Pandemonium reigned and even the use of Sonorous was ineffective in controlling it for some considerable time. The hall had fairly erupted with noise at the sight of Harry Potter, looking incredibly well and healthy and, despite all the recent rumours flying about recently, very much alive. Finally, Severus cast Quietus instead because at least it lessoned the noise.

Harry distributed his raggle-taggle army around the room and moved forwards apparently planning to stand beside Severus. There were several resentful looks cast in Severus’ direction which made him realise that many of them had allied themselves to Harry and were trusting him now, but that it would take a long time for Severus to be forgiven, if indeed, they ever did forgive him.

Harry had reached his side and he linked his arm through Severus’ own, stood on tip-toe and kissed him. This time there was total uproar, over which the Quietus spell apparently had no power to quell.

“Harry!” Severus said, frustrated. “Have you no decorum? Do you realise that you have effectively outted us to the entire wizarding world? I thought we agreed to wait?”

“Nope!” Harry countered with a grin. “You wanted to wait, so I was going to go along with it. But people were saying such nasty things about you, it was either hex them or kiss you.” He kissed Severus again, more deeply this time. “I thought you’d be proud of my restraint. Besides which, we are about to go into battle; who knows how it will end and I don’t give a damn what they think. I am laying my arse on the line for them and if they don’t like it then they can just fuck off!”

“You are an incorrigible brat! You know that, don’t you?” Severus told him fondly.

“I’m your brat!” Harry said, and then he turned to face the hall.

Slowly people quieted, the outraged shouts turned to a mumble and Severus began to speak again.

“As you can all see, Harry and I have grown very close.”

There were some rather ribald comments at that statement, and Minerva just murmured, “Oh, Severus.”

There was no time to ask her what she meant, so he simply ignored her.

Slowly he began to explain to the school what his plans were. There was a very safe floo in the Headmaster’s study and Severus was going to send the younger children home using that. He also promised that anyone else who wanted to go would be allowed to do so. They merely had to say the word Caeruleum Orbus and a blue globe would hover above their heads, identifying who they were so they could be released and sent home.

He also explained that there would be exceptions. All children below fourth year would be sent to safety, irregardless of whether they wished to be or not. All Slytherins in fifth, sixth and seventh years, however, would have no choice but to stay. They would be confined to the dungeons where they would be safe. There were several cries of protest from his old house at such treatment. But as far as Severus could see it was the best way to protect them. He could do little else for these children, who had so often been forced into situations that they couldn’t control and did not agree with.

“What if we want to join fight? What if we don’t want He-who-should-not-be-named to win?” It was Blaise Zabini who had spoken.

Severus felt a surge of pride. He thought very few people understood what his Slytherins had to suffer. So many families had been torn apart by the war and for the Slytherin children there was often no escape. Forced by circumstances to support a cause not necessarily their own, they often had to pretend to support Voldemort or find themselves hunted by family and erstwhile friends.

He smiled at Zabini. “Then, of course, we would be delighted to have you,” he told the young man.

In the end twenty-two Slytherin’s from fifth, sixth and seventh years stayed to join the battle, and the others went easily enough to the dungeons. Harry took Draco Malfoy’s arm for the trip to the dungeon and Severus was touched to see how gentle Harry was with the other boy. Malfoy didn’t fight, he just seemed rather relieved to be sitting out the battle. Even Crabbe, Goyle and Parkinson, who had been ringleaders of the torture squad initiated by the Carrows, went without too much of a fight. Neville Longbottom and Seamus Finnegan took Goyle, who was crying noisily by this time, in a firm grip to prevent any last minute escape attempts.

Longbottom turned to Severus before leading Goyle out of the hall. “I didn’t altogether believe Harry when he told us about you. I thought he was Confunded or deluded or something,” the boy spoke sombrely but without stuttering. “But you are on our side, aren’t you?”

Severus nodded.

“I don’t have to like you, though; you have been a right bastard to me,” Neville continued in a stronger and slightly more accusatory voice.

“Indeed I have, Mr. Longbottom,” Severus said seriously, “I always treated you in a very shabby way, and for that I am truly sorry.”

The boy’s mouth dropped open in shock and Severus could almost read his thoughts: ‘Severus Snape is being nice to me!’

“Before you go,” he continued, speaking as kindly as he could manage but with his patented smirk firmly in place as he addressed both Longbottom and Finnegan, “I just wanted to tell you how impressed I have been by your bravery and loyalty to the Light and your continued resistance against the Dark forces in these most difficult of circumstances. Please take one-hundred and fifty points each for Gryffindor.”

This comment drew almost as many gasps from those listening to the conversation as Harry’s kiss had done. Severus chuckled wryly to himself, finding almost as much pleasure from confounding the students as he had from terrifying them. They would all get over their astonishment soon, now that all the revelations were over at last.

***********

The morning wore on and became afternoon. Severus felt comforted by the fact that so many people were prepared to work together and by the fact that his Harry was nearby, seemingly everywhere at once, energised by the fact their plan was coming to fruition at last. This was the Chosen One, meeting his destiny head on – this was his Harry, finally respected for what he truly was, in a way that he never could have achieved in Ancient Rome. Somewhere inside Severus, however, lurked the knowledge that although he was happy to see Harry being respected as he deserved, Harry, himself, cared little for this accolade. All Harry really wanted in this life, and Severus too, if he were being completely honest, was to find happiness and contentment, surrounded by his lover and family and friends.

Finally, at three o’clock, Neville and Seamus came racing into the Great Hall. “They’re here! They’re coming,” they announced breathlessly.

Silence fell for several seconds and then there was a tremendous crash. The battle had begun.

For a long time the castle was bombarded. Explosions rattled the windows and at some point the enchanted ceiling shattered into a million tiny fragments, raining down in myriad coloured shards on anyone unlucky enough to still be rushing about below.

A wall in the entrance hall was breached and a number of Death Eaters forced their way in, shooting hexes in every direction. Severus ducked a particularly vicious slashing hex and dashed over to a group of reinforcements from the Order of the Phoenix, who had just arrived. They swelled even further the ever increasing trickle of people, including Ministry of Magic Auror’s as well as many witches and wizards who wanted to join the fight for freedom from evil, who had been joining them all afternoon. Severus learned they were entering through a tunnel in the Room of Requirement, the end of which was apparently hidden behind a portrait in the Hogs Head.

The corridors grew ever more full as the steady stream of those keen to join the battle arrived and still the hexes flew hot and heavy and deadly.

At one point Severus could see the Weasleys arguing in a hallway ahead of him. Molly seemed furious that the twins had somehow brought their sister along to join the battle. She was trying to force her daughter to re-enter the tunnel that led back to the Hogs Head. Suddenly, Percy Weasley arrived pink and flushed. He was hugging his mother and she was laughing seemingly oblivious to the spells flying by. The family were completely engaged in their reunion, dangerous behaviour during a battle. They didn’t see the Death Eater who crept up behind them with his wand raised.

It was Marcus Flint. He was aiming his wand at Fred Weasley, a hex hovering on his lips; but Severus struck first and the wand flew out of Flint’s hand as Severus’ spell hit him. He threw himself to the ground in an attempt to retrieve it. Severus didn’t quite understand why he felt such a sense of satisfaction as he stood on the hand, crushing it beneath his feet, causing the young man to yell in agony.

“I don’t think you’ll be able to use that for awhile,” Severus sneered smugly whilst picking up the wand and adding it to the growing collection in his pocket. He bound the sobbing man with an Incarcerous spell, before turning around to face the Weasley brothers.

“Thanks Professor, you saved my life,” Fred told him, holding out his hand. “I guess I owe you an apology for all the things I called you over the years.” Taking the offered hand, Severus nodded gravely.

“I guess we all do,” added George quietly.

Severus looked away. “I am sorry about the spell that hit you,” he said apologetically to the young Weasley, “I was aiming for the Death Eater, that attacked you.”

George smiled wryly. “No worries Professor! I think that losing an ear makes me look rakish.”

There was another explosion at the large window on the stairs and the boys turned away, reunion forgotten for a moment. It was time to rejoin the battle elsewhere.

************

There was a scream from further down the corridor and Severus ran in that direction, determined to do his part to rescue as many people as he could. Yaxley had someone pinned down. Severus got a glimpse of bright pink hair. Then things happened so fast he barely had time to react. A yelling figure was running from the opposite end of the passage towards the woman. In a flash Severus saw the Death Eater transfer his aim to the man, hitting him square in the chest, with a vicious cutting curse. Then Tonks was screaming as Remus Lupin fell, brought down by a hex meant for her.

“NO!” she wailed hysterically over and over, as she fell to her knees beside her lover, oblivious to her surroundings.

Then it was Severus’ turn to scream. Yaxley had raised his wand again, taking aim at the defenceless Auror, who, fool that she was, only had eyes for Lupin.

This time his Sectumsempra found its target and the man’s hand was severed before he could finish the curse. Tonks still seemed oblivious to what had happened, she was sitting with her husband’s head in her lap, stroking his hair and crooning softly. Severus knew it was too late for Remus Lupin, even from this distance he could tell that the man was dead. So that was it and the Marauders were history now.

Harry had told him that Peter Pettigrew had died defying the Dark Lord. His monstrous hand had killed the miserable little rat as he had hesitated just long enough for Harry to get away. Severus could not help feeling relieved that, upon his return, he had decided not to enact his role of spy any longer beside the crazed monster that had once been Tom Riddle; the man was becoming increasingly careless with his supporters right now. If Severus had gone to him, rather than return to the school, perhaps he would not have survived either.

Severus really didn’t care all that much about the werewolf, but he knew Harry would be devastated. The man was the last of the marauders, the last contact that Harry had with his father. Severus knew that was a role he could not fill as far as Harry was concerned. He had hated James, almost as much as he loved Lily. But somewhere over the last four years, he had forgiven James Potter, or at least made peace with his memory of the man.

Somehow, if they made it through, Severus would tell Harry all the nice things he knew about his father. He grimaced, yes, there were a few such memories tucked away in his mind. The Gryffindor had been horrible to him, true, but he had been a good friend to Lupin and Black. He had helped and supported Peter Pettigrew, which in Severus’ opinion made the odious man’s defection even worse. James had been a bully at school, but he had never really gotten the chance to grow up and make amends. From all accounts, he had been a good father and loved his son very much. Severus had observed them together once, at an Order meeting; James had held the boy with such wonder, gazed at him with such love in his eyes. Severus had hated the man even more passionately at that moment, he’d had what Severus figured he would never have – a family, two people who loved him unconditionally.

But James Potter was dead, had been for a very long time. He had never lived to see his son grow up and become the wonderful man he was today. Severus had won in the end. He shivered. It haunted him that Harry was currently about the same age that his father had been when he died. Oh Merlin, he was so very young, and so had James been. It was finally time to forgive and forget.

Tonks was crying again, wailing really, a dreadful heart wrenching sound. Severus hadn’t seen the werewolf for sometime, but he knew that the man had a son of his own. He had been showing pictures to the Weasleys earlier. Damned stupid thing to do in a battle, but here was another father who would never see his child grow. At least this time he could save the baby’s mother, as a sort of penance, for failing to do so for Lily and Harry.

Fred Weasley stumbled over, his hair was full of dust from the explosion which had taken place earlier. He had a large jagged cut on one cheek and Severus thought there was no way the twins would ever be confused with each other again. They both carried their battle scars visible for the world to see, but at least they had both survived. Lee Jordan, caught up with his friend and together they made their way over a pile of rubble to where Severus stood.

He left the twins to keep an eye on Tonks. She appeared prostrate with grief, far too distressed to watch out for her own safety. Severus had confidence these two young men would be up to the task. They could also deal with the screaming Death Eater, whose hand he had severed. Severus hoped they wouldn’t staunch the bleeding too quickly or give the man anything for his pain. Yaxley deserved to suffer a little, he had been very fond of torture himself, Severus remembered.

Finally, he went in search of Harry.

Instead he found Bill Weasley, standing by the breach in the wall.

“They are retreating,” he said in wonder. “I think we might have won.”

At that moment a sound echoed through the halls, a sound that chilled Severus to the very bone. A cold, high laugh rang out. It echoed with joy, with satisfaction.

Severus felt that his blood had turned to ice in his veins.

“Where’s Harry?” he asked, seeing Granger running towards him.

She stopped dead in her tracks. Apart from the dust generated by the series of explosions, there was no sound, no movement at all. Nothing but the gentle fall of miniscule dark grains, which were settling around them like fine, grey snow. For what seemed like hours, but could only truly have been seconds, no one spoke.

“I thought he was with you.” Granger finally gasped, turning an ashen grey.

“He should have been with you! I told him to stay with you!” Severus sounded panicked now, slightly hysterical he knew.

“Harry?” he whispered, knowing that the boy would have no way of hearing him. Severus felt lost, hopelessly empty. In his heart he knew that Harry, his Harry, his strong vibrant lover, was gone.

A phantom appeared before them, staggering out of the dust, keening softly. Her long hair, which should have been red, lacked all colour and was streaked with grey.

“Ginny?” Weasley said. “Are you all right?”

The girl sobbed, “No, no, no! He-who-should-not-be-named has got Mum, he threatened to torture her, if Harry didn’t come. He held her under the Cruciatus curse for what seemed like hours, she was screaming.

“He sent me to fetch Harry, and when I told Harry what had happened, he just left, he went to fight him, he went to give himself up, he sacrificed himself for us.” the girl rasped, her voice sounded rusty, her throat clogged with dust. “I’m sorry, so sorry, it was our fault, we just weren’t careful enough. The Death Eaters caught us as Mum was trying to get us out of the school. But we got captured instead. He taunted Harry didn’t you hear him? Harry went to him, he said he’d get my Mum back, they went into the forest…”

Severus wanted to slap the girl, pummel her till she fell to the ground bleeding. How could they have been so foolish? There were safe places set up, the Slytherin Dungeons for one. They could have been safe there. And Severus hadn’t been there, hadn’t been around when Harry needed him. Hadn’t heard the Dark Lord call him, would not have allowed Harry to go if he had.

“Harry’s gone,” the Weasley girl cried, hysteria rising in her voice. “I think that He-who-should-not-be-named has murdered him and it is all my fault.”

The laughing that echoed in the still afternoon air, grew louder, much louder and this time it was accompanied by words. Each one was like a knife in his heart.

“I’ve killed him! He is dead, your precious boy, your brilliant hero. So easy to kill, no challenge at all! Come out, come out all of you it’s over and he has lost. I am victorious.”

Time - which Severus had come to understand so well in the past four years – seemed to slow down and Severus heard everything as if it were muffled, as though he were at the end of a long tunnel. He staggered outside, people were streaming out of castle with no one to stop them. Severus didn’t bother, what would be the point? Voldemort had won and Harry, his Harry was dead.

Hagrid came out of the forest, in his arms there was a figure, someone who looked so fragile, so insubstantial, so broken.

“Harry!” Severus didn’t speak the word, he breathed it, as if it were the last of his oxygen, as if now that he had spoken Harry’s name all hope of life was gone.

Hagrid was crying. Loud heart wrenching sobs that echoed around the grounds and bounced off the forest. Severus fell to his knees. As if watching a Muggle film in slow motion, Severus stared at the scene in front of him. Harry was laid on the ground and Narcissa went over to him. Severus’ heart lurched, he wanted to go to Harry, didn’t they know that Harry would get cold, lying on the ground? He wasn’t used to the temperature here yet, he was used to the warmth of Rome. Dimly in the background he heard Bella’s cruel words, she was taunting someone? Laughing cruelly. Who could it be? Then Neville Longbottom, had been called before the Dark Lord. He was arguing with the monstrous creature.

Then Neville’s scream pierced his befuddlement. Neville was on fire, that’s why he was screaming. Severus cast Aguamenti, on the boy. Now the Dark Lord turned to him, red eyes, gimlet sharp, burning into Severus’ own.

“Severussss,” he hissed, “you have betrayed me, I shall kill you next, your death will be long and slow.”

Severus didn’t care about that, how could he care, he had nothing left, he had no Harry left. Many years ago Severus had created a tiny ball of fast acting, very potent poison. He’d had a tooth hollowed out and it had resided there ever since. He had once read that this was what Muggle spies had used as a last resort, during the last, big Muggle war.

He teased it out now and hid it under his tongue.

“Do you think I care what you do to me?” he told the twisted specimen before him. “Now that Harry is dead, I don’t want to live anyway.”

Voldemort screamed. He drew his wand and blasted Severus backwards, off his feet so that he smashed into the ground, several feet away.

Then Voldemort was screaming again. Somehow Neville Longbottom was holding Godric Gryffindor’s sword and he had raised it above his head. With a strangled scream he brought it down on Nagini, killing her in an instant.

“NOOOOOOO!” Voldemort bellowed, his anguish obvious for all to hear.

Severus pulled himself to his feet, his limbs felt heavy, as if they were encased in lead. But he began to move forward anyway. Harry was dead, true, but Nagini had been the last Horcrux, of that Dumbledore had been certain. So Tom Riddle was just a man again. Harry couldn’t carry out his allotted task any longer, He was lost. But Severus could, he could do this last thing for Harry. He would kill Tom Riddle in Harry’s name.

A shout from Hagrid, cut into his determination, “HARRY, HARRY, WHERE’S HARRY?”

Harry had vanished, he was not lying on the ground any longer. “Harry?” Severus stopped, confused for a moment, and Voldemort, who had also been peering at the giant, saw him instead.

“Still here, Severus?” he chuckled maliciously, “Ah, well, you’ll be next to die.”

He raised his wand ready to strike Severus down, “Ava..

“Protego!” roared Harry, and a Shield Charm expanded in front of them all, and Voldemort stared around for the source as Harry pulled off the Invisibility Cloak.

Severus lowered his wand and a smirk curved his thin lips.

Harry!

Shouts of happiness and wild cheers echoed all around them.

Severus wanted to shout for joy too, Harry was alive, he wasn’t dead. Severus wanted to go to him, hold him. But Harry and Voldemort were circling each other.

“Harry,” he shouted, ready to go forward, to defend and protect his boy.

“No, Domine, I don’t want anyone else to try to help.” Harry said loudly, and in the total silence his voice carried like a trumpet call. “It’s got to be like this. It’s got to be me.”

Voldemort hissed.

“Potter doesn’t mean that,” he said, his red eyes wide. “That isn’t how he works, is it? Who are you going to use as a shield today, Potter?”

“Nobody,” said Harry simply. “There are no more Horcruxes. It’s just you and me. Neither can live while the other survives, and one of us is about to leave for good. . . .”

For what seemed an eternity Voldemort and Harry engaged in a battle of words, Voldemort boasting of his cleverness, Harry countering him at every turn.

“I brought about the death of Albus Dumbledore!”

“You thought you did,” said Harry, “but you were wrong.”

For the first time, the watching crowd stirred as the hundreds of people around them drew breath as one.

“Dumbledore is dead!” Voldemort hurled the words at Harry as though they would cause him unendurable pain. “His body decays in the marble tomb in the grounds of this castle. I have seen it, Potter, and he will not return!”

”Yes, Dumbledore’s dead,” said Harry calmly, “but you didn’t have him killed. He chose his own manner of dying, chose it months before he died, arranged the whole thing with the man you thought was your servant.”

“What childish dream is this?” said Voldemort, but still he did not strike, and his red eyes did not waver from Harry’s.

“Severus Snape wasn’t yours,” said Harry. “He was Dumbledore’s, from the moment you started hunting down my mother. And you never realized it, because of the thing you can’t understand.

“And what is it you say I do not understand, you arrogant child?”

“Severus loved my mother, he loves me, too. He was Dumbledore’s spy from the moment you threatened us, and he’s been working against you ever since! Dumbledore was already dying when Severus finished him!”

Voldemort screamed. He rambled on about the elder wand that he was brandishing, about his cleverness in stealing it from Dumbledore’s tomb. But Harry had already explained this to Severus, the wand had never truly belonged to Voldemort. It had been taken from Dumbledore by Draco Malfoy, and won by Harry in his turn.

He told Voldemort this now; he explained that the wand would not defeat him, because Voldemort had never taken it from its true master, Harry himself.

Voldemort screamed again, he sounded completely demented now. He raised the wand that he held and Harry reciprocated, pointing Draco’s wand at his foe.

Severus wanted to rush forward, push Harry out of the way as Lupin had done for Tonks. But he could not move, he had to allow this. He had given up everything that he held dear for this moment – to give Harry the chance to fulfil his destiny.

“Avada Kedavra!” Voldemort bellowed.

“NO!” Severus screamed, as the green jet of light flew towards Harry. He bit down hard in his anguish and felt something pop and his mouth filled with bitter liquid.

“Expelliarmus!” Harry said in calmer tones.

The spells collided in mid air, Voldemort’s wand was wrenched from his hand and spiralled into the afternoon sunshine. There was an enormous bang and Voldemort crumpled, fell to his knees and then collapsed in upon himself like a pack of cards.

He was dead. But Harry stood strong and tall, holding both the wands in his hand.

There was a thundering noise in Severus’ ears and everything began to look blurred, the world spun and then went dark and Severus knew no more.

**********

“…wake up then?” It was Harry’s voice. It sounded concerned, anxious. Why was Harry anxious? He had killed the Dark Lord hadn’t he? Severus remembered that.

So what was he anxious about?

“Harry?” he croaked, “Harry?” Harry whirled around, Severus could see him across the room, he was talking to Poppy Pomfrey.

“Domine?” Harry breathed.

Then the boy was beside him, tenderly stroking his forehead. “What happened?”

“Accident.” Severus rasped.

“Accident!” Harry said. “What do you mean, an accident?”

Severus shifted uncomfortably, he felt rather sheepish. “I…er…I always carried a pill, containing a potion…that would…in case I was ever discovered…it was…it was poison. I er… bit… it by mistake.” Severus couldn’t quite meet Harry’s eyes.

“You great fucking prat!” Harry shouted. “What did you do that for? Bloody git, sodding idiot. I thought you had died! Do you know how worried I was? I killed Voldemort. I thought it was over and we were safe. And then you went and died! I wanted to die too. Do you really think that I could have lived without you?”

Harry was slapping him as he talked, although it didn’t really hurt. He felt like saying to Harry that he knew exactly what the boy had gone through, that he, himself, had gone through the same thing – the worry, the agony, the terror of being alone.

But he didn’t have to say anything, because Poppy Pomfrey came charging in. “Mr Potter, what on earth do you think you are doing? I would thank you to unhand my patient.”

“But…” Harry began.

“It’s all right Poppy. Harry is upset, we need to talk.”

“You need to rest, you’ve been unconscious for two days.”

Neither of them said anything.

Poppy huffed.

“Five minutes, that’s all!” she grabbed a tray that was beside the bed and then swept out of the room.

“I’m sorry,” Harry mumbled, as soon as she had left.

Severus didn’t speak, he just lifted his arms and moments later he was holding Harry. He buried his fingers in the boy’s hair and breathed in the scent of him. He smelt so fresh, like apples.

“I thought you were dead.” Harry said quietly. He sat on a chair beside the bed with his arms wrapped around Severus and his head resting on Severus’ chest.

“So did I.” Severus said dryly.

“I thought the world had ended.”

“I think in some ways it has ended, Harry. Certainly things will never be the same again. Do you realise that we are free?”

Harry nodded. “What do we do now?” he asked.

“Whatever we want.” Severus told him simply.

**************

When he woke again, Harry was curled up asleep in the cramped bedside chair. His mouth was open slightly and a small frown line creased the skin between his brows. He sighed in his sleep.

“He’s barely left your side since you were brought in.” Minerva said. Severus looked up at her, she was sitting in another chair, beside Harry.

“I am so sorry, Severus,” she said softly. “I didn’t know, none of us did, or we wouldn’t have treated you the way we did.”

“I was a spy, Minerva, I would hardly have been a good one, if you had known that I was on the side of the light, would I?”

She snorted. “I suppose not, but I am still sorry.”

Severus licked his lips, they felt dry and his mouth tasted awful.

“Do you want some water?” Minerva asked in a concerned voice.

Severus nodded, his throat was sore.

McGonagall, poured some water from a carafe beside the bed into a goblet, she lifted Severus’ head and held it to his lips. He eyed her warily but drank anyway.

She replaced the goblet and sat back down. “What’s with the Florence Nightingale act?” Severus asked.

Minerva flushed. “I am trying to make amends.”

“Minerva, don’t fuss over me,” Severus said peevishly. “I shall be fine, you don’t have to be here. Harry will take care of me.”

Minerva’s eyes filled with tears. “Harry needed to sleep, we slipped some Dreamless Sleep Potion into his pumpkin juice. He hasn’t slept since you were brought here.”

Severus glanced at his young lover again.

“You care about him, don’t you?” Minerva breathed. “You really care about him?”

Severus smiled, “I love him with all of my heart.”

“But you hated him! Severus, you always hated Harry.”

Severus’ smile grew wider.

“That was a very long time ago.”

Then it was as if the floodgates had opened and Severus could not stop talking. He told her everything.

*****************


It would be three more days before Poppy would allow Severus to leave.

Harry barely left his side. They spent their time talking and making plans for the future and reminiscing about the past.

Harry told Severus what had happened to him when they were apart. He‘d curled up beside Severus in the hospital bed, keeping a sharp eye open for Madam Pomfrey, who they knew would scold them mercilessly if she caught them.

Harry also told him all about the Elder Wand and the Resurrection Stone. He told Severus how he had walked to what he’d thought was certain death. “My Mum and Dad were there,” Harry said, “and Sirius and Remus, so I didn’t feel alone.”

“You should have come for me.” Severus said quietly, “I would have walked with you.”

“Oh rubbish!” Harry said. Severus felt stung, “You would have tried to stop me.”

“How could I not have done; do you know what it was like when I thought that I had lost you?”

“Yeah, I do now, don’t I?” Harry whispered. “But by the time I went to Voldemort I knew that I had to die and Dumbledore confirmed it.

“Dumbledore?”

“Yeah, he was there.”

“Where, Harry. Where was he?”

“When I died,” Harry said, not even seeming to notice Severus’ wince when he mentioned his death. “Dumbledore was waiting for me. It was weird. It was like being in a waiting room at Kings Cross. There was this thing there with us, it was like a malformed child. Dumbledore said that it was Voldemort, and that I had to chose. He said that because I’d willingly given my life for everyone I could chose what to do. I could go on if I wanted and see my Mum and Dad and Sirius and Remus.”

“Did you want to go on, Harry?” Severus couldn’t help but ask.

“Of course not!” Harry scoffed, “I wasn’t going to leave you behind, was I?” Severus had known what Harry’s answer would be, but somehow he had needed to ask.

He smiled, “Smug git!” Harry laughed, placing a quick kiss on Severus’ cheek.

“Dumbledore said that everyone would be protected by my sacrifice, that Voldemort wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone ever again, because I’d let him kill me, cause I had willingly died for you all.”

Severus felt a lump in his throat at the thought of how lonely Harry must have been, of how incredibly brave he had been.

“But you know what was really weird?” Harry mused.

“I have no idea, Mr Potter,” Severus told him.

“This.”

Harry held something up in front of Severus’ face, so that he could clearly see what it was.

“Oh, Merlin!” Severus gasped. Dangling from Harry’s hand was a pendant. It was obviously very old, tarnished and discoloured, but there was no mistaking it. It was a bee. The magic charm, which had animated it, had dissipated and the bee was still. Severus’ felt like his heart had stopped too. The last time he had seen this necklace was just a few short days ago, when it was still shiny and new.

“How?”

“This has been in Dumbledore’s family for generations.” Harry told him. “It was in a magically locked box, with a snake carved into the lid.”

“My box!” Severus exclaimed. He remembered buying it, finding it in the market and bringing it home. It had been the same day he had found Flea. The finding of the box, with its intricate snake carving, had been the perfect end to a perfectly happy day.

“Sounds like it, doesn’t it?” Harry said. “Dumbledore said it had always been locked and that no one had ever been able to open it. At the same time, they somehow could never throw it away, either. He thought there might be a charm on it to ensure that it was always kept. Dumbledore said that it popped open one day about a week after I came to Hogwarts for the first time.”

Harry chuckled. “He told me he got such a surprise, because it had always been around, and he had stopped even noticing. Inside it, there was a letter and Apisus’ bee.

“The letter was all about you and me, and how we’d ended up in Rome. Dumbledore thought that somehow, we had brought magic back into the world. Apisus remembered the date on the Crux Temporus and charmed the box so it would only open once we were both together and for one of his direct descendants, but only someone with goodness in his heart.”

Severus didn’t know what to say. Holding the charm, touching it, reminded him sharply of Apisus and how he had meant so much to them – a boy who was now long dead. Seeing the bee brought that sharply into focus.

“Dumbledore said that Apisus studied magic all his life and became a very wise and powerful wizard. He came to the conclusion that it wasn’t Voldemort who cast the spell that sent us back in time. It apparently all had to do with sympathetic magic. Voldemort’s magic could not have sent us back, it was too dark and he had no connection with Ancient Rome anyway. Apisus left instructions for Dumbledore on how to create a Crux Temporus using my magic in place of time sensitive objects or the spell. I was the catalyst, as soon as I touched the Diadem it activated. Anyone else could have touched it and nothing would have happened. Apparently the box also contained very carefully preserved and detailed notes on how the original Crux Temporus and spell were created, not to mention how the concept of sympathetic magic entered into it. Dumbledore followed the notes carefully.

It was Dumbledore who hid Rowena’s Diadem in Rome and Dumbledore who charmed it. He said that when he opened the box, the bee flew out of it and fluttered into his hand because the magic was still active then.

“Apisus hadn’t known the exact date that we’d arrived, but he had known that it was March in the tenth year of Augustus’ rule and he guessed that it was around about the ides. Dumbledore said that he wrote the date that Apisus suggested on a piece of the parchment on which the notes were written and added that to the Potion. It was nowhere near as accurate as the watch was, but it did the job and Severus?... Dumbledore said that he ‘recognised the handwriting immediately’,” finished Harry in an almost reverent whisper.

“My notes!” Severus breathed, astounded by these revelations.

Harry nodded and continued, “Dumbledore followed the instructions to the letter, apparently, and the final ingredient was my magic – ‘cause the bee had been animated by me. The spell had been cast two-thousand years ago, so it was still linked to that time, especially as it had been cast on silver and sealed inside the pendant. Dumbledore wasn’t worried that we would change things or alter the timeline, because we had already done so.”

Severus didn’t quite know what to feel. To say he was amazed was the understatement of the millennium – he felt the fabric of reality slipping from his grasp. They were supposed to have travelled back in time all along; it had happened just as it had always been meant to happen.

Severus was holding Apisus’ bee, turning it over and over enjoying the feel of it in his hands.

“He told me something else, too,” added Harry smiling impishly at Severus. “Did you know that Dumbledore means… bumblebee in old English?”

Severus stared blankly at Harry, his mouth literally falling open. But no sound emerged – for once in his life he was completely and utterly speechless.

*********


Whilst Severus stayed in the hospital wing visitors came and went, but Harry was almost always there. Severus learned more about the battle, who had lived and who had died. So many Hogwarts students had been lost including three Slytherins. Fifth year James Wilby and seventh years Daphne Greengrass and Theodore Nott. Remus Lupin had died too, as Severus knew already. But he had died saving the woman he loved, the mother of his child and Severus thought that the werewolf would not have been displeased with such a death.

The Weasleys all survived, and Severus couldn’t help wondering if Albus Dumbledore had been the only one with an ancestor in Augustus’ Rome, the endurance and the resilience of the Weasley Clan reminded him strongly of a redheaded family, long ago whose cognomen had been Mustelus.

Severus and Harry talked about the future, too, for hours on end. The young man didn’t want to be an Auror any longer. He decided he’d had enough of Dark wizards to last him the rest of his life.

Minerva asked Severus to stay on. The year that he’d spent as Headmaster had been fraught with difficulty, but the fact that he had managed to keep the school relatively safe and the degree he had been able to achieve protecting the students (far more than anyone had realised), had convinced her that Severus was the right man for the job of rebuilding the school. In the end, and with Harry’s support, he had reluctantly agreed to continue as Headmaster for one more year.

**************

At last Poppy released him from the hospital wing and
Severus led Harry downstairs to the dungeons where his new home awaited. Harry had been doubtful about them as a comfortable place to live, no doubt remembering the dark, potions lab where they had once battled with Occlumency.

But Severus’ rooms were different. Although they were below the level of the Entrance Hall, they were still above ground because they backed onto a hill. Long thin windows overlooked the nearby lake and Severus thought that it would not take much to add a door or two and have a small terrace garden in which to sit.

“It’s lovely, Domine!” Harry commented as he wandered from room to room. Harry was being optimistic as usual. There had been a battle here and though no-one had died there were shredded furnishings and piles of rubble everywhere which attested to the battering the apartment had received.

“They’ll be fine!” Harry affirmed warmly. “They are no worse than the shop was. I can tidy them up in no time.” He grinned, wickedly and looked up at Severus through his lashes. “Perhaps my Domine will allow me to use magic this time, if I promise to be good?”

“Cheeky brat!” Severus exclaimed, grabbing the boy by an arm and pulling him into a kiss. Something pressed against him as he drew Harry into a hug. Something small and hard, buried in Severus’ pocket, had somehow come between them and Severus suddenly remembered. He reached a hand into his pocket and felt the stone. It was warm to the touch.

Carefully he drew it out, whilst Harry looked at him quizzically. “What is it, Domine?” Harry asked, looking intrigued.

Severus smiled. Harry was a man, he had faced Voldemort, had gone willingly to his own death. If the spell did not work then Harry would surely be strong enough to face the consequences.

“Hold out your arms, palms up,” he instructed. Harry gave him a quizzical look but nevertheless did as he had been bidden.

Severus placed the stone in Harry’s outstretched palm and whispered the words Finite Incantum and Harry’s arms were suddenly filled with a very excited little yellow dog.

“Flea!” Harry shouted, his face infused with joy as the wilful creature leapt from his arms and went racing around the room barking her indignation.

“Oh, Flea!” He bent down to stroke her and she covered his face in damp doggy kisses, even landing a lick or two on Severus’ hand as she barged past on her exploratory travels.

“Hmm,” Severus said, leaning over and brushing fine blonde hairs from his dark robes, I suppose she is going to shed like mad isn’t she?”

But Harry didn’t speak. Severus’ looked up. Harry’s green eyes were filled with tears. He hadn’t shed a tear during the battle or over the death of Remus Lupin, and Severus didn’t think he’d shed a tear about him either. Harry rarely cried, he usually got angry instead, but something about the arrival of a badly behaved small dog touched him as nothing else had been able to do.

“Thank you, Domine.” Harry finally said, green eyes shining with love. Severus fairly gasped at the sight of it. Harry loved him, it had never been more evident than it was now.

“I do love you,” the boy whispered, quite un-necessarily in Severus’ view, although he’d never tire of hearing those three simple words from his lover’s lips – Harry’s love for him was plain enough for anyone to see.


He wrapped the boy in a hug and pulled him close. They just stood there, the two of them, holding each other close for what seemed like ages. They had made it. They had travelled home and survived Voldemort’s madness, they had a future. Severus had no idea what it might bring, but in truth he didn’t care. Because whatever else Fate had in store for them, he knew beyond all doubt they would face it together… and together, they were invincible.


finis


The epilogue to this story will be posted as soon as it has been completed and betaed