As Harry, Ron and Hermione left the Headmaster's office, the trio headed toward the Great Hall. Hermione heard the rustle of robes in a nearby alcove and a soft voice whisper an incantation. Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione saw a flash of bright blue light and jumped in front of the curse. Harry yelled Stupefy and Incarcerous while Ron rushed to see who it was. Harry then pointed his wand at Hermione and cast a Finite Incatateum, causing the blue light surrounding her to dissipate. As the light faded, the sight that met Harry's eyes was shocking to say the least. The curse that hit Hermione was one to rapidly age the victim, and the process was irreversible. Unlike an aging potion, there was no safe way to regain the time lost, and thanks to the delay in stopping its progress, Hermione now appeared to be in her mid to late twenties.

"Don't worry, Mia, we'll go see Madam Pomphrey later. First, let's see who did this." Harry and Hermione walked over to where Ron was standing with his wand pointed at Romilda Vane, who was lying in a heap on the floor, bound tightly in thick black ropes. "Kingsley's going to love this," Harry muttered as he and Hermione levitated the unconscious girl into the Great Hall. Ron gave Hermione a kiss on the cheek before walking away, presumably in order to find his family. Hermione quickly placed Romilda in a quiet corner of the room, away from the bodies. Harry wiped his hand with his face as he looked at all those who perished fighting against Voldemort. Hermione had just joined him when it struck Harry that there was someone missing."

"Snape," Harry whispered, causing Hermione to stare at him.

"Harry?"

"Professor Snape," he repeated. "Professor…sorry Headmaster Snape is still in the Shrieking Shack." Harry took a deep breath and turned toward the doors leading outside. "I'm going to get him, Hermione. He doesn't deserve being left to rot in that filthy place. He needs to be here with the rest of the heroes." Hermione nodded and followed Harry out of the castle and towards the Whomping Willow. Harry levitated a rock toward the knot on the tree's roots, stilling the branches and opening the passageway. The two made their way as quickly as they could through the tunnel, and when they lifted the old crate at the end of the passageway, they could see Snape's boots on the floor.

"He's still here, they haven't gotten to…"Whatever else Harry intended to say died on his lips as he and Hermione stared at their former Professor.

Severus Snape was alive; sitting upright, with Fawkes the phoenix perched on his knee. Blood was still caked on the side of his face and in his hair, but he was alive. Harry and Hermione stepped toward Snape, whose face had lost what little color that it had regained.

"Potter…what…Dumbledore said…"

"That I had to die. Yes, sir, I did. Voldemort cast the killing curse on me an hour after he tried to kill you."

"How is it that you are still alive then?"

"Blood, sir. My mother's blood. When he took my blood in order to resurrect himself, he tied me to life. The only thing that died four hours ago when he struck me with Avada Kedavra was the horcrux that he left in my scar." Snape mouthed the word horcrux and Harry nodded.

"He had seven of them, sir. The diary that possessed Ginny Weasley my second year."

"The Chamber of Secrets," Snape muttered and Harry nodded.

"Yes, sir," he replied. "There was also the cup of Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem…"

"That's why he ordered the Ravenclaw common room guarded, isn't it." Harry nodded again.

"Yes, sir. There was also Slytherin's locket, the snake Nagini, the Gaunt ring, and me."

"The Gaunt ring? Was that the ring…"

"Yes sir. That was the ring that killed Professor Dumbledore."

Severus Snape sat there on the dusty floor, looking at the two in shock as they stood there calmly waiting for his response. He knew that he'd given the boy his memories of Lily, Dumbledore, and the double life that he had led since he inadvertently set the Dark Lord on the trail of the Potters eighteen years ago. There was nothing to account for the boy's drastic change in attitude toward him except…"

"Dumbledore was right again." Harry looked at Severus as the man's mouth tilted up at the corners. "That barmy old coot was right again. You really are your mother's son." Harry smiled at the compliment, and Severus realized that he had indeed been blind. Over the years, he had refused to look past the messy black hair and glasses to see that Harry did in fact, resemble his mother more, both inside and out.

"I just wish that she had forgiven you, sir."

"She did. Shortly after I became a spy…I'll allow you to see the memory later." Harry nodded, and he and Hermione helped Severus to his feet. The odd trio left the Shack and began the long walk to Hogwarts. When they finally entered the Great Hall, Harry and Hermione were shocked to hear Mrs. Weasley, Ron and Ginny having a heated argument in an alcove.

"I won't do it!" Ginny was saying angrily. "I am not going to help the two of you give either of them any potions. If Harry and I are truly meant to be together, then it will happen on its own. I can't believe that you two put Amortentia in Harry, Hermione, and my food. I really liked Dean, and I can't tell if what I feel for Harry is real or the effects of the potion. Of course, this explains why Hermione went nutters last year. There's no way a smart girl like her would ever fall for an idiot like you, Ron, without a love potion. Now you want to completely mess her over. De-aging potions when she was hit with the ancientus rapidia? She'd be nothing more than a brain-dead squib, losing everything that makes her Hermione. I refuse to be a part of this."

"Ginny, dear," Molly cajoled her daughter, "aren't you tired of being so poor? With you marrying Harry, none of us would ever have to worry about money ever again."

"How would me marrying Harry help the rest of you with money?"

"An old pureblood law, my dear. Since Harry is a half-blood and Hermione is a muggleborn, if they were to marry someone of a higher blood status, they would essentially become the property of their spouse and their spouse's family." Both Harry and Hermione looked at Severus, who nodded in confirmation of Mrs. Weasley's statement. Ginny, they saw, was shaking her head.

"I'd…do Dad and the others know anything about this plan of yours?"

"Of course not, Ginerva, not with your father's pride and ideals about honor."

"That's good. At least I have one parent and five…four siblings that I can respect. I'd rather be honorably poor than dishonorably rich." Ginny spun on her heel to leave as Mrs. Weasley sighed.

"She'll come around soon enough, but now we have to get the two of them to consume the potions." Harry had heard enough by this point. He, Hermione and Severus stepped forward, blocking Ginny's path and glowering at .

"Good luck with that, madam, as neither of us…"Harry began.

"Will ever touch anything you ever give us again." Hermione finished. "Hell will freeze over first, you money-hungry bitch." Even Severus added his own two cents.

"It's a good thing that the Dark Lord didn't try to recruit you, madam. You're more dangerous than Bellatrix ever was." Both Molly and Ron sputtered incoherently while Ginny chuckled and petrified her mother and brother.

"Headmaster Snape," Ginny smiled as she turned to the older wizard. "I am pleased to see that the rumours of your death were greatly exaggerated." At Snape's incredulous look, one he'd worn frequently over the past hour, Ginny's chuckles turned to outright laughter.

"We knew, sir, all of us. The DA that is. Other than Luna, who as usual, ended up completely on the mark, we all knew after Halloween that you were on our side."

"What was Miss Lovegood right about?" Severus asked quietly.

"The fact that Dumbledore was dying, slowly, last year and that he forced you to put him out of his misery. She said it when term started, and by the end of October, the rest of us believed that everything wasn't as it seemed on that tower last year. What sealed the deal for us was when you gave us detention with Hagrid for breaking into your office and trying to steal Gryffindor's sword."

"You and your comrades, Miss Weasley, gave me more headaches that anyone else. I had to spend all year dancing around the two idiots that I was forced to hire in order to keep the lot of you from being executed via Cruciatus."

"Sorry about that, sir, but look at it this way. The more the rest of the staff, including the moron twins, was dealing with us, the less they were watching you.

Severus couldn't argue with the girls' logic as the four of them left Molly and Ron in the alcove. The body bind would wear off, eventually, Ginny thought as the group made their way to the Headmaster's office.

Once they reached the room, Severus withdrew a silver strand from his temple and dropped it in the pensieve. All four watched as Dumbledore revealed that he had a spy in the ranks of the Dark Lord, and both Lily Potter and Alice Longbottom wanted to know the identity of the spy so that they could thank him for alerting them to the threat to their children.

"Before I reveal the identity of the spy, it is imperative that the terms you-know-who or the Dark Lord be used in the presence of this young man. His Dark Mark acts like a beacon, and will torture him if the Dark Lord's name is used." The room agreed, and Dumbledore turned to the alcove where a much younger Severus Snape was standing, nervously clutching his robes. "I want an oath that no one here will reveal our spy's identity." The Order took the oath, and Dumbledore turned back to face the alcove. "Severus, please come and meet your fellow members of the Order." As the young spy stepped forward, gasps were heard from the assembled group.

"Severus?!" Lily exclaimed.

"Snivellus?!" Sirius interjected.

"Snape?!" James added in disbelief. Young Severus snorted and shook his head.

"Well, two out of three isn't bad," Severus said, his trademark sarcasm coloring the words. Dumbledore chuckled as he lay his hand on Severus's right shoulder and Fawkes perched himself on his left.

"As all of you can tell, Fawkes approves of Severus. We are all members of the Order here, and we all have the same goals. Severus, you have news for us?"

"There is another spy…this one is working for the Dark Lord and spying on the order. I realized this when he began to list his newest targets, many of whom would make no sense, unless he knew the membership roster of the Order. Other than the Potters, Longbottoms, Auror Moody, and the Headmaster, he is also targeting the Prewett twins, Auror Bones and his family, the McKinnon clan, Healer Abbott, Black, Ted and Andromeda Tonks, Healer McDonald, and Helen Parkin."

"Helen…but she's just a Quidditch Player…" Lily exclaimed.

"…and she's a member of the Order." James interjected. "Snape, do you have any idea about who this spy could possibly be?"

"All I know is that it's a male, and close to our ages. Only a few in the Dark Lord's inner circle know his identity, and I fear that I am not highly placed enough to be privy to that information. Lucius Malfoy, is, however, and had said that he is highly amused that the Dark Lord's spy was a Gryffindor." Sirius Black sputtered in disbelief, but James Potter simply looked thoughtful. Sirius turned to his friend, who was looking at Snape as though he'd never seen him before.

"What are you thinking, Prongs? You can't possibly believe what Snivellus is saying. There's no way a Gryffindor could have gone dark!" It was Lily who turned to the dog Animagus with a glare.

"Just like there's no way a Slytherin could be working for the light, eh Sirius?" Lily turned back towards her former best friend.

"Do you think that Malfoy was telling the truth, Severus?" He nodded, and took a deep breath.

"Yes, I do. I am well aware that Lucius is not the poster child for honesty, but I'm positive that he was being truthful in this instance." Before any more questions could be asked , Severus' entire body tensed and a pained expression crossed his features.

"Headmaster…" Snape ground out through clenched teeth, clutching his left forearm with his right hand. "I must go." Dumbledore nodded and Severus turned to leave.

"Severus," Lily called out, causing the young Potions Master to turn and look at her calmly. "I'm so sorry, Sev. I hope that you can forgive me, and thank you…for everything." A small smile touched Severus the younger's mouth and he nodded at Lily before turning and leaving the room.

Severus, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny all pulled out of the pensieve, and the older wizard was surprised to see tears on the face of the younger.

"When I saw what ended your friendship, I felt that Mum should have forgiven you. I'm so glad that you were able to clear the air before she was murdered."

"Right before he attacked you and your family, the Dark Lord called us to say that his spy in the Order was the Potter's secret keeper. As soon as he left, I tried to notify both Dumbledore and your parents about the betrayal, but Pettigrew had only told the Dark Lord your whereabouts, so…"

"…you couldn't find the house until it was too late." Harry finished. "It's not your fault, sir. You did more than anyone could possibly expect, and you saved more lives than anyone else. None of this was your fault."

"Harry's right, Professor," Hermione commented. "Everyone else seems to have forgiven you, sir, save one person." Severus raised an eyebrow, causing her to smile. "All of us have forgiven you, sir. You just have to forgive yourself." Severus looked at her, then at Harry, who was nodding in agreement.

"When I lost consciousness after Nagini bit me, I woke up in a place that looked like the playground your mother and I first met at. She and Albus were there, and she told be the very same thing. Perhaps, once everything settles down, I'll join my brother, sister-in-law, and my daughter in the States."

"A fresh start," Harry said , the wheels visibly turning in his head. "I hope that everything works out for you, sir. I think that we all know that no matter how much we wish it, nothing is really going to change in the government…"

"Harry and I will both probably be seeking our own fresh start very soon. If you ever need anything, just let us know. We'll be an owl away.

"Thank you, Miss Granger, and I wish the same for you and Mr. Potter." With that, they all left the office and returned to the Great Hall.

After the funerals, Harry spoke to Andromeda Tonks about his godson. Andi was afraid of losing her only connection to her husband and daughter so soon after losing them. The witch nearly cried in relief when Harry said that he had no intention of taking Teddy away from her. All he wanted was to be kept informed of Teddy's health and happiness, and when the baby was older, perhaps visits with his uncle Harry once the latter was settled down somewhere. Andi quickly agreed, and a week later, Harry and Hermione left for Australia to find her parents. Other than the occasional letter to Andromeda, Severus, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minerva McGonagall, and Ginny Weasley, neither was ever seen in Britain again.