Disclaimer: All Harry Potter, places and situations are the property of J.K. Rowling and are used without permission and without intent of plagiarism or profit. Copyright for all original stories, characters, and situations is with the author, and may not be published, copied, distributed or archived without the author's prior written consent.

I wasn't really happy with the way Snape's plot was wrapped up in the seventh book. I came up with this to wrap it up in a way that I was happier with. I wrote this right after I read the seventh book and it was just gathering dust until I decided to start posting stories here. I was really happy with it when I first finished it but when I read it again it was pretty bad and I started editing. I'm still not sure that I like this, but it's been edited beyond recognition already so if I don't post it I'm going to be editing it forever.

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Severus Snape looked around the maddeningly vague space he found himself in. His first impression was that he was in a train station, but that didn't seem like an adequate descriptor for this place. The bright place was filled with an unearthly fog and he slowly realized that was somewhere between life and death. Beside him was a train he knew he would board, but he felt that it wasn't time for that yet.

Severus took a seat on the nearest bench and waited. After some time, how much he couldn't be certain, he heard sniffling. He rose and headed toward the pitiful sound. Several feet away from his spot he found the source of the sniffling. Curled into a tight ball on the ground beside one of the stone benches was a small blond boy. His heart tightened. Severus had welcomed his death as a release from his sorrow, but this boy had the better part of his life to miss. He fished through his memories for a name.

"Creevey." His voice came out in a soft tone he'd once used when speaking to Lily. He knealt beside the small boy and rested a hand on his shaking shoulder. "Come now, stand up."

The boy looked up at him with watery eyes and gave a tremendous sniff. Severus tucked his hand under the boys elbow and lifted him onto the seat beside them, sitting close as the tears continued to fall. Severus waited, perhaps more patiently than he ever had before.

"I'm dead." Colin said in a tiny voice

"We both are." Severus said, finally looking the boy in the eye.

"Bellatrix got me." Colin whispered, "You won't leave me alone, right? I know you didn't like me but…" Colin shrunk in on himself.

"No...I never hated my students..." Snape said.

Colin looked up at the train, then at Snape.

"I'm scared." His eyes were wide.

Severus tried his best to smile, he was scared as well. He held his hand out to Colin and the boy took it. Severus rose slowly, pulling the boy with him.

"I'll be right here." He struggled not to add 'until your stop.' He couldn't believe that he would be going to the same place in death as that innocent child.

Severus felt the tiny hand tighten in his and he tried to give a reassuring smile as he led the boy towards the open door of the train. The moment they stepped onto the train the door closed. Severus braced himself for the train to lurch forward, but instead a door across from them opened. The scene beyond the door was too brightly lit for him to decipher anything beyond vague shapes, a voice issued from that light. It was both male and female, loud and soft, everything and nothing.

"Colin Creevey and Severus Snape."

"This can't be right." Snape said. "Surely, we're not meant for the same place."

"Your soul is what is judged, here, you are both in the right place."

Snape felt a smile playing at his lips as he stepped off the train with the young boy, a real smile for the first time in years.