A/U Set during the battle for Hogwarts and what follows after it. In this version of events after a brief reunion with Lily and Dumbledore in the afterlife, Snape is sent back by his ever meddling friend Albus. Hogwarts is in ruins after Voldemort's defeat and will be rebuilt along with the lives of the survivors. Severus becomes a celebrated war hero after the contents of his memories in the Pensieve are made public knowledge. He is re-instated as headmaster with Professor McGonagall as acting head while he gets well. Ron and Hermione, like a lot of other young wizards become engaged, eager to start a new life in the face of so much death. However, under advisement from his fellow ministers, Kingsley Shacklebolt (the new minister for magic) decrees a new law that every unmarried wizard and witch from the age of 17-40 must satisfy before they can marry, even those not intending to marry for the foreseeable future.
A/N My story will have elements both book and movie in its telling. This is my first HP fic, please be gentle. SS/HG ultimately, but there will be some RW/HG and SS/LE but it is definitely SS/HG all the way otherwise!
Chapter 1 – Back From the Dead
With a last laboured breath, Snape's tortured soul departed his body, oblivious to the ranging emotions of Harry, Ron and Hermione as they stood over his lifeless form. Harry held the glass vial with Snape's tears, tightly in his hand. He stared at the empty black eyes for a moment before closing them forever. The trio had very little time to think or ponder on the death of their former potions master as Voldemort's cold voice intruded into all of their minds like a knife, demanding Harry's surrender...
The light was blinding, brighter than anything he had ever seen before and Snape wondered what strange magic was at the heart of it. He had never been one to believe in an afterlife. He had hoped there was not. The idea of oblivion had comforted him many a times when in mortal danger. As he had exhaled his last breath the thought of death seemed like a welcome friend, in his mind he was complete and things were how they should be. Frustration and anger gripped him as he realised it was not in fact the end after all. As the light thinned out, he was in what appeared to be a room without visible walls. A grey, indefinable shape, continued towards him. Instinctively, he reached for his wand, encountering only air where it should be. Where ever he was, wands were no longer needed he mused, as whoever it was came closer.
"Severus my boy!"
He would know that voice anywhere; it belonged to his old friend. Snape hated it when Dumbledore addressed him so. He felt like a first year, fresh off the express. The last time he had seen Albus, he had been tumbling from the astronomy tower by Snape's own hand. The older wizard came fully into focus. Dumbledore remained unchanged, right down to his favourite wizarding robes. Some of that old twinkle was back in his eyes that had been lacking the final months before his death, but in essentials he was the same. Annoying.
"Al-Albus." He replied unsteadily.
Dumbledore was upon him before he knew it and warmly shook his hand.
"Well done Severus. Thanks to you Harry will defeat Voldemort, Hogwarts, the muggle and wizarding world will be saved." He let Severus's hand go and patted him soundly on the back. "Harry is watching your memories in the Pensieve at this moment and all is being revealed to him. He will know what needs to be done."
"No thanks to your ambiguity." Severus said under his breath. He pulled away from Albus, a heavy and resentful frown creasing his features. "I still have not forgiven you for playing us all like pieces in a game of wizard chess. You used my love for Lily and my reluctant affection for the boy to achieve your aim, with no thought for the cost to others."
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at Snape. "Muggles have a saying about how sometimes people have to be sacrificed for the greater good Severus."
"Do not spout your greater good ethics at me, Albus; I have been living them for years. Potter still has to die. It was my job to protect him." He raised agonised eyes to his friend.
"And you did." A voice sounded behind him and he froze for a second. If he had a heartbeat it would have stopped there and then. Snape spun round on his heels. His eyes widened in shock even though he knew who would be there before he turned.
Lily looked at him with a sad smile. "Thank you Severus...for taking care of my son."
Severus eyes raked her face, seeing the sheen of tears rim her eyes. She extended a hand to him. He eyed it, wanting to take it, but afraid of her rejection. He re-lived the moment she had washed her hands of him in his mind and he looked down at her. Lily closed the gap between them and her small fingers covered his hand that still rested by his side.
"Lily." He let out a sigh, unable to resist her any longer.
"Forgive me Severus. I abandoned you when you needed me the most. Some weeks after my anger had cooled I regretted what I had said to you. I wanted to see if we could save our friendship but you were gone, lost forever, you had become what I feared you would, a death eater. I blamed myself so many times for that."
"You have nothing to thank me for Lily, or apologise for, your anger was justified. My choices however ill advised, were my own. I forged my own fate." Snape replied somewhat stiffly.
"You have done so much for everyone, sacrificed so much. Harry will survive this and so will you." Lily smiled gently at him.
Dear God, It hurt to look at her. Her red hair, those shining green eyes and the love for him that he read in those depths. He knew it would never be the kind love he craved, but it was enough just to have her standing here, holding his hand.
"To all intents and purposes I think I am dead, so tell me how I survive?" He asked acerbically, pushing down his emotions.
Lily turned over his hand and opened his palm, placing her hand on top of it. "Fate is not done with you yet."
Severus felt something tickling the skin. She removed her fingers and he saw a daisy form and flower in his hand, blooming to life. It had been a favourite spell of hers when they were children. He gave a lop sided smile at the memory before recalling himself. His face hardened. "But I am done with fate." He said harshly.
"Life can spring in the most unexpected of places Severus." She closed his hand over the little flower and stepped back. He already mourned the loss of her closeness.
Dumbledore reached out and placed one of his gnarly hands on Snape's chest. "Live Severus, you have earned it." He looked deep into his eyes; Snape felt a blinding light burst inside his mind as if it was going to explode. So much for no more pain.
"What do you mean live?" Horror dawned on his face. He was being sent back. "How?" Was all he could ask. No,this was unfair. He did not want to go back. He had earned the right to die and to stay dead.
"My familiar will return to Hogwarts to perform one last service to me. Fawkes was not just loyal to me, but loyal to the members after the order that was named for him. I cannot save the others, Fawkes can only grant me one last wish. I asked him for it before you did me that great service in the astronomy tower. My last wish was for you Severus."
"You interfering old bastard...I don't..." The pain in his head intensified and he felt himself being pulled by invisible forces.
Lily quickly kissed him on the cheek. "I have to go, Harry will need me soon. Make the most of your second chance. Goodbye Severus."
"No!" The light around him grew dimmer and he was sucked into a black abyss. Maybe he was finally getting the oblivion he craved and the strange encounter with Albus and Lily had been the throes of his dying consciousness. He knew no more as the black enclosed about him like a starless night.
It was over, Voldemort was dead, the trio felt a strange sense of peace and somehow they had all survived the terrible battle. Hermione and Ron watched as Harry snapped the Elder wand in two and threw the pieces over the side of the road leading up to the castle. They stood together for a while, watching the sunrise, before turning and walking back towards the blackened shell of Hogwarts.
Hermione turned to Harry. "Just what did you see in Pensieve?"
Harry took a deep breath as he thought of Snape. Sadness washed over him. In other circumstances they might have been friends. Well, maybe not friends, but perhaps reached a better understanding of each other. He smiled wryly.
It was still hard to believe that Professor Snape had looked out for him all these years, but as he looked back on past events, things began to make more sense and he felt ashamed. Snape had played his part so well that Harry had been blinded by his dislike of the man. That would all change now; he would make sure there was no person left ignorant of the sacrifices he had made.
"Harry?" Ron asked at his friend's continued silence.
"Go to the pensive in Dumbledore's office, Hermione. It will answer your questions better than I am able to do at the moment." Harry sighed as they entered the hall. He wasn't quite ready to talk to either of them about what he had witnessed.
Poppy Pomfrey came bustling towards the three of them, the medi witch practical as ever as she looked at Ron and Harry. "We need more hands. Not all of the students and teachers are accounted for. We must have everyone for the families that will no doubt be arriving. Hogwarts will soon be invaded by a lot of frantic relatives."
Harry and Ron, although exhausted, nodded.
Poppy looked at Hermione. "If you could fetch more linen for bandages? We have almost run out of healing potions and will have to do it the muggle way until more can be brewed."
Hermione squeezed Ron's hand and gave him a quick kiss before she went in search of supplies. Gingerly she made her way up the stone steps towards the hospital wing, sidestepping huge chunks of masonry as she went. The staircases had ceased to move and it was taking longer than usual. Finally, Hermione made it to the infirmary, surprised to find it relatively untouched, but every bed filled with an occupant. Only a couple of overworked medi witches hovered over their charges, those that were still alive were tending to the others in the great hall.
Hermione hovered in the doorway; a moment of indecision hit her. She turned and ran up the next four flights of stairs until she came to the huge gargoyle that protected the entrance to the headmaster's office. Her thirst for knowledge and curiosity drew her towards the base of the steps. She had expected it to be protected with powerful wards, but shocked to find it still open, probably from when Harry had been in there. She ran up the stairs up to the main door. Hogwarts was currently without a headmaster now that Snape was dead; perhaps that was why it had been so easy. She would inform Professor Mcgonagall of the lack of security when she went back down to the great hall.
She had not been in here for a long time, a lifetime ago, or so it seemed, but was surprised to find that Snape had changed little from the previous occupant. Strangely all of the portraits were empty, except for one. Hermione's eyes went to the portrait hanging on the wall behind the headmaster's desk. Dumbledore was sitting in a chair, wide awake and smiling at her.
"Professor Dumbledore?"
"Miss Granger. I believe you seek some answers in my Pensieve?"
She wondered if he had anything to do with her effortless access into the office.
Hermione blushed guiltily. He just twinkled at her. "Please go ahead. Severus has been hiding himself for away too long. It is time for everyone to know his true nature."
Hermione went over to the silver bowl shaped disc and glanced at Dumbledore before she lowered her head into Snape's memories. Several minutes later she pulled out of the Pensieve, her eyes wide and breathing as if she had just run a long distance marathon.
"Did you find what you were looking for Miss Granger?"
"I don't know...that was unexpected." She said breathily.
The deceased headmaster folded his arms across his chest. "Which part? That under that hard exterior Professor Snape had a heart or that he was not such a bad man after all?"
"All of it I guess, and Harry's mother. It is just so sad." She didn't know why, but she felt tears start to well up in her eyes as she relived the intensity of Snape's pain that she had experienced in the Pensieve. "He just seems so human."
The door to the office opened, but Hermione was too lost in thought to register it.
"Miss Granger! What are you doing in here? I believe Poppy asked for more bandages." Professor Mcgonagall looked at her sternly.
Hermione started at the sound of the weary voice. The older witch slumped down in the nearest chair and seemed to diminish.
"Yes Professor." Hermione hurried from the room lost in her thoughts.
"Miss Granger."
She stopped mid flight as Dumbledore addressed her again.
"When you have completed Madam Pomfrey's errand you might want to revisit the shrieking shack."
Hermione frowned. Surely Snape's body had been taken to the makeshift morgue by now? Still confused, she nodded to the portrait before exiting the office.
Minerva looked up at Dumbledore. "So, what did Miss Granger find so interesting in there?" She turned her head towards the Pensieve.
"Why don't you have a look for yourself Minerva?" Dumbledore replied, settling down for a nap. "What I wouldn't do for a lemon drop right now." he said, closing his eyes.
It had been dark for so long, a deep pit of nothingness, but a dull light was starting to take form behind his eyelids. He could hear a strange noise that sounded as loud as a hippogriff rustling its feathers. Droplets of water splashed on his face and his neck, followed by another and another. Strange, he was sure wherever he was he was inside, yet it must be raining. Snape opened his eyes to look into a pair of black ones, almost as dark as his own. Everything came rushing back to him. The red gold bird was perched on his torso, looking down at him with a strange sort of sadness as his tears dripped from his beak and continued to splash on Severus's neck. Severus winced at the burning sensation, feeling the torn flesh of his wounds knit together. He tried to move his hand to dislodge the bird, but he found in his weakened state, he could not.
"Damn you Albus and damn you Fawkes." Snape hissed, before losing consciousness again.
The bird studied him for a moment, with a sharp cry he flapped his wings and flew out of the shrieking shack, circling it twice before flying off into the horizon, finally quitting Hogwarts and all its ties to it forever.
Hermione hurried down the winding and uneven path towards the shrieking shack. Had it only been a few hours since she had been here with Harry and Ron, watching the life slip out of Professor Snape? How her feelings towards the dark wizard had changed in that time. She could not get the memory of him rocking Harry's dead mother in his arms as he cried out in grief and pain like a wounded animal. She had never seen such depth of feeling in him the whole time he had been her teacher and she still found it hard to equate it with the man she thought she had known.
Hermione heard the sharp mournful cry of a bird and caught a flash of red as it flew away. "Fawkes?" Surely not. No one had seen the bird since the night Dumbledore had died. It had sung its lament for its dead master and disappeared, leaving everyone assuming he had returned to the wild. She took the last few steps towards the entrance to the shack. A small gasp left her throat. The Whomping Willow had been destroyed. In its place was a smouldering stump, its roots still covered the tunnel as far as she could see. Hermione scrabbled to her knees, moving some fallen branches, she entered the passageway. A sense of urgency came upon her as she ran towards the place they had left him, and to her horror, exactly how they left him.
Snape lay half on the floor and half propped up against the wall in a pool of his own blood. His eyes were closed as if he were no more than sleeping, the lines of his face, softer in death. A sense of anger invaded her. He deserved better than this. If she had not come on Dumbledore's rather enigmatic request, would he have been left here to rot? Had no one cared about what had befallen him? Of course not, they thought of him only as a filthy death eater, Voldemort's right hand man and murderer of the most powerful wizard in the world.
Hermione continued to look down at the body of her ex-potions master. Not sure why, she began to cry. Her legs crumpled from beneath her and she sat cross-legged on the dirty wooden floor. She cried for the friends she had lost, for the ruined shell that Hogwarts now was, and she cried for Severus Snape and the tragedy that had been his life. After a while the hardness of the floor started to penetrate her bones, making them ache. Hermione noticed Snape's ebony wand on the ground, not far from his hand, fallen like its master. She pocketed it with a sigh.
She slowly rose from the floor and got out her own wand. "Turgeo." She watched as all traces of blood removed themselves from Snape's face and clothing, wanting to give him a semblance of dignity. Hermione took his feet and gently pulled him away from the wall so that he was lying flat on the ground. He had not been easy to move and she was breathing hard with the effort. She transfigured his robes into a black transparent shroud and pointed her wand at him and in a clear voice cast her spell. "Wingardium Leviosa" Snape's body began to slowly rise as Hermione controlled it. She opened the door with her free hand and guided the body back to Hogwarts, following behind it like a pallbearer.
What had been a hum of voices became a silence all around her as she transported the body through the courtyard. A few people that were sifting through the rubble stopped what they were doing and stared as the corpse of Severus Snape passed them by, his features clearly discernable under the filmy covering. Hermione stared down anyone who looked about to open their mouths or say anything about who she was with. As she got to the main doors, Harry and Ron were standing there, watching her. Harry gave her a nod of approval as he stepped aside allowing him entrance.
Everyone in the hall looked at Hermione, flanked by Ron and Harry as they brought the body in to lie with the others behind a makeshift screen. She directed Snape and brought him down gently on to the stone floor. Hermione kneeled beside him, and peeled back the shroud. She took his hands and placed them each over his chest and removed his wand from her pocket and put it between his fingers. Surprisingly, his skin felt warm to the touch, the coldness of death had not yet set in. Before she had time to ponder this, Ron's feet came into view beside her. She looked up at him before getting up off her knees.
Ron was regarding Hermione strangely as she cast a charm over Snape's hair, tidying it into some semblance of order. "Why so much trouble for that git?"
Harry put a hand on Ron. "Don't, "
Ron's eyes flashed. "All I know is that he is part of the machine that killed my brother, Fred!"
Hermione turned to Ron and put her arms around him, rubbing his back, trying to soothe the grief that was raging through the young wizard. "There are things you need to know, I will tell you later, but please trust me when I tell you that Snape deserves this honour. Hermione turned her head to Harry. "I saw what was in the Pensieve too Harry." A flash of understanding passed between the friends.
Ron too upset, refused to listen to anything but the pain inside of him. "What? Dumbledore's murderer?" he snapped, pulling out of Hermione's arms before marching off.
"I had better go after him." Hermione looked at Harry. "Will you watch over him, make sure no one does anything to the body. Not everyone knows the truth, but I think it is about time Ron was informed."
Hermione ran from the hall to catch up with Ron before she lost sight of him. Harry pulled back the curtain and looked at Snape again, his eyes widening at he saw the dead man's fingers twitch. He took off his glasses, rubbed them on his shirt, replaced them and looked at Snape's hands again. The fingers gripped the wand and a guttural sigh escaped his lips. Harry paled. He turned around and visually located Madam Pomfrey tending to a patient.
Poppy looked up from what she was doing, sensing someone watching her. "What is it Mr Potter?"
"I think there is something you need to see." Harry replied shakily. The medi-witch called over one of her helpers to sit with her patient while she advanced towards the temporary morgue.
"Snape's fingers, they twitched and he breathed."
Madame Pomfrey looked at Harry. "That is quite normal with a dead body, how did Professor Snape die?"
"He was attacked by Voldemort's snake, Nagini. There was huge blood loss as well as the effects of the venom. "
The medi-witch massaged her temples "Harry, I am overworked as it is, I do not have time for this." She said reprovingly, before kneeling next to the body of the professor. Madam Pomfrey touched two fingers to the base of his neck. "See there is no pulse, no..." Her eyes widened. "A pulse...Harry get help, we need to get him upstairs to the hospital wing."
Hermione silently followed Ron up to the Gryffindor common room, or at least what was left of it. Tapestries torn beyond repair, flapped on the walls, the breeze of the broken windows making the room chilly in the late spring air. Ron slumped dejectedly into one of the large squashy sofas and stared into the fireless grate. He flicked his wand at it and mumbled incendio under his breath. Bright orange flames leapt high into the air before settling down into a roaring fire.
"I don't want to talk about it." He muttered as Hermione sat down next to him.
"I know you don't." She said firmly, "But you will or I will hex you with a silencing spell until you do."
Ron's eyebrows rose, he knew better than to mess with her when she was in one of her determined moods. He listened in perfect silence while Hermione acquainted him with the facts. Several times he opened his mouth to argue a point with her, but one quelling glance from his girlfriend and he shut up every time. Hermione finished and sat back and tried to gauge his reaction.
"Well you can say something now." She urged.
"Ok, I suppose he does deserve some respect." Ron admitted grudgingly. "But did he always have to be such an arse to us all when we were growing up? You know he could have given us a clue that he was on the good side."
"He did Ron; we were just too blind to see it. Everyone was always telling us to trust Snape." Hermione sighed.
"Yeah, but its testing the trust issue a bit when you find out he Avada Kedavra'ed Professor Dumbledore off the astronomy tower."
"You know why he did that. Dumbledore was already dying. He asked Snape to do it."
Ron sat forward and put his head in his hands. Tears seeped through his fingers. Hermione felt his shoulders shake and she put her arm around him. "Fred?" She asked.
He nodded, still hiding his face. "I can't believe he has gone. I loved my brother, but it's doubly cruel for George."
Hermione pulled his fingers from his face and kissed his tears away before covering his lips with her own. What started as an innocent kiss deepened as their feelings for each other swelled with the loss and danger they had faced this day.
Ron pulled away first, looking at Hermione. "We can go to my room." It was a silent question. He held his breath waiting for her answer.
"Yes we can, but right now Ronald Weasley, I just need you to hold me. Do you think you can do that?"
Ron nodded.
Hermione rested her forehead against his. She was sick of all the death and so, so tired. Her thoughts briefly turned to Snape and the others who had died today and she wanted to forget, even if only for a little while. They rose from the sofa and hand in hand made their way to the boy's dormitory.
TBC