Synthesis: In Which An Agreement Is Reached

Part The Fifth. The Why

Severus was relieved to return back to the Manor via another Portkey, this one a green Muggle umbrella. The day had been taxing. Noise, crowds, the whole park environment and the rides hadn't exactly calmed him down. Add to that herding a temporarily-reformed mass murderer and nerves would inevitably be strung tight. The fact that she was there didn't help either, nor had that kiss… those kisses… they'd shared. He still couldn't believe it, her daring, her responses to him, the way she'd felt in his arms. Nothing had ever come close before.

Lucius met them in the drawing room and told them all to get changed in time for dinner an hour later. After a quick negotiation via eyebrows, code words and a few glares, Luna and the Weasley twins took charge of the young boy who used to be a vicious despot, leading him off to a bath and a change of clothes to something better suited for a kid. Severus shook his head at the giggles which could be heard until they rounded the corner. The rest of the group was still talking about the park, apparently, if Hermione's giggles was anything to go by. That sound did odd things to his insides.

"Was that…?" Lucius asked him quietly, wagging an eyebrow in the direction the small entourage had disappeared in.

Severus nodded.

"It's eerie hearing him laugh, isn't it?" Lucius said quietly. "Don't get me wrong but I never thought…"

"No faith in me even now?" He quirked an eyebrow at his blond somewhat friend. "But yes, I do agree. It has been an exceedingly odd day. I must ask, has your Mark disappeared? Mine is gone without a trace."

Lucius smiled, a soft smile making him look young and carefree, more than he'd ever been in his youth. "Yes, I noticed when changing robes earlier, it's gone. We have a new chance at life, Severus. Narcissa was overjoyed when I showed her."

Severus nodded and was just about to ask about the other Death Eaters when the main doors opened again, and Kingsley stepped through with Tonks who immediately turned her hair waist-length platinum blonde when she spotted Lucius.

"Kingsley!" Pot… Harry exclaimed, as ever a master of the obvious, and walked up to the older Auror. Severus still wasn't quite used to using his former students' first names, although some were easier than others. The Weasleys he conceded to out of necessity, or he'd have to resort to a numbering system for all the Mr Weasleys.

"How did it go?" Hermione asked, sounding a bit anxious.

Kingsley cleared his throat. "The ones detained by Lucius were all interrogated today by our team and most of them were sent home with travel restrictions. We got the ones we wanted to catch except for Travers, and Severus has promised that problem will take care of itself shortly so we'll just need to find a way to get some confirmation. Those we took into custody have been given the antidote."

Kingsley looked at Severus who nodded. The poison he'd given them was rather insidious and would kill them via internal bleeding in a few days' time if they didn't turn up for treatment, and it was obscure and difficult to diagnose meaning they'd have to seek professional care to stand a chance, which would give Kingsley a chance to catch them at St Mungo's.

The Auror continued. "Pettigrew is dead, he was found halfway transformed to his rat form. Bellatrix and the Lestrange brothers, Fenrir Greyback and Antonin Dolohov also chose to fight and only Rodolphus Lestrange survived."

"Good," Harry said, with relish.

Severus was inclined to agree. The worst of them were out of commission, then. Perhaps he should have realised Pettigrew would succumb faster to the poison if he transformed, after all it was basically a rat poison scaled to human dosage, but then again he couldn't bring himself to care much.

Hermione moved closer to Kingsley. "We need to figure out if anything happened to the rest of the Horcruxes," she said, wielding a notebook and a Muggle pen. "Harry, would you check with Kreacher about the locket? And there are still two more which we don't know anything about."

"Horcruxes? Plural?" Kingsley said and staggered over to a nearby Baroque bench, wiping his face with his hands as he sat down clumsily, going almost as white as Lucius who looked equally disturbed but was better at hiding his reactions as Hermione and Harry explained the issue to the rest of them.

In the end it was agreed that Harry would go talk to Kreacher, accompanied by Tonks and Draco, and the Auror would then head to the Auror office to check in with their colleagues before returning to the Manor in time for dinner.

Before they all left, Hermione handed all of them a dose of antidote to the potions Tom had been given, saying that each and every one of them would have a responsibility for the way things went, and it wasn't just on Severus' or her own conscience. Hermione and he had argued about that issue for quite some time before he gave in. Of course he had a counter to the counter, should that be necessary, but it would keep the rest of the Gryffindors a bit more humble.

~~oo~oo~oo~oo~~

The no-longer-very Dark Lord was even smaller by the time they were all seated for dinner in the Malfoys' French dining room, a smaller room in a light Rococo style which was mainly used for smaller family meals rather than big formal affairs, and never had been used by the Death Eaters. Severus was seated between Hermione and Narcissa, who appeared completely at ease with hosting the person who had kept her hostage in her own home for years, now in the shape of a five-year-old boy, but Severus knew her well enough to read the tightness of her smile and the way she folded her napkin. The milling confusion of red-headed Gryffindors didn't help matters, either. All the Weasleys involved in the mission were there, as was the rest of the crowd.

Harry had returned earlier together with Draco. They'd talked to Kreacher but unfortunately Mundungus Fletcher had apparently stolen the locket at some point, so they had no further clues as to where it could have gone. Kreacher did confirm that it had been the Horcrux, however, and had been overwhelmed with gratitude when Harry had given him the fake one that Regulus had made.

"Is that… him?" Tonks asked in a stage whisper which carried straight across the room. She'd just made it back from the Auror office and stood frozen in the doorway before she moved to her seat between the Weasley twins, almost knocking down a marble statue, with her hair in a spiky purple style that most definitely wasn't Pure-blood custom.

"Who's that?" Tom asked Luna, in the high voice of a child. He was seated between Luna and Harry, with a couple of pillows on his chair. "Her hair is purple. Why is her hair purple?"

Luna patted his hand. "That's Tonks, dear. She's a friend. Come, have some of Aunt Narcissa's meatballs."

"Can I have purple hair too?"

Soon everyone was settled and eating, with Narcissa and Lucius on the short ends and the Weasleys all on the same side of the table together with Draco and Tonks. The elves had done an excellent job, as usual. They were served a light Italian-inspired dish of spaghetti and meatballs in a tomato sauce, with lots of garlic, parmesan cheese and fresh herbs. Tom was happily chatting to the twins and Tonks across the table, talking about the rides and what was the best part of the park. So far it seemed as if the milkshake was in the lead, followed by one of the carousels they'd done in the end, one designed for young children. Severus found it surreal, watching him interact with the others at the table without cursing any of them.

"So I just heard something odd from Dawlish," Tonks said while stabbing a meatball. It jumped over to Fred's plate, causing Tom to start giggling. "He said there had been a magical explosion at the home of a Ministry official and when they went to investigate, they found loads of Dark artefacts and took her to custody. She's facing serious charges."

"Who was it?" Harry asked.

"Someone you may know," Tonks said with a grin. "Dolores Umbridge. She had a fancy necklace which appeared to have been the centre of the explosion."

Severus was surprised to hear it, but then again perhaps not. She'd be the kind of person who was drawn to power as long as they could convince themselves they wouldn't be caught. The younger Weasleys also looked grim and grinning, in equal parts.

Hermione nodded. "One down, then. That must have been the locket Mundungus stole." She turned towards Tonks. "Do you know what it was supposed to look like? The locket?"

Tonks shrugged. "Gold and heavy with an emerald S, Dawlish said."

"That's it exactly, it was just the same as the one we gave to Kreacher," Harry said. "Imagine her with his soul, what a mess it would have been!"

The youngest Weasleys started laughing and even Severus found it hard to be serious. Luna was explaining to Tom what souls were, a job he was relieved to leave to someone else.

"What else is left?" Kingsley asked.

"Something that may have been left to Bellatrix, probably, and then something possibly at Hogwarts."

Bill Weasley spoke up too. "I heard from Gringotts today. There was an explosion in a vault at the lower levels, where the Lestranges and Parkinsons and Notts have their vaults. I don't yet know any details but the goblins were talking about banning Dark artefacts, apparently something had set off a Geminio curse in a vault and blown the door off its hinges, killing a guard dragon and blocking the whole pathway with fake gold. The goblins were quite upset, mainly over the fake gold."

"Could it have been another… of those?" Hermione asked. "And what do you mean, guard dragon?"

"Just what it sounds like. And I don't know yet but I'd guess so," Bill confirmed. "I'll get more details tomorrow or next week."

"Just the one at Hogwarts left, then," Harry said. "We're really getting close."

Severus took a deep breath. Would it really be over soon? It would be easy to get confirmation from Hogwarts once he returned. Well, relatively easy, as long as he brought some more Maltesers for Albus.

"Close to what?" Tom asked. He'd finished his meatballs and made a castle from some pieces of pasta and the broccoli.

Harry looked at his erstwhile adversary. "Close to dessert! I think Draco has promised Beauxbatons mess* tonight, didn't you?"

Draco nodded. "Only the best for our guests! It was my favourite as a kid. Do you know what Beauxbatons mess is, Tom?"

"No, is it something you can eat?"

Ginny was the one to answer. "Oh, it has meringues, and ice cream, and bananas, and strawberries. We only had that when we went to see Aunt Muriel and she wanted to one-up Mum's cooking."

Draco nodded. "Yes, and ours also has whipped cream, caramel and chocolate sauce, if you want."

"Awesome! Can I try it?" Tom asked eagerly, grinning at Draco across the table.

The mess was, indeed, messy, and even Severus found it acceptable with an adequate amount of chocolate sauce. The Twins charmed some meringues to dance around Tom's plate, which was harmless enough until one of them slipped and fell into a puddle of chocolate sauce and the whole plate and surrounding area deteriorated into a messy chocolatey battleground covered in pieces of fruit and meringue crumbs. Severus was glad he sat at the other end of the table when a stray strawberry coated in something messy flew all the way to Lucius' more ordered plate and splattered his pristine grey robes with chocolate.

~~oo~oo~oo~oo~~

After the meal, the mood was slightly odd as they all filed into the Dark Lord's suite. The boy who now looked no more than three needed another bath before being fit for bed. This time, Ginny, Harry and the twins took care of the task.

Luna walked over to him where he stood next to the door. Hermione and the others sat in the couches by the fireplace as they waited, Hermione and Bill talking quietly about something while Ron and Draco brought out the chess pieces.

"He's ready, you know." The wispy blonde girl peered up at him, smiling vaguely and appearing to check out something over his left shoulder. "We've given him something he's never had, but I think he still knows this is not quite real."

Severus nodded slowly. "I know. He would revert within the week if we stopped dosing him, including growing back most of his years rapidly. This day would be but a dream to him then. Or a nightmare, probably, in his case."

Luna nodded as well and moved to stand beside him, studying the others. "Don't feel bad about it, Professor. You've done him good. Have you talked to her yet about your relationship?"

"What?" He frowned, her sudden change of topics leaving him dizzy.

She looked up at him again with a smile he'd probably describe as patient. "Your relationship. With Hermione. You know? Bossy, bushy hair, Gryffindor?"

He shook his head. "There is no such thing, Miss Lovegood."

"Yet." With that, the infuriating Ravenclaw patted his upper arm and walked off towards the bathroom where it seemed the crew had finished the bath and managed to wrangle the boy into fresh pajamas, probably a set Draco used to wear as a kid, with green dragons and grey Hippogriffs.

The boy walked up to the couch Hermione sat in. "You're Aunt Mynee aren't you?"

"Er, hello Tom, yes I am."

"Thanks for taking me to the park today. It was fun." The Dark Lord smiled at her and she actually gave him a hug.

He stopped in front of Severus. "Hello Uncle Shevrus. I was bad earlier. I'm sorry. You're nice."

Severus coughed. "Thank you, Tom."

The Weasley twins waved at him from the door leading to the bedroom and the young despot lit up in a smile as he went to them. The bedroom was elegant, in dark brown and green with gold details. Severus thought it might have belonged to a Malfoy uncle during one of his first visits to the Manor, when Lucius was a young newly-minted Death Eater and Abraxas Malfoy ran the family business like a Muggle mafia boss.

The young boy climbed up into the huge bed. He seemed to almost disappear among the pillows. "Aunt Luna, read for me?"

Luna skipped over to the bed and produced a picture book from her robes. While Tom settled into bed, Luna sat down in a chair next to it and began reading Each Peach Pear Plum, showing him the pictures as they went.

Feeling out of sorts and out of place, Severus quietly left the room while Luna read to the boy-formerly-known-as the Dark Lord.

~~oo~oo~oo~oo~~

They gathered in Lucius' study where the elves had prepared some snacks and wine or something stronger, while they waited for something to happen. Severus heaved a deep sigh and put his feet up on the footrest, leaning back into the wingback armchair by the window as he held a snifter of Lucius' excellent cognac. Lucius himself was talking to Kingsley and Bill about something Auror-related but Severus was too worn out after the rather busy day to care much.

"Do we go ahead with this, then? Do we finish this?" Draco asked the question everyone was thinking of. He was standing by the fireplace with his arms crossed, looking a bit out of place even in his own home.

Severus looked at the people seated in the couches by the fireplace. An odd group of people if there ever was one, but they'd accomplished more than he ever expected. For a long moment no one spoke.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked. "He'll revert if we stop dosing him, right?"

"Yes, he would revert within the week, and go back to an adult stage even if he'd probably end up a lot younger than he was," Severus said quietly.

Fred, George and Harry nodded.

"But he's been nice so far," Ginny said. "I don't know, can we really do this?"

To Severus' surprise it was Ronald who answered. "He's been nice today but it's probably for the first time ever. Besides, remember when the potions wore off at the park? He was ready to start cursing everyone, it was just that he didn't have a wand."

They all lapsed into silence again. Severus gazed into the fire crackling on the hearth without really seeing the flames. His Mark was gone. For the first time in twenty years, he was free. Or he would be, when it all finished and the threat to Harry's safety was gone. What was he to do with the rest of his life? He stayed at Hogwarts since his oaths demanded it, but maybe there could be something else for him to do?

"All in favour?" Hermione asked.

A chorus of aye's answered her, and Severus found himself more relieved by the outcome than he'd expected to be.

Harry, Ginny, Tonks and Draco snuck off to join Luna again. The others sat by the fireplace, talking quietly, until Lucius suggested a game of poker. Bill wisely declined but the twins, Ronald and Kingsley took him up on it, and Severus watched with some amusement as Lucius' practised card-game cheating clashed with the Weasley twins' own brand of chaotic mischief. Kingsley made it by on skill and luck while Ronald seemed to lose most of the matches.

Hermione had taken the other armchair and had taken off her shoes to be able to pull her feet up under her. She wore a light green dress which set off her tan quite nicely. She had a glass of some liqueur, a sweet creamy one, and the elves had just popped in with some tea for them.

"What are your plans now?" he asked her while idly watching the poker game. Kingsley had just managed to win a few Knuts back but the Twins appeared to be scheming again. They wore identical grins which in Severus' experience was a clear warning sign that they were up to something.

She shot him a smile. "I don't know really. I need to know this is real, first, before making plans."

Clearing his throat he felt suddenly, inexplicably, nervous again. "I hope… that wherever your paths take you, that we may continue to stay in touch?"

She sat up straighter and beamed a smile at him. "I'd want that. Severus."

"Good." Slowly he reached out to her and caught her hand in his, and not until he felt her accepting his touch did he manage to exhale. It all felt so confusing, her smiles, the way she said his name, touching her.

The Malfoys' old pendulum clock struck midnight and the card game seemed to be winding down, with Lucius clearly in second place after one of the twins. Severus was quite certain they'd played as a team, tricking the others by doubling up on the opportunities and most likely testing some illicit products along the way. Still, he was quite impressed with them. They had shown creativity, intelligence and a keen business sense, and anyone who beat a Malfoy when there was money involved was worthy of respect. He decided to approach them with an offer to supervise some of their potions-related product innovations, later, when there was actually something to look forward to in his life. A future, perhaps even involving a certain bushy-haired witch, at least to some as yet undefined extent.

Her hand was warm and soft, smaller than his, with fine bones and long fingers, and very distracting. It felt odd, her touch, the fact that she accepted and seemed to welcome his hand on hers.

"He's gone," Harry said quietly to no one in particular.

Severus hadn't heard him enter, but now he stood just inside the door together with Luna and Ginny. Tonks and Draco had already made it to the couches by the fireplace. Hermione immediately untangled her hand from his and went to hug the dark-haired wizard, still with his signature glasses but now less a scar and looking a bit lost.

"What happened?" Bill asked, having risen from the couch.

Harry took a deep breath but it was Ginny who spoke. "He fell asleep when Luna read to him. He just got smaller and smaller and then, when the clock struck midnight, he simply disappeared."

"Yeah. It's over." Harry walked over to the couches and sank down next to Fred. "He's gone. Without a big battle." He put his head in his hands and started sobbing even as Ginny joined him on the couch, stroking his back.

Severus could understand the conflicting emotions but didn't feel comfortable sharing his feelings with a bunch of Gryffindors. With a nod and a raised eyebrow at Lucius he left the room and left for his assigned chambers.

~~oo~oo~oo~oo~~

He was standing by the window with another glass of Lucius' cognac, looking out over the grounds where the moonlight illuminated the hedges and paths, his mind a thousand miles and many years away. A quiet knock at the door pulled him from his thoughts.

He was both surprised and not at seeing Hermione on the other side. She looked a bit tense, carrying a small bundle of clothes. He let her in, anyway.

"Can I stay with you tonight?"

"Pardon?" Had she really said what he thought she'd said? Why on Earth would she…? Did she want…? Not that he wouldn't mind, of course, but wasn't it a bit too soon?

She blushed. "Not… not like that, now. I just… don't want to be alone? Harry is with Ginny tonight, the rest of them were talking about a slumber party in Draco's room and…"

He snorted. "Please, spare me the details. But surely you'd be welcome there?"

She bit her lip and looked up at him. "I'd rather be with you. Unless you don't want me to? I don't want to be in the way."

He nodded and led her into the sitting room where he poured her a small measure of cognac. She settled on the couch and once again kicked off her shoes in order to put her feet up. He took a seat next to her and was surprised to feel her shuffling close enough to lean slightly into his side. She was warm and smelled of something peachy with a hint of jasmine.

"It's over, then?" she said quietly.

"Looks like it, although I suspect Kingsley want to stage a mock battle to use as evidence later. He was talking to the twins about using their fake wands." He might have sniffed her hair, or perhaps it was a pure coincidence that his nose happened to rest on her head when he inhaled.

She huffed a laugh. "What, have Tonks play Death Eaters and let Harry mock kill her off in various heroic battles?"

He nodded slowly and raked a hand through his hair. "Something like that. I hope to stay out of it. You know why we cannot let the public know about these potions, right? The work we've done? They would be horribly dangerous in the wrong hands."

She sat up straight again to better glare at him, making him miss the contact. "It's not fair! All your research, and you can't publish it? What you did was brilliant, the way you combined those potions and reinvented them to something way beyond what they were originally!"

Her ire made him smile, especially when it was indignation at his behalf rather than at him. It felt odd to have someone defending him, but in a good way.

They fell silent again, watching the fire and sipping Lucius' expensive cognac. She'd shifted so that she leaned against the armrest and had placed her feet near his thigh. He took them on his lap and started kneading them, making her eyes flutter shut. Her sighs of bliss made something flutter in his stomach. This was… nice. Yes. He wondered idly if there was a good way to make this happen again, or if it would be a one-time occurrence. After all, it had never happened before in his life, so perhaps that meant it was something that occurred once every forty years or so?

"Did we do the right thing?" she asked suddenly, eyes seeking his.

"Yes." The word fell from his lips without hesitation. "You do recall that only two days ago he was ordering another raid on those who dared to marry a Muggleborn? He had Travers and Avery Crucio'd last week for failure to bring him Potter. No, Hermione. This day could easily have been a large scale battle here at the Manor instead of a day full of fun at an amusement park. No one died that didn't deserve it, Death Eaters didn't invade Hogwarts, the Ministry hasn't fallen, your friends are alive. All of them. Don't feel bad for doing him a favour by showing him happiness for a day. As Luna said, he was ready." He went for his glass again and knocked back the rest of the cognac before returning to stare at the fire, not seeing it.

A soft kiss to his temple shook him out of his musings.

"I'm tired. Where's the bathroom?" She'd risen from the couch and was stretching, her breasts straining against the front of the dress she wore.

"Through the door on the right. I'll just set up the couch then," he muttered, a bit put out at having to give up his bed.

She stopped and twirled to face him. "No! I didn't mean to throw you out of your own bed, couldn't we share? I'm sure it's wide enough." She bit her lip again and blushed. "I don't mean… not if you don't want to, of course, then I'll take the couch."

He took a deep breath and rose, stepping close to her. His hand rose on its own volition to stroke her cheek, and to his surprise she leaned into his touch. Warm, soft skin under his fingers.

"No, Hermione. That sounds fine. More than fine."

She smiled at him, a bit shyly, before disentangling herself. Halfway to the bathroom she stopped and turned towards him. "Did you mean what you said?"

"What? When? Probably?"

"About staying in touch… or did you mean something else? Something… more?"

"Did you?" he parried, to gain some time to think.

She blushed again and nodded.

Taking a deep breath he found his answer. "Yes, Hermione. I'd like… more, as you said. But not tonight. Now that I finally have a future to look forward to, I will need to figure out what to do with it. As do you. There is no need to rush."

She frowned at him while she mulled things over. "Alright, that makes sense. But don't take too long."

"Duly noted, Miss Granger."

She merely giggled at him and went to brush her teeth, or whatever it was girls did in the bathroom.

~~oo~oo~oo~oo~~

"Are you coming?" Hermione asked him from the bed. She'd managed to change into a set of loose shorts and a t-shirt with some Muggle cartoon figure on the front, and had quickly ducked under the covers.

After sorting himself out and dousing the lights with a wave of his hand he gingerly settled near the other edge of the bed, keeping his hands on the covers and wondering to himself however he was to sleep if he couldn't sprawl like he was used to. After all, sharing a bed with someone was something that never had happened to him. He could hear her quiet breathing over on the other side.

"Severus?"

"Hm?"

"My feet are cold."

Grousing he shuffled closer and she assisted by putting her icy feet on his calves, her back pressed against his side. He hissed in surprised at the touch. "Woman! What did you do with those feet, dip them in a bucket of ice?"

"They're not so bad," she protested. "You're warm. You can share."

Some time later, when her feet had thawed, he found himself spooning her, an arm tucked around her waist and the other under her neck.

"This is nice," she murmured, half asleep already.

"Hmm." He could only agree. Her scent — and hair — invaded his every breath, he could feel her heartbeat under his hand, and her breaths through his chest.

"G'night Sev'rus."

"Night, love."

Not until she was snoring lightly did his own words register in his brain, causing him to sit up bolt upright with a muttered curse. She pulled him down again, and he fell asleep with her hair doing its best to suffocate him. If this was what the future held, he thought fuzzily, then he wouldn't mind seeing more of it.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

A/N: *Beauxbatons mess: of course the Purebloods don't have Eton mess, right?

This is the end of the road but an epilogue will follow. Thanks to all who have followed, fav'd, commented and whatnot!