Renewal
This chapter has always been written. I just wanted to leave it on such a wonderful cliff hanger. Renewal was the one story I wanted to end like this. I hope it makes some people realise what I have been trying to tell them for a long time!
Epilogue:
Breath filled his lungs. He opened his eyes and was blinded. He felt wet beneath his back, he could hear a bird singing, he could taste moisture on his lips.
He blinked, twice.
Shapes were forming around him. Trees.
He blinked again.
A shadow passed over him.
"You passed."
He sat up, despite how his body cried out at him to lay still, just for a moment more. He wanted to speak, but his throat was too dry.
"I have given you life, Severus Snape. You owe me your life. Do not disappoint me."
And he was pulled to his feet, to look into the red eyes. He nodded, just once. His legs were too weak to hold him upright—and the moment Lord Voldemort disappeared, he collapsed back down to the ground.
He spent some time just savouring the flavour of oxygen on his tongue. He examined every part of his body with his eyes, seeing the two puncture marks on his wrist. He moved all his muscles, one at a time, feeling their strength return.
And he realised that he needed to be somewhere.
Arms wrapped around him, pulling him close. He clung to the sky blue robes, unwilling to let go. A kiss was pressed to his forehead.
Never had he felt so safe.
Neither of them spoke. They did not need to.
He stayed in that embrace for longer than he thought possible.
He could breathe in the scent of old parchment and milky tea.
And he knew that he was alive.
And while he sat, rocked to and fro by someone who cared for him more than he could have ever imagined, he started to think.
Life was cruel. It was complicated. There were so many who wanted to destroy such a fragile life force. So many wanted to corrupt happiness and hope, and leave only despair.
But.
There was also the person who held him, now. The person who was there for him, the person who would never let him go, the person who wanted to understand him.
Severus Snape smiled.
Renewal was the one story I wanted to end happily. Thank you for reading, and this time? It really is complete.
