"And up until now I had sworn to myself
That I was content with loneliness
Because none of it was ever worth the risk
Well, you are the only exception"
A knock came at Severus classroom door and he rushed to open it. He found Harry, Ginny, and Robert standing outside his door and he ushered them inside quickly.
"You all received my owls, good," He said nervously.
"Snape, you look dreadful!" Harry smiled at him.
"I've never been this nervous before," He said as he smoothed his hands over his dress robes. He had a deep purple graduation Stole around his gown. Each teacher wore a stole that signified the subject that he or she teaches. Severus also wore a green and silver cord that signified him as the House Head of Slytherin.
"You will do fine," Robert assured him.
"I certainly hope so," He said, "So, you have reserved seats to the left of the staff table. Hermione, nor anyone else, will be able to see you until after I propose. You can use this door and it will lead you straight to the Great Hall," He said gesturing toward a large wooden door, "Potter, did you bring your cloak?"
"Yes, right here," Harry said showing him the silvery robe in his hand.
"Good, use that until you get to your seats. The table will have name cards by your specific seats. All staff have been made aware of your presence, save Hermione, of course. It is essential you sit in your designated seats, though, otherwise the Charm I've placed on the chairs will not work properly."
All three nodded in understanding, "Wonderful," Severus opened the wooden door for them.
Robert hugged him briefly and stepped back, Harry and Ginny both followed his lead, "You'll do brilliantly," Harry comforted him and Snape nodded and smiled at him apprehensively.
Harry covered the three of them with the Invisibility Cloak and Snape watched as an Invisible hand shut the wooden door quietly.
Another knock on his door caused Snape to jump and to glance at the clock, "Enter," He beckoned.
"Hey, Sev, are you all ready?" Hermione asked innocently.
Severus' throat became dry and he swallowed, "Yes, let's head up, shall we?" He said nervously.
"Are you all right? You look a bit pale?" She asked, concerned.
"I'm fine. I promise," He said and they made their way to the Great Hall.
Severus took his seat next to McGonagall and Hermione sat on her other side. Minerva leaned in to Severus and said, "Is everything set up?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"Yes," Severus hissed back.
Minerva stood and greeted the guests. Snape looked out at the crowd. The seventh years began the opening processional and they marched into the Great Hall and took their seats in alphabetical order. They were smiling and fidgety. The parents sat behind them in alphabetical order as well. Their chests were puffed out and their proud smiles infected the mood in the room immensely. It was a happy day.
Several speeches were made before Severus'. Minerva spoke to the graduating class; Hermione gave a speech and introduced the Valedictorian. Lupin also gave a brief speech. Minerva returned to the podium and glanced at Severus quickly, who felt himself pale further. Thankfully, Hermione didn't seem to notice.
"And now, we have a very special speech prepared by our Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House, Professor Severus Snape," Minerva outstretched her left arm and pointed at Severus to stand.
Severus stood and was received with warm applause, which surprised him. He walked over to the podium and heard Minerva whisper, "Good luck," to him in her thick Scottish accent.
Severus swallowed hard and glanced over the crowd, "Good afternoon. I know many of you are surprised that I am speaking to you. Yes, Severus Snape, the greasy dungeon bat," He chuckled and the crowd laughed, "But, I stand before you today to stress something that is of great importance and to ask a question."
"Emotion. Emotion is defined as any feeling associated with mood, temperament, or disposition. Emotion drives us. It can control us. Think about it. Anger can ruin a morning, an afternoon, an evening, or a night. It can sever a friendship for life," He said with a dark tone, "It can ruin a life. Hate can consume you. It can eat you alive from the inside out. Happiness is infectious. A true smile, a real happy smile, can make someone's day. Even I can't look out at all these smiling faces and scowl," Another chuckle from the crowd.
"But the greatest, and the deepest, and the most powerful emotion you will ever, ever feel is love," He paused as the crowd took his words in, "You love your parents. You love your friends. You love siblings and your pets. Perhaps you love a specific sport, a book. You love your Houses. You love your school. There are different types of love, obviously. The love you have for your family dog is not the same, hopefully, as the love you have for your mother," Another chuckle, "You do not love your boyfriend or girlfriend as you do your brother or your sister."
"Love is everywhere you go. You see love in every situation and under every circumstance. Love is the driving force in all that you do and in all that you have done. You do things for the people you love, the things that you love because you love them. Now, most of you know my history and some of you hold it against me still. I stand before you as a former Death Eater, a sob story, a spy, a hopeless romantic," Several parents shouted at him that his descriptions of himself were rubbish.
He held up a hand, "No, I assure you, these are all things that are true. Some of you may consider me a hero, or a villain. Perhaps I am both. Perhaps each and every one of us has a hero and a villain inside of us. I don't know. But, one thing that I do know, is that each and every single one of you deserves to be loved," The room was so quiet that Snape could have heard a pin drop.
"When I was eleven years old I met a girl, you all know the story. I mucked things up pretty good when we were older by calling her something very foul. I have no excuses as to why I did what I did. I had loved her. She had been my only friend, my confidant, and I loved her. As most of you know, I made some very poor choices after our friendship was broken. I will be forever marked by the darkness I chose to live in for so many years and it was only until recently that I stepped out into the light. It is only until recently that I had a reason to open myself up. My reason was love. There is a love that buries itself so deep inside of you that it becomes a part of you, a life line. It sustains you. Each and every single person in this room deserves this kind of love. It's a love that you can only feel for one person for the rest of your life. It encompasses your soul and makes you strong. You never realize how incomplete you were until you meet this person. You're never strong again without them. You need them as yours. Now, seventh years, there is a love that will ensnare your senses. It will make you feel things much deeper and much fuller than you ever thought possible. It will set your soul on fire. It will make a white light explode inside of your head, as if you've finally found what you didn't even know you were looking for all of your life," He paused again.
"I've found this love and it wasn't with my childhood friend. I've found this love recently. Every person deserves this love. This love sets you free; it gives your soul and your heart wings. I want you to wait for this love; I want you to search for it. If you listen to only one thing that I have said in all of your seven years of magical education, I pray that it be this: Love. Is. Real," He nodded slowly and turned around.
"And now, I stand before my colleagues, my friends, perhaps a few enemies, my students, and some complete and total strangers and I profess my love to you," He looked at Hermione and many females in the audience cooed at this, "You are the light in all of my darkness. Without you, I am a half…The worse half. Without you, I am weak. Without you, I am empty. I ask you now, Hermione Jean Granger, to please make me whole again," He pulled a velvet box out of his pocket, "Make me full again," He said as he rubbed his thumb over the box, "Make me strong again," He went down on one knee gracefully and Hermione's hands covered her mouth as tears filled her eyes, "Hermione," He flipped open the box to reveal the beautiful diamond ring, "Will you marry me?"
The room was silent except for Hermione's tiny, "Yes!" And then the hall erupted in applause. Harry, Ginny and Robert appeared at their table, standing. Their position sparked a standing ovation as Hermione rushed in front of the staff table and leaped into Snape's welcoming arms. He kissed her lips and set her down gently and slid the ring on to her finger, "I love you," He said into her ear so that he could be sure she heard him. She was beaming as she said it back to him. He hugged her and she slapped him on his chest hard and he looked at her and saw she was staring behind him with a grin on her face. Robert hugged his daughter and Snape looked past him and saw Harry and Ginny applauding proudly and he grinned and nodded at them. Robert hugged Snape next and whispered, "That was wonderful," And he kissed Severus' cheek and pulled away.
He smiled at the couple and moved back to his table swiftly, "And now," Snape boomed over the crowd, "For your diplomas!"
The crowd grew louder as the rest of the staff came up behind Hermione and Severus, congratulating them and then lining up to deliver the degrees. Hermione stood next to Minerva and Severus stood on her other side. As they congratulated their students, they were not thanked but they were congratulated as well. The ceremony ended with the school song and the tossing of the caps and the applause. The students migrated to their families and many parents congratulated Severus on an excellent speech.
Snape made his way over to Harry, Ginny, Robert, and Hermione quickly, "I would like to thank you all for coming. It means a great deal to me and, I'm sure, to Hermione," She nodded.
"You did all of this for me?" She grinned at him.
"No, I actually did it for my other woman, but she stood me up apparently," Sarcasm laced his tone and she patted him on the chest roughly and then kissed his cheek happily, "Thank you," She said.
"No," He said and tucked a stray curl behind her ear, "Thank you."