"It's here! Draco, the owl came!" Harry came tearing through the manor, waving the small package they had received from Albus and Scorpius.
"All right, calm down. You're acting like a third-year after his first Honeyduke's trip," Draco drawled, but he was smiling. And he had to admit, now that the final potion ingredients were in his hands, he was excited and a little nervous. Being the godson of Severus Snape taught him many things, most of all that an untested potion could be deadly. Draco knew that this potion might in all actuality harm both him and his lover, but he had to try.
He went into the room he had cleared for his brewing, looking at the extra-large cauldron bubbling with a silvery substance. Daffodil root, unicorn hair and horn, the petals of one finely-ground sunflower, lacewing flies, dried nettles, white dove feathers, thirty-eight eggs (Harry had asked him if he was making a potion or omelette), water from a running spring, and now the final two ingredients necessary to complete the potion.
If this went wrong, he'd be devastated. Or dead. Or both. If it went wrong, maybe it was better he was dead, because if it went awry and he lived, he knew of one person who would make his an Harry's lives a living Hell. If it went right...well, that was the plan. That was what he wanted and had been working for since Christmas.
"Wait," Harry said.
Draco sighed. "What now?"
"What if...y'know...what if this doesn't purge the darkness from the second object? What will you do?" he asked.
Draco held his wand in his free hand and said, "What I have to."
Harry stood behind him, holding him close as he began to final two steps of the potion, using his wan to recite the proper Latin incantation.
"Esse apud vos modo in luce resurrectionis."
Plop went the first ingredient, and the silver turned slightly pinkish, swirling now faster than it had been before.
"Anima perditas ad nos in nomine dilecti lumine."
Plop went the final ingredient, melting down in the bubbling potion. Harry and Draco both held their breaths to see what would happen now…
"They're gone! Good bloody fuck, how could they be gone? The stone is enchanted, so maybe it moved itself: it's possible, but where is my necklace?" Harley was shouting at the house elves in the kitchen.
She'd gone to bed once she'd been done crying the night before, rewrapping the stone in the cloth and placing her Prince family heirloom right next to her bedside as she did every night. When she had woken this morning, both had disappeared. Her engagement ring from Fred was still there. She warded her chambers and office at night so that none could enter but she...and the house elves. Unless she had been sleepwalking, it had to have been one of the elves that took it.
"One of you had to have taken it, and I demand you come forth...now!" Okay, even I heard my father in my voice just now.
They all looked shocked and scared, as usual Winky was crying, but none looked guilty. And none came forth with a confession.
Eventually, Minerva came and got her, reminding her that ghosts were impervious to any wards she might have put into place, which aroused her anger even more. If Peeves had taken them, she was sure to never see them ever again, The thought that her special gift from her father was gone made her feel worse than she already had.
She sat down to breakfast with a sigh, unwilling to deal with the noise and chatter of the students. James was glaring holes into his porridge; he had obviously gotten her notice that he should leave the Invisibility Cloak at home from now on. The kids hadn't used it last night, but who knew how many times he had?
Albus and Scorpius were laughing and talking animatedly as they entered the Great Hall, obviously pleased with themselves despite their getting detentions with Rose. Rose was following behind them, her nose in a book.
"You okay, Harley?" Neville asked as he sat down. "You look even more gloomy than usual."
"How observant, Longbottom," she muttered. "Keep up your insight and I'll resurrect your fucking toad just to poison it myself."
Longbottom's eyes widened. "What is it with your family and my pets? Let Trevor rest in peace!"
Harley didn't respond, instead trying to get through the meal as quickly as possible. Some of the Muggle-borns went to special rooms McGonagall had made to worship the religion of their choice on Sundays, and this week was Harley's turn to escort them.
After that, she went to her shop and was surprised to find Patricia there, brewing some Pepper-Up and a couple other potions. She was amazed that the girl-no longer a girl-had gone from a whiny nuisance to the closest thing she had to a friend.
"Hey, you got three new orders I can't fill. I was going to owl them to you," Patricia said by way of greeting.
Harley stepped over to the bulletin board and picked up the parchment. All three were from Draco and Harry. Immunity potion, usually given to newborns to prevent dragon pox and other illnesses. A hair tonic, probably for Harry, that only Harley could brew. And a list of ingredients, with a note from Draco saying he had used up his stores.
He used up his stores of all this? What did he do, try to make a new Elixir Of Life or something? Harley wondered, getting his order ready. She had the hair tonic bottled, so there was one less thing to brew.
"How've you been?" Patricia asked. "I was at the ball last night but had to leave: little Aileen got sick last night...hence the Pepper-Up."
"Hope she's better," Harley said, barely registering her words. "You didn't miss much."
"No? Because I heard from a little bird that you were caught snogging Oliver Wood."
Harley paused in her chopping and then resumed at the same pace. "And who told you that? I'm betting your cousin could not wait to gossip. ...And it was not snogging, it was one kiss. Nothing more."
Patricia made a noncommittal noise and started bottling the Pepper-Up while Harley began the immunity potion.
"I'm merely saying it's about time. I didn't know Fred except for that day he taught us the Jelly-Legs Jinx, but I think he would have wanted you to be happy again," she said.
"Have you heard anything from the ad for the Potions position at Hogwarts next year?" Harley asked, changing the subject.
"Four people. One of whom made me at my worst look good," Patricia replied. "Two of them I sent their resumes to McGonagall. She'll probably see them today. The last one you would have verbally eviscerated despite her talent, so I didn't bother with her."
Harley nodded, hoping that her replacement would come at least within a mile from her standards. She wasn't a fan of teaching, most of the students made her want to start firing hexes, but she had a talent for the job, one that even she knew few did. She'd hate to leave Hogwarts with a sub-par teacher.
McGonagall had taken interviews for the position all year, and Harley had sat in on some of them. They were horrid. The ones who were personable were dumb as rocks and would be walked on by the Slytherins and the entire Potter/Weasley clan. The smart ones has absolutely no teaching method whatsoever and Harley had to leave a few of the interviews before she lashed out. If her father had been watching from Heaven, he must have been cursing up a storm.
Hogwarts had been a home, a safe haven, for many people, especially for her family. She wanted nothing less than the best for the future students who would need that same safety net ten months out of the year.
Eventually her work was done, inventory had been sorted, and Harley left then, stopping in Dogweed and Deathcap for some flowers, before Apparating away. After yesterday, she felt compelled to visit a place she hadn't for twenty years: the cemetery in Godric's Hollow, where her parents reposed side-by-side.
Ignoring James' gravestone, she stood between her mother's and father's markers, placing lilies on each.
Lily Evans Potter
20th January, 1960 - 31st October, 1981
Beloved mother, sister, and wife
The last enemy that shall be conquered is death.
Severus Tobias Snape
9th January, 1960 - 2nd May, 1998
Beloved father, professor, and Order of Merlin, First Class
Death is the next great adventure.
Harley had thought that it was prudent to put Dumbledore's quote on her father's grave, because Severus had quoted the headmaster to her when she had been talking about her mother's death.
Seeing her mother the previous night eased the pain she'd felt her entire life, the pain that had grown larger once she'd known who her mother was and the story surrounding her death. She now had proof that her parents were together, and that her father could be just as stubborn as his daughter with wanting to come back.
"He's still tied to the world, to you," Lily had said.
"Father," Harley said, "if you can hear me, don't be afraid to embrace the afterlife. Don't wish to return only because of me. ...I miss you terribly, and would love nothing more than to have you here with me, but that's not possible. Please rest, and know one day I'll join you and Mum and Fred."
The first classes after the long weekend were chaos. Harley removed so many points that Neville commented that they might as well award Hufflepuff the House Cup now, because at the rate Slytherin and Gryffindor were going, they'd both be down to zero soon.
"It's not like they're behaving like angels for you," Harley commented.
"Of course not, but you're being excessive," Neville said.
"It's not excessive until she threatens to poison them," McGonagall commented with a smile. "Harley, I just received an owl from Draco. He claims to have found your perfect replacement for next year."
"Really?" Harley said. "Where did he find his miraculous Potion Master or Mistress?"
McGonagall poured tea and said, "No idea, but he wants you to vet the person, of course. He said you can go to the manor for tea and an interview next Sunday."
Harley scoffed. "And why can't the he or she come here like everyone else?"
McGonagall sighed and said, "I don't know, Harley, the letter didn't say. But I assume it will be more comfortable for all around, if it's a friend of the Malfoys'."
"Tell him I will be there. And it had better not be a complete waste of my time."
The night before she was to leave for the manor, she and McGonagall made a contract to offer immediately. She'd received another owl from Draco, stating that his candidate was a Slytherin and would be better suited to the role of Head of House instead of Millicent simply due to experience, which McGonagall made a note of. Harley also signed her contract termination pending the approval of the new Potions Master and transfer of Head of Gryffindor to Neville Longbottom.
"You will be missed, Harley," McGonagall said. "While you sent a few kids away in tears, many students love you."
"Well, I am not leaving unless I find the perfect replacement. So if this guy Draco's got is subpar, you'll have me at least another year," she replied. Despite trying to strictly adhere to her "one year" rule, she knew she couldn't leave the school hanging.
She went back to her rooms when the Floo suddenly roared to life, startling her.
"Hello? Harley? Are you there?" Her desk was in the corner, so anyone calling by Floo would not see her right away.
"Oliver?" she said, walking in front of the fire. No matter how long she lived in the Wizarding World, the Floo calls would always be very awkward to her. "Bloody Hell, why are you in my fireplace?"
"It's quicker than an owl."
Harley sighed. "What do you want, Oliver?"
"For one, to make sure you're not mad at me, but that's hard to tell because you always act like this. For another, to meet up. You take Sundays off, right? We can set everything straight," he said.
"I'm going to visit my brother tomorrow. May I suggest another day?" Harley asked.
"Just ten minutes. I'll meet you in London. Please?"
Damn it, how could someone give puppy-dog eyes across a fireplace?
"Fine. Tomorrow, noon, Leaky Cauldron." And with that Harley poured dirt on the fireplace, effectively ending the call.
The Leaky Cauldron was still a dark, dingy dump, even under different proprietors. Harley got there early and spent some time in Flourish and Blott's, thinking about her first visit there, nearly twenty-seven years ago, while Hagrid introduced her to Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys. That had been one of the best days of her life, though at the time she didn't know it.
At noon she went to the pub and ordered a firewhiskey, not usually one to drink in the afternoons, but she had a feeling that, between Oliver's persistence and Draco's candidate, she'd need it.
I should never have agreed to anything with Oliver, she thought. I care not that Fred claimed to be all right with it: the whole thing feels terribly wrong.
"My heart love till now for sweared sight, for I never saw true beauty till this night."
Harley jumped. "Shakespeare, really?"
Oliver sat at the bar stool next to her with a smug grin on his face. "One of the brightest wizards in existence. And he let everyone believe he was a Muggle."
"And it is a Muggle custom to quote cheesy poetry to your intended, but I had hoped wizards were above such nonsensical and pretentious actions," Harley commented.
He shrugged, ordering a drink. "I like it. You know he was a distant cousin of mine?"
"Huh. Tell me you're related to Poe and perhaps then I'll be impressed."
He chuckled. "You always were a judgy chit, weren't you?"
She glared at him. "If that's your version of flattery, I'd hate to hear your insults."
He kept smiling at her, and she was torn between wondering if he was slightly mad or if she wanted to kiss him again.
"I mean it, you know," he continued. "You're beautiful."
"I've never been one for flattery," she replied.
Oliver scoffed. "It's not flattery. It's fact. I've had a crush on you since I was sixteen, and you barely noticed I was alive."
She was surprised into laughter as she remembered telling Harry she paid as much attention to Oliver as she did to flobberworms. "True, and for that I apologise. ...Love makes people blind in more ways than one, and I was happy to be blinded."
Oliver nodded. "I know. I'm sorry for what happened to Fred. Not only were we friends, but I knew how much you loved each other. I'm not half as oblivious as you might think. But that's why I asked you to...consider me. You've been in mourning for too long." He reached over and covered her hand with his. "I'll never be Fred. And I'm okay with that. I don't want you to pretend to feel anything you don't feel. I just want to be able to put a smile on your face, to give you comfort and care."
Harley stared at their joined hands, a little taken aback.
"You know, there's something you said to me that night in my shop, about my spark being gone," she said quietly. "It made me wonder what my father was like before life fucked him over, if he had the same spark and drive I did but lost it. If that's why he pushed me to live my dream, to be with the man I loved. If he saw in me what you did, and was afraid I'd wind up losing it like him."
Oliver nodded slowly. "I didn't know him well. Dropped Potions by the time I was in sixth year. But I can see where you're coming from and it's entirely possible." He gently moved his thumb on the back of her hand in a soft pattern. "So if you're right, if he'd want you to be happy, why not take what I'm offering?"
Harley gazed into her glass, the reddish liquid sparkling in the afternoon sunlight. "That's why I agreed to meet. I would...I'd like to give it a try. As much as it hurts, I'm hoping that soon the pain will stop." She closed her eyes, hating the soft tears that fell.
Oliver brushed them away with fingers as light as feathers. "I promise to ease the pain as well as I can." He kissed her lightly, all she would allow in public. Possibly all she'd ever allow.
"I have to go," she murmured, pulling away from him. "Hogwarts business."
He helped her up and put a few knuts and sickles on the bar to cover their drinks. "Will I see you soon?"
Harley looked at his hopeful face and wanted to laugh. She was almost forty years old, and here she was about to date for the first time in her life. She and Fred had never dated, unless you counted trips to Hogsmeade. There was the Order, summers at Spinner's End and the Burrow, classes to take, and evil to fight. They had found and cultivated their love without any of the typical romantic conventionalities. This was going to prove to be interesting.
"Yeah, after the term ends I'll have much more free time." She gave him a small smile and said goodbye, Apparating outside Malfoy Manor.
She was used to Apparating outside the gates because of the Death Eater barrier around the place, and old habits died hard. She still felt the compulsion to raise her left arm in the air as she passed through the massive iron gates topped with carved snakes and walked to the front door.
She banged the serpent-headed knocker, suddenly feeling a wave of nostalgia. No reason. She'd been at the manor many, many times since Voldemort's defeat and had not felt like this for years. Come on, witches don't get into middle age as quickly as Muggles, so why do I feel like this? Early onset menopause? Harley wondered as she waited for the door to open.
After a few moments, Draco opened the door, an easy smile on his face.
"Right on time!" he said, ushering her inside. "Hang up your cloak."
"You seem awfully...eager," Harley commented as she did as he said, removing the contract from her cloak pocket to her lightweight black robe. "Is your potential employee so wonderful he's got you on edge, or were you and my brother just doing things I'd rather not think about?"
Draco shook his head, leading her through the house, where Harry met them in the hall, also looking like he was ready to burst.
"All right, what is going on?" Harley asked.
"You'll see. First, I have to ask-I was told to ask-are you really dating Oliver Wood?" Harry asked.
"Someone told you to ask me? If it was Spinnet, she can ask me herself...if she survives the encounter without a trip to St. Mungo's," Harley said. "But yes, we would like to give it a try. I was reminded of a few things I'd rather not discuss now, if it's all the same to you."
"Right, right, we have bigger grindylows to fry, eh?" Draco said. "And uh, those things need to begin with a confession."
Harley stepped back to look at Draco, who appeared as though he were a teenage boy sneaking around Hogwarts rather than a respected member of Wizarding society. She should have known that pairing him with her brother would lead to insanity one way or another.
"What did you do?" she asked.
"Nothing too bad. Um, you see, I sort of let a Dark object go into Hogwarts. Now, before you do a perfect imitation of your dad, let me explain. The object wasn't dangerous in and of itself. No one could be injured or cursed from it. I let it go so I could find a way to take it and remove the Dark magic from it and restore it to...well, its former glory, I guess."
What does this have to do with a prospective Potions Master? Harley asked herself as she watched Draco speak nervously.
"What I did was create a potion that counters a potion Harry already knew existed around this particular bit of Dark magic," Draco continued. "I've been brewing it and working on it ever since you guys started your horcrux hunt in December. The potion was just finished a week ago. We would have called you here sooner if we could, but we wanted to be sure it worked and there were no problems. You see, it was never used before. I found it in one of Father's old books."
"I'm not sure what I'm more furious over: that you let something Dark into the school or that you attempted an unused potion without a professional's supervision," Harley said. "You could have blown up the entire manor! You could have killed both Harry and yourself!"
He held up his hands in a placating gesture. "Nothing in it was combustible. Daffodils, unicorn hair and horn, a few other things. And...the Resurrection Stone."
At that, Harley finally blew up. "Are you out of your ever-loving, rapidly diminishing, bloody minds? Harry Potter, you complete arse! You let your boyfriend steal a Deathly Hallow from my private quarters at Hogwarts to use in some unknown potion? How? Who did you get to steal it from me?"
"K-Kreacher. I had Kreacher get it, because the anti-Apparition wards don't apply to house elves," Harry stammered.
"How did you know I had it that quickly?" she asked.
He paled except for two red spots of embarrassment high on each cheek. "I told the kids where to find it. When I didn't get an owl from them, I knew it had to be you who confiscated it from them."
Harley put the heel of her hand against her head. "Potter, you're giving me a migraine. You sent children into the fucking Forbidden Forest? You want them all dead, is that it? They were chased by dementors, you fool! Had I not been there those three kids would be soulless! Your recklessness has cost me quite a lot in my life, don't let it cost those children their lives!"
Draco reached out and put his hands on Harley's shoulders. "Lighten up, Snape. Everything turned out for the best, as you will see."
"No result is worth the lives of those kids, Malfoy," she said, her voice so low it was nearly a whisper.
Draco suddenly pulled her into a warm hug. "You're nicer than you give yourself credit for. But the result really is priceless."
Speaking of priceless….
"Why did Kreacher take my necklace but leave my engagement ring?" she asked.
"We needed it," Harry said.
The analytical part of Harley's brain began to work. She had never heard of a potion that required the ingredients Draco had listed, plus silver and emeralds. It really must be obscure.
"Who created the potion you made, anyway?"
"Merlin," both men replied. "It takes the darkness out of a particular Dark object," Draco added.
Harley's mouth dropped. "You're joking? You have a book that contains secret work of Merlin and you never even thought to show me? Draco, I'll kill you!"
"You can have it now. I have no need of it anymore," Draco said. "But the potion I made can't ever be made again: the Stone dissolved in there. So it was a one-time deal."
"But what was worth the Resurrection Stone?" she asked. "What was worth the destruction of a Deathly Hallow?"
A throat clearing in the direction of the library startled Harley, who turned to see who was eavesdropping. She had entirely forgotten about the Potions candidate, who must have heard everything and probably thought all three of them were mad.
A shadow loomed in the distance, quietly observing. A voice said, "I believe they think that I was worth it."
And Harley fainted.
"Hey, she moved. I think she's coming to!" Draco.
"Yeah, probably." Harry.
"Give her this. And you need to heal the bump on her head until I get my wand. I don't want to risk wandless magic so soon...not on an injury." No. Not possible. This is a delirium. I never woke up. I'm still in bed at Hogwarts.
Her dreams were often cruel, feeling so much like reality and leaving her to wake up and realise they had been just that: dreams. And she'd be miserable all day, knowing that her happiness was six feet under with Severus and Fred. Indeed, she was already crying a bit, feeling tears fall down the sides of her face, towards her ears. She was laying down, it seemed on a floor.
"She's crying!" Harry again, blissfully pointing out the obvious.
She heard the rustling of robes and felt her head being lifted with gentle hands and a potion bottle being put to her lips. Pepper-Up. The stuff tasted dreadful but she swallowed it. Fainting, if that's what she'd done and this wasn't all in her mind, required a dose of the potion.
"Plaga reparo." That was Draco, and the dull pounding she had felt in her head went away, leaving her with even more of a sense of unreality.
A cool hand touched the spot Draco just healed. "Thank you." Her hair was brushed from her face as if she was four instead of nearly forty. "Harley? Are you with us?"
"Harley?" Harry again. "Hey, come on, wake up."
She groaned. "Wake me, Potter, and I'll hex you back to Grimmauld Place."
"Well, you can't stay on the floor forever," Draco pointed out.
"Yes I can."
"Well, I'm fifty-eight and I cannot," the third voice pointed out. "And you are partially in my lap."
This isn't real. There's no way in...wait. Her inner dialogue was stilting. There is a way. Just because his name wasn't listed doesn't mean that he… "Please don't let this be a dream," she said, her voice breaking. "Because this is too real and I can't…"
The hand was in her hair again, stroking it and making her feel like the little girl she never was.
"It's real. These two were insane, completely out of line with what they did. What you said earlier is only a fraction of the lecture I gave them. Come on, little girl, open your eyes." She was lifted into a sitting position.
Slowly, cautiously, she opened her eyes, expecting Harry and Draco to be staring at her as if she was insane. What she saw was a pair of black eyes that matched her own, with the exception of makeup and addition of age lines.
"See? I am as real as you are," Severus Snape said, a soft smile touching his lips.
Harley was speechless, looking into the face she had not seen except in memories and dreams for so long. He had aged, now appearing in his late fifties instead of thirties, with hair mostly silver as opposed to ink black, but there was no mistaking him as being there, and very real. Nevertheless, she reached her hand out and placed it gingerly on the side of his face, half expecting him to vanish at her touch. Instead she felt his skin, warmed with life. The last time she had touched his face, his skin had been cold and waxy in death.
"Oh, my God," she gasped out, her tears resuming but for an entirely different reason. Her mind would finish putting the pieces together soon. Right then, all she could do was fling herself into her father's arms and bury her face in his neck.
He held onto her tightly, each second making her know that this was reality. They stayed like that for a few minutes or hours, Harley had no idea. All she knew was that her father was back, alive again, and she was never going to let go.
"You know, little girl, the Malfoys' floor is not exactly my idea of comfort," Severus said. He moved away from her and brushed the tears from her face, doing nothing about his own.
Harley couldn't believe he had let himself be seen weak and in tears by Harry Potter again. Smiling a little, she took out her wand and took his tears away like he had so many times for her.
Severus stood and held a hand out to help her up, where she promptly grabbed him in another hug, foregoing any pretense she had ever kept up. Now was no time for her emotional shields.
"I need to know everything," she said once she'd let him go. "Including why you never told me your wedding present to me was a horcrux." Turning, she faced Draco, "And you, my dear friend, are lucky I've not hexed your privates off yet."
"Believe me, I know," Draco said, holding his hands up in a gesture of innocence. "Sit down, Harry will have Kreacher bring tea."
"Kreacher's moved in here, has he?" Harley glanced at her brother.
"When I'm here, he is," Harry replied, calling for the elf.
"It was about time," Severus commented, sitting down in an armchair. "You two would dance around each other and I felt like I was watching an inept ballet."
Harley was more composed as she sat nearest her father in the darkened library and took the teacup from the ugly little elf who still seemed to dislike her.
"I suppose my explanation would be appreciated," Severus began. "I am sure Lucius told you what sort of reaction the idea of making a horcrux was met with."
"Apprehension and fear," Harley said. "But those who refused were killed."
Severus nodded. "Yes, before our very eyes. We were called Death Eaters for a reason: we all feared yet brought death. I am have made no secret that the things I did as a young man were vile and reprehensible, and I own them all. They are the reason I struggled to keep my identity from you, little girl, and why I did not stay with Lily.
"I was always a little weak when it came to killing Muggles. Despite the fact that I still think too many Muggles knowing about us could be our demise, I wanted secrecy, not mass murder. When the horcrux demand was made by the Dark Lord, I went to a Muggle hospital and killed someone in their intensive care unit. He was not long for this life anyway, and a little push of Legilimens told me he welcomed death. He was the first and only Muggle I ever killed with my own hand.
"My mother's pendant was used because it was all I had of my pureblood heritage. She'd recently died, and it was more sentimental than strategic. I had no idea I'd ever have anyone to pass it down to." He looked at Harley and smiled a little.
"Why did you not tell me, though?" Harley asked. "When you knew I'd be receiving it, why not let me know?"
"Because I had no idea one could come back from a horcrux without using Dark magic. I know you, little girl: you would have done anything to bring me back if you'd known, and I vowed when you were fourteen to never let you go Dark," he replied. "I keep my promises."
"That's why your spirit couldn't come through the Stone, right?" Harley asked.
He nodded. "Yes, because too much of my soul was already here."
"And you knew you weren't going to survive, and you didn't tell me that, either," she pointed out.
"True, because I love you, and I didn't want that on your head. You needed hope to fight the Dark, not more darkness."
She turned to Draco. "Your turn."
The blond squirmed in his seat, obviously uncomfortable. "When I saw your father's name listed, I couldn't quite believe my eyes. And I knew that there had to be some way, something no one knew about, to bring someone back from a horcrux without needing blood, bone, and flesh. So I made a Duplicate of the list and simply erased his name."
Clever, Harley thought. "And if I had asked you, while under Veritaserum, if this was everyone, what would you have done?"
He shrugged. "Told you. I'd have no choice, would I? Thankfully, you never did. I would have told you, but I didn't want to get your hopes up only to be let down."
"We aren't stupid, Harley, just like he said," Harry gestured to Severus. "You would have gone Dark to get him back. And we wouldn't have that."
Harley was touched by the protectiveness shown to her. Especially by a brother she had shunned for most of their lives.
She sat back in the chair, holding Severus' hand in hers. "I can't believe this is real. ...And what about Mum? You had to leave her again."
"Not forever. Now I know I will see her again. Right now my place is here, with you." Her father squeezed her hand tightly. "Lily was rooting for them to finish the potion, to return me to you. She gave me a warning when I left: 'You belong with our daughter, Sev, and don't you dare leave her again anytime soon'."
Harley chuckled. That sounded quite like her mother.
Draco cleared his throat. "Now, I did call you here about the Potions position at Hogwarts. Is this not a suitable replacement?"
Harley fired a hex at him, which he easily deflected. "You're an arse, Malfoy...but I'll be forever grateful to you." She glanced over at Harry. "To you both for saving a piece of me I thought had died long ago."
