Chapter 18: Proclamations

"The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, not the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when you discover that someone else believes in you and is willing to trust you with a friendship."

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

June 16th, 2011

Bugger.

As he approached the brick house that he had become unusually comfortable in the past few months, he found that he was dreading crossing the threshold into the all too familiar home more than he had the first time he entered.

He had already made his decision, yet found himself regretting it as he stood staring at the door from afar. Though he took pride in being a man who paid great attention to detail, he felt himself noticing small details in the old architecture of the house for the first time. He did not recall the family that lived here as a child, though he rarely ventured to this part of Cokeworth unless he had Lily at his side. Even Lily did not grow up in a home in this part of the town. The Granger family must have been well off, perhaps one of the—

His inner thoughts were interrupted by a cleared throat. He should have noticed the sound of another approaching but found himself lost in his own personal distractions.

"Weasley," ensuring his voice carried his scorn.

"Snape," a response spoken in near equal distaste; at least they had that in common.

When he didn't grace him with any pleasantries, the gangly redhead spoke again.

"Didn't expect you to be here. Figured you'd be steering clear of anything the Prophet might pick up on."

"I could care less what the Prophet 'picks up on', as you so eloquently put it, Weasley."

"Right… well, I'll just," he nodded vaguely toward the house before shuffling down the pathway that led into Hermione's home.

The thought of the Daily Prophet reporting on his reemergence into wizarding society had come to him when he walked back to his home, contemplating on whether or not to oblige to his daughter's request.

Hermione and Minerva were right, he had finally come to terms with this. Within a year, the wizarding world would know of Katherine Snape's existence, whether he liked it or not. It was inevitable that the world would know, yet he had fought for solitude their entire life to keep them happy, terrified that she would come to despise him as so many did.

That fear had started to fade with the unconditional faith his daughter had in him after her mother passed and he revealed the truth he had kept from her. It had fully dawned on him that she would never despise him after he had asked what her opinion was on him returning to Hogwarts— if his daughter only desired for his happiness, he could easily say he would be happy if she was.

So the question became, why delay the inevitable?

Following the interaction with Lovegood and her child, he had unfortunately made another realization: the children were right. Though he knew it should not matter to him, he found that the idea of Hermione being pleased that he had come to support her meant a great deal to him.

This in itself had been a mildly frustrating realization.

It was not in his nature to become attached to a friend in this way, he had detested any attempted forms of close friendship wherein their pleasure brought him happiness. His friendship with Minerva survived solely through irritating one another.

Hermione's friendship had become one more akin to the one he had once held with Lily Evans, though he did not like that association much either.

Despite making the proper justifications to himself, he knew he was still delaying the inevitable. The details of the door began to become hazy as he approached.

He opened the door to find a few vaguely familiar people milling about in the hallway, it was not the fondest feeling he'd had in recent days.

Ignoring the stares he began to receive as people looked up at the new guest, he spotted his daughter on the steps sitting with her friends; Henry, the Lovegood-Weasley girl, and the newest set of Weasley twins.

Why did I allow her to befriend so many Weasley children?

Before he could say a word, Katherine jumped up after the Lovegood-Weasley girl nudged at her with her elbow. She ran and caught him tightly around the waist and he gave a small smile in response, embracing her in return.

"Severus! Katherine!" Oh, thank Merlin.

"Always a pleasure, Minerva," he muttered quietly as she came closer, he noticed some of the onlookers began to return to their conversations as Minerva approached him.

"Come here, Katherine dear. Oh my, your hair has gotten so long!"

He let Minerva fawn over Katherine some while he glanced around at the other attendees, many of them he had taught, but Hermione was nowhere in sight.

There were the stragglers still staring at him, he now chose to avert eye contact and kept his eyes on his daughter and Minerva.

"Professor Snape, you made it!" Lovegood had approached him from behind, he turned, partially thankful for another face that was not in judgment of him, and was already aware of his daughter's existence.

She looked at him up and down before adding, "I much preferred the muggle attire, but I suppose a cloak is more traditional."

"Yes…" He had no idea what he had gotten himself into now.

And Hermione was still nowhere to be found.

"Come Severus, we can get food in this room here. There is someone I'd like to introduce you to," Minerva had grabbed his arm and led him into the living room he knew all too well. As he glanced around, he noticed it had changed significantly in appearance, infinitely more than he had noticed when he passed by the room yesterday. They had spent most of the time in her kitchen watching them while the children were outside, as such, he hadn't realized the work she had put into altering her living space. The tables and other furniture had all changed, but the most notable was the appearance of a new magical photograph alongside the muggle art on the walls. I suppose she knows props will do well for her sales, especially those that showcase the author receiving an Order of Merlin.

Minerva hadn't waited for him to pick up something, she had already shoved a plate of cheese at him. She had always maintained that he never ate enough during his tenure at Hogwarts and rarely lost a moment to put more food beneath his nose.

"Ah, here. Severus, this is Musoke Nabirye, our new potions professor," the man had approached with Aurora Sinistra at his side, he nodded familiarly in her direction and accepted Nabirye's outstretched hand.

"Hello Professor Snape, I greatly admire your work." Before he could respond, there was a clatter at the entrance of the room.

Potter had appeared and was clearly in shock; it was not difficult to ascertain the reason.

He sighed internally, averting eye contact with the adult Potter. A woman by his side had bent down to pick up the plate he had shattered when he dropped it; he assumed she was a muggle, having not pulled out a wand to assist her.

Everyone was staring between himself and Potter now, from the corner of his eye, he saw Ginevra Weasley whisper something to her wife before sidling out of the room, Lovegood had pulled out her wand and repaired the plate in place of the woman attempting to clean the mess by hand.

The muggle woman stood up and smiled, "Thank you, Luna. Harry, are you okay, dear?" The woman grabbed his arm and glanced over at him. He swiftly returned his attention to Nabirye and Minerva, the latter was obviously attempting not to laugh while the former looked around confusedly at the distraction.

"How are you faring at Hogwarts, Professor Nabirye?" If he continued to make conversation, perhaps he could avoid any interactions with the former bane of his existence.

The young man wore rich burgundy robes with a sash striped with ochre and cream, if he remembered correctly this was the traditional Uagadou symbol for students intent on continuing their education.

While the man was responding, he listened while glancing at the entrance to the living room. Potter had moved off to the side as the woman, who he now assumed was his wife, dusted off his clothing where he had poured food down his front. There were others still staring between himself and Potter, attempting to seem nonchalant at their own curiosity but were failing miserably.

"—but aside from adjusting to the Scotland weather, my experience at Hogwarts has been enjoyable."

Minerva smiled, "Yes, over the winter I often found him in layers."

The man in question gave a half-hearted smile, "But I am becoming accustomed to the strange weather. It only took me a year," he gave a deep chuckle that seemed almost unfitting for a man as young as he appeared.

"Musoke, tell Severus of the trials you have been conducting. I am positive he can shed some light on some of your difficulties," Minerva took his acquiescing nod to listen to Nabirye further as an opportunity to shove more cheese at him.

"Yes, yes. I have been working on a way to ease the effects of post-traumatic stress in wizards, something that will be of more comfort than the usual combinations of dreamless sleep and pepper-up. I've been analyzing the qualities of both to create something that creates a similar effect in the long-term."

This young man shows some promise, I suppose.

"I may be willing to look over your research, if you would like my input."

"Yes of course, it would be very much appreciated," he could see his hesitation before continuing on, "Minerva also mentioned the possibility of you taking me on as an apprentice in my endeavor to become a Potions Master." It was clear that he had been waiting for what felt to be an appropriate time to bring up the topic.

He opened his mouth to respond after shooting a silent glare at Minerva but closed it again as another commotion began to occur behind Minerva in the corner where Potter had retreated.

He seemed to now be ignoring the urges of his wife and was fast approaching them. Their onlookers were now watching brazenly. He swore he heard Potter mumble something along the lines of I am being polite as he ignored his wife's pleas.

Minerva turned at his glare over her shoulder, "Ah, Mr. Potter, to what do we owe the pleasure?"

He gave his old head of house a smile, "Hi Professor, I was wondering if I could have a word with Professor Snape?" The young man looked expectantly at him, he sighed aloud and fought the urge to roll his eyes.

"Potter, I have nothing of consequence to discuss with you at the moment," he pinched the bridge of his nose as he spoke.

Before Potter could respond, he saw that the children had maneuvered their way into the room and caught sight of the group of familiar adults, gathering around them in interest.

Everything about this evening was dreadful thus far, why had he put himself in this situation?

The Lovegood-Weasley girl pointed up to Potter and looked over at his daughter, "This is our Uncle Harry, Harry Potter." The girl emphasized the name gratuitously, which made several of the onlookers laugh.

Katherine bounced some and looked at him expectantly, "Is that true, daddy? Is this Harry Potter?"

People were whispering now, not many had put two and two together when Katherine had bounded toward him upon his entry, but now the majority in attendance had just witnessed a child confess to being his daughter and were waiting for his response with bated breath.

"It is true, dear."

Ignoring the faces around the room, he kept his eyes trained down to his daughter. Unsurprisingly, as she did with Weasley the day prior, she stuck out her hand to Potter.

"Hi Mr. Potter, I'm Katherine Snape! It's a pleasure to meet a hero like you." He would give anything to not be living this moment, and to make matters worse Minerva was clearly on the verge of cackling. If he was closer he'd perhaps be able to hide a quick stomp on the toe.

"Hello Miss Katherine, it's lovely to meet you too," Potter shook her hand, "And compared to your father, I have to confess that you have the better hero at home," now forcing down the urge to vomit as his daughter beamed at Dumbledore's messy-haired prodigy.

He had noticed people moving closer in now, as an unfamiliar young man had approached from behind him. The prospect of having Potter and himself in close-quarters was too much for people, apparently.

"Hello Mr. Potter, Mr. Snape, I'm Rasmus Andersen. I just started interning at the Daily Prophet and wondered if I could get an inter—," but he was abruptly silenced by Minerva.

"No one here needs interviewing Andersen, go grab a copy of Granger's book or find Granger herself; it is her event after all. If I recall correctly you barely scraped an OWL in History of Magic and you never took Muggle Studies so you may as well learn something useful and put that in the prophet."

The young man stood staring in shock at his old Headmistress, he must be a recent Hogwarts graduate because he did not recognize his name. Before the boy could walk away with his head hung in response to his former headmistress admonishing him, Severus felt a tug at his arm and looked down to see his daughter pointing across the room.

Ginevra Weasley had reentered the room with Hermione at her side. She appeared stressed upon her entrance until she found his eyes, he could see the small upward quirk of her lips and her shoulders seemed to relax, but that may have been his own imagination.

Weasley leaned over to whisper something in her ear, causing her forehead creased in response, her eyes glanced from him to Potter. He had a guess as to what Weasley had said.

She seemed to take the uncomfortable scene in front of her as a cue, "Hello everyone, if I could get your attention for just one moment!"

The stragglers now gathered at the living room entrance, all eyes on Hermione Granger.

"I'd like to thank you all for coming, this truly means more than you all know," she glanced around the room and met his eyes again, he held her gaze until she moved. She walked over to the nearby table where she had placed a few of the books, plucking one up to hold as she went on.

"A History of Muggles and Magic was not something I could have done without the help of many. I have met many people in these past few months that have been a massive help, from muggle historians who could not be here, for obvious reasons, to individuals from different wizarding cultures across the world. I have, of course, given credit where credit is due in the book itself, to both muggles and wizards alike."

She found his eyes again and he had suspicions as to what the witch was about to do the moment before she did, despite his advice. Those suspicions were confirmed in her next action.

Having only needed to take a few steps to be at his side, he found himself surrounded by Hermione at one side and Minerva at his other; it was not a particularly comforting position to be in. He glanced down at the Scottish witch who was watching the turn of events unfold in complete amusement.

"I also had a great deal of help from someone here, and though he did not ask for recognition, I believe it is owed," she had looked over to talk directly to him, rather than their small crowd, "Thank you, Severus."

He felt a jolt, and though he knew it was coming and knew he should be irritated, he did not find anger at the forefront of his thoughts.

In fact, though it obviously must be the light, he found himself taken aback by how easy it was to get lost in her eyes.

Bugger.

He must be angry with me. The look on Severus Snape's face did not register as anger, though she knew he must be as she did just do something that he had advised her not to.

But he's here! He said he wouldn't be. Luna coming with the kids had been a surprise but she had never thought in a million years that he would show up. She had not planned on acknowledging his contributions, for fear that word would get out and people would connect him with Cokeworth, but he had done that himself by showing up.

After a moment she found that she had let the pause sit too long and turned to face the small crowd again.

"I hope you all take notice of his contributions, though they may not be noted directly. You can get your copy today by seeing Charles here," she nodded towards her editor standing near the window who waved at the crowd, "Or by waiting until they hit the shelves in Flourish and Blotts on Monday. Continue to be social and enjoy the snacks and refreshments! Again, thank you all for coming!"

There was a smattering of applause, to which she nodded in thanks before turning to face Minerva, Severus, and the rest of the chaotic circle formed around them.

"So, how are things going here?"

Having a group made up of Minerva, Severus, Harry, Vanessa, the new potions Professor she had met earlier, and five children standing awkwardly to the side had created an uncomfortable tension that she was unsure how to remedy.

Vanessa was the first to respond, "Oh it's lovely Hermione. The house looks amazing, you and Charles really did great work. I'm very interested in reading your book, it'll be a fascinating way to connect the history I know with what Harry knows."

A familiar voice joined the already disastrous array of people, "Harry doesn't know much about the history of magic, unfortunately, so it'll be a little one-sided when you read it, Vanessa."

Blast it all.

Harry chuckled at his red-headed best friend that had approached the group at the most opportune of times.

"He's right, Hermione is the only reason we passed History of Magic. Honestly she's probably the reason we passed every subject."

The kids were watching the encounter, clearly mesmerized, and she couldn't stop thinking of how uncomfortable Severus must be, though he showed no sign of it.

"I don't know about every subject…"

Minerva tutted at her, causing Ron to laugh.

"I'm sure it's an excellent book Hermione, I'll let you know when I finish it. I might try to teach Harry a thing or two in your honor."

"Let me know if you have any luck, Vanessa, I know I never did," she swore she detected a hint of a smirk playing at Severus's lips, but it passed quickly.

Ginny had walked over to the table behind them to grab a plate, Vanessa took notice of this and thankfully sensed the need to dissipate some of their crowd, "Hey kids, why don't you show Ginny and I the fort you've built upstairs and we can talk about how much better football is than Quidditch?"

"There's actually a chapter on that in the book," she couldn't help adding unnecessarily.

Ginny snorted, "Since when do you write about quidditch, Hermione?"

"We–," Ginny cut her off before she finished.

"Wait, tell me later. I need to prove to the kids once and for all that Quidditch is the ultimate sport," she winked at them and grabbed Vanessa's arm, gesturing for the kids to follow. Henry and Katherine straggled behind but followed after waving goodbye.

"That's a sweet girl you've got there, Professor Snape," Harry nodded at their retreating backs and looked up at Severus who had yet to change his stoic expression.

"She is just a doll, Severus, you're letting her grow far too quickly," Minerva added.

He finally spoke, "Believe me, if I could stop it I would."

"Agreed," Harry nodded in agreement and she noticed Ron did too. Despite being shadows of their former dunderhead selves, she assumed Severus could see that they were still loving parents.

Minerva jumped as if she had been bitten and spluttered out, "Forgive me Musoke, I've been neglecting you. Potter, Weasley, this is Musoke Nabirye, the potions Professor we hired on after Horace left."

Ron and Harry each shook his hand, and exchanged the usual niceties when Luna approached their now smaller group and Hermione sensed a larger plan at work, extremely thankful for her friends.

"Harry, Ron, Ginny asked me to come and get you. She says the kids would like a demonstration."

She watched her two friends exchange glances, grinning.

"Remember this is a muggle neighbourhood and I do not own any broomsticks, boys," they waved dismissively at her and headed out of the room.

Several people had purchased her book and were now bidding her farewell as they left.

"You two sure know how to clear a room," Minerva smacked her lips as she nursed her glass.

"It's a gift." She nearly choked at Severus's words but nodded in agreement.

"The Prophet is still going to have a field day of this, you do realize?"

Minerva was looking pointedly at Severus when she said this, he gave a nod in acknowledgment of the fact. He had to have known this before coming and yet chose to come anyway.

"Yes, I'm sure it will be delightful."

"I can always do an article in the Quibbler in response if you'd like." Luna was still near enough to be apart of the conversation, but she hadn't realized she was listening. She smiled at her sweet friend, it was an offer she often gave to all of their old school friends when a piece of gossip surrounding them hit the Daily Prophet. Her own divorce had been made out to be entirely her fault by the Prophet and Luna had covered it kindly in response, getting direct quotes from both her and Ron to set the record straight.

"We'll let you know if that's necessary, Luna, thank you."

Luna smiled around at them before nodding politely and walked away without another word. Still Luna.

"Well, I suppose I must get Musoke here back to Hogwarts. I'll need to grab this book of yours before I do, of course."

She knew this was the moment, she had already made her decision but now she had to come out and say it.

"Actually Minerva, could I have a word with you in my study?"

Severus squinted at her knowingly and she gave him a half-smile.

"Of course," Minerva sat her glass down and followed her out of the room.

She led her to the study that she had just left not even an hour earlier after declining a job, and now—

"I wanted to let you know I've made my decision about the Arithmancy position."

"Well it's about time," she let out a small laugh at Minerva's forwardness with her, it showed signs of building a more comfortable friendship with her old head of house.

"I'd like to accept it, if you still want me, of course."

"Yes, Hogwarts still wants you, dear. I'll owl you the details on when you can get yourself and young Henry settled in the castle's professor residence if you opt to go that route. Some choose to live nearby, like Longbottom, as long as you are close enough for you to arrive promptly at my request."

She clapped her hands together in excitement, "Wonderful! Yes, I'd prefer to live in the teaching residence for convenience."

"I thought as much. Did you have any luck with Severus returning?"

This she shrugged forlornly at, "I doubt it. You can ask him again for confirmation but I won't bet on it."

"I see." She watched curiously as Minerva pulled her study door open and left, only to return a moment later with Severus at her heel.

"What have you done now?" He looked at her accusingly.

"I did nothing at all! I just accepted the job and then she left the room!"

"She told me to ask you again, don't let her be coy, Severus," Minerva smirked at her jokingly affronted expression.

He rolled his eyes, "Ask me what again."

"Don't be daft Severus, will you accept the Defense Against the Dark Arts position?"

Hermione put her hand on her chin as she leaned against her desk, trying to read the complicated man that was Severus Snape. The cogs were turning in his mind but she could not get a feel for the direction they were going. Finally, his eyes met hers and she felt they could have drilled into her with the intensity of the stare.

"I will."

"What?" She and Minerva spoke in unison, both gobsmacked.

"I will teach Defense this year and take on Nabirye as my apprentice in the meantime. We had a short discussion while you two were in here and I believe he shows a deal of passion for the subject I haven't often seen. It's possible his research could complement my own, so I will do it."

They all stood in silence for what felt like several minutes.

Minerva finally looked at her, her hands thrown in the air, "If I knew it would be that easy I would have introduced them a long time ago."

Hermione laughed at her but kept her eyes trained on Severus. She knew it hadn't been an easy decision and certainly couldn't have been one he had made in a moment's thought, just like him showing up here tonight hadn't been.

"Oh I was supposed to let you know that Hagrid wanted to come but he assumed that if it was being held in a muggle home he would have some difficulty fitting in, given his past experiences at entering muggle dwellings," Minerva's lips twitched as she spoke but Hermione felt mildly guilty now at holding it in a place where Hagrid hadn't felt welcome enough to come.

"Well, I suppose you will just need to pass it on to Hagrid that I will be seeing a lot more of him very soon."

"I will pass that message on my dear, now let me find that delightful editor of yours for my copy of the book so I can get home."

Minerva scuttled out, leaving them alone. Hermione pushed the door shut behind her, hoping for a quick word with Severus before making herself appear sociable again.

"Why?"

He cocked a brow as if to say, why what?

"Why did you come, Severus? You knew Harry would be here."

"Potter doesn't frighten me," he scoffed at her.

"You know what I mean."

He rolled his eyes, "Yes, it isn't the most delightful event I've attended in my time but I was told I should give my support to the acclaimed author," he paused and added in a dryly, "Though clearly my support was not appreciated."

"Oh sod off, you know I'm glad you're here. I wouldn't have acknowledged you otherwise."

He gave her one of his oft-not seen smiles, she felt a flip in her stomach on the rare occasion she could pull one out of him.

"And the job, why did you take the job, Severus?"

"I said why, weren't you listening?"

"Severus."

She tried to speak in all seriousness but couldn't keep the smile hinting at her lips.

Suddenly, there was a clatter outside and the door swung open and two heads appeared from the hall.

"Mum! You have to see what Uncle Harry did!"

"You too, dad!"

They exchanged apprehensive glances before being unceremoniously dragged from the room by their children.

AN:

Back later than I expected, this chapter just kept wanting more from me! Love to all of you!