Midnight had come and gone, Snape still unable to sleep. He sat up in bed, watching Hazel as she dreamed. "I'm so lucky to have you," he whispered as she reached out for him in her sleep. "I'm sorry it had to be like this."

The students had been antagonizing both of them even more as of late. He was their target, and many of them still liked and respected her, but she'd come into his office that evening covered in scratches. One particularly audacious student had enchanted the rose he'd sent down to her office, making it fly after her until she managed to reach for her wand and ignite it. So much for Snape sending her roses every Friday.

His heart was heavy as she dreamt, hopefully of something happier than their daily lives. He knew the time was coming. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were getting closer, narrowing down the dark objects they had to destroy until Voldemort himself was the only thing left. They had been close when he spied on them in the Forest of Dean, but it was only a matter of time now. Only a matter of time before their lives were upended in the final battle, no matter who won.

For the longest time, he hadn't cared if he lived or died. He would run into battle as a young Death Eater, hardly thinking about whether or not he would come out alive. Long ago he had accepted the fact that no matter who won the war, spies weren't treated well. Even if Voldemort prevailed and made him one of his most-trusted advisors, there would be a price on his head. And he didn't care. Even though he didn't actively sneer in the face of Death every day, he was content with dying. He would have welcomed it. Until now. With Hazel curled up against him, he once again realized that he finally had something to live for. She had been there for him in the face of James Potter and his gang. She had defended him in front of the Wizengamot, even after he had run out of her life. Now she had chosen to stay, even when the entire school had turned against him.

Knowing that he might die in the war pained him more than it ever had before. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, and he wanted it to be a long one. He could see himself getting old with her, spending their lives out of the public eye but being happy nonetheless. He wanted to be there to make her smile, to spend time with her after a long day of classes, to find new adventures over the holidays - hopefully nothing like the wizarding wars and the Cursed Vaults that had plagued Hogwarts in the interim. He wanted to wander around Hogsmeade and sneak away to buy birthday presents, to sit up late at night talking and grading papers with her, and to keep up his tradition of sending roses down to her classroom every Friday. He wanted to have a life with her, and for the first time in a long time, he actively wanted to avoid dying.

"I don't think I'm going to survive this," he admitted to her sleeping form. "I hope you do." He kissed the top of her head, trying to close his eyes and sleep. It would be hours before he dozed off, and only moments until his alarm forced him out of bed and into another day.


I want to meet her. The words echoed in Hazel's mind though she had never heard them spoken. Severus had barely disguised the trembling in his voice when he told her. Now she clutched his hand tightly, the two of them walking up to Malfoy Manor. A group of Death Eaters was already lurking inside, others following them in. "Little Ravenclaw? Is that you? Snape, you didn't tell me this was the same girl from seventh year." Dolohov had materialized next to them, Hazel even more frightened than she had been seconds ago.

"Antonin," she nodded, the couple turning to look at him. "It's been a long time. I've had an, er, change of heart. I came back to the castle thinking it would be a good retirement from my work at the Ministry, and Severus... well, he's shown he what's really important."

The three of them stepped inside, Dolohov holding the door. Turning into what had once been the dining room, Hazel was struck by the sight of a table full of the men and women she had spent years tracking down, putting in Azkaban, and getting wands taken away from. Narcissa Malfoy offered her a soft smile, but the others just sneered. They showed her a shadow of respect just became she held Snape's hand. If it weren't for him, half of them would have killed the ex-Auror on sight. Snape squeezed her hand as they walked past everyone, taking their seats next to the empty head of the table. Dolohov took an empty chair further down the table.

Sitting next to Narcissa made her feel a little better, but she held onto Snape as Voldemort himself stepped out of the shadows, taking his seat mere feet away. "Good evening, everyone. And especially to our lovely guest. Severus, you had told me she was beautiful, but... quite the Pureblood you are."

"Thank you, my lord," Hazel managed. Snape was silent beside her, keeping his expression blank.

"I understand, you must be in awe," he said, looking her over carefully. She could feel him trying to bore into her mind. He was one of the most accomplished Legilimens in recent history, but she and Snape had taught themselves Occlumency back in school. She could easily pick and choose what memories to show him. Her and Sev sitting under a tree at the castle, studying for a Herbology exam. The two of them at the winter ball in their seventh year. Both of them sitting up late, talking in the staff room when she had first come back to Hogwarts. How she'd smiled at him in the Potions storeroom, Snape hardly noticing as he patiently catalogued ingredients, carrying on a conversation as he worked. The rose he would leave on her desk every Friday morning. Their trips to Hogsmeade, both as students and when they were supervising their own students. The night she had been tailing a group of Death Eaters with Mad-Eye Moody, when they had run into trouble but she spotted Snape in the forest, telling him to run before anyone realized he was there. "That was where it started?"

The rest of the table was watching intently. "Yes," she lied. "When I saw him there, I knew. I knew I couldn't keep fighting, not if he was in danger. So I stepped back, until I was out of the Ministry. I did everything I could to minimize the sentences -" She turned to look at the rest of the table as she said, "I'm sorry, all of you. The pressures of the Ministry - I couldn't do much in the Wizengamot." Looking back to Voldemort, she added, "I did what I could. I made sure some of them were freed. I sat with it for a long time. I spent years waiting until I went back to Hogwarts and, well, I found Severus again."

"You put half of us in Azkaban," Bellatrix spoke up. It was true. She had been at her trial, watched as the witch was hauled away by Dementors. She hadn't been the one charging her and presenting the case, but she had been in the courtroom. "How are we to believe you."

"I believe her." Voldemort cut off all protests. "Severus, you trust her?"

"Completely," he nodded, looking to Hazel for a brief second. "With my life, my lord."

"Very well." Voldemort turned to his most loyal, proclaiming that, "I have seen her mind. She has been... misguided, yes. But she has found her place. As a member of one of the most distinguished Pureblood families in Britain, despite the blood mixing of her unfortunate great-great-great uncle, she will be accepted here. In fact, you may prove to be useful. No one has questioned your loyalty to the Auror Office?"

Hazel shook her head. "I've gotten some distrustful responses about Severus, but Dumbledore's trust cleared all of that up. It shouldn't be a problem."

"I shall keep that in mind. For now, all of you are to respect her. You know the consequences of distrusting me. Now, Lucius, how are the efforts at the Ministry?"

Trying not to breathe an audible sigh of relief, Hazel sat back in her seat, her vice grip on Snape's hand relaxing just a little. If she hadn't passed the test, she wouldn't be alive right now. Voldemort had demanded to meet her, to see the woman who Snape was so loyal to. He'd only found out about her when he'd stepped into a memory that he hadn't expected. He had been asking about Dumbledore, filing through Snape's mind when he landed on the start-of-term feast where Dumbledore had introduced her. He thought it had been a random memory and was about to move on when he caught Snape training his gaze on the woman a little more often than he thought natural. Sure enough, he'd found a memory of the two of them taking a walk by the Black Lake next. Immediately, he demanded to know who she was. Though he had been satisfied knowing that she came from a branch of the Ravenclaw family, he still wanted to interview her in person. After all, she had been an Auror. Yet Snape trusted her. Curious.


He had gone for a walk to clear his head, winding up in a disused classroom, one he was sure he would never find again. In front of him stood a golden mirror, one he had heard rumors about while he was at school. He had never sought it out, part of him afraid of what he might see. But now... He stepped forward, at first seeing only himself. Slowly, the image began to change.

Hazel appeared next to him, holding his hand. She looked just like he had left her in his study, with one noticeable difference. A glittering ring on her left hand made him smile to himself. Hazel smiled back at him - the reflection, he reminded himself - two other ghostly figures appearing behind them. Eileen looked healthier than she had in years. She held her husband's hand, something Severus had never seen. His father put a hand on his shoulder, clearly proud of his son. Impossible. Snape looked at his reflection carefully, noticing that he'd rolled his sleeves up. His left arm was bare, the Dark Mark completely disappeared. He sighed, taking it all in. They were happy, and there was no danger before them. Not the wizarding war they had graduated into, not the Cursed Vaults he had been forced to deal with when he returned to Hogwarts, not the war they were in the middle of now.

In the mirror, Hazel reached up to kiss him, Severus pulling her into his arms. The real Severus smiled, though part of him dwelled in the melancholy feeling that he would never get to see all of that realized.

"Sev?" He whirled around, finding Hazel, the real Hazel, standing in the doorway. "What are you looking at? Is that... I didn't think it was real."

"The Mirror of Erised," he confirmed as she joined him. "What do you see?"

She stared at their reflections for a moment before reaching out for him. Snape put an arm around her, Hazel snaking her arm around his waist and laying her head on his shoulder. "Us. Except... You're smiling. You're showing me your arm, and there's no Dark Mark. You've got something in your hand and... you're asking me -" She paused, smiling at their reflection. Hazel turned to look at him, giving him a kiss and reminding him that, "I love you, Sev. I hope you know that. And what I see, that'll be us one day, I promise. C'mon, we should head back. I'm exhausted, and staring into this mirror, well, Dumbledore always said it's not good to dwell on dreams that can't be just yet."

"One more minute."

"No." She took his hand, leading him towards the door. "What we see - a lot of it... They're things we can look forward to. But for now, I'm tired, Sev. Even if we can't be that purely happy, I feel better knowing you're sleeping next to me. We';; get that one day, I know it. But for now, well, we're already up way too late. You need to rest."