A/N: This is it, the final chapter. Story's definetely over now. Thanks for all the reviews, I'm glad I made you all laugh. And please, tell me if you liked the ending…

Oh, and just in case, perhaps some of you were wondering if Emily was right about what she said about squids. I can assure you that Emily knew what she was talking about: squids ARE intelligent animals, and they CAN learn how to screw the lid off a jar. Check it out on http://www.nwf.org/nationalwildlife/armed.html and discover the unknown life of squids :-)

Have fun. Thanks for reading:

Chapter seven: About Taking A Bath

"Hi mommy!" Justin cried out. Snape looked up from his potions book. Out of the hearth came the head of a woman, looking into his office.

"Please, do come in, Ernestine," said Snape. "You're blocking my chimney this way."

With a quick movement, a large woman stepped into Severus' office. Everything was large about her; she was tall, big-breasted, and also her nose was big; it was a family thing.

Ernestine brushed the soot off her robe and said: "Since when have you lit a fire in your hearth?"

"Since the boy's here," Snape said. "He gets cold otherwise."

"O, rubbish," Ernestine said. "We never light a fire at home. Otherwise we don't attract that much lightning. Hi kiddo," she added, as she quickly ran her hand through Justin's hair. "Had fun?"

Justin smiled at her, and then resumed his drawing.

"Such a moving mother and child reunion," Snape said dryly.

"So, tell me Sev," Ernestine said, as she let herself fall into a chair, that cracked dangerously under her weight. "Did everything go well this week?"

"Everything went quite well, considering the fact that you left Justin with me without any notice before."

The woman held her hands up in the air. "How could I?" she cried out. "If I knew where and when the thunderstorms start, I'd be making lots of money at the Weather Channel."

"So, how did your lightning spell work out?" Snape said, ignoring her anger.

"Well, what'll I say. There have been things… happening… that shouldn't have happened, let's just say that." Ernestine shook her head. "We had to modify so many Muggle's memories, I've lost count of them. But at least now nobody will notice that a certain species in a certain lake has gone missing. Can you believe the chances of lightning actually hitting The monster of Loch Ness?"

"That's definitely a small chance," Snape pointed out.

"Yes, I know. To be precise, one out of twenty-five million, thirty-three thousand, four-hundred and twenty seven. Is that small or what? Hey, what's that?" Ernestine had got up and was looking at a jar on Severus' desk. "Well, this is a big squid! Is this for dinner?"

"No," Severus said. "Not for dinner, it's for—"

"That's Emily," Justin stated, as he looked up from his piece of parchment.

Ernestine turned round and looked at Snape with a mixture of astonishment and pity. "You NAME them?" she said.

"It's… for my potions," Snape said, hoping the short pause wouldn't be noticed by his cousin. "I classify them, otherwise everything becomes a chaos. This year, I'm using 'E'.

"Is that so?" Ernestine said distractedly, as she leaned over to peer through the thick glass of the jar. "This one looks tasty, though. You might consider eating it. I'm starving!"

"No, I'm sorry to tell you that my potion ingredients are not to be used for breakfast, lunch or dinner," Snape said icily. "Which brings me to remember that you owe me a bottle of unicorn milk that your son drank."

"You drank UNICORN MILK?" Ernestine rushed over to Justin and hugged him. "Well done, honey, that's so HEALTHY! And he doesn't even like milk, normally," she added, looking at Snape.

"Well, apparently he's picky," Snape said. "And when you're hungry, I'm sure the house elves can get you anything you like."

"Oh, no," Ernestine said, and waved her hand. "We've got to go anyway. Come on, Justin, daddy's waiting. Give Uncle Sev a big kiss and say thank you!"

The little boy jumped off his chair and started to walk toward Severus.

"Yes, yes, that's all right," Severus said quickly. "Now off you go."

But Justin wasn't that easily stopped. "Bye Uncle Sev," he said, as he firmly embraced Severus' knees. Then he walked over to the jar at the desk. "Bye Emily," he said, and softly knocked against the glass.

Ernestine laughed. "I'd swear that that squid is waving at you, Justin," she said. "Now come with me!"

She threw some floo powder in the fire, and with a quick movement they both disappeared.

For some seconds, Snape remained entirely still. Then he slowly turned round and calmly stepped toward his desk. He sat down onto his chair and was now at eye level with the squid. The squid looked at him with her large eyes, slowly swaying her tentacles back and forth in the water.

Snape sighed. "I can't say this enough, but I'm deeply, deeply sorry," he said. "Sorry about what Justin did. Sorry about that I've lied to you. And… sorry that I can't change you back."

The squid's eyes seemed to grow even bigger. "No Emily," he continued, "I've thought this through, but I can't change you back. It's too dangerous. Never has a Muggle suddenly appeared inside Hogwarts. And because you can't see it when you're Muggle shaped, well, who knows what will happen?"

The squid obviously didn't agree with that, for she violently shook her head, and splashed onto the water with her tentacles.

"Don't you see?" Snape asked. "It's for your own good, Emily. I don't want you to be lost somewhere. Besides, I've become quite… attached to you." Softly, he stroke the thick glass of the jar. Inside it, Emily looked intensely at him, with her blue eyes, and seemed to be waiting for more explanation.

"Merlin's teeth, you're still beautiful, do you know that?" Snape said softly. "I don't know what it is about you, but I believe you're the most beautiful squid I've ever seen." He placed his hand against the glass and left it there. "Emily, what have you got to lose?" he said. "You quit your job, you didn't want to go back at it anyway. And now you're an intelligent squid. And beautiful as well. Is that so bad? Besides… I still want you. I do, Emily."

One moment, the squid was hesitating, then it slowly brought one of her tentacles toward his hand, and cautiously started to caress his hand, through the glass. Snape moaned softly. "So erotic," he whispered. "Even through the glass. Emily, I've…" He paused and looked hesitatingly at Emily. She seemed to look at him somewhat curious, and had withdrawn her tentacle, waiting for what he had to say.

"This is not easy for me," he continued, rubbing his forehead, "But I've thought it over, and it seems it's the only way in which we both still can have… something together." He sighed. Then he got up, and lifted the large jar from the table. He carried it to his bath room, where he had filled the bath with cold water. He placed the jar into the bath, and screwed the lid off. For one brief moment, Emily stayed inside the jar. Then she quickly swum out of it, and into the large bath tub. She was stretching her tentacles, as if she was relieved to finally have the space that she wanted.

Quickly, Snape took his wand out of the pocket of his robe. Then he undressed himself. He stepped into the bath, closed his eyes, wove his wand, muttered a spell, and suddenly there were two squids in the bath tub. Carefully, the male squid placed its wand at a place where he could reach it later on. Then he looked at Emily. She was invitingly waving her eight arms at him.

The end.