This ending isn't how I originally intended to end the story, but somebody emailed me with a review that contained a very unusual suggestion, and it developed into this. I have the ending done two possible ways, though. This chapter and the next one are both possible endings. Read them and tell me which is better, willy? I would hate to end my story, that I've slaved and slobbered over for so many hours, on a cruddy note.
Without further ado...
Epilogue:
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The alarm clock went off, and Harry and Gabrielle both leaped out of bed. As they'd planned last night, he ran for the door and she for the kitchen. She whipped out her wand while putting on her slippers, and had the coffee magically cooking before she'd even yawned the sleep out of her eyes.
Once at the front of the house, Harry glued his eye to the window. After a moment he sighted an owl flying straight for the house, a package in its claws. "It's coming!"
"Coffee's almost ready!" Gabrielle called back. She was pouring it into cups as she heard the door open, the owl hoot, and Harry unwrap the newspaper. "All right, it's done." Giggling, they piled onto the couch and cuddled together, then prepared to unfold the paper.
"I'm nervous," Harry confessed. "I've gone through trouble to stay out of the papers for years...I wonder what people will say about me."
Gabrielle smiled and kissed him on the forehead. "What can they say, cheri, except that you were wonderful? Let's read - I've been looking forward to it for days."
"Me, too. It's ridiculous how they waited so long to let the press cover it all. I mean, they arrested everyone two days ago!"
"Yes, I know. Yesterday's pathetic bit about "The Dark Circle has been broken and its members apprehended and we'll give more information at a later time" was absolutely awful! Here we go..." she unfolded the paper and gazed at the wizard photograph on the front page...
"WHAT!?!?!" they both screamed.
In the top corner was a picture of Harry, looking clueless and confused. Then came the words: "SHOCKING SCANDAL DISCOVERED...HARRY POTTER'S WIFE UNFAITHFUL". A smaller caption clarified: "HER OWN CHILDREN REVEAL THE SECRET OF THEIR PARENTAGE!" Underneath the headline, the rest of the page was occupied by a split of two photos. One of Gabrielle...
And one of Snape.
For a moment, they both just gaped. Harry eventually broke the silence. "I don't know whether to be outraged or amused."
"I think I'm going to vomit," Gabrielle said matter-of-factly. "Who came up with that? That is sick!"
A picture of Sophie was splayed all over one of the inside pages and Gabrielle squealed with rage. "Nobody lies about my baby and gets away with it! Harry, you read it and explain - you read faster than me and I'm too angry to even look."
Harry skimmed the article twice before he finally understood. "Well, it seems that they covered the whole Dark Circle story today...or tried to. They've got several parts of it wrong," he started. "First of all, when Snape took the tape in to the Ministry the next morning, he apparently explained that you and the children were his only co-conspirators. He let them think that the Black Center was dead in the fire, but had been a real villain, the real bad guy. No doubt he wanted to make sure I didn't get any credit for it...so now I can't ever talk about how much work I did, because if I'm ever identified as the Black Center they'll arrest me." He sighed and looked up. "What a typical slimy Snapeish maneuver - I should have seen it coming. But that's not all...
"Sophie, apparently, didn't know about his little game. They were doing an interview at the school, the press was talking to Snape and the kids all at the same time. Well, the reporter made some stupid comment about how brave the kids were, and Sophie spoke up, 'Well, we did all right, but the one who really did all the work is Dad.'
"It says here that Snape bent to whisper something to her, and she paled because...uh... 'her family's terrible secret had been revealed'... isn't that sick, Gabby? Since my name hadn't come up, they must have understood the word 'Dad' to mean the old slimeball! So of course they asked, 'Your father?' And Sophie corrected herself, told the reporter 'uh, no, I meant Professor Snape and my mother, I said the wrong thing,' but the damage was done."
Harry looked up and shook his head at Gabrielle. "I wonder if this will ever die down..."
Gabrielle looked at the article a little herself. "Now we all see," she quoted, "where young Sophie Potter really got her fabulous black hair." She rolled her eyes and was about to comment, but Harry cut her off.
"And the worst part - the very worst part - is that Snape's been hiding from reporters and just saying 'no comment' - he's not even helping correct the rumours."
"But if he does that they'll think it's all true!" Gabrielle exclaimed. "What an ass! Doesn't he realize he's making things worse?"
"He must," Harry said thoughtfully. His wife had a point - there was no logical reason Snape would behave in such a way... unless... The owls beating against his house finally gave him the clue he needed. "Oh, no!" he groaned. "That's it. He knows exactly what he's doing. He's letting people think it's true on purpose, so that the scandal will stick no matter what we say. He wants to ruin me."
They sat in silence for a few minutes, absorbing the situation. Finally Gabrielle started to her feet. "Well, it won't work. Not on my watch. Harry, all we've got to do is convince him he's got more to lose than we do unless he clears things up. We'll threaten him in some way. But how?"
"How?" Harry laughed. "Come on, dearie, you're talking to the Black Center here! If anybody knows how to scare people, it's me." He thought for a moment, grinning as a scheme began to come into focus. "If he wants to play dirty, so be it. Remember, Ron's up on the Hogwarts Board of Governors now...I'll give him a call see if I can't get him to do me a little favor..."
Gabrielle smiled at the look of cunning that was creeping into her husband's eyes. "The master of intrigue, are you? Well, good luck. Is there anything you want me to do?"
Harry was already reaching for the phone. "Yeah. Send an owl to Snape in my handwriting, will you, and name him a Muggle restaurant to meet me in this afternoon at two o'clock or so." He tried to be confident and fight the thrill of excitement that ran down his spine. "This will work, Gabby. It's my turn to do a little bullying. Just you wait and see."
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That afternoon...
Harry stood in the doorway of the restaurant, scanning the tables quickly with no luck. He checked his watch. 2:10 - he was late already. So where was Snape? After standing stupidly for a pretty long time, Harry was rescued by a peremptory, "Potter - over here," which came from a man sitting alone at a table against the wall.
Oh - there he was. Harry went and sat down, then began immediately with, "You've certainly got a lot of nerve." Snape only smiled nastily, which infuriated Harry even more. "You told the 'whole story' and didn't even mention my name! You're such a liar - I did everything - and now nobody even knows!"
Snape unsurprisingly broke into a nasty smirk. "Poor, poor Potter," he said with mock sympathy. "Perhaps you'd like me to talk some more to the press? Didn't I do enough damage last time?"
"Speaking of last time..." Harry began. Drawing on his experience as the Black Center, he waited a moment until he felt his face go completely cold and expressionless. "How could you let everyone think you went to bed with my wife?" he asked with calm, quiet precision, keeping his temper reined in completely.
His controlled anger made Snape ceased smirking. "You have only your daughter to blame for that. I told her simply that she should not have mentioned your name - the stupid word choice, whatever it was, was all her own. I had no idea she was spawning such a disgusting rumour." He shook his head and made a face. "I mean, I can hardly believe people think I would...eeugh...with Gabrielle, of all people....no offense, though," he added, eyes glittering maliciously.
Of course he had meant offense. It's bad enough sitting here and listening to him make fun of me...but now, he insults my WIFE? Nobody gets away with that! Harry thought furiously.
Momentarily losing his cool, Harry jerked his wand out from the sleeve of his Muggle sweater, under the table, to send some kind of nasty hex. Unfortunately, Snape was too quick for him. Before Harry could get any words out, Snape whispered a soft, "Expelliarmus," and a little burst of light exploded from his lap. Harry's wand was ripped from his grasp and he was flung backwards in his chair, almost falling onto the floor. "Damn you," he muttered under his breath.
Snape rolled his eyes boredly. "That was pathetic," he scoffed.
Harry, ignoring him, got back to his original plan. Acting as if he hadn't figured out what Snape was trying to do, he said casually, "Right. Well, anyway, it's time for you to start denying it all. If you keep hiding from the reporters, it'll just make people believe -" He stopped when he saw the smirk on Snape's face. "...You are going to deny it, aren't you?" No answer. "I knew it! I knew you were doing this on purpose!" he seethed, in a very good imitation of surprise and anger. "But don't you care that they're dragging your name through the mud, too?"
Snape smiled serenely now. "No, I don't. I am already unpopular, and nothing I can do will make people dislike me more than they do already. I think it is worth this slide into infamy if I can take you down with me." His face twisted into a nasty grin. "Have you heard what they're saying about you? It almost seems as though people think it's your fault! According to Witch Weekly-"
"I'm 'too blind to see the debauchery going on in my own home'," Harry rattled off. "I know, I know - I read it all." Now it's time, Harry thought, and took a deep breath. "Oh yeah? So you're willing to go down, too, just to drag me under?" he asked. "Even if you might be losing out on something really, really big? Exactly how much are you willing to throw away to get me?"
He'd caught Snape off guard that time. "Losing out?" he asked.
Mentally thanking Ron's connections, Harry said in an over-casual tone, "I happened to discover the transcript of the Board meeting this morning..."
"You mean the board of governors of Hogwarts?"
"Yup. They convened specially in order to discuss...oh, how did they put it... the disgusting and inappropriate conduct of one of the staff members."
Snape shrugged and said coolly, "I was not aware that the Board was displeased with any of my conduct." His eyes narrowed. "I think you're bluffing."
"Am I? Read the transcript," Harry ordered bluntly, taking the folded-up papers from his pocket. Snape scowled and started to skim the document rapidly, but when he reached the last page he stopped, horrified. He reread that section, suddenly pale as a ghost. Harry hummed happily at the abrupt mood change and asked, "Quite a pity, don't you think?"
Snape read a few sentences out loud, sounding dazed. "Because the allegations are not proven, no disciplinary measures will be taken. However, in light of the stain on Professor Snape's reputation that is likely to result, we are forced to...to..." he couldn't finish the sentence.
Harry, who had read it enough times to memorize it, recited it cheerfully for him. "...We are forced to reconsider our decision to appoint Snape Headmaster at the close of this year, when our current Headmaster will retire. Next meeting we will agree on a replacement."
Harry met Snape's glazed-over eyes, and beamed at him. "Sad, isn't it? I had no idea they were considering you for Headmaster..."
"They were considering me for Headmaster..." he echoed dimly, apparently bewildered.
"Yes, and now they're not," Harry said rudely. "Not as long as people think you slept with my wife." Let's twist the knife in a little deeper, shall we, he thought. "Imagine how grateful all the students will be."
Snape caved quickly after that.
"Since everybody knows you've been deliberately hiding from the press for nearly a decade," Snape began carefully, "I shall explain that you were my co-conspirator, but asked to remain unmentioned so that you could continue living in peace and quiet. We'll say that since your decision has led to even worse things now, you'll have to come out and admit that you helped with some part of the mission - recording the video, for example."
"That could work," Harry said amiably. Then, his voice grew hard. "But you know what? No way! At first, I didn't really care if people knew I was the Black Center, but now, since you tried to cheat, I'm changing my mind. This is what you're going to tell the reporters, so listen up:"
Harry proceeded to invent yet another version of the story in which he himself (in his Black Center disguise) had done nearly everything, from making the whole plan to deliberately set the fire in order to provide a "death" for the Black Center. "And the reason your original interviews were wrong," he finished, "is that, as you said, I wanted to avoid publicity. From now on, your role is reduced to having brought the children from school to the woods to help, and then getting captured on purpose so that you'd be present in case I needed backup - which I didn't. That's what you'll tell the press. Clear?"
White with anger, Snape retorted firmly, "I'll say no such thing. And if it comes down to my word against yours - I'm a better liar than you - I can make people believe worse stories than adultery! Don't test me, Potter. I could say you really were the Black Center, and since you apparently didn't die in the fire as I thought, it's time to arrest you now and send you right off to Azkaban!"
Feigning a yawn at the outburst, Harry smiled and said, "You could say that...but you won't. Because if you do, I'll tell Gabrielle to confess to...erm...being indiscreet, and the Hogwarts Board won't like that! She's dying for a way to do something mean to you, Snape, and this would be perfect. You'll go along with what I say, or you'll be teaching Potions to idiots in a nasty freezing dungeon forever!" Power, power, power, he thought. It was intoxicating. "You have no choice."
Their eyes locked angrily and they stayed that way for what seemed like an eternity. At last, to Harry's surprise, it was Snape who broke the stare. "The truth," he finally whispered, looking away. "I will tell them the truth." He glared at Harry. "But nothing more!"
Realizing how close he'd been to losing the silent argument, Harry nodded soberly. "Fine. The truth." He sighed. "Well, I'm glad this whole Dark Circle situation is over," he said. "You wouldn't believe what kind of hell I've been living recently."
"As I've told you time and again, Potter, I'd believe it absolutely because I lived it for quite a while myself," Snape said shortly. "And I sincerely hope that it is now over. I hereby permanently retire from the double agent business, and I forbid you - forbid you, you idiot - to ever, ever drag me into it again. Do you understand? I'm through playing mentor for you. If you ever start up another insane plot like this one, you'd better not come to me and expect help."
"Don't worry - I won't. I didn't even expect help this time," Harry said with a little laugh. "When I first showed up, half of me expected you to turn out to be one of them and kill me on the spot, and the other half expected you to throw me out on my ass and laugh at me."
"If you expected that, you shouldn't have even come."
Spreading his hands helplessly, Harry explained, "I was desperate. It was tough, because like I said, I knew you'd be able to help, but then again I was kind of afraid...even though I remembered how much Dumbledore used to lecture me when I was a kid, telling me that I had to stop distrusting you, blah blah blah, and you really are on our side, appearances notwithstanding. I guess he was right."
"And it has only taken you - how many years? - to come to that conclusion," Snape sneered.
"Well, I'm a slow learner," Harry conceded apologetically. "But anyway, it doesn't matter. We'll never have to see each other again after today."
Snape agreed with an enthusiastic smile. "With any luck, we shall be able to successfully avoid one another for the rest of our lives."
Harry laughed. "Well, I can't say it's been a pleasure, but..." he held out his hand.
They shook, each with the exact same thought in his head. So that's done with him. Forever. And each was fervently wishing that it would be true...
THE END
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The end... or is it? Read the next chapter and see which is better. Since these are the very last parts of this long long long giant story that I spent so many trillions of hours on, and quite possibly gave you some amusement... could you all please write a quick review telling me how it was? Pretty please with cockroach cluster on top?
So this is it...
For the last time (except the alternate ending)...
Thanks for reading.