Summary of 'Remember Him, or, Penance'
If you plan to read the story - not that I'm plugging it at all ;-) it's probably better not to read this summary, since it would give everything away.
This story began with the conclusion of the final battle against Voldemort (yes, cliché, I'm sorry!). It deals primarily with the process by which Severus Snape, along with certain other people, finds redemption. Without going into the details, the title refers to Draco and/or Lucius Malfoy, who were killed in the battle. Remus Lupin was also killed (sorry folks, honestly, I liked him too, but Sirius interests me more and Remus' death was a plot device to examine his character), as was Ginny Weasley (to whom I was neutral, this wasn't a vendetta ;-) ), and Bill Weasley.
The epilogue, set twelve months after, is the important bit for current purposes, since it explains what happened to everyone following the battle. The present story follows on directly from the epilogue. Without going into detail, this is the crux: Dumbledore survived, but disappeared, and is probably dead, though no one wants to believe it. McGonagall became headmistress in his place. Snape became deputy headmaster; although he has a posh new office, he remains as head of Slytherin House, and teaches advanced classes (fifth year upwards) in potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts. The junior classes are taught by Hermione Granger, who is now married to Ron Weasley, but has kept her own surname (she didn't strike me as being likely to take her husband's name!) Snape and Hermione work quite well together but their relationship is, of course, entirely platonic ;-) They are friends, of a sort, their relationship being founded on mutual respect and understanding (Hermione reminds Snape of himself as a young man, and she has all the qualities he would have liked to see in his own daughter). Snape feels he owes a debt to Hermione, for rescuing some of his young Slytherins during the battle. He owes the same debt to Ginny, who was killed saving the children, but, as with James Potter, cannot repay it in this life.
Sirius Black is now installed at Hogwarts as Transfiguration master and head of Gryffindor House, as the result of Harry's and Dumbledore's influence (he has of course been cleared of all suspicion). Snape disapproves of having animagi all over the place.
Harry is not an auror or teacher but a professional Quidditch player. Well, it seemed the most likely job :-) He often visits Sirius and Hermione. Harry always believed that he and Ginny would eventually get together, and he regrets never telling her how much he cared about her. He remains single.
Brief note on other characters who may appear: Snape referred in passing to the Minister of Magic being a Weasley, but which one, he didn't say ;-) Seamus Finnigan also works for the Ministry, and Dean Thomas is an internationally acclaimed artist in both the Wizarding and Muggle worlds. Finally, Winky the House-Elf, 'self-styled rehabilitator of Dark Wizards' now works for Snape, to his bemusement and occasional annoyance.
Phew! That's everything important, anyway, sorry about all that! But it saves re-iterating everything in the story itself, which would interrupt the flow of the prose. Thank for your patience. The next chapter really is the story, I promise! :-)
If you plan to read the story - not that I'm plugging it at all ;-) it's probably better not to read this summary, since it would give everything away.
This story began with the conclusion of the final battle against Voldemort (yes, cliché, I'm sorry!). It deals primarily with the process by which Severus Snape, along with certain other people, finds redemption. Without going into the details, the title refers to Draco and/or Lucius Malfoy, who were killed in the battle. Remus Lupin was also killed (sorry folks, honestly, I liked him too, but Sirius interests me more and Remus' death was a plot device to examine his character), as was Ginny Weasley (to whom I was neutral, this wasn't a vendetta ;-) ), and Bill Weasley.
The epilogue, set twelve months after, is the important bit for current purposes, since it explains what happened to everyone following the battle. The present story follows on directly from the epilogue. Without going into detail, this is the crux: Dumbledore survived, but disappeared, and is probably dead, though no one wants to believe it. McGonagall became headmistress in his place. Snape became deputy headmaster; although he has a posh new office, he remains as head of Slytherin House, and teaches advanced classes (fifth year upwards) in potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts. The junior classes are taught by Hermione Granger, who is now married to Ron Weasley, but has kept her own surname (she didn't strike me as being likely to take her husband's name!) Snape and Hermione work quite well together but their relationship is, of course, entirely platonic ;-) They are friends, of a sort, their relationship being founded on mutual respect and understanding (Hermione reminds Snape of himself as a young man, and she has all the qualities he would have liked to see in his own daughter). Snape feels he owes a debt to Hermione, for rescuing some of his young Slytherins during the battle. He owes the same debt to Ginny, who was killed saving the children, but, as with James Potter, cannot repay it in this life.
Sirius Black is now installed at Hogwarts as Transfiguration master and head of Gryffindor House, as the result of Harry's and Dumbledore's influence (he has of course been cleared of all suspicion). Snape disapproves of having animagi all over the place.
Harry is not an auror or teacher but a professional Quidditch player. Well, it seemed the most likely job :-) He often visits Sirius and Hermione. Harry always believed that he and Ginny would eventually get together, and he regrets never telling her how much he cared about her. He remains single.
Brief note on other characters who may appear: Snape referred in passing to the Minister of Magic being a Weasley, but which one, he didn't say ;-) Seamus Finnigan also works for the Ministry, and Dean Thomas is an internationally acclaimed artist in both the Wizarding and Muggle worlds. Finally, Winky the House-Elf, 'self-styled rehabilitator of Dark Wizards' now works for Snape, to his bemusement and occasional annoyance.
Phew! That's everything important, anyway, sorry about all that! But it saves re-iterating everything in the story itself, which would interrupt the flow of the prose. Thank for your patience. The next chapter really is the story, I promise! :-)
