THE GREAT HALL

Genevieve was not surprised to find Dumbledore standing at the gates of Hogwarts, waiting for her to arrive. She paid little attention, slowly lowering Severus to the ground as Dumbledore hurried toward her. "Please tell me that there is a way." Genevieve asked him without looking up. "I'm afraid not, Genevieve. I'm sorry." Dumbledore said with a most comforting tone. "If it is any consolation, your mother has been captured. The Dementors were waiting for her when she apperated." He added. Genevieve was contented, but it wasn't quite enough to penetrate the emptiness that she felt inside.

"Come now. We will take him inside." Dumbledore said softly. They both put one of Severus' arms round their neck, and solemnly made their way to the castle, taking his body to the hospital wing. After laying him down on a bed, Dumbledore left Genevieve alone with him one last time. She stood by the bed, staring at him. A flood of emotions soon overtook her, and she found herself on her knees, shouting at the top of her voice.

"You selfish bastard! You can't do this to me! You can't leave me like this! You can't!" she broke into wails, taking Severus' arm and shaking it. "Wake up! Wake up, damn it, WAKE UP!" She screamed, coughing on her tears. "I can't take this" she cried softly, resting her head in her folded arms.

"You are strong, Genevieve. You can make it through this." Severus' voice echoed in her ear. She rolled her head back and forth on her arm. "No. It's too much." She whispered. She lifted her head, felling a sudden presence around her. She froze in her spot when she saw Severus next to her, but he was not like that of the body that lay on the bed next to her. His image was a translucent, silvery white, floating only a few inches off of the ground.

"You have not gone mad. I am merely a ghost." Severus spoke in a far off, echoed voice. Genevieve slowly got to her feet, keeping her eyes firmly on Severus' ghost. "Can you stay like this?" She asked quietly, in awe of his magnificent presence. He shook his ghostly head, 'no'. "I have only come to say goodbye. And to give you a message." He floated toward her, placing his hand of energy over her stomach. Genevieve's body shivered with a strange sensation as she looked into his eyes.

"Severus Snape lives on inside you." He whispered with a small grin in his lips. Genevieve looked down at his hand, placing her own on her stomach. "I'm pregnant." She looked back at Severus, and smiled even at a time when she thought it least possible. As much as she tried to deny them, tears began to roll down her cheeks.

"I have never been good at this, Genevieve. Frankly, I have not come across anyone who cared whether I was dead or alive, aside from Dumbledore. But I am going to miss you. And I believe that the worst of it will be coping with the fact that I wasn't given a chance to really spend time with you. Our situation was so restricted, and there were times when I just wanted to be with you, but could not. And that was a very difficult thing for me to manage. Though now I find that I would give anything to have those moments back." Severus' eyes were still so penetrating, even in death, as he spoke.

"There has to be a way, Severus. A spell, a potion. Something that can" Genevieve desperately wanted there to be a way to bring him back. Severus held up his hand to stop her. "There is no way. You have to move on, Genevieve. I know that you will not forget me, but I am afraid that you will have nothing but your memories of me to hold close. My body is gone, but I will always be with you." He came forward, placing his lips on hers, giving her a cold, tingling sensation.

"I must go now." He said quietly, touching her cheek. "Will you ever come back?" Genevieve asked, her heart sinking. "Perhaps. I might pop in to check on the new Potions Master. Torment a few students" He said in all seriousness. Genevieve sort of laughed. "As much as I sometimes disliked your attitude towards othersI'm going to miss that about you." She said with a weak smile. They stared at one another a moment, then Severus began to float away.

"Goodbye, Genevieve. I love you." He whispered, his voice growing more distant. "And I, you." Genevieve managed through tears. Severus' image began to fade away, and then he was gone.

****

The announcement was made the following morning at breakfast. Professor McGonagall tapped her fork against her goblet as Dumbledore rose from his chair. Genevieve had heard some of the students whispering about where Snape was, and why Malfoy wasn't there. She never spoke up, mostly because it was not her place to tell them. But also because her heart just didn't have the strength yet.

"May I have everyone's attention, please?" Dumbledore's voice echoed across the Great Hall. The students quickly stopped their conversations, giving their attention to Dumbledore. "As most of you have already noticed, there are two persons missing from this Great Hall. I have the unfortunate task of informing you all that Professor Severus Snape, and Mister Draco Malfoy, were both killed last night at the hands of Lord Voldemort." The hall was filled with a sudden buzz as students expressed their shock. A handful of girls at the Slytherin table burst into tears at the news of Draco's death. Genevieve stared into her plate, wondering if anyone was crying for Severus.

"Classes will be cancelled after lunch today, so that we may all attend a funeral presentation for both Severus and Draco. It will be held at 2:30, on the Quidditch field, and I am sure that I do not have to remind you that everyone will attend." Dumbledore's eyes wandered over the Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw tables. He then continued.

"Thought Professor Snape could never be replaced, Mr. Harold Hemlock has kindly agreed to teach Potions for the duration on the year." Genevieve looked up to see her father, sitting in Severus' chair at the staff table.

"Thought the news of Professor Snape and Draco Malfoy's deaths are a tough pill to swallow, they did not lose their lives in vein. Because of their heroic actions, Lord Voldemort now resides in a cozy cell at Azkaban Prison." Dumbledore said with a bit more enthusiasm in his voice. Genevieve was relieved that he had not mentioned her mother's involvement. She didn't want everyone to know that her mother had been the cause of it all. It was very well the last thing she needed at that moment. "Let us raise out glasses in their honour. Here, Here." Dumbledore led the toast, everyone in the Hall joining him.

After breakfast, everyone walked around in a rather somber mood. Genevieve didn't follow the others to class, instead going strait to the staff table to speak to her father. "Genevieve, I'm sorry I didn't meet you last night. Things at Azkaban took a bit longer than I had expected." Her father apologized as he gave her a hug. "It's alright. I'm just glad to see you." She said, patting him on the back. She pulled away, giving him a small smile.

"Dumbledore told me about you and Severus. I'm sorry. Had I known, I would have stayed with you longer last night." He rested his hand on her shoulder, a fatherly compassion radiating from him. "It's all right. I'm just glad to have you back in my life. But I need to know" Genevieve started curiously. Harold finished her sentence for her.

"How I survived? It was an illusion. I was never really there. As powerful as your mother thought she was, she wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. She never questioned if it was I that was truly standing there. I had to keep a low profile afterward, so that I could track her and Voldemort, in hopes of capturing them." He explained.

"It is nice to see you both together again. And thank you, Harold, for helping us in our time of need." Dumbledore approached them, shaking Harold's hand. "I will do anything I can to help, Headmaster." He said with a smile. Dumbledore then paid his attention to Genevieve, looking over his spectacles at her. "I have a feeling that it is time for you to leave us?" He said with a wise, gentle smile. Genevieve lowered her head.

"Yes, Sir. I would like to take my N.E.W.T.S. at the earliest convenience. I am planning a holiday in Ireland, and would like to be on my way." Genevieve looked at Dumbledore, a sad smile on her lips. Dumbledore nodded his head, taking her plans into consideration. "I do not do this with everyone, Miss Hemlock. But you will not be requiring N.E.W.T.S. I was hoping, perhaps after the summer holiday, that you would consider joining our staff as Potions Mistress?" Dumbledore asked hopefully. Genevieve was slightly surprised by the request.

"I would be honoured, Sir. Thank you. And it is all right with you, father" Genevieve looked at Harold as he smirked at her proudly. "I would like to be called Genevieve Snape from now on." She finished in a wavering voice. "As you wish, Ms. Snape. I presume that you will not be attending the ceremony?" Dumbledore asked. Genevieve declined. "I should be on my way. So, I guess I will see you in the Fall, Headmaster." She shook Dumbledore's hand, but he pulled her in for a hug. "Goodbye Genevieve. Safe travels." He said, placing his hand over hers. Genevieve then embraced her father. "I will send you and Owl as soon as I get to Ireland." She whispered, pulling away.

"Bye, Pumpkin. See you soon." He said, running his thumb across her cheek as he smiled at her. He bowed her head, then turned, making her way out of the Great Hall. Tears blurred her vision, but it didn't matter. Hogwarts had always been her second home. She knew that she was not leaving it for the last time, but also knew that Hogwarts would never be the same for her. It saddened her, and still she walked down the Great Hall. The future ahead, the past behind, and forever with her memories.

fin