With that one word, something broke inside her. The anxiety churning below the surface now bubbled up into tears of relief. Her legs buckled and she fell to the floor, sobbing, not caring about her knees bruising on the tile floor. The observers at the doorway watched in awkward silence as the former potions master moved slowly down the hall and knelt in front of his wife. Four humans and one elf let out a breath they didn't know they'd held as Severus wrapped his arms around Charlotte.
Charlotte felt somewhat silly to be sobbing hysterically on the floor but every time she thought she might be able to stop she'd inhale his scent or hear the murmur of his voice then her throat would constrict and the waterworks would intensify.
"I'm sorry," she managed to sputter between sobs, "I'm just – I can't –"
"I know," he answered hoarsely, "but at this rate our guests may think you aren't pleased to see me." She accepted the proffered handkerchief and took a shuddering breath.
"I probably look a fright," she said, wiping her eyes.
Severus shook his head, "Not at all. Although…" his voice trailed off and he studied her appraisingly.
"What?"
"You cut your hair." Charlotte's hands flew to the ends of her bob in horror and her husband chuckled. "I like it." She grinned stupidly at him and they stood up, only to be ambushed by Nibby who hugged at their legs and bawled. The four humans seemed to simultaneously all have something in their eye. Disentangling themselves from the house elf, the couple approached their audience.
Charlotte immediately went to Hermione and hugged her fiercely. "You're amazing, thank you."
The girl blushed. "You were the one who found it, I just put the ingredients together." She smiled hopefully at Snape. "But the Smarati Zama has not been administered in decades, it would be very useful to know more about how it affects the recipient."
"That, Miss Granger, is a highly personal matter," Severus replied with some asperity.
"Besides," Lupin said before the girl could protest, "we have more urgent matters to attend to right now." He looked at Charlotte, "Lucius will trace you here eventually."
"Lucius?" Severus asked, concerned.
Charlotte sighed, "I had a bit of a run in with Malfoy on my way here. Sirius and Remus saved my life, again," she added pointedly and her husband grudgingly thanked his old school mates. "I hate to ask this of you," she began, "but will you help to make the house ready for a potential attack?"
"Of course," Lupin replied, "Severus, what wards do you have in place currently?
Much later that evening, after Malfoy-proofing the manor and filling Severus in on the major events of the last six months, husband and wife were left alone. Sirius, Remus, Ron, and Hermione all insisted on standing guard, but tactfully retreated to the kitchen when ordinary conversation ran dry. The couple had got to the study and now sat facing each other from the ends of the leather sofa.
"Charlotte, I apologize," Severus said at last, "I've treated you very poorly, even by my own standards of behavior." It was easy to push aside the sleepless nights, the worry and agony and to forgive him now he was whole again. "I have seen death many times, more gruesome ones than Dumbledore's. Rarely, however, have I had much feeling for the departed." He sighed, as though the exhalation would open the walls so long in place around him. "Albus was the source of my redemption. He trusted me when no one else would. He asked me to risk my life for him, for the cause, and resume my role as a Death Eater. I did so willingly, glad to be of use to him. He sacrificed himself for me, believing me more valuable to this world. Yet in all the moments leading to his death, it was not his safety I was thinking of but yours. If we were to fail in our mission, what would become of you? I was prepared to give my life for yours, just as Albus gave his for mine. It was not grief I felt but guilt. If my thoughts had been directed elsewhere, would Albus have survived? Even now, I feel that the world got the wrong end of the bargain. Guilt turned to anger, mostly directed at you for serving as a distraction. You were a painful reminder of what I had lost and I could not bear it.
"Then I was alone with my guilt. It was my fault that Dumbledore was dead and I did not feel adequate to the task of living with that knowledge. Those six months are a painful blur. But you, with the help of Miss Granger," he conceded, "have rescued me. While under the influence of the Smarati Zama I saw Dumbledore. Whether an abstraction from my memories or something of his spirit I don't know, but he showed me what you have suffered and told me," he looked away from her and cleared his throat, "he told me that you lived for me." He looked back, his eyes alight with emotion. "I am certainly not without failings, but know this: I live for you. It was you, your devotion that brought me out of my stupor. If you let me I will spend the rest of my life attempting to show you the same devotion.
Charlotte was fighting back tears. "Of course I will! I didn't go to all this trouble just to let you go again!" She pulled him to her and in short order they removed to the comfort of their bedroom.
***
She awoke some time from the best sleep she had enjoyed in months. Snape was sitting on the edge of the bed stretching experimentally. Charlotte was tempted to tease him as she would have a year ago, but his presence was still too new and she didn't trust herself to do much more than blubber at him. So instead she kissed his cheek before padding off in search of a bath and food.
Hermione and Remus were at the breakfast table, reading the Daily Prophet and sharing a pot of tea.
"Ron and Sirius have gone to fetch your scooter," the werewolf said amiably as Charlotte entered. Milly appeared at her elbow with a welcome plate of food. "Oh, and these came for you and Severus," he added, handing her two envelopes bearing the Hogwarts seal. She fingered the heavy parchment, wondering what they could contain. Severus came slowly until the breakfast room, hair still damp. Wordlessly, she handed him his envelope and watched him rip it open. He scanned the contents quickly and then tucked it into the folds of his robe. Charlotte's letter was an offer to return as professor of Muggle Studies for the following school year.
"Minerva can wait," Severus said, in response to her unasked question, "until after this is finished. I am certain she will understand."
***
The previous night aside, Severus was still very weak from the long days of inactivity. Hermione, with assistance from Ron, prepared a restorative draught, ransacking the professor's supplies in the process. It was only by forceful coercion that Charlotte induced him to drink the mixture. He said nothing to Hermione and Ron, which they interpreted as meaning he could find nothing wrong with it.
They all sat in the study to pretending to be busy but in reality holding motionless, waiting for the call to arms. Only Sirius looked eager for the chance. Charlotte could only look on the fight will relief soon it would be over. She had begun to wonder if Malfoy's temerity had been over estimated when a low chime sounded in the hall.
"The perimeter alarm," Remus said in explanation, "someone is on the property." In the front hall they had installed a modified foe glass, which had now lit up to show the intruders. It was Lucius Malfoy, leading a small pack of Death Eaters across the grounds.
"In the interests of preserving several hundred years of Snape family heritage," Snape ignored Black's derisive snort, "I suggest we go to meet them." They all nodded grimly. There was no time for melodrama. Charlotte raised her eyes to look at Severus. She didn't need to say anything, the expression on his face told her everything she needed to know.
Wands at the ready, they ventured out onto the grounds. With her husband beside her and flanked by loyal friends, Charlotte was conscious of an unfamiliar sensation. For the first time in months she felt strong, she felt capable, and she felt ready to face an army of Malfoys, if need be.
They met on the open front meadow, twenty feet apart. Lucius took in Snape's presence with a sneer. "Look who has rejoined the land of the living – an unexpected bonus."
"Can it Malfoy, your first fight is with me," Charlotte said, leveling her wand at him.
"So it is," he murmured, assuming a dueling stance. He cast expelliarmus immediately, but Charlotte was ready and dove out of the way. She retaliated with a full body bind that was neatly deflected. She knew that Lucius was the superior wizard, whatever his status as a human being. Her only chance was to outwit him as she had done years before, preying upon his arrogance and over-confidence to get the better of him. She doubted very much that Lucius would give her an opportunity to punch him again. Might mar his precious noble face, she thought snidely. Another curse came her way and she took off at a run towards the pond that bordered the east wing of the manor. As she hoped, Lucius came after her and her companions stepped in to keep the other Death Eaters from following suit. It's all up to me now. It was hard to think of Malfoy beyond 'the haughty wizard who wants me dead,' but in recent weeks he had impressed upon her through his actions that he was also 'the haughty wizard looking to be the next Voldemort.' Getting rid of him would save the world a lot of grief, to say nothing of her own pleasure.
As she approached the shore of the pond she allowed her feel to get tangled in a protruding tree root, sending her sprawling, face first, in to the murky water. She pushed away from the edge, watching for Lucius' appearance. She could hear his laughter from the surface. Her lungs were starting to burn. Just a little further, she pleaded. He stepped to the edge, careful to keep the hem of his robe dry. As soon as he leaned in to look for her, her hand snaked out, grabbed his ankle and pulled. Lucius was thrown off balance and toppled to the ground. With a speed born of years of early morning swim practice Charlotte was out of the pond yelling, "Expelliarmus!" Malfoy's wand flew through the air and into Charlotte's outstretched palm. She administered the leg locker jinx and stowed her wand long enough to snap his in half.
"You are a moron, Malfoy," she said, dropping the pieces to the ground and grinding them under her heel. "Even I am not clumsy enough to drown in my own lake."
Lucius seemed unconcerned with his predicament. "Now that you have me, what do you plan to do with me? There's no prison that can hold me, no jury that will convict me. I can get another wand, I can find more Death Eaters. You and your motley band will not stop us."
"Wanna bet?" she asked, raising her wand.
Lucius laughed again, a low cruel sound. "Oh Mrs. Snape, do you intend to kill me? Do you really have the courage to use an Unforgivable?"
Her wand hand trembled. She looked across the meadow to her husband and friends towering over the Death Eaters, who were bound and gagged. How many people had been hurt at the hands of this man? How many had been killed gleefully? He had laced her first year of witch-hood with fear and doubt. She thought of young Tamara, now an orphan, and her nerves became steel.
"The world will be a better place without you," her voice was ice. "Go join your wife and son and leave us in peace." Lucius stared at her in sudden fear. Charlotte exhaled slightly, focusing her strength. "Avada Kedavra!" With a flash of green light, Malfoy's body was still. Charlotte trembled violently and fought the urge to be ill. The others had not missed the display and they hurried to her side. She searched for Snape's face, not certain what she would see there. He gave her a slow nod, he understood. They all did. Severus, Ron, Hermione, Sirius, Remus, they had all seen death, all seen the war.
"Take her back to the house, Severus," Lupin said quietly. "We'll deal with this." Snape directed his wife all the way up to the bedroom, where he conjured some tea and set her in a comfortable chair.
"There will be a hearing, of course," she began.
"Of course. But I find it unlikely that anything will come of it. Lucius was hardly a shining example of wizarding society."
"But does that make my killing him excusable?"
"No." He paused over his teacup, "But it does make it forgivable."
***
There was an inquest, a month following Malfoy's death. The Minister of Magic, Headmistress of Hogwarts, and the Chief Auror all vouched for Charlotte's character. On the whole, Wizarding Britain seemed very relieved to be rid of the last of the Malfoys. She was stripped of her Order of Merlin, but allowed to rejoin the Hogwarts faculty and mold young minds. Minerva announced her retirement in the spring and Flitwick was selected as new Headmaster, with the reinstated Potions Master, Severus Snape, as his deputy. Severus submitted to his new position with customary ill grace, but Charlotte knew that he was glad to be back in the dungeons, terrifying first years with the Hogwarts Potions Laboratory at his disposal.
The knowledge that she had killed another human being hung heavy over her head, mitigated only by the fact that she had acted in self-defense and with the good of others in mind. She moved down to the dungeons to be with her husband and life returned to normal, or at least the level of normal expected in the wizarding world. On the whole Charlotte considered herself quite fortunate. She had her husband back – every caustic and disagreeable inch of him – and she was helping to eliminate the prejudices that made men like Malfoy and Voldemort possible. It was hardly what she planned on when she first set foot in England, but looking across the room at Severus, engrossed in some potions text and then back at her own lesson plans, she found very little to complain about. She had found a community to belong to. Moreover, she had found a part of herself. She was a witch and would be until she died.
"Do you think our lives will become boring and predictable now?" she asked with a smile.
Severus replied without looking up, "One can only hope."
FIN
a/n: At last! Here ends the saga of Charlotte Parnell. I hope you have enjoyed the ride. Thanks as always to my betas: Lockholm, JoyfulGirl, and Branwyn.