"For each man in his time is Cain,

Until he walks along the beach,

And sees his future in the water,

A long lost heart within his reach."

         ~Elton John, "The One"

The decomposing remains of Professor Severus Snape were found by his most prized student on a gray day in late November. In assisting Search and Rescue, with the most honorable Percy Weasley by his side, Draco Malfoy was the one who followed the path hidden behind a shallow wall covered with ash and rubble. It was a horrific discovery, no doubt, but in crouching there, observing the body, Malfoy was overcome with a sense of completion at knowing there was a final chapter to what had been a brave if not secluded existence. The broken fairytale was over.  Snape was a person honest enough with the world that he would not be idealized; he would be remembered as distant, cold, and human.

His hair was as black as the night in which he felt most comfortable, it was the rest of his body that had suffered. No bruising, Percy shrewdly observed, and no wounds or breaking of skin except for his fingernails. There was no doubt that the Killing Curse had done Snape in, and Malfoy wasn't surprised. It was his father's most favorite method of death.

The coroner was summoned, and as the remainder of the Search and Rescue outfit entered the enclosed cavern – with the volunteer Magical Defense Legion flanking them - and saw the body, they took off their hard hats. A good majority of these young men had done their time at Hogwarts under Snape's tenure. They had cursed him (literally and figuratively, of course), pondered the use of the Killing Curse on him themselves, but each of them had experienced a moment when a potion had to be created in the field – to help an injured comrade in battle, perhaps – and thought back to those days, sitting back in that Dungeon when he pounded those recipe lists into their heads, over and over, over and over, quipping, insulting, with the result always the same – they had remembered these absolutely vital mixtures.

There was no sermon, no moment of silence, no praise out of Percy Weasley's mouth - for Snape was a man who never needed praise. 

Percy looked behind him, as the boys walked past, breaking down the wall behind the corpse. Some walked past with tears in their eyes. Years on the job and you never got used to seeing a body, even though they knew he was dead. He looked around this place that had been Snape's tomb. Caught Longbottom throwing up in the corner. Saw Malfoy crouching over the body, holding his hand despite the edict not to touch a body until an investigation had taken place, saw the look of disbelief on his face as he held up the thin, spindly fingers up to his pink ones. Thought of his own moments sitting in Snape's Dungeons as he unfairly took points of Gryffindor, of the many times he'd saved his little brother (and his little brother's best friend), and there was nothing left to say as the body handlers came in sporting their floating stretchers and meshed body bags.

"The body's over there. Malfoy, please, Malfoy, give them room."

Malfoy's broken eyes did not move from Snape as the coroner's department moved around Snape's body. It was as he moved backwards towards Percy that he saw it glimmer, despite being covered in dust.

*****

It was late in the night when she received an insistent peck on the window. It was Violet, the Longbottoms' old, bedraggled eagle owl. She opened it up quickly, still unsure why Neville would be sending her an owl this late in the night. The piece of parchment was pink with chocolate spots covering it, as if it had been ripped off a larger, piece of parchment with frayed edges. In the corner of the parchment were large letters in green crayon spelling out "F," "R," and "A." Obviously he'd been in such a rush that he had taken one of Frankie's pieces of scratch parchment and written the hasty note.

Granger~ Passing on a message I got from Neville via the Floo Network. Get to St. Mungo's immediately. They found Snape's body, and the interrogation team is apparently in quite a rush to get your husband's bedside.

Go.

Pansy Longbottom

Hermione was a little taken aback at the fact that Pansy Parkinson had taken the time to give her a heads-up about the Ministry going to Harry's hospital room but there really wasn't a whole lot of time to think about it as she quickly changed clothes with an attire spell and Apparated to St. Mungo's. The interrogation team, with Percy tailing, was working itself into the lobby. He whispered quietly to a man who walked next to him, with the robes of the Interrogation Squad, magenta with a black badge.

"Percy Weasley, what is going on here?" Hermione questioned as she got in step with him.

Surprised to see her, he beckoned his partner to continue on. "Hermione, what are you doing here?" he whispered bitingly.

"You found Snape's body. What does Harry have to do with anything? Why are you all rushing to talk to him?"

"We haven't told anyone about the body! How-" he asked, flabbergasted, almost offended at the fact that she knew without him giving her the information.

"I got the information from a trusted source. Now what does Harry have to do with Snape's death? Why go from Snape's body to Harry?"

"It's Ministry business, Hermione, I can't discuss it."

"Ministry business my foot, Percy Weasley. This is my husband, we're talking about!"

"An investigation is in progress, Hermione. I can't discuss it!" he seethed.

"He's my husband. I have a right to be in that hospital room with him when they question him."

"Too bad his actions recently don't correspond to that belief," Percy retorted as they made their way past the MediWitch's station.

"Percy, please," she pleaded as they approached Harry's room. As lead, Percy was expected to enter Harry's room first.

"Sit in the back, don't say a word, don't mention it to anyone in the Ministry or they'll have my head on a platter: they found Harry's identification, his Head Boy's badge and a picture of you by Snape's body. We just don't know how it got there or why Harry hasn't volunteered the information that he knew where Snape's body was when he knew we were looking for it." Percy opened the door as he took a breath.

Harry was lying there, looking at the night sky through his window. There was no reaction from behind his glasses as the group walked in: Percy, Hermione, a clerical assistant baring a Quick Quotes Quill and an assistant investigator.

"Hullo there, Harry," Percy started genially, walking to the side of the bed nearest the window, blocking his line of vision when Harry didn't react. "Hermione's here, and some of my co-workers from the Ministry. We wanted to talk to you about something."

Harry snapped his head to Hermione almost immediately and then back to Percy as if he had just realized they were there. He glared at the tall ginger man who was almost like a brother to him. "Don't patronize me, Percy," he whispered bitterly. "Why would Aviary Moppleton be here if this was just an evening call? For once in your life, don't butter it up. Just say it: you are here to interrogate me."

Percy looked shocked for a moment, his jaw moving almost by itself, no sound coming out.

"Say it with me, Percy. 'Harry, I am here to interrogate you.' Go ahead, honesty can be very liberating. Stop being the diplomat and tell the truth. Go ahead, say it with me. 'Harry, I am here to interrogate you.' I swear I won't hold it against you," Harry said, staring at Percy so hard it was as if he were trying to bore a hole through his skull.

"H-Harry, I-w-we are here to ask you some questions… umm… interrogate you," he stuttered, the most unprofessional he had ever sounded.

Harry continued to look out the window. "I take it you found Snape's body, then?"

"You knew he was dead," Moppleton contributed. More of a statement than a question.

"Everyone knew I was dead, but look at me. I'm here at St. Mungo's, alive and kicking. The truth of the matter is that sometimes people are wrong."

"You knew he was dead," Moppleton repeated.

Harry eyed Moppleton. "Yeah, I knew he was dead. All of wizarding England knows he's dead."

"We found some of your things by the body."

"A picture of Hermione, a Head Boy's badge and my credentials in the cavern hidden behind the wall underneath the Northwest pasture, correct?" he asked, monotone, never breaking eye contact with Moppleton.

"Wh-why, when you knew we were searching for something about Snape – anything – wh-why didn't you tell us where the body was?"

Harry shifted his glare back to Percy, never once meeting his wife's gaze. "Why didn't you say anything about it? Ron brought it up, I brought it up, everyone was looking! If you knew… I mean, Remus…" The tears slinked down her face as she tried desperately to understand, to level with her husband. He knew and he didn't say anything?

Moppleton jumped in again, looking through his notes. "You know where the body was found. H-how?"

Harry moved his stare to Hermione as she sat in the chair, tears falling down her face.

"How did I know where to find the body? Of course I'd know where to find the body…" He penetrated her with his eyes, the same he did when they made love with the light on, as if he could see the mousy scared little girl that hid within her mind.

"And why would you know?" Percy tried again.

Harry laughed brokenly. "I killed him."