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Chapter 16 – Purged
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"Sweet Athena. Brilliant mind and lips to match." Severus and Athena had moved from the dance floor and were currently perched on one of the benches along the side of the ballroom.
"Uncle Albus told me you're the third-highest rated potions master in the wizarding world, but he never told me you were such an incredible kisser. Not that I'd expect him to know that…"
"How would you know?" He raised an eyebrow and Athena cringed.
"Only joking. Merlin, that felt good. I can joke around without feeling like I'm covering for something."
"I'll bet you're feeling relieved now?"
"Relieved? That sounds like I've finally let out a belch I've been holding. No, my dear. This is more than relief. I'm ecstatic. I'm elated. I'm… yes, I suppose I'm relieved."
Athena laughed and kissed him again.
"You know, as delicious as you are, I should check on the house elves again. Dinner, if you can call it that at this late hour, should be served soon."
"May I join you?"
"I suppose so."
He took her hand and led her down the corridor, past the powder room and toward the foyer. He stopped in front of a broom closet and raised an eyebrow.
"Mr. Thomas, Miss Patil, I believe you're very fortunate that I can't take points off away from school. Do aim to show a bit of discretion. And remind Mr. Finnegan and Miss Brown that my broom closet was not designed for that sort of activity." The two continued into the foyer.
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Seamus climbed out of the broom closet holding Lavender's hand.
"How the bleedin' hell does he do that?" he wiped a bit of lipstick from his upper lip and straightened his tie. Dean shrugged then poked Parvati in the ribs, which did nothing to quell her giggling.
Dean sighed in mock resignation. "Honestly, this afternoon you girls looked death square in the eye, and tonight you're all giggles. I will never understand you lot."
Parvati and Lavender kept laughing, then half-stumbled half-ran to the powder room hand-in-hand, looking back at their boyfriends for a moment before entering, then continued giggling on their way in.
"How do they do it, you reckon? Charlie snuffs it, Draco gets what he's got coming to him, Harry offs Voldemort, and they still manage to be mysterious girls."
"You've got lipstick on your collar, mate." Dean pointed at Seamus' shirt.
"Bugger." Seamus looked down. Dean flicked Seamus' nose.
"Got ya. There's nothing. Man, you need to stop analyzing them and just enjoy them. Girls aren't meant to be understood. Just kiss them a lot and squeeze the right bits, and they're happy."
Snape came back down the corridor wearing a loose white silk shirt, his usual black pants, his hair tyed back in a pony tail, and carrying an overflowing laundry basket. Athena was behind him carrying a cardboard box full of what looked like white wooden cutouts.
"Mr. Finnegan, Mr. Thomas, follow me. And remind your girlfriends that a powder room is just that. If it had been designed for gossip, it would have been called a gossip room."
The two young men just stared after the couple as they walked back into the ballroom. Dean knocked on the powder room door.
"Girls, Snape wants everyone in the ballroom." Another burst of giggles came from behind the closed door.
"Oh come on, what could be so amusing?"
The door opened a crack and Lavender stuck her head out. "Dean, you really need to teach Seamus that… that one… that thing you do with your tongue! Parvati won't stop blushing!"
"Oh really now! Out!" Seamus grinned and pulled Lavender from the bathroom, placing a short kiss on her lips. "Come on, before Snape goes bonkers."
The two couples made their way out to the ballroom.
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"The house elves have informed me that dinner will be served shortly. But first, I'd like everyone to join me out in the gardens. I believe I have a past to burry," Professor Snape addressed the revelers.
He led the procession out of the ballroom and onto the balcony, then down a small spiral staircase, all the while still clutching his laundry basket. He led the group down a row of trees and into a hedge-enclosed area. In the center, set into the ground, was a fire ring. Benches surrounded the small amphitheater.
"I invite you all to have a seat." The group made themselves comfortable. "As you all know, I spent twenty years in service to the Dark Lord. Many of his gatherings were held at this very site. This next summer, I plan on digging up my gardens and having them completely redone. Perhaps more gatherings such as this one will be in order. Along with my change in landscape comes a change in wardrobe. I have here all of my old Death Eater robes. Athena is holding a box containing my Death Eater masks. Harry, if you'll join me over here please."
Harry stood from where he was sitting between Ginny and Sephera, and made his way over to his uncle.
"Harry, if you'll be so kind as to throw this mask and robe into the ring. I wore these the night your parents were murdered. That was the night I realized that my life had taken a horrible turn for the worst. It was also the night I went back to Dumbledore to beg forgiveness."
Harry looked to his uncle, then to Dumbledore, then down the hill at Godric's Hollow, where two blue lights shone into the night sky at the spot where his home had stood, the home where he had spent the first year of his life. The true significance of tonight's events dawned on him, and a tear slowly rolled down his cheek. He looked into the fire ring, and threw the robes in.
"Remus, would you please throw this mask and robe in? This was the mask and robe I wore on the night when your brother Romulus took on Samson, Macpherson, and Nott single handedly. He killed Macphereson and Samson, but Nott murdered him in the end."
Lupin looked to his long-time foe. Severus was truly remorseful for everything he had done, and now he was sharing his bit of closure with everyone he had affected. He took the robes from Severus, then shook his hand. They exchanged a look of understanding, thus clearing the air between them. Severus could change the past as much as Remus could. He bent down on one knee and placed the robes in the ring.
"Padfoot and Prongs should have been here for this."
Severus placed a hand on his shoulder. "They are. In spirit, they are."
He took the last set of robes out of the laundry basket, and pulled the last mask from the box in Athena's arms.
"These were the robes I wore during the final battle with the Dark Lord Voldemort. That was the last time I went back to spy for the Order of the Phoenix. It also marked the last time I would ever identify myself with the Death Eaters. Though it has been for a good cause these last few years, I will never forget the attrocities that I committed, or the horrors that I witnessed. May this bring me, and those around me, some closure."
He placed the robes in the ring with the other two sets. Picking up a small box of matches, he removed one and struck it on the side of the box. He paused for a moment, closed his eyes, and inhaled a deep gulp of the crisp night air. He opened his eyes and threw the match into the fire ring.
"Gods of Fire, Cleanse me of my sins. The past is history. May we never be doomed to repeat it."
The group all bowed their heads for a minutes silence, punctuated only by the odd sniffle, for all those who had fallen.