A/N AAARGH! I forgot to put up the 'Not Slash' and 'I'm Not JK Rowling' signs over the first chapter. Sorry! Let me correct that: This story will NOT contain slash and I am not JK Rowling. I just borrow her stuff.

A month later Neville stood in the Entrance Hall with the Trio and the Headmistress.

"Where's Severus?" Hermione asked.

"Saying his goodbyes to Dumbledore's portrait," Neville said, scratching Crookshanks behind his ears, "it's easier for him to do that then go to the grave. He has some issues to work through still, and now we have the time to do that."

McGonagall smiled sadly. "I'm sad to see you go, Neville, you would have been a great teacher."

Neville grinned. "I'm way too young."

"You're the same age as us," Harry said.

He was going to be teaching Defense. Hermione took over Charms. Ron had agreed to stay as flying instructor. Though none of them had sat their NEWTS they had been given honorary degrees for all they had done. To their delight, Remus Lupin returned, agreeing to teach Herbology until a teacher could be found and taking over the 1-4 years Transfiguration classes.

"I wish we could have kept Severus as potions instructor, but he never was patient enough to teach. Still that might have changed now," the Headmistress sighed wistfully.

Severus, meanwhile, was standing in front of the fireplace, looking up at the portrait.

"Hello my boy. I take it you are leaving soon?"

"Yes, Neville is waiting for me in the Entrance Hall."

The eyes of the portrait twinkled, and for once Severus did not scowl at that. "I'm sure these two years will do you good, Severus. And Neville has grown into a fine young man."

"He has," the Potions Master agreed, "The only person I'd rather travel with is you. I never thought to be here now. I just wanted to die and be with you again."

The portrait smiled at him. "My boy, death is a certainty. You will join me some day, and we'll go adventuring together. But not before you have spend many happy years here. So go with Neville and have some fun. That are the last instructions I will ever give you."

Severus snorted. "I bet that as soon as I arrive in the next life, you will start bossing me around again. I certainly hope there are no lemon drops after death."

The portrait actually pouted, but the eyes kept twinkling.

"Go on, Severus. Keep in touch with your friends here. Remember, there's no need to be alone anymore."

Neville was going over his Medikit with Hermione when Severus quietly joined them.

"I've got everything, then. Hopefully we won't be needing this stuff, but you never know."

They had already shrunken their luggage.

"Where are you going, anyway?" Harry asked, a bit sad.

"The mainland first. Going to combine business with pleasure. Severus wanted to visit some muggle museums, and I want to have a few chats with the people at the Institute of Magic in Florence, they have an interesting view on combining muggle and magical healing, it seems."

"Here," Harry said gruffly, shoving a small package into Neville's hands, "take this. It's half of the two way mirror. We can talk through it and it might come in useful if you ever need help."

Neville grinned widely. "Thanks Harry, that is great. We'll be in touch, we promise."

Harry turned to Severus.

"As I said at the press conference, I gave my Order of Merlin to you." He handed his former professor a small box. Severus paled. "But Harry…"

"No buts. If anyone deserves it, it's you. Take good care of yourself…Severus."

"You too, Harry."

The four on the steps stared after the retreating figures, headed for the stolen car. They would return it to its rightful owners, and then travel to mainland Europe muggle style. With some Death Eaters still on the loose, it was the safest way.

"WHOOOOOOHOOOOOO!"

"MR LONGBOTTOM! GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!"

"But Sev, you should feel the wind! Come on, join me! Feel the freedom."

"I most certainly will not. And if you fall overboard, don't expect me to levitate you out with all those muggles looking."

"Ah, well, a bubblehead charm and I'll be fine. Stop being such a spoilsport, Sev."

Severus ran for the railing of the ship as the movements caused by a wave made his stomach roil and eject any food in it. When he looked up again, he saw Neville smirking.

"Glad you decided to join me, Sev. Now, come here. Hold on tight and look at the horizon, and feel the wind on your face and through your hair."

Scowling, Severus complied. He didn't have much choice in the matter, what with being weak from seasickness, and Neville forcing him to have fun.

He was determined to hate the experience but to his amazement, hating things didn't come easy anymore. He found that the wind was indeed enjoyable, and he understood what Neville had meant with feeling the freedom.

For the first time he experienced that he was, in fact, free.

Miles and miles away, a small gathering was taking place in a remote house in Land's End.

"Lucius is dead. We don't know what became of Bella, Rast and the others. The Dark Lord will not return this time, that much is obvious. So what are we even here for?"

"Revenge, of course. Harry Potter may have been the only one capable of killing the Dark Lord, but who says only the Dark Lord was capable of killing Potter?"

"Why bother? I say we all move to some remote place till this war is forgotten. Even if we DO manage to kill Potter, we would die in the attempt or be prosecuted all the more fiercely. I'm moving to Russia, apparently there are quite a number of dangerous beasts that need to be slain…"

"Shut up MacNair. Have you no pride left? The Wizarding world trembled in our wake once, and what are we now? Pathetic outlaws, hiding in hellholes like these."

"HEY! What's wrong with my summer cottage?"

"Be quiet, Crabbe. My point is, we are all that is left and we have to do our best…"

"Oh please. Look, let's face it, we lost. The Dark Lord wasn't as powerful as we thought and honestly, I'm beginning to like going through life without getting crucio'ed every week or so. Continuing would only loose us whatever power we have left. It's insane."

"WAIT! SIT! There is one other thing we need to consider."

"And that is?"

"Severus Snape."

"Who is dead. What's there to consider? Let the traitor rot in his grave."

"Do we KNOW he is dead?"

"Don't be obtuse, man, we all saw him fall when the Longbottom kid used the same curse on him as Potter used on the Dark Lord. Serves him right."

"We saw him FALL, but did we see him die?"

"If you are asking me if I stopped to check his breathing and pulse while fleeing for my life, then the answer is no, but if the Dark Lord couldn't survive the curse, certainly Snape wouldn't have stood a chance."

"We can't be sure of that! They might have hidden him!"

"You know, paranoia can be treated nowadays. I hear St. Mungo's has an excellent program.."

SLAP

"OWWW! What'ya do that for?"

"We MUST make sure Snape is dead!"

"Oh, now instead of risking our lives sneaking into Hogwarts to kill Potter, we are now risking our lives sneaking into Hogwarts on the off chance that there MIGHT be only one rotting corpse in that grave instead of two. No thank you."

"You blithering IDIOT! Has Lucius taught you NOTHING? WE won't be sneaking into Hogwarts."

"What, you're gonna accio two rotting corpses all the way through England now?"

ANOTHER SLAP

"Now that MacNair has finally shut up, I can explain. Now, does anybody know where Rita Skeeter lives these days…?