Chapter Twenty-Four

"So Dumbledore is finally getting old, eh, Severus?" asked the chubby young Trainee Healer Marcus Kennedy, once he decided that he and Professor Snape were out of earshot in a secluded part of the Janus Thickey ward one chilly day in January of 1998.

"So it would seem. The clumsiness that caused the accident that marred his hand, the tremors he exhibits in public on occasion... yes, he's most definitely past his best."

"The palsy of the aged... good, good," whispered Kennedy, who was also a newly-made Death Eater. "Our master will be glad to hear of it."

Severus placed a hand on Kennedy's arm; someone was coming. Kennedy took the hint, and the conversation switched to a different topic.

The persons coming down the corridor wore St. Mungo's robes, but were not actually part of the staff; the red "B"s on their robes showed that. They wore the robes mainly because they wanted to reassure the witches and wizards they treated of their right to be treating them; and also because if they had worn Muggle street clothes or doctors' clothing, many of the patients would have preferred death to being treated by them.

Kennedy scowled for a moment as he saw them approach, then did his best to put a blank expression on his face. They were two women, an old one and one in her middle thirties. They nodded in acknowledgment as they passed the two wizards.

"I can't believe Smethwyck's allowing those Muggle scum in here," hissed Kennedy under his breath when the women had passed. "Bloodstoppers or not."

"Horace Slughorn is a very persuasive man," remarked Professor Snape evenly. "And he shares Dumbledore's near-mania for all things Muggle."

"It'll be different when the Dark Lord's running things," Kennedy snarled. "He's promised me Smethwyck's job, once we take over."

Severus made a noncommital grunt. I'm sure he has, he thought darkly. He promised me all sorts of things when I was your age, too...

-------------------------------------

On a spot that marked the highest point of his gently rolling acreage, John Norton sat up straight on the seat of his old Schwinn bicycle – Severus' old bicycle, actually. He brushed away a stray fluffy cottonwood seed that had fallen on the cummerbund of his tuxedo, stretched the kinks out of his aging back – that liniment Severus made for him would definitely come in handy tonight – and looked out over all he could see: The orchards, the house, the outbuildings, the fields, everything. What he saw that fine sunny June day in 1998 made him feel content.

The spring of that year had been very wet in southeastern Minnesota, but there were enough dry spells in the middle of Norway Township to allow for getting the crops planted, and while the rain had been heavy, it hadn't washed away anything. Most of the farmers there did well enough that year.

It helped to be a small farmer like John Norton, as well as one with much of one's acreage invested in perennial crops like apples and berries and walnuts; there was a lot less to plant, and what he planted was more valuable than corn and soybeans. There were some other kinds of crops, too, but those weren't for sale. His long-lost son had need of them, and from a source his son's enemies would never suspect.

But now, his son's enemies – the enemies of pretty much most of the human race – had just been vanquished, and for good this time, it seemed. Much that had cause to be hidden could now be brought out into the open.

One of the things that had been hidden was, of course, the fact that Severus had come to be on the Norton farm in the first place. Yes, John and Sarah and Becky had been to Hogwarts, but officially only because Hjordis and Julie had pestered Horace and Albus to bring them along for a visit, and only once openly. All their subsequent visits were done in secret, and they were sparing in their use of the Floo. (Unlike the Nortons, the Halvorsons were able to openly visit Hogwarts fairly often. Sluggo's interest in Hjordis and Julie was easily explained; he was known for collecting the special and the unique, be they people, beings or objects. He had invited vampires to his Slug Club soireés; inviting Muggles, especially those with unusual talents, would not be at all unlikely for him.)

Another hidden thing was the relationship between Severus and Julie. Being seen so much as being friendly to her, a Muggle, in public – well, that would have meant the end of Severus' career as a double agent. So when their paths happened to cross at St. Mungo's or at Hogwarts, as they sometimes did, they had needed to act as if they could barely tolerate each other. But now that Voldemort was gone and his Death Eaters defeated and/or imprisoned, Severus and Julie decided that they could go public, as it were.

And that was why John Norton was wearing a tux as he rode the old Schwinn out in the fields that day. Severus and Julie were "going public" in a very big way today.

They had to hold the event at the farm, both for magical security and secrecy reasons and because it would have cost an arm and a leg to rent a hall big enough to hold all of the bride's and groom's friends and relations. Luckily, John didn't have to do much in the way of organizing the thing: Sarah and Molly Weasley, between the two of them, had everything taken care of in very short order. He just took care of getting the beer. Well, that, and the pig for the pig roast, and the fifty-five-gallon oil drum the pig would be cooked in.

But wedding or no wedding, there were still farm tasks to be done. Weeds didn't take holidays. Sarah had chewed him out for not changing out of the tux first, but Severus or Molly would hit him with a cleaning spell if he needed it, once he came back.

Speaking of which, he thought to himself, I'd better get back home. Everybody should be showing up pretty soon...

-------------------------

Both the Norton and Halvorson houses were hosting the wedding, and it was a good thing, too. Even with a severely pared-down list of invitees, there were still lots of people all over the place, wizard and Muggle. Every now and then, the air sizzled with the sound of yet another Apparating witch or wizard making an appearance at the side of the road at what passed for a discreet distance from the two houses.

Julie's mother and father were there, for starters, chatting with the Muggle justice of the peace under one of the large walnut trees in front of the Norton house while Julie's brother Kevin was escorting his own wife and their two small children around the farmstead, giving them wildly bogus explanations for each piece of farm machinery. Julie's sister Traci, meanwhile, was in her grandmother's parlor, engaged in conversation with Hjordis and with Horace Slughorn. The Longbottoms were there, too: Neville and his gran, and Frank and Alice as well, having been discharged as cured from St. Mungo's well over a year earlier. They were making conversation with Arthur and Molly Weasley, healthy and pink-cheeked and eminently sane.

And of course Becky was there, along with her own newly-acquired husband, Brian Gunderson. Wonder of wonders, she was actually having a civil conversation with her adopted older brother:

"Hey, Severus," she had said, waving a hand at the nervous groom as he came out of the Norton house, resplendent in a black tuxedo. (Mom and Dad had tried to talk him into a powder-blue one, but he absolutely put his foot down.) "You look good today."

"Thanks, Sis," the groom-to-be said, a small smile cracking the tense whiteness of his face. (Becky herself had become a teacher, and once she understood that some of Severus' pupils would be in attendance at the wedding, she generously refrained from calling him "Stink" in their presence. In turn, Severus refrained from calling her "Brat" in front of her husband.) "Have you seen Dad?"

Becky made a face. "He grabbed your bike so he could go out in the fields one last time today."

Severus made a short laugh. "He would, wouldn't he?" He turned his head in time to see two figures coming towards him from behind. "Becky, you remember these two persons from when you visited my school, I presume?"

Becky's crinkled in her father's squint as she smiled. "I should, but I don't – not the names, anyway." She held out a hand to the nearest of the two persons, a teenaged boy in a tux, with glasses and hair nearly as black as her brother's. "Hi, I'm Becky Gunderson and I'm an idiot."

"Harry Potter," said the boy in reply, taking her hand in his and shaking it. "And you're not an idiot – you were only at Hogwarts once, and that was well over a year and a half ago." He let go her hand and turned to his companion, a brown-eyed girl in a blue dress, with thick brown hair pulled back into a French braid. "This is Hermione Granger. We're both students at Hogwarts, at least for another few weeks."

Becky smiled. "Graduating, or getting kicked out?"

Harry laughed. "Graduating. Though it was a near thing at times."

"You both have Severus for a teacher?"

"Yes, we do," Hermione answered.

"You both behave yourselves in his classes?"

"I do, but Harry doesn't," Hermione said cheerfully.

Harry snorted. "You just don't get caught," he said.

"That's because I'm smarter than you."

"Are you confessing to having performed mischief in my class, Miss Granger?" Professor Snape asked in his silkiest, most dangerous voice.

Hermione's cheeks suddenly turned a bright red. "I, erm, ah–"

Severus drew himself up to his full intimidating height. "In lieu of detention, Miss Granger, I hereby sentence you to use a Cleansing Charm on my father, once he comes back from the fields. Do I make myself clear?"

The young witch's sigh of relief could have been heard in the next county. "Perfectly, sir."

"Don't act so relieved; you have no idea how dirty Dad can get," Becky said with a grin.

------------------------

The ceremony itself went fairly quickly, even with both Muggle and wizarding authorities taking turns at officiating.

The local justice of the peace went first. He had three other weddings to do that day, so he didn't dawdle; he had the bride and groom put through their paces and legally wed by the Muggle laws of the State of Minnesota in about five minutes flat, then hopped into his car to head off for the next event. If he had thought that there was anything odd about the attire of some of the guests, he didn't say anything; then again, with three beers in him, he may not have been inclined to notice anything.

Once he was safely on the road – Hermione having surreptitiously cast a Sobering Spell on the man before he put his key in the ignition – then it was time for the wizarding side of the ceremony to start.

There was of course only one choice to officiate. Albus Dumbledore was not only a good friend of both Severus and now Julie; he was also, by virtue of his exalted position with the Wizengamot, fully entitled by British wizarding law to join a couple in matrimony.

As before, the rings were exchanged, and the bride and groom recited the words expected of them. But there were subtle differences. The rings glowed whitely as they slid onto the fingers of the wedded couple, for one thing. And as Dumbledore closed the ceremony, placing his hands on their heads, a golden light shone about the three of them as they stood on the grass lawn in front of the cow barn.

John and Sarah Norton stood together, holding hands, and smiled as they watched the proceedings. So much had happened, so many ups and downs had come, and no doubt many more ups and downs would be coming in the future. But so much that had been wrong was put right, and this wedding was proof of that.

"Where will they be going for their honeymoon?" John whispered to his wife.

"They're not telling," Sarah whispered back, as Severus and Julie, still glowing both literally and figuratively, came back into the milling crowd to be congratulated. "I think they're hoping to keep the Weasley Twins from pulling the wizarding version of a wedding prank."

John gave a short laugh. "Good luck with that," he said. "I thought I saw one of them pin something to Severus' collar just now. Probably a homing device."

"Probably," agreed Sarah. She and John hadn't been face to face with the Weasley boys until today, but they knew them by reputation.

John found himself staring at Severus as he walked through the crowd with Julie at his side, accepting the well-wishes of the guests, completely happy for once in his life.

"My son," he murmured. "My son who fell from the sky."

"Our son," Sarah corrected, gently but firmly.

"Our son," John agreed, squeezing her hand. "Now and forever."

The End