DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER.
Christmas in 1981 was a joyous occasion. Hermione, Harry and Susan had all played together that day and Hermione and her parents had joined the family for dinner. Hermione had received several presents the next day, both magical and muggle. Harry and Susan had also gotten quite a lot of presents and Harry had squealed in joy upon opening a present to find a plush snake that Severus had bought for him.
New Year's Eve had been delightful. The Weasleys and the Grangers had celebrated with the family and their kids had played together for quite a long time before falling asleep at 10 pm.
Dumbledore and Minerva had visited quite a lot, and they had been very happy to tell the Grangers more about the wizarding world. Dumbledore was quite happy that not only did Harry have his parents and his uncles and aunties who loved him, but he also had a friend next door who was magical. This was quite a lovely neighborhood indeed.
One day, Narcissa had brought Draco to play with Harry, Susan and Hermione. Lily had asked her that day how she had managed to send information to Dumbledore for a year. She had been surprised to hear that Narcissa had taken a house elf in Malfoy Manor, Dobby, into her confidence and had sent all her information through him. After that Halloween night, Dobby had been working in the Hogwarts kitchens and often visiting Draco as he liked him very much.
That day, Sirius had heard from Narcissa that his younger brother Regulus Black had died. The cause was unknown. Sirius had been quite heartbroken to hear that, but had eventually come to terms with it. Regulus had chosen to be a Death Eater, a path on which Sirius could not and would not walk. So it had not been as hard as the deaths of Fleamont and Euphemia.
James and Sirius had decided to register themselves as animagi and the process had been carried out with help from Moody. Dumbledore had been surprised, but nevertheless, happy to hear that James, Sirius and Peter had gone out of their way to help Remus, despite the risks of being convicted by the Wizengamot. Of course, they had all felt quite upset to think about Peter during the explanation. His betrayal had hit them quite hard indeed.
Remus had not known what he would do for a living, but the matter had been resolved some time after meeting a wizarding family, the Diggorys in Ottery St. Catchpole. Amos Diggory and his wife had become fast friends and their son, Cedric Diggory had become a good friend of Harry. Amos Diggory had offered Remus a position in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Remus had initially refused, and upon constant enquiry from Amos had finally told him about his lycanthropy. Amos had initially been shocked, but had later on accepted it, realizing that Remus was nothing like Fenrir Greyback. In fact, not only had he given him the post anyway; he had also decided to give Remus a day off after every full moon and permission to return home before sunset on every full moon night.
As for Severus, he had thought for a long time about Dumbledore's offer and had finally agreed to become the next Potions Master after the end of the current academic year. Luckily, upon hearing this, Dumbledore had told him that he would not be required to live in the castle and that it would be enough to simply floo over every working day. Severus had decided to hand in his resignation to the auror department after the current academic year, promising that he would return to the auror department someday in time of need.
Severus and Marlene had decided to get married on the same day as Sirius and Amelia, with Dumbledore presiding over the function.
Currently, it was the 13th of February, 1982, and in the large backyard of No. 9, Woodland Drive, two ladies who were getting married were walking side by side towards the stage which was on the far side of the backyard, away from the house.
Marlene and Amelia were walking together, both wearing white wedding dresses.
Lily was trailing behind Marlene as her matron of honor, and Narcissa was playing that role for Amelia.
On the stage, James was standing behind Sirius as his best man. Next to Sirius was Severus, and Remus was standing behind him as his best man.
Just in front of the stage, Draco was being held by Andromeda and Ted, Harry was being held by Bill Weasley, and Susan was being held by Molly who was also holding Ginny.
Amelia and Marlene stepped onto the stage, being followed by their matrons of honor.
Amelia beamed as she and Sirius slowly moved towards each other. They reached the center of the stage and looked happily at each other.
Dumbledore who was standing nearby moved towards them and turning towards Sirius, he spoke, "Sirius Orion Black, do you take Amelia Susan Bones to be your lawfully wedded wife?" Sirius beamed and said, "Yes, I do."
Turning to Amelia, Dumbledore said, "Amelia Susan Bones, do you take Sirius Orion Black to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
Amelia beamed and responded, "Yes, I do."
Wedding vows were made, rings were exchanged and Sirius and Amelia were declared married for life.
Sirius and Amelia now moved towards the side of the stage. Severus and Marlene now moved to the centre of the stage, looking at each other smilingly.
Dumbledore now spoke to Severus, "Severus Tobias Snape, do you take Marlene McKinnon to be your lawfully wedded wife?" Severus smiled widely and said, "Yes, I do."
Turning to Marlene, Dumbledore said, "Marlene McKinnon, do you take Severus Tobias Snape to be your lawfully wedded husband?" to which Marlene beamed at Severus and said, "Yes, I do."
After the wedding vows and rings, Severus and Marlene were declared married for life.
The time came to dance and the two newly married couples moved off the stage and onto the dance floor which was actually a part of the backyard. Arthur was now holding Harry and Ron who along with Susan were staring at everyone dancing. A few minutes later, Sirius and Amelia were holding each other and dancing close to where the Weasleys were standing. And then suddenly, Harry cried out, "Pafoo! Pafoo!"
For a moment, everyone gathered including the musicians stopped whatever they were doing and stared curiously at Harry.
Sirius moved forward with his arms held out and took Harry from Arthur. The music resumed and Sirius and Amelia held Harry and danced together. A few minutes later, they took Susan from Molly and held her and danced while Severus and Marlene held Harry and danced together.
As they all danced, Harry wrapped his arms around Severus' neck calling out, "Love Ev and Maine!" Marlene hugged Harry and kissed his cheek.
Suddenly, Harry turned towards Sirius, Amelia and Susan nearby and called out, "Su! Su!" and Susan looked at him and called out, "Hawwy!"
The newlyweds put them down and watched as they moved towards each other. Susan hugged Harry and cried out, "I LOVE YOU HAWWY!"
Harry hugged her back and cried out, "HAWWY LOVE SU!"
Hermione who was standing nearby with her parents rushed towards them and hugged them, squealing with delight. She said, "I love you Hawwy! I love you Susie!"
Ron, who was standing nearby, moved over and hugged his friends in delight.
A little later, while everyone was eating lunch, Remus who was sitting next to James spoke, "Now we really are a huge family. This is the best family that I could have ever hoped for."
James said, "You're looking for a nice girl, aren't you? Tell me Moony, who is it?"
Remus looked at him in annoyance and said, "Look, I'm a werewolf, and besides that, I'm just not ready."
James replied, "Minister Bagnold's planning on some reforms, so don't worry about your furry little problem. She told me in secret the other day. Besides, there won't be any full moon nights for the rest of the month. So that means, no special nights until the end of the honeymoon."
16 February 1982
It was 11 pm in Sunshine Coast, Australia and the family here for a honeymoon was getting ready to go to bed. They had a suite for themselves in the hotel in which they were staying. There were three bedrooms which the couples were sharing and a sofa bed in the sitting room which was occupied by Remus.
In the bedroom which Marlene and Severus were sharing, they were currently sitting on the bed with the blanket covering their legs.
Marlene hugged Severus and whispered, "Finally, we're married."
Severus looked at her and said, "I just wish I had been able to do more. I have made a lot of mistakes, but I have a family now. My own father used to beat my mother and me many times, and that was one factor which pushed me into nearly joining Voldemort. I promise you that I will never ever treat you the way he treated my mother and I."
Marlene replied soothingly, "Don't worry Sev, you're a far better person now, and I know that you will never treat me or anyone like that."
Severus smiled and hugged his wife, thinking about her and his sister and about how much they had changed his life.
Meanwhile, in another bedroom, Lily was cradling Harry and rocking him side to side, trying to put him to sleep. Next to them on the bed, James was lying down fast asleep, an arm wrapped around Susan who was sleeping peacefully.
Lily and James had decided to let Susan sleep with them and Harry that night so that Sirius and Amelia could get some 'privacy'.
As Lily looked at her now sleeping son in her arms, she thought about everything that had happened since the day that Severus Snape had apologized to her, declaring that he would never join Voldemort. He and James had been bitter rivals back then, but that incident had caused James to question himself about his attitude towards him.
She knew that if things had gone a very different way, they would have been dead and Harry would have probably been forced to live with Petunia and Vernon who no doubt would hold him with utter disregard and hatred for being magical. Severus had told her all about his nightmare where he had joined Voldemort and had broken down at the end. Lily had comforted him saying that he had made the right choice by not joining the dark lord and that had led to things being so much better for everyone.
Unfortunately, Susan unlike Harry had really lost her parents, just before turning two years old. Lily had mentally promised to love her like her own child when she and James had decided to have everyone live together after that Halloween night. Both Susan and Harry would grow up, loved and cared for by a huge family.
It was all thanks to Severus that they were a big family, living together and not torn apart by Peter Pettigrew and Voldemort.
Lily looked up and whispered, "Thank you for everything, my brother Severus."
She then kissed Harry in her arms and placed him on the bed next to her before kissing Susan on her forehead and wrapping her arms around them.
The End