"You, with your words like knives
And swords and weapons that you use against me
You, have knocked me off my feet again,
Got me feeling like a nothing
You, with your voice like nails
On a chalk board, calling me out when I'm wounded
You, picking on the weaker man"

-Taylor Swift "Mean"

Early the next morning, Harry received an owl from Draco informing him that he contacted Headmistress McGonagall about their visit to Hogwarts and how she planned to greet them at the front gate.

Later that same day, Harry and Draco approached the gates of Hogwarts for the first time since the war hand in hand, both were nervous to be back. Harry was anxious to hear more about his parents and Draco was anxious to step foot in a place where he had betrayed so many. Headmistress McGonagall was at the gate to greet them.

Harry stepped forward. "Headmistress, it's lovely to see you again. Thank you for letting us come today. We both appreciate it." He smiled at her.

Headmistress McGonagall whispered the chant to open the gate. Both Harry and Draco stepped through the threshold of Hogwarts. McGonagall smiled at them both. "Welcome back, boys. Please call me Minnie since you are no longer students. What is your business here at Hogwarts?" She looked at them curiously.

Harry spoke up after a few moments. "Hermione thought I should ask the school portraits and you about my parents and what they were like since I'm interested in knowing more about them. And Draco would like to speak with Professor Snape if it's not too inconvenient for you, Minnie." He smiled warmly at her, to which she nodded at.

They all start walking up to the castle and chatted along the way. Minnie was pleased to see her former students getting along.

Once they got to the front entrance of Hogwarts, she turned to Harry and Draco. "I think it best if we see Professor Snape first. All the students are currently in class so we can get to my office easily and without any interruptions."

They made their way up the staircases to the Headmistress' office and Minnie reached the door and recited the password. "Sherbet lemons." A spiral staircase was revealed. Minnie started up the stairs. "Come, boys." Harry and Draco followed her up the spiral staircase. At the top, they saw the previous Headmasters portraits lining the walls.

Dumbledore's portrait acknowledged their presence first. "Ahh if it is not young Mister Malfoy and Mister Potter. I see you two have put the past behind you. Bravo, boys. What brings you here?" His eyes twinkled as he smiled at both boys very fondly.

Draco stepped forward. "I have been meaning to speak with Professor Snape."

No sooner did he say his name that Snape's portrait spoke up. "What a pleasant surprise to see you Draco. How is your mother?"

Draco jumped a bit not realising Snape was listening. "Mother is doing well especially without Father around. I have missed you, Severus." He smiled fondly at his godfather.

As Draco chatted with Snape, Minnie was seated at her desk when she noticed an envelope with "Mister Draco Malfoy" written in Dumbledore's handwriting. She looked at it curiously. Harry noticed that she was staring at something.

Harry watched Minnie with curiosity. "Minnie, is something wrong?"

She shook her head. "No, just this peculiar letter appeared on my desk after you and Draco arrived. It is in Dumbledore's handwriting. It is for Draco."

When Draco heard his name being mentioned, he looked at Harry. "Is everything okay? I heard my name." He told Snape he would be right back.

He walked over to Dumbledore's old desk. Minnie spoke. "After your arrival today, this arrived. It is a letter from Albus. It is addressed to you, Draco." She handed him the letter. He wasn't sure what to make of Dumbledore writing to him.

Draco took the letter from her and sat down next to Harry. He analysed every part of the letter before he started to open it.

The contents of the letter read:

Dear Draco,

When a little doe figurine appears on my desk say these words carefully:

Semper fidelis. Te mihi revelare.

Fondly,

Albus

Draco kept reading the letter repeatedly. "Minnie, do you have any clue what this is about?"

Minnie shook her head and chuckled. "Albus always loved surprises and his cryptic wording."

Harry was about to say something but was interrupted by the appearance of a whiteish blue doe figurine. Everyone looked at each other not knowing what to do next.

Draco finally spoke. "The Latin incantation "semper fidelis. Te mihi revelare" roughly translates to "always loyal or faithful. Reveal yourself to me" in English. Dumbledore said to say those words carefully which makes me think you only get one try." He looked a little worried.

Harry looked at Draco and smiled. "Hermione would be perfect to recite those words. You remember how important pronunciation is to her, right? She used to lecture Ron and I all the bloody time about how we could potentially get killed if we said something wrong."

Minnie smirked. "Harry is quite right. Hermione was quite the stickler when it came to pronunciation and would not let you hear the end of it if you were to say something wrong."

Harry removed his wand from pocket and said "expecto patronum" which produced his stag patronus. It walked up to Harry and bowed its head. "Please find Hermione and tell her to come to Hogwarts and floo into the Headmistress' office immediately." After he relayed the message, the stag bounded out of the office and disappeared.

Minnie walked over to her floo and opened it so Hermione could come right through without announcing herself first.

What seemed like seconds later, Hermione emerged from the floo and dusted herself off. "Harry, what did you get yourself into this time? I swear I feel like I am always saving the day." She gave Harry a pointed look and acknowledged her surroundings. "Oh forgive my manners. Hello Minnie and hello Draco. It is very nice to see you both again." She smiled at them.

Harry gave Hermione a very annoyed look. "Yes I know you are superior to me and Ron when it comes to your magical abilities and logic but that is not why I called you here. Draco and I took your advice on coming to Hogwarts and speaking with Professor Snape and other portraits about my parents and their friends but we got distracted before I had time to think of questions to ask because a letter from Dumbledore appeared on Minnie's desk and it was addressed to Draco." He handed the letter over to Hermione to examine.

For several minutes she just stared at the letter. And without another word, she picked up the doe figurine and placed on the floor in front of the desk and stepped back from the figurine.

Hermione took her wand out and pointed it at the doe figurine. "Semper fidelis. Te mihi revelare." She spoke the words from the letter slowly and pronounced them carefully.

For a few moments nothing happened. All of the sudden, the air swirled around the figurine. The doe looked like it was dissolving and the particles were churning in the air. Minnie, Hermione, Draco and Harry all stared in wonder as the particles started to form into something solid with black fringes. The shape of a human being materialised but there were no distinguishing features. The particles seemed to be vibrating until they shattered into a million pieces and vanished into thin air only leaving just the bat like Professor Severus Snape. Everyone gasped in shock.

The one and only Severus Snape was standing before them looking confused and irritated. "What is the meaning of this?" He said in his usual annoyed tone.

Before anyone else could say anything, Draco launched himself forward and hugged him tightly. Draco was gasping for air as he was sobbing into his godfather's robes. It seemed when Severus heard him sobbing, he immediately wrapped his arms around Draco and rested his chin on top of his godson's head.

Draco pulled away and walked back to where Harry was. Hermione could not stop staring at Severus like he could disappear again at any moment. Harry was stunned into silence. Minnie smirked fondly at Severus.

Once everyone got over the initial shock, Severus observed his surroundings and Harry curiously. "Well, Potter I presume you survived another killing curse and you were able to defeat Voldemort and the war is over considering this office looks to be in better shape and all of you no longer look filthy." He snarked.

Harry nodded as he stuttered. "Yes-s, Professor, I have." He looked a bit pale, worrying about how Snape was going to react to his changing relationship with Draco.

As if Snape could hear his thoughts, he sneered at Harry. "I see congratulations are in order. Draco snagged himself the precious Saviour of the Wizarding World. I am sure Lucius will be thrilled to know his son is bent and canoodling with the Boy Who Lived Twice." He said in a sarcastic manner.

Both Harry and Draco were blushing ferociously at what Severus said. Draco sheepishly looked at his godfather and sighed. He finally got the courage to speak up. "I do not bloody well need anyone's approval. I have done what has been asked of me time after time and I am done. Harry makes me happy and I am not about to apologise for finally accepting myself. You know as well as I do that people can change and happiness does exist."

Severus was astonished by his godson's reaction. "I believe this is the very first time you have shown any sort of true conviction about anything in your life, Draco. Colour me impressed." He softly smiled.

Both Hermione and Minnie were carefully watching the exchange between Draco and Severus while Harry had his arm around Draco's waist.

Hermione looked like she was going to burst and finally piped in. "Minnie found a letter from Dumbledore for Draco. It contained instructions and an incantation to say. None of us knew what it was going to do. Draco and Minnie thought it prudent to involve me in saying the incantation to ensure there were no mistakes."

Again Severus sneered. "Ahh, the brightest witch finally speaks. But let me get this straight, you all thought it was a brilliant idea to say that incantation without knowing what it would do? Though, I suppose I should be thankful that you, Miss Granger, were the one who used the incantation to resurrect me considering your friend, Potter here, can be quite incompetent with his magical abilities. Regardless of Miss Granger's abilities as a witch, this reckless idea reminds me of when Potter used my very own sectumsempra spell against my godson in sixth year without thinking of the consequences." Harry looked at Snape sheepishly and diverted his eyes from his former professor as Hermione looked surprised and she blushed at Snape's words.

Minnie had heard enough. "Severus, there is no need to be so beastly towards your godson and former students. Though, you do bring up an excellent point." She looked at him sternly. He nodded and finally stopped sneering at Harry, Draco and Hermione. "Your old posts as Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts professor are still open if you are interested in rejoining Hogwarts. It is up to you." She said desperately trying to change the subject.

Severus looked at her. "Minnie, I am not sure I am suited to continue as a professor any longer. The sole purpose of my post here was to be a double agent. Now that Voldemort has been wiped from existence, I see no reason to continue the charade. Plus, I know for a fact that three quarters of my students despised me for the most part. I think it best for all involved that I retire from teaching." He smirked at his former students.

Minnie chuckled. "I suppose you make a good point. Though, it means I have to find professors for both posts which will be a delightful experience I am sure."

Severus smirked. "I remember Albus was always irritated that he needed a replacement for the Defence Against the Dark Arts post each year. Such fond memories." He heard chuckling behind him and saw Albus' portrait laughing.

Harry, Draco and Hermione were watching the exchange between Dumbledore, Snape and Minnie in amusement. All three were highly entertained. Harry watched Snape with curiosity, Hermione watched Snape in awe and Draco watched Snape with pride.

Severus noticed Hermione staring at him and looked at her oddly. "Is there something you want to say to me, Miss Granger?" His eyes bore into her.

Hermione looked so embarrassed. "I, uh, just wanted to apologise for assuming the worst. I am really sorry we all thought you were evil. Thank you for assisting Harry when he needed it most. Your work as a double agent helped save the wizarding world just as much as Harry's role did." She blushed.

Severus smiled a bit. "No need to apologise or thank me, Miss Granger. What I did for our world was the right course of action. And it was my mission to be the loathsome Potions professor so loyal Death Eater families would not question my allegiance and suspect me of betrayal. Though, to be honest, I am rather dastardly and off-putting even without a mission of subterfuge. If I am spot on with my memory, Albus always teased that I was an acquired taste." He wistfully smiled at Albus' portrait who nodded and chuckled. Severus looked a little sad but as soon as he noticed others staring him, he once again looked stony faced.

Hermione and Harry were stunned into silence it seemed because Snape almost seemed playful and more tolerant of them. And since Harry and Hermione did not know Snape very well other than being in his classes and he was always so mean. But this Snape seemed lighter and oddly a bit nicer and they did not know how to proceed or act around this "new" Snape.

Minnie cleared her throat loudly to get everyone's attention. "It is getting rather late. Severus, how about you go home with Draco? I am sure he would love to catch you up with everything and Narcissa will be pleased to see you again. Harry and Hermione, let us call it a day and you can come back to find more about James, Lily and their friends at another time. It has been an eventful day. We could all use a good rest." She smiled at everyone softly.

Hermione was still kind of staring at Severus. And he looked at her curiously which caused her to blush ferociously once again. She looked away from him and tried to concentrate on Harry and Draco. If anyone had noticed the exchange, no one said anything about it.

Minnie once again spoke. "Since it is such a late hour, why not use my floo? That way you will not encounter anyone in the halls. It was quite lovely seeing you all again and welcome back to the land of the living, Severus. It is good to have you back whether you teach here or not." She smiled warmly at him and he smiled back.

Hermione turned to Harry. "How about you come home with me? It will give Severus and Draco a chance to catch up." She smiled fondly at Draco and Severus. And Severus' eyes widened and he looked because of her use of his first name so boldly but it also warmed him since it was the first time since Lily that someone called him by his first name in such a lovely manner. He actually noticed everyone looking at Hermione in a strange manner except for Minnie who was smiling.

Harry squeezed Draco's hand and boldly gave him a short kiss on his lips. He pulled back. "Draco, let me know when you would like to get together again. Welcome back, Professor Snape. It was good seeing you again, Minnie. I'll keep in touch about coming back. Let's go, Hermione." He hugged Minnie and waved goodbye to Severus. Hermione hugged Minnie and Draco while saying goodbye and smiled warmly at Severus. Harry took her and they disappeared into the floo.

Draco hugged Minnie and said goodbye to her. Severus nodded and said his farewells. They both entered the floo and disappeared.

When Draco and Severus arrived back at Malfoy Manor after flooing into Hogsmeade and apparating to the manor's gate, Severus looked at Draco. "Well, I am pleased to be among the living as Minnie put it. I can finally live a life I had dreamed of." He smiled. "And though I am astonished that you and the Boy Who Lived Twice are together, I am happy for you, Draco." He hugged his godson.

Draco gave him soft smile. "I am also quite pleased you are back as well. And thank you. It means the world to me that you support me. Mother was thrilled to know I was planning to date Harry. We are not really official yet but it is only a matter of time. We wanted to give everyone a chance to get used to the idea of us spending time together but in private and with people we trust we show more affection."

Severus observed his godson. "You should not have to hide your relationship or cater to others' sensitivities but I do understand considering he is the Saviour of the Wizarding World you need to proceed with caution. It is a wise decision on both your parts. Your family is not in good standing in our world right now and the press may assume you are trying to redeem your family's name by spending time with their Saviour. Though, no one who matters will think that of you. Let us go inside."

Draco opened the gate and locked it behind himself. When they approached the front entrance, Narcissa greeted them. "Severus! How is this possible?" She was shocked to see him.

Severus walked up to Narcissa. "Apparently crafty old Albus had a gift for Draco when he arrived at Hogwarts. He interwoven my essence with a doe figurine and an incantation to be spoken. Miss Granger, I mean, Hermione was the one who activated the doe and brought me back. And Minnie suggested that I stay with Draco rather than returning to Spinners End."

Narcissa had tears in her eyes but she quickly wiped them away. "Let us sit in the parlour and have tea. Minnie was right and you can stay with us as long as you would like. And welcome back, Severus. And Draco darling please tell Winky to set up one of the guest rooms." She gave Severus a hug and squeezed his hand once they were all inside the manor. And Draco went to find their house elf.

After Draco found Winky and told her about their guest, she scurried off. He just reminisced the day's events as he found his back to the parlour. He was just happy he had his godfather back. And over the moon happy that he supported his relationship with Harry. His last thought before rejoining his mother and Severus for tea was Harry kissing him in front of everyone. He smiled at the sweet memory.