Epilogue

Columba: The Olive Branch

Winter 1998

It was a cold, dark winter's day in late December, and Narcissa was sitting alone in her parlour. Lucius was in his study and Draco was out again with a girl - Astoria Greengrass. Lucius had been initially pleased at Draco's choice, since the Greengrass family were in the Sacred Twenty-Eight, but Narcissa was much less enthusiastic. She could not warm to the girl, and Lucius soon came to agree with his wife. They did not like the ideas Astoria was putting in Draco's head - that all people were equal, regardless of their blood status - or even their magical ability. She and Lucius hoped it was just a passing fancy and would burn out soon, but until then, they had to put up with Draco's love-sick expression whenever the liberal-minded girl was around. But, Narcissa thought, idly turning a page of her magazine, at least he's happy now... And it was true; Draco had flourished since the events on 2nd May. Narcissa's old wand had been lost in the battle, but Draco had been confidently using Severus' ever since. Even when they had offered to take him abroad to purchase a new, bespoke wand, as she and Lucius had, Draco had refused.

"I like this one," he had said simply. "It reminds me of what happened, of who Severus was, and it feels right to be using it. I think Severus would be pleased, if he knew."

Her son was certain Severus' wand was made of the same type of wood as his old wand - hawthorn. Narcissa hoped, rather than believed, this to be the case. Her new wand was ebony, and Lucius' was elm, both with dragon heartstring, just as their old ones had been. Draco had also renewed his interest in alchemy, and spent a great deal of time researching this subject. Narcissa knew her son was changing, adapting to the new world and that she should be happy for him, but instead she felt in a constant state of unrest and dissatisfaction. She could not bring herself to loosen her grip on the pure-blood ideology she had held so dear her whole life, and was suspicious and resentful of the new times she was living in. Ingle knocked at the parlour door, bringing Narcissa back to the present, and she looked up as the elf stepped into the room, saying,

"Madam Malfoy, you is having a visitor. Ingle is not showing him in. Ingle is not sure Madam wants to see him?"

Narcissa was immediately anxious, thinking, An Auror? Or someone from the Ministry? But we were pardoned! Narcissa, Lucius and Draco had been formally exonerated for their crimes after testimony from Harry Potter that they had changed sides before the downfall of Lord Voldemort. Narcissa's lie to the Dark Lord about Harry succumbing to the Killing curse had been listed as a key piece of evidence. Lucius had also given over the names of many escaped Death Eaters, resulting in their recapture and imprisonment. The Malfoys had shut themselves away afterwards, trying to keep a low profile, waiting until the dust had settled before they tried to establish their place in society once more.

"Who is it, Ingle?" Narcissa asked, balling her hands into tight fists in her lap, her nails biting into her palms.

"It is Harry Potter, Madam."

Narcissa froze. Harry Potter? What the hell is he playing it, coming to my home?

"Shall Ingle say Madam is out?" asked the elf, helpfully.

"No." Narcissa rose to her feet, tossing the magazine aside. "I will see him." She followed the elf from the room and down the stairs, opening the front door slowly. Sure enough, Harry Potter was on the doorstep, looking cold and tired.

"Mrs Malfoy," he said, nodding politely. "I wanted to see you - and Draco, too."

"Draco is out," Narcissa said in a clipped voice as she stared at the young man. His lightning-bolt scar was still visible under his untidy black hair. This wizard had saved her son's life from the Feindfyre which had killed Vincent Crabbe, he had defeated the Dark Lord, ending his reign of terror, and kept her family out of prison, but she could not bring herself to like Harry Potter. He made her feel small and ashamed, but rather than acting in contrition, and trying to reconcile with Potter and what he represented, she reacted defensively, lashing out at him. "How did you get through the gates?" she demanded, her voice harsh.

Potter, unsmiling, held out a wand - Draco's old wand. "I wanted to return this," he said, offering it to her.

Narcissa reached out and took the proffered wand, careful not to touch Potter's hand with the tips of her fingers. "Is that all?" she asked curtly, making to close the door.

"Not quite," he replied evenly. His bright green eyes met hers, and she read one word in them, the only word which could have stopped her from slamming the door in his face. 'Severus'. "You said... on the day it happened... that Severus was your friend?" Potter asked.

Narcissa felt her breath catch in her throat. She had been plagued by thoughts of Severus since she had learnt of his death. She had hoped that he would send them word, a letter, perhaps, written before his death to explain what he had done, but there was nothing. Severus' funeral had been a quiet affair, attended only by herself, Lucius and Draco. His name had been listed with the fallen Death Eaters, and his memory subjected to the scorn and derision of the survivors. Lucius had sorted out Severus' estate by himself. It seemed that Severus had known he was going to die; he had already sold his house and all his affairs were in order. The money was quickly and quietly deposited in the Muggle bank account of Mr and Mrs Tobias Snape, and Lucius had performed a simple Confundus charm on them, leading them to believe they had won the lottery, despite having never entered it.

Narcissa, consumed with grief for her sister and her friend, had been unable to help her husband carry out Severus' wishes. Her anguish over Bellatrix's death was straightforward compared to the confusion and turmoil she experienced when thinking about Severus. Was he really ever our friend, or was he just using us for information? Did he ever really care about us, or Draco? But he must have, he saved Draco's life, and he always helped us when we needed it... but was that because he wanted to, or to keep his cover? What made him turn on us... or was it more complicated than that? And she remembered Severus' words, standing by the lake at Hogwarts all those years ago:

"I'll do it, and one day, I'll be a better Occlumens and Legilimens than Dumbledore and the Dark Lord put together."

Narcissa's confused thoughts went on, Who, then, was the real Severus Snape? The one we knew, the one the Dark Lord knew, or the one Albus Dumbledore knew?

Potter's next words shocked her. "I came here to tell you that I'm going to clear his name. It was true, what I said to Voldemort... Severus was working against him since before the night he killed my parents. He wasn't a good man... but he doesn't deserve to be forgotten. He was the bravest man I ever knew, he died trying to bring Voldemort down, and I want people to know what he did, out of love for my mother. "

"What would you know about it? About Severus? About anything?" Narcissa hissed. She hated seeing this boy, who had made Severus' life a misery from the minute he had set foot in the castle of Hogwarts, whose father and godfather had repeatedly and savagely bullied him, standing before her, speaking of Severus as if he knew him, as if he understood him.

"Before he died," Potter said calmly. "Severus gave me his memories. I watched them in Dumbledore's pensive, so I know what I'm talking about."

Narcissa's head was spinning. She could see the truth shining out of Potter's eyes at her. In the immediate aftermath of the battle, she had shoved Potter's words to the Dark Lord about Severus to the back of her mind, telling herself that he was lying, but in the following days and weeks, she had recalled snatches of conversation with Severus over the years, seeing them in a new light. She had remembered Severus' actions that she had been unable to reconcile at the time; He didn't attack Lily Potter when he went to recruit her and James. He made sure he was assigned to them, then allowed her to chase him away, without even trying to defend himself against her... On the night the Dark Lord fell, he shut himself away, just like he did after Regulus died. He was mourning her, grieving for Lily. One conversation with Severus in particular had haunted her:

"Not many people understand what it is like to lose someone you love - whether to death or estrangement. It never stops hurting. You think of them every day, wondering what might have been... Some days are easier than others - some days you think you can bear the burden, but then you see or hear something, and it all comes flooding back, and you are crushed under its weight again. You can never get away from it, it is always there, waiting to break you again. In my experience, time does not heal all wounds. We are permanently scarred, and have to learn to live with our regrets."

Narcissa had thought he was talking about Regulus, and whilst she still did believe he had cared deeply for his friend, she had come to realise he had meant Lily. Severus had loved Lily; Narcissa could no longer deny it.

"You said he was your friend," Potter went on stubbornly. "I know that if it was Ron, or Hermione, I would want to know they didn't die in vain. I would want to know someone was going to put things right. Or perhaps you don't care?"

Anger flared inside Narcissa and she shouted back, "Don't you dare, Potter, come to my home and suggest I didn't care about him! Don't you dare!" Her hand tightened around Draco's wand.

Potter did not flinch at her outburst. "I thought you would want to know... I thought... look." He glared defiantly at her as he said, "When the Snatchers got me, Ron and Hermione, Draco recognised us immediately. He could have turned us in, but he didn't. And you, you lied to Lord Voldemort, one of the greatest Legilimens ever seen, and told him I was dead. You both chose to do the right thing, so don't be angry with Severus, he -"

"I didn't do that for you," Narcissa said haughtily, her eyes flashing. "And neither did Draco. And Severus..." But she stopped speaking, pain and grief washing over her once more. But as she gave into the sensation, a new, rational voice piped up in her mind, Severus loved Lily, but that doesn't mean he never cared about us. He might have lied about which side he was on, but he wasn't faking his friendship with us. He was my closest friend and like a brother to me, and this hasn't changed that. I just wish he had told us... but how could he? Narcissa breathed in sharply, and came to a decision. Even if I never understand what he did, I won't disparage his memory. I loved him, and he deserves my respect and my good opinion. Maybe now, I can let his memory rest in peace... She swallowed and said abruptly, "I want you to leave now, Potter, and do not come back. My family has nothing to say to you."

"Ok." Potter held up his hands in surrender. "I get it. I'll go - but before I do, I have one other thing to say." He reached into his pocket, and withdrew an envelope. "I don't know if you know, but I am Teddy Lupin's godfather. His parents were killed at Hogwarts, so your sister, Andromeda, is raising him... when she heard I was coming here, she asked me to bring this." He held out the envelope to her, and Narcissa looked at it, a feeling of joy rising inside of her. Andromeda! She wants to talk to me, my sister!

"Narcissa, who -?" She felt a hand on her shoulder as Lucius spoke behind her. "Potter!" he sounded surprised and suspicious as he sneered, "To what do we owe this great honour?"

"Mr Malfoy." Potter nodded curtly to him, still holding out the letter to Narcissa. She hesitated, then slowly began to reach for it as Potter went on, "Andromeda's husband, Ted, was killed by Snatchers in March. They found his body with Dirk Cresswell's and a goblin's. And her daughter, Tonks, was killed at Hogwarts. Andromeda is distraught, so this means a lot to her. She's alone now, except for little Teddy."

Narcissa's hand froze, her fingertips an inch away from the envelope, as feelings of guilt and shame erupted inside of her. She remembered with startling clarity looking into Ted Tonks' unwavering blue eyes, moments before his death. I as good as killed my sister's husband - I only failed because I missed! I wanted to kill him. And Narcissa remembered watching another person, a witch with bright pink hair, falling to the ground, hit by Bellatrix's Killing curse. I stood by and watched Andromeda's only daughter die. If I hadn't interfered and helped Bella, the girl might still be alive. If Andromeda ever found out, she'd never forgive me, she'd hate me - and I'd deserve it. Severus' words came to her once more:

"In my experience, time does not heal all wounds. We are permanently scarred, and have to learn to live with our regrets."

Narcissa slowly withdrew her hand and drew herself up to her full height as she spoke with as much cold disdain as she could muster, "You have made a mistake, Potter. My only sister, Bella, was killed on 2nd May. I don't know who you are talking about." I'm sorry, Andromeda, I'm so sorry. Narcissa turned away, slamming the door shut in the shocked and appalled face of the Boy-Who-Lived, Andromeda's letter still in his hand.

The End.

Ophiuchus: The Serpent Bearer. The Story of Narcissa Malfoy

Author's Note: Thank you for reading this story! It was such fun to write and a real labour of love. Anything you recognise - characters, places, spells, and dialogue (such as the Unbreakable Vow and the Final Battle scenes) were taken from the amazing world created by Rowling. I am not claiming any of her work as my own - I am just a fan who wanted to write for other fans. I hope you enjoyed getting to know Narcissa, Lucius, Draco and Severus better.