The Wyrd Sisters

If the wait on earth for Harry's and Severus' return had been long, it was not the same for the two concerned. When Harry's last breath left his tortured mortal shell, his soul remained; he was not to be judged to go onto his final resting place. He was there to witness Poppy and Albus finding his body, he was there to see Poppy establish his death certificate and announce that he had been carrying a son, his and Severus' son. He listened to Albus' quiet ramblings as he tried to understand how everything had gone so wrong. When his body was brought back to Hogwarts, his soul bled for the sight before him, he had been laid next to the body of his beloved, Severus was dead, how was this possible?

Harry felt his soul being embraced; his Sev hadn't gone on to the next great adventure either, had he simply been waiting for Harry that they might go on together? Harry's soul screamed out "NO", this was not possible, would they both go to Hell? Why would Sev, his father await his return? Was it to bemoan him? Chastise him for his cowardly exit from this world? Would he be despised for all eternity by this man?

Severus felt the change in Harry's soul immediately, his beautiful pure soul was crying out in pain to him, he had to stop this, Harry had to know that his mother's words were nothing other than wishful thinking on her part, yes he had loved her, but as a sister, Harry was his one true love. His soul communicated this information and the reason for his own death to Harry. Harry was ecstatic, his Sev loved him. Something in the air changed, the two felt the warmth of another soul joining them, their son, although they could not communicate with him with words, they did so with their love. The three souls merged in a beautiful embrace then knew no more until they woke receiving the visit of the Wyrd Sisters 110 years later.

The Wyrd Sisters more commonly known as The Fates were the weavers of the past the present and the future, the patterns that they wove into the cloth on their loom decided the futures of all, mankind and beasts alike. They chose to make Harry's and Severus' lives extremely difficult, but they watched proudly over the couple as they fought ruthlessly against the Darkness in their lives and then against the Dark Lord possibly to the detriment of their own futures. They had fought against all of the odds and had won, until of course Lily's letter turned up, which was of course woven into their cloth. The Fates had actually wanted them dead, and for good reason, they had to die to receive their honours.

The Fates offered Immortality to the two Heroes and their son. This reward included any other future children they might have. They would be the starting point of a new race that would be known as the Protectors. Of course, they couldn't start a new race without new blood, so they needed to choose twelve beings to bring with them into Eternity. Once they chose their companions, the Fates would give them a glimpse of their futures to show them what needed to be done.

The Wyrd Sisters left them, giving them time to make their choices, although those choices were already known to them, it wouldn't be correct of them to outright tell them who they would be bringing back, Harry and Severus had to discuss this, they had to choose together.

Twelve beings, well that was an odd thing to say, not twelve Witches or Wizards, but beings, which obviously meant not just humans. That made the couple's first choices simple. The beings they had been the closest to were Dobby and Winky, Harry back tracked, would they want to come back? The Fates hadn't explained, would their choices have their say in the matter? After all they would be pulling twelve souls from above. Of course, Harry realized, the Sisters already knew who they would choose and that they would accept!

So Dobby and Winky it was.

Next the couple looked to their families, Severus had none that he would wish to see again, but his Godson Draco was another matter, Harry agreed immediately, Draco and he had become close before their deaths, But Draco was Soul Mated to Luna, he'd never come alone, Harry loved the whacky Seer, she'd be an asset to them.

Draco and Luna were added to their List

Harry had hated the only family he had ever known, and the feeling was mutual, so no Dursleys. His Parents had abandoned him to a life of torment, so he'd be happy to not see them again either. But his brothers had been innocent of their parents' crime, he'd like to have a real family, bringing his brothers would give him that which he had always longed for. Severus agreed although he did point out that Harry now had a family with him and their son.

Samuel and Ethan joined the list.

Family wasn't just blood, Harry had had another family in his heart, the Weasley's, and he'd bring each and every one of them back if he could, but that wasn't possible, they'd already chosen six souls, and the Weasley family counted nine members without any additional spouses. This choice would not be without pain. Harry would love to bring Molly, his surrogate mother, but that wouldn't be possible without the whole family, as she wouldn't leave any of them behind, so no Molly, Arthur would be the same. Harry didn't feel as close to the three eldest children, his affinities went to the four youngest, so his choices laid there within. He missed Ron and Ginny fiercely, but even he could admit when Severus mentioned it, that Ginny had been somewhat of a Hero worshipper around Harry, going as far as to try to get into his trousers, ok, so Ginny was a no go. Ron although an ass on occasion was his first friend ever, he wanted him back. The twins, should they bring them back or not? It was again Severus who decided the affair reminding Harry of the many times that they had put a smile upon his face when times were extremely difficult. Yes an eternity with no one to laugh with was out of the question.

Ron, Fred and George were added to their list.

Of all of those chosen, so far there were no adults, Severus came up trumps yet again choosing Sirius, saying that yes, he could put up with the man for eternity, at his death there was nothing of the ancient Marauder left in him, except for the prankster whom the twins worshipped. Severus also knew that Sirius was Remus' mate, so if one came then so would the other. Harry was delighted with this choice. He'd be getting his beloved Godfather back and Remus to boot.

The pair joined the list.

One place remained, Harry was saddened that Severus had no one to choose from, but he explained that his social life had been barren, he only left the castle for Order meetings and when he was called by Voldemort, he had no friends there, and even among the Order, he had acquaintances, not true friends, very few trusted in him. He had Albus' and Filius' trust and that was it. But if he never saw Albus again even that would be too soon, he now hated the man for what he had put Harry through. Harry of course couldn't even say the man's name anymore, he was dead to him and he'd stay that way. Filius had lost his wife during the first war against Voldemort, they had been Soul Mates, her parting had nearly destroyed the man, to take him from her again, and this time separating them for all eternity would be cruel, so although he wanted the man with them, he chose not to put him on the list. So the choice fell to Harry. Hermione was out of the question, he'd never forgive her for her treason, and even if he could have, imagining Hermione nagging him as she had done in school but for all of eternity, never escaping her tongue lashings was the clincher. Who? Who could he bring? Couldn't they stop at eleven?

Severus interrupted Harry's thought process yet again, no, they were told twelve, the Wyrd Sisters had surely seen the choices they would make, so they needed one more, Severus surprised Harry by suggesting Neville, Harry was all for the idea of having him back, but would Severus be able to put up with him? Severus laughed, explaining that he had to pick on Gryffindors to keep his cover as a spy, but Neville was a good kid, just absolutely hopeless in potions, he had other talents, and Severus had always known it, he'd never hated the boy. Sadly he'd just been easy to target, just as Harry had been too.

Neville joined the list.

No sooner had the final choice been made by the pair that the Fates returned. They had much to discuss, of course the Sisters had already visited the twelve and confirmed their imminent arrival. Having to use their foresight to convince Sirius and Remus who were now happy with James, Lily and Petunia, the same went for the Weasley's, their family was finally reunited, they didn't wish to leave them never to return. They were given a glimpse of the not too distant future where their friends and family could visit them, no explanations were given, but it was enough to swing them over.

Now the Sisters needed to show the future to Harry and Severus, the things that they saw would help in shaping the future of the Wizarding World.

The couple saw themselves with five children, each the perfect mix of Harry and Severus.

The eldest son, whose soul was already with them, was Subortus Vitae Potter Snape whose name meant renewal of life; he would be gifted with the power to render couples fertile, thus saving the Wizarding world from finding new blood in the Muggle World, and slowly diluting their Magic.

The second son was Dante Magus Potter Snape, his name meaning the Magic giver; he'd have the power to give Magic to Squibs. This also ensured more Magical children in the future.

Bellua Frenator Potter Snape, her name meaning the beast tamer, the couple's only daughter would have the power to permanently tame the beast in any creature.

Genus Unicus Potter Snape, meaning the unique child, would have the gift of creating new species in the animal and plant realms, thus replacing species that the Muggles constantly destroyed.

Dator Animi Potter Snape, meaning soul bringer, the last child the couple were shown would have the gift of retrieving souls from above, bringing them into the Magical World to visit the Protectors, this is what Sirius, Remus, Fred, George and Ron had seen to sway them, they would have short visits from loved ones if they so desired it.

After showing Harry and Severus their children and their Magical gifts, they were shown their own gift, as the creators of the Protectors, they would gain the capacity to render Witches and Wizards of their choice immortal, by so doing they would be adding more fresh blood to their race, they would also have the capacity to see the purity of the souls of those chosen, rendering a future Dark Lord immortal was not a good idea after all. The two gifts went hand in hand.

Finally there was a universal gift for the protectors, although Severus and Harry used this gift before their deaths, they had been a rarity in their time, the protectors would all work their strengthened Magic without wands. It was time for Magic to make its next leap into the future, just as it had done well over a thousand years before when Druids practiced ritual Magic and Shamans practiced Magical healing by plants and rituals often combined, they gained Magical abilities when they acquired wands or Staffs. With stronger Magical powers and without wands, the Protectors ensured that their Magic was hidden from the Muggle World, no more foolish wand waving as Severus had once said. And what would start with the protectors, would over the years pass on to all Witches and

Wizards, their evolution was already underway.