Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter.

Epilogue

A black-haired child of eleven cautiously stepped through the forest, trying to keep the wand he clutched in front of him from shaking. A sound made him spin around, eyes wide and face white.

"My, my. Did the Forbidden Forest cease to be so at some point?"

The boy spun again and froze at the sight of a small woman sitting in a tree. She was smiling at him with sharp teeth and eyes that glinted in the moonlight. Her hair was mostly white but had pitch black tips and went to her shoulders.

She jumped down from the tree with floating grace and landed in front of the boy. He inhaled sharply and took a step back.

"Are-are you a f-fairy?" the boy asked trying to be brave. She smiled wider, which did nothing to set the boy at ease.

"Yes I am. Or fae. Whichever. Why do you ask?"

"M-my d-dad told me about them. Said that he knew one when he was little." The boy took a deep breath "But he sometimes laughs about it and says it was a d-dream."

The self-admitted fae sat down on a nearby log and patted the spot next to her. The boy hesitated a moment then sat next to her.

"Is that why you snuck into the forest tonight? To see if fairies were real?" She asked.

"N-not really." He said with a nervous half smile. "I mean, I was curious but I guess it was because I was dared."

"You were dared?" she tsked, "Now you must be smarter than that. At least smart enough to know that fairies are not nice creatures. Well, most anyway." She said with a grin.

The boy nodded and swallowed thickly, realizing the situation he was in.

"They called me a coward." He squeaked. She raised an eyebrow.

"Well," the boy continued, "They said that I was only half brave."

A crow landed on a tree branch and cawed, startling the boy.

"He's right, you know." Said the fae gesturing towards the bird. The boy opened his mouth but closed it again, glancing at the crow.

"Um, how exactly is he, er, right?" He said slowly, not sure if he was supposed to understand crow.

"Well, bravery is an abstract concept that can't be measured in terms of "half" or "whole", so what they said is kind of impossible. You either are brave or you aren't." The fae explained and the crow nodded once.

"Er…" said the boy glancing between them.

"But you were explaining something, please go on."

The boy cleared his throat.

"I had told them that I was named after two different Headmasters of Hogwarts. One was a Gryffindor and the other was Slytherin and then it took so long for the sorting hat to sort me and they said that I was only half brave because I was only half Gryffindor…"

The fae narrowed her eyes.

"These children know that these two men aren't you fathers and that you simply carry their namesake, right?"

"What?"

The crow flapped its wings and cawed.

"I know." She said looking at the crow. "I'm just saying that the taunt hardly makes sense logically." She turned back to the boy. "If this is the best "they" can come up with, I'm guessing you didn't sort into Ravenclaw?"

The boy stared at her for a couple of seconds then shook his head laughing. She smiled and the crow covered his face with his wing under the pretext of preening his feathers.

"I guess it was really dumb of me to come out here just to prove them wrong, wasn't it?" He asked after he was done laughing.

"Just a little bit."

"I was going to only stay for a couple minutes though, but I didn't want them to accuse me of only going to the edge." He explained. "So I came in deeper and, well, I…got lost."

The fae nodded.

"It's just that," he continued a bit desperately. "Dad told me that both Headmasters were really, really brave. The bravest men he knew, so I wanted to prove that both names made me brave. Albus Severus Potter."

The boy looked dejectedly at the ground and the crow stared at him without moving. But the fae was grinning again. Gently, she put her hand on the boy's arm. He looked at her stained fingers and wondered how they got that way.

"You know what, Al?" She said softly leaning towards him. "You were named after a very brave and loyal Slytherin and…" She looked into his green eyes, "you were named after a rather conniving Gryffindor."

Al grinned.

"Yeah, dad told me about that bit too." He said.

She sat up straight.

"Let's get you out of this forest!" She said. They stood up and the crow shook itself and flew to another tree. The fae began walking in that direction. Se and the boy chatted about his classes and professors until they reached the edge of the forest.

"Now Al, the Forbidden Forest is still forbidden. You can't come back. Especially alone." Said the fae. The crow cawed his agreement for emphasis. The boy got the feeling that he had just been called a dunderhead.

"I understand." He said earnestly. The fae smiled and glanced at the crow.

"Albus Severus Potter," she said, "You told me your name, now I am going to tell you part of mine. You may only share it with family. Direct family." She said seriously. She waited until the boy nodded fervently.

"I'm trusting you." She said and then leaned in, putting her mouth next to his ear and whispered one word.

She leaned back.

"Your dad knows this name too but probably only in his dreams." She said. "If you ever need help or your siblings or one day, your children; they can just say my name. And if I can come, I will."

The boy looked like he had a hundred questions but she shooed him away.

"To bed with you! It won't be my fault if you get detention."

Al walked back to the castle but stopped halfway there and looked back. At the edge of the forest stood the fae and next to her stood a tall man in black. With one last wave he ran to rest of the way to the castle.

"We didn't find out which house he was sorted into." Said the large nosed man whose greasy hair shone like feathers.

"Oh please." Said the fae. "Like that really matters."

The crow landed on her shoulder and they walked back into the forest together.

A/N: What did you think? This was my first fanfiction that wasn't a spoof. I had a lot of fun writing it and I hope that you all enjoyed it as well! Thanks for reading!