"Strength doesn't come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once though you couldn't."

Rikki Rogers

Five Years Later...

The sun was just rising as Severus Snape stood silently in his apothecary, the aging Nokia phone in one hands and its deceptively innocent Muggle battery in the other. The moment was charged with a strange sense of amusement as the Potions Master contemplated the oddity of the phone. Its uncanny sentience, along with the mysterious 'spexts' it would inexplicably declare at the most inappropriate moments; ones that had been a bane to his existence, now only had Severus silently chuckling.

It was rather easy to find amusement in such a once-irritable nuisance when he realised that he'd had the power to control the device all along - aka, being able to just remove the battery. Yet, and even as he held the now useless device in the palm of his hand, Severus couldn't stop his mind from reflecting on its origins and the unsettling truth he had learnt about it.

To the wizard, it had never, not once been considered an ordinary Muggle contraption, its opportunistic nature of throwing a spanner into the workings of his ever so carefully-crafted existence having proved that on more than one occasion. But what he had learnt, what had been revealed to him - it still occasionally made the former Death Eater shudder.

The phone was a bloody Horcrux, a vessel for a soul.

But this was no ordinary Horcrux, and the soul locked away within was no ordinary wizard.

Severus could still recall the moment he'd learned the truth as if it had just happened yesterday; the night when everything he'd thought he'd known about the Wizarding World had been turned on its head and started doing the macarena. Hermione Granger, the annoying swot of a know-it-all he'd once taught; who had played a pivotal role in not only ending the Second Wizarding War, but Severus' own survival, had revealed to him of the phone's true nature, and the revelation had left him reeling.

How in the blazes she had managed to do it, the witch still wouldn't tell - Unspeakable oaths and all that - but the little swot had somehow managed to lock away the parallel soul of one Tom Marvolo Riddle into a Muggle mobile phone.

It wasn't him per say, but that of the soul of his parallel counterpart, a Dark Lord from another universe.

And she'd said it had been a joke - a joke!

Nothing but an innocent jest that had taken a life of its own.

"You know, it was only supposed to be a joke," Hermione muttered after the silence at their table had grown to uncomfortable levels. The weight of her unexpected revelation hung heavily in the air, and she couldn't bear the silence any longer.

Severus, still grappling with the enormity of the situation and the fact that he'd been living with a Horcrux for the last however many months - and one of the Dark Lord's (counterpart or not) - couldn't help but raise an incredulous eyebrow. A joke?! he had wanted to shout, to scream at the witch, unable to believe that she had locked away one of the darkest wizards known to man into a Muggle device because of a mere jest.

Hermione, seeming to sense the disbelief in his eyes, huffed and crossed her arms against her chest in a clear and familiar defensive manner, one that the Potions Master could recall her doing when she was about to explain something to her dunderhead duo of friends after they'd said or done something stupid. He wasn't too certain as to how he felt of the self-comparison of himself, Potter, and his redheaded sidekick, but as he watched Hermione's gaze fall to the Nokia phone sitting on the table, its battery having been removed, he found he didn't really care.

"I didn't actually think that Leon would take me seriously," the witch told him, her voice tinged with exasperation. "I had mentioned how Muggles thought their phones were indestructible, and... well, he's a Pureblood and of course took the great Muggleborn Heroine, Hermione Granger literally."

Severus sighed inwardly, realizing that the situation had taken an unforeseen and unexpected turn. It wasn't that hard for him to believe that something as consequential as trapping a parallel Tom Riddle in a Muggle phone had begun as a joke. The irony of it all had not been lost on him.

How often could life's most significant moments be traced back to a single, seemingly innocent remark or gesture?

Hermione, the brilliantly scary yet resourceful witch that she was, had explained how she'd become an Unspeakable; had come to be working with the Veil and locking souls away that did fall into their world. It had all come down to the scar that she had received from Dolohov during that stupidly daring rescue mission to save Sirius Black; a curse Severus came to learn was a variation the Death Eater had created of the Killing Curse. It didn't just take a life, snuff it out like it had been nothing but a candle in the wind. No. Dolohov had gone and created a curse that violently tore the soul from the body, quite literally ripping the victim's heart out through their chest. By a stroke of remarkable - and questionably stupidly dumb - luck and resourcefulness, unaware of the life-threatening danger the curse held, Hermione had managed to silence Dolohov before he could complete the incantation.

The result had been the unusual wound that Severus could recall treating the witch for after that harrowing battle, one he'd known would forever mar her skin. Yet he hadn't known it would have marked her as an only survivor, and after graduating from Hogwarts, Hermione had been snatched up by the Department of Mysteries to become an Unspeakable.

Working within the Department, Hermione had told how she'd slowly gravitated toward the study of the Veil, the mysterious magical portal that had stolen Sirius Black's life. Over time, and much to Severus' chargrin, she had come to discover that the Veil would occasionally release souls from other dimensions into their world, giving her hope that maybe Potter's godfather hadn't been killed, but was off somewhere in another parallel world, enjoying the freedom he had been denied in theirs.

Severus just silently prayed that the mutt was burning away in the deepest pits of hell...

But one such soul to have passed though had been none other than Tom Riddle, the wizard having been spat out not five years after the Battle of Hogwarts and the end of the Second Wizarding War. Hermione and her partner, Leon, had been instrumental in capturing and containing this possible dark entity, sealing it into the Nokia phone.

The Potions Master had just sat there and listened to her story with a growing astonishment, realising the gravity of the situation he'd been in. He marvelled at the witch's integrity and dedication to her work, understanding then as to why he'd heard so little about her after the war. Potter and his ginger tumour had inhibited the papers for years, even with the Boy-Who-Lived-To-Die's, well, death. Yet there hadn't been even the slightest sneer against the Muggleborn Heroine of the 'Golden Trio'. He had discovered that it was because Hermione's work within the Department of Mysterious wouldn't have allowed it, for one; and secondly, it was a highly confidential environment that involved some of the most mysterious aspects of magic - like their weirdly creepy 'brain tanks'. - and didn't just let anyone into their fold.

However, despite Hermione's efforts to contain the malevolent soul, the Nokia had mysteriously vanished from her possession during a visit to the upper floors of the Ministry. It was as if the device had found its own keeper, and that keeper turned out to be none other than Severus Snape. It explained why the wizard hadn't been able to get rid of the thing, no matter how hard he tried. The Horcrux within it was eerily reminiscent of the tales of cursed or haunted Muggle furniture and items that had been passed down through generations, and Severus had shivered at the thought of his bloodline being cursed with the device for all eternity.

As Severus held the battery in one hand and the now seemingly ordinary phone in the other, however, he couldn't help but smile. His life had taken an unexpected turn since the day he first encountered the Nokia phone, and it had brought with it a whole new level of intrigue and complexity. The enigmatic device had revealed a world of magic and mystery he had never anticipated, yet it had also brought hi-

"If you don't put that bloody battery in, I'll do it myself and tell Tom about that time you threatened to drown Miss Linfield's toad in her very first year," an old, scratchy voice scowled as Mrs Nuppet strolled past, whacking Severus over the back of the head as she did so and causing the Potions Master to choke on a scowl as his mind registered what she'd said. "How else do you think you'd plan on telling that witch of yours what she's supposed to say 'yes' to?"

"I wasn't planning on telling her," Severus growled in response, even as he replaced the back of the phone and flipped it over, pressing the red 'hang-up' button as he'd been informed in order to turn the device on. "I was going to ask."

A soft blue glow emanated from the device, signifying that it was now active, and Mrs Nuppet just rolled her eyes as she returned to restocking the shelves, muttering, "Such a gentleman," under her breath as she plucked out a box of ingredients from a pocket and enlarged it before she began placing the vials within to their correct places.

Severus paid her no mind, his gaze still on the phone, thinking back on the unexpected turn his life had taken since he first met Hermione - since he'd first met Tom.

Over the years, both had become a frequent and welcomed visitors to his apothecary. Their conversations, once centred around the Muggle phone Tom did inhibit, had gradually expanded to encompass various topics. They had shared moments of laughter, heated debates, and even quiet contemplation - as well as taking turns to shut Tom up - down? - by removing the snarky phone's battery.

During this time, the Potions Master had come to appreciate Hermione's intelligence, tenacity, and her willingness to bend the rules in the pursuit of her version of a 'Greater Good'; the witch having realised early on during her visits that Severus - despite him never, er... bringing it up on parchment - had somewhat missed Tom's snarky nature and... dare he say company? She was, in many ways, the embodiment of what he had once seen in Lily Evans. And although he knew that it was crude, the comparisons he couldn't help thinking upon between the two women not lost to him, Severus felt as though the path he was on with one Hermione would ultimately take a different direction that the one he'd once tried to walk with Lily.

But the most significant change, one that had surprised Severus the most, was the bond that he could feel growing between himself and the bushy-haired witch. Over time, he had come to value her friendship and company more than he ever thought possible. Hermione had become his confidant, a companion in the truest sense of the word; a best friend he never dared to think he deserved, yet to damned selfish to let go of. Not that he actually thought Hermione would let him do such a thing, recalling how the witch had apparated almost half the world in a panic when she'd heard that he had left.

No one had thought to tell her that it was only for a potions conference, one that literally ran for the day.

Their relationship, whatever it had been, had inconceivably changed after that incident, Severus having seen a glimpse of something within Hermione's expression that told him the feelings he had been harbouring for the brown-eyed harpy before him could quiet possibly be returned. He was Slytherin enough to realise what he could have, and it wasn't long before the witch was joining him on his trips to visit obscure potion ingredient suppliers, wherein they joyfully shared heated debates (with words; Hermione, and parchment; Severus) over the most challenging potion theories, as well as the more common, yet equally valued quiet evenings they spent reading together in comfortable silence. The sound of her laugher echoed in his mind, and her unwavering support had become a source of strength for him.

And as the years had passed, and just as Severus hoped, those doubtful flames had slowly fan to impossible heights and their friendship had only grown deeper. Severus knew that he had, the moment he had decided to pursue one Hermione Granger, that he would be crossing a point of no return, but he'd also discovered that the life he'd envisioned in that moment, one with Hermione laughing and arguing at his side as her curls writhing in her enthusiasm... it was a life he had wanted more than he wanted to breathe.

They had shared their joys and sorrows, their ambitions and fears. Severus had learnt the truth of Hermione's years at Hogwarts, of her year on the run and subsequently saving his life during the war, and in turn he had shared his life; of his choices, his once-love and friendship he had held with Lily Potter, as well as the regrets he had harboured since her death and everything he had done to atone for them. It had brought them closer together, closer, they both realised with some mild disbelief, neither had been with another before; Severus, for he had been a spy, and then a mute, and Hermione for her immediate acceptance into the Department of Mysteries and subsequent fall-out with the last remaining third of the Golden Trio.

The memory of a particularly vivid evening surfaced in his mind, one that had illuminated the path before him. They had been huddled together in the cozy corner of his apothecary, sharing a rare bottle of fine Firewhisky as Hermione told him about some recent article she'd found about the mysteries of magical plants. As the hours had passed, her words had veered into more personal territory; one that had Severus feeling startling sober.

The witch had confessed her dream to one day start a family, something she was unsure of because of Bellatrix's torture during the war, as well as having put finding out on hold due to her demanding work in the Department of Mysteries. The vulnerability in her eyes had touched something deep within Severus, a part of him that he had long thought to have been buried.

You deserve happiness. His scratchy script had appeared on the parchment before Hermione, his expression uncharacteristically soft as he gazed at her. And you have my support in whatever path you choose.

The look of gratitude and warmth in her eyes had been a moment he would never forget. It was then that he had known that he wanted to be a part of her future, to stand by her side and support her in every way he could. And that meant taking the next step in their journey together and possibly having little Snapes' running around, well, who was he to deny his witch?

As the Nokia phone's soft blue glow filled the room, Severus couldn't help but smile. The thought of his kids running amok within his apothecary didn't displease him as much as it once had when that vision came with Hermione Granger standing by his side, and being the Slytherin that he was, Severus had a plan in mind, a way to take their relationship to - hopefully - that next level. And the mobile in his hand, with its connection to Hermione's magical signature, was the key to his plan.

What's the worst that can happen? he thought to himself before, and with but a flick of his wand, Severus lowered the wards that surrounded his shop.

As he waited for the expected 'pop' of apparation to resound through Diagon Alley that would mark the arrival of the next step in his life, Severus adjusted his robes, double-checking the inner pocket wherein a small box resided; hoping that tonight he would finally work up the nerve to ask the question he'd been wanting to ask Hermione ever since that day he'd envisioned their children invading upon his personal space.

With a slow smile appearing on his lips, the thought about how life had a way of surprising even the most unlikely individuals crossing his mind, Severus Snape knew that the next chapter of his story was about to begin, one that held the promise of magic, adventure, and love.

Fin...