EPILOGUE
Harry hadn't expected anyone else to know that he'd made changes to the timeline. When barely an hour had passed before he received an onslaught of Floo calls--and the wizarding world didn't have "call waiting"--he realized he had been mistaken.
Sirius called immediately. Even though the man was now fifty-seven, he only looked the slightest bit older than Harry had last seen him alive. Was this because he hadn't actually lived the last twenty-two years?
Harry just stared at the image of his godfather. His living godfather.
"I know you went back in time and saved my life," he said, without preamble.
"How?" Harry managed.
Sirius rolled his eyes. "I moved on, didn't I? When I was pulled from Paradise--yes, that's what we call it--I knew you'd pulled it off. Not that I didn't doubt it, watching you talk to Severus," he added, grinning.
So, Snape was Severus now...
"What can you see?" Harry wondered.
His godfather laughed. Guffawed, really. "Nothing I shouldn't see. Not when you're on the loo or anything. But, yeah. We can watch the living, if we like."
"Then, when you didn't die--what...?" Harry stumbled.
"Hold on, I'll be right over." Sirius paused. "If you don't mind?"
Harry grinned. "I definitely don't mind."
A few seconds later, he was being pulled into a long, fierce hug. His memories told him this wasn't a rare occurrence, not in this new timeline. Still. It was another thing to experience it. The memories of the new timeline he had helped to create had felt real, but it was something else entirely to stand in front of his living, breathing godfather. To be hugged fiercely by him, as though the older man feared that the veil would emerge and rip Harry from his arms. Harry latched his hands onto Sirius's robes, not caring if he was acting like one of his children. He let go only when his eyes began to blur with tears.
"Easy, easy," Sirius murmured, keeping an arm around his shoulders, moving them both to the couch, then sitting them down. "You okay, kiddo?"
Harry took several breaths, then nodded. "Sirius, are you...disappointed? That I pulled you from Paradise?"
Sirius kept a secure arm around Harry's back, and Harry leaned into it.
A part of him felt embarrassed. At thirty-seven, Harry hadn't expected to feel so emotional at seeing his godfather for the first time in over twenty years.
At the same time, his godfather had been the one thing missing in his life, the one ache. His wife and kids gave him joy and love, his job gave him purpose. Molly and Arthur were wonderful. But, oh, Sirius had been his first real parental figure, and through his foolishness, he'd lost him.
But Sirius was back, now.
The man waited until Harry nodded before speaking. "I don't miss Paradise because I know it's waiting for me. Could be tomorrow, could be in over a hundred years." He spoke gently. "I know, too, that it's better than you could ever imagine. Makes this world feel especially dark. And the colors aren't as vivid... but, Harry, I'll be back, and in the meantime, I'll be in your life and your kids' life. You and Ginny have been busy," he teased, tousling Harry's hair, causing Harry to chuckle. Reverting to the original topic, Sirius went on. "We can live far longer than most Muggles, as you know, and I'm only in my late 50's, now. Spring chicken," he said, grinning. He wasn't lying. Not by how he looked, or acted. "But I don't plan on committing murder or anything else that would keep me from entering again. And in the light of eternity, a century or so is less than a second. I'm glad you figured out how to save me. And others. Trust me, they are all happy to have more time on Earth."
"What about the ones who would have lived?" Harry asked, studying Sirius's face. "I know the new timeline meant some died who didn't before."
Not that they hadn't made their own choices to end their lives. You can't alter free will with time travel.
Sirius nodded. "Well, they didn't know otherwise, did they? We were pulled out. The others just entered earlier. If you would have died at ninety instead of a hundred, you wouldn't have known, right?"
Another thought occurred to Harry. Percy had been among the ones who died, but in the old timeline, he'd married and had kids.
When he voiced this, Sirius shook his head, still smiling.
"That's all controlled by above. They'll be born into different bodies. Maybe some of them are in your extra kids. The ones you wouldn't have had before," Sirius clarified. "Souls can't be destroyed by timeline interference. Don't worry, Harry. You did the right thing. And once you speak to everyone you saved, they'll say the same," Sirius promised. "Severus is in your debt, just like he was in your dad's. Although, your motivations were more a lot better than his."
"You're on first name terms with Severus, then." Harry noted.
His godfather chuckled. "You can't enter Paradise holding a grudge. We all settled things beforehand. Based on his reaching out to me immediately after we ended up back here, it appears that our friendship stuck."
They chatted for awhile, and then Sirius returned home. Harry felt a sense of momentary loss, until he reminded him that his godfather only lived a few blocks away. They'd see each other often.
Severus was the next Floo-call, more moments after Sirius had left. "Hello, Harry."
Harry swallowed hard. He might not have lived through the memories of the new timeline, but the memories felt so strong that he felt his knowledge and understanding of his former teacher had changed to such an extent that the man's mentorship of Harry felt real. But Severus, like Sirius, had also died and come back. While Sirius likely felt that he had unfinished business on Earth, even if it hadn't been enough to stay on as a ghost, did Severus regret returning to the place that had caused him so much pain?
"Hello, sir."
Best to err on the side of respect. The man was older than Harry, even though, like his godfather, he appeared the same age as when Nagini had taken his life.
"Severus, Harry," the man corrected, gently. He studied Harry for a moment. "May I come over?"
It was to be a day for visitors, then.
Harry nodded, and a moment later, his teacher stood beside him. Harry was rather shocked when the man greeted him with a near rib-crushing hug. Even if such an occurrence hadn't been entirely unusual in his memories. The much later ones, anyway. Severus had been at his wedding, and Harry had been invited to his when he married Charity Burbage. (They'd agreed that she would keep her surname and pass it on to their children.)
He knew that, in the new version of his Occlumency lessons together, they had established more than simply an understanding. At first, Harry had accepted the importance of the lessons as a way to keep Voldemort out of his mind. Then, with the memories Severus saw, and the far more empathetic way he'd responded, they had slowly established an understanding. An understanding that deepened during the rare occasion Harry saw memories from Severus's childhood. He knew what it was like to be loathed by a family member, to see Hogwarts as your only out. Harry came to see that Severus truly wanted to keep Harry and his family and friends alive, but Severus realized how very much he had misjudged Harry from their first encounter.
Then, as adults, they had become friends.
Harry returned the hug with surprising ease. He noted that an inch or two on Severus. Unless it was because of his shoes. The last time they'd faced each other in the old timeline, Severus had been taller.
"Thank you, Harry. You saved my life," Severus said, softly, after Harry let go. He glanced at the armchairs. "Shall we sit?"
"Right. Sorry, sir--Severus. It's a lot to take in," Harry admitted.
Severus chuckled as they took their places. "I've no doubt. What would you like to know?"
"Everything. I have my memories, but they're my version of what happened. What did you think--after I appeared in your quarters, I mean?" Harry asked, sinking into his favorite chair.
"I was torn between fear, anger, and determination," Severus answered, with a light laugh. It wasn't an unusual occurrence in Harry's later new memories, but it was a rather strange experience to hear it in person. "Seeing you like that. It was like seeing your father. In appearance, at any rate. And much older." He smirked. "Much older."
"Says the man closer to sixty now than fifty," Harry retorted, a smile playing at his lips.
Severus actually grinned. "Ah, but as I died at thirty-eight, I expect to look way for some time. You will age normally, Potter. Harry," Severus self-corrected, smiling openly, now. "Anyway, I took your words to heart, as you saw. And I made every effort, this time, to teach you, rather than speak at you and hurt you." He put a hand on Harry's. "It's my turn to apologize, Harry, for the truly terrible way I treated you. From the first time I saw you, I was determined to hate you. I had lodged the idea into my mind that you were like your father, and besides, I could not show partiality of any kind to a Gryffindor. But I was beyond a git or a prat to you. I am truly, truly sorry."
Harry stared at him. He truly hadn't been expecting this.
"You were a child," Severus went on, self-condemnation on his face. Or, perhaps, simply regret. "You should not have been expected to rise above my abominable behavior."
"It's...it's okay, Severus. I forgave you a long time ago."
Yes, it had hurt, even though he'd come to respect his former teacher for his acts of bravery. Severus Snape had begun their mutual hatred, and as a teacher, he'd wielded power over Harry so that he could never retaliate. Forgiveness came over time, even giving his second son his name (although the loss of a bet with George had played a role...), but, deep down, there was also pain at the cruel treatment by Severus. Even if the man had helped him.
"I gave my second son your name as a middle name in the old timeline," Harry added, with a smile.
In the new one, they had chosen a different name.
"Yes, and it was worth living just to prevent that," Severus replied, dryly, rolling his eyes. He chuckled, as did Harry. "I nearly had to threaten divorce on Charity not to give our first son my name as a middle name. She consented, in the end. Under the promise...er, that's between married people."
Harry coughed. Two jokes about sex in less than one hour. From his godfather and teacher, no less.
"Well." Severus cleared his throat. "Harry, I also wish to apologize for how attempted to teach you Occlumency the first time. It was...how I learned. It is far from ideal, which I knew at the time. Typically, an aspiring Occlumens spends months reading and more months building barriers before a Legilimens attacks any breach. Time was not on our side, of course, but I let my intense dislike of you interfere with my teaching," Severus admitted.
"It was my fault, too. I didn't try very hard," Harry admitted, still ashamed of this.
Severus shook his head. "I hold far more fault for the failure of our lessons the first time than you do. But after you appeared in my office, I accepted I had to alter my methods."
"I know," Harry reassured him. "I learned better, the second time. Still hated having you see my memories, but it didn't feel as violating."
Severus closed his eyes, briefly, then nodded. He reached out, then placed a hand on top of Harry's. "I don't believe I accurately conveyed this in either timeline, Harry, but I think you should know..." He trailed off, waiting for Harry's response. He nodded. "In better circumstances, in ideal ones, learning Occlumency, even allowing a teacher to enter your mind, should not feel like a violation. That might sound like a contradiction, Harry, but Legilmency requires immense trust between two people. Often, it can be used for the benefit of the person it's being used on. Some Mind Healers employ it in cases of trauma. Memories can also be given when an experience--positive, negative, or neutral--cannot be fully described, and there is no Pensieve available. It is not, in and of itself, dark magic."
Harry nodded, taking this in. He hadn't bothered to become better trained in either field in the first timeline, and doubted that his skills would be any better now. Dumbledore and Severus had both felt he relied on his emotions. Of course, Dumbledore had called it his ability to love. Shutting off your memories could prevent mental attacks, but it couldn't be entirely healthy to shut everything away.
"As you can see, you learned with considerably more ease, and soon rejected the use of a Pensieve. I saw things that you would have kept hidden, and you saw scenes from my childhood...and, of course, you do retain your memories of the first timeline, Harry," Severus added, mildly.
Harry's utter disregard for his teacher's privacy still haunted him, even if he'd given him that memory as he lay dying.
"I'm sorry. And what my dad did to you," Harry told him. "As well as looking at your memories."
"I saw far more of yours." Severus squeezed his hand. "It was the worst day of my life. I felt so ashamed of what I called your mother, Harry. I never used that word again, not even after I became a Death Eater."
"She should have forgiven you," Harry countered. "After what my dad put you through, she should have been a lot more understanding."
Severus sighed. "Perhaps. We made amends in Paradise. All of the friends of your parents. Well, not Wormtail. It will be quite a long time until he's there." At Harry's look of confusion, he explained, "For many who commit grave acts and come to repent at the very last minute, or not fully, they will enter Paradise, but not anytime soon. They don't become ghosts, though. I don't know what it entails, exactly. Frankly, I was surprised not to be one."
"Me too," Harry teased, receiving a playful, light swat on the hand Severus had been squeezing.
"Cheeky," Severus grumbled. "Now, after I helped you master a rudimentary level of Occlumency..."
Harry leaned in, ready to hear more about his new life.
Grateful that his new mentor had, in this timeline, lived.
He hoped that he would have decades remaining with Severus and Sirius, and perhaps as much as a century with Ginny.
END
Author's note:
In order to save some characters, I felt I had to kill others. Some were random, others less so.
Draco Malfoy: While he left the Death Eaters in canon, it was mostly because he was in over his head. He didn't do anything heroic, unlike his mother lying to Voldemort. If anything, he was rather the opposite of Wormtail--saving his skin out of cowardice. (Wormtail's death came from a moment of hesitation before killing Harry.) He also continued to believe in blood purity. Sorry, not going to spare his life.
Percy Weasley: First, a Weasley had to die. While I don't particularly care for the twins, Percy not only went against his family, he didn't try to make amends for over a year AFTER Voldemort's rise was made public. He also encouraged Ron to end his friendship with Harry. Oh, and he's a pompous brat. Sure, being a middle child in a large family can be difficult, but he excelled an academically and not so late on that it was just expected (like Ron says in the first book). He does nothing in canon to redeem his awful behavior, and thus replaces George as the Weasley death.
The wizarding version of the afterlife is unclear. We know it exists, but that those who can enter it but choose not to become ghosts. (Forever or for a period of time? We don't know.) I am inclined to think that the truly wicked, those who have committed intentional murder to the extent of even attempting a horcrux, either are annihilated or go to hell. Probably the former, because living forever in torment is still a form of existence. To Voldemort, ceasing to exist would be worse than eternal torture.
Based on what Sir Nicholas tells Harry in the fifth book, it sounds like there are different options, and therefore places to go, for Muggles. Muggles, for instance, can't become ghosts. As a Catholic, I make it part of MY headcanon that what Sirius and Severus enter is not the beatific vision of Heaven and seeing God in His full glory, but rather the paradise known as "limbo" wherein resided the righteous before Jesus's death on the cross. Sirius and Severus and all other "righteous" magical folk enter there after spending time being purified (yes, Purgatory in some form exists for them--you cannot enter Paradise being imperfect), basically being reconciled with your former enemies. Again, this is MY interpretation of canon, and knowing this will make it easier to understand what happened to the characters who died. As far as the creation of souls? God handles that, and assigns them to specific bodies. No decision that any witch or wizard makes with time travel has any impact on that.
Finally, thanks for undertaking this journey with me. If you choose to leave a constructive comment, I will be very grateful!