Epilogue: Nineteen Years Later

Severus and Carmina lived together for seven years before they agreed to have a child. They couldn't marry while Severus was still in hiding, but that was no obstacle to having a family of their own. Carmina was thirty-seven already, and even though wizards and witches lived longer than muggles it was a high time for her to have an offspring. It wasn't advisable nor was it exactly safe for a witch over forty to be with child and Carmina was nearing that age already.

Their daughter was starting Hogwarts in 2017, the very year Severus's hiding time was ending. She knew she was not to speak of her father or say his name to anyone and she never broke her word. She was happy, though, when her mother told her she could speak freely once the train pulled from platform 9 ¾ in her first year. She was happy to be finally able to say her full name out loud for anyone who wanted to hear it—Lillian Snape-Stetson.

Carmina and Severus took her to the platform on the first of September. Severus was hidden under a cloak with it's hood up and charmed to keep others from identifying him or pulling the hood off. Only he alone could take it off. They were getting many curious glances while waiting at King's Cross for the train's departure. Carmina was very* well-known because of Dumbledore. He seemed to talk about her quite a bit while alive and everyone assumed the man beside her was no one but the father of her child, who no one knew and she never spoke of him. Nobody even knew she was dating somebody before Lillian was born.

When the train finally pulled off of the station, they were standing just a few meters away from Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny, watching them inconspicuously. Carmina saw Harry touching his scar and saying something to his wife Ginny. He was smiling. Right after that she gently squeezed Severus's arm to let him know the book's story just ended and he was finally free to end his isolation.

Severus flicked his wand imperceptibly and the words appeared in the thin air before the four young people: "You will not have the body of your hero to bury"

All four of them gasped at the sight of it. It was nineteen years ago, but they still remembered the message that met them when they returned to the Shrieking Shack after the war was over. They wanted to retrieve Snape's body. He deserved to be buried with dignity.

A few seconds after Severus cast the spell, Carmina followed him with her own wand. They were still gaping at the message, not understanding the meaning of it there. When she flicked her wand other words appeared under the first message.

"Because he never died," it read.

This time their synchronized gasp sounded a lot more shocked and they started to search the platform with their eyes for the one who conjured the words. Carmina smiled at Harry when he met her gaze and they both approached him slowly. Harry's friends and wife noticed them almost immediately and were looking at them.

They stopped a couple of meters away from them and Severus used the hand he wasn't holding Carmina with to push his hood down. His actions were met with a gasp coming from almost everyone on the platform. By now everyone was looking at them and they all knew who Severus was.

Harry stared at Snape with shock written on his face for a long while, but he was the first of the platform to regain his composure. He moved his eyes to Carmina, who held him. He raised his eyebrows at her questioningly. His question was clear.

Carmina let her hand fall from Severus's arm into his hand in answer to Harry and she raised their intertwined fingers. She nodded her head.

"I cannot tell you the reason for it, but Severus had to hide for nineteen years after the war ended. We thought this would be the best way to let everyone know."

"You left the message on the wall?" exclaimed Ron.

"Severus did. Typical Slytherin, leaving the sentence unfinished." Carmina smiled at her life-mate.

"But how…how did you survive, sir?" Hermione asked shyly. Their former Potion's Professor commanded fear and respect even after all those years.

They all awaited an unpleasant sneer and derogatory remark aimed at the never-ending source of question he used to dislike so much. They were shocked silent to see the Potion's Master actually smile and his eyes soften a little by the amused sparkle. Years of living with Carmina had their effect on him, but they didn't know it yet.

"I survived quite all right, Mrs Weasley. It was a remarkably unpleasant feeling to watch my own death, but I cannot complain. It would be a lot worse had I been in the position of the victim, I'm sure. The Severus Snape that you saw dying was not the real me. You see, the Polyjuice potion is useful for more than just misunderstandings with cat hair."

"Bloody hell!" Ron yelled out, taken aback.

Hermione paled. "You knew?"

Severus snorted. "I was a spy. It was my job to know."

"There was another Death-Eater instead of Severus," Carmina interfered. "I captured him during the battle, polyjuiced him and controlled him in the shack, to make him speak and behave like Severus would. Those memories were real, Harry," she reassured him, looking him in the eyes. "I copied them from Severus and released them when it was necessary. He has been hiding at my place since."

"You did a good job there. There was a lot of Death-Eater out there to kill him after the war was over. I had to reveal him as a spy, you see, and all the Death-Eaters that managed to flee had gone nuts with rage. There should still be one out there—Travers—so beware. All the others were either killed or captured." Harry nodded. The war did wonders to him; he didn't seem to be the least bit surprised to see the Professor anymore.

"Actually, now it seems we're free of Death-Eaters once and for all since it was Travers I captured. He died instead of Severus. I evanescoed him afterwards."

Ron suddenly groaned. Harry grinned.

"Well, Ron, I'm sorry but I won that bet I think. You have three more duty days next week." he turned to Carmina and Severus to explain with an amused smile. "I had a bet that Travers would cease to be a concern for the Aurors this week. Ron has to take my three days of Auror duty next week. I'm free for the week, Gin!"

Hermione and Ginny both laughed while Ron pouted. He turned to his wife Hermione.

"You were right again, Hermione. Bets are stupid!"

Everyone laughed a bit more. Then Ginny stopped laughing and looked at the couple before her curiously.

"You," she gestured to them. "Are you really together? Is Lillian your daughter?"

"Yes," Snape smiled, shocking them again. "Although I still don't understand how she can be a red-head."

"Oh, you mean I didn't tell you?" Carmina frowned. "My mother was a red-head."

"Oh, I see. Lillian Snape-Stetson. Red hair, black eyes and your expressions, looks and figure. Everything as it should be, isn't it?"

Carmina chuckled at his smug expression. He loved Lillian just as much as he loved Carmina and used to love Lily. He was more than happy to have a daughter, so he could name her after the girl that meant so much in his life. With her being a red-head, too, life could never be better.

"Are you really Snape? You're acting real weird. Smiling and so…" Ron said, slightly suspicious.

"I lived with Carmina for nineteen years. Did you expect anything else from a Hufflepuff who took it into her head to heal the cold and heartless Potion's Master? I was helpless." Snape waved it away and Carmina smirked. They could see it was one of their private jokes.

"How is it that you're together? Did you know each other? I mean…if it isn't personal." Ginny blushed.

"I came to Hogwarts in his seventh year, Ginny. I made him be friends with me. Then we were separated for a long time, but I knew he would die if I didn't help him. I just knew some things. So I made him trust me until there was time for explaining."

"Did you always…like him? From the beginning?" this time she said it without a blush, she could see Carmina wasn't opposed to talking about them anymore.

"Do you know the Potion Perpeto Amor?" Severus joined in. Everyone nodded, except for Harry.

"I loved Severus so much that when Sirius spiked my pumpkin juice with it, it didn't affect me." Carmina stated.

"It didn't work?" Ginny and Hermione exclaimed at the same time and stared at their former Professor in wonder. He smirked smugly. It seemed he moved up a few staves on their imaginary ladders when he managed to induce such strong feelings.

"Sirius spiked your juice with a potion?" Harry asked, outraged.

"Perpeto Amor, Harry—Eternal Love. It makes the one who drinks it love the one who gave it to them. Love him until death. It has no known unnatural counter. The Potion either works or it will poison you. It's a poison if it's gone off or brewed incorrectly. Only a love equally strong to the one it compels can turn it into a useless liquid."

Why would Sirius do something like this to you?"

"Back then Sirius was awfully arrogant, Harry. When I came I was a new toy in his playground and he wanted to get me. I, however, had eyes only for Severus from the beginning and it was driving him crazy."

"That was probably the only thing apart from potions I totally defeated him in. If he brewed that potion himself, Carmina would have been poisoned. But the purebloods always had an easy time getting a potion like that. He used that." Severus added.

"Didn't you want him at all, Carmina?" Ginny asked. "He looked quite good from what I saw."

Carmina shook her head.

"From the moment I came I wanted only Severus, Ginny. It would be useless to accept Sirius's advances. Besides, Sirius knew that Severus was my best and only friend and he picked on him all the time either way, along with James. The only feeling he made me feel was the desire to throttle him."

Ginny nodded. Harry joined in the conversation with a new question.

"Did you tell Professor McGonagall that you are alive already? She will be glad, she was so desperate that she could never tell you she was sorry when she found out you were truly loyal to Dumbledore."

"Not yet. You were our first shot. But Lillian should go see her after the feast. We asked her to do that and will be waiting home if she floo-calls us then."

"A red-headed Slytherin. McGonagall will stare." laughed Snape. Then he remembered something. "While talking about children…Albus Severus, Potter? That was…quite impressive, to be honest."

Harry nodded and returned his look proudly.

"I wouldn't change it even if I knew you were alive, Professor."

"Nice to hear you don't keep old grudges like some of our…common acquaintances. So it seems the last chapter of our past life has been closed," alleged Severus.

"Literally," Carmina mumbled to him. They smiled at each other at the reference of their other private joke.

The End