A Beautiful Beginning

***

She stayed rooted to the spot as the bustle of people celebrating ran past her. She saw Minerva, her normally tidy hair all down her shoulders. She felt her way up the wall and slowly made her way to her.

"Minerva?" she asked timidly.

"Alissa!" the older woman screamed. She flung her arms around the young witch and cried. The others near her were buzzing with questions.

Alissa ignored the crowd. "Remus, is he?" She couldn't finish. She knew she had let him down. She had chosen Severus over him. If he were dead, it would be on her hands.

"Here," Minerva said as she led her towards the Weasleys. Molly's eyes were huge as she experienced the rush of so many conflicting emotions. Alissa came to her and held out her hand.

"Molly, I apologize for my rudeness. Fear does strange things to people," she said tiredly.

"Oh, my dear, I agree. I do agree!" She embraced her and asked about Severus. Then she turned her eyes back down to her dead son.

"Oh, Molly!" Alissa exclaimed as she looked into the dead face of Fred Weasley.

"What is it?" Arthur said.

Alissa tenderly stroked the hair and face of Fred's dead body. "H-he was the first person I spoke to when I escaped from the ranks during the battle. I fought him, a-and then I toppled him. I just wanted him safe inside the castle to warn them that the Death Eaters were coming in such full force. I thought I was saving his life!" She sobbed as Arthur and Molly held her.

The reality of the situation came crashing back to her, and she broke free, separating herself from them. "You don't understand! I ruined so much for everyone. The things I did!"

"You deliberately ignored us so I could send my Patronus!" Arthur blurted out.

"That was you?" Ginny interjected. "What did you do to that Death Eater before he took me in the other room? His hands were shaking when you pointed your wand at him!"

Alissa looked straight at her and spoke plainly. "I performed Legilimency on him. He was going to rape you in order to get you to tell him about Potter. I let him know what I would do to him if he touched one hair on your head."

"What about Snape? All of what Harry said was true?" asked another Weasley boy with horn-rimmed glasses.

"Yes. Severus and I have been working against Voldemort since after the Triwizard Tournament. All this time we were spies. The Order knew me as "Ivette." There were a few gasps in the crowd.

"Poor Snape," Ginny said sadly.

"Snape is at St. Mungo's," Alissa said proudly. "No small thanks to Molly, Hermione, and the Healers.

Minerva gave a scream of delight, and the others were gasping, laughing, and crying all at the same time.

"Remus?" Alissa asked Minerva again and all became solemn as their eyes turned to where he was on the ground weeping.

"He's here with Hermione," she said sadly. "He'll be fine, but his wife, Nymphadora, was killed."

Alissa knelt down and faced Remus. He was stroking the cheek of a small woman. Hermione was next to him, trying to give him comfort. Tears were streaming down his face.

"I'm so sorry, Remus," she whispered. "I looked, but she was already gone."

He nodded and buried his face into her hair. Hermione knelt, and placed her cheek on his back and held him. She was crying as well.

***

It was six months after the final battle when life started to have something of a sense of normalcy. The castle had been re-built, it was Christmastime, classes were going to resume in the New Year, and all the survivors could join together to celebrate the fall of Voldemort.

Many changes had taken place during the past months. Ron Weasley and Luna Lovegood were engaged while Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley had married along with Remus Lupin and Hermione Granger.

Theirs had been the most touching love story of all. Remus had been deep in mourning for his wife and trying to care for his infant son at the same time. Hermione had moved in with him and his mother-in-law, Andromeda Tonks, to help out.

Andromeda had seen the potential between the two. Lupin was older, but he had been older than her daughter as well, and Hermione was even more mature than her Nymphadora had ever been.

It was a friendship that had been pushed along by Andromeda and Molly Weasley...with no quarter shown to the embarrassed couple by either Ginny or Luna. It had played out like a comedy of errors, and with a little smile here with an accidental bumping of Hermione towards Lupin by Ginny, and a shove of Lupin towards Hermione by Harry resulted in a kiss that had changed everything. They married two months later.

***

It took time for Severus to heal, but when he woke up in the hospital, Alissa was there, smiling her perfect smile at him.

"I'm sorry," he had whispered. "I do love you. I do."

"I know," she had whispered in return.

"No," he had insisted. "I loved Lily for so long. But my love for her is not like my love for you. I was a boy when I loved her. When I loved you...when I knew I loved you, I was a man. Can you forgive me for pushing you away?"

"I assume you'll never do it again?" she had asked questioningly with her arms folded across her chest.

"Never," he had answered. "I hope you will allow me to rectify my wrongs, Miss Devon," he said with mock seriousness.

"And what would that entail exactly?"

"Well, you promise to never stop following me, never leave me alone...I promise I will marry you," he had said silkily.

Alissa had barked a laugh. "What is that? On the premise when 'I'm old enough?'" she had teased.

He had smiled while he looked at her white hand in his pale one.

"Tell me, would you really have hexed Potter and Black that day when you were just a little firstie if I had not of walked off?" he had asked as he continued looking at their entwined hands.

"Yes," she had answered proudly.

He then leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips.

"You have the most perfect smile I've ever seen," he had whispered softly. "I want to wake up to that smile for the rest of my life."

"I would be more than happy to oblige you," she had whispered against his lips.

Alissa and Severus had married in November amidst all the well wishes of the Wizarding world. As they had posed for their picture in the Daily Prophet, Severus had turned to her and had murmured, "After all, we vampire-types have to stick together!"

Alissa had fallen apart laughing. Her tinkling laughter rang aloud and clear. The sight of his bride's laughter and smile on her beautiful face had made the stoic wizard smile in his own right. It had been a most handsome picture of the dark couple.

***

They danced at the celebration and could now, to the delight of admirers everywhere, tell their story-the whole story of their relationship and their involvement in bringing down Voldemort.

They took a break from dancing and drank some champagne as they strolled in the winter night.

"Have I told you how devastating you look tonight?" he said in a low tone as he pulled her to him.

"Yes," she answered with a wide smile as she snuggled to him. "But I don't think I shall ever tire of it since it has been so few and far between you've been able to see me looking so posh!"

"What are my chances of getting you out of that dress robe early tonight?" he whispered seductively in her ear.

"I'd say your chances are very good," she answered as she kissed him passionately.

He lifted her up slightly by her backside and ground his erection against her. She moaned her approval, and he cupped one breast, kneading it in his hand. They broke apart and started for their trek back to his private entrance into the dungeons.

"What shall we do now?" Severus asked Alissa as they strolled. She looked into the windows of the Great Hall, the couples, the laughter the happy futures and plans. Most would stay near. Many would take up teaching positions and/or apprenticeships.

She smiled as she contemplated the joys and triumphs so many of them would experience.

"I think we all are going to be just fine, Mr. Snape," she said as faced her lover.

She sidled up to him and said as she slid an arm around his neck.

"You and I aren't like them, Severus. We never have been. We won't ever settle down into a country or obey geographical boundaries. We are travelers, adventurers, risk takers, not the 'settling down type'. You and I will just go off and make our fortunes as they come."

"Interesting," he said silkily as he closed in the gap and kissed her.

They walked on a bit towards his private entrance into his dungeons and said, "Was that another speech from your Muggle movie?"

"Gone with the Wind?" she asked. "No, but I did take it from the book's sequel."

"Ah-ha," he said with a smirk on his face. "Come, Mrs. Snape, I think this is going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

She gasped, her mouth-wide open.

"What?" he asked mock defensively. "I told you I watched movies on the telly when I was a boy!"

The sound of Alissa's carefree laughter echoing through the dungeons was soon joined by deep chuckles. The harmony of their voices was complete perfection.

***

A/N: Well, I hope you enjoyed the ride! My wonderful beta, MadBrilliant, and I will be working on a fic set in this universe that goes into detail about Remus and Hermione's courtship and marriage. So, stay tuned for that if you like that ship! Much love and thanks to all who have continued to stick with this story and who have sent so many encouraging reviews along the way.

Thank you all so much!

Livvy

P.S. The sequel to Gone With The Wind that is quoted (roughly) is Alexandra Ripley's Scarlett. It is a wonderful read, BTW! Also, Snape's quote at the end about "...the beginning of a beautiful friendship," is from none other than Casablanca, which was Humphrey Bogart's famous line. I have to give credit to the wonderful writers who came up up with such incredible words that never cease to inspire!