Epilogue

Epilogue

Voices and laughter filled the living room at number twelve, Grimmauld Place; the fragrance of coffee, cake, and champagne wafted through the air. The place was crowded with people; they were smiling, talking, and everyone wanted to see the baby.

Potter's baby. Albus – now how pathetic was that, to name a newborn after Hogwarts' Headmaster? Especially this Headmaster, the one who twinkled like mad above his half-moon glasses, his beard braided into a plait for the occasion, grinning all over his mild, gentle face that in no way showed what a calculating bastard he could be at times.

Snape leaned in a dark corner and scowled at everyone who passed by, wishing he were elsewhere. Why the hell did I come here? he wondered, melting into the shadows as he had done all his life. This joyful, happy atmosphere was not for him, never had been, and never would be.

Or so he tried to convince himself – too much had happened in the past years for him to truly believe this. Remus had dragged him to more than one party; still, this here was definitely the lowest he had sunk so far: he was guest at a fucking christening. How did Remus manage to talk him into this, how did the damn wolf always find a way to make him comply?

Before he could find an answer to that, a young, visibly pregnant woman shoved her way through the crowd, heading straight towards him.

Involuntarily, Snape felt a small smile quirk his pale lips, and he pushed himself off the wall so he could accept Hermione's hug as gracefully as possible. She insisted on hugs; although he had tried to convince her otherwise, she wouldn't part with this rather disturbing habit of hers.

"Hi, Severus," she said and placed a kiss on his cheek. "I cannot believe Remus made you come here – I bet he will have to suffer for that crime." Protectively, she put a hand on her belly – her baby was due in two months, and Snape had brewed a lot of Sickness Potions for her ever since she'd told him she couldn't keep any food down apart from oranges.

"I'll skin him alive once I've found him," Snape assured her and vaguely wondered how he had managed to befriend his former student. "Don't ask me how he did it. I vaguely remember him saying something about an urgent Order meeting. Fool that I am, I believed him."

Hermione sniggered, and Snape felt his lips twitch at the sight. She was, he had to admit, beautiful, and he cherished her friendship. Sometime after she had dared to ask him some questions in his classroom concerning Remus and the kiss that had made it to the front page of the Daily Prophet, she had decided that she liked him.

At the beginning, her attempts to talk to him had made him suspicious. He'd sensed her nervousness around him and thought someone had ordered her to be friendly to him – Remus, naturally – and had resented it. Only when Remus denied flat-out any involvement – and had been able to prove it throuth their connecton – the Potions master had considered the highly unlikely possibility that Hermione had wanted nothing more than to talk to him.

After she'd finished school, she had spent countless evenings in his lab, brewing potions, learning as much as she could, and had asked him to write a letter of reference when she applied for the job as Potions mistress at Beauxbatons. He'd seen her fall in love with the Weasley boy, and both he and Remus had been there for her when she cried bitter tears at their fallout. Two years ago, he'd been forced to witness her wedding, and now, he was glad that pregnancy was quite becoming for her. "Where's your wretched husband?" Snape asked, and she laughed.

"He's organising me a drink. Oh, there's Harry, and he's got Albus. Sorry, Severus, but I assume it's too late for hiding."

"Damn," Snape murmured, and of course she was right – Potter had spotted him and came over, carrying his youngest son in his arms.

"Snape," he said, nodding curtly.

"Potter," Snape bit out, for old time's sake – they had buried their animosities long ago.

"Hold him for a sec, Snape," the younger man said, and laid the baby into Snape's arms. "Got to find Ginny, and then we will finally give this little chap a proper name."

Scandalised, Snape stood in the middle of Potter's living room, Potter's friends all around him, with Potter's brat in his arms. "I doubt this day can become any worse," he muttered, and then the child opened its eyes and looked at him.

Green eyes. Lily's eyes.

Snape felt a pang in his heart, remembering his long lost childhood friend, his first love, the woman he'd killed by choosing the wrong side. The baby had his father's eyes; he had Lily's eyes, too, and suddenly, Snape felt a bit more at ease, holding him in his arms.

Potter returned with his wife. Unceremoniously, the young man raised his glass, and said loudly, "Let's name my son before the dungeon bat drops him!"

Sniggers came from all corners of the room. Ginny, though, smiled, a fact the Potions master found highly suspicious.

"Well, I know you will all call me insane, and I expect my son to stop talking to me lately at the age of seven when he finds out who he's named after, but then, I am well known for making rash decisions."

More sniggers and some laughs.

Grinning widely, Potter took the tiny hand of his son in his. Gently, he brushed across the soft locks on the baby's head. "I name you after the two men who made sure I survived long enough to actually get married and have children," he said softly. "I name you Albus Severus, son."

Snape, paling, turned to Hermione. "Did you know about this?" Snape asked through gritted teeth afterwards. "Because, if you have, and haven't told me, I'm going to murder you."

"Take your hands off my wife, Snivellus," Lee Jordan said with a quite convincing growl, "or I will tell everyone that you are scared of little babies. You nearly dropped the poor thing!"

"I can handle much more dangerous goods than a baby without dropping them," Snape replied dryly. "Now – did you know about me becoming the baby's godfather or not?"

"We all knew it, and Remus did, too. Why do you think he insisted on you joining him?" Hermione wrapped her arm around Lee's waist. "Where is he, anyway?"

"I'll find him," Snape said. "And then I'll behead him. He could at least have warned me!"

*****

Remus was nowhere in sight, so Snape went into the garden and was just about to wonder if his husband had gone home without him when the ring on his finger first warmed, then became hot in a sudden flash. The sensation reminded him of the Dark Mark, burning whenever the Dark Lord had summoned him, but this here was worse, as it was not only the first time that the silver band reminded him in such a painful way of their binding, but because he knew exactly what it meant, too – Remus was lying, and not about something small and unimportant.

Emotions washed through the Potions master, and they weren't his own. Remus felt guilty, ashamed, and excited. In addition, he tried to hide someone or something, which was what had caused the ring to flare up in the first place – it must be a big lie, or otherwise, he wouldn't have felt a thing given the fact that they weren't in physical contact.

Frowning, Snape followed where the ring led him, wondering what had happened. They were together for five years now, Remus lived at Spinner's End during the vacations, and until today, neither ring had been given a reason to cast an alarm.

The garden behind Potter's house was not that big; Snape found Remus quickly. His husband hadn't made a big attempt to hide, and anyway, as he was busy hugging a woman with long, blond hair, the werewolf hadn't seen him coming anyway. A little boy was standing next to the woman, looking up at her with big, brown eyes.

The resemblance to Remus was more than just a little evident.

"Tonks," Snape said, a hint of coldness in his voice, bowing his head just a tad. "Haven't seen you in a while."

Remus spun around. He was pale, shaky, and he didn't let go of Tonks. "Severus," he began, but Snape shut him off.

"As I assume this is your son, wolf, I think I would like an explanation in a more private place."

*****

The flames were low in the fireplace; the room was cooling, but Severus Snape did not move. His long legs were outstretched; in his hand he held a glass of Firewhiskey. The golden liquid was untouched.

Silence stretched.

Thoughtfully, Snape turned the ring on his finger. "What did you tell her?" he asked. "The ring began to burn; I knew you were lying, and I want to know what about."

"I wanted her to leave; I wanted her to take Teddy and go somewhere else so I could meet her without fearing you would find us. So far, I always made sure there were miles between you and me when I met her and Teddy; over the distance, it was easy to hide this secret of mine from you. Today, she came to see me. I didn't know she'd be there, and obviously, I was terrified you would find out about my son. I cannot even remember what I said, but I didn't mean to hurt you. I just wanted to prevent... this." Remus said from the shadows where he had been standing, silently, waiting.

"I know. Too late now, though. I wish you had told me." Snape sounded tired. Wearily, he rubbed a hand across his face. "When did you learn of Teddy's existence?"

Remus barked out a bitter laugh. "I had a brief affair with Tonks a few months before the final battle. She didn't tell me she was pregnant. Teddy was born whilst you and I were suffering from the effect of Desipentia; Tonks, by then, was living in Romania. She wrote me a letter shortly after he was born and assured me she was happy with someone else."

"And you didn't see a reason to tell me that?"

"When you decided to twist the curse by marrying me, when it worked, there was suddenly a lot more between us than we could have expected, and I didn't want to risk it by telling you about my son!" Restlessly, the werewolf began pacing the room. "I love you, Severus. Tonks didn't want me to get involved, I haven't seen Teddy on a regular basis, and I don't see why his existence should change things between us."

Snape sighed and put the glass on the table. He still wasn't fond of Firewhiskey; he had only had a small sip. "It doesn't matter how this happened or why you didn't tell me," he said. "The subject is sorted. She needs you to take care of your son. Do it." He leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes.

"Severus, I don't want things to change between us!" Remus repeated. His voice sounded flat and pleading at the same time.

Snape shook his head. "Too late for that, wolf. And you don't have a choice anyway. Tonks needs to go undercover; she'll be gone for at least two years, and she cannot take Teddy with her. With her help, we'll be able to find the newly growing Death Eater groups and take them out before they can cause any harm. It is only logical that you take in Teddy. You are his father. Take up your responsibilities."

Remus stopped pacing. He stood before Snape, looking down at him; a muscle in his jaw twitched from suppressed anger, or maybe, fear. "So you want me to move out of here? You want to break the binding? Because I don't. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but..."

Snape opened his eyes in surprise. "What are you talking about? Did I say anything about you moving out? I have no intention of breaking the binding, I never had, and quite probably never will. I just said you need to look after Teddy. That means he will have to move in with us, and yes, that will change things tremendously."

Remus stood at arm's length from Snape, looking as if he'd just been knocked hard over the head. "You want... you say..." He took a deep breath. "That means no more hot sex on the kitchen table," he finally came up with.

Snape laughed dryly. "Honestly, Remus – when did that happen the last time?"

Slowly, Remus took a step closer. His knees touched Snape's. "This morning?" he said, tilting his head. "Yes, definitely this morning. I clearly remember the cups shattering on the ground."

Snape reached out and caught his wrist, pulled him down until the werewolf was kneeling in front of him. "Precisely," he said softly. "Therefore, we should be able to keep our sex life behind closed doors for a while, don't you think?" Running his thumb over his lover's lips, the tension that had claimed his face and his body left nothing but relief and a deep feeling of gratitude that things had turned out so very right for him.

Remus closed his eyes and leaned into the touch. "Maybe for a little while," he replied. "After all, Teddy will have to see his grandmother every other weekend."

"Good news at last," Snape growled, and then they went to bed, together, as they had done every night since the night a thunderstorm had witnessed their binding.

A/N: Thanks to all of you who read the story although it started in such a dark and cruel way! *hugs all of you*