Epilogue - The Hinges and the Clasp

Mimi awoke with a start. She was lying on her hotel room bed, in the same clothes she'd been wearing before... She sat up and looked around frantically. The Sempra Deck was scattered all over the floor next to the bed; the box sat open on the table beside her.

Had it been a dream? No, it was not possible! It was too real, too perfect! She rushed into the bathroom, pulling her blouse from her waistband as she unbuttoned her trousers. She was frantically checking her body; looking at the place Albus Dumbledore would have not dared examine.

Mimi froze. There it was, just above her pubic bone – the Wizarding tattoo Severus had etched into her skin, using his wand as the needle. Tiny, green twin 'S's. It had been his idea; his way of marking her as his, matching the double "M" tattoo he had first drawn on his own hip. It was undeniable proof that she had not dreamed the entire journey.

She leaned unsteadily against the counter, weak with relief, but it soon turned to sorrow. Yes, it had all been real. And yes, she had left him in his time; a time where he would have to take another life before, if history continued on its destined path, his own life would be snuffed out.

Grief and loss pierced her like an arrow, shot from February 1997 to this very moment. She thought of him, holding her, fiercely making love to her, whispering, "I will find you. I believe in you."

Oh, he was hers, and he was gone! She could still feel his lips on hers, his body moving against hers as he pulled pleasure from her like honey siphoned from a hive. "Teach me, goddess," he'd purred, but in the end, he had been the true teacher; her professor, educating her in the art of belief in miracles. She had merely attempted to teach him the true measure of his soul, which she had only begun to convince him was unblemished and beautiful.

He had made her feel like his goddess, and he had worshiped her with his body, his lips, his hands; she had poured all the love she had for him back into this act, in hopes that he would one day accept the fact that he was worthy of the love she gave him.

Mimi picked up the box and cradled it to her, weeping as if she would never stop. Her heart ached; she kept seeing Severus' body fall to the floor, and hearing Dumbledore's cold voice as he Obliviated the younger wizard unconscious.

The box felt warm in her hand, and when she opened it, the scent penetrated her senses again. Memories flooded into her mind with the scent of the box, making her cry harder. Of course! Now she remembered why Severus had smelled so familiar, so enticing; it was the same scent as the box.

Suddenly, Mimi straightened, and wiped the tears from her face. She wanted answers more than she wanted her next breath. Still crying, she frantically gathered up all of the cards in the Sempra Deck, and hastily stuffed them in the box, along with the envelope and the fragile slip of paper with Severus' handwriting on it. The key and the envelope that had held it were added last, and she left the hotel.

She dashed out the front door, and hailed a cab. She would go to the one place that would hold some answers. "The Salem Institute Museum, please."

The cabbie looked at her with a puzzled expression. "I'm sorry, Miss, I'm not familiar with that museum. Got an address?"

"121 Garden Circle. It's not far," she insisted, with a frown. Honestly, he must be new. The museum was right in the heart of town.

Moments later, the cabbie was saying, "Miss, are you sure this is the right place?"

Mimi nodded grimly. "Yes, I'm sure."

They were parked outside of the building that housed the Salem Institute Museum. Or rather, had housed it. The building was now a derelict, empty shell. It looked like it had not been inhabited for years.

The cabbie said skeptically, "You sure you want to be let off here, Miss? This is a rough part of town. You want I should wait here for you?"

Fishing through her purse, Mimi paid him, shaking her head. "No, that's okay. If I need you, I'll call. Thanks."

"Yeah, okay. Thanks - you be careful now."

As the cabbie sped off to his next job, Mimi stood outside the building that she'd walked through less than two days previously, in this time period. The windows were boarded up; the paint was chipped and flaking. A 'No Trespassing' sign hung crookedly on one of the doors, and she could see where the locks had been jimmied.

Fuck knew what she hoped to find in there. In the afternoon sun, the old building looked ominous, foreboding. She managed to push open one of the double doors enough to squeeze through, took a deep breath, and walked inside, clutching the box to her chest. Sunlight filtered through the boards on the windows, casting long bars of light across the massive, empty floor. Inside, the building bore no resemblance whatsoever to the museum she'd visited. She felt a funny tingle at the nape of her neck.

In spite of her trepidation, Mimi felt a sudden knowing excitement. She was feeling magic here. She had been surrounded by it twenty-four seven at Hogwarts, and it was so prevalent there as to be subliminal; here, it was easier to recognise.

"Hello?" she called out, then stopped. Heavens, she had no idea who or what might answer!

"To hell with this," she muttered. She hoped someone or something did answer. It was what she'd come for, after all. "Hello! Hel-"

"Well, hello, Mimi. I was wondering when I'd see you again." Mimi whirled around, and her heart began to tap dance in her chest as a figure moved in the shadows. "I'm very happy that you have returned."

"Who are you?" she demanded, trying to calm her galloping pulse. The voice was unfamiliar, and although it had the same deep, rich, pear-shaped British tones of Severus', there was a difference. This voice was gentler; it had lightness to it, as if the owner of this voice had never been weighed down with the hardships her lover had experienced. "Show yourself," she said, and was dismayed at how her voice shook.

A man stepped out of the shadows, smiling at her. He was a handsome man with a shock of thick black, spiky hair. Warm green eyes shone from a pale, porcelain face, and his dark-rimmed glasses gave him a scholarly air. He would have been pretty, except that he, like Severus, had a rather prominent nose; like Severus, it suited him.

The softly sculptured lips, curved in a smile of welcome, were among his most attractive features, and he was dressed casually in black trousers with a classic white button-down shirt. The sleeves had been rolled up to just under the elbows, and black loafers completed the ensemble.

The most amazing thing about this man was his expression. He looked serene, and genuinely happy to see Mimi, and she could detect nothing about him to inspire fear or nervousness. It was merely his presence in this deserted building that unnerved the hell out of her.

As if he could read her mind, he laughed, a deep, silvery laugh that was at once comforting and sensual. "I can almost see the wheels turning, Mimi. A million questions - but where to start?"

"Who are you?" she blurted, happy at last to find her voice. "Were you the one who gave me the box?"

The man nodded, looking, if possible, even more pleased with her. "I did, indeed. My name isn't really important, but you may call me Dahlra." His voice was soothing, almost hypnotic. "I am a friend, and I was asked to make sure you received," he explained, pointing to the box she was holding, "that box as a gift."

Mimi nodded, unsure of her voice, and he seemed to understand that as well. He continued, "I suppose you may well wish to start with the explanation of what actually happened?"

"Was it all real?" she asked, holding her breath. "Was he real?"

Dahlra's smile faded a bit. "Yes, Mimi. It was all real." His eyes grew solemn. "And yes, he was real."

Her breath caught, and for a moment, she felt faint. "W-was?" The man who called himself Dahlra nodded soberly. Mimi began to gasp as tears pricked her eyes again. "Did he – is he – "

"Severus Snape was ambushed and attacked in the Shrieking Shack by Lord Voldemort's familiar, Nagini, on May the Second, 1998. He died of his injuries, Mimi."

She felt her knees buckle, and Dahlra rushed forward and caught her before she fell. He held her as she screamed her grief, her keening cries echoing around the empty building. Dahlra rocked and crooned comfort to her as she wept and called out for Severus again and again.

"That bastard Dumbledore killed him as much as that fucking snake! He did this!" She sobbed. Her grief turned to anger. "What was the fucking point of it all? Why was I sent there if he had to die? It was for nothing – I did it for nothing!"

Dahlra patiently held and soothed Mimi, and gradually her anger faded, brittle and spent. He stroked her hair and produced a clean, white handkerchief, and Mimi blew her nose and stepped away from him, feeling exhausted and a little self-conscious.

"I'm sorry, I just –" She looked into the handsome man's face beseechingly. "I thought that maybe my presence there changed things." She slumped. "I thought I made a difference."

Dahlra's compassionate eyes widened. "But you did make a difference, Mimi! You took a bitter, lonely man and showed him that love could transverse time and space for him alone. You gave him hope, pleasure, belief. You gave him the courage to stand up and fight again, and when the time came, the courage to meet death for a cause he had come to champion."

Mimi's eyes filled again. "And now I have to live without him. I miss him. It's like a piece of myself was left behind with him, and now it's gone." She closed her eyes. "I loved him."

"And he loved you. Enough to save a piece of himself for you."

Mimi looked up at Dahlra, startled. "What do you mean?"

Dahlra smiled again. "Has it never occurred to you, Mimi, that in all the discussion of how the Sempra Deck was created and used, there was never any mention of a certain item you now hold?"

Mimi looked down at the item that remained clutched to her chest, frowning. All that was in the box was the Sempra Deck itself, along with the slip of paper with the word, and the key to the box...

"The box itself!" She looked up at Dahlra. "The box was never part of the Deck in his time."

Again, the smile that told her she was on the right track. "Well done, Mimi. No, Dumbledore never mentioned the box, and neither did Severus, because Severus had not created it until after you returned here."

Mimi looked at the box, then opened it slowly. It was no different than it had been, but here, in this place where magic was allowed to rush through the air, she felt it: the box was heavy, warm, like a living thing.

"Can the box send me back to him again?"

Dahlra shook his head, but his eyes were tender with understanding. "No, Mimi. The box does not have the power to take you to Severus." He looked at her, as if he expected her to say something, to glean something from his pronouncement.

Her heart blossomed with the ghost of hope. "But it has the power to bring him to me?" Dahlra smiled like a handsome Buddha rewarding an acolyte for achieving enlightenment. Mimi was struck with another thought. She looked up at Dahlra with enormous eyes. "Is this box a – a Horcrux?"

Dahlra pursed his lips, considering her question. "Not... really," he replied slowly. His eyes narrowed, and he frowned as if in thought. "Perhaps for our purposes we will call it one, but it is more powerful than a mere Horcrux. Severus did not create the box for the same reason Tom Riddle created his Horcruxes. Severus had no plans for power or eternal life. He merely wanted the chance to create a miracle here, in your time, just as you created one in his."

Mimi shook her head. "I'm very confused! If Dumbledore sent the Sempra Deck to me, how did the box arrive with it if he didn't know anything about it?"

"Who said anything about them arriving at the same time? I only gave them to you at the same time." Dahlra grinned, and Mimi was forced to smile back. His kind demeanor and handsome face simply gave her no choice.

"So how did you know to give them to me?"

Dahlra shrugged. "Severus knew the date you received the Sempra Deck because you told him, so he asked me to make sure to put the Deck in the box and give it to you all at once." He held out his hands, palms up. "So that's what I did. He knew you had returned, and he sent this to wait for you."

Tears welled in Mimi's eyes again. So he had found their private stash of memories and restored them! Her elation was temporary. "But what am I supposed to do with it? I don't know anything about Horcruxes. Doesn't this contain a part of his soul?" She looked down at the box again, and clasped it even closer.

"Ah, well, this is something I cannot help you with, because I am not privy to that information, But," he interjected, seeing her shoulders slump in defeat, "I can tell you that I will help you to find out.

"Let us take the box in here." He indicated a room off to the left, gesturing with a wave of his hand. Mimi wordlessly followed Dahlra through a sagging door, grimacing as the dust of years smeared against her shirt as she walked through.

Inside the door was an ancient desk and two chairs, one on either side of the desk. Light streamed through a grimy skylight in the roof. "Please sit," he said, indicating one of the chairs. "Put the box on the table, and let us see if we can figure out the magic our friend has entrusted us to perform."

For a moment, they merely sat in silence, at opposite sides of the table, the box sitting between them. Dahlra opened it gingerly, respectfully. It looked as tiny as a matchbox between his large hands. He took the Deck from inside, and the fragile slip of paper, the key and the envelope. He placed all the items on the desk in a tidy row, and closed the lid of the box. Empty, the box almost vibrated on the table. Dahlra grinned.

"Well, he has had a long time to wait, and Severus wasn't the most patient man in the world."

Mimi looked up at Dahlra. "Did you know him?"

Dahlra nodded. "I knew him."

Mimi swallowed. "Are you a – a wizard as well?"

Dahlra looked a little down. "Alas, Mimi, no I'm not. I'm merely a friend, someone who was sent here to help you find the answers."

Mimi replied ruefully, "I'm not really all that sure about the questions."

Dahlra became solemn. He looked at her with unsmiling eyes. Their gaze remained locked together so long Mimi began to feel uncomfortable. Finally, in a voice filled with quiet power, Dahlra said, "Mimi Manderly, what do you want?"

Mimi could not tear her eyes from his. As if reading the words from a book, she replied, "I want Severus. Severus Snape. I lost him once. I don't want to ever lose him again." With the truth laid bare to the room, she was able to look away. "Help me find him, Dahlra."

Dahlra nodded, as if she had given him the answer he sought. He relaxed his stance. "Very good. You must be very sure of what you want. Now, Mimi; what do you notice when you look at the box? When you touch it, when you hold it?"

Mimi opened her mouth to answer, but decided to give it some thought. She touched the box tenderly, as she had touched Severus, and an overwhelming feeling of love and loss swept over her again. She held the box close to her face, and inhaled, taking in his fine, masculine scent.

"I feel him," she said, quietly, trying to keep her emotions in check. "I can smell his scent. I sense his soul." She closed her eyes in frustration. "I feel so close to knowing what to do."

Dahlra nodded absently, and picked up the first card off the top of the deck. He turned it over. It was the Judgment card.

Severus' interpretation of this particular card showed an avenging angel, pointing an accusatory wand at the wicked and the unjust figure at his feet. The Angel of Judgment was standing on a hill, dressed in black, and he was bearing down on a figure below him in white.

Mimi studied the card closely, then glanced up at Dahlra, a look of wonder lighting her face. "The figures on the cards move!"

Dahlra gave her a mildly chastising look, as if to say, Severus created them – what did you expect?

She stared at it, watching the faint movements. "Have they always moved?"

"Of course. You didn't notice it before because you did not know how to notice it. You are looking at them with different eyes now."

Mimi looked back at the card. Different eyes. Why did that seem so important? Together, she and Dahlra studied the card, as the black-robed Angel of Judgment passed sentence on the old man, who repeatedly held out his hand as if to plead for mercy. Mimi could not help thinking that the Angel looked like Severus, and the old man the spitting image of Dumbledore. She told Dahlra this, and looked more closely at the card more.

He frowned, his handsome brow furrowed in thought. "Judgment. Judgment is all about atonement and repentance. It's not so much about meting out punishment and retribution, but of demanding an account of past actions and experiences. If the one being judged is truly repentant, his own shame is often punishment enough."

Mimi looked at the figures. The Angel's expression seem to indicate he took no real pleasure in meting out his judgment, but the old man's imploring face told of contrition and regret.

Mimi chewed on her lip thoughtfully. "A Horcrux is made when a witch or wizard takes a life, and their soul is torn. The only thing that can destroy the Horcrux is remorse; truly being sorry for what you have done." She looked up at Dahlra. "I can't imagine that Severus was terribly repentant for killing Dumbledore, after all he'd suffered because of him."

Dahlra shrugged. "Do you think not? I would argue that point with you. He knew he'd made his own mistakes; what was unforgivable was how Dumbledore used Severus' remorse for his own agenda. I think he lamented what he'd done almost the moment it happened, if I know Severus."

Mimi banged the table in frustration. "Then the Horcrux would have been destroyed – yet here it is!"

Her outburst did not faze Dahlra in the least. "As I said, Mimi, this isn't a Horcrux. Only very much like one." He turned pensive again. "Perhaps it was not Severus who needed help in repenting his wrongs."

Mimi nodded. "Perhaps Severus was not the one who needed to ask forgiveness for what he'd done..." She felt her excitement stir again. "Perhaps it was Dumbledore!"

Dahlra looked at her approvingly. "You know, I think you are right!" He beamed at her again. "Well done, Mimi!"

Her elation was short-lived. "Well, that's all well and good, but the fact remains that we don't know what I'm supposed to do with the box." She looked at the box, then the card again. "Perhaps we have to do a reading."

Dahlra looked dubious. "A reading?"

Mimi nodded, her brow furrowed in thought. "In essence, a reading could be used to get a message to find out what he has to say-"

Dahlra interrupted her. "Whoa! Back up, back up! What did you just say?"

Mimi repeated, "Maybe we should do a reading– "

Dahlra became excited. "No, no, you said, 'in essence'." His face was ablaze with excitement. "Essence! Severus infused his essences into the cards, and they found you! He infused his essences into you, and they were the catalyst to send you back! I think his essences were used to create the box as well!"

Mimi stared at Dahlra, her mind frantically trying to solve the puzzle her lover had given them. He was trying to tell them that Dumbledore had asked him for forgiveness, to not be judged for what he'd done to Severus. But what did that have to do with anything?

Mimi picked up the card again and looked at the figure in white. There was no doubt about it; the figure looked like Dumbledore to her. He held out his hand, as if to ward off a retributory blow, and something about the hand caught Mimi's attention. She studied it; it was a long, elegant hand, as she remembered, and on the middle finger was a large signet ring of some kind.

Mimi peered closer to the card. There was something on the ring, but she couldn't quite make it out.

"Try this," a warm, rich voice murmured, and Mimi looked up to see Dahlra handing her a magnifying lens. She took it, with a puzzled smile.

"How did you-"

"While I was not told all the details, I was told to provide you with whatever you needed to solve the mystery." He tipped her a wink, and she found herself laughing. With a little shrug of incredulity, she bent down over the card, looking at it through the magnifying glass.

Mimi looked carefully at the ring, and dropped the magnifying lens. She looked up at Dahlra, breathing hard.

"I think I have it."

Dahlra gave her a look of dawning hope. "You do? Well, spit it out, Mimi!" She laughed with him, and stood. To Dahlra's surprise, she started unbuttoning her trousers.

The look on his face was priceless. "Um, Mimi, what are you – "

"Relax, Splendor In the Grass!" She handed him the magnifying glass. "Here look for yourself at the ring on the Dumbledore's finger, and I'll show you why I'm stripping!"

Dahlra looked at it, then looked at Mimi, just as she revealed the small tattoo Severus had given her before she left. He looked at her hip, then back at the card.

Mimi's tattoo and the ring bore the same exact mark: The twin green 'S's. Mimi, her mind kicking in high gear, turned over the letter that had contained the key and the piece of paper, and cried, "Ah ha!"

The wax seal was the same. "I didn't think about that wax seal until just now, but I noticed it the day I got the key and the paper with the word 'Sempra' on it!"

The smiled at each other triumphantly. Dahlra said, "Okay, now we're getting somewhere! Where did you get the tattoo?"

Mimi replied, "Just before I returned from his time, Severus gave it to me, so that I'd have proof that it wasn't just a dream." They both regarded it for a moment, trying to decipher the meaning of it all.

Dahlra scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Proof. If we can just crack this puzzle, you'll no longer need that to have that as proof."

Mimi froze for a moment. "You mean, if we can somehow retrieve Severus to this time, I wouldn't need the tattoo, because he'd be here."

Dahlra nodded. "Exactly, but I just can't se – "

Mimi grabbed his arm. "But I do see! Essences! Severus used his wand to give me this tattoo, but he gave one to himself first. He siphoned the 'ink' from his body to mine to..." Her eyes grew wide. "Make the...tattoo..."

She jumped to her feet, and instinctively grabbed the box's key. With blazing eyes that reminded Dahlra of his friend Severus, Mimi held up the long, skeletal key and cried, "The box isn't the fake Horcrux, Dahlra – I AM!"

At her words, the key made a little clinking noise, began to vibrated and shapeshift before their eyes. Her heart pounding, Mimi quickly placed the key on the desk, where it jittered and flipped about as if possessed. Mimi was almost hyperventilating in excitement as the key grew, expanded, twisted and changed colour, then morphed into Severus' wand.

Dahlra was looking at her with joy shining in his lovely eyes. He gave her a great bear hug. "Well done! I knew you could do it! Well done!"

Dahlra suddenly pulled away, picking up the wand. "Please don't be afraid, Mimi," he said.

He pointed the wand at her hip and whispered, "Elementum suo!"

Mimi felt a sharp pain in her hip, and made a startled sound of surprise as the ink began to bleed out of her body, and waft through the air as if carried by a current into the waiting wand. Dahlra held the wand expertly, and watched Mimi's body carefully as the dark green ink withdrew from her body like a stitch of thread unraveling from a garment.

It did not so much hurt as felt strange, as if she were tattooing the air from the ink which bled from her. Mimi could feel it sliding through her skin as it rose from her flesh toward Severus' wand, but she knew in her heart this was right. This minor discomfort was nothing, if they were correct.

There was a sharp, stinging pinch as the last drop of the ink was tugged from her body, and Mimi watched, fascinated, as the ink twirled in the air as if suspended in liquid, held aloft by Dahlra's incantation.

When he was sure it was stable, Dahlra pointed the wand at the box, and murmured the incantation, "Reverto delecto , Severus, revertu vita... Reverto delecto , Severus, revertu vita... Reverto delecto , Severus, revertu vita... Reverto delecto , Severus, revertu vita..."

The ink spiraled from the wand onto the box's surface, and was immediately absorbed as if the box were a sponge. It began to glow with an unearthly, dark radiance that was at once familiar and otherworldly.

Dahlra's voice was beautifully hypnotic and entrancing, and Mimi eyes began to droop. She shook her head to clear it; she knew she had to watch and wait... The box began to shudder... Reverto delecto, Severus, revertu vita... Mimi had to rest her eyes, they were burning with exhaustion... Reverto delecto , Severus, revertu vita...

Suddenly, the box split open, and blinding light shot from it, lighting every corner. A rushing wind flew from the box and blew through the room, scattering the cards and billowing Mimi's unbuttoned shirt. Through the incredible light and wind, Mimi saw Dahlra calmly lay the wand down beside the box.

Dahlra smiled at her, as serene and placid as ever, and even through the howling wind, she heard him.

"Well done, Mimi Manderly. I think my task is done." He gave her a mischievous look. "After all, I do have my own goddess to look after."

The room was so bright Mimi could barely keep her eyes open. Shielding her eyes with her hands, she could see him backing away, preparing to leave. She cried out, "Wait! What do I do now?"

"Oh, I shouldn't worry, goddess. You'll know." He gave her a little wave, and the fabric of space in front of him split open as well, and even more blinding light assaulted her eyes. This time it was a bright iridescent beam, and the wind rose to a deafening, screeching crescendo, until finally Mimi had to close her eyes and put her hands over her ears.

Then, as suddenly as it had arisen, the wind and light imploded on itself, rushing down into the box so quickly Mimi barely had time to register it, and with so much force the entire atmosphere of the room changed and it felt as if all the air was being sucked out of her lungs. Her eardrums bowed outward and Mimi felt her blood pressure drop. She fell unconscious onto the filthy floor, thoroughly blinded and deafened...

---

Waking up back in her hotel room felt like the worst sort of Groundhog Day nightmare. She was tucked up safely in bed, in a soft peach-coloured lace nightgown, and the sunlight was streaming in her eyes. Memories of the implosion flooded back into her memory, and she dropped her jaw to pop her ears, but it did not seem necessary.

She looked around for the box, and to her horror, she could not see it anywhere in the room. She leapt out of bed and searched the room frantically. She checked her luggage, her shopping bags, her purse; nothing.

She ran into the bathroom and pulled her up nightgown to view her hip. It was flawlessly smooth and unmarked. She leaned on the sink cupboard, feeling sick and helpless.

Returning to the room, she dashed to the phone and called the hotel lobby. "Yes, hello, could you tell me if you have a number for the Salem Institute Museum?"

The receptionist immediately answered, "Certainly! It's one of our most visited tourist attractions, Miss Manderly. It's 978-534-8564. We have a buy one, get one free pass on offer if you'd like to go there."

After gabbling a hasty thanks, Mimi dialed the number with shaking hands. The number was answered on the third ring. "Good Morning, Salem Institute Museum, may I help you?"

Mimi hung up, and sat down on the bed, trembling. "Tell me this has not been a dream," she whispered, and her heart began to beat harder and harder. "Tell me it wasn't a dream," she said aloud. She was gasping for breath. "TELL ME!" she screamed to the room.

A knock on the door startled her, causing her to cry out again. She covered her mouth with her hand, and looked around until she found her watch. It was 8:30am. It must be Peter with Room Service. The knock was a little louder, a little more insistent.

"Just a minute," she finally stammered, and threw on a dressing gown. Feeling heartsick and frightened for her own sanity, Mimi opened the door.

Severus Snape was standing in the doorway, scowling at her. "What took you so long, woman? And what in the name of Merlin's hairy teabags were you shouting about?"

Mimi fainted.

When she opened her eyes, Mimi bolted upright out of bed. She was alone. "Alone! Not again!" she wailed, and covered her head with her hands.

A deep, rich British voice broke the silence. "Alone? I'm hurt. Honestly woman, I can't keep waiting to catch you between fainting spells."

With a gasp, Mimi looked up at her lover. He looked no more or less like he had the last day she saw him at Hogwarts, except that he was handing her a small potions vial.

"For Circe's sake, take this Restorative Potion now while you're still conscious." He peered at her with narrowed eyes. "Hello? Can you hear me?"

Fighting tears, she whispered, "Are you real? Severus, are you really with me?"

His features softened with concern. "I would be if you would stop passing out on me."

Mimi flew into his arms, and covered him with kisses, which he greedily returned, holding her close to him. "Oh Severus, I don't believe it! You came back!" She sobbed with happiness, planting feverish kisses anywhere they would land. "Oh gods, you came back!"

He stilled her with his firm touch, and stroked her cheek gently. In his lovely mesmeric voice, he crooned, "Did I not tell you, goddess, I would find you?" He drew her to his chest in an embrace that turned Mimi to water with its boundless love and tenderness.

He sobered. "Dahlra told me all about how you figured it all out. I was so pleased. I was worried at first, because you were unconscious, but I brought you here and let you sleep."

He gave an apologetic little shrug. "I decided to go out and get us breakfast this morning. I had planned to be back long before you awoke, but I stopped by to thank Dahlra, and the telling of how you brought me back took longer than I anticipated and –"

"And I woke up for the second time thinking it was all a dream, except this time I had no proof otherwise!"

He smirked. "I will admit, I didn't count on you passing out again. Which reminds me." He picked up the little vial of potion from where it had fallen on the floor, and thumbed open the lid. "This will help, I promise."

He watched her drink it down, then took the little bottle from her. "That should prevent anymore fainting spells, I think." He gave her a rather rapacious look, followed by a trace of almost shy tenderness. "I've been waiting thirteen years to get back in your knickers, and I'm not keen on doing it to the sound of your snoring."

Mimi gave him a playful swat. "For your information, Mr. Deviated Septum, I'm not the snorer in this family!" She gave his nose a playful tweak, and he narrowed his eyes in a parody of his former, imperious self, but it faded rapidly.

His expression softened as they gazed in one another's eyes. He cupped her face in his hands, and kissed her so sweetly on the lips she whimpered with longing. He broke from the kiss reluctantly, his fingers stroking her breast through the silken fabric. She could feel the heat from his piercing eyes.

He looked down at her with a mixture of relief, and love, and passion. "Oh, Mimi. I have missed you so. I think my heart is going to break free from my chest. When I saw you at the Museum, even passed out cold, lying on the floor, all I could think about was waking you up and making love to you again." He kissed her again, slowly, sweetly. "Thirteen years I've waited for this." He smiled. "Worth every minute."

"When I woke up and the tattoo was gone, I thought I had dreamed you."

Severus regarded her intensely. "Just desserts, then. I spent the last year of my life wondering if you had been a dream."

Mimi nodded. "When I saw Dumbledore Obliviate you, I wanted to kill him!"

Severus made a little moue of agreement. "When I found the memories we had stored, it made my task a little easier, I'll assure you." He grew solemn. "He left me mountains of letters, begging for my forgiveness. His portrait asked it of me daily, the last year I was at Hogwarts as Headmaster. I never said it to his face. I created the box, and placed my hopes and love for you into it, and planned, and waited."

His eyes grew moist. "After I – I died, I saw him. I walked into a room, and he was standing there. He told me that I was now free to do whatever I wished. I told him the only thing I wished for was to be with you again, and he told me that all things were possible with love." Severus shook his head. "Albus has been saying things like that for years, and I just ignored it as hoppity-go-kick bullshit. But at that moment, I knew he was right.

"It was then that I forgave him, and when I turned to say goodbye he was gone, and another man was standing in the room with me. That room turned out to be the Salem Institute Museum, and the man was Dahlra."

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it, then held it to his cheek. "I'm sorry you had to go through this. That's why I asked Dahlra to assist you."

Mimi thought of the handsome man in the deserted building, gently nudging her toward the answers, then facilitating the solution. He had wielded Severus' wand with precision, and had done what was necessary to bring Severus home to her. "And I never got a chance to thank him," she mused aloud.

"He knows, Mimi." Severus kissed her temple with lips that were warm and loving. "I have thanked him for the both of us. He was very impressed with you."

He pulled back and studied her intently. "It has been so long, goddess. I had forgotten how beautiful you are; how your eyes are the colour of the sea. I had forgotten what it felt like to be looked upon with so much acceptance and love. My last year, in my time, was not... pleasant." Mimi took him in her arms, murmuring soothing sounds, and he accepted her love, and it felt as if he finally let go of the pain he had carried with him even to her here.

Mimi buried her face against his neck, breathing in his scent. He was wearing a black cable jumper, and it was soft against her cheek. She kissed his throat, and he moaned softly, and stroked her hair.

Even as Mimi reveled in the simple joy of merely holding him, a small cloud of doubt crept over her. "This isn't temporary, is it? You don't have to go back or anything?"

"Questions. Always with the questions." He smirked, stroking her hair. He took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "I chose to die that night. I knew the only way I could return to you was the way you had come to me – through time and space. And while we have a lifetime to discuss it, I will tell you now that I had to be careful, so that, when my belongings were looked through, nothing would be missing or out of place.

"That's the reason for the riddles and puzzles – and Dahlra. When I told him about the box and the idea I had for joining you, he was somehow able to retrieve them, but he told me that you would have to figure it out for yourself. Cheeky bugger."

"Who or what is he? Some sort of guardian angel?"

Severus gave her a heavy-lidded look. "Do I look like a merit a guardian angel?"

Mimi laughed, and embraced him again. "Yes. And that's my job, now."

He favoured her with a soft chuckle. "Well, you did a fairly credible job as my goddess. I'm sure your tenure as my guardian angel will be equally as successful."

She looked up at him, her hands stroking his. "But how did you do it?"

He smirked, and cocked an expressive eyebrow. He drawled, "Did I not tell you? I'm a wizard."

She looked at him in shock, then laughed, then smiled. "And you are a wizard with far too many clothes on, Severus Snape."

He looked contrite. "Is there any way I can possibly make amends, goddess?" His large hand brushed over her lace gown, and when his palm found her warm breast, the nipple hard in his palm, his eyes began to burn.

She closed her eyes as his fingers tugged at her nipple, and she moaned as his lips found the delicate path of her throat to her shoulder. "Oh, fuck it. I'll forgive you anything as long as you don't stop!"

She opened her eyes, and met his smouldering gaze. "Oh, Severus. I'm not still dreaming, am I?"

He smirked again. "A wise woman once said, 'If you'll be in my dream, I'll be in yours.'"

He sobered. "No, Mimi. This isn't a dream. You brought me back. You loved me and believed in me enough to bring me back, and here I am." His beautiful voice rolled over her, and to Mimi, it sounded like home. "And I will stay, goddess, if you'll have me."

Mimi looked up into his austere, pale face, and her heart swelled with love for him. "If you think I'm letting you out of my sight for the next fifty years, Severus Snape, you have another think coming."

He brushed her bottom lip with the pad of his thumb, and, unable to resist, followed it with his lips. He lowered her to the bed, and magically vanished their clothing, gasping as his bare skin met hers. He laughed, and it was laughter breathless with arousal and anticipation.

"Only fifty, Mimi?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Mischief Managed

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Special thanks to Mimi Manderly herself, and all the folks over at Live Journal, for always encouraging me. And thank you, dear reader for giving this story a chance.