Epilogue

Epilogue

Glasses clinked. The occasional laughter filled the air together with a sweet fragrance of cinnamon and melted sugar; Christmas Cookies were waiting to be eaten. This time they had used the dining room because only there was enough space for the big Christmas tree. Plus, the kitchen bore somewhat difficult memories.

It was Christmas at number twelve, Grimmauld Place. It was a tradition that family and friends met there and celebrated, and it had always been a happy occasion.

Tonight, the mood was a little tense. They talked, they laughed, they debated and celebrated. They had had a quite nice evening.

Ginny and her mum were just setting up the table for dinner; Arthur Weasley had been recruited to get the wine; the goose was waiting to be served, but somehow, neither Ron nor Harry felt like eating.

Every now and then, Harry would look at the big clock in the corner. It was getting late. And she hadn't come.

"You really thought so, mate?" Ron quietly asked his friend.

Harry looked at him, then finally shook his head. "Not really. Not..." He faltered. Things had changed after the events on his birthday. They hadn't seen Hermione again after she had picked up Sasha, wordless. They hadn't heard a single word ever since. They knew, of course, that Snape had gone back to school, pretending to be nothing but a teacher, but he had refused contact and had ignored their owls.

He hadn't appeared at any Order meetings. And because there weren't any Death Eaters left worth mentioning, there hadn't been any of their meetings he could have attended, either.

Macnair had been found dead about two weeks after Harry's birthday. Neither Harry nor anyone else doubted for a second who had killed him.

Hermione and Sasha remained gone.

Harry drained his glass, looked at it thoughtfully, then cast a sideways glance at Ron. His friend looked as unhappy as Harry felt.

The doorbell rang. That would be Bill, Harry guessed, getting up.

But Teddy had been faster. He was already at the door, ripping it open to hopefully interesting new visitors. When he saw whom it was, he beamed – he hadn't seen them in a while. "Daddy, it's your friend," the boy yelled, galloping back into the dining room.

Remus didn't look up. There was only one friend he would like to see, and this one was highly unlikely to appear at a Christmas party. Or anywhere else where Remus was.

It seemed that the werewolf's hair was greyer than five months ago. Maybe he seemed a bit more tired as well.

Footsteps in the hall; then the door to the dining room opened. Someone stood there silently, waiting to be acknowledged.

Harry saw her first and nearly dropped his glass; Ron's jaw fell open, and both men didn't move an inch, fearing that the woman would turn and run if they did.

Remus, who had been sitting with his back to the dining room door, saw the thunderstruck faces of Ron and Harry and turned in his seat. Then he paled, feeling a sense of déjà-vu.

Hermione stood in the doorway. Only tonight, she looked wonderful. She was wearing a long, dark green, velvet dress that literally caressed her slender figure. Her skin shimmered in a golden brown that made clear she had been in the sun for the past two or three weeks. Her usually wild and unruly hair was pinned into a soft knot at the back of her head, revealing tiny emerald stones in her earlobes.

Had she been fragile, weak, and furious the last time they had seen her, she now looked not only strong and self-conscious, but slightly amused as well. A wicked flicker danced in her eyes as she looked at Harry and Ron, and that was definitely something they had not been expecting.

She crossed her arms and looked at her two best friends. "Sorry that I'm late," she said casually. "But I couldn't decide whether to bring a present or an axe."

Harry clearly didn't know what to do with that statement and looked at Ron, who was equally speechless. "Erm... an axe to behead us?" Harry finally asked hesitantly after the silence had stretched a bit too long. She couldn't be joking, could she?

"Disembowelling," she corrected him and took another step, standing now right in front of them. "Or chop you to pieces – I haven't decided yet. But it would have made such a mess, so I thought I'd leave the axe at home. For now." With a swift move she reached out and grabbed each man's collar, pulling them closer. "You owe Severus an apology," she said sweetly. "And let me warn you – apologizing to my husband is not an easy thing to do."

Ron reacted first. He ripped his head free from Hermione's grip, grabbed his friend round the waist and lifted her up. "I'll polish his boots if it makes you happy," he said with a wide grin and kissed her cheek. "I'll go down on my knees, I'll hug him, I'll kiss him – Merlin, if I ever see him again, he'll be drowning in my apologies!"

Harry brushed Hermione's shoulder. "Gods, Hermione, we are so sorry for everything that has happened, and that we... that we didn't..." Ron let her down, and she turned to him.

"I know," she said simply. "It took me a while, which is the reason why I haven't been in touch, but I know that you are sorry. And it's alright. He didn't leave you much choice."

Both men positively beamed at her.

"In a moment you will tell me it was all his fault." There was a definite hint of anger in the werewolf's voice when he addressed Hermione. "We failed him... I failed him, and you just come here and say it's alright?"

On Hermione's face was a stern expression when she glared at Remus. "What exactly are you accusing me of?" she challenged and came closer. "Do you say I can not forgive you for... everything?"

Remus stood up and shared an unsure look with his wife. "I didn't... that's not what I meant," he said. Tonks nudged him on. But before Remus could say anything else or do more than simply get up from his chair Hermione had taken a few more steps. Truly believing that she would knock him out for good this time, the werewolf didn't even raise his arms in prevention.

Hermione grinned and hugged him tightly. Remus was so surprised that for several seconds he forgot to hug her back.

"When I say it's alright, you can believe it really is alright," she whispered in his ear; he could hear the smile in her voice. And he grabbed her and hugged her hard enough to make her wince. Remus had feared he would never see her again – they all had – and that she was here was the best Christmas present he could have received.

"Good evening," a cool voice came from the shadows behind her. Remus's head shot up, he loosened his embrace, stared bewildered into the dark corridor. His heart skipped a beat – he knew that voice. Impossible, he thought.

A tall man stepped out of the shadows of the hall. He was lean, but not haggard anymore. His movements were swift, his face calm. His skin was still pale, but of course there was no sign of illness left, not even a hint of the pain and torment he had gone through five months ago. Tonight, his long black hair for once wasn't covering his face, but was loosely caught into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. Dressed all in black as usual, he looked, in his own way, as stunning as his wife. Like hers, his pitch black eyes bore a visible glance of amusement.

Ron turned white as paper, remembering that he had promised this man an apology. More than one, in fact, and a hug and a kiss as well. Gulping, he moved back a bit, just in case Snape had heard him.

Harry, though, vanished into the kitchen, grabbed his wife's arm and pulled her wordlessly into the living room. Followed by her parents, she staggered after him and then stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Hermione and Severus.

Next beside Snape a little girl stood, safely holding his hand.

"Good gods," whispered Molly Weasley, staring in turn at father and child.

Several jaws dropped audibly. Several gasps indicated that everyone was really very surprised not just to see Snape, but Sasha as well. Ginny, especially, had been certain that Hermione would never bring her daughter into the Potter household again.

"I think you remember my husband," Hermione said lightly, ignoring entirely the shocked silence Severus's and Sasha's appearance had caused. "As he left here a bit... hastily last time, I thought I'd bring him along. For a chat. For a few open words maybe."

Harry opened his mouth, but nothing but a croak came out. Apart from that, the room was silent.

Sasha's eyes, though, were as swift and piercing as her father's. "Daddy," the girl's small voice piped. "Why's everyone staring at you? Have you been naughty?" She was looking confused up into her father's face.

Severus tried to ignore the nervous giggles her words had caused, then looked down and smiled at his daughter. "Possibly," he answered. "Although it is much more likely I scare the life out of them."

For a moment, the little girl frowned, then decided that her dad had made a joke – he wasn't scary at all, as she knew. So Sasha, happy that nothing was wrong, smiled back. It was a remarkable sight, not only because Severus Snape was known as the least smiliest man in the world, but also because the two of them suddenly looked so very much alike.

How come I never realised it? Harry and Ron thought simultaneously, staring at the man and the child. It's crazy, really, that none of us ever noticed how alike they are before!

But then, Hermione hadn't taken the girl along very often, had shielded her from curious eyes, and of course no one had ever seen father and daughter standing beside each other before. Plus, she was Hermione's child as well; she almost had her father's eyes and definitely his ink black hair, but had inherited her mother's features, her freckles, her heart-shaped face.

And luckily her nose, thought Arthur Weasley, a sheepish smile creeping on his lips. He took his wife's hand in his and made a mental note to sit down with Snape for a nice, long talk sometime later tonight.

Then Remus stepped past Hermione, practically shoving her aside with the movement. He had gone white, as he hadn't expected to see this man tonight – or whenever. Otherwise, he would have worked out a proper apology for nearly letting a friend die and accusing him of having enjoyed his wife and child being tortured at the same moment. In the past months, he had thought often to simply go and corner Severus, to force him accepting his apology, but had not found the guts to do so. As Severus had ignored his owls, Remus had guessed it safer to stay away, assuming his friend to be most likely in a murderous mood. Now, though, looking at the familiar sneer in the man's face, the werewolf wasn't certain anymore if it had been really a good idea. Certainly, apologies didn't come easier with time passing.

Snape's eyes were as terrifying as ever when he stared at the werewolf. Remus couldn't stand it and, therefore, went down to one knee instead to be at level with the girl. "Your daddy was naughty indeed, Sasha," he said earnestly. "He didn't call round for several months, he refused contact, and we were worried about him. Do you think you could tell him off? 'Cause I'm a bit scared of him."

Sasha looked at the werewolf, then giggled. "I can slap his botty a bit, if you like," she offered, which caused a snigger from Ron's direction.

Remus, getting up, nodded in earnest agreement. "Slapping his botty would definitely be a most proper way to show him he has misbehaved," he said and cast a sideways glance at the man in question.

As expected, Severus regarded him with a scowl.

Remus swallowed. "I am sorry. We all are, but..." he began, but Severus cut him off with an impatient wave of his hand. Scooping his daughter into his arms, he took a few steps and placed the girl on one of the chairs.

No one dared to breathe, expecting an explosion.

Severus turned and looked at the man in front of him. He could see how uneasy Remus was, obviously expecting at least a killing curse at any moment. Dangerously, he narrowed his eyes as he remembered the argument he had had with Hermione a few days ago.

************

"No, I won't go to their Christmas party!" Hermione shouted those words at Severus, who sat lazily in his armchair in front of the fireplace at their house. He had come home the previous day to spend the holidays at home. And to discuss a few things with his wife.

"You would have stunned anyone who would have told you something as horrible as that, and then you would have locked him up in a nicely warded room for a few precisely worded questions," she snapped.

"You have never betrayed them; you worked for them most of your life; you guided their attacks. Without you, they would have been blind; we maybe would have even lost the war. They should have trusted you!" she shouted, but left her hand in his. "And what you have told them was tainted by the spell; you were talking nothing but rubbish. You know that!"

And after a bit more pondering, he agreed. After all, there was no reason to keep their marriage a secret anymore. He would never ever attend another Death Eater meeting, even if there had been enough left of them to hold a meeting in the first place. And he decided that he simply didn't have enough friends to allow the one that mattered most to get away.

************

Therefore, Snape now took a step towards Remus. Remus moved back, expecting to get hexed at the very least. But Severus wasn't there to do anything else but to enjoy a meal amongst friends. Remus just didn't know that yet.

Out of the corner of his eye, Snape saw his wife hugging Ginny. She looked happy. Good.

Remus looked at his friend and considered that things couldn't get worse. I should have done that months ago, he thought and said aloud, "Severus, I apologise that I have accused you of..."

"You called me a stupid idiot, if I recall correctly," Severus interrupted him calmly.

Remus eyes widened. "I assumed... I said you..."

"I suppose, at the time it was a perfectly correct statement, wolf."

Remus stared at him. He recalled that night in detail – dreamed about it more often than he cared to even tell his wife – and remembered that indeed he had called Severus stupid before... the rest.

Severus didn't stop staring at him, and Remus frowned: was he... had Severus just accepted an apology he hadn't actually given?

"How long are you going to look like an imbecile, gaping at me open-mouthed?" Severus growled, and Remus realised that, if he allowed it, nothing else would ever needed to be said about that night five months ago.

Remus just growled back. "You were not only stupid, but behaved like a complete idiot. You were bleeding all over the floor, but too damn stubborn to ask if someone could take a look at you. The carpet needed to be dumped!"

"I do apologise," Snape replied dryly and smiled. Not one of the thin, nasty smiles reserved for his students, but a genuine smile; a smile for a friend. And Remus, caught totally off-guard, could do nothing but to smile back.

It became a truly remarkable evening. The first of many to follow.

Author's Note: There are two sequels to this story: "Sasha" and "Of fathers and their children", both posted here at the Poetess.

Additionally, I want to say thanks to everyone who has left or will leave a review: each one is highly treasured, each makes me smile and reminds me why I love writing this stuff so much. I sincerely hope you are satisfied with this ending.