Epilogue

Disclaimer: JKR owns the rights to anything you recognize in this fic. I wish I did, but alas! Life is like a box of Bertie Bott's. Sometimes you get chocolate fudge, sometimes you get earwax.

Credit: Credit goes to my wonderful beta, Tevildo, for cleaning up my horrible punctuation and grammar. Any errors that remain after he is done with a chapter, are solely my own. Feel free to pelt me with cauldron cakes for these.

AN: Phew! What a ride! Thank you to everyone who has stuck by me throughout this fic – I hope you were as entertained as I was. But I'm sure you folks would much rather find out what happened next than listen to me blab, so read on, dear readers, read on!

Minerva was surprised to see Severus at breakfast the following Monday morning. She had been worried about him, but he looked rested, relaxed... and supremely smug about something. She had known him for far too long not to recognize the subtle upturn at the corners of his mouth and the barely suppressed glitter of amusement in his dark eyes even at this distance. She wondered what he was up to, but he left before she could work her way over to him. There was a slight limp to his step and he seemed to be favouring his left side, but it didn't impede his departure much.

A nagging feeling that it had not been coincidence skittered momentarily around her mind before falling over the edge – he was no doubt just anxious to get back to work and see his classes through the last few days of revision. She pitied the students; he would make up for the two days they had lost last week in a brutal fashion. She sighed and braced herself for complaints to stream in anew from student body and disgruntled parents alike.

Dawdling over her cup of tea, she noticed a marked absence from the head table – Hermione. She hadn't seen the girl all weekend, come to think about it. It wasn't like Hermione to just go missing. Even on days when she had been ill, her familiar had always reported in for his mistress. There was no sign of either of them; very odd indeed. She'd have to check in on Hermione's quarters to make sure she was all right, she hadlooked positively miserable on Friday. The girl worked much too hard, it was a good thing the summer holidays were just around the corner – Hermione needed the break.

Finishing her tea, she hurried the last few stragglers, still trying to cram one last piece of toast down their throats, along to their classes.

***

There had been no answer at Hermione's quarters. Usually the cat would yowl loudly at visitors through the door, but today there was nothing to indicate that either was present within the rooms.

Minerva made her way down to Severus' class. She had noticed that the two of them had grown closer over the past year, even though they had seemed oblivious to the palpable chemistry between them, and they were definitely friends after a fashion. Maybe Hermione had mentioned something to him?

She arrived just in time to see students gushing from the classroom like water from a cracked kettle. Standing aside, she let them rush past her. Instead of the terrified expressions she had expected, some of the children were actually smiling; and not just the ones from Slytherin.

Severus had his back to the door and was clearing away some cauldrons when she peeked in. "Good day, Severus. May I have a few moments of your time?"

"Ah, Minerva. Of course, do step into my office," he said, waving her to the door behind his lectern. The use of her first name was not lost on her. He had insisted on her title the last time they spoke, so this was a definite improvement. It made her suspicious.

He ordered some tea via the Floo before showing her into a chair in front of his desk, slipping into his own highback once she was seated. Leaning forward onto his arms in an uncharacteristic show of informality, he watched her expectantly.

"You seem in high spirits, Severus. Have you had a good rest?"

He smirked. "Oh, a simply unequalled experience. Fresh air, plenty of exercise and strict diet do wonders for the human spirit." Minerva ignored the mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

"You could have given me more notice. I had a substitute ready to take over from today."

Severus sat back, a parody of shock on his sharp features. "Am I so easily replaced?" he asked in a hurt tone before settling onto his arms again. "I told the young man that his... services would not be required. I suspect he is waiting outside your office as we speak."

Damn. She had better go see to that as soon as possible; better cut to the chase. "Severus, do you know where Hermi-"

A tea service popped into existence on his desk. "Tea?" he asked politely, already pouring out a cup of the steaming sepia liquid.

"No, thank you. I can't stay that long."

"Very well," he murmured as he dropped two sugar cubes into the cup and stirred it slowly.

Minerva cleared her throat. "Anyway, have you seen Professor Granger? She seems to have disappeared."

Severus didn't look at her when he answered. "Not recently." Then he sat up abruptly and growled, "Get away from there!"

Thinking that he was talking to her at first, Minerva spluttered, "I beg your pardon?"

"Not you, Minerva. The cat." Severus had got up to grab hold of a huge orange cat – Hermione's. "I found this beast wandering the corridors. I thought that Hermione may have accidentally locked him out, but the damn creature has been eyeing my new pet all day."

Only then did Minerva notice the gilded cage on the side table. Its filigree curls and coldly gleaming bars housed a ridiculously ordinary little brown bird. It was flitting excitedly from perch to perch, its lighter underbelly flashing occasionally with its rapid movements. "Is that a-?"

"Nightingale, yes." She knew she had recognized the unprepossessing bird – she had been quite a twitcher in her day and had even spotted a wild phoenix in the deserts of Assyria once. She shook off the nostalgia.

"Does it sing?"

Severus had dropped the cat on the sofa and was now staring down at the little bird behind the golden bars. "Unfortunately not. It is a female, but I am sure she would sing for me if she could." He had a faraway look in his eyes as he touched his fingers to the cage.

Minerva felt like she was intruding on something intimate, and shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "A pity. Still, a lovely bird. I've always thought the legend of the Nightingale and the Rose to be quite sad."

A ghost of a smile passed over his lips. "I have always found it... poetic." His free hand had drifted to caress his side. "Love... love is a thorny issue and sometimes one must bleed for it."

"Yes... ahem... Well," she stammered, getting up from the chair, "if you hear from Hermione, please let me know. I am quite anxious about her."

"No need, Minerva, no need," Severus murmured. "She can take care of herself. She will probably return in a day or so. I am certain she is close by, isn't she, my sweet?" he cooed down at the bird.

"If you say so, Severus." She had never seen the man dote on another living being, but she didn't have time to think about it right now. "I will see you at lunch."

The man seemed to be lost in the beady gaze of the bird. "Hmmm? Yes, yes, of course."

Minerva rushed off to deal with the substitute.

THE END.

The Educational Section of our Show:

Hah! Thought I'd let you get away without some truly interesting links and factoids to peruse? Think again!

1. "twitcher" - A quaint British term for an hobbyist ornithologist or birder.

2. "sepia" - A word we all use a lot, but do you know where it comes from? "Sepia" actually refers to a cuttlefish genus. Their ink was used to create the pigment we all love to reference in our descriptions of things brown! :)

3. The Nightingale and the Rose – A story by Oscar Wilde about how love has no real place in an ordered, logical and materialistic society like ours. Very poignant but also very telling of true human nature, methinks. (PLEASE NOTE: I dissuade the sensitive among us from reading this story – it could be quite distressing.)

Visit the SIA for all your Snape-ly icon needs.

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