...Eight decades later...
The door appeared in Albus' old office. Albus was already there with James and Lily Potter, Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Peter and Dobby. Out of the door came Severus and Lily Snape. They looked both excited and saddened.
It was a very important day in Heaven. Although there had been many happy ones since the Day of Doppelgastus. After they left once their wedding day came to an end, Severus and Lily lived comfortably together in their own special piece of Heaven. Severus never went through at least a week without paying a visit to his friends. James and he were almost the best of good friends. Sirius and he would often have fun duelling each other and on quiet days when James and Lily spent time together, Severus, Remus, Tonks and Peter would have wizard chess tournaments.
Over the many years that had passed, Albus had reunited the friends with other familiar faces who had died; Minerva McGonagall was first whom congratulated and saluted Severus for his courage as well as apologising for doubting him. Then came Arthur and Molly Weasley a couple of decades later who were happily reunited with Fred, who was much more cheerful as he saw George live happily with his family with Angelina. Lily met her sister, Petunia again and... well I can't say anything here or I shall spoil the next story I write... Others passed such as the parents of Hermione Weasley, whom were fascinated by the magic of Heaven. Bill, Charlie and Percy Weasley came more recently, as did George. Fred was happy about this, but George hoped Angelina wouldn't take too long to join them, but she was older than he was, so it would not be as long as all that.
But as aforementioned, today was particularly important, especially to both Lilys, James and Severus. It was a very sad day for the Wizarding World, most especially to the Potter and Weasley families; Harry Potter was dead. Today, he was to come to Heaven after he died peacefully in his wife, Ginny's arms whom had promised they'd be together again someday.
Severus was worried of how Harry would react to his and Lily's marriage, let alone the fact that she was split in two. It would be confusing and difficult, but Albus assured them that Harry was a great man who would understand completely and adapt to the situation just fine, and Albus, as usual, was always right.
Harry appeared through a door into the grounds of Hogwarts. He had woken up in King's Cross, in a young adult form. A train had arrived and this time, he boarded it. He looked around and was delighted to see Hogwarts again. He was saddened by having to leave everyone he loves behind, but was certain it wouldn't be long before they were reunited. For now, Harry was sure he had quite a lot of reuniting to do already.
Harry felt quite sure that the castle in front of him was inhabited. And he also had no reason to guess who was there to greet him. His mother and father, Sirius, maybe even Remus and Tonks. He felt sure Remus wouldn't be able to stay away from James and Sirius. He also felt that Tonks and his mother could relate to each other at losing their sons.
Harry walked into the castle in sheer anticipation. When he saw no one in the Entrance or Great Halls, he called out, hoping he wasn't alone, that he wasn't in Hell alone for his getting his family and friends killed.
"MUM! DAD! It's me! It's Harry! Where are you?"
Harry suddenly saw something dart downstairs towards him. It was his Stag Patronus. No. It wasn't his Patronus. He didn't conjure it. It could only be one other person's Patronus; his father's.
Delighted, Harry obediently followed James' summoning method up the grand staircase of Heaven Hogwarts. It led him to Albus' old office. No gargoyle. Just a simple staircase. The stag disappeared and Harry opened the door.
Never was Harry more surprised and happy in his life. The second he stepped foot through the doorway, he was bombarded with a riotous welcome of cheers and embraces. Sirius hugged Harry and patted his back caringly, Remus shook Harry's hand and Tonks hugged him, in gratitude to his love and care for Teddy, whom had married Victoire Weasley, fully binding him to the Potter and Weasley families. Dobby jumped up on Harry's leg, kissing it in worship and joy. Peter and Albus remained respectfully still, Peter still looked hesitant. Once everyone had given him space, Harry was lovingly hugged and kissed by his parents. He was so happy, he hadn't noticed that he wasn't being loved by two, but three parents. Severus faintly smirked in amusement to this lack of observation, but he was all the same, happy to see Harry.
When James and the two Lilys pulled away, Harry finally acknowledged the second. His face was in a state of shock and he just stood open mouthed. This highly amused Severus, James and Sirius. Then Harry looked to his father for an explanation, and saw behind him were Severus, Albus and Peter. Harry was delighted to see Albus, felt puzzled at Severus' purpose for seeing him, let alone pleasantly smiling at him. The other shock was Peter Pettigrew being there and seemingly welcome to be so.
"What is going on?!" asked Harry in a state of disbelief.
"You explain." said Severus and James to Albus.
"It still confuses me." added James.
"Of course..." said Albus.
Harry listened patiently and eagerly as Albus spoke of the adventures they had had upon Severus' arrival into Heaven. Harry was obviously shocked at Severus' friendship with James, his welcome into the Marauders, Lily's sacrifice and Peter's redemption, but he felt happy that everyone was happy. It was evident that Heaven really did provide happiness.
"That's so shocking, and yet so wonderful..." Other than that, Harry could hardly say a word.
The two Lilys were worried that Harry would be unable to cope with having his mother back, but split in half.
In the times that followed, it was a bit of a problem to spend equal time with them both. But eventually Harry was happy with his mother's condition. He and Severus comprehended and accepted that they were now related by marriage. Harry also came to forgive Wormtail, and Harry now lives peacefully at Hogwarts, in Heaven, patiently awaiting the reunion with his friends and family, still in the Wizarding World.
Fred, Mad Eye and many others often meet Harry, when he is not too busy being with his family or talking proudly of Teddy's happiness and success in life. He was always happy to meet them and even though they asked him not to, he always apologises to them for getting them killed in the war against Voldemort.
And what of Severus and Lily Snape? They still live in their own little world and often have Harry with them. Severus didn't mind Harry being around. He had grown to love Harry like a son and he and Lily live happily together...always...
Author's end of story talk: And that is the story of Snape's Reward. And I hope you all approve of the story that I had written for Severus Snape. I have Bumblebee_5n4p3 to thank for the inspiration many times over. Her story, It is our choices, also focusing on Severus Snape, had given me the desire to also give Severus a happy ending.
It depressed me when JK Rowling revealed Severus' unreciprocated love for Lily and all the sacrifices and suffering he went through for her. It still depresses me that he never had a happy ending by the end of her books, so I took to reading afterlife fictions of him, many of which were cruel and unhappy for Severus, including one that had Lily laugh at him for his sadness.
After reading the aforementioned story above, I decided I wanted to express my hopes for Severus and Lily but remained loyal to the canon relationship between James and Lily. I hoped writing this story would make me feel a little less sorry for Severus, and it seems to be working, slightly, but not completely. :(
I know it's just a fictional story and character, but I'm easily upset so don't judge me too much. I hope you really enjoyed my story, but in the future, possibly in a month, I plan to write a fanfic on what is, I intend to be the first of at least two sequels to this story, that is if anyone liked this story, or wants to read another.
The first sequel will surround Lily and Petunia, as I hinted in this epilogue. It will be called Sisterly Issues. Look out for it, I've already posted the synopsis and will post its first chapter soon, and please comment and vote! Thank you to those who read this story! I really appreciate it! :)
* I have now changed it to The Tale of the Three Sisters.
