It is our choices (A Harry/Severus friendship fic post DH) (Watty Awards 2011)

Chapter 9- Acceptance is the first step to recovery

Author's note: I dedicate this chapter to mjgpotterhead713 who is refusing (last i heard) to finish the final chapter of this fic because she doesn't want it to end. That's so sweet! But as the title of this chapter says: 'Acceptance is the first step to recovery'. Remember that when you're done, you can always re-read it again if you want to ;) But thank you so much for always commenting and loving my fic so much that you never want it to be over. It really means a lot to me <3 Here is the next chapter. I have never had such a wide range of comments- i'm so glad that so many of you are getting into my fic and are more than willing to express your views. For those who were upset\/annoyed that i put Severus through so many painful things already, i really hope that this chapter (and the following ones) begin to make up for it :) I want Severus to have a good life starting NOW :D Don't forget to comment and vote! Thank you, you are all amazing!

Chapter 9- 'Acceptance is the first step to... recovery.'

"Daddy, please tell me more about your duels with Voldemort, please!" Lily begged her father the moment they walked through the door of Number 12 Grimmauld Place. 

"Not now, Lily, we need to wait until Christmas so that your brothers can hear it too," Harry replied smiling and somewhat relieved that his daughter didn't seem to mind that he and his wife hid the information from her for so long. 

"Ohhh, do we have to?" Lily asked, staring at her father with pleading eyes. 

"Yes, I'm sorry Lily." 

"Okay, Dad." 

"What's going on down here?" Ginny asked walking down the stairs and into the living room where her husband and daughter congregated. 

"I was asking Daddy to tell me about Voldemort and how he defied him five times. Did you know he did that Mummy?" 

Ginny laughed. "Yes I did, sweetie. Well you better go for a shower; it's been a long day." 

"Okay. Bye Daddy!" 

"Bye Lily," Harry replied still smiling after his daughter. 

"Dad?" Lily asked halfway up the stairs. "What were you, Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape talking about after we left?" 

"What?!" Ginny replied, looking between her husband and daughter as if she misheard Lily. 

"We'll talk about it later, Lily. Go and have a shower, okay?" Harry requested of his daughter. Lily smiled in response and ascended up the stairs. 

Ginny was still staring at her husband completely lost for words. Eventually she found her voice once the pair of them sat down in the kitchen. 

"What exactly happened at Hogwarts, Harry? What did I miss? Is Snape alive?"  

"Well I don't even know the whole story, but one thing is for certain, Snape is alive; the rumours from nineteen years ago were true." 

"But why didn't anyone know?" Ginny asked, completely shocked by the unexpected news. 

"I don't know; we didn't get to talk about it." 

"So what did you talk about then? You must have said something to each other." 

"Um, well at first he was really angry at McGonagall for inviting me without telling him because apparently he never wanted to see me again-" 

"But didn't you and he part on rather friendly terms? What did he have against you?" 

"Well, you're not going to believe this, but-" and Harry withdrew the article from his pocket and placed it in front of his wife. "Snape still had this article after nineteen years. See how he cut off the writer's name? It seems like he didn't know the article was written by Rita; he believed every bit of it!" Harry stated, still amazed that Snape actually believed he would even say those things after everything Snape has done.