The Potions Master

Alternate Epilogue

Six Years Later

The boy and I approached the grave in the distance, his hand tightly clinging to mine. I wasn't sure just how much he fully understood about where we were or what we were going to see, but he remained silent. About halfway there, he quietly pulled on my hand. When I looked at him, he raised his arms to me, indicating he wanted to be held. I nodded and complied with his wishes. I was afraid too. While visiting Severus' grave had become almost routine for me every time I was on holiday in the UK, this was the first time that I'd brought my son.

We walked the rest of the way without a word. His gaze never wavered from straight ahead, and his grasp tightened as we got closer. I stopped walking a few metres from the headstone. I could read his name so clearly it was like someone spoke it. Little Sev pointed at it, and looked at me for confirmation.

"Yeah," I whispered. "That's the one." He looked back to it, and wiped away a bit of hair the breeze had blown onto his face.

Once we were at the grave, I sat down in the grass with my legs crossed, and gestured to Sev to take his place in my lap. He sat down and leaned back against me. We both stared silently at the tombstone. After a while, he leaned forward and rested his head on his fists. I watched to see what he'd do next.

He soon turned to me and, in his adorable American accent, asked, "Can I talk to him?"

I smiled and answered, "Yes. You can say anything you'd like."

He turned back to the stone. A few moments later, he left my lap, sat on his legs, and started speaking softly. "Hi, Dad."

This mother's heart nearly burst. It took all my strength to keep from weeping as I witnessed this beautiful moment. He started off with the "I wish you were here" sort of things, then moved on to telling him about his life. He talked about his friends, his favourite magical creatures, and how much he was looking forward to getting his wand and attending Ilvermorny.

When he ended his little speech, he remained where he was for a moment. Then, he got up on his knees and gently hugged the stone. That did it. I struggled to remain quiet as I allowed the tears to flow. Sev pulled away from the stone and stared at it once more.

As soon as he saw that I was crying, Sev came over and knelt next to me. He gently hugged me and patted my back.

"It's OK, Mom," he said in a reassuring voice. I cried harder. He was so young, yet so strong and ready to take care of his mum. Severus would be proud.

I let Sev comfort me in his way for a while, then I brought him into my lap and held him tight. I finally stopped crying, and allowed time to seemingly freeze as I took in the moment. After a bit of fidgeting, he finally manoeuvred to look at me in the face and asked, "Are you OK, Mom?"

I looked into my son's black eyes, smiled, kissed him on the head, and then returned my gaze to the tombstone. I then replied, "Always."