Another Kind Of Magic - A Severus Snape Fanfiction

Epilogue

"Lemon drop?" Headmaster Dumbledore held out a large bowl with kitschy floral design, offering his visitor the Muggle candy.

Rolling his eyes, Remus declined with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Albus shrugged his shoulders and placed the bowl back on his desk. "What a magnificent way of ending a school year, don't you agree?"

"Well," Lupin mumbled, not sure what to say. "I still can't believe it."

The grey wizard smiled. "Never doubt the wonderful magic of love." His hand reached into the pile of candy, fishing one of the treats out, and proceeding to unwrap it noisily. "I do hope you two can eventually settle your differences."

"Eventually," the DADA teacher echoed mechanically, strolling over to Fawkes, trying to dodge the Headmaster's expectant gaze.

Albus nodded, purposely ignoring the man's discomfort. "Who knows? You might even have the honor of being the godfather."

The beautiful Phoenix cawed as the hand that was gently stroking his feathers abruptly stopped. "Excuse me?"

The obvious shock on Lupin's face made Dumbledore chuckle. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed?"

"Noticed what?" The professor had suddenly gotten rather pale.

"Oh really," Albus shook his head in amusement. "I thought the little bump underneath Lena's wedding robe was hard to miss."

Remus' eyes widened. "You're saying ... she is ...?"

"Expecting, yes." Hearty laughter filled the room. "You are quite unobservant for a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"Professor!" The door flew open and Hagrid, still in his festive attire, stormed in. "Professor Dumbledore!" His fingers held a large steak in firm grip, frantically dangling it in front of the surprised wizards' noses. "Professor, something terrible has happened!"

Lupin raised a questioning eyebrow. "What? You ran out of seasoning?"

"No," Hagrid frowned. "He is gone!"

The Headmaster shot Remus a disapproving glance before turning his attention back to the half-giant. "Who is, Hagrid?"

"The panther! I was just going to feed him. You know, a big, juicy steak, his favorite." To emphasize it, he waved the raw chunk of meat in their faces. "I thought he should have something special to mark the occasion. So I hold it like this." Lupin's complexion turned an unhealthy green as Hagrid swung the uncooked steak threateningly close to the teacher's mouth. "Exactly like this, you see? And puff, gone. Just disappeared!"

Rather harshly, Remus pushed the Gamekeeper's arm away. "Thanks for the illustrative demonstration."

"Ah yes," Albus sighed sentimentally. "The magic of love."

Both Hagrid and Lupin stared at him as if he had lost his mind.

Not the least bit bothered by it, he took a seat behind his desk and made himself comfortable.

"Care to explain?" Remus huffed impatiently.

"Certainly," he began, absentmindedly angling for another lemon drop. "The familiar stayed, as long as it was needed. You asked Lena to recall a distressing event in her life when you taught the spell in class, and I do think it is safe to assume that she thought of something that was related to Severus. As such, the panther appeared with the sole purpose of mending what needed to be fixed."

"Amazing," Hagrid mumbled, scratching his head. "Hey," he shouted as his eyes fell onto the oversized suitcase near the door. "What's that for?"

Lupin followed the Gamekeeper's stare and shrugged his shoulders. "The year is over. Time to move on."

"You can't just leave!" Hagrid's eyes darted to Dumbledore. "He can't just leave!"

"Unfortunately, I have to," Remus said bitterly. "Someone let it slip that I'm a werewolf."

"It wasn't me!" For some reason, the half-giant felt the need to point that out.

"No," a deep baritone interrupted the conversation. "It was me." Severus leaned in the doorway, arms crossed in front of his chest. "By accident. Sort of."

For a moment, both men glared at each other. Then, the corner of Lupin's mouth began to twitch, and slowly, a wide grin spread over his lips. The Potions Master's stern expression also seemed to soften, and suddenly they both were laughing.

Hagrid stood, steak still in hand, glued to the spot. Severus Snape. Laughing? With Remus? He was seeing things, right? His confidence in his own sanity shrunk even more when he watched the DADA professor approach the black wizard, offering his hand.

Hesitantly, the Potions Master accepted it.

"Good luck, Severus. I hope you have found your happiness at last."

He didn't respond, only a curt nod indicated that he acknowledged the words for what they were. An apology.

Remus smiled and patted his former classmate's shoulder, before heaving the heavy suitcase off the floor.

"Well, then," he exhaled deeply, as if he had just been freed of an immense burden. "The train won't wait."

With that, he made his way out into the corridors. They were still packed with wedding guests who were happily chattering and sharing a drink or two. Lupin maneuvered his trunk around the wizards and witches, careful to prevent any mishaps. Until he bumped into Lena.

"My apologies." He sat his load down and added with a smirk, "Mrs. Snape."

She beamed up at him, her cheeks a rosy red. "This will take a while to get used to."

Remus nodded as he took a step closer.

"Watch out for him, will you?"

The seriousness and urgency that lay in his tone sent icy chills through Lena's body.

"Of course I will," she murmured, her eyes becoming watery. "I saw it, Professor. I saw how it is supposed to end."

He smiled knowingly. "I wish you all the best in the world."

With a brief glance at her rounded belly, he chuckled and went on to fight his way through the crowd, leaving Hogwarts with the comforting   certainty that all would be well.