Epilogue

September 1st 2011

Roan Snape was silent as he sat at the back of the small boat that was gliding across the glassy lake towards the great castle that loomed over him, seemingly built into the very mountain that gave it its great elevation. He had not been cowed into silence by awe of the place. He was silent because he was predisposed to it – but everybody else in the boat was quiet too, eerily so, as they sailed nearer and nearer the cliff that hung dark and cold over the lake.

"Everybody put your heads down please!" Professor Grubblyplank called out across the lake. The Professor had met them all at Hogsmeade Station and had shown them to the boats. Roan had wondered what would have happened if it had rained. Would they still be in the boat? He quickly put his head down as they sailed through a curtain of ivy that hid the entrance to an underground harbor. Roan realized that it must be directly under the castle itself.

Everyone clambered out of the boats as soon as they reached the pebbled shore. They poured over the rocks and up towards the steps where Professor Grubblyplank had somehow managed to place herself without looking as though she had taken any trouble at all to get there. Upon ensuring that everyone was indeed gathered around, she turned and knocked three times on the door behind her.

Unlike the other first years, Roan had been to Hogwarts castle before. He had come on any number of occasions, mostly to sit in the Head Mistresses room and play with whatever toys he could lay his hands on whilst daddy caught up with Aunty Minerva.

He silently chastised himself, he was eleven years old and at school now, far too old to be calling daddy, well, daddy.

When the door opened behind Professor Grubblyplank, a tall slender witch in dark red robes and shining black hair looked over the group with a critical eye.

"The first years for you, Professor Delancet. Lovely evening isn't it?"

"An excellent evening, Professor Grubblyplank. I trust you had a good trip across the lake?"

"Exceptionally good, and no one overboard – an improvement on last year!"

Professor Delancet smiled briefly. She was a friend of Roan's father, and whilst he had been introduced to her in the past, he could not say that he had ever spoken to her. Whenever he had been in her presence he had been overcome with shyness and had hidden securely behind his daddy's leg while Rhiannon ran riot and entranced everyone with her giggle and huge dark eyes. At four years his junior, his sister did not share his apparent problems with meeting people. And Professor Delancet was just so very…beautiful.

He felt himself flush just thinking about her.

"Wow, isn't she gorgeous?" hissed a boy who had shared the boat with him. Roan smiled awkwardly. It wasn't as though he wasn't good at smiling, he smiled a lot at home, but in the company of those he did not know well he felt awkward and out of place and smiling seemed the least of his concerns. But the awkwardness of the smile did not seem to faze the boy in the slightest as he stuck out his hand in greeting. "Aurelius," he said in a friendly way, "Aurelius Wood."

"Roan Snape," Roan replied, so quietly that Aurelius could well have missed it.

Aurelius grinned and returned his gaze to Professor Delancet who was instructing everyone to follow her into the castle. "I wonder what she teaches?" he said a little dreamily.

"Defense against the Dark Arts," Roan told him, glad to be able to say at least one thing of interest; but when Aurelius gave him a questioning look he knew he would have to explain. "My mother is a teacher here."

Aurelius looked very much as though he would ask what his mother taught, but before he could open his mouth Professor Delancet was calling for silence. They followed her across the flagstones of the entrance hall and from somewhere Roan could hear the babble of voices that he was certain must be the other students. The thought of them made him shiver. Roan was not one to babble, he never had been. It did not seem to matter how much his parents tried to get him to talk more, he was just naturally quiet. Daddy always took his part in that argument. Daddy always said that mummy's friends had a terrible habit of talking all too much. Then again, Aunty Minerva was daddy's friend and Roan often thought she would never stop! Roan would rather listen than contribute to a conversation – and he was very good at listening. As far as Roan was concerned, you could learn far more by listening to what everyone has to say than by babbling like an idiot…or at least that was how his father put it.

The first years were shown into a small chamber where they were forced to crowd together. The closeness only added to the collective nervousness and Roan was beginning to feel very much like a lamb going to the slaughter house.

Unexpectedly he found himself smiling. When he was four he had walked to the local Muggle village with daddy. They were going to have cake at the local tea shop, mostly because mummy, who was still nursing Rhiannon, had begged them to give her some peace and quiet. As he'd clutched his daddy's hand a large truck passed them and it was crammed full of lambs, so full that they looked as though they would all be squashed. It was very smelly and he'd wrinkled his nose before asking daddy where the Muggles were taking the lambs. No sooner had daddy explained that they were all going to the slaughter house to be made into lamb chops then the truck broke down and all the lambs escaped into the nearby fields (and miraculously turned up in Uncle Draco's front garden several hours later, pooing on everything and making Uncle Harry slip over when he came home from the Ministry). Daddy had laughed so hard that he'd had to sit down in the grass on the side of the road. That was the first time anyone could recall Roan doing magic.

"I would like to welcome you all to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,' Professor Delancet said clearly, drawing Roan's attention back to the room and the awful closed in feeling he had. "Each year begins with a start of term banquet that will begin very soon, but before that happens you must be sorted into your houses. Very soon you will be taken into the Great Hall for the Sorting Ceremony and you will each be sorted into your house. While you are a student here at Hogwarts you will discover that your house is like your family away from home. You will have classes with your housemates, sleep in the house dormitories and when you have free time you will spend it in your house common room. You will also be given the opportunity to compete in various activities as part of a house team.

The four houses are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Each house is very old and each has a long and noble tradition. Each house has produced witches and wizards of note and of course outstanding ability…"

"Yeah, but Harry Potter was a Gryffindor!" A pudding faced boy interrupted and a few people laughed nervously at his daring.

Professor Delancet's eyes narrowed a little. "You look like a Longbottom," she said and when the boy nodded the Professor pursed her lips a little. "Well, thank you Mr. Longbottom, but I am sure I can finish this without your assistance. You are correct, Harry Potter was in Gryffindor and as you can imagine he earned his house many points and accolades. While you are here you will have the same opportunities. When you do well you will receive points for your house, but when you break the school rules, you will lose them. At the end of the year the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup and this is a great honor for the house that wins.

Now, I will leave you to ready yourselves and I will be back when we are ready for you to come in for the ceremony."

Once she left the chamber a quick rush of chatter swept through the group.

"How do they do the Sorting?" A girl with strawberry blonde hair asked, "They aren't going to ask us to do any magic are they?"

"Of course not," another girl replied. She had a narrow face with sharp features and almond shaped blue eyes. She might well have been pretty had she not looked so spiteful. "If we had to do magic all the Muggleborns would end up in Hufflepuff – or out the door where they belong."

"There's nothing wrong with Hufflepuff," Aurelius said a little too loudly, "my mother was a Hufflepuff and she is high up in the Ministry!"

The spiteful girl sneered and when she caught Roan's eye she turned away.

"My dad was a Gryffindor Quidditch Captain," Aurelius added to Roan, "what about your parents?"

Roan shuffled and scowled and looked very much like his father. A few people were looking at him and waiting for him to answer the terribly loud Aurelius. "My mum (he was very carefully not to say mummy) was in Gryffindor and my dad was in Slytherin."

"Now there is a noble house," the spiteful girl said, shoving the Longbottom boy aside. "A Gryffindor and a Slytherin eh? Let's hope you take after your father's side of the family." Her eyes narrowed, "What did you say your name was?"

"Roan…" Roan's voice was suddenly so soft that the girl had to strain to hear, "Snape."

The girl stood back and her eyes widened. "You father is a blood traitor," she spat, "and your mother's a Mudblood, I know all about you!"

Roan had the urge to turn and flee out the door, not quite believing that he had managed to make an enemy so very fast. His own eyes widened and he very nearly came out with a spell that Uncle Draco had taught him over the summer. He refrained from uttering the words, because daddy always told him that restraint was paramount. Then again, had daddy heard the girl call mummy a Mudblood he probably would have hexed her himself. Roan was beginning to wish he could have stayed at home. He had not wanted to come in the first place. He had wanted to wait another year so that he could start with Charlie and Lily. Uncle Ron and Aunty Pansy had tried to argue Roan's cause, reasoning that if he started the following year with their twins then at least he would have friends with him. Roan's parents were adamant that he would go however. He was already a few months older than many of the children starting this year; it would be foolish to wait another.

He wondered what Rhiannon was doing now. She was probably eating dinner with their father, or perhaps daddy had taken her to see Uncle Draco's father for dinner. Daddy had once told him that Mr. Malfoy had once been a very powerful wizard but Roan had found it very hard to believe. Mr. Malfoy didn't seem to have any powers at all. He even went out and did his gardening with a little shovel! Roan and Rhiannon had laughed the first time they had seen him at it, but then he had made them help him and it was marvelous fun. Mummy had declared that if he was going to get them both so filthy he could clean them before he sent them home.

Mr. Malfoy had only lived at the Manor for a year or so. Before that, he had been in exile as some kind of punishment. He had arrived at the Manor with a beautiful woman who Roan was quickly told was Uncle Ron's sister. Roan didn't even know Uncle Ron had a sister! Her name was Ginny and she had once been Uncle Harry's girlfriend – something that had made Roan laugh because Uncle Harry never had girlfriends.

"Alright, are you all ready then?" Professor Delancet had returned and had startled a few people by her sudden appearance. She waved her arms vaguely. "Everyone form a line please, in pairs and follow me."

Roan fell instantly in beside Aurelius Wood, deciding that Aurelius had spoken to him so he wouldn't mind walking in with him.

Roan had never been in the Great Hall before and he could not help but look around in wonder. He gladly noted that he wasn't the only one and for a moment he managed to forget that he was feeling quite sick. Thousands of candles floated in the air over four long tables where the other students were all sitting, staring at the first years with interest and amusement. Roan looked up at the sky above them and he smiled to himself, because mummy and daddy had a night sky just like it in their bedroom at home.

"That's amazing," a girl behind him whispered. "If there's no roof in here…how do they keep the rain out?"

"It's a spell," Roan said, speaking before he thought for the first time in his life. "It's just bewitched to look like the night sky."

"How do you know that?" Aurelius asked out of the corner of his mouth.

"I read about it, in Hogwarts, A History."

At the head of the room the teachers sat at the High Table and Roan purposely avoided looking at it, as he didn't want to have an attack of nerves in front of his mother.

Professor Delancet placed an old four-legged stool in front of the teachers' table and on top of the stool she placed a worn and grubby looking wizard's hat. It looked in worse shape than daddy's, and daddy's was pretty bad.

But what was the hat for? They had said nothing about a hat in Hogwarts, A History. Then again, this Sorting Ceremony appeared to be some kind of closely guarded secret – no doubt designed to terrify first years. He took a surreptitious look around the room at the other students. Some of them looked none too bright and they were still here, so he decided that this Sorting thing can't have been all that terrible.

He finally lifted his gaze to the teachers' table. In a large golden chair in the centre of the table sat Aunty Minerva. She was Head Mistress of Hogwarts and Roan's Godmother. On Aunty Minerva's right sat Roan's mother who was looking very proud and gave him a little wave.

"Is that your mum?" Aurelius asked.

"Yes," Roan replied and felt a hot blush race up him neck.

"What does she teach?"

"Potions."

"What about the man next to her?" the girl behind him asked eagerly.

Roan looked and was about to say 'Uncle Draco' but he caught himself in time and said; "Professor Malfoy. He teaches Transfiguration." He looked behind him at the girl who was looking as though Transfiguration was going to be her favorite subject, and she hadn't even had a lesson yet.

Roan had been warned not to go gossiping about the teachers he knew, especially Uncle Draco. Roan was not the type to go gossiping about anyone, but he wasn't quite sure why they were so concerned about him saying anything about Uncle Draco. He had been told very specifically that discussing the fact that Uncle Draco lived with Uncle Harry was not allowed. He figured that it had something to do with Uncle Harry being Harry Potter and people always loved anything to do with Harry Potter. The Longbottom boy was a classic example of the kind of adoration Roan's Godfather inspired. Roan was allowed to tell people that Harry Potter was his Godfather, but he really didn't want to let that on just yet. Looking back at Uncle Draco, Roan wondered if he would ever be lucky enough to live with his best friend when he left school.

But then that was odd too because Uncle Harry always said that mummy and Uncle Ron were his best friends – so Uncle Draco must be something else. Roan had no idea what.

The Hat suddenly burst into life and began to sing and Roan almost leapt out of his skin in shock. He listened intently to the song, realizing that if the hat was singing then it would probably be a good idea for him to listen. However, when the song was finished he arched an eyebrow and felt thoroughly cheated.

He cast a glance at his mother and realized that he must have had that same look as his father thing again, because mummy was looking at him and getting teary as she always did when he did something that she considered cute.

"I don't get it," Aurelius said, "what the hell was that about?"

"It means we just have to try the hat on," Roan explained, thinking that Aurelius was very much in the none too bright student category. "We try the hat on and it Sorts us."

"Oh thank god for that," Aurelius grinned at him, "I was so worried that they were going to make us do some kind of test."

Roan looked at the old hat and felt his stomach roll. He had put off thinking about what house he was going to end up in. His mother had been a Gryffindor, best friend of Harry Potter and one of the group that had defeated Lord Voldemort, who from all accounts had been one of the greatest threats of all time. His mother was brave and intelligent and pretty and he looked nothing like her.

Roan looked like his father, the former Professor and Head of Slytherin house. Severus Snape now worked with Aunty Lavender in Diagon Alley and their shop was very popular. There were always orders to be filled, and during the Christmas Shopping times the line actually went out the door and down the Alley. He had once been a spy and Roan could believe that. Daddy could always manage to creep up on Rhiannon and Roan and scare them half to death. He could be very cranky and solemn, intelligent, cunning and resourceful and while Roan looked like him, he didn't believe that he had those same qualities. Whenever anyone mentioned his father they always followed by describing how frightening he was at school. Roan acknowledged that his father could be a little scary – especially when he was angry, but anyone who had seen him tickle Rhiannon until she almost wet her pants could never think him frightening. And Aunty Lavender often said that he wasn't mean, he just had a 'waspish wit that stupid people found intimidating'.

Roan's problem was that he didn't think he was like either of them. He was smart (or so everyone assured him) but he did not consider himself especially brave nor especially cunning. He knew basic spells and they worked for him, he could even do hexes with great skill, but the idea of actually doing them on some unsuspecting person was not all that appealing to him.

Professor Delancet was calling out names, making her way through the 'A's and as each student sat with the hat upon their head the hat would call out a house name and the relevant house table would burst into applause.

Roan really didn't think that he was going to get into Slytherin and he wondered if his father was going to be disappointed. He hoped not, because daddy could be very scathing when he was disappointed. Roan remembered Aunty Lavender's wedding to Uncle Ron's brother George. They had been seated with Uncle Ron's family and daddy had to sit beside Uncle Ron's brother Fred – someone that daddy described as a "twit" - and daddy had been very disappointed at the seating arrangements. After the meal had finished Fred had not returned to the table.

Up at the High Table Roan noticed Fred and George's mother talking to Aunty Minerva. Uncle Ron had always liked the story about how she had become a teacher. Apparently she had been teaching Aunty Pansy how to cook and had complained that Hogwarts didn't teach students to look after themselves. Uncle Ron had jokingly suggested that she take it up with Professor Dumbledore and she did. Next thing anyone knew Mrs. Weasley was Professor Weasley and she was teaching Home Economics.

Roan wasn't sure if he liked Mrs. Weasley. She was a lot stricter than mummy and she had often said that Roan and Rhiannon had an inordinate amount of Aunts and Uncles. Roan liked having so many people around him, he always pitied Charlie and Lily and their cousin Peonie who all had to be very polite and call everyone Mr. Mrs. or Miss.

Roan could see Peonie Weasley sitting at the table he now knew to be Gryffindor and he squirmed. Peonie had always been a bit of a bully and judging by the past summer, a year at school had not changed her.

The Longbottom boy had just been placed in Gryffindor and Peonie was clapping along with everybody else.

The spiteful girl was Bellatrix Nott and she was made the first Slytherin of the night, something that made her look well pleased.

Beside him Aurelius nudged his elbow into Roan's ribs and whispered, "You knew she'd end up there eh? They're all like that."

Seemingly Aurelius had forgotten that Roan's father was a Slytherin, and Roan almost rolled his eyes. The comment didn't ring true anyway. Uncle Draco was head of Slytherin House and he was plenty of fun, and Aunty Pansy, who was the nicest person Roan knew, had been a Slytherin as well. But then again, Roan didn't know them at school, and Uncle Harry was always joking about how bad Uncle Draco had been.

Uncle Harry had been an Auror for a short time, but he now worked in International Wizard Relations for the Ministry. He had been in Amsterdam for two whole months and mummy said that Uncle Draco missed him terribly. Roan missed him too. Uncle Harry had always let Roan ride on his broom when mummy wasn't watching. Uncle Harry had been a Gryffindor. A famous Gryffindor. Roan didn't think he quite belonged there either.

"Snape, Roan"

Many who had Madam Snape as their Potions Mistress looked at the little boy with interest and Roan felt highly conspicuous. He noticed his mother lean forward expectantly and Uncle Draco grinned. Even Aunty Minerva gave him a tiny wink of encouragement.

Professor Delancet held the hat over his head. "Don't worry Roanie," she whispered, using the name his parents used for him at home, "this is a doddle."

The hat dropped onto his head and it was as though all the lights had suddenly been extinguished.

"You want to please everyone," a little voice suddenly said in his ear. "You want to be everything you think your parents want you to be."

Roan could only agree, but he dared not speak.

"Problem is that you can't please everyone, can you? Gryffindor or Slytherin, Slytherin or Gryffindor, you can't decide where you belong. Consider the possibilities. You could be very powerful, you have the ability and you would be welcome into either house. But what do you want?"

"I want to know everything," Roan thought and the hat evidently heard him.

"You want knowledge because you think knowledge is power," the hat whispered in reply.

"Well, it is," Roan thought, thinking it patently obvious that knowledge was indeed power.

"Well then, there is only one thing for that," said the hat, "RAVENCLAW!"

Roan heard the hat shout the last word out to the whole hall and his eyes opened wide in surprise. The hat was pulled from his head and he turned around to look at his mother, thinking that perhaps she would be upset. Instead he found her clapping with a smile on her face and she had to stop to wipe a tear from her eye. Uncle Draco was also grinning, doing something with a coin in his hand. Roan knew what he was doing; sending a message to daddy to tell him what house Roan had been placed in. He hesitated only a moment before stepping away from the stool and walking to his new housemates to start his time at Hogwarts.

****

NOTES:
Sorry the epilogue took so long, I completely forgot to post it!

Thankyou to everyone who took the time to read Objects - and a special thankyou to everyone who reviewed it and who voted for it in Multifaceted.