Disclaimer: We do not own Harry Potter. JKR does, and we appreciate the fact that she has a great sense of style and humor, to let us play with her characters. The plot is ours. Ernest is a wonderful figment of both our imaginations. Voldemort's declaration in this story, is part of the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows.

A/N: We couldn't leave Minerva McGonagall alone, and we both love the Slytherins. So this take is dedicated to our Muses, that includes, Severus Snape. Thanks again for your support. Please leave a review.


Hogwarts School of Magic and Wizardry. 21 May 2001. "Retirement Ball in honor of Headmistress Minerva McGonagall." 1:50 am.

The Headmistress was saying goodbye to her last guests, it was then she noticed, that once again Miss Granger and mister Weasley were having an argument. While Harry Potter and Ginevra Potter waited in the back, fifteen steps behind.

"No Ron, that's it, that was the last time you say to me you are sorry… you are not sorry, you cheated on me for the last time, I don't want to marry you, I think this is a message from the fates telling me to look somewhere else… you can't change, you won't change, and maybe this is for the best..."

"Hermione please..."

"No, that's it… don't try to explain, if I had a bit of hope, I would give it another try, but… God Ronald! You were caught with your pants down!"… "that awful leech Rita Skeeter got you in the act with Lavender, and I was left as the poor clueless fiancé"… "once again I am in the public eye, I'm the laughing stock of the magical world, I can't do this anymore"… "this was our last appearance in public, as a couple"… "I want you out of the house...here."

She took her engagement ring off, and gave it back to a pale Ronald Weasley. She turned around and advanced towards the couple in the back. Harry waited and then embraced Hermione, and she got embraced as well by Ginny, the three nodded and walked out.

As the three exited the hall, a silver crow entered, and delivered a letter to Hermione and the Potters.

Hermione was taken aback, this was unexpected, the crow flew away once it delivered the message, the recipients looked at the old parchment and its calligraphy:

Hermione J. Granger of Hogwarts.

James and Ginevra Potter of Hogwarts.

Minerva McGonagall smiled at the puzzled looks, and then Hermione opened the invitation and it shifted into a brochure for an exclusive resort. She gasped.

Harry asked:

"What is it Hermione?"

"Look at this Library?"

Ginny took the brochure and said:

"Merlin!, Is this for real?, my God Harry, look at the Quidditch fields, and galas, plus seminars?... what is this place?"

Harry read from his invitation: "The Little Brussels Playhouse."

Ginny said: "That's real?"

"What do you mean if it's real?" Asked Harry and Hermione in one voice. Ginny replied:

"That place is like Avalon, no one knows for certain who founded it, but the place is like an oasis for thinkers, warriors and healers, and only very few get an invitation… do you know how amazing this opportunity is?"

Hermione replied: "Well, judging from the sight of the Library alone?, it's legendary."

Harry added in excitement:

"Then let's go, we need this, all of us do, what are we waiting for?"

Hermione said:

"What about our jobs, our responsibilities?"

Harry and Ginny answered:

"Fuck them" Then the two laughed and kissed. Hermione laughed too, getting into the spirit of rebellion. In complicity, the three agreed to the invitation and exited the hall. Whispering their plans, and how to go about logistics, in preparation for their retreat.

Ronald walked away, turning his back on everyone, knowing that he was no longer part of the conversation.

Minerva McGonagall smiled, the three newest guest to the Playhouse, the group was in for a string of surprises. "Oh," Minerva thought "wait till they get a hold of the Dark Prince of Serpents?"

The Headmistress reached her Chamber, and got ready for the night. She was beyond exhausted, but again got her heavy stack of parchment out, for one last revision. She smiled and said to the empty premises, as though it was an old friend: "They are all in for one big surprise, Hermione, Harry, Ginny and of course, my adorable Severus." She looked at the name of the next Chapter and wondered if, it would make the cut. She prayed to the mother Goddess: "Help me make a good decision about this. Please, oh Great mother Goddess?"

The saving of one Severus T. Snape:

Hogwarts School of Magic and Wizardry. 2 May 1998. Day of the Final Battle.

Minerva was in the Great Hall, organizing the intake of wounded people, and the bodies of the dead. Seeing the empty looks in the eyes of friends and (former) students was heartbreaking. Throughout the battle, she had felt her glamour slip a couple of times, the emotional stress too much to bear.

"Professor! Professor! Have you seen Harry?"

Minerva turned to the familiar voice of Hermione Granger.

"Miss Granger, how good to see you! Where have you been?"

She watched as the brave Gryffindor sniffed, and started crying. The tears drew visible tracks in the dirt that covered her face. Her clothes were torn, all the skin that was visible covered with cuts and bruises. Minerva wanted to hug the young woman close, and tell her everything was going to be all right. She watched as the Weasley-boy wrapped an arm around Hermione's shoulders.

"We, we were at the Shrieking Shack. Oh, Merlin, professor, it was so awful! You-know-who released Nagini on professor Snape. I think, I think he's dead!"

Minerva felt herself go pale, and quickly reïnforced her glamours. Hermione buried her face in Ron's sweater.

"I," Minerva coughed to hide her stutter. "I'm sorry Miss Granger, I haven't seen Mister Potter. There are things I must take care of, if you will excuse me."

Without awaiting their response, Minerva rushed out of the Great Hall. All she could think of was a young Severus Snape, a lover and a friend. She remembered their banter after the summer of '88, her disbelieve after he killed Dumbledore, her confusion as to who's side he was on.

She had always been so sure of him, but then everything changed, and she had hated him. Rushing to the Shrieking Shack, she could not forgive herself for that, she should have listened to her intuition, to the part of her that adamantly believed he was part of the Order, part of the Light.

Following the tracks on the dusty floor, she found Severus' bleeding body. Wailing, she crouched down next to him, patting his chest, wiping away his hairs, closing his neck wound with her hands.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she cried. "I should have trusted you. You don't deserve this, you deserve to live, to breathe, to enjoy life. I'm so sorry!"

A breeze brushed her arm. She looked at him in surprise. He was breathing!

"Severus! Severus!"

With renewed vigour she placed pressure on his neck wound, muttering some basic healing spells. None seemed to take effect.

"Severus, please, tell me how to heal you. Allow me to heal you! Please don't die on me, please, I'll do whatever it takes, don't die, please, live!"

Letting go of her glamours, she started gathering her powers, willing to put action behind her words, and do whatever it took. As her magical senses heightened, she became aware of the fortress that is Hogwarts, currently burning and weeping. Imagine her surprise, as another entity reached out for her.

Tentatively, she met the unknown presence. Somehow, it seemed familiar, safe, caring. It was beckoning her, pulling at her magic, letting her know it would guide her. Trusting her instincts, Minerva took better hold of the dying man in front of her, and Disapparated, letting the unknown magic guide her.

They landed in a brightly lit, underground room. In reflex, she raised a shield and hissed, warring off the two other people in the room. Reaching for her wand, she took a deep, steadying breath. A very known, very magical scent flooded her senses. Oh Sweet Merlin! She was at the Playhouse!

Taking in the appearance of the two men in front of her, she realized they were Druid healers. Tall, dressed in white, mature, bearded and each holding a staff, the two were silent and patiently waiting. Quickly she dropped her shield.

"He's been bitten by Nagini, the snake of-"

"The wraith, we know." One of the men said, reaching out for Severus.

Reluctantly, Minerva stepped back. The hermit healers were secretive, their rituals strictly guarded, but their healing skills were legendary. Merlin was considered gifted by them, however his knowledge was lost once he became trapped in a tree.

"You know?" she asked, confused by his statement.

"We were summoned by the Goddess, to come to the spring and help. To heal the grey man from the poison of fangs, delivered by the darkness that should have been dead 7 times over. We know."

"What?"

Minerva blinked at their statement. They didn't answer her question, but instead vanished Severus' clothes and started drawing runes on his body, using a substance of ashes and something she'd rather not identify.

"Your presence is needed back at the beginning of the end, Headmistress," the second healer stated. "We will keep him alive, keep him in stasis. The magic in the stones will help. However, if you want to save him, heal him, you will have to make a sacrifice. Come back when all is finished. Come back, and we will save him."

Sobbing, Minerva reached out to touch Severus' hand.

"I'll come back for you," she whispered, before concentrating on her glamours, and Apparating back to Hogwarts. She arrived back at the Great Hall, just when Voldemort's magically enhanced voice reached them.

"Harry Potter is dead. He was killed as he ran away, trying to save himself while you lay down your lives for him. We bring you his body as proof that your hero is gone. The battle is won."

Minerva ignored Voldemort's gleeful voice as she walked outside with what remained of their army. Leading the group, she stopped at the front gates, everybody gathering on the door steps. They watched as the group of dark-clad Death Eaters followed a triumphant Voldemort out of the forest, and up the meadow. In their midst she could clearly see a chained Hagrid.

She cried out as she spotted the limp form of Harry in Hagrid's arms. No! No! No! Not another, not him! Not the boy she had cherished, the boy she had tried to comfort as a cat in Privet Drive. She had tried to give him room to grow, room to have friends, to have fun. She had kept an eye out for him, like a mother cat would for her kittens. He could not be dead! This could not be his faith! NO!

More denials are shouted out around her. She watched, helpless, as Hermione, Ron and Ginny held on to each other in despair, their eyes wide, the look in them utterly broken. For a moment, she lost her bravery, her solid believe that everything will work out in the end. For a moment, she wondered whether or not, it is all worth it.

The image of a dying Severus crossed her mind as she dispassionately watched Neville run towards Voldemort to defy him. She didn't think he had it in him. Remembering the Druid Healers, keeping Severus in stasis, remembering she is needed to save his life, she jolted back to awareness. She had to survive! She had to save him, and all those still standing.

"Harry! Harry, where's Harry?" Hagrid's voice boomed over the racket of the recommencing battle.

Minerva stared at the empty spot where, only a minute ago, Harry's body was laid on the ground, and smiled. With renewed hope and determination, she started throwing curses around, hitting every Death Eater in sight. She let the flow of the battle lead her into the Great Hall.

Moving into the thick of the fight, she almost cursed Harry as he appeared out of thin air. Silence spread through the Hall, all fighting ceased to watch the two prophesied enemies circle around each other. In the end, Voldemort's death was rather anticlimactic, his body thudding on the ground just like any other dead body.

Small skirmishes broke out as the remaining Death Eaters are captured and bound. Cheering could be heard from the fighters, and soon the entire Hall was filled with relieved laughter and crying. It didn't take Peeves long to come up with one of his ruddy, annoying songs. This time, however, Minerva didn't have it in her to be annoyed.

As Headmistress, she took control of the situation, organizing Aurors to take the captured Death Eaters to the dungeons, making sure the wounded are tended to, and, with the help of the house elves, preparing beds for all of the fighters.

In her heart she's already back at the Playhouse, tending to Severus, wondering how he's holding up. Seeing that all she could possibly do, was done, she retreated, claiming to go sleep herself. Flitwick nodded at her, and promised to keep an eye out for as long as he could keep it open himself. Minerva smiled at the little man, impressed that even a battle such as this couldn't quell his antics.

Walking out of the castle, and over the blood-drenched courtyard, she realized she had one more task before she could retreat to her safe-haven, and a waiting Severus Snape. With a sigh and a 'pop' she Apparated to the Shrieking Shack.

While she had no time to waste, she enchanted the Shack with a Confundus spell. She then brought out a portable Pensieve and extracted the memory of a wounded Severus. She took a picture, and from rocks and dirt she transfigured the last remains of Severus T. Snape, to perfection. The picture is then transfigured to blood. She put everything away, erased her tracks and magical signature from the room, then lifted the enchantments and disappeared again, reappearing at the spring, where the real Severus was being held in stasis.

The two elder Druids were waiting, and they nodded in acceptance. The water in the spring appeared silver, almost like unicorn blood. The two Druids started chanting in an ancient language. She tossed back her hair, feeling the magic build around the sacred pool, it called to her. Letting the magic guide her, she undressed, dropped her charms, and walked into the healing water.

Once in water, the element that had always been a constant, there was a smell of Ether and essence of Murtlap. Minerva smiled, ten years before, he patented that same potion, and now this spring is emulating it. She opened her arms, and carefully, the Druids float Severus's body to her. He felt remarkably light in her arms, too light.

"My dear, dear Severus," she whispered as she cradled him close. "The horrors you must have lived through, the sacrifices you must have made. I can't undo them, I could not keep you safe, but I can help you now, I just pray that you can be saved."

Interrupting their chanting, the Druids spoke in one voice: "Now, for the final gesture, call for the Goddess and offer your life, if she takes your blood, the one you want to save, will be spared… let her be the judge"

Minerva prayed, and as she did, the stones in the spring began to glow, the Druid Healers looked in admiration, as she said clearly: "Please, oh mother Goddess, save him, he made too many mistakes, but he never backed down, I believe in him..." She held her right hand in offering, witnessing, as it was pierced by a swift cut provided by one of the Druid healers. The crimson liquid dribbled onto his neck, afterwards, she held him to her chest as she sobbed, waiting for a miracle.

A beautiful voice, that sounded as chimes in the wind, unusual in its vibration, and welcomed just like a breeze on a mountain meadow, spoke to the supplicants:

"Minerva daughter of Selkies, fierce defender of the Lion's, lover of Serpents, your sacrifice is not in vain, he will live. No longer will people remember his bitterness... Now he will be renewed, all due to you and your infinite kindness. Minerva, daughter of Selkies, you will be rewarded with a true mate, at last you will find true love. Severus, dark Prince of Serpents, rejoice, my daughter, the generous, kind, and playful Minerva has, in her faith, given your soul and body new hope. The Selkie blood she spilled now flows in your veins, and from here on out, you will be brother and sister. Honor your bond, cherish the young souls on your path, and pay tribute to the universe in a prayer of acceptance. Never forget that I will guide your path and love you both."

The blood that had dripped on Severus' neck started to glow an eerie red. He started trembling violently, and Minerva clutched him tightly. A dark, viscous liquid poured out of his wound, hovering just above it, the rupture skin already mending it back together. Minerva felt a sudden, violent tug on her magic, and fainted. Once she came around, she was in the Little Brussels Playhouse, and the two Druid healers waited.

Minerva woke up, she was dressed in a white gown, and the two men gave a small bow. She blushed, however, the men pointed to the slumbering man next to her. The headmistress almost fainted again.

It most definitely was Severus Snape, but the harshness of his life was erased from his face.

He looked younger, younger than 38, as it was his age. Perhaps to the goddess he was this young? There was no way of knowing what effect her Selkie blood could possibly have.

Softly, almost reverently, Minerva let her fingers skim the now unmarred skin of his forehead, down the side of his face, and across his lips. She smiled as her fingers brushed through his wavy, black hair. He looked like a rugged prince, one that would break the heart of many princesses. She then noticed that the cut in her hand had also been mended, she pressed her hand to his face, and kissed his forehead.

A beautiful sense of love and respect enveloped her heart. Her magical creature self, realized it was her kin, one of her own brothers. She smiled again. "Of course," she realized. "The goddess makes no mistakes, he is my brother now." She turned to the men in the room and asked:

"When will he wake up?"

"When he is ready." One of the two, replied.

"Yes, he needs to rest and adapt… I wish I could stay, I'll leave him a note… Athena will leave him a letter."

Minerva drew a crooked smile and added to the slumbering Prince of Serpents, as he was aptly named by the mother Goddess. "I don't envy the shock you will experience once you realize, you are still breathing and looking like a renovated dark sensual god, I just wish I had a camera to take a picture, Gryffindor one and Slytherin zero" Minerva laughed.

She sat herself down at a nearby table, grabbed a quill and ink, and started writing:

"Dear Severus,

Throughout the years, I've kept an eye on you, ever since that lovely summer of '88. I've watched you grow, watched you become the man you are today. I always wondered if you figured out my identity.

No amount of apologies will ever make up for the fact that I doubted you this last year. I am so, so sorry. Despite knowing you, despite knowing just how much of a Slytherin you are, I ignored my intuition, and doubted you. Worst of all, for some time, I hated you. I let you go through this dark period alone. I did not trust you, and it is clear now that I failed you, and went as far as to call you out in public, to label you a coward.

I will forever regret my lack of judgement, there is no going back from that. But I could do one thing to try and atone for my behaviour against you, and that was to pray, pray to the Goddess to save you. The mother Goddess deemed you worthy.

My dear, dear Severus, I am proud of you. Proud of the man you have become, proud of your conviction to the Light, even when the Light forsake you. You deserve to live, you deserve your chance at happiness, never doubt that. You are a good man!

In order to save you...you and I went through a ritual, in which I donated some of my blood. The Goddess blessed the sacrifice, and on said ritual she gave you a gift. As you are now in one piece and of sound mind, I must inform you one last thing: currently, you and I share one attribute, Selkie lineage. I am proud to call you my brother. I know, this may sound insane, but I do remember in your many qualities and abilities, your capacity for acceptance plus a dark sense of humor. Remember this when you take a look into the mirror.

We will see each other again soon, I promise.

Until then,

Yours truly,

Athena"

After reading through this amazing tale of redemption, Minerva shrugged and said to herself.

"No, the world is not ready for this kind of magic, it's up to Severus now, if he wants to be recognized, it will by his hand… everybody is entitled to their secrets and their public images… the Severus that died in that Shack, that's the one that was my lover at one time, the one that was brought back by the Mother Goddess… that's a whole different Prince and he deserves to tell his story."

Minerva smiled, and with a playful twinkle in her eye said to the empty room as though it was an old and sentient friend: "I'm sure he is deliriously happy at this point, it has been 3 years after all, and so yes, he is ready to confess his gratitude, I just can't wait to see him again." and for the first time in a while, she laughed with mischief, she felt it in her bones, Severus tale, was going to be good.