Chapter Nineteen

"In the End"

I suppose now you might as well ask the boy if the two of you could stay at Grimmauld Place, Severus thought, taking a bite of his food that morning. You have already degraded yourself in front of him, it is not as if your pride will be any further damaged by having to ask an eighteen-year-old boy if you can live in his house. Despite of the situation, he couldn't help but chuckle wryly. Everything was still all messed up, but better after the previous night. At least the boy wasn't going out of his way every second he could to make Severus miserable.

"What did he do to you last night? Give you a sort of 'Happy' Potion?" Professor Flitwick asked Severus, breaking Severus' thought train.

Severus shot a glare at Professor Flitwick. He knew that the entire staff knew about the Bond – it was necessary, so that the teachers didn't have to worry about inappropriate relations between teacher and student. But he still hated that they felt the need to bring it up so casually. "No – am I not allowed to have a good morning?"

"Potter has informed me that you've worked things out." Minerva observed from Severus' other side.

"He told you that?"

"I am still his Head of House, Severus." Minerva reminded him. "I have been for years – if I ask him how things are, he should be perfectly comfortable telling me."

"Yes." Severus admitted. "Last night I- we had a revelation."

"Which was?" Minerva prodded.

Severus balked, knowing that Professor Flitwick and at least two other members of staff were listening. "That we're two very stubborn people, that Lily would want me to treat him like a son and would want Harry to..." his voice trailed and he shot Minerva a glare that would have made any student run for cover. "What is it to you?"

Minerva laughed. "'Harry' is it, now?"

"Well, I am not going to call him 'Potter' for the rest of my life." Severus snapped. "The last thing I need is more reminding of his four-eyed, obnoxious-" He stopped, his eyes watching the scene playing out at the Gryffindor table.

"Oi, mate – I'm sorry." Ron said apologetically, in a hoarse voice the next morning. He was pushing his black pudding around in circles, not eating it. "I thought-"

"We both thought it, Ronald." Hermione reminded him.

"Yeah," Harry said quietly, taking a huge bite of eggs. Unlike Ron, who was not hungry for the first time in months, Harry was starving for the first time since the Bond had formed. "But really? Did you think I would dump any girl without a good reason? I... I love Ginny." He glanced over down the table – Malfoy was standing over her, his arms wrapped around her neck.

Harry began choking on his food, while Ron shook his head. "Yeah, I don't like it either."

Harry watched as Ginny leaned her head back and placed an upside-down kiss on Malfoy's lips. He turned away, fighting the hot tears in his eyes.

Severus placed a firm hand on Harry's shoulder, causing Harry to whirl around on the bench. "Are you all right?" Severus murmured, well-aware that many students were watching Harry and Severus with high anticipation. He wished he could tell Harry about the almost certain expulsion of Draco Malfoy, but couldn't. Not without telling Harry about Draco's involvment in putting the Bond between them, which would mean certain death for the blonde Slytherin. After living with a Gryffindor for the past couple months, he was learning to expect the emotion-driven impulses that came from those from that House.

Harry just nodded. "You said it gets better?"

"You need to stay friends with her and get over it. I speak from experience." Severus informed him, the only thing keeping the sad smile off his face was an audience. It really was ironic. "You will probably be living here at the school for years, and just imagine what will happen if you stay bitter; if your Ginny did get married to Draco, imagine that in another fifteen years, a white-blonde little boy shows up at school..."

Harry's eyes widened as he understood what Severus was getting at. "Oh, Merlin!"

Epilogue

Severus and Harry's relationship healed over time. Severus Snape continued to teach as Hogwart's Potions teacher. Harry Potter finished his studies in the June shortly following this story and began to teach as the school's Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, much to Snape's disdain. Potter, to this date, was the longest lasting Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher that Hogwarts has ever had.

The Weasley family remained close to Potter and eventually accepted Snape as a family member, as Potter could only come visit for holidays if Snape came as well. Potter and Ginny Weasley were able to be close friends without being at odds. Weasley understood that Potter loved her and wanted her to enjoy her life and consequently married a pure-blood three years her senior (at the age of twenty-three), who had studied at home under the guidance of his Wizarding parents.

Draco Malfoy was forever estranged from his godfather. He managed to narrowly avoid expulsion from Hogwarts. He went on to lose his Malfoy fortune and grovel in poverty for a few years before killing himself at age twenty-nine. He was never married and had no children.

Snape and Potter were like father-and-son for the rest of their lives. Sadly though, the wear and tear of his complicated life eventually took a toll on him and Snape died at the young age (for a Wizard) of seventy-three. Potter followed in death two days later, at the age of fifty-two. Neither one of them became haunts at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry - it is generally believed that though they accepted and loved their lives as they were, they did not want to risk having to bring the Bond into eternity with them. No bonds formed by Contineo have been formed since the case of Severus Snape and Harry Potter.