|
A Matter of Honor
Book 3: Love and Honor Chapter 28: Epilogue Elizabeth Nielson nervously straightened her robes as she stepped down from the Hogwarts Express. She had been shocked when she received the letter announcing her acceptance into Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Her family was…well, average. She adored her parents, and her little sister, but there had never been anything special about them. Not like this. And the books she had read could never have prepared her for… An enormous man stood on the platform to greet them, and called for the first years to follow him. "My brother told me he was big, but I never imagined he'd be…so big." The girl with whom Elizabeth had sat on the train joined her. Karen Simmons, from a wizarding family. The two girls had swapped stories for the entire journey, and Elizabeth hoped desperately that they'd be Sorted into the same house. "Right this way," the enormous man called. "That must be Hagrid," Elizabeth ventured. "Got it in one," Karen said, as they began to make their way down to a vast, dark lake. Elizabeth found herself in a boat with Karen and two boys. The boys managed to mumble their names--Jonathan Weasley and Robert Duncan--before fastening their gaze on the castle. Elizabeth was awe-struck. She'd read plenty of books about castles, both real and fictional (well, she'd thought they were fictional), but this was incredible. The spires loomed high against the night sky, their daunting appearance softened by the myriad of lights that twinkled from their windows. When they arrived at a landing, Hagrid instructed them to head up the stairs, where their Deputy Head Mistress would be waiting for them. "This is bloody amazing," came the voice of Jonathan Weasley. Karen shushed him, and he shot her a look. Behind them, a boy complained that he couldn't find his toad, and would somebody please look about in the boats? They all shuffled into place silently under the watchful eye of the woman above them. She was dressed in dark blue robes, Elizabeth saw, embroidered with an intricate pattern. Her hair was streaked with grey under her matching pointed hat, but Elizabeth thought she might be as old as ninety or as young as sixty. It was more difficult to tell with wizards and witches, as she had found out in her trip to Diagon Alley to buy her things for school. "Welcome to Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry," the woman said. "I am Professor Granger, and I am Deputy Headmistress here, and Head of Gryffindor House. In a moment, we will go through these doors and make our way to the Great Hall. There, you will be Sorted into your houses. While at Hogwarts, your house will be like your family, and all of your combined achievements will be reflected in your house points. At the end of the year, the house with the highest number of points is awarded the House Cup. Likewise, failure to follow the school rules, bad behavior, or ill preparation for class will cause you to lose house points. Let us hope that all of you will do your best to avoid that necessity." Her expression softened, and Elizabeth decided that she would very much like Professor Granger to be her Head of House. It didn't seem likely, however. She was smart and clever, but didn't think of herself as courageous, by any means. And Gryffindors, she knew, were known primarily for their courage. Professor Granger led them inside, and as they entered the Great Hall, the reactions to their new surroundings became audible. "Look up at the ceiling," Karen prodded. "It's spelled to reflect the night sky. Isn't it beautiful?" Elizabeth glanced up, but her attention was now focused on the imposing row of witches and wizards sitting at the Head Table. Hagrid was there, smiling at them, and there was a kind looking man towards the left end of the table, seated next to two positively friendly looking older women. Next to them, however, was a rather severe looking woman with yellow eyes. And next to her…Elizabeth swallowed. "Who is that?" she asked Karen. Karen followed her gaze. "That," she said, "is Professor Snape. Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House. Scary, isn't he?" Elizabeth nodded. The man was certainly scary. Dressed completely in black, with steel-grey hair and a rather hooked nose, he looked like the villain out of some movie. "Can you believe Professor Granger is married to him?" Elizabeth couldn't. But then, if Professor Granger was married to him, maybe he wasn't as bad as he looked…. She noted the empty seat beside him, obviously Professor Granger's, and then, for the first time, had a clear view of the Headmaster. For all the stories she had heard about him, Hogwarts's Headmaster looked completely unprepossessing. Dressed in burgundy robes with gold trim and a tall hat, he watched the first years arrive at the front of the room through round spectacles. Elizabeth noticed the gleam in his eye, and then, under the fringe of his greying hair, her eyes found the scar. Professor Granger spoke again. "As I call out your names, please take a seat on the stool. I will place the Sorting Hat upon your head. When it announces your new house, please take a seat at the appropriate table with your new housemates." Elizabeth clasped her hands together to keep them still as the first few students were sorted. What if the Hat said that she wasn't supposed to be there at all? What if… "Karen Simmons." Karen took her place on the stool. After a moment, the Hat called out, "Gryffindor!" Karen gave her a smile as she headed for the Gryffindor table amidst cheers. Karen had been the first student Sorted into their house. "Matthew Anderson." "Slytherin!" Elizabeth saw the Head of Slytherin House applauding. "Elizabeth Nielson." Elizabeth sat cautiously on the stool. "Ah," said the Sorting Hat in her ear, "someone completely new…I bet it was a surprise to find you belonged with us?" Elizabeth nodded. "Well let's see…yes, I think…definitely has to be…Gryffindor!" Elizabeth couldn't help but smile in her relief, and looked up to see Professor Granger smiling at her as she placed the Hat back on the stool.
Having finally finished with her Prefects and seen her students quietly to bed, Professor Granger made her way down the hall to her rooms. The Gryffindor Tower entrance to her rooms. She entered through the painting of the seascape, checked a few things at the desk in this, her private study, and walked through the fireplace. Her husband was nowhere to be seen. Apparently his duties in Slytherin House were taking longer than he expected. He was generally back well before she was after a Sorting Feast. She removed her dress robes and changed into a comfortable, flannel nightshirt decorated with snitches. A Christmas present from the Headmaster last year. Harry still loved Quidditch, though he rarely got to play. Occasionally, he would referee a game, but the players were all so distracted at the sight of their Headmaster on a broom that he only did it once every few years. She looked over some correspondence on the table--a letter from Minerva (who would, of course, want the complete report on the new Gryffindors), another from Albus, an invitation to dinner at Sirius's house that weekend--then sat on the sofa with a brandy. Something she'd learned from her husband. She ran her thumb along the platinum band on her left ring finger. It felt like only yesterday she had nervously asked him about a proposal for an honors project. And at the same time, she couldn't remember what it was like not to love him. To be loved by him. The band appeared to be plain, but if you stared at it long enough, you would begin to see the Celtic knotwork magically etched into the metal. And if she ever took it off her finger (which she never did), you could read the inscription. "Love, let us be true…" A recognition of the dark days through which they had passed, a vow to love one another in spite of everything. Not, perhaps, a verse some other couple would choose for their wedding bands. But perfect. She was brought out of her reverie by her husband's entrance. Letting the door slam shut behind him, he crossed wordlessly to his own study, a room long since added to these dungeon quarters. She smiled a little, and waited. After a few minutes, he came back into the main room with a sigh. Draping his dress robes over the chair and unbuttoning collar and cuffs, he sat beside her on the sofa. "Brandy?" she asked. "In a minute," he sighed. They sat for a few moments in comfortable silence, and he took her hand. "Trouble in Slytherin House already?" "No. The Headmaster wanted to see me. Some Ministry nonsense." "I've always said that the only reason you turned down the position yourself was because you wanted the luxury of complaining about Harry's getting it." "Not at all. It was the paperwork." She smiled knowingly, and he raised an eyebrow. "And the chance to complain about Potter on a regular basis." She ran a finger along his cheek. "Professor Snape, don't you think it's time for bed?" "Professor Granger, I thought you'd never ask." Finis.
A/N: People have asked about this epilogue; it's simply a glance at the future, some unnumbered years hence. I'm still worried about who might die in canon, so in this universe, I wanted to show that they were all well, while at the same time giving a glimpse of them through the eyes of a new generation--full circle, (possibly) three successive Deputy Head Mistresses, and all that. And yes, I skipped the Sorting Hat's song…. A couple of notes from people's comments on the first release of this chapter. Hermione is Deputy Head Mistress not only because of the symmetry of her taking over for McGonagall, but also because I assumed that anybody taking over for Dumbledore would have to be a powerful wizard indeed. Harry and Snape were my two choices (though perhaps it's only prejudice that makes me think Snape's almost as powerful as Dumbledore), and Harry was much more fun. So it has nothing to do with the fact that she's a woman. Meanwhile, the final edit has Snape's hair as a steel-grey color. I simply got too many people asking me if he was coloring his hair to be comfortable leaving it raven. And here I thought he had good genes…. And while I purposefully didn't re-read McGongall's welcome to the first years in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Hermione's welcome is intended to closely echo it. The inscription is a line from Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach," written in 1867:
|
