Severus observed as Cynthia Snape watched her friend James Potter board the train to Hogwarts. She knew where Hogwarts was. She lived there most of the year and had since she was born. She wasn't a student there yet, and wouldn't be for three more years. Officially at any rate. She was known to sneak into classes here and there, professors never asked her to leave so long as she didn't disrupt their lessons. He and Hermione worked hard with her to ensure she was more than prepared when it was her time to come to this platform as a student.

She spotted Edward Lupin and waved enthusiastically, giggling at his ever-changing hair. The young wizard gave her a cautious smile. He wasn't quite sure what to make of Cynthia. He was starting his fifth year so had been exposed to her at Hogwarts since she was four, and therefore far more than probably any other child of their group.

Severus still couldn't believe he was part of said group, but he had to admit it was nice to have friendship and camaraderie. Someone other than his wife to talk to, not that he minded talking to her but even he could admit that it was nice to broaden his horizons.

Who'd have thought a man who once relished, craved, solitude was in fact somewhat of a social creature after all?

Once in a while.

She was everything her parents were and then some. Keen, intelligent, and entirely too grown up for her age. It likely didn't help that they were the ones in charge of her primary lessons. They knew her capabilities so they pushed probably more than was necessary, but she thrived under the pressure.

"Daddy, I want to ride the Espress this year," she said.

"No, Princess, it's only for students."

"I am not a princess, Daddy," she said with a faux pout. "Merida is a princess!"

He rolled his eyes at the mention, yet again, of the red-headed princess she was fond of these days. She talked like her aunt Minnie so Cynthia had latched onto the most recent Disney princess and refused to let go.

The faux pout was a look she did very well by now. And he was a sucker for it ninety-nine percent of the time. This was one of those one percent things, though. This was not the first time (nor the last he suspected) that she'd made the request to join the students on the Express. She was allowed to traipse through the castle to her heart's content yet she could not go on the train with the students.

"Not technically, no, but just like Merida has a father you do, too. So, you are my princess and you will ride the Express," he said, stressing the x, "when you are eleven. You have three more years. You know this."

She sighed. The sighs were also almost always his undoing. These heavy ones, especially tugged at his heart strings. She seemed to know that, too. And used it to her advantage. Frequently.

Witches!

"Mummy," she said, tugging on Hermione's sleeve.

She was busy talking to Ginny and Harry Potter, holding young Laurie in her arms. They'd talked briefly of a third child in a few years. She seemed to think he cared that she'd "given" him two girls. They'd left it at discussing it again when Cynthia started Hogwarts. Two daughters was more than sufficient for him.

From a man who until a few years expected no children ever, two daughters were quite lovely in his opinion. Of course, in a few years when she was interested in wizards he might rethink how lovely it was.

"Yes, Sweetie."

"Daddy says I can go on the Espress."

"Daddy did not say that, Cynthia. You are fibbing and that means no ice cream on the way home."

"But Mummy, I want to go on the Espress."

"When you're eleven, just like James had to wait until he was eleven. And in fact, just like Mummy, he had to wait until months after he'd turned eleven since he didn't turn eleven until November. You, young miss, will get to go sooner since you were born in June."

She sighed again, pressing herself against Hermione, clutching her mother's cloak with a pout. Severus knew that pout well. She was a pro at it, and most of the time when it was directed at him he caved. This was not one of those times.

"I'll tell you what, Sweetie," Hermione said. "Maybe we'll take the Express one day just us. Daddy, you, Laurie, and me from Hogwarts to London. I bet we could convince Uncle Harry and Auntie Ginny to join us."

"But Mummy, there won't be anyone else on it."

"Well, sure there might be. Some people take the train."

She sighed, scraping her black patent leather shoe along the cement. Her shoulders heaved with the severity of her sigh given her size.

"Fine," she said.

"Excellent."

She lifted her chin then, seeming to realize she'd … pleased her mum. She graced her with a bright smile. One that Hermione was immune to more often than Severus was so it was interesting she was directing at her.

"Do I get ice cream?"

"You do, I think," Hermione said, glancing at Severus likely to ensure she hadn't missed an indiscretion on their eldest child's part. Severus shook his head to indicate other than trying to lie her way onto the Express she'd been goodand she nodded. "Yes. We'll get ice cream."

"Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny, too?"

"Of course," Harry said. "John and Lily will want some, too, I'm sure."

"Oh, right," Cynthia said. The smile dimmed a bit and the adults chuckled.

John was two years older versus James' four, but he frustrated their daughter. It was amusing to say the least watching them interact.

She obviously preferred the older, more mature, company of James Potter. Lily Potter and Laurie Snape were the same age. It was odd and a bit unsettling for him to think that his children would go to school with Lily's grandchildren. Hell, he was going to be teaching Lily's oldest grandson this very school year.

"Weird how it works, isn't it," Hermione whispered, leaning in to kiss him.

As if she knew what he was thinking. He shouldn't be surprised by that as she had an uncanny way of doing just that. No legilimency involved. He liked to say the same was true, that they were just that in tune with one another by now that they knew. He still thought he was the luckiest bastard around that this witch was his wife. This was just one of the many reasons why.

She knew how he thought and was here. With him. Kissing him.

"Yes," he said, knowing she likely did know what he had been thinking.

"Uncle Draco, too?"

"I'm sure we can send them a message to join us. They've never been known to turn down ice cream with two of their favorite girls."

As it turned out, not unexpectedly, Draco did not end up with Buffy. They were still friends to this day. From what Draco had told him it had never progressed beyond one kiss. Draco said he could tell that, like him, she was too damaged to do more.

So, instead they trained and sparred and flew on Draco's broom. Buffy introduced him to more of the muggle world. He introduced her to more of the wizarding world. In essence, they healed themselves just without having to do it all alone. They both learned that not all relationships had to involve sex and not all relationships would end with one being abandoned.

Eventually, they found their way to partners that suited them. He and Hermione liked to believe that they were able to in part due to the time they'd spent developing a friendship, learning to trust. No expectations. He didn't get upset if weeks or months went by in between her visits given the extensive travel requirements due to her tracking down all of the slayers.

Severus knew that Hermione thought that both of them having an opposite sex friend was important. She likened it to Harry teaching her that not all men were arseholes. (Well, she'd said jerks, arseholes was his contribution.)

He couldn't argue the point as Draco and his wife Hannah Malfoy née Abbott had a healthy-seeming relationship, and sons a little younger than Cynthia and Laurie. He was immensely proud of his godson and knew that having someone to spend some time with who had no preconceived notions about what kind of person he'd been prior to 2003 had been incredibly refreshing. In some ways, Severus considered his godson lucky for having had that opportunity.

Even with Hermione he'd never had that. She knew his secrets. She loved him in spite of those secrets. He understood the appeal, though.

"No Auntie Buffy?"

"No Auntie Buffy. She's too far away."

Severus knew Buffy would be here when Cynthia embarked on the Hogwarts Express to start her first year. That was a given. While she, Ginny, and Harry got along and were friendly, her coming to see James off to Hogwarts was not an expectation. Despite the assumption by some that her relationship to Ginny would be closer than Hermione's was to Ginny in some ways these days and with that she maybe should have been here to see James off. However, she was a busy Slayer to this day. Never a dull moment. As Severus had observed years ago. It truly never ended. Evil didn't take days off. Just because she was no longer the only one did not mean that she shirked that birthright that at one time she found rather bothersome.

Buffy was married to Charlie Weasley.

Severus could admit he hadn't foreseen marriage between them coming. Yes, there had been obvious interest and attraction when they met at various events the week prior to his wedding to Hermione. She was traveling around the world and he was in Romania. The opportunity for that interest and attraction to evolve seemed farfetched. Couple that with Molly Weasley and the expectation of going forth and multiplying not be a selling point to most women who had been in a long-term commitment to something for years already and felt her life came with a rather short-term shelf life.

They hadn't left the wedding with any plan on seeing one another or anything that Severus was aware of, and Hermione would have told him. As far as Severus knew there was no correspondence or effort to take that spark that was there from dances at a wedding reception to a level that involved courtship.

Until business brought them together.

They had spent time together and gotten to know one another when Buffy was in Romania trying to find a couple of slayers about eight years ago.

Being friends with Hermione (both of them) and having met the week of their wedding, Charlie had offered his spare room to her when he'd heard of her upcoming visit to his country (Molly's meddling Severus had no doubt, but in this instance it had worked).

The nice thing about Buffy's job (yes, he knew it wasn't truly a job but rather a calling. What else was he supposed to call it around those uninitiated?). Well she could do it from just about anywhere and having a wizard as her husband she had access to things like portkeys and patronuses that she hadn't had before. 

Their daughter was about eighteen months younger than Cynthia. Their son was Laurie and Lily's age. As far as Hermione had told him, they were done at two. The rest of the Weasleys could have their children in trios, they had a healthy girl and boy. Like Severus, it was more than Buffy ever expected to have, and realistically they both had dangerous jobs. So neither wanted to have so many children that if the other were widowed they would struggle to provide for the remaining family.

Both children had already had incidents of accidental magic so there was no question they were a witch and wizard and would be attending Hogwarts with their cousins.

It seemed Hogwarts wouldn't be free from a plethora of Weasleys for at least another generation. He couldn't help but think, now, the school was probably better for them being there. He certainly hadn't always thought that.

Severus walked up to Luna once all of the students heading to Hogwarts were off the platform and the Express began pulling away. All that remained on the platform were those who had come to say goodbye to their magical children, talking amongst themselves as their group was doing.

"Luna," he said politely.

"Hello Severus." She smiled at him in that way she had a habit of doing that made him know she saw things. He could admit it generally made him uncomfortable, but today it did not because he was seeking her out.

"I have one question for you."

She smiled, that look in her eyes that told him she knew exactly what he was going to ask. She likely did, and knew he was going to ask it long before he even thought of it.

"Did you know," he asked.

"Did I know all of it? How it would come to be, no. Did I know it would be this," she said, gesturing to the group of them: Hermione and Severus, Ginny and Harry, Luna and Ron, Neville and Susan, Draco and Hannah, and Buffy and Charlie even if they were absent physically with a passel of children that were virtually inseparable. All of them getting along despite past differences. "Of course I did."

"I see," he said.

"Does that bother you?"

"No, actually," he said. "Quite the opposite."

"I'm glad. I could not have told you even if I'd known for sure. That's not how it works."

"I'm aware," he said with a nod. This witch possessed a true gift and unlike Trelawney really never used it for personal gain. That he knew of anyway. He did not believe he had the wrong idea about this witch, though. She just wasn't … capable of such subterfuge. She'd find it unseemly.

"Have you and Hermione determined if The First Evil had any influence over Tom Riddle?"

"Not to this point, no. Unfortunately as The First Evil is not corporeal and only appears to people it believes it can corrupt as those who have died. Well, we just have no way of knowing."

For a while, they had tackled that idea and researched. It seemed a likely possibility. Who would The First Evil have appeared to Tom as, Severus and Hermione had both wondered? His mother? His father? It was difficult to say. He hadn't cared for anyone so it was hard to imagine that affecting him at all. It was part of the reason they'd let the idea drop even if they thought it was a viable hypothesis. They had no idea what was going on in Tom's life back in the thirties.

Was The First Evil in control the entire time of Riddle's life? Likely not, it didn't seem to work that way. It seemed when it had finally initiated its attack against Buffy and the Council in 2002-03 it had achieved its peak in power. They had both wondered if The First Evil gained power by those it had possessed becoming powerful.

It would explain why Tom Riddle, Angelus, and Spike would have been sought after by it.

Severus and Hermione had both wondered if between Angel not being willing to lose his soul again after his return from the hell dimension in 1998 and Voldemort losing shortly before then had caused The First Evil to go underground, lick its wounds, and collect itself before trying again.

It had almost worked. It had almost won.

Truly.

Luck and an off the cuff attempt at a spell (that changed the world even if only those who knew about slayers knew about it). He was pretty sure the world wasn't aware at how close it had come to being overrun by darkness, despair, and misery.

Again.

Severus shuddered to think of the amount of power it had achieved from Buffy's first experience with it and her last.

The fact that Luna had brought it up, though, suggested to Severus that he and his wife had been on the right track with that thought process. Perhaps there was something worth researching about it. And possibly to publish.

She smiled at him and nodded.

"Thank you, Luna."

"You're welcome, Severus. You are a good man. I always knew that you were."

"Are you coming to get ice cream with us, too?"

She smiled with a laugh. "Of course."

"Well, let's be off then," he said, returning his attention to his wife and children. "Some of us want to get home before lunchtime."

"No ice cream," Cynthia said. It was a whine but not. Whining did not win her what she wanted. She'd learned that by now.

"We'll have ice cream before lunch today."

Her eyes brightened as if she thought Daddy had just given her the best gift ever. He scooped her up, hugging her tight. She squealed in delight.

He didn't do this often anymore. At eight he was finding that she was at that age she didn't want Daddy to swing and carry her all the time as she used to beg him to do endlessly (and Laurie currently did). She wanted to be a big girl like James Potter was a big boy not a baby like her sister Laurie and his sister Lily.

Little did she know her mum and his girls were the best gift ever.

And he had a vampire slayer who had fallen in love with a cursed vampire to thank for it. If that wasn't the craziest story ever to tell your kids and grandkids.

The End

Story ©Susan Matthews/APCKRFAN/PhantomRoses.com