It is our choices (A Harry/Severus friendship fic post DH) (Watty Awards 2011)

Chapter 30- It is our choices

Author's note: I dedicate this chapter to one of my wonderful fans: Jabuticaba, whose choice to tell me about Wattpad has led to an amazing experience for both myself and you guys too! This will be the second time she has read 'It is our choices' which is an enormous level of dedication, and a huge compliment to me! I value her comments as well as her enthusiasm for my writing. Without her, i would never have posted my fic on Wattpad, so thank you Jabuticaba! As i've been saying throughout this fic- our choices can change lives, so thank you for making that choice <3 I also wish to thank all of those who shared their thoughts with me over the last two chapters. I know it was tremendously heart breaking. So many of you showed so much love for Severus, Lily and Harry for all they have suffered, and i thank you for loving these characters as much as i do!

Chapter 30- 'It is our choices'

Standing in front of three hundred people near the lake on Hogwarts grounds, Harry smiled; he couldn't help himself. A few people at the front of the many rows of chairs littering the grass were looking at him strangely, so instead of starting the Eulogy like he originally planned, he thought he better justify his expression of happiness. 

"I apologise for smiling at such an occasion, but the many people sitting here today amuses me greatly. I know, almost for certain, that if a funeral was held for Severus Snape the day of Voldemort's downfall, the day Severus was rumoured to have died, few of you would have turned up to pay your respects. Thankfully Severus did not pass away all those years ago, but sadly he has now left us, but not before he had the time, as I can see, to influence the lives of many people." Harry paused for a moment, taking the opportunity to take in just how many people, old, young, middle-aged and even some whom Harry had never seen before were now present at Severus' funeral and listening to his Eulogy. 

"I wish to welcome all of you to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It took my family and me many hours to decide where to hold Severus' funeral, finally deciding after much contemplation, that we could not think of a better location to honour Severus' life than Hogwarts. Not only did Severus spend many years of his life at this school, but it is also where his life changed for the better and for the worse. Although Severus never explicitly stated it, we feel that of all the places he could be laid to rest, Severus would choose Hogwarts where he was Headmaster, a Professor and a student at some point during his life. We hope that he will feel most content in the place where his life changed forever, the place he always felt he needed to be." Harry paused again, gulping as he braced himself for the next section of the Eulogy. 

"When Severus passed away, I could barely comprehend my own loss, let alone devise a way in which I could communicate to others just who Severus was to me- to all of us. It was not easy to write this Eulogy because Severus' life was a complicated one, and yet it was one that he himself asserted he would never have changed. There are many reasons why each individual present here today has made the effort to pay their respects and although I cannot account for everyone here, I hope to do Severus justice in the Eulogy I am about to give." Harry took a quick glance at Ginny and smiled a little at her for it was both he and Ginny who wrote this next section of the Eulogy. 

"Severus Snape was born into a family who did not want him, and sought to escape such rejection by delving into the Dark Arts before he even attended Hogwarts. It was this fascination that gave him the stereotype of being dark, a bit of a loner and perhaps a little pathetic when he arrived at Hogwarts. It was this fascination however, that led to Severus' decision to become a Death Eater- a follower of Lord Voldemort. For a few years after he left Hogwarts, Severus obeyed the orders of the Dark Lord. It was only when he heard the Prophecy about myself and the detrimental implications this could have on the life of my mother, someone of whom Severus deeply loved even before his days at Hogwarts, that Severus sought to do something- anything to reverse the damage he had done. Having built up the courage to speak with Albus Dumbledore, Severus was determined to do anything in his power to protect my mother, Lily. Unfortunately, the plan failed and upon her death, Severus vowed to protect me from harm in honour of my mother's sacrifice. As we all know, Severus kept his word and managed to fool Lord Voldemort, as well as most of his followers and a majority of the Order of the Phoenix, into believing he was a true death eater.