Walking Down Memory Lane

Quarters and Mockery

Upon entering the house Severus and Lily were a bit shocked. They had expected Sirius and Remus to be up to something mischievous but they were met at the door by Shelby who ushered them into the kitchen where Dumbledore, Sirius and Remus were having dinner. "Master Snape, Miss Lily, Shelby has your dinner ready now." The little elf smiled at them.

"Thank you Shelby" Lily said while taking a seat.

"I understand everything went well today." Dumbledore beamed.

"Yes Sir, I managed not to die and didn't produce a patronus from the depths of the underworld." Severus chuckled.

"So I heard. A fox seems most fitting." Dumbledore smiled.

"How is that? Can you explain why Lily and I have the same patronus?" Severus asked being thoroughly confused.

"My boy a fox in nature is known to be cunning, strategic, a quick thinker, it can adapt to many things, they are clever and are quite wise. I see all of those traits between the two of you. Although, I believe the reason behind your matching patronus probably lies in the fact that your happiest memory involves the other one, in addition to the bond you share. You have complementary patronus because well..... simply put.... you're soul mates." Dumbledore enlightened them with a smile and a twinkle in his eyes.

Lily and Severus looked at each other shocked. Sirius dropped his head, letting it sink in that he had lost Lily forever at least as anything more than a friend. Remus was torn between feeling sorry for Sirius and being happy for Lily and Severus, he simply smiled and returned to his dinner without a word.

"I didn't realize magic worked like that." Lily said astonished.

"Lily dear, magic is much more powerful than any of us understand at times. I will never pretend to know the bounds of magic both light and dark. Dear child old magic like love magic is the most powerful and misunderstood of all." Dumbledore reassured her.

"I have a question headmaster, I noticed today that Sirius has a dog much like his animagus form and Remus produced a wolf. Would I be correct in assuming that Lily and I will take the form of foxes as animagus?" Severus asked with raised eyebrows.

Dumbledore chuckled "Once again ahead of the game Severus, it is most likely, yes you will. It is not guaranteed but highly probable."

"I can live with that I suppose." Severus sneered at the thought of taking the form of an animal.

Dumbledore pulled a half grin and slid a piece of parchment across the table to Severus with a wink then stood "You all have done wonderfully today! I suggest tomorrow you learn to send messages with your patronus and then Remus if you would please sit down with Lily and Severus and start explaining the animagus process. Sirius please help them understand the way they will feel at certain points. I brought your things, now I must be on my way." The crack came and he was gone.

"I got dibs on the shower!" Lily yelled as she ran to the bathroom.

Severus got up from the table and excused himself and went to his room.

Sirius and Remus were left alone in the kitchen. "How you taking all of this?" Remus asked.

Sirius looked over to him with a smirk and a raised eyebrow "How do you think? I want to be mad, I want to hate him, I wanted her to love me but I can't be mad, I can't hate him and I can't make her love me."

Remus sighed, "I was afraid of this happening, just not like this. I never thought I'd owe Snape a damn thing, now I feel like I owe him a life debt."

Sirius laughed, "I know what you mean. I was pissed at you the day you called me an asshole but you were correct. I am an asshole. I lost her by my own hand, she knew him better than we ever will. I hate admitting this but we do owe him, we were little pricks to him for no reason other than we could be and then here he comes with this magic vile of life for you; he didn't have to do that, she never asked him to, he did it all on his own. I have to accept things for what they are and learn to live with it. I promised her I'd love her no matter what and I will, she loves him and that means I'll help keep the git alive. Hell maybe one day we might actually be friends...."