Next Time Around

Epilogue

A long silence hung between the two of them- their beverages forgotten- before Snape grabbed his wand and cast a quick privacy charm. 'Your deal is... acceptable. What kind of unbreakable vow do you propose we use?'

'Nothing too difficult,' Elias said, already taking out his wand and carving a couple of small runes in his hand. 'If you would?' He gestured towards Snape's own hand. Snape nodded and quickly copied the runes on Elias' palm.

They clasped their hands together over the table. Elias immediately bowed his head and started murmuring. After about two minutes, he looked up at Snape.

'Vaetr søgn. Aeva tala. We forbid this conversation from leaving this table. Rád. Laun. Neita segja. Ráda.'

He went back to unintelligible whispers. Snape tensely waited for the spell to finish as Elias murmured on. That wasn't to say that he didn't trust Elias to do it correctly, however blood magic was heavy stuff. A lot could go wrong thanks to even the smallest of things, like if one were to mispronounce a word.

It was thus with a slightly relieved sigh that Snape only felt a small tug on his magic, just as Elias stopped chanting. Elias looked up at him, his breathing slightly heavier than normally.

'I believe that was it.'

'Good.' Snape nodded. 'Now please, do tell me what you know about Potter's death, that I don't.'

Elias looked away. 'I do believe,' he said, 'that it really is important for me to know your views on the current political affairs before I divulge any information.'

'Ah.' A small frown appeared on Snape's face. 'I see.'

Elias smiled a little uncomfortably. 'I do apologize. But I'm afraid it is vital.'

Snape's chair creaked as he shifted in it. 'Well... what is there to say?' He began. 'My lord's raise to power came as no surprise, though I do confess I thought it would be slightly more violent. His subsequent placement of himself as Minister was only a logical next step. How he changed our laws though, was not something I saw coming. Or at least, not precisely. I can't deny that our community benefits from the more definite separation from the muggles, although the laws set in place are quite harsh. For now, he is upholding his treaties with various different races, which is good.

'The fate he gave Dumbledore was not one I had envisioned him getting, but a fair lawsuit in which his misdeeds were explained to the public did wonders for not making him into a martyr. A life long imprisonment was only just, in his case...'

'Yes,' Elias agreed, 'the trial was very pleasing. I believe I can discern no serious malice towards any one of the Dark Lord's plans, correct?'

'Yes,' Snape said, 'for I do not feel any.'

Elias nodded. 'All right. However your vow to protect Potter was stronger than that feeling?'

'Yes...' Snape frowned, 'always, but what does that have to do with anything?'

Swirling his drink, Elias sighed. 'Well... correct me if I'm wrong, but your vow is still active, yes?'

Snape stiffened. 'Why would you think that?'

'Because I am the only one alive to know what happened back then.'

'And you say that my vow should still be active, as a consequence of what happened.'

Elias inclined his head. 'If I'm correct, then yes.'

Both men were quiet for a moment, taking a moment to sip their drinks. Finally Snape spoke up. 'You are not mistaken. But it is at peace. The vow, I mean.'

Absentmindedly scratching his chin, Elias nodded slowly. 'That would make sense...'

After it became clear Elias wouldn't say anything else on the matter without prompting, Snape rolled his eyes. 'Fine. I'll bite. Why is that so?'

Elias stared at Snape expressionlessly. His eyes were searching for something though, and after a moment it seemed like he had found what he was looking for. He relaxed slightly and leaned back in his chair. 'Because even though Hadrian Potter is dead, I'm still alive.'

Snape sighed. 'You are not being any clearer in your explanations, Elias.'

'No,' Elias said, 'you just don't get it. Isn't it obvious by now? Hadrian Potter is dead, but I'm alive, so your vow still stands. Severus, I am Hadrian Potter.'

'No,' Snape immediately rebutted, 'that's impossible. You... you can't possibly be him. He is... was a child. A smart one, and too mature for his age, but he was undoubtedly a child. You on the other hand, are -excuse my language- a cold blooded killer. You and him, you can't be...'

The green eyes assassin had grasped Snape's wrist, effectively de-railing the man's train of thought. 'There is no other explanation, Severus, and you know it just as well as I do.' He glanced down at his body. 'I could change into the form I used to pass for Hadrian, if you wanted me to...'

Shaking his head, Snape held up one hand. 'That's quite alright, thanks. But please, do tell, how even would that be possible? You want me to believe you are, in fact, an eleven year old?'

'No. I'm... somewhere in my late thirties, early forties by now. I think. It's hard to keep track.'

'How so?'

'I'm spread out over three different time lines,' Elias said flatly. 'Time gets blurred now and again.'

Snape was quiet for a bit, a frown on his face. 'Tell me,' he suddenly said softly.

'What?'

'We had a deal, didn't we? So tell me. Tell me all of it. No secrets anymore. Seriously, what happened?'

Elias sighed into his glass, which seemed way too empty all of a sudden. He did, unfortunately, feel the pull of his spell. He supposed he could probably work around it, but before he did something of the sort, he paused. Did he really want to?

His immediate answer, a solid "no", surprised himself. Looking up at Snape, Elias bit his lip, then stared back down at his glass. He sighed again and swirled the last little bit around before downing it. He looked at Snape.

'I think I need a refill.'

The refill was arranged quickly, and soon the precious amount of time Elias had to think over an answer was gone. It was now, or never. With quiet resolve, he took a small sip of fire whiskey and looked Snape in the eyes. He smirked.

'Well, I suppose it all started in my seventh year, during what was later referred to as the Battle of Hogwarts...'

Definitely the end this time this time

1625 words

(Ancient Norse used in the secrecy spell)

Vaetr søgn = no report
Aeva tala = Never talk
Rád = agreement
Laun = secrecy
Neita Segja = refuse to say
Ráda = rule