What Happened Afterwards

NOTES** Well this chapter almost made me want to quit but I didn't and now that it is done I can heave a sigh of relief. Chapters should be coming out more quickly in a few weeks cause school is coming to an end, but don't except one until the beginning of May. Thanks to all those that review, you guys don't even know how much it has meant to me the past couple of weeks. Read and enjoy now!

“Severus Snape,” A voice yelled out as the owner of it banged on the door. The name in question quickened to answer the door and was met with a fist to the face for his trouble. The owner of the fist was a girl with auburn hair. “How could you? How could you kill Grandpa?” She shouted before hitting him once again.

“Anna,” The third blow never hit its mark as Snape reached out and grabbed the girl's wrists. “Please calm down for tonight is going to be a long night.” Snape said as the young girl dissolved into tears silently mouthing `killed grandpa,' over and over.

As soon as he got her settled on one of the chairs by the fire he went to make her some tea. Once left alone Anna took in her surroundings and found herself in what looked like a library and living room. The walls were literally lined with books and all were calling out for her to read them, but she just sat still gazing straight ahead, only this time with a slight smile gracing her lips.

“I assume your mother told me how to find you,” Snape said as he entered the room carrying a tea tray. Anna took in the man before her and marveled at how different he looked from the pictures she had seen of him. His hair was greasy but stylish in a shaggy sort of way, he was gaunt, and his movement held a sort of tense to him. But the thing that caught her most was his eyes. They were black and cold just like hers.

“Yes, mum, did. I've come to take up the Defense Against the Dark Arts or transfiguration position at Hogwarts.” She noticed he visibly cringed at this and she smiled into her tea cup but didn't take a sip as she hated tea.

“You are going to take the position? The curse should have ended when Voldemort was killed.” He eyes searching her face as he said this.

“No thanks to you, but yes it is.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I came to get the truth from you,” She set down her tea cup and looked over at him. He sat so elegantly on his chair and his fingers were gently caressing the bounding of a book. She wished that just for a moment she would see what her grandfather had saw in him, but right now all she could see was his murderer.

“The truth is a noble thing but should be given with caution.” Snape replied as he turned to look at her.

“Don't you dare started quoting Albus,” she shot back with a snarl. Just when you think you can like the guy he does something inexcusable.

Snape heaved a sigh and then began to spin his tale. Anna didn't know how long they sat there, him talking and she listening, but she did know that he was telling the truth. In some twisted way she actually believed all that he told her. As he came to the end she stood up and gathered her things to leave.

“Anna,” His voiced called out as she picked up her leather backpack. “You can't tell anyone what I have just told you. It would put too many lives in jeopardy.”

“You think I don't know that,” She rounded on him her black eyes flashing. “I get it, okay! Now I'm going to leave here and do some damage control at that school. Hopefully I can save your ass, but just remember this I'm doing this for one person only.”

As he watched her walk to the door he fought down a past memory. “She is okay, right?”

“As well as can be expected,” She had her hand on the door knob. “But I didn't think you cared. After all you never once contacted us.”

“How do you think it looked having a daughter who was the granddaughter of the dark lord's most feared nemesis?”

“I wouldn't know. You were never around for me to ask,” and with the girl left Snape's house.

The girl, Anna Dumbledore-Snape, approached the unmoving gargoyle statue in a dimly lit hallway. Of course, she reasoned with herself, statues aren't made to move in the first place. “Catnip,” She whispered and the statue jumped to life. Behind it was a moving spiral staircase and she quickly jumped on it seeing the gargoyle grin at her. They aren't supposed to do that, either.

“Come in,” A voice called from within as she knocked on a half open door. The voice was Scottish with a touch of an English accent, and it sounded unbelievably sad.

“Do you ever feel like you've made a mistake but you can't find where you made it along your life but, still you try to fix it. The only problem is that it ends up getting worse because you did try.” Anna was exhausted and she showed it as she sunk into the chair that awaited her. “Aunt Minnie I can't figure out where I went wrong.”

“Thank you for coming, Anna. I know how hard it must be for you to be here.” At this Minerva McGonagall turned away form the window she was staring out of and looked at Anna. The girl looked small in the chair she sat in and she looked sad and angry. “You went and saw him didn't you?”

“Yeah well now that Voldemort is dead I figured I might as well pay him a visit.” Anna said casually as she pulled her auburn hair up into a ponytail. “So you called me here to teach. I hope this is going to be something fun.”

“Yes, teach,” Minerva said as she once again cast her eyes out onto the grounds. “I want you to take over the Defense Against the Dark Arts position.”

“Who is taking over transfiguration?”

“Tonks is?”

“Nymphadora is?” At this Anna sat up and she smiled. It seemed she had missed her friend who had come over to the states several times to work with the wizarding force called the CIA.

“Yes,” she came to me last week and said she had turned in her badge and was looking for something a little less stressful. Of course it didn't seem surprising considering she is getting married some time in the near future.”

At this Anna's black eyes twinkled, “so she finally met someone.” She was glad for her friend and it made her grin. “Well, if that is all I'll go see where I'm camping out.”

She didn't get as far as the door before McGonagall's voice called her back, “You need to know that this year the seventh years will be amazing. Some are returning from fighting the war and they won't be stable.”

“Stable? And since when did Hogwarts start accepting re-applicants?”

Anna instantly knew she had gone to far when she saw the look on her aunt's face. It was cold and hard and she almost looked like she was trying to figure out the best curse to use on her. “Anna, these kids are more powerful then any that have come through this school and they have had to push themselves to the breaking point many times to get there. You will treat them with the respect they demand.” At this Anna nodded and made once more the leave, “oh and one more thing. You might not want to tell them your true last name as it will cause some tension in your classes. I suggest you just go by Dumbledore as your father is not truly liked at this moment.”

Seven floors down three of Hogwarts most legendary students entered the entrance hall. They gazed about in wonder and each had turned three shades paler upon entering the building.

“I guess we should go in,” Ron's voice sounded off the walls as he fellow classmates entered the Great Hall. He looked at his two best friends and saw Hermione had just about hidden her face in Harry's chest and Harry's fist were clenched as his eyes held a distant look to them.

“Yes,” Harry said after a couple of moments. “We should go in and get this over with. After all they are just memories.”

“Painful memories,” Hermione whispered and she felt Harry kiss the top of her head. It made her feel warm inside to know that he knew what she needed. She clutched tighter to him as she felt him move their bodies forward for she knew this was harder on him then it was on her.

“Yeah,” Ron said and as a unit they moved forward. It was quite a formidable sight to behold and most of the younger students hushed as they entered. “But there are some good memories in the Great Hall too. Like in first year when we won the house cup.”

“I wish things could be that simple again,” Hermione's voice was filled with laughter at the thought of them winning a thousand points each for defeating Voldemort. After all, she reasoned with herself, it was a service to the school.

“Yet again we have a new defense teacher.” Ginny's voice came down the table and Harry glanced up at the table. There he saw a girl, who looked to be not much older then himself, with red hair and searching eyes. As those eyes landed on him she gave him a small half smile and then focused her attention on the door that would lead the first years into the Great Hall for their sorting.

Harry didn't know what it was about the girl but he was pretty sure he had seen her before. He was so focused upon the new teacher that he hardly noticed the sorting had ended. If it wasn't for Ron kicking him under the table he probably still been gazing off into never-never-land forever, thankfully, no one asked him what was wrong.

Just as Ron was taking second helpings of some chocolate ice cream pie did Neville start to speak. “It is weird isn't it?” he raised his goblet to his lips and smiled at Harry. “In a way I thought the fighting, the blood, the deaths, the whole stupid war was never going to end. In a way I'm thankfully we went through it because we figured out who we were because of it, but I also hope that they never have to see what we have been through.”

“I can't agree with you more, Neville.” Harry smiled over at him and Hermione squeezed his hand. “Did you realize that there is a physical gap between us and the other students?” he said as he took in the table. Everyone looked down at it and they all started to get a tad bit squeamish at the sight before them. There were about two seats on either side of their group that had been left open, as if everyone else was too afraid to sit near them. In fact the only one who wasn't part of the Drop-Outs or the Trio was Luna and she never really cared what other people thought.

“This is going to be a long year,” Ron commented as the hall went quiet and McGonagall stood up.

“Thank you for that observation Mr. Weasley.” She said with a small smile gracing her face. “And as you have your NEWTs this year I assume you are right.” Ron gulped at this and then turned back to his ice cream.

“To all new students, welcome,” McGonagall started and Harry felt like there was a stone in his stomach. “To all returning students it is great to see you again. I do have a couple announcements to make. First we have a new Defense professor. I would like to introduce to you Anna Dumbledore.” The hall immediately broke out in whispers.

Harry turned to look at Hermione but she was no longer looking at the teacher's table instead she was staring at a column. “Hermione, sweetie, come back to me.” This got Ron's attention, “she is remembering something.”

“Yes, well,” Ron started to say. “You were a tad bit busy when she killed Bellatrix.” Ron seemed to be doing so good at speaking when the hall was quiet.

“She is going to need some sleepless-dream potion tonight,” Harry said as they both looked at Hermione who seemed to have tears in her eyes. “Um, Ron, when did the hall become quiet again?”

“She was the one who killed Bellatrix?” Neville asked as he took in Hermione's blank face.

“We need to get her out of here,” Harry said and he gently pulled the vacant Hermione to her feet. She collapsed against his body and the tears came. “This was a bad idea.” Harry whispered and sent a nod up to the Headmistress who nodded her approval back.

Harry took Hermione up to the hospital wing as quickly as he could manage. As he opened the door he startled Madam Pomfrey. “What have you three done now?” she asked as Harry put Hermione down on the closet bed.

“She just won't snap out of it,” he explained what happened in the Great Hall and Madam Pomfrey's face softened.

“You three need to see a counselor, and not just Mr. Lupin and Ms. Tonks.” She turned and gave Hermione a quick glance over and then went and retrieved a sleepless dream potion from her cabinet. “If you three need this come and tell me and Harry,” she said as Harry picked up Hermione. “I would suggest Ms. Dumbledore, she is a trained psychiatrist.”

“I'll…we'll think about it,” He said as he exited the room. Ron was waiting for him on the other side and so was Professor McGonagall. “Well we always did say we were going to need to talk to a shrink,” Harry quipped as Hermione buried her face further into his neck. “Let's get some sleep for now.”

He started taking off down the hall when Professor McGonagall called his name. “Ms. Granger can sleep in the boy's dormitory tonight. I will not deny you three the comfort you can offer each other.”

“Thank you, Professor.”