Chapter Text
EPILOGUE:
Deputy Headmaster Harry Prince read the next name off the list. "Persephone Prince."
He smiled as his eldest stepped forward to take a seat on the three-legged stool at the front of the Great Hall. "Promise you'll tell me what it says," he whispered as he held the Sorting Hat over her head. He set it on top of her dark chestnut hair and stepped back to await the inevitable pronouncement.
Not by any stretch a pretty girl, Persephone was nevertheless quite striking. Coltish rather than thin, surprisingly graceful when she wasn't suffering through a growth spurt, on her the Snape nose was less pronounced, mostly because of her extraordinary brown eyes. Almond shaped with thick lashes, they drew everyone's attention the moment they saw her. She was breathtaking when she smiled, but at the moment she appeared to be concentrating. With her furrowed brow and downturned lips, she was the spitting image of Severus.
They had come a long way since that day nearly twelve years ago when the Sorting Hat announced to all of Hogwarts that Harry would marry the Head of Slytherin House. Persephone's conception had sparked a national crisis that resulted in the murder of an Unspeakable from the Department of Mysteries and the imprisonment of Cornelius Fudge, not to mention the restructuring of the Wizengamot.
Shortly after Severus had become the Supreme Mugwump of the Wizengamot, he ordered a comprehensive review of all long-standing Ministry policies. Hermione had been hired straight out of Hogwarts to work with the Wizengamot overturn the subtle discriminatory laws against same-sex couples that had come to light as a result of the Wizengamot's investigation. Minister Kingsley Shacklebolt was continuing to work tirelessly with the International Society of Potioneers to put into place a number of safeguards to ensure the health and safety of the population he served. He categorically refused to be at the head of another crisis of this magnitude.
To Severus' happy surprise, the dragon yolk Charlie had given him for his and Harry's first Christmas together was proving to have unanticipated magical properties. The Potions Guild of Great Britain had made incredible advances in crafting a series of potions with the dragon's yolk as a base that showed promise in restoring the fertility of the witches and wizards who had been given the Harpy's Throat vaccine. Charlie had already signed up for the first human trials and was waiting to be approved as a voluntary subject.
A bit of jostling at the back of the Hall caught Harry's attention, and he gestured lightly with his head to Draco, but the Headmaster of the Dobby-Kreacher Primary School for Magical Children already had the situation in hand. Harry shot Augustus (Peverell) a warning glance, and his youngest son stopped bothering his older brother, Matthew (Potter), immediately. Augustus scowled as Draco whispered a reprimand and crossed his arms over his chest. A few months past his sixth birthday, Gus was barely old enough to witness his oldest sister's Sorting.
Harry would never have figured Draco for a schoolteacher, but Draco had come to the conclusion that magical education had to start earlier than age eleven and opened the school despite the loud chorus of naysayers who didn't see the need. Persephone had been part of the second class to start their schooling in Hogsmeade, and by all accounts, the school had been a roaring success. Draco and Severus had worked together to develop a sound curriculum, which included practical instruction in English, maths, science, literature and geography, as well as Latin, penmanship, and wizarding culture. Nearly all of Harry's classmates had children enrolled there, including Ron and Hermione.
As the Sorting Hat continued to sit silently on Persephone's head, Harry risked a glance at the Staff table where Severus, now Headmaster, was holding Cassiopeia (Black) and struggling to keep her quiet. "Hat stall?" mouthed Severus and Harry shrugged, wondering what the two of them could be talking about. He and Severus already knew she'd be Sorted into Slytherin; the Hat had told them as much before they even knew Harry was pregnant.
"Ravenclaw!" the Sorting Hat announced, and Harry lifted it off her head and gave it a little shake, blinking owlishly and quite obviously perplexed. Persephone laughed and joined her Housemates at the Ravenclaw table with a knowing expression on her face.
Harry didn't remember much about the rest of the Sorting. Once it was finished, he rescued Severus and took Cassiopeia off his hands so his husband could get the Feast started. At the back of the Great Hall, Draco shepherded the youngsters out to take them back to their school in Hogsmeade, where they would be collected by their parents. Matthew waved goodbye, but Augustus, apparently still irked at Harry, refused.
Knowing Harry and Severus would be busy with the Welcoming Feast, Draco had offered take the boys for the night. Harry knew it would be chaos; Neville, Luna and Draco had four of their own. But as Draco and his spouses were godparents to both boys, and Severus and Harry were godparents to two Malfoy-Longbottoms, the children knew well enough to mind their manners. Even Augustus.
"To our new students, welcome to Hogwarts," announced Severus in tones nearly as welcoming as Dumbledore's once had been. "And to those who have returned, welcome back. I know you're hungry, so let the feast begin." A wave of his wand saw the tables suddenly filled with food and the Great Hall filled with the noisy din of chattering students.
As Harry filled a plate for Cassiopeia, he felt a shivery sensation much like walking through a ghost, and he looked around to see if one had just passed through the Staff Table. He frowned for a moment, feeling something very much like destiny reaching inside and squeezing his heart. Not again, he thought. He set the food absently in front of his daughter, earning an odd look from Severus.
"What is it?" murmured Severus as he added something besides mushy peas to Cassie's plate.
"I want another baby," said Harry, surprising himself as much as he stunned Severus.
"I thought, after—" he pointed at their youngest, "you were finished. She took a lot out of you."
Harry frowned. "I know, but…" He looked at Severus through clear green eyes. "It's just a feeling. Besides, it would be nice to have another Prince. It adds a bit of symmetry, don't you think?"
Poseidon Prince was born nine months later, and as a naming day gift, Sybil Trelawney gave him a prophecy.
~THE END~