Golden Age by black_blade

Chapter 36: Epilogue

Epilogue

The day dawned bright and early on the thirty-first of July, 1980. The light slowly creeping along the mountain range and onto the ground of Hogwarts. There was a slight breeze on the air that ruffled Harry's hair as he looked out over the view. He wouldn't be able to pin point what he felt in that moment as he stood in a light jacket and jeans. He held a coffee in his hands as the noise of the birds made for a pleasant dawn. This would have been the day that he was born.

Harry sighed and sat down on the top step of the castle as he sipped on his coffee as the sun heated the stones around him. It felt like it was heating up to be another hot day but at the moment it was still cool. Hogwarts had become his home once more over the last three years. He could have lived elsewhere but this was the place that Harry felt most comfortable.

"There you are."

Harry glanced over his shoulder to see Severus Snape standing there with a flask and two mugs in his hands. The boy had grown up since he graduated but he was still on the skinny side but over the years his pale skin had acquired a healthier hue and he was more prone to a smile than a frown these days. His dark eyes settled on him and Harry held out his cup and he sighed.

"You left early this morning," Severus remarked as he poured coffee from the flask into his mug.

"It's the thirty-first of July," Harry whispered as Severus came to sit next to him and they looked out over on the grounds together. "Today is the day that I would have been born."

"Would have?" Severus pressed, gently.

"I won't be born into this timeline," Harry voiced and the words sounded wrong to him.

"Were you expecting that?" Severus asked. "Wouldn't two Harold Swift's confuse matters?"

"You know that isn't my real name," Harry retorted and Severus gave him a smirk. "I suppose that it doesn't matter anymore."

Severus laid his hand on Harry's knee and he was thankful for that support. Harry slipped his hand into his jeans pocket and pulled out the gold marble that had started all these events. He held it up and Severus looked over in curiosity. It felt dead in his fingers now, void of any magic.

"This is what sent me back here," Harry explained. "Such a small thing to make so much difference."

Severus gently took it from him and stared at it in interest. He then slipped it away into his pocket and Harry opened his mouth to argue.

"You won't be needing it," Severus remarked mildly then sipped on his coffee as if the conversation was now over.

Harry snorted a laugh and they fell into silence. Severus slipped an arm around him as the sun inch higher in the sky. Then a group of people appeared from the direction of the main gates.

"Why are they here?" Harry muttered with a frown. "The Ministry would have called me if something had happened."

"It's your birthday, Harry." Severus pointed out.

Harry just stared as James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew and Lily Potter made their way towards them. His eyes lingered on Lily and the fact that she wasn't nine months pregnant. Could he still call her his mother? What about James? In some ways, this world held more for him then his own ever had. Yes, he'd had friends that were 'like family' but here he had family. Even if they weren't aware of that.

"Narcissa and Lucius said they would stop by tonight with little Draco," Severus told him.

Harry felt a lump in his throat at the name of the young child. Would he grow up like the man that Harry remembered? The boy would never bend his knee to Dark Lord Voldemort and that may make all the difference. The Dark Mark was still branded on Lucius's skin but not Narcissa. She had escaped that fate and was better for it.

"Hey, Harry." James called with his arm around Lily's shoulders. "Happy birthday!"

Harry gave the man a grin as he took in the image that his father made as he stood there. Auror training had done him wonders and Greengrass was still singing his praises. Remus had proved himself to the Ministry and as the werewolf gave him a grin, he knew that he wouldn't suffer the way that he had in Harry's time. There was a light in those eyes and he was dressed in well-made robes.

Suddenly a large black dog came barrelling towards them and Severus cursed as the mutt landed before them. Sirius Black would never know twelve years in Azkaban as Harry laughed and tried to push the dog away.

"Black!" Severus yelped. "You stink! Get off!"

Harry's eyes then settled on Peter and the man gave him a grin and a nod. Surprisingly, the man that joined his friends in the Ministry and he'd taken to Auror training much like the others and had a talent in talking to victims. He'd changed the most out of all of all of them but in the best way.

Sirius shook his coat out as Harry managed to push him off and he changed forms. There was a big grin on his handsome face as he looked them over.

"Is breakfast being served?" Sirius asked with a lopsided grin and a glint in his eyes. "Nothing beats Hogwarts food!"

"I'll be sure to tell the House Elves," Harry grumbled as he looked at his spilt coffee. "Go on in."

"Happy birthday," Sirius called over his shoulder.

"You know I was having a nice quiet morning," Harry grumbled.

A hand appeared in front of him and he looked up into the grinning face of Lily Potter. Her green eyes dancing in amusement. He took her hand and she helped him to his feet. He was still the shortest of the group as Lily looked down at him with a smile.

"Welcome to my every morning," Lily told him. "Happy birthday."

James slipped an arm around his new wife's shoulders and kissed her cheek.

"You know you love us for it," James remarked and Severus gagged.

"Sickening," Severus drawled.

"Ha, like you and Harry weren't wrapped around each other moments before, Severus Snape!" Lily snipped back.

Severus blushed at that and the others laughed at his expression. They all turned and headed the way that Sirius had gone as the smell of food drifted out to them. Severus slipped his hand into Harry's and he was sure that he would never see that time device again.

For he felt that this was where he belonged.