Severus made his way into the room behind Charlotte. She looked shaken, but clearly was there as her role as a healer versus as Thomas' sister. That must have been very difficult. She had contacted them as his sister, though.

"He's fairly lucid a portion of most days. Those moments are getting less and less, and he just doesn't want to leave his room if he does get out of bed."

"Understood," Severus said. Millicent had passed on a couple of years ago and, evidently, Thomas Magnum Prins hadn't adjusted well to life without his wife. Not so surprising since they'd met when they were eleven years old, even if they had started out as merely friends.

"You'll be all right then?" she asked.

"We will be, thank you for granting me this time," Severus said.

She was looking at him rather intently. If he knew what she was searching for, he could perhaps just come out and give it to her. Maybe.

"Dad always told me it would be you who showed up."

"I'm sorry?" What did that even mean? The family had been told that Thomas wasn't doing well. Word of mouth spread to him as Headmaster, which of course led to Hermione finding out that information. That was why he was here. He'd always wondered how he was supposed to know when it was time to do this. He thought maybe after Millicent's passing, but that seemed tactless and cruel. (That was Hermione's input.)

She shrugged, blushing a bit, and seemed to find her hands rather interesting just then. "I think because I'm a healer, he assumed I'd be the one at least helping to take care of him when this time came. Meredith says she can't be involved in his care."

It had taken Meredith several years, and several affairs during those years, to find her footing. Those years had caused a rift between Meredith and her grandfather that had never completely healed. It was better now, but it was clear that something had been altered between them. Her stubbornness caused that, not Thomas'. Severus knew this pained Thomas, through his communications with Erik. Severus thought it spoke a lot to the differences in the man that he still supported Meredith's choices and differences. What a difference from the Thomas Riddle Severus had read about in a now defunct copy of Hogwarts: A History he'd seen not long before Marie's death. As it turned out, she turned out to be a capable healer. Perhaps not one with the most gracious bedside manners, but decades later, she still held the job. So was obviously doing something right.

"She's afraid she'll be blamed if something happens to him."

"Ah," Severus said with a slight nod.

"As far as I know, I was the only one he told you would visit. I told Cecelia, in case for some reason I wasn't around any longer and she was the healer spending time with him."

"I appreciate you letting me see him. I know this isn't easy, for any of you."

She hugged him then, and years of exposure to kindness had him react much better than he once might have to such a gesture. He returned the hug even, letting her hug him as tight as she obviously needed to at the moment.

"He's still my big brother, you know," she said when she finally drew away.

He nodded. He didn't know. He didn't have a big brother, but he could imagine. He knew how both of his daughters felt about their older brother.

She cupped his cheeks then. He had to fight the urge to pull away. She was not trying to perform legilimency on him, so he clamped down on his need to hide. He, again, knew she was looking for something.

"He was a good man, but you know that."

"I'm sorry?" he asked.

"My father. You. You are him, right?"

"Well, yes and no."

"They didn't give us their given names. So, the lot of us have spent years wondering. It just makes sense that it's the two of you."

Severus nodded. He was aware of what the Prins offspring did and didn't know by now.

"Thank you for not lying to me."

"What good would it do now? You have suspected for years, and said nothing. I think their secret is safe."

"They said it was a matter of life and death, for the world. Of course we kept it to ourselves."

"I'm sure your parents would both say your discretion is appreciated."

She opened the door to, what Severus presumed was, Thomas' room. He'd never had a reason to be in here before, though he'd been to the man's house several times over the years.

"Thomas," Charlotte said.

"Yes, Char," he said. He was seated in a comfortable looking armchair near the fireplace. He looked … not old, necessarily, but frail. Fragile. Tired. He sounded shockingly strong, considering he was supposedly on his last leg.

"Severus Snape is here."

"Thank you," he said.

Char left then and Severus waved his hand, casting the strongest silencing charm he knew before taking a seat next to Thomas. This armchair matched the one Thomas sat in. Millicent's he supposed. He moved to stand, not wanting to be disrespectful, but Thomas gripped his wrist tightly preventing him from standing all the way up.

"Don't. Stay."

"Thank you. I should have thought."

He released Severus' wrist then, waving him off.

"It's … good to see the chair used again."

He wasn't sure what to say to that. He glanced around the bedroom. It wasn't hugely opulent, but it was nice. Clearly, like his own master bedroom, it was designed so that they could remain there as needed for as long as they might like. He could imagine Thomas and Millicent sitting in these chairs, talking of this and that in front of the fireplace. He and Hermione did it quite often, especially during the winter.

"How are you, Severus?"

Severus smiled a bit at the question. "Doing very well," he said with a nod. He couldn't complain. He'd taken to the headmaster position and slowly, brought the magical world closer to the twenty-first century. Students were taught how to use things like computers these days.

"And Henrik?"

Severus smiled. His son was Thomas' successor as Minister for Magic. Some thought Thomas Prins was never going to step down, but no one seemed bothered by that idea. He remained unchallenged until he decided it was time to hang it up. If Thomas had hand-picked and trained Henrik as his relief, Severus wouldn't be surprised because his son took to the job as if he was made for it.

"He's doing very well."

"Good, I knew he would. He has a mind for it."

"He seems to, yes."

Silence. Now that he was here, he truly had no idea how to broach the reason for his visit. Nothing he'd come up with, and he'd had years to prepare for this, had sounded right. He'd had over seventy-five years to prepare for this day since Erik and Marie presented him with this task. Retirement apparently agreed with Erik, because he lived years longer than Severus believed the other man thought he would. Marie might have had something to do with that. Severus was pretty sure the wizard didn't want to leave her.

"What's on your mind, Severus."

"Your father," Severus said, clearing his throat lightly. Might as well just lay it out for him. Thomas wasn't an imbecile. "Charged me with a task. He wanted me to deliver a message to you."

"Okay," he said, sounding curious yet cautious. Severus couldn't blame him.

After Marie had passed, about twenty years after Erik, each child had been given a letter informing them of their parents' trip to the past. There was no information in any of the letters about the why of their trip to the past, or even what time they were originally from.

Thomas was told in his letter that he was taken in by them, saved from being an orphan at birth. Thomas had pressed Severus more than once for information, assuming he had it, as to how his parents knew he would be orphaned.

No one else had been told about Thomas' beginnings in their letters. Marie told Severus and Hermione that much. The Slytherin locket had been included with his letter as well.

Surprisingly, Thomas had told no one, and claimed it didn't matter. He'd returned the locket to Hogwarts to be kept with other items that had belonged to the founders.

Severus and Hermione had been relieved by that turn. Both had been somewhat afraid that he might have done something immoral or illegal upon finding out that who he thought were his parents weren't really. It probably had helped that the Harrisons had been taken in, too. Thomas likely didn't think it was odd they would have done it for him, seeing they'd done it for those four muggleborn wizards.

As far as Hermione and Severus knew, only the three of them - likely two of them now considering Thomas' end seemed near - knew that Thomas was not truly Erik's heir.

Severus stood, pulling his wand out, followed by a box from his robe's pocket. He opened the box and silently cast the spell that would bring the pensive back to its usual state.

"I have two vials here. One from your mum and one from your dad, which would you care to view first."

"Dad."

"That would have been my choice, too. So, we're clear, these were given to me in 2001 before their move to Arizona. Nothing has been added to them since. I have never looked at them, as they weren't for me to see."

"All right," Thomas said.

Severus helped him from the chair, guiding him to the table he'd put the pensive on.

"Are you all right?" Severus asked.

"I am," Thomas said. He sounded … weak, but not out of his mind or anything, so Severus had to trust he was truly all right.

Severus opened the vial that contained his older self's memories and poured them into the pensive. His pensive that he'd inherited from Albus after taking over the headmaster's position. Pensives were not incredibly easy to come by, so there were times Severus wondered if his former boss and lifelong friend had made him headmaster in part to this end.

Knowing he would one day need the pensive.

Severus watched as Thomas put his head into the pensive. He had no idea how many memories there were in there or how long this would take. He kept his wand drawn and at the ready, though, just in case. No doubt he would get some very unpleasant memories. Severus had no idea how someone who knew he was dying might react.

He withdrew about two hours later. His older self was lucky he was a patient man. His eyes sought Severus', but he said nothing. He looked pale, though, scared. As if he'd seen some truly horrifying things.

He likely had. Erik admitted he hadn't shared the truly terrible memories with Severus years ago. What he'd seen was bad enough. So, he didn't even want to think about what the terrible ones consisted of.

Severus didn't even know what to say to the man who'd likely just viewed memories that depicted him as a monster. Are you okay seemed callous, so he remained silent.

He watched several emotions pass over the other wizard's face, saw when he was back here in this room with Severus. He collected himself and nodded, determined. The tears in his eyes weren't brushed away. He took a deep breath and nodded.

"And my mother's?"

Severus bowed his head simply. He withdrew Erik's memories from the pensive, returning them to the vials they'd been housed in before pouring Marie's in. He had to give the wizard credit. He wasn't sure he would want to see more after what Severus Snape aka Erik Prins had likely shared with him.

Severus was quite sure his older self had not pulled any punches when it came to the memories he shared with the man the world knew as Thomas Magnus Prins. Severus knew he himself had gotten the version approved for younger audiences when Erik shared them with him back in 1996.

It was closer to two and a half hours when he withdrew the second time. His eyes were rather glazed and they were so red, he looked like he had been fully crying. He likely was. There was no doubt this man loved his mother as much as she loved him.

"Will you see to tea while I process what I've just seen?"

"Of course," Severus said, moving to the area clearly designed for that. He got everything ready, unsure how Tom took his tea, so brought the tray with everything he could possibly use in his tea on it.

He took a seat then beside Thomas.

"You are him," he said softly.

He smirked a bit, being it was the second time today he'd been asked that.

"In a way, yes. He was Severus Snape for the first thirty-six years of his existence. I think of him as my older self, but I don't think of him as me. I have not walked the same path he did as you saw. He improved my life immensely."

"Did you see the memories?"

"In those vials? No, as I said before you viewed them. They weren't for me. I would not have betrayed his trust, or yours, by viewing them. I have never seen your mother's memories of her past, only from Erik's perspective. She never offered, and I never asked. He shared with me, only because he thought I deserved to know. I was," he shrugged. "Feeling sorry for myself I guess. Stuck, much as he had been by 1996. I had no reason to be. As you know, there were no wars. There was no reason for me to be stagnant. I just didn't want to do anything!"

"Whose idea was it to work with Hermione?" Thomas asked.

Severus chuckled. "Your mum's. Nothing untoward occurred…"

"Oh, I never doubted that for a moment. You'd been a professor for ten years by that point. I'd never heard one bad thing about you, other than your strictness."

"There is a letter," he said, pulling it from the box that he'd had the pensive in. He'd kept them together for the last little while as he tried to determine when to visit Thomas Prins. Henrik had mentioned hearing that Thomas was not doing so well in addition to the rumblings he'd heard around Hogwarts. That bit of information led to Severus' visit today.

Thomas took the offered letter from him. This Severus had read.

Dear Thomas:

If you're reading this, Severus has shared our memories with you. Your father and I debated on whether to tell you these things. Whether to show you. In the end, before we left Britain, we decided we couldn't take this with us to our graves.

I imagine you will choose to view your father's memories first. You probably assume his would be easier to view. In a way, I imagine that may be true, because he is not as emotional as I am. I imagine by now you realize there is more to a memory than emotion.

This letter you're reading is probably around the twentieth version. We struggled with what to say and how to say it. The memories say everything we really want to say.

It comes down to this. We loved you. We still love you. We will always love you. We are always with you. We, with your help and your incredible success, changed the world. I couldn't have done it without your father and the same is true in reverse. More importantly, we couldn't have done it without you. Without you being open to love despite your beginnings.

I could go on forever, as you well know by now. I will refrain. The memories say it all.

We love you and are so proud of you. And we would both do it all over again. We have no regrets about what we decided to do. Not one. As your father would say …

Begrudgingly.

I look forward to seeing you again. Not so soon.

Love Always,

Mum and Dad

The letter fell from Thomas' hand. The wizard was silent as he stared into the fire he sat near. Severus was pretty sure he wasn't actually looking at, or seeing, the flames as they danced along the logs.

"They truly did not regret it?" The question came after about fifteen minutes of silence between them. His voice was a raspy whisper, hoarse and emotional.

"No," Severus said.

"They gave up… For me! Their letters after Mum's death. Well, I assumed maybe it had to do with helping Uncle Albus with Grindelwald. Everyone knew Uncle Albus got my father his interview at Hogwarts. It was me! They were sent back to change me."

"I don't think either of them saw it as giving up anything. From what they've said to Hermione and me, neither was certain they'd live much longer than they had to that point. Certainly, my older self believed his end was imminent and not too far off from that day."

"They never treated me poorly."

"No," Severus said.

He didn't know that for a fact, but he only assumed that was true. From 1971 on, he'd never seen any indication they treated Thomas poorly. Despite being in Arizona for the last seventy five years or so of their lives, they visited frequently. And opened the house to any and all company at the drop of a hat. As it turned out, Marie had been correct about the arid environment being good for Erik's joints, so the discomfort he'd felt here in Britain had dwindled to the point even nearing two hundred years old he seemed more agile than when he left.

"Knowing what I could potentially become, they treated me no worse or different than Char, Phil, Graham, or Will."

That would have defeated the purpose of their task. Thomas likely knew that, though, so Severus refrained from pointing out the obvious. The man was raw, emotional. Now was not the time to make him think Severus thought he was an old fool.

Instead, he went a different route.

"Your father told me the first time he knew he was in love with your mum was when he came back from the orphanage and saw her holding you. As if you were any other child. As if you were her child."

"And they never told me because they were afraid?"

Severus wasn't sure how to answer this question. There was a lot in play with their adventure. Anyone finding out could have been catastrophic. Or at least potentially dangerous. He shifted on his chair, taking a sip of his tea as he thought over his response to the question.

"I think that was part of it. Finding out someone had changed everything could be received with a violent reaction. You wielded more power, influence, and respect for years as Minister than that version of you ever did. I believe they thought you would see that. I think their biggest fear, though, was that if someone inadvertently found out any of it, that they would seek to undo what they had done. You know from your work as Minister that the pureblood rhetoric isn't dead. So, I think they just didn't want to take the risk. And then, when would they tell you? They might have been afraid, too, at how you'd react to thinking they lied to you. I don't view it as them lying to you, just by the way. Did you come to them by less than usual means? Yes, but you are their son, Thomas. There are only three people alive now who know the whole truth. Hermione's mum and dad knew as well as my mum knows that Erik and Marie are us from a different time. They were never told why, beyond the world was in peril."

"Two," Thomas said.

"I'm sorry?" Severus was confused by that statement.

"How you knew to come today, I do not know."

That didn't sound good. In fact, it sounded rather ominous.

"Thomas?"

"Given my true beginnings, I am impressed I lived this long, Severus."

Severus nodded simply. He himself thought that of his own life, and was quite sure his older self had thought that right up to the end.

A peaceful end.

"Whatever this is that is taking me, it's taking my mind first. And swiftly."

"Ah," Severus said with a knowing nod.

"Do not tell Char or Cecilia. I do not want Henrik to get in trouble."

Severus' interest piqued at this. Why would his son get in trouble? What had Thomas asked him to do?

"As Minister he has access to things without question."

"Yes," Severus said. He understood this phenomenon.

"I asked him to get me some muggle Morphine."

"Thomas," Severus hissed. "You cannot!"

"Too late. It's already been done, when you were getting the tea. My mind, Severus. I know you pride yourself on yours, just as my mother and father did. I cannot. I will not live like that."

Severus nodded simply, resisting the urge to pull out his wand and cast the spell that would induce vomiting. Honestly, that could cause more problems, like the wizard choking on his own vomit. He wouldn't want that. Severus admittedly understood. His knee jerk reaction was that he wouldn't take his own life, but Thomas was likely right. He valued his mind.

"I have been putting it off, but your visit today made me know it was time."

"I should get Char…" Whatever Thomas said, he should get his sister. She was a healer.

"Don't. She'll try to save me. I don't want that. Just sit with me, Severus. You could do me one favour?"

"If I can."

"Fetch Hermione for me. The wards should recognize her, yes? My mum could get in. Please summon her. Quickly."

"Hermione?" Severus asked.

"Let me see your faces. Their faces as the last thing I see."

It seemed the least he could do, and wasn't an unusual request. Severus summoned his wife with his patronus.

"A swan," Thomas said.

"Yes."

"Hermione's is as well?"

"Yes."

Hermione apparated in a few minutes later, eyes widening at the sight of Thomas in the chair.

"Hermione," he murmured.

"Hello, Thomas."

"Draw up a chair and sit with us?"

She did as requested, glancing at Severus who merely shook his head.

"Promise me, Severus, do not let Char try to revive me."

"I will do the best that I can, but if she's anything like my wife, she will be hard to convince."

The three talked, well mostly he and Hermione talked with Thomas listening as he sank further under the Morphine's effects. Severus wondered how much he'd taken. He was a smart man. He would know how much would cause the desired effect. His focus was primarily on Hermione, which did not surprise Severus. As close as he knew Erik and Thomas were, he imagined there was a bond that Mother and Son had that could not be replaced or outdone.

"I'm so glad Millie went first," he murmured. "I wouldn't want her to see what I could have become."

Hermione was sitting on the floor next to his chair now, holding his hand by this point.

"You didn't become that, Thomas. You became Minister for Magic and instead of tyranny, fear, and hate being what you were responsible for, you are known for being one of the fairest Ministers for Magic who helped pave the way to pureblood rhetoric being thought of as wrong. Muggleborns like me appreciate you. That was not you!"

Tears were in his eyes.

"She was a muggleborn, and could never tell anyone."

"She chose not to, Thomas," Hermione said. "She could have at some point, if she really wanted to. She chose not to."

"Do you think," he murmured, clearly well on the way to succumbing to the lethal dose of Morphine he injected himself with. "That timeline still exists? Do you think he, I, succeeded?"

"No," Hermione said simply. "I don't think he succeeded. I think Severus succeeded in doing his job until we left. Albus would have continued fighting. Perhaps he would have found another spy. I'm confident that Harry defeated Tom Riddle." She squeezed his hand. "It's not you. It didn't happen. You got everything that Thomas never had from the moment you were born."

"Thank you," he whispered. "I miss my mum."

"I'm sorry I'm not truly her. I know she was so incredibly proud of you. You did that, Thomas. You took what they gave you, and made something positive and great out of it. You had a wonderful job and have a great family. Your granddaughter chose not only to marry a witch but carry two children that were conceived via muggle artificial insemination instead of the traditional way. You staunchly defended her and Annaleigh's right to have children, despite the rift between you. You knew she was unhappy with you, but you still empowered her. You could have disowned her, and ignored what she'd done. You didn't. That was so brave of you, Thomas. It could have cost you your career, your position, but you felt it was the right side of the argument to fall on. Instead, it paved the way to acceptance in our world, so many credit you publicly defending and standing by Meredith and Annaleigh as their reason for feeling strong enough to come out to their own parents. That was huge."

"Do me a favour?" he asked.

"Of course," she said, which surprised Severus. His wife wasn't normally prone to making promises without knowing what she was agreeing to.

"Watch after the kids. The younger ones," he whispered. "With Mum gone, I've tried to ensure things go on, you know. Just ensure everyone's good. Mum was always so good at that. She just knew. It was why she made such a good librarian at Hogwarts. It wasn't just our kids she knew with. You must have that instinct in you, too. Char, Philip, Graham, Willem, and the Harrisons will be going soon too, I imagine. So, I'd just feel better knowing someone else cares."

"I do," Hermione said. "You all welcomed me into your home for holidays for years. And, well, whether I raised you and them or not, they are a part of me. Of course I will."

"Thank you," he said with a nod. He glanced at Severus and smirked a bit. "I know you think that, too, but it's different."

"Understood," he said.

It didn't take long after that and Thomas Magnus Prins, the man who could have been Thomas Marvolo Riddle, took his last breaths rather peacefully, surrounded by instead of his siblings or children, the two people who resembled and were in essence his parents: the people who had given him all the things he hadn't had before.

After packing up his pensive and ensuring the letter Marie had written was back with it despite the fact he knew it said nothing incriminating. It did however speak of changing the world. He thought it best that not get found. He also found the syringe and empty vial of Morphine Thomas used, putting that with the things as well.

He didn't think Thomas would want anyone to know he'd taken his life. Severus understood why he'd done it, and knew Hermione would as well when he fully explained what he'd done. For people who prided themselves, made their livings, with their minds. Having that threatening to go, being aware that it was going, would be a frightening experience. Severus was not scared of dying. Not really. Of not remembering, of not knowing, or being unable to retain new information.

That was frightening.

They got his sister, assured her that he passed peacefully, and specifically asked that she not attempt to revive him. She would have plans to see to, no doubt. And the family would be summoned soon.

"He did something," Hermione said once they were back home. Wordlessly, they'd both apparated to the same spot. The graves marking the lives of Erik and Marie Prins. They weren't buried here, both choosing to be cremated, but the markers were along the riding trail where children and grandchildren had planted flowers over the years. Honouring the couple who had turned this property into a welcoming home for all who wanted to come here.

"He did," he said, showing her the Morphine vial.

"Oh, how sad. I mean, I understand, but that he realized that was his best option."

"Agreed."

She reached out then, hugging him once he set the box with its contents on the ground beside the markers.

"I love you," she whispered.

"And I you," his lips quirked.

"And now we destroy these," he said, holding up the vials of memories.

"You don't want to view them?" she asked.

"No," he said. "That wasn't my life. He made sure of it, shared with me what he wanted me to know. Those memories are his. I would not violate the trust he had in me."

The time turner that had been used was safely tucked away behind a portrait in the headmaster's office at Hogwarts. Albus' portrait and Severus were the only two who knew of its presence. And neither would tell anyone. Neither would risk that. Given that Severus and Hermione's second daughter, Theresa, was following in her father's footsteps and teaching Potions here at Hogwarts. Well, the assumption was that she would relieve him as headmaster when that time came. So the secret should be safe.

The promise Erik had requested of him to ensure the Prins and Harrisons were cared for and watched over had not been a hardship over the years. All three of their children were, in fact, friends with several. So, they wouldn't have had an excuse not to look after at least some of them. Holidays were different now. Scattered. Not all inclusive with hundreds as it once was. That wasn't surprising. Hogwarts, though, continued to be a meeting place for them on that last Saturday of the summer before classes began. Severus made it known that all were welcome and that the gates would always accept them. They didn't all go to the Three Broomsticks anymore as they'd done for many years, but Severus always felt the gathering by the lake was the most important.

Tradition.

Love.

Belonging.

Albus never had confided in either version of Severus where he'd come up with a time turner that allowed them to travel seventy years in the past to begin with. It was probably better no one knew it was even possible to begin with.

"I feel the same way," she said.

He nodded then as they set about doing exactly that, pouring the memories over the markers.

"And life goes on as it should. No one the wiser," she whispered, as the last of the memories were destroyed. Both shuddered, no doubt thinking the same thing.

They'd done it.

Marie and Erik changed the world, for the better.

~The End~

Story ©Susan Falk/APCKRFAN/PhantomRoses.com