Severus thought this was the longest sorting of his entire time at Hogwarts, he was sure of it. Erik, Diana, and Ivy sat at the Slytherin table with their friends. The Potter, Weasley, and Longbottom children were there also, waiting patiently to see where everyone would end up. Never would he have imagined having family and family of … friends sitting at his tables. Until Hermione he had no friends, no real ones anyway.

"Abraxas Draco Snape," Hermione called.

"Hi Grandma," he said, smiling widely. Hermione held a finger to her mouth. "Sorry, Professor Snape, Mistress," he corrected quickly, causing Hermione's lips to twitch in amusement.

The hat went through its decision-making process and called out "Slytherin" with no hesitation. Abraxas looked from Hermione to Severus and gave his grandfather a thumbs up before running off to join the other new Slytherins at their table.

"Eli Prince Snape," Hermione called.

Her youngest, and last who was quite the surprise at just less than a year younger than Ivy, took his seat for his sorting. They'd sworn after Ivy they were done. Evidently Fate had something else in mind for them.

"Gryffindor," the sorting hat called.

He smiled proudly at his mother and then quickly turned to his father who simply nodded with a shrug. Everyone knew Severus assumed all four of their children would be Slytherins. Eli waved at James, Jonah, Albus, Lily, and all the other unofficial cousins he had seated at the Gryffindor table as he took his seat with the other first year Gryffindors.

"Severus Gene Snape," Hermione called.

"Hi Grandma," he said and she shook her head slightly.

He was the spitting image of his identical twin brother, Abraxas. They had almost identical personalities, too, which was somewhat frightening.

Odette and Draco had their hands full even now with the two of them. She was fairly sure it was Draco's doing that the twins insisted on calling her Grandma. She didn't mind necessarily. She was, in fact, their grandma and his middle name was the masculine version of her middle name. They got looks, though, when they were around muggles who did not know who she was and how she came to be a mother to a child only 8 years younger than her and grandma to twin boys who were the same age as her youngest child.

The hat apparently was going through some thinking with Severus. Eventually, the inevitable "Slytherin" was belted out and Severus joined the other Snapes at the Slytherin table.

Soon, the sorting was finished and Hermione took her place to the left of her husband as his wife and his deputy headmistress for the opening feast.

"Thank goodness that's the end of the new Snapes at Hogwarts," he whispered.

"Well, for at least six years," she said. Odette and Draco had a five year old at home with them right now who couldn't wait to find out which house her brothers got into (as if there was any question).

"Thanks for that reminder, Grandma," he said, a glint in his eye.

"Oh, do hush up."

"Cheek, Mistress Snape," he said.

"You can't deduct house points from me tonight."

"Oh, but I can surely find a way," he said.

"I'll just earn them back."

"Using your witchly wiles?"

"Yes, they haven't failed me yet."

"I look forward to it then. Meet me in my quarters?"

She laughed softly with a shake of her head. "I wouldn't miss it for the world, my Mare."

"Outstanding, my Basil," he quipped.

After dinner and everyone settling into their rooms, their children and grandchildren met in Severus' office.

"Ah, there they are. What did the Sorting Hat decide?"

"Slytherin for the twins," Hermione offered and Albus' portrait head nodded.

"Gryffindor for Eli."

"Still, three Slytherins out of four. You really outdid yourself, Severus," Albus said. "Now," he said, standing in the portrait and seeming to approach the frame. "Let me get a look at you. I expect great things from the six of you."

"Yes, Headmaster," they all said.

Severus and Hermione left the office for a bit while Albus discussed whatever it was he wanted to discuss with Severus' children and grandchildren all together like this. Even dead he was still a busy body, but at least as a portrait he couldn't hurt anyone anymore. Eli came to tell them when they were done and Hermione led them all back to their houses after their short conversation with Albus' portrait.

"You did well, Severus," Albus said.

"Thank you, Albus."

"You have nothing to thank me for. This was all you. You had faith and ran with it. You have a beautiful wife, children, and grandchildren. All of which you deserve."

"I have come to believe you speak the truth."

Albus' eyes twinkled. "You were like the son I never had, Severus. I know that to this day you question my methods. However, know that I am exceedingly proud of you, and I am proud to call your children, and their children my family."

"They will appreciate that, I'm sure."

"If I may be so bold, Severus, speaking as a man who ended up dying quite alone. You are one of the richest men I know."

"And to think I wanted to be like you. Alone. No complications or attachments."

"It would be a pity if you had. The solitary life is not an easy one, Severus, and not one meant for you."

Severus bowed his head a bit, knowing Albus spoke the truth even if it had taken him over forty years to come to that conclusion.

"Now, tell me about young Erik's plans after this year."

Severus sat in the chair behind his desk proudly, having no hesitation in showing the pride he had in discussing his oldest son.

****

September 2128
Hogwarts Headmaster's Office

"And you're sure they wanted us to have these?" Millicent Krum, Head Ministry Historian said as she paged through the over one hundred thirty years' worth of documents left when both Hermione and Severus Snape had passed. Her eyes darted to Severus Snape's portrait discreetly, but as in life the painting revealed little.

Palmer Lupin, one of Hermione and Severus' great grandchildren, nodded simply. "I'm positive. The instructions were very specific. She liked you, Millie, you know that."

"A soul marked pair who found one another," Millicent said.

As Head Historian she could very easily assign this task to one of the employees that worked under her. This, though, was the stuff a historian waited their whole life for. Literally over one hundred years' worth of diaries, correspondence, musings, and anecdotes of what the soul mark brought to the table of their relationship. And with it, the need to spend a good amount of time with the wizard sitting on the other side of the desk from her because none of the documents could be taken from Hogwarts.

To Whom It May Concern:

Attached to this missive you will find documentation I, Hermione Jean Snape, and my husband, Severus Tobias Snape, wanted shared with the wizarding world for research purposes. Our great grandson Palmer, current acting Headmaster of Hogwarts, has been left with instructions on what to do with these documents. I trust he will despite knowing how private his great grandfather and I both were. I promise, Palmer, Severus agreed to this and he will not haunt you for doing this.

Severus and I managed to do the unthinkable. Not only did we manage to find and bond with our marked soulmate. No small feat in its own right. Additionally, somehow we managed to keep it from being a commonly known piece of information about us outside of our families. Of all the things I'm proud of (aside from my children of course), I dare say that may be the one thing I take the greatest pride in. As much as I love the world I became a part of when I was nearly twelve years old, they do love a good bit of gossip! So to sustain the secrecy of a rather huge piece of information for so long feels like a rather big accomplishment.

Being researchers and teachers ourselves, these documents are our attempt to educate and inform those who might be looking for materials as to this very rare phenomena that we had the privilege of being a part of.

We could not find much information on soul marks when we discovered ours and so we decided to undertake the arduous task of documenting everything that we could throughout our lives to possibly aid the next couple. Anyone who knows us will not be surprised by this task we willingly undertook nor that it was not a hardship for us to do so.

Did the soul marks make everything easy or perfect? No.

We met initially when one of us had a position of power over the other and the other had a penchant for needing to prove herself. I, personally, never disliked Severus Snape. I cannot say the same for his feelings about me as his student. I never could get that bit of information out of him either, though I certainly can guess that I drove him quite crazy.

I had no idea what a soul mark even was and never having been around magic before noticed no difference in my abilities upon my arrival at Hogwarts. Severus, however, says he knew from the moment I set foot in Hogwarts that I was there. He did not know who I was nor did he seek me out as being a first year (therefore eleven years old) he wasn't going to go off in search of a witch he was supposed to be bonded to. He only discovered it during my fifth year when I was gravely injured and his assistance was needed for my healing.

By the time we could be on remotely equal footing there was a war we'd all been preparing for years for that needed to be actively fought. Certainly we had nowhere but up to go from those dark days. And what a trip up it was for not just us but our children and their children and their children after them.

I want it clear, Severus did not pursue me or engage in any conduct unbecoming a professor or headmaster. I was eighteen when we accepted our bond and I was no longer a student at Hogwarts. The process was a gradual one from seeing just what the bond might mean if we both knew about it. Eventually, a sort of friendship formed and respect for one another's mind. From there. Well, five children and over twenty grandchildren later one might say love formed.

Our descendents have been instructed by me to take legal action if these documents are used to cast a war hero in a disparaging light. It was one of the reasons we only agreed to release them after we were both gone.

Did we argue? Yes.

Were there times we thought the Fates or whoever had matched us had clearly gotten it wrong? Yes, though admittedly those times were very few and far between (nor did they last long).

Did the soul marks mean that everything was easy and that our relationship took no effort? No. In fact sometimes I felt there was the added pressure of "but you were chosen for each other" when we had misunderstandings.

Were we a perfect, ideal couple without our problems or faults? No.

We are no different than any other married couple, just that for whatever reason the Fates saw fit to mark us for one another and bring us together as they did. We were grateful and remained so until the end. I firmly believe I could not have been happy with anyone but Severus.

He cautioned me before the war was over and we'd accepted our bond when he believed he would not make it out of the war alive that accepting the bond may make it difficult for me to find another wizard to be happy with. I told him then I didn't care and I stand by that conclusion even now. Of course I wouldn't have known what my life with him would have been like, but I can't imagine anyone else putting up with my incessant desire for knowledge the way he did.

I have had at least twenty years to live without my soulmate (at the time of this missive's writing) and to realize that though we fought and argued and disagreed on plenty over the years, my life would have been completely dull and boring and so utterly incomplete without his presence in it.

I think of the fact he lived nearly forty years without me and I don't know how he did it. Maybe it was because before he discovered it was me it was only a hypothetical "she is out there". In my case, after his (thankfully) peaceful death there was no hypothetical. The man I'd learned from, known, loved, and fought with since I was seventeen years old was a known quantity who I missed terribly. I had my friends. I had my children and my friends' children as well as all of the grandchildren. That is what kept me going, knowing that even though Severus was gone in body his spirit lived on.

And isn't that what life is all about after all?

We hope in documenting our lives, our journey, as a bonded soul marked couple that the next couple will be helped. My husband and I lived to share knowledge. Why should this experience of ours be any different?

Palmer, in addition to the rest of our descendents, has been instructed to release these documents immediately if they hear of anyone searching for information on soul marks. If not, Palmer will release them when he feels the time is right.

Humbly,

Mistress Hermione J Snape

Millicent looked up after having read the letter, her eyes falling on Palmer Lupin and then making their way to Headmaster Snape's portrait.

"Thank you, Sir," she said simply.

This was a historian's dream come true. What had she done to deserve this? She wasn't sure, but she was going to take it and run with it all the way to becoming the first person to publish anything about soul marks.

"My great grandmother was friends with your great grandfather," Palmer said.

"I didn't know that," Millicent said.

"Well, perhaps you'd like to stay for tea and see some letters of his to her."

"Really?" she asked.

"Years worth," he said. "Those are not for publication," he added.

"Of course not."

"The meeting room would be more convenient so we can spread out," he said, standing to lead her to that room. "Maybe you'd like to stay for dinner."

"It appears you won't be rid of the Krums anytime soon, Severus," Albus' portrait said, knowingly.

"Nor would I want to be. She is an intelligent witch, Hermione has been following her career and hoped she would be Head Historian when it came time for the documents to be released. Palmer has mentioned her more than once after their paths have crossed at Ministry functions the past year or so. I merely told him that perhaps now would be the right time to release them."

"Matchmaking from beyond the grave, Severus," Albus said with a slight chuckle.

"What can I say, old man, I learned from the best."

~The End~

Story ©Susan Matthews/APCKRFAN/PhantomRoses.com