Harry Potter and the Sympathy of Souls

Epilogue

THE NEXT DAY . . .

Severus winced as pain flared up his left arm. Sighing, he jotted down a quick note on a spare bit of parchment informing Albus that he had been summoned by the Dark Lord. Then, with a quick tap of his wand, sent the note flying to Dumbledore's office.

Apparating to a dusty room that had once been the library of Riddle Manor, Severus bowed reverently at the Dark Lord's feet.

"Ah, Severus, my faithful servant." Severus noted with worry that the Dark Lord appeared to be in a very good mood. In fact, he looked positively smug.

"Now listen carefully, Severus, I want you to pay very close attention to what I am about to tell you, because I need you to repeat it word for word to Dumbledore later on, and I don't want you to leave anything out. In fact, I'd prefer it if you simply showed the headmaster a memory of this conversation so that he will miss nothing."

"Oh, don't give me that face, Severus, I already knew that you're spying for Dumbledore, and I'm obviously not going to kill you. I need this message passed on."

"My Lord, I would never-"

"Oh, shut up, Severus. I honestly couldn't care less. Now, on with my message."

Voldemort began pacing as he relayed his missive.

"Greetings Albus! Various members of the Order of the Phoenix, and whomever else Severus might choose to share this memory with. I have, as of this message, abandoned all my plans for world domination, muggle subjugation and committing unspeakable evil in favor of enriching my personal life outside the political sphere. It has been pointed out to me that the courteous thing to do would be to inform you, so that you may stop wasting time, energy and resources in attempting to fight me and my terrorist organization. I hope this news will allay some of your worries and fears, and I wish you all a pleasant summer."

A few seconds passed before Severus became aware of the fact that he was gaping. "M-m-my Lord?"

"What is it, Severus?"

Suddenly Severus could think of nothing to say.

The Dark Lord sighed. "I'm sure this comes as a surprise to you, but it's actually very simple. It was, in the end, as Dumbledore always had predicted, the power of love that swayed me from my evil ways. You see, I have, as of late, fallen in love with Harry Potter. As a result some of my goals and attitudes towards life have shifted. Speaking of which, he requests that while you are at the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, you are to send a message to his friends telling them he'll try to drop by later this week."

"Y-You have him, My Lord? Is he here?"

"Yes, of course he is." Voldemort snapped impatiently. "I just told you I fell in love with him. Do I strike you as the type of person to sit around and pine all day? I have already won his heart. Now, begone! Harry and I are in the middle of a game of Monopoly I must be getting back to. I must say, the stakes have gotten rather high..." He made a shoo-ing motion with his hand.

Severus took the hint and scampered.

~

"Very nice." Harry smirked, taking off his invisibility cloak, "I'll admit, I didn't think you'd actually do it."

"But I did, and a deal's a deal. Give me Park Place."

Harry handed him the property, smiling smugly.

~

Dumbledore beamed as he emerged from the pensieve. "Severus, this is wonderful news! Tell me, how can you look so miserable in the hour in which the war has finally been peacefully resolved after all these years?"

"You... you don't think it's a trap, or a plan of some sort?" Severus asked skeptically.

"Of course not! Have I not always told you, my dear boy, not to underestimate the power of love? I have just been proven right once again!"

"Pardon me, Albus, but don't you think that he could just be lying about falling in love with Potter?"

"Rubbish!" Albus declared, "Did you see how his eyes softened when he mentioned Harry? How he smiled ever so softly when he mentioned their game of Monopoly? You can't really fake that kind of thing."

"Then we shall agree to disagree." Severus declared.

"Oh, Severus, you old cynic."

THE END