HP ficlet: Death Opens Doors [Remus/Severus, general]
Title: Death Opens Doors Author: celandineb Fandom: HP Pairing: Remus/Severus Rating: general Length: 235 words Summary: Death need not be the end. Note: For snegurochka_lee, at the request of magnetic_pole who said to pick a pairing Lee would like, and gave the prompt "celebration".
"Congratulations." Snape lifted his glass.
"To you, too." Lupin copied the gesture, and the rims of their wine glasses clinked. "How did you manage it?"
Snape gave a soft snort. "Child's play. I've been dosing myself with assorted antivenins and other antidotes for months. Potter has far too little experience to distinguish between death and the mere semblance of it. When all was quiet, I merely Apparated away. If either side noticed the absence of my body, they would simply assume that their enemies had disposed of me."
"Well done." Lupin inclined his head. "My escape required rather more ingenuity, I must confess. I had to transfigure a stray bit of rubble to resemble my own dead body, and then use a Disillusionment Charm to sneak away. Nearly got caught, too, when Ron Weasley bumped into me." He frowned. "I do feel badly about Teddy."
"Not Nymphadora?"
Lupin shook his head. "Dora knew the risks; she often said she'd rather go out doing something worthwhile. But Teddy's losing both his parents this way."
"Your son will be fine," Snape said, and if the statement was slightly self-serving, Lupin couldn't blame him. They had laid their plans years before, and he'd sworn to Snape that having been entrapped into marriage wouldn't change them.
Now, believed dead, they were at last freed to seek a life of their own choosing; a life worth living, for both of them.