The Last Time

The End

Let us start with the way all good stories begin, at the end, well at what Severus Snape thought would be the end of his life. Laying on the floor of the boathouse of Hogwarts, blood gushing from his neck as he felt peace wash over him. Death did not hurt the way he thought it would have, if anything it gave him comfort; no longer having to live a lie. Until he felt two hands pressing to the sides of his neck, working quickly with magic and potions; attempting to save his life. His eyes fluttered open as he watched one of his students, a girl in her seventh year, crying over his body while she worked quickly.

"I-" He attempted to speak, the blood stopping from his neck.

"Shh, just hold on Professor. I got you." The girl cooed, her eyes meeting his. Severus groaned as she kept up her work on his neck, checking behind her from time to time to make sure they were alone. "I'm going to need you to stand now Professor, I am going to get you somewhere safe and then finish okay, but we can not stay here."

She was frantic as she helped him up, leaning his body against her own. The girl knew Severus would be too weak to apparate as she helped load him on to a boat, laying his head on her lap as she moved away from Hogwarts. Her eyes red and swollen from crying, Severus kept his eyes trained on her face while she used her magic on the boat. She looked down giving him a small smile, stroking his cheek lightly with her fingertips.

It was her, Minerva's daughter, Evelyn McGonagall, her body hunched over his; using every bit of her own strength she could muster to save his life. His eyes shut while he listened to her begging the gods to let him leave this place and survive.

"He does not deserve this. He is a good man, I know he is." She pleaded, the tears never stopping from rolling down her cheeks. "Please, I beg of you. He is good."  She kept one of her hands pressed firmly against the side of his neck while they finally made it to a safe distance away from the castle, pulling aside to the shore not even bothering to try and lift him from the lifeboat. His eyes opened while she started stitching up his neck, taking her time to make sure they were perfect stitches.

Severus watched as Evelyn placed a gentle kiss on his forehead, her lips soft and supple as they pressed against his skin. As he watched he noticed how beautiful she really was, her eyes the same bright blue as her mother's, though her hair was a dark brown that fell about half way down her chest, looking like silk to Severus as it was moved by the wind. Suddenly, her hands moved from his neck, smiling from the side of him.

"It will take some time for you to recover sir, but you will not die now. I got to you in just enough time. You just rest now professor."

"Stay with me." He managed to whisper out, his words breathy as he spoke. 

"Always professor." She whispered back.

...

A little over a year later, and Severus had healed up quite nicely, though he could never remember the face of the young witch who had saved his life. Actually, he did not remember much of that night at all, what he did remember was mostly played out in dreams. He was nearing 40 now, living alone in his home at Spinner's End. The quiet actually made him miss the chaos and noise of Hogwarts, even missing the headaches he acquired along with the noise. He had learned to adjust to the quiet of his simple home. 

It was always silent in his home, occasionally Severus would let a record spin to keep his mind off of the reoccurring thoughts of the war. He tried many times to remember the girl who had saved his life, he wanted to thank her. He owed his life to her. He wasn't sent to Azkaban for his crimes, even though to Severus he deserved to rot alone for the rest of his life for what he had done. When he could not push those thoughts out of his head,  he turned to the bottle of firewhisky that had been promptly put on to his bedside table. He allowed the warmth to take him over as he laid on his bed, the song of the vinyl player in the background seemed to hold him from falling under the proverbial water. 

A knock sounded on his door, sending Severus to shoot up out of his bed, almost knocking down the half empty bottle of whisky, he adjusted his black trousers and black cable knit sweater quickly before answering the door. What he saw shocked him even more, it was Minerva McGonagall standing in front of him, a sad smile plastered on her face.  He had not seen her since the night she called him a coward, the night that forever relayed to him over and over that he would probably go to his grave with the one person he considered a friend hating him; not to mention believing he was a murderer. 

"May I come in Severus?" She asked quietly as she locked eyes with him, Severus quickly moved aside, allowing her into his home as he shut the door behind her. His words seemed to be stuck in his throat as he motioned for her to sit down, to which she accepted sitting in the arm chair next to a small wooden round table. Severus stared at her blankly, neither one of them speaking for a few moments. He had his head lung low, like a child who had just gotten punished and was pouting. He couldn't bare to look into her sad eyes, to know that behind them hid a woman who had watched multiple she cared about day that night; her words delayed his thoughts.

"I came here for a multitude of reasons Severus, the first of many is to apologize to you. I was your closest friend and I was blinded by the fear too much to see that you were merely acting, none of it-"

"Minerva, please. There is nothing to apologize for, I-" His words were aimed to the floor, a mere ghost of a whisper was all that could come out. 

"No, Severus. You have been let down enough in life as it is, please accept my apology. I should have been there for you, you had no one and I left you alone." McGonagall's eyes welled with tears while she spoke, looking up to see Severus leaning against the edge of the fireplace. He nodded his head looking at her, accepting her apology in his own way. "Now with that out of the way," She smiled, motioning him to come over and sit next to her and he did, taking the seat next to her while she grabbed his hand holding it in her own fragile own. "I am very glad to see you have healed well Severus, I was very worried for you."

"I am doing much better, thank you." His words got quieter if that was even possible, trying to remember once more exactly who had saved his life. 

"Do you remember Severus?" Her words seemed to hint that she knew something he did not. "That night? Everything that happened after, well you know?"

"No, I am afraid I do not." He shook his head, closing his eyes for a moment.

"Well, no matter." She said quickly changing the conversation to a lighter topic, "I know it would be hard Severus, but I have talked it over with the other professors, and we would very much like if you would consent to returning to your old post as Potion's master." He looked up at her, shocked at her words. Severus Snape never thought he would be able to return to Hogwarts, let alone teach there again. 

"I would be honored." He said simply, the words leaving his mouth as quickly as he could get them out. "I do not believe I deserve such a-"

"Nonsense, you deserve much more. We shall see you soon Severus, I know many of us are looking forward to thanking you for all that you did." Minerva buttoned up her coat as she stood, making her way towards the door, "Be there tomorrow if you could Severus."

"I will be there." At his words, she was out of his door, leaving Severus alone to pack and he did so quickly, wanting to get an early start in the morning. Severus locked up the house and soon went to sleep, knowing he would return to the place where he had felt safe for so long; Hogwarts was just a sleep away.