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Since I know you've all been waiting for his appearance...

Chapter 4: In Which Severus Takes a Chance

Severus Snape was a dead man.

At least, that's what his official status was at the Ministry of Magic. There had been a mixup in the aftermath of that battle at Hogwarts, and the newly appointed Minister of Magic wasn't about to cop to losing a body. After being surreptitiously retrieved from a pool of his own blood, he was quite content to go alone in the world on his merry way. You had to die before you could be reborn, after all. If the universe owed anyone a fresh start, it was him.

He could have been able to leave the whole of the magical world in his wake, if it weren't for his lingering connection to the family that saved him. Debts were tricky things, and Severus knew they should be paid. His entire adult life was sacrificed on the altar of debts owed. Thankfully, he didn't owe anything to anyone anymore. Had Longbottom found him in the Shrieking Shack, or Hagrid or Aberforth or any number of others, he would have owed them a life debt. But when someone who owes you saves your life? Everything cancels out. Everyone walks away free and clear.

The family Malfoy probably hadn't intended on stumbling upon their old acquaintance when they retreated from the celebratory Great Hall after that final battle. But they those their path through the dark of the Shrieking Shack, and Merlin knows they owed him. The manor had been a bit of wreck after being forced to play host to the Dark Lord, but there was still a healthy supply of medicinal potions and down feather beds and Egyptian cotton sheets. Severus recovered in style. The first month, he was given basic potions and broths by the house-elves. When he was lucid enough to realize all that had happened, he began tailoring the potions to his specific needs. It was a lucky thing for all involved that Draco was more than a narcissistic pile of blonde hair; once Severus was on the mend, he spent his afternoons angrily whispering brewing directions so the boy could make the last of his healing potions.

Four months later, Severus was right as rain. Narcissa and Draco had never left the manor, having been cleared of all charges by reason of coercion. They ran all sorts of errands on his behalf while he sorted out his life. Or their house-elves did. Clearing out the bookshelves at Spinner's End, transferring gold from his rooms at Hogwarts, and processing the will he had left behind. In the meanwhile, Lucius was in the throes of a lengthy public trial. During that time, he had to return to a prison cell at night. It wasn't as though Severus was worried. Lucius always walked away unscathed. He'd be fine, even if he did dirty his silk robes during his brief stay in Azkaban.

As for Severus himself? He decided that he was starting over. He was going to have everything the world denied him on his first go around. Dispose himself of his idiotic name for starters. Narcissa had looked at him cross-eyed for days when he asked her if she thought he looked like a Clive. No? How about Terrance? He got rid of his wardrobe next, tossing his billowing robes and replacing the stuffy buttoned-down jackets with a functional leather coat. Black, of course. He was all for freshening his image, but there was no need to reinvent the wheel. The hair went shorter, to his chin. Clean-shaven as always. He thought about changing his nose, but reconsidered. People were going to take him on his terms this time, and if they didn't? Well, they could kindly fuck off.

Severus Snape was going to partake of wine, women, and song. Not wine per se, since he'd had a run through the Malfoy cellar and decided that hard liquor and beer were more his style, but indulgence. Severus was going to indulge in the things he'd denied himself his entire adult life. Not song, either, since that portion of the saying had never made much sense to him. But women? Oh, he indulged in women. At least, he intended to. A part of him thought that Narcissa might get cold and thankful on one of these lonely nights, but that never panned out. It was all just as well. She was accustomed to a pretty man, and no amount of rebirth would ever make Snape pretty.

Really, dying was the best thing that ever happened to Snape. There were no snivelling students to corral, there were no taxes to pay, and no laws to obey. Now that the Ministry had decided to stick its meddling nose in the affairs of its citizens' bedrooms, there was, in particular, no marriage law to obey.

That sly devil, he thought. Severus knew Kingsley's birth year. The man had bollocks the size of bludgers to implement a law that terrible, only to skirt it himself. Kingsley had been a bachelor as long as Severus had known him. For that matter, if Kingsley dated at all, nobody knew about it. The man was practically a eunuch.

As it so happened, Severus was also still unmarried. Unmarried and dead was the best way to live, and unmarried and dead, he intended to stay.

"I'm off," Severus declared one morning after breakfast. He slung a small canvas satchel over his shoulder. Undetectable extension charms allowed him to travel light. "An autumn in Spain will do me good."

"So soon, Severus?" asked Narcissa. She helped herself to a slice of canteloupe and half of a croissant from the silver platter before them. Every meal was a small banquet in the Malfoy home. Severus had gained nearly a stone thanks to the pastry skills of the elves in the kitchen.

"Soon?" he asked. "It's been five months, woman."

"I expect to see you at Christmas," she demanded, graciously accepting a freshly poured cup of tea from one of the Malfoy house-elves. "Lucius should be home then. And at Draco's wedding, of course. We can keep some of your things in the east wing, if you'd like."

"Christmas, yes," he agreed. Then he shook his head. "I will undoubtedly be noticed if I attend Draco's wedding to whoever he ends up engaged to."

"Polyjuice, my dear man," Narcissa said. "Use your brilliance to disguise yourself. I'm not taking 'no' for an answer."

Draco groaned, dropping his head to the table. He narrowly missed knocking over his morning cup of tea.

"Buck up, dear," his mum said, swatting him on the back of his head.

"That's easy for you to say," he whinged, shaking his head at his mother and his former professor. "You're not being forced into marriage. Neither one of you is!"

"Why not just pick a girl?" his mother asked. "Find an acceptable one and give her the house in the Cotswalds. You won't even have to see her."

"I always thought," he muttered quietly, "that I'd end up with Pansy." He shot a quick glance at his mother. "We can't even date now, since we're both Purebloods."

Severus resumed a seat a the table, dropping his bag at his feet. He looked at the boy, waiting until he had his full attention. "You have already acquired your N.E.W.T.s, have you not?"

Draco raised his head. "Yes."

"And did passably well, yes?"

He raised his chin. "Better than anyone else in our year." He gritted his teeth. "Except Granger, but she doesn't count."

"Oh, nonsense," Narcissa interjected. "You know we're supposed to acknowledge the merits of people like her these days."

"Muggle-borns?" Draco asked.

"I was thinking of Gryffindors, darling," she said, "but I suppose Muggle-borns as well."

"It's hard not to think of Muggle-borns," Draco snarled, "since the government is set to marry me off to one."

Severus smirked. "Maybe you will acquire the ever-skilled Miss Granger. You can procreate like Nifflers and fill a wing of the manor with your petulant offspring."

Draco's mouth dropped open. "Don't even say something like that in jest, Severus."

Severus clapped the boy on the shoulder. "You have an education. You have an official pardon. You have a significant balance in your Gringotts vaults. What you need is a plan."

"I am open to any and all suggestions."

Opening his satchel, Severus dug out a short stack of newspapers. He pulled open a issue of The Daily Prophet. "According to the latest report, you have one year. Apparently Potter talked Shacklebolt into extending the time frame so that he could marry his mother."

Narcissa looked at him quizzically.

"Have you seen the girl?" Severus asked. "Ginevra Weasley is the spitting image of Lily." He turned to Draco again. "One year. So what are your options?"

"Marry or give up my wand," he said, shaking his head. A chocolate croissant entered his stomach in two bites. "I can't believe they're doing this to me."

"They're doing it to more than just you," Severus said. "Herein lies your advantage."

"Why?"

"Think, boy. How many people wanted this law to pass?"

Draco sighed, picking up an almond danish to devour. "Obviously a majority on the Wizengamot. That's probably it, though."

"Precisely." Severus looked at him, waiting for the shoe to drop. When it didn't, he opened a copy of of The Quibbler. Buried under a cover story about yeti sightings in Staffordshire was one notice about "Learning to Live the Muggle Way, with Hermione Granger" and another about "Political Asylum for Beginners: Paperwork is Your Friend."

"You don't expect me to live as a Muggle?" Draco asked, a look of horror plastered on his delicate features. "Or take Muggle lessons from Granger?"

"Live as a French one," Severus stated. "The food and drink would be to your taste."

"You could live in the Normandy estate," Narcissa added.

Draco looked like he was considering it. "I just don't know that I can live without magic."

"Even with servants?" Narcissa asked. "They take care of all the messy aspects of Muggle life, dearest. If you take the chalet in Normandy, we'd be connected on the Floo as well."

Draco angrily slid a cheese omelette onto his plate. "I'd sooner go anywhere than give up magic."

"I do not believe Miss Parkinson could give up her magic, either," Severus said, watching the young man's reaction. "The girl would be helpless. She even taught the younger girls in her house to apply their nail varnish by wand."

"No," Draco agreed. "Pansy couldn't handle it. She said she'd rather live on the run than live without her wand." He looked at Severus, letting go of a low breath of air. "What would you do if you were in my place?"

Severus shifted uncomfortably in his seat. What would he do if he were subject to the law? He knew instantly, but he didn't think Draco would like his advice. "I would run. Pick up an unregistered wand and head for another country. I would cut all ties and start over, but I would remain my own man."

Draco nodded. "I thought you'd say that. That's what you're doing now anyway, isn't it?" he asked, pointing to the bag packed with all Severus' earthly belongings.

"It's easier for me than it will be for you," Severus replied. "No one will be tracking me. As long as it is only you, your mother, and your father that know I'm alive, I can go wherever I please."

"Stay, Severus," he pleaded. "Just one more week. Just enough time to help me figure a way out of all of this."

Severus looked back and forth between the boy and his mother, their eyes filled with hope and expectation. Grumbling under his breath, he called a house-elf to return his bag to his room.

Severus spent the next few days considering Draco's choices. If the boy wanted a chance to properly woo Miss Parkinson, both needed to agree to live as Muggles or plan a life on the lam. Frankly, he thought that the two Slytherin youths were too self-involved and high-maintenance to be able to do either. They needed a more stable environment, where their collective money and magic could build them a life of relative ease and purpose. Life in England without their wands was out. Draco would likely injure himself within an hour, trying to fly off a balcony on a vacuum cleaner or some other nonsense. He was cleverer than he let on, but Severus knew that magic was too engrained in him for him to be able to live another way. Life continually dodging the government was out, too. He couldn't imagine that Miss Parkinson was any more resourceful than Draco in that regard. Both of them had inherited more Galleons than sense from their parents, and neither had inherited a will to work terribly hard at anything.

But he had agreed to help Draco out. A parting gift of sorts, before Severus left their home for good. Being Severus Snape had its perks: he knew how to infiltrate a crowd and retrieve information from close-lipped individuals. He could sift through the masses and learn their secrets without their knowing that he'd even been there. Being dead had even greater benefits. He could disguise himself as anyone, go anywhere, and nobody suspected him of a thing.

So it only took three days in Diagon Alley to learn that Hermione Granger was plotting a rebellion. In addition to a set of Muggle classes she was running with Neville Longbottom on how to live without their wands, how to cook from scratch, and how to set up local bank accounts in pounds sterling, she'd successfully shanghaied several foreign governments into offering British citizens protection on their soil. He shouldn't have been surprised by the news. Not after coaxing dozens of house-elves back to the kitchens after her failed coup during her Hogwarts years. Considering she held the fates of several hundred young witches and wizards in her hands, he certainly hoped her revolutionary skills had improved since then.

He returned with the news to Draco that evening. The young man was reading a history of the Malfoy family, stretched out along a chaise in the library with a plate filled with grapes by his side.

Severus pulled up a stool.

"So I could still keep my wand?" the boy asked.

"Yes."

"And I wouldn't have to marry some stranger?"

"No."

"And to get this, I simply have to..." His question trailed off.

"To leave the country under protection, you need to talk to Miss Granger."

"Surely there's another way."

Severus rolled his eyes. Draco's stubbornness was a mile long. "Appeal to her better nature. She'll do whatever you ask if she gets to pat herself on the back for it later."

Cussing and kicking the rug on his way out of the library, Draco decided to follow this advice. "I'll do it!" he called over his shoulder. "I'll talk to her now."

Severus returned to his suite to pack his things. Now that Draco was on his way, Severus would leave for Spain in the morning.

With no commitments of his own and a sizable purse to his name, Severus was going to begin by traveling the world. Travel the world and live. Spain was on the agenda, as were the souks of Morocco. Egypt, India, China. South America he was saving for January. Why not take advantage of the reversal of seasons? He had spent his whole adult life in a dank, dark castle. A cold place. He doubted that his skin could tan, but he would find out just what it was capable of.

In time, Severus thought, he could research and write. Discover new uses for asphodel and blackthorn, create new potions, and develop a public persona abroad that allowed him to perform meaningful work. He could find a country to settle down in and buy himself a house. Maybe even take a wife, if a woman would have him. Pick up a hobby or two in his spare time. He would have it all.

An hour or so later, Draco burst into his rooms, fuming.

"She won't do it!" he said, pacing back and forth at the foot of the enormous bed.

"Won't do what?" Severus asked.

"Granger refused. She won't even admit to helping other people out of the country. Says that it's illegal to plot against the government, and wouldn't that be terrible if people were trying to evade the laws?" Draco collapsed backwards onto the mattress. He curled up on his side. "Why me?" he asked. "I'm too handsome to marry a Hufflepuff!"

"Cease this sniveling immediately." Severus lifted his wand and gave the blond a small jolt to the ribcage. "You didn't weep for the loss of true love at her feet? Didn't mention Miss Parkinson at all? You were supposed to be appealing to her inflated sense of justice, Draco."

"I did!" he exclaimed. "She said that if people were trying to circumvent the government, they must really trust one another to keep that kind of information secret, and then she asked if my father was still fighting his case against the Ministry."

Severus shook his head. Granger was incredibly transparent. Too transparent. In her own way, she was trying to help Draco. "You're a liability to her. She was telling you that she couldn't trust you enough to include you in whatever she's planning."

"How do I change her mind?" Draco asked. "She's my last hope."

"Convince her to trust you."

"In a month?" he scoffed. "Hardly." He looked at Severus as though he was looking at his for the first time.

Snape didn't like it one bit.

"You," Draco said, pointing at his chest. "She trusts you."

"She also thinks I'm dead."

"You could do it," Draco said. "You might be the only one she trusts. At least, the only one will speak on my behalf."

"What the blazes are you talking about?" Severus asked. "I will not reveal myself to Miss Granger."

"You know she'll take your secret to the grave," Draco insisted. "You didn't see her during your memorial service, but she cried her way through a half dozen handkerchiefs, sobbing over your death. After ten minutes with you? She'll let me in on whatever she's plotting."

Severus sighed. On some level, he knew Draco was right. He couldn't say he blamed Granger for her reticence in trusting her former enemy, but it would have been significantly more convenient had she just accepted his apology at face value. Then Draco and Pansy could empty their vaults at Gringotts and start planning their new lives in France or Denmark or wherever they ended up. They could live relatively normal lives, which was a hell of a lot more than Severus had been offered at their age.

She would keep his secret, that he knew. The girl was trustworthy. Granger was like a sheepdog in that regard. She would likely feel tempted to reveal his existence to Potter, but if he pressed her to secrecy, she would hold her tongue. Hadn't she kept Lupin's furry little secret during her third year? Still, he didn't want to take any chances. If he spoke with her, he would do it on his way out of the country.

There was no looking back.

NEXT CHAPTER: In Which Hermione Sees a Ghost

"You're alive," she said, eyes wide in shock. She staggered back a few paces. "You can't be. I s-s-saw you..." She stammered. "I saw you die."

How do you like our Severus here?

Any guesses yet on why "Gretna" and why "Greenland"?