It was the beginning of another semester at Hawkshill High Boarding School for Wizards and Witches, located in California. The principal stood in his office watching this year's intake arrive. Most of the students and their families arrived by way of apparation but a few had more flamboyant ways of arriving – winged horses, flying cars or motorcycles, magic carpets. The front yard of the school was quickly filling up. He looked at the students greeting each other enthusiastically, there were new faces looking slightly anxious and unsure, the absence of old faces no longer here – some he would miss, some he was glad to see gone but he wished them all well in their future lives.

One family, in particular caught his attention - the Bennett-Princes, walking with the easy grace of people who know their worth. The family had arrived in California almost two decades ago, when their oldest child was just a baby, shortly after the second Voldemort war in the UK. Rumour had it that the couple had played a significant role in that war but like many battle veterans they never spoke of it and rumour was all it remained. The Principal knew they were related to the famous Harry Potter so there may be some truth to the stories.

Severus Bennett-Prince was a slim man with short black hair and a neatly trimmed beard, he had healthy tanned skin as if he disliked hiding in the dark, and a ready smile. He was accompanied by his wife, Azalea Bennett-Prince, a petite woman with light brown hair cut in a short style to suit her elfin features, plus their four children. The adults were talking to other parents and preparing to say goodbye to their two youngest children, twins Ruth and Geryon, who were about to start their sophomore year. Ruth was a quiet and likeable person with a good disposition; Geryon was the image of his father, black hair and dark brown eyes, and had a quick wit and intelligence which he used to amuse people not to put them down. The teachers had often said if he applied his intellect more to his work than his humour, his grades would be a lot higher than they were. The older two Bennett-Prince children had already graduated: - Luke, a hard working young man was currently studying at medical college. His sister, Helen, had left Hawkshill last semester and was about to start university. She was strikingly beautiful with her long raven hair and bright green eyes, but never vain or dismissive of those less attractive, if any face could have launched a thousand ships it would have been hers.

The Principal saw Severus and Azalea laugh as one although they were standing well out of earshot of one another but he couldn't see what the joke was, sometimes they seemed to be able to communicate without words. Azalea and Severus walked towards each other and when they met up they held hands just as newlyweds would. The way they looked at one another spoke of a deep and lasting love. The Principal had been married a long time and he loved his wife, but the days of public displays of affection were long gone. Now he thought about it, Azalea and Severus still looked like newlyweds. It was hard to believe that they had a 20 year old son, they simply did not look old enough, yet he knew them both to be in their fifties. Azalea was a healer, and a well-regarded one, Severus was a partner in the multi-national potions supplier, Scrips and Co. The company had gone from strength to strength in the past decade or so, but its best-selling item wasn't a potion at all, it was shampoo.

There was a knock on his door and the Principal left his contemplation of the students and their families and returned to the business of the day.

Unaware of the Principal's musings about them, Azalea and Severus said goodbye to their twins, and saw them go safely and happily into the school, chatting with their friends and sparing only a casual wave to their parents. As usual Azalea shed a few tears as she waved to the children and as usual Severus told her that they would be fine.

Luke and Helen weren't forced to come to see their siblings off, but they had left the school recently enough to still have some connection with the place. Once their curiosity about any changes was satisfied they disapparated away.

"Sev, do you ever miss teaching?" Azalea asked as they prepared to leave.

"No. I'm happy to be on this side of the school," he replied. "And my occlumency and legilimens skills serve me far better negotiating business deals than they ever did to ascertain what misdemeanours my students were guilty of."

Azalea and Severus apparated to a large white house, set in vast grounds. Since leaving the UK to make their home elsewhere, Azalea and Severus had done extremely well for themselves. The money Azalea had inherited from Sirius ensured they had a good lifestyle from the outset. She had finished her training as a healer. She had discovered that the stone she picked up on the day of the Battle of Hogwarts was a resurrection stone, which had tremendous healing and life extending properties. Ironically, it would have healed Dumbledore's cursed arm if they had only known what it was and how to use it. Her natural talent at healing, coupled with her use of the Elder wand of power and the resurrection stone, soon cemented her reputation as an eminent healer of quite extraordinary ability. One of the achievements that had given Azalea a profound sense of satisfaction was when she had healed Frank and Alice Longbottom of the worst effects of the torture that Bellatrix had subjected them to during the first wizard war.

Severus had fulfilled his delayed promise to Cato Scrips to join him as a business partner and grow the business abroad, which Severus had done very successfully. Cato was one of the few in the wizard community who knew that Severus had not died during the final battle at Hogwarts School and he would take the secret to his grave. Another person was Harry.

Harry had known that Azalea had survived the battle of Hogwarts, that she had emigrated to the USA and was married. It was only when he and Ginny came to visit Azalea as part of their honeymoon that he had discovered the true identity of her husband. He recalled that several years' ago, when Azalea had fallen from the balcony, Hermione had declared that Professor Snape was in love with Azalea and neither he nor Ron had believed her. Harry discovered how much owed to Azalea and Severus for his eventual defeat of Voldemort. He already knew that he was in debt to Severus for his role as double agent but Severus took him aside and told him about the times Azalea had intervened and watched out for him – the Battle of the Ministry, against the Death Eaters on the day Dumbledore had died; on his travels looking for the horcruxes; keeping Gringotts bank from the control of Voldemort and later saving many lives at Gringotts while Harry flew away on the dragon; her defeat of the dementors, giants and werewolves at the Battle of Hogwarts and how she had saved Harry from dying when he finally faced Voldemort. Harry and Ginny kept their secret and when Harry's tale was told, Azalea's role and relationship with Severus was not included. As far as the larger world was aware Severus Snape had died in the Shrieking Shack, but Harry was pleased that his cousin had found love and happiness with a man he now knew to be brave and loyal and he could not fault her choice.

Severus did not tell Harry that Azalea's greatest contribution to the war had been her loyalty and unconditional love and support for Severus. Without her it would have been so easy for him to slip over entirely onto Voldemort's side, with his promises of glory and power, especially after Dumbledore's death and Snape's alienation from his colleagues and students. She had given him something real and tangible to cling to, like a life raft adrift in a hostile ocean. Now, she was his rock and in the lyrics of the song he had sung to her on their wedding day, everything he did, he did for her. Everything he was now, he owed to her. His feelings for her were more than just gratitude, it was enduring, eternal love.

The door of their house opened and Azalea and Severus were greeted by Winky, who still insisted upon serving My Lady and Master Severus. Winky and her husband Scotty were now part of the household along with their three children. Azalea and Severus had frequently offered to free Winky and Scotty but neither wanted to be released, being bound by loyalty and affection gave them a sense of security. Their children were all were free elves. The wizard community in the USA had no tolerance for slavery of any form.

Azalea and Severus sat outside in the warm California sunshine watching Fawkes soar in the open sky, the sun reflecting from his plumage making him look like a flying jewel. They filled up a glass each with a wine spritzer and listened to music.

Severus leaned back in the chair, closed his eyes and let the music wash over him. He indulged himself thinking about how his life had turned out. When he was Geryon's age he had expected that he would marry Lily Evans and live happily ever after. Perhaps it would have been their child that was the Chosen One and that he and Lily would have died defending him against the Dark Lord with no happy ever after. He stopped thinking about what might have been and thought instead about that which was. He needed no imaginary child, he had four real ones and he was eternally grateful that he had married the woman he did and not the one he didn't.

He thought about his children. Luke, his first born, dependable and intelligent, training to be a healer and follow in his mother's footsteps. Helen, - he'd considered her lovely from the moment she was born but he soon became aware that it was more than a father's bias. Now he couldn't imagine that there would ever be a man worthy of her. Geryon was a little rascal. Sometimes Severus struggled to keep a straight face when teachers described Geryon's latest exploits to him and he had to be appropriately stern when reprimanding him. Afterwards he and Azalea would crease up with laughter at the antics of their son, behaviour which Severus would not have tolerated when he was Professor Snape, the potions master. Ruth, little Ruth, she was overshadowed by her extrovert twin and her beautiful sister, but she was the child of his heart. She was the one who would snuggle up next to him on the sofa, and her small hand would slip unbidden into his when he was walking. He was the most important man in her young life and he dreaded the day it was no longer so. If the situation ever arose, he would protect all of his children with his life but for Ruth he would be fury unleashed.

He opened his eyes when there was a pause between tracks in the music and he watched Fawkes flying overhead. A few years' ago Fawkes had returned with a mate and they had raised a clutch of chicks. Once the chicks were grown and left the nest, his mate had flown away and had not returned. Clearly phoenixes did not mate for life unlike himself and Azalea. They had a good marriage, - to be sure they had their ups and downs, arguments and disagreements but they had always resolved them and their marriage had not suffered for it.

He heard Azalea's voice as she spoke to the house elves and not for first time he wondered where he would be without her. He knew the immediate answer, he would be dead. His bones would be lying forgotten in the shrieking shack. He and Azalea were never exactly sure what had stopped him dying that day – whether it was her healing powers, the phoenix tears or even his own will to live, probably a combination of all three. Whatever it was, since that near death experience he had felt freed of the guilt, hatred and resentment that had dogged his younger days. It was as if he had been washed clean, forgiven and had granted forgiveness in return.

Severus and Azalea were also unsure whether his close brush with death and Azalea's help in ensuring Harry survived after Voldemort had killed him were a fulfillment of the Slytherin prophecy about cheating death. Azalea thought not because any one with medical training could have helped Harry. Perhaps it was as Dumbledore has suggested, the prophecy would apply to one of their descendants many years ahead. As for the identity of her grandfather, Azalea told the children as they reached adulthood. Otherwise, it was another secret best kept from the world.

Azalea studied her husband and turned her thoughts to how he had changed her life. During the battle of Hogwarts when she believed him dead, she had been out of control and had killed so many during the battle. Who knew if she would have become a Dark Lady after that day, wreaking her revenge on all who had followed the Dark Lord who had killed her husband? With Severus returned to her she felt calm and strong, he had helped her come to terms with deaths she had caused during the battle and kept the evil in her at bay by his loyalty, commitment and enduring love.

The music changed to a song that Severus had loved to sing. His singing voice had never returned despite all of Azalea's attempts to heal it. His speaking voice had also altered but his view was that the loss of his voice to the snake bite, which could have led to his death, was a small price to pay for the way his life had turned out. It was some compensation that all of their children could sing like angels.

Azalea watched Severus when the song came on and he made no reaction to suggest he mourned no longer being able to sing. Occasionally Azalea would listen to the recording she had once made of him singing lullabies to Luke and regretted that which was lost. Azalea looked fondly at her husband immersed in the music, and at the house elf family playing in the swimming pool, she thought of Luke and Helen, adults now with the world at their feet, she thought of Ruth and Geryon happy at school. That which she had gained was without price and all was well.

-oOo-

A/N

That concludes my story.

Thank you to everyone who had stuck with me to the end, and thank you for all your reviews, and for following and favouriting my story. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

I was inspired to write this after doing a re-read of the Harry Potter series and on this subsequent read I thought Severus deserved more that he got so I decided to give it to him by writing my own fan fiction (the first one I've ever written btw). When I started the project I thought it would be over in a few chapters but the more I wrote the more I wanted to say. I freely admit that the story is a bit of a curate's egg, but I hope that you found the good parts to your liking.

In my imagination Severus is now living happily in California with his family and is not a mummified corpse in the Shrieking Shack. I prefer my ending.