"Thank you, come again." Ginny smiled brightly as the witch exited the shop, leaving it empty. "Your turn, Severus!"

Snape walked out from his lab to look at the girl with an irritated expression, "We agreed, Ms. Weasley, that you would be the one dealing with the public. I just brew the potions."

Ginny laughed, "You've got to be kidding me, right?" She shook her head and dragged him to the cash, "You have to deal with them at some point. You're the actual 'expert' here."

Severus gave a long-suffering sigh.

"Anyway, I'm going for lunch." She smiled at him and kissed his cheek lightly, friendly. "Don't blow up the shop."

He nodded and sat down on the stool there, looking very stiff and quite uncomfortable.

Ginny gathered up her cloak and headed out into Hogsmeade, a bell hanging on a worn blue ribbon ringing behind her. She took a moment to look back at the shop: Malfoy & Snape. The apothecary that Draco had wanted so much.

Ginny owed Severus a lot. He'd found her under those stands, hours later, shivering. He'd picked her up an carried her to the castle, planting her blue-tinged self in front of his fire, sternly informing her that "He wouldn't want you to stop living, Ginevra."

Ginny had nodded, not even listening to him.

"He and I were good friends, you know. You are not the only person in this castle who was recieving his letters. Mine from him were always full of you." Snape had sighed and looked down at her, "I promised him to take care of you if something should happen. I do not break my word."

She'd looked up at him and realized that, in his own way, Snape was hurting as much as she at the news of Draco's death. She'd walked over to him and hugged him, trying to share a strength she didn't know she could find. They spent that night together, she crying against his shoulder, him in stony silence.

The next morning, Severus gave his resignation to the Headmaster who merely nodded, understanding. He'd expected it. Severus and Ginny had agreed the night before to open the apothecary. Draco had wanted to do it with Severus when he came back. Now he was not going to come back, so they'd open it for him, without him.

That was a year ago and the apothecary was doing well. It had been started with Severus' savings and they'd already made the money back an then some.

Severus and Ginny had helped each other heal. They found that they had a lot in common and became good friends. And, perish the thought, Severus had even begun dating (with Ginny's insistence), although she had yet to do so.

She smiled at the sign and blew it a kiss, I kept living, Love. We both did. Now, for lunch...

((Thank you for reading. As many of you have discovered in the reading, the story was inspired by the song Traveling Soldier by the Dixie Chicks, a really wonderful song that I more than encourage you to listen to!))