Chapter 6: The Road Less Traveled

Generally speaking, if you've grown up in the magical world, the transition to the muggle world is difficult, if not impossible. There have only been a handful of wizards and witches who have made the switch and have not returned to the magical fold.
Today I made the switch. I tossed away my old life: my friends, however few that might have been, my profession, the comfort of magic. My wand, robes, potions books, and everything else left over from the fiasco that was my magical life are now sitting in a safe deposit box in a Parisian bank.
There are only three things that tie me to the old world anymore. My name, Severus Snape. Who I was, who I am, and who I always will be. That is something I can't hide or put away in a box. The Dark Mark, the symbol of my past, my bad past. It is something burned into my very skin, something I overcame. This is my symbol of strength. Ginny. She is in my head at all times, no matter how hard I tried to erase her. Our indiscretions gave me this second chance. She liberated me in more ways than I even know yet. I don't want to get rid of her, ever. She will live in my brain. She is my conscience. She is.
I went to find a job today, only to find that I am the most overqualified, yet under qualified, applicant in the history of this city. My lack of professional training or muggle schooling leads people to believe that I am unintelligent, when in fact my chemistry skills are far superior to most.
For now, I'm working in a library. It's quiet and I can read most of the day. It doesn't pay spectacularly, but neither did Hogwarts. I suppose I'm going to have to start taking classes if I want a better job. That's a quest for another day, though.
And my small hotel room is turning into quite a lovely apartment. Its on the inexpensive side, so I can keep up my residence for a while.
I still have more things to sort through that need to go in that safe deposit box. I had only thrown the most visible forms of my previous life in there. My bag of clothing from Hogwarts still needs to go. But again, that's a job for another day.