Chapter Nineteen -The Maturing Years

When the children were of Primary School age Celeste was employed as Administration Officer at Hogwarts. Muggle children at the Primary School though the Snape children a bit strange. The teachers attributed this to the fact that they were very precocious and obviously came from a wealthy family. They had lots of interesting holidays and many theatre and museum trips. Paradoxically their home did not have television, nor a computer, nor a land-line telephone, but the Snape children were adept at using mobile phones. They also had a large indoor playroom, adapted from their nursery and apparently they were allowed to roller skate on its wooden floor. It seemed their parents didn't mind about such things – the Snapes were strict and old-fashioned, but also surprisingly liberal in some ways.

The strange Snape family lived many miles away, and the beautiful 'Mrs' Snape drove her children to and from school each day in a black Mercedes Traveliner 8-seater vehicle; which, in private, Primary School staff jokingly referred to as 'the hearse'. Mysteriously, however bad the weather, the vehicle's paintwork was always spotless, as was its grey velour upholstery. The Primary School staff only ever saw the enigmatic 'Mister' Snape four times. He managed to get time off work to attend the school's Christmas Carol Concert on three occasions. Invariably the weather was bad and he was always muffled up in rather theatrical clothes – a black floppy brimmed hat, a Regency style russet brown riding coat with a 'cape' top, and long, supple, Cavalier-style boots. He had a supercilious air, and hardy spoke to anyone. He also had an impressive baritone singing voice. They understood he was some sort of biochemist, or possibly a lecturer in pharmacy – they weren't exactly sure, it was never made totally clear and strangely no one ever remembered to ask.

As well as coming to the Carol Concerts, Mrs Snape always attended the school's Sports Days and she usually won the parents races. Mr Snape managed to attend once, but only as a spectator. He looked markedly different from his winter appearances – he wore an immaculate cream shirt over smart camel coloured jeans, and a piece of amber hung from a thin brown suede cord around his neck. Despite his laid-back appearance, he was still as supercilious as ever, and smiled grimly when two of his children – 'the awful Sebastian and Guinevere' – won all of their events. He hugged his wife and laughed darkly when she won the parents sack, and egg-and-spoon races. They seemed a most devoted couple.

During their Primary School years Celeste taught the children to be adequate swimmers, and she arranged for them to have horse riding lessons at Hogallen Farm. She also gave them an introduction to sailing during short stays at Isle San Pareil.

At Tol Galen the Snape garage was usually home to a luxury saloon car, a two-seater sports car and the Mercedes Traveliner 2.3 litre diesel people-carrier. For her saloon car Celeste tried a Rover 800, and then a Rover 75, but finally switched to a Jaguar X-Type 3 litre, because its 4-wheel drive provided superb handling on snowy roads so she didn't have to bother with charms to improve the traction. Her sports cars were invariably MGs or classic Austin Healeys, usually repainted in shades of metallic green. The saloon cars were almost always silver.

Snape enjoyed being driven about the country lanes in the little sports cars, but he appreciated the warmth and comfort of the saloon cars when they went on longer journeys or when the weather was inclement. Except on family outings and holidays, he rarely travelled in the people-carrier, viewing it as merely a utility vehicle.

Snape and Celeste travelled miles on fine weekends and on holidays. Over the many decades that they lived together she enabled him to discover Scotland, the Lake District, the Farne Islands, the Derbyshire Peak District, the Malvern and Cotswold Hills and the Welsh mountains. Celeste introduced him to 'chocolate box' English villages, handsome Medieval and Tudor town centres, elegant Georgian cities and panoramic countryside. She already knew England quite well; they discovered Scotland and Wales together. Snape became very adept at coping in a Muggle environment.

In the year 2013 Celeste was appointed to Hogwarts' Professorship of Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. Although they didn't enjoy having both parents as lecturers, most of the Snape children did very well when they went to Hogwarts. Ginny had the capability to do better – as ever, her problems mainly related to her poor attitude and malicious temperament.

Since their first year together, Snape's Potions exam pass rates improved steadily and he was soon the equal of McGonagall, Flitwick and Sprout. The 'irascible wizard' had finally matured. Potions lessons rose in popularity at Hogwarts, and many more students opted to take it at NEWT level as well as at OWL. More than once McGonagall and Dumbledore discussed this remarkable upturn, and they began to plan for the future.

In 2021 Dumbledore celebrated his one hundred-and-eightieth birthday and he decided to retire. Snape told McGonagall he would apply for the Headship and also register his interest for the Deputy position, should it become available. He explained that he did not expect to get the Headship, nor did he deliberately want to challenge any application she might intend to make, but he felt it was politic to show his interest in any possible career advancement. McGonagall warned him that she certainly intended to apply for the Headship.

McGonagall was appointed Headmistress and Snape became Deputy Head, still retaining Potions and the Headship of his House. A month later Sirius Black was appointed Professor of Transfiguration and Head of Gryffindor House. McGonagall advertised the Defence Against the Dark Arts vacancy and appointed Gabrielle Delacour.

The new teaching team worked together for six, surprisingly harmonious, years, at the end of which McGonagall retired. She and Dumbledore finally married and set up home in Dartmoor. Gabrielle Delacour also left Hogwarts because she wanted to start a family. Both Snape and Sirius Black applied for the Headship of Hogwarts. Snape was appointed Headmaster and Black his Deputy. This left vacancies for Defence Against the Dark Arts, Potions, and Head of Slytherin House. Two Professors from Durmstrang were the successful applicants for these – Draco Malfoy and his wife Hermione, formerly Hermione Granger. Draco got the Potions position with Head of Slytherin – an ideal job for him. Hermione was appointed to Defence Against the Dark Arts – she was such an accomplished all-rounder that apart from Divination she could have taught anything. Hermione impressed Snape at her interview – she wasn't the bossy know-it-all she had been as a child; the witch that now presented herself was still clearly intelligent, but quietly knowledgeable, supportive and reliable. She reminded him in some ways of Celeste. On receiving confirmation of their appointments, the Malfoy couple immediately set about looking for a modest house in Hogsmeade large enough to accommodate their three children.

So the year 2027 saw the birth of Snape's first grandchild and his appointment as Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was seventy-two, which is middle aged for a wizard. He was the youngest Headmaster Hogwarts had ever had.

The new teaching team worked very well together. Hermione had indeed changed since her school days, but not as much as her husband, Draco Malfoy! Snape finally came to realise how much the arrest and imprisonment of Draco's Death Eater father had made an impact upon the former pupil – he was no longer overtly big headed and he was fairly conscientious and reasonably co-operative, even with non-Slytherins. In part, Draco took his cue from Snape, noticing how he and Black had risen above past differences in order to foster a good working relationship. But in part he had already crafted much of his transformation, turning from snooty show-off into a hard-working young man who was finally able to woo the talented Hermione Granger and persuade that gifted witch to become his wife. Snape often puzzled about this. He was tempted to think that Draco had been so cunning in hiding his bedrock attitudes that it proved what a true Slytherin he was. When he once made some throw-away comment that, given the hostility of their schooldays, Hermione was not the most obvious choice of partner for Draco, his new Head of Slytherin merely replied,

"Well, we were only children in those days, Headmaster. Through those seven years we had the ultimate love/hate relationship. I detested Hermione at first, and I'm sure she loathed me. Then at the 1994 World Cup I actually found myself worrying that she might get attacked. And when, some months later, I saw her dancing with victor Krum my eyes were opened to how attractive she was. But I kept reminding myself that she wasn't pureblood. That, and inherited wealth were always my stumbling-blocks. It was only much, much later, when I was thinking about who might be the mother of my children that Hermione repeatedly haunted my thoughts. She wasn't high-born, she didn't have money, but she does have intellect, common sense, high standards, and the heart of a lion. Not a bad dowry. Don't ask me why she chose me. I think she eventually gave up hating me and began to feel sorry for me, certainly once my father was arrested."

Snape merely nodded, recognising that there was possibly some faint parallel between Hermione's feelings for Draco and Lily's for himself. Nevertheless, he still thought Draco exceptionally successful in his deviousness!

In the following year Celeste's father, Lucien Lavelle, died, a month after his eighty-eighth birthday. He was buried at sea in accordance with his instructions – he and Aurora wanted no grave. Out of respect for the family's wishes for a very modest funeral, only Aurora, Celeste, Snape, Fabien and Dumbledore attended. Snape stood rigidly, grasping Celeste's hand and gazing sorrowfully at the slim body lying in repose beneath a powder blue cloth. Concealed by the drapery, Lucien's remains were wound in unbleached calico and expertly weighted with rocks. Snape felt he was losing a father; he grieved at the passing of Lucien. Fabien spoke the funeral oration.

Since the Easter of 1999, Lucien's health had markedly improved, and from the time he met Snape in the following July he had never needed to return to St Mungo's. Fabien had always sensed this would be so (or, more accurately, he had foreseen it) – he knew that Snape and Celeste would be a powerful combination, good for each other and good for others too. Snape worked hard and successfully on various potions to help Lucien to relax and cope with his traumatic memories. For ethical reasons Lucien rejected at the outset Snape's plan to use a potion containing salamander blood, so over the years the Master of Potions experimented with combinations of horn shavings from Swedish Short-Snout dragons, strands of kelpie mane and phoenix tears, always in combination with lavender flowers. He discovered that a single Alihotsy leaf was an acceptable alternative to salamander blood. But his most successful potion contained Short-Snout horn shavings, kelpie mane, and, when he could get it, the residual ash from a phoenix burning day.

Lucien was able to 'forgive' Snape for being a Death Eater, and this also did much to help him to come to terms with his torturers. Aurora was aware of this and so was Celeste, but Aurora would never give Snape any credit for the healing he achieved. Although always civil to her son-in-law, she carried her resentment and distrust of him to the grave. Conversely, Celeste's devotion and admiration for Snape knew no bounds, and, although there was no obvious rift in the family, she never forgave her mother for her unbending attitude.

Following Lucien's death, Aurora lived alone on Isle Sans Pareil until her own death two years later. She was ninety-five years old – exceptionally young for a witch. She missed Lucien very much, and grief for him shortened her life. It was the house-elves that discovered Aurora's body. She was sitting in the sunshine on the bench by the pond in the lush and fragrant bower she had created for her husband. The attendees at her funeral were Celeste, Snape, Fabien and Dumbledore, and once again it was a sea burial. Celeste, standing tall and in control, spoke the funeral oration.

Celeste inherited her parent's island and the Snapes retained it as a second home. It was to become, many decades later, Celeste and Snape's main retirement home.

After the tragic outcome of the 1995 tournament, Dumbledore and the Department for International Magical Co-operation had worked hard to try re-instigate the Tri-Wizard Tournament as a regular event, but their early attempts were dogged by war with Voldemort. The original plan had been to restore the contest to its 5-yearly cycle, but in practice this never worked. Setting his sights a little lower, Dumbledore had hoped there could be a repeat event at least every seven years so that all the students could experience one during their school life. However even this timetable proved too challenging at first – following the 1995 tournament, the next one did not take place until 2003. Only from then did the seven year pattern hold – Beauxbaton won in 2010, repeating its success of 2003, Durmstrang won in 2017 and Beauxbaton again in 2024. However in 2031 the victory went to Hogwarts, and Snape, now Headmaster, was able to bask in the glory.