Late that August, he found himself sitting in a private compartment on a train to Hogsmeade, changing back into Severus Snape with his wand and a hand mirror. He was starting to seriously consider just staying as Adrian Prince for good. Settle down, marry Kenzie (Merlin knew, she'd marry him in a heartbeat) take a job in a laboratory or a chemist's shop, live the simple life as a muggle the rest of his days. He'd like that. He'd definitely like that better than returning to Hogwarts to teach the Potter brat and company for another year. He was 34 now for fuck's sake, wasn't that old enough to know what he wanted? He resolved that this was the last year that he would teach. After all, they'd recruited old Mad-Eye to look after the students, so they didn't need his protection anymore.

And then things went bad. The Dark Lord's return. The things it brought. Eventually he had to tell Mackenzie the truth. Not all of it. Only that he was a wizard and there was a war in the magical world and he wanted to leave the magical world but couldn't because if he just disappeared then they would come looking for him and he didn't want to put her in danger. He didn't tell her any specifics, but she understood. She withheld sex for a week for not telling her sooner, but she understood that it was a dangerous situation and he didn't want to drag her into it. It took a load off his mind to know that he wasn't alone.

The Dark Lord, the snake, and the boy were all gone when he came around. The mixture of antivenin and healing potions that he'd injected through the lining of his pocket right after the bite (bless the muggles and their auto-injector pens) had taken longer to work than he had hoped, but they had worked and that was what mattered. He was alive. He healed himself as far as he dared exert himself, wrapped his neck in strips torn from his robes, and apparated into his house. He'd only had a glamor on his nose and teeth that day, anticipating the potential need for a getaway, so dropping it was all that was necessary to turn back into Adrian Prince. Himself. He summoned his cell phone.

"Hello?"

"Kenzie." He rasped out, "Please come now. The war is over or it will be soon. I'm hurt. Please hurry."

"Be right there, love. Everything will be okay."

"I love you."

As he waited, he wrote down locations of everything in the house that she might need and instructions. He was dizzy and taking no chances.

When he next woke with Mackenzie next to him, he knew everything would be okay. He was home with the love of his life by his side and if he had survived this far then he was out of the woods. Better yet, he realized, the magical world thought he was dead. He was finally free. The contents of his vault at Gringotts had been moved to his house several years prior, as had what possessions he'd had at Hogwarts that he cared about. He had no need to ever return there.

Mackenzie woke up and smiled sleepily at him. "You're awake, love. I told you everything would be okay."

He tugged her closer to him. "I only need one more thing for everything to be okay."

She bolted upright, concerned. "What is it? What do you need?"

"Marry me."

"He left everything to the school." The ministry wizard told the headmistress, "However, his bank account is empty and his house was sold a number of years ago, so anything he owned would likely already be in the school."

Minerva nodded numbly. She hadn't been lying when she had told the muggle man with the broken leg that she was fond of Severus. But there it was. Such sentiments were useless now. He hadn't survived the war, and even his portrait in the office was crabby and didn't care to talk to anyone. It was far less animated than the other portraits, almost as if he were still alive, but Harry had seen him die. It must be that even his portrait was secretive and antisocial.

As soon as he was recovered from the snakebite, Adrian and Mackenzie were married in a quiet civil ceremony and within a month Adrian had taken a laboratory position in a hospital doing drug research and Mackenzie was pregnant. She told him that she'd forgotten her pill, but they both knew she was lying. Adrian merely raised an eyebrow and told her in great detail how he would deal with her lying were she not carrying her child. She tried to talk him into doing it anyway, so he was forced to tickle her mercilessly until she managed to distract him. They ended up in bed again.

Next up: kids!