January 9th, 1982:

Severus had just finished scrubbing his hands after doing a minor surgical tooth extraction on an eighty-five year-old man, his last patient of the day, when he felt the mirror in his pocket vibrate. Biting back a sigh, he pulled it out and said,“Healer Snape, how can I help you?”

Lily’s face appeared in the mirror. “Sev? Sorry to call you at work, but I just wanted to remind you that my mum’s invited you to dinner tonight to celebrate your birthday.”

“Right, thank you for reminding me, I nearly forgot,” Severus said. “I’m almost done here, I just need to change and I’ll be over.”

“No need to rush, love. My mum says supper isn’t until six thirty,” Lily said, smiling. “I’ll see you soon, Sev, and happy birthday!” She blew him a kiss and then the mirror went dark.

Severus smiled, tucked the mirror back in his robe, and went to hand Mr. Ashkevron’s chart to his medi-witch Janeen, so she could file it away. “Thanks, Healer Snape.” She waved her wand and the chart was filed under A in the expanding magical file cabinet. “I’ll finish up the disinfecting of the exam room and lock up here, sir. You just go on home and have a happy birthday, sir.”

“Thank you, Janeen.” He made a quick check of his office desk, seeing if there were any pending emergency cases for tomorrow, but everything was routine, and then he locked up his office with a charm and Apparated back to his flat to get showered and changed into something more comfortable before going over to the Evanses.

Ever since he had met Lily and her parents, Vi had always insisted he come and eat a birthday dinner with them, either on or near his birthday. When Eileen had been alive, she had been invited too, and they had done their best to make his birthday something to look forward to. Now, with Eileen gone and being estranged from his father, Severus appreciated Vi’s thoughtfulness more than ever, since it made him feel more like part of a family.

Because it was his birthday, he opted to dress in his Magewear emerald green collared sport shirt and black slacks, a new outfit he had received from Matthew last night, since his partner was on call tonight and wouldn’t be able to give him a present while on duty at St. Mungos.

Matthew had smirked openly when Sev had opened the box, chuckling at his partner’s look of astonishment. ‘What’s the matter, Sev? Not up to your standards?” he had teased.

The Master Healer arched one elegant eyebrow. “I wasn’t aware I had standards, Matthew. This shirt alone must have cost you several Galleons. Magewear is what purebloods like Lucius Malfoy and Domenic Avery wore on weekends at school.” Back then, Sev had been lucky he could afford new school robes and uniforms, never mind a pricey designer clothing label like Magewear. He examined the shirt with interest.

It was woven of a soft material with spells that prevented staining, tearing, and shrinking and would adjust to the wearer, and even keep them cool or warm, depending on the weather. The slacks were the same, and Severus was impressed in spite of himself, for Magewear was the pinnacle of wizard clothing, touted as the best of the best and not even the Minister wore better.

“Well, I figured that everyone needs to own a Magewear item once in their lives, and since you’re turning twenty-two tomorrow, it was about time you had one,” Matthew grinned.

“Thank you, Matt,” he said sincerely. Then he asked curiously, “Do you have one?”

“Yeah. I have a sweater, I wear it all the time in the winter, that gray one, you know.”

Severus nodded, he did recall the charcoal gray pullover his partner wore during the winter months, and now he understood better why it was Matthew’s favorite.

The outfit was extremely comfortable, Sev could tell as soon as he put it on that it was a keeper, and he would be wearing it a lot. Matthew was a clever young wizard, sometimes too clever for his own good, but he was also a loyal and true friend, something that Severus valued very highly, and he considered it a stroke of brilliant luck that Morgan had decided to come and apply for the position in his practice, for Matthew was an excellent Healer. Matthew’s specialty happened to be physical therapy and long term physical illnesses, he used combinations of both wizard and Muggle therapies that seemed odd, but had great results.

Severus quickly finished dressing, recalling just in time to take the small box off the dresser and tuck it securely into the pocket of his slacks before Apparating to Spinner’s End. He arrived on Vi and Hal’s front porch precisely at six-thirty and gave the knocker a token two taps before opening the door, it was hardly ever locked when guests were expected, and entering.

He had taken barely three steps into the den when about seven or eight voices screamed “Surprise!” and one little one yelled, “Happy Birt-day, Sevvy!”

Severus stepped back as the formerly empty den now filled with people. Lily came forward to hug him, and standing behind her were Vi and Hal, Sirius, Remus, Harry, and Alice and little Neville. “Happy Birthday, Sev!” Lily murmured in his ear. “Were you surprised?”

“I . . .yes, what is all this? I thought this was just going to be a quiet dinner with your parents.”

Lily grinned mischievously. “Since you’re twenty-two now, I figured you needed to have a surprise party, seeing as you’ve never had one, so I invited all our friends, and I did invite Matthew too, but–”

“He’s on call,” Severus interjected.

“Yes, I know. Come on, Snape, you’re the guest of honor, and Harry has been pestering me all day, asking me when Sevvy was coming,” Lily led Severus into the den, which was hung with green and white streamers charmed to look like smoke swirls and balloons that flickered into cauldrons and across the fireplace was a HAPPY 22ND BIRTHDAY SEV banner. Small bowls of snacks were placed around
the endtables, and on the buffet in the dining room were cups and soda and butterbeer and Vi’s famous sherbert punch, which Severus loved.

Harry wriggled down from Remus’s arms and made a beeline for the somewhat shellshocked Healer, throwing himself at Snape and crowing, “Sevvy! Sevvy! You is here!”

Sev lifted the overexcited toddler into his arms and said, “Hello, Harry! You act like you haven’t seen me in a week, but it’s only been two days, scamp.”

“A long time, Sevvy,” Harry said, snuggling into the familiar embrace.

Severus hid a smile, because for a seventeen-month-old two days probably seemed like forever. “Yes, I suppose so.” He ruffled the child’s hair and then set him down to greet the rest of his friends.

Remus clapped him on the back and said, “Thought for a minute there you were going to bolt right out the door when we all screamed, Sev.”

“I considered it, Moony,” Severus replied, smirking. “But I didn’t want to disappoint Lily or Harry.”

Remus laughed. “Figures. Speaking of them, when are you going to ask her to marry you, Snape? You’re not getting any younger, you know.”

“I’ll ask her . . .when the time is right,” his friend answered mysteriously. Then he moved over to get a glass of punch from the sideboard.

Vi had made several appetizers to go along with the pretzels, peanuts, and crisps she had set out, including tiny hot dogs with mustard for dipping, egg rolls, spinach tarts, and roast beef & Swiss roll-ups. In addition to the food, which was delicious, music was playing gently in the background while the adults chatted, and Harry and Neville played on the floor with some of Harry’s toys.

Severus watched the two for a moment, knowing Harry’s penchant for not sharing his toys and biting, but today he was behaving and allowed Neville to play with the toy Hogwarts Express and Seeker and mini cauldron without a fuss.

After they had relaxed a bit, with Alice and Remus regaling the company with stories of the ridiculous things the Auror trainees tried to get away with, since they were teaching classes to the new recruits, and Severus added his own stories about some of the Healer apprentices he’d trained, Vi announced it was time for dinner.

She had made Sev’s favorite, chicken cutlets in a lemon-garlic wine sauce, with almond rice, salad with Italian dressing, and green beans in a buttery sauce, plus crispy rolls hot out of the oven. Everyone ate until they were stuffed, even the children, though as soon as he was finished, Harry promptly demanded to know where the cake was.

Everyone laughed and Sirius said Harry would get along famously with Dumbledore, the two of them could have sweets for every meal.

“And then collapse in a diabetic coma,” Severus remarked wryly.

Half-an-hour later, the cake and coffee was brought in. The cake was Lily’s creation, a fluffy white cake with chocolate frosting and walnuts in the middle and on the outside. It practically melted in your mouth, and upon it were twenty-two sparkling magic candles that changed color when lit, plus Happy Birthday Sev spelled out in color change gel.

“Pretty! Rainbow, Mum!” exclaimed Neville, clapping his hands upon seeing the cake.

Alice hugged him. “Yes, it’s very pretty, Nev. Now hush, because we’re going to sing.”

“Sing? What sing?”

"Happy Birt-day song,” Harry answered, and began singing in a sweet slightly off-key treble.

The adults soon joined him and then the kids were chanting, “Blow out the cannels, Sevvy!” and Severus did so, feeling a wave of tranquility sweep over him. Then Vi handed him the knife to cut the first piece of cake, and he handed it to Lily, smiling as he did so.

Once the cake was eaten and the dishes cleared away, using magic for once, they returned to the den, where Severus was seated in the “Recliner of Honor”, and the Aurors levitated the presents over to him, one by one.

“Presents! Yay!” the kids squealed and Harry climbed on Severus’s lap clamoring, “Me open them!”

“Harry, those aren’t your presents to open, sweetie,” Lily informed him. “Remember whose birthday this is?”

“It’s Sevvy’s!” He looked imploringly at Severus. “Me help, kay?”

“Little imp!” Sev tweaked his nose. “Okay, you can help, child.” He reached for a medium-sized present wrapped in colorful paper. “From Alice, Frank, and Neville,” Severus read the card while Harry tore off the paper.

“What that?” asked the little boy.

“It’s a vial labeler,” Severus answered. “Now how did you know I needed
this for my office, Alice?”

“Oh, just a hunch,” she smiled. “It’ll save you some major writer’s cramp, since the spell on the label will identify the potion in the vial and write its name and the common dosage and uses on the parchment when you decant it into the vial. The wizard who invented it was a Healer in a huge hospital in Chicago, name of Aidan Marcus, I believe.”

“It’s a wonderful invention. Thank you, Alice and Neville.” He set the vial labeler aside and moved on to the next present.

From Hal and Vi he received a gift certificate to Flourish and Blotts and also a set of cookbooks. “Is this supposed to be a subtle hint, Vi?” he asked, and the stout woman just chuckled.

Sirius had given him some rare potion ingredients from the apothecary, plus a draft to purchase 55 Galleons more, and Severus thanked him, saying he would put them to good use. Remus’s gift was a new thermometer, spelled to take a temperature in five seconds.

“Matthew’s going to be green with envy when he sees this. He was bragging that he was going to buy one next paycheck. Thank you, Moony.”

“Hey, anything that makes my exam easier is worth it,” the werewolf laughed.

“This is from me and Harry, Sev,” Lily announced, handing him a homemade card, drawn by Harry.

Inside it were tickets to a popular Muggle play Phantom of the Opera. “Now we can finally go and see it together,” said the Healer. “Even if it is your second time around.”

“Well, actually, it’s my first,” Lily admitted.

“But didn’t James ever bring you . . .?”

“He was going to, but then he got a new lead and had to follow up, so . . .”Lily shrugged.

Severus just shook his head. “Well, I’m taking the day off, so nothing short of a natural disaster should prevent us from seeing it this time.”

“I can’t wait,” Lily said, giving him an arch look.

Seeing the warm glow in her beautiful emerald eyes persuaded Severus to act upon the impulse that had led him to tuck the small box into his pocket, and he gently set Harry on the floor, telling him to go and play with Neville. “Let’s take a walk, Lily,” he suggested.

The other adults exchanged knowing glances as the two departed out the back door. Lily followed him out into the backyard, it was dark and the moon soared cool and watchful overhead. “You enjoy walking in the moonlight, Sev?”

“Always, with the right person,” he replied. He placed a hand on her arm. “But there’s an even better spot for a walk in the moonlight, little flower. Shall I take you there?”

Lily eyed him, amused. “Is this your attempt at seduction and kidnapping, Severus Snape?”

“You’ll see,” was all he replied, before Apparating away.

They reappeared on the shores of a familiar large lake, and Lily stared at the placid water shimmering in the moonlight in surprise. “Sev, this is the Black Lake at Hogwarts.”

“Correct, and it’s also the place you and I used to study and--”

“–The place where you kissed me the first time,” Lily murmured, turningaround and twining her arms about Severus’s lean frame.

He bent his head and their mouths met and the old passion flared anew between them.

When they finally broke apart, it was with regret, savoring the sweetness each aroused in the other. Severus cupped her chin in his hand and whispered, “Do you know how long I have dreamed of doing that again?”

“How long?”

“Since fifth year.”

“Merlin, Sev, all that time?” she teased gently. “I hope I was worth the wait.”

“You are always worth the wait, Lily.” He kissed her again, then walked arm in arm with her along the lakeshore. “Some of the best moments of our lives were here at school.”

“Yes. And some of our worst too. ‘It was the best of times and the worst of times’ “ she quoted softly.

“Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities,” Severus replied automatically, harking back to a game they used to play as children, seeing who could identify the most literary
quotations. “But I would have traded it for nothing else. Except for one thing.”

They had halted and Lily gazed up at him, feeling her heart pound in anticipation. “What thing, Sev?”

“I wish that I had the courage back then to ask for your hand in marriage, Lily Ann. And to admit that I loved you. But I was insecure and shy and certain that I wasn’t good enough and my chance slipped from my fingers.”

“And now?”

“Now I know what I want and my own worth. I want you forever, to hold and to come home to, and I want to raise Harry as my son and for us to be a family–a real family, like your parents, not the pitiful excuse for one I grew up with. I never realized how alone I was before, or how much I wanted that, until we started seeing each other again, Lily. I thought I was content, with my work and my solitary nights and my friends to visit on occasion, but I was wrong. The contentment was a facade to hide the loneliness and I never even knew it, not until I let myself hope that we could be together. Only with you am I truly happy, Lily. You and Harry both. With you I am complete.” He fished the box out of his pocket. Then he knelt in the grass, holding out the box, where a magnificent diamond and emerald engagement ring nestled. “Lily Ann Potter, I would like to make you my wife, since you are the other half of me. I promise to love and cherish you always. Will you marry me?”

Lily felt her eyes fill with tears. She took the ring from the box and slipped it on her finger. It fit perfectly. Then she clasped his hands in her own and answered, “I will, Severus Tobias Snape, for you are my beloved, who healed my heart when it was shattered and taught it to love in a way it had never known. I would be delighted to be your wife and make a home and a family with you. I love you, Sev, now and always.”

They kissed again, indulging in their glorious passion, that brought two lonely hearts together and made them whole, binding them together for all of forever, giving each what they most desired, love, a family, and a home.

Lily managed to relinquish her hold upon him at last, breathless and flushed, and said, “I hope this has been a wonderful birthday, Sev.”

“It is the best one, love.” He smiled down upon her. “I suppose we had better get back, before your father comes looking for us.”

Lily laughed. “He approves of you whole-heartedly, you know. So you needn’t fear he’ll come after you with a shotgun.”

“I’d hope not!” He sighed, playing with a strand of her brilliant hair. “I’d hate to start off our new life by hexing my father-in-law.”

Lily rolled her eyes, then allowed him to Apparate them back to Spinner’s End, where she could show off her new ring and receive the congratulations of their family and friends. All in all, it had been a most wonderful unforgettable birthday.