They really should have seen this coming.

After the final battle, everyone was surprised to find that Severus had survived. He never answered how he had, but the fact remained that he survived, and as soon as he was released from the hospital wing he began to pack. He didn’t want to have anything more to do with the school; the place had far too many bad memories for him to ever be comfortable there. No, Severus wanted to retire to Spinner’s End, brewing potions and creating new potions and spells. It had been far too long since he had patented a new potion, even longer still since he’d used his real name, and he was looking forward to seeing if he could still compete with older, more experienced brewers, as well as the newcomers. He wanted to see if he still had his skill, or if war had robbed him of his ability to find pleasure in his craft. He’d assumed Minerva and Potter would see things his way. He had never been more wrong in his life.

As soon as he was cleared of all charges against him, thanks to his memories and a pensieve, Minerva approached him. She had told him, in no uncertain terms, that he was going to continue in his previous post of Potions Master of Hogwarts. When he’d protested that he didn’t want to be Potions Mater, or Headmaster, or Head of Slytherin, she informed him that he wouldn’t have to be Headmaster or Head of Slytherin. He had proven courageous enough that she had decided he would be her replacement as Head of Gryffindor. And no one had asked if he’d wanted to stay at the castle!

Then, the Potter brat approached him, somehow thinking that because he had made a promise nearly twenty years previously meant that he was still responsible for the brat’s welfare. Wasn’t it enough that he had risked his life repeatedly; spying on the sadistic bastard also known as the Dark Lord, so the boy could defeat him? Didn’t he nearly die once again, because of that blasted snake, to save the boy’s scrawny arse? Apparently it wasn’t enough, as he was hounded by the brat daily, badgered for stories about Lily that he didn’t feel comfortable recounting. The past was difficult at the best of times for him, and being forced to relieve some of the best and worst moments of his life for another’s entertainment wasn’t something he wanted to do. However, the Headmistress made avoiding the brat impossible. She offered him the Defense post, as well as Head of Slytherin. He had accepted, and once he had informed Minerva of Severus’s avoidance of the boy, she had forced him to spend at least one hour every day with him.

So, really, they should have seen this coming. He was tired, so tired, but he wasn’t able to just up and leave the castle, as Minerva hadn’t given him access to the wards. He was basically a prisoner in the castle, and that depressed him. The only thing that he had hoped for when he began spying was to survive and be able to retreat somewhere at least semi-peaceful. Yes, there were bad memories associated with his house at Spinner’s End, but he could always sell the house and start fresh. He couldn’t do that here, and that made everything ten times worse. Memories of his days as a student, as a professor, and as a spy all mingled, making him grateful if he managed to get three hours of sleep without nightmares. It was far too much, and there was only one end that he could see.

They found the body of Severus Snape in his dungeon quarters. He had been dead for several hours, and the cause of death wasn’t hard to determine, especially since the empty vial from the poison was still in his hand. Lying on his desk, was a very short note.

I did not do the things I did to spend the remainder of days as a prisoner. If you wonder why I took such a drastic means to escape, know that it was the only option available to me. After all, someone once asked me, “Why do you always insist on taking the hard road?” I replied, “Why do you assume I see two roads?”