Passing the Halfway Mark

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Inspiration for this belongs to Vanityfair who wrote this brilliant list on her LiveJournal at the first of the year. JKR owns the universe.

162 Days, 2 Hours, 12 Minutes

Unable to move another inch, Severus Snape collapsed onto the ground.

The Dark Lord was dead.

His final thought before falling into the sea of unconsciousness: Thank God! Now I can finally get to work on the rest of my list of resolutions.

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105 Days, 16 Hours, 33 Minutes

Severus had fallen into a coma when the Dark Lord fell. Now, nearly two months later, he'd awakened to find that two items had been crossed off of his list during his sleep.

During the battle, Severus had been hit by multiple hexes from both sides once his duplicity was discovered. It seemed that the younger fighters had always felt that their former professor was on the ugly side and thought that hexes hitting his face would do everyone a favor. Though they were debilitating, the combination of curses and hexes had an interesting effect on his appearance.

He was now handsome.

Severus' nose, though still a bit large, no longer bore the evidence of multiple breaks. His skin tone, though still somewhat pale, no longer bore the sallow, sickly appearance. Most notable were his mouth and his hair. The yellow, crooked teeth that had inhabited his mouth for the last forty years were now straight and only slightly off-white. And running his fingers through his hair... it had lost its natural greasiness. So much for resolution item number four.

The only unfortunate part was that this transformation had occurred without him offering Miss Granger hot sex... er... access to his personal library for her assistance ... which he had originally planned to do following the end of the war.

The other item that had been marked off during his coma was the all-important item number one: to clear his name.

Because of the spying that he'd been doing for the Order, the fact that the information he'd passed to Miss Granger had changed the tide of the war leading to the destruction of the Dark Lord, and a mysterious letter informing the wizarding world that he'd only fulfilled an Unbreakable Vow to Dumbledore by casting the Killing Curse against him, Severus had been cleared of all charges.

Yes, it was illegal to cast the Killing Curse; however, the letter also stated that Dumbledore had been on the verge of death and that the speeding up of that death by only a week was worth the effort of keeping a spy in Voldemort's camp. Not that this revelation made Severus feel any better about performing it. He'd known the circumstances and knew that it was likely that he'd have to kill Dumbledore in front of an audience... he'd just wished that none of it had been necessary.

Ultimately, all while Severus had been sleeping, the Wizengamot had decided that Severus had made the best decision that he could and that having him in Voldemort's camp had been what had won them the war.

Again, there went item number one, and again, Severus was disappointed that he did not have the opportunity to enlist the help of Miss Granger with offers of hot sex... er... use of his library.

That wasn't the biggest disappointment. Because of hexes and curses that he had been hit with, it was exactly six more weeks before Severus was released from St. Mungo's.

Leaving Severus with only two months to complete the remaining six bullets left on his list. Including the tasks of finding a new career and a girlfriend.

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63 Days, 8 Hours, 12 Minutes

Severus entered his home for the first time in several months. He had last been here four nights before the battle took place during which the Dark Lord had been defeated.

That was nearly four months ago.

The staff at St. Mungo's had been quite adamant that since he refused help from anyone and would be going home alone, that he must be able to care for himself. All Severus wanted to do was to get back home to his list. It had been so long since he'd seen the list that he was worried that he might have forgotten something on it, or that the way the last two items were fulfilled didn't correspond to what was written and the magic would not recognize the items as being completed.

Now that he was here, he dreaded the idea of walking through the door into the dank and musty house. Back when he had been teaching, he would cast special charms on the house to keep it from falling into further disrepair – well, further than what it already was. The dust and cobwebs would still accumulate, of course. But the mildew and molds would not get any worse if the charms were placed. Since he'd been living in the house on a full-time basis after murdering Dumbledore, he had been keeping the small hovel in better shape than he had before.

It had been a safe place to live. The location was Secret-Kept and the Secret Keeper was dead.

Severus idly considered how he would be able to sell a Secret-Kept house, but soon decided he didn't care. There was enough money in the Snape Manor Fund for him to purchase something else... with or without selling this house. His bank account had been steadily growing. First, there were all of the raids he had began going on at the beginning of the year, next there was the sizable contribution made by Cissy, and finally, while he'd been in his coma, he'd received an Order of Merlin, Second Class for his services to the wizarding community. The reason it wasn't a First Class? He could only guess that people were looking down on him for having murdered Dumbledore.

Entering his home, Severus was stunned to find that it was... clean. The dust and molds that he expected were nowhere to be found. The book he'd been reading and the meal he'd been eating when he'd received his summons, had been cleared up from the table. Severus made his way through the house, finding the linens freshly washed, the bed made, kitchen clean, and so on.

He went back to the living room and hurried over to the desk he had in the corner to see that his list was still laying on top of it. Breathing a sigh of relief that it was not lost, he scanned the contents to ensure that the items he'd thought should be crossed off were. A small (oh, ever so small) smile appeared on his face when he noted that not just two items had been crossed out in the fine gold ink... but also a third.

He'd found inner peace, apparently. He wasn't sure how that had happened, but perhaps it was the fact that he'd been in a coma for two months.

That left five items remaining on his list. Glancing at the calendar that hung on the wall, he calculated his time left and sat down to create a plan to finish off the list. Only briefly did he give thought to the fact that the calendar was flipped to the correct month.

It wasn't until later that the thought occurred to him: If someone had been in his house to clean it... and his list was still laying on his desk when he'd arrived home... then it only stood to reason that someone else had read what it said.

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62 Days, 16 Hours, 23 Minutes

Severus had slept well for the first time since the first of the year. His list was half-complete.

He smiled again at the thought.

True, he had very few days left to complete the list, but for some reason he felt optimistic, more so than he had in the last twenty years. Voldemort was dead and he had actually survived the war. And by some miracle... he wasn't in Azkaban or suffering a fate comparable to or worse than a Dementor's Kiss. (Unsurprisingly, that was, again, the fate awaiting the worst of the war criminals.)

Before going to bed the night before, he'd sent off a short note to Shacks and Stomping-Grounds for Stately Sorcerers (SSSS). If that wasn't a bit of an oxymoron, Severus didn't know what was, but he hoped that one of their agents would be able to help him in his search for a new home. He requested an appointment with someone at their earliest convenience. With only two months left to complete his list, Severus was motivated to cross off another item as soon as possible.

As he showered and dressed for the day, he began allowing himself to ponder the puzzle of how someone had obtained the Secret to his home. Was it a person or a house-elf? he wondered. There were very few people who knew the Secret, and the person who had held the Secret was dead. He wondered if a portrait could give away a Secret. That would sort of negate the purpose of something being a Secret, wouldn't it? But, perhaps...

It was a puzzle that he would not be able to solve by staring at the surprising white tiles of his shower walls (odd, he'd always thought that they were beige before). For now, he was grateful the person had cleaned his house while he'd been incapacitated.

While he was eating his breakfast that morning, an owl arrived with a letter from the SSSS; they would be expecting him at nine o'clock.

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60 Days, 5 Hours, 17 Minutes

Severus settled into the worn armchair in his sitting room after a long and successful day of "castle hunting" or "manor hunting" or whatever one wanted to call it. After casting a silent Accio at his list, it came sailing to his waiting hands where he noted that item number eight was now crossed off of his list. He allowed his lips to curve up into a small smirk as he Banished the parchment back to his desk.

Flicking his wand toward a tall curio cabinet in the corner, the door opened, and a bottle of nice sparkling wine and a glass came sailing towards him.

Minutes later he was sipping on the wine and congratulating himself on his recent accomplishment. The entire process had all seemed so... easy.

Severus' meeting with the representative from the SSSS a few days prior had been relatively straightforward, almost as if they had been expecting him. They had taken his information, specifications, and requests, and compiled a list of suitable properties for him to look at.

Over the last three days, they had toured those properties as quickly and as painlessly as possible, and it had taken almost no time at all to find the place that was absolutely perfect for him. It was almost as if they were leading him right to it. They had shown him only six places first, and Severus almost had the feeling that they had shown him those places first just so that he had something to say "no" to! Of course, he'd insisted on seeing a few places afterwards, just so he could compare some other properties. But the castle that they had shown him in Edinburgh was, in a word, perfect. It was everything that he was looking for.

The castle that he was purchasing had an ancient, but still working, Distraction Charm in place, so there was nothing to be concerned about in regards to being pestered by Muggles. However, he had already decided that he was not going to go through the trouble and hassle of another Fidelius Charm. That had been cast as a last resort during the height of the war after his orders to kill Dumbledore had been finalized and Severus knew that he'd need someplace to run to. His old friend and mentor had also wanted him to have a safe place to hide.

Now that the majority of Death Eaters were either dead or in prison and Severus' name had been cleared, Severus had no one to seclude himself from. He was, after all, supposed to be making "new friends." Although, he had yet to start that resolution.

Really, all Severus had to do with the castle was move in!

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28 Days, 16 Hours, 33 Minutes

Severus stared at the dark green envelope he held in his hands and sat back in his chair, thinking about the events of the last several weeks.

It was as if luck had truly been on his side and for the first time in his life, he was truly charmed. The tide that his life had turned since the day he'd come home from St. Mungo's was, in a word, blessed.

He took a sip of his coffee, while staring into the flames of the fire. He was sitting in the library of Snape Castle. It was everything he'd hoped it to be.

Though small, as far as castles went, it more than suited his needs. Oddly enough, he found that he preferred to spend most of his time on the main and upper floors; he even went so far as to put his Potions laboratory on the third floor. The dungeons were currently used for nothing more than storage, though Severus could think of a fair few things he'd like to do later with the rooms that were down there.

The purpose of the Potions laboratory was twofold. Severus always enjoyed tinkering and experimenting, even though he had preferred teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts at the school. Currently he was doing a bit of retail Potion-making and sales, though he was interviewing for various positions in the wizarding world. It seemed that he had his pick of almost any job.

Severus Snape quickly discovered that he was a commodity, one not only sought after but also in very high demand.

He was also, apparently, a very eligible bachelor.

Now that was something he had never considered.

He'd been on a date nearly every evening over the last fortnight. Unfortunately, of the several attractive witches that he'd dated, they'd all been nothing more than empty-headed dunderheads who he'd no sooner spend the night with than allow near a cauldron full of explosive ingredients. Sure, he was desperate for a girlfriend in order to complete item number three, but he wasn't stupid. To satisfy the magic, he knew that he would have to be involved with someone who he, at the very least, liked.

Apparently, two or three consecutive dates weren't enough for the enchanted parchment to be considered "having a girlfriend and keeping her."

Shuddering slightly as he thought about the disastrous turn his last date had taken, Severus took a sip of his coffee. It was their fourth date, and though he couldn't have considered himself particularly taken with the witch, he had decided that he could make do with her. He'd brought her back to his castle after taking her to a posh restaurant and become a bit frustrated and worried after glancing at his list and seeing that item number three still wasn't crossed off. Moments later, the witch had left the castle in a huff, careful to slam the main doors loudly on her way out, and yelling that Snape was the most disgusting and obscene man she'd ever dated in her life.

It turns out she hadn't like his suggestion of seeing if the list would be satisfied by using chains.

Severus snarled; it had almost hurt to hear her say that it wasn't his new good looks that she'd dated him for to begin with. It was the thrill of dating a man who had been a war hero... and she, apparently, didn't think that he looked much better now than he had before the battle.

Running his hand through his ... mercifully now ... non-greasy hair, Severus looked again at the envelope in his hand.

He knew what was inside the dark green unopened envelope. It was an invitation to a Christmas party at Potter's. With all the subtlety he'd come to expect from Gryffindors, the envelope's gold lettering loudly proclaimed, "It's a Christmas party!"

He wondered why he would actually be invited to such an event. Even with his contributions to the war effort, he highly doubted that there were many who would wish to have to spend time with Severus Snape. Even with a full social calendar, he was still a surly bastard and spending time with Harry Potter was definitely not his first choice of pastimes.

The world did not revolve around Harry Potter. Severus had refused to allow that in his classrooms, and would refuse to allow that again.

Why would Potter even want to invite him to something like a Christmas party? Christmas parties were for people like family, friends, and co-workers. They weren't for hated ex-teachers, ex-Death Eaters, and the most hated school rival of one's father.

What was Potter playing at? Was this some sort of political move, perhaps? Or was Potter inviting everyone who had been a member of the Order? Although Severus really didn't consider himself as much of an Order member since he'd killed its leader.

Did he dare show himself among those people? The victors of the war. They were the ones who had refused to accept his help throughout much of the prelude to the end. It was solely due to the "esteemed Miss Granger" that any of the other members of the Order and Wizengamot had even bothered to acknowledge his contributions to the war effort for what they truly were... an effort to put an end to the Dark Lord.

Severus may not be a social outcast when it came to dating or job-hunting, but when it came to the past... Was it really time to lay the past to rest?

Coming to a decision, Severus placed his cup into his saucer and flipped the envelope over, breaking the seal. He pulled out the formal invitation, gilded in gold lettering, just as the envelope had been.

The outside of the invitation again stated that it was for a Christmas party; opening the invitation gave him the date, time, and place of the function. Severus scoffed, as only Harry Potter would be able to get away with holding a private Christmas party at the Ministry of Magic.

Folded up inside of the invitation was a small piece of parchment. Curious, he placed the invitation in his lap and went to work carefully unfolding the parchment he'd just found.

He was surprised to see that it was a letter. Taken aback, both by the sender and to discover that he was indeed the intended recipient, Severus quickly read the contents:

Dear Severus,

Hermione J. Granger

After reading the letter, Severus didn't know whether to crumple the missive and throw it into the fire or send along a reply. His emotions were warring with one another between anger and relief.

The little meddling twit!

Her!

It was her!

How the hell did a member of the Terrible Trio worm their way into his Secret-Kept house at Spinner's End? Not that he could put such a thing past Albus. Even dead, the man had a way of interfering in his life. Severus dropped the letter to his lap to join the invitation and sat back in his chair to think.

A/N: Poor Severus. He's really starting to run out of time here. ;)

Thanks to my amazing betas, JuneW & SnarkyRoxy. They are absolutely wonderful! :)