The Rift
Hi guys! This is my first ever fanfic and I really would appreciate reviews and advice on how to improve it. So far it's going well, at least in my opinion, but I promise to read any constructive criticism that you have to offer and, if possible, I'll try to respond to any comments you may have. Thanks so much for reading! The chapters are fairly short but I'm trying to add at least one a week.
Notes:
Italics: Either used for emphasis or to show Severus/Lily's thoughts.
Spells hurtled through the air as the two young wizards dueled fiercely, the hatred on their faces identical. The shorter one smirked.
"Face it Snivellus. You'll never be able to beat me!"
His opponent ignored him and continued to attack fiercely, his usually cold features contorted into a mask of hatred. The battle raged on until finally Severus was the victor. Satisfaction etched onto every line of his prematurely aged features, he raised his wand, ready to finish of his downed victim. "Sectum-"
"SNAPE!"
A blur of red knocked Severus to the side. Evans. James accepted her outstretched hand, smirking as he was raised to his feet. Bowing extravagantly, he kissed her hand, only to have it pulled away hastily. Lily turned, blushing furiously, ready to punish Sev-no, Snape, never Sev. Never again.
Severus
Bastard. It was always Potter, wasn't it? He challenged me to that damned duel, he bullies me every day of my life, but he's got Lily, he's got the parents who care for him, he's got a house that doesn't look like it's made from cardboard. What do I have? Mates who'd probably stab me in the back if the Dark Lord asked them to. Not that I'd blame them or anything..
"Oi, Snape!"
Severus lifted his head, roused from his bitter thoughts.
"What do you want this time, Mulciber?"
"It's not me, it's Malfoy. He wants to meet you in the Charms class. And he's pissed, Snape. What the hell have you done?"
Groaning inwardly, Severus leapt to his feet and left the dungeons. He glared at anyone who walked within a meter of him, to no-one's great surprise. Eventually, he arrived at Flitwick's class, which appeared to be deserted. Ignoring his instincts, which were screaming out at him to leave straight away, Severus strode into the classroom, ebony wand clutched in his hand. For a few seconds, there was silence. And then Malfoy, Prefects badge gleaming on his chest, detached himself from the shadows, flanked by Nott and Macnair.
"So good of you to join us, Severus."
"The pleasure's all mine, I can assure you Malfoy."
"Call me Lucius, my friend"
This was strange. Very strange, even for Malfoy. However, Malfoy was rich, charismatic and influential, not to mention pureblooded and (or so rumour had it) a favorite of the Dark Lord. Some even whispered (very, very quietly) that he had already taken the Mark. If he wanted to ally with Snape, who, as far as he was aware, had no money whatsoever, had about as much charm as Peter Pettigrew and even less influence, who was Severus to say no?
"What do you want...Lucius?"
"To talk about...certain matters"
"Such as?"
"The rise of the Dark Lord, my friend."
"What...is there to discuss?"
Lucius' demeanor changed instantly. He became quiet and dragged Severus to a corner of the room, leaving his cronies to keep watch. His voice softened to a whisper…or a hiss.
"Whose side are you on, Snape?"
Snape froze. He was a sixth year! As far as he was aware the blond seventh-year standing before had never even spoken more than a word to him. And now he was being recruited? Severus' first instinct was to refuse, and to refuse loudly-and then run the hell out of there to Dumbledore's office. Then he had a vision.
Severus, standing by the Dark Lord's side, powerful and respected.
Severus, standing over the corpses of the Marauders.
Severus in a vault more opulent than even Malfoy's. His vault.
Severus hailed as a savior of wizardkind. Respected and loved by all...Even Lily.
"I'm with you, Lucius"
Lucius smiled a sharklike grin, a grin reminiscent of a predator.
"I rather thought you would be. I'll owl you over the holidays, my friend. Be prepared to take a little outing..."
And with those words he swept out of the room, followed closely by his hulking henchmen.
Shaking his head dazedly, Severus walked out of the classroom a few minutes later. He made his way back to the dungeons still wondering what was going on. Suddenly a memory popped into his head unbidden.
What do you want this time, Mulciber?"
"It's not me, it's Malfoy. He wants to meet you in the Charms class. And he's pissed, Snape. What the hell have you done?"
Malfoy hadn't been angry at all, in fact he had been shockingly polite and-dare he think it-friendly, especially considering that he was talking to a half-blood. What the hell was going on?
Deep in his thoughts, he failed to look where he was going until he walked straight into-ohgoditsherohshitohshit-Lily Evans.
As Severus stood up, he focused on keeping his masklike features under control. He couldn't let her know how he felt. He hid the pain, the hurt, the anguish...Just as he always did. Ignoring the urge to offer her a hand up, he simply sneered and walked on.
"Stupefy!"
Damn, it looked like Potter was trying to play the gallant knight again.
"Apologize to Lily, you little git!"
Severus replied by shooting a curse at him. And so the duel began. Hexes whirled through the air like knives-and just as deadly. This time, they were fighting wound-severely wound. Severus briefly wondered where the Marauders were, but he was quickly forced to return to the task at hand-namely, kicking Potter's arse.
As always, Severus won the upper hand. Potter was skilled, immensely so in fact, but Severus was a master-or so he liked to think. This time, Lily wouldn't stop him-wait, where was Lily? Quickly immobilizing Potter, Severus hurried to her side. A stray curse had knocked her unconscious and a strange green tinge was starting to appear on her skin. What have I done? Severus swore under his breath and cast a Levitation spell on Lily. He considered turning her invisible so no-one would see her, but he didn't think he remembered the spell right.
Cursing his own stupidity he slowly made his way to the medical wing, making sure to stick to secret passages in order to minimize the chance of being detected. It was while he was in one of these passages that he began to have second thoughts. What the hell was going to happen once he got to Madam Pomfrey? Questions would most certainly be asked. Even if he did manage to avoid getting caught-maybe he could leave her outside the medical wing and sneak off?-he would still have to deal with Potter, who had seen the whole thing. No, it was better to try and heal her himse-
"Expelliarmus!"
And there was Lily, panting with rage, lacking the green pallor that she had sported just minutes before and decidedly conscious.
He began edging towards his wand, trying to placate the furious witch in front of him.
"Evans, I swear this isn't what it looks like. I was just trying to get you to Madam Pomfrey!"
"One more step towards that twig you call a wand, Snivellus, and I'll try out some of that Dark Magic crap you adore so much on you!"
"Lily, please, calm down! I was just trying to help!"
Both of them started, surprised by Severus' slip. Is her face softening? Is she calming down?
Lily
Damn. What the hell am I meant to do now? He sounded like…Sev. Like he did before he started hanging out with Mulciber and the rest of those other idiots.
"Is that so?" She finally asked, surprised her voice didn't shake.
"Yes, it was an accident. I think that Potter or I must have accidentally hit you with a curse.
After struggling with herself for a few seconds, Lily came to a conclusion. She summoned Sev-Snape's wand and threw it at him. After he caught it, she bowed stiffly. He looked bewildered for a split second and then laughed hollowly.
"Lily, a formal duel? You can't be serious," he began, only for Lily to interrupt him.
"I assure you Snape that I am completely serious. If I win you will leave James and I alone for the rest of the school year. If he attacks you for no reason, you will turn and walk away." Snape glared silently at her and said nothing. Suddenly, she had a brainwave. "Not only that, but you will get all of your so called friends to leave everyone else alone for the rest of their time here at Hogwarts"
Snape laughed. To her ears it sounded harsh, mocking, hateful.
"Evans, you can't be serious. I won't duel you, I can't duel a girl and do you really think that I can stop them bullying those idiots you call friends?"
"I assure you, Snape, that I am deadly serious. You can definitely duel a feeble little girl like me-and when I thrash you, you might think twice next time you call me or one of my friends a Mudblood. And you better at least try to stop them!" she retorted, hoping secretly that he would turn and walk away. Not only was she unsure whether she could defeat her former best friend, she was also terrified of hurting Sev-no, she reminded herself. Not my Sev. He's gone now, forever. Her internal struggle was interrupted by said former best friend, his voice cultured and cold-a far cry from the warm, laughing tone he once spoke to her with.
"I accept your terms, Evans. And when I win, you will…you will…stop being friends with those idiot Marauders!"
Lily inwardly sighed with relief. Those terms were far too high. She could walk away from the duel she had instigated with minimal loss of pride. Severus stared at her, seeming to gauge the direction of her thoughts and quickly added "Unless, of course, you're too frightened!" he jeered. Her reply was a bolt of aqua blue light that he quickly dodged, leaving a mark on the wall behind him. He responded by unleashing a volley of red beams at her, each one striking as fast as a viper.
Merlin, he's fast, Lily thought, barely managing to block the attack with a well-placed Protego.
The duel continued for half an hour, both of the two teenagers so absorbed in their battle that they didn't notice the passageway crumbling around them, so powerful were the strikes they unleashed. Both of them were sweating heavily. Lily and Severus were widely believed to be the best wizards of their time, more skilled even than the year sevens. This was the first time that they had ever seriously dueled each other and Severus, in a rare moment of clarity during the battle, reflected that if they had hated each other from the first year they would have probably succeeded in blowing up the school, such was the intensity of this duel.
Finally, it ended. Severus unleashed a bolt of black energy from the tip of his wand, a bolt so powerful that it ripped through Lily's hastily erected shield and smashed her into a wall. If she hadn't cast a Cushioning charm in the nick of time she probably would have been severely injured-well, even more severely injured. She sunk to her knees, refusing to look at Severus' smug face.
Sev and Lily
From here onwards, I will stop switching between PoV's. While this story is about both Sev and Lily, I find it easier to write from a single point of view and I reckon I write better with Sev. I only wrote from both their PoV's during this chapter to sort-of try and capture what is going on in Lily's mind when it comes to Sev. If enough people ask for it, I may add a couple of chapters every now and then in Lily's PoV.
Severus stalked towards the fallen girl, his face an arrogant mask-a mask hiding the guilt that he felt. He should never have used Umbra Tentatio on Lily. It was a new spell that he had been developing, a special one that's power changed depending on the intent and emotions of the user. In theory, if the spell had enough malice behind it, it would have enough destructive force to be classified as the fourth Unforgivable. Thinking of Sectumsempra, he quickly amended his thought. The fifth Unforgivable. The best part about his two deadly new spells was the fact that they were not monitored by the Ministry, so in theory if someone was caught using either one, they would not be able to be charged for casting an Unforgivable-although he had no doubt that the spell would immediately be classed as an Unforgivable. He mentally shook himself and returned to the task at hand, namely pretending to gloat over his victory. The look on Lily's face instantly removed the sense of euphoria that was threatening to consume him-horrified as he was by himself, he had beat Lily in a duel. As far he was aware, Lily never lost a duel. Then again, neither did he. Lily laughed hollowly, standing up rapidly. Severus saw sparkling grains of what looked like that sand of-oh shit-a Time Turner. To his horror, he saw a tiny hourglass clutched in Lily's right hand. It was cracking, breaking and…BOOM! Everything flashed a bright white and then faded to black. When the light cleared the half-destroyed passage was deserted…
That's the end of this chapter! What did everyone think? Please read and review! By the way, there are a few major differences in this timeline:
Sev and Lily are both prodigies. As in Dumbledore/Riddle-level prodigies. However Severus only really shows this power in duels and while he is inventing, as he is secretly terrified of Voldemort and he isn't sure whether or not he wants to catch the Dark Lord's eye-of course, Malfoy makes the choice for him! Other differences will be revealed as time goes on…
By the way, I recommend you get used to Sev's Umbra Tentatio spell. It becomes his signature and it's a great way of showing how Sev is feeling. For those of you who want to see why Sev reckons it could be counted as an unforgivable when it's at full power...You'll have to wait quite a while, but it will, I hope be worth the wait!
Next Chapter: The Hogwarts Express! In which much is explained and little is understood.
Once again, please review when you read this. In fact, enough reviews and I might update tomorrow!
