Libra

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or automail as seen in Fullmetal Alchemist. I am a mere fanfic writer. Although Evans is Snape reincarnated, he is in many ways OC. And yes, Edward Elric is a part of my inspiration here.

Warnings: No Beta. Later development will include grizzly gender change, dismemberment, child abuse, murder, sexual violence, trauma. It gets pretty bad later on, to say the least, but it is an angsty story. AU.

"You have got to be kidding," Harry Potter skimmed the pages of The Daily Prophet. "Dumbledore, please tell me, is what they're saying about this kid true?"

Ron said through his biscuit, "Duh par 'bou Snay oh," he stopped to swallow, "getting treated worse than you at the Dursleys?"

Harry sighed, "Both, I guess."

Albus Dumbledore twinkled at them. "In time I will be able to express what dear Evan has been through in greater details. For now, I believe that he should be allowed as much respect for private matters as possible. You understand, Harry."

Harry narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "It's just that when people die-they, you know, usually stay dead."

Dumbledore laughed, "I didn't."

Ron rolled his eyes, "Of course not. But this is different. They're saying he's reincarnated. Why would someone get reincarnated just to have their arm and leg ripped off?"

"He didn't intend on his limbs being destroyed, I'm quite sure, " Dumbledore quipped. "Or for dark wizards to kill his mother and take him at the tender age of eight."

Ron looked down. "Just don't expect me to like him."

Harry frowned. He wondered how the new Snape would like his children. "Does he remember anything from his past life, Albus?"

Dumbledore was standing up, preparing to Floo back to Hogwarts. "For the time being, no. But there's no telling what will happen at Hogwarts."

Harry grinned, "He'll get to meet a portrait of himself."

"Hmmm," Dumbledore smiled, "I hadn't thought of that." But his expression made Harry think he had indeed thought of it.

Evan sat alone on the Hogwarts Express. Outside the foggy window, rain was splattering against the glass, and lightning shot about the sky in fierce bolts. They reminded him of something, but he wasn't sure what. No doubt, it had to do with him being-or had been-Severus Snape.

I wonder how hard it will be to make friends, he thought anxiously. He bitterly thought of Lorelai, his little muggle born friend who had died two years ago. He pushed her memory out of his mind and settled on viewing the small villages pass by. He hoped he could have a cottage one day and make it nice. With a garden or something peaceful, but then a nagging voice said "of course you would want a garden" before he began to doze off and dream about green lightning.

"That's him-the one with the cane-"

"He's too small, he can't be a reincarnated man-"

"Of course he's small, he had to grown up all over again-"

"I heard he used to be a girl-"

"Me too-"

Evan wondered if he would get expelled on his first day to Hogwarts for hexing some of the students he found staring at him. Everywhere he went, he heard whispers of Severus Snape and Voldemort, himself, and the dark wizards that had taken him. Very few of them had the story straight.

He clambered along with the first years, slightly embarrassed that Dumbledore was making him do this (since he was reincarnated and all, he had argued, couldn't he just try to remember the first time?). The eleven year olds stared at him with their mouths open as Charlie led them across the lake. Above their heads, positioned on a menacing cliff, Hogwarts glowed. Evan frowned, wondering if his right arm and leg would be rendered useless once he stepped foot on the grounds.

Luckily, his arm and leg continued to function-and Evan decided to write to his doctors that night-and he soon found himself being ushered into the Great Hall. Evan focused on the wizened hat that was to sort him, peeling his eyes away from curious onlookers whose parents had probably warned them to be wary of his prescence. Evan knew he was facing searing unpopularity: three former Death Eaters had made sure to teach him that.

Evan waited through McGonagall's speech, taking note of how uptight she was, and let his eyes wonder across the Head Table. Dumbledore sat twinkling, as usual. He did not know many of the people there, with the exception of Harry Potter. The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was grinning at the small girl bushy haired girl that was scooting toward the Gryffindor table.

"Snape, Evan." McGonagall called out at last, her voice scratching as Evan's last name clawed its way up her throat.

He made baby steps toward the hat, which regarded him with uninhibited curiosity. Evan felt that every eye in the room, including the wandering ones, had pinpointed his head and were staring at it like a dragon egg about to hatch.

"Creative, I see," purred the hat, "perhaphs Ravenclaw? Although, you were a supurb Slytherin before."

Evan cleared his throat. "Sort me for who I am now. I'm not like what they say. I know I'm not. I don't even...well, I don't remember anything now."

The Sorting Hat laughed, "and I always thought it a shame that you didn't want to be a Gryffindor."

Evan bit his lip nervously. Would he be hated in Gryffindor? He was sure he would be loathed in Slytherin in any case. "Lorelai wanted to be Gryffindor. But the Pikes wanted me to be the greatest Slytherin, I don't know."

"What do you really want?" The hat cooed as best it could. "You are unspeakably brave. You'll always have that. I think I shall put you in...GRYFFINDOR!"

The hall gasped in unison as McGonagall slid the hat off of Evan's head. "Well, then, Mr. Snape. I suggest you join-your house..." she looked at him with a loss for words, one eyebrow raised in curious surprise.

Dumbledore twinkled at him and raised his goblet.

Harry Potter looked like he was going to faint.