Snape's Secret

Chapter 1

It was a beautiful day. The birds were singing, the sun was shining bright and Severus Snape was the happiest man in the world. What possible reason could Severus be so happy? It was because today, the most beautiful day in all time, Snape was going to ask his girlfriend of 2 ½ months to marry him. True, they had only known each other for a short time but Severus was sure that she, Serena, was the perfect girl for him.

He was already standing at her front door with a bouquet. He knocked three times. He didn't hear an answer so he rang the bell. Still no answer.

"Severus!" he heard a familiar voice shout from behind him across the street.

Severus Snape turned around to see the very girl he was looking for.

"Hey honey! I'll be right over!" she shouted from across the street. He watched her as she lugged two plastic grocery bags along with her.

Serena got to the crosswalk, looked both ways, saw no cars, and started crossing. As she crossed, sirens could be heard coming closer. She looked around again, seeing nothing, but picking up her pace anyway. But before she knew it, everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Serena turned her head to the direction where the sirens were coming from. Out of nowhere a police car came zoomed out of the distance like lightning. The contact between girl and vehicle was unbearable. The innocent gave off a high-pitched yelp as the car made contact and sped off. Severus couldn't register what was happening. It all flashed before his eyes and before he figured out what happened: Serena was on the ground motionless.

Six Years Later…

Professor Severus Snape stormed into the Potion's classroom, startling several students. Immediately, the commotion he had been able to hear from the hallway began to settle.

"Quiet! If I hear a peep out of any of you, it will be detention for a month!" Professor Severus Snape strode over to his desk and sat down while the entire class stared at him expectantly. "Today, you will be concocting a silencing potion. The ingredients are on the board. You have until the end of the class to complete it, so I suggest you start now." As the class began searching for the numerous ingredients that could be found in different cupboards around the classroom, Professor Severus Snape took out of a drawer a muggle newspaper.

The only reason Professor Severus Snape even bothered with a newspaper was due to nostalgia. So, what was going on in the non-magical world today? "New satellite to Orbit Mars." Science still couldn't hold a candle up to magic though. What else? "Conjoined Twins Separated." That's good news. Was there anything worth reading though? "Woman wakes from six year coma." Good for her. Nothing very interesting though.

Professor Severus Snape looked up above his newspaper to see how the class was doing on the potion. Granger, of course, and Weasley had a perfect light purple potion. Longbottom and Potter were paired up together today, lucky for Longbottom. The clumsy 13 year old was doing slightly better today, but their potion was still quite a bit off color. Draco and Ms. Parkinson's potion was a perfect light purple. A loud burst came from the side of the room that Longbottom was on. Sure enough, he had added a tear of Centuar instead of a Unicorn. The Professor gave a small snort just in time to hear the bell ring, dismissing the class.

Meanwhile…

"There you go honey. Are you comfortable now?" An older woman was positioning her daughter's pillows so she could be more comfortable.

"Yes, thanks mom." The blonde smiled at her mother.

"Do you need anything else? A drink? The remote to the TV?"

"No, I think I'm just gonna rest a little bit."

"Oh, alright then. Call me if you need anything." The woman started walking towards the bedroom door to leave.

"Umm, mom?" The woman turned around ready to assist her daughter. "Was I seeing anyone before the accident?"

"Why do you ask honey?"

"Well, I think I might be starting to remember some things. I remember a man. He has dark hair and is very handsome. Do you know him or am I just crazy?" She added a light chuckle at the end of her question, to try to keep her constantly anxious mother at ease.

The girl's mother looked a bit concerned at how curious her daughter was being, but answered her. "Yes, we do know him." The blonde's interest spiked, glad to know that her memory really was coming back!

"Who is he? How do I know him?"

With a sigh, the woman sat in a nearby chair and tried to think of how to tell her daughter about this mystery man. She was hoping her daughter could remember it naturally, but she was curious and wanted to know. Deciding that there was no light way of putting it, she said it flat out.

"You were betrothed to that man." The young woman in the bed, had a confused look on her face as she looked at her mother.

"What do you mean?"

"You were supposed to marry him six months after the accident."

"What? You mean, you set me up in an engagement? I have no choice?"

"Maybe not anymore. His parents aren't sure if they still want you to marry him."

"Why not?" The woman, while furious that she would be part of an arranged marriage, also felt insulted that the other family would withdraw their arrangement.

If Irene knew her daughter, and she did, she would be crushed to know the truth. The girl's mother looked at her with a sympathetic face before continuing.

"It's because of the accident. They're worried you might never recover. It has been six years. They had faith though. They stuck with our agreement through what happened."

There was a long pause before the young woman could say anything. But then she started.

"Can I meet him?"

"As a matter of fact, he and his parents are downstairs having tea. Should I bring him up?"

The woman perked up just a little bit and replied, "Yes, I think I'd like that." Her mother left the room and The young woman could hear her footsteps on the staircase as she walked down.

Upstairs, the she felt slightly nervous at meeting the fiancé she could barely remember. She hardly had any time to think about it however, because someone was opening the bedroom door already. In walked her mother and soon after walked in a young man fitting her description almost exactly. Her mother then began to speak.

"Serena, this is Darien."

2 months later…

"Oh, Darien! It's beautiful! I can't believe you would go through the trouble! You really didn't have to." Exclaimed a perky blonde young woman to her boyfriend.

"No, I really wanted to. You deserve it." Replied a very handsome young man holding a small velvet box with a gold and diamond necklace inside.

The lovely couple had been walking in the park when Darien surprised his girlfriend, Serena, with a diamond necklace. Little did she know that soon, Darien was going to pop the question. He hoped with all his heart that she would say "yes;" he loved her so much.

"So, your birthday is this summer." Stated the young man.

"Yep, same as every year." She grinned at him, for her joke. He smiled back.

"Well, I was wondering if you would like to accompany me to visit Europe. As a present."

"Really? That would be amazing! Yes! Of Course!" Serena exclaimed, beaming up at him.

"Great! I'll set up the reservations. You'll only get the best of the best."

The couple finished their walk through the park and headed home, where they filled Serena's parents in on their summer plans.

Why did Dumbledore have to put Severus in this position? Almost every day, he was forced to endure the suffering of countless people. So, here he was, in his black cloak, at a Death Eater meeting. Sitting in his throne, laughing, sat Lord Voldemort.

A poor brunette girl lay naked on the dirt in the woods in front of the group of people. Three men had already taken her. Another, Lucius, was next. These meetings always made him throw up afterwards. He was sure he would do that after this meeting, just like the others.

Snape supposed he put himself in this position. He was the one begging to work at that stupid school. Beggars can't be choosers.

For six damned years, Severus Snape has been attending some of the most ghastly meetings known to wizard and muggle alike.

The girl was screaming again. The sixth time. The first time was when she woke up, surrounded by mysterious, cloaked men. The second was from when she realized she was naked and chained.

Snape was no torturer. He was no rapist. He was a good man. But a good man can't survive in this environment. So he needed to put on a mask. A mask of hatred, anger, bitterness…and evil.

At these times, he thought back. There was a girl, almost forgotten, but still there. She knew him; the real, better man. Not this monster.

Here he was, almost thirty-two and already he looked like he was going on forty. Stress. It's a killer.

Three months later…

Serena and Darien sat in their first class seats on the airplane to England. Looking out the window, Serena watched as the plane left the airport. As the plane lifted off, she closed her eyes and leaned back into the seat, exhaling air she didn't realize she was holding.

"You weren't looking forward to flying were you?"

"Sorry, it's just the whole, 'suspended in mid-air' thing that makes me a little queasy."

"It's okay. Before you know it we'll be there. Why don't you take a nap?"

"Good idea. What would I do without you?" With that, Darien handed his girlfriend a blanket and pillow. Serena got herself comfortable and started her nap.

Ten Hours Later…

"Serena. Hey, it's time to get up. We've landed. We're pulling into the airport."

"Huh? What?" Serena's groggy eyes struggled to open.

"We're in London. It's time to get up." Darien started removing their carry-on luggage from the overhead compartment. After a few seconds to wipe her eyes, Serena composed herself and got out of her seat. The plane had fully stopped by now, and people were getting up to leave. Serena helped Darien carry some luggage.

"Hey, how long was I out?"

"The whole trip. Ten hours."

"Ten hours! What did you do? You didn't watch me the whole time I hope."

"Oh, yea. That's exactly what I did. Haha. No, I slept a little too, read a little, went to the bathroom a couple times…mostly just when I got tired of reading."

"Did you finish your book at least?"

"Nah, I'm a slow reader."

Stepping off the plane and into the main terminal, Serena stopped feeling bad for leaving her boyfriend with almost nothing to do. Silently, but not awkwardly, they made their way out of the airport and met with their chauffer. He was waiting for them with both their names on a small sign.

"Darien! You hired a chauffer! I can't believe you!"

"I told you. You would only get the best of the best." Not wanting to complain too much, Serena followed Darien, who followed the man, to…a limo. The couple got into the stretched out car and waited for their chauffer, Nicholas, to start the car. When he did, they were headed for their hotel (only the best). Knowing Darien came from a very well to do family and was successful in his business, she didn't concern herself too much with the expense he clearly wanted to spend on her. She hoped that didn't make her vapid. After Darien and Serena had settled into their suite at the hotel, the couple decided to go for a walk.

"Serena, how about we do some sight seeing? We could go see Big Ben or see the palace."

"Yea, I'd like that!"

After Serena changed into something more comfortable, the two headed out. During the time they spent out, they found a quaint Café and decided to stop in and take a rest. They had already visited Big Ben and were going to look at the palace. Serena even told Darien that she wanted to take pictures with those guards that aren't supposed to move. He smiled and agreed to it.

After Darien had a cup of coffee and Serena had some hot tea, the happy pair headed out again.

Severus Snape was walking through muggle London on a bright summer day. Luckily for him, it was a Saturday and Voldemort hadn't called a meeting. Severus was hoping it would stay that way. He needed to buy some new shoes, the potions he dealt so much with were not kind to leather. Sure, he could always buy them at a wizarding shop, but old habits died hard and prior to working at Hogwarts, he had mostly shopped at muggle stores.

Before shopping, he decided to have some breakfast, solo. After walking to his favorite café, Severus was seated, and handed his menu. He should have just given the waitress his order without bothering with the menu. He ordered the same thing every time. But no, he felt obligated to at least sit there with his menu until the waitress came back for him.

It took about fifteen minutes for Severus Snape to eat his scrambled eggs, whole wheat toast and sausage, and drink his coffee. He paid the bill and proceeded to the shoe store.

The store was only about three blocks away, and Severus enjoyed the bit of exercise he got from this walk.

"Hello Mr. Snape. I've got your pair all ready." Mr. Squires ran the small shoe store and knew Severus to be a regular customer. He bought his shoes every six months, once in June and once in December.

"Hello Mr. Squires. Thank you. Has the price stayed the same, or am I going to have to pull out a second mortgage on my house?"

"Haha! Why, Mr. Snape. I do believe that was a joke," replied the elderly man while retrieving Severus' usual order from the back room. "But no, the price has stayed the same."

"Well, that's good for me, I suppose." Snape followed the man to the cash register and proceeded to purchase the black (of course) shoes. Severus overpaid him, but let him keep the change. After all, this was the only person he could have a decent conversation with.

Severus minimized his purchase so he could fit it in his pocket (after exiting the store and being out of sight) and proceeded to take a walk. He passed through the main streets and came upon a street he seldom noticed before. It was about three o'clock and he had time to spare. Only one thing he could think of doing…taking a walk down the unfamiliar.

About halfway down the block, Severus came across a small café. His energy was waning, and he could go for another cup of coffee. So, he went inside. It had a very cozy atmosphere. Approaching the front counter, he ordered his coffee, retrieved it, paid and sat down at a table in the corner. He wouldn't dare take a window seat. If someone from the school were to see him here, he would be the laughing stock of Hogwarts. Not that Severus Snape cared about what his peers thought about him, but Severus Snape was not one to be laughed at.

Severus sat at his small table for about half an hour. At one point, a young girl came over and asked if he was using the second chair. He answered her with a simple 'no' and she walked off with it.

He continued to just sit there. His coffee was long gone, but he still sat there, thinking. He didn't even think about anything in particular, just thought. Severus Snape even continued to sit there when he heard laughter as the café door opened for a couple.

Yes, he still sat, but this time, he looked up. Confusion was plastered on his face while chaos took over his insides. A girl had just walked in. She looked so much like her, like the girl he knew so long ago. She even sounded like her. But no, it couldn't be. That girl died in a hit and run. She hadn't moved. What else could it have been? She didn't move!

Severus overheard the man she had entered with say a name, her name! They even shared a name! But she died! It couldn't be! This couldn't be her! Who was this man?

Severus watched them. They were totally oblivious. He continued to watch them for about half an hour. Until they left.