That morning had been the final straw.
Grey, mountainous clouds cast-back the heavens, and the sun was long forgotten in the inky blue sky. A storm was brewing, it seemed. The familiar October breeze swept carelessly over the castle, overriding the last remnants of warmth. Great steaming mugs of cocoa, tea, coffee, and in fact just about every hot drink you could possibly think of had been laid out on the house tables, awaiting the students for breakfast.
No more than an hour had passed before the large room was full of life once more, a sea of coloured scarves separating the crowds. Towards the end of the table covered in red and gold, a group of sixth year boys sat casually chatting.
"Eurgh remind me to never drink firewhisky again, my head just might explode"
"Like that would be a bad thing!" James sniggered, and ducked to avoid the piece of toast that was thrown his way, (which then landed with a tiny 'splosh' in Lupins cereal)
"If I'd have known we were going to wear our breakfast today, I would've stayed upstairs" he scowled.
"Oh don't fuss about it Moony, frosties suit you anyway" smiled Sirius, leaning back on his chair with ease.
"What've we got first, anyone?"
"Oh! We've got potions Siri," squeaked Pettigrew
"Don't you dare call me that again wormtail, or you just might find that your nickname becomes worm…if you catch my drift. Dear lord potions with the Slytherins, one more of those lessons and I'll advise Professor Harrows to shove it up his-,"
"But Padfoot, your forgetting…Snivelly is in the class"
At this a broad smile broke across his face, and Sirius absent-mindedly reached for his wand.
"It wont be so bad after all…well, not for us anyway…"Sirius muttered.
"What've you got in mind?" returned James, matching his devilish grin.
Half an hour later the 6th year potions class had gathered in the familiar icy, dimly lit dungeon.
Spider-like handwriting plastered the board, and just as the students had finished reading the rather extensive set of ingredients, a raspy voice sounded from the head desk.
"Personaexplorosa. One of the most powerful, yet intriguing potions known to wizard kind. It is used mostly for interrogation purposes, and is very often compared to Veritaserum. Veritaserum, as you should all be aware of by now, (he cast a stern look over a few students) forces the truth out of someone, whereas personaexplorosa delves into the users deepest, and often most troubling experiences, replaying them for all to see. When brewed correctly the potion should be a light shade of amber, emitting occasional-," but Professor Harrows voice had trailed off at a snails pace, whereas the two boys sitting at the very back of his classroom were another story entirely. James and Sirius sat backs-hunched, heads lowered, and deep in conversation.
"So? Even if we did manage to make this slosh, how could we get it down his throat?"
"You just leave it to me. Classic headlock. Preferably at break, as crowded as possible?" Sirius whispered.
"POTTER, BLACK, GET A MOVE ON ALREADY!" bellowed Professor Harrows quite suddenly, resulting in half of the class jumping out of their seats.
The shrill ring of the bell brought about the end of the lesson, and with the frequent aid of Remus Lupin, Sirius and James had somehow actually managed to brew the correct concoction (much to the surprise of their peers, and teacher alike) James gleefully bottled a phial of the colourful liquid before vanishing the rest with a sweep of his wand, and stowed it carefully in his pocket. Now all they had to do was wait.
A thin, dark haired boy made his way to the back of the classroom, his tall stature distorted slightly by the immense weight of the books carried on his back. He made his way up the roughly cut stone steps that led to the entrance hall, quite unaware of the boys whom had closely followed. Eager to sit, eat, and socialise, the vast majority of students were already descending the main staircase. James held up his hand with three fingers raised, which soon became two, then one-
It had happened in the blink of an eye. Sirius grabbed Snape round the neck, whom in turn had opened his mouth to shout an incantation, which has instead, been silenced by the phial of personaexplorosa. He had swallowed immediately on instinct, and after a few brisk moments clasped both of his thin, bony hands to his face. It was as if a giant invisible hand had groped inside his head, removed a long reel of film, loaded a projector with it, and hit 'play'. The newly gathered crowd watched curiously, as images began to play directly above Snapes head. The first were somewhat blurred and faint, a tall man standing over a cowering child, whilst his mother sat sobbing in the corner.
"So you've turned out like her, have you," inclined the cold voice as his lips curled into a sinister sneer
"Well, lets see if I cant beat it out of you, as well" The figure then proceeded to smack the boy so forcefully round the face, that he flew several inches backwards, and landed painfully on his nose which gave a terrible crack.
The scene was quickly replaced with another, a drab graveyard with rain spitting slowly from the dark sky. A headstone with an obviously freshly engraved name (the letters stood out in thick black) read:
'Eileen Snape'
Suddenly, through the entrance hall, a shaky voice echoed, distorted by its frequent sobs.
"I-I wish…it should have been me instead of you, mum…" The next few sobs were drowned out by the sounds of loud conversation and laughter. The great hall came into view above Snapes dark, greasy hair. It was like looking into a mirror whilst also holding one, and seeing a reflection repeat itself over and over. Each of the house tables were full, it's occupants portrayed in black and white, that was, all except from Serena Dolton (an attractive 6th year Ravenclaw, whom was one of the many faces in the crowd which currently surrounded the present day Snape) Once again, a voice echoed through the entrance hall, seemingly more hollow than the previous (as if instead of speech, it was from thought)
"She is so beautiful…but she would never be interested in such a disgusting, worthless piece of dirt like me…" Serena ran a pale hand through her long, golden her, her deep green eyes meeting his, dark and foreboding for a split second, before the image dissolved into the air, leaving nothing but what seemed a larger empty space than usual, behind.
He didn't want to see their reactions, he didn't even care. He didn't care about anything now. He just ran as fast as his shaking legs could, ignoring the explosion of laughter that was left in his wake. Up the stairs, down the corridors, until he had reached Moaning Myrtles bathroom. Slamming the door shut, he threw his school bag across the room, which smashed one of the dirty mirrors. His ruined inkbottles stained the porcelain sink below it black. Snape picked up a glittering shard that hand landed centimetres from his foot, and sparkled like the most valuable of diamonds. Reluctantly, he lifted his body up, and, leaning carefully over the sink, gazed into the now half mirror. There were tears in his empty eyes.
"You weak bastard. You don't deserve to live" his voice was silenced by the sickening sound of the shard being dragged across his pale wrist, first one, and then the other. He felt himself sway, and, unable to stay in control, crumpled into a heap upon the floor. The pain was unbearable. Vermillion floods were escaping his veins, and raining down upon the stone floor as if it were a thunderstorm. His eyes began to cloud over, but before he fell into an empty bliss, he saw, in some nightmare reality, the corner of a door open, and the most terrified scream follow closely after. But he had soon left this world, the one he saw through dark eyes, behind.
A/N: That was the first chapter, please review and tell me what you thought. P.S please excuse any typo's