The Day the Laughter Died
Summary: Snape wasn't always a muggle-hating, bitter curmudgeon. There was a time when things weren't so bad. This is the day the laughter died.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Anything you recognise is not mine, most of it belongs to J.K. Rowling, without whom, there would be no story to make fan fiction from, which would make my life as drab and dull as the grey shirts they make us wear for Phys. Ed.
Severs Snape was woken quite suddenly by the sound of the door slamming. Rain beat against the window and he lay in bed savouring the silence and peace in the flat. Silence that was soon broken by the door slamming once more and someone humming contentedly in the kitchen below. Could she not do anything quietly? But at least the humming meant his twin was happy, something that had seemed impossible just a few years ago.
Julius Snape, Severus's father, had finally been dragged off to prison a couple years ago after using the Cruciatus curse on Sydney when she'd dropped the good glass serving plate. It had been quite a relief when he'd been taken away to Azkaban. They didn't have to live in fear any more and they laughed considerably more, now that there were things to laugh about. There were no more shouting matches and cries of pain from their mother and he and Sydney didn't need to hide whenever the door opened. The three of them were happy in the flat above the empty store. It was comfortable and roomy, and the vacant store space below served as quite a good place to have sock fights. Both Severus and Sydney would gather up all their socks, roll them together and throw them at each other, much like a snowball fight, old boxes and cushions serving as makeshift forts.
Severus sighed and dragged himself out of bed. He was awake now, and was starting to feel hungry. He thumped down the stairs.
"There are bagels in the bag!" Sydney called to him from the living room, "and mom says she'll be home about four."
In the kitchen Severus found the bagels and a tin of cream cheese sitting out and helped himself. Once he'd put the cheese in the icebox he went into the living room and flopped on the couch. He laughed when he saw Sydney sitting upside down in the armchair, feet sticking straight up. She was reading another one of her Muggle books and munching a bagel of her own.
The two of them shared the same black hair and obsidian eyes, although she wore thick, plastic rimmed glasses and she'd been spared the hooked nose. They were the same height, looked almost identical, and they were both rather quiet. But that was about as far as the similarities went. Sydney liked to read Muggle fantasy novels picked up at the thrift store down the street; Severus preferred magical non-fiction. She was more cheerful, while he was reserved and didn't do the whole perky thing. Neither talked to other people much, but she had managed to pick up some friends, while he avoided people a good part of the time. Sydney had been sorted into Hufflepuff, Severus, Slytherin. They both had pale skin, but she spent part of her day outside, giving a bit of color to hers. He stayed in most of the time while she went to the market, or washed windows for some of the shops to get Muggle money. She spent it at the thrift store, often bringing back strange things that even she had no idea what the use was. Sometimes he went with her, the Muggles in the shop were friendly and knew Sydney by name. She liked to paint and listened to the Muggle radio, he studied dark arts and plotted how to get Black and Potter. Severus was a bit more co-ordinated than Sydney, who was a bit of a klutz.
"are you going out today?"
"Yeah, I need to get more paint, out of Lupine purple again. Anything you want while I'm out?"
"We're out of shampoo again"
"How would you know unless…" she tilted her head back over the chair to look at him, causing her glasses to fall off and hit the carpet with a small thump. "You use it?" She teased.
"You know I do. And don't pretend like you don't have the exact same problem, we're twins remember."
Sydney laughed and fumbled for her glasses. Severus took pity and picked them up and handed them to her. She was as good as blind without them.
"Thanks. Anyway, speaking of Lupin, how come you hate him so much? He's really nice."
"I don't particularly hate Lupin. I just don't like his friends."
"Yeah, me neither. Especially that fat one and Potter. And Black. He's an ass."
"So why did you go out with him?"
"Fell for his looks before I knew better. Stupid me. Still, I got him back in the end."
Sydney had gone out with Sirius a couple of times that year, that is, until he found out she was related to Severus. He'd tried to let her go quietly during breakfast, but she wouldn't let him get away with such a stupid excuse. She'd turned it into an all-out shouting match, causing a lot of people to stare, which embarrassed Sirius. No one had ever talked to Sirius that way, especially a girl. It had soon become the talk of the school. Half the students, mostly the girls, were scandalized that someone had actually talked to Black that way and were insulted on his behalf. The other half, the girls who had gone out with Sirius already, mostly, spoke of Sydney with great respect. She'd been the first one to tell Black off, and in front off the whole school too.
"Anything else you want?"
"No, nothing I can think of."
"What're you going to do today?"
"Dunno" Severus said, finishing the last of his bagel and taking his plate into the kitchen.
He went back upstairs to change. His room, like his personality, was almost a complete contrast to his sister's. It was neat and orderly, the walls were bare except for the painting Sydney had given him last year. It was predominately blue with swirls of bright colors. If he scrunched up his eyes the colors looked as if they were moving.
Sydney's room, on the other hand, was what she liked to call an organized mess. There were little piles of clothes and papers all over the floor and the walls were covered with old Muggle movie posters and her own artwork. But she was able to find things easily and knew where everything was.
Shortly after lunch Sydney left the flat, slamming the door behind her. Severus waved to her from the kitchen window and she waved back from the street below. The rain had not let up and she was sure to be soaked.
Hours passed and Sydney did not return, but Severus wasn't worried, she often stayed out for hours at a time, returning with a bag full of strange things and a box of donuts from the bakery halfway across town.
Four o'clock came and Angela Snape apparated into the kitchen, looking tired. She worked at the Ministry, in the Magical Games and Sports office. This summer was the Quiddich World Cup and she had been clocking major overtime to ensure everything was set for the big match.
"Hey mum, have a good day?"
"Not bad, Sydney's still out?"
"Yup, she must have found something good, she's been gone all afternoon."
The doorbell rang and Mrs. Snape thudded down the stairs to answer. Sydney had probably forgotten her key again, or needed help carrying whatever it was she had bought. Two sets of feet approached the apartment door. But the person walking with his mother was not Sydney, but a Muggle policeman.
"Go upstairs honey" his mother said, looking anxious.
Severus complied, but he didn't see why he couldn't hear what the policeman had to say. He was fourteen now after all, they'd had their birthday two weeks ago, just before school was out.
Whatever the policeman had to say was not good. Something had happened to Sydney, Severus could feel it, and a knot grew in his stomach.
As he reached his room he could hear a muffled cry from his mother downstairs. Something had happened. The knot in his stomach tightened. He could hear the door shut again and Severus waited in his room.
A few minutes later his mother knocked gently on his door before coming in and sitting next to him on the bed.
"What happened mum? Did something happen to Syd?"
"Yeah Severus, um, your sister was hit by a car this afternoon. The Muggle driving was going rather fast and Sydney didn't have time to get out of the way. They think the Muggle was drunk and wasn't seeing straight. Anyway," her voice became strangled as she forced on with the story, "Sydney was killed, died on impact according to the police man. There was nothing they could do." Mrs. Snape broke down, sobbing on Severus's shoulder. He hugged her and tried his best not to cry. He would not cry. Never, he was stronger than that.
The doorbell rang again and Severus left his mother to answer it. The policeman was back.
"I'm sorry to trouble you again," he said, "but I forgot to give you this," he handed Severus a large paper bag, "they're Sydney's personal affects. I'm sorry for your loss." He left and Severus went back into the flat and sat down at the kitchen table. He opened the bag and took out the contents one piece at a time. There was the shirt Sydney had been wearing that day, black with the picture of some sort of beast eating a cookie. On the back was written "Cookie Monster"; it looked nothing like a monster to him. He reached into the bag again and drew out a silver cross on a delicate chain and Sydney's watch, the face of the watch was cracked and it had stopped on 3:45. There were a couple of metal bracelets Sydney had always worn, but now they were bent and twisted. The clinking sound they'd made when she moved had annoyed the hell out of Severus, but he found himself willing to give anything to hear the noise again. The last item in the bag was Sydney's glasses. They were cracked and broken, one of the lenses was missing and the arms stuck out at strange angles. He almost broke down when he saw them, but he managed to keep a grip on himself.
He put the items back into the bag and went back to his room. His mother had left and he locked the door.
Over the next few days, he only left his room to use the bathroom. His mother had taken days off work and tried to talk to him. He shut her out along with the rest of the world. Sydney's death still seemed unreal to him, she had been alive and happy just a few days ago, and then suddenly she wasn't. It didn't seem to make sense.
Severus refused to go to the funeral, he didn't want to face people trying to tell him they knew how he felt, how could they? Had they been through what he and Sydney had?
Days turned into weeks and still Severus never emerged from his room unless he had to. His mother went back to work and he spent the rest of the summer alone in his darkened room, shooting flies off the ceiling with his wand, imagining each to be a muggle. They were horrible people, the lot of them, with their cars and guns and other killing devices.
A/N I have no idea what made me write that. I don't usually write stories about anyone other than Sirius and the Marauders. But a plot bunny got into my head a couple days ago and wouldn't stop shaking my brain until this evolved and I wrote down.
This is for my friend Jocelyn, who loves Snape, though she has no idea I've written this. Thanks a lot Jotta for getting your obsession stuck in my mind! Just kidding, it's not so bad; I now see why you like Snape so much.
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