Just Trying to Love
Chapter 1- A contemplation.
When the story was revealed of his efforts in the war he was hailed as a hero.
"On August 3rd Professor Severus Snape, Potions master at Hogwarts school and Murderer of Albus Dumbledore, headmaster at Hogwarts school was today hailed as a Hero in a bizarre twist that happened in his court case. A surprise witness was called forth surprising and outraging many. The portrait of Albus Dumbledore which is kept in the headmistresses Office in the school was taken down and brought to the courtroom. There it went on to explain how professor Snape had taken an unbreakable vow to protect a school child that was to kill him. The silence in the court was immense.... once the evidence had been given all members of the wizengamot, united, hailing him as a hero..."
Just reading it made his blood boil a hero... at least I am no longer spat at in the street, thank heaven for small mercies he sighed inwardly, his mind went round in circles wandering what to do now he had been acquitted. McGonagall had been made headmistress of Hogwarts and had offered him his post back as potions master although the stability of the job would be welcome... the thought of going back to those dunderheads was not a welcoming one, it was something he would be and had been pondering, for weeks. She had sent him numerous letters which he had read but been unable to reply to, fully knowing this would anger her yet not caring simply because he felt numb. It was surprising his lack of emotion at the woman he had known and for lack of a better word, cared for most of his life but that was the very reason he didn't any have any emotional responses, his life was so altered he didn't know what to do. Both Voldemort and Dumbledore were dead, the two people who had controlled most of his life had left him, leaving a broken shell of a man with no master or leader to give him a point to his existence leading him to the decision of hiding here until he had come up with some kind of plan for his life.
He looked around at the empty room; 'oh if only those idiots could see me now 'their hero' they would soon retract that statement' he thought. The room that he sat in was bare to the very bones with only a threadbare rug that looked so ancient it made Nicholas Flamel look like a babe in arms, an Armchair so battered you couldn't see what kind of fabric it used to be let alone the colour and a bookcase with a large collection of books that looked rather smart compared to this dismal room.
It was a small flat having only 4 small cramped rooms that were all equally as dismal as this one, although he did have the money to update it he didn't have the patience for such a waste of time and it was ample for what he used it for. The flat had once belonged to his father and had been bequeathed to him when his father had died, it was a quiet haven he used to come to whilst teaching at Hogwarts when the idiocy of the students became too much to bear. Although it wasn't physically appealing it was somewhere he could just sit and read without the noise or interruptions of students or teachers. The furniture although old and very much shabby had also been bequeathed to him but from his grandmother and feeling sentimental he hadn't been able to part with it.
The reason he currently resided here was because of the harassment he had been receiving before the acquittal. It had got to the point where he hadn't left the flat in weeks accept to go to close friends' houses and court. Although he was now free to go about without the harassment he was still being constantly harangued by people wishing him well and needing to speak to him or wanting his autograph... It was insufferable, so he stayed here in perfect solitude hoping that no one would find him unless he wanted them too of course.
He knew they had been searching for him; McGonagall's gang of heroes, there had been messages via his circle of friends that they urgently needed to see him. So far he had managed to elude them but they were determined especially that little vixen Hermione Granger. Since she had graduated school a year ago she had made a lot of noise in the area of non human rights especially with house elves, causing a mild uproar in the papers when she denounced a lot of old pureblood families as being cruel and inhumane towards their house elves who did nothing but serve them faithfully and she called out for a mass house elf release. It wasn't until the house elves themselves rebelled against her that she stopped her protest. So instead of putting all her efforts in to 'saving' the house elves she was using it to try and find him. The others though equally annoying were much less determined.
They was another reason for his indecisiveness towards going back to Hogwarts, he knew Granger would be going to take over McGonagall's position as Transfiguration teacher. She would apprentice for two more years and then would become a fully fledged teacher. Once they had finished school he'd hoped never to see their faces again but of course Granger at the school means Potter and Weasley will be there constantly... they would be an inescapable irritant.
The sky had grown dark now; he must have been sitting there in deep contemplation for hours. Standing up he moved into the kitchen to grab a drink before retiring to his bedroom, opening the fridge door he yanked out the milk but before he could even close it a loud crack ripped through the silence. The bushy haired Granger stood in front of him, a myriad of emotions crossed her face before she finally settled on Triumphant, she rushed to him grabbed his collar and before he could so much as grab his wand or take a breath she had apparated them both away.