A Child Named Severus

Written by myself, dear Padfootz_Princess, previously known as Hikari_No_Yami

This is a lovely little story about Snape as a child and why it is that he's a cranky old prat.

********************* Chapter One- Solitude is a Child's Best Friend. *********************

He sat outside beneath a great oak in the backyard, a book open in front of him, long hooked nose buried in it.

He tried to block out the memories of just a few hours before with information on Hinkeypunks and Grindylows. He always did enjoy Defence Against the Dark Arts.

***** Flash Back *****

"YOU ARE NOT GOING OUT TONIGHT!" screeched a horse-voiced, greasy-haired woman with watery blue eyes, "Never again Severus, NEVER AGAIN!"

"I'll go out whenever I please Samantha, and you cannot stop me." Came the oddly calm reply.

Calm, but the boy sitting in the corner, biting down on his lower lip until it bled freely over his robes and carpet, could see past the calm facade. He could see his father's anger clearly in his ebony eyes.

The woman broke out into sobbing fits and tears streamed down her white face. She fell to her knees and the boy heard the woman begging.

"Oh Severus, please... You have a family... What about your son? What about your daughter?!" Samantha sobbed loudly.

"It's not my fault Samantha, you pushed me away... You can't cling to someone." He said, still calmly and turning coldly away from the crying woman.

The boy in the corner was whimpering now, his head was light, and still he bit down on his lip. He was holding in the tears and the screams just barely.

"SEVERUS ANDREW SNAPE JUNIOR! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" came the horse screech once more, and the boy jumped, falling down on his rump and holding his knees tightly to his chest. He was crying now, and his voice came out a quavering whimper.

"Mummy" he began, but was cut off 1/2 way through.

A slap across the face does tend to shut one up quite effectively.

"You're bleeding all over MY carpet you HORRIBLE child!" Samantha screeched, and Severus the 2nd reached up to gingerly touch the bruise on his cheek.

A second slap made him cry out.

"SAMANTHA!" Came a harsh call, and the woman stopped herself, just before swatting the child again. She turned to see her husband, standing menacingly over her.

"SMACK!" right across her face, she bit her cheek and began to bleed.

"Never hit a child you psychopathic woman." He hissed slowly, careful to let his words sink in.

"Go, Severus, your mother and I have to talk."

***** End Flash Back *****

He reached up to touch the blue mark on his cheek, and almost groaned in pain as he instantly pulled his hand away.

"Sev? Severus?" A small, childish voice asked as a little girl came running up towards him from behind the broom shed.

"Severus, what's wrong?" the little girl asked, her soft black hair sop and wet, clinging to her face and her large black eyes wide.

"Nothing Sylvani.. Been swimming I see." Severus said, trying to smile, but the way his cheek had swollen made it painful.

"Oh my! What happened Severus?!" The little girl asked, dashing over to her brother and pushing his blocking arm aside before he could say anything.

"I-I just fell, that's all." He lied.

"Well here, I'll give you a kiss to make it better." the girl said with an honest smile across her face, she leaned in and pressed cherry-red lips on the bruise gently, and it didn't hurt.

"There, all better Sev. Now, do you want to come swimming with me? I'm afraid to go too deep on my own.."

"Tell you what Sylvy, I'll watch, I don't feel much like swimming right now."

"Ok, thank you Sevvy!" She giggled, hugging her brother tightly and jogging off.

He stood up slowly, still holding the book entitled, "Defensive Magic- A Guide To Magical Defences Against Beasts and Spells Alike (By Alamandrida Marcoskovskie)". He walked just as slowly towards the lake, where he heard splashing that told him his sister had just dove in.

"Sylvani, remember, not past your waist." Severus said, sitting down at the water's edge and glancing out at his sister, who seemed to be splashing playfully.

Then he heard the ear-splitting scream.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

"SYLVANI!" He cried, tossing his books aside, unclipping his cloak (so as to avoid being strangled by it as he swam) and diving in, his sweater and jeans growing heavy as he swam as quickly as possible out to his sister.

There, clutching at his little sister's legs and pulling her down into the water, was a Grindylow.

"I'm coming Sylvy!" he cried, diving under and snatching at the beast. He remembered something in the book he had been reading.

"The most effective way to escape the clutches of a Grindylow is to break it's grip." And with that, he tore at the beasts long, slender fingers and growled. However, the curses he spat merely came out as large bubbles as he finally managed to pull his sister free.

"GET TO LAND!" He shouted over his sister's screams.

She went suddenly quiet, and began to swim as quickly as she could towards land, "Hurry Sevvy... I don't want to loose you... I Love you Sevvy..." she whispered to him before she took off.

"I love you too Sylvani, now hurry!" he hissed, feeling the growing presence of Grindylows around him.

"IMOBULOUS!" he cried, and immediately all of the Grindylows stopped moving.

As soon as he reached shore, panting, soaking wet, and nursing his cheek and lip (which had reopened by now), he heard an ear-splitting screech.

"SEVERUS ANDREW SNAPE! WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS MAGIC ARE YOU DOING?!" Samantha screeched, and he winced.

"Wet! Bleeding all over your robes! ARE YOU MENTAL?!"

"N-n-no mum.. I w-was j-just."

"WHY ARE YOU STUTTERING?!"

"C-c-cold..."

"Bloody right you're cold! And you deserve it too! Jumping into the lake in your ROBES! You're GROUNDED! NO MAGIC FOR A WEEK!"

He looked obediently at his feet...

"MUMMY! He SAVED me, mummy! Grindylows..."

"And what were you doing swimming with Grindylows in the FIRST place? I never said you could go into the lake!"

"B-b-but..."

"NO BUTS! YOU'RE GROUNDED TOO!!!!!!!!"

With that, and a slap across both children's faces, the angry woman stormed off, and Sylvani fell to the ground, crying.

"M-mommy did t-too tell me I c-could g-go sw-swimming..." she sobbed out, clutching her bruising cheek and crying loudly.

"I believe you Sylvani." He said as gently as he could without bursting into fits of tears too. His mother had slapped him three times in the span of an hour, and he felt like the skin on his cheek was on fire.

"D-d'you want me to kiss it better?" Sylvani asked, seeing her brother doing his best not to cry.

"Only if you let me kiss yours better first." He said with a smile, brushing his now wet hair away from his face.

"O-Ok, Sevvy..."

He leaned in and kissed his little sister's cheek gently, and she smiled through her tears.

"All better." He said softly, and his sister returned the action.

"Yes. All better."