Disclaimer: Nope, not mine… Oh how I wish I could claim these characters for myself and never let them go! ;)

A/N

Although I do take full responsibility for any original characters and plot. If you find anything you like, feel free to borrow it without asking for my consent (makes me feel soo important… as if! LOL!) ;P

One suggestion: Just go with the flow for now and see how it pans out. Explanations and details will come gradually, although if you find any holes in the plot (at any time) please review and tell me about it, I'll be grateful ;)

Chapter I

A Mysterious Prisoner

It was a warm summer night when Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks found themselves the only occupants of Grimmauld Place. The Weasleys were all busy with preparations for the upcoming wedding between Bill and Fleur, while everyone else was currently on some mission or other, performing more or less demanding and dangerous duties. Harry was still at his aunt's house on Privet Drive and Hermione was staying with her parents. Number Twelve couldn't be left empty and someone had to be there in case of an emergency and other members had to be notified. Tonks and Remus had drawn the short straw today…

And so they were – sitting together in the kitchen, sipping cups of tea that had long ago grown cold, sitting in silence and unwilling to break it, both lost in their own thoughts. There had been far too many casualties lately. After Dumbledore's death Voldemort was thriving and he'd become more bold – the Order and the Ministry were hard pressed to keep the Dark Lord's forces at bay. What the Ministry didn't yet know was that defeating Voldemort was impossible as long as he had his Horcruxes intact – the Order hadn't thought it a good idea to inform the Ministry about their existence since even Dumbledore hadn't trusted the Ministry of Magic with all that he knew.

Dumbledore's death weighed heavily on the whole Order and the massive attacks of Voldemort's Death Eaters all over Britain only made things worse. Everyone was busy and their depression was growing stronger, still, the Order was set on having a wedding. They needed something to look forward to… a ray of hope for a better future. Bill was healing nicely and it looked like he would be spared the effects of lycanthropy.

The relationship between Tonks and Remus was steadily progressing as well, though the werewolf seemed a little apprehensive. Remus' attempt at spying on the werewolves had failed and all he could do now was openly fight with the rest of the Order. Because he was a werewolf, the Ministry refused to accept him as an Auror, even though they were allowing many people to join in a quick training course. The fact was that they needed more men. Desperately so. The numbers of casualties among Aurors were reaching frightening heights…

It was possible that the Ministry wasn't being as careful with its new recruits as it should be, but there was nothing that could be done to change that – just like there was little hope of making them realise that not all magical creatures were dark.

Suddenly the kitchen door was wrenched open and a young woman clad in the navy blue robes that were part of the Auror uniform burst inside.

Elizabeth Hayes – a relatively new addition to the Order of the Phoenix since Dumbledore had only recruited her ten months before his death – was a tall young woman. She was the same age as Tonks and had long blonde hair, which was usually tightly braided around her head, so that it wouldn't get in the way. She had serious, wise, greenish-grey eyes framed by thick, dark eyelashes. Above them, nearly black eyebrows formed two elegant arches on her high forehead. She was definitely an attractive woman, very much so.

"Thank Merlin you're here! There's been a huge magical explosion somewhere in Scotland. Gear up, Moody wants as many people from the Order there as possible." She said breathlessly.

Tonks and Elizabeth entered the room cautiously, not sure what they would find inside. Tonks' hair was the same light blonde colour it had been for nearly a week. Somehow the Metamorphagus had lost interest in changing her appearance every chance she got. It was actually viewed as an improvement by many, Mad-Eye Moody and Kingsley Shacklebolt in particular.

The werewolf reluctantly followed the younger women and drew in a sharp breath at the sight that greeted him.

The room was lit only by the fire burning in the fireplace, hardly reaching the centre of the floor with its red glow and leaving the corners in dark, ominous shadows. A large window allowed for the silvery light of the moon to flow easily over the floor until the light encountered and climbed upon the bed that was one of the very few items in the medium-sized room. The bed was covered with white sheets and amongst the folds of material distinguishable was the shape of a tall, thin man. His face was ghastly pale, as white as the sheets. The snowy covers were drawn all the way to the man's chin. Inky black curls of long hair clashed dramatically with the pillow they were spilled on.

The three stepped closer, studying the man. He looked like a ghost.

"Is he dead?" Tonks asked softly, voicing what her companions were also thinking.

The man's long, thick eyelashes rested against his pale cheeks, casting an eerie shadow over his pronounced cheekbones. Elegant, ebony eyebrows were drawn together in a frown, or perhaps in pain. The face was gaunt, the pale skin stretched painfully over the bones. The stranger's nose was long and regular. Below it fine lips were pressed tightly into a thin line. Blood seemed to have drained from them as well as from the rest of the ghostly face.

Only upon a closer study and when their eyes had become more adjusted to the dim light did the intruders see signs of life.

Beads of sweat were forming on the pale man's high forehead and his nostrils flared as he took fevered breaths of air. Eyes rolled madly behind pearly eyelids. Long-fingered, bony hands clenched into fists and pulled at the covers.

Suddenly, catching the people watching him off guard, the man rolled his head to the side and his lips parted in a panicked gasp. He started thrashing madly on the bed, caught up in some nightmare.

"No, don't! Get away from me!" He cried out in fear. His movements became more violent and, if it hadn't been for Mad-Eye's quick reflexes, he would have fallen off the bed. The group of intruders had barely enough time to be surprised that they hadn't noticed Moody upon entering. They should have known better than to think he wouldn't stand vigil at their prisoner's side, even if the man was unconscious.

The older wizard caught the frightfully thin man in his arms, using all his strength to hold down the writhing form beneath him. He managed to pin the younger wizard to the bed, but the result was not what he'd hoped for.

"NO! Don't touch me! Get your hands off me!" The man shouted desperately, obviously still caught up in his own nightmare and entirely unaware of his surroundings. When Alastor pinned him down, he went wild and Moody couldn't hold him down. An elbow hit the Auror's crooked nose and it started bleeding. The old wizard completely ignored the injury, continuously fighting to hold the young man still. Remus and Tonks jumped to his aid and Elizabeth followed their example. Together they held the man down. It seemed impossible for someone so thin and weakened to have such strength.

A bright light erupted around them and everything started spinning. The Order members found themselves plummeting down. Down and down they fell, spinning out of control, a hurricane howling around them… until everything went quiet, everything went still.

Remus opened his eyes cautiously, feeling nauseous. Tonks was peering at him from between the fingers of her hands with which she'd covered her face. The sight of the other seemed to calm them somewhat because they started checking their surroundings. Warily, they moved closer together. They seemed to be on a train. Not just any train it seemed. It looked like they were aboard the Hogwarts' Express.

A gnarled hand clamped heavily on Remus' shoulder and the werewolf jumped. He spun around and came face to face with none other than Alastor Moody.

"A-Alastor! You-you scared me!" He gasped. He lifted a hand to his chest where his heart was trying to break free of the ribs caging it.

"Where are we?" Elizabeth asked stepping from behind Mad-Eye's back.

"I'm afraid I don't know. Our mystery prisoner has a high fever and… but no, it's impossible. He couldn't possibly be that powerful."

"If you're thinking what I'm thinking Sir, then let me remind you that this man did in fact destroy one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. If he is as powerful as that, then I believe we may be in some serious trouble." Elizabeth, ever the professional Auror, continuously used Alastor's title or called him Sir rather than just Moody or Alastor as the other members of the Order did. Although the man was their superior now that he'd been called back to active duty, Kingsley and Tonks didn't usually bother with formalities unless they were on duty and there were other Aurors or Ministry officials about.

"We only know for a fact that he'd been there when the explosion occurred, Miss Hayes." Moody growled. "For all we know he could have been protecting his master's Horcrux, not trying to destroy it – he does have the Dark Mark on his forearm."

"He's suffering a severe case of magic depletion, one that's almost critical. I'd say he's our guy. He's probably the one who's been slipping us those helpful notes too, Sir." Elizabeth said with growing conviction. "That he's survived that explosion with all the injuries he'd sustained and magic depletion on top of it is proof enough that he probably is powerful enough, and what else could have happened to us?"

"What are you talking about?" Tonks interrupted.

Moody released a deep breath and for a brief moment closed his good eye.

"Our mystery man has a high fever. In such a vulnerable state he is prone to very vivid nightmares and visions just like we've just experienced and, as he seems to be a powerful wizard, it is possible for those who come in contact with him to be drawn into his mindscape."

"So… What now?" Tonks persisted. "We aren't trapped here, are we?" She asked in a voice that was higher than usual. She'd read about this sort of thing, but she'd never actually witnessed it.

"For now, I'm afraid we are." Alastor said after a long pause. "Don't worry. It will not take long. If he is as powerful a wizard as we suspect then he will regain control of his magic soon enough." Moody encouraged while he himself was cursing himself for his carelessness. Constant vigilance. He sneered at himself mentally.

Elizabeth decided it would be best to warn Remus and Nymphadora then and there what they would be facing in the meantime. "Until that happens, however, we will have to witness whatever memories that are in any way significant to him. We are already inside his mind so no Occlumency skills can hide the memories that he'd want hidden at other times."

"As a matter of fact, as I have no doubt that our Death Eater is an Occlumens, memories that are usually occluded are what we're most likely to see. This could actually be interesting." Moody smirked. "Just the insight into a Death Eater's mind that we need right now, if we want to win against Voldemort."

A tall but slender boy of no more than eleven walked along the empty corridor of the moving train, dragging a heavy trunk behind him. He had black, shoulder-length hair that spiralled around his pale face. He had a black eye and a cut lip but, other than that, he looked cute. He had the most extraordinary pair of unfathomable, black eyes.

"Snape." Remus said and stared at the boy. He wasn't the only one who was incredulous. Tonks, Moody and Elizabeth blanched at his words. They stared at Remus in shock. Snape? The man they'd collected from the area of the explosion had looked nothing like the Snape they knew. Although Elizabeth was surprised that the mysterious destroyer of the Horcrux was actually the most wanted man from Voldemort's ranks, she didn't share the others' shock at seeing the man as a small, innocent child. She'd never known the man in person after all – only what she'd seen of him in newspapers. Obviously the pictures of him must have been inaccurate or he must have drunk a potion that had changed his features.

A child at this age was really no indication of what a person would look like when they reached adulthood, still, this boy Snape looked more like the man in the bed back at Grimmauld Place than the adult Snape's newspaper images. Another mystery. Perhaps Moody had been right and this opportunity could prove to be at least a little eye-opening… even if Elizabeth did earnestly believe that what was happening couldn't be termed as anything short of mind-rape.

Clad in faded black trousers and a light blue T-shirt he made his slow progress peering through the windows of already full compartments. At long last, at the back of the train, he found an empty compartment all to himself. A large grin appeared on his face.

The black-haired boy outstretched his hand and his trunk was floated into the corner of the compartment. Another wave and flick of the ivory fingers and the trunk's many locks came open. The boy's grin widened, if that was even possible. He quickly rummaged within the trunk and pulled out a wand and a piece of parchment.

He held the parchment in one hand and waved his wand over it with the other.

"Speculum Facit!" For a first year student transfiguring a piece of parchment into a mirror was a noteworthy achievement. It was actually a quite attractive mirror too: with a golden frame with leaves engraved into it.

The boy examined his reflection and grimaced. With careful fingers he touched his blackened eye and hissed when he came in contact with a tenderer spot. It was at that exact moment that a red-haired girl noiselessly opened the door to the compartment. She saw the boy gazing into the mirror, but her vision of his face was obscured.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Narcissus himself!" She called out from the entry to get the boy's attention. His reaction was instantaneous. He whirled around, getting to his feet and clenching his wand firmly in his right hand. Unfortunately his shoelaces got in the way and he tripped. The mirror he'd been holding broke with the impact of hitting the floor and a shard imbedded itself in the boy's palm. Dark eyes closed against the pain and a hiss managed to escape between clenched teeth.

The first year girl in the entrance rushed into the compartment and kneeled at the injured boy's side.

"Oh I'm so sorry!" She helped him into a sitting position although he tried to protest. "I didn't mean to startle you. I'm really sorry." She apologised as the dark-haired first-year moved away from her and lowered his head. His raven hair hid most of his face from her but she could still see his injured hand. She winced at the sight of his bloody palm and the piece of mirror still protruding from it. "Do you want me to call someone? I could…" She was already getting up when the boy grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to the floor.

"No." He said sharply. He lifted his head to look at the girl and managed to do so between locks of his curly hair. Noting the surprise and sincere concern in her emerald green eyes, he let go of her wrist and explained. "I'm okay. You don't have to get anyone." To prove his point, the boy pulled the glass out of the wound, suppressing a hiss. Blood poured out from the wound but the boy pulled out an old, grey shirt from his trunk and wrapped it around his hand. He tried to tie the material more securely but he was having trouble doing it with only one good hand. Seeing this, the red-haired girl offered her assistance. Again, he tried to protest. She ignored his feeble attempts.

"There." She said as she finished. "You still need to see someone about that cut, though."

"I'm fine on my own." He told her haughtily, turning his back on her, then he started rummaging in his trunk.

"You most certainly aren't fine!" The girl snapped angrily. She stood up and looked down at him. She was just opening her mouth when she took notice of an array of small bottles he was examining. "What are those?" She asked curiously, deflating a bit.

"Potions." The boy pulled out a small bottle of a dark blue potion. "This one is for healing wounds. It's almost instantaneous." He told the redhead proudly. "I made these myself."

He took out a small phial from the trunk. He tried to open it but failed and was just about to try uncorking it with his teeth when he looked up at the girl standing over him.

"Would you mind opening this?" He asked shyly. Most of his face was still obscured by his hair but the girl managed to make out his dark eyes and she thought she saw a small smile.

"Sure." She took the proffered phial and easily uncorked it before handing it back. "What does it do?"

"This healing potion is very effective but it has a very short shelf life once it's completed. That's why I came up with this. Instead of completing the potion, I've made another one that can be added to it when it becomes this dark blue colour. In this form it can be safely shelved for a long time. When the contents of this bottle are combined with those of this phial the effect will be the same as it would have been had the final stages for making the healing potion been performed." He handed her the bottle to open and then poured the yellow contents of the phial into the bottle. The mixture turned green.

"It still could be just a trick." The redhead eyed the now green potion sceptically. "The same thing happens when you add blue paint to yellow. That doesn't mean they have healing properties."

If her dark-haired companion took offence at this, he didn't show it.

"Well, watch and learn." He said confidently as he pulled the grey shirt off his hand. Blood was still flowing from the wound. It had to be quite deep. He threw the bloodstained shirt away before slowly pouring a bit of the green potion onto his palm. The bleeding stopped immediately and the pair sat in silence staring at the boy's pale hand in fascination as the cut on his hand began to disappear. "Evanesco." The boy whispered, pointing the wand he'd retrieved from the floor at the blood staining his clothes and his hand. There was no mark left where the wound had been.

Dark eyes lifted to meet a pair of awed green ones.

"That was amazing!" The red-haired girl whispered with admiration. "You really made this potion? And you actually improved it? Wow! You have to be the smartest kid I've ever met!" The questions and compliments flowed from her mouth, making her companion flush a deep red colour.

The girl paused as she noticed the pink tinge his skin even on his exposed hands and arms suddenly took. She grinned at him and moved to pull some hair out of his eyes to finally see his face. The same face she'd seen him inspecting in that fateful, broken mirror. The boy flinched at her touch and moved away, but not before she saw the black eye he was sporting and the split lip. Again she had to wince at the sight.

"Do you have a potion for that too?" She asked after an awkward silence. The boy seemed genuinely surprised at her concern for him. He nodded mutely, staring at her through a curtain of black hair.

After another moment of silence he waved his wand at the shards from the mirror and whispered a spell.

"Reparo." He picked up the mirror, which was now as good as new, and pulled all the hair out of his face. He studied his reflection for a moment before administering the green healing potion to his lip.

Turning to his trunk, the boy pulled out a healing salve. He started rubbing it into his skin below his eye. An errand lock of hair fell in his face and as he tried moving it away he smudged the salve across his entire cheek. Two smaller hands reached up. One brushed away the strand of hair while the other took some of the salve from his cheek and carefully spread it on the bruise around his eye. The boy wanted to stop her but after looking into the girl's eyes decided to let her have her way. She wasn't going to hurt him – he instinctively knew he was safe with her. He closed his eyes and concentrated solely on keeping himself from hissing with pain.

"There. That does it." He heard a soft, kind voice whisper near him. The boy opened his eyes and found himself face to face with the redhead. She was smiling at him warmly and the dark-haired boy smiled back.

"Thanks. At least now you saw for yourself that I am not Narcissus and that I had other uses for that mirror."

The girl blushed.

"Sorry about that."

"No harm done." He assured her with a grin. He looked around and his gaze fell on the trunk standing in the entrance to his compartment. "So, don't tell me you haven't got a place to stay for the ride?"

She looked at her trunk and then back at the other first-year hopefully.

"No, I don't. Would you mind if I stayed here?" She asked uncertainly.

"What? Mind? Of course not!" He said enthusiastically. His tone of voice surprised even him as he wasn't usually so openly cheerful and he didn't generally get along that well with people he'd just met. "Oh I'll get it! What kind of a gentleman would I be if let you carry that thing any farther than you already have?" He flashed her a bright smile as he stopped her from going for her trunk. At first he wanted to show off his wandless magic but thought better of it. He walked over and picked up her luggage.

"I'm Lily Evans, by the way." The girl told him once he'd taken care of her trunk. She was amused to see the boy flush in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry about that. I should have introduced myself ages ago. That was terribly rude of me. I'm Severus Snape. I hope you can excuse my manners."

Lily outstretched her hand but instead of shaking it, Severus kissed her hand. Lily giggled and blushed furiously.

"What?" Severus asked in surprise.

"Nothing, it's just that I haven't seen anyone your age kissing a girl's hand in greeting before." She laughed. Severus looked scandalised.

"But that's the proper way for a man to greet any woman – no matter what age they are. Mother taught me that."

"Not in my world, at least not anymore."

"You're a Muggle-born?"

"A what?"

"A Muggle-born. You have non-magical parents – Muggles. That explains a lot. Like how easily you were impressed with my potions or that you don't know what pure-blood upbringing is like." Severus told her.

"Is that a bad thing? What are pure-bloods?" Lily asked curiously, but there was also a trace of worry and nervousness in her voice. Severus smiled at her.

"No, I don't think being a Muggle-born is a bad thing. Why should it be? Though some wizards think so, which I'm sure you'll find out soon enough. Old, pure-blood families like the Malfoys, the Lestranges or the Blacks. I'm a half-blood myself but they don't have any Muggle blood in their lines, or at least it's their most guarded secret if it ever got mixed somewhere along their lines. You'd best steer clear of that shady lot, Lily. They could hurt you."

"Hurt me? But why?" The girl was slightly overwhelmed and frightened by what he was telling her. Severus immediately noticed this and put an arm around her slender shoulders.

"Don't worry, Lily. I won't let anyone hurt you, I promise! And they're just stupid, arrogant jerks. My family, well, half of it at least, is pure-blooded, but I don't go spouting anti-Muggle propaganda." Severus smiled reassuringly at the girl. She looked up and met his eyes trustingly.

"How much do you know about Hogwarts and the Wizarding World? Do you want me to tell you about it?" Severus asked kindly.

"Maybe later." Lily was still reeling with the shock after what this boy had just told her. Albus Dumbledore hadn't warned her parents that she might be hurt by some pure-bloods

"Come on, Lily, cheer up. I give you my word of honour as a half-blood Prince and as a Snape that I will not let any harm befall you at Hogwarts! I swear it on my life!" He told the redhead in earnest, forcing her to look deep into his dark eyes. "Friends?" He then asked, extending his hand.

"Friends!" She said solemnly as she took hold of his hand. They held onto each other's hands for a long moment and their eyes never strayed from the other. They were grinning broadly. They'd both found friends and they just knew that their friendship had to last.

Her happiness running away with her, Lily threw her arms around Severus' neck and hugged him. Severus was shocked at first but soon found himself returning Lily's embrace with as much fervour. When the two new friends finally broke apart, Severus decided there was nothing like a secret to strengthen a new bond of friendship. He cast a protection charm on the door to their compartment while Lily followed the movements of his wand with obvious admiration.

"I will show you something, but you have to promise me you won't tell anyone, okay? I don't want you to tell anyone about those potions either, alright?"

"Yes."

"Yes what?" Severus pressed.

"Yes to both! I promise I won't tell anyone!" Lily replied solemnly.

"Good, well watch this." With that, Severus started changing the colour of his hair. At first it was blond and brown, but soon he switched to colours such as blue, red and green. Lily observed him open-mouthed and laughed out loud when he made his hair long and pink. She was laughing so hard when the pink locks tied themselves into two ponytails that she fell from her seat and rolled on the floor, still, she couldn't stop laughing. Severus joined in as he picked up his mirror and saw his reflection. He then moved on to other parts of his face and body, making his nose large and hooked, his eyes small and red, his arms long like an ape's.

Their wild guffaws stopped only when someone knocked on their compartment door. Immediately Severus changed back to his normal self and removed the charm from the door. It was the witch with the trolley selling all kinds of sweats and drinks. Since Lily had never tried any of the wizard candy, it was up to Severus to buy a bit of everything.

"Can you teach me how to change my appearance like that?" Lily asked after the witch had left.

"No, I'm afraid I can't." Lily's face fell and her new friend hurried to explain. "I was born like this. Not every wizard can do what I can. It's a gift, that's why I don't want you to tell anyone. They'd just make fun of me and I don't need that."

"And this gift of yours – what is it called? Does it have a name?"

"I'm a Metamorphagus. That's the name we use, but don't call me that, because everyone will immediately know what I am."

"I already promised I wouldn't tell anyone, Severus." She smiled at him reassuringly.

They sat together with the pile of sweats between them and bottles of Butterbeer in hand. Eating through the pile of food and drinking, they started talking about virtually everything a pair of bright eleven-year-olds might find interesting. They talked about the Wizarding World, the Muggle World, about Hogwarts, school subjects or they just fooled around.

They arrived at Hogwarts all too soon.

The memory ended there, leaving the four people stranded somewhere.

"Snape's a Metamorphagus!" Tonks exclaimed, unable to get over her shock.

"I never knew about that!" Remus was just as shocked. At least that explained why the man on the bed hadn't looked much like the Potions Master they both knew.

"Well, that memory didn't seem so bad, barring that mirror incident." Tonks said, trying to break the eerie silence that surrounded them.

"And those bruises he had from the beginning." Lupin added. "It certainly wasn't the reason why he was crying out and thrashing around back at Headquarters."

"Were they really friends?" Tonks inquired of no-one in particular. The absurdity of the idea… She just couldn't wrap her mind around that. Their friendship must have ended the moment Snape got Sorted and became a Slytherin.

"Lily and Snape? Yes, I guess they were almost inseparable at the beginning, until they started going out together in our fourth year. That's when you really could hardly ever see one without the other." Remus explained with a frown. Somehow he'd forgotten all about that. Wouldn't Harry have liked to know? He thought to himself with a nagging feeling of guilt.

"What happened then? Why didn't they stay together?" Tonks asked curiously. She'd never have imagined Snape being in love and having a girlfriend, but then again, what she'd just seen of the sweet, amusing little boy from Snape's memories contradicted everything she thought she knew about the man.

"I don't know. I was hardly in a position where either of them would confide in me. All I know is that they seemed to break up at the beginning of our fifth year. Lily was utterly miserable for quite a while after that and Snape, well Snape was his usual annoying self." As he said this, Remus felt guilt press heavily on him. "I guess that's not entirely true." Remus swallowed. Those memories weren't ones he liked relieving. They made Snape appear not only human, but actually a good person and he didn't want to think of him as such. Not after Albus' death. "It was strange, actually. One minute they're together and the next thing people know is that Snape ran off with Malfoy only a week before the term ended. When Snape came back after that summer he was… well, he was different, I guess. More vicious and hateful. Although I can't say he was ever nice to me or the other Marauders, initially he'd seemed like a fairly okay guy… for a Slytherin."

Suddenly they found themselves pulled into a deep, dark vortex. There was nothing they could do to stop what was going on around them so they just closed their eyes to block out the visions that swam before their eyes with a dizzying intensity.

"Snape, Severus." Minerva McGonagall called out and a first year boy walked to the front of the teachers' table and sat down on the three-legged stool. The Deputy Headmistress placed the old, battered Sorting Hat on the boy's dark head, effectively hiding his face, as the Hat was way too big to fit Severus, despite the thick locks of his hair.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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