Disclaimer: I do not own any of this and if I did, I probably would not be sitting here doing this right now.

A/N: I have A LOT planned for this story and I'm going to update FREQUENTLY, but I really need REVIEWS in order to continue my story so pleeeeeaaaaase leave a review; as always I am open to any constructive criticism.

Severus Snape woke up with a jolt and sat straight up in his bed. His white undershirt was drenched from sweat and so was his face where his thin, black strands of hair stuck to the side of it.

Dreams....

Hauntings...

Memory's past...

Torture and pain...

Severus found himself giving himself pep talks. He then decided that it wasn't healthy for him to be doing that so all he would then achieve was getting into an argument with himself. His dreams were getting worse. They were so bad now that he didn't even doubt that he might be screaming so loud that it might wake the entire castle. Maybe then someone would come and check on him. No. No one would ever worry about him. Except perhaps Dumbledore. He was a different case...

Over the past few weeks, his dreams, or as they should more appropriately be called, memories, seemed to intensify, with each following night. He started to dread each nightfall as the moon rose, for he knew he'd have to again relive his horrors from the past that would come back to haunt him.

As he lay there staring at the dark ceiling of his private chambers, he began to think of nothing in particular other than why he was being forced to suffer. He'd already had to survive through the events once, why must he be made to live through them again? Such horrors should never have even been lived through once, and now he had to do it twice in one lifetime. There was only one solution, as there always was. Of course, in his adolescence, suicide would've been an option too, but not anymore. His one option was always to go to Albus Dumbledore.

Severus waited in Dumbledore's office. With nothing else to do he looked around. No matter how many times he came in here, he could always marvel at the magnificent gadgets and gizmos he had lying around. Sometimes it even angered him to see how well off he was, but then he would quickly reprimand himself for thinking such a thought about a person that had been as kind to him as Dumbledore. He continued looking around and saw the familiar pensieve. Maybe that's what I need...

At those words, Albus Dumbledore came into his office.

"Ah, Severus. As I understand it you wanted to see me?" asked Albus.

"Yes, headmaster," said Severus.

"Severus, I have known you many years now, and I do hope that I am more to you than just an employer!" said Albus.

"Yes, Albus," came Severus's reply. He hated it when he did this to him. "I need to talk to you about something."

"I thought as much. Please, continue."

"In the past few weeks, I've been having these dreams that...that are about my past. They're not just dreams, though. They're brought to life; forcing me to relive the memories I have from..." Severus had to take in a few breaths before he could go on. "They're reliving everything bad I've ever had in my past, which was quite a horrific experience to have once and I do not care to live it again. It's like my past has come back to haunt me, but it's almost as bad as when it actually happened."

Albus Dumbledore continued to survey Severus long after he had stopped talking.

"I figured you'd been having problems," Albus started, "I about fell over this morning when I heard that you didn't show up for your Potions class. Most unlike yourself."

Severus appreciated his gesture of trying to find the humor in any situation, but he found this to be a far too serious matter to joke around about.

"Thank you for listening, Albus." Severus could not think of anything else to say.

"Is that all then, Severus? Will you be requiring any more time off?"

"No." Severus still had to keep up his reputation in his profession, even if his, what you would call home life, wasn't going so well. He got up and decided to go back to his chambers.

That evening, he didn't even go up for dinner in the Great Hall. His stomach's constant sound of growling told him that he was hungry, but he simply ignored it. He didn't need a full stomach to make him drowsy. All that would bring to him is more pain. Pain he did not want to bear anymore...

Unfortunately, through time, he could not stop the inevitability of sleep. And that was the beginning. What he had experienced before was nothing like the full force he would be experiencing tonight. The terror he would have tonight could never have been foreseen...

I hope that this was enough of a cliffhanger! I will get the second chapter up soon where we will find out more....muuuuuuch more! Thanks for reading! And don't forget to leave a review!!!