I live! And I have a fic to prove it! This is a very, very late birthday fic dedicated to my friend Orockthro, known as Balrog's Breath here(Blatent Birthday Plug!), because she likes Snape for some odd reason. More about my writing status in my bio sometime today.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter-J.K. Rowling and various companies do.
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Severus Snape sees ghosts.
Ghosts that are alive and well.
He sees them every day nearly, never during the summer, and wonders if others see them too.
He watches that Longbottom fool melting another cauldron, and sees another bumbling idiot who could blow up even the simplest potion. He sees, and he wonders if the boy will be the same kind of hero as another. Or, later, the same kind of traitor.
He watches the Weasely twins as they're dragged away by Filch again, and sees another trickster pair scolded by Pringle and not caring.He sees, and he wonders if the twins will die too, one after another.
He watches the youngest Weasely smile disarmingly even as she disarms her dueling opponent, and sees another redhead with a wicked streak underneath her kind smile. He sees, and he wonders if she will also become little more than a sacrifice for the greater good.
He watches that know-it-all Granger bounce in her chair eagerly, and sees another brown haired, but quieter know-it-all. He sees, and he wonders whether she'll be left alone as well, with nothing but her books to keep her company.
He watches the best friend who wants his family to be recognized, and sees another boy who wants his own to be forgotten. He sees, and he wonders if glory in death is all that awaits him too.
Most of all, Snape watches that boy, that boy, and he sees a man. A man who died before the hatred of his enemies could diminish, and so his son inherits them. A man who made his life a living nightmare and then had the gall to go off and die a heroic death. A man who had everything he never had-true friends, a real family, talents that were appreciated. He sees, and he wonders why the son, who had a childhood so much like his own, ended up with the life of his father after all.
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See if you can figure which two people I'm talking about in each paragraph. Please, no criticism, constructive or otherwise. I already havebetas, I just post stories online so people can read them. Grammarand spelling corrections, on the other hand, are welcome.