Rewriting
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the characters. This is purely for entertainment and I in no way profit from it.
For some unknown reason Severus Snape was strangely proud of the Potter boy as he gathered Severus' tear, memories, into the glass flask. Despite popular belief he didn't hate the child. He didn't particularly like him most days, but he found himself unable to hate the blasted boy. He couldn't hate him, not with Lily's blood running through his veins. And though Severus loathed to admit it, Potter was a lot like Lily; and not just in his striking green eyes. It was the boy's nose, the way freckles dusted across the bridge and onto his cheeks. The small cupids bow and a face that was more heart shaped than his father's. Not to mention the boy's cheeky personality and stubbornness that hadn't come from the go-with-the-flow James Potter. So when the child tried to look away from Snape's worn and gaunt face, he called him to attention.
"No, look at me," He weakly ordered. The boy seemed surprised but complied nonetheless. Severus' own dark eyes met the wide jade irises of Harry Potter. It was jarring how much they resembled Lily's but were also so different. The color was the same, right down to the gold and orange flecks around the obsidian pupils. The same almond shape that was sharp and wide before upturning at the outer corners. But young Harry's eyes were haunted with horrors and age that Lily's never saw, even in her adulthood. Even so, he couldn't help the next thing that left his mouth, "You have your mother's eyes,". Harry seemed stunned, his hand still pressing against Severus' bloody neck. The world began to darken and the pain numbed. He heard a voice calling him, one he knew so well.
"Severus," her voice was muffled through the haze. The pain was gone and he waited patiently for what awaited him in the afterlife. But soon he felt a pressure on his shoulder. "Severus… Sev, wake up,". He then had a sudden sense of awareness for himself and his surroundings. He was lying on his back drenched in sweat as his heart beat erratically. When his shoulder was pushed again his eyes snapped open causing a near heart attack when a red haired woman came into his vision, leaning over him in a robe and blush pink nightwear.
"Severus are you alright? You must have had one hell of a nightmare," she cupped his face and wiped some tears from his cheeks.
"Lily," he croaked, "You're alive,". Snape sat up and tentatively touched her face, brushing back loose strands of auburn hair.
"Of course I am love," Lily whispered to him, her eye softening and crinkling at the corners. "It was only a dream". Then it hit him: it really was a dream. Lily never died, he never died, and they were married. Lily hooked her arms around her husband's shoulders and kissed his neck before jumping off the bed and heading to the cedar wardrobe. "Now get up and get dressed," she commanded, rummaging through the neatly organized articles and throwing the contents into chaos onto to bed and floor. Snape rolled his eyes as he got up and tried to keep Hurricane Lily from making the entire room a disaster. "We have to be at Diagon Alley by twelve. We don't want to get hit by the two o'clock rush. I can't believe the boys are already eleven and going to Hogwarts," she sighed forlornly at a blue sweater. "It seems like just yesterday that Harry was crawling around in a diaper and baby mittens."
After a year of Lily dating James Potter, they broke up agreeing that they were better off as friends. After she and Severus made amends and spent a couple years mending a broken friendship before evolving into lovers then husband and wife. Their son, Harrison Prince, was a slight boy with his mother's face and eyes and inky black hair that fell just past his ears. The Dark Lord had gone underground when his son was a little over a year old. No one knows why or how, and they walked on eggshells for a few years before moving on. It was still a taboo topic, but was looked upon as a nightmare or a child's boogie man tale.
Snape dressed himself in casual black robes and tied his hair into a small ponytail. His wife left the room to make sure their little night owl was awake in time to dress and eat. He sat down on the bed and rubbed his face before resting it in his clammy hands. It had seemed too real. He had felt everything, the pain, the sorrow, the fear. That wasn't a normal dream.
When his mother knocked on his door that morning he had already been up and dressed for an hour.
"Harry it's time to get up," Lily stuck her head into the beige room expecting to find a grumbling lump on the bed. She was pleasantly surprised when her son came bounding towards her, wrapping his arms around her. "You're up early,".
"When are we going to leave?" She laughed at her son's expectant face causing a pout to form on his lips. "We'll floo to The Leaky Cauldron at a quarter 'til twelve. But first mister, you need to eat,". She nudged him out of the room and he shuffled his way down the staircase to the family dining room.
Just as the child was no longer in sight, Severus came down the dim hall.
"Is Harry awake yet?" he enquired.
"Awake, showered, and dressed by the time I knocked on his door," she turned to him with a bemused expression and watched him elegantly raise an eyebrow with incredulity. His wife simply nodded and grabbed his arm to drag him down the stairs.
Hermione Granger flitted her way around Diagon Alley with a stern face woman known as Professor McGonagall following behind her. It was all so surreal to her. To think that she, Hermione, was a witch and there was an entire magical community was like a dream come true. She had never fit in at her primary school, known as a know-it-all or someone who was only good for doing other people's homework. She never had any friends, or if she did they would deny it to other people and act like she didn't exist at school. But now, she could fit in and make friends. She would be surrounded by other students who were smart and who could do the same things she could.
She was pulled from her thoughts by the aging Professor's voice,
"Miss Granger, we will need to get your robes next," Hermione nodded and ran back up to the professor, ready to follow. McGonagall led her to the front of a little shop called Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, before handing her a pouch of money (she had stayed up all night memorizing wizarding currency and its value to 'muggle currency) and saying, "As not to waste time I will finish getting you practical supplied while you are fitted and your order submitted,".
"Yes ma'am," Hermione nodded her head, her frizzy brown curls flopping back and forth.
She made her way into the shop, the golden bell jangling when she opened the door alerting a kind face woman who introduced herself as Madam Malkin. When she went over to the stools to be sized and fitted she saw a group of boys already there. All three of them considerably cute (much cuter than any of the boys she had gone to school with at least).
The boy who was slightly taller than the others was kind of chubby with a round face, large doe brown eyes and silky chestnut hair. The second boy, who was standing on a stool, had white blond hair that was slicked back. His face was thin and pale with wide grey eyes. He had an air of arrogance that put Hermione off slightly. And the third boy was curled up in a chair with a large brown leather book. He had black hair that curled around his ears and laid against his forehead, but barely brushed his neck. His face was heart shaped and rounded with baby fat and green eyes shone from above his cheeks. He was quite cute, if a little short and aloof. He looked thoroughly disinterested in what was around him.
Hermione went over to the stools and stepped up on one, causing the boys to halt their chatter and look to her. She suddenly became nervous with a strong desire to make a good impression on what could be her future peers.
"Hello, my name's Hermione, Hermione Granger," she recited just as her aunt taught her and gave a polite smile. The taller boy returned the smile and the green eyed boy nodded, but the blond one seemed to have forgotten that she was taller than him for he looked down his nose at her the moment she said her name.
The raven haired boy was the first to respond with a soft voice,
"It's a pleasure. My name is Harrison Prince and they are Neville Longbottom and Draco Malfoy."
"It's nice to meet you. Do you go to Hogwarts? I'll be a first year," her fingers tangled together and she subconsciously began to chew her bottom lip.
"I figured as much. And yes, we'll be starting this year as well," he responded before returning his eyes to the pages in front of him. The conversation ended with an awkward air as Hermione looked at the faces of the other two boys. The taller one, Neville, seemed to take pity on her and with a kind and calm voice offered,
"What house do you want to be in? I'm hoping to be in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff and Draco's entire family has been in Slytherin. Harry doesn't really care and is our wild card at the moment." She thought for a moment before responding with,
"I'd like to be in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, but I wouldn't mind Hufflepuff."
The blond, Draco, scuffed at her earning a swift kick from Neville. Madam Malkin came over and told the boys they were done and gave them a price. They quickly paid and made their way out of the shop with Neville giving her a polite farewell and Harry nodding as he passed.
"You know, for all the scolding you give Draco about being rude you sure can be hypocritical," Neville remarked as the walked down the cobble street. Draco smirked at Harry's offended expression.
"What are you talking about?" He hefted his book under his arm and turned to walk backwards so he could look at the Longbottom heir. Neville shook his head and made a gesture to the shop they had left.
"Because you were so polite to that girl back on Madam Malkin's. I'm sure she thought you were an arrogant ponce."
"The one who asked if we went to Hogwarts?" Harry asked incredulously. "It was small talk. No one actually cares about pleasantry. Me responding at all showed extreme polite and friendly behaviour.
"Your father has ruined you," Neville laughed. "She wanted to make friends. By her last name she's a muggle born and wants to know someone before school starts in September. You're so thick."
"Well if that's the case I'll talk to her next time. Happy?" Neville knocked into Harry and threw him into a headlock, sending the younger off balance with a squawk.
"I would love it if you two would stop arguing about some annoying muggle born and would help me decide on an owl or a new broom. Father said something about teaching me to make life decisions by denying me things."