The Butterfly Effect

A/N: This was written for Shira Lansys' 'Speed of Lightning' Challenge, for this round the rules were that it had to be over 6000 words. This first part is 1,122 words, without any authors notes, so 4878 to go!


Prologue

It's strange how one small thing can change so much.

One little thing is different, and it may change many lives to come. It's impossible to say where the cause and effect of that one single thing changes, as it affects so many other things and spreads out. But, without it, everything would be different. It expands and expands, until it's almost unbelievable that it was just one single, tiny detail that changed it all.

That it was just the restraint of one humiliated boy, who stopped himself flaring up and insulting one of his only friends, who changed everything.


"Quills down, please!" Flitwick's squeaky voice called from the front of the room. "Please remain seated while I collect your parchment! Accio!"

Once all the papers had been collected, Flitwick called, "Very well, everybody, you're free to go!"

Severus Snape shoved his quill into his bag, frowning at the exam paper lying on his desk. Defence Against the Dark Arts was his favourite subject, with potions coming a very close second. The Dark Arts fascinated him, and he spent a lot of his free time studying them, and therefore the exam did not faze him at all.

Ignoring the crowd of students all aiming for the door, he picked up his question paper and poured over it. In the exam, he felt his brain was on some sort of auto-pilot, and he hadn't actually taken in the questions or the answers he had written for them, it was as if all his knowledge just poured out onto the page without him directing it. He skimmed over the questions, trying to think of his answers for all of them.

He wandered outside, eyes squinting against the harsh sunshine. He had never been one to like the sun, he hated how it made everything feel uncomfortable. Mentally cursing the cumbersome robes they had to wear for their uniform, he found sat down in the shade of some large bushes, still analysis his exam paper.

The exam had been easy, too easy, he thought. No wonder how so many people passed, it hadn't even touched on the further reading they were supposed to do for class, which many people did not bother to do. There were large sections of the course that were not tested, which annoyed him. His eyes settled on the last question, ' Describe the effects of the three unforgivable curses.'

It was questions like these that he disliked. He hated the one-dimension style of the curriculum at Hogwarts, it did not encourage debate or growth. The teachers were too set in their ways. He would much rather the question was 'Analyse arguments for and against the unforgivable curses being illegal. But that would never happen here, as the British Wizarding population are too set in their ways, seeing the world in either black or white. What they didn't realise was that no magic was Dark, it depends on how you use it. Would using an unforgivable to murder an evil wizard be a bad thing? Or to put someone or an animal out of their misery? He knew for a fact that so called 'light' wizards used spells such as Obliviate often, surely that should be frowned upon, as they are tampering with people's memories, and who gave them such right?

He frowned again, wishing his parents had sent him to Durmstrang, like he had asked, so he could unlock his true potential. Stuffing his exam paper in his bag, he stood up, making his way back across the grass, sick of the sunlight and the giggling girls around him and seeking the solitude of the dungeons.

"All right, Snivellus?" A voice called.

Severus instantly dropped his bag and pulled out his wand. He immediately recognised the voice, and even if he had not, there was no one else in the school who called him that, other than the so called 'Marauders'.

He raised his wand and began saying a spell when Potter shouted a disarming spell, and his wand flew high into the air and landed in the grass several feet away from him. He drove forwards but heard Potter shout another curse, (Impedimenta!) and felt as if someone was pulling his ankles back, slowing him down. He struggled against the spell, his hand still a couple of feet away from his wand. He could hear laughing students around him but could, and would not look up, as he was still struggling for his wand and did not want to see the students laughing at him.

One of the boys shouted another curse, throwing Severus back away from his wand. Bursts of laughter came from the crowd of students around him.

He forced his head up to meet Potter's and swore loudly at him.

"Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" Potter asked.

"Let me help you," Black smirked, pointing his wand at Severus. "Scourgify!"

Severus' mouth immediately filled up with soapy bubbles, the taste of them making him gag. They frothed out of his mouth, more and more growing, choking him.

"Leave him ALONE!"

Severus would have jumped at that voice, if he were able to move. He knew who it was. Lily. They were close friends since they met when they were little, and stubbornly remained friendly during their first few years at school, but had drifted slowly apart over the past year or so, much to Severus' disappointment.

Severus watched helplessly as Lily argued with Potter and Black. He felt anger rise up again as Potter determinedly flirted with Lily, saying he would leave Severus alone if she agrees to go out with him. For a moment he feels his heart sink, wondering if Lily would do that.

Potter sent another curse his way, as Lily was distracted by Black. He found himself dangling upside down, his robes falling over his face and partially obscuring his vision, but he could still see Potter and Lily. A wave of laughter came from all sides; he had almost forgotten about the crowd of onlookers as he had been too busy watching Lily.

"I wouldn't go out with you if you were the last man on earth!" Lily shouted. Looking up at Severus, her lips quirked, and Severus was struck with the fear that she was going to laugh at him. "Let him down."

He felt a sudden anger at Lily for almost laughing at him. As he fell with a thud to the floor, he scrambled for his wand and then got to his feet as fast as his back, aching from the impact, would allow.

"I don't need your help!" He shouted at Lily, storming off towards the dungeons, grabbing his bag on the way.


A/N: Notice anything different? :P The next chapter shall be up soon as the due date is very very soon :) Please review!