Prologue

by Wolfy-Nixus

Who would have thought he had such compassion? Such an ability to love?---A/U, Voldemort is considerably less powerful, Snape never dies, possible chance for it to include Harry and the others a bit more, though unlikely.

He could see her there, right there. She'd been standing there, giggling and smiling at him. The dimples she got from her mother on her cheeks as she gave him a huge smile.

"Daddy come on!" She laughed, running towards him, little arms wrapping around his legs. He smiled down at her and picked her up, this little angel that was his. Giving her a kiss on the cheek she grinned then turned as the door opened. "Mommy!" He turned and saw her, the other woman in his life. They were his life, his only reason for being. He had no other reason than these two, no other loves. With them he didn't need anything or anyone else.

So as he stared into that empty space, in his dark and empty home, he just stared. Beside him was the notice he'd received from the head Auror in charge of the investigation. They'd been found, strangled, the both of them. Their belongings were gone, so it was a robbery. He should have been home. Why wasn't he home?

He shut his eyes tightly, looking away from the spot, and then winced as the pictures on the walls, the photos on the mantlepiece, they smiled, giggled and laughed at him, almost mocking him. They were both gone now, and he could do nothing to change it.

He made quick work, setting every photo into storage, except for one, his favorite one. When they'd taken a family portrait, it was the happiest day of his life, because he had a family, he'd recently had a daughter with the love of his life.

He set this one in a special place, the others he put in his attic, as well as any toys, or clothes that weren't his. Everything was put away and his home was suddenly empty, containing nothing but furniture and books. He sat on his bed, hunched over, greasy dark hair covering his face from view. His body trembled, wand falling to the ground he held his face in his hands and wept.

Tonight, Severus Snape, Potions Master, wept for the wife he loved and the daughter he favored so much. They were gone, bodies found in a ditch near where they'd been headed, to the grocers to pick up food. He could never go by that place again, though he knew he'd need to go and see the bodies, the thought only made him weep more.

The night wore on, the darkness invaded the room, and the Potions Master continued his lament.