Chapter One - The Emerald Coffin
"Seb, I don't think we should be here." Draco Malfoy walked closely behind his best friend, Sebastian Snape. Well it would be fairer to say that Draco Malfoy cowered behind his slightly taller friend as Sebastian led him through the bowels of Hogwarts castle. They were so deep within the damp dungeons that Draco didn't think anyone had ever ventured this far down and lived to tell the tale.
Sebastian, however, didn't seem to be even a little afraid as he strode on with his calm confidence oozing off of him. It was that kind of confidence that people only achieved when they knew exactly what they were doing, when they knew all the possible outcomes of an action, and when they had performed that action countless times before. But Draco knew that Sebastian hadn't; hadn't ever physically walked these paths but just as Draco knew that, he also knew that Sebastian would never risk him, that Sebastian would never have brought Draco down here if it wasn't necessary and that Sebastian would take care of him, as he always had and always would. And it was for those reasons that Draco's protestation was whispered and more a search for reassurance than a request that they should return.
Seb's hand reached backwards and took Draco's hand in his own, squeezing it slightly. They walked on.
The dungeons as well as being damp were dark, so dark that Draco ordinarily wouldn't have been able make out his own hand if it had been right in front of his face. But Seb had known; known what journey they were making this afternoon and had known what they needed. In Seb's free hand he carried a muggle torch. When Draco had asked where it had come from Seb's face had crumpled and the little boy had sighed so deeply that Draco almost wanted to cry.
"It was Julia's." Seb had finally said and then had abruptly brightened up with a huge grin and Draco knew that Seb had seen the future again, and knew something that no one else did. And in typical Sebastian Snape fashion, Seb refused to tell Draco anything and had just responded with a knowing smile and a "you'll see."
Finally, they reached what appeared to be a dead end. A rough stone wall sat infront of them, impenetrable, immovable.
Draco was just about to ask, 'What now?' When Sebastian dropped Draco's hand and laid his own hand flat against the wall.
Nothing happened at first but then Draco could hear Seb whisper something over and over, and then, with an earthshattering groan the wall moved and slid in front of the adjoining wall, as if it was merely a sliding door, to reveal a round chamber that was lit with an eerie green glow that made shivers run down Draco's spine.
The room would have been as black as black could possibly if it weren't for the glowing green rock that sat in the middle of the room.
The rock looked like roughened glass and was in a long rectangular shape. It reminded Draco of the coffin that they had buried Seb's mother in, and the boy shivered. It was taller though. It reached their shoulders in heigh and for the first time Seb exuded something other than quiet confidence or barely noticeable excitement. There was a nervous anticipatory air about him that immediately made Draco weary.
Seb half turned to him and flashed him a (what was meant to be) comforting grin before stepping forward towards the coffin but Draco didn't follow, couldn't.
Seb walked unerringly straight up to the coffin and then looked down, he let out a little, "Oh." But otherwise was completely silent as he reached forward with both hands and pressed them on top of the coffin.
"Draco. Come see." Seb said after a moment.
Draco took a deep breath and let it out, mentally stealing himself for what he would find inside that coffin; from this distance Draco could only see a blurry shape within it.
Slowly, Draco moved closer, eyes closed, still frightened to death over what he might find in that coffin. When he got closer he could feel a vibration, a hum, pushing against him and past him. It was pure magical energy and it was heady as it intoxicated his senses. Draco's eyes popped open and he looked down. He gasped, so shocked he could have screamed had he any control of his vocal cords.
There, lying on a bed of green emerald, encased in a protective shield of the same emerald lay Julia Snape.
For a woman who had been dead for over a year and half Julia looked pretty good to Draco. She didn't look a day older than when he had last seen her; that first and last Christmas that a whole Snape family had joined the Malfoys. The only noticeable difference now was that Julia no longer had a six-month pregnancy. Draco swallowed. She was dressed in strange clothes, black leather pants with knee high boots and a flappy shirt that was loosely tucked in. She looked like one of those old pirates from his children's books. He hair fanned out around her head. It was messier than he'd ever seen it. She was completely prone, there was no breath in her chest and Draco didn't know why he was even looking for breath because she was dead. Draco knew she was dead.
"She's not." Draco started at Seb's voice, it was so sudden and shocking in the silence of the room.
"Not what?" Draco asked.
"Dead. She's alive." And Seb's hands turned white; he was pushing that hard on the top of the emerald coffin. "Help me Draco. Put your hands like mine and push."
Draco was getting frightened. He couldn't understand how Julia could suddenly be alive after over a year of being dead and he couldn't understand how pushing down on a coffin could open it and he couldn't see how else to open the coffin because there was no break in the rectangle emerald. And that made Draco wander how Julia had even gotten inside it because there was no opening.
Draco shrugged and did as instructed. And as soon as his hands touched the stone there was an almighty bang and a crack appeared in the center of the stone and as he pushed down with Sebastian the crack deepened and widened and lengthened. Draco closed his eyes with the effort until he felt the emerald give way and instinctively Draco stepped back a couple steps dragging Seb with him.
The part of the emerald that had been above Julia was now lying in two, either side of the woman and as Draco watched, his best friend's mother took a deep breath, and then another and couple more after that until her breathing picked up a normal steady pace.
Seb stepped forward and touched Julia's still limp hand. Her eyes sprang open at the contact and Draco jumped back, startled, but Sebastian didn't even flinch.
There was confusion on the woman's face, "Seb? What's going on? Where are we?" The woman half sat up while trying to take in her strange surroundings, but as soon as she did so her hands flew to her flat stomach.
"Jacob! Oh my god! There were lights! I was in a car accident! Where's Jacob Seb?"
Silas' fingers tangled in her hair as his lips met with hers, and in a completely different way their tongues tangled and then with a sharp realization Silas stepped away, accidently pushing her away with more strength than he'd intended. She fell backwards but the couch was behind her so it wasn't a rough landing.
"Oh my God! I'm sorry! I don't know what I was thinking!" Silas cried and ran to the other side of the room his hands on either side of his face and Charlie couldn't help but giggle at his melodramatic pose. "Well I'm glad you think this is funny!" He shouted, with less anger and more nervous fear and guilt than anything else.
Charlie sat up from her sprawled position and frowned at Silas.
"What's wrong? I don't understand. That was brilliant!" Charlie stood up.
Silas turned an incredulous face to her, "What do you mean 'what's wrong?' You have been in love with my brother since you met him and all of the sudden we're kissing! This is bad, so bad. I'm not a replacement. I'm not a consolation!" Silas shouted, growing angry.
Charlie took a step back at the unexpected reaction. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"Everyone knows you're in love with Severus. Everyone. Even – even Julia knew." Silas' voice broke.
"Silas. You're wrong." Charlie's face battled expressions of concern, sympathy, confusion, anger and embarrassment.
"No, I'm not!" Silas fell into a kitchen chair, his head resting in his hands. He spoke again but it was more self-chastising mutterings than anything directed at Charlie. "How could you do this? You knew she didn't want you, you knew it. But you just couldn't get over it could you?"
"Silas?" Charlie called, gently. She received no response. "Si?" She tried again. He continued in his monologue and she sighed. She sat opposite him at the round breakfast table. "Okay Silas, listen to me." She said. Silas didn't look up but he did stop muttering and Charlie took this as a positive sign.
She sighed again. "Okay, you're right I've liked your brother for a long time, since I met him." Silas snorted. "But! But, since I've met him I've tried to change him, tried to make him someone who was more suited to me. Who played around and did inappropriate things. At first I didn't even realise I was doing it because I didn't even really know who Severus was, I sort of had this idealized version of what he was and every time he didn't live up to that expectation I would get upset." She shook her head at her own complete stupidity. "In my head I made him into someone he just isn't. And then after – after Julia… I thought – stupidly – that maybe he'd finally see me and realise that maybe he loved me a little too.
"But I was wrong. He never wanted me, never wanted anyone but her. And Severus is so different to what I want and it took me so long to realise that, he's even more so now after – after everything. And I'm not saying that he's not lovable he's just not for me, he's been through so much to be the way he is and its insensitive and foolish of me to want to change him into somebody else, somebody whose just as inexperienced at living as I am." Silas was looking at her now, so intently that Charlie couldn't look up from studying the table top. "Silas, I realised a couple months ago that I never really loved Severus, not really. I loved what I thought was Severus. And at the same time I realised something that had been in front of me the whole time but I'd been to blinded by my own stupidity to see it." Charlie couldn't speak for a moment.
"What?" Silas asked, his voice hoarse.
Charlie looked up and was caught by those black depths, "You. I saw you. You are everything that I have been looking for. You're funny and silly and play games with me but you're also clever and serious and you're strong. You took care of your whole family when they couldn't take care of themselves. And, I think, you need me just a little bit, and that you love me just a little bit too. Am I – am I right?"
Silas could only nod.
"Dada Dada Dada Dada Dada Dada!" The little boy screamed, pulling on the hem of his father's shirt and looking up into the man's face; pleading to be picked up and held.
"Just a minute, Jacob." Severus said, still carefully counting out the anti-clockwise stirs of his potion.
Jacob screeched in frustration and dropped to the floor, lying prostrate on his stomach, screaming his lungs out.
"Jacob!" Severus scolded, not looking away from the potion. The little boy took no notice of his father's reprimand and continued his tantrum.
Severus sighed but otherwise ignored the display, finishing his potion and putting the supplies away while Jacob screamed himself hoarse, it was only a few minutes before Jacob realized that his tantrum was getting him nowhere and stopped crying completely, dried tears leaving stains on his red cheeks. The boy looked up and saw his father had left the room; the little boy stood and walked out the door in search of his father. "Dada? Dada? Dada?"
"Here, Jacob." Severus called from the main bedroom of his Hogwarts' quarters. Jacob came running into the room and climbed inexpertly onto the bed, Severus was standing beside it, folding washing.
Jacob grinned and dived into the washing basket, throwing clothes all over the bed, including those that Severus had already folded.
Severus sighed and put down the washing, obviously he wasn't going to get too much done today. Severus picked up the toddler and settled him on his hip, the boy giggled happily and wrapping his hands around Severus' neck hugged the man tightly to himself.
"Love, love, love." The boy chanted and Severus chuckled softly.
"Yes, baby, I love you too." Severus placed a kiss on the boy's forehead and Jacob giggled and then wriggled until Severus put him down again but before Severus could do anything else the baby wrapped his hand around Severus' index finger and pulled, putting all his weight behind it.
The attempt was pitiful, Severus could barely feel the tugging, but he knew what his son wanted. "Jacob, we can't walk now, Daddy has to work. When Seb gets back we'll all walk, I promise."
Jacob stamped his foot when it became clear that Severus was not following his direction, tears began building in the baby's eyes as he struggled to pull Severus along and bend to his bidding, Severus sighed.
And would you look at that, we've begun another journey in the lives of the Snapes. This one is going to be a little more eventful than the other stories, something actually happens in this apart from relationships and stuff, and Julia has a role apart from just being Severus' love interest.
Soooo... did I shock you? You didn't expect her to be really alive did you? :D
Review please. I love them.
Next chapter should be up soon, I haven't written very far ahead which irks me but I've received so many pleas to post this story that I figured I may as well appease some of you. Weekly updates won't start again until I am at least three chapters ahead, so there may be a long wait.
Oh, and i know I haven't yet replied to the reviews from Chapter Twenty of A Fresh Start but I'll do that through PMs, I don't want to cross-story review reply. And so those anonymous reviewers I'll just say thank you now for taking the time to review, it does actually mean a lot! :D And I'll get to those replies soon, life's just a bit hectic at the moment.
Love always, JP