Sins of the Father
Spoilers- perhaps minute ones for OOTP, but no mention of HBP
Disclaimer- Not mine, all belong to JK
Note- If you study Roman history then you may have heard of the house of Severus. I can assure you there was actually an Alexander in the house of Severus.
Note2- This came from me checking Snape's profile on the HP lexicon site. The profile said he didn't have a daughter; it never said anything about a son.
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Severus Snape pushed open the door to his private potions lab and strode into the room. Certain he was alone; Severus lazily cast a locking charm on the door before opening his large storage cabinet.
Severus carefully removed a solid wooden box and placed it on his workbench. Silently, he opened the box and removed a cloudy crystal ball, roughly the size of a snitch. Severus pulled out his wand and paused.
Taking a deep breath, Severus tapped his wand against the ball, causing the clouds that swirled within it to move faster and turn a golden yellow. The glow brightened and took the shape of hazy people. The shapes strengthened and cleared. Suddenly, the images began to move.
A much younger Severus Snape sat on the ground, a happy grin on his face.
He held out his arms. "Come on, Alexander. You can do it."
The view shifted to show a smiling baby boy with dark eyes and hair, his nose a softer version of Severus' own. The little boy pulled himself into a standing position, his chubby little knees bouncing as he giggled.
Wobbling greatly, the little boy took a hesitant step forward and another and another.
Severus beamed with pride. "That's it, Alexander. Come on, you're almost there."
With one final shaky step, Alexander reached Severus. Small, chubby fingers wrapped around slender wrists.
Severus swept him up in his arms and gleefully kissed the boy's rosy cheeks. "You did it!. My clever little boy!"
Alexander giggled happily.
Severus' dark eyes danced. "Lenore, did you get it? Our boy's first steps!"
Severus tapped the crystal ball with his wand. The images stilled and slowly faded away. He carefully returned the fragile orb to its box. The box was then returned to his storage cabinet.
Severus rested his forehead against the cabinet doors, his body shaking weakly. He exhaled roughly and pushed himself to his feet.
Severus ran a hand over his face. His eyes were glassy and red rimmed.
Without a word, Severus undid the locking charm and strode out the door, his black cloak swirling behind as usual.
For a few minutes there was silence in the small laboratory.
"Did you see that?"
Harry, Ron and Hermione appeared as Harry threw back his invisibility cloak. Ron's mouth hung open.
"That's why he's always in here," Hermione muttered.
"He was laughing!" Ron exclaimed.
"It was strange," Harry agreed.
"He was happy then," Hermione said sadly. "That poor man."
Harry and Ron stared at her in shock.
"It's Snape!"
"He's evil-"
"Bitter and twisted-"
"Mean to everyone but Slytherins-"
"He hates us!"
"And you know he's shifty. Who knows what he's really planning?"
"He's a Death Eater!"
Hermione frowned at her friends. Sometimes they were so thick she wanted to give them a clip about the ear.
"But now we know why."
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end