Chapter 1
Since the battle that had claimed Sirius Blacks life his world has been completely different. He felt as though there was not another living being in existence who could understand him. His life was now even more empty than he could have ever imagined. It was cold, dark, lonely, and damned near unbearable, more so recently than during the first few months after Sirius' death. At first he was in denial, the he was full of rage for several things. First of all, he was furious with Sirius for being stupid enough to go to the Ministry. Secondly, he was angry with Dumbledore for not being able to save him. Later, he became completely enraged with the headmaster for discovering a way to bring Sirius back from the veil but refused to do it. It was that which had pushed him over the edge. That which haunted his dreams and every quiet moment that he found during the hours of daylight. That which was the reason he was now sitting in the small, cold, dirty room in Grimuald Place that used to be home to Sirius and his foul hippogriff , Buckbeak.
It was a few weeks before the newest school term would start. The old house had been empty all day so there had been no one there to notice him. He had spent the whole day going over every last thing in the room. He read every book and piece of parchment he came across then set it perfectly back in its place before moving on to the next thing. Oh Merlin, how he missed Sirius. He missed the way he had managed to retain his childlike spirit even after two of his best friends had been killed, after another had betrayed them all, even after spending twelve years in that hell known as Azkaban. Sirius seemed unbreakable in his eyes, but now he was gone and there is no way to bring him back.
When he had made a full round through the room he did it again, and again, and again, until he found himself to be extremely worn out. After removing his shoes and robe he climbed into the bed then pulled the blankets tightly around his pale, thin, food deprived body. Silent tears flowed down his cheeks as he slowly drifted off into sleep.
He was lying on the floor of the Astronomy tower, on a blanket, looking up at the stars through an open window. They were amazing, always had been in his eyes. The stars were free, they didn't worry about time, and had no care in this world or the next. That's why he had asked Sirius to meet him there. The night sky was the only thing he thought compared to the Gryffindors perfection.
A smile grew on his face and he sat up when he heard the footsteps making their way up the many stairs to the room where he was waiting. After a brief moment the excitement passed and a wave of fear waved through his body. 'It could be a trick' he thought. 'Sirius could have been lying about everything he said, his entire apology could have been false'. With this thought in his mind, the boy stood up then quickly moved back into the shadows behind him. When the steps halted in the middle of the room he waited quietly in the large shadow. There was no one else in the room, at least no one he could see, anyway.
"Severus?" Sirius called as he pulled off the invisibility cloak and dropped it on the floor. "Severus…."
"Severus!" A more urgent voice in his reality called him from his memory.
Snapes eyes flew open and he jumped from the bed, placing his back against the nearest corner. There were at least five witches and wizards in the room with him, wands drawn and pointed in his direction. A shudder ran through his body and he had to fight off the urge to cry once more before he managed to speak. "Unarmed. Don't hurt me." He said with a shaky voice.