Phaedra is mine but no others are. Most settings and characters are owned not by me but by JK Rowling and all blessing upon her for such wonderful stuff! The more reviews you give me the more I shall write. I appreciate criticism but flaming indiscriminately will be dealt with.

Prologue

Summer Year Five

Severus was in his own chambers. Normally the surroundings that he had so fastidiously put together around him brought him comfort. The deep cushy chairs and high books shelves would let him lock himself away from the world that he normally had to live in. The world of lies upon lies and more death than anyone could possibly hope to deal with alone. And he sadly was, quite, alone.

Normally the summer that had the students all back home would be a wonderful time of freedom for him. Finally he could study as he wished and try the new potions that he spent his free time concocting. Potions normally too dangerous to practice when the students were still around. Or simply reading without random pranks being practices upon his person. He had to grin at the knowledge that the Weasley twins had graduated and would no longer be troubling him.

But tonight he lay gasping against his bed, half on the floor, pain riddling his stomach and dizziness slamming through his head. He was alone. He was dying alone. Even most of the professors had left the school for the summer, and he would not stoop to screaming for help anyway. He snarled at the very thought, he was still Slytherin after all and not about to ever admit what he was trying to do anyway. He did have some pride left. He hoped. And he had done this to himself. Of all the final insults his own potion was what was doing this to him. Like him a failure. And just the last one needed at that.

Or was it? The darkness was fading, but he was certainly in no position to be standing up. His world was spinning on him and he wasn't at all certain that it was his world that he was in. There was a sharp ripping sound and suddenly he was looking down on someone.

When he woke up he remembered nothing. Only the empty bottle in his hand let him know that he had actually taken the drought. Disgusted with himself he dashed the bottle against the wall and promptly put the entire incident to the back of his mind. He would no longer pursue this route, is was absolute failure.