Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Harry Potter, or even the incredibly delicious Severus Snape. But whatever. I own the main plot of this story but everything else is JKR's! ^^ Enjoy this tiny little prologue ;)
Prologue
He gasped when he heard the news that was so quickly spreading throughout the Wizarding World. Voldemort was dead. How had this happened? A toddler? Impossible! Harry Potter… Potter… The name ran through his head and he shuddered in disgust.
He swiftly left Dumbledore's office, not wanting to hear any more details. Whispers filled his ears as he walked down the corridors of Hogwarts. "Go back to bed," he spat as he saw several Hufflepuff third years gathered in a corner talking in hushed voices.
Suddenly his left arm began to burn. He bit his lip, trying not to cry out in pain. Rushing to the dungeon, he finally found the men's toilets, and keeping an eye out for students, he pulled up his sleeve and stared at the Dark Mark branded on his pale skin.
He turned on the sink and shoved his arm underneath the cold water. He shivered at the temperature, but sighed in delight as the burning immediately stopped. Once he had finished, he dried himself off and walked down to his rooms.
Weakly crawling onto his bed, he turned his head and stared at the picture by his bedside. In the muggle photograph stood two children – a skinny, sickly-looking fellow with pale skin, a crooked nose, and black shoulder-length hair. Beside him stood a sweet girl with milky skin, a freckled face, long hair like fire, and bright green eyes.
While still looking at the girl in the picture, he closed his eyes and tried to remember her voice. In his head he could quietly hear her calling his name. He remembered how she smelled – like lavender and vanilla, with a slight hint of peppermint around Christmas time. He remembered how soft her hands had felt when they had sat by the riverside, hand in hand, talking about anything and everything.
He could remember the more sad moments. He remembered when they had fought when he called her a mudblood. He remembered when she began dating James Potter, a bigheaded bully who picked on him constantly. He remembered not being invited their wedding. He remembered when he had heard about the birth of Harry, her son.
But now she was dead.
Voldemort had promised not to hurt her. Dumbledore had promised to protect her. Both men had failed him. He should have known the Dark Lord would break his promise, it was his nature. But Dumbledore… He had looked up to the old wizard. Now what was he supposed to do? Without her, what was he?
Quickly he opened his eyes, his grief getting the best of him. He grabbed his wand and in one swift motion found himself inside the Potter's home. He could hear someone crying upstairs. He began to run up the stairs, trying not to step on the lifeless body of James Potter along the way.
He found her in the nursery. She was lying motionless on the ground, her red hair surrounding her face. Tears sprang into his eyes as he noticed her eyes were open. He darted for her body, engulfing her in a hug, kissing her head and running his fingers through her soft hair.
The tears kept coming until he finally heard someone else enter the building. He stood up quickly, thinking it must have been the aurors, and wiped his eyes.
Leaning down he placed one gentle kiss on Lily's lips before apparating back to his room. He knelt beside his bed, said his last prayers for her, and fell asleep as soon as his weary body flopped onto the bed.
Such was the first day in the rest of Severus Snape's life.
A/N: Wow. I love digging deeper into the life of the oh-so-depressed Severus Snape. He honestly isn't honoured as much in the books and movies as he should have been - I mean come on, he is a deep and important character that many people (myself included) have come to truly love. I hope you enjoy this little prologue - believe me, there are better chapters to come! Please R&R as I love hearing what people think!
Also, I may end up changing the rating to M depending on how future chapters turn out.