Guest reviewer: Now comes the next chapter.

Disclaimer:

Everything, that in some way sounds like JK Rowling (characters, plot, dialogues, etc.) belongs to her.

The mistakes (spelling, grammar, whatever) are mine, though. So, if you find some which escaped me, please send them back. I'll care for them.


Chapter 1

It had started when he was just a few weeks away from his sixth birthday. Severus doubted he would ever forget this particular night. He had no idea what had triggered it. Too much alcohol, a lost bet, a bad day at work, it could've been anything, or nothing. It didn't really matter anyway.

He had received his first scar that night. It hadn't been the last, and he didn't want to think about how many new ones he would get tonight. He still hurt all over from the last few days.

It was nearing 9 pm, but his father was still away. Severus both feared and hoped for him to be late. Maybe, just maybe, he would pass out before he could do any damage. But the later the hour, the more drunk he got, and therefore more inclined to violence.

Right now Severus was trying to concentrate on his homework. Not an easy task, when he was half listening for suspicious sounds from outside. Or when every breath hurt thanks to some cracked ribs from last nights beating.

'Go to bed, dear', sounded the soft voice of his mother from the kitchen. She was about to clean the house. Or tried to, given that it always looked dirty, somehow. 'You have school tomorrow, you should get some sleep.'

'It's fine, mom', Severus replied. He would be in trouble for not doing his homework, again. The first time the school had informed his father hadn't been nice, he had no desire to repeat that experience. Not that he wouldn't get a beating anyway, but it was worse then the man actually had a reason.

Speaking of the devil... Heavy footsteps sounded outside. Hastily Severus put away his stuff. Too late to go to his room, he would face his father on the way. Better pretend to do something than appear lazy by standing around uselessly. So he went to the kitchen to help his mother.

A key was pushed into the lock, after several attempts, the door opened and the heavy footsteps entered the house. The man made his they to the kitchen, and Severus tensed.

'Boy, what are you doing up that late?' Severus flinched. The drunken slur, the stench of alcohol. It sent a cold shiver down his spine. He slowly turned around, facing the subject of his nightly terrors. Tobias Snape stood towering over him. Though in his early forties, he definitely looked older, thanks to the dark circles around his eyes and the thinning dark hair. His gaze was fixed on his son, cowering in front of him. The mean expression in the dark pits promised pain. 'I asked you a question!'

'Nothing, sir.' Wrong answer. His panicked reply immediately earned him a blow to the chin. Severus hoped it wouldn't bruise too bad. The teachers couldn't see. Lily couldn't see! He couldn't bear the thought of her knowing what was going on here.

'Nothing, eh?' His father grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. 'You being lazy again, ungrateful brat!' He was thrown across the room. Severus knew better than to try and get up again. 'I'm going to work ALL DAY! Trying to get some money to feed you and your useless freak of a mother! And you? You're doing nothing!' By now Tobias was mercilessly kicking his son wherever he could reach him. Some of Severus' already cracked ribs broke completely, but he didn't dare make a sound of pain. His father was still screaming at him, calling him useless, ungrateful, a freak, nothing he wasn't used to already. Unconsciousness was upon him, sweet darkness beckoning him with the promise of painlessness.

'You better start showing some respect, or I'm gonna teach you', his father spat at him before turning back towards the kitchen, looking for an excuse to hurt his wife. Only now did Severus make attempts to get up. Abuse directed at him he could endure, but he always tried to protect his mother. He wanted to push himself up, follow his father, take the anger directed at Eileen. But he lacked the strength to do so. Most of his wounds had reopened, the broken ribs made breathing an agonizing affair, his entire body hurt like hell.

He dimly heard shouting nearby, then blackness finally consumed him.


The barest touch on his shoulder woke him. Eileen was kneeling next to him, a bit of dried blood on her lip, split and swollen. A bruise was forming along her right cheek. How long had he been out? How much had he missed? How much did she have to endure because he wasn't there to protect her?

'Severus, dear, go to bed, get some rest', his mother whispered. She held out a hand and helped him up. He leaned against the wall for support, feeling dizzy from the sudden movement. After a few seconds he made a careful step towards the stairs. He winced in pain, Tobias must have caught him somewhere on the legs. Nevertheless he kept walking. Staying here wouldn't be a good decision, remaining out of his father's sight was the best option he had.

Eileen was holding his arm all the way to his room in the cellar, keeping him upright. Only his mothers soft grip kept Severus from collapsing onto his thin mattress. He nodded his thanks at her as she left the room and silently closed the door. He started to drift away, barely managed to take off his shirt before he fell asleep.


Severus wanted to be out of the house before his father got up. He didn't mind being early at school, he could use the time to study or do the rest of his homework. He just shouldn't be caught by a teacher doing the latter.

Today he would do neither. He hurt too much to concentrate on anything. Funny, he thought, because when he got the switch the pain was worse, a lot worse, but he hardly had these kind of problems the next day. Maybe he was just more used to it.

With a start he realized he had been dazing off, sitting on a bench behind the school. Falling asleep here wasn't a good idea. Being late for, or missing, first period would get him into even more trouble than not doing homework.

'Sev, what are you doing out here? It's freezing!' Severus nearly jumped out of his skin. He hadn't heard Lily approaching. 'Easy, it's me. No need to be afraid', she said jokingly, not knowing that to him, it wasn't a joke.

'Sorry, I just didn't expect you here that early', he replied, turning around to face his friend. She was wearing a thick red jacket along with a yellow scarf and woolly hat, matching her flaming red hair perfectly. She practically shone like a torch in the cold winter morning, her warm smile adding to that impression. The smile that froze as she studied his face.

'What happened to your chin?' Damn, he had completely forgotten about the bruise there. When he'd checked this morning in the mirror it had been faint, easily concealed. But Lily always looked closer than other people. He simply shrugged.

'Bruises don't come from nothing, you know.' She wanted an explanation. He couldn't blame her, she cared about other people's well-being. Too much for her own sake, in some cases. Such as his.

'It was an accident.' Well, it had been, in some way.

'An accident', Lily repeated, disbelieve evident in her expression.

'Don't worry about it, I'll be more careful next time.' He certainly would, if his mind cared to function properly around his father. If he wasn't overwhelmed with fear.

But she seemed to be satisfied with that and dropped the subject, instead starting to talk about their homework. He was only half listening, instead focusing on keeping the pain from his ribs at bay. They had slightly moved when he had jumped and now hurt more than before.

'… I don't really understand what Mr Jenkins wants to know there. What did you write?' It took Severus a few seconds to realize Lily had asked him something. He quickly averted his eyes, hiding behind his curtains of black hair.

'You didn't to it.' It wasn't a question, nevertheless he was too ashamed to answer.

'Do you really have that much trouble with your homework?' Of course she knew it wasn't that. He was one of the brightest students in his class. When it came to learning something new, at least. His grades weren't that good. His concentration tended to slip away as soon as an adult was talking to him. That was when he started to panic. And written test weren't much better. The teacher's stare was enough to make him tense. It wasn't that he didn't know the answers, he simply forgot everything at this moment.

'No, it's not that. It's just...' He trailed off. How could he say that without sounding suspicious? 'I don't really have the time to do it when I'm home.'

'We could do it together, if you like. It's more fun, anyway', Lily offered.

'You would do that?'

'Of course, if it helps you. Besides, I could use your brains on some of those tasks. Especially science.' He doubted that, she was above mediocre as well. But he liked helping her. So, why not give it a try? It could save him at least a few lashes.