A/N: Yes, Snape is very out of character, but that's the way I feel he would have developed if he had chosen to switch sides by himself, without the whole Lily problem. Because I do think he would have switched sides eventually. He is still in love with Lily, but it's not as strong because he's had a long time to get over her.


Chapter Two: The Storm

8/1/1999 4:30AM

Amy's POV

I woke up early in the morning, before everyone else, but I couldn't sleep, plus I thought I heard a sound on the stairs. I quietly got out of my bed and pushed the door open as silently as I could. I noticed someone heading down the steps. I followed them and quickly realized that it was Harry. Halfway down the stairs Harry realized that I was behind him. He turned and stared at me for a minute, before reaching his hand out to me. I took it and he lead me into the library.

He closed the door and went to sit down on the couch, pulling me onto his lap. "What are you doing up so early?" he asked me quietly.

I shrugged. "I couldn't sleep," I said. "Why are you up?"

"Just going to the bathroom," he answered. I looked down at him. He didn't look like he was just going to the bathroom. He was fully dressed, in a plain black robe and black shoes. But I didn't say anything about that.

He stared at me in silence. I wanted to know what he was thinking, but didn't know if I should ask. I didn't want him to get mad at me. He never did, but he got mad at other people and that scared me. He never used to get angry. But the other day he was yelling at Daddy and Uncle Sirius about something.

"I'm scared, Harry," I told him. And I was. Everyone tried to keep things from me, because I was only 10, but I knew that the war was hard and I was afraid that something was going to happen to someone I loved.

"I know. But I promise that I'll always protect you. No matter what," he said. "I love you, munchkin, and I couldn't let anything happen to you," he finished. He hugged me tightly for a minute. "You should go up to bed now." He stood up, pulling me with him. He led me back up to my room and shut the door behind me before heading back out.

Instead of going to bed like he wanted me to, I silently opened the door and watched as he made his way down the stairs. He didn't stop at the bathroom. He continued to the very bottom. I heard the front door open and then close behind him. I didn't know where he was going, but I hoped that he would be back soon. I always hated it when he was gone.

After a few minutes I began to get scared. Where was he going? And why did he have to leave so early in the morning? I started up the stairs to my parents' bedroom. I opened the door and silently walked over to my mom. She was sleeping on her stomach with her arm across my dad's chest. I grabbed her other arm and shook. "Mom, wake up," I whispered.

It took a few minutes to get her up, but eventually she realized that I was there. She rubbed her eyes and leaned on her arm to look down at me. "Amy? What's wrong?" she asked, looking down at me in concern.

"Harry left," I said quietly. I took her hand. "I'm scared he won't come back," I added.

When I said this she shot up. "He left? Where did he go? Why didn't he say anything?" she kept freaking out, asking random questions that she knew I didn't have the answer to. After a while her frantic voice woke Dad up. He sat up and put his hand on her shoulder, asking her what was wrong. She wouldn't answer him directly, she just kept asking those questions like before.

It took a while but eventually Dad understood what she was upset about. He was calmer than Mom, but I could tell that he was still upset. "Did he say anything to you before he left?" he asked me.

I nodded and explained what happened before he left. He listened carefully and nodded. He got out of bed and pulled me into a hug as I began crying. My mom was still freaking out and it was really scaring me. "He's not coming back, is he?" I asked.

"I don't know, sweetie. I don't know," Dad said quietly, holding me tightly.


8/1/1999 9:00PM

Snape's POV

I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead before I opened the door to the safe house. I could not believe what I had just witnessed. And now I had to tell his parents. Lily was going to be completely distraught. I couldn't believe this. I sighed and then opened the door. As soon as I entered the house, Ginny ran up to me. "Have you seen Harry? He's been missing all day. Amy said he left the house this morning, but she didn't know where he was going or when he was coming back," she rambled. I knew that her and Harry had a relationship with each other, so I knew that she was extremely worried.

"Get Lily and James and meet me in the kitchen," I said, hoping not to betray anything by my face. I could tell that she was worried though, it was only natural.

As she went off to find them I got Dumbledore. I figured keeping this information limited was important right now. They could tell people when and if they were ready. Which I doubted they would ever be. Getting over something like this seemed impossible. It was betrayal to the highest degree.

Within a few minutes, everyone I asked for was in the kitchen, along with Sirius and Remus. I didn't object because I knew that they were also close to Harry. Everyone sat down looking grave. They knew that whatever I had to say wasn't good. I didn't know how I was going to do this. I couldn't bear hurting Lily, even if it wasn't my actions that hurt her.

Before I managed to open my mouth, Lily pleaded "Just tell me he's alive." She looked so desperate.

I nodded, wanting to give her any comfort I could, even if the news I was about to give was worse than him being dead. "He's alive, and as far as I know not harmed," I started.

"Then what's wrong?" Sirius demanded.

I simply glared at him, letting him know that he should shut up. "I'm really sorry to have to tell you. And if I had known before of his intentions I would have tried to prevent it. Voldemort called us today because he was inducting someone to the Death Eaters. He normally doesn't do this if it's a minor person, but he thought this one was worth it," I said. I didn't want to just come out and say it. It was hard to see their torn faces.

Ginny obviously understood before anyone else, except for maybe Dumbledore. She gasped and put her hand to her mouth, shaking her head and hoping that I didn't say what I was going to.

"Harry has joined the Death Eaters," I finished quietly.

"No, no, that's impossible. You mistook someone else for him," James said, shaking his head. Lily had tears running down her face and she buried her head in James' chest.

I didn't respond to James. He knew I wouldn't lie about something like this. As much as I hated him and his mutts, I could never say something to hurt Lily on purpose.

Sirius banged his fist on the table. "He's under a spell!" he shouted. "There's no way he would…"

Remus bit his lip but didn't say anything. He had always been the quiet one. When Ginny started to sob he put his arm around her, trying to offer any kind of comfort that he could.

"I tried confronting him after the ceremony. He told me that if I didn't leave him alone he'd tell Voldemort that I was loyal to the Order," I continued. I know that every word I said was only making it worse, but I had to tell them everything. "I don't know why he hasn't already, but I don't know how much longer he'll keep it to himself."

I looked at Lily. She was really upset. "I truly am sorry," I muttered, before leaving them to their grief. Dumbledore followed me out of the room, leaving the crying family.

"We'll begin keeping you from Voldemort's hold. Tell him that the Order's powers have shifted and you get less information. Anything to keep you from danger," Dumbledore mused. I nodded. I didn't like it, but I saw that it was necessary. "In the meantime, keep an eye out for Harry. I don't know why he has decided to switch sides, but I do know that he is a smart boy. He could turn out to be Voldemort's greatest weapon in this war," he finished gravely.


8/2/1999 1:00AM

James' POV

"I don't understand," Lily cried. "Harry was such a good boy. He was so happy." She laid her head on the table with her hands covering her head. It was hard for all of us to understand this. Our perfect son, who had a great life, awesome friends, a good family, had turned against us. He had betrayed us.

"Here," Sirius said to Lily, pushing the Firewhiskey towards her. He was already drunk, and I was starting to get there. It was just easier that way. Drown out all of the pain.

Lily lifted her head and took a sip of the drink. She never really liked to drink, but I had a feeling she would from now on. And Harry did this. He was the cause of all of our pain. I tried to be angry at him, it would make it all so much easier if I could just cut him off and say he had never been a Potter. But I knew I couldn't do that. He was my son. My first born son.

"How didn't we see this?" Remus asked. He was always the sensible one, trying to find an answer to everything. "There had to have been signs."

"There were signs, we just didn't know that they pointed to him being a Death Eater," I sighed. Harry had been acting weird for a while. I had just figured that it had to do with him being in the Order now. There were a lot of added pressures in the war.

But as I thought about it, I understood that his behavior wasn't a result of stress. There had been weeks when he wouldn't talk to anyone, not even Ginny. Those weeks had bothered me the most. He wasn't exactly a social kid, but he was close to his friends and siblings and always told them everything. So him avoiding them wasn't a good sign.

Then there was the fact that he had started yelling at people when he was upset about something. He never yelled at me, or Lily, in his entire life. Not even when he was five and didn't get something he wanted. The most recent incident had been just last month, before Ginny returned from school. He had demanded that he be allowed to go on the more dangerous Order missions, such as a search and rescue that Sirius and I were heading off on. I tried to explain that he wasn't experienced enough, and he had yelled back that he was almost 19 and deserved to be treated like an adult and not a kid. I couldn't understand it. Now I see that he was just trying to get experience fighting, because Death Eaters were all brutal fighters.

"What are we going to tell Blake and Amy?" Lily asked weakly. They knew that something was wrong. Ginny had left the kitchen sobbing hours ago, and when they saw her they tried to get in and ask what had happened. But Mrs. Weasley had managed to keep them out. She didn't even know what was wrong, but she figured that it was too upsetting for them at the moment.

I shook my head, not knowing how to answer Lily. When they found out, they would be devastated. Blake had always been so close to Harry, and Harry treated Amy like a princess. Plus the fact that she had been the last one to see him. Her story always threw me off. I imagined that since Harry was joining the Death Eaters, he didn't have any emotions or love for us. But he had told her that he would always protect her. How could he do that when he was on the opposite side of the war?

I just took another sip of Firewhiskey. I figured that we could deal with the kids in the morning. At the current moment, I wanted to get so drunk that I didn't remember any part of the last day.

My plan was ruined when the kitchen door opened slowly. Amy and Blake were standing there in their pajamas. They looked so young and innocent. Lily quickly sat up and brushed the tears off of her face, but I knew they already saw. She held her arms open for them and they began walking forward. Amy cuddled up in Lily's lap and Blake sat down next to her. I put my arm around his shoulder.

"What happened to Harry?" he asked in a quiet voice. He seemed a lot younger than 16 at this moment.

"Harry…" Lily began. But she trailed off, not able to make it past his name. She turned away from them to try and wipe the tears off of her face.

I knew I would have to do this. Lily was too emotional at the moment. "Harry has left us to join the Death Eaters," I said quietly. I knew that it was harsh to be so blunt, but I didn't think that delaying the news would have been better. It was a hard world we lived in.

When I said this Lily started sobbing. She was hurting, and I understood perfectly. Amy saw this and also started crying. She was also upset because she had been the last person to see him before he left.

Blake's reaction was the most upsetting for me. He stood up, knocked his chair backwards, and ran from the room, slamming the door behind him. I knew that he had been the closest to Harry, so this reaction was expected.

This was hard for all of us; I didn't know what we were going to do. Our family was falling apart at the seams and it was really scaring me. I needed to know why Harry had left, but I knew I would never get that opportunity. If he was really a Death Eater he wouldn't have any cares for his family and I would definitely not be able to speak to him.