Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from the Harry Potter series, just the ones I make up.
Saving Lily
Harry Potter
Chapter 1
Albus Dumbledore's POV
I step out into the Slytherin corridor from Severus Snape's new office. He is now the new head of Slytherin House and Hogwarts' new Potions master. The first thing I see is the concerned face of Hogwarts' transfigurations professor and Head of Gryffindor house, Minerva McGonigal.
"Hello, Minerva," I say with a smile as I start walking down the hall to the dungeon's only exit.
"Albus," she says slowly, the wrinkle forming just between her eyebrows. "How is he?"
"Not well, I'm afraid."
The crease between her brows deepen as she looks back at the distancing door behind us, "Are you sure about this?"
I nod, "Yes, the students don't have to like him, Minerva, but they will learn a lot from him."
"I don't mean about that." She says, turning her head quickly toward me. "I mean about…"
"Ah, yes, that." I say, "I have faith in Severus."
McGonigal nods slowly and we walk in silence until we part ways in front of the still Great Hall. I enter the medical wing, to find Madam Poppy Pomfrey busily pouring water into a glass basin. Gathering it into her arms she turns and makes her way to the only occupied bed in the entire wing.
"Back again, Headmaster?" she asks placing the bowl onto the little table next to the bed. With a flick of her wand, the cloth she had forgotten levitates upward and slowly moves to her waiting palm.
"Any news on our patient?" I ask gazing at the unmoving form, as Madam Pomfrey twists some water out of the cloth into the bowl. My eyes remain focused on the young woman whose breath comes in an uneven rhythm. Her hair lay scattered along the pillow beneath her head and her skin eerily pale. Yet, the visible gashes in her flesh still show signs of a red rage. There is one wound that is refusing to heal properly. The healing process is a slow one. Poppy informed me days ago that young woman's body may be permanently marred by both visible and unseen scars.
She shakes her head sadly, "No sir, a bit more stable but the same as yesterday. I wonder, how much damage may have been done. I have no way to measure it. I have no idea what to expect once this child regains consciousness and what will become of her."
"Don't worry, Poppy. I am making arrangements for her welfare," I say gently, "I am also sure you are doing your very best. I trust that you are doing what is right, have no doubt about that."
She smiles weakly at me and begins to draw the curtain around the bed closed, blocking my view of the unconscious young woman in the bed, "I just hope, Sir, that my best and what I think is right is in-fact good enough."
I turn then and walk out the door and tend to some of my more neglected duties. The ones that I need to complete before the school's next term. Like finding yet another Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
Severus Snape's POV
I glance around my office; it looks just as drab as my current existence. That's when I notice the single unmoving photo in a small frame on my desk. The picture has fraying edges and the colors are beginning to fade to a dull shade. You can see the creases, where it has been folded and refolded many times throughout the years. Time has not been kind to this memory. I pick up the frame and gaze at it, with a vacant expression. The abyss that has swallowed my heart extends deeper.
The smile that radiates from the young Lily's face eats away at my insides. Her smile bright, and her arm swung about my neck almost brings me some semblance of joy. The smile on my face in this picture, I honestly believe is the final time I ever truly had a smile on my face.
This is the last photo that Lily's mother took of us at the beginning of our 5th year at Hogwarts. In fact, her mother insisted on taking two every year. So, that once the film was developed, she could send one of them by Owl to Lily. Who then gave it to me upon receiving it. Her mom was a relatively prompt woman, but she never did manage to get anything sent to Lily on time. Lily had told me once that her mother was convinced that the owl hated her.
The thought almost brought a smile to my face, but it is quickly gobbled up by the memory of finding my best friend and her husband's bodies. I jerk a drawer open in my desk and I fling the picture into it. I brace myself against the desk and grip my wand tightly in my robe pocket.
Just get through the year, Severus. I tell myself as my fingers forcibly release my wand before they carefully pull it from its confines.
With a few flicks of my wrist, the objects within my office begin to move, from place to place, until I find new homes for them. I give up after I move many of the objects several times. In my frustration, I jerk my office door open and step out into the corridor. I shuffle my feet as the memories engulf me of the last time, I roamed these halls in my youth.
Nothing around here really seems to have changed. The pictures, of course, greet and welcome me back to the school. I ignore them as I walk past, as the last words Lily and I ever really shared together in this school rings in my head. The phantom sound of my embarrassed, angry voice calling her a mudblood. The hurt and the anger that resonated in hers as she called me Snivellus hangs in the air. I can't stop the flinch that always comes when that word crosses my mind, because it's the one word that I truly deserve. I honestly merited much worse treatment and words than what she gave me. I had betrayed her trust, in one of the most unforgivable ways. I had been too afraid of losing the few 'friends' that I managed to find in my house. In fact, they were the only friends I found, besides Lily, in my entire school experience. That I allowed my embarrassment to overtake me in my weakest moment and I lost the trust of my only true friend, by calling her the foulest word in all of the wizarding world. A word that now plagues me every time I hear it and I word I have never uttered again.
I can't believe that I had allowed my need to fit in and to feel like I belonged to overshadow my relationship with Lily. I was and still am a ridiculous fool.
I continue to wander around the grounds just as Albus suggested but all it did was drudge up unwanted memories. The ones of my past mistakes and the abuse I received at the hands of the other students. The worsted of the bullying came from Gryffindor house. I was never sure what I did to them, to spark such a treatment but, I never really liked them from the moment I laid eyes upon them.
The grounds welcome me with dreary sunshine and a cool breeze. I walk along all the memorized paths that I had wandered frequently in my Hogwarts student days. I let them guide me with their twists and turns, and finally, I find myself standing in front of a large tree. I have not been to this place since I ruined everything. This had been Lily's favorite spot on the school grounds. After my attempts at an apology, that didn't mend anything. She didn't seem to want to hear what I had to say. I can't really say I blamed her though. I stayed far away from here. I didn't want to ruin this spot for her too. Memories of our time at the school as students flood my mind, as I desperately try to stifle them in the abyss of my mind. The pain swells so deeply in my chest that I think that I am going to drown in the emptiness. I don't even try to keep my head above it all. My fingers subconsciously touch the markings that have been entwined within the tree bark.
L.E.
My fingers trace the smoothness of what should have been a rough surface. My fingers stop as I realize what I am seeing and what us there forces all my memories into the darkest depths of my mind. The initials of my name stare back at me with a large slash through them as if they were being replaced by the initials of another.
S.S. J.P.
All I can do is stare at it, what more can I do? Nothing can be repaired now.
I hope you liked this chapter, and that it turned out okay. It feels off to me for some reason, but I thought I might as well post it hoping it was just me. Until next time! Please Review and have a great day! I will update again soon.
