Chapter 14 – Severus Snape the Formative Years – A Brief Interlude 1

Author's Note: Okay, this originally didn't belong here, but I found a serious problem with the next chapter, that could only be overcome by adding a little of Severus' history as a student. This is the first instalment, and there will be others scattered throughout the story as necessary. I was having problems integrating Severus' dreams, which are important, with the story, without making things too obvious or clumsy. I don't know if this works or not, you will have to tell me.

You will see why I had to put this here, even though it broke up the pattern of the chapters, when I post the next chapter, which will be at the end of next week, I hope. Part of it will cover what happened after he spoke with Dumbledore the night Sirius led him to danger. Sirius is not my favourite character. I can't forgive him for what he did to my darling Snape. That probably shows.

Unfortunately, after that, I will be facing a major problem. It is called strictly limited internet access, and I don't know if I will be able to post until the end of April. I will try to, but I can't promise anything. The good part is that I will try and get some chapters done while I am away. Last time I managed to finish my first story, Snape's Saviour. I don't promise that this will be finished though, I am only about a third of the way through, perhaps less now that I am adding Severus' student years to the mix.

Anyway, that is enough rambling from me. Thanks for your reviews everyone. As always, please read, enjoy, and review. Please review. I need to know what you think of the change in direction. If it is clumsy or seems contrived, please let me know. If you have any suggestions on how to integrate pieces of a puzzle from different time frames, drop me a review or a private email. I have been struggling with this for weeks, that is why updates have been a bit slow.

*

Severus Snape was 11 years old. And he had never been happy. Like most pureblood wizards, his parent's marriage was one of convenience, but Severus didn't understand whose convenience it had been for. His mother, once bright and beautiful, he had seen photographs after all, had been selected to donate her genes to the Snape gene pool, cess pool he thought. He wished she hadn't bothered.

A lifetime of abuse from his father had been sending his mother slowly insane, and Severus realised it would only be a matter of time before he suffered the same fate if he didn't do something about it. The only problem was he couldn't figure out what. He wanted to save his mother and himself from the animal that his father was, but he couldn't just kill him could he? That would be bad, and Severus was never bad, at least he wasn't as bad as his father seemed to enjoy punishing him for being.

Soon, though, he would be free. He was 11, and it was September – that meant that Severus was escaping to Hogwarts. At Hogwarts, he would be safe; at Hogwarts he would be happy; at Hogwarts he would do well, and make his father proud. Perhaps that would curb the man's violence against the woman he had taken as wife, but Severus doubted it. His father would never be happy, and he seemed to enjoy spreading his unhappiness around.

Severus Snape was 11 years old and going to Hogwarts. He thought that would make him happy, but if he knew the truth he would have thrown himself in front of the shining Hogwarts Express, not into it. Severus Snape was only 11. He had never been happy. He never would be.

*

Severus looked at the bright, shinning red train. Hogwarts Express was emblazoned on its side in gold. He had waited for this moment his whole life. He was going to Hogwarts. Just the simple thought of escaping home brought a thin smile to his lips. It was an unusual sensation for the sombre boy.

A dark haired boy, with a heavy trunk far more substantial than his own, bumped into him in a rush to get on board. "Sorry," he mumbled, not stopping to see who he had collided with.

Severus watched the retreating figure, sizing him up. Pure blood, strongly built, handsome, rich, arrogant… Black. That was Sirius Black. Somewhere, on his mother's side he thought, he was related to that boy. Maybe he would be his first friend. Grabbing his trunk, not needing to say good-bye to his parents, because he knew they were already gone, he rushed after the boy, in the hope of gaining something he had never had.

He managed to keep his eye on the boy, as he climbed into the train, even amongst the sea of new, excited faces, Sirius Black stood out. He watched, as the boy's form turned into a compartment, and stopped when he reached it. Looking inside, there were four boys, and they seemed to know each other already. Severus knew no one, and he stood, looking anxiously into the compartment.

A dark haired boy with glasses noticed him watching, and nudged Sirius with his elbow. "Did you bring a pet?"

"James! Don't be cruel." The blonde haired boy sitting across from them admonished. He turned his attention to Severus and smiled, but Severus was too scared to return the gesture.

Sirius looked at the weedy boy, sizing him up. He was sickly looking, pale skin, dark eyes without pupils, and greasy dark hair that hung limply to his shoulders. "If you are asking if he is my familiar, you have to be kidding." Sirius sniggered. "Well, what do you want?"

Severus felt a knot of panic rising in his stomach. This wasn't going well. He didn't really know why he expected it would. "I, I was wondering…" He motioned to the seat.

"You want to sit here?"

Severus nodded.

"With us?"

"Yes," he managed to choke out.

"Well, you can't. This compartment is already full. Go away and find someone more your own style." The four boys made a show of stretching out so that there was no spare room on the seats.

Severus felt tears burning in his eyes, but he wouldn't let them fall. Blinking quickly, he picked up his trunk. "Sorry," he managed, as he turned away and sought refuge further down the train.

*

Severus sighed. The time he had spent at Black's compartment had meant that there were no empty compartments left. Every compartment he had passed had three or four children in it already and they all seemed to look at him with the same disgust as Black and his friends had. Suddenly the idea of going to Hogwarts didn't seem to be so good.

He dragged his trunk into the last carriage, hoping to find somewhere to sit, even if it was on the floor. It no longer mattered. Like the rest of the train, the first three compartments were full, well full enough that his presence was unwanted.

Looking into the last compartment, there were two girls, one sitting on each side. Neither paid him any attention as they sat talking quietly. Severus watched them, wondering how everyone had already made friends so quickly, and feeling like a failure because he hadn't. They were wearing muggle clothes, but he didn't care, because most wizards and witches did when they were passing through muggle London, however, as he listened to them, his ears picked up on something. Their words were strange, they seemed far more excited than anyone else about going to Hogwarts. He considered this for a moment, then he realised why. They were Mudbloods!

He was about to turn and leave, when one of the girls looked out the window, and jumped when she saw his reflection. Both girls turned and looked at him. One had blue eyes, the other had green, but both had red-brown hair, and both were smiling. "Hello! I am Taryn, this is Lily. Would you like to join us? The train is really full isn't it?" Her voice was like music, and her blue eyes shone with happiness.

Snape looked at Taryn, and then at Lily. He desperately wanted to sit, he desperately wanted to be part of a group, but they were Mudbloods, and girls. His father would never forgive him if he found out, and Severus knew he would find out, somehow. "I don't associate with Mudbloods, thank you."

"What did you say?" An angry voice snarled behind him.

Severus froze. While he had been watching the girls, Sirius Black and his three friends had managed to creep up beside him. Now they were towering over him, and not looking particularly happy. He swallowed.

"Apologise."

Severus opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He watched the two girls, because he was too scared to look at the four boys. The green eyed girl, Lily seemed quite upset. She turned away when she saw him watching her. Taryn didn't turn away. She watched him with clear blue eyes that seemed to look into his soul.

"I said apologise." Sirius ordered, his voice threatening.

"Don't." Everyone looked at the girl. "Leave him alone. It doesn't matter, we are Mudbloods." She shrugged. "I hope he learns better manners, but don't scare him."

"What?" Sirius looked at her, confused.

"Don't scare him. He looks terrified. Just leave him alone. If he doesn't want to sit here that's fine."

Sirius shrugged. "Fine." He turned his attention to Severus. "It's your lucky day. There was a girl to stick up for you!"

Severus was heart broken, but more than that, his pride, what little of it he had, was hurt. It was only his first day and he was already alone, and a girl had stuck up for him. Grabbing his trunk again, he ran off down the corridor. "I don't need girls to stick up for me." He yelled behind him.

*

Severus Snape moved to the Slytherin table, not that there was any surprise in that. His father, the same one who couldn't afford to buy him a new set of robes, had probably bribed the school to make sure he was placed in his old alma mater. He sighed, his fate was already sealed and he was only 11. Every evil wizard had come from Slytherin. That meant he was evil. He would rather have gone to Ravenclaw, because that would have meant he was smart.

He watched, with little interest, as the sorting continued, until he heard the name Taryn. Daydreaming, he had missed her surname, but it didn't matter. She was a Mudblood, and it wasn't like he would have anything to do with her anyway. She would probably go to Hufflepuff. Hard work was all Mudbloods were good for.

The small, brown haired girl with the clear blue eyes moved forward fearlessly. It was an interesting change. The thought she might be sorted to Gryffindor crossed his mind. Most students moved towards their sorting with trepidation. Perhaps, Severus thought, she would be interesting after all.

The whole hall waited as the sorting hat was placed on her head. She was the last of the first years, the last to be sorted, but the hat didn't utter a word. The sounds of shuffling feet, and whispers began to fill the hall, as restless, hungry students waited. The hat remained silent.

Professor McGonagall, the stern looking, grey haired witch moved towards the girl and was about to touch the hat, when it seemed to sigh. "Oh, well, if it can't be helped, then I guess you must. Slytherin!"

The hall remained silent; a Mudblood had been sorted to Slytherin. Salazar Slytherin himself would be turning in his grave. The girl stood and Professor McGonagall removed the sorting hat. Moving towards the Slytherin table, she was stopped by the Bloody Barron. "A Mudblood in Slytherin? Impossible! Dumbledore – fix this fiasco!"

Professor Dumbledore stood, and cleared his throat, almost as surprised at the turn of events as every one else was. "I am sorry Barron, but you know the rules. The founders brought the Sorting Hat into being to ensure that each student has been correctly placed. There is nothing I can do I am afraid."

The Baron glared at him, and then at the girl, who seemed to pay him little heed. "Fine, then I will take it up with Salazar himself then." With a pop, the ghost disappeared.

"You do that."

Severus watched as Taryn moved towards the table, and with a sinking feeling, he realised that the only spare space was beside him. His father would have a fit. She moved to the space with little fuss and sat down. She smelled of orange blossom. "Well, you already know who I am. You are Severus Snape aren't you?"

Snape ignored her.

"Glad to see your parents taught you such good manners."

Snape's face grew red.

"How about we be friends?" Snape turned and opened his mouth to decline the offer, but she got in first. "Oh, that's right, you don't do Mudbloods." She watched him. "You know something, I don't care much either way, but Lily does. I may be a Mudblood, but I am also a Slytherin, so if you call her a Mudblood ever again, I will hex you into seventh year."

Snape sneered, "I'd like to see that Mudblood."

 "Fine choice of words." She smiled. "Shall we duel then?"

Snape snorted, she didn't stand a chance, not with his skills. Maybe he could try a dark curse? "I wouldn't want to hurt you." In the back of his mind, the question of how she even knew about wizard duels plagued him.

"That won't happen." She answered calmly.

"I guess we will see then, won't we?"

"Another fine choice of words. When?"

"As soon as possible, then you will have to shut your Mudblood mouth and stop bothering me."

"How about here and now?" She challenged, annoyed.

"Idiot! How about somewhere quiet, sometime else? Do you want to get us both expelled?"

"Not really."

"So you do have a brain then. How about the first free period we get?"

"Fine. Find a place and I will be there."

Dumbledore had completed his whole welcome speech as they had argued, and further argument was interrupted by the sudden arrival of copious amounts of food. Severus and Taryn both filled their plates and began to eat in silence, trying to avoid any sort of contact with the other, as the Great Hall filled with the noise of nearly 300 students all trying to be heard at once.