A/N: Written for the Houses Competition, Slytherin House. Prefect Entry. Category: Standard / Prompt: Mist / Additional Requirement: Love Conquers All / Word Count: 818

AU – Snape returns from the dead.

oOo

There was nothing, but white swirling mist for as far as Severus could see. Even the ground he was standing upon was obscured in the thick layers of white. The last thing he remembered was the smothering feeling of blood filling his lungs, robbing him of the oxygen he needed to keep breathing. Then nothing, but the never-ending expanse of mist.

"Hello!" he called, finding his throat quite intact. Was he dead? That didn't make sense, as he was fairly certain that he was going to Hell, if such a place existed, and this certainly didn't seem to be Heaven. His voice echoed back at him, as if taunting him with the knowledge that he was alone here. He started walking faster, panic spurring him on. No, it couldn't end like this, he had to save Lily's son and make certain the Dark Lord fell.

Severus wasn't sure how far he ran, the suffocating white mist pressing all around him, making him feel strangely claustrophobic despite the endless nothingness he was trapped in. Finally, he heard something other than the harsh rasp of his own breathing. There in the mist, there was a shadowy figure, the silhouette of another person. He slowed his pace, fighting an internal battle about approaching the figure. The need to know who or what it was fought valiantly against the fear of the unknown. He swallowed thickly and pressed onwards; he was not a coward. Whatever was waiting for him, he would face it.

The mist began to thin, and it revealed a tall thin woman, someone Severus had not laid eyes on in a very long time. She had black hair, with a few streaks of grey at her temples, and her eyes were black as night, just like his own.

"Mother…" he whispered, feeling his throat close up.

"My poor boy." Eileen Snape came forward and gently cupped his cheek, her bony thumb tracing his cheek bone. "What have they done to you?"

Severus closed his eyes and leaned forward, resting his forehead against his mother's. She'd died when he was only sixteen, beaten to death by his drunken father. "I should have saved you." His voice cracked and broke, sorrow crashing down on him.

"No, I should have saved you." Eileen pulled back and met his eyes. "You were my son and I should have protected you. I'll never be able to tell you how sorry I am for failing to keep you safe, but perhaps now I can begin to make amends." She took his hand. "Come with me, there isn't much time."

Severus was bewildered, but nodded and allowed her to lead him back into the swirling white mist that surrounded them. He'd forgotten what she looked like, he realized with shame. His memory of her over the years twisted and confused with the recollections of childhood. She'd never been conventionally beautiful, but she'd been striking. He'd inherited her sharp features, and he realized there was little of his father in his appearance. Tobias Snape had been a heavy-set man, with rough features and an even rougher personality. He could perhaps attribute his temper to the man, but even then he wasn't entirely sure.

They came to stand by a massive archway, and Severus paused as it loomed over them, standing out in the mist. "I know this, it's the Veil."

"Yes, the barrier between life and death," Eileen whispered and looked at her son. "I've waited here a very long time for you, Severus. I may have died a senseless death, but my love for you has allowed me to linger here, hoping for the chance to make right all the wrongs of my life." She smiled softly.

"Why are we here?" Severus asked, frowning at his mother.

"Because, sometimes love is enough to defy the rules of magic and nature." She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "I do not know if I'll ever see you again, but remember that I loved you, always."

"Mother…" Severus started to say, when his mother pushed him hard into the tattered Veil. He started falling backwards, until the swirling mist swallowed his mother up and then even that began to fade.

He hit the hard ground with a grunt and a shuddering gasp clawed its way out of his throat. He was breathing, and his heart was pounding. He was alive. Severus looked around, and realized he was lying on the ground, in front of the Veil. Somehow his mother had sent him back, some strange kind of old magic that had robbed Death itself. He felt tears slip down his cheeks.

"I love you too, mother," Severus whispered, before he passed out. Later, he would puzzle out how this had happened, but for the moment he surrendered to blissful unconsciousness and the warm sensation of knowing that at least one person in his life had loved him.

~Fin