Death had not expected the calamity that afflicted the supposed Master would cause so many changes to everyone else in the wizarding world of Britain.
It had gone from place to place, seeing both good and bad came out of such predicament and narrowed its red eyes at the sight of how both sides in the brewing war had fared.
Who would have thought that the fate of the entire wizarding world rested in a young man's hands?
The Grim Reaper was not one full of emotions, but it was certainly sympathetic toward the boy's family whose portraits all grieved over their only heir's condition and the basilisk he had rescued, which had cried itself to sleep in waiting for its master.
Death only watched as Septimus Prince drifted by without much thought, his dark eyes were on the letters he clutched dearly in his hands; all were reports about Severus' progress. Closing its red eyes in regret, it went to the boy's room where he had moved the items from Hogwarts prior to the incident and opened one of the books there; the conversation it had with him was subconsciously played in its mind.
"I am not your servant, Prince," it said, merely observing from afar as Severus was packing up a few unwanted items into the boxes lying on his dormitory room's floor.
The boy snorted though it was without malice or sarcasm that he was well-known of, "What, the great Grim Reaper thought so highly of itself that it can't do some menial work?"
"I am Death personified, why should I bother with such insignificant mortal business?"
"Yet you let me play with the so-called Death Stick for the donkey prank," Severus smirked, "despite all your talk of 'Death knows no one' thing."
"And it's true," the Dark Angel groused with narrowed eyes.
"But that statement wasn't correct anymore, right? You've known me." He grinned before using the Prince family's pendant to teleport to the mansion with a box in hand.
The Dark Angel sighed as it ran its bony fingers along the Secrets of the Darkest Arts book and conjured an ink bottle with a quill before creating a few new pages in the ancient tome, briefly frowning when it thought of what the boy would do with the information it gave; though it ultimately shook its head and began writing.
It was only fair to part such knowledge to him. He was its Master after all, and the Grim Reaper had seen many things for as long as it roamed the world. Where there was a time that magical law did not exist; and wizards would do whatever it was to make them stronger.
Death was not Fate, but it was everyone's fate to die and as he told the boy before; it would truly be a waste to take away such good life.
"A toast, to our new Head Boy!" someone said.
The Gryffindor Tower rang with cheers, with students there clapped politely over the news of James Potter would temporarily take Severus Snape's place. The bespectacled boy bowed down to the crowd with a wide grin and they feasted on the few snacks smuggled from the kitchen and Honeydukes' sweets with Butterbeer.
Sirius Black only smiled as he chugged down his drink; it sure was worthy having Lily Evans around. The previously hotheaded girl had reduced to whimpers when he threatened to humiliate her just like what they did to Snape for the prank back on St. Valentine's Day. Imagine his surprise when he found out Evans actually had a secret lock of Snape's hair; an exchange gift from each other when they were young, she had told him.
So, Sirius struck a deal with her; give him a strand of that hair and he would convince James to get her rejoin their group. Snape falling down the stairs was something he truly didn't expect but all the same, his search in the boy's room had amounted to nothing. And his secret was safe due to him had erased Evans' memory about their secret meetings.
As James and Evans blissfully danced all night long, Sirius smirked to himself for thinking of such ingenious plan. He had gotten rid of Snape (hopefully for good), James got his deserved Head Boy position and a girlfriend, and there were about three months left before they would leave Hogwarts and regained their Animagus ability.
Revenge sure was sweet.
He only hoped Lucius Malfoy who had made numerous visits to the school in attempt to uncover the mystery of Snape's condition wouldn't ever suspect him.
Severus had hoped to be proven right for once.
The voices from the colorful doorway were whispering softly in his mind, telling him it was alright to leave everything behind and he really wanted to do just that. More often than not, he spent more time at the left side instead of the right one, where the shambled doorway stood.
Severus had reconstructed it out of boredom one day (how much time had passed in actuality?) and though there were some parts that were missing, the broken wooden frame was a nice crimson red color and had stood proud despite its fragility. He had sat in front of it, wishing that he could actually forget the reasons to stay in the living world any longer.
But as always, things didn't go in his way.
Concerned voices came from behind the red door on a regular basis, and Severus didn't know whether they were genuine or not; because why should he truly believe them? Those people had ridiculed him in the past and now they wanted him back? What for? Simply to bully him again?! To prove that only the strongest belong?
What was his real place in the world?!
And yet… he returned, if only to hear what was happening in the living world. Though the longer he stayed, the more absurd the voices become and he retreated back to the calming colorful doorway, both frightened and in seek of advices.
"It's your choices, Severus," one of them said.
"We won't hold it against you."
And so, Severus' mind wandered over the possibilities that would happen. He admitted that running away from his Boggart was a bit shameful, but what was he supposed to do? Simply repressed it like all other painful things he had gone through over the years?! No, he certainly didn't want to imagine what sort of news would come out if he chose to leave now.
HEAD BOY DIED FROM SECOND-HAND EMBARRASSMENT
What a joke he would be. And hadn't he promised to himself that he won't be a disgrace?
But… what would be the point of going back, anyway? He almost died twice already; wouldn't it be better if he just went to Heaven or Paradise or whatever it was? Let those people knew how much pain they had inflicted on him, or would they be satisfied that they managed to get rid of him, like some pesky bug?
And yet, Severus only wanted to live. He simply wanted to be left to his own devices where no one would bother or hurt him; just contently being another nameless person in the ocean full of people.
He sighed in utter reluctance as he made up his mind. And the voices seemed to know it too.
"Some other time, then," they said.
Lord Voldemort had become such a wreck over the past few weeks.
Days turned into weeks, and now it was nearly over a month since the incidents that almost claimed his supposed heir's life. And throughout of it, he could only watch as Severus Prince screamed bloody murder and broke into tears in his coma before going silent again. The numerous Healers that his Death Eaters had connections with all had told him the same thing; that it would be such a historical event if the boy ever got to wake up.
Because, just who actually survived a Fiendfyre attack even if it was indirectly? And even if Severus did live, what would be the point for him to go on? His magical core was nearly nonexistent due to his phantom pet raven; Rogue had sacrificed itself to save the Slytherin students. As he stared at the charred feather kept in a charmed box, he narrowed his red eyes in grief; not knowing how to bring up the news to Severus when he woke up.
Lord Voldemort had tried hard to solve the case of whoever had set the cursed fire into the Snakes' dungeons, though for what it was worth, it seemed like a perfect crime. He had even used Severus' spell to cast the 'final memory' from the walls and Rogue's feather but nothing had come out from it. He cursed on the fact that Fiendfyre's effects had nullified whatever spells was casted.
It was the reason why the Dark Lord hadn't used the resurrection potion method in his quest to achieve immortality; that all the damage inflicted toward the chosen item or animal would also be received by the wizard. Horcruxes didn't do such thing, though he didn't want to test such claim by himself.
…Would it be time for him to tell Severus about his Horcruxes? But surely the boy had known about it, since he had brought the black notebook in his satchel to practically everywhere. And as Lord Voldemort flicked through his prized item, he blinked his tears away much to no avail.
Just how loyal could the Princes be? When Severus told him about the family's loyalty bond, he merely thought it was simply the way the Princes had trusted other people and their own members. Though, clearly it was more than that now.
Sighing, the Dark Lord stood up and went to the room where Severus was currently staying in Malfoy Manor, taking along his first Horcrux and the few items the boy had in possession before the disastrous event. The process of having Severus pulled out of Hogwarts' Hospital wing for his treatment was quite a hassle and he didn't think the boy would want to stay in St. Mungo's Hospital for so long.
Standing in front of the room, he softly knocked on the door three times before a hiss from the other side answered him and he entered without much of a sound. His red eyes drooped upon seeing a long brown snake was curling next to his heir's prone form on the bed.
"Nagini," he spoke after sitting on the chair, and the serpent's black eyes flickered open. "Anything happened just then?"
She averted his gaze. "No."
They turned to the Muggle contraptions that Severus was hooked up to; a ventilator as the Muggles called it. It was actually Petunia Evans-Dursley's idea, to which she suggested when she and her husband heard the news after their wedding where he became Vernon's best man in place of Severus'. The beeping sound echoed across the room was both comforting and unnerving; seeing as the boy's heart was still beating and the sheer terror that would happen if the machine went silent.
Not to mention that the overall area inside his chest was now inflamed and terribly sensitive, and Lord Voldemort wondered what made Eileen Prince to give her son a rather… poetic name. Had she foreseen such things or it was merely due to the Princes' naming traditions? Would Severus even have the courage to live on?
He was both afraid and intrigued of what would happen in the future. The Death Eaters all had agreed to start out war with Albus Dumbledore and the Light side; they only waited for the inevitable.
Lord Voldemort and his snake simply spent the time by listening to Severus' regulated breaths from behind the facial mask and they both nearly dozed off when he saw the boy's fingers twitched minutely. Blinking hard, the two shared a look and waited with bated breath.
The Dark Lord's red eyes widened in utter surprise when he saw Severus unconsciously curled his hand, and wondered if the boy was having another nightmare. But there was no clue to such thing; if anything Severus was struggling to wake up, judging by the frown marred on his sallow face.
A miracle, indeed!
He knew he was being a bit selfish, but he bit his lower lip to stop himself from waking up the entire manor, wanting to cherish this moment with Severus, Nagini and himself alone.
After an agonizing wait, the Dark Lord saw Severus' eyes fluttered open with a loud heave of breath and he smiled in pure joy before it gave into utmost puzzlement.
…Orange eyes?
W- What happened to his onyx ones? Had Rogue affected him in some way before its (second) death? It must be due to their connection, but how much? Should he be afraid? So many questions were playing in his mind, but it could wait for later.
Lord Voldemort could only sit still with Nagini on his shoulder, watching as Severus tried to get his bearing before his new orange eyes fell onto him; the boy was blinking hard as he seemingly examined his face in utmost curiosity.
It felt like eternity had passed by before he saw Severus mouthed out a word from behind his oxygen mask:
"Marvolo."