Quick authors note obviously I don't own any of this well except the original character
Betad by Bondgirltrb (thank you for putting up with my many misspelling mistakes and talk to text typos)
Unknown Nexus – date – irrelevant
"Oh Severus, you've gotten so old. What did they do to you?"
Jerking upwards into sudden awareness, Severus barely missed slamming his head into the figure leaning over him. Ebony eyes darted around frantically, confusion tinging their dark depths as he tried to figure out where he was. The last thing he remembered, he had been savaged by Nagini and… His hands flew up to his throat finding the skin blessedly unmarred.
"Oh, no Severus, that wound doesn't exist here."
His eyes snapped to the person speaking to him, slowly focusing on a young woman in her late teens , watching him with warm brown eyes. He tracked her hand when she tucked some of her long brown hair behind one ear.
"Who are you? What is this place?"
A sad smile played across the girls lips. " This is a sort of crossroads, or a Nexus if you will. As for who I am," She sat down beside him, folding her knees to her chest. " That is a bit of a story. "
Severus gestured around them with one pale hand. "I obviously have no pressing engagements at the moment. No crowds clamoring for my attention."
Her cheek came to rest on one of her knees and her smile turned amused. "You always were a sarcastic git."
"How would you even know?" Unsure if he even wanted to hear her story or just leave, he got to his feet. Fuck, she wasn't even sitting now. When the hell did she move? Merlin, she's tiny… Severus looked down at the strange young woman, absently noting that she was still smiling even as he came to the realization she barely came to his shoulders, if that. And those eyes held a world of sadness and regret.
Regret was something he was used to seeing. It echoed back at him from every mirror he looked into. He watched her turn to stare off to the side then blinked when he realized he could see a gnarled scar that was a macabre mimicry of the up-ticked corners of her mouth.
"Fuck…did I kill you?"
Her gaze snapped back onto him with an unexpected ferocity. Severus almost wanted to step backwards in case she punched him. Though if he'd been her murderer he wouldn't have blamed her in the slightest. Likely it was no less than he would have deserved.
"No Severus Snape, it was not you who killed me. Nor was it any so-called Death Eater." The teen's lips curled as she scoffed the last part. She rubbed her arms as though cold and returned to staring into the distance. "Tell me, do you know why the name for the Dark Lord's followers became Death Eater as opposed to Elder Guard?"
"Because the Dark Lord feared death." Or so Albus continued saying at any rate. He certainly didn't recall ever asking why the name came about when he was actively in the ranks.
"So it is true then? Nobody really remembers?" The girl's eyes closed as if she was painted by the revelation.
Severus found her reaction disconcerting yet not so much as to not respond. "Remembers what, exactly?"
"Me, my death…the magical backlash was immense though. I know that Albus Dumbledore remembered me, and he should have…that old cock sucker should have known exactly who I was."
The rage rolling off of the tiny young woman in front of him was near physical and strands of her hair stirred as though her magic was still able to be used. Seemed a bit shit if that was true, he hadn't been able to feel his even once. And the mention of his friend's name caused his guilt to kick in, then another person intruded into his thoughts.
Red hair and green eyes. "Lily…why are you here instead of Lily, or even Albus, for that matter?"
She clenched her fists and tightened her jaw. "Albus had a choice and he deemed that his time was better spent visiting Harry Potter, the other he essentially killed. He owed him that much at the very least, though his actions against you were a far greater offense. As for Lily Potter, I will not let her through yet. She agreed, on the condition that you actually listen."
"Very well. Talk, tell me the story you are here to share so that I can move forward." Severus crossed his arms over his chest.
"Once upon a time, as all the best stories start thusly" ,she laughed in mirthless parody of amusement, "there was a powerful man who had great plans to make the wizarding world better protected and more able to adapt to life amongst the mundane half of the world. He was brilliant and so very charismatic that people came to him willingly to be part of his plan. Because they too could see that the growing issues with how Muggles waged war and their own insular communities. Some, of course, didn't like Muggles at all and already saw them as an issue. But then, the man introduced his wife and newborn daughter to his followers and his wife was a Muggle. His daughter was, technically, only half blood. But she had something almost none of the others had ever seen before, at barely two months old her magic manifested in front of hundreds of witches and wizards.
Practically unheard of and, had those watching not witnessed it, they likely would not have believed it either. Except, for one family who had a single male descendant. He had presented much like the little girl, early, to a mother frightened of how her husband would react if he knew. So she contacted her parents then her grandparents, begging for them to reconsider her banishment if not for herself than for her little boy she loved more than life itself. And of course, being of a proud purebred line, her parents denied her request. But her grandfather did not, with a stipulation that the boy would be remanded into his custody upon his fifteenth year. She agreed. And when Calladeus Prince saw that powerful man's daughter three years later, he came up with a new plan. There was a contract made between the two families contingent upon the boy's mother. And Eileen Snape nee Prince was overjoyed because she knew her son would be protected for life.
Unfortunately, her circumstances at home changed quickly when her husband learned that his son was magical."
The teen sighed and looked down at her hands.
"Someone very powerful found out about Tom Riddle's family. Someone who, while they agreed with the basic part of what Riddle had planned, wanted to be the one who led wizarding people into acceptance and integration. But he had to keep his hands as clean as possible. So he set Morfin Gaunt, Riddle's bigoted and grossly inbred uncle on the path to kill Tom's wife and child. In a bitter twist of fate, Gaunt would not fully succeed for many years even though he managed to get Riddle's wife through the use of imperioused muggles. Gaunt didn't have much power, but he was amazingly proficient with the imperious curse.
Unfortunately, Tom was unaware of Morfin's culpability in his wife's murder so he blamed Muggles and hid his daughter away to raise her out of the public's eyes. He created the Elder Guard at that point. Made up of several elite families: Arcturus Black, Abraxus Malfoy, Thoros Nott, Sergei Dholohov, Gregori Lestrange, and Calladeus Prince. Even Charlus Potter agreed to be a conditional part of the guard as he and Arcturus were friends.
From those families came their sons, slated to take their father's or grandfather's places. Sirius and Regulus from the Ancient and Noble house of Black. Lucius Malfoy through his father. Rudolphus and Rabastan, James Potter, Caractus Nott, and Severus Prince-Snape. All handpicked to take over when the older generation finally stepped down. Obviously, not all of the young men and boys were aware of their upcoming roles. Calladeus would not have the chance to bring his grandson in until his fifteenth birthday and Sirius and Regulus lived, at the time, under the oppressive thumb of Walburga Black. Arcturus needed to wait for Sirius to reach fifteen as well before he could formally begin training him to take over as Head of the House of Black.
During all of this, Riddle's daughter grew into the least Slytherin, heir of Slytherin, ever to be seen. And Tom adored her in spite of her bravely brash and slightly introverted personality.
Poor Lucius had to walk her onto the train and attempt to keep her corralled with the Lestrange boys and Antonin."
A fond expression lightened her face and Severus, in spite of his incredulous disbelief of the story, found himself wondering just how often Riddle's so called daughter tortured Lucius. He refocused when she continued, shelving his questions for when the story was done.
"That was the day she met Severus Snape for the first time. And Lily Evans, whom she both detested and adored. Gods she had the prettiest damn eyes though, so verdant and full of life…and a wicked sense of humor. But then this sarcastic git had to open his mouth and throw everything off kilter."
She shot him a narrow eyed glare.
"You had the unbelievable gall to tell me that short people need to not bother their betters. So I punched you. Best day of my life at that point since everyone else treated me like I was made of glass. Lord knows Lucius nearly had a swooning fit when he found the three of us in the aftermath. Lily laughing happily and scolding you while trying to fix my hair because you yanked it all over the place after severing it all the way to my ears."
A vague memory of Lucius coming to find him on the train at the beginning of his first year surfaced but the specifics were blurry at best. It made no sense as he'd always had perfect recall of events when he needed to call them to the forefront of his mind. Yet another side effect of his occlumency.
"Anyway, things went as they usually do, teenagers being teenagers and Calladeus was supposed to come see you that January for your 15th birthday but something happened and he never made it. Tom would find out years later that your grandfather had been detained by his opposition. Only, by that time he no longer remembered me either and severe damage had been done to his psyche from the backlash of my murder. Everything went to hell that day.
Sirius and Regulus went from being genial to outright hatred. Years of tentative truces and friendships were wiped out and replaced with false memories of hatred. One of the second generation Elder Guards and his wife were murdered over a false prophecy. Death Eaters were formed in the wake of my death…and the man I'd been supposed to marry was now in love with my best friend's ghost, in spite of the fact that, prior to the event they were more like siblings and he was part of her wedding with me. My Father was even there…it was a beautiful day and then not even a week later I was bound for a ritual then had my throat slit in the middle of the Headmasters office. All because Albus Dumbledore wanted to be the one with all the power. And…since I did not agree with what was happening, still wanted my first kiss thank you very much, my magic built up stronger and stronger in rebellion."
Riddle's daughter smiled, it wasn't a happy thing.
"You would have been proud of me I think, you know after being so freaking angry and tearing him apart magically. I was more mad than afraid. Sixteen Severus, I was only sixteen! And damn it if I didn't flash bomb the entire world and response to that knife sliding through my throat. Only…I didn't want anyone to suffer and while my father was scary, you…you were something Albus and Tom could not hope to touch. You still are worlds more powerful than they ever were…except I messed up everything. And not wanting you to suffer over Albus' actions it was compounded in a terrible, horrible way. And Albus knew. He knew everything and used everyone to further his end goals. But hey, you got him in the end, you and my father both."
She clapped her hands. "Bravo for that one."
Severus huffed a humorless laugh. What a fucking shit show of a life indeed. Assuming he actually believed her very elaborate story. Could the dead lie? And intriguing question and not one he really ever found crossing his thoughts before. Not, actually, that it really mattered at this point has he, himself, was also quite dead.
He noticed her watching him and lifted a brow. "So, if all of us have died, why share the story like this now? You could easily have moved on and left me in the dark."
"Well you are at a Nexus for a reason. And my meeting you here…I loved you since I was thirteen and I missed you. As for telling you…" She waved her hand at something behind him. "You needed to know and Lily was ever so busy helping her son."
A soft sound from behind him had him on his feet in a defensive position front of her within seconds. His body loosened almost immediately as he took in the flaming red hair and bright green eyes of Lily Potter. He felt his foot move involuntarily forward and stopped himself. This was too much and not enough all the same time.
Lily smiled at her old friend then lifted her eyebrows at the teen standing behind him with an annoyed expression on her face. "Did you get every detail shared love? Or did you leave after really important stuff like you tried to do with Sirius because you were mad at him for being an utter pillock?".
Severus heard the other girl huff and patiently and wondered exactly what else there had been to share. He wasn't really sure he actually cared about a past that might or might not have happened. Not seeing Lily again.
"He doesn't believe me anyway. And Sirius was being a class A pillock! Between Reg and Severus it was only fair I gave him the most difficult time. They were friends!"
"Oh dear sweet little Riddle…" Lily grinned when the younger girl huffed louder at her. "Very well, he can make his choice without the information if you prefer."
Severus definitely was sure that he didn't like the fact that they were discussing him as if he wasn't even standing there. "What choice?"
Lily sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "You never have been stupid Sev, you know what a Nexus is…" She trailed off leadingly.
"Generally a gathering point set to a specific moment in time or space." Severus crossed his arms over his chest and started pacing. "Mostly they are meant to be used to power ancient magics and rituals. Also this is a crossroads and I assume that there are multiple instances to be considered. One of them being my move on to the afterlife.".
"That is…sufficient for now. And this particular case the Nexus we are in is centered on the most pivotal and important event in our lives." Lily moved her hand to motion towards all three of them. "Which would be on the express the day she met us. Assuming you are up to the trip, of course."
"Would it fix things? Keep you alive?".
"Truthfully no one knows. Events could play at the same way or worse. But we believe that it has the potential to go the way that it should have done. Or an approximation of it anyway." Lily's eyed focused on the younger girl. "If nothing else Miss Riddle might actually get the chance to grow into adulthood and stand beside her father as they usher in a change our world needed, that it needs. You aren't required to let everything run the course it was headed towards. That is her sacrifice for you"
Brown eyes stared resolutely at the ground. "I refuse to have anyone, especially you, bound to me in a way that is similar to what you've already gone through because of Dumbledore. You might not have minded it before the backlash, but if you choose to return…well…you don't know me now. And I wouldn't hold you to it. In fact, Lily and I have worked out that my wish for your freedom to choose for yourself should outright eradicate the contract. But I still rather hope we would become friends again, even if you are a snarky git."
Severus sighed and scrub his hands over his face. Did he really want to go through the hell of school again? And how the hell would he stop her murder from happening a second time without the contract enforcing it? Fuck, there was a lot to unpack in all of this. But a chance to keep Lily from dying? It held a powerful appeal for him. He couldn't deny that a part of him definitely wondered if there was a possibility for them to end up together instead.
His eyes narrowed. No, likely not if they truly been like siblings originally. And considering the way Riddle's daughter described his potential reaction if he had known about her murder…no he would have already decided to devote himself to her. Contract or no contract. Which was all the more frustrating with his memory still missing. This meant the contract needed to stay and he needed those damn memories triggered.
He could see Lily whispering softly with the girl and sighed again. It was entirely possible that by having his memories return that he would even remember what he was doing when her death backlash hit everybody. Would he even have known that she was dying? Fuck…that was also possible given his own magic's capabilities. He had certainly felt the loss of Lily before ever finding her lifeless body. Bloody buggering hell what a choice.
And fuck, now Dilys made perfect sense. Which means that the portraits had been aware as well and then Albus had forbidden them from ever revealing their knowledge of his crime. Shit. Just shit. He needed to know and, fuuuuuuuck, he was going to go back because even if Potter defeated the dark lord, their world was going to be in a downward spiral for years before it ever got better.
"I'll do it. But I need to know what is locked in my head. And the contract stays. It has no bearing in the long run. If I choose not to honor it, there is nothing Tom would have been able to do to change my mind."
Fuck, he was the biggest twat in the history of twats for making this choice. But he'd be damned if he let Albus fuck everything up a second time. And dear Merlin that was the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen in this reiteration of his life. No wonder his dumbass would destroy the world over her death. He had a brief moment to wonder how he was going to handle The balancing act of two sets of memories before she spoke and he fell to his knees and agony.
"Hello Severus, my name is Katherine Riddle."