**** 2001 ****

"Severus!"

The wizard scoffed at the sound of his name. At the happiness in the immortals eyes. He glared at Potter and the young wizard tried to avoid his eyes. Severus would never go as far as to express how much it had pleased him to see Methos. Not with the Potter-boy following Methos around like a lost puppy, he snarled his hello's and sat down, uncomfortable in the confining Muggle clothing.

A Muggle stared at him and Severus glared right back. He was about to do a spell to make the Muggle scatter off when he noticed the way Methos was looking at him.
"Joe Dawson, Severus, Severus Snape, Joe."

"Adam!"

"Joe knows about my kind Severus. He's a friend of mine."
Which meant squat where Severus was concerned, but he didn't bother to mention that to Methos. It was probably better to obliviate the old man right before he left anyway. It would be safer for all of them, especially the Muggle. The world of the Swordsmen was even more dangerous than the wizard world.

"I noticed marks of an attack?"
Methos seemed somewhat tired, his hair slack and gruff and Severus could see the red in his eyes.

"Nothing I couldn't handle."

"Deatheaters?"

"They had an immortal with them."

But there had been no corpse, the Death Eaters probably took it with them. Any remains of magical creatures were useful to them. Swordsman' blood especially. The lightening in it alone was enough to power any number of spells.

A loud crack filled the air and all of the adults turned around, staring at Potter who was standing amidst a set of books that seemed to have fallen from the top of the bookcase. Adam didn't say a word, he just stared at the boy. Potter had fallen on his knees and was holding his head, grasping for his scar in pain. Snape wanted to give him hell for scaring them all, but he doubted he could scare him any more than he already was.

Methos got up next to Potter, trying to hold on to him but the boy merely shuddered down on the ground.

"Their eyes. He looked at them, killing them, their eyes. They just looked at me."

"Voldemort."

Both Adam and the Muggle stared at him. Severus had heard of this, that Potter sometimes got visions of what the dark lord was seeing or feeling. To see him like this, it almost, almost made him feel pity for the boy.
But there wasn't time for that. Not now.

"Who?"

"I don't know."
Severus just glared at the boy, refusing to take that as an answer.
"They were old. Grey hair, an old couple, his eyes they .. they were brown, one darker than the other. They looked at me, at Voldemort. They..."

"What else did you see?"

"Severus stop it!"

But Severus knew better, he grabbed hold of Potter, shaking him up.
"WHAT DID YOU SEE?"

Then he felt himself pulled back, pushed away from the boy.
"There was a picture, falling from a ledge above the fire. A picture, ... your picture."

Snape didn't say a word. He pulled himself together, refusing to show emotions in front of that godforsaken Gryffindor. His hands, now more than ever he could feel his damnation burned into him like the dark mark.
He could still be wrong. Potter could just have been playing with him, pretending ... He could be lying, or wrong ... But if he weren't...

Methos wanted to touch him, help him, but Snape turned away from him. He would not let them see weakness.
They would not know, or see, and his parents ... It was too late as it were and grieving would not bring them back.

*** 1984 ***

"How could you?"

Severus stared back at his father. Furious was to soothing a word to describe what the man felt like right now. Furious, disappointed ... He ached to tell him the truth, to be able to deny his fathers words, but he couldn't... Not without risking their lives as well as his own.

He couldn't even bare to face his mothers eyes. The pain inside of them at the thought that he, her son, could possibly serve Voldemort.

"Will you betray me father? Will you hand me to the aurors?"

Ignatius Snape seemed almost broken by the mere question. As an auror he'd always believed in right and wrong. In doing what was just... But this wasn't something the books could have warned him about. There was no rulebook about choosing between your own child and the law, when both have equal meaning to you.

His father just stared at the mark on his son's arm and Severus could feel it's burn.

"I shall not allow you to disgrace our name Severus."

"But will you betray me..."

His father didn't answer.