I do not own the Harry Potter universe. I simply own its alternate dimension-my story!

He laid flat on his back, ensnarled within the bed sheets in complete disarray. And though he laid there ever so motionlessly, he was plagued by internal turmoil.

He had mechanically greeted his new relative and excused himself. He had been in his room, oblivious to everything else around him. Severus was bewildered, perplexed, baffled- too angry and shocked to experience the pain. Dinner was miserable. Mother kept glancing uneasily at his new "uncle," desperately trying to make a conversation. "Uncle Callatch" nodded occasionally, his gaze intently locked on Severus. And Severus? He kept his head down, ate, and went back to his sanctuary.

He did not believe it. He wouldn't believe it! He did not want to believe it! But some part of him, even earlier on, had realised that he did not look like either of his "parents." Except the hair, there were no resemblance between Mother and him. She short, and plump in the photographs of her younger self. She had blue eyes, a colour that always reminded him of cornflowers. He had scavenged every photographs there was of his Father and etched every little detail deep into his memory in hopes that he could somehow get closer to him-a stern man, but nevertheless possessing an easy air, with dark brown hair, a stout frame, and rather bulgy eyes.

He, Severus Snape, had pale, flaxen skin. Black were his eyes and his hair that he wore shoulder-length. He was tall, scrawny, and everything about him made him stood out. He was simply different.

Society welcomed standardization.

I found him….

Was he that despicable that his own parents threw him away? Him, their own son? Impossible! This isn't real! This could not be real!

He was Severus Snape, the son of Titania and Ector Snape.

He was Severus Snape, the son of Titania and Ecotr Snape.

He continued to chant this silent mantra until his tired mind was engulfed by waves of sleep……

**************

A mist had risen with the coming of dusk, creeping through the trees so they stood like ghost. With a swish of his robe he turned around, and paced, softly, into the shadows beyond. There, the faint footsteps, some one was coming up toward him. His breathing remained calm as ever, wand in hand and ready to utter the first destructive spell against his opponent.

**************

"Wake up Severus! Please, wake up!" Someone was shaking him urgently, rousing him from his dream.

Severus unwillingly opened his eyes with an obvious effort, still groggy with sleep.

"You must go! Hide!" she whispered frantically. "Dear Merlin. He is going to take you by force! I thought he wouldn't dare since…YOU GOT TO GET UP!" She would a hysterical sight- in a nightgown, holding her wand and her hair in a mess, if it weren't for her visible fear.

"Mother? What is happening? What are you talking about?"

"Oh Severus.." She cupped his face. "Listen to me. You must hide. Make sure that no one will find you. You are my child. You will always be. And nothing can ever change that, you understand?"

He reluctantly nodded. His vision became blurry as he tried to repress the sobs that were chocking him. He could see the shimmering tears on her face, almost glowing in the moonlight. They were still fresh - glimmering on her cheeks and in her eyes - blue eyes, laughing eyes, kind eyes, pained eyes.

She left.

Severus wasted no time. The entrance to his secret hiding spot was the piece of wood on the farthest side of the room from the window. The board was cracked and well hidden beneath a small rug. He lifted it up, revealing a space too small and constricted to accommodated a typical thirteen year-old, but Severus was rather skinny for his age. He slipped inside.

Fear rushed through his every vein. He had never been so terrified in his own life.

"I can't find him." The voices was foreign with an accent- thick and rumbling.

"WHERE IS HE?" A man snarled malevolently.

"I don't know."

Mother?

Realization slowly drew upon Severus as did horror. That voice… men in the woods…whispers of a plot.

"CRUCIO!"

It was the most horrifying and wretched words he had ever heard. For soon accompanying it were his mother's screams. He could hear the contact of her body against the floor as her body quivered and jerked uncontrollably from the pain ~ an all-consuming pain that rushed throughout the body like Death itself. Her screams were perpetual. Help! There must be someone…his uncle! No, he had left after dinner….

"CRUCIO!"

No. No! NO! Another series of screams were initiated. Not again! He could not bear this more than a second longer! Why? Why does Fate always pick him? String had tied themselves around his heart, searing and burning the flesh. After every scream, the binds grew tighter.

Then, it stopped. A hollow thud met the ground.

"She's died."

His heartbeat accelerated and his breath grew more shallow. It seemed, at this precise, that all the misery, anguish, and suffering in the world had decided to pay Severus a long-dued visit. The dam was broken, and every emotion he every felt had magnified tenfolds. Yet he remember what she told him. He bitted his tongue until he tasted his own blood-bitter and acidic.

But one traitorous gasp had managed to escape. It was too late.

"What was that?"