'What on Earth are you dressed as?" Sydney Van Ness exclaimed from his seat the next morning, nursing the remains of black coffee and a killer hangover. He was staring rather dumbly at his friend Billy Moore.

Jude Remington was trying very hard not to fall off his chair laughing. So far he had managed it not to but his face was turning an unnatural color of red. Jude finally gave up and sank from his chair laughing. His body hitting the floor created a loud boom that startled the last member of the group.

"What are you bloody tossers doing in here? Carrying on like a bunch of women while..." Severus Snape's rebuked died there when he entered the room and collapsed into the same laughing fit that had fell Jude.

Billy just smiled pleased with himself. He was wearing fade jeans, washed one to many times to be really called blue, a pair of neglected sandals, and a black tee-shirt with red writing proudly proclaiming, "Shut up brain or I'll stab you with a Q-Tip." He was also carrying a plain white bag. "And I got some for each of you."

Sydney looked around. "What we don't look Muggle enough for you."

"No, all of you look like Aurors pretending to be Muggles."

"And all this time, I thought I was a dancer." Severus exclaimed sullenly. "There go my dreams of Carnegie Hall." He sank into the chair once occupied by Jude.

Jude put his head on Severus' lap and looked up at him. "You'll always be my ballerina, Alex."

"Oh shut up Remy."

Now on work time, the four friends at least looked the part as Aurors, Severus, or Alexander Rouge as he was now known, and Billy had just wrapped up their second year as apprentices to the 'seasoned' Aurors Sydney and Remington. Only one more year remained before they were officially Aurors. They had been instant friends since the first days that Severus and Billy had, as Sydney' put it 'darken the doorway of his office.' Sydney Van Ness was the American equal to Severus, a rich son of an Auror history. Billy, however, was a Muggle born Wizard who never seemed to grasp the finer points of magic like his well bred counterparts. But Billy was the heart of the group; a kind, gentle man who more then made up for the tempers of Van Ness or Snape. Severus and Remington traced their legacies back to old money across the pond and still nursed the inborn rival between the alumnae of Gryffindor and Slytherin. It was a unique clash of personas and one that made for strong bonds of trust between them all and a working environment that almost made Severus feel at home.

He sat back watching his friends continue to joke around, all the while feeling the same longing that had overwhelmed him since he was 14. He stared at them, savoring the moments with him and knowing the moment wouldn't last forever and indeed it never did. Last night's tell all to his friends had left him feeling vulnerable and exposed, something he had never allowed himself to be at Hogwarts. He rubbed the back of his neck. He wanted to believe that he didn't like the effects of these men but he knew that the opposite was true. These three men were his life and the only ones that seemed to be able to make him forget that missing part of him. The Illuminatti with all their fun and camaraderie couldn't compare to these men. They made him feel almost like them, that he could possess some of their better virtues.

Melanie had made him feel that way too and he felt a pang of sadness overcome him as he thought about the woman he loved. Melanie had appealed to some need in him to protect, to nurture and guard her. She had revealed herself to be a broken, frightened girl and that had made him eager to be strong for her. He had wanted, with every ounce of his soul, to be her guardian. He had wanted to be there to protect from her, from the world if needed. He wondered who was looking out for her now.

"Oh who…Alex?"

It was Remington's voice that called him back from his musings. Jude had a look in his eye. "You need a woman, if only for one night."

"Or a man if that's what you fancy." Sydney said softly.

Severus mustered up all his patience and smiled cordially. "Naw, tried that once. The damn Gryffindor broke my heart."

"Sorry bout that." Jude whispered.

"Oh it wasn't you. It was a little bit of tail named James Potter." A collective moan followed that unneeded revelation, especially from Jude who understood the sarcasms behind it. Jude begged for mercy to which Severus replied somewhat too casually. "Oh he said that too."

"Okay, okay." Sydney said. "If you are all done…"

"All done, sir."

"Then down to some real work…what about these reports." He threw the papers across the table to him. Sydney stood. "According to this report, this Voldemort has done us a favor. He's eliminated every major Dark Arts Cult from Europe to Asia."

"Are you sure he isn't one of those Aurors the Department of Mysteries employs?" Jude asked, slightly amused. "I mean no one can just sweep unto the scene and suddenly pull this off."

"Can they?" Billy asked.

"It sounds to me like he's planning something." Severus said, looking over the papers. "But by no means is he going to act against the Ministry right now. He'll need to build up a circle of supporters, allies to his cause."

"Dark Wizards?"

"Wizards, witches, vampires, werewolves, maybe even a union with the giants too. He doesn't seem like the kind of Wizard that just wants power. He wants something else…" Severus let his hand brush over the papers, almost like if they were calling to him, beckoning him. Something in him stirred.

"What's he's looking for?"

"Revenge maybe. But I don't think this is about wealth… It could be about power but there would have to be something else…immortality." There was a long silence that followed that pulled Severus from his musings. He looked up slightly afraid of what they would think. He had allowed some of his precious secret show. He had let his darkness, his longing seep through his built image of the all around Auror: someone who was smart, compassionate (although Severus had always felt a lack of empathy) and witty. He stared at them all, wondering.

It was Sydney who spoke first. "My god, you need to get laid."

Author's Note: I sincerely apologize for the weird time line this story has but I'm just trying to establish the main points of my version of Snape's background. A lot of the points in this story (such as his relationship with Reiner, Babbitt and Melanie) I plan to elaborate on in other stories and this one should just be viewed as a outline. Please Read and Review.