DISCLAIMER: We do not own Harry Potter. We wish we did. We love Snapey.

A/N: Okay, I'm one of the authors, i-am-bug. You probably don't know me, because so far I haven't posted under 'Harry Potter' yet. This story was written by Happi Froggi and me. We created this account specially for this story, though more will probably come later. So, please READ and REVIEW! We love reviews.

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Severus Snape and the Hogwarts Marauders

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PRELUDE

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When Marianne Breeves met Artemis Snape, she was certain she would love him for a long time. When they married, she was certain she would love him until she died. When their son Severus was born, she was certain the three of them would live happily ever after. Her life was a veritable fairy tale, and Marianne Snape was one of the happiest witches in the whole of England.

But every fairy tale has a wicked witch or, in this case, what seems to be a curse on true happiness.

It began subtly. One day, when Severus was about five years old, Marianne heard loud voices downstairs in Artemis's office. Or rather, one loud voice and sobbing. She dropped her paints and hurried down the stairs, through the kitchen, and into her husband's office.

Marianne couldn't believe what she was witnessing. There was Artemis, standing with one hand around Severus's wrist, one hand raised over his son's face.

"No!" cried Marianne, leaping forward and catching her husband's arm seconds before it made contact with the boy's face. "Artemis! What are you doing? Let him go! What did he do?"

"He has to learn, Marri. He has to know not to play with my things."

"LET HIM GO!"

Artemis hesitated a moment, then shoved Severus away. "Very well."

Severus crumpled to the floor in a heap, sobbing.

"Get out!" Artemis snarled. "Just get out!"

He seemed about to remove his son bodily from the room, but at the last moment Marianne placed herself between them.

"Move, Mari! He has to learn!"

Angry tears were streaming down Marianne's cheeks. She seemed ready to retort, but instead turned and carried Severus from the room. The boy was so small, so innocent

How could her Artemis be like this? How could he treat his son in such a cruel manner? Well, perhaps he had a very, very bad day

It was not the last time that such a thing happened. Sometimes Marianne was there to stop Artemis, and sometimes she wasn't. It did not take Marianne long to figure out that Severus had not done anything to warrant his father's wrath.

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CHAPTER ONE - THE KNIGHT IN THE NIGHT

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Severus leaned against the windowsill and stared out into the night. Several floors below him he heard the sounds of yet another argument. His parents were always going at it nowadays. He was hard pressed, in fact, to remember a time when they DIDN'T argue.

His father was upset about his potions again, most likely. It was ALWAYS about his potions. At least he wasn't taking it out on Severus today. His mother, of course, would rather be painting than yelling, and it showed in her actions, the way she went about her day. They were both constantly irritable, though Marianne at least tried to be civil to her son. The same could not, however, be said of Artemis. Sometimes he wanted to cry the way he had when he was five and six, but he couldn't. It made his father even angrier. Severus's life was more than an eleven-year-old boy should have to put up with.

As he sat, staring out the window and into the starry sky, something didn't seem right. He wasn't even thinking about the fact that his father was terribly unfair and his mother was terribly depressed. Or the fact he had no friends. Or that he hated his life. That was besides the point. The point was that something seemed wrong with the stars.

One of them had come alive, and was growing bigger by the second. Soon it was at his window, and didn't look much like a star anymore.

Severus fell backwards into his room, and the tawny owl flapped in the window and landed on one of the posts of his bed.

"You'll be wanting mum," he said, heading for the door. "I never get any mail, you see, and-"

The owl gave a soft hoot and leapt to his shoulder, brandishing the letter like a formidable weapon. Severus was about to protest, but he saw a flash of emerald green. He accepted the letter from the owl. His heart nearly stopped as he saw who it was addressed to.

Mr. S. Snape

The Windowsill

His Room

The Attic

He took the letter with a shaking hand. When he had finally managed to remove the letter from its envelope, he read:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Mr. Snape,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Terms begin on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Albus Dumbledor,

Deputy Headmaster

Severus stared at the letter for a few long moments. This was all great, but what was he going to tell his father and his mother? Would Artemis let him go? What was his mother going to do without him? He set the letter down on his dresser, then slumped into a chair. He rested his head in his hands, a question gnawing at his mind.

What am I going to do?

He longed to go to that school, Hogwarts, and get away from his wrecked home. His wrecked life. But he couldn't.

Or could he?

He stood up abruptly and strode over to his open window. The cool July night air beckoned him to simply leave. He didn't have to tell his parents. He could just run away.

But first he would need money.

He pulled open his sock drawer and rummaged through his socks until he found a small sack of knuts, a few sickles, and a galleon. He dumped it out on his bed and looked at his pathetic savings. It wouldn't be nearly enough to make it to Diagon Alley, buy his equipment, and stay at the Leaky Cauldron for a few days. Not to mention buying meals. He had to find money elsewhere.

Unfortunately, there was only one source of money Severus could think of at the moment. Artemis Snape. Well, if that was the only way

Pulling out a quill and scrap of parchment, he wrote in a cramped, yet rather neat hand:

I shall be reporting to school on the appointed date.

S. Snape

He tied the parchment to the owl's leg, and the owl flew out the window, disappearing into the night. He heard it give a hoot of happiness as it flew free. Severus could only imagine the feeling.

Now to raid his father's proverbial sock drawer

Pocketing his pitiful coinage, he silently pulled open his door and tiptoed down the steep attic stairs. He made his way to his father's office. If his father caught him He didn't want to think about that.

Most wizards and witches kept their money in Gringotts, the wizard bank located at Diagon Alley. Artemis Snape, however, always kept a small stash of treasure under a loose floorboard in his office.

Severus tested a few floorboards, and when he finally found the loose one. It came up with a loud creak. He flinched, then caught up the small box from under the floor. There was no dust on the top of the box, but there was a layer on the under-the-floor-boards. So the box had been opened recently, he thought. That was good. It would be hard to make the box look untouched if he had to make it dusty, but this way all he had to do was-

There was a creak in the ceiling above him, what would be the floor of his parents room. He pulled out his money pouch, then quickly upended the box into it. Dozens of knuts, a few handfuls of sickles, and what must have been a fistful of galleons spilled out. He should put a few back, but there was no time, the person was coming down the stairs

He clapped the lid back on the box, placed it carefully in the dust print, threw the board back into place and ran.

Marianne found her son in the kitchen chewing on a slice of bread. Severus shrugged, smiled, and finished the last bite in a large mouthful. It was too large, was taking too long to chew, so he couldn't excuse himself and head to his room. Marianne smiled sadly and reached for the bread.

Severus choked and coughed a few times, causing his mother to turn from the bread to her son. He was calming down when there was a loud shout from upstairs. Marianne pulled her hand across her eyes and headed for the door.

"You're father's got a new job, I'll tell you tomorrow," she said as she hurried from the room.

Severus gave a relieved sigh, his "coughing fit" disappearing instantly. He picked up the rather larger pouch from behind the bread and sprinted towards the stairs.

He ran up the steps, not bothering to go quietly. He reached his room in record time and pulled open his closet. There was a small trunk sitting on the floor, and Severus pulled it out and set it on his bed.

But what to bring to Hogwarts?

The letter had said there was a list of items he should have. He grabbed the envelope and extracted the second piece of paper.

He looked it over, but he didn't own any of the things on the list. He would buy them at Diagon Alley when he arrived.

He sighed as he heaved his empty trunk off his bed and back into his closet. There was no reason to carry around an empty trunk, and he had nothing from home that he would be needing at school. He would even be buying robes at Diagon Alley.

It would be easier to run away without a trunk, anyway.

There was one last thing he had to do. He picked up his quill and pulled out another piece of parchment. He wrote:

Mum --- I'm leaving. When you get this I'll have left already, but I just want you to know that I'm okay. I'm going to Hogwarts. Please don't tell Dad.

Severus lifted his quill for a moment. Was there anything else to say? He answered his own question by writing:

Love you,

Severus

He folded the letter and placed it on his bed. His mother would come up here eventually and find the letter. There was nothing to do now but leave.

But how was he to get himself to Diagon Alley? He could use floo powder, but

The jingle of the coins at his belt gave him another answer. He had enough money to do it, didn't he? And though he didn't have a wand yet, he didn't really need one to call upon the Knight Bus.

So that was that. He took one last look at his room before he began to ease himself out the window. He was on the top floor, in the attic, quite a long way from the ground. There was, however, a large tree beneath his windowsill, and he was light enough to trust even the topmost branches with his weight.

He swung his legs out over the windowsill, trying to gauge the distance between his window and the tree. It was only a few feet away from the window, and it looked easy enough to jump. With only a short moment of hesitation, he hurled himself off the windowsill.

Severus had never considered just how hard it would be to land in a tree. He grabbed wildly at the bigger branches, but there were leaves and twigs that rushed past him as he fell and scratched his face and arms. Sometimes he hit the bigger branches, but it all went too fast for him to grab the limb he had collided with. When he finally caught on to a branch he was scraped and bruised something terrible and was only a few feet from the ground.

He let go of the branch and dropped to the grass. He saw a light go on in one of the downstairs rooms and realized what a racket he must have been making.

He scurried over to a bush and crouched behind it. Through the tightly knit branches of the bush, Severus saw his front door open. In the light of the doorway, the silhouette of his father was visible.

Severus hardly dared to breathe. He didn't want his father to hear him, not now

After a few seconds that stretched into eternity, Severus's father closed the door. Severus let out the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. He straightened up, fairly sure no one would open the door again.

He wished he could Apparate, the way his parents always did, because the nearest road was about a mile away. It would be much easier to simply pop out of existence and pop back into existence at the street. Unfortunately, Severus hadn't even gotten a wand yet, forget taken his Apparition test. He would have to walk.

To take his mind off the long walk, Severus tried to imagine what it would be like at Hogwarts. There would be lots of people his own age, certainly. He would probably make some good friends for the first time in a few long years. The Snapes lived out in the middle of nowhere, and lately neither of his parents had bothered to take Severus anywhere.

There was a hooting from over his head and Severus looked up. An owl was perched in the tree overhead, it's wing held back at an odd angle, obviously broken. Severus reached up, but the owl was too far overhead, at least a foot out of his reach. He grabbed the lowest branch and started hauling himself up a few inches, and the owl broke into frantic flight. With it's one broken wing, it didn't get far. It tried to land, but it's talons closed around his right hand and he let go of the branch, extended his arm, and the owl landed. He was about to drop the the ground on his feet but there was a flash of light, a screech and a crash, and the tree shook so hard Severus fell to the ground, one arm holding the owl protectively.

The grass around him was flooded with light, and he was blinded by the brightness of ot all. Had Artemis found him? It seemed so, and now a figure was standing in front of him, with the same lean figure of his father, with Artemis's long hair, and

A conductor's hat?

"'Ello! Austin Shunpike, conductor of the Knight Bus. Emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand 'and, step on board and tell us - er, wot you're doing on the ground?"

It was definietly not Artemis Snape. His father had never dressed up in a purple uniform, bewitched himself to have blond-red hair and adopted an accent and the name Austin Shunpike

"'Ere, you are a wizard, right?"

Shunpike had drawn forth a wand, and Severus realized that lying on the ground goggling at the man who's appearance was a mystery. He must look like a stunned Muggle! He would have found it almost funny if he hadn't been about to have his memory wiped. He nodded quickly, long, lank hair flopping in his face.

"Don't wipe my memory, er Mr. Shunpike?" he said tentatively.

"Ah, you ARE a wizard. Good, didn't want to 'ave to wipe your memory."

"Er, thanks. How much to get to Diagon Alley? And doesn't the Knight Bus have to drive on a road like Muggle buses?"

"Eleven sickles to Diagon Alley. And does it look like we're on the road? Nevermind, hop in. But you can't bring the owl unless you've got a cage, can't risk 'im annoying the passengers"

"He's coming with me," said Severus, his grip tightening a little on the owl. "He won't misbehave." Shunpike seemed about to argue, so he said "I promise."

Austin Shunpike shrugged.

"Well, if you promise Any bad behaviour's on you're 'ead, not mine." He turned to look at the Knight Bus.

It had run headlong into the tree, and it seemed beyond repair. Shunpike, however, motioned to the driver through the windowsheild, and the bus backed away from the unexpected barrier. Shunpike brandished his wand, and the bus returned to normal in a flash of yellow light. He bowed, motioned Severus to the bus, and hopped in afterwords.

The bus was full of four-poster brass bedsteads and fluffy mattreses, capped with rather limp pillows, cotton sheets, and bedside tables. The driver was a middle-aged wizard with thick glasses sitting in an armchair behind the steering wheel.

"This is Ernie Prang, our driver," said Shunpike. "Ernie, this is"

"Artemis Snape," said Severus on impulse. He didn't want to give too many leads is his father tried to find him.

"Well, Arti, where do you want to go?" asked Shunpike. "London, but"

"The Leaky Cauldron," said Severus, naming the pub at the enrance to Diagon Alley.

"Ar," grunted the driver. He stepped on the gas and Severus fell to the floor, the owl still clutched tightly in his arms. Shunpike, sitting down, had narrowly avoided a tumble.

"Get a bed then, Arti, and we'll let you know when we're there."

Severus rose and, carrying the owl, found a spot down at the end of the first deck of the bus. He was alone, and he preffered it that way. It would be easier to think.

He set the owl down on his pillow, then took a seat on the bed. Now that he looked at the owl's wing closely, he did not think it was broken. He bent closer, and sure enough found a stick embedded in the wing. He gave a sharp tug, and the owl screeched, and the stick was in his hand.

It was quite a handsome owl. It was covered in black feathers and had bright golden eyes. He stroked it's head gently and asked softly, "What should I name you?"

The owl only hooted in reply.

"How about Andreivich?" The owl shook its haed and ruffled it's feathers in obvious distaste.

"All right then, how about Kismet? Fluffy? Golda?"

The owl glared.

"Er, how about a sign or and idea?"

Shunpike walked past. "Madame Marsh, this is your stop!"

Severus cocked an eyebrow at the owl. "That's not what I had in mind how about Sable?"

The owl nodded and hooted softly, then seemed to fall asleep. So Sable it was.

A few seconds later, a short witch tottered down the stairs followed by Shunpike. Severus wondered what the owl would be named if he had taken the "sign" of Shunpike calling to her. Marshy, perhaps? Or maybe Marshible.

For the first time in years, he laughed and meant it. Then he moved Sable off his pillow and lay down himself. He hadn't realized how tired he was, but had never fallen asleep so fast in his room in the attic.

When he awoke, he found himself being looked in the face by a man with blond-red hair and wide eyes. He sat up so fast he dislodged Sable from the owl's nesting on his chest. The black owl shot him a reproachful look, and Shunpike backed away.

"We're at your stop."

"Oh," said Severus. "Good."

He lifted Sable, and the two of them headed for the door. As he stepped to the ground, he turned back to thank Shunpike and pay him, but the Knight Bus was already gone. It seemed odd, but

He turned back to the buildings and found himself looking in the widow of a grimy pub. Sable hooted softly, their eyes met, and he entered the pub cautiously. An elderly man with a few less teeth than he should have had turned as he entered, and looked him over.

"You'll be wantin' a room?"

"Er, yeah"

"Got one free, follow me."

The room was small, but Severus had no complaints - it had a bed. He may have slept on the Knight Bus, but his idea of deep sleep didn't involve a lot of loud banging and a driver shouting out names every five minutes. After the inkeeper (who introduced himself as Tom) left, he collapsed into it and spent the last hours of his first night away from home dreaming of flight on sable wings.