10. [ Father and Son ]

Warning: This chapter contains very vivid description of child abuse and some implied sexual abuse. Please don't read this if you can't deal with things like this. Mail me and I will send you an edited version of this chapter. Be careful, this is harsh stuff.

The moment she left the room his heart was gripped by a fear that made him stumble back in confusion. Calling himself all kinds of fools he tried to stop the trembling of his hands and straightened his shoulders in a vain attempt to stifle the terror that crept inside his veins when he looked at the fire place. A tall dark figure sat in the arm chair Hermione had vacated his opal eyes that were cast in his direction filled with venom and hatred.

"Hello son."

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Hermione found the room with the crest very easily and stepped inside after some hesitation. Salazar Slytherin was already sitting on his throne and grinned as she stepped into the room. Beckoning her to the throne he nodded in satisfaction as if confirming something to himself. Tonight for some reason his smile seemed a bit menacing as if she was prey he had been waiting for.

In the background she could see a large mirror that reminded her of the Mirror of Erised Harry had found in his second year. It was made from wood as well and several engravings showed runes so old that Hermione had honestly no idea what they meant. The ghost seemed a bit more real today, not quite as translucent as the last time which made her wonder if maybe he was feeding of her emotions the same way Tom Riddle once fed of Ginny's darkest secrets and fear.

He nodded again. "Very good Hermione. As I already said yesterday, you are a brilliant mind and so far no disappointment."

"You can read minds." It was a statement not a question. Somehow it made the whole situation even more surreal to know that she couldn't hide anything from him.

"I am an extremely good legilimens but you are wrong, it doesn't mean I can read your mind." He played with his wand and produced some green bubbles which disappeared a second after they left the wand tip. "Legilimency means I can enter your mind and if I interpret your thoughts, memories and emotions correctly I can guess what you are thinking. But I wonder how you never knew about that since you are married to one of the best legilimens at the moment."

Hermione faced his look full of taunting and the necklace began to glow against her neck.

"I might ask Severus about this topic as soon as I return. It was never of importance so far. Maybe he can even teach me some occlumency."

His eyes flashed shortly but then he waved it away. "Do as you like but right now I can take nice little walks in your mind Hermione. Let's see if Severus does a better job at teaching you than young Potter last year. He wasn't very successful back then but then maybe if Potter hadn't looked inside his pensieve things would have turned out in quite a different way."

As he saw Hermione's confused look a happy gleam spread across his face. "I thought Harry Potter had told you about what he saw there but alas I might correct that little mistake."

He stopped the bubbles and directed the wand at the mirror muttering some soft words in a language Hermione had never heard. In the mirror shortly a bright light flickered and then it cleared showing a frozen picture of Severus Snape shock written all over his face.

"Now Hermione, how much do you know about your husband? Tell me."

"What happened to him?" Her voice shook with concern.

"Later Hermione, first tell me what you know about him besides the obvious you should know as his student."

She hesitated not willing to tell him that in reality she knew next to nothing about Severus and his past.

"He was a Death Eater once." For some reason she found it hard to tell him about anything else. She noticed that something entered her mind shortly but it was not threatening but reassuring. She felt it staying in one part and covering some information. A second later the memory of Snape working as a spy for the Order was blocked.

Slytherin's eyes flashed dangerously. "I should have known that Dumbledore would ruin my fun. He is always such a spoil sport. But nevertheless we can work with what we have here." Turning to her again he pointed at the mirror averting her attention to Snape's frozen face.

"Severus just saw an apparition he rather wanted to forget but as with everything memories haunt you. You wonder what he was thinking about when you returned to your chambers last night, am I right?" He grinned shortly. "Honesty is a value I never quite treasured but in this case it's essential for our further work. So now Hermione I will let you watch the events in your living chamber and you will know why exactly for so long nobody wanted to even touch Severus. He has sinned and fatally so."

With another wave of his wand she saw the mirror was beginning to move and it showed a man sitting at the chimney now who remarkably resembled Severus himself. He grinned in an evil way and his hand looked large in comparison to his body. He bared his yellow teeth in an ugly smirk.

"Hello son."

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„Hello son."

All colour disappeared from his face and he forcefully raised his wand trembling terribly.

"What's wrong son, you want to try another killing curse? Go on you always liked killing and torturing people didn't you?"

"Go away." His whisper sounded frantic and his eyes looked glazed over. His whole stance emanated fear and tension.

"Not right now, bastard. Where would be the fun in that? Why do you want to fuck your little Gryffindor mudblood instead?" He barked with laughter.

"Avada kadavra." The green light blinded the whole room but it went through the figure of his father without harming him.

"I am already dead you stupid disgrace of Slytherin. Thanks to my own son I am rotting in a grave now for years. So take your wand away and don't do anything that could hurt yourself."

With shaking hands Severus let his wand fall to the floor and sank down.

"Merlin, please spare me this." His face looked like a dead person's by now and his lips had turned a dark shade of purple. A visible vein on his left temple pulsed intensely and his quivering hands had sunken to his side.

"Listen to him. You have always been a disgrace to our whole clan Severus. Always cowering under tables and stairways and never once have you got the guts together to stand up for yourself. No it was always "Please father don't hurt me?". Whining and pleading never ordering like a Snape should do. I tried for years to beat some stamina into you but look where that got you! An insignificant teacher in a school full of mudbloods and traitors to our Lord. And you are the worst of them all carrying your mark with shame instead of pride. But you were always like that, never man enough to do anything heroic. Always little Snivellus with his greasy hair and head buried into a stupid book." He got up and stepped to the potions Master who had his head bowed down in defeat. "You were never good for anything but being beaten up by my belt and by magic. You were such a delight under the cruciatus curse my boy and to see you twist in pain was clearly a sight to see. Do you remember the one time when I let it burst your skin with an acid and you were bleeding on the whole carpet?" He carelessly kicked him in the side making him crouch down with pain. "But we know there really was one thing you were good at, don't we Severus?"

"No, no.please not that." His face was covered with his hands and he tried to inch away from the menacing form of his father. Pictures infiltrated his mind and somewhere in the lower part of his abdomen he felt a stinging pain. A sob broke free from his throat.

"Oh yes you remember don't you. Wasn't the feeling delicious, didn't you feel all precious and special serving a purpose for something. At least I had found something you were good enough for. And I enjoyed it my son, every second of it. You were tight and nobody trembled like you while trying to appear brave."

"Noooo!" The scream broke free like from a tortured soul and he raised his eyes filled with tears. "Leave me alone. You have done enough to ruin my life."

"Oh yes your precious life. Tell me could you protect sweet Lilly or is she now gone, another one of your failures? Maybe you should have done the mudblood while she had been there all willing. But no you were all gentleman-like. 'Father can I be friends with a muggle born witch, she is really smart?' Oh you were always so dense, always so ready to step over everything I had taught you. I think you deserved to pleasure me a bit after that dim comment."

He bent down and almost bruisingly gripped his sons shoulder making him flinch in fear. "But maybe now you have learned your lesson Severus. But no there is another mudblood and you – give - her – our - necklace!" He punctuated each word with a pocking of his finger. "A family inheritance and you give it to a filthy mudblood after generations of pureblood Snape women had carried it with pride. But you were always a little rebel weren't you my dear son." His voice spat venom now and he in a mocking caress touched his son's cheek making him whimper in terror. "And now you are cowering again my brave hero in terror of your own history. Maybe I should try the old way of disciplining you. How would you like that uh? Have you missed me Severus?"

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"Noooo?" Hermione got out of her spell and turned to the throne but Slytherin was gone leaving her alone with her terror. Tears were streaming down her face and she felt numb deep inside. A tremor went through her as she could almost feel Severus horror while his father stroked his back.

Spinning around she stormed out of the door and ran down the corridor only the thought of saving him in her mind.

Oh god, oh god. He has… no… and he had to…

Not thinking the thought to the end she had reached the door to the living chambers and burst in. In front of her was a dark heap on the floor trembling and quivering all the time muttering quiet words. Sobs were shaking his body and he had curled up into a slight ball of pain.

The room was empty otherwise and quickly Hermione kneeled down next to Severus softly extending her hand.

"I am dirt, only dirt. Father is punishing me to make me clean. I have to come clean." His voice sounded trapped in his memories.

Gently touching his back she murmured his name softly. "Severus."

He flinched and curled up tighter. Quietly she moved an inch closer and tried to hold the tears in. Later, she would break down later when she had consoled him.

"It's me Hermione, Severus. Please, let me help you."

"Hermione. Hermione is a mudblood and I don't deserve her. She is brilliant and good whereas I am only dirty and evil."

"No Severus. You deserve me as I deserve you. Severus look at me please." Pleadingly she tried to force him out off his memories.

Slowly he raised his eyes and the dark opal pools were now filled with pain and terror. In this moment he was again a little boy terrified by his father.

"I love you Severus. You are a good man and I love you so much." Carefully as not to startle him she gently placed one hand on his shoulder and inched closer. He looked at her apprehensively as if he wanted her to save him but had no idea how.

"Lilly was my fault?" It sounded small and scared.

"No." Hermione closed her arms around his neck. "It was Voldemort not you Severus. You are not to blame for this you hear me?"

Slowly she saw the terror in his face being replaced with shock and realization. "Hermione?"

Before he could run away she embraced him with her arms. "Don't run away again please. I love you so much, don't leave me alone Severus."

"Oh god Hermione, have you heard… my father, have you seen….?" He sounded terrified of the idea.

"Yes."

He struggled to free himself but she clang to him. "No, don't leave me. Don't hide inside Severus. Don't you see that this venom is eating you up from inside. You have to let somebody in or it kills you."

"Maybe that's better." He whispered softly trembling with shock.

"No. Severus I couldn't survive this. I need you so much and you deserve to live like anybody else does." She forced his eyes to meet hers and the troubled pools seemed in so much pain. "Your father was wrong and if all of your family was like him you are the first one who is no disgrace. He is an evil man and what he did to you was the worst sin you can commit. He deserved the curse Severus. You did the right thing even so maybe nobody else will agree. You did the right thing."

He looked at her for a moment and then tears began to stream down his face. "You only know half the story Hermione, you would talk in a different way if you knew what else I have done."

"Maybe I won't understand everything and maybe I will disagree on occasion but one thing is not going to change. I love you and nothing you could do or say could change that."

For a second he looked like he wanted to contradict her but then he pressed her body to his almost brutally. She cradled his head gently against her neck and felt the tears on her skin there.

"I love you Severus. I love you."

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As Minerva turned around from the small mirror on the table her face was tear stained.

"I had no idea, Albus. Oh my god what has this bastard done to Severus?"

The headmaster's face had turned to stone by now and he trembled slightly. How he hated his position at times. Nobody deserved to go through this twice, especially not Severus.

Minerva raised her shoulders and quickly dried her tears. "We have to help Hermione, she can't deal with this all by herself. Albus I know it is ministry policy to not interfere but this is too cruel. The girl is only fifteen for Merlin's sake."

"I know my dear but it had to get out. It was breaking Severus and now hopefully some wounds will heal. There is no harm done so far and I will send Poppy down there in a second. Severus needs some dreamless sleep potion to rest a bit. I am going to talk with Hermione tomorrow and explain some things to her."

He sank down behind his desk and tried to ignore the quiet sniffles coming from the paintings in his room.