The Story of Severus: Chapter Two

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns everything.

By: Susan

Summary:  Snape's past has been left a mystery.  Why did he join Lord Voldemort? Why did Dumbledore clear him?  Did he have a relationship with Lily Potter?  How was he connected to Lily and James?  And what about the prophecy?

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The darkness enveloped Severus Snape as he struggled with his emotions after leaving Lily in the alleyway. Under normal circumstances (and what circumstances were normal with the rise of the Dark Lord) Severus would have never left her alone at night.

"This is your fault, for getting involved with a good for nothing, Gryffindor mudblood," he told himself gruffly. "Slytherins and Gryffindors..."

As he stomped over the cobblestones, wishing he could trample them into fine dust, he couldn't stop his mind from wandering to the first time he'd met Lily...

He'd first encountered Lily Evans on the Hogwarts Express, but first he'd met the infamous Sirius Black. A child of a well-known wizarding family, he was immediately the center of attention as he showed the other children in the train car the magic he'd learned even before Hogwarts.

Severus Snape had known magic too, but it was not the magic he'd wanted to be associated with at Hogwarts, even though his father was awfully proud of it. His father had taught him many things, that magic included. Though everything else Severus had been taught by his father would always be obeyed, he knew it would do well to not show his knowledge of magic just yet.

Severus had arrived in the train car, and lurked in the corner, watching as Sirius Black had changed the colors of the draperies in the train car and poked around with his wand, to the delight of the muggle-borns. They were still undeniably new to the wizarding world, and watched in awe as he dashed his wand around with a slight touch of arrogance.

"Ah, who might this be?" he had asked, as Severus approached. Severus patted his slick hair down and looked around nervously.

"My name is Severus," he said brusquely, "And you are?"

"Black, Sirius. Wizard born?"

"Yes. I'm no muggle." Severus had loathed Black the moment he'd laid eyes upon his face. He'd never had much emotion for show offs, and showing off was exactly what Black seemed to be doing.

The two were silent, each surveying the other intently. The immediate rivalry was evident. Severus narrowed his eyes.

"Know any magic do you?" Sirius asked him slowly, a grin spreading slowly across his face. The muggle born first years looked at them, eyes wide with excitement.

"A bit," Severus said, pursing his lips. "Though a bit more than you, I'd expect."

"Really?" He cocked an eyebrow. "Care to put on a bit of a show?" He waved his arm around at the muggle born first years, who all nodded and smiled. Severus hadn't known what to say. He already didn't like this Black boy, but he didn't want to start something before he'd arrived at the school.

"Not especially..." he said slowly.

"Afraid?" Sirius asked him, grinning.

"Afraid I'd get in trouble after cursing you," Severus replied. Sirius grinned at him even wider and raised his wand.

"Come on, Snivellus-"

"Hardly. It's Severus."

"What are you doing?" A new voice greeted them, and the boys pulled their gaze off of each other just long enough to stare her in the face. She had huge green eyes and fiery hair around her neck.

"Who are you?" Sirius asked, but his voice wasn't rude, only curious.

"Lily Evans," she said, reaching out her hand. He took and shook it slowly. "Nice to meet you." She turned to Snape, and put on a much gentler tone. He'd thought at the time perhaps she'd realized that he hated people who showed off and were the center of attention.

"Severus Snape," he said quietly. She looked at him curiously, but didn't say another word.

"Are you muggle born?" Sirius asked her, eyeing her blue jeans and sweater.

"Yes I am," Lily responded, "But that shouldn't matter, should it?"

"It matters to some people," Sirius said. His eyes turned cautiously towards Snape, who looked away.

"And I suppose you think it matters to Severus here," Lily said. "We'll have to let him decide that for himself," she said softly.

"Some people decide things like that beforehand." They each turned to see another boy join them. He was small and thin, with messy dark hair that desperately needed a combing.

"And who might you be?"

"James Potter," he replied. His eyes seemed to dance across her face as he looked at her. Sirius looked at him oddly, but his eyes had glazed over slightly, and he blushed as he spoke to Lily. "And you?"

"Lily Evans."

"Well, Lily," he blushed again, "You'd do well to stick with people who don't judge."

"Severus never said he judged anyone," Lily said stoutly, "In fact, he hasn't said much of anything...So don't assume too much."

She was speaking truthfully, Snape had realized, and he was shocked. His father had always told him that the only people with any sense were those who'd grown up in the wizarding world. Muggles were fools, oblivious to the magic that goes on around them, he'd always told him. Yet this muggle born girl made sense, and it frightened him. His father was always right.

Severus still hadn't responded, but then he realized that James, Lily and Sirius were staring at him. His father would be angry with him if he'd sided with a mudblood, and when his father was angry, Severus was frightened.

"Listen, I don't have time for mudbloods," he said coolly. "Nor do I have time for show offs," he turned away from them.

James' eyes flashed. "What did you just call her?" Severus narrowed his eyes.

"I called her what she is."

"I can't believe you!"

"James, it's all right," Lily said nervously, knowing what he'd said was rude, but not knowing what it'd meant. She tugged on James' Hogwarts robes, "He'll learn someday." James stopped and turned to her, but then turned back to Snape.

"I don't know who you think you are," he whispered, "but if you ever say anything like that to her again, I'll personally string you up by your slimy little toes and curse you until you're covered in all different sorts of bulges and boils."

"Oh, I'm frightened," Severus said snidely.

"Well we know what house you'll be sorted into," Sirius broke in. "Good for nothing Slytherins, with their sick and conniving ways."

"My father was a Slytherin, and I'd consider it to be an honor to be sorted into his house."

"You're father was probably a slimeball like you," Sirius said nastily.

"Stop..." Lily said softly. "Leave him alone!"

"Lily, did you hear what he just called you," James asked quietly. "And you're going to back down?" She turned to James and pulled him to where she thought Snape couldn't hear her.

"Maybe he'll learn that if we don't hate him, he doesn't have to hate us." James looked at her incredulously, and then sputtered at her, obviously shocked.

As Sirius and James argued with Lily that she should stay away from scum like him, Severus retreated back into the other train car and sat, looking out the window in silence.

He'd never met a muggle-born witch before, and because his father had always told them they were like dung on the bottom of his shoe, he'd automatically put on the hatred. Truth be told, he didn't see what was so wrong with the muggle-born Lily Evans. She seemed intelligent, and of course, very beautiful. Ripping him out of his thoughts was a timid voice from the other side of the car.

"Are you all right?" Severus turned to see Lily staring at him, her bright green eyes wide with compassion.

"I was until you arrived." Why had he said that? His father wasn't here, he wouldn't know how badly Severus wanted to befriend this muggle girl. He'd never had anyone except his father.

"Do wizards usually come across muggles?" Lily asked, sitting down on the seat across from him. "Because I've certainly never come across a wizard. But, you must have met a bad bunch of muggles judging by the fact that you hate them so."

Severus was silent, knowing that he'd sound like a fool if he'd said that the first muggle he'd met had tried to befriend him, yet he still kept up his wall of hatred.

"So?" she pressed, "How many muggles have you met?"

Snape didn't respond, and Lily guessed.

"I'll bet counting me, just one." He made a gurgling noise in his throat, but refused to meet her eyes. "Am I really that bad?" she asked sarcastically.

"My father told me that muggles are good for nothing."

"And you believed him? I'll have you know that there are some muggles that are like that, and there are some, like me, who aren't. And if you've never met any, how would you know?" She paused, "And besides, I'll bet it's the same way with wizards."

"My father wouldn't want us to be talking," Severus said, standing up and shuffling halfway out of the booth, but Lily jumped in the way, blocking him.

"You sound like you've been brainwashed," she threatened.

"I haven't," Severus said coolly, "I've been enlightened."

Lily looked hurt, and immediately Severus felt bad. She was right, she'd only tried to be kind to him and he just didn't want to risk his relationship with his father.

"Listen..." Severus said slowly, "If you'll excuse me-"

"And if I don't?" Severus whipped out his wand in one motion and pointed it square between her eyes, his arm shaking. "You wouldn't dare," Lily whispered, but she'd stepped back anyway, letting him pass.

He still remembered the fright on her face as he'd done it, and he'd apologized immediately after, knowing he'd never tell his father, who'd never have approved.

That night, he'd lay in his four poster bed in the Slytherin Boys dormitory, thinking about Lily Evans. What was it about this muggle born that so intrigued him? He couldn't put out of his mind her sparkling green eyes and her fiery red hair, and her bravery in speaking to him. It was no wonder she'd been sorted into Gryffindor, his house's rival. He couldn't seem to put out of his head the words, "You sound like you've been brainwashed."

Thinking back on that first day on the Hogwarts Express, as he trudged across the grimy cobblestones in the darkness, Severus Snape realized that after all these years, and every day he'd spoken with Lily, he'd begun to come to the conclusion that perhaps she had been right. But now, as he felt more alone than he had in his whole life, the thoughts he'd had when he arrived at Hogwarts came flooding back to him.

He had been brainwashed, he told himself. But, he asked silently, had it been by his father or by Lily Evans?

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