CHAPTER 1
Severus Snape had been in the service of the dark lord for about four years now. He had been serving the dark lord faithfully for one year.
After Severus had seen his hands washed with blood for the first time and heard the keening wail of a young girl beside her slashed mother did he truly start to see the horror he was causing. His heart turned to stone and though he committed his crimes, there was no fervor. No desire or want. He was sickened by them and his life was cloaked in hurt and shadow.
So he waited like a coward. He attended the gatherings, obeyed his lord and participated in the wanton acts of cruelty and he did nothing. He did not speak out, try to run, he was stuck. He had nowhere to go and nowhere to hide so he hid in plain sight, never encouraging, never opposing.
And now he was tired. Severus decided to take a break from all the craziness in London and with special leave from his job in research, and from the dark lord himself, he took a muggle car and drove it down the rolling countryside in search for some peace.
The preparations seemed quite fast and hasty, but then, he was eager to escape. Even if it was for just a short while.
Escape from the craziness at the ministry. From the shifty looks from the Aurors. From the ceaseless invitations from Malfoy and such other wealthy patrons. From the Dark Lord and his cruelty. From the newspaper headlines screaming of some other heinous thing he had done. From young girls keening for the loss of their mother as his hands were slick from some sickening ritual of flesh and blood.
Severus shook his head. For a couple months at least, he was now a muggle man. He knew nothing of magic. He knew nothing of the chaos going on. He was blind and blissfully ignorant.
When Severus made it to the little gas stop he walked over to a payphone as the working lads filled up the car with gas (a notion which still confused him) and rung up his friend.
"Severus, bad news."
He hadn't said anything except "Hello this is Severus" before Judith blurted out this unpleasant message.
"What do you mean bad news?"
His heart was sinking at the thought of having to go back to London and face the music once more.
"You know the couple I hooked you up with? That were going to give you a little space to stay in during your little holiday? Well they've gone on their own little holiday and completely forgot. They say they're very sorry and if its any consolation its ceaselessly raining in Scotland."
"But Judith, where am I to stay?"
"Errr-"
"You know perfectly well I can't stay in a bloody hotel! Good gods woman can't you think things out a little more clearly? I have every mind-"
And then the phone clicked off. He stared at in bewilderment before he remembered quarters didn't give you much time. He considered fishing another one of the curious muggle coins from his pockets to call her again but decided against it. All she was going to do was blubber her apologies, fall to pieces, and totally forget about him afterwards.
"Women are such troubling creatures."
He muttered darkly under his breath as he stalked off.
Severus walked over to the muggle car and found a peculiar sight. A young girl was perched daintily on the hood of his car, sucking a lolly and chatting up one of the working lads.
"Oh hello, is this your car?"
And it seemed all time had stopped and even those mundane, bland words caused fire to course through his veins as he stared upon the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
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