A Severe Past

by Eitak Renmus

The story of Severus Snapes past, recounting his years at Hogwarts and his eventual desecent to the ranks of the Death Eaters. Rated for later chapters. First chapter is up, more to come! Please R&R!

Severus Snape awoke in the dead of night, feeling familiar pangs of hunger. The young boy squeezed his jet black eyes shut, trying to ignore the gnawing feeling in his empty stomach. He rolled over in his thread bear bedclothes, willing him self to fall back to sleep. He lay there perfectly still and tried to be perfectly silent. Just go back to sleep, if you get up he'll hear…go back to sleep…he soothed himself. Moonlight poured in to his small dusty room through a crack in his shudders and his eyes wearily opened again. Groaning almost as loud as his stomach, Severus slowly got up and straightened the graying tee shirt he slept in, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes. It was sleep versus hunger on this particular night, and so far hunger was winning out.

For most children this wouldn't be a problem. They'd simply get up and call out to their parents that they were starving and wait to be served. But Severus was not in most children's happy position and calling out for his parents was not only out of the question, it was an incredibly stupid thing to do. If his father heard one sound this late at night, Severus knew he'd get a beating and end up right back in his room with some new bruises and no food.

For this reason, Severus had learned to be as quiet and careful as he could. While walking to his door he measured his footsteps, skillfully avoiding the ones that creaked, doing an awkward kind of dance until his hand landed upon the freezing cold bronze knob. He held his breath as he painstakingly turned it, grimacing with every metallic clunk it issued. As he eased the heavy, dented door open he poked his head around its frame and peered down the hallway to be sure it was safe to journey downstairs. Nothing stirred in the inky blackness. Severus dared not open his door too far so he squeezed himself through the smallest opening he could manage.

Finally he was out of his room but he still had a flight of stairs to conquer before he could satisfy his hunger. He wondered how ridiculous other children would find his situation…forced to creep about in his own house like a burglar. He stalked slowly, much to his stomachs protest, down the hallway thankful for the thick layers of dust that muffled his footfalls. At last the stairwell loomed beneath him in the darkness, and Severus likened this task to climbing down the back of a sleeping dragon without waking it.

Over the years, as in his room, Severus had memorized the steps that creaked but it seemed like lately everything was beginning to creak which made these frequent midnight treks even more perilous. One small pale foot at a time, he felt his way down the stairs inhaling sharply every time he dared put his full weight down for even a second. After what seemed like hours, he made it to the bottom and paused to catch his breath. It was amazing how nerve-wracking a 50-foot walk could be. He brushed his limp black hair from his eyes and proceeded to the kitchen.

The kitchen, like everything in this house, was small and shabby. A rough-cut wooden table sat in the middle of the room, three rickety chairs encircling it in a mockery of family unity. Severus hated the kitchen. If there had ever been a day where his family had sat happily together at that table, eating and talking about the day's events like families were supposed to, he supposed he'd been to young to remember it. The icebox stood ghostly white in the darkness, illuminated by the full moons light. Severus stood in front of it, feeling saliva gathering in his mouth. Had he gotten anything to eat yesterday? He remembered a meager lunch and then getting sent to his room for supper. He couldn't remember why though, his father probably just wanted him to wither away so he wouldn't have to keep 'wasting money' on him.

Well, he wasn't about to let that happen so he pulled the door open hastily and eyed the contents of the fridge. Unlike muggle refrigerators, this one did not run on electricity. Instead a simple freezing charm had been placed upon it. Severus pursed his lips pondering what he could take that wouldn't be immediately noticed when his father opened the fridge the next day. The several bottles of beer were out of the question, as his father would definitely notice if one of his precious drinks went missing. He delicately felt his way to the back of the fridge and pulled out a few cubes of cheese and a slightly molded carrot. It definitely wasn't what he would normally have wanted but by now he no longer cared. His stomach let out a groan, and he mentally hushed it, promising food as soon as he got back into his room.

Quietly closing the icebox, Severus turned and began the laborious trek back upstairs, following his dusty footprints as precisely as he could. He inched up the stairs, afraid that his meager weight going in a different direction might cause previously 'safe' steps to creak. Reaching the landing without a noise, Severus slowly opened his door just enough to squeeze through. Deftly avoiding the creaky planks of wood that made up his floor, Severus climbed triumphantly back into his bed and began to silently devour his feast.