A/N: I am very sorry for keeping you so long without this chapter. I had a
hard time writing this chapter, but I think it turned out pretty well. What
happened is that I hit a major snag and had to rewrite this chapter several
times before it was to my liking. I hope that, since I am now on summer
vacation, chapters will take less time. Don't lose hope! I'm sorry again,
but for now, enjoy! Review please! And check my bio page for updates :)
Without further ado, I give you...CHAPTER 4!!!
- - - - - - - - -
CHAPTER 4 INTO DARKNESS
Immediately, colors and sounds began to swirl around the three men, and they found themselves being transported back, back through time and space to the past, where the secrets of Severus Snape were about to be revealed.
James landed first, softly, on the balls of his feet. Sirius followed, and then, finally, the Head Angel, clutching the Pensieve-looking object. The three men looked around. They were standing in what appeared to be a very dark, cramped apartment. The smell of rotting garbage pierced their nostrils, and Sirius pinched his nose dramatically. James thought perhaps they'd taken a wrong turn. "Are you sure this is the place?" he asked the Head Angel.
"I'm sure," said the Head Angel, appearing to be very interested in the walls of the apartment and avoiding James's eyes. Sirius looked too stunned to speak, and James could understand his surprise. They had never thought much of Severus Snape, but have him live HERE? This place seemed unworthy of any human being.
James gulped, breathing in more of the foul scent. He finally got up the courage to turn around and ask the Head Angel, "Where are we?"
"Welcome to London's Lower East Side," replied the Head Angel, still not looking at James or Sirius. He sighed, and finally looked James directly in the eyes. James was startled to see sorrow in them. "It is November 21, Severus Snape's 5th birthday. He lives here with only his parents, as he is an only child." The Head Angel gave another sorrowful sigh. He scraped his feet on the moldy carpeted floor. It was the first time James had ever seen him look uncertain that day. James and Sirius were even more surprised at the Head Angel's next words.
"Boys, I want to apologize for making you see this. It is very traumatic, and there are parts that I myself can barely stand to watch. However, it is necessary for you to watch this, James, so you can save Severus more efficiently."
Both Sirius and James' mouths opened in little O's of shock.
There was no time to say anymore, for at that moment, they heard little footsteps padding softly across the floor. A door to another room quietly opened, and a pair of beetle black eyes darted around the room, as if looking for a disturbance of any kind. James and Sirius realized that they could not be seen or heard. There was no time to dwell upon this, however, for young Severus Snape walked into the room.
It was something like a shock to the two former Hogwarts students to see him young. His skin had the same greenish tint, his hair was as greasy as ever, but he looked—James checked to make sure he was seeing correctly—he looked happy. The boy trotted into the small living room—if you could call it that—and grinned. "It's my birthday!" he announced to the apparently empty room. He carried a small stuffed owl, and he started chatting with it animatedly. "Hear that, Rowley? It's my birthday! I'm five today! Mummy made me a big chocolate cake, and—"
His words were cut off abruptly by the sound of loud yelling from another room. Snape turned, and the happy look was wiped off his face in an instant. He looked nervous, almost fearful, and James wondered what was happening. He didn't have to wait long to find out.
From another door came a man and a woman, Snape's parents. The woman, who had long stringy hair, had tears running down her cheeks, but she was still shouting in rage. The father bellowed back, and Snape ran to hide in the corner as they fought fiercely in the middle of the living room.
"You can't blame him for it!" shrieked Mrs. Snape. "It's not his fault, poor boy; you act like he brought it on himself!"
"He DID bring it upon himself!" boomed Mr. Snape. "Idiot boy, sneaking out of the Boar's Head while we were busy! He deserved it, too, son of a Mudblood."
"DON'T blame Severus for my blood lines!" sobbed Mrs. Snape, still yelling. "He doesn't deserve it! Blame me all you want, but spare Severus! It's his birthday, for God's sake! Just let him have ONE happy day!"
Severus had slumped into a corner of the dark room, and was now crying, but his quiet wails could barely be heard over the screams of the two adults.
"Oh, excuse ME!" cried the man. "How DARE you, you—you—Mudblood, standing up for that vampire child of ours! You are not fit to live! Both of you are not fit to live!"
At this point, young Severus cried out, "Why can't you two just be happy for once? It's my birthday! Please..." he began to cry again.
His father turned towards him, his face showing more hatred than James and Sirius had ever seen. He began to beat his son fiercely, screaming curses and insults at him. Mrs. Snape tried to pull her husband off of Severus, but he threw her off, and she crumpled on the floor in a fit of coughing. She began coughing up blood, and the man was still beating Severus, who was now sobbing full force. The little toy owl was in shreds, dust was flying all over the room, and Mr. Snape's curses grew louder, if possible.
The Head Angel muttered something under his breath, and all three observers were whisked away, away from the coughing and the curses and the crying, to another world altogether.
- - - - - - - -
A/N: That chapter was a LOT more serious (no pun intended) than the last three, sorry :( But it had to be, to get my point across. I'll try to put more humor in later chapters—I know you are all looking forward to the chapter where Snape discovers that James is supposed to save him! I'm looking forward to writing it. Most of the questions you have about this chapter will be answered in Chapter 5. And now for some review responses :)
Lucky: Thank you! I appreciate the devotion. If you wanted to, I could email you every time I post a new chapter, or you could put me on Author Alert. Just a thought :) I think you will like Snape's reaction lol.
Remus Lupin's Lover: Lol, your review made me laugh. Your review sounds like an ice cream cone. Mmmmm...ice cream. I must go raid the freezer. Thanks for the review!
Silverthreads: Please don't give up! I WILL continue to post. Hmmmm...an interesting situation indeed ;)
Amandinka: Your wish is my command! Thanks for the review.
TheHyperFreek: Yes, I know you love the Sirius personality, but for heaven's sake, please do not start crying again about OotP! Lol, jk ;) Glad you are enjoying it!
Excessivelyperky: Thanks! James as Clarence—now THERE'S an interesting combination! Lol.
Keika no Keiyou: Ha! Yes, this is truly evil of me, sticking poor Severus with James. Snape is not going to appreciate this... I see you have thought this ahead with the "I wish I'd never been born thing"...good for you! You will just have to wait and see how that works out...
Gyre: Well, James may earn his wings if he pulls this off, but I don't know about him earning Sirius's ;) Thanks for the review!
Prettypink: Thanks! Yeah, everybody's looking forward to Snape's reaction. I know you think that since you're my best friend you get sneak peeks at later chapters, but you'll just have to wait with everybody else to find out...((wink wink))
Empress T'Pau: I can't thank you enough for this review, because it encouraged me to keep posting. So thank you, thank you a thousand times. And don't worry about the randomness; I do it a lot too :) As for the praying thing...I figure that I warned people in the disclaimer, so if they don't want to read it because of that, it's fine with me ((shrugs)). Thanks again! I can't thank you enough.
Four-eyed Snail: Thanks I will. Yes, Snape will in fact be cynical during the story, but that's pretty predictable ;) You will have to wait to see just how pessimistic he is.
Ok everyone, that's it! I'll post soon, I promise!
Without further ado, I give you...CHAPTER 4!!!
- - - - - - - - -
CHAPTER 4 INTO DARKNESS
Immediately, colors and sounds began to swirl around the three men, and they found themselves being transported back, back through time and space to the past, where the secrets of Severus Snape were about to be revealed.
James landed first, softly, on the balls of his feet. Sirius followed, and then, finally, the Head Angel, clutching the Pensieve-looking object. The three men looked around. They were standing in what appeared to be a very dark, cramped apartment. The smell of rotting garbage pierced their nostrils, and Sirius pinched his nose dramatically. James thought perhaps they'd taken a wrong turn. "Are you sure this is the place?" he asked the Head Angel.
"I'm sure," said the Head Angel, appearing to be very interested in the walls of the apartment and avoiding James's eyes. Sirius looked too stunned to speak, and James could understand his surprise. They had never thought much of Severus Snape, but have him live HERE? This place seemed unworthy of any human being.
James gulped, breathing in more of the foul scent. He finally got up the courage to turn around and ask the Head Angel, "Where are we?"
"Welcome to London's Lower East Side," replied the Head Angel, still not looking at James or Sirius. He sighed, and finally looked James directly in the eyes. James was startled to see sorrow in them. "It is November 21, Severus Snape's 5th birthday. He lives here with only his parents, as he is an only child." The Head Angel gave another sorrowful sigh. He scraped his feet on the moldy carpeted floor. It was the first time James had ever seen him look uncertain that day. James and Sirius were even more surprised at the Head Angel's next words.
"Boys, I want to apologize for making you see this. It is very traumatic, and there are parts that I myself can barely stand to watch. However, it is necessary for you to watch this, James, so you can save Severus more efficiently."
Both Sirius and James' mouths opened in little O's of shock.
There was no time to say anymore, for at that moment, they heard little footsteps padding softly across the floor. A door to another room quietly opened, and a pair of beetle black eyes darted around the room, as if looking for a disturbance of any kind. James and Sirius realized that they could not be seen or heard. There was no time to dwell upon this, however, for young Severus Snape walked into the room.
It was something like a shock to the two former Hogwarts students to see him young. His skin had the same greenish tint, his hair was as greasy as ever, but he looked—James checked to make sure he was seeing correctly—he looked happy. The boy trotted into the small living room—if you could call it that—and grinned. "It's my birthday!" he announced to the apparently empty room. He carried a small stuffed owl, and he started chatting with it animatedly. "Hear that, Rowley? It's my birthday! I'm five today! Mummy made me a big chocolate cake, and—"
His words were cut off abruptly by the sound of loud yelling from another room. Snape turned, and the happy look was wiped off his face in an instant. He looked nervous, almost fearful, and James wondered what was happening. He didn't have to wait long to find out.
From another door came a man and a woman, Snape's parents. The woman, who had long stringy hair, had tears running down her cheeks, but she was still shouting in rage. The father bellowed back, and Snape ran to hide in the corner as they fought fiercely in the middle of the living room.
"You can't blame him for it!" shrieked Mrs. Snape. "It's not his fault, poor boy; you act like he brought it on himself!"
"He DID bring it upon himself!" boomed Mr. Snape. "Idiot boy, sneaking out of the Boar's Head while we were busy! He deserved it, too, son of a Mudblood."
"DON'T blame Severus for my blood lines!" sobbed Mrs. Snape, still yelling. "He doesn't deserve it! Blame me all you want, but spare Severus! It's his birthday, for God's sake! Just let him have ONE happy day!"
Severus had slumped into a corner of the dark room, and was now crying, but his quiet wails could barely be heard over the screams of the two adults.
"Oh, excuse ME!" cried the man. "How DARE you, you—you—Mudblood, standing up for that vampire child of ours! You are not fit to live! Both of you are not fit to live!"
At this point, young Severus cried out, "Why can't you two just be happy for once? It's my birthday! Please..." he began to cry again.
His father turned towards him, his face showing more hatred than James and Sirius had ever seen. He began to beat his son fiercely, screaming curses and insults at him. Mrs. Snape tried to pull her husband off of Severus, but he threw her off, and she crumpled on the floor in a fit of coughing. She began coughing up blood, and the man was still beating Severus, who was now sobbing full force. The little toy owl was in shreds, dust was flying all over the room, and Mr. Snape's curses grew louder, if possible.
The Head Angel muttered something under his breath, and all three observers were whisked away, away from the coughing and the curses and the crying, to another world altogether.
- - - - - - - -
A/N: That chapter was a LOT more serious (no pun intended) than the last three, sorry :( But it had to be, to get my point across. I'll try to put more humor in later chapters—I know you are all looking forward to the chapter where Snape discovers that James is supposed to save him! I'm looking forward to writing it. Most of the questions you have about this chapter will be answered in Chapter 5. And now for some review responses :)
Lucky: Thank you! I appreciate the devotion. If you wanted to, I could email you every time I post a new chapter, or you could put me on Author Alert. Just a thought :) I think you will like Snape's reaction lol.
Remus Lupin's Lover: Lol, your review made me laugh. Your review sounds like an ice cream cone. Mmmmm...ice cream. I must go raid the freezer. Thanks for the review!
Silverthreads: Please don't give up! I WILL continue to post. Hmmmm...an interesting situation indeed ;)
Amandinka: Your wish is my command! Thanks for the review.
TheHyperFreek: Yes, I know you love the Sirius personality, but for heaven's sake, please do not start crying again about OotP! Lol, jk ;) Glad you are enjoying it!
Excessivelyperky: Thanks! James as Clarence—now THERE'S an interesting combination! Lol.
Keika no Keiyou: Ha! Yes, this is truly evil of me, sticking poor Severus with James. Snape is not going to appreciate this... I see you have thought this ahead with the "I wish I'd never been born thing"...good for you! You will just have to wait and see how that works out...
Gyre: Well, James may earn his wings if he pulls this off, but I don't know about him earning Sirius's ;) Thanks for the review!
Prettypink: Thanks! Yeah, everybody's looking forward to Snape's reaction. I know you think that since you're my best friend you get sneak peeks at later chapters, but you'll just have to wait with everybody else to find out...((wink wink))
Empress T'Pau: I can't thank you enough for this review, because it encouraged me to keep posting. So thank you, thank you a thousand times. And don't worry about the randomness; I do it a lot too :) As for the praying thing...I figure that I warned people in the disclaimer, so if they don't want to read it because of that, it's fine with me ((shrugs)). Thanks again! I can't thank you enough.
Four-eyed Snail: Thanks I will. Yes, Snape will in fact be cynical during the story, but that's pretty predictable ;) You will have to wait to see just how pessimistic he is.
Ok everyone, that's it! I'll post soon, I promise!