Summary: It isn't easy to get to close to Severus Snape. It's not impossible; after all, sometimes one simply falls into unusual friendships. The problem is, there is frequently an obstacle in the way. More often than not, that obstacle is Severus Snape.
DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author notes: Tremendous thanks to the Harem Ladies, most especially Susan, and to my beta, June.

Chapter 1

As long as he could remember, when his mother was displeased with him, she would lock him in the dungeon. It seemed that she was often displeased. If he cried, if he appeared inattentive or unhappy, if he disobeyed, or, simply, if she was feeling out of sorts, Mother would banish him to the dungeons. At first, he was terrified of being shut up in the dark, cold, filthy place, and would huddle himself in a corner, shivering with cold and fear of the rats and spiders.

By the time he was five years old, Severus no longer feared being banished to the dungeons. In fact, he had come to think of it as a private sanctuary where no one would bother him. He could stay by himself, and would not be disturbed there by his parents, nor by Lucius Malfoy's vile cronies, the troll-like Crabbe and Goyle. They might chase him down the stairs, taunting him and guffawing stupidly as they lumbered after him, but they never followed him into the recesses of the damp, musty rooms. Down there, he had set up a space for himself, and had plenty of room for books and cauldrons and vials and an assortment of potion ingredients which grew more extensive and sophisticated as he got older. He would prepare increasingly complex potions and drafts simply for the pleasure of it. He would often spend an entire day in the dungeon, reading by candlelight, to the soothing sounds of simmering liquids.

Severus was not quite the son his father had hoped for. More accurately, in fact, he was a huge disappointment. A colicky, sickly infant, he did not grow any more loveable with time. Oh, he was obedient enough. Severus would do exactly as he was told. Yet, there was something defiant in his obedience. To Balthazar's ears, every "Yes sir" the boy uttered seemed to drip with irony, disgust, and even, perhaps, a tone of superiority. Of course, the child was very bright. Though he wouldn't admit it even to himself, Balthazar knew this unpleasant, homely, socially backward, stubborn boy was unquestionably his intellectual superior. Balthazar was afraid of him.

There were constant fights in the house. Balthazar and Eris Snape had not gotten along very well for years, but their solution was to avoid one another as much as possible. However, having a child in the house made communication occasionally necessary, and the only communication that seemed to take place involved shouting and insults. To make matters worse, Eris was deprived of her escape. In the past, after a bad fight, she would take off for weeks or even months to the house of her sister Doris. Now that she had a young child, she dared not leave him alone with his father and the house-elf for more than a few days at a time. She may not have liked the boy much, she may not have paid him much mind, but she was, inescapably, his mother.

Doris was blessed with daughters. Eris would have given anything to have daughters. What she did not see however, because her visits were less and less frequent, were the problems that could accompany raising three little girls, all beautiful, strong-headed and unwilling to share attention with one another. The older two girls were so different, their wants, needs and interests were so dissimilar, that they lived in a sort of uneasy détente without major incident. Eventually, Narcissa and Andromeda would becme virulent enemies, but for now, they got on primarily by mutual avoidance.

Doris' youngest, Bellatrix, utterly changed life in the Black household. Bella demanded utter and complete attention. The exquisite child was the apple of her parents' eyes. They would grant her every request, unable to resist the slightest hint of a pout on the little Cupid-bow mouth or the flutter of her thick eyelashes over her large dark eyes. Narcissa, who had always been the absolute darling of the entire Black family, was livid. More than once, she had attempted to cause the untimely demise of her baby sister. But Bella was no ordinary baby; she was remarkably capable of taking care of herself.

When Doris Black suggested to Eris that Narcissa could benefit from some time in the country with her dear aunt, Eris was elated! Finally, she would have some company. Finally, she would have someone with whom to share her misery. No more suffering alone with that beastly pig of a husband and that horrible little brat. She immediately hired a decorator to turn the largest bedroom into fit accommodations for her niece.

It had taken a substantial bribe to prod Narcissa into spending the summer with her Snape relatives. She was accustomed to the city. She was accustomed to luxury and style and elegance. The Snapes' rundown dump, in the middle of nowhere (it seemed to her), was beyond bearing. Her room wasn't bad, but the heavy-handed gilding and the effusive floral pattern (walls, rugs, bedding, you name it) was unmistakably provincial. Then there was the fact that she was the one who'd been sent off. That snotty little rugrat had won the battle.

Still, there were compensations. For one thing, Aunt Eris thought the world rose and set on Narcissa. Father would have nothing to do with the Muggle businesses, but Narcissa had seen the magazines her mother hid away. They had things that you just couldn't find in Diagon Alley. Aunt Eris had opened a charge account for her at the best London stores. And the locals were all enchanted with the new girl. In particular, she had really hit it off with the Malfoy boy. Narcissa was sure there was real promise for that relationship. She wasn't going to let it slip through her fingers; especially when Aunt Eris told her that the Malfoys were wealthy and powerful. Even if it meant spending most of her time at the dreadful Snape house, she would make sure that Lucius Malfoy would not forget Narcissa Black.

In this house, too, there was a little brat to put up with, but Severus was an improvement over Bella. For one thing, he certainly could not compete with her for anyone's attention or affection. No one liked him much, really. And he was such an odd, awkward, little thing. Narcissa found a certain pleasure in ridiculing whatever the boy did. She always knew she could get a laugh by pointing out her cousin's clumsiness, his ridiculous lisp, or one of his other short-comings, all the many features of Severus Snape that made him so very much her inferior. Best of all, she knew she wouldn't get in any trouble. Nobody cared. Not even Severus, it seemed. Oh, it bothered him, no doubt, but it was the oddest thing. The boy never tried to fight back. He just tolerated her tormenting, her insults, her goading, as if he simply accepted it as his lot. She suspected that he loathed her, and could retaliate if he wanted, but he never let on.

The Snapes wished their son were more like Lucius Malfoy. Severus Snape wished he was more like Lucius Malfoy, too. Lucius, an elegant boy with slick blond hair and sharp patrician features, was cunning and ambitious beyond his years. Later on, as he reached adolescence, he would develop into a tall, thin, elegant young man, while Severus would generally be described in terms such as "skinny" and "gangly", with his sickly pallor, bad skin, and a large hawklike nose, out of proportion to his narrow face. His unhealthy appearance was accentuated by comparison to a thick scalp of greasy black hair, the appearance of which he rarely attempted to improve.

Unlike Lucius, Severus seemed to lack the social graces necessary to ensure future success, and to his parents' bitter dismay, did not seem to care. Despite their frequent reminders of his shortcomings, Severus failed to show any interest in improving himself, at least as far as they could tell. It was true, however, that he was quite intelligent, and early on, developed a reputation as a sneaky, cunning boy.

It seemed to Balthazar Snape that his son intentionally contravened his plans to form a bond with the Malfoys. Severus did not seem to care that his Black cousin, in his stead, had weaseled her way into Lucius' affections. It was not so. Severus had genuinely attempted to become Lucius' indispensable confidant, but Lucius seemed to prefer to surround himself with his intellectual inferiors. Severus tried to make up for his youth and lack of social skill by exhibiting a fierce loyalty to Lucius and a willingness, even an eagerness, to prowl and spy on others, to do, in fact, whatever it was that Lucius or his father should ask of him. He was clever, tenacious and carried a chip on his shoulder, a combination that made him invaluable to Lucius, but also presented a potential threat. It would be quite some time before Severus would come to understand that. He did, however, recognize why Lucius kept the two trolls around him. They showed little talent for spell-casting or potion-making, but they were quite proficient at causing physical pain by non-magical means. Sometimes they would torment Severus for their own amusement, or that of Lucius, who would then apologize for his companions' "exuberance".