A/N: It's been a while since I last posted, sorry. I have had a terrible past month... For info on updates on my other stories and just me in personal check out my journal:

http:www(dot)livejournal(dot)com/users/job(underscore)12(underscore)3/

Replace (dot) with the actual period & (underscore) with the actual thing also.

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Chapter One: Darker Days Ahead, Lighter Ones Behind

"I used to do okay on my own,

Think I was made of stone

And I could carry a heavy load.

Never thought that one day I would be alone,

And then the road got long.

I saw I was wrong,

And had no one to lean upon."

-PFR, "You Lord"

-.-

Severus's eyes slowly opened, bright sunlight flooding his vision. White walls gleamed mockingly down at him, shattering any hope that the past day- or had it been longer? - was just a dream.

"Severus." He started at the sound of his name being spoken. He slowly turned his head to the voice, his muscles screaming angrily at being moved after so long.

Minerva McGonagall. She looked so much older now, as if more than five years had passed in the time he had been asleep. Perhaps for her it had. "Minerva."

Her eyes shone with tears and her lips turned into a smile that looked oddly out of place on the woman's face. "We were so afraid... We thought you'd never awaken. If only Albus were here to see-"she cut off sharply.

"Where exactly is Albus?" Severus asked quickly, noticing that things weren't quite what they should be.

The old woman sighed softly, the smile falling from her face. "Albus Dumbledore is dead." He voice was flat and emotionless, and her face looking almost cold, a striking difference from the Minerva he'd known. "He died two years ago in an attack at Hogwarts."

Albus? Dead? The words seemed strange when place together in the same sentence. Childishly, Severus had always expected the old man to outlive him. It was unthinkable to think that his mentor could possibly die. And yet, that was just what had happened.

He died two years ago... But for Severus, those two years had literally passed in the blink of an eye while he lay blissfully unaware of the world around him... And Albus was dead. The words sounded so flat within his mind.

Had he been a weaker man, (or perhaps that'd be stronger?) he would have cried. He felt like crying. But he would not.

Minerva looked so calm about it all. It was strange to him, that calm acceptance in light of such a horrible event. But then he realized that she had already had two years to accept that which he'd heard of only moments ago. The thought only served to sadden him even more. What more had he missed?

"Hogwarts..." His voice almost wavered. "Who's running Hogwarts?"

Minerva's lips wrinkled into a wry smile. "No one is. After Albus's death, Hogwarts sealed herself up, presumably waiting for the return of her master. None have been allowed to pass her gates."

"But-"

"After the death of her current master, we believe she took it upon herself to choose a new one, perhaps the one who Albus saw as his heir. But there is no way of telling whom that might be, since his will is trapped within the Hogwarts' walls.

"But that is not why I came here today."

"And here I was thinking you came on a social call," Severus sneered slightly.

The old woman gave him a fond look. "There is little time now for social calls, my child. We are now embroiled in war. Yes, the same war to which you left." She sighed heavily as if unsure of where to begin. "After you slipped into your coma, the fighting steadily rose, both sides cutting losses. It reached its full scale around in October of 2001, after the Dementors swore allegiance to the Dark Lord's forces. Soon after, St. Mungos was closed to the public and relocated, to where it resides now. St. Mungos is now a safe haven for the Order and allies of the light.

"The world has changed much since you were last aware of it. The ministry has been destroyed and put to ruins. The wizarding world in England has been divided into two factions. There is the Dark and the Light, much as how you left it. But now that is all there is here. Business has been shut down, children and the elderly relocated. We fight and we train and we do no else."

"You would ask me to join you." He searched her face for some sign of familiarity, but the traces of Professor Minerva McGonagall were few. He was with a different person now.

She did not smile. "I fear you have little choice in the matter, Severus."

"What do you mean I 'have little choice'? Surely you do not mean to tell me that I am being forced to fight at your side? I nearly died for your side! Is that not enough?" He hissed, glaring at her.

"Do you even care for those who have died for you? Who are dieing for you?" Her face had gone cold and her eyes glittered coldly as she spoke in her fervor.

He turned away from her, his anger all but drained away. "I'm not ready for this, Minerva."

"The war will not wait for you. It is here now. You must fight."

-.-

A couple of days after awakening, Severus began physical therapy. His muscles were massaged, stretched and cajoled into moving far more than they had for the past half-decade.

It was Hell. If he didn't know any better, he'd say that these healers had learned their trade from Voldemort himself.

Aside from the "torture sessions", as he so-affectionately called them his days were rather uneventful. In correspondence with the Order, he was caught up to the events leading to this day, and of course, of those who were no longer with them.

So much had changed. Places that he had once been wont to frequent were no longer in existence, people he had been acquaintances with, had died or fled the country. Many of his students had run to Voldemort. That's what hit him the hardest, he supposed; the fact that the chance to save his children had been torn away.

He had gotten so far with them in the past several years- the several years before his coma that is. Had those five years not been stolen from him, would they have joined the Light? Or were they too lost to be saved?

As the days wore on, his strength returned and so did his resolve to fight. With each death he learned of, every Slytherin that had defected, he knew that he must finish the war (metaphorically speaking of course) he had started so long ago. Maybe after this, he would find redemption; maybe there was none to be found.

Nevertheless he had to get up and join the battle, fight as others had done before him and as more would after him. It was not as if he had anything more to lose anyways.

Only mere weeks after he had begun his rehabilitation, he was once again his normal, flowing-robed, snarky, potion-making self. He was now making potions by the dozen, restocking medical cabinets that had long been dwindling in supplies for a lack of a potions master.

He would be leaving the safe haven soon, and he could not be any happier for that fact than he already was. Yet, he was slightly worried about what would come after that. Where would he go? Was his house even still standing? What would the world outside be like now, after being ravaged by war?

His mind ran around in circles trying to reconcile his memories of the world to the reality that had been set before. All answers led to more questions and he felt as if he would never reach the full truth of things.

In many ways he wondered if he were truly ready for all this change. Some days he wished nothing more but to fall back into that coma and let the Light deal with this without him. They all hated him anyhow, even knowing all that he did for them. Why should he fight for a people that loathed him?

It was a wonder, the situation he found himself in. He had betrayed his friends to do what was right, and joined a side that wanted nothing more than for him to have been one of those casualties in this war.

But that was the way it had always been with them. And that was the way that it would remain. He would fight and receive no glory. Give and receive no reward. In their eyes he was a villain, no matter how much he tried to be anything else.

And in many ways Severus Snape was one.

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TBC....

A/N: Sorry guys, this was rather short... The next chapter should be out soon though....

This took a rather different turn than what I had originally planned. I like this twist a bit better, especially since I haven't seen anyone else who's written something like this. Oh yes, and I intentionally left out exactly what our dear Sev learned through the Order and who died, things will be explained later on.

Don't forget to review and tell me what you think!!!

-.-

Reviewer Responses:

Darkaus- Thanks! Yes, poor Sev... I really am too cruel to the poor boy...

Vaughn- Thanks! Sorry for the long wait...

Judy- Thank you. Well there's your answer right there (points to chapter above).

Catmint- Thank you. I'll be sure to edit the "e" off Madam Pomfrey's name. Thank you for pointing that out for me.

Erin- Yes, I love "World's Apart". Jars of Clay is my favorite group ever!!

Lauren- Here's the continuation... Sorry it's not so soon.

Bluebird161221- Heh. Sorry it took so long.

Anonym- Thank you.... Sorry you had to wait so long.

excessivelyperky- Thanks. Er... This doesn't really count as soon does it?

mikomi- Thank you. It's updated. :).. Just not very soon, I'm afraid. Thanks, I will try to use it more...