A/N: All the Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling. No profit is being made from this fic.

For those of you who are still reading the story, I am terribly sorry it has taken me so long to update, almost 6 months…wow. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews. I hope to have another chapter up sooner.


Chapter 4: Home Sweet Home


Severus apparated just outside the large gates of his ancestral home as the sun was rising over the rolling foothills. Even in the daytime, Snape Manor was dark and brooding with vines that scaled up the great structure and large, shaded windows that allowed a vast view from anywhere in the house. After his father's death 15 years ago, Snape had inherited everything – including the villa in Spain and the small cottage in the south of France.

His father Aurelius Snape had been in his late 30s when he married Severus's mother Julia Kellaway – who was only 18 at the time. Aurelius was a foul man with cold blue eyes and long straight, black hair with a low and menacing voice. Julia was a kind, spirited woman with wavy, waist-length blonde hair and intense black eyes, but her eyes would never shine the same way again. Aurelius wanted nothing more than to have an heir to carry the family name. When he found out his wife was pregnant, he was ecstatic and overjoyed. He was most certain he would have a son to carry on the family name.

Two months into the pregnancy, Julia suffered a miscarriage. She was heartbroken and grieved for her unborn child, but Aurelius insisted they try again and forget the unborn child. Six months later, Julia became pregnant again, but, just as before, she suffered a second miscarriage.

Almost five years into their marriage, they were unsuccessful in having a child. Aurelius was becoming enraged with his young wife and her inability to bear him an heir. Some nights he would find himself contemplating ways to kill her and finding another woman to marry and carry his child.

Two weeks after their five-year anniversary, Julia told Aurelius she was pregnant again, but neither one were holding many hopes of a good outcome. Julia told herself that this was the last time, because she couldn't put herself through the loss of another child. Aurelius didn't know it, but she was becoming deeply depressed and often had thoughts of suicide for being unable to please her husband.

However, this time the pregnancy took and they found out they would have a baby boy. On January 9, 1960, eight months into Julia's pregnancy, Severus Alexander Snape was born. Due to some complications, Julia learned she would never be able to carry another child, but she figured it was just as well since her husband was now happy and hoped for their marriage to strengthen as a result.

On Severus' 11th birthday, to Julia's surprise and dismay after all the years of laughter and joy, Aurelius decided he wanted another child. Julia had unfortunately never told her husband of the complications and her inability to have another child, because she saw it as unnecessary. After a month or so of trying with nothing to show for it, Julia broke down one night and revealed to her husband what the doctor had told her over a decade ago.

Aurelius was so infuriated that he began slapping her right in front of Severus. When the young boy tried to hold his father back, Aurelius struck him down. Severus fell to the floor clutching his bleeding nose as Julia ran to comfort him, and Aurelius went to his study for a drink. Julia told her husband later that evening that Severus's nose had been broken and he needed Skele-Gro. Aureleius told his wife that if Severus wanted to become a man, he needed to take things like a man, so Severus was sent to his room with a shabby healing spell applied to his nose.

One night while Severus was home for Christmas holiday during his 7th year at Hogwarts, Aurelius was in a drunken rage and attacked Julia. Severus watched helplessly from behind one of the columns as she ran for the stairs and reached the second floor banister before Aurelius closed in from behind. Even though Severus was advanced in the Dark Arts – thanks to his father's teachings – he knew he was no match for his father. Julia was trapped, so she tried to pull her wand on her husband in self-defense, but she was too slow. Aurelius summoned her wand and, with one hand, snapped her wand in two. He stared at his wife's eyes, shining with fresh tears.

"Do you love me?" he asked.

"Yes, I would do anything for you," she whispered, hoping he would back off. Aurelius smiled cruelly at his wife.

"Would you die for me?" he asked, his voice low and undeniable as he stroked his fingers across her cheek. Julia looked into her husband's cold and unforgiving eyes as she knew what was about to happen.

"Aurelius, I've been dying for you a little everyday since we exchanged our wedding vows," she replied, her voice void of any emotions.

Infuriated, Aurelius raised his own wand to Julia's throat and cast a Weakening spell. Her petite body fell limply against the banister as her hands tried to grasp it for support.

"This shouldn't have been a shock then," Aurelius said acidly, stepping closer to her. He then smiled cruelly down at her before pushing her body over the banister – landing with a sickening thud below. Aurelius threw back his head and laughed before heading back to his study for a fresh drink.

Severus shook his head, warding off the images that floated to the surface of his mind.

"Dippy!" Severus roared as he entered the manor. "Suddy!"

A quiet pop sounded in the room. "Masters home!" Suddy said, jumping franticly from one foot to the other. "Suddy wasn't expectin' master to return till Chritmas!"

Severus shrugged off his outer robes, letting them fall into the elf's waiting hands, and then entered the parlor where he walked purposely to a waiting bottle of aged Cognac.

"M-m-master?" Suddy stuttered nervously.

Severus threw back the contents of his glass and topped off the glass again. "Yes, Suddy?" he asked, raising the glass to his lips.

"A young lady came by today, an-"

"Suddy, you didn't buy anything did you! I don't know how many times I have told you we don't need a-a what do they call them? A vacuum!" Severus bellowed, his temper soaring out of control at a rapid pace.

"She not selling anything!" the house elf replied quickly. "Suddy not buy Muggle sucking machine in weeks!"

"What did she want then?" Severus fumed.

"She wanted to sleep-"

"Sleep! Suddy, your next words better not be that she's asleep in my quarters, or it will be clothes for you!"

"Clothes!" the elf screeched. "No master! Not clothes!" The elf fell to the floor and began banging its head relentlessly on the tile floor. Suddy looked up at his master with tears streaming down his wrinkled face. "Suddy good house elf. Suddy not put her in your quarters. Suddy put her in spare room."

Severus's eyes blazed. He had never thought of striking a House Elf until this moment. His temples began to throb as he stared down at the tiny creature cowering before him. "Suddy," Severus said, taking a deep breath, "I suggest you get out of my sight."

The house elf quickly stood, bowed to his master, and ran like a madman for the kitchen.

Severus finished his last glass of Cognac before beginning his search for the girl. He climbed the stairs two at a time and threw open each door he came to.

Severus came to the last door on the hall, he put on his best sneer and threw open the door. The sight before him caused him to jump back slightly, but he quickly regained himself as he set his scowl back in place and glared at the girl staring straight at him with clouded eyes.


Sarah was awakened by the harsh light of the sun streaming through her window and the growing warmth on her face. She roughly threw a pillow over her face to block the sun and burrowed deeply into a soft, silk sheet.

"Wait a moment," she thought suddenly, "I don't have silk sheets!" Sarah shot up in bed and looked around the unfamiliar room. Everything came rushing back into her mind as she scrambled to her feet and made a dash for the door. Her hand clasped the doorknob, but she was suddenly stuck in place – unable to move and everything around her began to swirl. Sarah felt light headed, the door handle began to turn, and she moved back quickly. It opened and a young woman with blonde hair came in carrying a small bundle into the room. The young woman never looked up to acknowledge Sarah's presence. She was acting oddly as she kept on whispering to the bundle in her arms.

"Hello" Sarah said awkwardly as the woman began to walk closer to her. She braced herself for the collision she knew was about to occur as the woman walked straight to her. Sarah felt like she was buried in ice – like all the air had been sucked from her lungs.

She turned quickly to see the young woman continue walking to a rocking chair in the corner of the room.

"That hadn't been in the room before," Sarah thought as she looked around the rest of the room. Bookshelves filled with toys lined one of the walls, a portrait of a shepherd sleeping under a tree with his sheep hung on the wall opposite the bookshelves, and an ornate crib stood near the rocker.

Sarah's attention was brought back by a shrill cry from the bundle in the young woman's arms. Sarah walked closer to the woman in the rocker.

"Now, Severus, none of that," the woman said sweetly, but the baby kept crying.

The woman stood from the rocker and began to circle the room singing sweetly to the baby.

"Goodnight, my angel
Time to close your eyes
And save these questions for another day
I think I know what you've been asking me
I think you know what I've been trying to say
I promised I would never leave you
And you should always know
Wherever you may go
No matter where you are
I never will be far away."

Sarah stood listening to the woman's lullaby as she tucked her son into the crib.

"Goodnight, my angel
Now it's time to dream
And dream how wonderful your life will be
Someday your child may cry
And if you sing this lullaby
Then in your heart
There will always be a part of me."

Sarah walked to the crib and peered inside. A baby with shiny black hair and bright black eyes stared at the mobile of wizards and witches on broomsticks racing after a golden ball above the crib. His eyes grew tired and finally fluttered shut. The woman smiled lovingly at him and leaned over to kiss his forehead.

The woman's voice sounded far away even though Sarah stood next to her. The crib and everything else that hadn't been there before began to fade as the woman left the room – still singing softly:

"Someday we'll all be gone
But lullabies go on and on
They never die
That's how you
And I will be."

Sarah closed her eyes as everything began to swirl around her again. When Sarah opened her eyes, she found herself staring into a pair of familiar black eyes. These eyes were no longer bright and filled with innocence, but were dark and hollow. Sarah reached a hand out to touch the face that belonged to those eyes to prove to herself that he was another image of her mind. Before she reached his face, he pulled her wrist in a vise grip above her head.

"What do you think you're doing here?" he hissed.

Sarah knew that voice instantly.

"You have to leave and get as far away as possible. Just keep running."

"I-I was jus-"

"You!" he hissed as he realized who she was.

"I'm sorry, I-I didn't know," she said, fear evident in her voice.

"Come with me," he ordered before sweeping out of the room and into the hallway.


The song sang to Severus is 'Lullaby' by Billy Joel.

I hope everyone enjoys this chapter
I'm a 'Review Whore', please help feed my addiction and review.

L. Jones