Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own a thing. Would love to be the proud owner of a Snape, but JK Rowling got there first. She owns all of the characters, settings etc. But you knew that
Note from author: Admittedly, I cannot stand it when fanfictions have characters made up by the author in them. They are usually just clones of the actual authors themselves, desperate for a piece of Snape, Harry, or similar. Please, please read this story anyway. I promise the character is v. interesting. And, what's more, she's nothing like me whatsoever, which can only be a good thing ;) Thank you for taking the time to read this bit :)
-Prologue-
Throwing his cloak to one side, Severus Snape burst into his chambers and headed immediately for his luxuriously-clad bed, eager to snatch some shut-eye before his meeting with McGonagall.
Unburdening himself of his uncomfortable and sweltering robes, he dropped onto his bed and closed his eyes. It was after several minutes of this that he realised he was not going to get much resting done while The Gryffindor Trio were so firmly at the front of his mind. It depressed him that he thought of them even during the summer holidays. They irked him that much. Sighing, he rose again and ran his bony fingers through his greasy hair. This was his miserable life; full of interruptions and complications. This was the way it had to be though; he had killed Dumbledore. He had no right to complain to anyone. Even though he was under the Imperius Curse at the time, there was no denying that it was his wand which struck the blow, his lips that had uttered the words, murdering one of the greatest wizards ever. Had Minerva not taken pity on him, he would be jobless and homeless now, due to his heightened unpopularity. He had no right to complain.
All members of the Order were still civil to Snape, though every word was said with pity lingering in the air. He did not want pity. He wanted normality.
Remus was probably the most bearable of them all. Once they had been enemies, but now they were like brothers; Remus knew what it was like to be considered a threat to society, what with him being a werewolf, and had shared much advice on coping with it. Remus was married to Tonks now, and they had both taken up the task of finding Lord Voldemort's horcruxes. One more had been destroyed. Voldemort was already notably weaker. Had that horcrux not been found, Snape believed that he would be dead; since the Death Eaters had discovered he was not on their side, they had already tried to murder him once, though Voldemort was furious when he found out; he wanted to save the pleasure of killing Snape for himself. The only problem with this was that Voldemort was currently too weak to do so, leaving Snape to live a free man. For the time being.
Snape had gained both friends and enemies. He'd killed someone. It was to be expected.
Harry Potter was the one who startled Snape most of all though; he was almost understanding as far as the Snape-Dumbledore subject was concerned. Of course he was devastated at Dumbledore's untimely demise, and of course he had been furious at Snape as he fled the scene without a hint of remorse, but he seemed to appreciate that Snape had not meant to kill him. Snape was not himself that night; he was cursed at the time, after all. Harry had no right to complain. Whilst they still loathed each other, the death of Dumbledore had not increased the hatred. This was one of the few aspects of Snape's life that remained unchanged. He did not know whether it would still be like this after the summer holidays though; he had only seen Harry twice (on his visits to The Burrow, the new place for Order meetings). It was obvious that Snape would have to wait until the start of the new school year before being entirely convinced of Harry's stance on the dramatic event that was Dumbledore's death.