Disclaimer: I don't own any Harry Potter characters or any part of Harry Potter. Please don't sue, I have nothing to give you except my "Katamari Demacy" and "We Love Katamari" games which I will defend with my life.
This story is dark and there will be a death. I'm not saying who yet. You have been warned, it will be a very dark piece.
Reviews: I love reviews. Please, please, please review. Since we are no longer allowed to put review answers in our fic chapters I will reply to each review individually through the PM system.
On with the story.
Severus awoke the next morning with a terrible headache. For a second he didn't realize where he was but the events of the previous evening came back to him in wave after wave of images. Tears immediately sprang to his eyes as he curled up in a small ball. His room was freezing and he wrapped the thin blanket a little tighter around his body. He could not believe that his life was falling apart so quickly.
There was nothing he could do though. His mother had been dead for over a month and there was nothing save the darkest magics that could bring her back. Even then it wouldn't really be her. What he was feeling now was worse then anything he had ever experienced in his life but there was absolutely nothing he could do. Even his father had seemed upset about the fact that she was dead.
He knew that he should get up but he just couldn't force himself to move. He also knew that his headache was due to the fact that he hadn't eaten the night before and that he should go upstairs and find something that would help. He also needed to start on the list of Slughorn's potions. He couldn't fail at that like he had failed at everything else in his life.
With a sigh he forced himself to stand. His mother's potions lab was on the other end of the basement. With another sigh he walked to his trunk and pulled out a clean t-shirt. He pulled it over his head and ran his fingers through his chin length hair. Not really caring how he looked he made his way out of his room towards her lab. As he touched the knob he realized that his hands were shaking.
As he opened the door the smell of his mother's potions ingredients assaulted his senses and he felt tears well up in his eyes. He couldn't do this. He couldn't go in there, not now, not so soon. With a jerk he pulled the door closed and wiped a few stray tears from his cheeks. With another sigh he pushed himself away from the door and made his way towards the stairs.
He found his father in the living room surrounded by empty beer bottles. The man looked up at him and glared as he entered. Severus leaned against the wall and glared right back at the man. His father spoke first. Severus could tell that he was more drunk then he had been the night before.
"Back to your normal defiant little self I see, and to think I was actually sorry for you last night. I can see that I was wrong." The man stood and took a menacing step toward Severus. "You were never worth my time you miserable little snake."
"Don't talk to me like I'm worthless. I'm stronger then you will ever be."
"Only with your magic but I know that you can't use that during the summer. You will get expelled and with your mother dead you know you can't let that happen. I'm not stupid boy." Severus ground his teeth in anger. He knew that his father was right. There was nothing he could do and his father was considerably stronger then he was. By this time his father was standing just in front of him.
"Do you understand me boy?" Severus refused to meet the man's eyes.
"Yes." Much to his surprise the man reached out and grabbed his arms. He shook Severus violently and threw the boy to the ground. The violence of his father's actions frightened Severus but he knew that there was nothing he could do to stop the man. He had no place to go and if he used magic to stop his father he would be expelled from school.
"I'm sorry." He whispered.
"That's better. Just do what I say and we might actually get along this summer." With that he stepped around Severus and moved into the kitchen. Severus in turn climbed shakily to his feet. He had realized very quickly that his best bet would be to stay out of the man's way.
The next few days passed quickly. Severus found himself still unable to enter his mother's potions lab. As he was studying his list he realized that his inability to do so had probably already cost him his apprenticeship. The idea that he had lost his chance sent him into a spiral of depression and he took to simply staying in his room whenever possible.
He had taken some food from the kitchen when his father had gone out to replenish his liquor supply and now almost never left his room. He didn't know how his father was reacting to his absence but he really didn't care to find out. To entertain himself he read through his school books and when he was too tired to do anything else he slept.
One night he was awakened by the overwhelming smell of liquor and a pain in his wrist. His eyes flew open to find his father standing over him. As his senses adjusted to a state of awareness he realized just how powerful the smell of liquor was. It smelled as though his father had literally bathed in the substance and as his father's grip tightened on his wrist Severus realized that the man was so drunk that he didn't even realize what he was doing.
"Father you're hurting me. Let me go." He knew that his pleas were pointless as his father pulled him upward and dragged him out of bed. Severus had to force back the scream of pain that escaped is throat as he heard the bones in his wrist snap from the force. His father threw him to the floor and Severus held his injured wrist to his chest as he blindly tried to reach his wand which was lying on his bedroom table. Just as his fingers closed around the slim wooden shaft his father kicked him hard in the stomach. The wand went flying across the floor and out of Severus' reach.
He looked up to see his father staring down at him. Severus tried to get up but the pain in his wrist and stomach prevented it. His father leaned down over him and grinned at him.
"I'm going to make you pay for all the years you have humiliated me." Severus felt fear pool inside him as his father's alcohol laden breath flowed over him. His fear grew when his father reached down and grabbed his unbroken wrist and pulled him up.
"You have your mother's hands you know that boy? She was always going on about how you were going to make a wonderful potions master when you were older."
"What are you going to do?" Severus couldn't keep the fear out of his voice as his father tightened his grip on his wrist. His father's only response was moving his free hand to grip Severus' fingers. The man examined them for a few seconds before his grin widened. Before Severus realized what was about to happen he tightened his grip and twisted. Severus was paralyzed as wave after wave of pain ripped through his arm as the bones in his knuckles snapped. A strangled sob escaped his throat as his father readjusted his grip and twisted again. This time he could feel the bones in his lower hand and wrist snap.
"Stop." He begged desperately between sobs. He could hardly remain conscious as wave upon wave of pain shot through him.
His father was chuckling insanely as he let go of Severus and allowed the boy to slip to the floor. A soft scream of pain escaped from Severus' throat as he tried to cushion his fall with his injured wrist. Somehow he was still awake and as he desperately prayed to fall unconscious. He could see hear his father walking around to face him. Then much to his horror he felt the heel of his father's boot as it landed on his uninjured hand. His father applied pressure and he cried out as he felt the bones of his fingers and hand snap under the pressure.
He could almost see the blackness as it spread across his vision and willingly gave into the relief of cool unconsciousness. We awoke an unknown number of hours later and was immediately assaulted by the scent of blood and pain like he had never felt. He was lying on his bed and he tried to move his hands only to realize that moving them caused more pain them simply leaving them still.
He was afraid to look and see how bad they actually were but he knew that he would have to at some point and he wasn't a coward by any means. When he finally did look he desperately wished that he had not. His hands and fingers were a twisted mess of swollen skin, twisted angles and blood. He could see where the bones had broken through the skin in several places. With a sob he quickly averted his eyes.
The possibility of becoming a potions master was officially gone now. His father had known exactly how to hurt him in a manner that he couldn't recover from. He could barely move in this state, let alone open a door or hold his wand. He felt panic and nausea rise in his stomach. What was he going to do? By the time someone who could help him found him he would probably have lost most of the use of his hands. He couldn't stop the tears that were running down his face. There was no point anymore.
He tried to move into a more comfortable position but was quickly assaulted with waves of pain and vertigo. He had never felt so weak in his life and he allowed himself to slip into unconsciousness once again.
Slughorn stared at the clock in office with an aggravated sigh. It had been over a week since the students had gone home and he should have received potion samples from Severus twice already. He had expected excellent things from the boy after receiving his work during the last month of the school year.
Severus had seemed to genuinely taken a liking to his assignments as an apprentice. The boy had worked harder then Slughorn had ever seen him work and even though something had still clearly bothered the boy he had hid it well. Something must have gone wrong if Severus had still not contacted him. He had considered contacting the boy earlier in the week when the first batch had fallen short but he had decided against it but since the second batch was late was well he decided that he probably should check on his apprentice.
Remembering that Severus' father was a muggle he quickly changed into normal clothing. He would get a far better reaction from the man if he appeared to be a normal professor rather then showing up dressed as an obvious wizard. Once he was dressed he tucked his hand in his wrist holster and left the castle. Once he stepped outside the apparation wards surrounding the castle he disappeared and arrived shortly thereafter outside a normal house.
He quickly straightened his clothing and walked up to the front door of the correct house. He knocked and waited. After a couple of minutes he heard someone making their way towards the door. As the door opened Slughorn took a step back as the scent of stale liquor washed over him. The man smelled like he had taken a bath in the substance.
"Are you Mr. Snape?" He asked politely. The man glared down at him in a manner that clearly reminded him of Severus when the boy was angry. The man was tall like Severus but unlike Severus, who was like a stick, this man was much bigger and well built.
"Why are you asking?" The man was clearly trying to force him to leave and had he not been a wizard he would have taken the man's unspoken warning.
"I believe you have a son named Severus. The boy is a student of mine. Is his mother home? I feel that she and I would get along better."
"His mother is dead. The boy is my concern during the summer. You can leave now."
"I have things to discuss with your son. I'm not leaving until I speak with him."
"This is private property. Leave or I will call the watch." Slughorn could tell that something was bothering the man and that the elder Snape had no intention of allowing him into the house. Realizing that he would have to take drastic measures he removed his wand from its holster and pointed it at the man.
"Let me see Severus and I won't have to use this." He watched the man back up a couple of steps but the alcohol had clearly killed his sense of better judgment.
"Leave now." Slughorn ignored him and stepped inside.
Severus?" He called loudly. When he got no response he turned to the man before him. "Where is he?" The man glared at him and refused to answer. "I can force you to tell me you know." The bigger man lugged at him in anger and Slughorn took that as his opportunity to restrain the man.
"Petrificus Totalus!" He watched in amusement as the elder Snape fell to the floor in a full body bind. The man clearly struggled but quickly realized that he wasn't going anywhere and glared at the professor with a look of total hatred. Slughorn smirked at him as he knelt down to the bound man's eye level. "Care to tell me where Severus is now?"
"The basement. He's down there."
"Thank you for your help my good man. I'll take my leave of you now." With that he made his way over to the stairwell which twisted downward. When he got to the bottom of the stairwell he glanced around. There were a couple rooms down here and rather then search them all he called out.
"Severus? Are you down here?" When he got no response he realized that he would have to search manually for the boy. He glanced around a selected a small room near the end of the basement. He quickly walked down the hall until he reached the door. He was about to knock when a faint sound caught his ear. "It sounded vaguely like a sob. With a sudden sense of urgency Slughorn tried the door only to find it locked. That problem was quickly fixed and he found himself entering the room. The only light in the small room came from a lamp on the desk in the corner. As he entered he could smell blood and his stomach lurched a bit.
"Severus? Lumos." He held his wand up and made his way further into the room. He could see the boy's slim form outlined on the bed but Severus made no move to acknowledge his presence. As he neared the bed the smell of blood got stronger and he could see that Severus was clearly asleep. The beads of sweat that had formed on the boy's forehead worried him and he reached out a tentative hand to touch Severus' forehead. The gentle touch caused Severus to pull away violently and a soft sob escaped the boy's throat
The brief touch caused him to realize that Severus was running a terribly high fever. He could also tell that the boy wasn't wearing a shirt and that the thin blanket was the only thing keeping him warm. With a sigh of frustration Slughorn moved the blanket downward and he felt the bottom of his stomach rise to his throat as he saw Severus' hands. The damage was a couple of days old and Slughorn silently cursed the man who he had met upstairs while at the same time praying that he was not too late to help the boy before him.
He reached down and grabbed a small bag that hung on is belt. With trembling hands he opened it and pulled out a couple potion vials. His long years had taught him never to go anywhere without his potions and they would come in handy this time.
"Ennervate." Waking the boy probably wasn't the best idea but he had to give the boy the potions or he would not be able to move him. A soft sob pulled him from his thoughts. Severus was awake but his eyes were glassed over with pain and fever. At the sight of Slughorn Severus tried to move away. It was obvious that Severus was terrified of his presence and there was little he could do to calm the boy's fears. Getting the potions down the boy's throat was much easier then he had anticipated though. At first Severus had fought him but once the first portion of the calming potion took effect he was much easier to manage.
Even with the calming and pain relieving potions the boy was still in a considerable amount of pain and he still wasn't aware of who was taking care of him. Slughorn really couldn't blame the boy either. What Severus had been through was a traumatizing experience. When the boy had finally fallen back to sleep Slughorn sat on the edge of his bed and watched him. With a gentle hand he reached out and tucked a damp lock hair behind the boy's ear. The fever had dropped slightly but it was still too high and Slughorn knew that he had to get Severus the help of a real medi-wizard as soon as possible. There was little he could do for the boy's hands at the moment and that was his most pressing concern. The bones were splintered in so many places that fully healing them would take a small miracle.