Chapter 3- Severus Snape
Severus Snape's life was a mess from the day he was born. His parents were very young, a witch and a wizard only two years graduated from Hogwarts. Young Severus did not know love as most children do. He didn't spend much time with his family and spent many of his early days wandering around the countryside near his home. He did not have any friends or siblings, and his parents were rarely home. By the age of four, Severus had taught himself simple spells using his mother's wand. Anybody who saw him just thought he was a child playing in his free time, but really, he was starved for attention.
When he was 11, Severus was ecstatic to get a letter accepting him to Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was glad to get away from his cold, unloving household to a place where he thought he could be accepted. During the Sorting Hat ceremony, he was sorted into Slytherin.
Since coming from such an unwelcoming environment as his home in the countryside was, Severus had a very tough time making friends. He had learned to keep his feelings and ideas to himself and had a hard time unlearning all of that.
One of Severus's only friends was a fellow Slytherin girl named Bellatrix Lestrange. She and her best friend Tom Riddle also had a passion for potions and the dark arts. After 12 years, it finally seemed that Severus Snape had found a way to fit in.
In Severus's 6th year at Hogwarts, rumor spread that a Gryffindor, Rubeus Hagrid, had unleashed a deadly monster. Severus was quick to believe this, as Rubeus had always had a passion for magical creatures and monsters. Severus had, by that time, mastered the art of making Veritaserum and slipped some into Rubeus's drink one night in the Great Hall. He was deeply shocked to hear Rubeus weep as he claimed not to have unleashed the monster. First, Severus thought that he had somehow brought with him the wrong potion, but soon proved that to be false.
Late that night, Severus, Tom, and Bellatrix were working in the Slytherin common room. Unexpectedly, Tom started talking.
"I know all you think Rubeus Hagrid unleashed the monster. How could a knucklehead Gryffindor have done that? You know, the monster is only able to be released by the heir of Slytherin." Severus and Bellatrix exchanged glances in shock. How could Tom have known all of this? "I am the heir of Slytherin."
From that day on, Severus looked up to Tom and was overjoyed when he became known as Voldemort. Severus hated his name given to him by his good-for-nothing parents.
Even after graduating from Hogwarts, Severus still idolized Voldemort. Severus became one of the twelve original Death Eaters, along with his good friend Bellatrix. They were both loyal servants to the Dark Lord until Severus decided to get a job working at Hogwarts under the direction of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. It was a difficult decision to do so since it would mean, Severus thought, giving up his position as a Death Eater.
When announcing his resignation, Voldemort surprised Severus by giving him the opportunity to stay a Death Eater while working at Hogwarts if it meant that he would spy on the doings of Dumbledore. Without hesitation, Severus accepted. He did not want to be shut out of the only place he felt like he ever belonged.
Severus was hired as the potions teacher at Hogwarts. He had sworn to Dumbledore that he had no ongoing affiliation with Voldemort or the other Death Eaters, which was of course false. During breaks and at any other chance he had, Professor Snape contacted Voldemort or Bellatrix with the latest "good wizard" news.
Time passed, and Severus grew more and more distant from his former gang. Meanwhile, he grew to trust Dumbledore more. However, Severus felt guilty leaving his friends for a good wizard. After pondering this, Professor Snape decided to continue forming his web of lies. He did not know who to trust. After a while, though, nobody trusted him! With nowhere to turn, Severus became extraordinarily depressed and turned into a much stricter teacher.
The only bright point in his early years at Hogwarts was the continual news that the Death Eaters continued to kill Muggles and good wizards. Severus Snape desperately wanted to join in the killing. He knew many potions that could inflict much damage on people. But, he knew what he must do to maintain a job, so he looked onward from the outside until many, many years later.