Severus woke early the next morning. His entire body was covered in a thin sheen of sweat and he was shaking slightly. One his face was an emotion many people believed he could not feel. It was heartbreak. His chambers were the only place he could be himself and take away his masks. They were protected by centuries of wards. Even the Headmaster needed to knock to enter. In his chambers he could be just Severus. Not Professor Snape. Not an Ex-Death Eater. Not a spy for the Light. Just Severus. Thankfully Severus no longer had to spy. He had been discovered earlier that year. Voldemort had punished him greatly for his betrayal and then given him to his Death Eaters to 'play' with. The snake-faced bastard had sent Severus's barely alive body back to Hogwarts. Expecting him to be dead by the time they found him. However Harry had witnessed everything during one of his visions and upon waking informed the headmaster, saving his professor's life.
Severus Snape had always suffered from nightmares. His unhappy childhood, being bullied at Hogwarts and finally his Death Eater duties had made sure that he hardly ever got a good night's sleep. Good job he was an expert at casting glamours. Besides people made slanderous comments about his appearance anyway that would not change even if he tried.
Therefore the man simply rolled over and attempted to go back to sleep. But his mind would not let him. It kept replaying the nightmare. His father, Voldemort and the Order were in a circle surrounding him. They were torturing him and calling out insults.
"Your evil Severus. Nothing will ever change that." Dumbledore called out to him, eyes twinkling madly.
"You worthless. Your shit just like your mother. You can't do anything right and never will." His father taunted.
Then the worst thing Severus could imagine happened. Harry walked into the circle. He bent down to kneel beside Severus and put a hand on his cheek.
"How could you even dream of having my love? I can have anyone I want. Why would I want you? You are broken and used. Worthless. I hate you. You disgust me and I never want to see you again." The Boy Who Lived told Severus softly, all the while running his hand over his cheek. He removed it and while Severus was staring at him heartbroken slapped him. Hard. Severus fell back to the floor as Harry got up and left. That was when he woke up.
After trying to get to sleep for a while Severus got up and opening his potions cabinet took out a vial of dreamless sleep. He downed it and returned to his bed. The potion worked almost instantly and the Potions Master knew nothing until his alarm woke him at six.
Sorry this chapter is so short. The next one is longer I promise. As usual any comments are welcomed. If you have any ideas for smething you would like to see in the story I will see if I can incorporate them. Bye for now I hope you all likeit.