A/N: Background chapter; contains child abuse and langauge
Disclaimer: All characters and copyright belong to J.K. Rowling
April 2, 1971
Severus woke up in a cramped cage. It was pitch black as he tried to look out past the bars he could feel. He could recall being taken from his house on Spinner's End, but not much after that. He had no idea how long he was in there, but he relieved himself in a corner and started to feel hunger pangs. When he first arrived he yelled for hours until his throat dried and he had a feeling he would not get any water anytime soon, so he stopped. He heard a creak from somewhere far off and suddenly all the torches in the room lit up. After his eyes adjusted to the light he saw that he was not alone. There were other cages spread about in the room. Some had multiple people in them, and the smaller ones like his only contained one. Like him they had long given up on calling for help and only small whimpers escaped from the cages.
A large man pulled him out. As much as he wanted to resist and fight back, he was too weak to even try. He was dragged up some stairs and around a strange building. He had never been in a place like this before with its large halls and ornate artwork. The halls were like a maze and he wondered how anyone could move around here at not get lost. Eventually, they came to a large wooden door. The man opened it and pushed him inside, slamming the door behind him.
He saw a man in the center of the room, but he had pushed his back against the door too afraid to move forward. He watched the man warily who had short-cropped brown hair and long burgundy robes. The man strode over to him, his steps echoing throughout the bare room. Severus looked around nervously seeing no obvious means of running away. As if the man could read his thoughts he heard "Don't you even think about running away boy. Don't you know what you are?"
What I am? Does he mean the magic? All his life his mother told him of a place where he would one day learn magic. His father didn't trust magic, so it was better spoken in whispers.
Severus did not speak, too afraid to do anything. The man strode over to him and before he knew what was happening he was struck with a leather strap. He fell to the floor, trying to use his small arms to deflect the blows. His arms were hit with a stinging pain.
The man bellowed "You are a slave, now get to your place!" He was struck hard and fell to the floor. The man with the leather strap pulled down the collar of his shirt, revealing the strange mark he had since birth. "You know what this is?" The man pressed his fingers hard into the mark making Severus wince.
"No sir, a birthmark?" Severus nervously asked, his eyes wide with fear.
The man let go of him and chuckled. "A birthmark!? No, that is a slave mark - a curse your whore mother passed down to you."
Severus was incensed and blurted out "My mother was not a whore!" He had spent enough time wandering the streets of Cokesworth when his parents fought to understand the insult. He received another hit from the leather strap, this time on his cheek. He could taste blood and could feel the swelling start to rise.
The man continued, "Your mother was a slave. One that ran away after her Master died. She found the first muggle who would take her in and had you. Your mother is more meaningless than a whore."
Severus could not comprehend what this man was staying. Slave, Muggle? This did not make any sense. "Where is my mother"!?" he shouted while tears started to form.
The man did not seem to care about the boy's tears and said, "She was a runaway slave. I'm not sure where she was sold to, but I am sure she is adequately controlled now. That is no longer your concern." Snape felt hollow, knowing he would not be able to protect his mother. "Actually, you should be more concerned of your next actions, as your miserable life will depend on this."
Severus then looked up. Something that had always been ingrained in him was self-preservation. "W-what do I need to do?" the young boy stammered.
He yelped as he was hit quickly with the leather strap. "Here you must ask permission to speak, slave." The last word was highly emphasized, the man trying to make his point clear.
"M-may I speak, sir?" Severus asked frightened and hoped the honorific would help the situation. The man used the end of the leather strap and forced Severus' face up. As his face was lifted he got a look at the man - grey intense eyes that seemed to bore into his soul. Severus could see no hint of mercy in those eyes. "You are not free. You will always address your betters as Dominus or your owner as Master. You understand?"
Severus gulped and cautiously said "Yes, I understand...Master?" He left the question trail, hoping that it would not cause him to get hit again. He barely understood what was happening, but he would comply if it would make the pain go away.
The man said "Smart boy. However, I am just a dealer and will not claim you. You will know when you have Master " The man gave him a sinister smile. "You have escaped your fate for many years boy, you're going to have to learn fast." Out of nowhere Severus was struck hard and fell back onto the floor. The blows came freely, he couldn't tell anymore what instrument he was hit with. He had been beaten before, but not to this level. He laid crumpled on the floor, his will beaten out of him. His eyes fluttered in a state of half-consciousness, until his body could no longer take it and his eyes closed seeing the stone floor and the pool of his own blood.
After three months Severus had his whole world shift in such a short period of time. He still fumbled with Italian, but they would not let him read any books that would help him grasp the language faster. However, he learned verbal commands quite quickly, as any lapse would result in some form of punishment.
While the other slaves around his age had this training many years before him, he quickly learned the behaviors he needed to survive. Those that conducted the training here did not have the patience to explain things twice.
Once he had recovered from his beating from the villa owner he was given an array of aptitude tests. The first test he was given was on his magical capabilities. When he first arrived all hope of using magic was dashed. However, one day he was given a wand to hold. The second the wand was in his hands he felt the magical energy course through his hands. He watched in amazement as he was able to lift some objects in the room and felt magic swirling around him. The training master yelled "Basta!" and grabbed the wand from his hands. While it only lasted a few seconds, Severus knew that he would do anything to feel that power again. Unlike before the training master gave him a wary look.
There were many other aptitude tests that he failed miserably at. He was able to do basic healing and transporting free people, but that seemed to be the extent of his inherited abilities. As the weeks went by he saw others his age who had more abilities than he be transferred or be switched to more specialized training programs.
He spent the mornings tasked with cleaning and had etiquette lessons. A few times he would be sent to attend potential owners who visited the Villa. He was continually passed over. He heard complaints from his training master saying he was 'too gloomy' and to 'try to be more pleasing'. He tried, but he knew he didn't have the natural good looks and mild temperament that most of the other slaves here. The other young slaves here were carefully bred and would always let him know how much better their lineage was compared to him. He had resigned himself to forever be bound to this Villa perhaps being sent out to the fields or maybe being sold at one of the nearby villages. His hopes of leaving and learning magic seemed to grow smaller as each day passed.
However, one day instead of being led to the training room he was sent to Marcello Pietra's private quarters. Severus was quite nervous, as he was guided to this room. Once at the door, he meekly knocked, hoping that there would be no answer. However, he did hear someone say 'enter' so he went straight in.
Per his training, he immediately dropped to his knees as he went into the room. The phrases came quickly, as he had learned to associate dalliance with pain. "You called for me dominus. How may this slave serve you?" He was not bound to him however, so he did not have to call him Master.
His head was down, but he heard two set of footsteps going towards him. He was too afraid to do anything so he just knelt there.
Marcello said "look up" and Severus instantly complied. He saw the man who had given him his first beating as a slave. Perhaps that's why he had done it so severely, so he would never forget him. The other man was tall and slim; with long platinum hair and rich robes. Severus was nervous as the man looked him over. Marcello handed the man a chart saying "Abraxas, here is the slave's information. High aptitude for magic. He can read and speaks English fluently." Severus noticed as Marcello did not mention his miserable results for the physical aptitude tests or his temperament.
He heard the slender man, Abraxas, speak. "And he's eleven, perfect."
Severus was confused about why his age was important. He would, however, keep his mouth shut. He now knew better than to speak out of line.
Marcello asked "Are you sure you don't want a slave a little older? Your son is what, sixteen?"
"Lucius' prior attendant had a fatal...accident, over the summer holiday. I can't enroll one his age at Hogwarts. However, I can enroll a new student."
Severus mind raced 'Student, I might go back to a school!?"
Abraxas continued "Once Lucius finishes with school I plan to have the boy continue there. We already lost money on the prior slave and I want my return on investment. The boy shows aptitude to brew potions, yes?"
Marcello seemed excited, perhaps as the sale seemed imminent for the previously almost unsellable boy. "Yes, he has high intelligence."
Severus watched as Abraxas and the man signed some paperwork. He realized that just like that he was sold. With a few strokes of a pen, he now belonged to this man. Once the paperwork was signed, Abraxas strode to him and he felt pain behind his neck. Severus did not know what was happening, but he was too afraid to fight back. He had learned what happened if you fought back against the masters. He felt pain, like an icicle going into his body and taking hold of his mind. The pain lasted only a few minutes, but he had started to feel strange things in his mind. He had been told by the trainers a bit about the ritual, but it was still unexpected.
He was panting on the floor and looked up to see the platinum-haired man, his Master resting on a couch.
Once the ritual was over Marcello helped the other man into the couch, as Severus was too small to try. As he looked at the man on the couch he felt a need to make sure he was not hurt. He did not know why, but he spoke "Dominus, may I speak?"
Marcello, who had gone to the table to finish a glass of wine waved his hand in approval. So Severus continued "Is my Master..." Severus had to take a breath, to collect his thoughts. "Is my Master hurt?" The man said "No, no, you were unbound so the ritual was actually quite easy. He'll be up in another hour or so and take you back to Malfoy Manor." Severus looked over to his Master. The trainers were right - when he was claimed he would know right away. As he looked at his Master, he was scared as he did not know what he would have to do to keep his place. However, he was going to Hogwarts, the place that was spoken on his mother's breath with such longing.
