A/N: Hope everyone liked the previous chapter. I really do appreciate those that have left reviews. I am so very glad that people are enjoying my writing and plotline. Most of this chapter will just be the history about Severus's relationship with Lily.

Disclaimer: I do not own this franchise or any rights associated with it.

Chapter 9

Room of requirement

Hermione and Draco remained still as Harry crossed the room. He stopped in front of Severus before dropping down next to him with a heavy sigh.

"Tell me what happened. I need to hear it from you…please. I need to know what happened."

Severus's eyes clenched shut before flickering open to look at his son. He sat quietly for a moment, before he began to talk.

"I met your mother while we were still children. We lived in the same town, although we were separated by different neighbourhoods. She lived in the better side of town; the safer, richer side. We were children, we didn't see the politics. There was a park; equidistant from both of our dwellings, that we both occasionally played in. At the beginning, I left her be. I was the pariah, the scum that no parents would allow their children to play with. Lily was content with her sister, her friends. I continued to watch her though. She was muggleborn, and therefore did not recognise the signs of accidental magic. I did.

The years had drained my mother of any will left to fight. She did not stop him when he beat her, or me. A Pureblood witch by birth, she had allowed him to destroy her. Her family had abandoned her, her initially loving muggle husband beating the magic out of her; until it eventually retreated inwards. I do not know whether or not she loved me, but I do know that she cared enough to risk his wrath by teaching me all that she was able to about magic. In her weakened state, she was only capable of telling me the theory that lay behind of the magic. I had to learn to control it myself.

This knowledge allowed me to keep track of Lily. I thought of myself as her protector, the person in the shadows that made sure that she would come to no harm. Her magic was still innocent, its bursts benevolent. The others around her believed the incidences were just coincidences, strange things that could not be explained but were ignored so as not to question ones sanity. I believe I was three when my magic showed itself. She was seven when hers begun to manifest. It was only when we were nine that Lily's magic started to change. In the two years since it had showed itself, her emotional range had increased. At nine years old, she was now aware of and capable of showing many emotions that she had never expressed before. Now Harry, you know how important emotion is when it concerns ones magic. Our emotions, to a very large extent; controls our magic.

Feelings like fear, and anger; these emotions can direct your magic. This is the time when ones accidental magic tends to burst out of them more frequently. These bursts scared Lily; and the more frightened she became, the stronger her magic got. I finally intervened one day at the park. Petunia had run off after calling her a freak. Lily had been creating sand thermals, sending them into the sky, when her sister had lashed out at her in fear. With no one else there, I was able to approach her without anyone telling me to go away. She didn't trust me at first. She didn't believe what I was telling her. It went against everything that they preached about in the church. Most of the town was religious, and the churches ideals had been drilled into her at school.

She eventually came round. Her magic had continued to burst out of her, and she was worried that others would begin to notice. As I taught her, we became friends. By the time our Hogwarts letters arrived, we were inseparable.

I had thought that being away from home, away from children who bullied me just because of where I lived, that things would be different. That first train ride showed me differently. I had just traded in one set of bullies for another. I had done nothing, I had merely been sitting with Lily in a compartment. From the second James Potter laid eyes on me, there was hatred. I could not tell you why. Perhaps it was because I looked poor. A ruffled appearance that reflected my home situation. Maybe it was because, from that very moment, he realised that not everybody thought he was as fantastic as he thought he was. Lily had ignored him. A pretty girl had ignored him, and had barely even returned a greeting before returning her full attention to me. She never did give him the time of day.

The only friend she ever made from that group was Lupin. While I wasn't too ecstatic about that development, I could never begrudge her her other friendships. We were in different houses, and therefore couldn't help but become friends with other individuals too.

As I'm sure you're aware, I made an almost irreparable mistake in fifth year. I had already been having a bad day when they attacked me. My frustration and embarrassment levels were soaring, and I took it out on her. The weeks that followed were filled with my apologies. I wanted to explain things to her, but she wouldn't let me. James used these weeks to his advantage. He planted the seed, the thought, in everyone's mind. Neither Lily nor I were talking to anybody, and so therefore could not refute any of the claims that he was making. Lupin knew better. He knew Lily, and knew that she could never like someone like James. At that stage though, there was nothing that he could do. Being friends with them had isolated him from others. Besides Lily; and occasionally myself, no one else wanted to talk to him.

It was only during the Christmas break of our sixth year that Lily finally allowed me to talk to her. We had both gone home that Christmas, although for different reasons.

I had merely returned to remain close to her. I had ceased returning home during the holidays during second year; I did not wish to watch my mother slowly waste away. You see, there's a reason we are taught to control our magic so young. By controlling it, it allows us to hide effectively without harming ourselves. Muggles do not like things that they do not understand. Our magic is not something that can be explained.

Those that are not taught, grow up trying to hide the magic within them without the correct means. Magic is not supposed to be contained, and the consequences of trying are disastrous. In children, it creates an obscurus; something I am sure you have come across in your textbooks. In adults that have already learned to wield magic but are then forced to contain it due to circumstance, something different occurs. It is like a sickness, a darkness that festers and feeds off of its host. The host eventually dies, allowing the magic to disperse.

I had not realised how bad the situation had truly gotten at that stage. I had assumed that she still had a bit longer, that she still had a small amount of will to live. I was wrong, and she passed on Christmas day. I believe this is what encouraged Lily to finally talk to me. We had been friends for almost seven years; no matter the situation, she could not, not pay her condolences. I sat her down and explained everything. The full extent of the beatings and tricks from Potter that she had not been privy to. Every cutting word that she had not been within earshot to hear. I told her the truth about us so called "Death-Eaters. I explained Tom's real mission, not the one that Dumbledore had begun to spread. We weren't evil.

Any magic can be used for a dark purpose, even the most benign sounding of spells can cause harm. Albus had had all of the more powerful kinds of magic labelled dark. He did not want others to know of spells that could eventually draw away his power. Tom merely wanted us to extend our knowledge of magic, to learn and discover. What benefit is there to hide behind one man; to rely on the selfish protection of a single person, because you do not have the necessary knowledge needed to fight your own battles. We were attacking muggles, yes; but not the ones that were innocent. From wizards to muggles, we only went for those that had corrupted their souls. The rapists, the child murderers. What good comes from preaching about what a better world we can live in when the ones that should be acting turn their backs on the corruption and violence? A rot had set in. The ministry did not care what was happening behind the scenes; as long as they looked good to the public. They had their light saviour in Dumbledore, they did not question his actions.

When faced with all of the evidence, Lily sided with us. For her safety; so as not to alert Albus, we decided to keep our reconciliation a secret. Back at Hogwarts; while in the view of others, we pretended the other did not exist. In private, we grew closer as I began to train her. She wanted to fight, to be able to protect herself if she had too. She met Tom not too long after we became intimate. With everybody thinking that we were longer friends, Lily was seen as now firmly on the light side. It was the perfect time to strike. We all agreed that in her position she would be the ideal candidate for a spy. They trusted her, and therefore did not suspect her. As time went on, she formed deep bonds with all those that I called friends.

Lucius and others were placed within the ministry. They were spread out, with no known connections to one another so as to not cause suspicion. We needed to know their moves before they made them, to be able to dig deep to remove the rot of corruption.

As soon as Lily and I had graduated, we were married. She joined the Order after we returned from our honeymoon. Our forces knew not to harm her too seriously during the raids that we set up against the order. They gave her scrapes and scratches, nothing more. Everything was going well until we conceived you. We were ecstatic, we had been talking about starting a family for months. But we had forgotten about the far reaching bounds of magic. Although you were barely even a foetus yet, the levels of magic coming out of you were high. Miscarriages happen all the time; however, when the foetus emanates very high levels of magic, it prevents the body from being able to expel it. In these cases the birth of the child is always guaranteed, unless outside forces intercede later on. The moment such powerful levels are recorded so early during a pregnancy, the parents' names are magically transcribed in a ledger in St Mungos. A copy of the ledger is routinely sent to the department of records within the ministry. It was and is their way of keeping an eye on the population. This way children with powerful levels of magic could be monitored from the very beginning.

It was unfortunate timing. Albus had been told a prophecy only days before.

The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to one who has thrice defied him, he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...he who can lead and control the dark. The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies...

When Lily and I realised the danger we were in; we fled. In our hurry to hide, we were unable to create any form of communication with Tom. This is what ruined us. Had we only contacted him, I believe none of this would ever have happened. Our protection spells were strong, but eventually they started failing. I had gone out that night. I had hoped that with all the neighbourhoods teeming with life, I would not be noticed. It was a risk, but we were desperate to be able to try and get to Tom. I do not know how James convinced Lily to open the door; only that when she did, it beckoned the end of James's life. Albus had just needed James to be let into the house; for the magic protecting it to lower further, before he himself would be able to force his way inside. I am told that you still remember this memory of your mother, the flash of green when he killed her…"

Severus trailed off, his head hung towards his knees as his hands clutched at the sides of his face in angered anguish.

"We had just found out about your sister…and then all three of you were gone. When I returned, I was distracted in my devastation. Albus took this opportunity to obliviate me and place fake memories. It took four years for my mind to overpower the weakened spell. He never was exceptionally good at those spells.

I wanted to find you; I tried to find you, but every trail led to a dead end.

While we had been in hiding, our forces had become sparse. The order had been brutal during their raids. They killed without mercy, without questions. More than one Pureblood house was ended. With Hermione still so young and vulnerable, Tom decided to lay low; to act as if the rumours were true. We used the years to plot, to build our strength.

I took Lily's spot as spy. Albus believed that I was permanently obliviated, and therefore did not know of his treachery. It worked in our favour, pretending to be his little puppet. He never saw it coming, and now we'll destroy him just as he destroyed my family."

Hermione anxiously held her breath as Severus stopped talking. She wondered how Harry would react to what he had just been told.

"He will rot in the depths of hell for what he has done. He ripped my family apart and allowed me to be raised by abusive monsters. There will be no mercy…", Harry spat out.

She grinned at his words. This was only the beginning. Hermione's musings were cut short as the door magically appeared again, allowing two people to enter. Her eyes lighting up at their guests, she and Draco stood up before greeting them.

"Glad to see you made it Teddy. I expect everything went according to plan?"

Theo smirked, opening his mouth to reply before he was interrupted by the person standing next to him.

"If you mean did whatever the fuck you put in that injection that Theo stabbed me with, stop me from dying, then yes…yes it did."

"Eloquent as always", Severus remarked dryly.

Hermione laughed quietly before replying.

"You know I would hate it if I had to lose one of my best friends. Who else would I talk to then…Ginny."