Summary: The story of Ben Edochie as he subverts the life of Severus Snape. This story starts in the Summer of 76.

Author's Note: All relevant materials belong to J.K. Rowling.

The Life and Lies of Benjamin Edochie

By: The-Hellebore-Incident

Part One: And So, It Begins, And So, It Ends

Chapter One: Horrors and Horrors

The bus shuddered as it ran over a bump in the road. My grip on the grab-handle tightened, sweat smearing across the metal. The city was a blur as the bus chugged forward.

Pointlessly, my foot tapped the floor. I had spent the last hour rooted in place, surrounded. The only sound was the vroom of the bus engine and the occasional words spoken between passengers. There wasn't even a radio.

I rolled my neck and it popped, the sound of diffusing fluids filling my ears.

I'm close now.

The city was still a blur but in moments when the bus slowed down, I could make out familiar structures and landmarks.

Hogwarts is close… so, so very close.

POP!

Beside me, seated in one of the seats, was a girl. She wore a white, flowy shirt with blue jeans. Her fiery-gold hair fell down her shoulders in curls, and her ruby red lips were spattered with gum. She pulled it into her mouth and started forming another bubble.

It popped again.

Her undershirt was visible, the cotton extremely thin. The gap between her cleavage stared back at me.

The sound of a throat being cleared filled my ears.

Her eyes were fixed on me, emeralds in the sun, her coppery brow arched, and a slight smile played on her lips.

My heart stopped.

Slowly, very slowly, my head twisted until she was no longer in sight. Fuck… she saw me, she so saw me.

Her eyes burned into me, but I kept my gaze straight. Don't fucking looking. Don't fucking look-

Something jabbed my arm and I jumped.

The girl smiled, a dazzling flash of teeth. "Want some gum?"

What the fuck?

"Uhm," I drawled. "Sure?" What the fuck is happening right now?

Her face brightened and she swept her fiery-gold hair behind her ear. The sun chose that exact moment to strike.

Her warm, ivory skin glowed, her copper hair lit up like a torch, and her emerald-green eyes flashed.

God, she's hot…

Head tilted and eyes narrowed, I resisted the urge to scoff.

No need to act like an idiot… A lust-addled idiot… Those lips though…

She stretched out her arm, a piece of gum sitting in her palm.

I plucked the gum out of her hand, pulled off the wrapper, and popped it in my mouth.

It was sweet and fruity.

I chewed and spread it across my tongue like a sock. A bubble started to form.

She stared at me expectantly.

The bubble popped and I pulled it back in.

"Thanks, I- appreciate it."

She grinned. "It was my pleasure."

A shiver shot down my spine.

I wiped my hand on my shirt before regripping the grab-handle. This tastes really good…

The girl was staring out the window, a watchful look in her eye. My sight flickered for a moment and she was staring at me.

I formed a bubble on my lips. Don't pop it, don't pop it-

"Where are you from?" she asked, leaning into her seat.

"Cokeworth." She looked at me oddly. "Outskirts of Manchester."

Understanding flashed in her eyes. "Sheffield, myself."

I hummed. Sheffield wasn't overly far from Manchester. An hour's drive at most-

A putrid odor struck me in the nose like a sack of bricks. It smelled like hot garbage, a dirty public bathroom, and rotten eggs all at once. My head throbbed and my gut rumbled.

I looked at the girl, she looked at me.

We peered out the windows, expecting to see a landfill or a garbage truck, but neither was present. Glancing over my shoulder, my gaze locked with an elderly woman.

She's shriveled up with nasty warts, thin lips, and heavy silver-white hair.

I stared into her eyes.

They were sickly yellow.

Like snake-venom.

There was something wrong, I could feel it. Every fiber of my being screamed it at me.

I just couldn't understand what.

Then she smiled, and I saw a wet maw filled with needle-sharp teeth.

Her saliva was black.

And the smell intensified.

My heart lurched into my throat as my wand slipped into my grip. The Hag's grin widened as her hand cut through the air. I slashed towards-

"Depulso!"

A bright echo blasted the Hag off her feet. She sailed to the back of the bus. The glass of the emergency exit cracked when she hit it.

"What?" I muttered stupidly.

The girl from earlier was on her feet, eyes wide and panting. Held tight in her grip was a sharp salty-brown stick.

"You're a Witch," I said numbly.

She glanced at me and scoffed. "And you're a Wizard."

My eye twitched. Way to state the obvious dummy.

The Hag was still on the ground unconscious and the people around us were staring in shock. Some were getting close to the Hag.

"Protego," I chanted with a flick of my wrist.

A faint, shimmering shield sprang up around my would-be-killer, keeping anyone from touching her.

They backed away.

"Wouldn't do that if I were you," I said loudly. A flick of my wand dispelled the barrier as I neared it.

"Fulgari."

As the word left my mouth, golden ropes exploded from my wand with a crackle. They wrapped around the Hag and bound her hands and feet together.

"Incarcerata," the girl echoed from behind me.

The floor warped and twisted until the Hag was bound in metal and rubber.

"Good thinking," I called over my shoulder.

"Thanks," she said from beside me.

Pops echoed from outside, and we looked at each other.

Well, this is going to be interesting.


A|N: Hope you enjoyed it! Please comment and follow!