Author's Note:
Dear readers,
I´m sorry that I haven`t updated my other stories for months. There is no excuse for this, but I simply wasn`t in the right state of mind to post anything. My muse was gone and anxiety in RL during this global pandemic turned my world lonely and dark. Thankfully, I`m starting to get better and thought that it is worth a try to start battling my writer's block with some new stuff. I know it would be probably wiser to post a new chapter to my other stories, but this idea keeps nagging me for a while. And I thought to give it a chance. As usual, honest reviews, regardless of good or bad, are hugely welcomed. I love to hear what you think of my stories and what I could do better. Thus, simply leave a review or PM. As this is a WIP, I hope to be updating once every second week. This story is rated M due to scenes of a violent and/or sexual nature and will contain topics like depression, PTSD, and otherness. The main ship will be Tonks/ Severus and time travel will be involved.
Enjoy and take care of you and your loved ones in these difficult times,
Vani12
Disclaimer: Disclaimer: I own none of the characters from JKR and make no financial profits with this story.
The Half-blood Prince and his Butterfly
Prologue – WTF? Time Travel is real?
Dark Alley, Unknown location, Unknown time
Severus Snape felt a stabbing pain in his skull and groaned loudly. "Damn, what did Avery mix into my drinks? I know that he gets off on drugging Half-bloods with Lust Potions or AU-Potions, but he will regret messing with me. Whatever he put into his highly prized Fire Whisky surely knocks you out for good and hurts like a bitch. Man, I will hex him into next week whenever I see him next. This fucker doesn't know what is coming for him," the hangover and pissed-off teen thought angrily. He loved sticking it to the dumb Pure-blooded dunderheads that he was superior to them magically despite his Muggle blood, but he didn't deserve to be treated like a fucking ragdoll by them. And he had thought that he taught them that lesson with his little demonstration of Sectumsempra on a trunk of a tree in the Forbidden Forest. Hell, to see their frightened little eyes and gum-smacked faces had been brilliant. At the time, he had envisioned Potter's head for getting into the right mood to seem extra badass. He couldn't wait for the day when Potter and his little animals paid dearly for their bullying. He could feel it on his tongue that it wouldn't be far away.
Severus opened his eyes slowly, still cursing Avery and his goons out for their antics. But instead of the cold dungeons of Avery Manor, he was graced with the back alley of a dinky club, loud techno music buzzing into his ears, and the smell of rotting garbage attacking his nose. "WTF. How did this happen? Where Avery and his lackeys getting extra desperate now in showing some filthy Muggles their places, that they dumped their drugged Half-blood allies into dark alleys? And since when does Avery chase his next fucktoy to kill in the Muggle world while he should be hosting a recruitment gathering for the Dark Lord? Is he totally insane now?", a bewildered eighteen-year-old Half-blood Prince asked into the sparkling midnight sky. Avery would surely be dead the next time he saw him, hence the Dark Lord would do him a favor of solving this little issue for him. Pushing his ebony curls away from his face, the Slytherin gathered his wits and stepped up from the dirty alley. Knowing his luck, he had sat in the mixed bland of human piss, dried vomit, and spilled beer.
Better safe than sorry, the teen muttered a quick Cleaning Spell and Refreshing Charm and rightened his slightly crumpled clothes. He was wearing his best leather jacket, dark denim, and grey t-shirt today under his only eligible black dress robes. Somehow, he had mysteriously lost his dress robes during his transport to this filthy alley. If Avery and his dimwits thought that they could humiliate him by stripping him of his dress robes and making him seem more Muggle, they had another thing coming for them. Although Severus loathed the fact that the worthless wife-beating alcoholic that lived at Spinner`s End was his sperm donor, he didn't hate the fact that he was a Muggle nearly as much as he pretended in the Slytherin Common Room. He didn`t need to see this lowly excuse for a human being dead to feel some satisfaction and he certainly didn't plan to join the Death Eaters for the main reason of seeing his childhood tormentor and the prison guard of his mum tortured and dead. No, Severus wanted to join the Death Eaters to be powerful, kick the Marauders' assess, and get the apprenticeship he wanted. And if he was being honest with himself, deep-down in his heart he still hoped that he could protect Lily and her family when he climbed the ranks of the Death Eaters quickly. Although they hadn't talked for years and Lily kept away from their playing ground in Cokeworth like it hosted a disease, he still cared deeply for her and wanted to see her safe. Cocky Potter sure as hell wouldn't be able to protect her, so he decided to be the inside man.
Sometimes, he questioned his reasoning. He knew that Lily would smack his head for joining a murdering terrorist group out of lust for power, being feared as someone in the Wizarding World, and feeling like her dark savior. She would point the flaws in his plan out mercilessly. He would have to sell the last shreds of his dark soul by killing and torturing people, pretend to be a bigoted, self-hating blood-purist by trying to clean his blood with Pure-blooded ideals, and fight against the only person besides his mum who meant anything to him by battling with Dumbledore`s Order. For he knew like the "Amen" in his father's beloved church that Lily and her dunderheaded beau would join the fight against the Dark Lord as soon as they left Hogwarts. Lily was a hot-headed firecracker with a strong sense of justice and an unsatisfied yearning of being loved and accepted in one of her two worlds. Thus, she would do anything to defend the rights of her fellow Muggleborns against the Dark Lord and establish a better future for them. Certainly not a future in which they would be treated like cattle and used as slaves.
Severus shook his black curls. "Damn, how much do I still love Lily although she dropped me like an old, smelly sock after my slip-up? I know that it was a no-go to call her the M-word in front of all those Hogwarts bullies, but Lily needs to know deep down in her soul that I´m not a racist. Come on, she visited concerts with me, we shared our experiences reading Muggle mystery books, and laughed about my worship of every new scientific or technical Muggle innovation. And she damn well knows that I had my first time and secret romance with a blonde Muggleborn Hufflepuff, Lexi Lockwood, back in Fifth Year. How can she really believe that I want to erase one half of my identity? I guess I`m a better actor than I thought," the teen scoffed bitterly. Looking around the abandoned alley, he tried to chase away his dark thoughts. If his fellow Slytherins granted him this opportunity to get wasted and party away, he would use it. Although he always feared ending up like his dear old dad, he couldn't say no to hard liqueur from time to time. And if he had the chance to be a normal teen for one night in his life, he would take it and dance the night away.
But where the hell was he? In the middle of Muggle London? It sure seemed like it, for a bright neon-yellow poster announced that the band "The Flash" was playing in "The Dark Attic", Soho, tonight from 10 pm. He would take any beat today, even if it was a shitty band. He had managed to sneak away from Hogwarts with the permission of Prof. Slughorn for the weekend, for he sold him some story of having interviews with some potioneers for an apprenticeship arranged by Lucius Malfoy, thus he was staying at Malfoy Manor in his personal guestroom. And his interviews weren't a total lie either. But they weren`t the highlight of his weekend. That was going to be his first expected meeting with the Dark Lord at Avery Manor this night. Severus still didn`t know how Avery had botched this up, but he was sure of taking the fall for it.
The Slytherin teen decided to walk into the club. But before he could yank open the rusty backdoor, a young woman with long curly lavender hair and shocking sapphire blue eyes nearly crashed into his arms. She looked simply stunning, wearing a tight, short black leather dress that showed off her slender legs and generous womanly curves and a little silver cross bag hanging on her hips. She stumbled slightly on her silver killer high-heels, thus Severus quickly halted her fall with a gentle hand. "Fuck, who is this beautiful creature? Her hair smells like the perfect fragrance of lavender, vanilla, and cinnamon. Her skin feels like the smoothest silk blanket. And her popping blue eyes draw me in like a hypnotic revolving disc. But the feature that drives me crazy about her, is her butterfly tattoo on the inside of her left wrist, for it moves its wings. Thus, this beautiful woman is a powerful witch too. So, don't fuck this up mate, she seems like real fun!", his inner voice encouraged him to make a move. "Slow there, love. I've got you," Severus announced in his most sensual-sounding voice – thankfully, he knew from his past conquests that his voice was his biggest asset in charming women. "What`s a free spirit like you doing out here in the dark alone? I don´t doubt that you can defend yourself against danger just fine, but with the Death Eaters being on the hunt for everyone that seems extraordinary, you sure as hell shouldn`t be without your friends by your side. And how come I have never seen you at Hogwarts? Are you from America or Europe? My name is Ben, by the way."
Severus noticed how her pulse under her butterfly tattoo spiked, making it flutter his wings quickly, and her sapphire eyes widen in confusion, making them seem like the most beautiful jewels in the world. He always used his alias Ben – a shortening of his second name Benjamin – to seem more approachable, for he hated his first name and couldn't stand hearing Lily's nickname "Sev" anymore, it simply hurt too much. The beautiful stranger uttered in a deep melodic tune, "Thanks for saving me from landing on my ass, Ben. And you sure as hell picked up fast that I`m a badass witch who can take care of herself. But why should I fear Death Eaters attacking me? Voldemort vanished nearly 10 years ago. And our Aurors rounded up all the known Death Eaters. And I`m sure as hell a Seventh Year Hufflepuff at Hogwarts. I´m Nora and you seem like a tough wizard yourself, but whatever drug you have taken doesn`t seem to be your cup of tea." She chuckled slightly and distanced herself out of his embrace. The Slytherin`s eyes widened in shock. "WTF. Is this butterfly lying to me? The Dark Lord vanished? The Death Eaters in Azkaban? And this gorgeous woman a Seventh Year Hufflepuff at Hogwarts. I know all girls, but she isn't one of them. What year is it?", these conflicting thoughts attacked his mind. He needed to apply all his Occlumency skills to not freak out. How the fuck did this happen? Time travel? He tried to steady his voice and asked bluntly, "Excuse me, Nora. I know that question seems strange and you`re probably going to take me for a druggie, but which date is it?" Nora gazed at him strangely," Well, Ben. Today is April 2nd, 1991." Severus went ghostly pale. "How did I end up thirteen years in the future without using a time turner? What happened at Avery Manor?"