Team: Pride of Portree

Position: Chaser 2 – Dear Theodosia: write about a promise to someone [lyric used: "When you came into the world, I cried and it broke my heart." & "You have my eyes." & "I'll do whatever it takes. & My father wasn't around. & "Someday." & "I'm dedicating every day to you."]

Prompts: [relationship] father/child. [Relationship] sisters. [Word] legacy.

Wordcount: 1144

Warnings: mention of abuse

The Legacy we Leave Behind

'When you came into the world, I cried and it broke my heart, Severus. I never wanted this kind of life for you. Not for anyone.'

'I know, mother. I know.'

'You have my eyes, Severus. I can only hope that they will get to see more beautiful things than I ever did.'

'I think it's time for me to go, mum. Lily's waiting by the train.'

'I'm dedicating every day to you, mother.'

...o0o...

It had felt silly at first, but Severus had gotten used to it over the years. Speaking into the sky when he was by himself, that is. It had become a ritual ever since he had returned to Hogwarts to take on the position as Potions master. After the sun had set and the students had gone off to bed, he would take a stroll around the Great Lake and mutter words into the sky.

It became a way to say what needed to be said without fearing the presence of others. It had started by muttering apologetic words to his mother who had died at the hands of his father before the start of his fifth year as a student at Hogwarts. He had made a promise to himself that he would protect her. It was the first promise he had ever made – and he had failed to fulfil that promise.

Fathers are complicated creatures. Severus understood that much. They can be vile, mean, and jealous of their own children. And like any human, they come with their own stories; the stories of the time before their children are born. And if things went into the right order, their children would continue on the story without them. It is one of nature's cruellest jokes - that we do not get to grow up along with our parents and witness how they got their dents and scars before they breathe life into us. And they will not be there to hold our hands when it is time for us to release our final breath.

His father had gotten a lot of dents and scars before he had met his mother. His birth had been nothing more than yet another scar slashed into his father's heart. And yet, the physical pain his father had inflicted on him and his mother had been nothing compared to his absence.

"My father isn't around. He doesn't like anything, much."

As a child Severus had wanted to save his father from himself. It was the second promise he had made to himself. It was the second promise he had been unable to fulfil.

His father died shortly after he had graduated from Hogwarts. At the end of his fifth year he had spent his summers at Malfoy manor. With Lily no longer his friend, and his mother gone from this world, there really hadn't been much to return to. The Muggle newspapers had described his father's death as natural but unusual. It had not been his Killing Curse. It had been Lucius who had wanted to make certain that the Muggle part of him would be silenced forever before being introduced to the Dark Lord.

He had inherited a house that day - the day that his father died. A house he had wanted to avoid since the day he was born into it. A house that would later on become the centre of his universe. Where Death Eaters have resided and where members of the Order of the Phoenix have hidden. It was somewhere just far away enough from the wizarding world to notice that there was a corner of magic hidden in an industrious Muggle town. He hated everything about it. Rooted to the place he would rather have burned down, along with the broken promises.

...o0o...

'Someday, Lily.'

'Someday what, Sev?'

'Someday your sister will just leave and then I can replace her as your brother.'

'But then I would still have lost a sister.'

'Does it really make any difference?'

'Sisters are forever, Sev. Tuney and I may be in a bad place right now, but I know deep down inside that if I were to go before she does, she will – though perhaps reluctantly – carry on my legacy.'

...o0o...

Over the years, he learnt that sisterhood was just something that he would never understand. He had seen the fights and the tears. The rifts got bigger with each summer after they had returned from Hogwarts. The void of her absent sister could not be filled with brotherly love, no matter how hard he had tried.

Petunia had fed the legacy that Lily had left behind and appeared to have left it at that. Lily had held on to the hope of reconciliation with her sister until the very end. The end, however, did not always make things go full circle. It left terrible open endings that were hard to mend. Her legacy, Harry, who had become the third promise to himself he had never intended to make.

'I'll do whatever it takes.'

He wasn't sure whether he was speaking up at Lily, or to Harry, who was still out there somewhere waiting for the right moment to strike. The last time he had seen the boy was when he had brought him the Sword of Gryffindor, through the very lake that he was circling around. The lakes were all connected. The portrait of Albus Dumbledore in his office had told him so. And he should've known, remembering how Durmstrang's ship had arrived a few years prior.

The silver doe had travelled all the way down to the bottom of the Great Lake in search of the stag, the other fatherless creature, and she had found him near another body of water in the Forest of Dean. Once she had caught sight of Harry, she had lured him to the edge of the frozen lake. It was in that moment that Severus had dropped the Sword of Gryffindor down to the bottom of the Great Lake, and could only hope that it would emerge on the other side for Harry to find.

Severus was pulled out of his thoughts by the shrill sound of sirens going off in the far distance. One by one, the lights in Hogsmeade were lit. He heard voices shouting; 'Potter has been sighted!'

It was time. Severus hurried his way along the many flights of stairs, ran up to his office and flung the door open. 'Albus!' he said while he rushed his way over to the portrait. 'Albus, wake up!'

Albus Dumbledore yawned loudly and removed his glasses to rub his eyes. 'What is the matter, Severus?' he asked calmly.

'Potter's here,' he said stiffly. 'It's time.'

The famous twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes did not fade, but merely shifted to the empty frame beside him. 'Are you ready to fulfil your final promise, Severus?'