Lord Voldemort was not a man to be easily pleased.
Yet the front page of the Daily Prophet had brought a smile over his pale complexion. He snorted softly upon reading the words of Rita Skeeter, a budding journalist who wrote in such venom and twisting truth to anyone's own interpretations.
How he wished the sallow-skinned, hook-nosed boy had finished his studies and entered his ranks already. He could already tell the dour teenager was almost a mirror image of his life, and wanted to shape him into a formidable ally. If he was worthy like the Malfoy scion had said, he even dared to name the boy his successor.
"Lucius," he called.
Immediately the blond man bowed down and kissed the hem of his robes.
"Do you still have my prized item?"
Lucius blinked as he stood up. "Of course my Lord, let me bring it to you," he said before taking another bow and left to retrieve the Dark Lord's possession. When he returned, the Dark Lord smiled and gently took it from the blond's hands.
To everyone's eyes, it was just a simplistic black book. But only he knew the real secrets hidden beneath the pages.
Lord Voldemort caressed its spine gingerly, brown eyes glinting in nostalgia. "Give this to Severus Snape. Tell him… it's a gift for his successful plan of toppling down Dumbledore's authority in Hogwarts."
Lucius only bowed before doing what he was told.
The following weeks went by with a blur.
On 9th November, Severus received numerous owls from Hogwarts students' parents, especially those of Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws and Slytherins. They all sent letters of gratitude of informing their children of the dangers in the school, and rewarding him with money, new books regarding the obscure branches of Dark Arts (he was especially intrigued by Regulus Black's copy of The Secret of the Darkest Arts), clothes and job offers.
Professor Slughorn, being the opportunist he was, had claimed he would recommend Severus to his many connections within the Potioneers' Guild as soon as he graduated.
The Badgers, Ravens and Snakes became close knitted due to the event, effectively changing the previous dynamics of the four Houses. Severus had a new group of friends comprised of all the Prefects except the Gryffindors', and they all discussed their topics of interest in the library whenever they could. His young protégés remained loyal to him, with the Lions' first-years gradually entered his posse as well.
Albus Dumbledore was on house arrest for six months, with Minerva McGonagall had taken place as the temporary Headmistress. Severus thought she was just as bias as Dumbledore had been but there was no one else who could step up into the position.
The hearing of Remus Lupin was held on 20th November. Both of the boy's parents turned up to the Wizengamot court with somber looks. Severus, being the main instigator of the revelation also had to attend with Lucius Malfoy as his defendant.
When the judge asked him of the possible punishments to the werewolf, Severus pondered on what he had in store. "I will forgive him on these conditions," he started, "Remus Lupin is still allowed to be in Hogwarts, but his status is to be registered, he is to be stripped of his Prefect position; seeing as he did nothing good even with it, and he is to be re-Sorted. I've heard badgers are more of a closer kin to wolves than lions. Or was it wolverines? No matter, it just had to be done in front of everyone."
Lyall had a grimace on his face while Hope was sobbing her heart out. "T-Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Snape," she said as the judge put the gavel down, agreeing with his decision.
When the Lupin family left the court, Severus and Lucius turned to Walden Macnair, telling him that an Animagus Ministry officer should discreetly take guard at the Whomping Willow during Lupin's transformation. He also shared his suspicions that the werewolf's friends were unregistered Animagi and insisted they were to be caught on act.
Lupin's re-Sorting happened two days later, in which he was put in Hufflepuff just as Severus had predicted.
By the end of the month, Severus treated all the first-years with Honeydukes sweets using his newfound wealth, smiling as they all thanked him in gratitude. He also had read some of the books he got and wondered if there were those that gave more details in Prince Manor.
On the night of 6th December, James Potter was caught by the sentry nearby the willow and his restrictive Animagus collar was also put on in public by Mr. Bartemius Crouch with Lucius being the Ministry's other witness.
Severus showed his pet raven, Rogue to his many friends and they all delighted with its cleverness and laughed whenever the bird tried to pronounce their names.
He wished this rare streak of happiness will never end.
But ultimately, Severus Snape was only human.
And luck was like a rotating wheel.
The Marauders had never felt so humiliated ever since they first stepped into Hogwarts. What's worse, the perpetrator was rewarded handsomely because of it.
"We need to get back at Snivellus," James started, huddling near the fireplace with his friends.
Sirius only snorted. "Question is, who's we gonna hurt him the most? Evans had left him." They all turned to look at the redhead who was doing her schoolwork with her friends.
Peter, the only who hadn't been caught of being an unregistered Animagus sniffed, "Maybe we should look at the map? See if he's meeting someone in secret or something."
The other two boys raised their eyebrows with devilish grins. "Genius, Pete!" James said and summoned a slightly tattered piece of parchment.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," they chorused and tapped their wands on it.
Immediately, countless lines and scribbles began to appear. The parchment was actually the Marauders' Map: a brilliant piece of magic from four minds that showed all the secret passages and everyone's location within Hogwarts in real time.
They quickly found the dot labeled 'Severus Snape' at the Owlery. Nodding to each other, they called for Remus from a two-way mirror they all had and informed the boy they would seek revenge on the Slytherin soon.
Armed with the Map and James' Invisibility Cloak, the three Gryffindors and one Hufflepuff snuck out of their dormitories just before curfew and met near the staircase to the Owlery before hiding under the Potters' mysterious heirloom.
Tip-toeing upon climbing up the stairs, they all strained their ears and checked the Map every step to see if the boy was truly alone. When they reached the room, they saw Snape was lightly caressing a raven's feathers which shone under the faint moonlight.
So that was his recent most cherished companion, they all thought.
"Who's a good bird?" they heard Snape's voice, and a croak answered him. The honorary Prefect laughed at its antics before letting it fly for a while and it landed back on his outstretched arm.
With a swish, they all got out of the Invisibility Cloak with their wands in hand already.
Snape's eyes widened in utter surprise upon seeing them and he shooed the raven away, "Go, Rogue!" He then took out his wand but the Marauders had the initial advantage.
"Expelliarmus!" Peter squeaked. Snape's wand flew off into the air despite his tight grip and clattered on the floor a few feet away.
"Petrificus Totalus!" James, Remus and Sirius shouted at once and grinned devilishly as the spells hit Snape, causing the boy to fall on his back with his face contorted into a horrified expression.
"Accio raven!" the bespectacled boy said, and as soon as he caught the bird in his hand, he immediately casted a Body-Bind Jinx on it too.
"So," James began, crouching down to Snape's eye level, "So."
Sirius cracked his knuckles. "Thought you can keep us apart, eh?" He then punched the immobilized teen's face, grinning upon hearing the crunch of his broken nose. Snape's eyes fluttered shut in pain, and they all laughed before beating him up. Peter simply stood guard by the door to alert if someone came by.
"I'm sorry Severus, but as you can see, I'm no longer a Prefect," Remus smiled bitterly as he sent a harsh kick to Snape's chest, relishing at the betrayed look in his onyx eyes.
Satisfied with Snape's bruised up face, James then pointed his wand at the helpless bird, brown eyes glinting in delight. The Slytherin's Potions book Lily Evans had shared with them was chock-full of spells they could never create, and they really wanted to see what this one would do.
"Sectumsempra!"
Time came to a halt as the five boys witnessed a bright blade of light emerged from the tip of James' wand and slashed into the raven's body. Rivulets of blood quickly spurted out, staining the stone floor. Owls were shrieking in terror.
Shocked over seeing what the spell had done, James shrieked and immediately let go of the bird which landed on the floor with a sickening crack. It instantly died.
The four Marauders turned to look at their victim and saw his midnight black eyes were flashing in fury. With a strained shout and a sudden shockwave which spread throughout the Owlery that sent the Marauders staggering on their feet, Snape broke free of the three Body-Bind Jinxes and got up; his wand was back in his hand. His onyx eyes were glaring at them murderously.
For a moment, they all remembered what he had said to the headmaster before Remus' secret was exposed: "Fear a Slytherin who had nothing to lose."
But Gryffindors were brave, if somewhat a bit reckless. The enraged boy in front of them was a danger to everyone, and at the moment they considered themselves real heroes in the current situation.
"Obliviate!"
"Confundus!"
"Stupefy!"
Once again, Snape crumpled on the floor, unconscious next to the dead raven.
The owls had fled away upon witnessing the murder of their fellow friend, and the silence that echoed over the place was getting more unsettling by each second.
"Let's go," James finally snapped out of his trance and they put on the Invisibility Cloak before leaving the grim place.
Severus didn't know how long he had passed out, but the pounding in his head told him it was probably more than a few hours. There was also a pungent, metallic smell in the air and he frowned; just what had happened? Groggily, he opened his eyes and saw it was dawn.
He was pretty sure he was in the Owlery during night, taking a short break from his patrol rounds. Blinking hard, he then gingerly got up and wondered why his body was hurting all over. The sharp pain over his face had him sigh in slight frustration; someone had broken his nose.
He looked around to find out more clues of his current predicament, only to freeze upon seeing something laid nearby him.
His eyes went wide in gradual horror. "…Rogue?" he muttered.
The metallic smell was from the pool of blood surrounding the black bird which had nearly dried up, indicating it had been hours since its death. Shell-shocked, Severus slowly crawled to the raven's body in near disbelief, wanting to examine its injuries when one of the wands he kept in his arm holster suddenly vibrated. Puzzled over the sensation, Severus pulled it out and was stunned upon knowing it was the estranged one among the wands he had.
It was his blackthorn wand. But… why? Did it know something?
Severus looked back at his deceased pet and gulped; he didn't want to know what had happened but he must. He had to. It was for Rogue's, and his own peace of mind.
"Finale memoria ostende mihi," he whispered, chanting up until a silvery orb the size of his hand rose from the raven. His wand was shaking in his grip and he took a deep breath before murmuring, "Projecto."
He then watched Rogue's final moments, trying to make sense of what occurred last night.
His heart broke upon knowing the real reason behind its death.
They killed an innocent bird. A bird he happened to have. All under the stance of seeking revenge.
When had justice equal to death?!
Severus was reminded of the attempt on his life last year and had reasoned to himself that it only involved him, and he should have seen it coming. He still wished he hadn't gone down the Whomping Willow, though.
But Rogue… Rogue did nothing wrong. Even his father, who was the most brutish man he had ever known, had left Rogue be in his care. The bird was just there, and had paid the price for his petty revenge. Its only mistake was simply being his pet.
James Potter's voice from his utter humiliation back in June rang loudly in his mind: "If you really must know, it's because he exists."
And Severus screamed. He shouted and cursed himself until his voice came out hoarse, not caring a bit if someone happened to come in and see him crying over his pet raven.
But no one did. The Owlery was quiet as ever and after several minutes, he choked over his stuttering breath and blearily wiping the tears away, trying to regain some of his senses. Suddenly, his victory over the Marauders felt so hollow.
"…Help me," he croaked.
The blackthorn wand answered with a faint green glow, vibrating warmly in his hand.