I do wonder how Dumbledore's vouching for Snape would appear to the Death Eaters, especially Lucius.

Passing Whispers of Time

No one ever warned him of the sheer weight of despair that came to him in the night once he was away from the Malfoys and the Ministry holding cells. He had been expecting Azkaban, or the Kiss even. Severus Snape did not deserve any peace for what he did. Instead, Dumbledore had him placed in Hogwarts as the new Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House.

As a double-agent, he had expected his life to be forfeit at any moment. He was too busy trying to avoid detection by his fellow Death Eaters, including Lucius who had known him since he was a snot-nosed first-year student.

Bellatrix was quite mad at her trial declaring her unwavering loyalty and the imminent return of her master. That seemed to put some credence behind the rumours of Voldemort's possible return. The dead do not return, do they?

Sirius Black, no doubt as insane as his cousin, was quietly packed off to Azkaban. There was never any question of his guilt. The public was not ready for the revelation of an Auror gone rogue. Snape hoped the wizard would rot in prison, or even get Kissed by a dementor.

The Malfoys bribed their way to freedom. Lucius' pureblood mask had snapped into place after Snape's acquittal thanks to Dumbledore's vouching for him.

Oh, they were still on cordial terms. The Malfoys invited him over for his godson's birthdays and Yule, but the currents had changed again. Severus Snape was a family friend, but he knew Lucius had built a wall in his heart against him.

Dumbledore's pet. The words need not be spoken. The old wizard now had Snape firmly under his thumb. But he could argue that it was their master's wish that he spies on the old wizard, right? By some mutual, unspoken agreement, they never discussed it.


His House included the children of his fellow Death Eaters. The older ones looked on him in disdain, questioning his loyalty to their pureblood ideals or Hogwarts. The younger ones were no less bigoted. In his mind, all the students were rubbish at Potions, regardless of House. They were oh-so clumsy with their knives and cauldrons. Few have ever had cause to gut a toad or brew a potion before Hogwarts.

Lily was Muggleborn, yet she handled her knife like a professional even in their first year. She had an innate sense of when the potion was just right for adding an ingredient or to be bottled. They had paired up for Potions, since no Slytherin his age wanted to be paired with the poor boy with the lanky limbs and third-hand robes. It was only in their fifth year that he reluctantly paired with Evan Rosier, who was hopeless at Potions and relied on Snape to ensure he did not blow himself up.

Snape considered using sleeping potions or alcohol to numb the ache, but that would never do for a potioneer who needed his wits about him. He had witnessed how drink brought out the worst in his own father and attended to victims of potion-addiction in St Mungo's during his mastery. Sorry ends, both. Snape asked if he could teach Defence Against the Dark Arts. A third of the teachers fail to live out the school year. Dumbledore declined.

His quarters in the dungeons were comfortable enough. In the summers, he still had his father's house at Spinner's End to live in when not gathering ingredients for his potions research. He brewed some new potions and had them quietly patented and sold to various establishments under the Malfoys' banner, fulfilling his side of the bargain struck with Lord Abraxas. When the old man passed, Lucius gifted Snape with a larger share of the royalties on top of the pittance he had been receiving. Perhaps he hoped to buy back Snape?

The Malfoys were the closest thing to a family Severus had, especially after their overbearing patriarch passed. Abraxas will not be missed. The old man had doted on his grandson but driven both Lucius and his wife to their wits' end, finding fault with them constantly. Draco has shed a few tears at the funeral, but his parents were stony-eyed.

Snape did not need to know about how the old man had taken to harassing his pretty daughter-in-law now his mistresses had all deserted him. Or how Lucius had taken umbrage at his sire's constant haranguing and helped the old man along when the Dragon Pox found him. Handy things, poisons…

Young Draco grew to be very much like his sire, save for the softer features he inherited from his mother. Lucius thought his son too soft in his looks, but admitted that with time, he might outgrow them. Draco had inherited his father's arrogance and was a bit of a bully. At his birthday parties, he would be bossing the other children about and often teasing them to tears. His parents did little to rein him in. Fearing retaliation, Lucius had arranged for Crabbe and Goyle's offspring – hulking brutes for seven-year-olds – to act as erstwhile bodyguards for the smaller boy. His godson never really caught up to children his age despite the nourishing potions his parents dosed him with.


The years flew by. There was no return of the Dark Lord. Severus Snape felt his very core shrivel and die with each batch of students who passed through his classroom. He was a miserable wretch who did not deserve any joy or peace. Lucius was canny enough to turn the tide of public opinion in his favour before long, enough to sit on the Hogwarts' board of governors. Their paths crossed more frequently afterwards. There was always some pureblood parent finding fault with how Hogwarts was run.

DADA was a joke. The hapless tutors kept running into sticky ends or be forced to leave their post. Camellia Sangfroid was outed as a vampire. Dolly Aston got hit with a stray Confoundus over Easter and ended up in St Mungo's. Old Nobbs ran into a pack of werewolves on a full-moon night. Poor Tommy Wilson got killed when he mistook Strangling Ivy for regular ivy during the Yule holiday. Severus had the misfortune of walking into the staff lounge to find him hanging from the rafters. It was a wonder any student graduated with more than the barest basics of the subject matter.

Severus Snape was not a social person. He loathed being forced to attend the various feasts and events in the Great Hall. McGonagall and the others probably felt the same, even if they hid it better. Flitwick was a revelation - a part-goblin duellist. The faculty had monthly duelling sessions in the sprawling dungeons. Snape turned up for a duel or two when his schedule allowed. He did miss duelling with Lucius. He engaged in a few mock duels with his godson on occasion, but it was not quite the same. Like most pureblood youngsters, Draco had a small retinue of tutors to put him in good standing before starting at Hogwarts. Draco had complained that his friends were not enough of a challenge. Friends being Crabbe and Goyle Jr – both of whom Snape doubted could find the right end of a wand even if it bit them on the nose.


One June day at his godson's birthday party, Snape overhead Lucius complaining about how Hogwarts' standards were falling. He would have packed Draco off to Durmstrang come fall were it not for Cissy. His wife refused to send their boy so far away. It suddenly struck Snape that Lily's son would be attending Hogwarts that year with Draco.

Quirrell was a blithering idiot. His sabbatical did little to improve him. Yet the wizard managed to convince Dumbledore to hire him as the DADA tutor after the witch who filled that post got pregnant by some Muggle. Poor thing. With the jinx attached to the post, she was probably stuck with a copy of Tobias Snape – a mean brute without any redeeming charm, wit, or fortune.

Potter was James' boy, even if a tad too small for his age. Like Draco was. The glasses, the messy hair screamed James Potter and Snape disliked him from the start. The eyes. Only his eyes were Lily's.

Well, he had his oath to protect Lily's son. It did not take too long for the Boy-Who-Lived to make his life hell. It seemed a miracle the child even got so far with his propensity for running headlong into danger.

Author's Notes:

Snape has no idea where Dumbledore placed Harry. If he had, he is likely to raising hell since he was no friend of Petunia. Onwards will be the Potter-canon, which will likely be boring… maybe?