AU- The One Time Severus Snape Changed His Mind, And Where it Led Him.
NOTES: This is an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE fanfiction, which means that what follows IS NOT CANON and therefore you should not COUNT it as canon. If you do not like it, there is a back button just at the top of the page, you can avoid having to read it altogether. I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of it's characters, they belong to J.K. Rowling, my Queen and Goddess of literature, and to Warner Bros. Studios.
The idea behind this is- What if Snape had not pursued the Dark Arts? What if he had chosen to avoid infamy and glory?
PORN EXISTS IN THIS CHAPTER.
Just sos ya knows.
December 1979
The 'Ministerial Suite' of the Leaky Cauldron was rarely used, used only when the Minister himself required a day or two of respite from his duties.
It was larger than any of the other rooms, furnished with gleaming mahogany furniture, and painted a drab sort of cream colour. It was cozy, however, with rugs and curtains in warm earthy tones that spoke of cool winter nights huddled near a fire.
The heavy wooden door swung inwards, allowing noise into the room.
"-No no no," someone was saying. "It's tradition, come on, I can do it."
"It's tradition to carry the bride over the HOME'S threshold, not the inn!"
"So I'll do that too, then. Humor me, Lily."
There was a shuffling of fabric and an oof from somebody, along with a muttered phrase something along the lines of 'Oh don't be dramatic'.
Then, a dark-haired man in sharp black dress robes took two steps over the threshold, a woman with blazing red hair clutched carefully in his arms. The woman wore a wedding gown, embroidered with delicate pale flowers. She was giggling as he crossed the floor and deposited her safely in front of the fireplace.
"Who would have thought, Severus Snape the romantic?"
"Mmmm. Tell no one."
"You'll have to be more persuasive than that, Sev. I'm sure Frank and Alice would love to hear about you insisting to carry me over the threshold because, you said something rather good on the way up the stairs, ah yes, because I deserve it!"
He gave her a look, and the smile on her face twitched with barely contained mirth.
"You're quite lucky I enjoy your company, madam, because I could dispose of you if I so wished."
Lily burst out into laughter, and Severus' lips quirked.
"Well then, Mr. Snape, I'm going to go get a little more comfortable, I have been in this dress since seven this morning, and I am a bit tired."
"Whatever you want. I'll pour a nightcap and we can go right to bed, if you wish it."
Lily smiled fondly and looped her arms around his neck, pulling him down to press her forehead to his. Severus rested his hands on her hips, eyes closing in a contentment he had never known before.
"You'd be willing to go right to sleep, on the wedding night?"
"That's what you want? Of course. I've got you, what more do I need?"
She kissed him then, warm and loving. "Oh, I forgot. I have got a surprise for you. I'll be right back, don't go anywhere."
She gently pulled away from the embrace and went off towards the washroom, leaving Severus alone in front of the fireplace.
The aforementioned man closed his eyes again, having opened them to watch her walk away, and breathed in his surroundings.
If you had told him a year ago, nigh, a month ago, that he would be standing in the Leaky Cauldron waiting for Lily Evans- it was Snape now, though, wasn't it? Merlin that was a thought he'd have some trouble getting used to. Nice trouble, though.
If you'd told him a month ago that he'd be waiting for Lily to join him in wedded bliss, he'd have set them on fire.
It just didn't seem real.
He pulled at the collar of his dress robe, loosening it and pulling his tie off. It had been a fairly long day, a wonderful one, though, one he intended to relive in his mind as often as possible. His wedding day, the reception. He hadn't known a day so bright and wonderful could exist like this.
Yes, definitely something he wanted to remember for ever.
"Sev! Sit down on the bed, will you?"
"Why's that?"
"I want to show you your surprise!"
He wondered what she had to show him, but obliged and sat himself on the edge of the four-post bed facing the washroom door.
"You sitting down?"
"Rear-end has met bedspread, I am sitting."
There was a stifled giggle, and slowly, the door swung open.
Lily's hair hung in a crimson wave down her back and around her shoulders, face flush from the long day, eyes glittering green and happy. This in and of itself was nothing new, it was what she was now wearing that surprised him.
His travelling cloak, a massive black thing that was beautifully warm but trailed a bit on him, was even longer on her, training behind her like her wedding dress had. She was completely covered, from neck to floor, only cloak.
He lifted one dark brow in minor befuddlement.
Then he understood.
She took one step towards him, revealing the pale flesh of her calf and thigh.
Apparently, his travelling cloak was the only thing she was wearing.
"You said whatever I want, right?"
He gulped. "As I recall, yes, yes I did."
"Let's skip the nightcap, Sev."
The cloak bunched around her shoulders, pulling open like the curtain of an Opera.
He'd changed his mind. He'd probably be reliving this day, and this night, for the rest of his days.
Moonlight filtered through the large window onto the drapes of the four post bed. A small opening in the fabric let a lone beam spill across the moving bodies in the bed.
The light landed across Severus Snape's bare chest; a lone blue-white light in the otherwise dark and heady cove that had become the bed at this point.
Lily sat atop him, movements fluid and lazy- rising, falling, rising, falling. Strands of her hair stuck to her breasts, while the rest fell down her back in a wave of red. Her fingers dragged along his ribs, making him shiver and clutch her hips tighter, moving his hips to meet hers.
Time had slowed down, nothing existed beyond these curtains and singular beam of moonlight.
She smelled like honeysuckle and something else, something incredibly feminine and arousing, and it surrounded him, essence of Lily above him, pulling him in and keeping him there. How long had they been at this? He didn't know, couldn't remember, all that mattered was her lithe body above, undulating and tightening and flexing and oh Merlin if his heart beat any faster he just knew he'd die.
He opened his eyes and took in the sight- breasts heaving, hair falling, eyes closed in bliss- or so he hoped it was. He lifted one hand, sliding it up her belly and over her breast, resting briefly to squeeze so that she let out a little hum of enjoyment. It traveled up her collarbone to cup her cheek and her eyes opened.
Green met black.
It was enough to make her lose her control, she gasped. "Sev- you've got to- I can't-"
He pulled her down against his chest and they rolled, setting her beneath him.
He thrust once, twice, rolled his hips, she gasped, fingernails digging into the skin of his upper arms.
"Sev-"
He needed- he needed… No she needed it first, she needed it first, he was better at control than she was. Be it emotions or pouring a vial of potion, he had a steadier hand, a firmer grip, and she could start things but Severus was the one to finish them and that's why they fit together so well and he pulled her hand away from his arm and laced his fingers through her own and bent his head to capture her mouth in his and his free hand went to pull her thigh up around his hip and for the love of Merlin he was so close.
Once, twice, three times, he bit gently on her lower lip and kissed her, poured everything he could into it and there it was. Her entire body tensed, contracting around him, pulsing. Electricity seemed to shoot through her body and into his because as soon as she hit the point of no return he did too.
He groaned against her mouth and she let out a hitching gasp, fingers tightened around each other and he squeezed her thigh, the moonlight lancing across their bodies like a silver ribbon tied tight, and together they went over the edge.
When again they could form coherent thoughts, Severus lay back against the sheets, eyes locked firmly on the burgundy canopy above him.
Strong, slender fingers wrapped around his pale ones, and lifted it to petal-soft lips that kissed his palm.
He turned his head to meet her gaze and smiled. "You know I love you, don't you?" he murmured.
"Of course I do."
"Do you know how long I have?"
She curved herself against his side. "Hmm. How long?"
"Since I met you, under the tree on the hill."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Do you know how long I've loved you?"
He felt the corners of his mouth twitch. "How long?"
"I don't actually know, I was hoping you could tell me." she pressed her face into the crook of his neck and he knew she could feel him smiling. "I know that I love you, though. Not sure when it started, but I always will."
"Thank you." he muttered.
Pale fingers curled around Lily's hand, and the moon dipped a little lower in the sky, the sliver of light finally giving them some well deserved privacy, and sleep.
February 1980
Three months and some odd number of days past their wedding and subsequent wedding night, Severus and Lily Snape found themselves going about their new morning routine.
Lily ticked off February fourth from the calendar, peering at the fifth to see what was on the agenda for the day. Loopy script was appearing on the fifth square, ink an atrociously bright fuschia.
Gathering at the dark house,
8 o 'clock this eve.
"Meeting tonight, looks like Padfoot is hosting. I hope he cleaned up a bit from last time..." Lily moved over to the sink, turning on the faucet to wash her cup.
"Got word from Alastor this morning, just before you woke. The Stag is in the hollow, apparently." he said, taking a sip of his morning coffee.
She made a grunting noise in the back of her throat. "The Doe and bundle as well?"
"All present and accounted for. I suppose that's what the meeting is about... those calendars Dumbledore whipped up are quite ingenius."
"Mm. Speaking of bundles and hollows, I've been meaning to tell you something..." Lily wiped her hands on a dish towel and set it on the hook near the sink, leaning agains the counter to peer at her husband, going over complicated looking paper and marking things that seemed suspicious. Severus had thrown himself into his work with the Order, doing his best to offer the most protection he could to those in need. The world was darker than it had been a year or so ago. People had been nervous, but now they lived in terror, even the Snapes had their shutters drawn and magical wards put up along the boundaries of their home. They weren't exactly in hiding, but they most certainly did not want to be called upon by those with evil intent- which was part of why Lily had staved off on informing her husband of this particular recent event.
However, time was that she wouldn't be able to hide it much longer, given Severus' eye for detail.
"What's that?" he inquired, inspecting a rather spiny-looking rune.
"You remember Christmas Eve, when we told everyone we were spending it quietly at home with a bottle of Firewhiskey and a few good books?"
Severus' cheeks gained a little color.
"But was in fact spent snogging in front of the fire and then other things, while the books looked on, forlorn and unread?"
"I seem to recall something of the sort."
"Well as it happens- well I wasn't certain at first, but seeing how it's been a while... we appear to be expecting a bundle ourselves." Lily quietly walked to stand next to her husband, who put down his quill and ever-so-slowly turned his head to look up at her.
It seemed to take Severus a moment to process this, because the look on his face quite clearly said 'What potion have you been drinking and where can I get some?'; but when the cogs turned and his eyes went wide, she nodded.
"A- a baby?"
"Yes."
"Ours?"
"Yes."
"You're sure?"
Before she could make a snide remark, Severus had laid his palms along her belly, not quite showing but getting ready to show that something was happening there. His thumbs hooked under her shirt and pulled it up to reveal her belly button and abdoment, which he pressed his lips to.
"Really?" he muttered.
"Really." she responded, stroking her fingers through his hair and resting her hand at the base of his neck, curling the fingers around the strands.
"I'll be better," he whispered. "Better than mine, I swear it. Worthy of you."
June 1980
What a bizarre dream... Severus stretched, listening to the pops and cracks as he sat up in bed. The cream-colored sheets were cool beneath his hands and he sat for a moment on the edge, watching the mid-morning sunshine stream through the cracks in the shade. Perhaps a trip to the park was in order this morning. He stood, picking up his wand and tucking it inside his shirt. He could smell something downstairs- breakfast.
As he made his way through the hallway and the downstairs of the home, he tried to remember the dream. A boy with dark hair, and magnificent eyes, someone named Riddle, something about the Potters... But they were in hiding, weren't they?
It was fading, and fading fast, like the tide. He could barely remember what it had been about.
As he reached the landing he stopped for a moment to admire the scene in the kitchen. Lily stood in front of the stove, wand at work while slices of bread soaked themselves in egg and were set to cook in the pan. The finished slices patted themselves in sugar and set themselves on the table. Two place settings.
The light that streamed in from the wide kitchen windows set her hair on fire, brilliant ginger that curved and waved down her back, a stark contrast to the sunny color of her robes. He went up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders, leaning around to press his lips to her cheek. He felt her smile, and he couldn't help but mimic the action.
"Morning," she sing-songed.
"Mm." his hands slid down her sides to wrap around the arching curve of her swollen belly. "Two more months?"
"Two more months."
"Did you hear about the Longbottoms, Sev?"
"Yes... I think maybe we should be a bit more careful, perhaps what we discussed the other night..."
"I was thinking about that, we've both defied him..." she looked around, then sat across from him, as if something dark and horrible might swoop in at the mention.
"Well. Maybe it's not a discussion for breakfast." he smiled. "Did you read the article yesterday, in the paper, about the work that's been going on with Collapsible Cauldrons? Brilliant, I think..."
She nodded fervently through a mouthful of Orange Juice, green eyes glittering with interest.
He sighed, dark times surrounded them, but for now...
October 31st
1981
"Severus, Severus wake up."
"Mm… What is it, what's wrong?"
"Sev, I… I just got an Owl from Remus, it's the Potters."
He rolled out of bed to see his wife, in her night clothes and with tears in her eyes. She seemed torn between relief and anguish.
"What is it, what's happened? Not another Frank and Alice, is it?…" he pulled her into his arms, hands wrapped tight around her shoulders.
"No, no nothing like that- it's impossible, or it seems impossible. James and Mary, they're… they're dead."
Severus swore. The Longbottoms, Benjy Fenwick, the Prewett brothers, the McKinnons, the Bones- now the Potters? They still hadn't found poor Caradoc Dearborn's body, and Dorcas Meadowes had shown up slain in her own home only last week. The Order was dying around him.
"But Sev- Sev that isn't all."
"Little Harry-"
"No. He's fine, he's alive."
Severus went still. "How?"
"I don't understand it all. Remus barely put in enough information… He said Dumbledore knows what happened better than he does, but Remus can barely… They were his best friends…"
Severus pulled back and cupped his wife's face in his hands. "Lily. What happened?"
She wiped away tears. "He tried to kill little Harry. He killed James, then Mary, and then he tried to kill Harry. But he failed, Sev. Something happened, and he couldn't kill Harry. Severus- Voldemort is dead."
"Wha- how?"
She shook her head. "I don't know. Remus doesn't know- I don't think anyone knows, not even Dumbledore."
Severus gently pried the letter from her fingers and looked it over, dark eyes skimming the hastily scrawled message.
Lily,
Potters are dead. You-Know-Who is too. Tried to kill Harry, boy survived, Dumbledore is bringing him to Sirius I think. Not sure what or how it happened. Watch for an Owl from Dumbledore, he'll know more than I.
Everything is touch and go right now, keep an eye open and a wand at the ready. Lie low, wait for an Owl, don't go mad.
-Remus
When he looked up from the letter, Lily was gone. With speed not unlike that of a cheetah, he bolted from their bedroom and down one door to where he knew she would have gone.
The room he entered was decorated with soft gold and pale green furnishings. There was a mobile with smoking cauldrons and little pink bubbling potions hung over a crib, and a white shelf filled with books and stuffed toys. Lily sat on the window seat, their child clutched close in her arms.
He crossed the room and sat across from her, gently pulling her around to sit against his chest. Tears fell quietly down her cheeks, but the baby slept on.
"We could have lost her."
His voice was adamant. "But we didn't."
"Mary's dead." she sounded numb. They had been friends since school.
He kissed her temple. "I know."
"Do you think it's really over?"
"You know I don't have the answer to that."
They were both quiet for a long time, and outside the window the sun's rays began to reach up and wrap across their side of the world. Unknown to the Snapes in their little cottage outside of Hogsmeade, wrapped up in uncertainty, grief, and what felt like a near miss, Albus Dumbledore was on his way to Sirius Black's home to meet Hagrid with a child, a package of Lemon Drops in one hand, and a photograph of a blond man surrepticiously tucked into his robes.
Somewhere, Sirius Black was on the warpath, with Remus Lupin attempting to calm him down, soon to be interrupted by a half-giant arriving at the doorstep with a tiny baby. A baby with vivid blue eyes, and a lightning bolt shaped scar.
Somewhere, the little boy curled into his blankets and slept on, and the wheel of history turned, readying the whole of the Wizarding World for a new story to be told.
I guess you can say that this is the ending of the prologue. You're caught up, and next chapter begins Lily and Severus' adventures in child-care and travel.