Chapter Two

Home Sweet Home

"'How are things at your house?" Lily asked.

A little crease appeared between his eyes.

"Fine," he said'"

[Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows. Page. 667]

He stood before the rotting wooden door, wiping the sweat from his brow. He stared at he tarnished handle wondering what he would find once inside. There had been an incident after his first year where he had come home to find his parents...copulating...on the floor in the sitting room. Even when they noticed him standing frozen in shock they did not stop. Severus remembered clamping his hands over his ears, and running as fast as he could up stairs.

The sound his mother was making made Severus sick, but not as much as the grunting noises from his father. Never would he be able to look at them the same way again. His father laughed as Severus ran up the stairs, saying something along the lines of - 'boy don't Av the stomach for it!'.

Carefully, Severus turned the handle, holding his breath.

"Ohs there?" shouted the familiar voice of his father. Severus opened the door, stepping threw without looking at his father.

"Hello father." Severus said softly, wishing he could hide behind his hair. Never -the- less he stood tall, squaring his shoulders. He looked up to meet his fathers hard gaze, equally as hard.

"humpf- so your back again are you?" Tobias Snape spat, crushing his beer can in his fist. He threw it at Severus.

It hit the side of his face where it bounced towards the floor with the other abandoned cans and trash. The coffee table, and side tables were cluttered with dirty dishes and empty beer cans.

The house smelled sour, like food that had been sitting out too long.

This was one of the reasons Severus had never once invited Lily over. She had questioned him, but respected the fact that his parents could be 'a bit difficult'. She questioned him constantly about what was going on at home, where Severus could shrug and mutter, 'oh, you know. The usual.'

Lily had thankfully never met either of his parents, or seen the neighborhood where he lived. Her sister Petunia, however, had followed him home one day when they were children. She ran back to Lily laughing about the sty neighborhood where 'that awful Snape boy' lived.

Severus had never been so humiliated in his life. At that moment he pleaded for a little accidental magic for the ground to swallow him whole. But Lily didn't look at him with pity, or treat him like some kind of special case. She had told him she was his beast friend no matter what, and said if he ever needed anything- or just wanted to talk she'd be there for him.

"Get me another, boy." His father growled, breaking threw Severus' thoughts.

"Yes sir." Severus said quietly, walking towards the cramped kitchen. It was strange now that Severus looked around. His mother, Eileen, was usually always cleaning or cooking. She hadn't been allowed to use magic since she had married Tobias, but at least she knew how to clean well enough without a scorify charm to help her. Something was off.

The kitchen was a mess. Dinner was no where to be found, and there was no one to scream at father about what a mistake it had been to marry him. In fact there wasn't a trace of his mother anywhere.

Severus came back to the living room , passing the cold beer to his father who snatched it roughly.

"The house needs cleanin boy," Tobias snapped, flicking through the television channels, "Dinner as well."

Severus froze. An icy chill ran down his spine.

"Father...where's mother?"

"You," Tobias said slowly with a deadly glint in his eye, "get your ugly mug in that kitchen and make me dinner... And if I hear another word about that bitch who bore you-" Tobias pause to take a long drink of his beer, "your gonna wish I'd drowned you as soon as she opened her legs to have you."

It was said with such a quiet calm, it almost sounded affectionate.

It was at this point that Severus' hand twitched towards his wand. His father hadn't even looked at him. Something was wrong...something was very, very wrong.

Severus felt his blood boil, but did not immediately retaliate. Getting expelled for hexing his own father into oblivion wasn't something he needed. He was silent, but that did not stop the panic from rushing in.

Without another thought, Severus sprinted up the rickety stairs as fast as he could searching every room.

"Mother-Mother!" Severus shouted, opening and slamming doors. "Mother!"

he stumbled back down the rickety stairs, blind with pure panic. His father was still sitting where on the tattered, stained sofa. He hadn't moved, and looking more absorbed in the telly than his own son's hysteric search.

"Tell me where she is!" Severus roared, unafraid of the consequences. "Tell me you son of a bitch! Where- is -SHE!"

What happened next he fully expected, but that didn't mean it wasn't painful. His father had flown at him, slamming Severus against the opposite wall with all his weight. Severus' head hit the wall hard, making a sharp cracking sound. He felt dizzy. Warm fluid trickled down the back of his neck.

Blood.

Large calloused hands wrapped around his throat, squeezing tightly. Severus struggled frantically and helplessly in terror. All thought and reason left him as he clawing his throat, which made no difference one way or another. His lungs protested for air, burning his throat.

Tobias leaned forward, putting all his strength into crushing his sons windpipe. In the gloom of the house he saw his fathers face, inches away from his own. His pale flesh shinned with sweat, but his face revealed nothing. Tobias glared down at his son without the slightest palpable emotion.

"I broke that little cunts scrawny neck." Tobias growled, smelling unwashed and drunk. "I threw her stinkin body in the river. Thought she could get away from snoopin' threw me pockets! Told me she's been sending you me hard earned money!"

White hot rage . He knew his magic was going wild, but didn't care. The house- foundation itself shook. An invisible force began to pick up in the sitting room ,blowing pieces of garbage around the room. Still Tobias squeezed.

Don't let me die! Merlin, please. I don't want to die, not like this- not in this hovel. Lily! I have to tell her- I have to beg her forgiveness. I can't die. Not here. Not now. Not without seeing her again!

The magic was desperate. It fought inside of him until finally it broke loose. White light blinded Severus, filling the entire room until nothing was seem at all. Then just as suddenly he felt the pressure against his throat leave.

At the same time Severus was thrown back by the force, and fell hard against the wooden floor. After a moment of disorientation mixed with nausea, Severus struggled to his knees and vomited. A filthy stream of spoiled breakfast from the Great Hall earlier that morning covered the floor.

He shrank back from it, miserable and drained. He could barely stop himself from shaking, but managed to pull lean himself against the rotted stair banister. He shut his eyes, breathing heavily.

He rubbed his bruised throat, ghosting his fingers over the tender flesh.

A momentary powerful relief coursed through Severus, as he thanked the fates. It was only when he opened his eyes did his breath halt completely at the sight before him.

Face down in a pool of his own blood was Tobias Snape, dead and unmoving.

His fathers onyx eyes stared off into space, unblinking. But it wasn't the blood or his fathers unblinking expression that held him frozen. It was the fact that while his fathers face lay face down, the rest of his body lay facing up.

It was a macabre sight. One Severus couldn't have imagined even in his wildest nightmares. There were many occasions where he imagined his father dying of a heart attack, or choking on a bone, or falling down a flight of stairs. He would dream of being free of Tobias, but not like this. Never like this.

For what seemed like hours he sat staring at his fathers dead body. Outside he could hear the sound of rain beating against the roof. He felt cold, and shivered but did not move towards the fireplace.

From the silence came a little delighted laugh. Severus realized it had come from him and without warning burst out in a fit of high pitched laughter which threaded hysteria.

The fierce sound of wind breaking the shutters was drowned out by his laughter, which soon turned to cries. Quickly he scrambled to his feet and ran in the opposite direction , out the front door. He ran down the pavement, as fast as he possibly could. He didn't think, he only knew he had to run. There was no stopping him.

He tripped, sending himself falling into a puddle of muddy earth. For a moment he lay there, gasping for air. The rain pelted his face. He trembled uncontrollably, soaked and alone.

He had killed his own father.

Through his cold despair he managed to rise to his knees. It was then he looked up and realized where his feet had carried him. Less than twenty feet away stood a fairly large suburban house with a neatly trimmed lawn.

"Oh God." Severus sobbed, hugging his middle protectively.

Lily's home.

Quickly Severus rose, hiding himself behind one of the many trees littering the yard. He managed to see a soft glow of evening lights through the draped windows. Lily's window was on the second floor. He turned away, fearful that he might see her, or worse- that she would see him.

He wondered what she was doing. He imagined her sprawled on the floor, reading ,or doing homework, as was her custom at the start of every holiday. Then when she was finished she would meet Severus by the rivers edge, and compare notes. They would debate topics, and fight over what piece of literature was rubbish. Lily would remark on how she couldn't wait to receive her O.W.L scores, and Severus would smile and reassure her that she would receive an 'Outstanding' in every subject, save Potions.

Those thoughts were impossible now. She had made things quite clear. She didn't want anything to do with him anymore. Even now she could still hear her last words ringing in his head.

"'Its too late. I've made excuses for you for years. None of my friends can understand why I even talk to you. You and your precious little Death Eater friends!'"

Even as the rain beat down, Severus shivered at the memory before slowly making his way back towards Spinners End.

Authors Note-

you know how I like it. Drop a review ;)