A/N: Thanks to all those who favorited, followed, and reviewed this story. I especially like getting reviews. They tell me how the story is going and give me ideas. As stated before, this will be a longer chapter than the first. Be prepared.

Snape is a Halfblood? - Chapter 2

"Be-beep! Be-beep! Be-beep!"

Benjamin grumbled as he slammed his fist against the alarm clock. It immediately shut off. He blinked. "Dad!" he yelled. No answer. Good. That meant he had the house all to himself. He rubbed his eyes as he rose from the bed. He sighed. He had a feeling that today was going to be a long day.

A shower and a cup of coffee later, Benjamin was sitting behind his laptop, thrumming through his emails. This was one of the many muggle inventions he regularly used. Which wasn't really surprising considering he was raised by one. And still lived with them, for that matter. He took a sip of his coffee and clicked on the message most recently sent to him by Claire. He thanked God she was in the Ministry of Magic's Research Committee. Otherwise, he'd have had to waste time trying to teach her how to use a computer, which he was sure would have been a task in itself.

The email opened to reveal links that led to newspaper articles. Most of them had headlines that ran along the lines of "Snape: The Wizarding World's Anti-Hero?" and "The Previous Headmaster of Hogwarts: A Sourpuss Who Was Actually Good". He could already guess what most of these articles contained. A mean, fairly young wizard who was hated by almost all at Hogwarts, who, after losing the love of his life, made a vow to protect her darling son and all of mankind alike against the darkest evil of the world; Voldemort and his followers. Sure enough, when he began to read the documented works, he found that his assumption was correct. As it usually was.

He snorted. If Claire didn't have anything better to bring to the table soon, he would be abandoning the mission altogether. He no longer needed the journal he borrowed from her anyway. He finished it last night. As if one cue, his cell phone rang. "Hello." he spoke into it.

"Hey, Ben? This is Claire. Did you read the newspaper clippings I sent you yet? I noticed something different in that second story written by Thomas Jargen. Did you catch it?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Something different?" He clicked back on the link and quickly scanned through its contents. "Claire, what are you talking about? I don't see anything."

There was a sarcastic gasp from the other end of the line. "What?! Seriously? Mr. Know-it-all for once doesn't see-"

"Can we get to the point here?" he snapped.

"Sheesh, touchy." she teased. "Alright, in all seriousness though, it mentions that Snape was bullied when he was in high school. How could you have missed that?"

'Huh?' he thought. He pressed the Ctrl and F keys and sure enough, it was there, highlighted in yellow: 'From an anonymous source, we have been informed that the young professor may have faced bullying back when he attended Hogwarts. However, we have yet to uncover more details regarding this possibility. Some of my staff even believe this accusation to be false.'

"Correction; it says he may have been bullied. Not that he was."

"Perhaps you're right, but it's a new lead! I even started digging around through the archives and I stopped at a section I never even knew we had! It's all about the Death Eaters and the muggle damage they had caused during their terrorism. I discovered the ministry must have confiscated some of their items because I found Bellatrix Lestrange's wand, the leftover remains of several who died at the Battle of Hogwarts, and a diary written by Avery Williams when he was still a teenager. What I saw in some of his daily recordings was shocking! You won't believe some of the stuff I've learned! Oh! - you've just got to read it! I've already sent an owl over. Be expecting it soon!"

A voice in the background could suddenly be heard. "Hopkins! Get back to work! You don't get off until 3 this evening!"

Claire gulped. "I must leave now. Don't forget to read the diary! Tell me what you think once your done!" She clicked off.

It wasn't too much later that an owl came tapping on his bedroom window. He allowed the bird in and untied the parcel from its foot. The owl then hooted at him. "What? Polly want a cracker?" he asked. The owl hooted again. "Fine." He went to his night stand to retrieve owl feed. "Don't eat it all at once." he said, stuffing a dish with the food. The owl hooted for a third time. It appeared happy to be filling its tummy.

He averted his focus from the bird to scrutinize the blue diary in his hands. He turned to the first page. 'This is the property of Avery Williams, a slytherin at Hogwarts. If I catch you reading any further, I will pulverize you. You have been warned.'

"Try to pulverize me now, you racist scumbag. You're six feet under."

He returned to his seat behind the laptop.

Date: 09-13-74

Those Gryffindor goodie two shoes have been up at it again. Trying to get me and Mulciber busted for some of our pranks. I don't see how they've got the right. Those four dumb blokes calling themselves 'The Mauraders' always perform hexes and jinxes on other people and they hardly get in any trouble. It's nothing but favoritism, I say. Speaking of favoritism, Slughorn has been showering that mudblood girl with more and more praises each week. It's funny he doesn't realize yet that Snape's been helping her with most of her homework. Yep, Snapey boy sure does know how to pick them! I see her constantly bickering with him in the hallways. It's becoming somewhat amusing. Soon he'll get tired of her and choose someone worthier of his blood. I-

Not what he was looking for. He skipped ahead.

Date: 10-31-74

I met the hottest girl ever at the Yule ball today. I think she may have been from Ravenclaw. She was totally checking me out so I couldn't just stand there like the slobbering-

"No."

Date: 1-9-75

Snapey boy's birthday is today. The mudblood didn't get him anything. He's pretending like it doesn't bother him, but it obviously does. It's the first year she hasn't given anything to him. Well what did he think was going to happen? They've had fall outs since the beginning of the year. Anyways, to help the chap cheer up, I made him a Voo doo doll of James Potter. I encouraged him to stab it and curse it as many times as he wanted. He appeared more surprised at my knowledge of knitting rather than pleased at my gif-

"Lame."

He began to flip past a lot of pages, picking up tid bits of unnecessary information here and there. He passed through Death Eater initiation events, procrastination on exams, sorrow days, happy days, accounts of steamy make-out sessions, Slytherin loosing a lot to Gryffindor-

A word suddenly popped out at him and he halted.

Date: 11-27-75

I stayed up late tonight, reflecting on what Lucius had told me about Lord Voldemort when Severus walked in. I noticed with faint curiosity that he looked terribly pained. I don't think he was expecting me to be up in the common room at this late of an hour because he jumped once he noticed my concealed presence in the shadows. Probably felt me rather than saw me. He futilely attempted to mask his suffering with a blank expression but I could easily see through it. "Hurting much mate?" I called to him. He ignored me. He started heading towards the bathrooms. He was walking funnily so I rose up, in case the lad fell down when entering the stalls. Usually I do not offer help to others, but his behavior was so odd that my interest had been piqued.

I am not ever sure if he realized I had followed him but to my surprise and embarrassment, he began to undress. This brings me to believe he was unaware of me and was so preoccupied with soothing his agony that he forgot about me entirely. Before I knew it, the halfy had stripped down all the way to his underwear! I was not getting ready to witness the sight of his Snapey-ness so I automatically started to turn around. But alas, in my peripheral vision as I turned, I saw a peculiar thing.

The dragon down their in the dungeon no longer had two eggs to guard but one! My jaw slackened. "Aye man! What in the bloody hell happened to you?!"

I don't care what those Gryffs try to say about their precious magic; cutting a man's balls off was not light at all.

Severus had stopped in his tracks. "I got them back." he said, but the way he sounded made me think otherwise.

"Was it Potter?"

"No."

"Sirius then, eh? He's the only one with the balls enough to try dark mag-oh! Sorry mate. Didn't mean for that one to come out that way. But if what they did to you is considered Light magic and not dark, then they don't have a right to call us evil. They got you good."

Severus didn't say anything. I was obviously not making matters much better. Which I honestly found to be humorous.

I feel a little bad for Snapey- boy though. This is isn't the first time that lot has targeted him. Sometimes he has it coming, but he normally doesn't initiate the conflicts. That bloody Gryffindor chaser is so jealous of him being with that mudblood that he is hellbent on making Severus's life miserable until he gives her up. Knowing how stubborn Snape is, that might not happen for a long time. It's pathetic really.

Snape's also been sneaking out a lot past curfew recently. He's been going on about this nonsense that he thinks one of the Marauders is a werewolf! Ha! How silly is that right? I don't really care for the professors here but I don't think they would be that stupid and reckless! I think he should quit his snooping before he makes the rest of us look bad and costs us house points!

So Snape had been bullied? By this so called "Marauders" group? It was quite clear that the Potter mentioned in the pages was referring to James Potter, Harry's father. The werewolf then? Who was he? Remus Lupin? He was the only one coming to mind since Benjamin faintly remembered a sick looking professor who later resigned from the DADA position at his school due to his hazardous condition. It would even make sense if it was Lupin since Lupin would have been around the same age as James when he had first started attending Hogwarts.

Nearing the middle of the diary, Benjamin randomly turned to a page and began to read it.

- upset that she still hasn't forgiven him yet. It's been a week now. He's respecting her wishes, but I wish he wouldn't because him being depressed is not doing well for my grade in Transfiguration. I don't think he meant to call her mudblood. I've tried to introduce him to other girls but he barely even looks at them. He keeps gazing at her across the Great Hall, even right now as I write in this. I think he still has this small hope that she will return to him. I highly doubt it. I've got the sneaking suspicion that despite her apparent 'hatred' of Potter, she actually has a thing for him.

It's not like I stare or anything, but it's hard to ignore when she reacts almost to anything Potter says in Herbology class (it gets pretty loud in there now!). Paying that much attention to someone certainly must mean you don't view them as a 'waste of time' or a 'willy nilly toe rag'. She's also accepting more of his compliments. Wait! - Snape's curious about what I'm w-

Benjamin backtracked. What had he missed?

Date: 5-16-76

I told him it wasn't going to last. I know I have done my fair share of pranks in the past, but none I believe has taken the cake as much as the one they did today. The Marauders were on the prowl again, going around as usual and hexing other students for fun. There was the arrogant chaser, the blood traitor, that wimpy fat kid that always seems to tag along, and that prefect boy. It was a free period for me so I was talking with Mulciber and some other friends in the courtyard. There was about eight of us huddled together in total.

The Marauders knew better than to mess with a big group so they searched for other victims. And that must have been when James recognized Snape staying to himself by a tree, quietly reading a book. Everything happened so fast after that. James had disarmed Snape before Snape could defend himself and turned him upside down. Not too long afterwards, Snape was choking on soap and being undressed. Everybody, with the exception of me, Mulciber, and a few in my group, were cackling and pointing fingers at the pallid, sallow faced, scrawny - much too scrawny as in, I can see his ribs and spine scrawny- sixteen year old. Snape would manage to get a jab at James and scratch his face later on but it wouldn't accomplish much.

The mudblood had also shown up by this time. But get this; she is a prefect and supposed to be his 'best friend'. She was placed way higher in his mind than what he ever thought of me and Mulciber. Yet she only talks to James to try and get him to stop instead of actually using her prefect status to condemn James and force him to put Snape down. And what else? I saw her begin to smile at what James was doing to Snape before she tried to pretend like nothing happened and continued to 'defend' Snape. She eventually persuaded Potter to stop his antics but naturally, as Snape became aware of our presence and had just lost his dignity in front of the girl he loved (he can try to claim he just sees her as a friend all he wants; no one can tell me he doesn't love the girl by now) and the whole school, he unintentionally lashes out as she approaches him and he calls her a mudblood.

I don't know if Snape saw her smiling, but if he did I certainly agree with why he decided to finally use that word against her. It was a long time coming. But I guess the girl felt self-righteous and betrayed so she calls him Snivellus, the nickname the Marauders refer to him as, and comments on how he may need to wash his undergarments. Now that was striking below the belt. It's true that Snape doesn't seem to know how to properly take care of himself (yeah, he really needs to get better at that; he tends to smell at times), but I believe there's more to his story. He doesn't speak much about his home life and there's a reason for that, I think. Severus is someone who seeks for a higher power that will accept him despite his faults and his insecurities. Lord Voldemort will look past his unappealing appearance and onward to his gifts, which is why he is so enamored with the Death Eaters. Whatever goes on at home and what he faces when confronting the Marauders is what I believe ultimately makes Snape want to be a follower of Voldemort. I've seen Severus get off the Hogwarts Express with the mudblood back in London. I know she knows more about his home life, but just doesn't tell anyone. So she should understand more than anyone what he goes through.

Man, what a bitch. Maybe the halfy will now see why we view people of her kind as inferior. In a way though, this incident can play into our good graces. Severus might become more easier to manipulate.

Benjamin's mind was racing with scattered thoughts. Some of them were necessary, while some of them were not. For one, he was actually beginning to feel sympathetic towards his old professor, which he certainly didn't like. Secondly, he really found it hypocritical for Avery to be shaming Lily for not doing all that she could for Severus when he hadn't tried helping at all. Thirdly, he was amazed by how observative and intuitive Avery was through out his pages for he only knew the deceased Death Eater to be a lowly coward(that was really the most surprising of all). And fourthly... he needed to know what had happened to make Lily and Severus's friendship so toxic. A girl having to hide back her laughter while her best friend was being ridiculed was a joke. He wouldn't even say they were still friends by that point.

And just what was going on at Snape's house? It sounded like neglect. It would explain how even up until his death, Snape never learned how to properly take care of his greasy hair or yellowy, crooked teeth (although the odor he carried wasn't that bad...he just smelled of old shoes). If you had to teach yourself how to bathe and dress yourself since you were young, especially with limited materials, you might not get the best of results. And to top it off, if you did it all your life, you may see nothing wrong with it and thus never try to enhance your appearance. And Severus Snape was not known to care for appearances. Another understandable thing, since the most attractive people in his childhood ended up torturing him and those who thought him too ugly to look at judged him and ignored him.

Benjamin closed the diary and leaned back into his chair. He checked the time. 12:30 pm. Too early to call so he sent her an email.

You win. I'm now interested in the background history of Snape (no matter how reluctant and mad at myself I am to do so).

A/N: This was originally supposed to be longer but I felt I would be putting too much content into one chapter. So I ended it here. It should only take another two or three chapters and then we should be getting to 11 year old Snape! :D It's also after 3 am when I write this so I am sorry for any mistakes. I am sorry if you wanted something else besides a recap on some of the events in the books. But I am trying to show you how Benjamin's view of Snape slowly begins to evolve. Thanks! Until next time!