A/N- This chapter sort of took on a life of its own. Let me know what you think! Leave a review.

Severus and Lily sat and talked for hours about the magical world. Everything that he knew, she now knew. Of course, there were a few exceptions; he didn't want to scare her with the very dark things just yet, but she knew about Hogwarts, The Ministry of Magic, Azkaban and a whole bunch of magical creatures.

"How is it that you know so much?" She asked, her tone critical.

"I'm really good at paying attention. My mum tells me all sorts of stories," he lied.

Lily lifted an eyebrow at him. Sev could tell she didn't believe him. "Well, I bet you'll be in Ravenclaw then, since you're so smart," she half teased.

Severus blushed. "We'll see," he sighed, wondering to himself if he would be sorted into Slytherin again or maybe Lily was right and he would end up somewhere else.

When the sun started to set, the two children decided to leave the playground, but promised that they would be back the next day to talk more about magic. Severus walked up the street to his house happier than he could remember ever being. When he got to the cobbled pathway to the door, he heard his father screaming.

"Eileen!" There was a loud crash of glass breaking. "Eileen, you bitch! Give me that wand! I'm going to snap it in half!"

Severus ran through the doors into the chaos. His mother kept casting protection charms around herself as his father threw anything he could get his hands on at her.

"You rotten witch!" he started running at her, raising a bottle in his hand.

"No!" Severus yelled, and put himself directly in his fathers path.

Tobias was startled by his son's sudden appearance. He sneered down at him and let out a hearty chuckle. "What's this? Severus trying to stick up for his mummy?" He mocked.

Severus clenched his teeth and fists as tight as he could. As he lifted his hands to punch his father just below the belt, Tobias grabbed his little balled up fist, and punched him hard in the face. Severus fell to the floor, gushing blood from his nose and his mouth. His father kicked him to the side and continued to Eileen.

"Stupefy!" Eileen yelled, and Tobias fell to the ground unconscious. She was immediately next to Sev, helping him to his feet.

"Quick, Sev. Go to your room. Pack everything you need. We're leaving," she panted.

"Where are we -"

"Now Severus!"

Before he knew it, he was up the stairs in his tiny bedroom shoving all of his clothes and recent notebooks into an old rucksack. His mother appeared in his doorway just as he finished.

"You alright?" She asked. "You look atrocious."

He hadn't noticed, but his nose hadn't stopped bleeding. His teeth were entirely covered in blood as were the front of his clothes. "I'll be fine," he gurgled through blood as he walked toward his mother.

"My poor, poor Severus," she kissed the top of his head. "I'm sorry I didn't do this sooner..." she trailed off, deep in thought.

"Mum, shouldn't we go?" He asked, eyeing the stairs, afraid his father might come up at any minute.

With that reminder, Eileen grabbed her sons arm, twisted on her foot, and they were gone from the house on Spinner's End.

They Apparated right outside of a big manor home. Severus had never seen it in his life; this one or the last one. At first, he thought it might be Malfoy Manor, but upon further scrutiny, he realized it wasn't.

"Severus," his mother sighed. "This is the Prince Manor. It's the only place I could think of taking you. My father'll be inside. I haven't talked to him in years..." she trailed off, a grimace on her face.

"Mum," he sniffed back the blood still flowing from his nose. She snapped out of her reverie and towed her son through the iron gate that surrounded the manor. They reached the ornate door and Eileen knocked in an odd, though distinct, pattern. The door creaked, then opened slowly. The two guests walked inside the foyer.

"Who's there?" an old man snapped.

"It's Eileen," she called back.

Severus looked around. The ceiling was twenty feet high and exorbitantly painted. The grand staircase went up and up; it looked as though it would never end.

"I know no one by that name," the voice was cold and coming closer.

"Please, father," Eileen pleaded. "Severus needs help."

"I suppose I can not punish the boy for his mother being a blood-traitor," the voice sighed. An old, round man came around the corner. His skin was sallow, and his face looked as though he had just sucked on a lemon. His hair and eyes were the same dark black of Eileen and Severus.

"Yes, yes. Don't punish the boy for my mistakes," she sounded as though she was begging. Severus was too enamored by his surroundings to really notice what was happening.

The old man scoffed. "Fine," he let out a deep breath, "The boy can stay."

Eileen breathed a sigh of relief just as Severus realized that he would be separated from his mother. He was about to protest when Eileen dropped to one knee and looked him straight in the eye.

"This is only for a little while, Sev. I promise," she said, almost crying.

"But mum, where will you -"

"I don't know yet, but I'm going to take care of things, then I'll come back for you."

The old man started tapping his foot impatiently.

"I'll write when I can, Sev. Until I see you, just be a good boy and listen to everything my father tells you. Obey, and you'll be fine," She gave him a pat on the shoulders.

"But mum..."

"No, Severus," she stood and turned to leave, "This is how it has to be. I'll be seeing you shortly."

Before Severus had a chance to say anything, she was out the door and he heard the familiar crack of Apparating.

"Well that was unpleasant," The old man coughed. "Now you. Get upstairs and clean yourself up. You're getting blood all over the place. Second floor, fifth door on the right. Go. NOW."

Severus climbed the stairs slowly, hoping to drip as much blood as he could on his vile grandfather's grand staircase.