Summary: Severus Snape was the bravest man Harry ever knew. What would of happened had Severus been sorted into Gryffindor instead. What if he only loved Lily like a sister and became friends with the Marauders.
Marauder Era, Gryffindor!Severus, Slytherin!Peter
Pairings: Sirius x Severus x Remus and James x Lily
Warnings: Homosexuality, Mentions of Abuse, Peter-Bashing, and M rated smut later on
Thanks to everyone who followed and added this story to their favorites. Here is part 10, 11 and 12 of my story What If.
Disclaimer: These characters to not belong to me and never will, if they did Severus would still be alive and the Dark Lord would have been victorious. These people belong to J.K Rowling, a brilliant woman.
Authors note: I have no beta so sorry for any grammar mistakes, no matter how many times I go over this I won't be able to catch all my mistakes.
What If
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Part 10: Summer- Severus's horrible home
(Warning: Implied Abuse)
Severus timidly opened the door to his home, scared witless about whom was possibly home. He knew his mother would be home, cooking, cleaning, or if Tobias was there, getting beaten. The first thing Severus noticed was how extremely quite it was. That put the young raven on high alert, there was always some type of noise, it gave Severus the knowledge of where his family was and how best to avoid them. Something had happened to his mother because she wasn't greeting him with her sad dark eyes. Closing the door behind him, Severus took attentive steps into the dusty house. What had happened for it to get so dusty, had him mother decided against cleaning? He hoped not, Tobias would pitch a fit if that were the case. Afraid now of what was happening, or lack there of, Severus softly called for his mother.
"Mother," Severus said a little louder.
A groan from somewhere in the living room was the only answer he got. That noise could only be from two people and he hoped to all Gods that it wasn't his father. There were heavy repercussions to pay if Severus woke his father from one of his many drunken comas. The last time Severus had woken his father from one of his drunken comas was a night he would never forget. The beating had been overly severe and had left him broken, very bloody and close to death. It had been that beating two years before the start of first year that had sent him into the protective arms of Lily and her family, minus the bitch Petunia. Deciding to risk it, just in case, Severus walked into his living room. The sight that met his eyes would forever haunt his dreams.
There was blood, everywhere, on the floor, on the sofa, on the walls. There was too much blood for it to come from one human being, but Severus knew that this had only come from one person, his mother. Severus couldn't see his mother yet, but something told him if he just moved around the couch, that he would be met with a sight unlike any other. With shaking steps, Severus maneuvered around the alcohol smelling room until he reached the couch. Since he was now closer than he was before, he could now hear a faint wheezing noise coming from behind the sofa that sounded utterly painful. Steeling his courage together, Severus finally went to see what could possibly be on the other side. What is eyes landed on was worse than he could imagine, even with all the blood smeared evidence around him that told of something very sinister happening here.
"Mother," Severus sobbed.
Lying in a gigantic pool of blood was Eileen Snape nee Prince, Severus's mother. At first glance she looked dead, but Severus remembered that she had been the one to groan and wheeze just seconds ago. Her chest moved slightly up and down, her blood stained lips parted, letting out stuttering, wheezing breaths that spoke highly of broken ribs and punctured lungs. It didn't take any time at all for Severus to immediately kneel by his mother's side, not caring about the blood that seeped in through his pants. He only cared about his mother who looked extremely pale, more so than usual. Her black eyes were open, but unseeing at the ceiling, as if her only concentration was on breathing and staying alive. She didn't react when Severus reached out for one of her hands, squeezing the appendage, trying to reassure her that he was here for her.
"Mother," he called again, hoping but knowing that she would not answer. Eileen made no move to show that she had heard her and Severus let out more sobs. Something was wrong with him mother, but he didn't know how to help. Hell, he didn't even know how she was still alive.
While concerned with him mother, Severus never noticed a figure walking up behind, until he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. There was a dangerous presence behind him and Severus had a very good idea of who it might be.
"Freak," Tobias slurred. That was all the warning Severus got as he was brutally kicked away from his mother. Severus let out a piercing cry at the pain in his side, a rib might have just snapped. His cry however, seemed to penetrate what ever fog Eileen's mind had been in, as she was now staring at her husband in horror.
"Still 'live b'tch," Tobias stated nastily, toeing Eileen's head with his boot. Severus's mother could not move in her state so she could do nothing but lay there, helpless against her husband. Tobias didn't seem to like that she had lived as he prepared to kick her head, maybe he could kill her with this last blow. Severus, against his better judgment, couldn't watch as his mother was killed, so consequences be damned. It took no time at all for Severus to get his wand out and pointed at his father, who stopped what he was doing to glare at his abomination of a son.
"Don' yah point that stick at me," Tobias bellowed in rage. Forgetting Eileen for a moment, since he would be back, he staggered towards his son. Fear gripped at Severus's heart, his hand and wand quivering. Tobias smirked cruelly.
"Kill yah first," Tobias muttered, an insane smile on his face. Severus whimpered, as his father grew closer. He had done it now. He was going to die. He would never see Lily, James, Sirius or Remus again. Severus closed his eyes and waited for the first blow to come.
The blow never came; instead he heard a distinct 'thud' of a body falling and then silence. Opening onyx eyes opened to see his father, eyes wide open, frozen and lying on the floor with an expression of rage o his face.
"I've stunned him for now," came the weak voice of Eileen Snape. Severus looked to his mother, who seemed much more paler than she had been before Tobias had entered.
"Potions… in my room… under floorboard… find the blue potion," Eileen ordered tiredly. Severus didn't argue, instead he ran to Eileen's separate room and looked for a lose floorboard. Finding it, Severus opened it and pulled out a shimmering blue potion, which Severus knew to be a Blood Replenishing Potion. She would definitely being needing that, if the amount of blood she lost was any indicator. Not wasting any time, Severus brought the potion back to his mother, who had yet to move an inch. He slowly feed her the slimy, horrid tasting potion, noticing that Eileen seemed to be getting better.
"Now, my son… green and red potion… hurry," Eileen muttered quietly. Severus did as he was told, finding and feeding her the two new potions, which together would heal her enough that her life was no longer in danger.
This however wouldn't be enough and Severus didn't know how long it would be until Tobias woke up. The fact that he was hit with a Stunning spell while extremely intoxicated should have put him out for a couple of hours. With that in mind Severus decided to risk going to the Evans family for help.
"Mother, hang on. I'm going to get help," Severus spoke. Eileen said nothing, only looked at her son with misty black eyes. It hurt Severus to leave her like that, but there was nothing he could do on his own. He needed help. Severus ran out of the house at lightning speed, dreading every moment his mother was out of his sight. It didn't take long until Severus was at the Evans home, banging loudly on the door. Lily opened the door, seeing her best friend whom she had just said goodbye to an hour ago, bloody and panicked. Immediately she howled for her parents, horrified to see her friend like this.
Mrs. Evans was the first to appear and at the sight of blood on Severus she immediately ushered him in.
"It's not mine," Severus quickly bit out. As much as he loved Mrs. Evans, now was not the time for her to go over-protective on him. It was his mother he was worried about.
"Who's then," Mrs. Evans asked, still looking stricken.
"My mother's," Severus replied rapidly. Mr. Evans decided at that moment to show up, looking upon Severus with wide eyes.
"Please, my mother," Severus gasped. He didn't have time to be coddled by Mr. Evans, they had to get to Eileen quick, before Tobias woke up and finished the job. Mr. and Mrs. Evans took only a second to look at each other than at Severus and Lily before they were out the door, sprinting towards Severus's home. Lily watched as they left, placing a gentle hand on Severus's shoulder. Tears prickled the deep onyx eyes, but he would not allow them to fall, not yet anyways. Only when his mother was carried in, unconscious in Mr. Evans arms, did Severus allow him self to cry. Mrs. Evans and Lily comforted him, telling him that Eileen was still alive at that they had called the police. It was about time that Tobias paid his dues.
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Part 11: Summer- Severus and Lily's beginnings
Severus and Lily had always been there for each other, inseparable, like siblings. It had happened one day; Lily had shown signs of accidental magic in front of her sister, Petunia. Petunia, being the bitch that she was, called Lily a freak, and Lily not understanding what she was doing started to freak out. It was then, by a large blooming tree that a boy around her age, but small and undernourished, came out. He was beautiful and if Severus hadn't been wearing cloths specifically for boys, she would have thought him a girl, with his lithe figure, long black hair and soft features. The boy's beauty wasn't the only thing Lily noticed, it was his eyes, a color so dark that it blended in with his pupils, making them look like the boy had two big onyx gems for eyes. Those eyes however, held so much sadness and loneliness that couldn't help but feel the impulse to run and hug the raggedy clothed boy. The boy was holding one of the fallen flowers from the tree, his eyes never leaving Lily's green ones. Suddenly, the flower was transfigured into a bird that soared away. Lily watched in awe, while Petunia cursed the boy, calling him another freak, as she stomped away. The two of them were friends from then on, Severus telling Lily all about magic.
It was a year into their friendship that Lily finally found out about the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father. Sure she had noticed the odd thing here and there, like how skinny he was or how he seemed to have a few new bruises each week. However, Severus always played it off that he was just born skinny or that he was very clumsy and that was were all the bruises came from. Lily was just to young and had no proof to contradict what Severus had said, so she thought nothing of it. Severus nonetheless could not lie away what she has seen that day, a bloody little boy, cowering away in the hollow of the tree they had first met. The moment Severus had seen Lily, he had tried to bolt, but Severus's broken leg, with the bone sticking out, made that an impossible feat. Lily's heart broke at the pain filled cry that came from Severus's busted lips. Scared for her friend, Lily ran to get her parents, who when they found him went into full parent mode, caring Severus to their car, where they immediately went to the hospital. Severus was put into a cast after he had given the doctors the excuse that he had fallen off a tree after he had climbed to the top and didn't know hoe to get down. The doctors bought the excuse and let Severus go home after a few hours.
The Evans family, even though Severus told them the same thing, did not believe him. Severus finally relented and told them that his father had been particularly drunk and had caught Severus doing some magic to levitate a pan from the top shelf. Severus had needed it to make the man his lunch and the fear of getting beaten by his father for not making him something overclouded the knowledge that his father was only in the next room over. Tobias Snape hated magic, ever since he found out his wife was a witch, not a day went by that he didn't abuse her mentally, physically and sexually. The man had left Severus well enough alone, only neglecting him, but the moment Tobias saw the boy perform magic, was the moment Tobias knew his son would never be normal like him. Tobias's anger and resentment for magic had then been taken out on his son as well, not just only his wife. Eileen had tried to stop Tobias but she was a broken woman, a once great witch reduced to a caged woman, afraid over abusive husband and unable to help her precious son.
The Evans were shocked and disgusted with what Severus had told them of his family life and had wanted to press charges. Severus however didn't want this, as much as he loathed his father, he loved his mother, who was for all intense purposes still in love with Tobias, and didn't want to part from her. Lily and her parents really hated the idea of Severus going back, but he wasn't having it. If they decided to call the police Severus vowed to lie his ass off, he was not leaving his mother and the only connection to the Wizarding World he had. They final relented, but they opened their doors to the boy, telling them that if anything happened that he was welcome here. Severus had been so happy to have people other than his mother that cared for him. He would always treasure Lily's friendship and the love of her parents. To him they had become another family; the one Severus had wished he had been born with.
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Part 12: Summer- Severus's new family
Lily and her mother tried to comfort Severus, who was crying nonstop the minute his mother was cared in, looking to the entire world dead. That fortunately wasn't the case. Mr. Evans had called for an ambulance to take Mrs. Snape to the hospital while the police investigated the Snape home. Twenty minutes later, the sirens of an ambulance and police cars broke through the now quite home. Severus had stopped crying and was on the sofa with Lily and Mrs. Evans by he side. Mr. Evans was with Mrs. Snape, trying to bandage the woman as best as he could. The medical team came in and put the woman upon a stretcher and into the back of the ambulance. The police had also entered, looking at the near dead woman and taking down some notes that they would need for later. The questioning was hard on Severus but he answered truthfully and by the end, the two officers seemed sickened by what that man did. They left after compiling enough evidence to get both wife and son out and arrest Mr. Snape.
Mrs. Snape was released from the hospital after a week in the ICU unit. She couldn't go back to an empty home, since her husband had been arrested and he was the sole breadwinner. Instead the Evans offered her the same sanctuary that they offered her son and she graciously accepted. Severus was so happy to see Mr. Evans return with his mother with him, looking the healthiest she had ever been. It seemed she was treated better in a hospital than at her own home. Eileen quickly became friends with Lily's parents. Lily also liked her; she was nice and intelligent, just like Severus was. Severus was happy to have his mother alive and healthy. She had always been quite and reserved at home, watching with dull eyes and flinching whenever she heard a particularly startling noise, as if she were expecting something to happen. Now, knowing that Tobias was awaiting trial and she was around people who seemed to like her, she was thriving. Over the weeks her sunken skin filled out and she just like Severus gained back the necessary pounds. Her features were soft and she looked to be positively glowing now that she no longer had to look over her shoulder. Her hair that was usually greasy and lifeless was now full and luscious. Severus loved seeing his mother like this, it was how she was suppose to be like before Tobias sapped the life out of her.
Severus and his mother got closer and closer each day. They could talk about anything, especially magic. Severus could finally speak to his mother about what he had done at Hogwarts, how he was excelling in his subjects, especially potions. Eileen could also now freely tell her son about her days as a witch at Hogwarts and Severus and Lily listen, enraptured. Even Lily's parents seemed to like listening to Eileen's stories, asking questions here and there so they better understood what their daughter was going through. Days turned into weeks and everyone in the Evans residents was at peace, the two Snapes were easily assimilated into everyday life. The only one who seemed against even more freaks in the house was Petunia, but no one really paid the horse faced girl any mind, just let her grumble away. Soon the Wizengamot owled them about when the trial to convict muggle, Tobias Snape would be held. Eileen, Severus, Lily and her parents were to come in one weeks time to the Ministry of Magic, were the trial will be held in courtroom 3. Until then, the newly formed family talked about what they would say and what evidence to present. Eileen had to inform Mr. and Mrs. Evans that in a Wizarding court that to make sure one was not lying, they would be given Veritaserum and their memories of the event would have to be taken and viewed. Eileen explained that none of these things hurt and that it was necessary, so unlike in muggle trials, it was impossible to lie to the judges.
One week later after the new family headed to the Ministry of Magic, where in courtroom 3, the case of Tobias Snape attempting to kill his wife and son would be held. Wizard and witches all sat in a high seating area above the ground in a a semi circle around the accused, who sat, chained up with two aurors by his side in the middle of the room. The Evans family and the two victims sat together, waiting for the procession to begin so that they could testify then go home. The Minister Barctimus Crouch stood up impassively and addressed the court.
"We are here today under the aligations that Tobias Snape has attempted to murder his wife and son," Crouch stated with a dull monotone. Tobias looked up at the Minister with dark loathing eyes, before he turned his glare onto his wife and son, snarling. Severus flinched and Eileen immediately hugged her son, eyeing the man she once loved with pure hatred. What a love struck and weakly pathetic fool she had been for ever being with this man. He had been alright when they met and married, but once he found out what she was it was no longer a loving home. The only reason she stayed was because she was pregnant with Severus with no where to go once her father had disowned her after she had married a muggle. She had hoped giving Tobias a child would lighten him up and in the beginning it sort of did, that was until Severus started showing signs of accidental magic, making him a freak in Tobias's eyes. The moment Tobias started beating their child is when she should of packed up and left no matter the fact that they had no where to go, but she had blinded her self with love, when on occasions he would act like he really did care for them, only to come home drunk and abusive again.
"May the first witness come up to the stands," Crouch ordered. Eileen got up with a grace that Severus had only ever seen on the pure blood witches of Slytherine. Eileen walked up to the stands with a calm aura that radiated power, something Severus had never associated with his mother who had always been spineless. An auror came up and gave Eileen a small vial with a water type liquid inside and Severus immediately recognized it was Veritaserum. She drank it without flinching and waited to be asked a question which the potion would make her answer truthfully.
"Your name is Eileen Snape, correct?" Crouch asked, sounding bored.
"Yes," Eileen replied hazily.
"You are a pure blood witch of the most Noble and Ancient of Prince, correct?"
"Yes."
"And you have married this muggle and produced a half blood child?"
"Yes."
"Very well, is it true that Tobias has always been an abusive husband?"
"Not always, when he found out that I was a witch is when he started to abuse me mentally, physically and sexually. Even more so when he found out that the son he had sired was able to weild magic."
"I see, you will have to show us some memories so we can better process these accusations. You do not have to give us all of them for there are sure to be plenty but enough to show us that this has been happening for years. We will also need the memory of your near death experience by the hands of your husband. It was he who nearly beat you dead, correct?"
"Yes."
"Good, Severus Snape to the stand, you may go Mrs. Snape," Crouch stated, watching with sharp calculating eyes as Eileen went back to her original seat as Severus took the stands. Severus was also given some Veritaserum and questioned in the same manor as her mother. With the order to give some of his memories as proof, Severus went to sit down as the Evans family one by one were called up. They were given Veritaserum and asked questions which would have to be backed up with some memories. Throughout the entire trial Tobias sneered and growled at them, for the aurors had cast a silencing charm around the livid man. It if weren't for the chains holding Tobias down he would have tried to kill ever single person there with his bare hands. Fortunately he was chained down and his cruel words silenced. That had probably given Severus and his mother the courage they needed to walk towards the stands and to with sentencing the man to the likely fate of life in Azkanban.
The trial soon ended with the promise of the judges veiwing the memories and reaching a verdict in about a weeks time. The Evans and Snape family left together to go back to the medium sized house that they called home. The week passes by quickly, Severus and Lily occupied themselves with their school homework and Eileen showed the Evans how quickly house chores could be done with a little magic. Soon an owl flew in with an official looking letter from the Ministry telling them that they had their verdict and that they were to show up tomorrow in courtroom 3 at noon. The Evans and Snapes slept restlessly that night, nervous about what tomorrow would bring. Breakfast was an awkward event filled with silence and wary glances. This was it, Tobias had to be charged, if not then Eileen and Severus would have to return to that man. A divorce was out of the question because she knew that Tobias would be against it, wanting to keep them and make them feel all the pain they could for having the guts to go against him. Tobias was cruely a cruel man and Eileen was ashamed that she had even fallen in love with and married the man, but even more so that she hadn't divorced the man sooner when there would have been a more probable chance of getting away. After lunch, everyone just seemed to blur through the day until the time when they had to go to the Ministry. Entering courtroom 3, Severus and Eileen waited for the verdict on the man they once called father and husband.
The room was as it had been from the previous time they had been there, Tobias was once again in the chair in the middle, chained down and silenced with two aurors at his side. Bartimus Crouch looked slightly more alive then he did last time, looking down on Tobias with a sneer to match the mans own. Everyone waited with baited breath as Crouch began to speak.
"After the testimonies of Mrs. Snape, Severus Snape, Lily Evans, Mrs. Evans and Mr. Evans, as well as the memories they provided, this jury has come to a decision. The court has ruled that Tobias Snape is guilty of nearly killing his wife and son and abusing them for several years. The man shall be sentenced to life in Azkaban." Tobias looked muderous at the sentence, glaring with so much loathing at his wife and son, had looks been able to kill, they would have been six feet under. Eileen and Severus breathed a sigh of relif as the man who had tormented them for years was dragged from the room by the two aurors. The newly made family left the courtroom in a happier mode, glad that that man had gotten what he deserved. Eileen and Severus Snape were now free from that man and it was a great feeling. The Evans watched with happy smiles at how being free from one man could make the two people they had come to care about break out of their shells and be the people they were meant to be. It was truly a beautiful thing to behold.
The rest of the summer went by quickly, the two Snapes quickly found resident in the guest room of the Evans house. They had insisted that the two of them live with them, seeing as they had no where to go and the Evans enjoyed their company. They were now a happy family and Eileen and Severus were thankful to be given something they had been denied for so long. Eileen was finally able to go to Diagon Alley were she was finally able to access her vault, which was filled with money. She was now able to by presents for Severus, and even some for Lily and her parents. Eileen and Severus didn't get along with Petunia, so they stuck with ignoring the girl. It was quite easy to do so because Petunia left the housr frequently to hang with her normal friends and not with the abnormal freaks that now lived in her house. Severus and Lily wers so happy to be living together, this made them more like siblings. Lily was the big sister and Severus was her cute little brother, who she cherished above all else. This was the first summer that Eileen and Severus could admit to having in a long time and what made it better was the knowledge that this would never go away, they were a new family that would love each other like only a family could. Severus and Lily couldn't wait to go back to Hogwarts to tell their friends about what had taken place this summer. They just hoped they were also having a good as summer as they were, minus the attempted murder and nerve wrecking trial.
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Authors note: Another chapter done, please review. The more reviews the faster I go, they give me the inspiration to keep writing. Sorry it took me so long, my schoolwork has been catching up with me, and my AP exams and finals are growing closer. I have to focus most of my energy into this last month or so before I graduate high school, I still need to pass four more classes and I can't afford not to. I will try to have the next chapter in about a week's time, maybe more, maybe less. It may take longer as I have things to do, but know that I am not giving up on this story. I hope you all like it. Next chapter is either going to be Remus's summer or James and Sirius's, it all depends on which one I feel like writing first. There are going to be two more summer chapter's before I go on to their third year.