It was a whole week after Lily had died and Severus didn't have any idea how he had survived till now.It wasn't just that Lily had died, maybe if she had died of natural causes it would be somehow tolerable; but Severus had to go and tell the prophecy to the dark lord of all people, a prophecy which cause harm to Lily's son...his best ...former best friend...
What a f* up world it was!eh?
As he was laying on his bed in Spinners end, minding his own business and drinking garbage wine from the neighbourhood ; suddenly his door was knocked on.
Save was bewildered. who it might be? It was not that he had been giving his address to the Wizarding world as a whole. From all the lot of people he knew, he gave it maybe to Narcissa or Albas? Both knew better to bother him now, so whomever it was, he or she could go f* themselves for all he cared.
When they're kn ocking did not cease , he gave up the fight and went to open the door.
Imagine his surprise when he was faced with a Bellatrix smiling Madley at him:
"Merlin Snape! I thought you will never come! Just what is this dumpster hole you crammed yourself into?"
There was a sharp retrot on his tongue, but he was not crazy enough to insult the insane witch.
"Charming as ever Bella, are you? I am obviously laying low now that our lord...
Bellatrix exploded" our lord what? "
Then bared her forearm,
"See, see? He is not gone, weakened yes, but he is not gone! If we just go and find from those filthy muggle lovers that call themselves order... they might know something!or maybe they have info on the location of that bloody boy who is now called boy who lived!"
Severus considered her reasoning, if a mad bitch like her could put it together.. he had to go and alert Albus, but how? He had sworn to keep the boy-her son- safe, what if whereever Bella was going was somewhere they knew about his placement?
Bellatrix sensed his hesitance.
" what is it Snape? Not man enough to go and take revenge ? Or this is something else? You traitorous..
He had to do something and be quick.
" calm Bella, I was just thinking about which potion we might need, if it is only us two.."
Bellatrix eyed him suspiciously, but said nothing. Then cackled.
" you will be surprised!"
When minutes later, he was facing Rodolfos and Rabastan, Barty jr and The two Dolohoves, he knew this night was doomed anyway.
Severus was seriously considering to go back to the time when the knocking got louder. Why in Merlin's fluffy pajamas he had to go and open the door for Bellatrix Lestrange queen of Madness of all people?
Then it got much more entangled when they landed near Longbottom Manor. Severus was sure as the Godmother of the brat who loved, Alice would surly know where the boy had been placed. And if not, Alice was sworn Sister of Lily, so there was a chance death eators knew a spell to find the potter brat via the link. Fear gripped his heart,what was he to do?
How could he save his cover and the location of the boy?
He prayed that their kid, Nina Longbottom was with her grandmother in north.
While he had interrogated people with truth serum and legilimency, he had not taken part in torture or killing, as he was the only one competent enough to brew, with no healer in sight; he had often brewed the potions the healers brew. The only difficulty here was that he could not have blood on his hand , as the healing potions needed a unstained soul.
(This was a white wash lie he and Albus invented, as the stupid wrinkled maggot refused to have him While he was not sure he had not killed anyone. And he, just branded with the Mark the day before he had the mission , his first one, to spy on Dombledore on Hog's head-the blasted Prophecy and all- had not even known about the inner circle, let alone killing. After that? This lie took care of it, and then the professorship came)
Anyway he, in his glorious drunkenness, had lost the button meant emergency, so no way out also.
Then hell broke lose.
Apparently Frank was alerted as soon as they apparated in and activated the anti apparition ward. Trapped as the longbottoms were, as seasoned aurors they knew what was happening.
A series of spells were cast, he barely managed to not be hit.
Frank, and his mother stood side by side.
"You will die here death eater scums!"
The duel was nothing but deadly, unforgivables shot from every side.
Crucio!
Bombarda!
Incendiary maxima!
Lumus solem maxima!
He , in a desperate act to escape this shit show, had brushed against Frank's mind.
"I am the spy!"
Frank's eye widened, he had not believed him, did he?
" You were in order secret house in yorkshire, it belonged to Albus, it had lemony curtains !"
This was it. He had believed him.
He wanted to sigh in relief but there was no time.
" watch yor left you moronic imbecile!"
Frank turned to his left, successfully thwarting Dolohov attempt.
The battle seemed to pause for a second.
Shit! He had not said that in Frank's mind! He had said it out loud!
Now all eyes were on him . The silence was thick as ..
Bellatrix shouted: traitor!!
Then everything got worse.
He took out Dolove by a timely petrificus- not sure which one, stupid arrest look too much alike , the death twins! While he cut Barry's wand hand with a clean sempera.
Lady Longbottom dueled both Rabastan and Rodulfus, while he managed Barty and Frank was dealing with Bella and the other Dolohov.
No Alice in sight.
Suddenly Agusta yelled.
She had been cut with a Bomabarda. No worst time to die.
Now there was only himself and Frank against five.
Minutes later , Frank desperately Shoved him to a clove, hiding from the lot.
"Listen, Alice and Nina came down with Fever, I have activated the wards so no one but you can enter the room, come hell or doomsday, no matter what. I will key them to you now, I will stall them...
Severus refused.
"No you must be the one going, they will kill you and...
"Listen you stupid arse, I was hit with a poison dart during battle, I feel it even now running in my blood, I will not survive but you...
Oh, so one of Bella infamous darts...he had only minutes then.
He shakes Frank's hand then, and promises to look for his girl, come heaven or hell.
Albus has seen the memories he had extracted from his once spy too many times, still his heart aches when he sees this part.
Severus maintained his promise. When Frank fell, he was found out before he could smuggle Alice and her daughter, as they were weakened from Fever. He had spelled one of his own wards over them, Albus called it the coffer jokingly. There was no way it opened unless given a code.
Albus jested that there was no way his code would not be cracked. If anyone knew him even a bit...
Severus maintained the promise, even when he was tortured beyond what anyone could tolerate.
His memory , many parts of it were gone. Albus had cracked the spell with the code, the only one he knew Severus would have used.
Lily Evans.
Now, almost two years later, He was staring at his once spy.
In these years, he had gone about the memories too much.
His poor upbringing.
His relationship with Lily.
His damned damned father...if one could tell that. Albus was sure he himself could burn the guy alive if the stupid drunk was not dead already. Belting a child? Making them beg to stop?
Albus thought he knew what evil was, clearly some were even more evil than that.
Albus himself was no saint, playing people like pawns, meddling and shaping peolpe.
But that...
And he had no idea of how the werewolf incident was, clearly he had thought Potter was right. But the memories told a different story.
So no, Lily Potter was not the saint he thought.
Potter was a deciving little devil just like Albus himself, who created a map only to torture a lonly Slytherin. Plus he had not stopped the pranks at all.
He had just made it look more innocent.
Albus was not sure what to make of Potter senior, but Potter junoir needed to shape not like the selfish brat his father was, maybe more like his mother, however flawed she was, was still loads better.
Didn't it tell how fucked up it was?
So he placed the boy with his mother family, Petunia looked like a good enough girl in her letter, who wanted to join her sister in Hogwart's just to be with her, even as a muggle she was.
As Alice Longbottom, now lady Longbottom, did not want to do with anything related to Lily now that she had lost , no seen ,her Husband, and her mother in law murdered brutally ,just because she could have been a link to the boy who lived.
And not that she had not seen the whole Severus torture session too.
Albus really had nothing to say to that,no one could see that much brutality and leave unmarked.
Now he was beside his kind of confidant, dare say friend? Telling him of his plan.
You see, it became a habbit of his , to come and see Severus every weekend, some days to complain about the new defence teachers, sometimes to confess his regrets, or just sharing moments.
He almost could hear Severus sparky remarks.
" yes yes, oh wise Headmaster, of course finding a half vampire to teach a bunch of rudy teens is a wonderful idea, in no way one will hurt themselves to drive blood, so the said teacher go mad with bloodlust, bloody brilliant!"
Or
" if you want to insult cats,remember to stay away from Minerva, maybe next time instead of tranfigring you to a hen, she would turn you to a mouse and eat you herself, no more snide remarks that way"
Was it strange he had taken to say things to him?
Yes
Was he cracked to try and attempt to give him a totally experimental potion?
Yes.
But what option he had left?
In a week, they were about to stop his treatment altogether, as he did not respond to anything at all now.
Albus looked at his half burned body, his deformed bones and lost fingers.
Albus Dombledore was a selfish basterd.
But he did not want Severus dead, not by his hand.
As he was his sole guardian, he had to give the order to stop those spells that kept him alive.
He could handle murder by his design, but his own order?
It was like taking a life all by himself.
So...
So...
He spelled the potion, a mix of phonix ash and filix filicis in him.
He secretly hoped this gave Severus another chance, he had even contacted Arabella Figg to take him in.
Maybe Severus, if stationed near Harry, would be able to become the boy's kind of mentor.
It was his plan, and most of his plan worked beautifully, why not this?
So he waited for the effect, to heal Severus enough for him to wake up.
And waited
And waited
Like everything in his life nowadays, it did not go well at all.
Ten minutes later, Albus was alone with a three year old on his hand, bewildered and confused.