Hiya everyone! Tis I, I have risen, and I'm proud to present this masterpiece-in-progress to you. This lovely thing is co-written with the loveliest, bestest person in the world, bug-the-bugator! Be sure to check out her stories and follow! This is a cross-post on both AO3 and Wattpad, so you can also find us there!
Our A/N: Hello, our little Vengelings! Welcome to SINS OF THE FATHER! We're so excited to bring you on this journey of revenge and forbidden love! We'll be updating weekly every! Enjoy! 3
-Dreamer & Bug
Full Summary:
Severa Snape's plan was simple—on paper. James Potter had tormented her for years, and now it was time for payback. Her target? The last person he'd ever expect. But as the game unfolds, Severa soon realises that revenge is never as simple as it seems—and neither is the man at the center of it. Lines blur, emotions tangle, and the deeper she sinks, the harder it becomes to remember which of them was supposed to be the fool.
She set out to destroy a legacy. She never expected to become part of it.
Cokeworth, England. Spinner's End
"You're a woman—use it. Bring every man to his knees."
Severa Snape had heard those words from her mother more times than she could count. As a child, she never quite understood them. What did it mean to bring a man to his knees? And why would she ever need to? But she listened because that's what daughters did.
As she grew older, the meaning became clear—but not for her. That power belonged to the beautiful, to the girls with soft curves and eyes that men longed to lose themselves in. Severa had none of that. She was thin, not in the way that turned heads, but in a way that made people look away, uneasy, as if she were something fragile or wrong. She learned to live with it.
In time, she found power elsewhere. If people avoided her, they never noticed her watching.
It was easier that way. While others revelled in the spotlight, Severa moved unnoticed in the shadows, observing and studying. She saw how people worked—how they thought, how they reacted, and what they feared. She became an expert in reading their expressions, gestures, and the little cracks in their carefully constructed façades.
At Hogwarts, Severa often spent her spare time buried in books, studying anything she could get her hands on. If she couldn't polish her appearance, then at least she could sharpen her mind.
She became meticulous in her observations, spending hours studying people, dissecting their behaviours, and identifying what made them tick. The more she learned, the easier it became to find and use their weaknesses against them. By her later years at school, Severa had earned a reputation. Most people knew her as the Slytherin girl who sent people who spoke to her running away crying.
But Severa had long stopped caring what people thought of her. This was how she survived—her mind was her only weapon, the only reason she'd managed to endure under her father's harsh fist and the Marauders' relentless pranks.
Her whole life, she'd been her father's punching bag, and in her teenage years, she became the Marauders' favourite target. She was used to the insults, mockery, cruel nicknames, and hurtful comments thrown her way.
She had convinced herself that there was nothing her father could do or any prank the Marauders could pull that would ever surprise her—until one did.
By this point in her life, Severa had already lost her only friend—Lily—and was counting the days until she could escape the hellhole she'd been forced to call school. But she knew better than to think something good would come her way without a price.
The details of what happened blurred together. She only remembered flashes—the sharp pain, the laughter echoing in her ears, the hard hands, her own tears, the cruel mockery that followed her like a shadow for weeks.
It was a humiliation like no other. The entire school had witnessed it—she was reduced to nothing more than a joke in front of everyone. The Marauders had outdone themselves this time, and Severa could feel the weight of their laughter burning into her skin long after the incident.
The shame lingered, and she could still hear their taunts echoing in her mind. But the worst part wasn't the mockery nor the pain—it was the fact that Lily, her one supposed friend, had stood by, watching it unfold without lifting a finger to stop it.
Severa had known, deep down, that Lily's loyalty had been shallow. But this... this confirmed it.
The final betrayal.
In that moment, as she dried her final tears in an empty corridor, Severa understood that something deep inside her had snapped. She had no more tolerance for weakness or playing the role of victim.
She let her humiliation fuel a fire inside her—rage. Rage at the professors who stood by, silent and indifferent. Rage at the students who had laughed, revelling in her pain. Rage at the girl she had once called a friend.
But at the center of her fury, there was one person. One name that echoed relentlessly in her mind, over and over again, until it consumed her thoughts:
James Potter.
Marylebone, Muggle London.
Severa graduated from Hogwarts like every other student in her year—except for one glaring difference. She was the only one with no family or friends there to celebrate her. But she didn't linger on it. She moved on quickly, as she always did.
She had plans, grand ones. But before she could set them into motion, there were things to take care of—starting with finding a place to live. The thought of returning to the prison of her father's house was unbearable. She'd rather marry a Marauder than endure that again.
But there was a problem. She was jobless, with barely enough pounds to her name to afford even a simple hotel room. So, she came up with a solution: a roommate.
Severa reasoned that a roommate would be no different from a dormmate at Hogwarts. . So, she spent a few pounds to place an ad in a muggle newspaper, hoping for a response.
That's how she met Nicole, a magic-knowing muggle.
Nicole was everything Severa wasn't. While Severa kept to herself, quiet and withdrawn, Nicole was outgoing, lively, and unafraid to fill the silence. But Severa didn't have the luxury of being picky. With no other options, the two signed a lease, and just like that, they moved in together.
The first few weeks were an adjustment. Nicole's constant chatter, her friends coming and going, the music blaring late into the night—it was all so different from the quiet solitude Severa had grown accustomed to. But she didn't mind as much as she expected. There was something oddly comforting about the noise, the life that filled the flat, even if it wasn't her own.
Nicole, for her part, seemed oblivious to Severa's occasional withdrawal into herself. She wasn't the type to pry, and she quickly learned that Severa was someone who preferred silence over small talk. But that didn't stop her from trying to bring Severa out of her shell. She'd make little jokes, share her latest adventures, and invite her to social gatherings—though Severa always declined.
Still, there was a silent understanding between them, a truce of sorts. Severa had no desire to be close to anyone, but Nicole made it clear she wasn't about to let Severa disappear into the shadows completely. And, for now, that was enough.
And so, Severa would patiently wait for the perfect moment to execute her plans. She knew she faced a lengthy journey—one that started with creating a life distinct from the remnants of her past. Ultimately, this path would bring her closer to the one she sought to eliminate.
And eliminate she would.
Severa knew James Potter had his fair share of weaknesses, but none she could exploit enough to bring him to ruin. It gnawed at her for days, no matter what she did. When she woke up, her thoughts were consumed by ways to destroy him. Even as she started her new job, her mind never stopped working, always turning, always searching for that one perfect crack she could shatter.
She couldn't breathe without her thoughts grinding away, pushing her closer to the edge. She was about to snap until—of all people—Nicole came to her rescue.
Severa was only half-listening to Nicole's story about how she'd gotten back at her cheating ex when she heard it.
"-and so I was like, if you wanna mess around with my friends, then I'm gonna mess around with your family!" Nicole said, her voice full of self-satisfaction.
That was it. That was the key.
Severa's head snapped toward Nicole, her mind and eyes freezing in place. "His family?" she asked, her voice smooth, betraying none of the shock that raced through her.
"Yep! I got with his brother. Oh, Vera, you should've seen his face when he saw me with his brother! It was—" Nicole's voice faded as Severa's mind began to churn.
James Potter had no brothers. The boy—no, man, as she would never acknowledge him as such—was an only child. Both of his parents were still alive. His father, his mother—his father...
And then it hit her like a bolt of lightning.
Fleamont Potter.
Severa's heart raced as the idea solidified in her mind. Fleamont Potter. The one person who could be the key to everything. James' father was a man of status, influence, and wealth—someone who could be just as easily manipulated as any other fool.
Nicole rambled on, oblivious to Severa's sudden shift in focus. But Severa wasn't listening anymore. Her mind was already forming the plan.
Fleamont was no different from any other man. And like all men, he had weaknesses. There had to be something, some crack she could slip through. All she needed was the right angle, the right push. And once she had him and made him fall into her trap, it would destroy everything James Potter held dear.
After all, like her mother always told her, she was a woman, and she would use that to her advantage. She would bring Fleamont Potter to his knees before her.
Severa's gaze sharpened, and her thoughts became cold and calculated. Nicole's voice continued to blur in the background, but it didn't matter. She had a target, the beginning pieces of a plan, and this time, she would be the one in control.
Fleamont Potter would be her key; through him, she would tear down James Potter's life, piece by piece, brick by brick, until he was the one on his knees before her. And she would ruin him like he ruined her.
A cruel smile touched her lips; yes, James Potter wouldn't know what hit him until it was far too late.
We hope you enjoyed it! Be sure to let us know what you think! Until next week! 3