Chapter 25: Snape's Punishment
Unknown Time, Unknown Space
(Snape POV)
Snape woke up in a white place. Nobody was watching. Nobody else was there. He was not perfectly sure that he was there himself. he was lying, definitely lying, on some surface. Therefore, he had a sense of touch, and the thing against which he lay existed too. Almost as soon as he had reached this conclusion, Severus became conscious that he was naked. he wished he were clothed. Barely had the wish formed in his head than robes appeared a short distance away. He took them and pulled them on.
"Severus." He knew that voice, he hadn't heard it in decades. He spun around and there she was walking towards him. She looked exactly like the last time he saw her.
"Mum," said Severus, his eyes began to tear up.
"You wonderful boy. You brave, brave man. Let us walk."
Stunned, Severus followed as his mother lead him to two seats that Harry had not previously noticed.
"But you're dead," said Severus.
"Oh yes," said Eileen matter-of-factly.
"Then . . . I'm dead too?"
"That's a complicated question. You died, yes but whether you'll stay dead is the question."
"How could I have died. The last thing I remember is being in class. I remember the Potter girl, and I…" He didn't want to say it, fearing his mother being disgusted by his actions.
"… tried to use legimency on her," She continued. "Don't be ashamed, dear, in death, there are many who have done far worse than you."
"Then, what happened. Why am I dead?"
"The girl whose mind you tried to enter created her own type of mental shields. They were never tested and so your mental probe was reflected into your own mind causing you to have a brain aneurism, which lead to a stroke that killed you immediately. You really shouldn't try to use legimency on yourself," She chided.
"So, is this it? The afterlife?"
"No, this is limbo, what's between life and death. It's hard to explain, and I'm allowed to say very little. What does it look like to you?" She asked
"To be honest, it looks like King's cross."
"King's Cross station!" Eileen chuckled bitterly. "Makes sense, I suppose. It was your escape from me and your father. You have suffered so much. Manipulated so much. They used you and then discarded you. I have failed you, my son. This is my last gift to you. I hope that at least in Death I do right by you."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that for the first time in your life, I'm giving you a choice. An opportunity for you to take, if you want to. An opportunity to right your mistakes."
"How?"
"By sending you back, not to your time, but to another. I'm not sure when exactly."
"Do I deserve as second chance?"
"That's for you to decide, Severus."
Severus imagined righting his wrongs, achieving his dreams. He was slowly getting excited for this opportunity.
"Yes, I accept."
"Good luck my son, and be careful. Even changing something insignificant can have disastrous consequences."
"You're not my mother, are you?"
"I am yet I'm not. In death we are all one."
Severus woke up, disoriented from his odd dream. He stood up and noticed that he was shorter than he should be. He was in his old dorm in the Slytherin common room. He didn't believe what was happening. He ran towards to the bathroom and stared at the mirror for a few minutes. He looked young. Very young. He was barely a teenager. One last thing to confirm this.
'Tempus', He was in June 1975, he was taking his OWLS at the time.
"Snape, we're gonna be late to our Defense exam." He heard Avery shout. The boy was in Azkaban, the last time he heard. He realized that it was the defense exam, it was when his friendship with Lily had ended. This was his second chance and this time he will get the girl of his dreams
The exam was as easy as he remembered it and now, he was waiting for the Marauders to attack him.
Right now, he heard "All right, Snivellus?"
That was Potter no doubt. He ignored him and kept walking.
"Expelliarmus!" Severus saw the spell coming so he easily blocked it "Protego"
"Impedimenta." Black's spell was again blocked.
They seemed to get agitated by his lack of attack and kept sending spell after spell at him. Not a single one broke through his shield. Potter and Black ended up panting from their spell fire. Were they really that pathetic during this time? What did that say about him?
"Leave him ALONE!" James and Sirius looked around. James's free hand jumped to his hair again.
"All right, Evans?" said James, and the tone of his voice was suddenly pleasant, deeper, more mature. "Leave him alone," Lily repeated. She was looking at James with every sign of great dislike.
"What's he done to you?" "Well," said James, appearing to deliberate the point, "it's more the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean..."
"You think you're funny," she said coldly. "But you're just an arrogant, bullying toe rag, Potter. Leave him alone."
"I will if you go out with me, Evans," said James quickly. "Go on . . . Go out with me, and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again."
"I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid," said Lily.
"Look, I entertained this childish feud with you for too long. I have outgrown this and honestly so should you. I'm done. Get your entertainment elsewhere."
He turned and left towards the great hall, with Lily next to him. His new life was beginning.
The exams ended and it was summer. He left for his home. He was excited to see his mother again. His father, not so much. During the next few weeks, he spent time with his mother every day and thankfully his father was never home. He spent most of his time in a tavern. He spent time trying to better his control over his magic. He had returned to the past with his older self's magical power and his body was unused to this much power. So, he had to deal with some accidental magic when he was in Hogwarts.
One day, his father came home early. He decided to leave to spend time with Lily.
After he returned. He entered the house to find his mother being punched by his drunk father. Suddenly, he started choking her. "Where's your magic now you little freak."
Eileen was trying to breathe; her hands were waving wildly but were slowing down. Severus didn't know what was happening. This had never happened in his previous life. His father looked at him and grinned drunkenly. Severus was shaking in anger trying to find a way to help his mother."
"Are you angry, boy? What are you looking at? I can't believe I gave birth to a weakling like you."
Severus, already doing his best to control his magic, couldn't handle it anymore. His magic listening for his desire to hurt his father created a shockwave sending Tobias flying towards the end of the room.
Severus, felt drained and weak. He was magically exhausted and passed out.
He later found out that he had killed his father but that the blast had caused his mother to go into a comma. The healers didn't know when she would wake up. Riddled with guilt, he spent the time practically silent at the Evans household.
The next few years were somewhat nice though. He got control over his magic to avoid a similar incident happening in school. There were a few close calls during the years because of the Marauders but he was able to contain himself.
He had distanced himself from the members of his house. They tried to forcefully make him see their way but after a few incidents, they learnt not to provoke him. Seeing this change, Lily asked him out on a date and they have been in a relationship ever since.
He claimed the Prince inheritance, which was a nice cottage and a nice pile of galleons which he used to open his own apothecary that also sells potions. He was now Severus Prince. Lily, unfortunately, decided to join the Order of the Pheonix to combat Voldemort. They had argued about it but she wouldn't budge on this.
A couple of years later, they got married and Lily was pregnant with our child. I asked her not to take any order missions while she was pregnant but was rebuffed again. It was until a few times she was almost killed fighting Voldemort himself that she finally decided that it was dangerous for the baby.
On July 31st 1980, Harold Evan Prince was born and he had his mother's eyes. He was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. He thought he loved Lily but what he felt towards his son was far more than that. It was the happiest day he ever seen. It was a few weeks later that he was visited by Dumbledore. It appears that Voldemort wanted to kill us. It appears that the prophecy was leaked even when he wasn't there. He refused to allow his baby boy to be part of Dumbledore's machinations.
They decided to use a Fidelius charm with Dumbledore as the secret keeper. Even though he protested, he was ignored by Lily. She stops caring about what he thinks whenever Dumbledore was involved. He added wards of his own creation to make them more secure but he knows there isn't much that could stop him when he's determined.
At last, it was 31st of October 1981, the day Severus was dreading. Lily could easily tell that he was on edge. Suddenly, he could feel the wards being attacked and then falling. "It's him. Take Harry and go, I'll hold him off." Would you look at that Dumbledore betrayed us. How surprising. Note the sarcasm
"Severus Prince, it's nice to meet you."
"I wish I could say the same, Lord Voldemort."
"My quarrel isn't with you, step aside and I will spare you."
"Yeah, that's not going to happen."
The dark lord starts up with a killing curse that he sidesteps. He looked surprised. As the duel continues, it's clear who has the upper hand and it's not him. He only has one hope to survive this and that's by tricking the dark lord into his trap. It worked, he stepped on an invisible rune that rots the person touching it. The curse should kill him in a few seconds, suddenly a beam of light touches the rune trapping my enemy. The rune is destroyed and the explosion of magic throws me across the room. Shit he must have an invisible accomplice somewhere. I can barely move; a piece of wood is lodged in my stomach and I can tell that my ribs are broken.
The dark lord, for some reason uninjured from the blast, slowly walked to the stairs. I hope that Lily will be able to make it. Suddenly, a couple of minutes later, a wave of magic goes through the house cancelling all enchantments inside. And the invisibility spell of the man that freed Voldemort from my trap. It was Dumbledore. "You!"
"Yes, me. I'm so sorry, things had to end this way, my boy. It's for the greater good."
"Lily?" he rasped.
"I'm afraid Lily is dead, I'm afraid, sacrificing her life to save young Harry who was able to rebound the killing curse on Voldemort."
"Harry!"
"Oh yeah he survived, which brings us to our little issue. You were supposed to die with your wife. I'm afraid that for my plan to succeed you need to be out of the picture so to speak. Don't worry about Harry. I'm going to take care of him. Voldemort isn't dead after all, and young Harry will need my help to finally kill him. As it was prophesied."
"Monster…"
"I'm not a monster, I rather think myself a visionary and your son will help me realize my ideals. He will be a powerful tool after all. Unfortunately, you won't be there to see the world I will build. Any last words?"
Severus grins, "I made more than one… trap."
Suddenly, rune lit up underneath Dumbledore and he was caught in the same trap that Voldemort fell for. It's funny that both the most powerful Wizards of the Dark and Light were caught of guard by the same curse. Dumbledore started to rot and a few seconds later, he was but a husk, looking like a year-old cadaver. No one would be able to recognize him as the great Albus Dumbledore without the hideous robes that the rotten corpse was still wearing.
Severus crawled up the stairs to take a last look at his wife and son. He sobbed as he found her body and hugged her to his chest. His son watching with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead. It was the last thing he saw before passing out from blood loss.
It has been a few years since his wife's death, since he was sent to Azkaban without a trial for the murder of Albus Dumbledore by a smirking James Potter, the new head of the DMLE. The worst thing about this place wasn't the dementors. Their presence was agonizing but the worst thing was the mirror in front of him.
It was a scrying mirror keyed to one person, my son so I could watch him grow. I thought it was a blessing at first, until I found out who was his new guardian. It was that cow, Petunia. Since I'm technically a traitor and I don't have any relatives, he was raised by his mother's sister. That must have been Dumbledore's plan all along.
He saw as his son was starved, hit, demeaned. They were treating him worse than a house elf. They were slowly breaking him emotionally, physically. He was hit with belts, pans, he was tortured everyday for years. They instilled to him how magic was unnatural. How it's a curse. His son grew to hate his magic. His son, his beautiful son, the last remnant to Lily he had left, the only thing keeping him sane in Azkaban, turned into an obscurial. His magic went out of control and killed his relatives, his neighbors, the entire street was destroyed when he was done. In the end, it was too much for his six years old body to handle, and Harry died afraid and alone, thinking that no one ever loved him.
After all this time, after the dementor constantly were reminding him of his failures, with his mother, with Lily, it was his son's death that broke him mind.
In the real world, the class was silent, waiting for their potions professor to respond to Jasmine's rant when he suddenly started screaming. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he passed out. Nobody noticed the small smirk on the girl's face.
Chapter 25: Snape's Punishment
Unknown Time, Unknown Space
(Snape POV)
Snape woke up in a white place. Nobody was watching. Nobody else was there. He was not perfectly sure that he was there himself. he was lying, definitely lying, on some surface. Therefore, he had a sense of touch, and the thing against which he lay existed too. Almost as soon as he had reached this conclusion, Severus became conscious that he was naked. he wished he were clothed. Barely had the wish formed in his head than robes appeared a short distance away. He took them and pulled them on.
"Severus." He knew that voice, he hadn't heard it in decades. He spun around and there she was walking towards him. She looked exactly like the last time he saw her.
"Mum," said Severus, his eyes began to tear up.
"You wonderful boy. You brave, brave man. Let us walk."
Stunned, Severus followed as his mother lead him to two seats that Harry had not previously noticed.
"But you're dead," said Severus.
"Oh yes," said Eileen matter-of-factly.
"Then . . . I'm dead too?"
"That's a complicated question. You died, yes but whether you'll stay dead is the question."
"How could I have died. The last thing I remember is being in class. I remember the Potter girl, and I…" He didn't want to say it, fearing his mother being disgusted by his actions.
"… tried to use legimency on her," She continued. "Don't be ashamed, dear, in death, there are many who have done far worse than you."
"Then, what happened. Why am I dead?"
"The girl whose mind you tried to enter created her own type of mental shields. They were never tested and so your mental probe was reflected into your own mind causing you to have a brain aneurism, which lead to a stroke that killed you immediately. You really shouldn't try to use legimency on yourself," She chided.
"So, is this it? The afterlife?"
"No, this is limbo, what's between life and death. It's hard to explain, and I'm allowed to say very little. What does it look like to you?" She asked
"To be honest, it looks like King's cross."
"King's Cross station!" Eileen chuckled bitterly. "Makes sense, I suppose. It was your escape from me and your father. You have suffered so much. Manipulated so much. They used you and then discarded you. I have failed you, my son. This is my last gift to you. I hope that at least in Death I do right by you."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that for the first time in your life, I'm giving you a choice. An opportunity for you to take, if you want to. An opportunity to right your mistakes."
"How?"
"By sending you back, not to your time, but to another. I'm not sure when exactly."
"Do I deserve as second chance?"
"That's for you to decide, Severus."
Severus imagined righting his wrongs, achieving his dreams. He was slowly getting excited for this opportunity.
"Yes, I accept."
"Good luck my son, and be careful. Even changing something insignificant can have disastrous consequences."
"You're not my mother, are you?"
"I am yet I'm not. In death we are all one."
Severus woke up, disoriented from his odd dream. He stood up and noticed that he was shorter than he should be. He was in his old dorm in the Slytherin common room. He didn't believe what was happening. He ran towards to the bathroom and stared at the mirror for a few minutes. He looked young. Very young. He was barely a teenager. One last thing to confirm this.
'Tempus', He was in June 1975, he was taking his OWLS at the time.
"Snape, we're gonna be late to our Defense exam." He heard Avery shout. The boy was in Azkaban, the last time he heard. He realized that it was the defense exam, it was when his friendship with Lily had ended. This was his second chance and this time he will get the girl of his dreams
The exam was as easy as he remembered it and now, he was waiting for the Marauders to attack him.
Right now, he heard "All right, Snivellus?"
That was Potter no doubt. He ignored him and kept walking.
"Expelliarmus!" Severus saw the spell coming so he easily blocked it "Protego"
"Impedimenta." Black's spell was again blocked.
They seemed to get agitated by his lack of attack and kept sending spell after spell at him. Not a single one broke through his shield. Potter and Black ended up panting from their spell fire. Were they really that pathetic during this time? What did that say about him?
"Leave him ALONE!" James and Sirius looked around. James's free hand jumped to his hair again.
"All right, Evans?" said James, and the tone of his voice was suddenly pleasant, deeper, more mature. "Leave him alone," Lily repeated. She was looking at James with every sign of great dislike.
"What's he done to you?" "Well," said James, appearing to deliberate the point, "it's more the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean..."
"You think you're funny," she said coldly. "But you're just an arrogant, bullying toe rag, Potter. Leave him alone."
"I will if you go out with me, Evans," said James quickly. "Go on . . . Go out with me, and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again."
"I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid," said Lily.
"Look, I entertained this childish feud with you for too long. I have outgrown this and honestly so should you. I'm done. Get your entertainment elsewhere."
He turned and left towards the great hall, with Lily next to him. His new life was beginning.
The exams ended and it was summer. He left for his home. He was excited to see his mother again. His father, not so much. During the next few weeks, he spent time with his mother every day and thankfully his father was never home. He spent most of his time in a tavern. He spent time trying to better his control over his magic. He had returned to the past with his older self's magical power and his body was unused to this much power. So, he had to deal with some accidental magic when he was in Hogwarts.
One day, his father came home early. He decided to leave to spend time with Lily.
After he returned. He entered the house to find his mother being punched by his drunk father. Suddenly, he started choking her. "Where's your magic now you little freak."
Eileen was trying to breathe; her hands were waving wildly but were slowing down. Severus didn't know what was happening. This had never happened in his previous life. His father looked at him and grinned drunkenly. Severus was shaking in anger trying to find a way to help his mother."
"Are you angry, boy? What are you looking at? I can't believe I gave birth to a weakling like you."
Severus, already doing his best to control his magic, couldn't handle it anymore. His magic listening for his desire to hurt his father created a shockwave sending Tobias flying towards the end of the room.
Severus, felt drained and weak. He was magically exhausted and passed out.
He later found out that he had killed his father but that the blast had caused his mother to go into a comma. The healers didn't know when she would wake up. Riddled with guilt, he spent the time practically silent at the Evans household.
The next few years were somewhat nice though. He got control over his magic to avoid a similar incident happening in school. There were a few close calls during the years because of the Marauders but he was able to contain himself.
He had distanced himself from the members of his house. They tried to forcefully make him see their way but after a few incidents, they learnt not to provoke him. Seeing this change, Lily asked him out on a date and they have been in a relationship ever since.
He claimed the Prince inheritance, which was a nice cottage and a nice pile of galleons which he used to open his own apothecary that also sells potions. He was now Severus Prince. Lily, unfortunately, decided to join the Order of the Pheonix to combat Voldemort. They had argued about it but she wouldn't budge on this.
A couple of years later, they got married and Lily was pregnant with our child. I asked her not to take any order missions while she was pregnant but was rebuffed again. It was until a few times she was almost killed fighting Voldemort himself that she finally decided that it was dangerous for the baby.
On July 31st 1980, Harold Evan Prince was born and he had his mother's eyes. He was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. He thought he loved Lily but what he felt towards his son was far more than that. It was the happiest day he ever seen. It was a few weeks later that he was visited by Dumbledore. It appears that Voldemort wanted to kill us. It appears that the prophecy was leaked even when he wasn't there. He refused to allow his baby boy to be part of Dumbledore's machinations.
They decided to use a Fidelius charm with Dumbledore as the secret keeper. Even though he protested, he was ignored by Lily. She stops caring about what he thinks whenever Dumbledore was involved. He added wards of his own creation to make them more secure but he knows there isn't much that could stop him when he's determined.
At last, it was 31st of October 1981, the day Severus was dreading. Lily could easily tell that he was on edge. Suddenly, he could feel the wards being attacked and then falling. "It's him. Take Harry and go, I'll hold him off." Would you look at that Dumbledore betrayed us. How surprising. Note the sarcasm
"Severus Prince, it's nice to meet you."
"I wish I could say the same, Lord Voldemort."
"My quarrel isn't with you, step aside and I will spare you."
"Yeah, that's not going to happen."
The dark lord starts up with a killing curse that he sidesteps. He looked surprised. As the duel continues, it's clear who has the upper hand and it's not him. He only has one hope to survive this and that's by tricking the dark lord into his trap. It worked, he stepped on an invisible rune that rots the person touching it. The curse should kill him in a few seconds, suddenly a beam of light touches the rune trapping my enemy. The rune is destroyed and the explosion of magic throws me across the room. Shit he must have an invisible accomplice somewhere. I can barely move; a piece of wood is lodged in my stomach and I can tell that my ribs are broken.
The dark lord, for some reason uninjured from the blast, slowly walked to the stairs. I hope that Lily will be able to make it. Suddenly, a couple of minutes later, a wave of magic goes through the house cancelling all enchantments inside. And the invisibility spell of the man that freed Voldemort from my trap. It was Dumbledore. "You!"
"Yes, me. I'm so sorry, things had to end this way, my boy. It's for the greater good."
"Lily?" he rasped.
"I'm afraid Lily is dead, I'm afraid, sacrificing her life to save young Harry who was able to rebound the killing curse on Voldemort."
"Harry!"
"Oh yeah he survived, which brings us to our little issue. You were supposed to die with your wife. I'm afraid that for my plan to succeed you need to be out of the picture so to speak. Don't worry about Harry. I'm going to take care of him. Voldemort isn't dead after all, and young Harry will need my help to finally kill him. As it was prophesied."
"Monster…"
"I'm not a monster, I rather think myself a visionary and your son will help me realize my ideals. He will be a powerful tool after all. Unfortunately, you won't be there to see the world I will build. Any last words?"
Severus grins, "I made more than one… trap."
Suddenly, rune lit up underneath Dumbledore and he was caught in the same trap that Voldemort fell for. It's funny that both the most powerful Wizards of the Dark and Light were caught of guard by the same curse. Dumbledore started to rot and a few seconds later, he was but a husk, looking like a year-old cadaver. No one would be able to recognize him as the great Albus Dumbledore without the hideous robes that the rotten corpse was still wearing.
Severus crawled up the stairs to take a last look at his wife and son. He sobbed as he found her body and hugged her to his chest. His son watching with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead. It was the last thing he saw before passing out from blood loss.
It has been a few years since his wife's death, since he was sent to Azkaban without a trial for the murder of Albus Dumbledore by a smirking James Potter, the new head of the DMLE. The worst thing about this place wasn't the dementors. Their presence was agonizing but the worst thing was the mirror in front of him.
It was a scrying mirror keyed to one person, my son so I could watch him grow. I thought it was a blessing at first, until I found out who was his new guardian. It was that cow, Petunia. Since I'm technically a traitor and I don't have any relatives, he was raised by his mother's sister. That must have been Dumbledore's plan all along.
He saw as his son was starved, hit, demeaned. They were treating him worse than a house elf. They were slowly breaking him emotionally, physically. He was hit with belts, pans, he was tortured everyday for years. They instilled to him how magic was unnatural. How it's a curse. His son grew to hate his magic. His son, his beautiful son, the last remnant to Lily he had left, the only thing keeping him sane in Azkaban, turned into an obscurial. His magic went out of control and killed his relatives, his neighbors, the entire street was destroyed when he was done. In the end, it was too much for his six years old body to handle, and Harry died afraid and alone, thinking that no one ever loved him.
After all this time, after the dementor constantly were reminding him of his failures, with his mother, with Lily, it was his son's death that broke him mind.
In the real world, the class was silent, waiting for their potions professor to respond to Jasmine's rant when he suddenly started screaming. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he passed out. Nobody noticed the small smirk on the girl's face.
