66Author's Note: This must be a first, but this story is actually a movie/TV/game react fic, focused on Severus Snape. Big fan of Severus and I always thought he was given too much abuse, but of course everyone has their own opinion of the man. Some don't like him and others do. If you aren't a fan of him, then this fic ain't for you.
The characters that Severus will be based on won't actually be different in appearance or name, just that a part of Severus is apart of the character.
If you have any suggestions for a character in a Movie/TV show/game, PM the suggestion and explain why they would make a good connection to Severus. I plan to not only finish this fic, but have a sequel prepared and the characters will have a part to play.
By the way, I don't read reviews. If you got something to say, PM me.
Enjoy.
xXx
( Gryffindor Girls Dormitory )
Alone in the bedroom that she shares with four other girls, Lily Evans stares down at the floor with bloodshot eyes from her spot on her bed.
By now, Lily should have all her belongings packed up and ready for when she leaves Hogwarts in the morning. With her O.W.L.S. completed, she will get to return home and spend the summer with her family. Every year, her father would be waiting by the station to pick up herself and Sev-
Lily covers her mouth with her hand and retches, just barely managing to prevent herself from vomiting out what little she has eaten today.
"Sev..." muttered Lily to herself, gripping her hands together to try and stop their constant shaking. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry" she whispered while cursing herself for her stubbornness and stupidity. If she didn't act like such a stubborn fool, then Severus wouldn't be...
Lily closes her eyes shut to prevent herself from thinking about it, but it only forces her to remember the events that took place early this morning and the reasons why.
Yesterday, she had found James and his friends picking on Severus again by using his own Levicorpus spell to keep him suspended in the air by his ankles. As Prefect, she had intervened and made James cancel the spell, but Lily didn't expect for Severus to suddenly get angry with her and call her the wicked name, Mudblood.
For years, all her friends in Gryffindor had been telling her how Severus was going to end up as a follower for the Dark Lord, due to him hanging out with the likes of Avery and Mulciber. Severus's obvious fascination with Dark Magic also didn't help convincing Lily otherwise, but she remained his friend, even if all the clues hinted that Severus would join the likes of the Death Eaters. However, the years of suspicion and Severus suddenly calling her Mudblood had hurt Lily more than she liked and so, she broke off any and all ties with Severus.
Just this morning, Lily had left the Gryffindor Common Room to find Severus sitting outside, waiting for her. There, he had apologized and begged for forgiveness, but like the stubborn fool that she was, she ignored his pleas for forgiveness and left him behind.
It was only when Alice and herself nearly reached the Entrance Hall did they see from the edge of their sight, something large fall down the gap in between the staircases. Lily didn't need to look to know that somebody had just jumped off the staircase, for what else could make the horrifying sounds of bones shattering and blood splattering across the floor. It took Lily over a minute to gather the courage needed to look down the side of the staircase to see the body smeared across the bottom floor.
Lily can still remember the cold feeling of dread which overtook her when she recognized the long black hair which belonged to the corpse. At that moment, Lily realized something terrible.
Her childhood friend, Severus Snape, had jumped off the staircase from the seventh floor, where she had left him after refusing to accept his apology.
"Blood. There was so much blood" thought the Gryffindor as she clenches her fists so tightly that her sharp nails cut into her palm, spilling blood. Not that she cares. The drops of blood she's spilling is nothing compared to the pool of blood Severus's corpse laid in only a few hours ago. The pain she's feeling now is nothing compared to the pain Severus must have felt after he decided to end his own life.
"Why couldn't I just accept his apology" Lily said to herself, sniffing.
"Yes, why couldn't you?"
Lily widens her eyes when she hears an unfamiliar voice. A man's voice. No male should be able to get into the Gryffindor Girls Dormitory since the stairs leading up to it would turn into a ramp whenever a boy attempted to enter.
Lily looks up to find herself no longer in the girls dormitory. Instead, she seems to be in what looks like a theatre room, sitting on one of the viewing chairs. Said theatre has dark red walls and red carpet with a massive screen displayed before her. She also happens to notice that she isn't the only one sitting in a black cushioned theatre chair as she recognizes some of her Housemates, such as James, Remus, Peter, Sirius, Alice, Frank and Mary. There's even Molly and Arthur Weasley who she hasn't seen since they graduated. The last she heard, they ended up married and had two kids, and by the swell of Molly's stomach, they'll be expecting another one soon.
Lily even sees some Hogwarts professors sitting in the seats, looking as confused as everyone else. So far, she can see Dumbledore, McGonagall, Slughorn, Madam Pomfrey, Flitwick and Hagrid in attendance, although there are a few people who she doesn't recognize sitting with them. Unfortunately, there also happens to be a few who Lily would rather not see, such as Lucius Malfoy, Regulus Black, Narcissa Black and her sister, Bellatrix Black, all of who are suspected to be Death Eaters or planning to join them upon graduation. However, there are three people in the crowd of confused and tense magical folk who Lily recognizes immediately.
"Mum? Dad? Tuney?" said Lily in surprise over seeing her parents and sister.
"Lily?" said Richard Evans, confused as to how he got from his home to what looks like a theatre room. "What's going on? Where are we?"
"It's obvious that Lily used her freakish powers to bring us here" accused Petunia who's quick to point the blame at Lily and the others who are dressed in those strange robes.
"Albus, what is this?" asked Minerva McGonagall who reaches into her robes to grab her wand, only to discover it missing. "My wand is missing!"
Minerva's cry has all the other wizards and witches search their robes, only to find their wands missing as well.
"Where's my wand gone!?"
"Is this the Dark Lord's work?"
"Can't be, Malfoy and the Blacks are just as stuck as we are."
"Doesn't mean they still aren't responsible."
After making sure Alice is alright, Frank Longbottom soon notices his own mother in the crowd of people. "Mother!?"
"Frank, are you alright?" asked Frank's mother, Augusta Longbottom, who is wearing her iconic large hat with a stuffed vulture on it. She starts patting Frank all over his body to make sure that there are no injuries he might be hiding underneath his robes.
"Mum, I'm fine!"
"S-Severus? Where's Severus?" asked a thin woman with long black hair that's pulled back and black eyes. The woman looks around, both scared and confused.
Augusta stops her patting of her son and looks at the black-haired woman, recognizing her in a near instant. "Eileen?"
Eileen Snape turns when she hears her name being called and recognizes Augusta when she sees her. "Augusta?"
To Frank's and Lily's surprise, Augusta and Eileen are quick to embrace each other in a hug. "Don't you know how worried I was when you disappeared on us!" shouted Augusta who may sound angry, but is still holding onto Eileen tightly. While she hugs her old friend, Augusta takes note of how skinny her old friend has gotten.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you" apologized Eileen Snape with a sniffle.
Lily decides to step in. "Mrs. Snape, how is it that you know Mrs. Longbottom?"
Reluctantly, Augusta releases Eileen and decides to answer for her. "Know her? Eileen and I were best friends ever since our first year in Hogwarts, although she went by Ms. Prince back then. There wasn't a time where we weren't together, at least until she decided to run off without telling me" she said, shooting a pointed glare at Eileen. She then turns back to Lily. "I find myself curious as to how you know my old friend, Lily dear" she asked, knowing Lily to be a good friend to her son.
Before Lily can open her mouth to answer, Eileen speaks for her. "Lily is actually good friends with my son, but I don't see him here. Have you seen him, Lily?" she asked, turning to Lily who has suddenly turned very pale.
"You've a son and he's attending Hogwarts with Lily and Frank? You must introduce me to him" stated Augusta who is looking forward to meeting the son of her old friend. Although, she'll need to have a word in private with Eileen soon so she can properly rip her a new one, but until they figure out how to leave this strange room, that will need to wait for now. They don't have their wands, there's a powerful Ward keeping everyone from apparating away and there's no doors that could lead to an exit.
Frank, who has been paying attention to the conversation quickly widens his eyes in horror once he hears Lily call his mother's friend, Mrs. Snape. He also recognizes the same black hair and eyes from Eileen that use to belong to a recently deceased Slytherin. "D-Dear Merlin!"
"Silence."
All the noise and panic quickly fades when a loud, but raspy voice stops everyone in their tracks. Everyone then turn their attention to the elderly man who is standing in front of the large screen with many noting how he wasn't standing there a few seconds ago. Said old man is shrouded in a black robe that covers everything from his shoulders to even his feet. The old man also appears to be older then even Dumbledore, at least from the many wrinkles on his face and the few strands of white hair on top of his bald head. However, the old man's most defining feature must be his completely greyed out eyes, showing that he's blind, although from the way he seems to be able to look into everyone's eyes, that might not be the case.
James Potter steps forward and glares at the elderly man. "Hey, old timer! Who th-"
"Sit down."
As if everyone is under the power of the Imperius curse, everyone who isn't already sitting down soon takes a seat. Of course, many are overwhelmed by the magical power the elderly man possesses, all without the use of a wand.
"W-Who are you?" asked Minerva who tries her best to look strong, at least for her students. The powerful witch tries to fight back against the invisible force pressing down on her, but to no avail. To her surprise, Dumbledore's struggling shows that not even he can escape the invisible force.
The elderly man's colourless eyes look at Minerva who quickly feels all the warmth in her body vanish, as if she just fell into a pool of ice cold water. "Who do you think I am?" he asked, watching as everyone either digs through their minds to figure out the identity of the elderly man or they try their best to look as small as possible so to avoid his attention.
"Death."
Everyone turns to Dumbledore who looks at the elderly man up and down. "You are Death, are you not?" he asked, believing that if he's not correct, he would be close. Dumbledore doesn't often like to think of himself as arrogant, but he is confident in his skills and power as the world's greatest wizard. Looking into the grey and ancient eyes of the man before him, he feels like nothing more than an ant in comparison, so unless this man is Merlin himself, then he must be some sort of being that couldn't possibly be mortal. From how the old man's black robes seem to suck away any and all light, he is more in favour of the latter option and there's only ever been tales of one divine being that has ever interacted with the Wizarding World.
The elderly man in black robes shows the first bit of emotion, other than cold indifference, by smiling, if only by a little, but it's enough to show off the rotten teeth and black gums in his mouth, causing some to go green at the sight.
"Very good, Albus Dumbledore. I would have expected the wielder of the Elder Wand to know who I am" said the now revealed Death who then turns to a slightly shaking James Potter. "And while we're on the topic."
Death raises his boney right hand towards a petrified James who nearly screams when he feels something shift underneath his robes. The shifting item quickly jumps out of James's robes, revealing itself to be his Invisibility Cloak. "My cloak!"
"Not anymore" stated Death who catches the cloak once it flies into his grasp.
Of the three Peverell brothers, it was Ignotus who proved to be the most clever for he was wise enough to not trust Death when he made his offer all those years ago. The first brother, Antioch Peverell, longed for power and so, Death created for him the most powerful wand in the world, the Elder Wand. Not long after, Antioch ended up being murdered by a jealous wizard who had heard Antioch bragging about the power of the Elder Wand and they soon sought after it. The second brother, Cadmus Peverell, wanted to humiliate Death further by being given the power to resurrect the dead and so, Death gave the brother the Resurrection Stone. Soon after, Cadmus used the power of the Resurrection Stone to bring back the woman he loved, but was distraught when she came back as a shell of her former self. In his grief, Cadmus killed himself so he can fully join her and Death took great pleasure in reaping the soul of the man who thought he could humiliate Death so easily.
The third brother, Ignotus Peverell, didn't seek power or to bring back the dead. Instead, he asked to be able to move on without being followed by Death and so, Death gave him the Invisibility Cloak that not even Death could see through. With the Invisibility Cloak, Ignotus Peverell lived a long and happy life until he eventually grew old and passed on the Invisibility Cloak to his son before Death reaped his soul.
Death raises his other hand, revealing a wand and a stone.
To most, the stone and wand don't seem all that special, but Dumbledore widens his eyes in realization. "The Three Deathly Hallows" he gasped at seeing all three together. While Albus didn't know the whereabouts of the Resurrection Stone, he did have suspicions that the Invisibility Cloak James carried around was a Deathly Hallow. Albus was also the one in possession of the Elder Wand after he defeated Grindelwald, but now that it's in Death's hand, he doubts it belongs to him any longer.
"The Deathly Hallows? I thought that was just a fairy tail" said Molly in awe.
"Isn't that your wand, Albus?" pointed out Mad-Eye Moody while looking at Dumbledore, suspiciously. After working with Albus for so long, his sharp eyes would recognize the Headmaster's wand from anywhere.
Albus can only nod his head. "It is, but I fear that is no longer the case."
"Indeed" replied Death and in a poof of black smoke, all three Deathly Hallow vanish from existance. "The Deathly Hallows are no more."
"Prongs, did you know you had a Deathly Hallow on you?" Sirius asked James who is in disbelief that he has been in possession of an actual Deathly Hallow all this time.
"I had no idea! Dad just said that it was a family heirloom that has been passed down by the family for years" answered James who would have tried to get the Invisibility Cloak back, if not for literal Death being the one who took it off him. James thinks highly of himself, but even he's not stupid enough to piss off Death.
While disappointed that his greatest weapon against Voldemort is no longer in his possession, Albus decides to ask Death the question that's on everyone's mind. "If you don't mind me asking, why have you summoned us all here? I doubt you brought along everyone, just to take back the Deathly Hallows." Dumbledore never did believe that Death was the one who created the Deathly Hallows, having always believed that it was the three Peverell brothers who created them, so the realization that Death did in fact create them has shocked him down to his core, but as always, Dumbledore controls himself and remains outwardly calm with a twinkle in his eyes.
Death looks at Dumbledore for a moment with his seemingly blind eyes before he gazes at everyone. "I have brought you all here because a majority of you have fucked up."
Everyone, from the followers of Voldemort to the members of the Order all look at one another while wondering what Death could possibly be referring to. Some are still getting over the fact that the literal Death actually cursed at them.
"I'm afraid we don't understand to what you're referring to" answered Minerva who is rightfully nervous when speaking to Death. She chooses her words carefully, so not to insult a powerful being like Death. All the while, she tries to think of what any of them could have possibly done to get the attention of Death itself, but she can't think of anything!
"Severus Snape."
The name of the deceased Slytherin catches many by surprise while those who have never met the boy wonder who this Severus Snape person is and why he's so important to Death.
Severus's mother, Eileen looks at Death, curious over what her son has to do with all of this. "What does my son have to do with this?" she asked, but notice how a few students and professors all turn to her, looking surprised and for some reason, guilty.
A nervous Horace Slughorn gulps. "Mrs. Snape... your so-"
"Severus Snape has taken his own life within the halls of Hogwarts and quite a few people in this room are responsible for him doing so" interrupted Death, looking over the gathered audience.
Eileen's eyes widen in horror as tears begin pooling in her eyes. "S-Severus... is dead?" she asked, sounding like she can't believe it or rather, she doesn't want to believe it. Augusta is quick to comfort her old friend, all the while, trying to understand their predicament.
Lucius Malfoy also looks shocked as he has been the one to take an interest in Severus before graduating Hogwarts. Unlike the foolish Dumbledore, Lucius had recognized Severus's potential and hoped to use it to further the Dark Lord's plans, but that obviously won't be happening now.
Lily looks down at her feet, knowing that she played a part in Severus's suicide. If only she had forgiven Severus, then maybe he wouldn't be dead.
"This is all about Snivellus?"
Everyone turns to James Potter who looks both shocked and annoyed at Death. "Who cares if that slimey snake is dead. I say good ruidance to the greasy git" he said with a scoff. Sitting beside him, Sirius Black nods in agreement, although Peter and Remus look at each other, nervously. Both notice the disgusted and angry looks that James and Sirius are getting from a majority of people in the room and so, they decide to keep their mouths shut and leave Padfoot and Prongs to lie in the graves they are digging for themselves.
What little strength Eileen has is broken by James's terrible insults to her deceased son and she breaks down in a tearful fit. Beside Eileen, Augusta and Lily hold onto the crying mother to try and comfort her.
Even Death looks unimpressed with James. "How amusing. I doubt you would be so foolish to believe that if you were aware that Severus Snape would have played a large role in killing Tom Riddle or as you all call him, Voldemort, if he were still alive."
Everyone, including the crying Eileen, all stare at Death in shock and disbelief with others more so. Most would have flinched at the sound of the Dark Lord's name, but being in the presence of literal Death makes them impervious to the fear they would have usually felt.
Regulus and Narcissa share a look of shock between them. Severus Snape, a poor Half-Blood, played a role that would've seen to the death of the Dark Lord?
The thought of anyone potentially playing any role in killing her Dark Lord would've set Bellatrix off into a mad rant with the likely possibility of her maiming a Muggle or two. Instead, she laughs in delight, seeing as the would-be killer is already dead!
"W-What?" asked Sirius, finding it very hard to believe that Snivellus of all people would have played any role in defeating the Dark Lord. Join the Dark Lord? Definitely, but to actually play a large role in defeating the Dark Lord? Madness!
"Destiny. Every mortal is born into the world with their destinies already assigned to them, no matter how tiny or large said destiny is. Severus Snape's destiny would have led to the eventual defeat of Tom Riddle. However, it seems that not even destiny could prevent Severus from wanting to escape Hogwarts."
Alastor Moody's eyes shifts to Dumbledore with an accusing stare. "Albus, is there something you want to tell us about this Snape kid? Perhaps why he felt the need to commit suicide while in your school?" There's a certain edge in Alastor's voice and rightfully so. A student in Hogwarts turns out to be the key in defeating Voldemort once and for all, only for him to end up killing himself while under Dumbledore's care. He would very much like to know why a kid even needed to think about killing himself while in Hogwarts.
It's been a very long time since Dumbledore found himself lost for words, but today turns out to be one of those days. He never once thought that Severus Snape of all people would have played any role in defeating Tom. Truthfully, he had thought that James, Sirius and Lily would play more of an active role in defeating Tom, since they've proven to be talented and powerful in their own right. He had been intending to convince them to join the Order after they graduated, but he never once thought of asking Severus, having believed that he would join Tom in the near future. Obviously, that has been a mistake. "I-I'm not entirely sure."
"Are you positive about that, Headmaster? Could it not possibly be the years of constant bullying, beatings, mocking and neglect that he suffered while inside your school?" asked Death who tilts his head, almost amusingly.
The Headmaster and professors look appalled by Death's claim, but Mad-Eye Moody's sharp sight doesn't miss the expressions that appear on some of the students faces. Some look guilty while others look nervous.
"We at Hogwarts don't condone bullying in any shape or form and we surely don't neglect our students" stated Minerva, defending herself and the rest of the professors. True, Severus can be a bit of a troublemaker with his roughhousing with James and his friends, but they surely don't neglect him.
The smirk that stretches on Death's face doesn't fill Minerva with confidence.
"Is that so? Maybe we should have a look into the life of Severus Snape and see if your claims hold any truth." Death snaps his fingers and the screen behind him flickers on.
The screen shows a clear image of Severus Snape who appears to be five years old. The child is shirtless and on his knees while a man who shares similarities with Severus whips him in the back with his belt. Severus cries out every time the leather belt whips into his back, cutting through skin and flesh, leaving behind long bloody cuts. Eileen Snape can be seen pleading to her husband to stop and even tries to physically stop him, only to be forcefully shoved aside. The young Severus cries out for his mum when he sees her fall, but is met with the back of Tobias's fist which breaks Severus's nose and forces him unconscious.
"Muggle scum" cursed Lucius through gritted teeth, disgusted at the sight of a pitiful Muggle beating his better, a child no less! Lucius can hear Bellatrix whisper all kind of torture she would do to Severus's father and the Unforgivables are only some methods of torture she offers. Not out of kindness for Severus, but for the fact that a pitiful Muggle is beating a magical child, even if said child is a Half-Blood.
"O-Oh Sev!" gasped Lily who covers her mouth with her hands, looking absolutely horrified over what she's watching. She knew that Severus's home life wasn't great and had suspicions that he might have been abused by his father, but she never once thought that it could have been this bad! Severus is barely older than a toddler and his father is whipping him in the back without a shred of mercy!
Lily's mother, Helen Evans, grabs her husband's hand so she can somewhat control herself and even then, she glares at the image of Tobias Snape. She's always known that Severus was abused at home, which is why she always made sure that he felt welcomed at the Evans household every time Lily brought him over. She fed him, hugged him and loved him as if he was one of her own children. To see the boy she considers a son get whipped at such a young age makes the Evans blood in her boil in rage. If not for the fact that she heard Tobias had broken his neck after a drunken stumble down a set of stairs last year, she would have made sure he never saw the light of day again. "Death is too good for him!"
"I'll kill him! I'll lock him up with a Basilisk and throw away the key!" declared Augusta who nearly spits fire after seeing Tobias, Eileen's husband, push aside her friend as he whips into the back of her child.
"Merlin's beard" gasped Arthur Weasley in sheer disgust. Being a father himself, he can't stomach the thought of physically harming any of his children. Arthur clenches his fists when he gets a good look at the numerous bloody scars on the child's back.
Horace winces every time he sees and hears the leather belt whip through the child's back. The cries of the young Severus makes Horace close his eyes in an attempt to block them out, but they only seem to echo in his mind. "I never once thought..."
Eileen hates this. She hates to see the dreadful life herself and her son had lived while under the same roof as Tobias. Reliving it through the eyes of her own son is even worse, especially with so many strangers watching as well.
"Shit like this is why the Dark Lord has so many followers under him" thought Alastor, glaring up at the screen.
The scene changes to show a seven year old Severus who's sitting in the corner of his bedroom with his legs tucked into his chest and his arms wrapped around his legs. It's late and he should be asleep, but he can't when he can hear his parents arguing with each other downstairs. Even now, as he stares blankly at the grimy wall of his bedroom, he can hear them screaming at each other. Severus flinches when he hears the familiar sound of his father slapping his mother and the shouts change to hushed curses. Sniffling, Severus lowers his head in between his knees and tries to pretend that he's anywhere but here.
"Even as a brat, the git is still Sni-" Sirius is interrupted by Remus grabbing his shoulder and squeezing it tightly.
"What's the bloody matter with you?!" whispered Remus through gritted teeth. Unlike the rest of the Marauders, Remus didn't actually hate Severus. He only found him slightly annoying at times because of his arrogance when it came to academics. Now, he wonders how much of that arrogance was just Severus trying to bottle up everything they just witnessed. He just can't understand why Sirius is still so keen to badmouth Severus who is not only dead, but they now know suffered physical abuse from his own father. Merlin, his own parents have only loved and supported him, even after he got turned into a Werewolf. Seeing how Severus grew up reminds him that he should appreciate his parents more for everything they've done for him.
Sirius offers an unapologetic shrug. "It's only Snivellous."
Alastor narrows his eyes at Sirius Black, having heard everything he just said. While he doesn't know the exact story between Snape and everyone else, he has theories, specifically ones that might explain why Severus Snape killed himself. For now, he'll just have to sit and watch to see if his theories turn out to be true.
The scene changes to show Severus, nine years old, sitting by a river with a girl with long red hair, Lily Evans. For the first time in his life, Severus can't help but smile. He just made his first friend and to make it even better, she's a witch! For what could've been hours, Severus sat there, telling Lily all about the wonders of magic that she doesn't know about, being that she's Muggleborn. He also tells her about Hogwarts and how they'll be attending there when they turn eleven. Severus can nearly picture all the new and exciting magic they'll get to learn and it'll be even better now that he has a friend to do it with.
Relieved that it's not showing another scene of Severus being abused, Lily smiles fondly as she looks at this memory. She remembers this scene as it was the first time she met Severus. Lily giggles slightly at the memory of Severus calling her a witch when they first met. Being Muggleborn, she didn't know anything about magic so she thought that he was insulting her. "Life was so simple back then. Why did it have to change?" she thought, missing the days where Severus and herself would just hang around in their secret spot. No Dark Lord, no House rivalries, no Blood-Purists. Just two kids messing around in the grass.
"If it wasn't for Severus, we wouldn't have realized how special Lily was until she turned eleven" said Richard Evans, smiling at the memory of when Lily brought Severus home for the first time. Severus's knowledge of the Magical World helped them tremendously to prepare for when Lily left for Hogwarts. Richard's smile soon turns to a frown while he thinks about how the young child that spent so much time in their home is now gone, forever.
James glares at the screen, having not realized that Snape and Evans had known each other before Hogwarts. The sight of the two sitting so close to each other and laughing rubs him the wrong way.
The scene changes, showing an eleven year old Severus locked in a locker inside the Potions Classroom, having been thrown in it by Potter and Black after they took his wand from him. As if being put into Slytherin House while Lily was placed into Gryffindor wasn't bad enough, but for the past three months, Potter and Black has been making his life in Hogwarts hell. While Lily usually defends him whenever they cause him trouble, she had been the first to leave Potions along with her new friend, Alice, giving Potter and Black ample time to lock him in the locker without his wand.
Hating how dark it is and how little space he has to move, Severus starts to panic. The eleven year old punches the door and cries out for anyone to help him, but nobody comes. Realizing that he's on his own, Severus's panic begins to mix with his anger. Anger at Potter and Black for putting him in the locker, for taking his wand away and worst of all, for making him feel so weak. It reminds him too much of how he feels while under the same roof as his father. In his panic, Severus lets out a cry and unknowingly releases a powerful burst of magical power that destroys the locker that he's in, as well as all the chairs and tables in the classroom.
Head Boy, Lucius Malfoy, enters the classroom, having sensed a large source of magical power from within and is surprised to find the classroom destroyed with all the furniture turned to dust and the walls lined with deep cracks. And standing in the middle of all this destruction is the source of the magical power, First Year student, Severus Snape, who is panting from overexertion. Lucius blinks for a moment before a smirk stretches across his lips. "Well, aren't you interesting?"
"So that's the reason you wanted Snape to join us" said Narcissa, turning to her fiance. She knew that Snape was quite clever, maybe even a genius, but she never realized that he was so powerful as well. Seeing Snape's power first hand, she can now understand why her fiance wanted Severus to join the Dark Lord. Snape's talent and power could've been put into great use for their side, even if he was a Half-Blood.
Lucius smiles, recalling the same memory from his own perspective. "Severus was truly brilliant, more so then most wizards five times his age. I couldn't let that genius just go to waste, unlike some people" he said, referring to Dumbledore and the rest of the Hogwarts staff. That's why he had the Hogwarts House-Elves clean up the wreckage so nobody would be the wiser.
Horace flinches, realizing that he plays a part in all this. Ever since their first Potions class together, Horace knew that Severus was a one of a kind genius, possibly on the same level as Tom. Yet, Horace never thought to invite him into the Slug Club, because Severus didn't have any useful connections, nor did he come from wealth. Now, he sees how wrong he is for not letting Severus join the Slug Club. To have such a brilliant mind and to have the magical power to match said brilliance, it's obvious that Severus was going to become someone great in the future. Perhaps even be known as the next coming of Merlin. "Imagine that. My Slug Club could've had the next coming of Merlin as a member."
Flitwick pushes up his glasses as he stares up at the screen in disbelief. "I dare say, I would struggle to call upon so much magical power myself on a good day. Mr. Snape being capable of doing so at such a young age is as incredible as it is disbelieving."
"I wouldn't believe it myself if I didn't see it with my own two eyes" remarked McGonagall as she watches the screen with eyes wide and her mouth slightly agape. While disappointed in the behaviour of her two Gryffindor boys, Minerva can't exactly get too mad with them now, since the incident happened years ago and they've surely grown up by then. Instead, she's focused on how incredibly powerful Severus's magic was to destroy an entire classroom, all without the use of a wand. Surely, his magic must have grown since then, not that it matters anymore.
Albus blinks up at the screen, looking just as surprised as everyone else. The Headmaster is actually impressed by Severus's surprisingly immense magical power and he's curious as to how he didn't notice it before.
Mad-Eye Moody growls in annoyance. Annoyance over how Albus had such a powerful potential recruit for the Order right under his nose and didn't realize it, and annoyance that Lucius Malfoy, a suspected Death Eater, knew about the boy's power and would have likely tempted Severus to the Dark Lord's side.
The screen then shows Severus in second year walking to class on his own, only for him to get hexed by James from behind him while the rest of the Marauders laugh or in Remus's case, pretend that nothing is happening. This results in Severus dueling against Potter, Black and Pettigrew while Remus tries to distract himself with a book. It isn't until Severus starts pushing the three Marauders back that Remus jumps in to help them, overwhelming Severus before they hit him with hexes and painful jinxes. It isn't long until Minerva McGonagall shows up, demanding to know what's going on. The Gryffindor boys are quick to point their fingers at Severus who's covered in painful boils which was caused by one of Black's spells. Before Severus could defend himself and tell his side of the story, McGonagall punishes him by taking away House points and giving him a week of detention, even though he was defending himself! As McGonagall punishes Severus, the Slytherin can see Potter, Black and Pettigrew make faces at him from behind McGonagall's back.
Multiple clips of similar scenarios show Severus being constantly bullied by the Marauders who usually hex him from behind or while in greater numbers. Sometimes, it shows that Potter and Black are hexing the Slytherin from beneath an Invisibility Cloak, meaning that Severus can't even see where he's being hit from. From each of these incidents, Severus is often the one who ends up punished when a professor comes across him and the Marauders fighting, as the four Gryffindor boys lie that Severus attacked them first. If the Marauders aren't stealing House points away from Severus, they're sending him to the infirmary on a near daily basis, thanks to their so-called 'pranks'.
One 'prank' shows Severus breaking out in boils that painfully pop.
Another shows him getting tripped down a set of stairs, resulting in a broken leg.
Another shows Severus running away as plates and other dishes fly at him like as if he's a magnet, leaving him with bruises and cuts all over his body.
Another shows Severus's bowl of soup exploding in his face, resulting in him going momentarily blind.
Everyone can only stare and watch as scenes upon scenes of bullying is played out on Severus, usually ending in him getting injured and having to go to the infirmary.
Minerva can't even comprehend how mad she's feeling right now, seeing how she's been tricked and lied to by her own Gryffindor boys for years. All those times that she thought Severus was the one starting fights and causing trouble, it's actually been boys from her own House severely bullying the Slytherin who was only defending himself. "And all I did was punish him" she thought, realizing that she's at fault as well. The recordings always showed herself and the other professors taking the side of James and his friends, but never Severus. Most of the time, they don't even make an attempt to listen to Severus's side of the story. Why would they when it's the word of four Gryffindors to one Slytherin?
Albus watches each recording, the twinkle in his eyes long gone as he stares with a cold blank expression on his face. All the times he heard James and his friends get into a ruckus, he always considered it to be boys just being boys. Playing pranks, doing mischief and getting into fights, just as he did when he was a student at Hogwarts, but this... this isn't what he thought they were doing at all. Obviously, he knew about the rivarly going on between the four Gryffindor boys and Severus, but he thought it was both sides starting fights as rivalries often cause. Now, he sees that it isn't exactly a rivarly and rather, it's four boys maliciously bullying one child who only tries to defend himself.
Alastor growls as he watches scene after scene of the Severus kid going through months, if not years of constant bullying and it's all done by the same four brats from Gryffindor. "I wonder, did Dumbledore know all of this before or after he recommended Potter and Black as potential Auror recruits?" he thought, promising that he will do everything in his power to prevent either boys from joining the Aurors. The last thing they need is for two arrogant and possibly sociopathic boys joining.
However, Alastor does show an interest on the scenes that show the Snape kid defending himself from the bullies. In these scenes, Severus proves that not only can he duel against three of the four Marauders at the same time, but do so with such skill that he actually manages to push them back. It's only when the fourth cowardly Gryffindor boy joins in on the fighting does Severus end up losing and even then, he makes the four boys work for it. "Brilliant, immense magical power and a talented duelist. How did Albus not notice someone like this in his own school?!"
Alastor isn't the only one to show a keen interest in Severus's skill. "I'll say, I never realized Mr. Snape was so talented in dueling. To duel against multiple opponents at the same time isn't an easy feat. It's both incredible, as it is disheartening" admitted the former Dueling Champion, Flitwick. Having won many dueling tournaments before he joined Hogwarts, Flitwick recognizes talent when he sees it and Severus had it in abundance. If he had known Severus was such a skilled duelist, he would've liked to see that talent be polished further, maybe even help make him the next Dueling Champion. Yet, Flitwick frowns, not only because such talent is now forever lost, but the realization that Severus's incredible dueling skills likely came to be from getting constantly attacked by James and his friends.
Lily gapes at the screen with eyes wide open in horror and tears threatening to fall down her face. She knew the Marauders picked on Severus, but not to this extent! For years, all her friends and housemates told her about how Severus was always picking fights with James and his friends. They told her about how he would hex the Marauders whenever nobody was looking, proving that he's as much an evil Slytherin like Mulciber and Avery. Yet, she finally sees the truth, and the truth is that she's a complete idiot for believing all the lies. Why would Severus, the smartest person she has ever known, constantly pick a fight with the Marauders when he's so clearly outnumbered? It's because he hadn't been picking fights with them and instead, he had been defending himself from a group of bullies. Bullies who she thought were changing for the better and was considering them to be friends. After seeing the true extent to what they did to Sev, she would rather die than consider them friends!
James gulps as the angry eyes of his professors, classmates and even Lily's parents turn to him and his friends. Not once did he imagine that all their dirty laundry would just be aired out for everyone to see. Even the gentle giant, Hagrid, is giving him and his friends dirty looks. Dumbledore is refusing to look at them, but he's not sure if that's a good thing or not. Among everyone, there's one person among the group that he needs to try and appease. "Lily, I-"
"Shut up, Potter. From now on, I want you to just keep your mouth shut" spat Lily, turning so she can glare at James.
James actually feels a shiver crawl up his spine when he sees the cold glare in Lily's eyes. In all the years he has known her, she has never once glared at him with such venom. Her calling him by his last name also tells him that whatever good will he attained with Lily over the years is now gone down the drain, all in the matter of minutes. "This isn't fair!"
Sirius shakes his head, not understanding what the big deal is. So what if they picked on the greasy git a bit? It's only Snivellous. Sirius would have said something, if not for Peter clamping a hand over his mouth. Unlike Sirius, Peter can read the room and knows that the last thing they need is for Sirius to open his big mouth.
Remus looks down at the floor so he can't look at the disappointed and angry faces from everyone else. He knows that he should've done something to stop the bullying, but James, Sirius and Peter are the only friends he ever made who not only knew about his Lycanthrophy, but also helped him deal with it. He didn't want to potentially lose that friendship and so, he allowed the bullying, even though he was a Prefect who's duty is to prevent it. Most of the time, Remus looked away or read a book so he could at least pretend that his friends weren't openly bullying Severus or other kids. Now, having no choice but to watch every moment the Marauders bullied Severus, Remus flinches every time he hears one of Severus's bones break and he turns green whenever he hears Severus cry out in pain.
Eileen can't stop the tears from falling down her face as she watches her son suffer from so much bullying that it matches, if not surpasses the abuse he use to get from his father. "Hogwarts was suppose to keep him safe! It was the one place he could get away from Tobias, and he wasn't even safe there!" thought the grieving mother.
Unlike everyone else who now realize that the Marauders have been the ones at fault, Alice folds her arms and glares up at Severus on the screen. While Mary wouldn't wish it on anyone to suffer physical abuse from their father and she'll even admit that a lot of what the Marauders did to Severus was cruel, she refuses to believe that Severus isn't evil, as she still remembers the time that Mulciber was casting painful hexes at her in one of Hogwarts halls and Avery, along with Severus had laughed at her pain.
As if reading her mind, the screen shows a different scene of Severus's life.
Severus hated this. He hated how Avery would laugh whenever Mulciber would hex Alice. He hated how Mulciber would heckle every time Alice begged them to stop. If not for the fact that he doesn't want to spend his remaining years in Hogwarts alone, he would do everything in his power to avoid Mulciber and Avery, even if they are his roommates. Unfortunately, Lily is often spending time with her Gryffindor friends and she obviously wouldn't want him trailing behind her like a lost puppy. Although, Lily has been casting suspicious stares at him as of late and even though the thought that she'd be suspicious of him for whatever reason hurts, he pretends like he doesn't notice. He pretends to not notice a lot of things.
Maybe it's because of those suspicious stares that they've been arguing a lot lately. He doesn't like to argue with Lily, but Merlin's beard, she can be stubborn when it comes to her hatred for all things Dark Magic. She never did like his fascination with the Dark Arts and any of his explanations or defences often goes in pppppone ear and out the next, much to his bloody frustration! Lily speaks about joining the war to fight the Death Eaters, but how does she expect to defend against Dark Magic if she doesn't understand it in the first place? Lately, they've been arguing about his research in Occlumency, all because it's considered Dark Magic, if barely. Even though Occlumency helps to protect one's mind from the invasion of others, Lily refuses to see the benefit of it.
Another cry from Alice has Severus look to see that the girl is laying on the floor, having been hit with another painful hex by Mulciber, much to Avery's growing amusement. The sound of Alice's cries and begging has Severus clench his fists in frustration. Merlin, does he hate this. Severus never much cared for Alice, although that's mostly because she never once cared for him either. A lot of times when he spent time with Lily, Alice would always stare at him, not with hatred, but not with kindness either. Severus doesn't know for what reason she doesn't like him, but it could be for a number of reasons. She may not like that he comes from a poor household, or maybe it's because she finds his appearance unsightly or perhaps it's because he's a Slytherin. Could be that she just thinks he's not good enough to be in Lily's presence. At this point, he's been judged unfairly for so many reasons that he honestly has lost the will to care anymore.
Still, as much as he doesn't care for Alice, he doesn't want to see her like this. Nobody deserves this kind of treatment. Slowly, Severus reaches for the wand in his robes so he can end this, but Avery notices and hits Severus in the back with a tickling charm. Feeling himself being tickled everywhere, Severus couldn't stop himself from laughing which also prevented him from using his wand. Unseen by the now laughing Severus, Alice notices him laughing and believed him to be enjoying her torment along with his fellow Slytherins.
Alice looks up at the screen in disbelief. "Severus wasn't laughing at my torment. He was trying to help me" she muttered, having a hard time believing what she just witnessed. All this time, she considered Severus to be one of the worst among the Slytherins and she's ashamed to admit to herself that yes, she did judge him. She judged him for his robes that were far too big for him, she judged him for his crooked nose and lanky hair, and she judged him for being a Slytherin. She never understood why the smart and beautiful Lily would hang around with the cold and greasy Severus. Now, she's starting to realize that she, as well as everyone else, has severely misjudged Severus.
Mad-Eye Moody grits his teeth, feeling his frustration and annoyance at Dumbledore and the Hogwarts staff grow. The Snape kid researching Occlumency at his age is both surprising and impressive, but he doesn't like how its apparent that others, specifically the Lily child who Albus speaks highly of, are biased in their views of Dark Magic. Do the Hogwarts professors not help guide their students when it comes to learning about Dark Magic and how to defend against it? What does the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor teach them if not how to defend against Dark Magic? Hopefully, the Snape kid isn't the only one who had a brain in the school, because the last thing he needs is for the next batch of Auror recruits to only know stunners and refuse to learn Dark Magic because of some naive view on what they believe to be good and evil. If that's the case, he will need to have a chat with the professors and even the students, just so he can set them right before they get killed joining a war they're not prepared for.
James and Sirius glance at each other in disbelief. It didn't take a genius to realize that public opinion of the greasy git has started to change. Everyone should be happy that Snivelous is dead, but now, everyone is looking sad and regretful. Worst of all, everyone is starting to hate them now, all because they wanted to show that future Death Eater his place! The pair open their mouths to try and sway public opinion, but they're interrupted by Death himself.
"Oh-oh, this is my favourite part" said Death, watching as the scene changes again.
What a lot of people found strange about the next scene is that it doesn't show a horrendous act of bullying or parental abuse, but rather, it shows Severus standing in the middle of a hallway in Hogwarts, talking to none other than Sirius Black. The fact that neither are reaching for their wands raises plenty of red flags among the audience.
James and Sirius feel their blood turn cold, realizing what the scene is. "Not that! Anything but that!" thought James in horror. If everyone were to see what's about to happen, their reputation will be over!
Lily rubs her hands together, feeling her nerves worsen just by seeing Severus and Sirius actually talking. All it takes is a glance in the direction of James and Sirius to know that whatever is about to happen, it will not end well for Severus.
All Severus wanted was to go to bed and rest after a tough day of avoiding Marauders and crafting spells, but Sirius had cornered him on his way to the Dungeons. If not for Sirius being on his own and that he wore a worried expression on his face, Severus might have just hexed him on the spot and be on his way. However, when Sirius told him that Lily had gone to investigate the Shrieking Shack, Severus lost all fatigue and felt his heart pump faster then ever. Severus wouldn't have worried, if not for it being a full moon out tonight. For the past two years, he had suspicions that Lupin was a Werewolf, since he often missed classes on the day after a full moon and when he did return, he was often sore and tired. He told Lily about his suspicions, but like always, his warnings are ignored. For once in his life, Severus hopes that he's wrong, because if he isn't, then that means Lily is going into a shack with a transformed Lupin who'll tear her to shreds! Without a second thought and only worried for Lily's safety, Severus ran down the halls to try and stop Lily from going into the Shrieking Shack and getting herself killed.
As Severus ran down the halls, he didn't notice Sirius's worried expression change into a bull blown sadistic smile.
Immediately, warnings erupted in the heads of everyone who all saw Sirius's smile.
"What are you playing at, Sirius? I never once gone into the Shrieking Shack" demanded Lily, glaring at Sirius who for once, looks like he doesn't know what to say.
Mary turns to Frank and Alice with a disturbed look. "Did you guys see Sirius's face?"
Frank nods with a frown, having seen it as well. "I did. Looked like something you'd see on Bellatrix."
Discretely, Alice looks at Bellatrix who seems to be laughing at something Regulus said, but the sadistic smile she has on her face practically mirrors the one Sirius had on the screen.
Remus feels his stomach plummet after witnessing the start of the scene. While he doesn't remember anything about this day, he does see that there's a full moon, which means he must be in the Shrieking Shack tonight. He never once heard Lily ever say anything about investigating the Shrieking Shack and since he never heard Lily mention about trying to go in it, that leaves him with one disturbing thought. Sirius lied to Severus and sent him into the shack, knowing that Remus was inside while transformed. He doesn't want to misjudge and so, he waits for the whole scene to play out. Until then, he'll wait to see how his friendship with Sirius will move on from here.
"A're you 'lright Dumbledore, sir?" asked Hagrid who noticed the Headmaster's breath hitch.
Albus regains control over his breathing and smiles at Hagrid with the twinkle in his eyes. "Of course, nothing to worry yourself over, Hagrid" he said, trying to sound calm and even then, he's struggling to do so. Albus knows what's about to happen and if shown, it'll put not just his students in a bad light.
Exhausted and sore from getting past the Whomping Willow, Severus climbs through the passageway that leads into the Shrieking Shack while praying to any God listening for Lily ito be alright. Severus manages to get into the shack while calling out for Lily. However, a look of his surroundings doesn't show signs of Lily being in the shack, dead or alive. However, there is a tall and snarling Werewolf who advances on him and would have killed him then and there, if not for Potter storming into the shack and transforming into a stag. The stag tackles the transformed Lupin away from Severus who can barely breathe, even as Potter drags him out of the shack.
Soon after, Severus is in the Headmaster's office with Potter and Black, waiting for them to finally get what's coming to them. Lupin will obviously get expelled, now that Severus confirmed that he's a Werewolf. While he doesn't have anything against those suffering from Lycanthrophy, having a Werewolf in Hogwarts is obviously too dangerous for the other students. If he can get into the Shrieking Shack without any trouble, then so can others. Black will definitely get expelled after lying about Lily going into the Shrieking Shack, knowingly sending him into the shack to get eaten by the Werewolf. Maybe if he's lucky, Black will even be sent to Azkaban for attempted murder! Potter might even join him if he turns out to be an unregistered Animagus. The thought of three of his tormentors being sent away actually fills Severus with hope. Maybe his remaining years in Hogwarts won't be so bad now.
Of course, Severus should've expected that Dumbledore would screw him over, just like everyone else. Instead of doing the right thing and punishing the Marauders, Dumbledore threatened Severus with expulsion if he didn't make a magical vow to not speak of what happened tonight, stating that Lupin deserved a right to an education and that Severus shouldn't interfere with that. Shocked and betrayed, Severus had no choice but to do so, not wanting to be expelled from Hogwarts. Afterwards, Dumbledore took a measly fifty points from Gryffindor and gave Sirius a week of detention for nearly getting Severus killed. As if that wasn't bad enough, Dumbledore actually congratulated Potter for saving him and claimed that Severus now owed Potter a life death. After everything Potter did to him over the hears, Severus would rather jump off the tallest tower then repay any supposed life death to Potter.
Yet again, Potter and Black get away with near literal murder. As Severus closes the door behind him, he sends Dumbledore one last glare, realizing that he can't trust any of the staff in Hogwarts. All he has is Lily.
Silence.
After everything they've just witnessed, everyone needs a moment to collect their thoughts. For many, specifically among the Hogwarts students and staff, they just watched something that changes not only how they view Sirius Black and James Potter, but how they view Albus Dumbledore as well.
Of course, Bellatrix Black doesn't need time to collect her thoughts. "Hahaha! Looks like dear old Sirius is more like us then he'd care to admit" she laughed, pointing at her red-faced cousin.
Regulus openly stares at his brother in sheer disbelief. What Dumbledore did is mind blowing on its own, but it's what Sirius did that truly shocks him down to his core. For so long, Sirius rebelled against the Black family and everything they stood for, even going so far as to join the Gryffindor House, instead of Slytherin House where every other Black family member ends up. Sirius has always looked down on Regulus for having joined Slytherin, believing that all Slytherins are evil who are meant to join the Dark Lord and become his Death Eaters. Yet, they all just watched Sirius do something that is not only very Slytherin, but also very evil. The fact that it got the seal of approval from Bellatrix tells him all he needs to know how badly his brother messed up.
Eileen couldn't hold it in anymore. Sirius's murder attempt, the Werewolf nearly killing her son and Dumbledore sweeping the murder attempt under the rug. If not for Death conjuring a bucket by her feet, she would've puked on the floor.
Augusta drops to Eileen's side to hold her hair back while she pukes into the bucket. At the same time, Augusta glares up at Dumbledore. "What kind of school are you running, Dumbledore!?"
Albus quickly finds himself under the scrutinizing glares of a majority of people in the room, including his closest allies and professors. Even Hagrid looks heartbroken over what they just saw. "I did what I thought was right. Mr. Lupin deserved a chance to earn an education like everyone else, no matter his condition. I understand that what Mr. Black did was wrong-"
"Obviously you don't understand!" shouted Richard Evans who stands up and glares down at the elderly wizard. "That little shit sent Severus into that shack, knowing full well that there's a dangerous beast inside." Remus would've flinched for being called a beast, if not for him being distracted by his own jumbled thoughts. "But instead of punishing him for attempted murder, you give him a slap on the wrist and then you threaten the victim with expulsion if they don't keep their mouth shut about the attempted murder. What kind of monster does that?!"
"Mr. Evans-" Albus tries to explain his point of view, but McGonagall raises a hand to silence him.
"Save your excuses, Albus. You've said enough" she muttered, obviously shaken from what she just witnessed. Truthfully, she's shaken more so then others, being one of Dumbledore's staunchest supporters. She believed that Albus could do no wrong, but she sees now that she's wrong again. First the Marauders and now Dumbledore. Minerva holds her head in her hands, not to hide tears, but to try and keep her head held high and while she manages to do so, it's a struggle to keep it there, knowing everything she does now.
Alastor sometimes wishes he had a magical prosthetic eye, just so he can glare at Black and Dumbledore at the same time. "Maybe I should have another talk with Crouch about getting the Ministry more involved with Hogwarts. Never liked the idea before, but now I see Hogwarts needs all the help it can get."
James notices Remus's shoulders shaking and puts a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. "Moony... "
"I thought I could trust you" muttered Remus, looking down at his lap while his fists are clenched. The rest of the Marauders look at Moony, none knowing what to say. "I thought I could trust you with my condition. You knew that I couldn't control it, that I couldn't remember anything after I transformed and yet, you still sent Severus into the shack." Remus looks up at Sirius with tear-filled eyes. "You used me to try and get Severus killed. Why?" Sirius's silence only angers him further. "WHY!?"
"Mate... it was just a prank. A bit of fun on the greasy git" answered Sirius, not knowing what else to say.
Remus didn't much care for Sirius's answer and stands up from his seat. "I can't do this. Not any longer" he said, walking to sit with Frank and Alice. He thought to sit near Lily, but feels that with them watching everything he did to Snape, he wouldn't be welcomed.
The rest of the Marauders stand up as Remus walks away. "Remus! Sirius didn't mean anything by it" said James, trying to defend what Sirius did. The Potter heir doesn't realize that he just angered quite a few among the audience who are listening, especially Lily and her family.
Remus stops and turns while glaring at those who he once called friends. James trying to defend Sirius only shows him that he can't be counted on either and Peter will obviously side with them, just as usual. "Whatever we had. Whatever this was." Remus points a finger at himself and then at the remaining Marauders. "It's over." Without looking back, he sits beside Alice who offers a comforting pat while Remus leans his head on his hand, suddenly feeling exhausted.
Petunia glares at Sirius and his friends as they split up. "At least one of them has some sense. Not like it does Severus any good now" she remarked, absolutely disgusted with everything going on in Hogwarts. To think that she was once jealous that Lily could go to Hogwarts and do magic. Now she sees that she's the lucky one. Why would she want to go to a school where the teachers are bias, the students are allowed to openly bully others and the Headmaster is corrupt enough to hide an attempted murder in his own school. "By God, I can't believe Severus went through all that. He must've felt like the entire world was against him." After looking through Severus's perspective, that's what she would think if she were him.
Lily feels her hands shake upon realizing that Severus had nearly gotten murdered, all because of Sirius. Finding out that Remus is a Werewolf isn't as shocking as she would have thought. Maybe it's because of all those times Severus tried to warn her. Or maybe, it's the shock that Sirius Black, a boy she was starting to consider as a friend, had tricked Severus into the Shrieking Shack so to get him killed. All this time, she had been in the same House with a monster actually willing to murder, and she's not referring to Lupin. Lily can't even look at Sirius right now, because she knows that if she does, she'll throttle him with everything she has. James too for even trying to defend him. "All these years, everyone was telling me that it was Sev who was going to end up evil, when in reality, it was people in my own House who spread those lies!"
The next scene shows Severus sitting under a tree by the lake, studying. The Slytherin can't help but enjoy the peace and tranquility of studying by the lake, especially on such a lovely day. Of course, the Marauders have to arrive to ruin what little peace and tranquility he's allowed to have.
Before Severus had a chance to defend himself, his wand was cast from his hand and he soon found himself hanging upside down, choking on bubbles and having his underwear shown to all the nearby laughing students. After years of similar treatment, Severus would have thought that he would be used to being shamed and humiliated, and yet here he is. As if the embarrassment of being hung upside down by his own spell and having his underwear shown to everyone isn't bad enough, Severus sees Lily amongst the crowd. Of course, Lily has to be around to witness his shame, but this time, Severus notices something. The Slytherin's eyes widen when he sees a smile spread on Lily's lips.
Lily, the one person he thought he could count on, the one light in his miserable dark tunnel of a life, is finding his humiliation and torment funny.
As his mind grows numb and his heart shatters over the betrayal, it's only now that Severus wonders how James Potter knows his Levicorpus spell. After all, Severus is a secretive person and the last person he'd share his own personally crafted spell with is Potter. However, he did share his spell with the one person who he always believed he could trust, Lily. Seeing as Severus didn't teach Potter his Levicorpus spell, then that could only mean that Lily shared his own spell with Potter, his biggest tormentor who has bullied him for years!
Even when Lily coerces Potter to drop the spell, Severus didn't care as he's dropped to the floor. It's when Lily asks him if he's alright that angers him so. The nerve of her to ask if he's alright after stabbing him in the back, not once, but twice!
A combination of Lily's betrayal and a lifetime of suppressed emotions of abuse, neglect and bullying has Severus seeing red. After betraying him like that, he wanted Lily to feel a tenth of what he's feeling right now! When he does calm down, only then does he realize that the dreaded word, Mudblood, had slipped out his mouth, aimed at Lily. Realizing his mistake, Severus apologizes, but Lily refuses his apology and quickly runs off, quickly followed by the Marauders and all the viewing students. Severus is left by the tree, helplessly watching as the one good thing in his life disappears.
With Lily gone, Severus takes a good look around to see how alone he is.
Alone.
So alone.
The screen fades to black, showing no more scenes of Severus Snape's life. Death turns back to the audience. "Thus ends the tale of Severus Snape. Now then, do you still agree with your previous statement, Minerva McGonagall?"
Minerva can't find it in herself to defend herself, her fellow professors and most definitely not her four Gryffindor boys. Viewing the life of Severus Snape has changed her perspective on... everything! "I-I retract my previous statement."
After watching the last prank they did on Snivellous before he killed himself, James can honestly say that he is quite elated. Not only is Snape now gone forever, but Lily showed that she found his prank on Snape to be funny. "I knew she liked my humour!"
Both of Lily's parents and Petunia look over at Lily who stares up at the black screen with pale skin and wide eyes. "Lily..." sighed Helen Evans, hating to see her daughter so distraught, but she doesn't know what to say to comfort her. What can she say to make Lily feel better, after they just witnessed her actually smile while watching Severus's torment. The scene didn't exactly display her daughter out as the good guy in the situation.
"Why did you smile, Lily?" asked Petunia who shrugs when her father tries to shush her. "What? She's suppose to be Snape's best friend, is she not? What kind of best friend stands there and smiles as their friend is being paraded about in front of everyone in their underwear!?" Before, Petunia didn't much care for Snape, having thought of him as nothing more than one of Lily's freakish friends. After watching Severus's life through his eyes, she sees that he isn't as horrid or freakish as everyone else believed him to be. She saw a boy who had the whole world against him and in the end, the world won.
"I... I never realized. It's just, everyone was always telling me bad things about Sev. About how he was always picking fights with Potter and Black, about how he laughed when Alice got hexed by Mulciber and how he was studying Dark Magic to join the Death Eaters. After hearing about all of those bad things, I just thought that Severus being embarrassed would be a kind of comeuppance for all the bad things I thought he did. W-What kind of friend am I?" gasped Lily, looking down at her shaking hands and for a split second, she sees them coated in blood. She knows it's just her brain playing tricks on her, but it only worsens her belief that she played a role in Severus's death.
"I never imagined Hogwarts would ever get so out for control, not with you in charge, Dumbledore" growled Alastor who aims a glare at the Headmaster's direction. "Never thought you'd be part of the problem. When we return, I will personally be leading an investigation on everything that's been going on in your school." Alastor quickly aims his glare in the direction for the Marauders. "Including multiple murder attempts on Severus Snape."
"Multiple?" gulped Peter, not liking how everyone glares at them.
"Black tricking Snape into the Shrieking Shack while there's a bloody Werewolf inside would be enough on its own for a one-way trip to Azkaban" stated Alastor who enjoys seeing the smug brat turn pale. "Many of those so-called pranks of yours from what I saw would be considered attempted murder as well. Hexing Snape's legs into jelly as he's walking down stairs, dropping him on his head, tossing him into a wall. You must be sick in the head if you think that it's alright to do that to another human being. That reminds me, I see that you're an Animagus, Potter. Funny, I don't remember you registering it with the Ministry. With how rare Animagus are nowadays, I'm surprised I didn't hear any news about you being one, especially since you're the heir of a Pureblood family. Care to explain?"
James suddenly turns pale as Mad-Eye Moody looks at him with an accusing glare. Knowing that the punishment for not registering his Animagus form with the Ministry is imprisonment in Azkaban, James doesn't feel like answering the Auror. Similar to James, Sirius and Peter get nervous as well, seeing as they're both unregistered Animagus as well.
Luckily for them, someone unknowingly changes the subject. "Merlin, after seeing everything Mr. Snape had to go through, I'm amazed he survived as long as he did. Any one of those so-called 'pranks' that those boys played on Severus could've led to his death. He was very lucky" remarked Flitwick, having his own history with bullying in Hogwarts, due to his small stature and the bit of Goblin blood flowing through his veins. He had thought that bullying in Hogwarts was done and over with, but obviously he was wrong. In fact, it has gotten even worse! Most of what he had to go through as a student was some name calling and the occasional hex, but never multiple murder attempts, because how else can he describe what the Gryffindor boys did?
"I would never class Severus as lucky, Filius. Because of those four boys, Severus often had to occupy a bed in the infirmary, either it be from painful hexes or from broken bones" stated Madame Pompfrey who glares at the Marauders with disdain. She only started to work at Hogwarts a few years ago, at the same time Severus was a First Year in Hogwarts and no other student has been admitted to the infirmary more times then Severus Snape. "I did inform the Headmaster about the many incidents of bullying, but he never did anything about it. At least I now know why."
James can't believe how everything has gone wrong so fast. Moony says that he's no longer his friend, everyone, including his own fellow Gryffindors are looking at him and his remaining Marauders in disdain and worst of all, Lily won't even look at him. And for what? All for Snape who was so cowardly that he took his own life? How is that fair!?
To the bewilderment of many, Augusta Longbottom let's out a dry laugh.
"Mum?" said Frank who's perplexed over why his mother is laughing. After watching the horrendous life of Severus Snape through his eyes, Frank can't imagine what his mother could have possibly found funny.
Augusta waves off her son. "Apologies. It's just, I'm finding the irony of this very amusing. The Hogwarts Houses are suppose to separate students based on their best qualities and yet, four boys in Gryffindor, the House of Bravery, showed not an ounce of bravery between any of them. Attacking a boy in greater numbers, hexing him from behind or beneath an Invisibility Cloak. How brave of them" she scoffed while glaring at the four Marauders.
Peter sinks into his seat, hoping to make himself look as small as possible.
Remus flinches and looks away, knowing that what Frank's mother said is true.
Sirius defiantly glares back at Augusta, although he makes no move to defend himself with words.
James looks down at the floor with his fists clenched, hating how everyone is judging himself and his friends, all because of Snape!
Augusta continues on. "And yet, Eileen's son, a Slytherin who are known for their cunning and ambition, had ran straight into the Shrieking Shack, all while knowing that there was a Werewolf inside, all because he thought Lily was inside and in danger. He showed more bravery then four Gryffindor boys combined. I imagine he would have made a great Gryffindor."
Mad-Eye Moody nods in agreement. "I can agree with ya on that. Snape showed more bravery then most. Even when the brats ganged up on the kid, he never once backed down from a fight. I can respect that."
Sirius jumps up from his seat in outrage. "What shite! There is no way Snivellous was ever braver than any of us!"
"Black, sit ya bloody arse down. I don't have my wand or one of my legs, but I can still knock ya on your arse" growled Alastor, almost daring the smug prick to defy him so he can give him a wallop. He's sure the Snape kid would have appreciated it.
Dumbledore turns to Death to try and change the course of conversation. Anything to turn everyone's focus away from Sirius. "Excuse me, but what does Mr. Snape have to do with you bringing all of us here?" he asked Death, admittedly curious as to why Snape is still important, now that he's dead.
"I've brought you all here because I intend to bring Severus Snape back from the dead" answered Death, much to the shock of everyone in the theatre room.
"You're going to bring back Sev?" asked Lily in hope of having her best friend back. She can finally apologize and beg for Severus's forgiveness, just as he had done to her and hopefully, Severus won't be as pig-headed as she was.
Hearing that her son will be brought back by Death himself has Eileen bawl her eyes out again, but in joy instead of grief.
Augusta looks at Death, quizzically. "That is mighty decent of ya. Eileen's son must be something special to be allowed to come back from the dead" she said, sounding suspicious. Being brought back from the dead by Death himself seems awfully too good to be true.
"I am returning Severus Snape's life because it suits my needs" remarked Death who doesn't want anyone to think he's doing it out of the goodness of his cold, dead heart. "Everything and everyone must die at some stage. Voldemort mocks me by tying his soul to the living world and keeping it out of my reach. Severus shall return to the living and afterwards, he will be proclaimed as my champion and will play a more active role in bringing me Voldemort's soul."
Many are suddenly finding it hard to breathe, that is how stupefied everyone is. Severus will not only return from the dead, but he will be given Death's blessing to end Voldemort for good.
Lucius looks over at his fiance and soon to be sister-in-law with a nervous expression. "This could prove detrimental to our plan." Fighting Dumbledore is one thing, but going against Death itself? That's someone Lucius doesn't want to make an enemy of. How could they possibly defeat Death?
Death further explains the reason why everyone is in the threatre.
"However, bringing back Severus's soul isn't as simple as all of you might expect. These circumstances are... unique" remarked Death, sounding and looking a bit annoyed.
"Unique as in how?" asked a curious Horace.
"As I'm sure many of you aren't aware of, the human soul is a lot more fragile than one might think. If the owner of said soul has lived a harsh life, their trauma may reflect on their soul which can cause it to split apart. The more trauma a mortal faces throughout their life, the more their soul splits. I'm sure I don't need to explain to you all that Severus Snape did not live a good life, seeing as the majority of the time he was alive was spent being beaten, abused, neglected and such. Therefore, upon his death, Severus Snape's soul fractured into several pieces before I could reap it and they have all recycled themselves throughout the Multiverse. The Soul Fractures have spread and created life of their own, yet they remain a piece of Severus Snape. I have brought you all here to witness the lives of the Soul Fractures which make up Severus Snape's own and until I have all the Fractures to recreate Severus's original soul, you shall not leave." Death points towards the left side of the room where several glass containers are lined up beside one another. In each glass container is a blank mannequin which will hold the Soul Fractures until they are all ready to be rejoined.
Albus is fascinated by the knowledge of Severus's soul having split into pieces and each piece becoming a new person altogether. "It sound similar to the Horcruxes and yet, not."
"Doesn't sound like we have much of a choice" pointed out Frank Longbottom who tries to get comfy in his seat.
"By the end of all this, you all may just have a further understanding of Severus Snape." Death steps to the side while waving a hard towards the screen. "Enjoy the show."
xXx
These are the characters who are in the theatre. PM me if you think I've missed someone important. This is Marauder era so no Hermione or Weasly Twins.
Characters: Lily Evans, Petunia Evans, Richard Evans, Helen Evans, Eileen Snape, James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Filius Flitwick, Horace Slughorn, Rubeus Hagrid, Alastor Moody, Augusta Longbottom, Frank Longbottom, Alice "Longbottom", Mary MacDonald, Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Black, Bellatrix Black, Regulus Black, Molly Weasley, Arthur Weasley.
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"I thought we were all supposed to have a fresh start here. I can't change the past."