Shattered- Severus Snape

Chapter one 1

The Harry Potter storyline of Voldemort will be slightly changed to fit the story. So I officially started with a new story now! For anyone concerned, my main priority will still be the sequel but I wanted to make this one in the meantime and continue it when the other is finished (since it's nearing towards the end) Feel free to leave any suggestions in the comments for this one. I'm open to anything that falls in my plan!

Leilah's last year shouldn't be such trouble if the current rumours didn't exist. She remembered when she first got her letter. She was so excited that even her parents were becoming annoyed. They had told her stories about their time at Hogwarts since she was a baby and now she finally got it herself; the actual proof. She went into her first year with an optimistic attitude.

It was even better than expected until things started to come above the surface. There had been talks about it before but those were just seen as legends, something that most likely will never happen. That's probably why everyone was surprised when Harry Potter really came to their school. There was some small hope that perhaps nothing would happen and things would stay the same. She would graduate and figure out her life from there. Then there were multiple cases of you-know-who being seen. She hoped she could finish her last year in peace. That wasn't what happened....

Merely a year or two ago did Voldemort show up during the Wizarding Torment. There was a tragic incident with a Hufflepuff named Cedric who participated, who was killed by Voldemort. Leilah didn't want to be involved in any of it but she had no choice when she was approached by Dumbledore.

It was a late afternoon where she decided she'd rather spend her time at the lake than in her Gryffindor dorm. The sun wasn't shining too bright, causing the slight breeze, but it had the perfect stance to create the soft lighting that fell. She always paid attention to the details of her surroundings as it was her joy to bring emotions over to parchment.

When she drew, she wanted the result to give the paper life. If someone looked at it, they needed to get the same feeling that she got when she drew it. It wasn't particularly about the drawing itself. There were millions out there looking exactly like hers and most were even better than hers. It somehow stuck to her, the sentence; 'Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not the sitter'.

It was her mission to achieve that. She wanted to reflect her emotions onto paper as if magic but without a wand. It seemed foolish to think that big of yourself when all you did was draw on a piece of paper, but it mattered to her. That's why that day was so memorable, more than one shocking thing happened right after she quoted that quote in her mind, after drawing nature.

Dumbledore had come to seek her. The Headmaster wasn't a man who usually sought for students because students sought for him. He had asked if she wanted to come with her and, of course, she was in no position to refuse although she desperately wanted to finish what she started before the sun was gone. She gave him a curt nod and followed in an awkward silence he tried to fill with an unimportant conversation.

Now Leilah was sitting on the chair in the Headmaster's office. She couldn't help but glance around; at the paintings on the walls, his collection of books and the bowl of lemon drops in front of her.

"Take as you please." Apparently, the Headmaster noticed her staring at the bowl.

"Thank you," She tried to say politely whilst her nervousness of why she was being called to the office increased. She popped the drop in her mouth just when the door behind her opened. She fought the urge to turn around but couldn't help her curiosity get the better of her so gave a quick look over her shoulder. At that moment, all she wanted to do was flee. This couldn't be good. This was never good. Why in the hell had she gotten in trouble just when she had so badly wanted to avoid that!?

"Albus," The Professor barked. Leilah flinched at the low voice filling the empty room with anger. Dumbledore's face looked pained at Professor Snape's temper.

Leilah hadn't dared to say anything when Snape's heavy footsteps got harder when he strode towards the two of them. Instead of sitting on the only empty chair left, Snape apparently opted for standing at a distance from them. With his arms crossed in front of him, he raised an eyebrow at Dumbledore.

"You called me to the office, so speak up." The tone was softer than previous and Dumbledore appeared pleased by that. All Leilah could do was suck on the lemon drop and watch the scene play in front of her. Snape was definitely something. She was scared to death when she first got taught by that man. Merlin, he was intimidating when he glared at you or even so much as called out your name. She thought back about that one time when she'd been fooling around with her partner.

She wasn't paying attention to anyone until someone she didn't know suddenly called her name to warn her. The next thing she knew, Snape was standing in front of her. He had that disapproving frown and that sneer on his face which couldn't mean anything good. She got detention for a week straight, cleaning cauldrons.

But right now, she was in her last year and the fear had been kicked out of her body. Sure, he could still be frightening every now and then but it lost its meaning. It was Snape. No one had seen him act any differently when he wasn't teaching. People just seemed to accept that that was who he was and that they weren't able to change it by doing their best. It was like he actively searched for things to criticize. He's been undeniably getting worse over the years. He looked exhausted whilst teaching and in the Great Hall when they ate. Perhaps it was because of the Dark Lord coming closer.

The only thing that hadn't changed was his personality and his clothing. Leilah felt embarrassed at having to admit that it suited Snape; the whole image of the mysterious and dark man. She heard her friends talk about what might be hidden under those robes, but no one would admit it out loud. It was a thing going around for years that he was secretly extremely muscled, that he was athletic or did yoga in his free time to be more flexible. It was impossible to keep up with it and Leilah eventually gave up trying, although never quit imagining the same things.

It was most likely the fact that Snape had never, ever worn anything other than those stupid robes with thousands of layers. She wanted him to wear something daring, something that would at least show his fucking figure so that the air was cleared. Naturally, Snape was completely oblivious when it came down to feelings directed towards him....or he was really good at ignoring the giggles and blushes.

"Yes, I did call you to my office, didn't I?" Leilah's lemon drop had disappeared. She directed her attention to the Headmaster who was showing signs of concern yet continued to smile. Snape held his scowl, as always.

"I'm sure, Miss Parker, that you know about Voldemort?" Leilah was surprised by the question and didn't hide it either, earning a sigh from Snape who was starting to get impatient. She nodded and Dumbledore continued his story. He told her about the letter he received just before the term of school started, the last year, from Voldemort. It was unusual and also extremely indirect so he wasn't able to trace anything that might hint at where Voldemort was. Snape was now listening thoughtfully and even dragged the chair closer that he had occupied after three minutes of standing.

The letter had specifically named Leilah and the sudden interest Voldemort had in her. It was signed off with Tom Riddle as name but Dumbledore believed that it was an anonymous source who had close connections to Voldemort who perhaps gave them a hint. It would be strange for Voldemort to give them advice on how to win the goddamn war, so Leilah accepted his conclusion. It was quite vague except for the part where Leilah could be legally wed to share her powers with whoever was the lucky one unless she was taken. It was the last part that nearly had her stand up from her chair with rage. Wed? Her powers? What the fuck were they talking about? It was Snape who dared to interrupt Dumbledore's rambling to ask the question Leilah had been dreading asking.

"And what do we do with this information?" The tension that lingered in the air finally disappeared when the remaining question was asked. Dumbledore froze in the middle of his story about the indirect links and gave that same smile again, making Leilah awfully uncomfortable.

"What I'm trying to say is that Leilah should be wed to someone who has the same level of strength when it comes down to magic." Snape's jaw clenched, he appeared to be paler than normal. Leilah had heard what Dumbledore said, but didn't know what it meant. She had to be wed, that wasn't so bad, but with whom?

"Albus, you can not honestly suggest that-" Snape started. 

"I am," Dumbledore interrupted, "You're our only option."