Saved by Love (Severus Snape / Original Female Character)

Saved

August 1980

Somewhere in muggle London, a man stood facing a small park; the night's darkness fell over the place like a heavy cape.

Severus dreaded moving, afraid that darkness would touch him and add to the burden he already carried on his soul.

All the nearby lights were off, and the buzzing sound of the severed electrical wires filled the air.

He looked around the park's playground – now completely destroyed, debris scattered all around the burnt, blood-soaked, grass.

It had been a perfect summer night for a wedding; not a cloud in the sky and the moon was shining bright, up until the Death Eaters arrived and ended what was certainly a beautiful ceremony.

Severus could still hear the screams of the victims and the deranged laughter of his fellow Death Eaters' as they killed everyone.

And if he closed his eyes he knew he would be able to see it all again.

He took a deep breath, trying to force those images out of his mind, filling his thoughts with the only thing that still kept him going: Florence.

Thinking of her – and, surprisingly, of her kids as well, remembering her love, her smell, her kisses, kept his nightmares at bay.

Some nights, when he was alone on his bed, he thought about talking to Dumbledore, give him all the information he had gathered under Voldemort so far and then face the Dark Lord's wrath.

After all, if the war ended tomorrow, no matter which side won, he knew he'd be doomed either way.

I'm fucked if I do, and fucked if I don't.

His future was one out of two: working for Voldemort until he died or going to Azkaban for the rest of his days.

I'd rather just die now. He thought.

And still, he couldn't stop dreaming about redemption.

He knew he wasn't deserving of it; many people had already died because of his poisons. But he could wish for it, dream of Florence, her love, her forgiveness.

If she ever forgave him, he could try to win her trust back, they could be together someplace far away.

No more deaths or nightmares. No more guilt.

Severus snorted at his own foolishness.

Nothing but silly dreams.

Once more he would have to get home and remove those thoughts of redemption from his mind so the Lord wouldn't be able to see them. Severus had finally reached a point when he was very good in Occlumency, good enough to fool the Dark Lord, but keeping less thoughts in his head helped him not get exhausted after hours of uninterrupted use of occlumency.

He saw the aurors arriving at the park and disapparated.

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When Severus reopened his eyes, he gazed at the familiar old factory chimney at the far end of the street and ignored the angry feeling that always came over him when he looked at that factory and remembered his father.

When his mother's house came into sight, he stopped.

He had conflicted feelings towards that house; that was the place where his father for so many years had hit him and his mother, screaming at her because she was a witch that couldn't make money out of thin air.

Severus had grown up in that house, hating it every day because of his abusive father.

However, that was the same house where he had first made love to Florence, where they had spent so many amazing moments together.