Living in Shadows [Harry Potter Fanfiction]

Chapter Twenty-Four | Spinner's End, August 1, 1981

Chapter Twenty-Four

Spinner’s End, August 1st 1981

 

 

            Severus Snape had never felt safe in his home.

There had been days as a child were he went as far to even pack his suitcase, stick his raggedy teddy bear – the only gift his father ever gave him – in the pocket and walk out. He never made it past the corner.

At three he still had faith in his mother, thought she was an angel that had come from the clouds. She used to tell him that he was born from the rain, found in the soil along with the raspberries – he had believed that until he was four, and his father heard that little faerie tale. He’d hit Severus, called him stupid and a waste of space, told him that magic wouldn’t save him – Tobias Snape swore to make his sons life miserable.

And miserable it was. By eleven he had no hope for his mother, who had sunken so deep into her own dark world that she barely heard Severus anymore. She barely even blinked when Tobias went into a rage, directing his anger at the world on Severus.

The summers were interesting, yet confusing. The last thing he wanted was to spend two months in Spinners End, but that was were Hazel was – were Lily would be. It was easy to be with the girls, his magical and beautiful girls…there was no stupid James Potter or Sirius Black, no teasing or mocking. There were beatings – but Hazel grew flowers through the cracks of the floorboards, so when his father knocked him to the ground he saw forget me nots.

As a teenager the Snape family went to great lengths to ignore each other; Severus running off to spend the day with Hazel and Lily; his father falling into a drunken stupor; his mother buried beneath the covers of her bed, under heavy sleeping potions.

Now, twenty-two years old and completely alone, Severus sat slumped over in the second of the two chairs in the room. The fire flickered weakly, casting shadows across the glass beer bottles gathered on the shelves. The chair his father had inhabited for nearly twenty-four years was empty, worn and sagging in the centre.

“I’ve done it now.” He said softly, his voice sounding odd in the empty room “There’s nothing to do about it now – I’ve done it.”

Tilting his head, he studied the body by his feet, blood pooling around his shoes. Tobias Snape was a fat bastard who deserved nothing short of a painful death – and so that’s what Severus gave him. Sectumsempra had never worked in such a way before, as if Severus had stabbed him; though he had jabbed his wand quite forcefully at his father’s gut, which had swelled over the years because of his beer binges.

Though Severus had not come home to kill his father, he assumed it was the right thing to do. The origin of his trip was to say goodbye to his mother, though he’d ended up being too late.

The rain had poured from the sky, soaking him through. The priest had said very few words, rushing them and mumbling through the prayers. Severus had stood beside his father, water dripping down his nose, and watched his mothers casket be lowered into the ground.

Once the priest had left, Severus and Tobias stood in the distance, watching the caretaker shovel dirt into the hole that would hold Eileen Snape for all eternity.