Prohibition | Severus Snape

The Mind of the Mad

Sofia kept her eyes on her father in the distance as she carefully climbed over the stone railing. She felt her fingers twitch as she gripped her wand tighter and tighter out of fear. She felt the soft grass beneath her feet as she continued to walk closer to the deranged man. Her father seemed to notice her as he paused in his step, uncomfortably bending his head to the side as if to see her better. Sofia knew that if she took even one pause in her step she would be completely paralyzed. She picked up her speed as soon as she noticed her father stop in his tracks. After passing by a tall willow tree and the place where she used to sit with Severus, she was merely a few feet away from him before she could no longer force herself to walk. She noticed some of the familiar features of his face, however, his overgrowing beard made it impossible for her to see his full face. His wild eyes were dark, his feet were bare, clothes completely torn to pieced and she could barely make out his expression. As she slowly inched closer to him she worried that if she would lift her wand, she would anger him. She could hear his deep panting breaths as she inched closer and closer. She suddenly found herself only a few inches away from his tall and skinny body. The man continued to stare at her, slowly cracking his neck, his arms strangely dangling at his sides. Sofia exhaled a shaky breath as she stared at him.  

"Hello, William." It was difficult for her to speak his name as she had never called him that before. She almost made the mistake of calling him 'dad' again but she remembered how unsettled that made him in Azkaban. 

"Who...are you?" He rasped unnaturally. Sofia noticed his strange lopsided smile. He continued to unsettle her as she tried to focus on remaining calm. 

"A friend." She whispered. William examined her head to toe. Sofia felt his eyes on her palm as she quickly crossed her arms over her body in an attempt to hide her wand from his sight. "Let's go towards the lake..." Sofia shakily spoke. She wasn't sure what she was doing at this point, or what she would do if he were to hurt her. Attack him back? Calmly coax him into walking away? Trick him somehow? She looked out towards the lake as the man shifted in his position. 

"No." Greene growled at her which made her jump. He attempted to walk around Sofia, which caused her to firmly move her body in front of him, standing in his way.

"We need to go to the lake." She repeated herself as she felt his cloudy eyes stare daggers into her. She noticed his jaw shift uncomfortably as he gritted his teeth. The sound made Sofia's skin crawl as he towered over her. 

"Move." 

"No." She spoke again. Her confidence was quickly frailing as she noticed the anger in his voice. William placed his callous hand on Sofia's arm, forcefully shoving her to the side. Adrenalin took over Sofia as she quickly dug her heels into the ground, outstretching her wand, she watched as the man raised his hand, prepared to slap her. Before he had the chance to swing at her Sofia quickly whispered; 'Petrificus Totalus'  which caused Greene to freeze in his place, his palm open, inches away from Sofia's face. Sofia winced at the image of her own father slapping her. Just as she stepped back from his stone-state she heard quick footsteps approach her. Both Albus and Severus rushed over to her side. Severus stepped in front of Sofia as he examined Greene. Greene's eyes followed Severus as he leaned in closer. 

"How the hell did he get here?" Severus spat. 

"What if someone helped him? What if there's someone else on the grounds?" Sofia began to spiral out as the adrenalin calmed in her bloodstream. 

"We need to get him further away from the castle, in case he becomes aggressive," Severus added.

"No time. The Ministry has allowed me to grant him the watch." Albus spoke firmly as he pulled the wristwatch out of his pocket. Sofia was shocked at how quickly everything was happening. She never wanted to be there for the moment when her father regains his sanity. She wasn't sure whether it was to avoid the disappointment if he didn't remember her or simply out of fear. She stepped back as she observed Albus and Severus. Severus had his arm out with his wand, prepared to strike Greene with a counter-spell, whilst Albus swiftly approached Greene. Sliding the watch onto Greene's wrist both of them waited for nothing. Sofia observed the watch which didn't seem to do anything whilst Severus watched Greene's expression. Both Albus and Sofia quickly noticed as Greene's eyes began to aggressively dart from side to side. Looking back at Sofia for reassurance, Albus nodded at Severus to perform the counter-spell. With a swift wave of Severus wand, Greene's arm swung down, as he dropped on his knees to the ground. Albus strode over to him, grabbing at his collar. The man seemed to exhale deep breaths of panic as Albus pulled him up from the ground.