A Life Stolen Away

Chapter 1

    On a Friday evening, down in the cold, dank, dark, dungeons of Hogwarts, there sits a boy who acts as a man. A boy who must act as a man, for he has no other choice and there stands a man with a past he can't tell of. A past he must not tell of. The man who now teaches this boy, on this Friday evening, trying to make him occlude his mind, to save himself and all of those around him.

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    I've had enough of this. He won't give me a break and he isn't helping me. He's only making it worse. After fighting and fighting and fighting, I beg for him to let me have a moment of rest, but he tells me that the Dark Lord won't allow it and he goes again. I am forced to save myself and use a shield charm, but I was unprepared for what I would see.

: In the Memory :
    Severus Snape sits on a bed in St. Mungo's, holding a newborn child, while James Potter sits on the bed beside him. He looks to be crying, a heart felt cry. It's silent at first, until a women with bright red hair walks in the room. "I beg of you, Lily, don't do this to me, don't take him away from me. Please!" The cries become louder, as he begs for his child.

    "We had a deal, Severus." She walks over to him and tries to take the baby, but he won't budge.

    "I can't! I can't let you take him! He's mine!" He screams and cries and can't stop it. The heartbreak is too much.

     James holds onto him and tries to get him to let go, as the tears gather in his own eyes. "I love you so much and I am so very sorry. I don't want to do this to you, Sev, you know I don't want this anymore than you do, but you have to let go, baby. You have to! It's the only way to save our Harry!"

    "I can't do it James!"

     "You can, Severus, you can!"

    There's no time to process, as Lily starts to force the child from out of his arms, failing, but trying.  "Nooooo!!!!" He holds on tighter, trying not to let go, but trying not to suffocate the child at the same time. After several minutes, he loses the fight and his child is gone.

    He desperately reaches for his child, but is held back. "Shhhh, baby, come here, lay back." He caves to voice and turns, so as to not have to watch his child being taken away by the red headed woman. He now lays haphazardly over James, with one arm over a shoulder, the other around his waist and his head resting over the other shoulder.

     His cries do not cease as he tries to come to term with the happenings of the day. All the while, James holds him, rubbing soothing circles into his back, as he lays above him and does the same.

: In Reality :

    As the memory fades out, with a screaming, crying, Severus, Harry sits there, confused, with tears in his eyes, unable to comprehend what he saw.

    The silence is awkward and neither can find any words to say for what seems like an eternity. After a few minutes, however, Severus decides to speak. "What you saw was a memory of a long time ago. I do not have the strength to explain it at this moment, but I could show you."

    Harry looks up when the silence is broken. It takes a few moments to comprehend what was said before giving a simple reply. "Show me how?"

    The professor stands up straight, collecting his thoughts, smoothing his clothes down and gives a gesture towards the door. "By following me over to my chambers." At first, he believes that Harry will not follow, but after a minute or two, he stands up.

    Severus leads Harry out the door, down the hall and into the door leading to his private rooms. Once there, he closes the door and starts to search through a desk drawer.

    Finding what he was looking for, he turns around, with his hands behind his back. "Are you aware of the fact that there are wizards that can give birth, Harry?"

    Confusion clear in his face, he replies, "As one who has the ability, I am."

    This brings a small smile to the face of this dour man. "In that case, I must ask of you to withhold any questions until you have read through both documents. I must also ask you to not leave this room, until I have had the chance to explain myself. You may run out of here, throw a tantrum, whatever you must. I just ask for a chance."

    After a moment of silence and a nod from Harry, he hands over the documents.

    To say that Harry was shocked, would be an understatement. The first document was his birth certificate, stating that Severus Snape and James Potter were his true parents. This caused a moment of confusion, but as requested, he did not ask any questions, he just went into the second document. This document was for a blood adoption to Lily Potter, which would alter his appearance to look like his adopted family. A document which caused more confusion, but explained everything all at once.

     After reading through everything, he felt pained for the man in front of him. A man who was forced to give up his child.

    However, this left a question to be answered. "Why did you give me up?" The hurt was evident in his voice, no matter the fact that the memory showed it was by force and not free will.

    "Your mother threatened to kill you if I didn't comply. She said that I had to give up the sole heir to the Potter line because it would look bad otherwise. She knew that she and your father would never have a family, for reasons I wish not to discuss and as much as I didn't want to see another person raise my own child, I would have never allowed you to die." The honesty was clear to be seen in those haunted black eyes. It was so clear that it could never have been missed.

    With a defeated voice, he begged to know, "Why didn't you tell me before?"

    "It is in the contract. If you give a child up through blood adoption, you are forbidden to tell said child unless they come to you first, or, in this case, see a memory they shouldn't have. It is assumed that you didn't want to know the child."

    "Is this contract the same reason that I was placed with the Dursley's"

    "I am sad to say it is. If I hadn't signed the contract, then believe me, I would have never allowed you to be raised there. I know what Petunia is like and I wouldn't wish that upon you or anyone else here in the magical world. You have to know that I love you, Harry, no matter what."

    There was no reply. Instead, Harry did the bravest and most compassionate thing he could think to do. He slowly walked over, looking into the eyes of the man who gave birth to him and wrapped his arms around him in an uncertain hug. After a moment, his father wrapped his arms around him and they both relaxed into a relieved, loving and much needed embrace.

After a while, a thought occurred to Harry, and he raised his head enough for Snape to see his face. "Sir?"

He looked down, into Harry's eyes. "Yes, Harry?"

"If you and my father were together, then why did he marry Lily?"