the boy that could have been

snape's nightmare

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me." Muttered Snape as he looked down at his register. Potter, Black, Lupin and Pettigrew? Was this some sort of sick joke? His chest tightened and his breathing began to quicken.

"Enough, Severus." He said firmly to himself, "You're not twelve anymore, and you have nothing to be afraid of from a bunch of eleven year olds. You're Professor Snape! Everybody's scared of you! Come on Sev, you can do this. How does it go? Bewitch the senses, ensnare the min - wait, no, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses. That's it, you know this speech, you've practiced it for years! Now come on, stop being pathetic, they're little kids."

Having managed to regain control of himself, he strode to the door, where the chattering group of Gryffindors and Slytherins immediately fell silent.

"In." He said, barely loud enough to hear, but it was enough. A small smirk rose to his lips. Just his mere presence was enough to send them scuttling away like rats. But what about the girl? What if they- no, enough. The Pettigrew boy was in Slytherin, for pity's sake. Maybe the Black girl would be a threat, though. Him and Potter Sr had always been the worst, but surely Jr. would have inherited some of his mother's genes? His dearest Lily would turn in her grave - except, he thought with a painful jolt, she was actually alive. He had yet to see her, but he was definitely not looking forward to that encounter. And Black and Potter...

But they weren't his priority right now. He had their dratted offspring to deal with. Maybe he could use them for revenge... Even if they were children, he was just a child when their parents decided to make his life a living hell, all because that stupid Potter had a crush on his best friend, the love of his life, the one he would always love.

Snape suddenly realised that he was still stood by the door, deep in thought, whilst the students had all sat down and were expectantly watching him. He slammed the door with a scowl and moved across to his desk, cloak billowing behind him. His eyes scanned the classroom, searching for them. That one was Potter, clearly. But his eyes, Merlin's beard, his eyes, they were- but enough. Not now. Next to him - she looked oddly familiar. Ah yes, the tatty look of exhaustion. Lupin's, of course. Had she inherited...? Well, if so, he'd fine out soon enough.

Then behind them - could that possibly be Black's daughter? Her skin was definitely a shade darker than his, but she had his curly hair, and there was something about the way she carried herself - arrogance, just like her father. And there, behind Draco, that had to be Pettigrew's. He'd inherited that awful rattish look about him. Most certainly not the most attractive boy, and was he giggling? And sat next to- no, don't interfere Severus. Just take the register.

"Ah, yes," he said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new - celebrity."

Harry flushed and the ginger kid - god, those Weasleys needed to stop breeding - next to him glared, but he was met with sniggers from the Slytherins and, surprisingly, Black Jr. Interesting. 

He finished the register and moved on to his speech, making sure not to raise his voice above a whisper, but he began to enjoy himself as he swished around the classroom. A chubby boy sat on the Gryffindor side - Longbottom, he recalled, was quite literally quaking in his seat. Pathetic.

"I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death - if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

Nobody made a sound. A bushy haired girl sat on the edge of her seat gazing up at him, whilst Potter and Weasley exchanged a look, which for some reason aggravated him.

"Potter!" He said suddenly, "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

The boy look confused and glanced to his side for help. As if Weasley would know! His parents probably couldn't even afford to buy him a toothbrush, he'd hardly have started learning stuff in advance! Little Miss Know-It-All shot her hand into the air, but he ignored it. Clearly she wasn't smart enough to know that her name wasn't Potter.

"I don't know, sir." Said Harry with an air of politeness, but Snape knew his father, and he could sense the arrogance beneath his words. Potter's brat. His lips curled into a sneer.

"Tut, tut - fame clearly isn't everything." Tell that to your stupid father as well, he thought. Being Mr. Popular at school didn't stop you from getting blown up now, did it? "Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

The Know-It-All looked as though her arm was about to pop out of its socket, but Harry looked deep in thought. He recognised the name from his mother's mini lessons, but he couldn't remember what it was, and the fact that Charlotte, Draco and the rest of his goons were shaking with laughter didn't exactly help him to think.

"I don't know, sir."

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?" he smirked, knowing that the boy wouldn't dare to say anything as he continued to look into Snape's eyes. The arrogance! Snape opened his mouth to continue humiliating Potter, but the girl next to him - Lupin's - interrupted before he had the chance. That was unexpected.

"Why don't you stop being an arse and ask someone else then? I doubt anybody except Hermione memorised the entire textbooks before coming, and I very much doubt that you did when you came!"

Snape was momentarily speechless as he watched the girl, who immediately seemed to realise what she had said and ducked down beneath her cauldron. His mind immediately went back to his first day. He had, in fact, been able to answer all questions from the teachers, but that had immediately prompted Potter and Black to start on him. Then they messed up his potion and he got in trouble...

Enough. Deal with the matter at hand, Severus.

"How dare you speak to me that way." He hissed, leaning over the girl's desk, "Ten points for speaking out of turn, ten for insulting me, and another ten for your use of language. Oh, and another five because I don't like you, and I'll see you in detention tomorrow evening."

She looked like she was about to burst into tears, and the rest of the Gryffindors muttered with outrage. Why did they care? Oh yes, he'd just taken thirty-five points off of them. Ha. The Slytherin side of the room were cheering and clapping, to which he raised a hand and they immediately fell silent,

"Now, Potter, you have one more chance. What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

Something lit up in Harry's eyes. He knew this one! Hermione stood up, hand still stretched into the air, but he looked directly into Snape's eyes.

"They are the same plant, also known as aconite."

Snape was furious. How did this boy- Lily. Of course Lily. He scowled and turned on his heel, cloak flying behind him, and tried to hide a smirk. He looked so cool when he did that!

He told them the answers to the rest of the questions (after snapping at Granger, the know-it-all) then progressed with the lesson, taking care to praise Draco and take as many points from Gryffindor as possible.

Potter kept looking at him - insolent boy - but, surprisingly, he had no trouble from the rest. Lupin was crying and shaking behind her cauldron (did she really think he couldn't see? He was a wizard for Merlin's sake!), Pettigrew was fawning over Draco, and Black seemed to be staring mournfully at the Slytherin side of the room. That didn't make sense. Surely, with her father being who he was - unless he wasn't her father? After all, there was more than one Black, wasn't there? Or even if she was his brat, maybe she had enough sense to want to follow in the footsteps of the rest of her family.

Then there was her. She was doing well - of course she was - but he had to ignore her. He couldn't let them know. She couldn't spend her seven years here the same way that he did...