IN ANOTHER LIFE (James Potter x Severus Snape)

Chapter 1 - Second Chance

In the blink of an eye, Severus Snape felt his life slip away from him; the venom of Nagini, Voldemort's beloved pet, sealing his fate. Yet, as his consciousness faded, he found himself jerked back into reality. However, it was not the dank, deadly confines of the Shrieking Shack he woke in. Instead, he was in a small, familiar, yet strangely different room.

Somehow the excruciating pain he felt from Nagini's bite, and his other injuries were gone. But how? How can that be? In his knowledge, there is no currently known antidote from a Maledictus snake venom. Knowledge about Nagini being a Maledictus was limited to a few people. Initially, only Lord Voldemort and a select few of his inner circle, himself included, were aware of Nagini's true nature. And he was sure that no Death Eater was more brilliant than himself at potions that can possibly make the antidote.

So what exactly happened? How is he still alive and breathing?

Frowning, he looked down to examine his body.

He shouldn't have. What he saw was mind boggling.

Small delicate hands, long silky black hair that tumbled down to his waist. A tiny body, a worn out lavender dress, and no lump feeling between his legs. It took a second of processing this information. Breathe in, breathe out.

He was a she. A she. In a child's body at that!

The realization hit him like a bolt of lightning, rendering him momentarily speechless. How? How could Severus Snape, the Potions Master, the brave and tormented soul, find himself inside a small girl's body?

Cue the freak out.

WHAT IN MERLIN'S NAME— "Argh-!" A burst of pain shot through his head, making him momentarily ignore the soft sound that just came out of his own mouth.

In his confusion and utter shock, he fell ill, a huge headache and a fast aching fever taking hold of him. He crumpled on the small, lumpy bed in his tiny room, his heart pounding as if it wanted to escape his chest, his breathing ragged. And with the fever came a flood of memories, not his, but hers - Serena Snape's.

In this parallel universe, the Wizarding World was vastly different. The concept of secondary genders was foreign to him, or her now, yet it was a significant part of this society, this world.

Alphas, Betas, and Omegas - a startling realization dawned upon Serena.

She was an Omega, a female Omega, a rarity among pure-blood families for decades according to her mother.

Her mother, Eileen, was different here too. In this world, she cared deeply for her child, even more so after discovering that Serena was an Omega. Eileen, a Beta who had always yearned for the high standing and desirability that came with being an Omega, was overjoyed at her daughter's presentation. She put all her hopes and dreams into Serena, wanting her to be the ideal Omega, beautiful, desired, and high-standing, bordering on obsession.

The memories of Serena's father, Tobias Snape, were a mix of warmth and bitterness. He loved Serena, but detested Eileen for hiding their magical lineage and fooling him. Serena's fifth birthday, the day she presented as an Omega, was when the secret was out, thanks to a massive surge of accidental magic that levitated all the furniture inside their worn out house. The reason was because her younger self was so upset that she couldn't find her old beat up teddy bear.

Tobias was not as abusive towards Serena as he was towards Eileen, but it was evident his resentment lingered.

Despite being malnourished, Serena was beautiful and cute. She craved affection, something she lacked growing up in an abusive household. Her mother's attention, superficial as it was, was the only semblance of care she received. She found herself pleasing her mother, following her strict lessons on being the ideal Omega, practicing beautification magic, and learning proper manners, all under the nose of her unsuspecting father.

Severus, now Serena, found herself drowning in the flood of new memories. The sheer magnitude of it was overwhelming. She was a girl, a female Omega in a world that was both familiar and alien.

"Why?" she asked herself, her voice barely a whisper. "Why now? And why here, in this parallel world?"

She remembered the First Wizarding War. How could she forget? The girl's lips turned into a sneer as she basked in her new predicament. The horrors she had seen, the mistakes she had made. And then the Second Wizarding War, where she had tried to right her wrongs, to protect those she cared about, only to meet her end at the hands of the very man she sought to bring down. How laughable. How pathetic. The memories all flooded back, and it was too much.

It was like Fate was laughing at her. Condemning her last pitiful acts of redemption.

Then, like a light bulb turned on, she realized she could change the future. From her new memories, Serena had just turned 10 years old a month ago, so the date should currently be February of 1970.

She could prevent wars, save lives.

But did she want to? The thought of going through it all again, the lies, the deceit, the constant fear - was it worth it? She was tired, so very tired. But then she thought of Lily, her best friend, the woman she loved. And Harry, Lily's son, who she had come to care about. And all those who didn't deserve to die.

"No," she said, her voice firm. "Not for Dumbledore, not because it's the right thing to do. But for me. For Lily, and for the boy who lived."

The boy. Harry. She felt so much pity for the boy. He deserves a normal life, not another bloody war trying to kill him off.

Harry had Lily's eyes, eyes that looked at him with respect and sadness as she was passing. She found it funny since she didn't deserve it.

Remembering how she hated the child in the beginning because of how much resemblance he had with his father. He deserved better but she treated him with such coldness and resentment. In the end, it was all just misplaced feelings and her childishness of wanting to have some kind of revenge for all the wrongs she was victimized to by his father and his group of friends.

Over the years, she couldn't help herself worry and care for the boy. She realized they had a somewhat similar childhood, growing up without love in a horrible family environment. When she learned Dumbledore was just raising him like a pig for slaughter, she was furious. How could he? After all he's been through, was his death the only solution? Like her? The old oaf and his, 'death is but the next great adventure' bullshite.

She would not let herself be used again, be it for the Dark side or the Light. She would end Voldemort herself, atone for her past mistakes and regrets.

But first, she had to deal with her current predicament.

She was a girl, a female Omega. She looked down at her small, delicate hands again, then at her long, silky black hair in the mirror across the room. She had to learn to navigate this world as a woman, to understand what it meant to be an Omega. She had to deal with her mother's expectations, her father's resentment, and the desirability that came with being an Omega.

"Fuck my life," she muttered, running a hand through her hair. It was going to be a long, difficult journey. But she was Severus Snape. Now Serena Snape. She was a survivor. And she was determined to make the most out of this second chance.