This story is dedicated to AndSheWrites, my first fan.
The room was dark and gloomy, lit only by the blue flames contained in the fireplace, and the air was cold and damp. There was a chill in the air, and it was nothing to do with the cold. Then he spoke, in a cold, high voice.
"This prophecy ... where did you hear of this, Severus?"
"The Hog's head, my lord."
"Very well, Severus, but to whom does it refer? Thrice defied me... The Longbottoms, perhaps?"
"That seems ... unlikely, my lord, to the best of my knowledge, they do not have a son."
"I see... But, ah. I know."
"Of whom does it speal, my lord?"
"As the seventh month died, a boy was born to the Potters."
"... Lily... Potter, and her husband, m-my lord?"
"Do I detect... resentment?"
"Of course not, my lord. Only, I ask, my lord, that... may you spare the woman?"
"I am going to leave for them,Saturday next, at nightfall."
With those words, the Dark Lord left, and I fell to my knees in an instant. My Lily. He was going to murder my Lily. The girl who accepted me, the girl I loved. Could I save her? Not alone. My powers are nothing to the Dark Lord. He would kill me, and then her, it would have been for nothing. Who, I wondered, could save her?
Dumbledore. The Dark Lord feared him, and it was easy to understand why, the man was a fantastic wizard, and he was a kind man. But would he help me? Anything, I reasoned, anything, to save Lily Potter. I decided that the life of Lily Potter was more important than my own life, and so, if the Dark Lord wished to kill me after I sought help, so be it. I hoped that he never found out, because if he did, it wouldn't just be me who paid the price.
I disapparated.
"What is the message the Dark Lord wishes to convey to me, Snape?"
"Professor, I am here of my own will."
"Well, what message do you want to give me?"
"I came... to ask something... something only you can do..."
"Why on earth should I lend my time to a Death Eater?"
"Ex Death Eater, I wish to join your side, if you shall allow me."
"What is it you want, Severus? Do get briefly to the point."
"I told the Dark Lord about the phophecy I overheard, and he thinks it means her... He thinks it means Lily Potter..."
"The prophecy speaks of a boy born as the seventh month dies, not of a woman."
"Her... Her son, he thinks it means her son."
"It is your own fault, but what do you want me to do? Are you happy for me to protect only Lily?"
"All of them."
"I shall do so, but in return, you must offer a service to me. You are to work at the school until I say otherwise, and you shall do everything I say and tell you without question or protest."
"Anything."
For eight weeks, it seemed to be working, Lily, and her family were safe, and I was to become potions master at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I was a double agent, pretending to serve the Dark Lord, hating him secretly for what he had planned, and I relied heavily on Albus Dumbledore's promise. Looking back now, I realise how foolish my trust in their safety was, how foolish their trust in their friend was. Their protection was torn apart by one man, Peter Pettigrew. Everyone, including me, used to think that their secret keeper was Sirius Black, and now I wish it had been him.
On the night of Halloween, 1980, the Dark Lord visited the Potters after hearing their whereabouts from Peter Pettigrew, the filthy traitor, the man they trusted with their lives. The news of their death spread like wildfire, and by the time the sun came up, everbody knew that the Dark Lord was defeated, everybody knew about the boy who lived. I visited their house on the evening of their death, and the door was ajar. He laid in the hallway, unmoving, and I felt a twinge of grief for the man who saved my life, even if it was to save his own neck. I braced myself for what I would find upstairs, I knew that she would be dead too, but I did not want to believe it. I took the stairs one step at a time, sucking down deep breaths and preparing myself for what I would see.
Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. Lily Potter laid on the floor, her eyes closed, her chest still. She looked peaceful, lying there, her hair sprawled over her face, but her body looked broken and fragile. My sobs echoed throughout the small house, and they mixed with the cries of the child. I only noticed he was there when he cried. Harry Potter, later known as the boy who lived. He was the image of his father, but he had her eyes, Lily's eyes. How little this child knew... At least he would be safe now... The Dark Lord was gone, nobody else would see those cold, red eyes. Nobody else would feel the grasp of Death wash over them.
The day Harry Potter came to school was a cold September evening, and he could be spotted a mile away. Hair like his father, visible from the opposite end of the room. He walked like he expected someone to jump out on him, and he was wringing his hands. Typical first year, there was nothing special about this child, he couldn't even have a first day without being scared, what was Dumbledore talking about?
Right, guys, this is just a taster. If you like this, I'd be happy to carry on with it, if you don't, let me know what I can improve! Thank you! :Dxx
