The Hogwarts Descendant

Chapter 1:

Severus Snape stumbled into the Headmaster's study. One look at the man and anyone could tell he was undone; his normally slicked back hair was wild, small pieces falling in his face. His greasy complexion was disturbingly pale and his hands shook as he approached the headmaster's desk.

"Tell me it isn't true," the Slytherin rasped, his voice thick with emotion. "Tell me Lily was spared."

Headmaster Albus Dumbledore looked up calmly from his seat behind his large mahogany desk. "I'm sorry, Severus." The older wizard observed the younger one with sympathy in his gaze. His words broke the man across from him, the Slytherin collapsing into a chair, a strangled cry on his lips.

"No!" Snape cried, burying his face in his hands. A moment of silence filled the room as Snape grieved, shoulders wracked with sobs. "You!" The despair was gone, replaced by anger. His head snapped up; Snape glared at the headmaster, hate in his gaze. "You were supposed to protect her! I came to you so you could keep her safe!"

Dumbledore said nothing as Snape snarled at him. He waited until the other wizard had finished before calmly speaking, though his voice was tight. "Lily and James put their faith in the wrong people, Severus. I gave them every protection the Order and I had to offer, but they were betrayed. Not unlike yourself, Severus."

Severus moaned into his hands, his shoulders wracked with sobs for the woman he had loved, and now lost. He knew Dumbledore referred to the promise he had extracted from the dark lord regarding Lily's safety - little good that had done.

"Her child lives." Dumbledore's voice was soft, barely a whisper. He offered this information as though it would be a comfort.

The Slytherin appeared not to have heard him through his sobs. Dumbledore didn't push the matter, allowing the man to wallow in his grief. When his grief subsided, Snape stood with a wild look in his eye.

"I need to get away." Snape looked Dumbledore in the eyes, pleading. "I need to leave, escape for a while."

"Running away will not -"

"I need to leave." Snape interrupted the headmaster, face drawn into a scowl. "P-please." His voice cracked, a testimony to how broken the man was, his dark eyes pleading with the man across from him.

Dumbledore regarded him silently for a moment. "I do have a task I need completed, although rest assured it isn't an easy one."

Snape's head snapped up to the headmaster, determination in his gaze. "I'll do it."

"Now, we haven't even -"

"I said I'll do it!" Snape snarled, turning his back to the older wizard. "When do I leave?"

Dumbledore regarded him curiously for several seconds before offering calmoly, "Now, if you'd like. After I debrief you."

Snape managed a jerky nod, angling his body so he could glance to the old man. "Perfect."

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"Albus!" Snape's sharp voice cut through the night like a hot knife through butter. The alarming tone in it had every teacher crawling from their rooms to see what trouble could be knocking on the doors of hogwarts, talking quietly amongst themselves.

Dumbledore could be seen gliding down the halls towards the entrance of the Great Hall, dismissing the nosy teachers as he went. Snape was stumbling up the stairs to the school, a small bundle in his hands. It was the alarm in his eyes that had Dumbledore worried; Snape was generally a calm man.

"What is it, Severus?" Albus couldn't mask his concern, eyes darting questioningly to the bundle in the Slytherin's arms.

"Something for you." Snape gestured at the bundle in his arms before offering it to Dumbledore. When Albus's brow wrinkled in confusion, Snape unwrapped the blankets around it, revealing a surprising package. Dumbledore's eyes flew open in shock as he stumbled backwards. Inside, swaddled up in layers of blankets and towels was a baby, a newborn. "Severus..."