The Death of a Family

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Chapter 9 – The Death of a Family

It was after midnight when Severus returned from the Malfoys. He had a smirk on his face from witnessing the progeny of Lucius and Narcissa. If little Draco Malfoy was any indication of the future of pure-bloods, there was no need to worry! Harry would best him at every turn; he knew it!

He entered the bedroom he shared with Lily, eager to tell her about Lucius' son. It was dark. She must be asleep, he thought. He lit a lamp and began to undress. He saw an outline in the middle of the bed, but the covers were not turned down. He raised the lamp and looked into Lily's face. A cold shiver went down his back. He put down the lamp and lit the room brightly. She was deathly pale. Her face had a grey pallor to it. He pounced on the bed and shook her by the shoulders. Her red hair cascaded around her face and his hands.

"Lily! LILY!" he screamed.

She was cold.

Lifeless.

Dead.

He saw a crumbled letter on her robes. He tore it open with shaking hands and read it. He scrunched it up in his hand and cried out in pain and anguish. He grabbed her and cradled her lifeless body to his sobbing, heaving one.

"No, Lily. NO! Don't leave me, please don't leave me!" he begged as he stroked her hair and face.

Suddenly, he heard Harry crying in his room. He didn't know what to do. Then, Albus was in the room with Madam Pomfrey and Minerva. Severus was holding Harry close to him, although he couldn't recall getting him from his crib. Then Minerva tried to take Harry from him.

"NOOO!" he shrieked, terrifying Harry in the process. He began to cry hysterically.

They all stepped back in fear. Severus hushed the crying boy. "Hush, son. Daddy's here, everything is going to be alright," he whispered softly over and over until Harry had calmed down in his arms.

He looked at Albus and Minerva and pleaded with them. "She wrote to me. She wants me to have Harry...to raise him. He's mine. He's all I have left of her. Don't take him from me!" He broke down sobbing as he cradled Harry's head on his shoulder.

"Severus," Albus said softly. "We need to give Harry to his family. He needs protection. The kind of protection that only his mother's blood can provide."

Severus looked at him, confused by the older wizard's words.

"Albus, please. He's my son," he whispered. "I taught him how to eat with a spoon, I taught him how to use the toilet. I know his favorite books." At this he got up and walked to his desk. "Here, here," he pointed. "This is where he sits on my lap as I grade papers. Lily and I had a plan. Read her letter." He looked at Harry with a crazed gleam in his eye. "I'm going to make him the most powerful wizard since Salazar Slytherin himself!" he announced proudly.

Dumbledore was growing concerned. Severus never took loss well, and grief...he could only imagine the amount of grief the wizard was capable of feeling. There was a reason Severus Snape had learned to control his emotions. He felt them more keenly than most. He loved deeply, and he hurt deeply. Dumbledore felt his grief would be nearly unbearable.

He needed to get Harry out and away from the Wizarding world. It was imperative Severus understood that. He knew that it would only be a matter of time before either Voldemort returned or Lucius Malfoy rose to take his place. Even more dangerous was the fact that little Harry Potter had bested the Dark Lord. He possessed mighty powers that Severus may not be able to resist manipulating. The lure of the Dark still ran strong with Severus, even though he resisted it with all his might. Once a person had its taste, he can never fully be rid of it. No, Harry Potter must go and be raised away from the Wizarding world until his formative years had gained a foothold against him ever thinking too highly of himself, thus becoming a tool for the Dark.

Albus looked at Minerva in concern. Minerva went forward and placed her hand on Snape's shoulder.

"Severus, Harry isn't safe in our world. He needs the protection only Lily's family can give him."

He looked up angrily at Minerva and then at Albus.

"Petunia?" he spat as if the name were a curse word. Then his eyes grew desperate. "Albus, don't take my boy from me. Please, don't do this to me. I can't lose him now. Please, I'm begging you, Albus. Haven't I atoned enough for my sins? Can't I please have this chance at happiness? Petunia won't love him. No one can love him as I do. He knows me; he knows my voice. He calls ME 'Daddy.' ME!" He held onto Harry and whispered calming words to him.

Albus nodded his head slowly. "Severus, Petunia is the only one who can protect Harry. Tom is not really gone. When Lily finally told me what she saw the night he attacked them, I knew that it would only be a matter of time before he regains his strength and returns. Severus, he will return, and he will be even more powerful than before! This scar is a cursed scar. Tom transferred some of his powers into Harry. He may be a danger to himself and to others. We can't risk it. If circumstances had been any different, perhaps, it would have worked out. However, with Lily gone...there is no more protection for Harry against Tom. He is vulnerable. You must let Harry go, Severus," he pleaded. "You must let him go in order to save him."

Snape's black eyes met Dumbledore's blue ones, and the old wizard swore he saw something die inside of them. He pushed Harry from him roughly into Minerva's arms. She looked at Albus for direction. He gave her a nod, and she began to pack up Harry's things.

Albus looked pleadingly at Severus. "It's not goodbye for forever, my boy. He'll be back when he starts school here. You will have him back here, and if you wish, you can tell him..."

"NO!" he thundered. "You want to take him from me, then take him! I can't do this by half-measures! I'll do your dirty work. I'll watch over him when the time comes. But don't tell me that I'll be able to pick up where I left off when he returns here at eleven. He won't know me any more than he'll remember them."

He looked at them wildly. "You both will swear to me that you will NEVER tell Harry about this. As far as he is to know, his mother and father died together. He's not to ever know about Sirius, Peter, or Remus. You tell that damn werewolf he is to stay the hell away! If I can't have him, no one else should either!" he yelled angrily.

"Severus, Harry would want to know how much you loved him and his mother. Surely, he'll be wanting answers. You could be such a comfort!" Albus reasoned.

"A comfort?" Snape replied coldly. "I'm sure Harry will be more than happy to know his mother whored herself to me to keep him safe! The nemesis of his father had dared to take the exalted place of father and made his mother so unhappy she killed herself. The cold, hard truth is that Lily had a choice between being my wife and suicide. She chose death! Death was preferable to suffering my touch. Why should Harry have to bear that knowledge? I don't want him knowing I drove his mother to suicide!"

Minerva was shocked. "Severus, I don't think that was why she did this! I'm sure what she felt for you was real."

"NO!" he cried out. His face was twisted in torment and pain. "You don't know, you just don't know! I tried to make her love me, I tried so hard, Minerva. She was so depressed and sad. She never loved me like she loved him!"

"I swear, I will not have Harry looking at me with disdain, laughing behind my back for trying to love his mother. I'd rather he hate me for being a right bastard. You swear, Albus. You swear an oath that you will NEVER tell him anything about these past seven months!" Snape demanded. "And you make damn sure Hagrid and the werewolf take one as well!"

"I do swear, Severus. I'm sorry to keep such an oath, but I shall. I promise he will never know the best part of you. I'll leave that for you to reveal," the old wizard said tiredly.

Minerva started to pack up Harry's belongings, and Albus tried to reason with the young wizard one last time.

"No, Albus! You're taking him away from me and dumping him in the hands of the most foul, selfish, bitter Muggle I've ever known! Petunia Dursley is a horrid woman. She will ruin Harry!"

"How do you know about Petunia's marriage, Severus?" he asked.

"Lily told me, Albus. I didn't keep her chained to my bed fucking her every minute of the day! She actually did talk with me...frequently!"

"Severus!" Minerva scolded. "There is no reason to be crass! We know how much you loved and respected Lily. We also know that she loved and respected you as well!"

Severus strode to his liquor cabinet and poured himself a generous amount of firewhisky. "Sure, Minerva. She loved me, she loved me so much she just had to kill herself!"

He slammed down the drink and poured another large amount. He turned as he lifted the drink to his lips.

"Well? What the fuck are you waiting for? Get the hell out of my rooms!" he roared. He threw his head back and tossed the drink down. He poured another.

"Make sure you get all of the brat's things. Anything I find once you're gone, I'll incinerate. So, I suggest you do a once over!" he snapped.

With that said, Minerva and Albus saw the last of the Severus Snape they had grown to love and appreciate. With each drink he gulped down, went openness, trust, forgiveness, and happiness.