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Severus Snape lay in bed, staring at the cracked ceiling of Spinner’s End. His mother’s cough echoed down the hallway, harsh and hollow. The sound had become a constant companion, creeping into his thoughts like a shadow that never left.
His fingers brushed the hearth rug, where weeks ago he had found her tooth. He had placed it carefully on her bedside table. The bruises across her pale skin were fading, but the memory of his father’s rage never did.
“Sev?” his mother’s weak voice called out, a sharp contrast to the man shouting at her from the kitchen.
He swallowed, his throat tight with hunger. But when he tried to eat, his body rebelled. It had been days since he kept anything down. Still, his mother needed him. Slowly, he stood up and left his room, walking down the narrow hallway.
"Is it better today, Mum?" His voice was soft, almost afraid of what she might say.
She smiled weakly from her bed, eyes distant. "Better, yes... you always ask."
But the truth was written in her tired face. He knew it wasn’t better. It never was.
At Hogwarts, the castle felt colder than usual. Severus clutched his frayed robes around him, his fingers stiff from the damp. The giggles of students echoed through the corridors, as they always did, but today they felt like daggers. Somewhere behind him, Lily was laughing—not at him, not directly. But when her friends pointed at his torn, muddy robes, Lily's awkward giggle joined theirs.
His heart twisted.
“Lily,” he called, his voice barely above a whisper as she passed. Her smile faltered when she turned to him.
“Sev,” she said softly, guilt flickering across her face. “I didn’t mean—”
“It’s fine,” he interrupted, his words sharper than he intended. Her eyes filled with something that looked like pity, and Severus turned away before she could say more. He couldn’t bear it.
Nights in the Slytherin dorm were worse. Maybe it was his father’s constant shouts still ringing in his head, or maybe it was the humiliation that clung to him like a second skin. The stares, the insults, the hexes. Every day was a battle.
"Oi, Snivellus!" Mulciber’s voice sliced through the quiet of the common room. "Your robes are looking worse than usual." His sneer deepened as he added, “Must be rough, being poor and ugly.”
Severus clenched his fists, forcing himself to stay silent. He was used to it by now, used to the cruelty. What he wasn’t used to, however, was waking up naked and sore in a different dorm, after a night he couldn’t remember. A bottle thrown across his face in a flash of memory, hexes leaving burns on his skin. He couldn’t tell anyone. No one would believe him.
"You need to stop overreacting, Severus," Professor Slughorn had said once when he tried to explain the bullying. "Boys will be boys."
Boys like Mulciber were monsters, and no one seemed to notice. Except Mary MacDonald, who had seen it too, but even she looked away when he caught her gaze.
Then came the night of the werewolf. A full moon hung heavy in the sky, and Severus had been lured into the Forbidden Forest by Sirius Black. He didn’t know what he was walking into, not until the shadows parted and the werewolf lunged at him. Severus’ heart had stopped, terror freezing him in place. But before the creature could sink its fangs into him, James Potter appeared out of nowhere, pulling him out of the way.
“Snape, run!” James had shouted, his voice frantic.
Severus had staggered back, barely processing what had happened. He was safe, saved by Potter, but the confusion tore at him. Why had Potter saved him?
Later, sitting in the hospital wing with his mind reeling, Severus realized something chilling. They tried to kill him. Sirius had sent him to his death, and James had saved him as a last-minute act of mercy. But why?
James had come to see him afterward. “It wasn’t supposed to go that far,” James muttered, running a hand through his messy hair. “Sirius… he wasn’t thinking.”
Severus’ chest burned with anger. “You think that makes it better?” he hissed. “You think that changes anything?”
James looked down, guilt clouding his expression. “I’m sorry, alright? For everything. You—” He paused, then added quietly, “You didn’t deserve any of it.”
For a moment, Severus didn’t know what to say. He stared at James, at the boy who had tormented him for years, and something twisted inside him. It was strange, the way he felt in James' presence. He hated him, but in that moment, he felt warmer than he had in years.
And that scared him.
The Astronomy Tower loomed ahead of him. Severus had thought about it for weeks, walking those steps, wondering if he would ever stop at the top.
Today, bruised and numb, he didn’t stop.
The cool wind tugged at his robes as he climbed onto the ledge, swinging his legs over. The night sky stretched endlessly above, the stars blurring as he leaned forward, letting go. For a moment, the world disappeared—no pain, no laughter, no guilt. Just silence.
And then, hands. Warm, calloused hands yanked him back, gripping him tightly. He screamed, panic surging as he realized he wasn’t falling anymore.
"Severus! What the hell do you think you’re doing?"
James Potter’s voice. Severus fought, kicking and thrashing, but the hands held firm.
"Let me go!" he screamed, his throat raw. Tears blurred his vision as he struggled against the Marauders, who had somehow found him in the darkness.
“No!” Sirius Black’s voice was desperate, cracking in a way Severus had never heard. “We’re not letting you do this!”
Remus Lupin hovered nearby, eyes wide, hands trembling. "Severus, stop. Please, just stop." His voice was gentler than the others, but no less urgent.
“Why do you care?” Severus spat, still fighting. “You’ve hated me for years! You—” His voice broke, and he couldn’t find the words anymore.
James knelt beside him, his face pale in the moonlight. "We don’t want you to die, Snape," he whispered.
Madam Pomfrey’s expression was one of shock as the Marauders carried Severus into the hospital wing. Her eyes widened when she saw the bruises on his arms, the torn state of his robes. “What happened?” she demanded, ushering them to the nearest bed.
Severus didn’t answer. He couldn’t. He felt the world spinning around him, voices fading in and out. The next thing he knew, he was in St. Mungo’s.
St. Mungo’s was cold and clinical. The walls were too white, too sterile, and Severus hated every second he was there. The Aurors told him his mother was dead, and his father was arrested. He nodded, feeling nothing. He had been numb for so long that grief felt like a distant stranger.
Days blurred together. He couldn’t leave—he had tried once, slicing his arm open on the window. After that, they watched him more closely. Potions were shoved into him each morning, that made everything duller. The therapy sessions were silent. He didn’t speak, and the therapist didn’t push.
Mary MacDonald came, her hands fidgeting around a cup of cold tea. She sat awkwardly in the chair across from him, her voice soft. “I know,” she whispered. “About Mulciber and Avery. I… I get it.”
Severus looked at her, his eyes narrowing.
She leaned forward, her voice barely audible. “Me too.”
It took him a moment to understand, but when he did, something shifted in him. Maybe, for the first time, he wasn’t alone.
He hadn’t spoken in weeks, and the silent therapy sessions with the healer felt pointless. She tried to get him to talk, to eat, but he barely acknowledged her.
Until Remus Lupin visited.
“Severus?” Remus stood awkwardly at the door, fidgeting with the sleeve of his jumper. “Can I come in?”
Severus looked up, surprised to see the lanky Gryffindor there. Remus stepped in, sitting in the uncomfortable chair beside the bed.
"I, uh, I brought you some letters." Remus pulled out a few envelopes from his pocket. "From James and Sirius. They… they wanted to come, but I thought I’d ask you first."
Severus stared at the envelopes, suspicion clouding his thoughts. But Remus’ voice was soft, hesitant, and something inside Severus shifted. He reached out, taking the letters, though he didn’t open them yet.
Remus smiled nervously. "They, um… they’re sorry. We all are."
For the first time in weeks, Severus felt something—a flicker of something like hope. He nodded, and Remus left, promising to come back.
Effie Potter was a force of nature. When she visited, her presence filled the room, making it feel less like a hospital and more like a home.
“Severus,” she said one day, sitting by his bedside. “When you leave here, would you like to stay with us?”
He didn’t answer right away. The question lingered in the air, heavy and unfamiliar. He had never been offered a home before.
“I don’t know,” he finally murmured.
Effie smiled warmly, patting his hand. “That’s alright. You don’t have to decide now.”
It took five days, three hours, and two minutes before he finally gave her his answer. “Yes.”
Living with the Potters was strange at first. He wasn’t used to kindness, to warmth. But Effie and Fleamont made it easy. They didn’t ask too many questions, didn’t pry. James was cautious.
One evening, James knocked on Severus' door. "Can I, uh, come in?"
Severus nodded.
James stepped in, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "Look, I know things have been… well, rough between us." He paused, biting his lip. "But I wanted to ask… Can I hug you?"
Severus blinked in surprise. He hadn’t been hugged in years. After a moment, he nodded again, and James stepped forward, wrapping his arms around him. The warmth of the embrace was overwhelming, and for the first time in what felt like forever, Severus let himself relax, let himself feel safe. His eyes fluttered shut, and he let himself fall asleep in James’ arms, comforted by the quiet assurance that this time, no one was going to hurt him.
Weeks turned into months. Severus grew used to the Potters’ home, to the safety it offered. Letters came often—Lily’s familiar handwriting, Mary MacDonald’s triumphant note about Mulciber and Avery’s arrests, and even regular letters from Remus and Sirius. They had become something like friends, and though it felt strange, it didn’t feel wrong.
One evening, Effie knocked softly on his door. "Dinner’s ready, love," she called gently. "Come down when you’re ready."
Severus smiled, his heart light for the first time in years. It wasn’t perfect, and he still had nightmares, panic attacks that left him gasping for breath in the middle of the night. But he wasn’t alone anymore.
And maybe, just maybe, that was enough.