Memories of a death eater (Severus x OC)

2. Day 1

Dumbledore was in his office, in front of his pensieve. He had thoroughly searched what remained of Snape's house, but apart from the memories, he had found nothing else.

Those fragile little bottles were all he had, but it seemed highly unlikely that Snape had left behind clues about what had happened. Resigned, he looked closely at the jars, wondering where he could begin.

To his surprise, he saw that the memories had labels attached to them, marking the era from which they must have come, and it was not very difficult for him to find the oldest of all. From the date, Dumbledore deduced that it must be Snape's first memory, and a little intrigued, he poured it into the stone vase.

He entered the memories, and after the usual fall and seconds of dizziness, Dumbledore found himself in what must have been the back garden of the Snape's house. Compared to the neighbors' beautiful, manicured gardens, this one was dry, dirty, and full of garbage.

He instantly realized how imprecise that memory was. Everything around him looked gray and blurry, except for the figure of the little boy who was sitting in the middle of the dirt.

Young Severus must have been three years old, and he was short, very skinny, and seemed malnourished. Although he did appear clear and in color, he was hardly flattered, since his long, greasy hair, his stained face, and the large, old clothes that covered him did not make him look very good.

His mother, Eileen Snape, was near him, hanging up the laundry. She also appeared very clear, and in color, and Dumbledore noticed that she was much prettier in her son's memories than she had been in real life.

Dumbledore approached the little boy and saw that young Severus was playing with a couple of stones. He dragged them from one side to the other, making them collide, while with his pursed lips he produced a small hum, imitating the sound of the cars passing by his house.

Then the boy Severus raised his hands, and the stones continued to crash together, without him touching them.

"Mom, mom, look," he shouted. Eileen walked over to look, and her face lit up as she saw what was happening. Her son was a wizard. But their joy suddenly disappeared, with the arrival of a third character: Tobias Snape.

That muggle, within the memory, was much larger, terrible and threatening than he had actually been, demonstrating the image that his son had of him: a man he had learned to fear.

Tobias wrinkled his hooked nose as he approached to see what was happening, and his reaction was completely opposite to that of his wife. His face contorted with fury and fear.

"You!" he mumbled, congested. "You too!

"Tobias, please–"

The man raised his hand to hit his son, but Eileen intervened. Tobias was not intimidated by her, but when he saw that one of the neighbors was looking at them, he roughly grabbed his wife's arm and dragged her into the house, where no one could see them. He kept insulting her.

"–a damn monster, like you, bitch–"

Bangs and screams were heard inside the house, and their volume and clarity were shocking. Snape remembered that scene perfectly, even though he, being a small child, had been left outside, in the garden, crying...

***

...The Pensieve's memory shook, and spun around Dumbledore, revealing that there was a change of scene. When the image cleared, it was much more colorful than the previous one, although the boy Severus was not much older than before.

This time, he and his mother were inside a house, much brighter and cleaner than theirs. Little Severus, dressed this time in clean but mismatched clothes, was playing on the floor with a girl his age, and a little away, Eileen, with her face bruised, was talking to another woman.

"I already told you it's nothing, Glenda, I fell down the stairs," she said.

"Do you expect me to believe it? My dear, you are not the first one in this situation, but you must be brave and rebel against him."

"I can't–" Eileen lowered her voice to a fearful whisper. "I have nowhere to go. My parents don't want to know anything about me since I married a... Tobias. I have not been able to get them to respond to my letters."

"Why don't you show up at their house and take Severus with you? They should soften when they see their grandson–"

"Mom, mom! Severus is doing it again!" the girl shouted, and Dumbledore noticed her for the first time. She had straight, copper-colored hair, and her eyes were gray, like her mother's. The reason for the scandal was that Severus was levitating a foot above the carpet.

Dumbledore recognized the signs of uncontrolled magic in underage wizards. Young children could barely decide when to use magic, and Severus, who lived in a house full of tension and fear, was a real ticking time bomb. The headmaster thought that it was a real miracle that Severus had not set fire to the carpet or made leaves grow from the legs of the chairs.

Eileen paled visibly, and was left unsure of what to do, but Glenda knew how to remain calm.

"Mary-Anne, these things happen. Severus doesn't do it on purpose. It's like when you sleepwalk, honey," she said sweetly, looking at the two children. Eileen opened her mouth wide. She was surprised, and embarrassed.

"Glenda, I'm sorry for all this, we–"

"My dear, it's okay, there are worse things to worry about," Glenda smiled. "After receiving the pertinent explanations, one doesn't get so scared," then she laughed. "Not like when I saw you put out that fire like... well, like magic."

"I think you're the most understanding muggle I know," Eileen whispered gratefully.

"I'll take it as a compliment," she smiled. "Now seriously, Eileen, leave your husband already. He can't be worse than mine."

"I do not dare!"

"Dear, I'm telling you from experience, this is going to get worse. One day he will attack your son, and you won't be able to stop him. Do you know that bastard of my ex-husband tried to hit my Mary-Anne?"

But the children were laughing now, oblivious to their mothers' conversation. Dumbledore watched as Severus touched a marble, and lit it up with colored lights. Mary-Anne laughed delightedly at the trick and was no longer afraid of him. But their fun did not last long, because the women had gotten up and were saying goodbye. Eileen called to her son.

"Come on, Severus, say goodbye to Mrs. Collins–"

Collins! Dumbledore was startled and looked at the girl, who was currently giving Eileen a kiss. Mary-Anne Collins was going to be murdered by her playmate.

The memory became blurry and revolved around Dumbledore again, but the other scenes were in the same style as those he had already seen: fights at the Snape's house and quiet afternoons at the Collins' house. Dumbledore had the opportunity to discover that when Eileen had to go to the hospital, it was Glenda Collins who took care of little Severus, and that the boy always looked for the opportunity to do magic innocently, in front of them.

"They were your friends. You loved them."

Every time the memory reflected the Collinses, it was full of color, unlike the dark and sinister scenes that occurred at the Snape's house. There, little Severus had only experienced violence, bursts of uncontrolled magic and fear, a lot of fear.

When Dumbledore came out of that first memory, he sat in his chair, suddenly feeling very tired. He couldn't understand it. The Collinses, mother and daughter, had been a refuge for Eileen and her son. In fact, Snape remembered them in a special way. He had been happy with them!

Then why? He had a bond with Mary-Anne Collins, a bond of friendship. For what reason had he killed her?

"Why, Severus?" he murmured.