Severus... Reformed / SNILY (COMPLETE)

Chapter Two

The last time he had seen Hogwarts, it had been in ruins. It was hard not to shudder as remembered how far Voldemort would go to destroy both of their childhood homes. Their sailing through the lake in the rain had left everyone drenched. Apart from Severus, of course. He debated over drying Lily, but thought it looked suspicious. He shouldn't know any spells, let alone any that were non-verbal, or wandless.

Lily and Lupin chattered incessantly the whole way down the aisle of the Great Hall. Severus had forgotten how annoying first-years were, and if he had been irritated by their stupidity the first time round, he was furious now. The rip around the brim of his old friend, the Sorting Hat, opened, and it began to sing.

*

Dumbledore's POV

Dumbledore was ready with his notebook. It had been a habit of his, like Slughorn, to remember the names of students who were above decent and file them away for future use. Recently, given the war raging, he had taken to bringing a notebook to the Sorting Ceremony, to write down the names of prospective Order members, and their houses. No good having a Slytherin, he thought. Glancing idly at the crowd, he began searching for the good ones.

There was James Potter, whose father he knew well. Remus Lupin, with his... furry situation. Frank Longbottom, whom he hoped to be as brave as his mother Augusta. And yet, there was someone who he didn't know, who stood out like a sore thumb. A handsome boy with dark hair, dark eyes, and pale skin, looking too much like Tom Riddle. Little did Dumbledore know that Severus had, in fact, vanished from the compartment on the train for a bit to perform a cleansing charm on his hair and used Episkey on his nose. 

The first time round, Severus hadn't known to fix his broken nose after a spurt of rage from his father, and when he'd thought about it, ten years later, it wouldn't budge. He turned out to be a striking figure without the hooked nose and, for a moment, Dumbledore believed that Voldemort may have had a child. But Tom Riddle hadn't had eyes this dark; his had been, strangely, a warm, chocolatey brown. Also, Severus' hair had only been greasy due to a nasty curse that Sirius Black had procured from Bellatrix and proceeded to use on him.

Severus stood tall, and his head was a good way above the others, as he held himself well. His robes were decent (having been quickly transfigured on the train) and he was dry, despite how wet the others were. But what interested Dumbledore was the boy's eyes.

Typically, there was no such thing as black eyes. However, Dumbledore had been researching a certain branch of dark magic called Occlumency and about whether it could be a condition from birth, instead of an ability. Certain wizards reckoned that it was a possibility, and that there were aspects that came from this condition. For one, that person would seem withdrawn, and would obviously be hard-pushed to socialise. They wouldn't have many emotions. Their immune system would constantly fail, as withdrawn persons tend to lose their sense of hygiene, and self-care. And lastly, which made his heart beat with excitement, sometimes the darkness that came with this condition had been theorised to turn the eyes black.

He watched until the last dregs of the students were to be sorted, and finally, the boy stepped forwards, the last in line to be sorted. It turned out his name was Severus Snape, son of the anti-social Eileen. He wasn't far wrong. This boy could be a born Occlumens. If only he looked up! The Sorting Hat was placed on the boy's head, and the air was tense for quite a few moments. It was taking a lot longer than a usual Sorting.