Dawn

A Heart Long Broken

Dumbledore didn't come to his side, only looked back out at the lake. They both knew the last thing Severus wanted or needed was his pity. Snape held back the tears that threatened to fall; now was not the time for grieving, there were more important things to be done. In that moment his long-held hatred for Potter seemed to disappear, set aside with all the other childish feelings he felt for that man.

When he finally pulled himself together, clarity came back to him. The question that he knew would hurt to hear the answer to but which needed to be asked was already coming out of his mouth.

"And the boy?"

His voice felt raw but it didn't matter, there were more important things to concern himself with at the moment. Severus had never met Harry, could never bring himself to put aside his jealousy long enough to see the child of the woman whom he loved and who had been his best friend. Dumbledore would often mention the boy after his visits knowing that while Severus would never go himself, sure that Lily and James wouldn't want him there, that he did yearn to see the baby. To see what he could have had. It was too late for that now. It was too late to meet the boy and for apologies he would never be sure that either side would have meant.

Dumbledore slid back into his chair, motioning for him to do the same. Quietly they sat in their respective seats, shoulders slumped. It was followed by a silence that was only broken when the Headmaster finally looked him in the eye.

"Fortunately, he is alive and well. He has been taken to his last remaining family."

Severus' head shot up. "You can't possibly mean Petunia?" No, surely Dumbledore would never.

Dumbledore's face pinched up in confusion. "Why yes, I do..."

Snape knew then that Dumbledore was a complete fool. Petunia loathed magic and would never allow it within her house. She would never nurture the spark within a young wizard, she would stamp on it just as she had tried to do to her own sister. And Dumbledore had trusted the boy to her. The old man had finally lost his Gobstones. Severus tried to tell him this, tried his best to convince Dumbledore that this was a bad idea but the man just sighed and gave Snape a look that said, I am older and wiser.

When Severus finally gave up on it, it was only after asking why the boy couldn't be with his godfather to which Dumbledore gave him an odd look before revealing that Black was currently missing and that the boy needed to be with his real family.

Snape knew Petunia would never treat the boy like family. And he honestly couldn't imagine Lily or Potter ever wanting this for their son but apparently they had, why else would Dumbledore ever have given Harry to that horrible woman?

Finally, Severus left, making his way back to Spinner's End, where the potion he had been brewing had melted the cauldron but luckily hadn't dissolved the table. Snape sighed over the lost notes and the wasted supplies, quickly cleaned up the mess, and headed to bed. It had been a long day and he was hoping to wake up tomorrow and realize that everything was back to normal.

Unfortunately, that was not what happened.

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The next day found Snape back at Hogwarts, Dumbledore calling for him at midday for unknown reasons. Severus arrived at the school, wondering what he could want this soon after Voldemort had fallen. Had he already re-emerged? However, the mark on his arm was still lifeless and proved otherwise.

Severus made his way through the castle, dodging all the students that might think to hex him on the spot. Everyone was still on edge, not truly believing what had happened. When he got to the Headmaster's office, the man was still not his chipper self. Fawkes was sitting on his perch pulling out his feathers with Dumbledore reaching out to try and get the phoenix to stop.