Alex and Sophia hadn't ever been as happy as they were now, except for when Eileen was small. Severus was a dear child, but there was something underneath it that was bothering Alex to no end. He was still nervous around him, but Severus was fine around Sophia, there was a distrust of the male gender that he suspected would need to be aired out soon.
Alex sat in bed with his wife reading a novel from the library downstairs, when Sophia tapped his shoulder.
"Do you feel that?" she asked softly
"The magic?" he asked, he had felt it coming from down the hall, whoever cast it had a strong mark that was easy to notice by an experienced mage.
Sophia nodded,"Mmhmm,"
Alex asked,"Should we end it?"
Sophia nodded and with a flash of his wand, Alex ended the spell, the minute he did, a scream filled the air.
"Severus!" they said simultaneously.
They ran to their grandson's bedroom and flung the door open, revealing Severus flaring and kicking in the large bed. He kept moving his head from side to side and muttering things that sounded like,"Father, stop."
"It has something to do with that monster!" Alex thought to himself, "Oh, I could kill him!"
sadly that had already been done.
Sophia shook Severus by his shoulder,"Sev wake up! Come on wake up!"
Slowly Severus returned to the world of the living. When he looked up and saw his grandparents standing over him he thought,"How did they hear past the silencing charm?"
Severus asked slowly,"W-what is it?"
"We heard you screaming," his grandmother said softly
"I had a silencing charm up,"
"We took it down," Alex said,"Do you want to tell us about your dream?"
Severus shook his head, he didn't want his grandparents to think he was weak and throw him back into the hands of the dementors.
Sophia tucked a piece of hair behind his ear, "Talking helps Severus, it really does. Please tell us what you dreamed about."
Severus stammered,"O-ok, I guess,"
"Do you want me to put some tea on?" Alex asked. Severus nodded and Alex left and came back several minutes later with three steaming cups of tea.
"Ok," Sophia said,"Start from the beginning."
Severus shuddered,"I was in a room, it looked like the kitchen at Spinners End, I was sitting reading when the door slammed open. My father walked in, he was drunk again and he was dragging something behind him. He threw it in the closet and went into the bathroom, as soon as the door closed I went to the closet a-and opened the door and i-it w-was my m-mother's body!" Severus started sobbing as Alex pulled him close, cursing the name of Tobias Snape. "I-I turned around and Father was standing over me holding his belt. He pulled me away and started whipping me and he said,"This is what happens when you poke your nose where it doesn't belong, you worthless brat," and then I woke up."
Alex was outraged, but also very sad, "How many times was Severus subjected to that?" he wondered. He turned to his distraught grandson,"How many times did he do this to you Severus?"
His grandson looked at him through teary eyes,"It happened every time he was drunk, which was almost every night, he beat me with whatever he could get his hands on, sometimes mum tried to stop him, but most times she just cowered in the bathroom, trying to ignore what was going on." He looked at his grandparents,"Are you going to throw me out?"
"Throw you out?" Sophia cried, "Why would we do that? You're our grandson, the only family we have left, and we love you."
Severus blinked at her,"Really?" he said in awe,"You mean that?"
Alex smiled,"Of course we do! You're stuck with us."
Sophia nodded, "Try to get some sleep Severus, we have a surprise for you in the morning."
Severus nodded, he hugged both his grandparents and went to his room, more relieved than he ever was in his life before.
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Severus was up bright and early that morning, he had fallen asleep the minute his head hit the pillow and had slept better than he had in years. "Funny what talking can do to ease the mind." He went into the bathroom and checked his nose in the mirror, it would never be small, but it had lost it's controlling presence on his face. He grabbed a pair of jeans and a green t-shirt before heading downstairs to breakfast.
His grandparents were already sitting at the table eating small breakfasts that had been prepared by the elves they employed. "So," he asked,"What was that surprise you two had for me?"
His grandmother smiled and said,"We're going to the beach today, we were wondering if you wanted to take surfing lessons?"
Severus nearly spit out the orange juice she was drinking,"Surfing lessons! Why!"
Alex looked up from his paper,"To give you something to do, like flying in Britain."
Severus nodded,"Ok, I'll give it a try."
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Sophia watched from the window of a restaurant just off the pier. They had been there almost all day, it was 4:00 now and Severus was still out on the water, his lesson had been at noon and he was a natural, he'd been on the board for four hours straight. She shook her head, happy her grandson had something to do instead of sit at home and read.
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Severus laughed to himself as he fell in the water after a wave had hit him, this was the most fun he had in as long as he could remember. "Good thing they convinced you to try this," he thought to himself. He walked out of the water and sat down in the sand. He checked his waterproof watch, he couldn't believe it! He'd been surfing for four hours!
He looked out at the waves and the sun throwing dazzling sparkles and shadows across the water. "Have you ever seen anything more beautiful?" he thought to himself. He nearly jumped a foot in the air when someone tapped him on the shoulder.
The stranger looked at him as he sat down. "I'm sorry!" he exclaimed,"I didn't mean to scare you!" He was a tall boy about Severus' age with dirty blonde hair and ocean blue eyes, when he smiled he showed white teeth against tan skin. "I saw you surfing out there, you're pretty good, you been surfing long?"
Severus shook his head, "Just today actually,"
The other boy smiled,"Really? I couldn't tell, I'm Brandon by the way, Brandon Jones."
The dark haired teen smiled back at him,"Thanks, I'm Severus, Severus Prince," he was using his grandparents last name instead of his own, to make it harder to find him, not that the aurors would think to look in America. He wasn't going to tell anyone, but that name was the first last name he'd ever actually associated with family.
Brandon grinned wide,"Nice to meet you Severus Prince. I was wondering, my friend and I are over on the other pier, do you want to grab a soda or something from the bar over there and watch a ball game?"
Severus pondered what he should do, what if he used magic? Brandon was probably a muggle, so should he risk it? He looked at the boy next to him,"Sure I'd love to, just let me tell my grandmother where I'm going so she doesn't send the police after me."
Brandon laughed, "Sure, I'll wait."
Severus bolted into the restaurant, grabbed a dry shirt, talked to his grandmother, and ran out the door.
They reached the bar, which was tiki themed of course, Brandon grabbed a boy by the door and dragged him over. "Severus," he called,"I'd like you to meet Tony, Tony this is Severus."
"Can I call you Russ?" Tony quipped. Tony was shorter than Severus but taller than Brandon by about an inch and a half, he had tan skin, dark hair and equally dark eyes.
Severus smirked,"You can call me whatever you like, but most people call me Sev."
"Yeah, but that just seems unoriginal."
Brandon laughed,"I have a feeling this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
Tony rolled his eyes,"No more Casablanca, ok?"
"I thought you'd appreciate it, your last name is Blanco after all."
"I haven't appreciated it since the twentieth time you said it."
Severus interrupted,"I might sound like a prude, but I've never seen Casablanca." the two boys looked at him like he'd grown another head.
Tony gaped at him,"You've never seen Casablanca?"
Brandon announced to anyone that could hear,"Why it is a crime against humanity! Come tomorrow, and we will watch it!"
Severus rolled his eyes, he was certifiably crazy. They spent the rest of the night watching baseball, a game similar to cricket that Severus found he quite enjoyed, and sipping their sodas. No matter how many times Brandon said it, Severus found himself agreeing, this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
A.N: Broke another record, next chapter: SCHOOL PLANS!!