1 CHAPTER 1

Despite the darkness, he knew he was in a forest, he began to walk prudently, he did not understand what he was doing in that place, suddenly he saw a very particular pack of dogs, because they were ghostly, said animals began to play with each other while They were walking down a grassy path, he didn't even think about it, he just followed them.

They walked for a long time until they came to a small clearing.

The dogs stopped in front of a woman with snakes entwined around her neck, he only managed to hide behind the trunk of a tree.

The woman stroked the heads of some canines, until her gaze stopped just where she was hiding, her eyes were so deep that she felt that she was reading her soul, however it was her smile that disturbed her the most, because it seemed to tell her that her destiny It was already mapped out, that no matter what he did, he was ... doomed.

Snape awoke abruptly, feeling cold sweat running through him, shivering and feeling irritation from it.

Not even the Dark Lord, despite his punishments, had made him tremble like this.

"You stupid nightmare!"

She took a deep breath trying to calm herself, then lay back down trying to find some comfort.

He looked at the little magic clock on his nightstand.

Three o'clock in the morning.

It was obvious that he could no longer sleep the remainder of the night.

He got up again, took his wand, which always accompanied him under his pillow when he slept and with a simple movement, two photographs very well kept in a carved wooden box inside his wardrobe, came flying into his hands.

He caressed the first of them with the tips of his fingers, the one that by the way was split in half, in it a pretty redhead smiled radiantly and waved.

"Lily," Severus whispered fondly, detailing the features he had loved so much.

"If only things had been different," he added bitterly.

After taking his time remembering better times, I just took the other photograph, in which a young man with unruly hair, with impressive green eyes hidden behind some horrible glasses in his opinion, smiled nervously and then left.

This photograph had ended up in his possession after he seized it from that fool Gryffindor camera lover and Potter fan: Colin Creevey.

Ah, how he loved being able to take points away from that stupid House and if he got any more benefits in the process, his mood would certainly improve ... just a little.

I compare the photographs.

Harry Potter looked very much like his father, but his nose, his smile and especially his eyes were identical to Lily's.

I sigh again. When she agreed to give him Occlumency classes, she still saw him as the James Potter clone, not just in appearance, but also in the way he was.

But his perspective totally changed in his first class, after seeing his memories.

He felt sick and angry when he realized what the boy's childhood had been like.

Even more so, compare it with his own and find too many similarities.

From that moment he decided to change the way he treated him, not so radically, since it would be strange even for him, but he no longer punished him without reason, nor did he embarrass or insult him at the slightest opportunity.

However, the green-eyed man noticed it, since every time he looked at him his eyes shone more.

The private classes themselves were more pleasant, neither one nor the other commented on anything, except the essentials of the lesson, but the feeling of understanding and confidentiality was still there.

"Until you had to ruin it all, Potter," Severus said, remembering that dire day, when he caught him staring into the penstock, his most terrible memory.

He hadn't felt so humiliated since James Potter was the creator of that memory, nor felt so hurt to see his trust betrayed in such a way.

So he just kicked him out of his office and went back to treating him like he used to.

They hadn't had private classes since, and every time she fixed her cold eyes on the Gryffindor, he would return her pleading gaze and could even guess guilty of not only her mistake, but also those of her father and godfather.

Severus took his wand again and with another movement, both photographs were put back inside the carved wooden box hidden inside his closet, with all the spells that that box had, no one would ever know what he kept there, not even Albus Dumbledore.

Well if he was still at Hogwarts.

Since his departure, things had deteriorated a lot at the College.

But what else could one expect with the cursed Umbridge in command, he himself was about to curse the frog's face several times, thank goodness that his spy training helped him to hide his disgust, although that did not prevent him from feeling extremely tense.

-Perhaps the best thing would be to take the afternoon off, -he said to himself- After all, we need several potion ingredients and tomorrow I don't have an exam with any course, since that's what the examiners of the OWLs are for.

With that idea in mind he lay down and tried to get some sleep, after all he needed to regain his strength to face Umbridge another day and not end up cursing her.

"At last an afternoon off!" Severus exclaimed, as he stretched out his arms and legs to the full length of the carriage that took him to the town of Hogsmeade.

It hadn't taken him long to convince Umbridge to let him leave the castle to buy potion ingredients in Diagon Alley.

- "Indeed" - thought Snape

- "Surely he thinks I will use this opportunity to communicate with Albus" - he said to himself as he watched as another carriage followed him at a safe distance.

- "Sorry for the idiot who follows me, but I'll just go buy the ingredients and relax a bit."

And it was true, Severus felt more and more tense, not only because of the horrible new headmistress, but also by the way Gryffindor whose gaze he felt at all times, of course not even with Veritaserum, he would ever admit it.

When he got to town, he got out of the carriage and walked at a slow pace to the Tres Escobas property of Rosmerta, to which he nodded and then went to the fireplace to go to Callejón Diagón. With the chimneys intercepted by the toad face, this was the only way to travel.

He reached the Leaky Cauldron without any problem, where he also greeted Tom with a nod, he got distracted a bit to see the people who were occupying the place and when he heard the arrival of another person through the fireplace, he just went to the Alley, after all he wanted the least was Umbridge suspicious of him.

He was tempted to go to Gringotts, but scrapped the idea, as he had enough money to buy the ingredients.

Watching the shop windows and the people passing by, he headed to the Slug & Jigger apothecary.

The best place to find what you were looking for.

The store itself had not changed at all in that time.

You could still find the barrels filled with a slimy substance and the different cans with herbs.

The walls were still littered with dry roots and glittering dust, and bunches of feathers and rows of fangs and claws still hung from the ceiling.

Oh, and the smell of rotten eggs and cabbages could only be compared to his potion store. In other words it felt like home.

The shop owner greeted him warmly, after all the dark professor was one of his best customers.

Severus gave him the list and took his time checking the status and conditions of the ingredients, because if there is something that Snape can't stand it is useless ingredients.

So I spent the entire afternoon selecting only the best, by the time I finally left the store it was time for dinner. Without further return to the Leaky Cauldron, where he ate lightly at a table away from the bustle that people made.

He guessed that his watchman was among the other customers. I did not care and continued eating dinner.

When he returned to the Tres Escobas, he decided to have a drink to finish his good afternoon off and without further ado he headed to school.

It was late at night when I reached the castle. The first thing he did arrive, was to head to his potions store, carefully unpack the ingredients, especially the volatile ones, and spend a good time sorting and labeling them.

Satisfied with his work, he was going to go to his office until dinner time, when his student Draco Malfoy intercepted him and told him that the principal wanted to see him.

"I don't like his malicious smile at all," thought Snape, as he followed him.

- "Something must have happened."....

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