The Ghosts We Keep
"She is just jealous; because she cannot do what we can," said a small boy with black hair, dark eyes and sallow skin as he walked beside a girl. She was a young girl with bright red hair, a radiant smile, and green eyes that seemed to light up the soul of anyone who saw them.
"You are mean, Severus. Petunia is not like that," she said, shaking her head.
"Come on, Lily; she is not like us," Severus added with the cold calm so typical of him.
Lily shook her head again, already used to the boy's temperament.
"Let's keep talking about Hogwarts. Do you think my letter will arrive?" she asked with restrained excitement.
"I am sure," Severus replied, as if it were an undeniable fact.
…
"Gryffindor."
The Sorting Hat's voice echoed through the Great Hall while Severus watched Lily, his friend, the light of his eyes, being sent to the rival house. He, on the other hand, had just been placed in Slytherin.
"Ha. The lions now have a mudblood among their ranks. Disgusting."
Severus heard that comment and turned with an almost furious glare toward a blond boy with an arrogant posture. By the way he spoke and behaved, it was obvious he came from a pure-blood family.
Severus could not afford to argue with them. Not when he was a half-blood with barely a place among his own. He closed his mouth and waited for dinner to end so he could try to speak with Lily.
But being in different houses made their chances to see each other grow increasingly scarce. Outside, the magical war was beginning to intensify; inside Hogwarts, many Slytherins belonged to families that supported the Dark Lord, which only made Severus even more despised by his own housemates every time they saw him talking with a muggle-born Gryffindor.
Even so, Severus did not care. He met with Lily whenever he could, carrying books and finding any excuse to talk with her.
But he was not the only one fighting for her attention.
James Potter, another Gryffindor, always accompanied by Sirius Black, two pure-blood boys and, in Severus's opinion, two unbearable nuisances, showed up every time he tried to speak with Lily.
"Come on, Lily; why do you keep hanging out with that crawling snake?" Severus heard as he approached the room where he and Lily usually studied.
"You are really annoying," she answered, walking away in frustration.
When Severus entered, James Potter looked at him with that mix of annoyance and mockery that would become the norm between them.
Perhaps those words, and the fact that Lily defended him, were the beginning of that endless rivalry.
James mocked Severus whenever he could, while Severus tried to invent ways for Potter to get into trouble or, even better, be expelled.
Lily seemed to be pushed to the background for both of them.
She always tried to intervene; she asked James to stop bothering Severus, or Severus to stop provoking them. But neither listened, and as the years went by, the rivalry turned into complete hatred.
James Potter: arrogant, carefree, and popular.
Severus Snape: quiet, dark, and increasingly devoted to the dark arts.
It was obvious who had the students' support.
With no options, Severus ended up getting closer to his housemates, who openly talked about blood purity, about the Dark Lord, and about the future he promised. Lucius Malfoy became a close friend, fascinated by Severus's talent in potions and dark arts. He even invited him to his house, where Voldemort was a frequent visitor due to the fervent support provided by Lucius's father.
Lily tried to stop Severus's fall into darkness, but she could not. He had already chosen a path with no return.
That decision was sealed the day of the incident with the Marauders. Severus, determined to find enough proof to get the group expelled, fell into the trap Sirius Black had set for him, sending him straight into the entrance of the tunnel where Remus Lupin, transformed into a werewolf, waited.
The worst part was that James Potter arrived in time to save him. Not out of heroism; out of guilt. If Severus died, Lupin would be arrested and the Marauders' entire lives would be ruined.
But still, there he was: the man he hated most, carrying him away from death.
"You disgust me," Severus said, glaring at him.
James grew furious upon hearing it; after all, he had just saved his life.
"You think you do not disgust me? You are nothing but a filthy snake pretending to be superior by learning dark magic. You are just an idiot with delusions of grandeur," he replied with contempt.
Severus tried to take out his wand, but Sirius was faster and disarmed him.
"Idiot," Sirius mocked before James used Levicorpus, leaving Severus hanging upside down and exposing his underwear in front of everyone.
Laughter filled the place, including a group of students who gathered to witness the humiliating scene.
Lily ran to stop them.
James lowered his hand and Severus fell to the floor. Lily tried to help him, but he, unable to bear the shame, shouted:
"I do not need help from a mudblood like you."
Lily froze, wounded to the core.
She knew Severus was spending time with future Death Eaters; but she never imagined he would go as far as rejecting her.
"Fine. Then handle it on your own," Lily shouted as she walked away in anger.
James, filled with rage, pointed his wand at Severus again as if he wanted to avenge what Severus had said to Lily.
From that day on, Severus and Lily never spoke again. Not even when they crossed paths in the corridors. Severus sank even deeper into darkness.
When school ended, Lucius recommended him; his skill in potions and his potential in dark arts allowed him to join the Dark Lord's ranks despite being a half-blood.
His first task was to prove his loyalty.
…
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches; born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…"
Severus heard the prophecy in Trelawney's office, hidden behind the broken window where the Leaky Cauldron's bartender had thrown him out before he could hear the full thing.
"Who is there?" asked a familiar voice before a spell opened the window. But Severus had already fled, running with his heart racing and a dangerous excitement: he felt he could earn his master's favor.
…
"Are you certain, Severus?" Voldemort asked.
His face was almost deformed by the rituals he performed in order to gain power and immortality, but the anger and loss of control were obvious upon hearing the incomplete prophecy.
"Yes, my lord."
"Good. You did well, Severus. I trusted you," Voldemort said, nodding with satisfaction. Around him, several hooded Death Eaters watched with obvious displeasure; they hated that their master praised a half-blood.
While all of that was happening, Harry watched the memories with a cold gaze, unmoving in front of Snape. He was seeing the man's life, moment by moment, through his own eyes.
The world changed again.
Now Harry found himself in front of a white light that seemed capable of obliterating him. The memory had shifted once more.
"Please… do not kill me," said Severus, kneeling on the ground, drenched by the rain and trembling. In front of him, Albus Dumbledore aimed his wand directly at him, his face hardened by a mix of surprise, anger and disappointment.
"What do you want here, Severus?" the headmaster asked. He knew that young man well; a former student of his… and a follower of the Dark Lord.
Snape, with tears running down his face and a broken voice, confessed that he had been the one who carried fragments of the prophecy to Voldemort. Dumbledore stared at him, understanding in that instant that the boy kneeling before him was responsible for the disaster about to unfold.
"Please… protect Lily Evans," Snape begged between sobs.
"And her husband?" Dumbledore asked coldly. "And the child? Do you not care if they die as well?"
Snape lowered his gaze and stammered that he only cared about Lily.
"You ask me to protect Lily Evans, and you admit you do not care what happens to her husband and son. Do you not see how repugnant you are?" the headmaster said, with piercing sincerity. He looked as if he were about to walk away, as if speaking to him were torment.
"Then hide them… hide them all. I beg you," Severus pleaded desperately.
Dumbledore stopped, observed him for a long second and asked, without a hint of softness:
"What will you give me in return, Severus?"
"Anything," Snape replied without hesitation.
…
Two graves. A torrential rain. Fresh flowers covered by letters and notes of gratitude.
A man stood motionless under the storm, completely soaked. He stared at the headstone, untouched by visitors for hours.
The names written there were James Potter and Lily Evans.
The man, Severus Snape, remained silent like a statue. Water ran down his face in such a way that it was impossible to tell whether it was rain or tears.
Harry also observed that grave; he knew it well. He had visited it several times with his godfather. Seeing it now, inside Snape's memory, carried a different weight.
The world changed again.
…
This time, the memory took him to the day at the bookstore. Severus had walked in looking for a book to prepare his classes, when he saw green eyes identical to those that had marked him his whole life.
They were Wanda's eyes.
And right behind her… Harry, still a child.
The moment the boy lifted his gaze, Severus froze. The resemblance to James was impossible to ignore. But what struck him the most were the eyes. Those green eyes.
Lily's eyes.
He already knew that Potter had been adopted by a powerful witch, but he had never expected to run into him like this, face to face. And he certainly had not expected the child to approach and ask him about potions.
Too many emotions exploded inside Snape at that moment:
hatred toward that face so similar to James;
contempt for the son of the man he had hated the most;
guilt because of the green eyes Harry had inherited, and because the boy had grown up without parents because of him.
The memory changed again.
And then they returned to reality.
Only a second had passed. But both Severus and Harry had seen the professor's entire life flash before them. Snape had also relived all of it, trapped in his own memory… before lifting his gaze and meeting Harry's eyes.
The child's eyes were no longer green.
They were red.
Red with resentment, anger and betrayal.
"All this time… it was you," Harry said with a voice that seemed to rise from the bottom of his chest. He stared at Severus, the man who had been his teacher for years, his best friend's godfather, someone he had truly come to respect. "If you had not…"
He could not finish the sentence. Chaos magic pulsed through him, warping the air. The atmosphere shuddered with a burst of red energy.
A roar shook the forest.
The enormous and grotesque figure of Professor Dominic, turned into an obscurial, dodged Sirius and Edward's attacks as he advanced, drawn to Harry's power. He jumped over everyone, trying to devour him with his monstrous jaws.
But before he could reach him, a small dragon appeared flying at absurd speed.
Red.
Harry's magical pulse hit him directly. The creature exploded in red light and began to grow. His bones cracked as they expanded; scales multiplied like living flames; his wings tore through the air.
Red transformed into a colossal dragon, even larger than any dragon ever recorded in history.
A blast of infernal red fire shot from his mouth, engulfing the obscurial and burning a large portion of the Forbidden Forest.
But Harry did not even turn to look at it.
He simply raised his hand, pointing directly at Severus.
Snape watched him, without fear, without defense and without excuses. There was sadness in his gaze. He seemed to accept the fate approaching him, as if he truly deserved it.
He closed his eyes.
But before Harry could release the magic, a hand appeared out of nowhere and grabbed his wrist.
Jeff, protected by several small golems, opened his eyes wide when he saw him.
Harry also turned his head slowly toward the person who had stopped him.
And he froze.
Sirius, who had been about to cast another spell at Dominic, stopped with his mouth open.
"Well… looks like I arrived just in time. Again, right, Snape?" said a calm male voice.
Snape's eyes flew open.
He recognized that voice instantly.
Jeff was the one who confirmed it aloud, with absolute disbelief:
"Mr. Potter… how are you here?"
Harry became completely still.
There, in front of him, stood James Potter. His body was half transparent, like a solid projection. A glowing necklace shone intensely around his neck, formed by three interlocked symbols: a triangle, a circle and a line.
The Deathly Hallows.
"Well, some people helped me a little. But I can only stay for a while," James said with a gentle smile before looking directly at his son. "Hello, Harry. I am sorry for arriving late… very, very late. I was lost in an interesting place, bringing along what appear to be your brothers. And without your mother… I am truly terrible with directions," he added with a warm smile identical to the one in the photos.
"Dad…?" Harry said, trembling. His magic stopped pulsing, the chaos faded, the forest stopped trembling… and his eyes returned to their natural color, those bright green eyes.
James smiled softly.
"Yes. That is right. Identical to your mother's."