Severus would always remember the agonising years of waiting before receiving his Hogwarts acceptance letter. He would remember boredom, curiosity, love, and hate. He would remember the sting of his father's belt as it hit his back. He would remember when he first closed down fully, locked down his emotions, escaped the pain of feeling.

*

His eighth birthday came and went, no presents received. At this stage, Severus didn't know that you were meant to receive gifts, or even that you could. He was blissfully unaware of the concept of Christmas, deciding that it was probably some Muggle event that he wasn't allowed to take part in. That had been the case last year. The vicar had refused to speak to Severus when all the children in the area went to confession at his church. He shuddered and claimed that whatever atrocities he had committed, he would be better off explaining them to the Devil. He would certainly receive sympathy there.

And so, if Severus couldn't haunt the Church, he would haunt the churchyard. He hid among the large grey stones and pored over his books that Miss Brooks at the library had lent him. He took great delight from translating Homer's Odyssey from Ancient Greek, and was very pleased to present the complete translation to his mother for her birthday. She had been overjoyed. However, she had quickly become incensed when he asked her what a certain word meant.

"What does it mean to be dead, Mummy?"

There was a silence.

"Are you dead, Mummy? Am I?"

Eileen looked down at her young son.

"You are not dead, and neither am I. When you die, you go... on a long journey. A journey from which there is no return. You... pass away."

"Like a bus pass? To go on your journey?"

Eileen exploded.

"Of course not!" She spat. "Imbecile! You know those stones in the graveyard you insist on hiding behind? Beneath those stones, six feet down, bodies rest. Like our bodies, but decayed. They were dying, and then they died. A cadaver, a corpse. That's all that remains. An empty shell."

Severus had inched back slightly during her rant but now questioned, timidly, "That's where my grandparents went, isn't it? Why they're not here, and everybody else has them?"

"Yes," Eileen admitted sadly, a faraway look in her eyes. "But they were no use anyway."

"I bet you wish Father was dead."

SLAP.

Severus cringed in pain, but remained standing. He looked up at his mother, who stood towering over him, fury evident on her face.

"What would you know?" She cried. "He once loved me! He never loved you! And he hates me because he hates you!" She broke down, crying. But young Severus felt no pity for the broken woman huddled in swathes of black clothing on the floor.

"So that's what you think?" He asked slowly. "You're all the same! You're like the vicar! You think I'm different, peculiar. Those may not be exact synonyms but it still creates a reason that you all harbour a deep hatred for me. I hate you!"

And when Severus Snape looked up, instead of black tunnels, gleaming white orbs were his eyes. Eileen shielded her face and sobbed as her son fled into the open, where the heavens opened and the rain lashed down. And realisation dawned on the fallen woman.

"My son is a monster. My God, I've created a monster."

*****

A.N. Some of you may be very confused. For some of you, my Wattpad name might be a slight indication. TOMISANOBSCURIAL. Originally, it was SEVERUSISANOBSCURIAL. For those of you who have not watched Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them (shame on you), this is a spoiler. Obscurials are host bodies that contains Obscuruses. The Obscurus has gleaming white eyes, and becomes a force of mass destruction. It is created when a child witch or wizard has been abused to the point where they have hidden away their powers. In Severus' case, his father has beaten him to the point where his mother has asked him to hide his powers, but these will become uncontrollable. He has not yet reached the point of fury where he will transform fully into an Obscurus. Eileen does not truly know what is wrong with her son. Sorry for the long lecture. And sorry for not updating sooner.     :)