Path Not Taken

By: Katerinaki

Published: 9/19/2017

Beta'ed: No

Notes: Severus Snape dies in the Shrieking Shack and wakes up to a curious little girl. This work is inspired by artwork created by Lily-Fod on Deviant Art. It was originally written as just a one-shot, however the idea wouldn't leave me alone, so I'm going to try to ride this a little bit longer. Please enjoy!

Chapter 2:

With a sharp crack, Severus appeared in the alleyway behind the Leaky Cauldron with Harry clutching his arm and looking decidedly green. Severus glanced down at the boy nervously, not particularly wanting to deal with a sick child. Some part of him was concerned too. After all, Harry was his son, wasn't he?

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah," Harry said, taking a deep breath and straightening up again. "I don't think I'll ever get used to it."

"We'll Floo back," Severus suggested, even though he didn't particularly care for the Floo Network. It always left one covered in soot and there was too much chance of ending up in the wrong fireplace. But Harry seemed reassured by the suggestion and the grin that had only left his face when Severus had held out his arm for Harry to take back at the house was suddenly back. The boy dug into his pocket, pulling out the folded notebook paper.

"I'll need books, and some new quills, Hogwarts robes—"

"A good cauldron," Severus interjected.

"Of course," Harry replied, rolling his eyes as if the suggestion was an old joke. Part of Severus wanted to take House points automatically, but he stopped himself, opting instead to take out his wand and tap the appropriate bricks to open the gateway.

Diagon Alley was bustling with school children. It was the end of July and most had received their Hogwarts letters by now and were doing their own shopping. Severus recognized more than a few former students, but none of them seemed to recognize him. How strange; perhaps the Severus in this world was not a professor?

"Dad, can we go to Ollivander's first?" Harry asked, already aiming for the simple, unassuming shop with a display of ivy wands in the window.

In the other times that he'd taken Muggle-born students to Diagon Alley, their first stop had always been to Gringotts to exchange muggle money and then the trips followed a fairly consistent pattern. Books, parchment and quills, potions tools and ingredients, robes, and then, at the very end, a wand. This was strategic, because as soon as they departed Ollivander's, their trip concluded with a strong conversation about underage magic and a reminder not to miss the bus on September 1st.

Harry looked up at him, practically pleading. Any student who would've tried that look with him, Severus would have sneered at them and sentenced them to detention with Filch. If Potter had tried to pull that off, he would've scoffed at him and made some sort of derogatory comment about his bully of a father. But as with Rosie at the breakfast table, those eyes pierced through his will and he found himself agreeing before he even realized he'd opened his mouth.

"Yes, alright."

"Yes!" Harry exclaimed, racing off towards the wandmaker's shop. Just as it had been in Severus' memories, Ollivander's was still dusty and grimy and somehow seemed always empty despite being the best wandmaker in Britain. A bell somewhere in the back rang as they entered and Severus settled back against a display, watching in mild amusement as Harry looked all around the shop at the thousands of boxes. A soft thump made him jump and Ollivander appeared from between stacks of wand boxes.

"Ah! I thought it might be time, Mr. Snape."

Harry looked back at his father, uncertainty in Lily's green eyes. Severus nodded once, as close to a reassurance he would ever give. Harry nodded back and faced Ollivander, drawing himself up like a foolish Gryffindor.

'Certainly takes after his mother,' Severus found himself thinking idly.

"I'm here for a wand, sir," Harry declared.

"Yes, and Severus. Ebony, thirteen and a quarter inches, with a phoenix tail feather core, if I'm not mistaken. And I usually am not. May I?"

Severus' fingers found the end of his wand where it lay in his sleeve. Part of him wanted to refuse, the part that fought two wars and still remembers the burn of the Dark Mark on his arm. But as he looked at Harry, his son, who watched with wide, intrigued eyes, he removed his wand and handed it over to its maker.

Ollivander ran a hand over the wood before holding it up to his ear. Severus doubted he could hear anything, but wandmakers were a strange, eccentric group so Severus placated him. However, his stomach clenched as Ollivander frowned, just for a moment and looked at him as if he was looking for something he hadn't seen before. It was only a moment before Ollivander seemed to recover and nodded.

"Yes, just as I remember. It has certainly served you well."

"Yes," Severus replied as he took his wand back from Ollivander and slipped it away. "But we're not here for my wand."

"Of course!" Ollivander seemed to remember and with a flick of his wrist the dreaded tape measure appeared. Severus truly believed the ridiculous object was merely for show as it proceeded to measure nearly every inch of Harry, including the length of his nose. Severus remembered swatting the thing as a child when it had tried to do the same thing for him. Harry was much more patient, not even paying attention to it as he listened, enraptured by Ollivander's lecture on elementary wandlore.

"Certainly, the wand chooses the wizard," Ollivander declared, as he removed a box and drew out a light-colored wooden wand. "Let's start here, shall we?"

The first wand spat out red sparks and the second shattered a nearby vase. The third knocked all the wands off the back shelf and the fourth did absolutely nothing at all. They went on and on and Severus began to wish they'd come to the wandmaker after getting all of Harry's other things as he was thoroughly exhausted and a fair bit annoyed by the time Ollivander removed a wand of holly from the top of one of the furthest shelves.

"I think this should do it," Ollivander said, though Severus noticed the way he seemed to brace behind his counter as Harry took the wand in hand. It didn't explode anything on contact as the ninth wand had, so Severus' hopes rose a bit. Closing his eyes, Harry gave the wand a hesitant wave. To the shock and relief of all, the wand sprouted a thousand glimmering stars and Harry smiled as they winked out all around him.

"Yes! Yes, I think that's the one! Holly, eleven inches with a dragon heartstring core, like your mother. Nice and supple too," Ollivander prattled as he boxed the wand up. "That will be seven Galleons."

Severus handed the coins over mechanically, though his mind was racing. He'd been hit with a memory as Ollivander mentioned the holly wand. Potter had a holly wand as well with a core of phoenix feather, the brother of the Dark Lord's. Severus had almost missed the core, and it wasn't until he heard 'dragon heartstring' that he forced himself to relax.

'It's not Potter,' he told himself. 'It's Snape. Harry doesn't have the scar. He's not some prophesied one or a lamb being raised for the slaughter.'

"He's my son," he muttered under his breath as Harry took the parcel and hugged it to his chest gleefully. Severus made a mental note to have that conversation about underage magic sooner rather than later.

"Dad?"

Harry had been speaking to him, though Severus had been too wrapped up in his own thoughts to hear.

"Yes?"

"I just thought maybe we could get my robes and then stop by the shop since it's right next door."

"Yes, of course."

He gestured for Harry to lead the way, though the boy seemed to linger a bit, hesitant, suspicious. For being the spy who fooled the Dark Lord, Severus was making a piss poor performance of it now. Not even half a day together and already the boy was wary of him.

'Do something, otherwise he'll think you're someone Polyjuiced as his father. And then what will Lily say?'

He wasn't about to apologize. No matter how different this Severus' life seemed to be, he doubted his alternate-self had suddenly started apologizing. But surely a small show of affection would not be remiss. As if it already knew the motion, Severus's hand reached up and grabbed Harry's shoulder, giving him a reassuring squeeze and the corners of his mouth raised just a bit. Anyone not familiar with the dark, generally brooding man would've seen it as a rather severe interaction. But Harry Snape was the son of Severus Snape and as he looked up at his father, he recognized the slight tilt of his lips for what it was. His father grinned at him.

The suspicion and worry were gone in an instant, replaced with a wide smile and his earlier excitement.

"Come on, it's this way."

Severus was content to let Harry take his hand and weave them through the crowd of witches and wizards going about their own business. He spotted the familiar exterior of Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, a common shop for purchasing Hogwarts robes. However, the shop that stood just to the right of Madam Malkin's caught his attention and nearly made him come to a stand-still in the middle of the alley. Neat, gold lettering on a green sign declared "Snape and Co. Apothecary and Master Potioneers".

It made sense now; Lily's request that he stop by "the shop", the clear fact that he was not as recognized as he had been as a teacher. He wasn't a teacher in this life. He was a potioneer, a proud apothecary owner. As a small child, he hadn't had much occasion to think about what his life would be like in the future. His father, the abusive alcoholic, had never allowed for dreams. He had to stay focused, otherwise he might've ended up on the wrong side of one of Tobias Snape's drunken rages. It wasn't until he'd gone away to Hogwarts that he'd started to entertain what he might do when he was finally of age and could leave. He excelled at Potions, he and Lily, but they'd also discovered that Severus also had a talent for spell creation. There had been talk about becoming masters someday. In his old life, that had quickly been dashed on a stone of hate and Death Eater revels.

"Dad?" Harry was at the door, his hand on the handle, but Severus had stopped, looking up at the green sign. He didn't see it, his sight instead far away in a different time and place much older and darker, full of pain and loss and missed opportunity.

"Dad!" He grabbed his hand. Severus nearly jumped out of his skin, his wand springing to his hand.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Harry said frantically, releasing his father's hand. "I know Mom says not to do that when you…go away…"

He'd done this before? He'd done this in front of Harry before, otherwise Lily wouldn't have said something like that.

"It's not your fault," Severus replied, stooping so that he was on level with the boy. He found himself searching those green eyes, desperate not to see in his son's eyes what he had always hidden in his own; fear. He didn't understand what was happening, Severus realized. Mostly, there was just uncertainty. But there, just in the back, was the tiniest flash and it made Severus' heart ache. His son was afraid of him. Maybe not like Severus had been of his own father. But he was afraid. How could he explain any of this so Harry could understand?

"Mom says sometimes you get caught up remembering stuff from the war that happened a long time ago," Harry said quietly, glancing around to make sure nobody was paying them attention. "That's why I'm not supposed to grab you, because of the bad stuff that happened. I'm sorry, I forgot."

"It's not your fault," Severus repeated, pleading for Harry to somehow understand. "You're right, sometimes I get…distracted. But I will never hurt you…or your sister." And he meant it with all his heart and being. He would never hurt either of them, just as he would never hurt Lily again. No matter what happened.

Harry nodded. "Okay." And then, he hugged him. Severus found himself wrapping his arms around the boy and squeezing back. The moment was brief and fleeting, but it sent a warmth through Severus' chest like he hadn't felt before. His own mother hadn't really hugged him, and his father most certainly hadn't laid a hand, except in anger, on the demon spawn his witch wife tricked him into. As they separated and Harry led the way to Madame Malkin's, Severus decided he wouldn't mind a few more of those.

Madame Malkin's was packed. There were children everywhere in various stages of fittings. Madame Malkin and all of her apprentices and helpers flitted around the room, measuring, hemming, and dumping yards and yards of black Hogwarts robes on each family. They had to wait their turn, but finally Harry was placed up on a pedestal and one of the apprentices set about his robe fitting, pinning the lines so that the oversized robe fell properly. Harry wasn't particularly big for his age, but then neither had been Severus. He hadn't gained his height until around fourth year and then he'd sprouted over the summer and his mother had been forced to buy new robes instead of casting extension charms in the middle of the night where her husband couldn't see.

The door jangled and, by habit, Severus turned to see who came in. It was another first-year student, toting her mother and father, obviously Muggles by how they looked around the robes shop with awe and a bit of shock. Severus recognized the incredibly bushy hair and over-sized teeth as the first-year positively beamed at all the activity. This was Hermione Granger. Somethings, it seemed, didn't change. At the very back of their little party was another familiar face. Dressed in a Muggle dress and a gray wool sweater in July, looking to all the world like someone's doting grandmother, was Minerva McGonagall. She smiled gently at Granger and bent down a bit, no doubt to explain the particulars. McGonagall had always been good with the muggle-borns. Severus had not.

Granger hopped up on the stool next to Harry, which meant Mr. and Mrs. Granger stood right beside Severus and Minerva beside them. The last time he'd seen her, she'd been trying to kill him. She'd thought him a murderer and a traitor. It was all he could do to keep her at bay, and even then, he'd lost. He'd fled, knowing this was a fight he couldn't win, did not want to win.

"Severus Snape."

Hearing his name in that Scottish brogue made him feel as if he was back in school.

"Minerva," he replied, respectfully.

"Severus, may I introduce the Grangers," Minerva said and Severus accepted the obligatory handshakes because what was it with muggles and shaking each other's hands?

"Robert Granger," Mr. Granger replied, "and this is my wife Jane. Our little girl Hermione is starting at Hogwarts this fall."

"Severus' son, Harry, will be in the same year," Minerva explained. "And Severus is our best supplier of ingredients, not to mention potions for our hospital wing. Everything is going well, I hope?"

"Of course," Severus replied. He knew vaguely that the hellebore Lily had asked him to check on had something to do with the Hogwarts order. How he knew was as mysterious as his very presence in this world.

"Did you attend Hogwarts as well?" Jane Granger asked.

"A number of year ago," Severus replied.

"Severus and his wife, Lily, are two very distinguished graduates," Minerva told them, pride in her voice. Of course she would be proud of Lily, one of her Gryffindor lions. If they were Potions masters with an established shop and an account such as Hogwarts, then the masteries had not been earned in the last few years. To be a Potions master in one's early thirties, let alone in one's twenties was indeed a great accomplishment.

"Dad?"

"Yes, Harry?" Severus replied, surprised with himself how natural the response was off his tongue.

"Can Hermione come to my birthday party today?"

"Have you asked you parents yet?" Severus thought an extra few people wouldn't make any difference to the party plans. From the way Lily seemed to discuss it, the birthday party this afternoon was sure to be sizeable with children running around everywhere. But, as it had been when he'd scolded Harry earlier today about chewing with his mouth open, the correction came easily and readily to him and flow much more naturally than any correction he'd made of a student when he'd been Potions Master and Head of Slytherin house.

"Mr. and Mrs. Granger, would Hermione be able to come to my party this afternoon?" Harry asked, tacking a "please" on the end for good measure. Granger, from where she stood on her own pedestal, sent a pleading look to her mother that Severus recognized from Rosie.

"It would be a good opportunity for Hermione to interact with more of her future schoolmates," Minerva commented. "I'm assuming the Weasleys and Draco are coming as well?"

Severus nodded.

"I think we could manage that," Mrs. Granger said at last.

"Alright! I'm going to show you my broom and our cat Nightshade, and wait until you see Mom's ingredients garden. And maybe you can learn how to play Quidditch!"

Harry chattered Granger's ear off all the way until the apprentice shoed him off the pedestal and Severus paid for the robes while Harry still stood by and talked about all of the things he wanted to show the Muggle-born girl.

"Harry, it's time to go," Severus told him, handing the boy his parcel of robes. "You'll have plenty of time to speak with Hermione at the party today." He provided the Grangers their address from some vague memory of hours spent at the Ministry with Lily attempting to complete a simple "change of address" form, before shepherding the still chattering Harry out the door.

"I can't wait until the party this afternoon," Harry declared as they stepped into Flourish and Blotts across the way to start on the list of textbooks he would need for the school year. With his wand already purchased, and the promise of getting to see his friends in just a few hours, filling out the rest of Harry's school supplies was rather easy. Severus shrunk everything and tucked it into his robes pocket as they rounded off Harry's list with a good, brand-new pewter cauldron, the exact kind Severus would have his students buy. It would last Harry for years, if he took care of it properly. And no son of two Potions masters was going to improperly care for his own cauldron.

When they had the last thing on the list, they started to make the trip back to the Leaky Cauldron to use their Floo, but Severus paused as they passed Eeylops Owl Emporium. The memory flashed before his eye of Potter, walking with a beautiful snowy owl perched on his arm. He couldn't remember what the boy had called the bird, but it was clear how close their relationship was. In the back of his mind, Severus recalled a conversation, one evening before bed.

"What are your thoughts on buying Harry an owl, for school?" Lily had asked as they went about their nightly preparations.

"There are plenty of school owls for use," Severus had replied. "And there is Orion as well." The family's hawk owl had a way of glaring at everyone, but he was strong and reliable and would certainly be able to handle a few extra flights to and from Hogwarts.

"I know," Lily said, "But there is something about having a familiar, and the responsibility would be good for him."

Severus had smirked. "It sounds like you've already made up your mind," he'd said, a bit of a teasing edge to his voice.

"I think it would be a good birthday present from the two of us, but only if you agree."

They had ended the conversation there and Lily hadn't brought anything up before they'd left. The decision had been laid solely in Severus' hands and as he stood outside of Eeylops and looked at the proud birds perched in the window, he made up his mind.

"This way," he said simply, and Harry followed him into the shop.

"Does Orion need more owl treats?" Harry asked. "He likes the ones that scurry like real mice."

"Good afternoon, sirs," one of the sales-witches greeted them. "Can I assist you with anything today?"

"I would like to purchase an owl for my son."

"Really?!" Harry shouted and the nearby owls squawked at him in chastisement.

The sales-witch smiled. "Your first owl then?"

Harry looked up at Severus, just to make sure, and Severus nodded encouragement.

"Yes," Harry replied.

"Well then you'll want to walk around a bit and take a look. We have the largest assortment in England. Over here are some smaller owls, good for quick deliveries. And on the back wall…" The sales-witch took Harry all over the store, showing off the different breeds of owl and Harry took it all in with wide-eyed wonderment. Occasionally he'd glance to Severus for reassurance, and he would provide it, either with a brief nod or a small gesture. There were a great many fine birds in the shop, but Harry didn't seem particularly drawn to any of them, until Severus glimpsed the pure-white feathers and Harry stopped.

"What about this one?" he asked.

The sales-witch looked up at the snoozing owl. "She's very pretty. She's a snowy owl. Very versatile, if a bit ostentatious. She may draw some attention when doing her deliveries, but she has enough speed and agility to outfly anything.

The snowy turned her head and looked down at Harry with wide yellow eyes, bobbing her head a bit. Harry reached up, presenting his hand and the owl bent down, examining his fingers before nibbling at them gently, looking for a bit of food.

It was too much to ask that his Harry be completely different from Harry Potter. As the boy ran a finger over the bird's smooth feathers, Severus knew he'd be stuck with this reminder.

"She's perfect," Harry declared. "Dad?"

"Is she the one you would like?" Severus asked, hoping the answer would be a 'no', but knowing that it would be an unequivocal,

"Yes."

"An excellent choice," the sales-witch declared.

"We'll need a full starter kit," Severus added.

"I'll put that together for you right away." As the sales-witch hurried off, Harry held up his arm and the snowy hopped down from her perch to get a closer look at the little human she would be going home with. Severus moved around Harry's back, looking over the creature. She really was in fine shape, strong and healthy.

"What are you going to name her?" he asked quietly.

Harry looked over the bird thoughtfully. "Hedwig," he declared at last. "She looks like a warrior."

"Indeed."

They left Eeylops with Harry toting Hedwig in a cage, beaming from ear-to-ear. It was quickly coming on lunch time and Lily had told them before they left that the party guests would be arriving just after noon. They arrived at the Leaky Cauldron and stepped up to the fireplace, taking some Floo powder from the nearby pot. Harry went first confidently, throwing the powder into the flames and shouting "Snape Residence". He spun off into the fireplace and Severus was quick to follow. He positively despised Floo travel as the soot made his lungs ache.

"Snape Residence," he commanded and was whisked off. He arrived in the living room fireplace, covered in dust, but was glad to see Harry had arrived safely with his bird. He was already showing Hedwig off to his sister proudly.

"Daddy, when do I get an owl?" Rosie asked.

"When you're older," Severus replied, pulling out his wand and casting a cleaning charm on the two of them. He then reached into his pockets and re-enlarged the rest of Harry's school items.

"Take these upstairs and pack them neatly into your school trunk," Severus told him.

"I'll help!" Rosie declared, gathering up a few packages that were a bit too big for her, but somehow managing to carry them up the stairs after her brother anyways.

The house was decorated in a riot of colors, filled with banners proclaiming a number of Quidditch teams, from the Chudley Cannons and the Appleby Arrows, to the more dubious Falmouth Falcons. Over the kitchen where a number of dishes were already sitting out under heating charms, a banner proclaimed "Happy Birthday Harry!" in flashing gold and silver letters and a little chaser flew in and out of the dips and curves of the letters.

"What do you think?" Lily asked, beaming at the display.

Severus sighed. "It is very…colorful."

Lily laughed, stepping up on her toes to place a kiss on his cheek.

"Don't be such a spoilsport. How did everything go?"

"Fine. We saw Minerva escorting a Muggle-born."

"Oh how is she?"

"As stubborn as ever. Harry invited the girl to the party. Hermione Granger."

"That should be fine," Lily replied. "We have more than enough, and you know Molly will bring more as well. Speaking of…"

The clock over the mantle chimed the hour and the fireplace flared green again and the woman in question stepped out, carrying her own covered dish.

"Hello dear!" Molly Weasley greeted, moving to greet Lily with a big hug. It was just in time too, as the Floo flared again and out came another Weasley, one of the twins. And then another, and another, until all but the two oldest Weasley children stood in Severus' living room, tracking soot all over the place. Arthur Weasley was the last through.

"Severus," he greeted, "good to see you." They shook hands amiably. Severus had never really had anything against Arthur. He was a good man and he cared for his family, even if sometimes he was stretched beyond his means. He was a good wizard too.

"Sorry about that," Arthur nodded towards the soot that was being tracked everywhere. He waved his wand and the soot lifted off the floor and his family's clothing.

"Severus, good to see you," Molly Weasley said, and then, to Severus' alarm, she reached up and pulled him into a hug. Severus met Lily's eyes across the room and she had her hand over her mouth, suppressing a chuckle.

"Yes, well, good to see you too, Molly," Severus replied awkwardly when she at last let him stand.

Harry and Rosie had heard the commotion and came thundering down the stairs.

"Ron!"

"Ginny!"

They threw themselves into the fray, greeting their friends before mercifully pulling them out to the yard.

"Is everything about ready?" Molly asked Lily. "I brought the pie Harry likes." She and Lily disappeared into the kitchen.

"How is everything in the shop?" Arthur asked.

The shop. Severus groaned. In all of the activity, he'd forgotten to check in on the hellbore shipment like Lily had asked. He never forgot to do something so simple before.

Arthur chuckled. "That bad?"

"No," Severus replied. "I just forgot to check in on our trip to Diagon Alley this morning. Lily asked me to before we left."

Arthur shrugged. "Children often make us forget. I'm sure it can wait until tomorrow."

There was a knock at the door and Severus moved to answer it. Standing on the steps, looking just as he remembered from before the war, was Lucius Malfoy.

"Severus," Lucius greeted, properly, but cordial. Narcissa stood just behind him with Draco.

"Hello, Uncle Severus," Draco greeted him. Severus was surprised at the familiarity. Draco had been his godson, but they'd always maintained a certain distance. It seemed, however, that this Severus did not.

"Come in, it's good to see you, Draco."

Draco gave him a brief hug on his way in the door before hurrying off towards the ruckus in the yard.

"It's good to see you again, Severus," Narcissa said, greeting him with the customary two kisses on either cheek as would befit a close family friend.

"Thank you for coming," Severus replied. "Lily and Molly are in the kitchen."

"Thank you." And she swept off leaving Severus with Lucius. The last time Severus had seen the man before him, he'd been the withered husk of the man Severus had known. It was as if they'd stepped back in time, and perhaps they had, in a way.

"Severus, business is good, I presume?"

At first, he didn't really know. But with the Hogwarts order, Severus had to assume business was just fine.

"Of course," he replied, before a glimpse of memory passed through his thoughts, he, Lily, and Lucius with a couple of stone-faced solicitors, sitting around a table with contracts in front of them. They signed and Severus and Lucius shook hands. In exchange for a start-up investment, Lucius would become a minority partner. Fifteen percent of profits, a favor really but then if it weren't for Severus and his persuasive tongue, Lucius would've been rotting away in Azkaban.

"Draco is ready for his first year?" Severus asked, hoping to fall back on an easy topic.

"He's been packed for weeks now," Lucius replied, though Severus could clearly see the flash of pride in his old friend's eyes.

"Harry and I went to purchase his things earlier today."

"I'm sure it was crowded. They say this is to be one of the largest classes in recent years. Plenty of witches and wizards like you and Lily, marrying young in the middle of a war."

"I wouldn't have done it any other way," Severus replied firmly.

Lucius smiled in amusement. "Yes, you always had an eye for her in school," he said knowingly. "No matter, what's done is done, and if you hadn't, Narcissa would not have a most beloved godson."

Narcissa as godmother to Harry. Merlin help us, Severus thought as the door once again rung.

"I will leave you to play host," Lucius said, sweeping off as Severus reached for the door. As he opened it, his hand immediately fell to his wand. Standing on his doorstep was his sworn enemy, James Potter.