HARRY POTTER - THE LEGACY CHRONICLES: PREQUEL - THE RESURRECTION OF SEVERUS SNAPE

(Disclaimer: All characters and places of the Harry Potter Saga are the property of JK Rowling. No infringement intended. All further characters and places of Harry Potter: The Legacy Chronicles are the property of SeverusGirl360)

PREQUEL: THE RESURRECTION OF SEVERUS SNAPE

EXT. HOGSMEADE – DAWN (MAY 2ND, 1998)

A great battle between the forces of good and evil was taking place as the light of a thousand fires began to bathe the blackened dawn sky in an eerie crimson glow. But this was not a battle between rival nations nor was it a battle between angels and demons, but a long and legendary battle which pinned wizard against wizard, witch against witch and magical creature against magical creature. A fierce and epic battle that was known as the Battle of Hogwarts.

Ferocious wildfires continued to rage out of control throughout the small wizard village of Hogsmeade as panic and chaos ensued, the air choked in a heavy, hanging cloud of black smoke. Among those wizards and witches who were fighting in this battle, the cries of the countless suffering filled the air around them as great plums of fire and smoke raged across the blackened soil and throughout all of Hogsmeade, the remains of thatched roof cottages and half demolished buildings burning violently out of control. Surrounded by an ever looming wall of fire and smoke, people and magical creatures of every age and every kind desperately ran for their lives. The battle continued as an explosion violently shook the ground and a great plum of fire and smoke rose high into the air.

There was another loud explosion and then ever more immense plums of fire and smoke, engulfing the village and destroying everything in its path. Amidst the devastation and destruction, many wizards and witches of both good and bad lied dying or dead upon the charred, scorched soil as other people, wizards and witches among them tried desperately to grab up what few personal possessions they could carry and swiftly ran for their lives.

EXT. AN OUTCROPPING, NEAR THE ENTRANCE TO HOGWARTS CASTLE – DAWN (MAY 2ND, 1998)

Looking over The Black Lake at the burning remains of Hogsmeade village off in the distance, a lone dark figure in a long and flowing black hooded cloak stood upon a narrow outcropping which lied within the ever looming shadow of Hogwarts Castle. The dark figure stood silent and still, with their face and head hidden underneath the broad rim of their cloak's hood. From the lofty perch high above The Black Lake below, the dark figure could hear the tortured cries of anguish and suffering off in the distance. And even though the dark figure wanted to join in on the fight, they could not move from where they stood, for their intentions and their reasons for being there lied very much elsewhere.

As if compelled by some strange and unseen force, the dark figure instinctively pulled back their large dark hood, revealing the cold dark blue eyes of a woman, her pallid but beautiful face framed by long and radiant dark amber colored hair. Embedded within the hair on the right side of her head, there was a lock of pure white hair that had been elaborately woven into a braid decorated with tiny feathers, glittering silver wire and tiny gemstone beads.

Underneath her long black cloak she wore a long and flowing dark blue gown which shimmered and glittered in the flames of the lit torches which were attached to the gray rock wall that stood behind her. Suddenly the woman turned her head and looked down to her left, her eyes suddenly fixed upon an area near the base of the castle.

"No," said the woman quietly, feeling the urge to run to the place in which her eyes were fixed upon.

EXT. TO INT. HOGWARTS CASTE TO BOATHOUSE STAIRCASE, TOWARDS THE BOATHOUSE - DAWN (MAY 2ND, 1998)

Spurred into a state of pure dread and panic, the woman scrambled her down the side of the outcropping and ran towards Hogwarts Castle, trying to find her way towards the castle staircase which led down the cliff side and towards the Boathouse below. Before her all of Hogwarts Castle was engulfed in flames, with great pillars of fire and smoke rising up into the air around her. But even with the castle set ablaze, the woman refused to stop and continued to run frantically down the various long corridors and bridges which lead towards the Boathouse staircase that lead down the side of the vertical cliff and to the Boathouse, running through the fire and the smoke that surrounded her as fast as her legs could carry her.

'No! Severus you fool! You shouldn't have gone to the Boathouse alone without me! You should have come for me! Why didn't you come for me?' the woman thought angrily to herself, running as fast and as hard as she could, her long black hooded cloak bellowing back behind her. Running down along the top of a long viaduct she quickly found her way to the top of the Boathouse staircase, than ran down it towards the bottom.

EXT. THE BOATHOUSE (THE CRYSTAL HOUSE) - DAWN (MAY 2ND, 1998)

At the bottom of the Boathouse staircase, the woman's eyes fell upon the Boathouse, which took on the appearance of a small two-story house, made up of a framework of tan-brown limestone bricks and mortar and a sloping, pointed roof made of dirty brown dragon scale shingle. Its windows and most of its walls were made up of a hazy and elaborate latticework of crystal glass. The Boathouse itself was connected to a narrow walled channel that led into the heart of the Boathouse, connecting its interior to an open section of The Black Lake and to the outside world beyond it.

The woman then suddenly slowed and stopped. Then secretly and silently the woman, named Verena Witchazel, reached the entrance to the Boathouse which came off the staircase and looked through the hazy glass crystal exterior that ran along the right side of the Boathouse. The front of the Boathouse faced The Black Lake while the back of the Boathouse faced the staircase and vertical rock face behind it.

Verena watched closely with much intensity in her eyes, standing next to an old, rotting barrel and listening to two men who were talking to one another inside the Boathouse. Not wanting to be seen by the men inside, she quickly bent down and hid behind the barrel, looking out and watching what was going on inside the Boathouse from around the side of the barrel.

One of these men in the Boathouse was a powerful but menacingly evil dark wizard who was known by many names: To those who feared him he was known as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named; To those who followed him he was known as The Dark Lord; but to those who fought him he was known as Lord Voldemort.

Lord Voldemort was accompanied by a large serpent that was looming nearby at his feet, known by the name of Nagini. The other man in the Boathouse, who wore long and flowing stark black robes, was a tall and pale skinned man with cold black eyes and black, shoulder length hair which framed his face in curtains. A wizard who went by the name of Severus Snape.

Verena had known Severus Snape ever since they were children and students together at Hogwarts School so many years before. Despite the fact that Verena was two years older than Snape and that they were of two different Houses of Hogwarts School, they had been best friends to one another at Hogwarts for as long as either of them could remember.

Now the only true best friend that Verena ever had was now in terrible danger, standing alone within the presence of one of the most powerful and sinister dark wizards the Wizarding world had ever known, standing in a place where she and Severus would have been standing together had Severus met up with her on the outcropping only minutes before. But Severus had gone alone to the Boathouse without her and was now at the mercy of a powerful dark wizard who was not known to give mercy.

Severus was talking as well as listening to Lord Voldemort, standing with his hands behind his back and following Lord Voldemort's every move with his eyes. Suddenly Lord Voldemort stopped talking and all became silent, causing Verena to look in and listen further. To Verena the abrupt silence was an all to ominous and eerie sign that something unthinkable and horrible was about to happen.

Then Severus uttered, "My Lord?" - then fell hard against the glass crystal wall which faced the front of the Boathouse. Lord Voldemort had slashed the air with his wand towards Severus, causing a bleeding gash to appear and form out of nowhere upon Severus's neck. Severus was now sprawled helplessly upon the floor, looking like a man who was seeing the coming of his death.

Severus's gaunt face was like that of a death mask, his fathomless black eyes widened and his face contorted in a subtle look of shock and dismay. It was at this moment when Lord Voldemort, dressed in his long and flowing black shroud-like robes, ordered Nagini to attack Severus. Verena began to cringe and bare her teeth as she continued to watch and listen to the thrashing and the terrible sounds that started emitting out from inside the Boathouse.

Unable to watch any further, Verena quickly turned away and cupped her hands up over her mouth, listening on in pure horror as Nagini continued to relentlessly bite and strike Severus. One time, three times, five times and then one sixth and final time, until finally all had fallen silent.

The normally calm and bitter expression upon Verena's pale face quickly became contorted with a look of dread and fear at having just witnessed the death of Severus. Still looking away and unable to look back, Verena began to speak in a frightened sorrowful whisper, her eyes growing ever wider with terror and her hands still over her mouth, "Please…oh please…not Severus…please not Severus…"

Verena's eyes soon began to well up with tears, her eyes widened and her body trembling with terror and fear. Then suddenly Verena cringed and flinched in pain, bringing her hands down from her mouth and quickly grabbing hold of her right forearm. Looking downward at her forearm she quickly pulled up the right sleeve of her cloak, revealing the dark tattoo of a skull with a writhing serpent coming out of its mouth and the ethereal image of a burning white ribbon wrapped tightly around it.

"Oh no, you don't!" whispered Verena defiantly through her tears, bearing her teeth slightly as she pulled out her wand with her left hand and pointed its tip onto the ghostly image.

"Ecto Impairio!" whispered Verena weakly as the pain of the burning white ribbon was starting to drain her of all energy and consciousness. Upon speaking the spell for a second and third time, the image of the burning white ribbon began to fade until it finally vanished in a cloud of glowing white mist.

Verena then quickly stashed her wand back into her robes and soon brought up the courage to turn and look into the Boathouse, only to see Lord Voldemort leaving the Boathouse, followed closely by Nagini. Thinking that she was now alone she was about to step out of her hiding spot and run into the Boathouse until her eyes caught the glimpse of three figures coming into the Boathouse from the outside. It was at this moment that Verena realized that she had not been alone in the witnessing of Severus's demise and of Lord Voldemort's exit from the Boathouse.

She quickly bent down behind the barrel once more, not wanting to be seen by the three figures. Knowing almost instantly who these three figures were, Verena cautiously looked out from around the barrel again, looking at them through the glass crystal wall and into the Boathouse once more, watching the three figures enter into the Boathouse from the outside.

Among these three figures was a young man known as Harry Potter, who Verena knew about all too well. Verena then watched as Harry kneeled down next to Severus and placed his hand over the bleeding wounds in Severus's neck to try and slow the bleeding. The two other figures who were with Harry and looking on was a light skinned, brownish-red haired young girl known as Hermione Granger and another light skinned, fiery haired young man known as Ronald Weasley.

Harry continued to look down at Severus Snape, his bright green eyes glaring out from behind bright sliver frames. And as Verena continued to watch silently from the relative safety of her hiding spot, her eyes soon shifted back onto Severus once more, where then she noticed that he was looking up and staring into Harry's eyes.

Verena then noticed the pleading look of sorrow and desperation that was upon Severus's face as he was looking up at Harry, a look in which up until now was a look that Verena had only ever witnessed seeing on Severus's face three times before in the past. She listened as Severus spoke to Harry in a pleading sorrowful voice, gesturing weakly towards Harry with his left hand, "Take them…take them…please…"

Verena wasn't sure what Severus had meant at first until Harry turned to Hermione frantically and said, "Give me something! Quickly, a flask, anything!"

Hermione pulled out a small flask from a little pouch that was strapped around her waist and quickly handed it Harry. He then pulled the cap off the flask and then brought up against Severus's face, placing his hand over Severus's neck once more. After a brief moment, Harry pulled the flask away and held it in his hand, looking down at it as Severus spoke quietly, "Take them to the Pensieve."

Suddenly aware of what was contained in the flask, Verena became even more anxious and desperate. Desperate to get to the side of Severus, as it was only a matter of time before it would be too late to help him.

Barely able to contain the urge to run in and come to Severus's aid Verena began to whisper angrily, "Move you silly boy! Move! Move! Get out of there now!"

But Harry wasn't moving at all from where he knelt down at Severus's side as Harry looked on silently and trembling.

Severus then whispered, "Look at me…" and Harry looked at him. As Verena watched and listened on a look of grief and anguish fell upon her face, all too aware of what would happen next. And as Severus continued to look up at Harry with desperate eyes, a subtle look of peace fell upon Severus's face as he spoke his very last and final words, "You have your mother's eyes..."

Severus then looked away towards emptiness and quietly breathed his final and last breath, his eyes open and empty of life. Cringing in sadness and disbelief Verena cupped her hands up over her mouth again and began to whimper and shake her head frantically, with tears of sorrow pouring out of her fathomless dark blue eyes once more.

As Harry was about to leave the Boathouse with Hermione and Ron, the cold voice of Lord Voldemort suddenly rang out and echoed off the walls of the Boathouse, as if Voldemort had never left the Boathouse and was somehow still inside it. This made Verena bring her hands down and lift her head up, looking up towards the roof of the Boathouse with tears pouring down her face, causing her to become ever more anxious and desperate to reach Severus.

But Verena knew that she could not be seen by Harry or by his friends and was forced to wait until they had gone. Although she had been denying it, Verena knew that she had to let Severus die, for his death had to happen in order for Harry to discover the truth about Severus and how he had risked his life to protect Harry and in turn, protect and eventually save the Wizarding World from the dark forces of Lord Voldemort and his followers. After listening to Lord Voldemort taunt and challenge Harry in a duel to the death in the Dark Forest, Verena soon looked down and back into the Boathouse, seeing Harry and his friends running and leaving the Boathouse before they vanished into the blackness beyond it.

Making sure that she was alone and would not be seen, Verena stood up and stepped out from behind the barrel, stepping out cautiously and looking all around to see if Harry and his friends were gone. Seeing that they were gone and that she was now alone with Severus, Verena frantically turned and ran into the Boathouse towards Severus Snape. Verena quickly slid to her knees and started grabbing onto Severus, unable to stop herself from running to him any longer. Verena began to speak sorrowfully and pleadingly to Severus, who was now very much still and dead.

With much tearful emotion in her voice, Verena began to cry out, "Severus! Severus? I am here Severus! I am here! Please come back to me! Please come back!"

Verena began pulling Severus's limp body up towards her and held him in her arms, placing his head against her left shoulder. Through a hail of tears running down her face she wrapped her arms tightly around Severus and began to sob, letting out a loud agonizing cry of sorrow which filled the Boathouse and echoed off its crystal walls.

Suddenly realizing what she had to do, Verena began to cradle Severus in her arms and swiftly pulled out her wand before she began to chant a spell that Severus Snape himself had created and had used many times before, placing the tip of her wand on the bleeding wounds in Severus's neck.

She repeated the spell three times, chanting it in the form of a melody, "Vulnera Sanentur..."

While she spoke this spell blood began to flow backward into Severus's wounds. Once she had healed and closed much of the wounds, Verena sat down her wand and began tearfully and frantically pulling at something that was hanging around her neck. It was a small sliver vile that was filled with a mysterious bright blue liquid and hung down from Verena's neck on a long sliver chain.

She quickly placed Severus's head on her lap, brushing over the locks of black hair which framed his face. Looking down at Severus's face, Verena could see that his eyes were now closed and that his face was pale with death. At that moment, Verena pulled the cap off the vile, tipped Severus's head back and began to pour the bright blue liquid from the flask into his mouth, closing his mouth soon after. Verena then laid Severus down flat on the floor and stood up again, picking up her wand and stepping back, standing a few feet away from him before pointing her wand straight at Severus's lifeless body.

At that very moment, Verena began to utter a strange set of words which were spoken in the form of a poem, "Body, breath and serpent's sight, bring this now dead back to life!"

At the instant Verena spoke these words Severus's body began to shake and writhe. His face began to contort with a look of agony as he began to groan and cry out. Once those words were uttered from her mouth, Verena knew that she could not stop until the spell was completed or she would lose Severus forever.

Verena continued speaking the words though her tears, "Blood of wolf and hair of hound, let him stand upon the ground!"

Severus's trembling body suddenly stood up straight and began to float a couple feet above the floor, appearing as if he had been suspended in an invisible bubble of water that was caught in mid-air.

Severus continued to cry out in agony before he began to speak in a sharp rasping stutter, "Don't…loose…me…!"

The look in Verena's eyes made it clear that she had no intention of losing Severus or to stop what she was doing as she continued to utter the spell through her tears, "Let him shiver and let him writhe, twist and tremble, now arise!"

Severus continued to cry out once more, groaning and moaning loudly. Verena slashed the air with her wand towards Severus as she growled out the very last part of the spell, repeating it three times while Severus remained suspended in the air, his face and body contorting in agony.

It was taking every last ounce of Verena's strength of will to maintain a stronghold over the spell as she cried out, "Resurgio! Resurgio!"

And upon the last cry of "Resurgio!" Severus let out one last loud cry of agony before falling to the floor and onto his side, lying still and silent once more and with his eyes closed. With the spell now having gone full circle, Verena ran up to Severus and got back on her knees, grabbing onto him and rolling him over onto his back.

Hoping desperately that the spell had worked, Verena sat next to Severus, looming over him once more as ever more tears began to well up in her eyes, "Severus?" she spoke softly through a haze of tears, "Please tell me that I have saved you in time…please… speak to me…"

For one brief tense moment it seemed as though her spell had failed to keep hold of Severus long enough to stop him from being saved. But then a sharp, gasping breath suddenly came forth from Severus, his eyes opening wide as though he had fallen into a state of shock. Severus then struggled up onto his hands and knees then crawled over to Verena and began grabbing onto her arms, his body trembling uncontrollably. Verena wrapped her arms around Severus and began to cradle him once more as Severus suddenly fell still and quiet in her arms, his body no longer trembling.

Lifting her head up and closing her eyes in relief, she leaned over and kissed Severus on the forehead, whispering softly and calmly, "I did it Severus, my love. I saved you...I saved you."

It was at this moment when Verena opened her eyes again and looked down at Severus once more that she soon noticed a lock of pure white hair form and embed itself in the black hair that was on the left side of Severus's head. To Verena this was a sign that the potion that she had given him and the spell she had spoken had worked in saving Severus Snape's life. Thus, it was here on the floor of the Boathouse that Verena was left to cradle a barely conscious Severus Snape in her arms who was once again breathing and was very much alive, surrounded by the hazy crystal glass walls of the Boathouse.

CONTINUED...HARRY POTTER: THE LEGACY CHRONICLES - CHRONICLE 1