The Runaway

The sound of the door slamming downstairs was nothing new to Severus. Not by a long shot. If anything, it only served to alert him that the bastard was home from work. Soon he would either turn the radio on and demand quiet throughout the house, or he would start yelling as soon as he found his favored whiskey bottle. Severus debated on staying here in his room, pretending to be busy or to sneak downstairs to go out and wait for Lily in the park. Thinking more on it, he decided that he should stay, the door had slammed enough to shake parts of the house, and he didn't want to push his luck. The muffled noises downstairs confirmed that Tobias was indeed angry, and was starting to take it out verbally on Eileen. He couldn't remember exactly when 'mom' and 'dad' became 'Tobias' and 'Eileen'. Between Tobias's overly firm hand and Eileen's inability (or refusal) to do anything, Severus had begun to separate himself from them more and more. His only saving grace was Lily, she was the break in the storm in his shit show of a home life.

Especially after 5th year.

Gods, 5th year was not only the worst fucking year of school to date, but also the most traumatic. He would rather stand in front of a drunk Tobias than experience that night ever again. He flipped through his old DADA textbook, dutifully avoiding a certain lupine chapter, reviewing the notes he took. He had marked the chapters and written in between the margins, just as he had with all his other textbooks. He was going to make a show of not being in the way and minding his own business; out of sight, out of mind so to speak. The less attention Tobias gave him the better.

Unfortunately, footsteps began pounding their way to his room. Fuck me. Severus mentally braced himself as best as he could before the larger man burst through his door. "Pack your shit, we're leaving in the morning." Severus blinked, not understanding. "Didn't you fucking hear me? I said pack your shit." Tobias began walking forward, making Severus scramble to stand up.

"What do you mean we're leaving? To where?" He regretted the words as soon as he said them, but the crack of Tobias's hand was faster than his regret. It hit the side of his face making it snap to the left. Tears welled from the pain, but Severus refused to let them fall in front of the man.

"We're being relocated, whole town is getting ripped up. You're going to pack whatever bullshit you have except for that freak shit, and we're leaving." He turned to leave the room. Before he left completely, Severus heard him mutter under his breath, "Never going to see any of those freak kids or the unnatural school again. Only good thing from this fucking mess." He was gone after that. No doubt grabbing bags and shoving whatever he deemed worth keeping. Severus, in the meantime, was rooted to the spot. Leaving? Leaving where? Thoughts raced across his mind as his body started to move again.

They were leaving because the town was getting ripped up? Unlikely, more like Spinner's End was finally coming to an end. The only question was: leaving where specifically? Tobias said that he'd never see Hogwarts again.

Severus paused in packing his clothes. If he never went to Hogwarts, they would be leaving the Isles. He'd never see Lily again. His friend, his only fucking reason to see tomorrow each and every day. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck. He began packing with more urgency, shoving what few clothes he had in the bag before moving over to his books. Any of the muggle books that he had (which was maybe 2, when he really looked) could be replaced. The others were his school books, the only things he could take home after the end of every year. He grabbed his wand and hoped like hell no one would be coming to his room any time soon, parent or otherwise. Pointing the wand to his books, Severus barely whispered the charm, "Reducio." The books shrank to a quarter of their original size, just big enough to shove in to his bag. Afterwards, he immediately shoved his wand into the bag next to them.

"Are you done yet, boy?" Tobias came from down the hall just as Severus closed the bag. He nodded, not looking him in the eyes. "Where's that book you were reading? Didn't hide it did you?" Severus shook his head.

"When I turned around, it was gone. So was my wand." Severus prayed to anything that Tobias wouldn't demand to see the bag. Hopefully the genuine distraught in his voice was enough this time. Something must have listened, either that or Tobias was too busy to bother this time. "Good, don't come down until I call for you. Have to clean up the fucking mess you mother made. Always bitching about this or that." He left the room again, his words getting softer and softer.

Now. It had to be now. He had no idea where Tobias was going to take them, but he didn't want any part of it. Period.

Severus glanced towards his window. It wasn't big and led to the alleyway, but if he could get through and just run, he could make it. Slinging his bag across his shoulders to make it more secure, he crept towards the window. Stopped, went to the doorway to close the door as quietly as he could while listening for any indication someone was coming upstairs before going back to the window just as carefully as before. Back to the window and facing the door to watch, he began the agonizing process of opening the window. Spells and charms were out of the question at the moment, too many and the Ministry would get notified since he was still a minor, if they hadn't already with the reducing charm. Inch by inch he pried the window open. Twice he paused when a clatter sounded from downstairs followed by more yelling. Just a little more and he was ready to slip through.

Footsteps began on the stairs again. So much fucking movement going on in this stupid house today. It was too late to pretend he wasn't doing anything, he quickly slung a leg out and was just about to jump out when the door slammed open, "-fucking ridiculous! All for a goddamn parking-" Tobias had paused for a second and that second was a fucking sign Severus would spend the rest of his days praying thanks to. He didn't even think about it. He jumped out. He didn’t even land when the yelling started.

When he crashed to the ground, rolling to try and break the fall, Tobias was leaning out the window screaming at him. "YOU FUCKING BRAT! WHERE DO YOU THINK- EILEEN! EILEEN GET YOUR CHILD BACK IN THIS DAMN HOUSE!" Severus ran. He had never run so fast in his life. He didn’t even think about the direction as he tried to get away from the yelling Tobias was still doing. Taking turns down any alley he could find that led away, some of which were dead ends, he had just enough sense to try and aim for a busy street.

By the time he trusted himself to slow down despite his ragged breathing, he had reached a bus stop. He had gotten a strange look from a woman, but tried to smile to push off suspicion. "New job." He gasped out, "Didn't want to be late. Got nervous." A look of understanding flitted across her eyes as she nodded and looked away. They spent the rest of the time in silence as Severus tried to get his breathing under control again.

The bus rolled up to the stop, and Severus got on in between the people getting on and off. The fewer people to see him for long, the better. He took a seat in the very back, near the window and slid down far enough to hide until the bus started moving again. He didn't know where the bus was going, but he'd figure it out later. All he had to focus on was getting the hell away from Spinner's End. Shortly after the other passengers got settled, the bus began moving again. Severus didn't sit up straight until he had counted to 1,000 and even then he only peaked through to be absolutely sure his old neighborhood was gone. After what seemed to be an hour, he sat up completely.

What now? The hammering of his heart hadn't lessened. If anything, it picked up tremendously. Now that he was gone, where would he go? Lily lived two neighborhoods away, and he was long past them now. He looked at the sky to take note of where the sun was behind the light dusting of clouds. All it took was asking for the time from another passenger to determine they were driving south. What was in the south? London. London was South, and in London was King's Cross Station. There he could wait until it was time to head back to school, then he'd talk to Dumbledore or even Prof. McGonagall and try to find someplace else to live. Unless they contacted the Ministry and they sent him back to his parents. Tobias had beaten him before, but after this incident, Severus was sure the man wouldn't stop when blood was drawn this time.

He shook his head. One thing at a time. He would get to King's Cross, then wait for the school year to start. He'd make it. He had to.

King’s Cross Station was busy during the tourist season, if not more so than the school season. Severus watched the throngs of people weave in and out of the gates on the other side of the street. When he did this, he didn’t remember that it was June and school didn’t start for another 2 months at least. So now, here he was with only the clothes on his back and a pathetic looking bag, at a loss of what to do next. Could he get to Diagon Alley from here? He didn’t know, his mother only ever told him the quickest way was back home near the petrol station. Once he got to Diagon Alley, what then? He had no money, so he couldn’t get a room at any of the inns there. Should he message someone? Who? Headmaster Dumbledore was an iffy source after what happened last year. Professor McGonagall was livid when she found out what Black did, so she might be a good person to speak to.

He was staring into space thinking of how to get a message to her when he heard the one voice he had developed a fear for.

“Severus?” Remus Lupin, the beast of the Marauders, stood just behind him. Whipping around to face the object of his nightmares for practically the whole summer, Severus tried to hold in the flinch the wracked through his spine when they made eye contact. Those amber eyes glinted in the sunlight and he had to hold in the anxious bile that climbed up his throat. “I didn’t think you lived in London. Are you here with your parents?” The attempt to make small talk was met with a near hysterical laugh.

“Why do you care? Feeling hungry, Lupin?” He regretted the words as soon as he said them. Those eyes narrowed, and Severus looked away sharply, feeling a pit of guilt settle in his stomach.

Why should I feel guilty? He almost killed me! He should be feeling guilty!

But Lupin didn’t tell him to go to the Shrieking Shack that night, Black did.

Severus shook himself, before he tread down that path.

“We were about to go get some food at a sub shop, thanks though.” The tight smile Lupin gave him served to both piss him off and scare him. They stood there, staring at each other not knowing what to do next as the muggles maneuvered around them. Severus began thinking about his options of escape. Maybe he could tell Lupin that his parents were nearby and he had to leave. Or that he was late for an appointment. The wolf didn’t know anything about him really, so it could work. Or maybe, just maybe he could convince him that he really did live in London. Anything to get the creature away from him.

“Remus! There you are, almost lost you in the crowd, darling.” A tall, thin woman weaved out from the crowd. Her light brown hair was so similar to Lupin’s that Severus could easily deduce it was his mother. She was, admittedly, very pretty even if she looked extremely tired. A trait her son seemed to have inherited. “Who is this, dear? Another friend from school?” Severus wanted to vomit and laugh at the same time, but only swallowed while looking back to the station.

Maybe if he ran fast enough.

“This is Severus Snape, mum. He’s a friend of Lily, the girl I told you about.” Lupin told his parents about him and Lily? Or perhaps just mentioned him in passing while regaling the tales of Potter’s piss poor attempts to woo her?

“The girl from Cokes worth? Is she here as well?” Mrs. Lupin looked at him now, no doubt expecting an answer. Severus shook his head mutely. No matter what was going to happen, he wouldn’t pull Lily down with him. She didn’t deserve to stand in the muck he found himself in.

“Dear, are you alright?” Severus could barely remember when Eileen would talk to him like that. Gently, filled with concern and maternal affection. Years spent with Tobias ended up sucking out most of her life, leaving a hollowed version of the woman Severus saw in pictures.

He dared himself to look Lupins mother in the eye, to see for himself if she was asking out of social necessity, to find one more reason to just run away from the wretched conversation he found himself in. Perhaps once he saw the indifference in her eyes, his resolve would strengthen and he would bid them both a terrible day and leave to figure out his next move. He would go to a nearby park, sit and rest for a bit, and then properly plan.

When he did meet his eyes to hers, the reaction was immediate and was entirely embarrassing.

Her eyes were filled with nothing but the utmost concern for a boy she had never even met before. So much so that just looking at the raw emotion made Severus choke on a near sob. What was that? One look from a proper parent and he was a mess? He didn’t spend years perfecting indifference to avoid Tobias just to be broken by one woman’s motherly concern.

“Severus,” Mrs. Lupin lowered her voice and stepped closer, placing her hand on his shoulder as if the sight of his ratted clothes and hunched demeanor didn’t bother her. Perhaps having a werewolf for a son hardened one’s stomach for the wretched. “Severus, darling, look at me.” Her voice was a gentle command that he could not resist. Looking her in the eyes again, he saw that they had steeled into a sort of determination. Still gentle, still concerned, but hardened by some kind of resolve she now had. “Are you alright?”

“No.” He choked on that one syllable, trying not to release the cry that threatened to come out. Lupin was forgotten in the back as his mother squeezed Severus’s shoulder before looping her thin arm through Severus’s bony one.

“Let’s go, sweetheart. You must be hungry what with this summer heat. Lets go and get those sandwiches. Come on now, Remus. Let’s meet up with the others.” She led Severus down the sidewalk and away form the station. He would have watched it get smaller, if he wasn’t going into a dissociative state of mind to prevent himself from crying in this woman’s arms in front of Lupin.

The three of them walked further down the sidewalk in silence. Severus could feel Lupin glancing at him every so often, and he suddenly felt very grateful that his hair had fallen in his face.

Figures blurred passed as they weaved through afternoon traffic. Every time a passerby would get too close, Lupin or his mother would shield Severus from them, as if they were a threat to him. They still said nothing, guiding him closer to the sandwich shop. Every once in a while, Severus’s bag would slip off his shoulder, forcing them to slow down so that he could fix it. The two Lupin’s thankfully said nothing every time, just waited for it to be fixed.

One final turn and they arrived some shop where the smell of bread wafted around them. Severus didn’t have time to look to see exactly everything, only spotted a mess of dark hair before Mrs. Lupin led him towards a table and sat him down.

“Lyall, come here please. No, not you too Remus, go on with the other boys and order something.” She turned to Severus, “Honey, do you want anything to eat?” He shrugged, not knowing what she had in mind for him now that she’s used her motherly powers to effectively kidnap him. Though he did kind of ask for it by running away.

Glancing up to see a man looking between him and Mrs. Lupin with utter confusion, Severus steeled himself for quite possibly the most uncomfortable conversation he had had to date.