Running towards the light, but slowly, ever so slowly, it was closing in on him. But he looked different somehow, he was much older. He was tall, wearing billowing robes of black, and had his father's same hooknose. Breaking into a sprint, he tried to meet the door, but it slammed in his face. Scraping at it frantically, scratching the wood off beneath his fingernails, Severus Snape woke up with a start.

Another cloudy day. Severus was used to them by now. Waking up on top of a mattress on the floor, with nothing but a ragged sheet to cover his cold, quivering body. He was used to his family's financial state. They weren't exactly poor, as his father would say. Just in a financial slump. His clothes were always the same. A gray, dirty T-shirt with the same tattered jeans. His long black hair constantly hung in his extremely dark eyes, and he was a lot smaller and scrawnier than the other boys were his age. Nothing extraordinary about Severus Snape. But today was different in one way. It was his 8th birthday.

Lumbering lazily down the stairs, and into the kitchen, just like everyday. The smell of bacon reached his nostrils. Severus hadn’t eaten since the previous morning; his father hadn’t received his paycheck from work. His father had been working at the local pub for as long as Severus could remember, but he could never be sure if he went to work everyday or not. But miraculously there was food on the table.

"Happy birthday Severus!" His mother said, and bent down to give him a light kiss on his pale cheek.

"Thanks mum," he replied, still entranced by the smell of the fresh food sizzling on the stovetop. "Where did we get this food? Dad get paid already?"

Looking into his dark eyes, she seemed sorrowful, but didn't reply. His mother had always been that way. Never answering questions. Severus learned to keep quiet. He always knew there was something holding his mother back from telling Severus what she was feeling, always something that wouldn't let her express the words that she had to keep behind her tongue.

Suddenly the front door closed with a snap. Severus was about to run to the door to give his father a hug, when he heard a series of slurred curses and the crash of his numb body colliding with the umbrella stand. His father was drunk. Just like everyday.

"Here honey," his mother said, "take this to the table before it gets cold." She seemed rushed to give Severus his food, but he didn't argue. Taking the chipped plate with a few bacon slices on board, he took one at a time, nibbling at them slowly, trying to savor the taste.

"Hap-hiccup-Happy birthday son!" His father bellowed, slipping up the words, having trouble saying the simplest phrase. He stumbled over to where Severus was eating, and reached across and grabbed the food that was left on the plate, and popped it into his mouth. The smell of the alcohol was overpowering on his fathers breath, Severus turned his head, trying to get a fresh intake of air.

He shot a whimpering look at his mother, who slipped a piece of the meat into her apron pocket.

"Dear," she said to Severus quickly, "Go out and play. It looks like there won't be any rain today." Without questioning his mother, Severus knew the routine. He would go out and play, and pretend he was someone else, like he always did. Sometimes he would be a captain of a fleet of pirate ships, or sometimes a brave explorer, but usually, Severus would pretend he was a great sorcerer, with magical powers, and a magic wand because he always dreamed to be a powerful wizard, able to control people and take away the evil that was in the world. He hopped onto a swing, staring at his feet. Then, the sounds reached his ears. Just like everyday.

"Get off me! You know I hate it when you're drunk!" His mother screamed and a crash erupted. She had shoved his father into the dining room table. Severus was strucken with terror.

"That's the last straw! Ever since you've had that ruddy boy of yours, he's been the center of attention! Why can't you pay the least speck of notice to me?" His voice was loud and angry. The tone he used, venomous.

Severus was worried about his mother. Would she be hurt again? She tried to cover up the bruises with long clothes, but he could always tell when she was in pain. Pushing a crate of whiskey over to the window, Severus could peek just over the sill.

"I WANT HIM OUT!" He bellowed, rumbling the windowpanes, sending tears streaming down his mother's face. His large hooknose was touching hers as he shouted in her face.

Watching his father, Severus’s eyes became clouded with rage. His hands were curling into fists, but he could still feel the fear that he was sure his mother was feeling as well.

"No, you can't leave him behind! He's your son! He looks up to you; you're setting an example for him!" She replied trying to find as much strength as she could, to keep her voice from quivering.

"I CAN DO WHATEVER THE HELL I WANT!" He screamed, and disappeared from the room. Severus knew he was coming for him. He leapt off of the crate and ran to hide behind the shed he and his father had built the year before. Shaking with terror, Severus tried to think of a way that he could help his mother. Suddenly, a sharp pain reached his throat, and he couldn't breathe. His father had him by the shirt collar, and was dragging toward the house across the muddy and messy backyard, but Severus wouldn't go down without a fight. Kicking and screeching, he tried to escape from his father's grip. His mind reeling, showing images of his past. His mother being struck. Severus's rage powered him to squirm rapidly to try and break free from his father's hand, but he failed.

"Here he is. The little freak!" He gawked at his 6-year-old son, ignoring the tears that were flowing down his pale cheeks. Thrashing his black shaggy head, Severus couldn't get out of the horrible man's hand. He felt his father grab his leg as if he was being clamped by a vise, and was chucked out of reach, was soaring across the room. He landed with a slight thump in a heap on the hard wood floor.
"D-Daddy!" He cried, trying to get up, but he could feel his left leg was immobile, and searing with pain. "Daddy no!" His father stared deep into his dark eyes. They were shining with rage and were slightly glazed over.

His father had reared around and had Severus’s mother by the neck. Slapping her face to-and-fro with such force, spit was flying from her innocent lips. Severus couldn't do anything stop the evil man from touching his sweet mother, the mark on his arm shining brighter than before. He was no match for his father's might. He just sat alone, in the corner and cried. Crying for his mother, his father, and for himself, wishing this hell would leave his family alone. Wishing that he could be released from this prison. But nobody ever heard his cries, or the tears that splattered the cold, hard wood floor. Just like everyday.