The Cursed Book

Prologue:

August 10th 1989

Severus Snape sat alone on the couch of his family Manor. A clock somewhere in the Manor chimed three. He heard the front door opening, and the rushed voice of his wife, Gena, met his ears as she entered. She seemed to be talking to their three-year-old daughter, Harley.

'Quick, Harley,' Gena hissed down at her, tugging on her arm. The front door closed behind them with a small snap. 'We need to go - before daddy comes back.'

Severus Snape stood up. His brow furrowed.

Gena swiftly removed her long cloak and threw it upon the hallway chair, also abandoning her bag on the table.

'Go and wait in the Living Room, Harley,' she advised, as she took to climbing the Manor stairs with haste.

Little Harley toddled into the Living Room. She had black glittering eyes and a cute little face. Her black, soft, shiny hair was in bunches, both tied with pink elastic bobbles. She wore something that represented a pink t-shirt. It fitted her perfectly; bar the fact that the 't-shirt' came, down passed her knees several inches. Under that, she wore a pair of plain white trousers and white shoes with a numerous amount of pink flowers on them.

'Daddy!' Harley cooed as she saw the familiar face. Harley ran up to her father, her arms out stretched. He bent down to pick up his daughter, and embraced her in a hug.

'What's this?' he asked her in a smooth, gentle voice. A piece of white paper clutched in her small hand. He took the piece of paper from her and stared at it.

Severus Snape sat back down on the couch and placed his daughter on his lap.

'Look, daddy. Look!' Harley said, indicating to the piece of paper.

He turned over the paper and saw a drawing, drawn by his three-year-old daughter. She had drawn him, Severeus Snape, coloured in black - representing his robes - and her in pink.

'Is this for me? Can I keep it?'

His daughter giggled and nodded in reply.

Severus Snape placed the piece of paper on the table that lied in front of him.

He pulled his daughter closer to him and he began to tickle her.

As he was doing this, he could hear Gena running back down the Manor stairs.

'Harley? Harley, are you -? Oh! Severus!' she said taken aback. 'I - I didn't know that you'd be back so soon.'

'Going somewhere?' he asked, eyeing her distastefully. 'What's the bag for?'

'Severus, give me my daughter,' she dropped the bag that she was holding and held out her arms, waiting for him to pass Harley to her.

He shook his head. 'No,' he told her firmly, an unfamiliar expression playing across his face.

Harley placed her arms around her father's neck, locked her hands together tightly and buried her face in her father's shoulder.

'You give her to me this instance, DAMN YOU! She is my daughter!'

'Wrong, Gena. She is not your daughter. She is our daughter. I will not let you take her away FROM ME!'

Severus Snape felt his daughter wince as he raised his voice. He placed an affectionate hand on her back and started to rub his hand over her back. Her grip loosened around his neck as she became more at ease in his arms.

'It's over, Severus.' Gena whispered in a hushed voice. 'It's over!' she dropped her gaze to the floor, unable to look him in the eye.

'WHAT?' he felt Harley wince again.

Gena pulled out her wand and pointed it at Severus Snape.

'Don't make me do this, Severus,' she pleaded with him.

He furrowed his brow at her.

'I will do it, Severus. You know I will.'

Severus Snape's face remained impassive.

'Fine then!' Gena choked. She turned and pointed her wand at an ornament and an assortment of words escaped through her mouth, and a blue light erupted from the end of her wand. The ornament shattered and Harley had begun to weep in her father's arms.

She turned back to face him, her wand still stretched out, to see his face contorted with ferocity.

'FINE!' he roared. 'Take her.' Reluctantly, yet resentfully, he handed over his daughter to her.

Gena placed her wand up the right sleeve of her robes, took her shaking daughter from him then picked up the bag and turned away.

Harley was struggling in Gena's arm - trying to get free from her mother's grasp. Harley out stretched her arms over her mother's shoulder and cried out for her father, 'Dad! Daddy!'

Severus Snape followed the desperate cry of his daughter.

'Every thing will be okay, Harley,' he said, in an attempt to soothe his daughter.

'I'm warning you, Gena,' his voice had become cold, ' I will fight for her! You will not escape this as easily as you think!'

Gena did not look back as she exited the Manor. She just merely closed the door behind herself and was gone.

Severeus Snape leaned back up against the Hallway wall and breathed in a long shuddering breath.

He could not believe that he had just let her walk out of the Manor with his daughter. He turned to look at the mirror and felt disgusted at the sight of himself.

'You fool!' he snorted at his reflection. 'You complete and utter...I hate you,' he muttered. "I hate you!" and in addition with that, he raised his fist to strike the mirror. Small shards of glass cut deep into his knuckles as his fist collided with the mirror. He pulled back his hand and stared down at it. Deep, red blood slowly seeped out from underneath his pale skin.

Sneering at himself, he re-entered into the Living Room and paused as his eyes fell upon the drawing.

He could not hold it back.

A tear ran down his cheek...