Rating: There is a hint of character death in here, so PG? Just to be safe.
Disclaimer: Nope, nadda, not mine.

~

Severus Snape, famed alchemist, war hero and esteemed Potions Master of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, momentarily put his face in his hands and wondered what the **** had happened to his life.


Instantly, his lab partner for the day was beside him, bothering him with queries as to his current state of health. Wearing a smile that more closely resembled a grimace, he assured the frantic woman that he was quite well. Hermione Weasley took a few more minutes of his time to demand that he lie down, or at least have a cup of tea, before hurrying back to her work station.



He now had an unimpeded view of the reason he was stuck in the expansive basement of his past pupil’s home.



Emily, that was the child’s name.



Narrowing his eyes in distaste at the lurid pink wig the six-year-old had donned for his arrival (no doubt a gift from her twin uncles), he cursed Albus for getting him involved and turned back to his work.



The basement was peacefully quiet for almost an hour, before Hermione excused herself to put something on for dinner. Yes, Severus mused, she’d have to empty the entire contents of that Muggle cold box to sate her husband’s appetite. How Ron Weasley had managed to both take over the management of the Chudley Cannons and bring them up to first division League status was beyond his comprehension.



His thoughts were disturbed by the little chit of a girl pulling on his elbow. She was wearing a pain-stakingly made pirate hat and clutched a sparkly sword made with reams of tinfoil. Grinning toothily, she offered him a similar weapon.



She wanted to play.



Severus blinked several times before sliding the sword back to the girl- to Emily- and explaining that he had very important work to do.



Important enough not to be allowed play Pirates? She wanted to know.



He frowned; wasn’t it bad enough that he had been roped into trying to find a cure for the disease that was slowly killing her? Now she wanted to throw playing make believe into the bargain too?



Sighing, he swapped his ladle for the home-made dagger of sorts. He had it held to her throat in a flash, making her squeal with delight. Resignedly, he followed her around the room, careful to avoid the test cauldrons, and helped her battle the invisible ‘bad guys’.



After being dragged past the stairs for the third time, Severus noticed two shadows fall there as Emily’s parents came down to join them. He hastily dropped his weapon and tried to assume his usual cold expression.



Hermione asked him to join them for dinner, though he knew it to be more of a statement. She never let him leave the house without eating a decent meal; it was another of the ways in which she tried to repay him.



Nodding his head curtly in acceptance, Severus found himself being pulled up stairs by a chattering Emily, who was now telling him about her plans to become a real live pirate when she grew up, and to have a parrot. He marvelled once more at how blissfully ignorant she was of the cancer destroying her body and felt the unfamiliar pang of regret that here was little he could do about it.



This was death as he had never seen it before.



At the top of the stairs, he looked back to see Hermione sobbing silently into Ron’s shoulder as he struggled to remain strong for his wife. He could vaguely understand how they were feeling; they were losing the thing they loved most and there was nothing they could do about it.



Somewhere inside him, in the deep fathoms of his long-forgotten heart, Severus Snape made a promise. He would find the cure that eluded so many. He would save that little girl.



To prove to Albus that he could, he reminded himself, not because he had any feelings for the child. No, that was much too Gryffindor for him.