It was early still, so early that the sun had not yet pierced through the cover of night, but nevertheless one could tell that morning was coming as the stars
above silently winked off one by one. Severus Snape was awake yet, even while the rest of the world still slept and the room in which he occupied in his flat
was dark, save for the single flickering light of a blue-flamed candle dancing off the ancient pages of a large tome. It had appeared that the young man had
stayed up all night reading, but that was a misconception. Upon closer examination, he was wearing a fresh pair of clothes and a cup of hot tea beside him sent
curls of steam into the air. On closer inspection, it became obvious that he had just risen and was going through his morning ritual.
At frequent intervals, Severus would pause in his reading to turn his eyes to the small clock that perched on his desk. It was absolutely imperative that he keep a watchful eye on the time, for he had been told that reading from the book in front of him would drive his mind into madness if he read for too long. So, every morning he allowed himself to only read it for an hour. When the clock struck 6 am, he tore his dark eyes away from the ornately inked letters, but not without a brief struggle as part of the magic of the book was that it compelled its reader to become absorbed into it. Severus however, had a sharp mind that could see through, and overpower this sense of longing that the book instilled in him and was able to snap it shut. The Dark Lord himself had asked Severus personally to examine this book, this book that seemed to have been bound in human skin. The Death Eater had been honoured to do his master's bidding.
But he had not been able to divine anything of seeming importance from the book, yet.
Turning his thoughts away from the dark book, he instead began to mentally prepare himself for the fast approaching day of minding the potions store where he was currently empolyed. He had methodically packed a number of books in his bag, so he could wile away the time he was forced to spend there faster. He tucked his ebony wand away into his equally dark robes and left the flat and walked into the pale sunshine of early morning. Despite the current weakness of the sun, Severus was initially forced to squint as his eyes adjusted from the darkness of his flat. He walked briskly down the back alley that was seemingly deserted except for the early morning birds that Severus could only hear but not see. Coming to a large collection of shrubs that would hide his form from prying eyes, he disappeared from St. Martin's Lane and reappeared in Diagon Alley, right in front of the potions shop. Briefly obverving, and then ignoring the few other inhabitants in the street, he silently took out a small key, clicked it into the lock in front of him and stepped inside to prepare for the day ahead.











