Ode to a Potions Master by Snarry4ever
Description: Post DH, Harry gives a speech about the recently deceased defense teacher/headmaster. You know who I'm talking about. HDH spoilers, obviously, so don't read if you haven't read the seventh book. AU.
Rating: K+
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters therein. I am making no money from this fiction :( I just play with J.K. Rowling's marvelous characters.
The tall man standing at the back of the small crowd (mostly Order members and fellow teachers) cringed inwardly at the tiny group that had shown up for his funeral. 'Not everybody gets a chance to watch their own funeral service,' he thought with a grimace. He placed a hand gently over the two tiny holes in his neck- what could have caused him to be in that coffin- if not for his quick actions and months of planning. His hand fell to his side in shock as he watched Harry- the boy who lived and lived and lived again-Potter approach the podium, presumably to give a speech. If it weren't for his years of spying, Severus Snape's face would have shown a mouth hanging open.
Harry's hands were clammy and his heart beating erratically as he stepped up to the podium to make a speech about the teacher he supposedly hated. True, the professor had been a monster to him and his friends during the last seven years but he had helped them and saved Harry's life too many times to be ignored. 'I can do this, Snape deserves this post-mortem recognition that he didn't receive during his life,' the young man thought to himself. The 17 year old young man took a deep breath, wiped his hands on the side of his trousers and began his speech.
"Friends, Order members and students, you all know that I am not much of a speech giver. Hell, the only thing I said in my speech at the 'Voldy's Finally Dead Party' was 'Good riddance.'"
The crowd chuckled good- naturedly despite the sombre occasion.
Harry waited until the crowd had settled down before he cleared his throat and continued. "However, I will put myself on a pedestal, so to speak, so I can say a few words about a truly great man. Some of you might be surprised that I'm up here because Severus Snape and I did not have the best relationship."
The word "understatement" was shouted from the crowd and a small smile crossed Harry's face.
"All right, all right, so our rows are-were- legendary. It wasn't until this year that I realized that beneath that rough exterior was an amazing man. Severus Snape spied for Dumbledore for twenty years, playing an essential role in both the first war as well as the second one. He saved my life at least once a year every time I was here at Hogwarts- and those are just the times I know about! How long must he have been watching over me and preventing me from doing something stupid!
I never appreciated the times he yelled at me or the detentions he gave me. Merlin! At the time, I hated him for it! Little did I know that he was protecting me from those that would have wanted me dead. I was the son of the man he hated the most and who had taunted him all through his years at Hogwarts and yet he still protected me! He taught me more than anyone else during my seven years at Hogwarts- not necessarily about potions, which I am hopeless at-" the crowd laughed- "but about real life. About growing up. For that, he has my gratitude."
Harry took a deep breath and put his hands on either side of the podium. He wished Snape were here to here this long-deserved recognition. But he wasn't, so Harry needed to make sure his works were appreciated even if Snape wasn't around for the thanks he should have gotten years ago.
Harry started the part of his speech that he really wanted these people to understand.
"Put yourself in Severus Snape's shoes. You have a terrible childhood with an abusive father and a mother not strong enough to stand him. You escape from this to Hogwarts where you encounter two boys your same age who taunt, tease, and hex you just because you exist."
Harry paused to let this sink in before continuing.
"When you're fifteen, one of those boys lures you into a building that contains a werewolf. Imagine the headmaster doing nothing so as not to expose said werewolf but you get detention for being out of bounds. The other boys get points taken but that's it. You join the Death Eaters when you're seventeen because the leader is persuasive and charismatic and promises you the world. It's only after you join said group that you realize it's not what you had thought it would be. But you're stuck there because the leader will torture and kill you if you are disloyal. So you have to do anything he wants you to do, no matter how awful or distasteful, even if it involves murder, rape... You hate yourself because you have caused untold deaths but you can do NOTHING about it.
You finally get sick of it all and approach Albus Dumbledore, knowing he could send you to Azkaban for life. He doesn't do that. Instead he gives you a teaching position and agrees not to send you to prison if you spy for him. You agree, having no other options. You live every day, fearing you will be discovered, always worrying that one wrong move will be your death sentence. All day every day you have to watch every move you make because children of Death Eaters watch your every move. You save the lives of countless witches, wizards and Muggles because of the information you pass on, but do you ever get any thanks for it? Any recognition? Any kindness? No! You have to walk around school, hearing the children you work so hard to protect calling you 'bastard', 'greasy bat', 'hook nosed git' and similar names. You have few friends, no family. There is hardly a reason to get up in the morning, to live, but you know you must because the side of the light needs the information you get. So you keep striving, keep living, keep protecting, keep spying.
I don't know if you all know this but Severus Snape was instrumental in me, Ron and Hermione finding one of the Horcruxes. If it weren't for him, Voldemort would probably still be alive.
And then, imagine, after all this hardship and trials you have dealt with in your life, your 'master' calls you to the Shrieking Shack and orders his snake to bite you. And you die there, slowly fading from a snake bite of all things.
Ladies and gentleman, many of you may not have liked Severus Snape or called him friend, but know that he was a noble and honorable man! He lived a hard life and died unrecognized as a hero but I will declare it so! Severus Snape was a hero and deserved a far better life than he had. If he were here today-" Harry felt the familiar tightening in his throat that signaled- I will not cry, I won't!- "I would tell him th-thank you." He felt a tear track down his cheek despite his best efforts. "That's all. Please pay him the respect he deserves." He pointed to the closed coffin behind him and rushed down the main aisle, through the crowd and to a secluded garden some yards away. He needed to collect himself before he went back to help lower the coffin into the ground.
"Well that was nice Potter, but don't you think you made me sound a bit ponce-y?"
The voice from behind Harry startled him so badly that he jumped. He whirled around and his mouth dropped open. "You! But y-you're d-dead!" Harry's mouth was hanging open at the sight of Hogwart's most recent Headmaster.
"You'd have think I would stop walking around then, Potter. Close your mouth, boy. You'll catch flies," Severus Snape said sarcastically.
Harry pulled his mouth shut, still gaping at the supposed-to-be-dead-man-who-attended-his-own-funeral. "I don't mean to be rude, sir, but why the ruddy hell aren't you dead?"
The professor chuckled and Harry goggled. He pinched himself just to make sure he hadn't transported into an alternate universe. It hurt and Hogwart's potions master/defense teacher/headmaster was still standing in front of him.
Snape explained, "Am I or am I not a potions MASTER, Potter?"
"Yes, but-"
"Tell me, Potter, what can I find in the belly of a goat and what is its purpose?"
A lightbulb flashed in Harry's mind. He mentally hit himself. Why hadn't he thought of it before?!
"A bezoar, sir and it protects against most poisons." And venoms apparently, he said to himself.
"Correct for once, Mister Potter. I'd award you points but I think you'd probably die of a heart attack. Couldn't have that," Snape murmured. "I've carried one with me every day for years. I assumed- correctly as it turns out- that someone sometime would try to poison me. Or bite me, as is Nagini's case. Bloody beast."
Harry almost smiled. This was too incredible to believe. Snape alive. Snape was alive!
"Sir, we have to tell someone you're alive! McGonagall-"
"No!" Snape almost shouted.
Harry looked at the older man, confused. "Why-?"
"Don't I want people to know I'm alive?" Snape interrupted. "Well, Potter, as you so eloquently said up at the podium, I have not had much of a life. I don't appreciate you spilling all my secrets by the way."
Harry opened his mouth to say something but Snape waved his hand. "I know, I know, you thought I was dead, blah blah blah."
Harry grinned. The potions master was a lot funnier after his brush with death.
"Are you leaving sir?"
"Very astute, Potter. Yes, I will be leaving the country. I won't tell you where in case, heaven forbid, you decide you want to find me one day but it won't be in Great Britain and I will be wearing a glamor. I don't yet know what I'll do but am looking forward to a fresh start. So I'll be leaving now."
The ebony-eyed man turned to go when Harry finally snapped out of his stupor. "Wait!"
Snape turned back around expectantly. "What now Potter?"
"Thank you, sir. For everything." Harry paused, then said quickly, "And I hope you enjoy your new life. You deserve it."
Right before he disapparated, Severus Snape murmured, "No Harry, thank you." And with that, he was gone.
Moments later, the bushes rustled and a somber Hermione approached him. "What are you doing in here, Harry? You just disappeared after your speech."
Harry smiled a little, remembering. "Just had to take care of something." He started walking away and laughed when, moments later he heard,
"Oh Harry you didn't pee, did you?"
FIN