Disclaimers: Characters Owned by JKR and Disney. Implied mild m/m Updates will be every Monday, 5 chapters long.
Summary: Aunt Maleficent comes to Hogwarts to find a bride for her nephew making sure the Prince family line is continued.
Snape's Aunt
By WittchWay
Chapter 1
Headmistress Minerva McGonagall scanned the morning mail diligently. It was a routine she did not break, the morning post, a quick glance of the Daily Prophet, a thorough look at the more reliable The Quibbler paper and a nice cup of earl grey, eggs over easy and toast points. It was her last chance of calm before the storm.
It was just enough calm that she could forget she was mid school year, headmistress of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry and that she had just lost her current potions professor due to an unfortunate accident with beetle antenna…or so she had been told. Or perhaps it was enough that she could forget that there were hundreds of students that would descend on the great hall in a matter of minutes bringing their teenage hunger and noise.
Though this morning the calm she so cherished was not going to come.
She knew why… It was the royal purple envelope in the middle of the morning post. Hidden between an advert for hair removal in unseemly places and a new café opening in Hogsmeade.
She had nearly choked on her cup of tea as the letter hissed, followed by a small steam of smoke emerging from the tongued flap. It was not a howler in a traditional sense. Though it would not take to being ignored lightly.
Dabbing delicately at her chin with a napkin. With a forced calm McGonagall looked again to the small stack of letters she had dropped in her morning eggs. The mail held its usual items, adverts, requests for parent teacher conferences, well wishers and those not so well…. But it was the burnt around the edges purple envelope that drew her eyes in again and again, the one with the small fire breathing dragon on its seal. That was the one that had Professor Sprout, to her left, shifting nervously in her seat whispering "oh My" over and over again.
Ignoring her, McGonagall held it up delicately, adjusting her square frames on the bridge of her nose. The parchment was quite stiff to the touch, a sign of a high quality parchment, it was perfection down to every detail, Even the wax of the seal was perfectly round, the dragon pressed into it was very detailed. Well more detailed then usual. Even the script of the handwriting was perfect, it almost looked like it was dictated with a wand. Though she held no doubt it was all handwritten. It was just the way the sender wanted it. It was a lure in beautiful writing. It was perfection in every deed done… she had seen it in a young Tom Riddle.
She wondered briefly if all mad sadistic wizards and witches held the same trait.
Though this evil was far older than Tom Riddle. It was older than her, Albus Dumbledore had been a school mate of this women and he had been over 150 when he had died which had been 4years ago.
With a steady hand, well as steady as only one caffeinated cup of tea can give you, Minerva opened the envelope and abstracted the letter from within. She took an extra moment before she would unfold the creamed color parchment within, she needed to prepare before she got lost in the contents of the letter and lost she new she would get.
She looked out over the great hall of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, giving a faint smile to the students and staff members that had begun to file in…. she felt as if she was walking to her death and saying her last good-byes.
And with a heavy sigh began to read. It was days like this she missed Dumbledore.
Her eyes had barely scanned the contents of the letter when she suddenly dropped it and stood in a jerking fashion. It had been worse than she had thought.If she wasn't such a loyal Gryffindor she would hand in her retirement papers right this very minute and be on the next portkey to Florida for retirement. But as it was she was a Gryffindor and was loyal and willing to look a great evil in the face and fight…
"Heads of house in my office immediately," she barked down the table, "You as well Severus." she snapped, picking up the offenseive letter and with an impressive swirl of robes strode through a side door and toward her Headmistress office.
The four heads of house looked at each other questioningly and rose as one on her command, Sprout of Hufflepuff, Flitwick of Ravenclaw, Sinistra of Slytherin and Harry Potter of Gryffindor.
Severus Snape on the other hand did not rise, he sat pleasantly as he had and continued to eat his black pudding. He was no longer Head of Slytherin house per his probation with the Ministry of Magic. After the most noble of defeat of the Dark Lord, he, like many of those that held the Dark Mark had been sentenced to Azkaban, and there he had sat for nearly a year until a small trial had finally found him not guilty but not innocent either. But innocent enough to be set free to a society that now saw him as tainted.
He had not expected to survive the war, nor the battle of Hogwarts. The last thing he remembered was being in the shrieking shack, dieing on the filthy floor, giving Potter his memories (an act he now regrets) and then waking up in the hospital wing of the school with four days gone of his life. Or so he had been told.
But to Severus Snape's surprise, there had been a witness at his trail to state his innocents. To claim that he had killed Albus Dumbledore because the old man had asked him to end his pain. A mercy killing of sorts. That he was a trusted spy and fed the light side information during the course of the war.
Snape had not wanted to be set free, he had wanted to die in Azkaban, the wizards prison. He wanted his mind to be free of thought and control he had wanted the soul sucking creatures known as dementors to take what he was offering and toss his soulless body to the freezing waters of the North Sea.
Well in theory.
As it was he had been given probation for the rest of his life, and for his "anger issues" enough Ministry approved calming draught to last him three lifetimes, which he took liberally, and they had sent him back to the only place offering him a job Hogwarts school of witchcraft and Wizardry. Where he had been sentenced to teach Muggle studies (he shuddered every time he thought of it.)
"Coming Snape." Harry Potter head of Gryffindor house and Defense Against the Dark Arts professor asked.
"Nope…" Snape spooned another mouthful of pudding in, glaring at a passing Hufflepuff.
"Must be important if she is asking for you."
"Mmm," Snape muttered, he took another bite of pudding, he didn't know if it was the pudding itself or the calming draught he had sprinkled on top but it was the best ever pudding, the house elves had truly out done themselves. Something in that thought told him it was wrong but for the life of him, he couldn't think what.
"Don't care." he finally answered and a nice pause for dramatic affect, picking up his spoon he took in another mouthful of pudding.
Harry rolled his eyes and left for McGonagall's office.
He had barely entered the door when he was verbally attacked, "Where's Snape" She barked, as if it was Harry's fault he hadn't come.
"He's not coming."
McGonagall stopped pacing, her face twisted as if she didn't understand. "But this is his fault," she shrieked, A flash of anger crossed her face so fast Harry took a step back.
"Oh, never mind." With one fluid moments her wand went to her neck and cast Sonorus. "SNAPE" …. Echoed off the walls of the castle. The name of the professor raced from the room down the main staircase and through the hall until it reached the great hall.
"SNAPE", resounded off the walls.
Back in the great hall nearly every student jumped as did the remaining professors.
Though Severus Snape did little more than flinch, he had been expecting it. McGonagall was constantly calling him to head of house meetings as if he was still a valid member of the teaching staff. If he was Sinistra, the new Slytherin head of house, he would be irritated at another teacher stepping on her toes. Though as it was she didn't seem to mind. Snape didn't know if she just didn't have the intelligence to be properly irritated or if she truly didn't want the job. He believed it was the former.
Severus didn't care either way. He no longer wanted the job either. He hadn't realized how much time it had taken up. How demanding it all had been, taking a toll on every aspect of his life. He was free to do as he pleased without having to take his head of house duties in to account.
"SNAPE," bellowed again around him.
Sighing, Snape took a last bite of his pudding and began the long trek up to the headmistresses office.
He toyed with the idea of taking the long route but his heart just wasn't in it, even though he was sure his delay would irritate the headmistress nicely. After all he lived to serve.
Finally there, he sat himself next to Professor Sprout. In another life he would never had sat next to her and her dirt covered cloth, twigs in her hair, always chewing on her fingernails… disgusting habit.
Severus touched his robe pocket tenderly, fondling the bottle of calming draught within. It was the only thing that had kept him sane. Clouded, but sane.
Looking up Severus locked eyes with one thing that made him drink a little more draught than normal. Harry Potter.
Damn boy had the nerve to narrow his eyes at him… as if he was the boy caught fondling that red haired girl in the astronomy tower, not the other way around. It may have been a few years but he remembered.
"Snape," McGonagall said sharply. "Are you listening to a thing I said."
Nodding automatically, though for what he wasn't sure.
The headmistress sat behind her desk, picking up the letter once again. "As I was saying Severus aunt will arrive on Friday and at that time wishes to not only to be interviewed for the potions position but…" deep breath, "to stay on even it we don't hire her, to see to her nephews courtship and marriage."
Severus Snape sat up. It was these rare moments like these where he couldn't decide if he was happy he was already hazy with calming draught or when he was he was free to yell and scream. As it was he gave a full but jerk/laugh that went on for a inappropriate amount of time. Leaving many within the room to wonder if he should have been committed to Azkaban and but down like a dog in pain.
Snape stood, turning to leave he had enough of this.
"Severus, where are you going."
"My one hour of required sunlight…" turning toward the window, as if to make sure the sun was actually out.
"Severus we need to discuss how to proceed with your aunt. She can't teach here … she just can't." Minerva McGonagall's voice rose an octave, but alas her breath was wasted and Severus Snape was already down the spiral staircase heading toward the outdoors, per the Ministry's requirement.
Harry sat down in the abandoned chair of Severus Snape, "I think we need to address professor Snape addiction to the calming draught."
There was a collective groan from the other professors. Sprout stood suddenly to his right making some excuse about tending to delicate plants. The others just filtered out until it was just the headmistress McGonagall and Harry.
Minerva arched an eyebrow as if willing Harry to just get his rant about professor Snape out of his system so she could go back to more important things.
It was a discussion they had had on more than one occasion, Severus Snape's welfare, such as it was dictated by the Ministry's involvement.
Harry watch Snape change right before his eyes into a man he was not. He watched Snape's eyes cloud over, saw all opinion and will leave the man, saw a drug induced haze take over the man as he struggled to live the Ministry of Magic approved lifestyle all so he could walk free among the rest of society.
Harry looked at his former head of house over the bridge of his glasses and changed tactics. Slightly.
"So what's the deal with Snape's aunt."
Minerva gave him the standard you've got to be kidding look.
"Seriously," Harry attempted innocence but it was harder to achieve after you've killed an evil Dark Lord in battle.
"Her name is Maleficent Prince."
Harry shrugged.
"Maleficent Prince," McGonagall emphasized each word. "Surly you heard of Maleficent from sleeping beauty… they are one in the same."
Harry Potter sat up a little straighter, "Black robes, glowing green staff, changes into a dragon….Maleficent?"
"That's her…"
"Its real? She had some sort of crow or something… they made a children movie about her…I don't understand didn't she die at the end?"
"No she didn't die obviously… that was just movie drama and Diablo… Merlin, I forgot about that infernal bird. He's most likely already here spying." McGonagall scanned the room, rising to close the window. Her eye catching Snape sitting on a bench staring at the lake. He was so pale….so not the Snape she knew.
Perhaps playing host to a evil witch for a short period of time wouldn't be so bad… snapping the window shut she hid the smirk that was fighting its way through…just maybe this wouldn't be so bad.
TBC