Description: Sev Weasley starts his first year at Hogwarts as Harry and Severus watch over him. Sev is struggling at school and what happened to Harry and Severus? De-aged, ghost!HarrySeverus story.
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A large swarm of black cloaks marched their way into the Great Hall of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and wizardry. Little faces all turned towards the awe inspiring roof in fascination and even more were gaping at the legendary runes that lay printed at their feet, runes that symbolized freedom, triumph and the power of the light. Even the young Severus Weasley, who had seen the spectacle many a times before couldn't help but let his eyes widen and mouth slightly gape, something his uncle Severus assured he would have never done in his first year.
Speaking of whom, the young Severus, or Sev as everyone had nick-named him, turned his gaze to study who was supposedly his older self. Uncle Severus was gliding as silkily as always behind the group of first years, studying everything with interest and expertise yet still retaining his sense of cold indifference. It amazed Sev how the man could manage something like that and Sev was always at a loss as to how they could ever be the same person. He could never manage something like that!
Sev liked to think of himself as a little more like Uncle Harry. Uncle Harry had a much more free personality and most of the time he was pretty easy going, until he got into a fight with uncle Severus, then they would both spit fire and yell loud enough to be heard over a Mandrake.
He was jostled out of his thoughts when he noticed that everyone had gone quiet. Looking up, Sev watched as a witch named Professor McGonogal placed a wizard's hat on a stool in front of the staff table. A long seem opened up and the famous sorting hat began to speak, but Sev was having a hard time listening to the hat when he was trying to suppress his laughter. Well, you'd be struggling too if your uncle Harry was leaning in so that he was millimetres away from touching noses with another boy. It would perhaps be considered strange by some that the boy hadn't noticed Harry in the least and was instead looking straight through him, unless you were Sev that is.
"Hey Severus!" Harry called, nobody in the room seemed to hear his call apart from both Severus' as was expected. "Come over here, look, look!" Sev couldn't help but think he looked like an excited child.
Severus gave an exasperated sigh. "What is it now Potter?" Severus himself came around to where Harry stood, passing through the students as easily as a ghost.
"This boy, he reminds me of somebody. But I can't put my finger on it." Severus raised an eyebrow at the young teen before bending over to examine the first year as closely as Harry was doing.
Severus gave a nod "I'm not surprised Harry. I do believe this is the son of Penelope Clearwater, although I can't put a finger on who the father may be. The boy looks too disturbingly like his mother."
Harry laughed in delight "Penelope! That's it! She was a Gryffindor prefect! Oh! She was dating Percy for a time I think. Too bad Percy's kids won't be a Hogwarts for a while yet; it would be fun to see how relationships turned out. "
"Indeed" drawled Severus, sometimes Sev thought that Uncle Severus indulged Uncle Harry as he would a child.
Sev shook his head at the names he had given the pair. 'Uncle Severus' and 'Uncle Harry'. He supposed it was kind of silly considering neither of them were really his uncles, but he did like to think of them that way. Sev had known the both of them for as long as he could remember, but he had only started calling them uncle when he was about three. He had asked his mother why he called Professor McGonagal 'Aunty Minerva' if they were not related. His mother had explained that because aunty was always looking after him and cared for him very much for a very long time that they thought that she should become an honorary aunt. That night he had secretly named his guardian angels his honorary uncles.
It was perhaps by coincidence that it was his mother that had inspired him, unknowingly of course, to name them his guardian angels as well. His mother had been reading him a bed time story about a young girl with her own guardian angel. He had thought that the two's relationship was a lot like what Severus and Harry were to him so they had become his guardian angels. It was a nice and comforting concept, even if he sometimes felt that they were too over bearing, that however could not be helped.
As if to prove his point Professor McGonagal called his name and as Sev went to sit on the stool his uncles followed. He had learnt long ago that the two of them were stuck to him like glue. Neither could walk very far away from him without some invisible force pulling them towards him. See what I mean by over bearing? The angsty teen had nothing on him!
As the hat was placed on his head Sev couldn't help but notice that everybody had gone silent at the mention of his name. Sev knew why. It was not only because he had been the greasy git of a professor in a kind of past life but also because he was the-boy-who-conquered, or in other words, the boy-who-defeated-you-know-who. But he and his guardians knew better, had kept it a secret from everyone, and he would tell nobody. His guardians had sworn him to secrecy.
"So we meet again Mr. Snape. Or should I say Mr. Weasley?" the voice of the hat spoke to him in a voice that sounded far too all-knowing for Sev's comfort.
"Weasley will do fine sir." Sev grinned as he remembered how Uncle Severus would rant about how he couldn't fathom how he had become a Weasley.
"Never, never in all my years!" he'd exclaimed. "Next thing I know you'll be wondering how a muggle rubber duck works!" Severus had shuddered at the thought.
"Hmm, so then Mr. Weasley. Where shall I put you then hmmm? Curious how you no longer seem like a Slytherin." Sev remembered how he had asked his uncles where they thought he'd go.
"Well, you won't be a Slytherin" Severus had said plainly. Sev had frozen, his uncle had been Head of Slytherin and he had wanted to make his uncle proud by becoming a part of it.
"Why not?" he'd asked, slightly worried. Did his uncle not think highly enough of him to feel that he would make a good Slytherin? Uncle Severus had sighed.
"Every House has a different way of thinking. Slytherins are known for being cunning and will do anything to achieve their goals" his uncle had shuddered there. "But just like every House's way of thinking there are reasons why Slytherins have this kind of mentality. It is because of their life before school and their upbringing. You have not lived like a Slytherin and for that I am grateful." Uncle Severus had looked pained and distant, leaving Harry to try and bring him back, which he had done so with a comment about Sev becoming a Hufflepuff. "He will NOT be a Hufflepuff!" Severus had exclaimed in horror.
The hat brought him back from his musings. "No, no, not a Hufflepuff, you still have too much of your legendary temper." Sev sneered, he easily got tired of people comparing him with his past self. The hat chuckled. "Exactly my point. Well then what about Ravenclaw? An excellent head on your shoulders, yes and a strive to learn as much as you can hmm? Yes, yes, you would do well in Ravenclaw... But hold a minute! There is much courage within you and you are quite adept at chivalry." Sev made a gasp, Uncle Severus would not be pleased, no no! Anything but...
"Gryffindor!" And with that that entire hall was shocked frozen, including the Professors, not to mention Uncle Severus had fainted on the floor.
Sev sat stock frozen on the stool, a true imitation of the rest of the hall. But then he heard a clap begin to rise from behind him and he looked around to see his Grandfather Albus beaming proudly at him. Another clap started up and Sev turned to discover that it was a laughing Harry. Quickly, the rest of the Professors joined in with the Headmaster and soon the rest of the Hall started their own polite applause.
Sev made his way over to the Gryffindor table, Uncle Harry following him with a smile that split from ear to ear and Uncle Severus being pulled along behind him by that invisible force.
Despite the uneasy glances that everybody sent him Sev couldn't help but grin inside. He was a true Weasley now. The Weasleys had always been in Gryffindor and he was as well! His family would be so proud. But thoughts of his family put a damper on his mood. He would miss them all terribly, his mother's (Fleur) lessons in French, his father's (Bill) attempts to get him to eat raw meat and his younger sibling's (Victoire and Dominique) constant nagging for him to play. He would not, however, miss the midnight tantrums of his baby brother Louis.
Sev sighed, Victoire, the oldest, was only five and so would not be coming to Hogwarts for a very long time. If it wasn't for Severus and Harry, Sev was sure he would be feeling very lonely. In fact, he knew it if the looks he was getting were anything to go by.
Sev sat and watched patiently as the last of the students were sorted. The Headmaster stood up and began to issue warnings about the Forbidden Forest and general school rules before he introduced the new DADA professor, a man with a great over hanging forehead, glinting eyes, a beard and long black hair. His name was Pius Thicknesse. Sev heard Uncle Harry mutter something about remembering him as the Ministry's Head of Magical Law Enforcement. He raised an eyebrow; a professional would make for an interesting teacher.
Once the applause had died down the feast appeared with a pop in front of them, causing most first years to jump. With the rest of them Sev started to fill his plate and dug in with gusto, but he did not find himself joining in the conversations. Instead he was ignored by most and eyed suspiciously by others. Oh yes, a great start to the school year to be sure.
"Hugger-muggering"
The newly appointed first years made their way past the portrait door and into the common room, all wide eyed and opened mouthed as they took in their new home. It was still relatively early on in the night, so everybody had decided to hang around in the common room and chat about their summer holiday.
Sev, who had been at the back of the group of first years slowly made his way into the room as the others dissipated. But as soon as he made himself visible, the chatter stopped.
"Snape" he heard someone growl from the crowd.
"And what do you think you're doing here!" exclaimed a tall girl with curly and matted blond hair, she had her hands placed on her hips - which reminded Sev of his intimidating Grandmother Molly - and a dark scowl on her face.
"Uh," gulped Sev. "I was soughted here." Sev heard his uncle's foot steps behind him and felt their hands on his shoulders. It wasn't like a firm human touch per se, but more a comforting warmth that pressed down on him.
"We know all about you!" exclaimed another, a lanky boy with wholes in his jumper sleeves to fit his thumbs through.
"A Slytherin!"
"The greasy git of the dungeons!"
"The bane of all Gryffindors!"
Another boy, this one with dark skin and spiky black hair, jumped up and pointed a finger at him. "My father told me that Snape hated all Gryffindors. That he was always unfair and picking on us, taking pleasure in taking as many House points as possible! But most of all" he turned to his fellow House mates "he was a Death-Eater! Dad said he even saw Snape with the tattoo to prove it!"
"I'M NOT LIKE HIM!" roared Sev, he was panting heavily and his fists were clenched into tight balls. He snapped his head up from the ground and glared at them. "I'M NOT! I'M MY OWN PERSON AND I'M NOT A SLYTHERIN OR A DEATH-EATER!"
Then Sev voiced quietly "And for what it's worth, Severus Snape was a good man. He sacrificed a lot and worked hard during the war to protect Hogwarts and everybody outside of it as well."
Snape gave a nod of approval to the little boy before the young Gryffindor bolted up the stairs and lunged into his room. Harry and Severus gave each other concerned looks before following the boy upstairs.
Little Sev was curled up on his bed, pillow almost strangled in his hold as he wept as silently as possible.
"Oh Sev" sighed Harry, the two of them came to sit on the bed with the little boy.
Harry reached forward and started petting the boy's head. Not a strand of hair moved but they all knew that the gesture would not go unnoticed.
"Just give them time. All Gryffindors have a tendency to jump to conclusions or let their emotions get the better of them. Give them time, they'll come around soon." Harry didn't deign it appropriate to mention that Gryffindors could also be as stubborn as hell and would most likely not be changing their opinions any time soon. As Harry knew all too well.
The boy's tears dried and in time he fell asleep. Harry and Severus moved to sit at a window and kept watch over their charge in case any students pulled a fast one on him.
"We're finally home, hey Severus."
"Yes Harry" he gave a little sigh "finally back home."
A/N: Haha! I think that's the longest chapter I've ever written. I hope I haven't been too confusing. I was trying to paint a picture of a ghost like Snape and Harry. I also hope I'm not confusing you too much with their being two Severus'.
Note – 'Sev' is little 11 year old. 'Severus' is the adult.
Next chapter will explain a lot about how Harry and Snape's strange existence came to be. Oh! And by the way, I did use the real names of Fleur and Bill's children. I try to put as much research into my work as possible.
Please review! I live off those things!