Chapter One – The Dark Mark
Harry and Kiru had been working on their homework all summer, and welcomed the invitations that they received to go to the Quidditch world cup. Ron had invited Harry, to which Molly would be arriving to apparate him and his things, and Draco had invited Kiru, to which Severus would be using apparition to get there himself and leaving her with the Weasley's. The Malfoy's hadn't liked the idea, but Snape persisted saying that he'd rather have Kiru and Harry together and safe since he was told to keep an eye on the young Gryffindor.
"Mom, I don't want to," Harry heard Ginny whine.
"Ginny, we have no choice. We need this, and what it will give us," he heard Molly hiss.
"Mum, Harry's one of us," Ginny argued.
"Ginny, shut up. You're just upset because you were infatuated with him," Fred and George smirked, while Percy shushed them both, upset that they'd wake Harry. Too late for that, Percy – it was way too late for that.
"Molly, what if I lose my job?" Arthur whined. "Although, yes, you're right we'd be able to retire if we did this right…"
"How could you say that? I trusted you," he heard Hermione sob. "I trusted all of you. And Professor Snape trusted you!"
"Shut up, Hermione," he heard Ron say. "Snape's a git who's brainwashed Harry into being a Death Eater. Besides, everyone in the school knows that Snape's a death eater, too."
Harry was extremely cautious, and had asked Mrs. Weasley to apparate him to Diagon Alley, saying he'd forgotten something important that he'd wanted to get Snape for his birthday (which was nowhere nearby). There, he'd snuck off, bought another couple bezoars, and a few rare other Potions ingredients, knowing he'd be able to get away with it and she would just think the two bezoars were for Severus. Soon after, he packed it all up, except the bezoars, and had her shrink it for him.
Needless to say, they both had the times of their lives, and Kiru could have sworn that she saw someone in an invisibility cloak with a house elf appear. Sadly, nobody but Draco believed her, and chaos had ensued as a result. The dark mark was seen out in the forest that Harry had run to, while she herself had fled to hide under the stands and in one of the quidditch lockers. Being a sly girl, nobody caught her, but unfortunately nobody came for her either. She could hear the extremely muffled sounds of the chaos, and after a few hours heard the sounds dying down and eventually, the howling of the winds.
Molly Weasley had panicked, having promised Severus and herself that she'd keep Harry safe, and here he was being accused of conjuring the dark mark. Well, luckily Barty Crouch had known that even a house elf could do so if given a wand, and had promptly fired his poor female house elf, who'd burst into a fit of tears and refused to be calmed. A brunette female had appeared then, apparated right next to Harry, and had surveyed the scene all too calmly.
After analyzing everything, she explained what she saw happened in the footprints, and even revealed a second, larger pair that weren't Harry's eerily close to where his wand had been picked up. She explained that it was possible a death eater was using an invisibility cloak, or had apparated, but she vouched for the former. One look at the desperate and horrified house-elf, and she knew what to do and what was needed. She calmly walked over to the house elf, muttering into its bat-like ear gently and rubbing its back just as a mother would a crying child.
"Winky," the house elf hiccupped. "Winky can't leave Master Crouch. He needs her!"
"Oh, shut up you worthless heap of garbage," he spat as he went to kick her, but the woman stopped him, yanking up on his leg so that her arm was straight up. "Let go of me, you pompous bitch!"
"No," she spat. "Winky has done nothing wrong except to obey your orders with exactness, and this is how you repay her? You should be ashamed of yourself. If you won't take Winky home, then I will. I could use a house elf to help keep an eye on my three stepchildren."
Harry saw where this was going, realized that this was Chessie, but a completely separate version of her somehow. He didn't know what had hardened her like this, but knowing Snape, it had something to do with him. Either that, or the childish act was a defensive front, or she was simply acting childish and or serious because she felt like it, or she was possibly bipolar. He frowned at the number of options he had, and also came up with the idea that she was only like this when angered. It was the first time he'd seen her angry, that was sure. Kiru was nowhere to be seen, and the Potions Master was probably panicking over his missing child.
"Arthur, where's Harry?" Snape questioned, and the redhead swallowed and looked at a nearby forest in answer. "Fine, since that's where she is. Where's Kiru?"
"I don't know, I thought she was with the Malfoy's," Arthur said stiffly, and for the first time since Harry was in diapers, Snape panicked.
"Kiru!" he yelled out, other parents apparently having the same idea. "Kiru! Where are you, damn it! Lucius! Draco!"
"Uncle Sev!" he heard Draco's voice from his left, and jerked in the boy's direction. He could see the fear in his eyes, and pushed through the throng to get to his pupil. "I'm sorry! I lost Kiru when they set off the Dark Mark. She panicked; I think she ran back to the stadium, for hell knows why."
"The stadium it is, then," Severus growled, pulling his godson along behind him. He stopped short, apparated back into Kiru's backyard (she hadn't sold the house yet, and it was now empty) and raced Draco through the house and across the street. "Draco, do not leave this living room. Dudley, don't you even think about leaving that cupboard!"
"My lips are sealed, Professor," Draco promised, and the potions master nodded before apparating back into the chaos. He saw Narcissa looking for Draco, and knew that he'd be forgiven for looking for his own child first. He could explain that he'd dragged Draco along to keep him safe as they looked for Kiru elsewhere.
He raced into the now-bereft stands, dead bodies strewn out occasionally, but none of them being small enough to be her, and if they were, they didn't have her hair color. There were a few that he could have sworn were her, but weren't. Desperate, he stayed out well past dark, praying that none of the Death Eaters had killed her or worse – kidnapped her. finally, with almost nowhere else to look, he left the stands with a heavy heart. He'd failed in his duties as a parent, and didn't deserve to father another child, not until the war was long since over.
"Professor Snape," a familiar voice said, and he turned to find one of the others from the first years that he taught at Hogwarts. "I – you still teach at Hogwarts, right?" Snape nodded. "Well, I heard screaming and panicking from inside, but I wasn't sure if I should use magic to get in. It's banned from everyone except family of those who've gotten inside, but the wards don't work on those who are underage and haven't flown on a broom in a Quidditch match."
They neared the dressing rooms, and all that could be heard was the sound of their feet. Snape's student paused, and Snape turned back to him. The woman put her hand up to show him that she couldn't continue, and Snape realized what this meant. Kiru was somewhere in this room! He waved his wand and unlocked the first locker – nothing. The second ten lockers also wielded nothing. Frustrated, he banged his foot on the ground, but instead heard the sound of a small fist against metal. He moved towards the sound, popping open another locker, and Kiru stumbled into his arms clumsily.
"Kiru, my baby, oh my hime…" he murmured gently into her ear. "It's alright, Kiru. I've got you, I'm not letting you go till we get home." She clung to him for dear life, fearful, and he squeezed her back as he looked at his former pupil. "Thank you. I can't thank you enough for helping me find my only child."
"No problem," she said with a smile. "I'd want someone to do the same for mine. I think we should get out of here, just so problems don't arise and little ones don't fall asleep on their daddy's shoulders."
"I don't care," Snape breathed. "She's safe, that's what matters. Speaking of which, I should probably go tell an old friend of mine that I found his only child."
"Best of luck with the upcoming students, Professor," she grinned. Snape sighed, and held on tightly to Kiru to apparate her home. He set her on the couch, putting his traveling cloak over her to warm her, and used the Floo Network to get to the Malfoy Manor.
"I have Draco at my house," Severus said before Lucius and Narcissa could speak. "He's asleep on the couch, exhausted. Kiru's out in her bed, also exhausted – I just now found her less than two minutes ago."
"Where was she?" Lucius frowned.
"Inside the lockers of the dressing rooms," Severus said leaning on a chair.
"Clever girl," Lucius smirked raising an eyebrow as Narcissa squealed in shock. "I admit, even the Dark Lord wouldn't have thought to look there. Of course, she'd have been trapped if I'd let Bellatrix burn it to the ground like she'd been planning."
"Lucius, Narcissa," Snape frowned. "Didn't you know? Bellatrix was killed – in a very Muggle-deplored manner – when she was trying to kill me. Kiru was scared, and blasted Bella backwards with accidental magic. Bella used the Cruciatus curse on her, and Kiru fell to the floor. When Bella tried to use the Cruciatus Curse on me, Kiru thought only of protection and self-preservation. She stabbed Bellatrix in the back, severing the spinal cord. Bella was killed instantly."
"Oh my god," Narcissa gasped, tears coming to her eyes and Lucius gripping the back of his chair. "When?"
"About two or three weeks into the summer," Snape told her. "I was recovering from getting ambushed by a Muggle in the middle of the night – long story, Lucius knows – and Kiru knew that I'd have bled to death if Bellatrix used the Cruciatus curse even once on me. She knew it was only a matter of minutes after I died that Bellatrix would turn to her, so she attacked."
"Idiot Bellatrix," Lucius sighed. "Always racing off to torture someone without asking questions."
"She was worse than I am," Snape said shaking his head. "I prefer to hex them but leave them able to talk."
"Severus, may Draco stay with you tonight, please?" Narcissa pled. "I – I need a while to – to…"
"I understand," Snape said calmly, pulling out a small amount of Floo Powder. "Take as long as you need, Narcissa, Lucius. I'll let him know. First things first, I need to go to Diagon Alley – most of Kiru's books will be hand-me-downs from yours truly, but I still need her to get some new ones. Besides, there's a rumor among the staff that there are two new teachers this year."
"Joy," Lucius muttered, and Snape headed off to Diagon Alley.
It was strangely deserted, and Ollivander's was still in business, thank goodness. Snape headed off, Flourish and Blotts was almost empty, and even the shopkeeper was on edge. He nodded curtly before looking for the books he knew would be on Harry and Kiru's book lists. Kiru needed new books, and he was here to get them. He'd have Harry pay him back later with his parents' money. After finding only a few of the textbooks, Snape headed to the register. He paid for the books and headed off to Gringotts to find the Prince family vault, if his drunkard father hadn't raided it for booze money.
Snape shrunk the books and put them in a small bag, then in his pocket. When he got there, he was shocked. There were piles and piles of galleons, a fair amount of sickles, and even a knut here and there scattered throughout the stacks. It was the first time he'd ever taken a look at the bank account his mother had set up for him, and had put her every last spare pound into. He felt extremely guilty now, as his mother had often told him that they had to sacrifice the luxuries of good clothes to pay for his school things and to help him get started on when he was big and strong like Tobias. He now knew what she meant, and also why she'd always screamed at Tobias that there was no way in hell that he could raid her personal bank account – it had been here this whole time.
Snape smirked, knowing this was more than enough to pay for the children's school things, and also to keep buying food for them. He pulled a couple handfuls into a second bag, and stashed it away before leaving the vault. He paused, tempted to put Kiru's Ocarina in, but didn't for fear that she would need it to protect herself. He also knew, however, that she shouldn't rely on it too much like she had been. He apparated back to Privet Drive, and dumped the tiny books on Kiru's desk, stacking them up before returning them to his normal size. He went into Harry's room, finding it surprisingly not vacated, and Harry was sitting on the bed with a frown, tears streaming down his face.
"I know I'm going to regret this, but," Snape said as the tossed the tiny books onto the boy's bed, enlarging them to reveal that he'd gotten the books for him. "What's wrong?"
"They hate me," Harry muttered. "They're just using me, and I trusted them, Professor! I was such an idiot… they almost poisoned me. If I hadn't been carrying around those two bezoars like you said for me to, I'd be dead right now. I ended up using both of them within a few hours, sir…"
"Perhaps," Snape said quietly. "You could give me the names of the ones who didn't try to kill you."
"Hermione, Neville, Luna, and – and Ginny," Harry said quietly. "But, the last one… I'm not so sure about, and I – I'm not sure if she was honestly in love with me. Should I use Veritaserum, sir? But, strangely, Malfoy didn't attack me either…"
"No, well," Snape smirked. He was apparently rubbing off on the boy, how almost touching. "Perhaps, but only if you have no choice and can get away with it. I'll be nearby, so I can remove her memory of it if you want me to. Perhaps, instead of trying to stay within Gryffindor, you would do best to ask the Headmaster if you may be resorted. I've seen it done before, on desperate occasions when one's own house members try to kill each other and are sleeping in the same rooms."
"I could try," Harry said quietly, plopping back onto his pillows. "But, it just doesn't make sense. Why would Mrs. Weasley want me hurt? Oh, that reminds me," Harry said reaching into his pocket to pull out a bag. "I'd had evil red hen get me to Diagon Alley for some more bezoars. I used your birthday as an excuse, saying I wanted to surprise you. It's probably nowhere nearby, but you bought my books, so I guess we're even."
"Thank you. She may have been under the Imperius curse," Snape said slowly. "But it is too early to tell. I shall drop Molly a line, giving her the full force of my displeasure. She and Arthur."
"Thank you, sir," Harry said quietly. "I never thought I'd say this, but – do you think me and Malfoy could get along?"
"Possible," Snape conceded. "If the two of you were to stop holding grudges and being snobby, perhaps the two of you could become friends if you tried."
"Thanks," Harry grinned. "Professor, one more question. Would you mind if I called you 'Uncle Severus' during the summer or during the school year?"
"Summer, no," Snape smirked. He could hardly believe it – the one student he hated most, and they'd actually gone a whole summer without killing each other, and coming to get along no less! "However, I'd prefer it if you didn't call me that while in the dungeons during the school year."
"Yes, sir," Harry grinned. He was thinking on the same lines as Severus, and he'd even been excited at the welcoming of the new House elf, Winky. "Sir, Chessie-Sensei brought home a house elf. A female one by the name of 'Winky' that was abandoned after the Dark Mark was cast. Her master just ditched her for failing to obey orders, even when she tried her hardest."
"Let me guess," Snape scowled. "Barty Crouch." Harry nodded. "Figures. His son, Barty Crouch, Jr, was a Death eater. He – hm? What's this now?" The Sneakoscope in Harry's room was whirling, and Chessie was shown.
"I think it's broken, sir," Harry frowned. "It's been like that for a while now. Since about three or four weeks after the marriage, give or take a few days."
"Ah. Thank you for this information, and the potions ingredients, Harry," Snape said as his face paled to an ashen white. "If you need me, I'll be hunting down 'Aunt Chessie'."