I thought I would try something very different for me, Severus and Harry. Yeah don't kill me, so if you don't like don't read. A little more serious than my usual stuff. I don't own these characters. Some years after the war at a guess and it ignores the last two three books. Again be nice about my spelling! (Now betaed *gg*, so you might leave out that sentence ^.~)
Silence.
Part one:
It had been five years since Harry Potter had been at Hogwarts, but here he was, returning to his old school as the new defence against the Dark Arts teacher and the Head of Gryffindor house. It was also five years since he had defeated the dark lord and to be honest, Harry was glad that part of his life was over with.
Nervously the man pulled the high red neck of his roll neck jumper up, making sure the marks on his neck were well out of any ones sight. With a deep breath he walked into the great hall and sat next to Headmistress McGonagall.
His old Head of House smiled at him warmly. "Is everything alright?" She asked in a friendly manner.
Harry nodded once with a warm smile for her, the green eyed man didn't notice, that the Potions master and Head of Slytherin was watching him covertly from further down the staff table.
The headmistress stood, made all the usual start of year announcements, then turned to Harry and gestured towards him before speaking. "Now I would like to introduce you all to Professor Potter, who is the new defence against the Dark Arts teacher and is taking over from myself as Head of Gryffindor. You will find his office at the top of the west tower should you need to go there for any reason. Now let the sorting ceremony begin."
Harry watched quietly as people were sorted into his house. It seemed strange to watch this from the teacher's dais, but it was still just as magical as it had ever been. The new head of Gryffindor traded smiles with his House and bowed his head with respect to them.
Once the ceremony and the feast were over, the new professor left to go back to his office. Harry opened the door and walked in. He liked his office and his rooms; from this high up he had wonderful views over the grounds of the school. It truly felt good to be back at the one place he felt that he could call home, so with a smile to himself the dark haired man went to bed.
The next morning Harry rose early. He pulled on his teachers robes before getting breakfast, then, before he knew it, it was time for his first lesson as a teacher here at Hogwarts. With a sigh he entered his class, the black and red robes fluttering behind him in a majestic manner. He placed a wooden box on the table, tapped it once and a voice came from the box. "Good morning class."
The third year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs stared at him, then at the box. "Now let us begin with simple shielding spells, page 15 of your text books please."
Dutifully the class turned to that page and began to take notes as the professor taught and when they came out of class, they were chattering. "What was that just now?" One Hufflepuff boy asked.
"It's a voice box, it's for people who have lost their voices or were born dumb."
"I thought he could speak?"
"Yes but obviously not anymore."
The students hurried on, completely unaware that someone had overheard their conversation. The bat of the dungeons detached himself from the shadows and looked intently down the hallway in the direction of Harry's classroom. He couldn't help but wonder what had caused the hero of the wizarding world to lose his voice.
Then that guilty memory surfaced. It had been the night before the battle, when a much younger Harry Potter had come to his dungeon rooms and confessed that he was in love with, of all people, none other than himself, Severus Snape. The Potions master had laughed at Potter, the older man had told him that it was a great joke, one his father would have been proud of, and then, when Potter had tried to explain his feelings to him, Severus had told him to shut up and never speak to him again.
That memory was followed, as always, by a second one where he was in the Shrieking Shack. When he had been dying, Potter had somehow saved him, but when the Potions master asked about it no one would talk to him about how the other wizard had done so. Now here Potter was, back at Hogwarts and using a voice box.
Severus couldn't be sure this wasn't all some trick on Potter's part, that he could still talk he just refused to. Somehow the dark man had to find out for sure, slowly he raised a hand knocking politely on the door to the defence teacher's class room door. "Come in." Came the very robotic sounding voice box's answer.
The Potions master came in. Slowly the new Head of Gryffindor turned around and blinked at the man before him for a moment before raising both brows at Severus. "Yes Professor Snape, is there some kind of problem?"
"You're using a voice box. Why?" Severus asked bluntly.
The younger wizard paled slightly. "Because I need to, was that all?"
The Head of Slytherin raised one eyebrow at the other wizard. "Last time I looked you had a voice."
"Yes well, I don't anymore." Harry said avoiding his gaze.
"Really now, why is it, I don't believe you."
Harry rolled his eyes at the other man. "Slytherins. Why do they always have to see a plot where there isn't one. Seriously I have no voice, I can't talk for myself anymore."
The Potions master crossed both arms over his chest before staring at the other man He went to ask another question, but Potter's next class came wandering in and the dark eyed man was forced to retreat at least for now.
Harry was glad of the interruption his class had caused. Answering Severus' questions made him nervous. After that class the silent teacher made his way down to the great hall for lunch. Harry smiled at the other professors. As he sat down the hero felt someone watching him and he found that the Potions masters dark eyes were indeed trained on him, Harry raised both brows at Snape before smiling at him and turning back to his lunch.
Once the Head of Gryffindor had finished with his lunch, he rose from the table and walked back towards his class room. "Professor!" From behind him called the voice of the man Harry had least wanted to talk too.
Slowly the green eyed man turned to look at the Potions master, who walked over to him, cloak swirling around him dramatically as always. When he reached Harry's side, Severus looked down at the shorter man, who looked back up at him curiously. The silence stretched and with an expression of aggravation Harry reached into his robes, pulled out a voice box and tapped it. "Yes Professor, what is it?" The box asked as the defence teacher started to walk again.
"How long have you been like this?" The dark man asked following him.
"Almost five years."
"I see, and has anyone ever tried to treat you?" Severus asked quietly.
"No, I wouldn't let them. There was no point and I've got used to it." Harry said with a shrug.
"What do you mean, there is no point!" The potions master demanded.
Again the brown haired man shrugged. His green eyes were dull, not like their usual bright selves at all, he looked at the man next to him for a moment before looking away again. "I had no use left for my voice anymore, besides which there really is no point. I did a little research of my own on what was done to me and found that it's more than likely irreversible. So why waist precious resources on a spoiled brat like me?"
The Potions master stopped dead in his tracks, the bat of the dungeons stared in complete shock at the other man as he walked into his class room and shut the door in the taller man's face. Severus stood there for a few moments, simply staring at the door; he couldn't believe Harry Potter of all people had said that to him. That Potter had given up hope; it just wasn't like him at all. It made the older man wonder even more what exactly had happened to the other wizard. From what Potter said, it was some sort of very powerful hex. With a frown Severus left for his own class, but not before deciding to go through the school libraries´ restricted section to see what he could find out about Potter's situation for himself.