Severus struggled into a sitting position, coughing a bit as he waved away the remnants of the smoke that had him near death in the first place. He stared down disbelieving at the faintly glowing figure collapsed by his side. –What in Merlin's name just happened?-
He remembered his cauldron blowing up, probably the ghost's fault now that he thought about it, and his lungs almost collapsing due to the thick black smoke that was suddenly everywhere. But then the ghost-boy had appeared and got him his emergency 'Most-Ailment-Ailer' draught, another ridiculously named potion, but a useful one nonetheless.
So the boy had potentially saved his life, but it had likely been him that had caused the incident in the first place. A bit of a win-lose situation, Severus remarked silently. –Although, perhaps I should be wondering just who he is, instead of debating uselessly on whether or not I should be mad at him for blowing up my potion or grateful for saving my life.-
But the boy/ghost/demon-spawn/whatever didn't seem to be on the way to consciousness anytime soon. It was curious that he'd fainted when he seemed to recognize Severus, and not with good connotations either, he noted dryly.
-I think I'd recognize him myself if I had caused him so much grief in his living life to make him faint in all his ghostly glory like that…- a fairly evil smirk was affixed on his face and a hint of pride, alright, a bucket of pride dumped itself in his heart at the thought that he had scared someone so badly at one point. –Although…I do hope I wasn't the reason he died…eh, well, kudos to me either way. He probably deserved it if it was my fault.-
He shrugged off the hint of guilt that attempted to join the merry party of emotions in his heart, no partying for guilt. Last time he was allowed, guilt got Severus drunk out of his mind and singing 'Carryon Wayward Son' at the top of his lungs in the Slytherin common room. (Of course he'd obliviated everyone who witnessed it, Severus was no bed-wetting Hufflepuff, but it was still a sore subject to think about.)
So, hence the 'no inviting guilt to any of his emotion clashes' rule.
A small groan had Severus' attention immediately and he focused on the waking ghost/boy, startlingly green eyes, scarily reminiscent of Lily's, blinked blearily and unfocused as he appeared to struggle to prop himself up on his elbows, then remember he was a ghost, and float into a sitting position.
"Wha happ'ned?" he asked dazedly, looking around the room for a few seconds, passing over Severus the first time then focusing in on him fast the second time, eyes widening in realization as he began to swoon backwards again.
"Hey!" Severus snapped, like hell was he letting the ghost intruder just up and faint again, it actually hurt to be treated like that…well okay, it did add more pride to his Slytherin instincts, but still, he surely hadn't been that cruel! "Would you stop it already? Drama-queen."
It worked and the boy jerked back up, staring at him like a deer in muggle car headlights. "S-sorry." He muttered, his voice soft and laced with real remorse. Obviously a Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, Severus surmised. A Slytherin would never be caught regretting something, if they were accused of a misdemeanor or some such nonsense one would back down quietly or, if there was enough doubt, admantly refuse any guilt. Then Ravenclaws wouldn't faint in the first place...hell, Severus didn't even think they slept, ever.
So, a Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, Severus was leaning towards Gryffindor himself, the air about the boy, apart from the 'being dead' air just screamed 'righteous and noble idiot prone to overreacting and never thinking', a Hufflepuff would stutter more and cower in a ball of self hate. So the Slytherin nodded, half to himself on the good job of deducing the ghost's house and in response to the ghost's state of conciousness. "Good, you had better be, cause I don't know you and I'd rather like it if you'd explain why you're in my room and why you blew up my cauldron." He raised an eyebrow expectantly and was surprised when the ghost-boy giggled?
"Eheh, sorry about that, wasn't really my fault, I don't think..." the ghost trailed off thoughtfully before shooting a rather reproachful glare up at the ceiling and beyond then turned back to Severus and offered a hesitant smile. "My name's Harry by the way, Harry Potter."
Severus stared at him, heedless of his regretfully slack jaw. "You're a-a Potter?" he hissed, the boy, Harry, flinched back and nodded in shame. Most certainly a Gryffindor, the day a Potter went into Hufflepuff was the day that child was banished from the family.
"Y-yeah, sorry." He mumbled, picking at a shoelace. "Not my fault really, I didn't choose to be conceived by a bully, Sir." Severus raised his eyebrow again, anger forgotten in favor of surprise at the honorific he was given.
"Sir?" he asked, allowing himself an amused smirk as a blush stained Harry's cheeks.
"In my, er, world when I was a-alive you were kind of my P-Professor." He admitted, turning away. Severus was surprised, he hadn't ever considered teaching as an option, he truly loathed children and couldn't ever imagine being around the annoying buggers 24/7 when he grew up. Truth be told, he'd always imagined himself a hermit in the mountains.
Not in a cave of course, those were never sanitary and who knew what would contaminate the potions he'd be making every day all day in the name of prestige and certain fame. He'd never leave, not even if the world begged him to because his potions were so great and they needed him to solve all their problems with the magic he wrought with his stained fingers and extraordinary mind. But, back to the matter at hand, his sudden knowledge that he'd be a Professor someday.
"Really, a Professor huh?" he asked with an air of nonchalance, leaning back on his hands casually. "Potions I'll bet. I am after all, the only one competent in them in this day and age after all." He smirked smugly before becoming serious again and sitting up straighter, he never did like to pretend uncaring, it was either hateful indifference or straightforward honesty for him, unless of course there was a good reason to lie. (Which there almost alwats tended to be.) "So...any idea why you're here in my time? And not in yours?"
Harry shifted rather uncomfortably and shrugged listlessly. "I died back in my time. Got sent here when the Fates apparently realized that it was a mistake for me to die, I think I was supposed to go back to my time...but I don't think the gate-keeper lady liked me."
"How'd you die in the first place? I'm guessing a potions accident, just based on your entrance here. You didn't kill me from the future as well, did you? Because I almost died just now." Severus was quirked an eyebrow, (He had to, you see, raise and eyebrow in question or disbelief at least ten times a day. Slytherin rule, of course.) it wasn't every day the ghost of the child of his arch nemesis, and he was guessing his (ex)best friend by the eyes, appeared in his rooms.
It was an odd occurrence to be sure. Perhaps even more odd than the time Sirius Black ran into the Great Hall one morning, a large leaf seemingly stuck magically to his nether regions (Still horrifyingly revealing nontheless), windmilling his arms like a maniac and screaming his head off about an escaped puff ball or puff beast, something of the nature. Severus had to bleach his eyes out later.
"I'm not so sure I should tell you…" Harry trailed off, looking away to survey the room once more. –At the rate with which he does that, he'll have my rooms and their contents memorized by the end of the hour.- Severus thought wryly.
"Why not?" he pressed and Harry shrugged, returning his gaze and fingers to his shoelaces, tugging at them listlessly.
"Might mess up the timeline." he replied offhandedly then looked up sharply, dull green eyes staring intently into Severus', a disconcerted feeling came over the Slytherin and he had to looked away, but not before Harry had asked his question. "Voldemort's alive here, right?"
"Sure he is, regretfully." He rubbed his forearm absently, drawing Harry's eyes instantaneously to the spot, narrowing in accusation.
"Have you…?" he left the question hanging. He shook his vehemently, like hell would he ever work for that demented freak of nature.
"No, in Merlin's holy name, no. But he's certainly gotten others in my year, they have no toruble in showing off their...marks to fellow housemates. Like it's something to be proud of." he stopped rubbing his arm and sneered in disgust, Harry snorted and Severus looked up. "What?"
"I had no idea you considered Merlin holy." He smiled, Severus gave him a glare that must have lacked his usual poison, probably the reason why the ghost wasn't fazed by it. "You've never said that before."
Now the Slytherin was confused. "Before? What do you mea- oh, right, different time." He paused, crossing his legs into the more comfortable pretzel position and leaning his elbow on his knees, chin cupped by his palms. "So, am I really as huge a git as you're implying, in the future?" he had expected thoughtfulness at the question, along with a serious face, but the burst of laughter that erupted from the floating boy startled him and he shot him an annoyed glare.
"What's so funny? It was just a question." Severus effectively silenced the laughter, a useful skill he'd learned from always being mocked and taunted by a certain four Gryffindors. Harry let out one last chuckle before he answered the question, the grin on his face refusing to be dismissed even by the most fearsome glare Severus could muster up. It appeared the boy was immune, intriguing. Severus would have to look further into that in the future, maybe run a few tests...
"Oh you wouldn't believe how big a git you are in my time." The Gryffindor snorted, an air of nostalgia descending as his expression softened and a small smile overtook his lips. "You hated me because of my dad and even though you were always saving me, you took every chance you could get to take house points and humiliate me in front of everyone." He said it without animosity, as though it were a fond memory. Which was altogether strange in itself, but Severus just passed it off as a Gryffindor trait, since there was no point in delving into the sanity risking logic of an idiot.
"Interesting," Severus tapped a finger against his cheek, "did I do everything unprovoked? I can't have been that cruel." Well, maybe he could...but that was the past, he was certain he'd changed. He didn't prank every Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, he hadn't gotten to everyone yet and there was no use dwelling on future occasions.
A guilty smile passed over the dead boy's lips. "Maybe a little." He admitted. "It was sort of a battle between us, you tended to win the most since you could just give me a detention and boot me out of the room. But there were a few times when I emerged from the ring victorious. Though I have to admit…it wasn't as often as I would have liked."
Severus nodded and voiced a question that had been nagging at him since Harry had told him that his older version and he never got along. "So then…why are laughing and smiling in my presence? You'd think that you were so scarred by all you time with older-me, that you'd not want to talk with me." Course, he had fainted at the first sight, but Severus quietly assumed that was just out of having been startled. Why would anyone be scared in his presence? Sheesh, people could be so judgmental towards Slytherins.
Harry shrugged. "Guess I didn't hate you as much I thought I did." Severus raised an eyebrow but didn't comment, he really doubted that someone could go from hating a person to speaking in an almost friendly manner just like that. Regardless of living state or not.
But the Slytherin just nodded, he didn't press it. Severus had plenty of things in his life that he didn't feel like sharing, who could blame Harry for the same? Plus, it wasn't like they were lifelong friends or anything, Severus was a younger version of a man who'd made Harry's life hell, he'd be hard pressed to be surprised.
"Indeed." He stood up and brushed off his jeans, "Well then, I need to clean up this mess. You're helping." He gave Harry a stern glare, pleased to see the brunette nod quickly. So he wasn't as immune to 'The Snape' as he'd previously surmised.
As Seberus pulled out his wand and began casting numerous cleaning spells on the charred walls and floor, Harry began adjusting the shelves where books or trinkets had fallen off. "Why don't you just get a house elf to do it?" he inquired politely as a late after thought. Severus smirked as he attacked a particularly stubborn grease mark where a jar of flobberworm sweat had shattered against the wall, disgusting stuff, so difficult to get out of upholstery. He'd have to create a potion for quick cleaning, Severus jotted down in his mental notes, always quick to make his own life easier. (Twas the Slytherin way, naturally.)
"Trust me, after the 20th time you request their help they get a bit bored and start thinking up ways to shirk the job in favor of other past times, they're not as dedicated as people think, at least not towards Slytherins. It's easier to just do it myself now." He said, narrowing his eyes and shaking his wand a couple of times in consternation when a suds spell came out spluttering then returning to the task at hand when his wand worked correctly once more.
"I don't doubt it." Harry chuckled. "In my time, my friend, Hermione, decided to stage a house elf rebellion of a sort. They didn't want to, so they now just avoid her whenever possible. I think she believes she doesn't see them as often because they've escaped 'slavery' at the hands of oppressive wizards and witches." Severus smirked and finally banished the stain, turning to cast a quick reparo on a crystal ball he'd turned into a paper weight on his desk before he said anything in turn.
"A House Elf rebellion..." he mused, banishing a small black wisp that tried to burn his sleeve. A possible side effect of the potion? Another jotted note, get that checked out. Of course, it could just be the room, all sorts of strange creatures were attracted to the dark corners and forboding rooms that Severus inhabited. "Interesting, I'm going to make a rational guess and surmise that this friend of your is a muggle-born or half blood?" out of the corner of his eyes he saw Harry nod.
"Yeah, maybe the smartest girl I've ever met, too." he said with a laugh, seeming to levitate a book into it's proper place, something Severus had never seen a regular ghost do. From what he knew, only poltergeists could move objects from the living world. Another thing to investigate when he had free time, Severus decided.
"Really?" he asked, more in politeness than actual interest. Those of the female species had failed to interest him long ago, probably due to traumatization at the hands of a Slytherin he vaguely recalled to be named 'Jannet' or 'Jessie', he really didn't care in the end.
"Smarter than Malfoy," Harry grinned proudly, Severus knew the feeling. That someone could trump over the beautiful, intelligent non-humanoids that were the Malfoy family, he could have sworn when he first met Lucius that he had veela blood running through his veins, but Veela tended to be at least semi-beautiful on the inside as well. Lucius was as ugly as Filch once you got to know the real him. Severus could only imagine how his child would be, a mini, probably haughtier as well, version of him. "She's brill' at Charms, Transfigurations, Arithmatic, Ancient Runes...well, everything I guess. Even your future, evil, snarky self gave her an O."
Severus raised his eyebrow, so he was a hard teacher then. Or he just hated Gryffindors. One or the other, didn't matter to him. "Was she a Gryffindor as well?" he asked as he battled with a still smoldering tapestry, the inhabitants having long evacuated to glare accusingly at him from the neighboring piece. They were almost done cleaning up, Severus just had to cast one last cleaning spell over the whole place and sort through all the spilled ingredients, then they'd be done.
"Yessir!" Harry flourished grandly as he set a small, metal dragon figurine that Severus also used as a paperweight back on it's little clawed paws.
"She sounds as though she'd fit into Ravenclaw more than Gryffindor." The Slytherin frowned as he had to shake his wand again, the stupid lenght of wood just wasn't working as it should be ever since Malfoy had handled it in DADA when they'd been doing a lesson on using other's wands. It finally worked, coincidentally at the same time Harry laughed again, Severus shot him a suspicious glare but the ghost just gave him an innocent look.
"You might be right about that," he commented, tapping his chin in thought. "Then again, there were a lot of people in my year that didn't reallt seem like they were supposed to be Gryffindors, but they proved their courage and might in one way or another." Severus snorted. "What?"
The lanky limbed teen bent over to retrieve a crystal stirring rod from the floor and set it gently with his others in a leather carrier. "Please, to be in a house you have to be made up mostly of the house's known traits." he said. "I'm sure there's plenty of Hufflepuffs that have a couple Ravenclaw traits, but you don't see them sorted there. Or even Gryffindors with Slytherin traits, it doesn't happen like that." a trained eye caught the Harry's flinch at his mention of Gryffindors with Slytherin traits and filed it away for later use.
"If that's true, then what other house traits do you have?" the ghost asked, a challenging glint to his eyes. Severus smirked and waved his wand, murmuring a spell under his breath to sort all his ingredients for him. He'd usually do it on his own, trusting himself more than magic to do the job right, but he was getting tired and was more interested in the conversation at hand.
"Me?" he leaned against one of the three lab tables, an air of nonchalance wafting off his posture as he'd intended. "No other house, I'm a pure Slytherin. Just as I'm sure there are pure Gryffindors and pure Hufflepuffs, Merlin bless the poor things, and pure Ravenclaws. It's not that uncommon, more of an equal ammount to the many that are mutts in that sense."
Harry raised an eyebrow in turn, crossing his arms over his chest. "Uh-huh, so that makes you a purebred if we're talking in pedigree terms?" he smiled, a quirk of the lips that on Severus would look like a smirk, but appeared very friendly on the ghost.
"I do believe that's what I'm implying." Severus replied, folding his own arms loosely over his chest as well. The smiled on Harry's face grew and the Slytherin narrowed his eyes minutely in suspicion, why did it feel like he'd just walked into a trap?
"Purebreds are the ones most likely to get inherent defects due to inbreeding," Harry said smugly, "Mutts don't. Would you consider snarkiness as a defect?" Severus made a strangled sounding snort, trying to hide the surprised chuckle that came from somewhere he thought he'd ditched long ago.
"Indeed." he replied loftily when he'd recovered, clearing his throat testily beforehand. Harry's smile grew wider.
"Then, can I count this as a win?" he asked eagerly. Severus waved his hand dismissively, straightening and heading towards his rooms.
"If it helps you deal with your inherent Gryffindor mediocrity." he said. "I'm going to bed. I'd like to request that you don't mess with my personal belongings."
Harry floated quickly after him. "But what am I supposed to do now? Or tomorrow?" he asked worriedly, remembering his rather unique situation it seemed. Severus shrugged.
"I suppose we'll solve that puzzle tomorrow," he replied. "In the meantime, I'd like to get some rest. I did have a near death experience earlier, and one can always think more clearly with hours of sleep behind them. Good night." he shut the door in the ghosts face, silently telling him not to float through the door or he'd hex him somehow. Luckily no such thing happened and Severus, once he was changed into his predictably black sleep trousers, feel into a deep, untroubled sleep.
A/N: Boom-Shaka!
Disclaimer in first chapter, so don't count on seeing this baby ever again. Wastes space I could use wasting your time to read my cry for attention, so read on! Kekeke.
Second chapter done! Yay! This is fun...:D. Don't worry, I won't have it always in Sevvie's point of view, I just realized as I was about to include Harry's POV...that I was too lazy to do such a thing and wanted to read instead. Give this poor, aching brain a break. I'll probably have the third chapter with both POV's, so no worries! It's just so fun to write from Sevvie's...is it just me? I suppose I'm attracted to that innate sexy snarkiness that smexy bastard is the embodiment of!
But I digress, my own fantasies aside, I sincerely hope you enjoyed it! I got so many story alerts, is this a promise to review when I've proven that I will actually continue the story? That it's actually worth reading? =3=; eh, I suppose I can support both reasons. I 'aint no review whore...well...okay, maybe I am...AT LEAST I ADMIT IT! *huff huff*
Anywho, please, do continue reading! Even if you're not reviewing, I can feel the love with my hippie antennae! Did I really just type that? Well, I'm not deleting it, so I must be an attention whore! Ding ding ding, we have a winner! Oh, you gotta love the sterotypes. :D
Right then, I'll be off, I think someone laced my hot chocolate with loads of sugar (Wait...that was me, never mind), so I haveta run it off or something. Bu~ut, I can't do that...it's dark outside, I'd get kidnapped and raped by a clown in a windowless white van, not a good idea now...guess I'll sleep it off then. I think I'd get raped in my dreams anyways, so there's little difference. Tata! *waggles fingers*
~Witty