Harry Potter and Voldemort's Champion.
Chapter 3. The Epiphany of Severus Snape.
I don't own the Harry Potter verse. Just playing.
06/11/17 Beta by alix33 14/11/17 16/11/17
Professor Snape's Point of View.
Everyone's attention was now focused on the great Albus Dumbledore, the illustrious headmaster of Hogwarts, as it should be, for the Triwizard Tournament was all about him and his Greater Good.
But Professor Severus Snape, the unloved potion professor and alleged spy for Dumbledore, was close enough to see the headmaster's micro expressions. He had learnt the art of reading micro expressions, a skill that has saved his life many times while being a double agent for the dark lord and headmaster. Careful that he wasn't distracted by the headmaster's twinkling blue eyes, he saw the micro smirk on the headmaster's face that told him that what Potter had just said was true, and the micro side glance of his eyes to the wizard who was standing beside and slightly behind him, gave away the next big secret of the headmaster.
So professor Snape now knew that it was the headmaster's old friend Moody, who had placed that particular piece of parchment with Potter's name on it, into the Goblet of Fire, and he wondered how the headmaster had manipulated his old friend to set the boy up. An old Auror like Moody would have a lot of skeletons er mistakes, hidden in many closets that the headmaster would know about and he would have had plenty of blackmail material to force his old friend to teach DADA this year.
Severus would know all about the way the illustrious Leader of the Light operated as he was in the same position. After the fall of the dark lord, the headmaster had made him an offer he couldn't refuse. But how he wish he had refused. Unfortunately as a penniless half-blood Death Eater without any family support, his choices were limited and he chose what he thought would be the least of three evils, to teach potions to dunderheads, while the alternatives were the Veil or being kissed, if he was lucky, or to rot in Azkaban if he was unlucky, like that dumb stupid mutt, Black.
Even when he tried to escape the headmaster's control by getting himself sacked for being the worst Potion professor in Hogwarts history, and abusing his position to destroy the house points system and give outrageous detentions, the headmaster thought that was a brilliant idea to maintain his cover while keeping the confidence that he was loyal to the dark lord. So the headmaster played his part to do nothing and he would just ignore any and every complaint against his pet Death Eater to the point that all the other professors, the Board of Governors, parents and students gave up trying to get rid of him. Such was the will of the headmaster to keep his spy under his complete control. Sadly, once Severus had started down that path to destroy the future of the Education of Potions, he couldn't very well change tack and had to continue being abusive. Then he realised that was what the headmaster wanted anyway. Fortunately the headmaster insisted that Gryffindor and Slytherin be paired up for potions, so he could continue to abuse the stupid Gryffindors while he could lighten up on the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, and he gave in house lessons to ensure his Slytherins were expert in potions so there would be at least some future healers for St Mungo's.
But sadly for Severus, the headmaster did have an ace up his sleeve that stopped Severus from simply disappearing, for even up to this day, Severus knew that the secret of who had pointed the dark lord at the Potters, was still dangerous enough to have both sides wanting him dead or rotting and they would be prepared to hunt him to the end of the earth. The dark side would want him dead for setting up the dark lord to be vanquished just when they were about to win everything, while the light side would be happy to see him rotting in Azkaban for setting up the Potters to be murdered. No one would trust his word against the illustrious headmaster, even though he had worked it out that the headmaster had set him up to hear the first part of that cursed bogus prophecy by simply arranging to have two job interviews to take place in the same room at the same time and that was confirmed when the master manipulator failed to obliviate him, knowing full well who I would tell. The headmaster knew the Potters would be marked for death before the boy was even born.
Sadly professor Snape was not surprised that he now knew that the headmaster had known, and worst, had planned for his underage troublemaker er weapon, to be entered into the Triwizard Tournament in the worst possible way, as an unwanted and cheating fourth champion. And he knew the headmaster wouldn't do anything to protect the boy from the vicious reaction of the Sheeple or the Ministry, or worse from his fellow students who would accuse the boy of cheating. And he knew how very difficult it will be for the boy, just like the heir of Slytherin debacle but multiplied by a hundred. Even now he could see the red dunderhead was about to erupt.
So professor Snape knew, that the headmaster knew, that the boy would be the cheating unwanted fourth champion before his name came out of the Goblet of Fire. But the headmaster didn't know that he knew what the headmaster knew, and that might just give him a chance to protect the boy again, as he had promised.
Professor Snape turned back to Potter and noticed that he wasn't wearing his trademarked James Potter glasses. He saw Potter's fiery emerald green eyes stare him down. Those fiery emerald green eyes sent a shiver down his spine, and screamed in his head 'LILY!'. And suddenly his mind was back to his fifth year at Hogwarts, and he had just made the biggest mistake of his short miserable life. In his anger and frustration he had used the 'M' word on his only friend. How Lily's fiery emerald green eyes were filled with anger and pain that cut him to his very soul at the hurt of betrayal he had caused her.
In a moment Severus Snape had an epiphany!
He no longer saw the hated mini-me of his arch-rival, who foolishly ran headlong into danger and certain death in all the traps that the headmaster had set up. Quirrellmort in first year, the Basilisk in second year, and, Black and the Dementors last year.
No, Severus Snape now saw the fiery emerald green eyes of Lily Evans in her son, brilliantly trying to avoid and survive the latest certain death challenge that the manipulative old man had cooked up.
He knew he had to protect the son of Lily Evans as he had promised. Protect him even from the headmaster.
Severus realized that he had to act quickly before the master manipulator turned this situation on its head and in his favour. When an old Ministry Official spoke up.
Severus knew the wizard well as he had tried very hard to send him to Azkaban and it was only the word of the headmaster that had saved him from that terrible fate.
"Be that as it may, it doesn't matter how your name got into the Goblet of Fire, Mr. Potter. What is important is that your name came out. Therefore by the authority invested in me by the Ministry of Magic, I lawfully declare that you have an unbreakable binding magical contract with the Goblet of Fire. And you must participate in the Triwizard Tournament. Or, lose your magic!" Barty Crouch said in a boring, dull, authoritative voice, as the headmaster hid his smirk, leaving the Ministry to be the bad guys and do his dirty work.
Severus watched as, undaunted, Harry stared down the old stuffy Ministry Official. "I have read the official rules; the Goblet of Fire can only select one champion for each school, and it is the placing of your name in the goblet that constitutes a binding, magical contract.The wizard who entered my name did so for St. Brutus's Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys, and confounded the Goblet to accept a forth school. As you can see from the colour trim on my robes that I am in Gryffindor House, and therefore a student of Hogwarts. I am not the 'Harry Potter' from St. Brutus's which has a bright orange jumpsuit for a uniform. The wizard, who placed my name in the Goblet of Fire, identified his own magical signature as the 'Harry Potter' from St. Brutus's and he is the one with the lawful unbreakable binding magical contract with the Goblet of Fire, and he must participate in the Triwizard Tournament or lose his magic."
Severus had to agree with that point as Harry paused to let the sheeple digest that simple bit of logic and then continued. "This is obviously another lame attempt by Voldemort!"
Severus smiled to himself as Harry said the 'V' word just as defiantly as Lily did, and then paused for the idiots to stop hissing at the name. "To circumvent the headmaster's protections, and put everyone in danger, especially me."
Severus saw the old man flinch at the boy's verbal barb struck home, and realized that Lily's son was thinking for himself and the safety of others caught in the crossfire between the dark lord, the headmaster and the Boy-Who-Lived. It was obvious that Harry didn't trust the headmaster, nor would he blindly follow him into danger.
Harry continued. "If you were to trick me to accept the championship for St. Brutus's, and take the place of that other wizard, that would make me, VOLDEMORT'S CHAMPION!"
'Wow!' Severus thought as Harry waited for the expected hissing to die down with the shock of his bold statement, before adding. "Something! I! WILL! NEVER! DO!"
"Touché! That was all pure Lily!" Severus fist pumped and whispered with glee as he watched the bright fiery emerald green eyes of the boy as he brilliantly fought for his life against the incompetent corrupt ministry, and allied them with the dark lord. He could see the stunned shock on the face of that Ministry official as he realised that the boy was right, while the headmaster just looked like he had swallowed a whole bowl of extremely sour lemon drops.
"Yes!, Stick that up your…." Severus whispered before his loyalty oath kicked in, and the hex for the Anti-unCharitable Thoughts against the headmaster, bit him on the butt.
Severus cursed himself for being such a fool. Seeing Lily's bright fiery emerald green eyes again and witnessing her brilliant logic reminded him of how much he missed his friend.
The boy's reasoned argument to identify the fourth champion as Voldemort's Champion had silenced the Ministry, hell it had blown them out of the water. But Severus knew he still had to act quickly before the master manipulator regained his thoughts, and turned this situation on its head and in his favour. He needed a distraction, but all the oaths that the manipulative old man had forced him to give would prevent him acting directly against the headmaster. But those oaths didn't protect Moody. Then he noticed the psychotic Moody take his hip flask from his pocket and opened it to take a swig, and Severus' keen nose detected the faint distinctive disgusting odor of lacewing flies stewed only for 20 days instead of the required 21 days.
Someone was using Polyjuice Potion!
And a shoddy rushed potion at that!
That meant that this psychotic Moody was not the real paranoid Moody!
Professor Snape realised that the danger level had just increase by an order of several magnitudes, and then he smirked as he remembered how much Malfoy had boasted about the monstrous, particularly nasty, spare Dragon he had arranged for the first task of the Triwizard Tournament, and Severus surprised himself how quickly his mind came up with a plan as he turned to the headmaster and saw that the master Machiavellian manipulator was about to make his move as the headmaster transformed his facial expression to sad, afraid and powerless to intervene to stop this travesty of justice.
"I am afraid, my dear boy..."
"You're setting the boy up to face a MERLIN DAMN DRAGON?" Severus blurted out in a loud shocked voice, cutting off the headmaster.
Severus schooled his expressions to show embarrassment as though he had not meant to say that out loud or in public, as he saw the anger expressed on the headmaster's face fade to a neutral blank, to show whatever plans he was making to manipulate the situation and force the boy to do as he is told, were frozen.
The old fool (ouch!) Dumbledore had to now deal with that sudden unexpected revelation of Dragons as the other headmaster and headmistress moved to confront the Hogwarts' headmaster, as no one had said anything about dragons and particularly something as nasty as a dragon that would terrify the reformed Death Eater potions professor.
In the chaos, Professor Snape aimed his wand and fired a stunner through the side of his robe and dropped the distracted Moody, who was proudly leering, enjoying the results of his handiwork.
With everyone's attention on the headmaster, professor Snape ducked down and hit the fallen Moody with a dark paralysing curse, revived him from the stunner, and then used the Legilimency curse to dive into the mind of the wizard that was pretending to be the old Auror, while he was still confused and before he could raise his Occlumency shields to protect his memories.
What professor Snape found shocked him!
Professor Snape could not believe that the stupid old fool (ouch!) had allowed that insane Death Eater, Crazy-Eyes Barty Crouch junior, to hop around the school. The only one more insane was Bellatrix Lestrange and there was a reason why those particularly nasty Death Eaters were rotting in Azkaban. They were completely criminally insane psychopaths! The only one who could control junior and stop him from slaughtering everyone in their sleep was the direct orders of the dark lord.
Professor Snape was shocked. His own dark mark had slowly gone darker over the past three months which told him that the dark lord was growing in strength and was close to making a comeback, and here was Barty junior who had been in direct contact with the dark lord, and there was Dumbledore helping them. He had trusted the wrong damn dark lord! (OUCH!)
He went deeper into junior's mind and quickly uncovered the plot against Harry, and he recognised the old muggle Riddle manor where Babymort and the rat were hiding. He also saw the obliviated memory of the meeting Barty had with Dumbledore where the headmaster had discovered the plot against his weapon.
Professor Snape didn't how he would protect Lily's son from both the dark lord and headmaster. He slowly stood up and saw that the surrounding events had moved to the point where the furious headmaster had taken out his wand and started to wave it at all the angry witches and wizards confronting him.
Slowly and deliberately the headmaster said as he would need to focus in his own mind what memories he wanted to alter and send. "Obli..."
"EXPELLIARMUS!"
Screamed the son of Lily Potter, and the bright scarlet curse hit the old wizard's chest and sent him cartwheeling while the boy caught the headmaster's wand in a brilliant shower of sparks.
Severus turned to watch the old fool splat against the back wall of the Great Hall with a good wholesome British thud, and he smirked at the misfortune of the headmaster, only for the AuCT hex bite him on the bum again. He rubbed his very sore extremity as he turned to see the fiery emerald green eyes of Lily and thought the headmaster had gotten off lightly.
Dumbledore and the dark lord were damn fools for going after Lily and her son.
In the shock and confusion that descended in the Great Hall, professor Snape had to admit that none of the Marauders could create absolute chaos like Lily's son could. He smirked as he quickly left the Great Hall.
Lily's son had given him a golden opportunity to save everyone, and he would not waste it. Well almost everyone, Black certainly didn't count.
Severus Snape had a date with destiny in Little Hangleton.
- Harry Potter and Voldemort's Champion. -
Thank you for reading.