BitterSweet, Chapter 9:
Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling, therefore I do not own any of the HP characters etc. etc.
Severus Snape POV:
I stiffly walk up the stairs staring at Xavier's face. I see him frown and mutter something, but when I reach the top of the stairs his face smoothes into a smile. He then abruptly turns on his heal and walks away.
"Follow." He demands as if I am a slave. As I walk behind him, I try and think of how I am going to get out of this place. I can't help but feel I won't get out of here unless I admit I am going to be a Death-Eater. I try to think of what to do. Well, I assume the Malfoy's invited my …grandparents… to the tea party so they would be 'proud' of me and come back offering me all they have for the glory I could bring for their name. Lucius is extremely shallow to think I would sell my soul for money, for glory. But, Voldemort already knows I am against him, and no doubt knows why; Lucius would have told him everything. If Lucius told my grandparents that I refuse to join because of love, they would never have bothered to communicate with me, because I am filth in their eyes. I can't help but sigh. All of the stories I have ever heard of childhood have been happy memories; but my future and my past is clouded with danger, stress and tragedy – aren't I meant to be too young for this?
All of the sudden, Xavier stops in front of two black doors and they automatically open. As I walk through the door I stand in awe at the room before me. The room is painted black, but the roof is lined in gold. On one wall are -what must be hundreds of portraits- all in ornate golden frames. As I turn to see where Xavier went, I notice he is sitting beside an extravagant fireplace, with an old lady in his company. He raises his hand gesturing for me to sit down. I pull out a soft couch and sit down looking into the fire. Not wanting to see Xavier's eyes I scrutinize the fireplace and it takes a few minutes before I realize that the small ovals are mini portraits.
"Portraits of every Prince worthy of their name." Xavier says, following my gaze. "Yours will be added soon." As I look closer to the portraits I notice with a pang of anger that my mother is not there, though I suppose I shouldn't have expected it. With a frown on my face I turn to look at Xavier.
"Severus, dear, I am your grandmother Henrietta." The old lady next to Xavier introduces. As I turn my gaze to her I realize that she looks fragile. Her face, lined with wrinkles, looks soft and loving. Her eyes are dark yet not black but rather a blue and they are full of life, compared to Xavier's. Her white hair is placed in a neat bun and she is wearing a green shawl. She is somehow different to what I'd expected. She is the opposite of Xavier, who just sits in his chair staring unblinkingly at me. As I look into his eyes again I feel slightly cold - his eyes are lifeless. He seems distant; he doesn't look like he is himself.
"Severus. We need to talk about the future." Xavier says in a snake like voice, observing my facial expression. "Your mother lost our love when she left –like a fool- for that muggle father of yours. She dishonoured us all, and so she is not worthy of the Prince name, and so neither were you. After the Malfoy's tea party and a talk to that kind boy Lucius, I was surprised to hear you are to be accepted into the Dark Lord's ranks. I suppose although you are a half-blood, you're a half-blood Prince. The Dark Lord's acceptance of you is an honour for the family." Xavier explains, toying with his fingers while staring at me. I am beginning to wonder whether I have some weird contortion on my face.
"And so, as a future Death-Eater, you are our only remaining, worthy heir." He finishes.
"There are no others?" I ask, finding the strength to speak.
"They killed each other off in fight for the fortunes…Slytherin Princes…so predictable…" he chuckles with no sympathy. I feel my face begin to turn into one of hate and disgust and I try to smooth it over before he notices. Who could possibly laugh so humourlessly at the death of his own flesh and blood? Especially when they fought to death for his favour?
"Besides, they were never smart enough to be in the ranks of the Dark Lord. Oh, the glory you will bring to our name! And we must think of a suitable marriage for you…after your new ranking you can marry any pureblood…it will erase the disgust of your half blood rank…" Xavier says to himself. I feel my blood boil and I look away from my grandparents. I need to find a way to get out, and fast, before I tell them everything that I am thinking. I look into my grandmother's eyes and feel a sharp pain in my head. I see my grandmothers eyes turn from weary to sympathetic.
"Xavier, dear, you must go and fetch Languine, and don't forget to feed him – he will not be forgiving if you do. I will treat Severus here with some tea." Henrietta quietly commands, not breaking her gaze from mine. I think I should probably buy some of those muggle glasses that are in dark colours, so I don't feel obliged somehow to stare at people. The pain in my head starts becoming more severe and I break my gaze as I grasp my head in pain.
"Bloody stupid serpent gets treated like a cat. Unforgiving? Un bloody merciful; stupid animal nearly bit me last time. 'But it's a gift from my mother' she defends…" Xavier mutters as he stands to leave the room, his black robes fluttering around, leaving a stale smell behind.
"Excuse him dear, time has changed him. He wasn't always like this." Henrietta apologizes in a soft voice. I look into her eyes again and the sharp pain in my head intensifies.
"What do you think about becoming a Death-Eater, Severus?" She asks bluntly in a monotone voice.
"I – er –" I manage to say, taken aback by the question.
"Don't bother lying, dear. I know you love the muggle born Lily Evans. I know of your struggles, of your needs, of your wants. I know you are trying not to be a Death-Eater, and I even know that you think Xavier's eyes are lifeless." She says. I stare at her blankly – I must have misheard her. I have barely uttered a few words in this house and yet she knows my deepest secrets. Stupid old lady lost her marbles. My thoughts are interrupted as she leans towards me and hits me over the head.
"You know Legilimens!" I exclaim with sudden understanding, rubbing my head.
"And you don't know Occumelency, but that I will teach you in time. Severus, there are many words to be said with minimal time to say them." She says as she pulls her shawl over her shoulders tightly. She turns her eyes towards the fire grate and mutters something. Suddenly, purple flames burst out of it. "Quickly, not much time." She says, ushering me into the strange fire. Without thinking, I hop in. A cooling sensation begins at my toes, and works its way up my body, making me feel like a block of ice. What if this takes me directly to Voldemort? I ask myself, feeling stupid for blindly following her. But she makes you see hope, I debate with myself. All of the sudden my body is lurched forward and I fall on a hard stone floor. I quickly scramble and get up, with my wand at the ready.
"Put it down, Severus." Henrietta demands as she appears from the fireplace. I let out a breath as I realize she did not betray me, that I am still safe. She walks over to me and hits me over the head.
"What was that for!" I ask, perplexed.
"One: you can no longer address me as Henrietta but Grandmother. Two: you are stupid enough to think that I would betray you." She says with a smirk on her face.
"Well, you don't know who to trust anymore. And you are a Slytherin Prince who is apparently in league with Voldemort." I mumble.
"Do not say the name! But, you tell the truth. Good boy for being cautious. The times ahead of you are going to be tough my boy, but we are already one step ahead of everyone." She says, kissing me on the forehead. I feel my cheeks burn slightly at the affection – the only ever time I have been kissed, was when Lily kissed my on my cheek. Of course, this thought makes my cheeks redder. Grandma giggles. I turn to her and fix one of my most common scowls and she grins at me.
"Please stay out of my head!" I croak, my voice deeper then normal.
"Sorry dear, it's so cute. Nonetheless, I will hold it in for the sake of your embarrassment. Now, sit down." She says, as she summoned two chairs and a small coffee table. I sit down quickly, waiting attentively to see what my new ally has to say. She sits down in an elegant manner and takes a deep breath.
"Now, you may not understand what I am about to tell you, but eventually you will. First thing is first, you must know your grandfather and I were never against your mother marrying a muggle. But, we had a few encounters with the wicked Grindlewald, encounters which are too gory for your ears. In the end, your grandfather was under the Imperius curse. Even with the Imperius curse lifted, he has never been the same again. I had to make everyone believe that I was in agreement with whatever Xavier did. Poor Eileen, it broke my heart to see her so distressed, but I kept my act." She says in a slightly hushed voice, her eyes closed.
"What act?" I ask.
"Your grandfather and I had to appear to hate all muggle-born and half blood beings. We had to appear stubborn and selfish. Of course, your grandfather didn't have to act much, but I haven't always been so prejudiced." She replies.
"Now, back to my story. As Grindlewald was defeated, he left the Prince family in high ranking among all the pureblood families; second only to the Malfoy family. When the Dark Lord gained power, he rounded up all the men of all the pureblood families and told them he did not want to spill good blood, but he would not let us stop him. Although I do not have Xavier's exact prejudices, I am a Slytherin. I didn't want to die, and so acting to hate everyone wasn't a hard price to pay. Hence, we were in allegiance with the Dark Lord. We never helped; we just sent money here and there." She says, trying to comfort herself. "I have always been against the Dark Lord; he is cruel and unmerciful. But Xavier, ever since Grindlewald's Imperius curse, has never been the same. I have been trying to find someway to help the cause against the Dark Lord…and then you came along."
"Me?" I question, wondering what anyone would want of me, the greasy-haired, big-nosed, dark-arts geek who is head over heels for a muggle born. The perfect stereotype to defeat a Dark Lord, I'm sure.
"Yes, Severus. Your generation is the generation that will bring the Dark Lord down." She sighs. "I am so proud of you; I am so proud that you have managed to do what is right and not wrong, that you have begun your own path. I swear, if I ever meet this Lily Evans, I will thank her for being your girlfriend – her love has saved you." She says with a loving voice.
"She's not my girlfriend." I cough, embarrassed.
"She will be." Grandma retorts smugly. I turn my head and look at the room, avoiding her eyes. "Anyway Severus, back to other matters. There is still a lot to tell you, a lot to teach you. I will expect to be seeing you once a week until your return to Hogwarts."
"What about Xavier?" I ask, wondering how she keeps her true self hidden.
"I have your grandfather under control. Oh! And Severus, whenever you are in need of money, just call for Mercury and you have access to our Gringotts account – our money is now yours. And in case you are worrying, you will always be the heir of the Prince fortune; you are worthy of it, even though not for the reasons your grandfather believes." She says, looking at me attentively.
"I'm not worrying about-" I say, but am cut off mid-sentence.
*CRACK*
I look around for the source of the noise and find Mercury standing at my feet once more, grasping my hand. As I look up to my grandmother once more, I see she has tears in her eyes, and before I know it I am apparated back to Spinner's End.
I AM SO SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE! I keep freaking out that it isn't good enough and keep re-doing it. From now on I will just post it :)
And also, I like to handwrite the story and then type it, which takes a little time.
I hope this chapter wasn't too confusing. As I mentioned before, there are a few bits that you have to know for the rest of the story to work...
And I promise a nice little Sev/Lily seen will be coming in the near future...
*AND* Sorry for any grammatical mistakes/spelling mistakes! I have edited it a few times, but there is always something I have missed.
Please read and review, feel free to make any comments or ask any questions.
I will gladly reply to every single one of them! Thank you all so much for your patience!
Missteque xx
