Once the children had left Snape and Bella sat in a deafening silence for what seemed like an eternity, each determined not to look at each other or be the first to break the impasse. Bella was fiery and stubborn but she knew her husband could be detached, distant and unyielding. He may not be aware that he had anything to loose but she knew she could loose everything.
"I want to go home." Her whispered declaration sounded like an explosion in the quiet of the room.
Her words were like a detonation in his rib cage ripping through his vital organs. But as usual his face betrayed none of this, his pale mask remained as impassive as always.
"I understand. I imagine the children and Minevra are grateful for you brief visit, I assume you will be discussing with your mother how to overcome the mail issue."
For the first time since she'd stepped through the fireplace Bella really looked at Severus, not as a worried mother or furious and hurt spouse but as a wife, a concerned wife. And while it was the same Snape face everyone else saw Bella recognised the truth under the mask. Where they saw sneering sarcasm, disinterest and disdain, she saw conflict, guilt and even a flash of fear.
Bella frowned. She was not naive, she knew where he'd been in the early hours of the morning, she knew why he was haggard looking and unshaven but a hangover didn't explain why he was talking nonsense about her mother.
"What are you ... Ohhhh." And then she realised. He genuinely believed she had only returned because of Hermione and that she would be leaving again, returning to Greece. He truly thought she'd left him forever.
She may have not decided to come home yet if it hadn't of been for Hermione but as she'd sat around the table with her family she knew she was ready. She'd spent a lot of time on Morigans island soul searching, dissecting their parting words and analysing them over and over again. Her mothers only input had been to tell her to walk away and return to where she belonged. To forget her idiotic notions of a make believe family made up of other people's children and an undemonstrative man devoid of emotion and of dubious character.
The more Bella thought about it the more she realised that the things she loved about her husband were also the things they argued about. She admired his disciplined principles, his unwavering loyalty and commitment but couldn't they also be viewed as inflexibility, blind faith and unreasonableness. It was often said that love and hate were two sides of the same coin and over time she was being to believe this and accept that the power of these emotions was much greater than her own mothers moral disinterest.
She'd also thought a lot about Lily Potter, she found it easier thinking of her as a Potter because her husband didn't care for her as the wife of his childhood tormentor but Lily was different, just Lily was his childhood love and friend. She'd been a presence in their relationship longer than Bella had first realised thanks to the Headmaster but ever since the preparations had started for her son to go to Hogwarts that presence had turned into a shadow, a long reaching shadow that she found hard to escape. Bella was not proud to admit that her waning tolerance of her child's dead mother became toxic during her first month away, her husbands venom over the mere mention of her name the catalyst.
But over time she came to realise that this was how he coped. Everything in his life was compartmentalised. His life with Lily, his duty to Dumbledore, his oath to protect Lily's son, his role as Godfather to Harry and Uncle to Hermiome, his wife, his time at Hogwarts, life at Prince Manor. Each separate compartment could be considered successful and even co-exists next to each other if necessary, but now they were bleeding together, the lines blurring. Uncle Sev could not survive in the same compartment as Professor Snape. Bella could not share space with Lily. To her husband life was that black and white. Now Bella could fully understand why he'd fought so hard against the idea of the two of them. But she'd made a vow on their wedding day and despite her husband's own attempts to sabotage it, she was as determined to keep hers as he was to keep his oath about Harry. The time had come to make a decision, his justifications were impossible but the alternatives, well in truth, were worse.
She walked towards him and placed her left hand gently on his defeated shoulder, her wedding and engagement rings glittered in the candle light casting patches of light on the dark ceiling of the dungeon room.
"Our home Severus. We need to talk, clear the air and I can't do that here."
Without waiting for an answer she scooped a handful of floo powder from the mantel piece. "Minevra McGonagall's Office."
The Deputy Heads office swam into view and Bella watched with affection as her friend transformed from a tabby cat curled on arm chair to her familiar human form. "Severus and I are going home for the afternoon if that's alright, we need a change of scenery."
"Of course dear, I've already cancelled his classes. If you need anything let me know." The older woman answered kindly.
"Could you ... Would you keep an eye on the kids."
"They're fine Bella, I can see them from my office talking to Mr Weasley in the courtyard. Just go and talk with your husband before he terrifies any more of my students."
The flames flickered and the Snapes were once again alone.
Bella hovered by the fireplace, unsure of what to do next. Severus still hadn't moved, even while she spoke with Minevra. She was used to her take charge husband but the man slumped in the chair seemed a poor imitation.
"Well ... I'll see you at home then?" She asked hesitantly.
In the end she gave up waiting for a response and grabbed another handful of floo powder, a feeling of annoyance starting to bubble up inside her. She threw it with a little more determination than usual as she announced "Prince Manor." She was about to step through the flames when a quiet voice stopped her in her tracks.
"Bell, are you back permanently?"
She'd never heard him sound so unsure and it melted the frustration a little. She flashed him a quick smile. "You don't get rid of me that easily! We need to talk but yes I'm back and staying. I'll see you in a few minutes."
Snape did not want to return to his ancestral house, it was too easy to be Severus there, too easy to forget why life had to be the way it was. But he followed her through the flames knowing she would not be patient of his absence.
Despite his reservations, stepping into the lounge Snape felt like a huge weight was slipping from his shoulders. He stood for the longest time watching the familiar silhouette of his wife leisurely pottering in her kitchen. She must have only been back a few minutes before him but the inviting smell of fresh coffee already scented the air and she was busy magically defrosting a deep red sauce while a saucepan of pasta bubbled on the stove. He knew that she knew he'd arrived. Her posture had stiffened for a moment and she'd half turned but then seemed to think better of it. Looking around it astounded him how differently everything felt since the last time he'd been in the house. Then she'd only been left a matter of hours and it felt like the soul had been ripped out of the house. Now, the house had stood empty for months, the layer of dust and musky smell stood testament to this, and Bella had only just returned but it already felt like it had when they all called it home. Just for a moment he imagined what it would be like to bottle this feeling so he could occasionally release it at Hogwarts and remind himself of what he was battling to protect.
But all of that seemed very far away now. Midnight stalked passed him, tail erect, green eyes full of contempt and hissed in his direction reminding him that he had his own angry hell cat to face. On silent feet he walked to the kitchen and took his usual seat. At this precise moment he was convinced he would rather face the Dark Lord himself, at least there he knew what to expect. Bella's emotions always had been an unknown quantity. He warily watched her fill his large black mug that Harry and Hermione had bought him a couple of summers ago from a rather suspect new age gift shop in Devon. Bracing himself for a torrent of volatile words he carefully met her eye line.
"Bella I ..."
Snape did not know what possessed him to attempt to initiate the conversation especially since he had no concept of his wife's feelings towards him at the moment so he was actually quite relieved when she effectively cut him off.
"NO. No you don't get to do that. You talked the last time, now it's my turn."
She slammed his cup down hard on the table in front of him and they both watched the scalding hot black liquid splash violently over the sides in some perverse slow motion. Bella tried to pull her hand back with an involuntary murmur of pain as the coffee burnt the back of her hand but it caught in the handle.
With lightening quick reflexes born from years in a potions lab Snape cast cooling and healing spells while freeing her fingers.
Bella felt her anger dissipating as she gave him a timid but grateful smile and gently tugged her hand away from his soothing pale fingers. She sank into her chair opposite him.
"Thank you. But I meant what I said, it really is my turn to talk now and I want you to listen. I love you but I need you to hear me. I need to know that in this crazy, complicated life we're living together that I matter."
Snape opened his mouth to speak and then thought better of it. What could he really say, he instinctively knew the only answer he would give would not be what she wanted to hear. He had shown that she mattered in the only way he knew, he had married her.
"I don't need you to talk, I need you to listen!" She reiterated recognising his mental struggle. "I know nothing can really change I just need you to acknowledge my feelings and take them seriously."
She stood and began to pace up and down, her velvet dress swishing almost hypnotically and Snape found himself compelled to watch her, knowing she was working herself up to the crux of the matter.
"What happened on the 1st of September can never happen again." She shot flames at him from her hazel eyes. She held up her hand when it looked like he was going to speak again, she didn't need his apologies or explanations, she needed his understanding.
"I am not Lily and she is not me."
Snape thought she was clearly stating the obvious but wisely decided to keep this to himself, however, he couldn't help raising a sarcastic eyebrow.
Bella pursed her lips at the gesture but carried on as he'd refrained from commenting. "But I sometimes wonder if you forget that. You've immortalised her, but not as the woman she was when she died but as your teenage friend in a woman's body. I accept that in Harrys eyes I've filled the shoes of his dead mother but he has no real memories of her. You, on the other hand, had a whole life with her and I feel like you expect me to be that woman you turned her into and I can only fail at that. I'm beginning to loose sight of who I am in your eyes."
Bella stopped pacing and fell silent for what felt like a long time. The ticking of the clock was the only sound in the room and Snape hoped that the ramblings had come to an end. He rarely understood women as it was, emotional ones made even less sense. But then the pacing started again.
"And I know this seems like a contradiction but you can't stick us in separate little boxes and pretend we don't have any connections. She was your friend, you loved her. I'm your wife, you ..." She so desperately wanted to say 'love me' but she wasn't going to put words in his mouth that he would never say. "...married me. We, Lily and I share a child. You can't forbid me from mentioning her because that isn't fair, she's dead and I can't compete with that. How can I fight for you when my rival's a memory?"
All of a sudden she ran out of steam, wearily she took her seat again. Her anger was spent and Severus had done what she'd asked, he'd listened. She knew he would never understand but he had at least heard her. She rested her elbows on the table and propped her chin in her hands.
"What's going on Severus? You were nasty that night I left, I know you can be harsh and hard but that, that was something else. Talk to me." She implored.
Only one thought formed in Snapes mind and he couldn't stop himself expressing it. "Irrational, completely irrational." He shook his head. "You told me not to speak, you said I had to listen."
"Fine. Let's eat."
Unnerved by the change of subject Snape watched suspiciously as his wife plated up a simple pasta dish, she never gave up on anything this easily. As they were once again plunged into silence. He even considered apologising but after her earlier incoherent babbling he had no idea what he would be saying sorry for. His desire for self preservation kicked in and he did what he was told, he ate.
Once the crockery had been magically cleared Bella took her husbands hand. "Come with me." She tugged gently.
"Where to?" He asked suspiciously.
"Upstairs, to our bedroom."
Snape visibly recoiled, snatching his hand away. "I do not want sex." His voice was venomous, he had never imagined she would use herself that way.
Bella's distain rivaled his own. "I had no intention of offering sex! Nor do I wish to make love to a man who is not quite recognisable as my husband."
Her features soften as she once again offered her hand. "Trust me." She whispered.
Snape hesitated, it felt like something important rested on his answer, was this a test. If he refused would that signal the end. If he said yes was it to more than climbing a flight of stairs.
The truth was Bella was the only person he could consider trusting, after all wasn't that what a marriage was an oath of trust. His body responded before his brain had fully considered both options and he took her hand and let her lead him like a small child to their bedroom where he stood, awkward and unsure, in the middle of the room while his wife cast quick cleaning and dusting spells. The room lost its stale smell as she lit candles, shut the blinds and drew the curtains.
"Now take off your jacket and shirt. Then lay face down on the bed." She forestalled any arguments by collecting a small suede pouch and tiny glass bottle from the drawer in her night stand. "Peruvian instant darkness powder, it will suck out any light from the room including the candles, they are more for the relaxing scent. And lavender oil." She explained.
Snape did his best not to peer too closely at the glass bottle, his core knew she wouldn't use veritassirum on him but his suspiciously trained head needed a minute to catch up. As the darkness engulfed the room he reluctantly did as she asked, using his other highly honed senses he placed his neatly folded garments over the dressing table chair before negotiating his way to his own side of the bed and sinking face first into the softness of the mattress. The pillow smelled faintly of lemon and he used the aroma to steady his breathing. He felt the mattress dip as Bella straddled his body and sat her bottom on his, the sensation of another human being touching him was not unpleasant, her weight seemed to ground him and make him feel connected in a way he had not felt in a long time. Warm liquid trickled from his shoulders, down his spine to the small of his back before surprisingly strong but yet gentle hands manipulated his skin and muscle beneath. There seemed something familiar about it all but he could not imagine why, he had never allowed himself to be this vulnerable before. He tried not to tense as she traced the scars that crisscrossed his pale flesh but he did flinch when her hands started to wander down his left arm.
But Bella refused to give up on her probing touch, this was her way of showing her acceptance of his past, with firmness she continued to massage straight across his mark and down to his fingertips. As she began the same journey down the right arm she started to talk in a low, gentle tone.
"You won't remember but I used to do this when I was your nurse at Hogwarts. At the beginning when the toxins were at their strongest your hallucinations last hours and you were exhausted by the end, this was the only way I could calm you down. Towards the end it was the dreams that caused you the most distress, you'd wake up in the night screaming, I used it to relax you. You'd talk to me then, it wasn't always anything important, sometimes just every day stuff and then you'd fall asleep next to me."
Snape could feel the sharp edges of his mind and reasoning blurring as she talked and rubbed, at least that explained the sense of familiarity. He was talking almost before he realised it, the words falling from his lips of their own free will. He turned his head to the side so she could hear his confessions.
He talked for what seemed like hours, explaining the sense of burden that had engulfed him from the moment he had returned to the castle, how much more suffocating it was than ever before. How the anger and resentment grew, festering and deadly during the sorting ceremony. How Harry morphed into James Potter, mocking him at every turn. How the bitterness was starting to take over him again and how he was convinced his mark twitched in response to his venomous thoughts. How a day did not go by without him seeing Lilys blood on his hands, Potters too. How his respectful fear of the future and his role in it had changed to terror at what was to come and what was expected of him. Of how there were times when he felt the pressure was building too much and he thought he would explode with rage. He admitted that he wished Hermione had pushed him to the brink, that he could have sent her away so at least it was one less person for him to concern himself with.
But he left his most damning revelation until last. As he lay with his wife by his side, the burden of his own miserable life laid bare, he admitted that it was a relief to be away from the castle, his obligations and the tight rope he walked everyday. And that he never wanted to return.
Bella propped herself up on her elbow and looked down into his strained and guilt ridden face. With a delicate finger she traced the contours of his worry lines. "Have you talked to the Headmaster about how you're feeling?
But Snape just shook his head.
"But why I thought the man was supposed to be your mentor, your ally, your friend. Besides if your mark is responding to something surely he'd want to know."
His voice became little more than a hoarse whisper. "My greatest fear is not that the Dark Lord returns or that I should die it is that Dumbledore realises that he has made a mistake and that he has given me too much credit. He already denies me the position of Defense Professor because he believes it will re-ignite my interest in the dark arts. Can you imagine what he would do if I told him about the sensation I feel from my mark."
"Are you sure that's true?" Bella asked. "You told me yourself that the job is cursed, that no one lasts more than a year, maybe he just doesn't want to loose you."
"Because I'm such a successful teacher!" Snape laughed bitterly
"Because you're a good head of house, the Slytherins respect and listen to you, Poppy Pomfrey told me that the first day I met you. And besides he wants to keep you safe and the best place to protect you is at Hogwarts."
"They respect me because they think I am still one of them, hiding my true nature to avoid Azkaban, playing at respectability." He dismissed her ideas scornfully.
"As you well know not every Slytherin is a Death Eater in waiting!" She argued thinking of her mother.
Snape grudgingly admitted the truth in her statement, a large percentage of his house did suffer unnecessarily for its bad reputation. "Regardless, he allows Quirrell to teach every other year, why not allow me to rotate with him if he didn't fear how it would affect me."
Bella tenderly brushed a strand of black hair away from his face. "I don't know maybe you should ask him when you talk to him about the hostility you're feeling." She wasn't ready to give up on the idea yet.
"And what happens when I confess that I don't know if I feel angry because I have the mark or if the mark is reacting to my own anger. That I can't be certain if the Dark Lord is the cause and my anger the affect or is it my negative aggression and hate that is making me more aware of his influence on me. And when that is said how can I blame him for no longer trusting me because there are times when I do not trust myself. And as you so rightly point out Dumbledore is the only thing standing between myself and a cell in Azkaban. In reality it is his protection you, as my wife and the children as my wards, are under not my own."
It was a sobering thought and they silently lay side by side for the longest time. "You know I have always been jealous of him?" Remarked Bella after a while.
She felt Severus shift by her side and knew he was looking at her incredulously. "It's always him you turn to when your guilt gets to much. I thought for a long time that it should be me you talk to but then you told me that he understands you like no one else could, that he already knows the worst of you."
She leaned over and stared at him wishing she could see into his being.
"Just promise me you'll think about it."
At his curt nod she curled into his side. Somehow, somewhere during their soul searching conversations their own personal barriers had crumbled and they finally found comfort in one another.
A couple of hours later Bella laid on the bed watching her husband get dressed after emerging from the shower. Even with his damp black hair hanging in limp curtains around his face she saw a change in him from the defeated man who'd sat in his school chambers asking if she planned to stay. His presence and determination were back, her broken man was whole again. They may have not solved or changed anything but talking honestly had brought them closer, than perhaps they had ever been before.
"Do you have to go back tonight?"
Snape slipped his shirt across his scarred back and discarded the towel. "I must. I have detention to oversee. The Weasley twins have been particularly trying recently so I have found a suitably unpleasant task for them but the guts must be harvested tonight or they will be ruined." Snape smirked and his eyes glinted evilly at the idea of it but then sobered quickly. "Are you absolutely sure trusting the youngest one is such a good idea?"
Bella watched him for a moment as he tied the cravat around his neck. "Harry is." She answered seriously. "And I think he is a good judge of character."
Snape had to agree, now that he was away from Hogwarts he knew Harry had been smart to avoid Draco Malfoys attempts at forming an alliance. Just the thought of his Godson in the sights of Lucious Malfoy made him shudder, he vividly remembered the relish his then comrade showed during muggle attacks. But Snape recognised that they had to be vigilant, the boys instincts may be relied upon when it came to children but adults were a different matter.
Bella gave voice to his silent thoughts. "At least when it comes to friends anyway." She sighed disappointedly. "Have you noticed that he's happier talking to Hermione about his problems instead of us. I'm sure he trusts us but ..." She trailed off, struggling to explain what she meant.
"Day to day I agree there is a degree of trust but we must accept the fact that he may never truly trust us with the important things. Six impressionable years have taught him that adults cannot be trusted."
Snape was talking from personal experience, wasn't that one of the reasons he had rejected Dumbledore's attempts at help while he was still a student, why he had turned to Malfoy and his cohorts when he had pushed away the only person who he had ever trusted. If saddened him to think that his Godson would experience the same deep seated distrust for adults that had caused him to do something as drastic as allying himself with the Dark Lord. Harry had already showed a reckless streak beyond normal childhood curiosity, he only hoped Hermione could do what Lily had not and that Bella's positive input was enough to ensure the boy would not self destruct.
"I know, which is why I'm glad he's got Hermione. Maybe the Headmaster knows what he's doing after all." Bella couldn't help but add the last bit, she still thought the best thing for her husband was to confide in his mentor.
Snape ignored her last comment, he may have committed himself to the Headmaster and his crusade for what was right in their world but there was still an element reluctant trust born from the old Gryffindors treatment of the marauders after a potentially deadly stunt they played on Severus while at school. Trying not to think negative thoughts he started to button up his frock coat.
"I miss you Severus."
Snapes lips quirked in amusement. "I am stood right here."
"You know what I mean. I miss this." She waved her hand around lazily, encompassing the two of them and their bedroom.. "I miss us….." She saw a glint of something in his eye. "…..Don't say sex." She warned as his eyebrows raised. "I miss seeing you, talking to you." She smiled coyly up at him from her position on the bed. "Laying with you."
The word compromise was not in Severus Snapes vocabulary and yet, not so long ago, neither was the word wife and now he found himself with one of those. And children.
He paused with his buttons. "There is no reason why our previous arrangement may not continue if that would make you happy."
Bella laughed, had anyone else made such a suggestion it would have sounded inappropriate and sleazy but Bella recognized it for the olive branch he'd intended. "You mean stay over at Hogwarts on a Wednesday?"
Not even Snape could have missed the sparkle in her eyes. "I assume you are planning on re-instating your cookery classes. My duties will be complete by the time you arrive and I have no obligation to attend breakfast."
When the happy sparkle started to look suspiciously like they were going to turn into tears he quickly finished dressing. "Well that is agreed then, I will expect you next Wednesday." He looked at her scantily clad body. "There will be no need for you to accompany me to the fireplace." His chambers seemed to have become a hive of activity recently and who knew who may be waiting for him to return.
And with that he was gone.
Harry stood under the shower desperately trying to get warm. He'd spent what felt like hours being put through his paces on the quidditch pitch by Oliver but he hadn't cared about the cold or the rain because Ron and Hermione were there to cheer him on. He couldn't believe what a difference a day made, he felt like a weight had been lifted that he hadn't even known was there. His friend finally knew the truth about him and not only was he able to talk to his sister now but they got to be friends as well. He caught his hand on his new watch as he washed and wondered how often it'd warm up. Wood had told him tonight that they'd drawn Slytherin in the first match. He had no idea if Snape knew he was even on the team and he grinned as he imagined his uncles face if Gryffindor won the match. He didn't expect the watch to warm up then, they'd be accusations of cheating from the Slytherins because first years weren't meant to play and Uncle Sev would be mad because he'd put himself in danger. His thoughts about the first match were interrupted by the sounds of a commotion out in the dormitory followed by Ron sticking his head around the bathroom door.
"Sorry mate but Hermione wants a word, she's just come barging into the dorm and frightened the life out of Neville, he was getting changed." His freckled face grinned.
Harry grabbed a towel. "I'll be out in a minute, see if you can find a quiet spot in the common room."
Five minutes later the boys joined an anxious looking Hermione in the corner furthest away from the fireplace.
"What's up 'mione?" Asked Harry as they sat down.
"I can't find magic."
Ron frowned, he'd not heard it called that before. "Your wands in your pocket." He pointed to her cardigan where it was poking out.
Hermione let out a little giggle while Harry explained. "Its her bear."
"My uncle made it for me from a handkerchief." She whispered glancing cautiously around making sure no one could overhear them.
"Oohhh." Exhaled Ron. "So you've decided what story you're telling people?"
She nodded. "I thought it would be easier to stick as close to the truth as possible." She looked at Harry for his approval. "Is that alright with you?"
"Its fine." He assured her. "Do you think you left him ... downstairs?" It was the only way he could think of to describe Uncle Sev's quarters.
"When we came back in my bag was in the dorm but he wasn't, I think he's probably still on the bed. Do you think I'll be able to get back in and get him." She asked nervously, she really didn't want to go back but she hadn't been without Magic since the day after her parents had died.
Ron cleared his throat "I could try if you tell me how." He volunteered desperately trying to sound braver than he felt.
Hermione smiled gratefully at him but Harry just laughed. "Sorry Ron but if he caught you he'll torture you before turning you into potions ingredients. I'll go 'mione, at least if he catches me he'll only kill me then bring me back so I can finish school!"
Hermione had to stop herself from throwing her arms round Harrys neck, she knew it was stupid but she wasn't sure if she could sleep without her bear.
"We need a plan, we need to make sure he's out of the way." Decided Harry looking at the other two expectantly.
"Well ... Fred and George have detention with him tonight." Offered Ron. "Snape sent a message for them earlier saying it was still on even though classes had been cancelled today."
"His detentions normally last hours." Harry glanced around the common room and then at his watch, there was no sign of the identical redheads which would explain why the room was a lot quieter than normal. "So I guess now would be the best time to go then." He rubbed his sweaty hands down his jeans.
The trio walked quietly to the portrait hole.
"Do you remember the password?"
"Yeah. You two stay here and I'll be as quick as possible." Harry climbed through the hole and tried to ignored his friends worried looks.
Half an hour later, bear in hand, Harry hurried away from the Slytherin side of the dungeons trying not to look like he was guilty of something. It'd taken longer than he'd planned because he'd found himself dawdling in his Godfathers familiar rooms remembering how things had been before they were students and now it was getting very close to curfew, McGonagall wasn't too strict about bedtimes but Harry knew he could get into real trouble if he wasn't in the common room in time. He was rushing past the first floor charms classroom when a familiar voice caught his attention, he slowed down trying to work out why Aunty Bella was still at Hogwarts and then hovered outside the partially closed door when he heard the Headmasters voice too.
"Thank you for coming to me about this, I know it can't have been easy for you. I too have sensed a difference in Severus this year and I had thought that there was more to it than his extra burden. Please believe me when I say I know that its not his fault, he isn't causing this. At the moment I only have my suspicions and guesses but I will protect him and Harry."
"Can you a least give me some clue what we're dealing with here."
"Do you remember when he was affected before by the mix of toxins in his system. When you were caring for him you once described him as being possessed by his past. Well I think something similar is happening again."
"You think he's been poisoned?"
"No, its not that simple I'm afraid. I believe something from his past may be aggravating his anger, heightening his emotions. The mark may be infecting him."
"But why now?"
But Harry never got the chance to hear the answer, he heard a door ahead slam, footsteps coming towards him and the distinctive stammering of Professor Quirrell as he talked to himself. Not wanting to be caught out of bounds, Harry darted up the nearest staircase and ran all the way to Gryffindor tower.
He burst into the common room and looked around quickly for his friends. They were sat in the same corner as before and he wasn't sure if their identical looks of relief were because he was back safe or because they didn't have to by themselves anymore. Harry thrust the bear at Hermione and then pulled his chair as close to the other two as it could go. Thankfully the twins were back covered in gooey stuff entertaining the stragglers in the common room with the details of their detention so no-one was paying the three first years any attention.
"What's up Harry?" Asked Hermione hugging her bear close just as Ron said,
"Blimey Harry, you alright. Snape didn't catch you did he?"
"No but on my way back I heard Bella ..." He paused a moment and looked at Hermione who whispered,
"Bella, you mean ..."
He nodded, it seemed safer to call her by her name even though it felt really weird. " ...talking to the Headmaster in one of the classrooms. They were talking about Snape." He quietly filled them in on what he'd heard.
"So they reckon Snape's possessed? Explains a lot!" Commented Ron breaking the silence.
Harry and Hermione swapped worried glances. "This sounds familiar, I think there's something we should remember. Wait I think ..." Hermione half rose from her seat.
"It's too late to go to the library 'mione." He knew it was where she usually headed to when she needed answers, he was already imagining spending the next few days in there searching for books on possession.
She sat back down again. "I know what it is. I don't need to go the library. Do you remember when Bella was talking about Spinners End?"
"Yeah."
"What's Spinners End?" Interrupted Ron thoroughly confused
"Its a muggle street where he grew up."
"Snapes a muggleborn?" Ron was beginning to think the twins had pulled some huge prank on him.
"Half blood." Answered Hermione. "But that's not the point. Do you remember when she told us about looking after him when he'd been splashed with all those potions and it sort of made him say and do things he wouldn't do normally, that it was like he was possessed. What if something like that has happened again?"
"Well he didn't do anything dangerous last time, he only told her he loved her." Harry was trying to be reassuring but he couldn't seem to forget that he'd seen Snape heading towards the forbidden corridor on Halloween instead of going down to the dungeons with the other teachers. He was also sure that the mans leg had been bleeding when he'd joined them in the bathroom and he'd limped a bit this morning when he'd been pacing his lounge.
"I don't think she'd tell us if he did." Admitted Hermione quietly.
"I guess not." It wasn't exactly normal dinnertime conversation. "I think Dumbledore might be right." And Harry went on to tell them about Snapes visit to the third floor corridor and the bite on his leg.
"Harry he wouldn't do that, he's a teacher here, he wouldn't go up against the Headmaster. And that troll could have hurt people. No I don't believe it." Hermione folded her arms and a stubborn look crossed her face.
"Look what he was going to do to you yesterday." Shot back Harry ignoring Rons curious look.
Hermione blushed, the last thing she needed her new friend to know was that she still got spanked. "That's different." She muttered through gritted teeth. "And he didn't go through with it anyway."
"Alright. But that's why I think Dumbledores right, he wouldn't normally do that but if he has then its because someone else is controlling him."
Hermione relaxed her arms, what Harry was saying did make sense. "So what do we do?"
"I guess we keep an eye on him." Decided Harry sounding very unsure.
"Great we've got a plan then, not sure the dungeons much better than the library though." Grinned Ron then he groaned. "Percys heading over, quick we'd better go to bed, we're the only first years still up."
The three of them dodged the Gryffindor prefect with fake yawns and headed for the stairs, their heads full of possessed teachers, three headed dogs and mysterious hidden objects.
What a difference a day made.
