A Change in History
A HP Fanfiction
Disclaimer: I do not own HP.
Chapter Eleven: Clash
"Welcome, to a new year at Hogwarts! As always, the Forbidden Forest is off limits, and Mr. Filch has once again asked me to remind you that magic is not allow in the halls, among a bushel of other things, which are listed on the door to his office! Now I can see that you are all starving, so do not let me detain you any further! Tuck in!" A loud round of cheers met this proclamation as the Great Hall suddenly exploded with the sound of clinking silverware and noisy students gossiping to each other.
Severus scowled and turned to his dinner, not feeling even remotely hungry at the moment. The Potions Master sensed an intense gaze come to rest on him, and didn't have to glance up to know it was Albus eying his lack of an appetite with displeasure. He grimaced and served himself a small helping of roast beef. No use irritating the man and end up being called to his office because he was "neglecting his health". Severus poked at the meat on his plate for show and discreetly eyed the new students at every table. Not very many for Hufflepuff this year—thank Merlin—but unfortunately the number of new Gryffindors more than made up for that. Severus stabbed at the baked potato Pomona had cautiously prodded next to the rest of his meal (she didn't think he had seen her, but he had; it was kind of difficult to miss) vindictively, imagining each to have the face of the Gryffindors that particularly itched his nerves.
He let out a small puff of air in gratitude that he did not yet have to deal with those two little imps he had the misfortune to run into in the Apothecary. Merlin knows, as he had informed Albus in perfect seriousness that they would bring that annoyingly charmed roof of the castle crashing down around their ears. Severus was determined to stop their enrollment to the best of his ability. Those other two Weasleys were bad enough. He scowled as he turned to observe them.
The eldest of the two—William, if he remembered correctly, for he refused to associate any form of nickname with any Gryffindor, no matter how adept they are in his class—was currently scooping up a handful of string beans and slipping them down the back of a nearby Prefect's shirt. The girl jumped up from the table screaming indistinguishably, oblivious to the attention she was drawing from her classmates. Severus watched on approvingly as his Slytherins surveyed this display in disgust. If any of them had the gull to try such a stunt Severus would have them serving detention with Filch or strung up from the ceiling of his office by their thumbs with the chains the man still keep in an out-of-the-way closet, legality aside. He would suffer no foolish behavior among his charges—they were brought up to be far better than that. Severus sniffed slightly in disdain and returned his attention to the plate still brimming with food in front of him. He had the eldest Weasley boy tomorrow and he did not fancy thinking any more on him than was absolutely necessary.
Severus watched neutrally as the fifth year Slytherin-Gryffindor double period class filed in, already taking note of who was absent and who wasn't. Much to his dissatisfaction, Weasley was present for the class.
So much for starting the year on a pleasant note, he thought crossly. The notion was doing wonders to worsen his mood, and as soon as the last meek student shuffled into the room he made a show of wandlessly closing it, being extra careful to make it slam with all force possible as it did so. He smirked sadistically as several of the more skittish Gryffindors jumped, nervous sweat already dotting their foreheads. Maybe this year wouldn't be so bad.
"I will not waste precious time 'beating around the bush' so I shall get straight to the point," Severus began in what could almost be called a pleasant tone. Half the class flinched in horror and it took all of his willpower not to laugh insanely. Fools. "This is your O.W.L.S. year, and because of that I expect you to do your absolute best, despite the fact that some of you have utterly…dismal…capabilities when working with potions." His eyes skirted to the worst students in the class—incidentally those who wore red and gold in particular—for emphasis. "Even so, many of you will find that your 'best' will fall far short of expectations, and the majority of you will not be returning next year…though to my greater pleasure or yours is unknown."
He decided to tone it up a bit—they weren't looking nearly as frightened as he would have liked. He dropped his voice to a menacing whisper that nonetheless echoed around the room as if it was shouted. "I will not tolerate any mishaps this year. There will not be a single. Blown. Up. Cauldron. In. This. Room, or the consequences will be dire. Do I make myself clear?" He ended, adding a slight hint of malevolence for effect. He absorbed the cowed expressions of the students in contentment.
Yes; perhaps this year won't be so bad after all.
Time passed without incident; Harry followed his training schedules as planned, reading the books assigned him and attending the dueling sessions set up between Bella and himself. It did not take him long to find that she loathed being called anything other than Bella or Bellatrix, and hated any sort of familiarity with children. As so, Harry had taken—much to Tom's vindictive delight—to coming up with as many "endearing" terms as he could to make her uncomfortable; he found it made her almost careless in battle, and took full advantage of it. His current name for her was "Aunt Bella", the one that seemed to irk her least but was nonetheless effective as to its purpose.
Severus continued on with his Potions lessons, every so often dropping by after classes or on the weekends to give Harry a quick study class in the art; it was the only time Severus got to spend any time at all with a child that didn't make him want to strangle them.
It was a little over a week later—Friday, September 12th, to be exact—that the first sign of trouble marred the peaceful outlook of life that held the wizarding world in its grasp.
Severus assigned his last class of the day their homework and snappily ushered them out of the classroom, slamming the doors after them and distractedly waving his wand to take care of anything that might have been out of place. He rushed through the door in the back of the room towards his office, teeth clenched in pain as he tightened his grip on his left forearm. He swept around the chamber at a record pace, throwing on his Death Eater robes and snatching his mask from its hiding place in his wardrobe before sweeping out again, taking only enough time to cast a Disillusionment Charm over himself to stop any panic from spreading through the school at his attire. He passed by the brimming and noisy Great Hall and out onto the bare grounds of the castle, the last beams of light from the sun bathing everything different shades of red and orange. Severus sneered in disgust at the sight of Hagrid as he made his way, gardening supplies thrown carelessly over one shoulder, to the pumpkin patches that he knew the man was already tending to for Halloween. It took him not more than a few minutes to arrive at the apparating point (through sheer habit these days) and disappeared with a short burst of magic to meet his Master. It was about time a real raid held place.
Severus took his place in the circle of Death Eaters that filled the space of the Dark Lord's throne room, not even fidgeting when the large man beside him accidentally bumped his arm as he shifted from foot to foot. Severus scanned the dark shadows of the room for any sign of Harry, but left out a slight sigh or relief as he noted that the boy wasn't present. Severus did not wish for him to see this.
The Dark Lord himself sat regally in his throne, watching detachedly as his followers shuffled in their places around the room, nervous twitching overcoming them whenever his gaze happened to land among them. Severus bit back a snort; if they could not handle being in his presence then they should not have "signed up" for this in the first place.
He was snapped out of his thoughts as their Lord stood gracefully, all noise—if any—in the room vanishing instantly only to be replaced by fearful and respectful attention. Voldemort surveyed them carefully.
"My loyal followers," he began, slowly descending from the raised floor his 'throne' was placed on, "I have called you tonight for a purpose. As you are no doubt aware there has been little to no activity from our forces for quite some time. Why, you may ask? That is not for you to know. All you need to know is that I have summoned you to join in a blow against those bumbling fools who dare to oppose us." Voldemort reached level ground with his followers, but he still seemed to tower over them all with the superior air about him. Severus listened raptly. "Tonight we shall deliver a simple strike, but one that will hit right to their cores. As you have more than likely guessed, I am talking about the Potters." A dangerously disturbed look crossed his pallid face for such a brief moment that Severus almost thought he had imagined it.
"Ah yes…the Potters…" the Dark Lord hissed, bringing his spidery fingers closer to his face as he narrowed his eyes at them. "Those who have been as much a thorn and blade to my side as Dumbledore himself." A collective shiver ran through the line of black-clad wizards, Severus included. It was never a good thing when his Master achieved such a look of malice. If Severus was one for praying—or liked the Potters even an ounce more than he did, which he didn't—then he would have been begging Merlin himself to do something to stop this. As it was he simply sat back on his heels unobtrusively, thoroughly enjoying the thought of those fools getting what was coming to them.
"Pureblood Potter and his Mudblood wife, and their twit of a boy…that they dare to believe is capable of destroying me! But what can we do, you may ask? Their home is very well protected, so there is little chance of attacking them directly…" Voldemort smiled in a twisted fashion. "But a little rat has told me another way to hit them…through Mudblood Potter's sister, and her family. We shall have a bit of mugglesporting tonight, my friends."
Serverus slinked into the shade between the two practically identical muggle houses, accompanied by no other than Bellatrix Lestrange and the Dark Lord themselves. Severus covertly cast his eyes to where he knew the other teams of Death Eaters stood, waiting for the signal from their Lord that would give clearance for the attack. Severus felt adrenaline flow through his veins as the Dark Lord held up his wand and shot silver and green sparks high into the air, dimly illuminating the concrete streets of Privet Drive, Surrey and the black hulking shadows of the Death Eaters as they advanced upon the different homes in the area, leaving Number Four to Voldemort, Severus and Bella. The Dark Lord was already stalking off towards the front of the house, intent upon his purpose and leaving the other two to hurry after him.
A single red blast from the Reductor Curse blew the front door of the tidy little house off its hinges, wooden splinters showering the front hall of the house. Serverus could vividly hear the same sounds coming from the other buildings on the streets. All down the road lights clicked on and confused shouting began to roar, only to turn into tortured screams as the muggle occupants stumbled upon their attackers.
Knowing there was little time until the Order and Aurors began to Apparate into the street, Voldemort gracefully entered the small home as if he himself lived there, ignoring the blinding lights that ticked on up the stairs and the heavy footsteps of feet pounding down the steps.
A fat, beefy man with very little neck, clad only in pajamas and a white wool robe, faded into sight at the base of the stairs, staring at the group of wizards uncomprehendingly until he spotted the wand that Bella was casually taking from the pocket of her robes. The man went white, and then an extraordinary shade of red.
"You…you—freaks! What do you think you're doing in my home? Leave now, before I call the police! I will not tolerate your kind breaking and entering here as if—" Here the man, more than likely Lily Potter's brother-in-law, was cut off, left to claw at his throat as his face went ashen, temporarily silenced from the spell the Dark Lord had cast upon him. A lighter, more flighty set of footsteps came down the stairs as the woman who was most likely the man's wife stopped next to him, thin hands flying to her mouth in horror and large eyes taking in the scene before her.
"Oh, my—Vernon! My dear sweet husband, what have you done to him you…you…freaks!" She shrieked as she began to sob, clutching at the rapidly purpling man next to her. She eyed the wands held in their hands and her gaze narrowed icily. "You…you're…you're just like her. Just like my abomination of a sister! Get out! Get out, I said! I won't have your kind loitering around here! Fix my Vernon and leave!" Voldemort's eyes narrowed on the ranting woman, deftly silencing her as well. He turned to Bella.
"Go upstairs. I believe these two pathetic excuses for muggles have a son. Take care of him." Bella nodded, insane glee dancing in her eyes as she knocked the two of the way, practically skipping up the stairs to do as she was ordered. Voldemort now turned to Severus.
"Go and gather up the rest and have them begin transport back to base before the opposition begins to arrive. I will finish these two. Now go." Severus didn't need to be told twice. He spun on his heel, his voluminous black robes billowing out behind him as he left with just enough speed as to not be suspicious, all the while blocking out the sound of screams echoing from the house behind him as the Dark Lord lifted the charms and began his fun. Severus turned his attention to the chaos in the street.
Death Eaters were everywhere, many having dragged their prey out into the open air from the buildings—many burning—around them. Severus had just started to give his orders to return to base when a series of loud pops resounded around the street as Aurors and Order members arrived, many already brandishing their wands like swords and leaping into action before they had even finished apparating. Severus scowled and flicked his wand into his hand, charging forward cautiously. Perhaps, in all this chaos, he'd be lucky enough to curse one of those blasted Potters, or maybe even Lupin or Black…
Almost as soon as the battle began it stopped. Most of the muggles—dead by now, and those not quickly dying—littered the streets and the Death Eaters began to take quick haste, apparating back to the base or, if they couldn't, using pre-prepared portkeys to reach safety. Severus was among the last to leave; the Dark Lord had already gone, his business finished. He retreated to the cover of a nearby alley and was halfway through Apparating away before a curse hit him, agony exploding in his shoulder from the Cutting Hex even as he was whisked away from the scene. He knew he'd have to go and get that checked by Pomfrey later, much as he might dislike the notion. For now, he had a group of Death Eaters, Voldemort, Albus and an irate Order to deal with, and none of them were a very pretty prospect.
Well, Severus thought venomously as he cast his frigid gaze over the gathered Order members around the table, he had been right on one account; dealing with this lot wasn't a very pretty prospect at all. He had not so much as walked in the door to join the meeting before he had been jumped by a hysterical Lily, followed closely by Potter and his lapdog Black. Lupin had the good grace to stay away, choosing instead to hover in the background and watch the scene from afar. Black had already snatched his wand from him and Potter had him pinned to the ground, halfway through pronouncing the Cruciatus Curse before Albus, bless the old man, had swept into the room and had separated the two mad men from Serverus with a flick of his wand. The Potions Master rose stiffly, brushing off and rearranging his robes—still the stoic black of a Death Eater—with as much dignity as he could muster before he stalked off the his chair which was, much to his displeasure, positioned next to Lupin's.
Oh well. At least he wasn't sitting next to one of those pathetic excuses for Aurors. Being jumped once was enough for the day, thank you very much. Severus was in the middle of scowling fiercely at the group of three across the table when Albus tapped the end of his wand sharply on the table, calling the attention of the Order to him. Severus sat up straighter and prepared himself for his performance.
And what a performance it was! Severus was not surprised when Albus saved his 'report' for last; he did it every time there was a raid and personally, Severus was thankful for it. It gave those hooligans less time to jump him.
Severus stood up coolly, a mask of indifference placed expertly on his face. He kept his eyes on Albus as he spoke, somehow managing to disregard the hissing of the Gryffindor fools across from him.
"The Dark Lord gave no warning of the raid taking place," he started. "I was finishing up and dismissing my last class for the day when the Mark began to burn. Following procedure I donned my robes and Apparated to the meeting point. Not even the top ranked Death Eaters knew it was going to happen." Severus could hear in the background the slightly mocking voice of Black 'Of course you wouldn't know, you're not in your Master's trust enough to know are you, you slimy snake? Thinking of chucking a school bus of muggle children to him to compensate?' Severus grit his jaw and continued as if he couldn't hear them.
"We were ordered to split up into separate teams, three to each—I was placed with the Dark Lord and one other. The Dark Lord took care of the two eldest of the Dursleys, the intended target for the attack, while the other Death Eater went upstairs to deal with their child. I was given the task of rounding up the rest of the Death Eaters when the Aurors began to arrive." Severus sat down now, flinching slightly as he felt the oozing wound from the Cutting Hex throb in protest at the sudden movement. Albus nodded in understanding and turned to get any information the Order members might have been withholding. Severus secretly reached his hand up to his shoulder, touching the gash tenderly and fighting back a wince. Minerva—who was on his other side—turned to him in concern.
"Are you alright, Severus? You look hurt." Severus tried to protest but would here none of it. She snatched his hand away from his shoulder sternly and inspected the injury. Severus looked away; slightly ashamed for reasons he couldn't explain, just in time to hear Black boasting loudly,
"Yeah, I got one of them! Bloke was trying to apparate away when I nabbed him in the shoulder with a Cutting Hex." The mutt and Potter began to laugh loudly and Severus bit back a swear word, barely managing to stop himself from grabbing up his wand and jinxing the man for his brainless candor.
"Blasted Black," he hissed quietly between clenched teeth even as Minerva pulled away from her examination of his wound. She scowled at him and then at Black, having heard what the man had said. She sat back in her seat, sighing and rubbing her temples wearily.
"At this rate you two are going to kill each other before the war is over," she said dryly, taking her hands away from her face. She shot him a severe look, and Severus had to remind himself, for the umpteenth time now, that he was no longer a student and she his teacher. "You will go and see Poppy the instant this meeting is over, understand? We don't need you getting it infected because you're too stubborn to get it checked." Severus gave a slight, noncommittal grunt and leaned back in his chair, attempting to ease the tightness out of his shoulder. Minerva took this for agreement and turned away to continue her previous conversation with Kettleburn, who was to her right. Severus caught Albus watching him with the usual twinkle in his eyes more bright than ever, and Severus had to bite back a sneer.
Why did he have to deal with these fools? Oh, of course, he reminded himself acidly, you signed up for it.
Severus wished he could hex someone, and that someone was a promising prospect by the name of Black. He hid a smirk and slid his wand up his sleeve as the wizards around the table stood, saying their goodbyes to each other as they left. Severus followed Black distantly through the door and towards the Front Hall.Perhaps some payback for that Cutting Hex was in order; he could go visit Poppy afterwards. The woman need never know—neither of them, really, his thoughts going to Minerva—that he hadn't gone directly to the nurse with his injury. After all, vengeance was of far more importance.
A/N: As you might notice, there is very little, if any, of Harry in this chapter but a lot of Severus (as some people wanted but I had planned anyhow). I thought I'd give you lot a break from that and focus more on the sides of the adults that haven't really been shown up till now. The timeline is now up to September 12th, and there is only one more chapter to do before we start the time skipping. Aren't you lot happy? Another thing, I have decided to clarify that Harry and Chris aren't twins; they have the same birthday, by some sick twist of luck (author's sense of humor) but are separated by one year, which is why Chris' speech is so much less developed than Harry's…though intelligence might have something to do with that. The Arithmancy thing last chapter was just a stroke of luck that the numbers suited him and the plot so perfectly, even though I did the calculations and they are his real numbers. It just helped me to explain something that would have been a little bit difficult to do otherwise. Was a close save, it was. Someone guessed correctly, and I figure I should let you all know by now—Lily and James hate him so much because they caught him speaking Parseltongue shortly after the birth of Chris, and have thought him to be evil ever since. Okay? Kudos to Echo who figured it out. I hadn't been planning to let you in on it for a long time yet, but it won't ruin the plot so it's fine.
And I hope this chapter and insight into Bella will shoot down any thoughts people might still have about Bella being a mother figure to Harry—despite how much I think Bella is cool, that's what the snake is there for. :) As for the pet dragon idea from last chapter…It could still happen. :) And so that this will be clear for future reference:
Yes, Harry will eventually be going to Hogwarts. Don't ask when, you'll find out, don't worry.
Written 1:40 A.M. Thursday, June 22, 2006
Added: Blasted system! I was going to post it up the moment I finished writing it (see line above for specifics) but the uploading system for the Document Manager was screwing up, so I had to wait until now to do it.