Chapter Twenty: Reactions
The next few minutes would forever be etched into Harry's memory. As soon as he declared to his shell-shocked friends what he was, he wished he had gone about it in a different way.
Hermione stood, hand over her mouth, wide eyed and still as a statue. Harry could see her hand shaking, and he had a feeling it was more from fear than shock. Ron however had practically screamed, and had immediately tried to get as far away from him as possible; backing into the wall behind him as though he was praying for it to swallow him.
The sudden influx of negative emotion was almost too much for Harry to take composedly, until, through Ron's terror and disgust, and over Hermione's initial fear … Harry felt compassion, and a sad sympathy directed towards him, as he felt Hermione's shock start to subside.
He turned his eyes to hers, and felt a stabbing in his chest as he saw her close to tears … but they weren't in fear. They were on his behalf, and the thought warmed him like he never thought possible.
Harry felt a minute smile touch his lips, as Hermione started to step towards him, but it was replaced with a pained grimace when Ron's arm shot out and grasped Hermione by the arm, stopping her from approaching, and making her gasp in pain at the tight grip.
"Don't go near him, Hermione!" Ron spat out, glaring at Harry with utmost loathing. "You can't trust him anymore!"
"Ron don't be a prat!" Hermione retorted scathingly, trying to pry Ron's fingers from her arm as he edged them both slowly towards the door. "This is Harry you're talking about! He's our friend!"
"A frigging servant of You-Know-Who is not what I would call a friend, Hermione!" Ron continued to direct Hermione towards the door, not taking his eyes off of Harry. "And he's not Harry … remember? He's Callen Snape! Son of a damn Deatheater! I won't call such a thing my friend, and if you used your head, neither would you! He's been lying to us ever since we got here for crying out loud!!
"And you think that he'd just come out and tell us without knowing how we'd react first?!" Hermione yelled, now physically trying to keep them both in the room. "Fat lot of good it did him anyway! You're supposed to be his best friend, and look at yourself! You just as chauvinistic as Malfoy – "
A sudden, sharp smack brought Harry back to the present, and the next instant his head snapped around at Hermione's yelp. In less than a second, Harry concluded that at Hermione's insult, Ron had reflexively slapped her about the cheek; Ron looked almost mortified, but he also projected resentment at Hermione's comment.
Harry turned to face the two fully, hearing a deep and guttural growl rumbling from within him, unaware of his eyes glowing a burning white. He glanced down at Hermione, who had a hand to the side of her face, looking shocked beyond reasoning, and tears beginning to trickle from her eyes.
Ron looked up at the sound of Harry's growl, and his face paled sickeningly. Harry prowled forward, and Ron immediately turned tail and bolted through the door, not even glancing back. Harry snarled in rage and started forward, but calmed almost immediately and stopped at the sound of Hermione's voice.
"Harry no! Don't trouble yourself over him…"
Harry knelt in front of her, hesitant to actually do anything more for fear of her flinching from him.
"Are you all right, Hermione?" he asked softly, seeing her feeling the red mark tentatively. "He had no right to do that…" he sighed heavily, looking away. "I'm sorry … I handled that badly…"
Hermione shook her head, sniffling and wiping her eyes. "Don't apologize, Harry. You didn't do this … and Ron's just narrow-minded. You should know that…"
Harry nodded, and hesitantly reached out and touched Hermione's injured cheek, feeling a flood of warmth envelop his chest, as she didn't flinch away from him. "Enflamarius vanitious," he whispered, smiling as Hermione gasped at the sting and redness vanishing from her skin. He could get used to the awe effect he had on her…
"Thank you, Harry," she said softly, as Harry dropped his hand back to his knees. He should have known that she wouldn't question anything he displayed, seeing as she most likely would have read about what he would be capable of doing from one of her epic reading marathons.
"You're welcome," he answered, so softly his voice sounded more like a purr. "Come on," Harry stated suddenly, rising to his full seven and a half foot height. "I want to find Ron, and present his opinion to Dumbledore in a somewhat barbaric manner…"
"Harry don't get yourself into trouble before school even starts," said Hermione, taking Harry's offered hand and standing beside him. Harry almost laughed, for she only came to his chest, but held back for the moment.
"I'm not going to get into any trouble, Hermione. I know for certain that neither Dumbledore or McGonagall will be happy with him … and can you imagine my fathers opinion on the matter?"
******
Harry was in no rush to find Ron, but wanted to sooner rather than later, mainly so he could do something to him for striking Hermione. Harry decided to stay in his Avatarial form for a while, so he could get used to how he moved and felt, but also so Hermione wouldn't feel so awkward with him.
They were currently walking down a quiet corridor on their way to the Great Hall for lunch. Harry, deciding that his wings were taking up too much space, had folded them against his broad shoulders, making it look as though he wore an exotic cloak.
"What are you going to do when school starts up again, Harry?" Hermione spoke up from beside his arm. He looked down at her and shrugged.
"I actually don't know what's going to happen," he answered, sighing and shoving his hands in his pockets. "We still need to talk about it with Dumbledore. I do know that everything has to be kept quiet though. As far as Severus knows, Voldemort doesn't know I've awakened, and still thinks of me as a normal Wizard. He's thinking of how that could be used to our advantage…"
Hermione only nodded, her brow furrowing as she began to think of something he had no inkling of.
Harry returned his focus to the magical vapour hanging lazily in the air, noting that he could follow Ron's signature with little work. Harry steered them down another corridor, following the distinct colouring and patterns.
Harry let a devilish grin light his eyes as he realized where it was that Ron had decided to flee.
"Silly boy…" he muttered, wondering how exactly his head of house was going to react to Ron's biased story.
"Pardon?" Hermione asked, gazing up at him curiously. She gasped in surprise when she saw his black and green eyes, but it was soon replaced with wonder. "Wow, Harry … Why do your eyes look like that? And they glow!"
Harry smiled and placed a hand on her back, steering her to McGonagall's office. "Well, after some experimenting, I found that, when my eyes glow green, whether they be black or normal, it lets me see the essence of magic. Currently, I'm following Ron's magical scent, as it would be. I can see his signature, and I'm just following it…" He smiled at Hermione's slack jaw, but continued his explanation. "As for when my eyes are either black or white backgrounds, that just lets me see either normally … or, when my eyes are like they are now, with the black, then everything is in greyscale, but it's all inverted. What would be black to your eyes is white to mine. It makes for an interesting sight…"
Hermione grinned impishly, "I'll bet," she remarked. Her smile vanished though, as she started to hear what Harry had three corridors ago. McGonagall was yelling at someone at the top of her lungs, and they could both guess who the unlucky person was.
Harry schooled his features into his fiercest scowl, as he lay his hand on the shut door. He winked at Hermione and said, "Wait a moment before going in after I do, okay?" She raised an inquisitive eyebrow, but still nodded. Harry then sent a mental warning to McGonagall, announcing his imminent arrival in her room. He got a surprised acknowledgement, the same time he heard her voice fumble slightly, but she was back on a roll not a moment later.
Harry had discovered that, if he thought of something he wished to accomplish, that was in his current capabilities, the knowledge of how to achieve it just appeared in his mind. It was something he was incredibly grateful for…
The next moment, Harry found himself in Professor McGonagall's office, the black tendrils of smoke that accompanied his teleport vanishing into nothingness, leaving him in a dead silent room with one very flustered Transfiguration Professor, and one petrified Gryffindor.
"Good afternoon, Professor," Harry greeted pleasantly, but leaving his burning white eyes directed at Ron. "I trust you've heard Mr Weasley's … version of events by now?"
"I have indeed, Potter," she answered, just as Hermione opened the door and entered swiftly, taking a place beside Harry. "Miss Granger? Why are you here?"
"Oh, did Ron neglect to mention everything that happened after Harry showed us what he was?" Hermione responded with mock innocence. "Why does that not surprise me…?"
McGonagall looked confused, but still threw a scathing look at Ron, who was slowly edging from the room.
"How about I show you, Professor," Harry suggested, waving a hand, locking the door just as Ron reached it. "You're staying right here, Weasley."
McGonagall ignored what had happened with Ron, and nodded to Harry's offer. Obligingly, he raised his hand to her temple, and projected everything that had been said regarding what had happened the previous night, and the words swapped after revealing himself to his two friends. Harry stopped the transmission right after Ron fled from the room, and lowered his hand, watching as McGonagall's face slowly transitioned from curious, to fuming.
"Mr Weasley," she hissed venomously. "That was, by far, the largest contradiction to your story that I've ever seen. We will be seeing the Headmaster this instant, and we will be including one Severus Snape in this little talk as well!"
Ron paled instantly, but was soon being shuffled from the (now unlocked) room, by a most irate Head of House. Right before she stepped from the room though, McGonagall swiftly looked at Hermione and said, "Are you all right, Miss Granger?" She eyed her cheek appraisingly.
"I'm fine, Professor," she answered, smiling up at Harry. "Harry fixed it."
McGonagall nodded before taking a quick look at Harry. "Thank you, Potter. You look absolutely stunning, by the way…" she grinned, before pushing Ron out the door and following him.
Harry looked down, very abashed by the comment.
"She's right, you know."
Harry looked down at Hermione sceptically. "Yeah right. I'm hideous, Hermione … not that I've actually looked in a mirror lately…" He grasped her shoulder firmly, but gently, and teleported them both directly into the Great Hall before she could reply.
Several surprised exclamations found Harry's ears, but at the moment he was too busy catching Hermione, who had almost collapsed with the shock of such an unexpected transportation.
"Good Lord, Harry," she gasped, regaining her bearings. "Don't ever do that to me again, and if you do, warn me first!"
"It's cool though, isn't it?" he grinned, laughing at her horrified expression. "You're no fun…"
"Fun?" Hermione screeched, slapping his arm indignantly. "You're impossible … Harry … err, good afternoon, Professors Dumbledore, Snape … Remus. Um … Nice day, isn't it?"
"Good afternoon, Miss Granger," said Dumbledore from behind the Head Table, smiling amusedly at the two. "Indeed it is a nice day, and judging by Harry's rather magnificent entrance and appearance, your talks went well?"
Harry's grin faded, and Hermione looked awkward.
"Where, may I ask, is Mr Weasley, Callen?" Severus asked, gazing at him in a manner that made Harry know that he knew what had happened. "How did he take the news?"
"I think you know the answer to that, Sev," Harry replied, letting some of his anger leech into his manner. "Actually, Professor McGonagall will be arriving soon, to tell you what happened. Ron will no doubt be grudgingly with her."
"He flipped out on you, didn't he," Remus stated, grimacing in sympathy.
"Oh, just a little," Harry remarked sarcastically, holding his thumb and forefinger together as though in measurement. He shook his head and lead Hermione to a seat next to his, which was beside Severus.
"Which part did him in?" Remus continued, leaning around the table. "Severus being your father, or that you're an Avatar?"
"Well, in case you missed his reaction to Callen being a Snape, you can imagine his reaction when he found out I was one and the same. But, even that wasn't as bad as his reaction to finding out what I was…" Harry trailed off, and he looked down. He knew, deep down, that Ron wouldn't ever be able to accept what he was like Hermione could … but he didn't want to loose his friendship either. Ron had been his very first friend … and although the closeness would be forever tarnished, Harry believed that they might at least be able to work through it.
Feeling a reassuring pat on his shoulder, Harry turned toward Severus, looking almost unsure at his action, but Harry smiled appreciatively at him.
"Severus told me of this mornings experimentations, Harry," Dumbledore spoke into the silence. "I must say, I was quite surprised by your abilities, thus far. I never thought your strength could increase so profoundly. It's quite reassuring …"
"But I could hurt someone, if I'm not careful!" Harry exclaimed, looking around his father to stare at Dumbledore.
"That is true," Dumbledore nodded, "But think of what you've managed to achieve in the few hours since your full transformation? Not five minutes ago, you managed to displace not only your own molecules, but Miss Grangers as well. I think you will find that you will get a handle on your magical control quite quickly."
Harry looked briefly at everyone. "Really?" he asked, his powerful voice sounding strange with the small tone he used. "You think so?"
"Absolutely, Harry," Remus smiled, before digging back into his tuna dish.
Harry grinned, grabbing a piece of apple to munch on habitually, when the doors to the Great Hall swung open, revealing Minerva McGonagall pushing a very resistant Ronald Weasley in front of her. They marched up to the Head Table, stopping directly in front of Dumbledore.
"Albus, we have a serious problem with Mr Weasley!"
*****
"I still say we should Obliviate him of his memories of the past day, and ship him back to his parents with some excuse as to why he's back early!"
Severus was glaring daggers at the youngest Weasley boy, who he was satisfied to say, was shaking visibly in the chair he was seated in, across from the Headmasters desk. They had all decided to move the discussion to Albus's office, where it was the most secure for such a situation.
Minerva had told them all what had transpired in his son's room, and to say that they were all most displeased with it all was quite the understatement. Admittedly, Callen could have revealed himself in a more tactful manner, but giving Weasley's words beforehand, Severus couldn't blame him.
Severus glanced over at his son, who was sharing the couch with Granger, relieved that he'd shifted back into his natural form, even if he did look older than his peers. He took up less room, for one, but it also rid them of the distraction factor. Callen was quite the impressive figure, and none of them could focus quite properly with him standing there in all his magnificence. That, and the power he projected unconsciously was quite distracting, and seemed to lessen somewhat when in his human form.
"We cannot go around Obliviating everyone west and nilly, Severus," Minerva scolded, interrupting his musings. "If we simply had his word that he would keep all this about Harry a secret, then I don't see a problem. As … narrow-minded as Mr Weasley has proven himself to be, he won't reveal such a secret to anyone. Not once he realises the ramifications if he was to say anything…"
"And what if he does blab, Minerva?" Sev responded agitatedly. "What on earth would we do then? Our advantage would be lost, and the Dark Lord would want Cal for a completely different reason! He would know that he'd be completely incapable of killing Cal on his own, and will start to try and lure him back to his side…"
"I would never join Voldemort!" Harry exclaimed, interrupting the conversation, looking quite unsettled by the line of discussion.
"You don't know that for sure, Callen," Sev commented gently. "The desire to obey the Dark Lord is interwoven with your very being, and you will feel its pull. Remember, it was only because of the possible unpredictability, and uncontrollable aspects of the Avatar's, that made Him try and destroy the line…"
Severus watched his son's face fall into one of dejection and anxiety. Granger patted his shoulder reassuringly, and he gave her a weak smile before returning his worried eyes to the floor. Sev looked back at Dumbledore, Remus, and Minerva, seeing their own worry about the declaration on their faces. He himself had always known of an Avatar's compulsion to obey it's Master … but to actually tell anyone about it wasn't something he'd wanted to do. He needed the Weasley boy to understand just how confidential this information was, especially if he wasn't to be Obliviated.
"P … Professor Snape, sir?"
He turned and looked at Granger, who looked a little intimidated, being around so many figures of authority.
"Yes, Miss Granger?"
"Um … Does V-Voldemort know that Harry is the only Avatar left alive, and if so, does he still think that he hasn't Awakened yet?"
He frowned a little, wondering what the point was in repeating something that she already knew, but nodded acquiescingly just the same. "Yes, that's correct."
Hermione nodded. "Well, I was just thinking, and wouldn't all of Harry's problems be solved if he was to die, but he continued living as Callen Snape?"