We Don't Know - The Strumbellas
Xxxx
Severus deposited the stack roughly on the desk. The edges of each paper were curled and worn from the countless times he'd read them. Throughout the months, since he'd started on this not so little project, he'd given Dumbledore an update here and there, but nothing was definitive, not until now. Dumbledore picked up the first piece of parchment, scanning the words carefully before looking back at Severus with a raised eyebrow.
"You're positive?"
Severus reached over the desk, rummaging through the stack until he found the parchment he wanted. "After this? Quite." He pointed to a single line.
The headmaster looked down again, muttering the line underneath his breath in an attempt to grasp its full meaning.
"The transfer is complete. The pounding in my veins grows stronger, no longer just mine, but his as well." He looked up once more and Severus watched the confusion in his eyes fade.
"We were merely a test."
"Surely this isn't Lord Voldemort's writing, his paranoia would put journaling out of the question."
"No." Severus said, confirming the suspicion. "This piece dates from the 1700s. I merely happened upon it."
"And did you 'happen upon it' in legal ways?"
Severus gave a huff, allowing a small smile to play on his lips. The truth was he'd committed a series of illegal deeds in order to even find it. "Let's just say it's owner doesn't realize it's missing."
Dumbledore strummed a finger across his chin in thought. "If you were a test…he's done it, hasn't he? Finished the process?"
"Well, what was he like during his school days?"
Dumbledore's eyes darkened at the question, as the memories of those times plagued him. " Cunning, manipulative, he had the student body under his finger. It was only once it was too late that we, the other professors and I, realized what he was doing."
Severus had heard this all before, how the Dark Lord had exhibited practically every trait that made one a Slytherin. It made him wonder if there was any truth to the statement he'd heard Lord Voldemort claim before, that he was the heir. "Nothing else strikes you as…different?"
Dumbledore looked at him as realization hit. "His appearance."
Severus nodded ever so slightly. "It seems he may be taking on the physical attributes of whoever his victim is. Blood seems to have changed him more than we thought. I have ideas, but." He shook his head, almost in disbelief. "I have no proof."
"If they're still alive, he could return at any time, at any form, and we might not even know." Dumbledore sighed, rubbing his wrinkled forehead in irritation. "How do we catch a criminal – a murderer, when we don't even know what they look like?"
"Not necessarily." Severus once again rummaged through the parchment. "It mentions the host can only be temporarily, holding two souls weakens the body over time." He glanced up from the paper beneath him, looking at the headmaster once more. "You told me when the Longbottoms were…" Even saying their name struck him, reminded him how easily it could have been his own family. "…That there was no body, only blood. He will return to his own body eventually, but in the meantime, he may wreck havoc on it's host."
Dumbledore reclined in his chair, looking away from the stack for the first time and intertwining his fingers. He was quiet for a moment as he processed the new information. In the stretch of silence, Severus sat, looking at him expectantly.
"The Longbottom boy is in danger, Lord Voldemort will come back." Severus nodded silently as Dumbledore stated the obvious. "This." He gestured to the papers. "Is all a part of Voldemort's knowledge but it seems we may have something he doesn't." It was Severus' turn to look confused as Dumbledore continued once more. "At the beginning of all this, you dappled with the idea of horcruxes. It seems he may have accidentally created one with Neville."
"That's not possible, it's a complicated process, not one that can merely happen."
"Nevertheless, it has. I believe it's how the boy survived the attack. Murder tears the soul apart, with Voldemort's track record it was only a matter of time until his soul broke entirely, leaving a piece behind. With Voldemort's disappearance after the murder of the Longbottoms, it seems his soul latched onto the only living thing it could."
Severus sighed deeply. They had a long road ahead of them to end this war and the mastermind – no, madman – behind it.
Xxxx
Upon stepping over the threshold, Severus stretched backward trying to relieve his aching back. Voices carried down the hall, both ones he'd come to recognize although they certainly didn't carry the same amount of affection. He took determined steps toward them, Lily and Sirius. The man had been…intruding on his home for over a year, yet Severus still wasn't used to having him so near. Sure, he was appreciative of everything Sirius did for his family, that didn't mean he had to like him. He and Sirius tried to get along, they truly did. They put on a show of smiles and friendliness but it was all for Lily. When she was gone they simply avoided one another whenever possible. There was too much history, too much bad blood between them to simply wipe away.
Sirius glanced at him first as he reached the doorway, it was the indifferent stare Severus had grown accustomed to. Lily's however, her beaming smile and bright eyes made him want to crumple on the spot. He'd never considered himself to be romantic but when it came to her he was an absolute sap. He smiled genuinely back at her as she balanced a growing Harry on her hip and swayed side to side.
"Did you hear there was another break in?" She started by way of hello as she beckoned him over to her before turning her gaze back to Sirius upon Severus' insistence that no, he had not heard.
The other man cleared his throat. "It was muggle this time, happened a week ago, muggle authorities are claiming it was staged, there was no sign of an intruder -"
"Because it was done magically." Severus finished for him.
Sirius stared for a minute, eying him. "…Right."
Lily bit her lip nervously, not catching what Sirius had. "They don't have any idea who it is."
"No one's been hurt and little has been stolen. The person doesn't seem like a threat." Severus brushed off her unprecedented worry.
"You're right, I'm being silly." She forced a smile once more, turning to face him. She studied his face, his tired, unfocused eyes.
Severus watched absentmindedly as Sirius stepped from the room and Lily followed after. He barely noticed when she handed over their child, barely heard her say goodbye to the other man. He stayed, rooted to the spot, mind preoccupied with the news Lily had told him. It had been him of course, shameful as he was to admit it and Lily certainly didn't know. Books had only gotten him so far, they'd given him leads of where he could find possible information, or rather the information he was actually searching for.
He'd been careful of course, he used the invisibility cloak and silent spells to get in and out of where he needed to be and only after he was sure the building was unoccupied. As of late, only five of his intrusions had been reported, he'd committed many more. Severus couldn't help but wonder just how his existence had been noticed, he was careful to leave things untouched. Now, hearing that his most recent expedition had been discovered he was beginning to grow worried. Although, he couldn't say he was surprised. In the past, he'd only taken items he truly needed and replaced them with a duplicate. This last book, the muggle owned one, had had some type of spell to prevent Severus from enacting the same safeguards as before. Instead, he'd been forced to take it and according to the recent reports, it had been noticed. He was comforted only by the fact that he was done, he'd found what he'd needed.
Ironically, the most crucial information, what he'd delivered to Dumbledore earlier that day, had been found in a muggle home. It hadn't been entirely unexpected, the family was ancestors of a squib that had been mentioned in one of the many books Severus had read and reread. It had been a throwaway name mentioned alongside the dark magic Severus had been investigating: Amina Aduno. Part of him couldn't help but wonder if the squib in question had used such a method to gain a more magical talent, to 'steal magic' as they say. The other part wondered if it worked. To his disappointment, none of that had been mentioned in the journal that Severus had found.
Xxxx
"Sev?" She called again to no response. His mind seemed to be elsewhere, it'd been that way a lot lately, he'd been burying himself in a new stack of books but nothing seemed to satisfy him, he could never find what he was looking for, not until recently. "Severus!" She called again, louder. With a snap of her fingers, he seemed to remove himself from his thoughts. "What's the matter from you?" Her arms went up in the air before landing back at her sides as she huffed.
Severus frowned, more at himself than her. "I'm sorry…I met with Dumbledore after classes, I guess my mind is still preoccupied."
She gave a slight roll of her eyes in return. "I don't know what has you so distracted but you've been distant for some time." A realization dawned on her then and she continued. "Since shortly after Harry was born…"
His eyes grew wide suddenly, something she hadn't been expecting at all. "Oh, no, it's not that." He shifted Harry so he could better look at him to prove his point. "Sure, he complicates things a bit but I don't resent him like you seem to be suggesting. It's merely work, teaching can be rather tiring…combined with the work for the order…"
Her eyes softened at his response and she drew closer to him. She placed his arm around his waist, leaning her head on to his chest so that she was almost eye level with Harry. "Don't stretch yourself too thin."
"I'm afraid it's a bit late for that. Although Albus and I have made quite a breakthrough."
"Does that mean I actually get to see you tonight? Not the back of your head as you're sucked back into reading?"
He gave her a quick peck on the lips before responding, as if it would keep her from being disappointed. "I'm afraid not, now I have papers to grade." He cocked his head to the front room where he had left his things.
Lily sighed as she took Harry from him. She'd seen little of him in the weeks, rather months, that Severus had been investing himself into whatever this was. Between that and the promotion, she felt as though they never saw one another anymore.
A while later, she stood in the kitchen preparing dinner while Harry was down for a nap and Severus sat at the table. "Shrinking solutions make things smaller." Severus read aloud to her. "Ah, the remarkable intelligence of second years."
"Not everyone was a master at age 10." Lily remarked.
"That's not an excuse to fill a 12-inch parchment with useless, obvious sentences." Severus stood from his place and made his way over to her. "Next he'll be telling me that polyjuice tastes funny."
Lily turned slightly so she could see his face. "Just how would you know that one?"
He was against her now, the front of him pressed fully into her back and his lips inches from her ear. He couldn't help but smirk at the question. "Purely from educational sources."
"And not personal experience?" Her eyebrow raised ever so slightly.
"Absolutely not." The devilish grin on his face told her otherwise. Voldemort may not be able to read him but to her, he was an open book.
He breathed against her, sending shivers down her skin and forcing any thought from her mind. In response, she bumped him with her hip, sending him away even though she was tempted to give in. She glared at him from beneath her eyelashes, but couldn't stop from smirking all the same. In response, a chuckle came from Severus suddenly. The scrolls of parchments he'd been grading were left abandoned on the table as he came close once more.
Reaching into the drawer beside her, he removed a knife and began chopping vegetables while she toiled over the stove. The moment was pregnant with a content silence, filled only with the rhythmic slice and thud of his knife and the burbling of water that boiled in her pan. A cry came suddenly and Severus couldn't help but be a bit disappointed at the interruption. With a kiss and a lingering brush of skin, he left the room once more.
Xxxx
Nearly every grin he was capable of was reserved for Lily. Here, in the musty dungeons of the castle, he was the picture of a stoic calm. His control over the classroom had come almost instantly. The students had witnessed some of his personality when he'd been merely an aid to Slughorn. With the old man out of the way, Severus was free to run the classroom how he always thought it should have been. Dragging himself out of bed each morning was worth it to see the obedient fear in his student's eyes. It was the same fear that made them pay attention and learn, whether they wanted to or not.
Today, he passed back the first essay he had given, the first essay the second years had ever received in potions. The room was still, they were only a few months into the term and none of the young students had dared to defy him yet. It was because of this that the tension in the room was palpable as each student unrolled their scroll of parchment to see how they did.
Although he would never tell them, Severus was rather impressed with how they had done. He'd given higher marks than he had expected to, even to the most dimwitted students. It seemed they weren't quite as useless as they had first seemed. He'd make potion master's out of them yet.
Severus leaned against his desk at the front of the room, crossing his arms over his chest and bending one ankle over the other, giving his injured leg some much-needed rest. He stayed that way as each student in front of him stuffed their essay with the rest of their things before turning to face him once more. When all eyes were on him and the sound of ruffling papers stopped, he flicked his wand, allowing instructions to appear on the board – his instructions. They'd done research on shrinking solutions, now they would brew some.
His lip curled into a sneer as he spoke. "Your ingredients are on the far right counter and as always, you'll find the appropriate instructions on the board. Begin."
The sound of wooden chairs scraping against the dark, stone floor filled the room as children made their way to the ingredients. Severus watched exasperatedly as some of them took far more than necessary, leaving very little for everyone else. He was glad that he still set out the necessary ingredients rather than let them sift through everything. Merlin knows what would come up missing then.
It still amazed him how utterly incompetent some of them were at such a simple task. Flavius Pluck practically shredded his caterpillars while Florentia Thorn chopped hers roughly in half and decided that was good enough. Severus groaned inwardly at the sight of it all. He strolled the room, peering into cauldrons, looking for anything potentially dangerous. While some were close to the necessary acid green, others were an array of colors. Most notably was Florentia's, which was a disgusting shade of hot pink, something Severus wasn't aware was even possible. A putrid smell filled the room suddenly and Severus turned, looking for the culprit. A violent cough gave the culprit away almost immediately.
"Trying to kill us all yet again, Finwick?" He raised an eyebrow menacingly at the boy as he vanished the potion. "The instructions are there for a reason, perhaps you should use them if you don't wish to fill your grade with zeros. Five points from Hufflepuff." He returned to his desk without another word, not even giving the boy a chance to defend himself. With a quick glance, Severus checked his timepiece and found that only a few minutes remained, much to his relief. "Wands down, bring your vials to me if you wish to receive credit for today's assignment."
One by one the students filed before him, placing their labeled potion on his desk. Severus listened to each clink of glass as the vials were set down and soft footsteps as the owners walked away and from the classroom. As the last student left, leaving Severus all alone, he leaned forward, pinching the bridge of his nose. It was on days like this that Severus wondered why he ever took the job, why he hadn't chosen working alongside Madam Pomfrey instead.
He opened his eyes, not having realized they'd been squeezed shut in the first place, and saw a torn piece of parchment on the floor only a meter or so away. Walking over to it, he plucked it from the ground, flipping it over to read the messy writing scrawled across it
We know what you've done.
Xxxx
A\N: Well surgery went well and I can type again! It also gave me plenty of time to brainstorm, for all of my stories and then some. Prepare for a lot of updates!