Remembrance and Renewal by Avatar Arkmage and Nigel Tatsuya
Chapter Twenty-Five: Two Snape Manors
The lights of London approached rapidly, reminding Harry of a swarm of attacking fireflies. YiChung, in his draconian form, travelled at a velocity that Harry had not seen even birds of prey duplicate.
Curiously, Harry felt no more than a gentle breeze as they sped over the tops of the tall buildings, and concluded that YiChung could produce some sort of magical dampening field a safe distance ahead of them, which prevented Severus and Harry from being swept off of his scaly back, as well as the interventio interferus in Harry's blood from reacting adversely to the field itself.
Harry clung firmly to Severus' shoulders as they descended stealthily onto a deserted football pitch in muggle London at last. While still several metres from the ground, YiChung transformed back into his human form, birled around rapidly, and held Severus and Harry securely in his arms as he landed softly on the ground.
"WOW! You can fly even in your human form?" Harry asked in surprise as Severus released him from the makeshift harness.
Out of breath, YiChung only shook his head, tossed his long white hair over his shoulder and sat heavily on the soft grass. "It's just a...Levitation Charm..." YiChung explained after a while. "Very useful...if you find yourself falling from a great height..."
"Curious..." Harry began, "why do you transform back into your human form before you land? Aren't we heavier to carry that way?"
Severus mouthed to Harry that he should not bother people with such silly questions as he rummaged inside his robes. Harry either didn't notice his small gesture, or chose to ignore it completely.
YiChung, despite his being exhausted, grinned widely. "Although I can take off in my draconian form, I tend to land...really hard. Albus would never forgive me... if his son and grandson, in every sense but blood, ...got hurt or killed from being thrown from my back. My own ... wife was bounced nearly half a kilometre ... when I landed once."
"Oh no!" Little Harry gasped, kneeling beside the old wizard. "She didn't die..?"
"Nah!" YiChung chuckled, his cheeks still discoloured from the exertion. "She even landed... almost perfectly on her feet and gave me a firm... kick in the tail... for not being more careful with her."
Severus pulled out a large beaker, which Harry was sure Severus had somehow charmed to be smaller whilst in his robes, or else Harry would surely have felt it. "Here, drink." Before YiChung could protest, Severus began pouring its contents into the elderly man's mouth. "It's a hydrating potion, combined with tissue and strength regeneratives."
Harry watched in wonder as YiChung quickly drank the entire contents of the beaker. The colour on the old man's cheeks returned to normal even before he had finished the pale green concoction. "Delicious!" the old wizard said, suddenly rising from the ground with renewed vigour. "Flavoured like sweet limes! I must buy some of that hydrating potion from you before I return to..."
"I shall give you as many to take with you as you desire." Severus said, the gratitude in his black eyes evident, but absent from the rest of his features. "It is not a difficult potion to brew, after all."
"You are too kind, Professor Snape." YiChung stated, bowing reverently. "I am in your debt..."
"You are not." Severus interrupted. "I am offering nothing more than anyone else would have..."
"Then whenever I am in the UK, or if you're in Asia, please feel free to call upon me if you require anything, for no other reason than you and your son are delightful people." YiChung interrupted back. He turned to Harry as he continued. "And do not hesitate to ask if you wish to travel anywhere, I rather enjoy flying, and seeing the land from the air is an amazing sight I never tire of."
Severus only nodded curtly, but Harry grinned at the old man. If he never transformed into a flying animagus himself in his lifetime, he would definitely enjoy another ride on YiChung's back in the future. There was nothing comparable to it. A broom ride was nowhere near as exhilarating.
The three walked unnoticed toward the edge of the field, and took refuge beneath the deserted stands. Severus once again reached into his robes, and withdrew what appeared to be a dirty blonde beehive wig, causing Harry to have to cover his mouth to abstain from laughing.
"Do you find something humourous?" Severus narrowed his eyes.
"No." Harry lied, knowing that while they'd have to look like muggles whilst in non-magical London. Resembling muggles from the 1960s, and muggles of the opposite sex for that matter, did not seem a very good idea. "Where did you get that?"
"It was your grandmother's." Severus replied. "She intended to discard it years ago, but I thought it might prove useful as a disguise."
Harry tried to say something, but he burst into laughter so contagious that YiChung, and even some muggles walking some distance away started laughing as well.
Severus's eyes narrowed even further, if that were possible.
When Harry composed himself sufficiently, he explained that the beehive was an old fashioned hairstyle, and would appear odd on a person today. It also was not meant to be worn by males.
Reluctantly heeding Harry's warnings, Severus transfigured the wig into a shorter hair style, better suited for a muggle man. When Severus donned the sandy blonde wig, Harry mussed it so that the short tawny layers fell naturally about Severus' ears with the longest layer falling just below his collar.
"Perfect!" Harry exclaimed.
As Harry was already wearing a shrunken pair of Dudley's jeans, and one of Severus' white shirts, he could enter the city without raising too many suspicions. "We will draw too much attention dressed like wizards. " Severus stated to YiChung, and elected to transform his billowing black robes into a biker's outfit, although it would vary from the one Albus Dumbledore had created for him several weeks ago. Remembering music he had listened to with Lily at her family's home, he transformed his outfit to replicate the one worn by one of the singers on the disc's package. He could not remember the name of that muggle singing group, but found one of their songs, YMCA,' to be a rather enjoyable tune. On more than one occasion, he even enjoyed dancing with Lily to it, making strange gestures which were supposed to depict the letters .
"I know that costume!" YiChung gasped. "It's the...uh...uh Townspeople! No wait, it's the Village People, right?" At Harry and Severus's looks of surprise, YiChung continued. "My son and I adore the muggles so! We used to sneak into their gatherings together. We had the pleasure of stealing into concerts from their musicians too, and one group we watched from the 1970s was named 'Village People.' I enjoy their costumes, and their music." After concealing his long white beard in the front of his robes, he transfigured his clothing into a blue and white sailor outfit.
They were on their second round of drinks when Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall and Remus Lupin joined them in The Leaky Caldron.
Lucius Malfoy had not seen his wife, Narcissa, since the day their whole family had been stoutly trounced by Voldemort and some of his over-zealous followers. Try as he might, he could not ask after her. Even though the muggle physicians had done everything in their power to help him recover from his injuries, he still could not speak coherently due to the wiring still immobilizing his jaws. Lucius also could not communicate via writing, for the fingers on his right hand had been broken and were still knitting within the splints.
Voldemort must have intended this. To not only injure him, but to render him unable to communicate in any meaningful way with the muggles, or anyone for that matter. He would not be able explain to the medical staff what had really happened to him. He could not seek out any special protection from either the muggle world or the magical world, for he wouldn't ask muggles for assistance in the first place, and the aurors would banish him back to Azkaban on sight.
Voldemort had gone too far this time, but Lucius had little recourse but to remain faithful. Not only had his dealings with the Death Eaters been a source of the Malfoy family's continued wealth and influence in the wizarding world, it was also a matter of great pride. Like many of the other Death Eaters, they stood for the same cause; keeping the wizarding bloodlines pure and free from the inferior and sullying muggle blood, which had the potential to weaken them as a race.
Even if it were feasible to start a revolt against Voldemort, Lucius was a wanted man, and would lose his freedom before he could even attempt to turncoat and help the side of the light.
Lucius' face darkened. He began to wonder if Narcissa had even survived the assault. Was she even in the same muggle hospital as he and Draco were? If so, then why weren't the medical staff at this hospital keeping him informed on her condition? Surely they must know that Narcissa Malfoy was his wife?
Or perhaps they did not. And Lucius could not tell them otherwise.
Sighing, Lucius turned his attention back to the telly box. Because he had limited use of his hands, and didn't know how to turn the channels besides, Lucius had little choice but to watch whatever programme was airing when he hit the on' toggle switch. Thankfully, it was on a station with a wide variety of programmes.
Lucius groaned when he heard the television audience chanting "Jerry!" "Jerry!" "Jerry!" and wondered if the host had such a bad memory that the audience needed to remind him of his name numerous times during the course of every show lest he forget. Either that or the audience was incredibly asinine.
The show title, I'm Married to a Brick House and I Cheated,' flashed on the screen, just before the show's host, Jerry Springer, appeared.
Lucius could not help but roll his grey eyes at the episode's title. He could hardly believe that some muggles would be desperate or downright stupid enough to marry a non-sentient dwelling made of bricks. Surely they'd not be content with shacks or hovels as offspring would they?
His speculations were resolved when Jerry called the brick house' spouse of the first guest onto the stage. While the humbug guest was an average sized man, his spouse was a woman who looked as though she spent most of her days tossing cabers or giants. 'No,' Lucius thought after further speculation. 'The woman probably tosses giants holding cabers.' The woman had muscles on top of her already large muscles. She was so large, that fellow Death Eater, Mrs. Bulstrode, would look rather delicate by comparison.
"You've been censored a-cheatin' on me have you?" the super-sized woman shouted at her husband. "Well you're gonna censored pay for it!"
Lucius closed his eyes tightly. He had a feeling that he wouldn't want to see what happened next. After a few minutes of loud scuffling and profanity, Lucius opened his grey eyes. He saw the bald headed assistant of Jerry Springer along with other hands converging on the far end of the stage. Just before Jerry called for a commercial break, Lucius saw the cheating husband's feet sticking out of a bin next to the first row of audience members.
The sound of his door opening softly drew his attention away from the late-night carnage.
"Father!"
If Lucius's mouth hadn't been immobilized, he would have opened it wide in surprise. Through the partially opened door, he saw a pair of grey eyes, very much like his own, staring back at him. "Mmrrrfo!" He had never been more happy to see anyone before.
"Hello father." Draco greeted, rolling his way across the floor on one of the hospital's wheelchairs. " Dr. Casket said I could come and visit, but only if I let one of the orderlies use this wheeled chair."
Lucius smiled, taking care not to do so too widely, for fear of once again showing Draco his sutured jaw.
"I didn't mean to run off like I did the last time I visited you." Draco said with contrition. "Seeing those wires in your face startled me, that's all."
"Mmssrmokay."
"My healer, Dr. Pain, told me that you must have those wires in your jaw to heal properly. Fortunate we don't need to be healed by the muggles all the time, aren't we? You'd think muggles would take good care not to break their jaws for fear of having to go through this kind of treatment. I'd hate to think what muggle healers would do if one were to break his skull!" Draco said, reaching over to hug his sire before settling back in his wheelchair.
Draco watched the telly box for a while, and saw Jerry Springer force his way between a huge couple, and attempt to avert the fist fight that looked imminent. "Oh! Father, I was right. I knew you'd enjoy watching Jerry Springer!"
Lucius wanted to tell Draco that he really didn't like the show, but could not work out how to make the telly box show him something different. Alas, he could say nothing.
After watching two more couples duke it out, or else punch an interfering stage hand out, Draco began to recount his time so far in the hospital. He told Lucius about Dr. Pain, Nurse Assault, Dr. Casket and even talked a little about Professor Lubricant and his students, and how they thought he was special and wanted to study him.
Lucius frowned. As if their opinion of muggles weren't bad enough as it was! Either they really had names like Pain, Assault, Casket, and Lubricant, or else they were force feeding Draco too many muggle potions, and it was causing his imagination run rampant.
"They even gave me quite a number of interesting things!" Draco said excitedly as he lifted a leather case high so Lucius could see without turning his head. Draco then unzipped the case and pulled out some metallic disc-like objects. "Look at these, father! Would you believe that muggles can spell songs on these?"
"Mmmeymoo?"
"Oh yes father!" Draco said, pulling out a set of headphones, and carefully putting it on Lucius's white haired head. "Well at first, I didn't know what I was to do with all these discs, so I asked Professor Lubricant about it, and the next day, he brought me this..." Draco held the Compact Disc player in front of Lucius's face so he could better see it, "it's called a cd player."
Draco may as well have said a fax machine' or a a video game console' because Lucius didn't have the faintest idea what a Compact Disc Player was, or what it did.
"You simply must hear this, father!" Draco said, withdrawing a disc from its case, putting it into the player and turning it on. Lucius examined the case more closely, and saw that the people on it looked as though they had been the victims of an extreme hair regrower hex, and were not taught that applying makeup with a trowel was not a very reasonable practice. They evidently played ornate drums, and odd stringed instruments that required eccelectricity. In other words, it was a heavy metal band's disc, but they may as well have played new age music, for Lucius did not know one from the other. "Isn't it amazing, father?"
Lucius could not help but think it was the recorded sounds of a dragon being strangled. Whilst the dragon was choking, it also sounded like some one had thrown the human singer into a barrel which they proceeded to roll down a mountainside. The poor fellow was surely screaming loudly enough. Lucius wondered what would occur next. Would the foolish muggles on the recording attempt a spell and cause something to explode? Apparently they did, because immediately after the racket got louder, there was a loud boom' and then there was silence.
"Wicked, isn't it?" Draco said smugly.
After Severus had explained his and YiChung's choices in costumes, and briefly described the muggle singing group they were modelled after to the others, they decided it would be a great idea. Albus transfigured his clothing into garb typically worn by Native Americans, Lupin turned his tattered robes into a denim cowboy outfit, and Minerva took on the appearance of a muggle construction worker, complaining only when her hard yellow hat mussed her neat bun. It was a superb idea. They'd not only blend in with the muggles, they'd blend in no matter where they went, as they replicated muggles from every walk of life, now!
"Yo, douchebag!" shouted the leader of a real biker gang to Severus as they rumbled past him on the busy street. Minerva, Remus, YiChung and Albus were surprised that Severus seemed to be making friends rather quickly in the muggle world, and each vowed to ask him for some pointers at a later time.
Not knowing whether or not it was the same biker gang that he had briefly accompanied en route to Privet drive a few weeks ago, Severus politely waved back at them.
In short order, the group was seated in a local McDumbells munching happily on burgers and chips as they discussed their plans, while striving to remain as inconspicuous as possible to the muggles around them. To their bewilderment, they seemed to be drawing more stares than anyone else in the vicinity.
Minerva looked sternly at Headmaster Dumbledore. Albus should have known better than to wear such bright purple feathers in his Native American headdress. Of course the muggles would think something was suspicious. What bird was that shade of purple anyway? He should have opted for more conservative lilacs, sky blues, sepias and red feathers in his headdress. Why did Albus have to always be so extravagant?
Harry somehow managed to play with the toy that came with his kid's meal while still devouring his chicken nuggets and chips faster than anyone else was finishing their own meals. Although Minerva had initially balked at eating nutritionally deficient muggle fast food, she found the quarter-pound cheeseburger, fizzy drink, salad and chips to be highly palatable. Remus didn't mind the adult-sized order of chicken nuggets either and entertained the thought of asking the house elves to make some from time to time at Hogwarts. Albus and Severus munched contentedly on their Big Dude sandwiches and chips, looking at the dessert section of the menu to decide which sundae they would like best.
A group of bikers, who had been ordering meals at the take away area, shouted: "Bye, douchebag!" at Severus as they left with their orders.
Concluding that the bikers were being friendly because Severus was dressed as they were, he bid them farewell.
It was nearly 11:00 pm when the motley group alighted from a muggle taxi and made their way up the street towards Snape Manor. Harry shivered, in part because of the cold night air, but also because he had been on this very street in his brief stint outside of time. He knew exactly where the Snape family home was located, and kept his eyes high, for he neither wanted to see the spot on the pavement where his father's blood had formed red florets, nor the place where he had stood when he had heard his father and grandmother screaming.
"Are you cold, Harry?" Remus asked, removing his denim jacket and draping it over Harry's shoulders.
Harry nodded, not wanting to discuss what he was really apprehensive about. He was trembling so much now, that he was actually beginning to sweat.
The modest-sized house bore all the earmarks of disuse and neglect. The yard was overgrown, and the greying paint, which had once been a lovely off-white, was chipping in many places from the walls. Fractures riddled virtually every window and several louvres were missing from the smaller windows on the second level.
Harry was taken aback. Surely Severus had not meant to bring them here? The house was probably infested with rodents, silverfish, roaches and Merlin knows what else.
To Harry's further surprise, none of the group raised any concerns about the poor condition of the place and only followed in silence, putting out the street lamps as they passed.
Severus led the group toward a very large tree near the end of the property. The circumference of its trunk was so great, that Harry estimated that the tree was many centuries old. If it were hollowed out, several people could hide comfortably within the trunk.
And that was exactly what Severus apparently intended. Withdrawing his wand, Severus tapped out a pattern on the trunk and softly muttered an incantation. The tree began to creak and rumble softly, and soon a portion of the trunk dissolved away, revealing a doorway.
Beckoning everyone to follow, Severus stepped into the tree and vanished instantaneously. Not willing to lose his father once more, Harry dashed ahead of the rest of the party and dove into the tree after him. Harry immediately felt a sensation similar to passing through the barrier between platforms nine and ten at King's Cross Station, but was also overcome by a feeling of intense nausea. Dull aching spread like an unchecked fire throughout his body.
"It's the magical barrier." Albus whispered, patting Harry gently on the back.
"Even with very low levels of magic, the Interventio Interferous potion reacts." Severus scowled. "Breathe deeply, Harry. This barrier is no more powerful than any of the magical wards in place outside of Hogwarts."
"It is just more concentrated in a smaller area." Remus added, watching Harry for any sign that he might lose consciousness.
The feeling of nausea soon passed, and the dull aching subsided. Harry breathed slowly as he raised his head, and saw a moderately large manor silhouetted against the moonless sky. To his surprise, just to the North of it, he saw a second structure, identical in every way to the first, except that it was lit brightly and was in better condition than the first mansion.
"MASTER SEVERUS!" came a shrill voice from the double maple doors of the brightly lit mansion. A peachy-pink skinned elf with large amber eyes came running out of the mansion and jumped into Severus' arms. "Rastus knew Master Severus would come back some day, Rastus knew it!"
Harry was very surprised. He knew that most magical people regarded house elves as little more than slaves in the best case scenario, and like vermin in the case of Dobby prior to his release from the Malfoys. Severus actually smirked at the house elf and put him down gently after exchanging greetings that seemed quite amicable. Harry was even more surprised that Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Grandpa Chang, and even Professor Lupin seemed to find the behaviour not at all odd. Why?
Rastus was the most un-elf-like house elf that Harry had ever seen. Unlike Dobby, Yumi or Winky, Rastus had a full head of wavy brown hair and stood nearly 120cm tall, a full head taller than Harry was in his de-aged state. The elf did not wear a tea cozy or even an pillow case, but real clothes; a navy blue shirt, and a grey vest and slacks made out of finely tanned leathers. Although his ears still bore elfin points, they were much smaller than the ears on any of the other house elves Harry had seen. The colour of the elf's skin was the most disturbing feature of all. Despite its coarser texture, it was a fleshy pink colour. Rastus seemed... so... so... HUMAN!
"Is master Severus and his guests be wanting some food?" Rastus asked excitedly, following Severus and his guests through the doors like an overly excited child.
"That will not be necessary, Rastus." Severus stated, the McDumbells food still laying heavily in his stomach. "But you may offer our guests tea and biscuits."
Rastus eagerly popped from the foyer and reappeared a few minutes later in the parlour with refreshments for everyone. When Harry took a sweet and a cup of tea, Rastus seemed to freeze.
"May I?" after Harry nodded, Rastus leaned forward and sniffed Harry's cheek. "The scent! You being Master Severus's child?"
"Uh, yes...yes I am," little Harry replied.
The house elf began dancing, stating that he was overjoyed that Master Severus had finally produced an heir. When Severus commented that it was late and Harry was tired, Rastus led the child up the stairs.
"Young Snape may choose the room he likes best to sleep in." Rastus hopped around so excitedly as he spoke, that Harry had to run to keep up with him in the hallway. "Rastus will make you toys, and put nice pillows and sheets on your bed and play with you if you is being lonely..."
Rastus quickly gave Harry a warm bath then put him to bed. Harry had never worn a leather nightshirt before, but decided that it was quite comfortable, sort of like wearing flower petals. He concluded that Rastus had loaned Harry a set of his own clothes. Rastus wore soft leathers like these, and since he and Harry were roughly the same size...
Odd that Rastus, a house elf, wore clothes at all!
Although Harry found that he enjoyed being waited on by a house elf, and even found the prospect of having Rastus as a playmate appealing, something gnawed at him as he lay between the brightly coloured sueded cotton bed sheets. Rastus looked so human that it actually made Harry feel very uneasy.
Was it possible that Rastus might be at least partially human? Did people in the magical world sometimes 'breed' their own workforces?
'No,' Harry thought to himself as Rastus began to play a lullaby for him on an instrument resembling a pan flute. Humans and elves can not reproduce together.' Hermione would have raised an even bigger rumpus in that S.P.E.W. organisation of hers if she knew house elf owners would sometimes breed future house elves themselves... Their own blood, their slaves. And humans and elves could never produce viable offspring together could they?'
Or could they?
Minerva and Albus walked around the grounds of Snape Manor checking the integrity of the wards. YiChung and Remus went back outside the property through the portal in the tree, and tried to steal back in by any means from the air and the ground respectively. Filius Flitwick, who had been delayed by a previous engagement, arrived some time later and tested the integrity of the repelling charms around the grounds.
"The place seems safe for tonight, but we have discussed it amongst ourselves and will return tomorrow evening bringing the materials necessary to add extra reinforcements to the wards, barriers and charms." Albus proclaimed an hour later, as the group made to re-enter the portal. "You will contact us if there are any problems before then, of course?"
Severus nodded. Although he thought the existing protections around the manor were sufficient, a little reinforcement was not unreasonable, especially where Harry was concerned. He bowed once more to Albus, then sprinted back to the well lit manor, taking care not to even look in the direction of the first, and darker manor.
He could not bear to.
Because he could not bear to sleep in a room so similar to the one he had been brought up in, Severus had chosen a room on the East end of the manor on the first floor to retire for the night in. He opened his eyes the next day, to find that the sun's morning rays seemed to be seeking entrance around the drawn drapes. Enjoying the comfort of the spider silk sheets Rastus had prepared for him, Severus rolled onto his back and made to doze off again, when he noticed that he wasn't alone. Evidently, Harry had joined him at some time during the night.
"Good morning, father," the very young child said drowsily as he snuggled closer to Severus.
"Am I to understand," Severus started in an acerbic fashion, "with all the rooms in Snape manor, you find the one I choose to sleep in to be the one you want as well?"
Harry beamed mischievously. He admitted, that even if Severus had chosen a bed made out of ice, used a mattress pad of sharpened spikes, rested his head on pillow made of sharpened deer antlers, and used bed linens made from stinging nettles and muggle steel wool pads, Harry still would have attempted to sleep next to Severus.
Severus sighed. Snape Manor was a new place for Harry, after all. People, especially children, often slept poorly in places they weren't accustomed to.
"Father?" Harry asked after nearly a quarter of an hour. "I've been wondering. Why are there two Snape Manors here?"
Severus's dark eyes widened. Although he knew that Harry was bound to ask that question, he was ill prepared to discuss it. "There are, suffice it to say, evil things in the Snape Manor I grew up in, so as soon as I could afford to, I had this second place built."
"This Snape Manor looks exactly like the first one. What's in the original Snape Manor?" Harry asked, looking in the direction of the first mansion even though it could not be seen from Severus's window.
Severus's face darkened. "That is no concern of yours! Suffice it to say, that it is furnished in almost the same way as this place, and we have everything we need already here, so you'll not need to go looking there for anything." Although Severus's voice was firm, Harry could read undertones of great apprehension as well. "And you are never to enter the original Snape Manor, do I make myself clear?"
"Never?"
"NEVER!" Severus snarled. "Even after I'm many years deceased, you are never to set foot in the original Snape Manor!"
"Never ever ever?"
Severus exhaled hard. "NEVER NEVER NEVER! Even when you've lived longer than Professor Dumbledore, and have engendered more children and grandchildren than you can count on both your hands, you're never to enter the first Snape Manor! Further, you will forbid your progeny from entering as well."
"You mean my children and grandchildren too?"
"Yes! Even your descendants born a millennium after you've died! They are never to enter Snape Manor One!"
"But, father? What IS in the first Snape Manor?" little Harry pressed placing both forearms on Severus's chest and resting his head upon them.
"Damn you, Boy!" Severus shouted, sitting up so rapidly that Harry was thrown to the foot of the bed. "That is not your concern! You are to stay away from that accursed place! You may explore the entirety of the grounds, or any part of THIS manor, but you will not set foot even on the walkway leading to the first mansion!"
"Okay..." Harry said, covering his head and shivering at the intensity of his father's actions. After making sure he had not hurt Harry physically, Severus threw back the spider silk sheets and stormed out of the bed, not believing how much like Lucien Snape he had just sounded.
End Part Twenty-Five