Fixing Past Mistakes

Chapter 29

The Books Released


Severus woke up groggily to the sound of his alarm blaring in his ears; his arm shot out and slammed his hand on the device to shut it up. Grumbling under his breath, he sat up, yawning tiredly, rubbing at his eyes to get the sleep removed. Blinking sleepily, he stretched out on the bed, sighing in satisfaction. A small smile appeared on his face as he caught sight of the picture of Harry and the cubs at the side of the bed. Who would have thought he'd become one of those maudlin parents who kept pictures everywhere? Not that he took them; no, the pictures in the house were courtesy of the house elves. He didn't stop them; truth be told, he encouraged them. The others deserved to see Harry grow up, even if it was only by means of the pictures. He wasn't sure if they could forgive him for keeping this from them. Oftentimes he found himself writing letters to them, but he didn't send them; instead he placed in them in a photo album he kept hidden.

Once he was awake and aware enough, he looked down at his left forearm out of habit, staring at the unblemished skin in awe and satisfaction. He couldn't believe that something as simple as a de-aging potion had gotten rid of the Dark Mark permanently. It was too good to be true, hence the reason he constantly checked it each morning just to see. It was like a new breath of life, just knowing it wasn't coming back. Each morning it was a reminder that he was free of past mistakes, and this was a new future for him.

Rolling out of bed, he wandered through to the bathroom, and absently began to brush his teeth. Today was the day the books were due to be delivered. He wondered if they would be coming in the morning or if it would be an afternoon delivery; he would find out soon enough. Only one hundred copies had been made, just to see how well they did. Talin had said he would definitely be buying a bundle for the students, but they hadn't discussed how many as of yet. Spitting the toothpaste out, he gargled with some water, quickly did the toilet, and washed his hands and face before getting dressed... and then he was ready to face the day, whatever it would bring.

Wandering to Harry's bedroom, he quietly gave his son a little shake, wakening him up. It was his habit to wake him up like this, since Harry hadn't been one for loud noises. He didn't have a care in the world about loud voices now, although he sometimes got scared of loud voices if they were also angry, as if the sound brought back bad memories. Harry had never spoken about the Dursleys, and Severus wasn't about to bring them up; they were best left in the past where they belonged.

"Time for school, little one," Severus murmured, smirking in amusement at the cross look Harry gave him through tired green eyes. Harry would sleep until around eleven o'clock on the weekend when he wasn't being forced to get up for school. He didn't know if it was all the activity during the week that caused it, or if the boy just liked to sleep in. It wouldn't surprise him; he could remember how tiring it was at Hogwarts the first year. Using magic took a lot out of you.

"'Kay," Harry muttered, yawning sleepily.

"Remember to brush your teeth," Severus added, before he put the light on and left the room. Harry's clothes and shoes were already on his trunk at the foot of his bed, ready to put on. It saved time, so he tended to do it at night, since Harry was very independent and liked to do this on his own. The only downside was the amount of toothpaste that was wasted; the sink ended up with more toothpaste than the toothbrush or Harry's teeth.

"Mail for Master Severus," Dobby announced, his gangly hand pointing towards the dining room table. Dobby had obviously returned it to its original size, since he doubted any owl could have flown with such a bundle in its talons.

"Thank you, Dobby," Severus praised, removing the tape on the box and opening it. The smell of new books hit him in the face. Removing one of them, he smiled in genuine pleasure. It was a book catering specifically to the needs of the school, or to be even more specific, for five- and six-year-old children and the potions they brewed. A lot of the information covered the basics about potions and their ingredients; there were a lot of pictures, as well as short explanations worded so that they would understand. Two months was all it had taken to get this book written and published; he was rather proud of it.

"Breakfast is almost ready," Heather said as she plated it up for both her Masters.

Severus moved the box onto the floor; Dobby had at least had the sense to keep the lightweight charm on it. Before he settled at the table to eat, he began to rifle through his other mail. A few were from St. Mungo's, requesting more of the blood adoption potion, but it wasn't the UK branch sending the requests; it was the American one. This did surprise him; Dobby must have brought the letters from the house when he was giving Black his food. Thankfully no accidents had happened like last time again; Dobby must be going in on the sly― either that or remaining invisible. He knew the consequences of such a thing happening again, and Dobby didn't want Black to go hungry. Unfortunately, Severus couldn't risk Black being seen here of all places, and yes, people here recognized the so called "Mass-Murderer;" it had been in all the newspapers. This was not surprising, since many wizards had fled overseas to get away from the war, and the excessive news coverage had been a desperate attempt to get them back. He would be genuinely surprised if anyone did go back; everywhere else was more advanced than magical Britain. He'd never thought he'd say that, but he hadn't been anywhere outside Britain before this; most of his life had been spent in Hogwarts or Spinner's End.

"Harry, come here," Severus called as he watched his son come in for breakfast. His lips twitching in amusement once more, he saw that Harry had put his shoes on the wrong feet again this morning.

"What's wrong, daddy?" Harry asked, "I brushed my teeth!" he added, smiling widely to show them off.

"So I see," Severus replied, hoisting the five-year-old onto the table before he sat down and took off the shoes Harry had probably spent five minutes trying to get into. "You are getting too heavy to lift," he mused as he put the shoes onto the proper feet, putting the Velcro straps back into place. Whoever had made these was a genius. The trainers he'd bought Harry with laces were lying in his cupboard, currently unused; he had been forced to re-tie Harry's laces nearly two dozen times in a single afternoon. So when the opportunity arose, he'd bought these Velcro-closed shoes, and they were definitely worth it.

"That's because I'm a big boy now! Right, daddy?" Harry exclaimed, vastly different from the grumpy boy who had woken up not long before.

"You are that," Severus agreed, helping Harry jump down. Once on his own feet again, Harry promptly scampered towards his chair and sat down on his booster seat.

"Here you are, Master Harry, Master Severus," Heather said, floating their food to the table.

"Thank you!" Harry chirped, giving the house elf a smile before digging into his food with gusto.

"You are welcome, Master Harry," Heather said, giving her own beaming smile. She had served generations of Potters, and while she hadn't been treated badly, she hadn't been acknowledged quite the way she was now. She felt as though she was truly part of their family. The elves were asked for their opinions, were given sweets occasionally, thanked, trusted, even given gifts by Master Harry. He was one unique Potter, even if he wasn't going by that name any longer. She hadn't had it nearly as bad as Dobby; her friend had lost his Mistress two years ago, just half a year after the war had ended. With nobody else left in the line, he'd had no choice but to go to the handlers. There he'd been mistreated, and kept in a cage until he'd been rescued by Master Severus, who had been disgusted by the way he'd been treated, according to Dobby's tale. His new master had come with no warning, swooping in like an avenger, throwing the coins at the nasty wizard and giving Dobby a home.

"Here is your coffee, Sir," Heather said, handing it over before she began preparing breakfast for herself and her friends.

Severus nodded, gratefully taking it. He never went anywhere without first having a coffee. Food he could do without, but never coffee. He suddenly stood up, as he remembered the permission slip had to be handed in today, otherwise Harry would miss out ― he never wanted Harry to feel left out. He had never gone on the trips the school had offered in his own childhood. His parents had never had the money; even his lunches had been free. This was a good thing, all things considered, since they wouldn't have paid for them. They'd scraped through by the skin of their teeth; he wasn't sure how his mother had done it, in all honesty. She'd gone from having the best of everything, all the money she could spend, to being destitute, all for a Muggle who liked to beat the crap out of her.

Unpinning the permission slip from the board, he grabbed a pen from the drawer before signing it, also grudgingly signing up to volunteer to help look after the children on the trip. The things he did for Harry, he mused humorously. He'd just signed up for an afternoon filled with squabbling children, pushing and shoving each other to see the various animals first. It was going to be a nightmare, and he would have to curb his tongue. It wasn't as if he could reprimand them; they weren't his kids ― thank Merlin; one was enough.

Severus wandered over to Harry's bag and placed both the permission slip and money for the trip into it before zipping it back up. There, that was one less thing to worry about, at least until the party, but he would thankfully have time to recover from the trip to the zoo before his ears bled attending a birthday party. Which reminded him…he would need to buy a gift. Severus' lip curled at the thought; unfortunately, it was the polite thing to do, and considering the girl lived three doors down, he would have to play nice.

Yawning tiredly, he sat back down and finished a few pieces of toast, still feeling hungry as he drank his coffee. He hadn't gone to sleep until well after midnight; it was unlike him, but perhaps he should have a few hours sleep when he got back from dropping his son off. Harry had moved over to the couch and turned the TV on, watching fifteen minutes of cartoons before going to school ... as he always did. It kept him happy and entertained, and Severus was quite happy with that... especially this early in the morning. Cleaning the grease from the butter off his hands, he picked up the book again and flipped through it, making sure everything was as he had asked. Having two years of work done up into one bound book would also help save money for the people sending their children to the school. He knew everyone wasn't as well off as he, so this way they wouldn't need to worry about buying a new book until their kids were seven.

"Harry, grab your coat and bag," Severus said when the fifteen minutes had passed. "It's time to go."

Harry pouted as he cut the TV off, but nonetheless he did as his daddy asked, and grabbed his coat and bag. He handed them to his dad so he could get help putting them on; he wasn't quite able to do it by himself yet. The one time he had tried, he'd ended up with his coat on upside down. His daddy had laughed at him, actually laughed! Doing it twice hadn't made him laugh again though, but Harry had liked it a lot. His daddy didn't laugh much, so the memory was precious to him.

"Are we walking today?" Harry asked eagerly.

"I think we will Apparate; we are a bit late," Severus explained, holding his hand out and Harry clasped his arms around his dad's legs. Once they were both comfortable, Severus Apparated them to the gates.

"There's Dylan!" Harry cried, waving his hand frantically, "Dylan!" he called, still waving.

"Go on then," Severus said. Harry gave him a big hug before he ran after his friend; they both disappeared into the building. A teacher was there keeping an eye on them, ready to take them to the classroom. These youngsters weren't allowed outside like the older children; they were still too young to be trusted properly, mostly just in case they ended up getting distracted and walking off. He saw Talin amongst the teachers, before Talin spotted him and began walking towards him.

"How are things?" Talin asked. "No surprise visitors?" he teased.

"Thankfully, no," Severus said dryly smirking. He knew Talin was speaking about Sirius Black; true to his statement, Sirius Black thankfully hadn't made a reappearance.

"Well that's a relief; please tell me you are attending the Carn party," Talin said.

"I wasn't asked specifically, but Harry has been invited; I assume your three have been asked?" Severus enquired, grateful that he would at least have one person to talk to. It showed that this was a very close-knit community, as once again the headmaster of a school was being invited to a children's party ― although it could be for the kids' sake only.

"Just the boys," said Talin, "They're looking forward to it."

"What's not to like?" Severus muttered; kids loved parties, at least until something went wrong. And it was guaranteed to happen ― something always went wrong.

"Indeed," Talin replied, using Severus' favourite word.

"The books came from the publishers today," Severus said, remembering why he'd stayed behind after seeing Harry to the school... not that he'd had a chance to leave.

"Bring them along," Talin immediately said. Both Jason and Nathan had been singing "Septimus'" praises for weeks. He had no doubt the books would do well.

"They cannot go further than the school," Severus warned; there was too much of his…style in the book. Plus he hadn't been aware of it in the other timeline. Or rather, the other "he" who was at Hogwarts right now hadn't known about it. He couldn't risk screwing with the timeline... well, any more than he already had. When he began writing the other books, his style of writing would become more prominent, making it even more vital that they stayed local. With a bit of luck, things would go his way. Since he was just writing for the younger years at the moment, it wasn't as obvious.

"Of course," Talin said in immediate understanding. "I assume when everything is over you will put them on the market properly?"

"I try not to think that far ahead," Severus mused, "But if things transition smoothly, I don't see why not." It all depended on Harry, on whether he wanted to stay here or go to the school his parents had attended. Although by the time the timeline coalesced, Harry's attending Hogwarts would be a waste of time and energy. He would be halfway through what would be fifth- or sixth-year Hogwarts material at the age of eleven. It was quite astonishing, really, and he was truly glad he had found such a place as this.

"Yes; I cannot wait either," Talin said grimly. "The classes there are absolutely ridiculous! I've received the book list, and I simply cannot believe they just begin learning those kinds of spells when they are eleven years old. What is wrong with them? All that aptitude lost because they are so backwards. My six-year-old students could beat those eleven-year-olds while blindfolded. And do not get me started on the electives! It is such a poor education, and for the price ― they are being ripped off."

"You understand my shock, at least, when I realized the potential your school offered," Severus said, nodding his head in agreement with Talin's words. It was true. There was no way in this world he could deny the accusations, since from his point of view they were right. It was completely backwards, and it explained why the Brits found it difficult getting jobs abroad. Who would take on those with as few as five N.E.W.T.s when they could hire a graduate from here who could go straight into the field with a Mastery?

"I understand now," Talin said, "I know now you didn't exaggerate, but I thought then that perhaps you were, a little. I should have known better by now. And they have the unmitigated gall to think they are superior?"

"I think that's more to do with the fact they have more 'purebloods' than are found anywhere else. They seem to forget that they are but a small isle," Severus stated, before adding, "Most purebloods actually loathe the Headmaster of Hogwarts." He was speaking very softly. They?! Since when had he been one of the people of St. Lucia, instead of British?

"I see," Talin mused, before shaking off his thoughts; he would think about it later. "Do you have a copy of the book?"

"Yes, I do, actually," Severus said, bringing one out from his cloak. "I had planned on getting some ingredients before returning home, and then coming back when the children were in their classes," he explained, handing it over. It was just the right size for five- and six-year-olds to handle, much better than the ones they currently used.

"Much more…enlightening; I can see the children picking this up, as opposed to the old version," Talin said as he looked it over. It was colourful; the cover illustration was tastefully done, and funny, giving children the impression that this could be a good subject. Fun, but not funny, Talin mused; he'd thought that was impossible to do, yet Severus had done it. "Why don't you show this to Nathan and Jason? They're both even more eager than you for the book to come out," Talin said, laughing.

"Hardly surprising," Severus smirked. "It was their idea," he added when he noticed Talin's confused look. The last word was nearly lost in the drone of the school bell going off, causing the last of the students to run to the building.

"I must give them a raise," Talin said, hiding his grin.

"Their heads don't need to be any bigger," Severus cautioned, his glinting eyes showing he was just jesting.

"After you've been to see them, come by and visit, or I'll pop by later tonight," Talin said. Tonight was his "free night;" he had a babysitter come, and he'd go out for drinks or whatnot. Usually he went out with one of his friends, who also happened to be his employees, but he didn't treat them as such outside of school. It was perhaps what made them so good at their jobs over all.

"I'll be by; I need an early night tonight, especially if I'm attending the…zoo," Severus stated, using the word "zoo" as if he'd never uttered it before.

Talin laughed again. "You make it sound like you're off to your doom, not just to visit pets with your son."

"I'd actually prefer my doom," Severus told him, drawling out "doom" as sarcastically as possible.

"I think Nathan and Jason have an hour free, right now," Talin said. "I'm afraid I must get going; I have an appointment with the caterers who send the food to the school. Their contract is up; every six months I have to deal with this nonsense." Talin sighed in exasperation. The price went up each time, but he wanted to keep using them, since their food was the freshest. Only the best would do for the school, especially considering all the money the parents paid for their children to attend; they deserved it.

"Six months? For a contract? That is highly….irregular," Severus told him in confusion. "The contracts I usually deal with can be anywhere from a year or two, or even five. Both in my business dealings and for employment."

"All of the rest of mine as well," Talin agreed, nodding his head.

"I would tell them to sign one for two years or you'll go elsewhere; they're making an imbecile of you," Severus said sharply, glaring at Talin for being such a soft idiot. "Your letting them makes you look like a push-over and a right fool," he pointed out tersely. He wasn't sure how Talin would handle hearing the truth in such a blunt way, but he wasn't about to censor his thoughts for anyone.

"Perhaps," Talin said, his eyes narrowed at the thought. Every now and again he thought it himself, but hearing it said out loud kind of put his hackles up. Were they treating him like an idiot? If that was the case, he would show them otherwise. It was not wise to treat him like a fool, not with all the magic he had at his disposal.

"I'll let you go; I'll be back in a few hours," Severus smirked. It was really too bad he had things to do. The magic that had flared around Talin was strong, powerful, and just on this side of menacing, enough to scare the hell out of those not easily intimidated. He would have liked to have been at the meeting. Perhaps Talin would allow him to see the memory later on in the week.

"Of course," Talin agreed before he began walking into the school while Severus Apparated out.


Potions Office- Nathan, Jason, & Severus

"This is brilliant; just look at it!" Jason exclaimed, gazing at the book in awe, as if he had come across the Holy Grail of books. "Septimus, why aren't you happier? I mean, come on; you published your first book."

"I'm over the moon," Severus replied, sardonically smirking at Jason in wry amusement.

"Yes, and I'm the Non-magical president," snorted Jason, before shaking his head and looking down in awe.

"Congratulations, Sep," Nathan said seriously, giving him a genuine smile.

"Thank you," Severus said honestly. It was extremely odd having ... friends? He couldn't exactly call them acquaintances, since acquaintances didn't visit each other more than a few times a year. Having genuine friends was something new; he hadn't had this comradeship with anyone since Lily and he had been teens. They weren't as close as he and Talin though, since Talin knew everything there was to know about him and had still stuck around. It was definitely a weight off, being able to talk to someone about everything. Talin was like Minerva in a way; those two would get on really well. In six years maybe he would be able to introduce them. Merlin, six years; he prayed Harry would take what he had to tell him well, that he would understand and trust him that everything would be okay.

"You seem awfully preoccupied. Worried the book won't do well?" Nathan wondered, "Trust me, that book will do extremely well; the kids are going to love it."

"Are you planning on writing another?" Jason asked curiously when Septimus didn't reply to their question.

"Yes," Severus immediately replied. It gave him something to do at night, after Harry went to bed. He spent most of his mornings and afternoons brewing; the last thing he wanted to do when he was tired was stand over a bubbling cauldron. If he was honest with himself, he rather liked it, and Harry loved checking his manuscripts over, learning new things before the others got a chance to. Since he'd encouraged Harry's curiosity from the moment he'd taken him, Harry was always excited about learning. This was helped along, of course, by his praise and rewards for good behaviour. He knew that last part would die out eventually, when Harry hit puberty.

"Do you want the potions schedules?" Nathan asked, already rummaging in his desk drawer, looking for the curricula for years three and four, for the seven- and eight-years-olds. "I suppose I'm just assuming you'll be doing the two years together…" his voice was muffled by the fact his head was practically immersed in the desk.

"I suppose it depends on how many potions there are," Severus said thoughtfully. "And Talin mentioned you've thought about newer potions and having them on the schedule."

"Yes, there are two in particular, but they're for the older students," Jason explained before Nathan got the chance.

"Here, that's the list," Nathan said, handing the two of them over.

"Thanks," Severus commented, taking them as he began to read through the list. He wasn't as surprised by the potions on it as he would have been over a year ago.

"Septimus, did you bring more than one book?" Jason asked, flipping through the copy he held. It was perfect for children; in fact, it was exactly what he had hoped the book would be. He couldn't wait to see what else Septimus would come up with ― particularly for the books for the older students. He'd had a great time brewing the potions with the suggestions Septimus had offered, and he was quite thoroughly amazed at the results he'd achieved.

"Yes; I'm taking them to Talin later," Severus explained.

"Do you want to stay for your son's class? He's next; they'll be brewing the second potion," Nathan asked.

"I doubt my son would like his father hounding him when he's in school," Severus told him dryly.

Nathan didn't reply, but he did wonder if Septimus knew how often Harrison spoke about him. In class it was "Daddy said this" and "Daddy says that" and "Daddy does it this way" or "can I do it like Daddy does?" It was too adorable to be seen as smugness, though. Harry, like all children, just believed his father or mother, even both, could do no wrong and walked on water.


Thank you Jake and Jordre for taking the time to edit this story and make it wonderful :)