Tallis took a deep breath as he stood outside the Great Hall facing the large and forbidding doors. Everyone else had already entered and the first years were sorted. Now he was just waiting to be introduced. He shuddered, thinking of all the eyes that would be focused on him. He could do this though, he just had to focus on his father and walk up to the platform and sit down. It will be ok he tried to reassure himself.
Suddenly he heard Dumbledore's voice clearly. He had been told that he would be aware of when it was time to enter…evidently this was what McGonigall meant when she told him that. "And now I am pleased to present to you Hogwart's first apprentice in over a hundred years. This talented young man will be serving under Mediwitch Poppy Pomfrey with the potions guidance of Professor Severus Snape. May I present to you Tallis Anthony Snape!"
The doors slowly opened and Tallis was faced with hundreds of faces staring with blatant curiosity at him. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders, standing up as tall as he could as he walked down the aisle toward the head table. The Slytherins were all clapping as well as most of the other houses. Evidently being acquaintances with the Boy Who Lived had endeared him to the world in general. Figures.
The Headmaster had continued his commentary as Tallis made the long walk down the aisle, explaining what Tallis would be doing as an apprentice at Hogwarts. It had been so long since Hogwarts had an active apprentice that few students would know exactly what the young Snape's duties were or what to expect from him.
"Apprentice Snape will be instructing the first year potion students and will also teach alternate classes with Professor Snape for the second years. He will assist with the upper years on a rotating basis so all of you can expect to spend some time in the potions lab with him. He will spend most of his time, however, in the infirmary where you can expect to have him tending to your illnesses. If Madame Pomfrey releases a student to Apprentice Snape's care then you may assume that it is well within his abilities to care for and you will listen to his instruction just as you would Madame Pomfrey's. Apprentice Snape has all the powers and privileges of a full professor, including assigning detentions and giving and removing points. He can be considered to be a junior faculty member."
He finally reached his father's side and sat gratefully between him and Poppy. He was shaking lightly from all of the undivided attention and Severus put a reassuring hand on his arm to comfort and help to ground him. When everyone quieted again Dumbledore proceeded with his announcements. "I am also pleased to reintroduce to you Professor Remus Lupin who is returning once again to fulfill the Defense Against the Dark Arts post." This time the applause was nearly wild from the Gryffindors. Applause was more moderate from the other houses and rather scattered from Slytherin although a surprising amount of them seemed pleased that he had returned. Dumbledore made a quick explanation of the rotating core of professors who would fill in for Professor Lupin during the full moon.
"I would also wish to remind you that the Forbidden Forest is strictly off limits. We will also be imposing a harsher penalty than in previous years for curfew violations for your own protection. It is very important that your Head of House always be capable of finding you. We are keeping track of your whereabouts for your own safety." Tallis thought the entire thing sounded a bit creepy but shrugged his discomfort aside. It was one thing to want students in their beds at night; it was a completely different thing to always want to know where each student is and what they are doing. "Visits to Hogsmeade will be limited and heavily chaperoned. You will learn of each visit on the day that it will occur in order to protect your safety. Although the war activity has calmed in the past few months we will not let down out guard until we are certain that it is safe to do so.
"Argus Filch has now added the entirety of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes to his list of forbidden items. If you feel the need to check the list you may find a copy of it in his office or simply consult a WWW catalogue. Additional restrictions will be announced as they are determined.
"I am sad to announce that we felt it necessary for Harry Potter to be removed from Hogwarts for his seventh year." Tallis and Severus both felt the urge to sneer at the way that the Headmaster worded this. It sounded as though he played a much more important role in Harry's life than he truly did. Frankly, the Headmaster was given no say in the matter at all. Severus had simply told him what they were doing and demanded that he comply. The Headmaster had evidently decided that he might owe the Snape men a favor or two after his manipulations and so he had not argued at all. His compliance was fortunate for him since had he chosen to fight at all both Snapes would have fought back a lot harder and a lot longer than he ever could. The Headmaster no doubt thought that he had almost paid them back completely for all that he had cost them. The Snapes knew that his compliance barely touched the debt that he owed them.
Tallis started listening to the Headmaster's speech again. "Harry has been moved to a private training facility in order to prepare him for his role in the war. He needs to learn things that are not taught here in the general curriculum. He will undoubtedly miss all of you very much but we must ask that you do not attempt to contact him in any way as all of his correspondence is screened most stringently by the Hogwarts staff before the appropriate mail is sent on to Harry. I am certain that he would be grateful for your support and loving thoughts."
The students sat still in their seats, shocked by the revelation. Harry Potter would not be returning to Hogwarts! Silence filled the hall as the students were evidently too stunned to even gossip about it. Panic seemed to take over some of the students who saw this as a sign that they should flee Hogwarts as well. If the school wasn't safe for Harry Potter then it wasn't safe for anyone!
"For now though, welcome back to another year at Hogwarts and enjoy your meal!" Tallis could barely hold in his snort of derision at this. Only Dumbledore would end such a heavy speech with such a trite statement, offering no comfort to the clearly panicked students.
The students started piling their plates high with the wonderful food, beginning the Hogwarts gossip chain just as eagerly. Students loudly debated exactly where the Boy Who Lived had gone. A note of hysteria tinged many students voices, particularly the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. Many other students, especially the Slytherins (who didn't care much about Harry Potter, or at least preferred to project indifference while in public) and many Ravenclaws (who knew that nothing would come of idle conjecture on what was clearly confidential information), ignored that topic and instead focused on a much more interesting topic: Tallis Snape.
Tallis could finally breathe freely again now that much of the attention had been pulled away from the head table. He started to calm down, his trembles ceasing nearly entirely. Severus realized how stressed his son was and tried to keep him busy speaking with himself and Poppy so that he wouldn't have the added stress of making conversation with the other professors around them. He knew that after dinner he would have to make a round of introductions and he only hoped that Tallis could pull himself together long enough to make it through the requisite social niceties.
Severus noticed the hungry looks his son was getting from some of the young men as well as a few young women. He glared them all back to their meals. Honestly, the world knew his son was already dating someone, could they not leave him well enough alone? At least Tallis hadn't noticed anything. He could only imagine what his son's reaction would have been if he had noticed the rather wolfish grins on some of the older boys' faces when he had entered.
Tallis conversed quietly with Poppy, discussing his new books and some of the reading he had already completed and making plans for the upcoming week. It was agreed that Tallis should help his father ready the potions lab rather than help Poppy with the Infirmary. The potions labs were largely dismantled at the end of each year in order to have the equipment serviced and the stocks refreshed and replenished but the Infirmary was always kept up and running. The Infirmary had the necessary modifications and servicing done sporadically throughout the entire year in order to be ready to help the students and Order members who may need medical assistance at any time. There simply wasn't as much work to be done there as there was in the dungeons.
Poppy had also arranged a small bedroom for Tallis off of the Infirmary wing for when he needed to stay overnight to watch over a patient. Evidently while he had been on the train she had gotten together with his father to schedule his time in the potions lab. He would teach his first class on Monday at ten a.m. Tallis looked nervous at this but his father reassured him that he was more than ready. Since he would be mostly following his father's syllabus he didn't need to prepare very heavily for classes.
Tallis looked out over the hall quickly to discreetly check on his friends. Ron and Hermione were being bombarded by the Gryffindors for information on Harry Potter's whereabouts. Students from the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw table eagerly listened in, spreading any bit of gossip that they could glean from the Gryffindors further down their tables.
The Slytherins had all turned inward, talking quietly among themselves. Draco looked slightly unsettled still, something that was rare in the young man who was known so much for the icy exterior that he always showed. It was clear that no one knew what was going on and everyone wanted more information. Tallis could only imagine what the rumor mills would have created by the next morning in lieu of any real information.
Dinner was over entirely too quickly for Tallis' tastes who knew that he needed to greet the other professors. He stood reluctantly by his father's side, plastering a smile on his face, waiting to properly meet everyone. Professor McGonigall was first to come to them, reintroducing herself. Tallis quickly shook everyone's hands and politely introduced himself and made a bit of small talk while never straying more than a few feet from his father's side.
Remus Lupin soon came up to be introduced. He looked at Tallis curiously. He could smell something…familiar about the boy but he couldn't place it. Tallis had been debating whether or not he would tell Remus the truth and he decided that when it was possible, he would do so. Remus looked so sad and tired. He had lost quite a lot in the past twenty years. He had lost more than he had realized, actually, since he had struggled through pain and hardship needlessly while the gold left to him by his friends rotted in Gringotts. The money couldn't buy him his friends' lives back but it could have spared him the years of struggling to scrape together a few pennies to live on. Tallis decided that he would do what he could for Remus, the last true friend that his mum and James had, regardless of how uncomfortable he was around the man.
As soon as they could conceivably leave though, Severus pulled him away from the eager group, claiming that they needed to unpack and begin preparing the classroom. Although they would have all day tomorrow to ready everything (it was only Saturday evening and classes started Monday) everyone accepted their excuses and drifted away.
Severus led his son down to their dungeon rooms by back hallways, avoiding any other run-ins with students or professors. Once inside Tallis was able to let down his carefully constructed façade and show how overwhelmed he was. Severus led his trembling son to the sofa and helped him to sit down. "Can I get you anything, Tallis?" His son shook his head in the negative. Severus sighed and sat down close to his son but not touching him, allowing Tallis to determine when he was ready for that. Part of what made today so overwhelming for his son was the fact that he couldn't decide when to touch and when not to touch someone. Much of it was decided by chance or demanded by society and control was incredibly important to the young man who had been deprived of control for so long. After a few minutes Tallis leaned into his father's warmth, taking comfort in his familiar presence. Severus wrapped his arms around the small boy, helping him to acclimate himself to his surroundings.
Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the door. Tallis looked up, surprised. "That must be Draco" Severus said apologetically. "He always comes by on our first night here. You may retire to your room if you wish to avoid another confrontation with someone but I cannot turn him away."
Tallis nodded. "I'll be fine, I think. I feel better now. I can deal with one or two new people I just couldn't handle them all. They were all staring at me and touching me…" he shuddered one more time and then moved over to curl up in an armchair, thus limiting any potential touch since no one could sit next to him. "I'm fine, as long as you don't mind me here. If you want to be alone with him I can leave."
"No, no, I just wanted you to be comfortable." Severus reassured his son as he stood to let his godson in.
Draco stepped into the apartment, immediately hugging his godfather, which Severus always secretly enjoyed, although he would never admit it. "I haven't seen you in forever. Are you all right? Father wouldn't tell me anything, just that you were discovered as a spy. What happened?"
Severus led him further into the sitting room and Draco quickly greeted Tallis and sat on the sofa. "Well?" he asked expectantly when Severus did not immediately start answering his questions.
"I am perfectly well, Draco. Honestly, they didn't do terribly much when they discovered me. The Dark Lord went on a rather lengthy rant about betraying your blood and heritage which proved to be thoroughly distracting. Before too many curses had hit me I was able to take my portkey out of the chamber. I remained at Hogwarts for a week and then returned to the manor with my son for the rest of the summer."
"Why didn't you ever tell me about him?" Draco asked petulantly.
Severus sighed. "I couldn't be sure it was safe, Draco. I needed to keep Tallis safe, especially knowing who his mother was." Draco nodded. The Dark Lord was rather obsessed with wiping out the Jurow family. "I believed that you would protect my secret but I couldn't be sure. You were so young then and that is a hell of a burden to place on you. I had planned to tell you this summer, regardless of what happened with my role in the Dark Lord's circle but clearly, you saw how the summer played out. I am sorry you had to learn it from the papers."
Draco nodded but changed to subject to something he was far more worried about. "Father is growing impatient. He tried to force me to take the mark this summer. I resisted and told him that I had heard that Dumbledore would be checking us for the mark when we returned at the beginning of the year and so I would take the mark the next time I came home. I can't leave the castle again."
"I'm sorry," Tallis said softly. "We'll be here most of the time as well though, since Father is in danger too. Our day out in Diagon Alley was probably the last such time we can do something like that. We can at least all be together."
"That's true. I'm ashamed to say this but I am glad that you were discovered, Sev. At least I won't be alone here."
The three sat up chatting for a while longer before Tallis decided to retire to his bedroom. Draco and Severus stayed up for a while longer. "So every time I've stayed with you I've been in his room, haven't I?" Draco asked, clearly a bit jealous no matter how much he tried not to be.
"The room here is his room, yes," Severus said calmly. "You never stayed in his room at the manor though. Draco, I am sorry for withholding such information from you but I needed to do it. I have always loved you dearly. You are like another son to me and nothing will change that."
"I know. I'm sorry, it…it's just been a long summer is all." Severus nodded in understanding.
"How do the new first years seem?"
"Scared, for the most part. It is not a good time to be joining Slytherin house. There don't seem to be any true supporters. A few have families that seem loyal but the kids themselves seem rather indifferent, if not outright opposed to His rule. Some are nervous though, from this news about Potter."
"There is nothing to worry about. He will appear again when the time comes. He will fight Voldemort and I am certain that he will prevail."
"You think he can do it?"
"I am nearly certain. If he cannot, then gods protect us. We will have no other chance."
Draco nodded, subdued as he thought about their situation in the war. Severus continued. "And the upperclassmen? Have any of them changed their allegiance?"
"About the same as last year. No one really wants to follow Him. Many of the seventh years had to work hard to keep from being marked and are scared to leave the school again, even to go to Hogsmeade."
"I tried to explain as much to the Headmaster and get him to cancel all Hogsmeade weekends indefinitely but he refused. Said the kids needed to get out and be kids occasionally, regardless of our state of war. He refused to see that by allowing Hogsmeade weekends that he would be putting many of you into an uncomfortable position of potentially being forced to be marked. If any of your parents find out about the Hogsmeade weekend in advance it will be entirely too easy for them to take you on one of those days. If you refuse to ever go to Hogsmeade again then your parents will question it and you will all be in greater danger. Dumbledore didn't understand…or refused to understand more like. No doubt he knows exactly what will happen."
Draco sighed. "The man is a fool. I can see why you sent your son away to school. I almost wish Father had gotten his way and sent me to Durmstrang. I guess I wouldn't even have you then though."
"There were a few reasons behind my decision to send him away, not least of all to escape the manipulations of Albus Dumbledore."
"You're happy that he's here, aren't you? I haven't seen you really smile while at Hogwarts…ever. He seems nice, even though he hangs out with Gryffindors. And evidently incredibly smart if Pomfrey would accept him as an apprentice." Although the Slytherin would never admit it to anyone he had a profound respect for the mediwitch. She wasn't terribly powerful but she had succeeded in her chosen field through hard work and determination. After having everything handed to him on a silver platter he found great respect for anyone who was successful on his or her own merits.
"He is, although he would undoubtedly deny his intelligence if given a chance. He doesn't take compliments very well."
"Is he really dating Weasley?" Draco clearly had a difficult time believing this, regardless of their conversation on the train. It was simply too unbelievable! Granted, he didn't know Tallis at all but what he thought he knew of Severus would have never stood for such a thing.
"Yes, he has been dating Bill for two years now."
Draco sighed. "A lot of the guys wanted me to check and see if he was available. They're convinced he has some elvish blood in him. I didn't tell them who his mother was because I wasn't certain if you wanted everyone to know but I reassured him that he was entirely human. He is, isn't he?" Severus nodded. "I also told them that an apprentice would never date a student. They didn't believe me though, or else believed more in their own ability to turn his head. There will be quite a few broken hearts tonight." Severus snorted at that statement. His son, the heartbreaker, indeed. "How can you handle your son dating a Weasley?"
"They aren't all that bad, Bill especially. I always thought he was the smartest of the lot. He treats Tallis well, which is all that I can ask for. Tallis seems intent on keeping him so I don't object." Draco smirked at the way that Severus spoke of Tallis' boyfriend as if he were a stray puppy, but the smirk was quickly wiped from his face at his godfather's next statement. "There has been little enough joy in his life, I would never knowingly refuse him such a simple pleasure as dating a Weasley."
"What do you mean? Why hasn't his life been good? What happened?" He couldn't imagine anything terribly bad ever happening to the boy. He was as rich as Midas and had a father who clearly loved him dearly.
Severus sighed. "I am afraid that it is not my place to tell you. I promised him that he could tell you when he wanted to. He seems to like you and want to be friends with you though, so I am sure that he will do so relatively soon. Do not break his trust though, in anything. It is difficult to earn his trust and once broken, never regained."
"Has he been ill? He's so much smaller than I would have imagined him. All of the Snapes have been tall and I didn't think that the Jurows were known to be terribly small."
Severus sighed, not entirely certain how to answer that question either. "That too will come with his explanation. I'm sorry I can give you no more. He will tell you, in time, I am sure."
Draco nodded, clearly dissatisfied with the somewhat cryptic answers he had gotten. "I guess I should get back before curfew starts. It was good seeing you. This summer was…hard without you." Draco quickly changed the subject, not wanting to dwell on his dark thoughts. "Does Tallis like to fly? Maybe we can go out for a bit tomorrow. The Slyths were talking about getting together a game of Quidditch. I'm sure they would love for him to join in."
"Yes, Tallis does enjoy flying but I am not certain if he will be ready to go out tomorrow. Why don't you stop by the rooms after breakfast? I believe that we will eat here to avoid the crowds for a bit longer." If Draco thought his last statement was odd he didn't comment on it but instead simply hugged his godfather goodbye and slipped from the rooms.
Severus went down the hallway towards his own room. The small apartment had been slightly rearranged when Tallis' room had been expanded. Now the bathroom was on the left side of the hallway and his son's room a bit further down on the right. There was a rather large study with two desks across from his son's room and his own room was at the end of the hallway. He looked in to Tallis' dark room. Clearly his son had already fallen asleep. He always kept his door open when he slept alone, out of an old fear of being locked in. Somehow having it open, even just a crack, was enough to reassure him that he was safe and could leave whenever he wanted to.
Severus smiled and smoothed his boy's hair back from his face. He had done remarkably well today. When he had heard Tallis' plan to keep his highest level of protection turned off until further notice he never thought he would make it through that first day in Diagon Alley, much less the first day back at Hogwarts. He knew it was incredibly difficult for his son to do this and he was insanely proud of him for working so hard on his phobias. Maybe he would be ready to go out and play some Quidditch with the boys tomorrow. While he was technically a teacher he was not a full professor and so he didn't have to follow as stringent of rules as the other professors did and he could go out with the other students as he wished. He hoped Tallis would be able to fly: he knew he took great joy in being in the air.
