Disclaimer: I do not own Severus Snape or Harry Potter, nor many of the characters mentioned. I do not own ninety-eight percent of past events mentioned in this story. I am not JK Rowling or her ilk. Please contact me before using any characters not seen or mentioned in JK Rowling's Harry Potterseries. Thanks you.
Chapter Thirty-Six
"Expected and Unexpected Visitors"
"Okay, Teddy, I mean it this time; if you get dirty one more time, I'm not going to be so nice about it." Master sat the baby in the playpen in the sitting room. He straightened and pointed to Severus, ignoring Severus' bow as most masters tended to do. "And you. You come here." He pointed on the floor in front of him as he sat down on the sofa.
Severus crawled from the corner with the large bookcases, where he had spent much of his morning sitting, watching Master storm around the house. Master had sat Severus down there and told him to stay, so Severus had. He had not even asked Master if he could help him, because Master had told him to stay there; if he were to help Master, it would require moving from the spot. It was smart of him to think that way.
"Turn around." Master instructed, pulling out a large pair of scissors. The blades shone in the sunlight that poured through the windows, and it was not hard to imagine the blade being sharp enough to slice through anything, such as skin.
He does not intend to cut you with it, he told himself. He has been speaking of Wizarding Family Services all morning. He would not like for them to see a dead slave in the middle of the sitting room. They would think that it was a bad thing for the baby to see that, because then the baby would think that he could do that to just anyone.
"It's all right, Severus; I'm just going to cut your hair." Master laid his hand on Severus' shoulder.
Whenever anyone touched him, it was bad. The cold, yet burning feeling of the touch delivered was excruciating. He pulled back as a bit of orange light came out from his body and stung Master's hand.
Master pulled back and yelped, bringing his hand back to his chest as a reaction.
The baby, who Master called Teddy, giggled at their antics from his playpen.
"I ap-apologise, s-sir." Severus sputtered, as his head filled with a burning pain like none other. "Please- please punish me in whatever manner you see fit." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes tightly for a moment. He had endured much worse pain before. This was nothing. He was closing his eyes, because it was very embarrassing to have hurt his master so, especially a master who had not given him leave to do magic.
"It's okay!" Master said reaching his hand out again as if to touch Severus, but quickly thought better of it. "It was just an accident! Accidental magic! I used to do it all the time when I was a kid. Once, I even blew up my aunt."
Severus tried not to stare at his master. Blowing up one's aunt and shocking one's master were two very different things entirely. In some ways, he felt fortunate to have a new master, who did know any better, but he felt guilty thinking about telling his master of what was right, which only made his head burn worse. But that said, he did not know better than his master. His master always knew better than him, period.
"Yes, sir. I apologise again, sir." Severus turned around without another word.
He felt the cold blade of the scissors against his neck and shuddered. He knew that his master only attempted to cut his hair, but there was a lingering fear and distrust. It was wrong to distrust your master, of course, so that likely contributed to the pain on his head. He had always been responsible for his own hair, and was not used to having his master take care of it. It made him feel bad that he was such a burden to his master. Severus wanted so badly to be of service to his master, not a burden.
And perhaps, if he was not such a burden, he would not be punished as much. And after the Wizarding Family Services left, he would be punished, he was sure. He could never become a better slave without punishment. He wondered how his master, of all people, had gotten involved in the training of slaves, although his master called it "getting better".
He heard his master sign. "Severus, this is a mess. When is the last time you combed your hair?"
Severus could not remember. He occasionally had used his wand to quickly trim it to a satisfactory length... the Ministry of Magic in Germany might have shorn it when they rescued him from The Monster and let him wear the shift... but funnily enough, he could not remember.
"I cannot recall, sir." Severus admitted. "It may have been several years."
Severus quickly grew uncomfortable. He could feel his master freeze, and tension filled the room. What was wrong? What had he said? It did not matter; he was very sorry that he had said it.
"I apologise, Master." He wished to turn around and kneel to the man, but could not, as Master hadn't given him leave to get up. "Please forgive me, and punish me in-"
"No, wait." Master said. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait – years? How has it been years since your hair was last cut?"
Severus sensed something dreadfully wrong. "I did not have my hair cut at my last master's, Master..."
"Müller." Master interrupted. "His name is Joseph Müller."
"Master Müller did not cut my hair, nor did my master before that." Severus chose his words carefully, as he could not speak the words 'The Monster' aloud. It was wrong to speak ill of any of your masters, even the ones who no longer wanted you.
Master shook his head. "Severus... how long do you think that you've been a slave?"
The memories flashed through Severus brain, the Occlumency shields not enough to hide them. Being pinned down by the Auror when going to Master Mering's. Looking over the crowed of potential buyers at Henderson's. Lying in Master and Mistress Weston's bed, struggling to breath as shallowly as possible, as to not wake Mistress. He felt his breath catch as images of Master Weston selling him to the Monster came. He abruptly shut off that part of his mind. He could not think about that. It hurt him in ways that the burning on his head could never compete with.
"Severus?" Master's voice brought his mind back where it was supposed to be.
"I do not know, sir." Severus admitted, his throat suddenly gone dry, despite all of the water that he drank after vomiting the porridge given to him that morning.
He was not allowed to turn around, so he was unable to see his Master's face behind him. "It's been a little less than a year. It's May of 1999... it's about one year exactly since the end of the War."
1999? 1999? How could it possibly be 1999? The Dark Lord had been defeated in 1998... 1999? But he had been at The Monster's for so long... 2005, he could understand. He would be able to accept 2001... but a mere matter of months?
"Breathe." His Master said. "Come on, take in one breath, and let it out. Come on... breathe."
Severus was following his Master's instructions without much thought to it. He was feeling very much in shock. Could it be so? Had it only been months since he was at Master Mering's? How long had he been at the Monsters? It had been dark all the time there. There had been no concept of time. It had always been dark. They had only been punishment and waiting for it. Seven months could have really gone by... but it had truly felt like years. Maybe his new master was teasing him. Perhaps Severus simply did not get the joke. That had happened a lot in his life.
"Look, I don't know what you've been through the past several months, but I know it wasn't good." Master was no longer angling the scissors by Severus' hair, but was still. The only thing moving was the oblivious, giggling baby in the playpen. "And you don't have to tell me what went on, but you have to believe me when I say that I never wanted this."
Oh, Severus believed him. His master had likely wanted him to break for himself, not to go through the hands of many masters. Though apparently his master did not want him that badly, or he would have bought Severus long ago.
"Yes, sir." Regardless of what he had originally believed, his master ordered him to believe him. It made things so much easier when he was told what to believe – that way, he didn't have to struggle with what he should think.
Master sighed. "This is hopeless. We're going to have to cut it all off. I can have Hermione brew a hair regrowth Potion, or you can brew it if you like..." Master began to cut off hair.
Severus could feel the cold scissors next to his scalp and bit his lip to keep from pulling away. He liked to brew Potions? He remembered that when he let his mind go. Lily had- no. Not her. He had forgotten about her.
How could you forget Lily?A voice taunted. Lily was your life, your only reason for existing.
But he had forgotten about her. Severus had not though of her in years- no, months. He could not imagine how it had only been months, not years, but he could imagine how he had forgotten about Lily. He had a new reason for existing.
Harry cut away a huge clump of Snape's hair away, and watched it fall to the floor. There was another clump of something in there that was going to pass as an unidentifiable object. So far, he had not found any bugs, though. He wasn't afraid of bugs (though after Aragog and Co, he was no longer a fan of spiders), but he didn't particularly like the idea of tiny bugs crawling on Snape's scalp.
He wasn't ever going to be a hairdresser, for sure. The hairs on Snape's head were all staring to look chopped and uneven. But that was all right, because Harry was going to find the time to cut it all off eventually. 'Eventually' was the key word there. He was running short on time right now.
How had Snape thought that he had been a slave for years? Harry imagined time went by really slow for slaves, since they just had to be so miserable... but Snape was smarter than that. If it had been years since his hair was last cut, it would be the length of Luna Lovegood's, who never cut her hair – surely he would have realised that?
He had spent that morning getting ready for the Wizard Family Service's visit. Since they had just moved into the house, it was pretty clean, though it felt like Teddy and Snape were doing their sincere bests to make that not so. Teddy had opened one of the bottom cupboards and gotten himself – and the floor – covered with flour. Then Severus threw up his porridge and just about stopped breathing because he was so terrified, judging by the look on his face. It was like he thought that Harry was going to hit him or something.
Harry had to send Severus to sit quietly in a corner in the living room while he cleaned up his mess with magic, but when he turned back to the kitchen, he realised that the three seconds he had turned his back to show Snape where to sit, Teddy had fancied Snape's mess a wonderful thing to play in. So then, while he was bathing Teddy again, Snape had evidentially backed too hard into the bookshelves and knocked a bunch of Harry's old textbooks down... including "The Monster's Book of Monsters", which Snape seemed to find just terrifying... and a soaking wet Teddy, fresh out of the tub, very amusing.
Harry had clean up the mess, put Teddy back in the tub to wash the smell of the throw-up off... and then he remembered the playpen, thank Merlin.
He felt like there was something he forgot to do, though. Something that he should have taken care of, but at that moment, it way too late anyway, because the doorbell chimed.
They're here,he realised. He was covered in hair, and it was all over the floor. "Severus, why don't you go upstairs to your room until I call you down?"
"Yes, sir." Snape got to his feet and scurried away, just as the doorbell rang again.
Harry banished the hair on his robes and floor, before scooping Teddy up on his hip.
When he had agreed to be Teddy's godfather, it hadn't even crossed his mind that Remus and Tonks would die. When he had agreed to be Teddy's guardian in the event of Teddy's grandmother's death, he hadn't actually thought she would die before Teddy turned seventeen. He knew it seemed that everyone who got close to him died, and that he might as well get used to it, but that was not exactly something he wanted to get used to.
Harry took a deep breath and opened the door to a woman, who had a name tag of the Ministry-affiliated Wizarding Family Services.
"Hi." Harry said, trying to sound as friendly as possible. He hefted the baby on his hip. "You must be from Wizarding Family Services."
"I must be." The lady with blue-grey hair pushed her glasses up her nose. "May I come in, Mr. Potter? I have not all day."
Yeah, real smooth, Potter. He stepped back and held the door wide open. "Oh, yeah, come in, Mrs..." he peered at the name tag, "Mrs. Fields."
"Ms." She corrected.
He felt his face turning red, at about the same time Teddy's turned lime green. "Oh... I'm sorry."
"Yes, me too." She shifted the clipboard in her arms.
Harry closed the door behind them and ushered towards the sitting room. "Why don't you take a seat? Could I get you some tea?" He licked his lips, hoping Ms. Fields wouldn't notice his nervousness. This was his one chance to keep Teddy – where would he go if not to Harry?
"No, thank you – I am fine." she smoothed her light blue robes, which matched both her eyes and hair perfectly, as she sat down on the armchair on the opposite wall of the sofa, next to the fireplace.
Harry hefted a squirming Teddy once again. "Would you mind if I sat him down in his playpen for awhile? He's really rambunctious and gets into everything." Teddy wasn't a huge fan of a the playpen, but he usually lasted ten minutes or so before he pitched a fit.
She nodded. "Of course, Mr. Potter." she said politely.
Harry put him in his playpen and got him interested in a sparking rattle that Fred and George had made for him when he was born, before sitting down on the couch.
"He is a Metamorphmagus." Ms. Fields observed.
Harry nodded. "Tonk- Teddy's mum was one. It's supposed to be pretty rare to be one."
"It is indeed." Ms. Fields looked over at Teddy. "I thought it more likely he would take on after his father."
Harry squirmed. He was hoping she hadn't know about that. "Well, you know, we were all kind of concerned about that – Remus especially- but it's all turned out all right."
She just inclined her head as a response. "Well, how have you and Theodore gotten along as of yet?"
Me and 'Theodore' have gotten along just fine. Could you offer any advice on how to get along with a professor-turned-slave? "It's been good."
"I was looking for a more thorough response, Mr. Potter." She had her quill poised over the clipboard, Harry hated those never-ink quills – they reminded him too much of Blood Quills.
"He's a really sweet kid." He didn't have any answerers prepared because he hadn't really know what to expect. "We haven't had a lot of bonding time since his grandmother died – I've been really busy. But I plan on it now... we're going to dinner at close family friend of ours tonight, and he really likes flying around on my broomstick – with me, of course." He hastily added.
She was writing something down on the clipboard. He could only imagine what she was writing.
"How do you see your life changing with a little one?" Came another question.
Harry's life was constantly changing – what she should have asked was how Teddy fit into the equation. "Well, I obviously have to plan things a little better – I can't just go meet my mates very well at the pub without finding someone to sit Teddy..." he paused. Or he could just be honest. "Ms. Fields? Can I be completely candid with you? I don't know if it's going to change all that much. I mean, I've never been like the other guys my age. I don't smoke, or drink anything stronger than butterbeer. I have virtually no social life, and I'm plenty used to hard work and sleepless nights." Whenever he ran out of Dreamless Sleep , it was guaranteed to become a sleepless night.
"And have you considered how this will effect your schooling?"
"I've left, as you've probably guessed."
"There was an article in the Prophet." She peered at him over her glasses.
Figures. "Well, my friend, Hermione, is going to bring me the work I missed and help me study – Dumbledore always said that she was a very smart witch for her age – and at this point, it's mostly revision. The N.E.W.T.s are in about six weeks. Teddy will probably spend much of his time at my friend's mother's. I've already got it all planned out."
"And what of afterwards?" she asked. "I'm well aware that you are a very wealthy young man, Mr. Potter, but are you considering going into any careers?"
"I plan to be an Auror." he stated.
"Really?" She either looked doubtful or impressed. "That is quite a difficult programme to get into."
He knew that. "I'm only worried about needing an 'O' for Potions; I'm really bad at it." He glanced back over to the playpen to check on Teddy. "Isn't this conversation supposed to be about him?"
"This interview is to determine whether or not you would make a suitable parent." She explained patiently. "Now, I have noted your marital status, and while it is quite normal for someone your age to not be married, are you currently seeing someone?"
'Yes,'he should probably lie. He wondered what from this interview would end up in the Prophet. "Um... no." He admitted. "I've kinda been too busy for that right now."
"Understandable, understandable," she pursed her lips as she looked through her clipboard. "Bearing in mind when I ask you this that each answer you give is strictly confidential, if you wereseeing someone, would that person ideally be a man or a woman?"
What? Was she asking if Harry was.. was... "A man?" He repeated, in shock.
Ms. Fields raised her brow. "All right. And do you-"
No! Harry hadn't meant... no. "No, I mean, a woman." He said, hurriedly. He felt his face turn red at his bumbling thoughts. "I'm not gay. At least, you know... I've never had an interest in that area. I like girls. Women... you know."
Ms. Fields took a deep breath and lowered her quill and clipboard. "You do realise that there are not right or wrong answers in this interview?"
Yes, there was. If he gave all wrong answers, then they wouldn't let him keep Teddy. They'd think he was an unfit guardian. If there were no wrong answers, what was the point of having the interview?
He didn't know the details of how accepting the wizarding world was of homosexuality, but he was taking no chances. The Ministry obviously thought it was an issue, or they wouldn't have asked. He wasn't even sure if he was gay. He always thought that people who were gay knew it at a young age. He had never considered it, however, until once when, after a ride around on his broom, he realised he was weirdly enjoying watching a seventh-year Ravenclaw in the Quidditch locker rooms. After that, he began to notice that he found certain things attractive, and realised he always had. He still sometimes found girls pretty, and wasn't sure if he would like having sex with men... but he certainly hadn't enjoyed having sex with women so far.
He hadn't talked to anyone about it, and had yet to start experimenting. There was nothing to tell Ms. Fields.
"I understand there are no wrong answers." He finally said.
They went all over all sorts of things; Harry's childhood, the War, where Teddy would go to school, future punishments, etc. She was very thorough.
"And suppose young Theodore develops some traits reminiscent of his father's illness?" She said after they went over the Metamorphism thing (keeping him away from Muggles until he could control it, how to deal with bullying over it).
That was all Harry needed right now, a werewolf godson. "It shouldn't be that big of a deal – I've looked into it." Actually, Hermione did. "It's not all that common for half-werewolves to transform or anything. Teddy might like bloodier meat and things like that, but he's essentially harmless."
"You have done your research." Ms. Fields remarked, writing down comments. Harry itched to know what she was writing, hopefully on how impressed she was, or maybe on how Harry had let Teddy out of the playpen, but warded doors and dangerous things to keep Teddy from getting hurt.
"What does-" she leaned forward to say, but was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"I'll get it." Harry leaped up. "Could you please keep an eye on Teddy?"
Who on earth is it? He wondered, going up to the door.I told everyone I was busy with something important today... if it's George, wanting to try to shove some kind of exploding pastie down my throat, I'll kill him.
He opened the door, prepared to tell the red-haired prankster off, but he did not see the face he expected. Instead, he was greeted by cold, calculating grey eyes.
"Lucius Malfoy." Harry was surprised by the venom in his own voice.
This was the man who almost killed Ginny. This was the man who had somehow escaped both Death Eater punishments, of Azkaban and slavery. This was the man that Harry had vowed to put behind bars. This was the man Harry wouldput behind bars... as soon as he had the time to actively pursue it.
"Mr. Potter." Lucius said evenly, his voice filled with false kindness. "How good to see you again – may I step in?" He made a motion to, but Harry blocked the doorway.
"What are you doing here?" He hissed. How had Lucius Malfoy found out where Harry lived? Why had he come? To torture Snape? Over Harry's dead body.
"Well, I have just dropped in for a visit." Lucius raised his voice so that anyone on the ground floor would be able to hear it. Harry just hoped that no one on the first floor would be able to hear it – Snape, namely. "I have dropped many important things just to be able to come. I had no idea you were... busy." He cocked his head slightly.
"I'm in an interview." Harry said, feeling his heartbeat speed up, realising that he had pulled out his wand at some point and started pointing it at the man. "You're-"
"Oh, we're done with that." Ms. Fields called from the sitting room. "Is that a friend of yours, Mr. Potter? Bring him in – it would be nice to interview a friend of yours, as well."
Harry glared at Lucius. "He's not a-", but Lucius just breezed past him, into the house.
"Giselle," Lucius crooned, taking in Ms. Fields, which to be frank, was a lot to take in. "How wonderfulto see you. I chose to drop by on a perfectday, I supposed."
Harry felt like gagging at the man's fake demeanour and friendliness. He snatched up Teddy just as Ms. Fields tittered at Lucius' words – he didn't want Teddy anywhere near Lucius Malfoy.
"Mr. Potter, I had no idea that you were friendly with Mr. Malfoy." Ms. Fields giggled. "I should have known that such a important figure such as yourself would be friends with him."
Harry opened his mouth to respond to that last sentence, but then he realised that Ms. Fields had been talking to Lucius. Important figure? Bullshit.
"Make a large contribution to underprivileged kids lately, Lucius?" He asked sarcastically, turning so that Teddy wouldn't have to look at Lucius. He didn't need to see the man that, as a Death Eater, was indirectly responsible for the death of Remus and Tonks. There was no such thing as a 'former' Death Eater, with the exception of Snape; you were either in or out, and if you were in, you were in forever.
"It has come to great use." Ms. Fields enthused to Lucius. "I cannot thank you enough."
Harry rolled his eyes. How had he managed to be so right? But at the same time, that sent a shiver up his spine. Because why would Lucius Malfoy be trying to hard to get on Ms. Fields' good side?
Lucius needs to leave, now. But how do you get him out without losing Ms. Fields' good favour? Honestly, what had happened to Harry's backbone? He so desperately needed Ms. Fields' good favour, but at the same time,Lucius was definitely up to something. There was no way that his coming, today – now- was an accident.
"Malfoy, leave." He said, pointing to the door with his free hand. "I don't know what you want but-"
"I was just going to ask Mr. Potter for a tour of his home." Ms. Fields tucked her clipboard underneath her arm. "And I think I would like that cup of tea, now.
If you send him away, he'll just come back or try to sabotage you later on – and he'll be angrier. Best to let him do whatever he plans to do now, in front of you, where you can keep an eye on him. Harry's inner Slytherin had a point, but that would only work if he kept Lucius as far away from both Snape and Teddy as possible.
"Have you interviewed the slave yet?" Lucius asked, sounding overly casual as he strode into the kitchen behind Harry, arm linked with Ms. Fields'.
"The slave?" Ms. Fields inquired, seating herself down at the table.
Shit. Shit. Shit.Harry had hoped that they would be able to avoid that little fact. Snape was nowhere near fit to interview. Harry had expected Ms. Fields to glance at Snape when the house tour came to Snape's room, but that was it. Oh, God. This was bad.
"Lucius." He tried to distract the man as he poured hot water from the top of his wand into mugs. "Tell me more about that donation you made; I might be interested in making one myself."
That seemed to do the trick for Ms. Fields, who started actively talking up all sorts of organisations and ways to donate. It seemed that Ms. Fields could be easily allured, due to her fondness of helping children... Lucius, for whatever reason, seemed to be taking advantage of that. Well, two could play that game.
"Scum! Nothing by worthless scum!"
"Such a good pet."
"You're lucky to be treated this well!"
"He is very amusing – certainly more so than the others we could have bought. Freshly trained."
"You think yourself worthy to eat from my fingers?"
"Such a good pet."
Severus closed his eyes tighter, and pulled his knees closer to his chest. He did not want to think about any of that right now. He concentrated hard until he could not think about any of that. He would have to hope that his new master did not forbid Occlumency; if he didn't, that meant Severus could do it, and do it and everything would be fine.
The walls of the room were painted a light green, and were plain, with nothing on them. It seemed, by judging from the night before, that Master wanted Severus to sleep in there. Why? Why not find a closet to have Severus sleep in, or have him sleep on the kitchen floor, as long as he was up and out of the way by the time Master woke? Wouldn't Master rather save the bedroom for a guest, someone above and worth more than Severus?
He could hear voices in the house but using his Occlumency skills, he drowned out what they were saying. Master had sent Severus to this room likely because he did not want Severus to interact with visitors until he was better. But that was just likely – it could have been anything, Severus refused to eavesdrop on Master, as it was disrespectful.
"And this is the slave's room." Master's voice was right outside the door. "I've sent him up here while you were here. I'd rather him not around many people."
Ha, so Severus was right. Something was wrong with him that had to get better, but it was not his guessing abilities.
"I was unaware that you owned a slave, Mr. Potter." The woman's voiced travelled through the shut door. Even though Severus wasn't supposed to be listening in, it was hard not to with them right outside the door – and his head burned as consequence.
"It's a new thing." Master explained.
Severus glanced around the room, feeling the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. He had a feeling that something was wrong. Whenever something was wrong, he was the one to pay for it.
He began to crawl over to the closet, doing his best to do so despite the black robes that hung around him. They were very uncomfortable, and much too big, but Master said to wear them.
And not a moment too soon. It was just when Severus sat in the back on the closet, enjoying the fact that even though he could see well in the dark closet, no one would see him from the bedroom, Master opened the bedroom door.
"See, this is it. Nothing special." His voice was filled with anxiety.
Severus closed his eyes tightly, the burns in his head driving him to new levels. Everything in him wanted to go out and bow to his Master, but he couldn't – 'I'd rather him not around many people', Master had said. That was quite a clear instruction to remain hidden.
"I am sorry, but I must interview everyone in the household, slaves and house-elves included." The woman stated.
House-elf? Master had house elves? How wonderful! Severus had never lived in a household with house-elves before. Perhaps he would be able to see them soon; he wondered if they would like him.
He listened intently to the long silence, holding his breath with anticipation. He knew that the strange woman he observed in the doorway was from Wizarding Family Services, as Master had said that they were coming.
"Severus?" His master finally broke the silence by calling him.
Master did not seem angry or violent. Wizarding Family Services were there, so Master was obviously trying to impress – perhaps that explained the unusual kindness in Master's voice.
Severus crawled out from the closet. He kept his eyes on the off-white carpet, bowing his head. When he came out far enough, he bowed his head even lower, so that it touched the ground – the burning of his forehead worsened with the carpet's touch.
"Master." He murmured. He also acknowledged the woman as 'miss' as he did not know her name.
"She's here to help Teddy be able to live here." Master motioned to the woman whose skin was so thin, it seemed blue.
Did young Master Teddy not live there? It certainly seemed like he did.
Severus lifted his head off the ground and glanced at the baby Master had sat on the floor. He had crawled under the bed, and had his head sticking out – his hair was a distinct turquoise. Severus was starting to wonder if his eyes were playing tricks on him.
"Yes, sir." Severus responded. It was not his business to know why Wizarding Family Services had come over for Master's own child... but wait. Master had said that it had only been a mere amount of months since he had been at Master Mering's. Master couldn't have had a child in that time. Was he adopting a magic-less child? Or perhaps just one who had no living relatives. That would be nice of his master. It was hard to fathom that his Master was nice, if he was going to be the one to re-train Severus.
He was never a cruel person when you knew him,Severus shoved his thoughts away. Thinking about his past life was wrong – why did he keep doing that? The burning on his head increased, and he bit down on his lip to show no sign of it. It was not right for him to express emotion in front of master, or his guest. That was only for when he was alone, or perhaps when he had the privilege of being around others of his kind.
"Erm, you can sit on the bed." Master said to Ms. Fields. "I've got to go check on... well, you know that I don't-"
"Well, if it isn't Severus Snape, the Dark Lord's pet Death Eater." the cold voice made goosebumps rise up on Severus' body. All the memories of the nightmares, the pain, the anger, the hatred rushed through him at the sound of that voice.
He slowly lifted his eyes to the doorway. He was intending on doing what he always did, raising his eyes just long enough to see the person, and then avert them back to the ground; he did this without thinking, usually. But the image of the person in the doorway cause him to freeze.
"My reward for assisting the capture of one of the Dark Lord's most violent sidekicks is getting to watch you suffer." The long blonde hair, carefully groomed, not a strand out of place.
The masked face pouring the filthy sewer water down his throat. Severus was fairly certain that it had only been in his nightmares that the man in the doorway, with the sharp, pointed features, was there. He had not been there at The Monster's, where that had happened for real.
The man was smiling a smile with too many teeth. It was a false smile, a strained one. The grey eyes held no warmth.
"Severus!" His Master's voice made him stop analysing the man, and bring his head to the floor again.
"Master Malfoy." He murmured in greeting to the man.
Harry could have killed him. He had told Ms. Fields that he wasn't having Lucius around for a reason. That was it – he was throwing Lucius out. Screw having Ms. Fields' good favour.
"Lucius," he tried to keep his voice level for the sake of the rest of the interview, the oblivious baby playing underneath the bed, and for Snape. "I asked you to stay in the sitting room for a reason. If you're not capable of obeying the rules in my house, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. Good day, Mr. Malfoy – you're welcome to use the Floo – I trust you know where it is?"
Except that there's no Floo powder. Idiot.
He turned his attention to Snape who was kneeling on the floor, shaking like a leaf. Instead of being overwhelming with guilt and pity like he normally did at that sight, he was engulfed with anger. An anger directed at those idiots responsible for Snape's pain, and an anger aimed at Lucius, who evidentially had done or said something at some point of Snape's life to make him act like this. At least Harry's remarks had wiped the smirk off of Lucius' face that had appeared when Snape bowed to Lucius.
"I apologise; I thought that you might want to know your owl has arrived, and he's injured." Lucius would have made a great actor, his voice so urgent... except for one thing.
"Hedwig died the night you and the rest of your 'colleagues' chased me over Little Whinging." Harry said, evenly. "Now, I still don't know why you're here, but I'm ordering you to leave!" He fingered the wand in his pocket. If he aimed it at Lucius, Ms. Fields might think that the household was too hostile for a child to live in.
"I'm terribly sorry for the misunderstanding, Mr. Potter." Lucius nodded curtly. "Do not forget to ask the slave how many innocent childrenthe slave has tortured, Ms. Fields – I think that you will find it most conclusive to your interview."
Why wouldn't Lucius shut up? It was now utterly clear to Harry why Lucius had come – to sabotage the interview and make it look like Snape's fault to Harry. "Out!" He shouted angrily, abandoning all composure.
"Good day." Lucius seemed to nod at no one in particular, before turning on his heel and leaving the room – and hopefully the house.
Harry took a deep breath, trying to calm himself before turning back to Snape, who was practically hyperventilating. "He's gone."
He turned to Ms. Fields, who was looking at him with a quizzical look on her face. She might have been a little angry, too.
"I guess... I guess you're done here." He sighed, scooping up Teddy who began to cry. It was his naptime, so he was feeling a bit cranky, it seemed. "I'm sorry, but I don't like Lucius Malfoy around Teddy or Severus. I know he's given a lot of money to your organisations, but he had a bit of a history with me – I won't let him hurt Teddy or Severus. It's not worth the risk."
Now she just looked truly confused. "Done?" she asked. "I would still like to interview your slave if you think that he is able, and perhaps ask you a few more questions."
Harry breathed a sigh of relief when he understood what she meant, and turned back to Snape. "Severus, do you feel like answering a few questions?"
A pause, and then "yes, sir". Snape straightened a bit so that he could answer properly.
"Severus, is it?" Ms. Fields settled on the bed and got her quill ready – the feather of the quill was, of course, blue. "Where is it that you hail from, and how old are you?"
Snape was chewing on his lip, a habit of his Harry hadn't really noticed before. "I am from near Manchester, miss." At least hegot the "Ms." part right.
"I have not lived there in years, however." Snape further explained. Upon closer look, Harry could see tears drying against Snape's filthy skin. "And as for my age, I am not sure. I apologise; I will ask my master to punish me when time permits."
He probably doesn't understand what you told him earlier, about months,Harry realised. "You're thirty-nine." He informed Snape, remembering that when he glanced at some of the very telling files given to him after he bought Snape, thinking "he's just under forty!". In the back of his mind, Harry knew that, of course, but sometimes Snape seemed so much older.
He turned to Ms. Fields to explain. "I just bought him yesterday actually, and he had been treated in a way that's not so good. That's why he's so dirty – one bath was not good enough, and, well, it's a long story."
She was writing on her clipboard. "Interesting... which answers my question of how long you have lived in the Potter household. What do you think of Theodore, Severus?"
Long pause. Just when Harry opened his mouth to prod Snape, Snape answered. "He seems like a well behaved child that Master cares for; I have noticed that his hair changes colour."
Ms. Fields chuckled. "He is a Metamorphmagus." She said slowly, as if she were speaking to someone Teddy's size. "That means that he can change his appearance at will., He cannot control it at his age, but he will be able to soon. It is a very rare ability."
Harry knew that Snape knew that, as Snape was not only very educated but had known Tonks, too. But Snape nodded as if this was all new to him. "Yes, miss." He replied.
"Now, Severus, what do you think of Teddy coming to live here permanently?"
Snape stole a glance at Harry before responding. "I think that-"
He was interrupted by one of Teddy's shrills screams – coming from a square mouth, believe it or not. "I'm, um, going to lay him down. I'll be right back." Harry said, awkwardly.
He hoped things wouldn't go drastically wrong in the moments that he was gone. He hoped Ms. Fields wouldn't interrogate Snape like she had Harry. He hoped Lucius had actually left and hadn't transfigured himself into a lampshade or something, hiding in the living room, waiting to pounce as soon as Ms. Fields left. He hoped that Teddy would go to bed like a good kid, and not cause a lot of trouble.
But as luck would have it, Teddy would not go to bed. Not even when Harry turned on the mobile over his crib (that shot fireworks in a rather calming way) and gave him a child's cup full of water. He just screamed until he was red in the face, and his hair was black to match his mood.
Ms. Fields is going to think that I'm the worst guardian ever, he thought, shutting Teddy's door behind him. There was no time to check on Lucius, as Snape was probably floundering in his room alone with Ms. Fields. Inthe Road to Recovery, Harry had read that victims of sexual abuse were often uncomfortable being around people alone – Harry would have to make a point to remind Snape that Weston was just a bad egg, and that few people would hurt Snape like that.
"Is that what he said, that he would not be so nice about it?" He heard Ms. Fields ask as he rounded the corner into Snape's room.
"Yes, Mistress Fields." Snape's response was quite as always. He had not moved since Harry left, as he was still sitting on his heels, on his knees, head bowed low, though not to the floor. He did bow it to the floor in Harry's direction when Harry re-entered the room, but got back up and continued answering Ms. Fields questions.
"When he said that, what do you think he meant by that?"
Snape sent another nervous look towards Harry, biting down on his lip even harder. "I am not sure."
She sighed, and apparently decided to change tactics. "Were Mr. Malfoy's words true? Were you really a follower if You-Know-Who?"
No. It's not going there.If Snape had to be interviewed for Harry to be given legal custody of Teddy, fine, but that question was a bit too Prophet-y.
"We're not going to ask him questions about that." Harry stood up from the hard-backed chair next to Snape' bed.
Ms. Fields turned to Harry, a pained expression on her face, He didn't know if it was pained because she was annoyed at his interruption, or if it was something else.
"I realise that this is difficult for Severus, but after hearing what Mr. Malfoy said, I am obligated by the law to ask you about it."
What good was that law exactly? Harry's teacher had reported that he was possiblymistreated at least a dozen times in primary school. That worst that had ever happened was a visit from some people, to whom Harry had been instructed to lie by the Dursleys. They never came back like they promised that they would, although, now that he thought about it, he wondered if that was the work of Dumbledore.
"As your work as a Death Eater, did you ever kill or torture a child?" Her voice was no longer soft, as if she was talking to a little kid, but rather angry.
Snape bit his lip even harder, then glanced over at Harry as if he waiting for a clue. He shifted on his knees on the carpet for just a moment before the skin on his lip broke. Blood began to dribble down his chin, but he didn't let up.
"Snape!" Harry leapt out of his chair.
And that was apparently a mistake; Snape's eyes widened in what could only be described as pure terror as he began to kneel and cower on the floor, uttering his apologies, which was starting to get pretty old.
"Severus." Harry said softly, ignoring Ms. Field's contact scribbling. "No one is going to punish you. Just answer the nice lady's questions." Now he was the one who talked like he was talking to a three-year-old.
Snape glanced over to Harry as he straightened. The blood was gushing out his his lip still, and there was a ton of blood now on the carpet.
"Yes, miss." He whispered, or at least it sounded like a whisper, as his voice was hoarse.
Harry felt his heart sink. Snape killed small, innocent children? Little children that probably had families and people who loved then...
Wait. A light turned on in his head. 'And my soul, Dumbledore? Mine?'... Snape was worried before he killed Dumbledore that his soul would be split with the murder – the memories proved it. Snape couldn't have killed anyonebefore that – at least in cold blood - otherwise his soul would have been already split...
Ms. Fields had a regretful look on her face as she stood. "I'm afraid that that wraps up my visit, Mr. Potter."
No."No, wait – sit back down." He pointed backed to where she originally sat.
He neared Snape, and knelt on one knee next to him. He noticed how Snape shied away, but Harry ignored it. "Severus, what do you mean by 'yes'? Did you ever kill any children?"
Snape shook his head. "No, sir."
Relief flooded Harry. He was pretty impressed by his own deduction. Was this how Hermione felt all the time? "And you're telling the truth?"
Snape looked up at Harry for just a moment. Though he didn't make eye contact with Harry, Harry could see the hurt fill Snape's eyes. "I would never lie to my master, sir."
"So you have tortured them, though?" Ms. Fields returned to her seat. "Could you tell us more about that?"
Silence, and then, "Master Dumbledore said to do whatever I had to do to convince the Dark Lord of my loyalties."
Dumbledore had said that? Harry didn't really know what to make of that - Dumbledore had knowingly let children tortured all in the name of the Greater Good? Seemed rather counter-productive, or at least ironic.
"But Dumbledore said to, right?" Harry grasped onto the last shred of hope that he had left. "If Dumbledore said it, that accounts for the years 1995 through 1998." Harry felt like a mathematician. "He's only being punished for the years when he was willingly a Death Eater – did you torture any children then?"
"No, sir."
"Did you kill any children then?"
"No, sir."
"See?" Harry sighed with relief, and stood. "He's been cleared for whatever he did in that period of time that he was a spy – the torturing children part doesn't count."
Ms. Fields nodded, finishing whatever she was writing on her clipboard. "Well, I do think that I am finished here." She stood again, and motioned to the door to indicate that Harry was to go first.
No. Give me another chance. I'll change that comment about sending Teddy to Muggle primary school. I'll find time to teach him at home.He reluctantly walked out of the room, with Ms. Fields on his heels, shutting the door behind them.
"Mr. Potter, I'm not going to pretend to understand the history between you and Mr. Malfoy." she began.
You wouldn't believe it if I told you, he privately thought.
"I find him to be quite the caring and charming man, but after seeing your slave's reaction to his coming in the room, I find your reaction perfectly appropriate." she flipped through the pieces of parchment on the clipboard. "I am a bit weary of your slave's behaviour and background; you do realise that he spent much of his childhood in an orphanage?"
No, Harry wasn't. "Yeah." He lied. After all, he was supposed to have read all those papers on Snape, telling all his private details. "What's that got to do with it?"
She sighed. "He and I glossed over it while you were gone. That particular orphanage he is from mainly houses magically-impaired children – very few wizard children are left without any relatives, or people willing to take them in. The environment is particularly hostile, and most of the children that come out of it are particularly bitter, and tend to make mistakes in their adult lives."
Such as joining the Death Eaters, he knew what she didn't say, but implied. Just the same, he asked her where she was going with this.
"I am simply reminding you that he is highly unstable, and not someone I would trust around a small child." She explained, patiently.
Harry didn't particularly think that he would hurt Teddy, but that was okay, either way. "There's zero interaction between them. And I keep a sharp eye on both of them – really, they are never alone together. I know Severus well enough to trust that he won't hurt Teddy, but I'm careful to keep them separate without my supervision, anyway."
Of course, even though that was true, it wasn't for the reasons Ms. Fields was being led to believe. Harry kept them separated because Teddy wouldn't be able to help Snape in a panic attack, a panic attack that he'd likely cause by screaming too loudly or by toddling up to him and touching him. Snape wouldn't be able to help Teddy, either, like if Teddy began to choke or something... no, the two of them together and alone was a recipe for disaster.
She nodded. "Since you have convinced me that you really do care for Theodore, and because if I didn't approve Harry Potter, my boss would have my head, I am going to approve you."
His sinking heart stopped – stopped sinking, and stopped beating. "Approved?"
"Yes, but not without reminding you that it could take several days for the department to officially approve of it." She reminded him. "Also, Wizarding Family Services could stop by at any time for a surprise visit and inspection. Personally, I would recommend selling the slave and buying another – it doesn't seem that this one will be any use to you, anyhow."
It's not the point for him to be of any use for me. And besides, who'd take him if I don't? They'd probably send him to the equivalent of the glue factory. He didn't know what that was, but it probably existed.
"I understand." He nodded, breathing a sigh of relief. Maybe this was the point of his life where things would start to look up. If he had Teddy now, that was kind of like having a real family. And Severus, he didn't know what to do with yet, he was so confused... but he'd figure something out. He always did.
Coming soon in Unwell...
Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Burrow