Plus ultra!

-/+

The abandoned classroom had been completely destroyed, desks having been tossed aside as though something had been thrown through them and the blood. Minerva could hardly believe that all this blood came from one small child. But it did! Only Severus sustained any injuries. This was all the blood of her Severus. Tears filled her eyes and she almost couldn't bring herself to look at the bathroom. How could this happen? The wall had been completely destroyed, blown away until the only thing that stopped everything from crumbling was the strong magic weaved into the castle. Every stall, sink and even the floor had been destroyed, likely by the troll. Good Merlin, the troll. She was not sure how but somehow Severus, a first year, had completely… she couldn't even describe what he had done to the creature. It had been completely voided of its limbs but without a drop of blood.

"He's a monster," Pettigrew whimpered, pulling nervously at his hair. Minerva blinked. Oh yes, she wasn't on the second floor. She hadn't been on the second floor since yesterday. All the professors had been summoned for a meeting about the incident. "We should expel him."

"Mr. Pettigrew!" Minerva snapped. What she saw was shocking, yes but she would not have anyone speak of her dear friend (even unknowingly) in such a way.

"Peter!" Remus gasped at the same time.

"The troll didn't have any limbs!" Pettigrew shouted, slamming his fist into the table. His heart pounded in his chest and he felt bile rise in the back of his throat. Never in his life, even as a Death Eater has he ever seen such a horrific sight! Even Snape with all his sniveling, evil ways never did anything like that. He was so horrified that he didn't even care that his master was glaring holes into his head and his Mark started to itch. This Potter had to go, at any cost. "Its head! Its legs! Its fucking arms were all gone! That's not normal! That kid is a danger to everyone around him."

"Magic that advanced is not taught to children for a reason. What if… dear lord what if he got into a fight with another child?" Pomona worried at her bottom lip.

"See! Someone with sense! We should snap his wand and ban him from the magical world all together!" Peter hid a wince and tried his very best to make his crossed arms look natural and not like his Dark Mark was flaring hot pain up his arm. He wouldn't say another word but he already said all he wanted to. If he managed to get the demon out of the school he was sure he could spin it in a way that made his master pleased. After all, if Severus Potter was expelled he'd have nowhere else to go but the Dark Lord if he loved magic as much as he seemed to. Yes, yes that was a good cover up but he'd have to get all those words out before he was tortured.

"I…" Remus licked his lips and took a deep breath. What he saw scared him to death, it surely did but what scared him most… "The troll's skin was nearly white which means it was at its hardest and practically impossible for even our seventh years to defeat. Most spells would have bounced off it. If Severus had not acted as he did…"

Remus felt his words die, unable to speak them into existence.

"All six of those children would have died," Sinistra finished his thought, sipping her tea. She let out a sigh and turned her gaze to the ceiling as though to see the stars beyond it. "The boy is a gentle soul. He had no design to mutilate a troll. He saw his fellow classmates and his very own flesh and blood in trouble and he did everything in his power to save them. Lady Magic favors the boy and the stars guide him. For that he should not be punished for it."

"Hmph I don't know about all of that but what I can agree with is that the boy saved those kids. If he happened to use magic I've never seen before," Rolanda shrugged, "so be it." Then her expression hardened and she turned a glare to each professor before her. "My true question is how did the troll reach those children?"

"A-and what w-w-were the k-k-kids doing outside of b-b-bed?" Quirinus added.

"These are all fine questions! Where is Albus in all of this?" Professor Binns inquired. He normally didn't attend these meetings but this was just such an interesting case! He almost felt like he had flesh and bones. The fact that they were meeting to decide the fate of one of their students mattered very little to him.

"He's in the infirmary," Minerva answered quietly. She always knew that Severus was a powerful wizard, had known that he had an almost disturbing knowledge of the Dark Arts—she even knew that he used that knowledge and that power to harm people at one point but she had never seen it with her own eyes. In his first childhood he was bullied and got into fights with many students and still he never showed such dark fierceness. Was this really her Severus or was this something newer? Something more evil?

-/+

Am I dead?

That was the first thought that came to Severus. He felt light, like he was flying through the air in the middle of the night with his ma. It was the only time he was okay being in the air, supported by his own magic which was always reliable. And ma. Oh his ma loved to fly without a broom. The joy of such an action was clear on her every time her feet left the ground. But it was a secret. She always told him that they could only do it when no one else was around to see them, always told him to never, ever let anyone see him do such a thing without a broom.

Oh.

He should see her soon then. He was dead after all. Killed by a troll of all things. Severus wondered if his ma would be disappointed in him for losing to a dumb animal. He wondered if she would cry seeing him die so soon. He was only eleven. He didn't want to be dead.

"What…? Get… him!"

Huh? Severus blinked back the tears burning his eyes and turned in the endless darkness surrounding him. What was that voice? Was it Harry? Had he died too?! Of course he had. Severus allowed himself to be killed with the first blow! Pathetic, weak!

"I said…!"

Again.

Was that a light? Yes. In the darkness, so far, far away was a light. It was dim but in the darkness it shone like a beacon. Should he walk towards it? Did he want to? No, he wouldn't want to live in a world where he allowed his brother to die and he didn't want to walk towards a death where his brother would be waiting for him. No, this little space of darkness was good for him. He would stay here until the end of time.

"Severus! Wake…!"

"Harry!" Hm. That sounded like that clumsy twit, Longbottom. Of course it was Longbottom. That kid was always around. But wait. Longbottom hadn't been in the bathroom during the incident. He had run off in the opposite direction in case Severus was wrong then he was to find Draco and have him evacuate the party while he went to find professors to help. Had they all failed? Did the troll rampage after killing them and murdered all of his year-mates?

No.

The professors were incompetent idiots for the most part but they were still powerful adult wizard and witches. He may have not saved himself and the other children in the bathroom but he did not serve all the first years on a platter for that monster.

"Harry, don't!" That was Weasley, the leech always attached to his brother.

"No! Draco! You get… off…! Let me go!"

Wait. Was he alive? Severus took a step forward. Was Harry alive? Severus started to run. As he ran, he remembered. The troll had hit him, hit him harder than he's ever been hit. He had felt the bones in his arm, hip and even his spine practically explode. His skull had cracked as his head hit the first desk and his other leg had snapped as he continued to crash through the room. Yes, that had happened and he was sure he had died but then he felt the heat on his necklace and he remembered. Harry was in trouble. Harry was going to die. He had to save him. He had to use every spell, every bit of magic he knew to save his twin—his only last bit of family! Even if it meant breaking his ma's trust and exposing their secret.

Severus reached for the light, caught it in his hand and burst into the real world.

"Sev!" Brilliant, sparkling green like emeralds of the greatest value filled his vision. Skin tanned by hours in the sun. Wild hair that managed to stand in every direction.

"Harry," he croaked. His throat felt dry and his entire body felt so very heavy almost like there was a boulder the length of him equally pressing down on every part of his body. And yet he didn't feel much pain. His body was almost numb but he could tell that only the best spells and potions had been used on him. The aftertaste of the blood replenishing potion still sat lightly on his lips.

"Sev!" Harry shouted again and this time he threw himself on top of his brother. "Thank God you're awake!" He felt wet tears eyes start to deep into his shirt and the body enveloping him in the warmest embrace started to shake with half held back sobs. "Thank God, you're awake! I thought… I thought!"

"That a stupid troll could kill me? Don't make me laugh," Severus smirked tiredly. Oh he was so tired. And heavy. Severus attempted to look down at himself but Harry caught his face.

"Don't look at it," Harry said.

"Don't look at what?" Sweet Merlin was the heaviness a sort of phantom pressure of his missing limbs?! Was his wand arm okay?

"Just… they said this was normal procedure but I was trying to get them off before you woke up," Harry frowned, throwing a dark look over his shoulder. Severus followed his gaze. Ah. Dumbledore. The old man stood at the foot of his bed with his twinkling blue eyes and a sense of having something over him. Severus felt his blood freeze. Had the other kids told the old geezer he could fly without a broom? Had he witnessed it with his own two eyes?

"Harry, what's making me feel so heavy?" No. If Dumbledore had seen what he could do, there was no way he'd still be here. He'd be in the Ministry or somewhere that didn't exist until he spilled every secret, every spell and every scrap of knowledge he had. They would probably even bring in a necromancer to resurrect his ma and pa.

"It's nothing," Harry insisted even as his strong hands kept Severus's head still.

"They've bound you with magic dampening chains, magic nullifying cuffs and a collar that stops you from speaking spells," Draco. The blond gave Harry a push hard enough to send him tumbling off the bed and onto the unforgiving floor. Severus felt his eyes widen at the horror that was his body. No wonder he felt as though a boulder was pressing down on him—there was a boulder pressed upon him. He had chains crossing his chest, cuffs holding his hands in front of himself and now that he knew he could feel the collar slapped across his throat. The runes on each glowed a soft white to indicate he was no threat. He was tied up like a dangerous animal! He turned his eyes back to the Headmaster. He was going to kill him. He was going to shred these chains like paper, get up from this bed and he was going to ki—

"AH!" Severus let out a scream as his restraints gave him a nasty shock. He fought against it but the pain seemed to double. He let out a curse and flailed as best as he could.

"Severus, stop!" Harry shouted. No, no! Severus would not stop. He wanted out of these chains, he wanted his magic free and he wanted to kill Dumbledore! The old coot was the reason this all happened, he was sure of it!

"Please stop fighting," the old man said. No! He would never stop! Not until he had that head dangling from his fingers. "The chains are not possible for you to break and the more you attempt to use magic, the more they will hurt you."

"To… Hell… With… You!" Severus hissed, struggling even harder. He shrieked at the intense burst of pain that coursed through his body but still he tried until…

"What happened to him!" Harry shouted, breaking out of Ron's hold and rushing to his brother. Severus had gone still, his face slack and the chains back to the soft white they had been up until now. He looked almost dead but the soft pants that left his parted lips shook him of that notion very quickly.

"Oh this boy is so reckless. Everyone out! Out! You've caused enough stress to my patient!" Madam Pomfrey came bustling into the room. She deftly moved Harry out of her way and began a diagnosis. "Really! It's bad enough that the child is all tied up but to cause him stress on top of it! Go to dinner children—now!"

"I want to stay!" Harry insisted.

"I allowed you to stay for two days now and that will be all! I will alert you when he awakens again. Now shoo!" The mediwitch waved them on. She paused at the stubborn tilt of the boy's head and how none of the children seemed to move. Well, this little redhead had saved their lives and now he was being treated as a criminal. "Okay, go eat dinner, take a shower and then come back."

"Deal!" Harry shouted. He gave his unconscious twin a hug then dashed through the door, trailed by the small gang of children. Pomfrey shook her head and turned back to her patient.

"Oh my," she whispered.

"What is it?" Albus shuffled closer but she held up a hand.

"That was for you too, Headmaster. Go to dinner," she commanded. She waited until her employer left before she turned back to the boy. She loved Albus, looked up to him even, but she knew that he had a side no one ever wanted to look too closely at. It was a side she, herself, didn't want to look at and she knew that seeing this would definitely cause nothing but troubles.

"Oh Severus, you have always been such a troublemaker," Poppy sighed as she began to repair the broken collar and slightly cracked chains.

-/+

"Harry, Pansy. Can I talk to you?" Hermione stopped the little group.

"I have to hurry and eat so I can get back to Sev!" Harry reminded her. He didn't want to waste even a single second.

"It's important. Please," Hermione insisted.

"Why do I have to be a part of this?" Pansy grumbled. She hadn't even meant to be in the hospital wing at the time. They all had their shifts (except Harry who was a constant) and it was time for her to switch out with Longbottom but then there was some sort of mix up and they were all there when Severus had woken up and that whole spectacle happened. She pinched the bridge of her nose. She should have never gone after that twit.

"We will see you at dinner then I'll go back with Harry after he showers," Neville announced, grabbing Draco and Ron by the wrists and easily dragging them along with him. Hermione didn't speak until the two were out of sight and only to tell the other two to follow her. She led them down several hallways, around several bends and then to an abandoned classroom.

"Merlin, Granger what has your feathers so ruffled?" Pansy sniffed, falling gracefully into a chair.

"We cannot tell anyone what happened—not what Severus had done at least," Hermione said but it was the way she said it. It was rushed and urgent and insistent like she was scared that someone would walk through the door at that very moment.

"What do you mean?" Harry frowned. His brother was a hero! He had saved all of their lives!

"Harry, are you an idiot?" Pansy sighed. Again. It was the way the girl said it. It wasn't mean or harsh. It almost sounded like a regular question.

"Your brother was flying," Hermione whispered.

"Yeah?" Harry shrugged.

"Harry! That's impossible!" Hermione threw up her arms.

"Well, no it's not. Because Severus has done it before and he did it again just recently." Maybe Harry wasn't understanding something. No. The gaping mouths and the wide eyes let him know that he was definitely not understanding something.

"Harry. No one can fly without a broom," Pansy said firmly.

"Severus can."

"Harry." Hermione placed her hands on his shoulders and she leaned close enough that their noses almost touched. "There is not a single spell, a single potion or ritual that allows a witch or wizard to fly without a broom. There are spells that can stop them from falling, we can use weightless charms or even floating ones but not one of them is flying."

Oh.

Oh!

"Shite," Harry breathed. Severus could do magic that no one else could.

"Yeah. Shite," Pansy scoffed.

-/+

When Severus woke up again he felt lighter. Much lighter but still a heaviness that sat on his throat. His bleary eyes blinked against the soft sunlight. Artificial serenity courses through him. He licked his lips.

"A variation of Collie's Calming Potion," he murmured into the air.

"Yes, it seems as though you have quite the resistance to potions." Dumbledore was there. Severus sighed and his head rolled loosely across the pillow until he could actually see his esteemed guest. He had felt the old man and his power as soon as he felt himself coming back into consciousness. It was like an overbearing, stinging sort of power. Normally he would be able to ignore it, push out his own magic to give him a sort of protective skin but he was too relaxed and his mind was a little cloudy.

"You're what my pa would call a 'pain in the ass'. If he were alive he would have decked you long ago. Ah. You've given me a truth serum," Severus could almost taste it when he gave a heavy breath. Well it wasn't quite a truth serum, more like a hard to lie potion. Giving a true truth serum to a student was highly unethical and very illegal. Not that he would put it past the coot.

"I would like to know what happened on Halloween night," Albus responded.

"Did Harry and the others not tell you?" His blanket was so white and crisp much like a muggle hospital but it magic kept it warm. It was delicate, small magic.

"I would like to hear your version."

"You weren't in Hogwarts: A History. My ma read it to me cover to cover and I've never forgotten a word she's spoken to me. And you were not in it. Don't you find it strange?"

"She could have had an older version."

"Perhaps but I do not think so. My mother quite frequently updated her books, why neglect that one?"

"Just what are you implying, young Severus?"

"I told you not to use that name!" Severus hissed or at least he tried. The anger fizzled out by the second word and it sounded like an airy sigh. He looked from the sheets and to the curtains. They were laced with magic, very faintly but he could see it clear as day. Ooh, Dumbledore had asked him a question. "I don't know what it means but it must mean something. It is an inconsistency. My ma…"

"You mean the woman who kidnapped you?"

"Dumbledore…" he did not like where this was going.

"From what I understand of your 'ma' is that she stole you from the Potters—a nice, loving wizarding couple beloved by all—to live a life on the run and in secret. What was it that she told you you were running from?"

"Headmaster." He meant it as a warning.

"Inconsistencies are all you've ever known, S—Mr. Potter. You did not have a true birthday, a stable home or even a face. Your life was a lie."

"Albus." He could not speak a spell but he'd figure out a different way. Perhaps he could use the soup mug and first burn then bash the man to death.

"There was no danger, no boogeyman. They lied to you so that they can keep you captive and compliant. Muggles call it Stockholm Syndrome."

"Before I graduate I will kill you." He meant it even though there was a gentle smile on his face.

"Five points from Slytherin." Severus did not need to see the man to know that he was grinning and twinkling. "Now about Halloween night. You threw a party…"

"I left it because too many people were too close. Neville joined me then…" Severus did not touch his necklace, did not want the old man to think of what it could be, "I smelled the troll. I ran towards it because Harry is always in trouble. You know that's the second monster to attack him? I wonder why, hm?" He fiddled with the blanket again. "The troll didn't like me very much and it attacked. I… it's blurry. I remember getting hit then I remember hurting and thinking of Harry. Then." Severus shrugged. He remembered Harry, asking if he was okay and feeling relief when the boy said yes. After that it was all darkness.

"What magic did you use on the troll?"

"I can't remember."

"Ms. Granger, Ms. Parksinson and Harry all recall hearing wind."

"I can't remember."

"The troll was without its head and limbs but there was not a drop of blood."

"I cannot remember."

"Magic like that is highly sophisticated. Where did you learn it?"

"None of your business." He grinned at the anger that flared from the man at his bedside. It must sting to know the truth.

"Do you wish to be expelled?" Ooh. They were playing that game but Severus had a counter for that.

"Do you wish Harry to leave?" He didn't quite know what the old man wanted with his Harry but he knew that he wanted him but Harry was his. He would not stay at Hogwarts. Even now he was on the verge of leaving. That's how much Harry loved him. "You've made a mistake old man. You let a troll attack him and his friends then, after his brother saves their lives, you chain him up like a wild animal. Did you think my display would frighten him? Don't make me laugh."

Silence fell upon them. So much so that Severus actually turned to look at Dumbledore. Ooh. That's why. Dumbledore was practically seething. Severus laughed. He laughed as hard as he could. The old man had thought that! Severus could hardly believe it. To think that using terrible violence against life threatening danger would be enough to drive any sort of distance between him and his twin!? Fool!

"You do not know me and you do not know my brother. I'm feeling rather sleepy. Please leave." He rolled onto his side and pulled the warm white sheet up to his shoulder.

"Ooh," Severus called out just as the old man reached the door. He pointed to the collar he had almost forgotten about, "I expect this to be removed the next time I wake up. Thank you."

He had never been so satisfied hearing a door slam with monstrous force.

-/+

TBC

I technically plan these chapters but I also technically don't. Especially when its 4am. But there ya go. Happy to serve!