-/+

Severus sighed into the air, watching the white clouds leave his lips with little interest. He was sitting in a forest, trees tall and stretching into the strange sky. It wasn't cold, it wasn't hot. It wasn't night and it wasn't morning. It just was. A soft fog layered the ground and now Severus understood the feeling Harry talked about. This absolute feeling of death, of knowing that he didn't belong here. But Severus wasn't dead… not yet, he was sure.

The last he remembered was that he tricked Voldemort. It was stupid, so stupid to trick him but it worked as well as he thought it would. Severus flinched, well, he hadn't expected the pipe to the gut. That hurt. He slowly reached down and pressed into his side. There was nothing for him to touch, which simply confirmed the boy's assumptions. Severus sighed again. This wasn't the train station that Harry described but he had a feeling that this was the same in-between his brother had entered.

"I suppose red hair is just as good as any color."

Severus swallowed hard. He hadn't expected that. He thought Lily or James would appear, fighting each other to meet the son they thought had died. But he knew the voice behind him, would never forget that voice. It was a voice he missed late at night when he felt unbearably lonely and confused, a voice he yearned to guide him in the right direction, a voice he was absolutely sure he would never hear again.

"Ma," Severus croaked wetly. He turned slowly, coming up into a half crouch but he froze, lowering himself back down to the foggy ground. She was far off, too far for him to see her face, too far to really see anything beyond her striking sky blue hair. It flowed down her shoulders, shifting in the wind like a cloak. "Ma?"

"I'm sorry Tyke, your pa wanted to be here—I told him to come," his ma grumbled, finally walking towards him. He ran forward, seeming to just take two steps before tackling the woman to the ground, arms wrapped securely around her. She hesitated but soon her arms were around him too, squeezing him tightly. He wasn't offended, he wasn't surprised. His ma wasn't very affectionate, she didn't really see the purpose of hugs but she loved him, she loved him with all her heart and she proved it in her actions. She threw herself in front of curses, fought tooth and nail to protect him. She trained him, gave him the power to fight for himself.

She was his ma.

"Tell me you and pa's real names. Please ma," Severus blurted the first thing that came to his mind. From what Harry told him, they wouldn't have much time and the dead couldn't really tell anything too revealing but names. Names were simple.

"Tyke…" his ma reached up and brushed a lock of hair behind his ear. "How much time has passed? You are so much younger than I expected."

"Ma, there's no time for that. I don't care that I'm adopted, I don't care what happened or how you got me from the Potters—I don't care about any of that! Just tell me your name. What's your name? I can find you," Severus pleaded. The woman pushed him back, full lips thinning into a hard line and brown eyes turning to stone.

"Cease your digging, it is not—." Severus slapped his ma's hand, uncaring of her appalled expression as he glued himself back to her front, holding her tight. He didn't care if she thought it was dangerous, if she thought he couldn't handle whatever her and pa really were, he didn't care about any of that! He wanted, no he needed to know.

"I will NOT stop looking for you. I won't stop until I make sure whoever took you from me is dead too. Whoever made my childhood and your and pa's life so hard will pay! They took everything from me!"

"Tyke…" his ma crushed him in her arms, so tight he actually gasped for air and could almost feel her warmth. It took him a second too long to realize the shudders going through her body were tears, wet and cold atop his head. His ma didn't cry. She never cried and her voice certainly didn't break the way it was now.

"If you are looking for the person who ruined your life, who brought you and your pa nothing but strife then you don't have to look further than right in front of you." She squeezed him tighter when he tried to break away. "My life, the life I forced onto you and your pa, was my doing. It is my fault you didn't have a proper childhood, a proper name. It is my fault that your pa had a hard life and an unnatural death." She finally allowed him to pull away enough to look into his eyes. Her face was now splotchy red, her nose dripping and her eyes still pouring her tears. She smiled, dragging her fingers over his face, taking in every curve and dip. "You have a new identity, a new family and probably friends—real friends, Tyke. You look so healthy. I was never able to keep you so safe that you glow." Here his ma scoffed and rubbed at her eyes with one hand. "Your pa thought he would be a blubbering mess so he sent me. Ooh the irony."

"Ma, please…" Severus grasped the other hand cupping his cheek.

"Severus Potter…" she cocked her head as though she heard his name in the soundless breeze. She tested the name on her tongue again and nodded in approval. "Severus Potter is a proper name. Make it the last one you have, live your new life to the fullest."

"No, don't say that. Don't..." Severus looked down and saw that his hand was slowly becoming transparent. He was leaving and he hadn't gotten a single answer! Severus thought quickly, there had to be something that his ma would answer.

"Please, just your first name. I can't find you from that, just tell me your birth name." Severus's eyes shot back up to her face. Even now her features shifted subtly, never quite settling in a way that he could describe her accurately. She had wiped her face clean but her eyes were still rimmed red, face still splotchy. Then he saw it. He saw hesitation appear on her face, her teeth coming forward to bite on her lip and she pulled away, uncertain. She never hesitated, his ma. Every action of hers was with purpose and determination, even when doing things that pained her.

He knew his ma took no joy painfully rearranging his face, training him to recognize and counteract hexes, or teaching him any of the skills that pulled him further and further away from being a normal child. He knew she felt guilt about it but he also saw this as a chance. A chance to finally get an answer.

He grabbed her hands and, again, begged for her first name.

-/+

"Rhamnusia."

Severus blinked up into bright green eyes behind red, square glasses much too close. Harry, of course. He reached up and pulled the boy into a hug, uncaring of how much heavier Harry was than him.

"Rhamnusia?" Harry cocked his head, tongue feeling out the strange name, mouth muffled against Severus's hospital gown. Of course they were in the hospital wing, Severus wondered how much time had passed. He doubted it was more than a few hours, the sun was just setting over the horizon.

"It's my ma's true name," Severus sighed into his hair.

"That's a weird one," Harry yawned, getting comfortable. Severus rolled his eyes fondly, it was no more strange than any other wizard name.

"You owe me ten galleons." He reminded the boy.

"Oi! How—did you ask him what he was?" Harry tried not to laugh, it was not funny especially after they both nearly died several times but he couldn't stop his surprised cackle even with his hands. Severus gave him a secret smile and shrugged. He hadn't shown Harry all of his memories (actually Harry pulled out of his mind before he could show him everything that he deemed important) but, yes, he had talked to the thing.

He couldn't take the odd, rattling way the possessed man breathed. "We have to see Dumbledore after this."

Severus rolled his eyes, of course they had to see Dumbledore. That old man was a useless sack of wrinkling flesh and Severus could not wait to see the look on the old man's face when he finally let him know that Harry and himself would not be attending Hogwarts next year. To him, Hogwarts was a beacon attracting danger left and right so it would make sense to be extra vigilant. Instead of doing that, the old coot spent the year looking the other way and employing Death Eaters and the Actual Dark Lord. He owed Dumbledore a kick between the legs for the pipe to the gut.

"There's a small school in Ireland called O'Donnell School for Gifted Wizards," Harry stifled another yawn, "we'll have to pass a rigorous entrance exam though." Severus jerked, blinking down at the boy. "My House is Gryffindor but I would've done well in Hufflepuff. I played Quidditch and won all the games I played. I'll miss everyone but I managed to mail Mooki every week so what's a few more letters?"

"Thank you, Harry," Severus squeezed his twin tight. How did he land such an amazing twin?

Snap!

Severus pushed Harry away from him, at the same time his hand dove under his pillow to snatch his wand and he was leveling it at a woman. She had blond curls piled neatly atop her head, two muggle pencils pushed through the base. Red, cat eyed glasses sat atop her nose, golden chains dropping from the arms. Her red painted lips were stretched in a most devious grin, blue eyes lit like a cat with a canary. Her outfit was most impractical, a red, skin tight dress, a red blazer that flared at her hips and equally red high heels. Severus was vaguely reminded of the devil costume Harry had attempted to put him in one Halloween.

"The Boy Who Lived and the Lost Twin. Ooh this is the story of the century. You know I've been trying to get close to you two all year?" The woman click clacked closer. The camera flying besides her took another picture. Severus prepared to hex her into next week. Naturally, Harry stopped him.

"Hey, what's your problem?" Harry demanded, picking himself up off the floor. He wagged a tan finger at the strange blond woman, not quite sure who she was but she was being very rude and deserved a scolding, "Don't take pictures of people who aren't ready! We look like a mess right now and we are very adorable. At least let us get dressed—and introduce yourself!"

"Oh my, so this is the kind, protective Harry Potter I've heard so much about," the woman cooed at him. She held out a delicate hand to him, giving him a tiny shake. A glance towards Severus had her simply nodding to the redhead, sure that she wouldn't get her hand back. "I am Rita Skeeter. I am a top reporter for the Daily Prophet."

"You wrote that bit about the witch who was a bridesmaid to thirty different friends," Severus rolled his eyes. Top reporter his arse.

"Yes, good memory kid," Rita still smiled but her words were gritted and forced. "We all start somewhere, kid."

"You want to report on our clothes?" Harry tilted his head.

"No! I am a top reporter, that puff piece does not represent my work," Rita sniffed, highly offended.

"Does taking photos of my half naked brother represent your work?" Harry crossed his arms and tapped his foot, his aura just screaming disapproval.

There were plenty of times when Rita was taken aback. The time when she was a little girl and her mother thought to put her in Quidditch when she specifically asked to learn how to sew. The time her ex-fiancé thought he could chip away at her inheritance without her noticing. Ooh and then last week when her boss actually laughed in her face when she proposed she could get an exclusive with the Chosen One and this 'twin'. But now she was being politely chewed out by an eleven year old.

"So this is the Chosen One. You're a pretty impressive kid, kid," Rita snapped her fingers, a black puff of smoke rising from her camera signified that the photos had been destroyed. She pulled one of the pencils from her hair, giggling at Harry's surprise that it was actually her wand. With a wave she transfigured a nearby bed into a large, comfy chair, plopping down onto it. "They don't take me seriously where I work." Harry gave a pointed look to her eccentric outfit, her insane heels and her heavy makeup. This drew another giggle from the woman. "Yes, I know a part of it is my dress but I like what I like, us Gryffindors are a stubborn bunch after all. But more than my clothes, it's what is under them."

"Under…?" Harry squinted in confusion.

"She's a woman," Severus explained, wand put away. Though he had taunted the woman for her 'puff piece' he did remember her article arguing the merits of having a House system such as Hogwarts. It was actually quite the good read, not that he would tell her.

"What do the muggles say? Bingpot?" Rita sounded out the word.

"Jackpot or bingo. I think bingo fits better," Harry answered.

"Bingo! To both. Now, listen," Rita reached up for her second, actual muggle pencil which she began to nibble lightly on. Normally she would be pulling out a cigarette to smoke but she was seriously trying to quit. It was starting to stink up her apartment and, subsequently, her clothes. "The school year is coming to a close so there's going to be rabid animals biting at one or both of you—."

"Nope, that's not good enough," Harry stopped her. He couldn't read Severus's mind but he knew the boy would sooner hex reporters than talk to them. "We just finished beating up the Dark Lord, you think a couple of reporters matter to us? Sev and I will give you, and only you, an interview—we reserve the right to not answer anything too personal—and you have to do us a favor of equal value."

"Ooh ho?" Rita quirked an eyebrow, her sharp ears not missing the fact that the boy mentioned beating the Dark Lord (who should be very dead), "Is our little Harry actually a snake in lion's clothing?"

"Actually I could've gone to Hufflepuff," Harry grinned with all of his teeth. He held out his hand, "we got a deal?"

Rita didn't even hesitate before taking the little hand. She was young, ambitious and any reporter worth their snuff would know a good deal when they saw one.

"Meet us in the library, we have business to take care of first," Severus finally spoke. He shooed the woman away when she started to linger and hesitate though he guessed she wasn't exactly scared to be caught. Her animagus was something small, so small that Severus hadn't sensed the magic so she could be anywhere in the castle.

Great, he would have to learn a spell that expelled animagi and apply it to his important spaces. Not here, of course. Soon, they would go to another school.

-/+

Albus Dumbledore could not see the future, he was not omnipotent nor did he have some all seeing eye that survilled the entire world. Without great force and pain, he could not read anyone's minds either. All of this to say that Dumbledore did not see a lot of this coming and he, deep down (and quite unfairly he could admit), placed the blame in the lap of Severus Snape.

He had already known of Severus's past of blood and torture, had contingency plans should the man ever be less than absolutely loyal to the Light. He also saw the boy grow into the man he was, knew his buttons and ticks. He could tell at a single glance exactly what was on Snape's mind. But, without him, he was forced to hire Remus and Peter. He had great joy and pride in those two but they were unpredictable. Albus hated unpredictable.

Unpredictable meant that Peter had a Dark Mark, mind it was a Dark Mark forced upon him but it was still the Mark. For eleven years the man taught his students, interacted with the children and all the while he was a servant to young Tom. Albus did not not trust his words of partial innocence but Severus reported to him often enough to know that no one had clean hands in that organization. It was a hard decision to keep the sobbing man but he needed a new spy and Peter had a rather useful animagus… Albus felt a headache coming on.

Unpredictable was Quirinus Quirrell being possessed by young Tom's exposed soul. Albus wanted to hazard a guess that, in trying to kill Harry, his spell rebounded and attempted to destroy him as he had Harry but hadn't quite managed. It would have been highly unstable and probably little more than the deranged, angry psyche rather than a full piece of the man. But that was a guess, a strange phenomenon he couldn't quite put his finger on. Albus sighed, he wasn't one to believe himself perfect but he felt quite blind not seeing the signs. The dead unicorns, the odd way the man behaved, the stink of fear that wafted off the nervous, pale thing. But it was too late now. He was nothing more than ashes going down the drain.

Which brought him to the two most unpredictable variables that Albus truly blamed Snape for. Severus and Harry Potter. Harry, Harry was a surprise that still caused Albus's heart to stutter. The boy was…loyal. He loved Severus fiercely, impossibly unconditionally. He hadn't expected their love to be fake but was four years enough to garner such loyalty, to twist such a friendly boy into something dangerous? The boy used voodoo against him. Voodoo! The most dangerous of magics created and used by absolute savages. Simply for binding Severus. Not only that but the boy, while cursing him, had stolen from him. The plain audacity that resided in Harry was great, probably from being spoiled by the Dursley's and encouraged by Severus.

Speaking of Severus… the boy was different. Much more different than the Severus he knew. He was still vicious and fierce but now he had… should he say friends? True friends that covered for him, that helped him, that liked him. True friends that he liked back. He didn't care about recognition, could care less about his grades though his high scores still spoke of great brilliance and wonderful drive.

Albus pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn't quite regret putting Severus with Harry, the convenience was too perfect and the two made a horrifyingly great team, but he didn't know this Severus, couldn't predict his movements. How was he to know that a different environment would create an essentially different person? He wasn't an insecure, angry boy much too deep in the dark arts anymore. This Severus was confident, loved and still into magic that didn't sit well in anyone's stomach.

Had Albus noticed these differences sooner (though how was he to know within the first five minutes of seeing them) he wouldn't have forced them into different Houses, he wouldn't have tried to wedge them apart so callously and he definitely wouldn't have tried to spin lies on the dead parents Severus knew for the first seven years of his life. The only saving grace in his bumbles was that this ma and pa that raised Snape were not only long gone (thus causing Severus to search within the wrong years) but they were completely wiped from existence. This was, of course, not done by Albus.

Because he wasn't all powerful. He was magically powerful and the genius of his time but he wasn't all powerful nor could he see the future.

Albus would have to move more carefully these upcoming years.

"We're not coming back next year," Severus announced as though reading his mind. Albus simply nodded, pretending that he wasn't surprised. He opened his mouth to inquire but was cut off again by the red haired boy, "No, you may not know which school we will attend instead and yes our muggles will agree."

"Yeah, no offense, but we don't want Voldemort following us there," Harry shrugged apologetically.

Insolent whelps. Both of them. Harry used that name so brazenly, so fearlessly. Would it have been heartless to have him grow in a harsher environment? A nicer family gave him this Severus… Albus shook his head, it was too late for that. At this age their personalities were pretty much set and trauma would just break either of them.

"Is that all? We've told you what happened. We should be studying for our upcoming finals," Severus stood, stretching his arms above his head.

"Please, Mr. Potter, sit back down and reconsider any thoughts of leaving," Albus urged calmly.

"I apologize," Severus gave him a bright smile, "I seemed to have misled you. I wasn't asking if we could leave. I was telling you."

"Severus!" Harry snorted into his Invisibility Cloak, obviously amused by such rude behavior.

"I—we almost died. Over this stupid rock," Severus produced the red, pretty rock, now ugly in Severus's eyes. He tossed it onto the desk, "next time make sure your students can't stumble upon the key to immortality."

Oh yes, Severus had tricked the possessed man to drink an incorrectly brewed immortality brew that actually turned him into dust. Albus glanced at Harry, not quite doubting the story but there was more to it. He was sure. Like how were they both without any sort of injury? There were several signs of violence and blood and not just in the second floor bathroom. How his heart nearly jumped out his throat upon seeing the word 'RUN' burned into the ground just outside his office. While he knew it was necessary for the boy to fight, he wished him no personal harm, none of this was personal.

"I must apologize for several things but you boys are not without fault. While you found the philosopher's stone , you did not report it and you essentially stole it. Furthermore you spied and lied rather than bringing any concerns for any professors. You both created an adventure with dangerous consequences," Albus lectured.

"Bet no other school would have such easy games," Harry muttered.

"Or a stone of such value." Severus added, giving another stretch and starting towards the door.

"Or possessed employees." Harry stood as well, throwing an arm over thin shoulders.

"Or a Death Eater rat—oh did you think we were so dense?" Severus threw a nasty glare at him over his shoulder. Harry gave hima little nudge to face forward again, giving his own apologetic smile then the two were gone. Albus was almost confused as to what just happened. He looked around his office, was he or was he not the Headmaster?

Albus sighed. It looked like he had more work to do.

-/+

"Harry! Severus!" Hermione's voice and a group of running feet was all Harry heard before he was on the ground and looking up at an absolutely furious Hermione Jean Granger.

He gave her a brilliant smile. Maybe she just looked mad.

"Hey Herm—oi!" Harry raised his arms as the girl suddenly rained open handed slaps upon his person. "Okay, I'm sor—I'm—ow! I'm—Hermi—Ow!" Harry gave up on talking and tried to just protect himself but Hermione was determined to beat him up. And no one wanted to help him apparently so he could do nothing more than accept her frustrations. It took the girl much longer to tire out than he thought.

"I think you might've beaten some sense back into him," he heard Pansy comment once Hermione was doing little more than sitting on his stomach, very red in the face and still very angry. She gave him a weak slap across the forehead when he revealed his face.

"I didn't mean to make anyone worry," Harry smiled, this time much more apologetic. Hermione huffed, accepting Pansy's hand to her feet. Ron reached down and pulled him up as well, throwing a friendly arm over his shoulder but Harry turned it into a hug. He hadn't even thought about how their friends felt about their near death experiences. He looked over Ron's shoulder to see Severus being assaulted in his own right.

"Ero così preoccupato per te! My heart! Please, think of my heart," Blaise clucked like a worried hen as though he hadn't first encouraged Severus to take on any challenger that came his way. He supposed the Slytherin didn't mean the supposedly dead Voldemort.

"Where is the damage?" Draco practically demanded, grey eyes sharp and searching.

"Are you okay out of bed so soon?" Neville worried his bottom lip, flitting around the boy. His eyes gobbled up any part he could see, following Draco and Blaise as the two poked and prodded him, lifting his arm and moving him this way and that. Severus threw him a look that spoke of his suffering but this was the punishment he deserved, that they both deserved, for worrying their friends.

"Severus is going to murder those boys," Pansy noted, tossing her long, dark hair over her shoulder. The motion looked much better and more natural now.

"Oh, you used Severus's gift!" Harry chirped.

"It would be rude to not use it at least once. I may have to cut it over the summer," the girl fiddled with her long strands. Hermione made a noise of disapproval but said nothing, probably having said her opinion several different times. Harry shook his head, his mind not quite wrapping around why she couldn't keep her hair long but that was a different matter for a different day.

"Come on, we've got an interview in the library."

-/+

TBC

Okay, one more chapter to tie this off.

What's a good giant snake name? My first thought was Lisa and that's just… that's sad.

Stay safe y'all!

See y'all soon