November 1st, 1981 Potter Manor 6:00pm
Severus sat up from the couch he was laying on and looked around. When did I fall asleep? he thought. Then he remembered the short conversation he had with Sirius before being forced to sit in the chair at the desk. His pale face turned red a bit when he remembered how Sirius had gently massaged his shoulders which ultimately lulled him off to sleep. He shook his head and looked over at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room. It read six o'clock… six o'clock! Severus panicked and leapt from the couch, letting the blanket over him fall to the floor.
Severus dashed over to the desk where he left all his notes only to find they were all gone. A sense of panic filled him. He made a mad dash for the door, pulling it open and preparing to dash out to find the others. However, across the foyer in the family sitting room, Severus could hear voices speaking. He ran across the hall and entered the room, finding everyone who was supposed to be there.
Lily was the first to notice him. "Good morning, Sev…or evening rather," she said. Everyone turned to look at him.
Lily was sitting on the floor with baby Harry, who was surrounded by stuffed animals and toys. James, Sirius, and Remus were all sitting in armchairs that surrounded a circular table with all his notes strewn across it. He let out a sigh of relief. "Thank God…I thought I dreamt it."
"Aww, you dreamed about me, Sev?" Sirius asked in a cutesy tone that earned him a scowl from Severus.
"Are we all calling him Sev now?" Lily asked.
"It's easier than 'Severus'. Makes the conversation flow faster," Sirius said. "Besides, it's such a cute little nickname." He used the cutesy tone again and Remus swatted his arm.
"Oh shut up, Poochie," Severus said to him in a spiteful tone.
Sirius placed his hands over his heart. "Merlin's beard! You hear that, everyone. Sevie gave me my own nickname."
Harry looked up from his toy, hearing the word 'Sevie', and pointed at Severus. "Sevie!" he said.
Lily chuckled. "That's right, Harry. That's Uncle Sev," she said to the boy. Harry clapped and began crawling over to Severus.
When he reached Severus' feet, the boy tugged on his pant leg then held his arms up. Severus was honestly surprised the boy came to him of his own volition; most children were scared of him. He remembered how almost all first years would tremble at the sight of him in his past life. Yet here was a one year old, demanding to be picked up by him. Severus bent down and lifted the boy. Little Harry kicked and squealed excitedly as he was picked up.
Severus positioned the boy against his hip as he walked over to the other men. "I'm surprised you didn't warn them, Lily, about how cranky I get when someone touches my notes," he said, eyeing the three men with a menacing look.
"Must've slipped my mind." She chuckled a bit, failing to hide her amusement of the three men's now pale faces.
Remus was the first to speak up. "I apologize, Severus. It was my idea," he began. "We all knew you needed some rest and didn't want to disturb you. I thought it prudent to go over some of the things you've told us so we could prepare for our eventual encounter when we go to help the Longbottoms." Remus looked extremely nervous, which caused Lily to bust out laughing.
"He…he's joking Remus…"Lily managed to say in between her giggles.
Severus smirked a bit. "No, fair Lily, I was enjoying watching them squirm," he said.
"I'm sorry. I couldn't hold it in anymore. They all looked terrified that you were about to curse them," she said, still giggling.
"Wait, he's not?" James asked. Lily shook her head and the three men let out a sigh of relief as the color returned to their faces.
"Unfortunately, you won't find much about the attack on the Longbottoms in those notes, other than the fact it happens a week or two after Voldemort's downfall. I didn't have much information on the attack, hence why I was so frazzled when Sirius forced me to sleep. How did I get on the couch, by the way?" he asked. "I was certain I fell asleep in the chair."
"We sent Grumble in to get the notes since he would be able to slip in and out fairly quietly," James explained. "While he was in there, he took it upon himself to move you to the couch."
"Ah…well, thank him for me later," Severus said. He cleared his throat, gesturing to the empty space behind him.
"Oh, yes," Sirius said, flicking his wand and conjuring a large comfortable armchair for Severus. Severus sat down, placing Harry on his knee and bouncing his leg gently.
"You're rather good at holding a baby, Sev," James said.
"Believe it or not, Potter, but this isn't the first time I've held a baby," he retorted. "In my last life, I was made the godfather of Lucius Malfoy's son and babysat him often."
"You can't be serious," James said.
"Of course he's not. I am," Sirius immediately said.
"Pooch, that joke is getting old," Severus said. Sirius made a gesture that looked as if he'd been stabbed in the heart. "Yes, it's true, James. However, I'm certain this time around I won't be given that role. Now, on to more important matters."
"Right. But one question, Severus," Remus said as he lifted a single piece of parchment up. "What you have written here is a list of Defense Against the Dark Arts professors at Hogwarts during Harry's time there in your last life. Did I really teach at Hogwarts in his third year?"
"Yes, and you were by far more competent than the rest except for me, of course," Severus said flatly. "Coincidently, your appointment to the post also coincided with Sirius's break out from Azkaban to hunt down Pettigrew. Unfortunately, due to my lack of integrity back then, I kind of let it slip to the staff that you were a werewolf at the end of the year, and you resigned before anyone could demand you be removed…I apologize."
"There's no need for that, Severus," Remus said. "It hasn't happened yet this time around and if it does, I'm sure you'll keep it to yourself this time."
"Naturally," Severus said. "Thank you for your understanding."
"Now for my question," James said, holding up another parchment. "This right here is a list of things you think Harry needs to become more competent at: Potions, Occlumency, Silent Casting, Ancient Runes, and Wandless Magic," he read off the list. "Care to explain this?"
"It's exactly as it says, James," Severus said. "In my last life, until your son got ahold of a old potions book of mine in his sixth year, he was rather incompetent when it came to potion making. I'd hazard to say if it weren't for his friend Hermione Granger, I'm certain he would've failed my class."
"Granger?" Lily asked. "Who is that?"
Severus turned to her and smirked. "A muggle born witch such as yourself who befriends your son in their first year. She is considered by all the teachers the brightest witch of their year. I'm certain you will approve of her."
"I'll say," Lily said, liking the idea of her son making friends with this girl.
"Alright. We'll discuss Harry's future love life later," James said, shaking the parchment. "Back to this list…Occlumency? Why should he learn this?"
"Two reasons, Potter," Severus began. "The first is this scar." He stopped bouncing his leg to point at Harry's scar. Harry started to fuss and Severus resumed bouncing his leg gently. "It's not just a scar from Voldemort's failed attack," he explains. "When the spell rebounded and Voldemort was destroyed by his own magic, a piece of his soul latched on to Harry and is now hiding beneath this scar."
"Oh my god, Severus! Are you certain of this?" Lily asked as she plucked her son from the man's knee and began examining his forehead.
"Yes. That's exactly what happened in my last life. It's what makes Harry the Child of Prophecy, but don't be alarmed. It will not cause him any pain for now. Later, when he's older and Voldemort is close to returning, it will give Harry the ability to sense Voldemort's thoughts and feelings. However, it is not a one way door. Once Voldemort returns, he will discover this connection and use it against Harry to lure him to the Department of Mysteries to retrieve the Prophecy for him. The end result will lead to Harry and his friends being captured by Death Eaters and Sirius dies trying to rescue him…killed by Bellatrix."
"That bitch," Sirius says. "I wish father would have kicked them out."
"Fortunately, you'll be able to do that in four years," Severus said.
"What are you on about?" Sirius said, woefully confused. "I was disowned, Severus. Even if that old crone croaks, I get nothing."
"Wrong, Pooch," Severus said flatly. "From what I can remember from my last life, apparently all your mother ever really did was blast you off your family tree and say you were disowned. However, she never had any actual paperwork filed to support that claim. In my last life, she died in 1985 and all Black Family assets are passed on to you as the sole surviving member."
"Bloody hell…" Sirius looked at the floor while taking in that information. "I can't believe it."
"Have I lied about anything so far?" Severus inquired.
"Well, no, but…" Sirius started, but Severus interrupted him.
"Need more proof? In Harry's fifth year, after Voldemort's return, you allow the Order to use Grimmauld Place as a base of operations. As you can guess, your mother's house elf Kreacher is still there, and he is unable to refuse your orders," Severus said to complete his point.
"Meaning I will be the head of the House of Black…" Sirius sat back and rubbed his forehead with one hand. "Wow."
"Now, back to Harry learning to master Occlumency," Severus said. "As I said, it is not a one way door. If Harry does not learn to block out the thoughts that are not his own, he could be duped yet again by Voldemort," he explains. "The second reason he should learn this skill is Dumbledore."
Everyone's eyes widened and they nodded in agreement. "Albus is an expert at Legilimens. Anything we tell or teach Harry could easily be picked from his brain by the headmaster of his school. He must be taught to block others from his mind. I attempted to teach him in my last life when he was a fifth year after we noticed the connection. But, it's my belief that because he was under pressure to master it quickly, he never got the hang of it. That is why we should start him early. So by the time he arrives at Hogwarts, he'll be able to keep even the most practiced Legilimens user out of his head."
"Now that you say it like that, it doesn't sound like a bad idea," James said, pondering it over. "We should all be brushing up our Occlumency skills. Do you think you can assist us with that, Sev?"
Severus was surprised that now even Potter was using the friendly nickname Lily gave him. Then he thought about what James just asked him and he gave a vicious grin. "Gladly," he said. "However, fair warning. During practice, any secrets I may accidentally uncover from inside that empty head of yours will immediately be shared with your wife."
James's face went white. Lily however, who was now back on the floor with Harry, whipped her head around and grinned as well. "Oh, I like this idea," she said.
"Hey! No fair! The same rule should apply to her!" James said in protest.
"Naturally. However, I already know most of Lily's secrets from our time at Hogwarts," Severus grinned.
"Well, not all my secrets," Lily said as a smirk danced across her face.
"Oh yeah? You want to make a wager?" James asked. "Whichever one of us gets the juiciest secret pulled has to purposely call your sister."
Lily looked appalled. "You're on!"
Severus chuckled at their little game. He looked across from him and noticed Sirius was a bit pale. He was about to tease him about worrying about his secrets getting out when James spoke up again. "Alright, so now that's out of the way. The next thing you have on the list is Silent Casting."
"Yes. In his sixth year, he was rather inept when it came to that one," Severus began. "I was his Defense teacher that time around and he seemed to have trouble mastering the skill. To rectify this, I suggest getting him a training wand the moment he shows signs of magic and first teach him basic spells then teach him to cast those spells silently. This will make it easier for him to master harder spells when he is older."
"Lily can handle that. She was the best in school," Remus said.
"Excellent point, Remus," Severus said. "Lily, we'll leave his silent casting training to you."
"Easy!" she remarked.
"Alright, that's settled, and what about Ancient Runes?" James asked.
"I personally think he'll benefit from taking that class," Severus said. "Last time, he had a more laissez-faire attitude when it came to his studies. I believe a vigorous course such as this will teach him discipline. In his third year, I believe he should forgo taking Divinations as he did in my last life and take Ancient Ruins instead."
"I agree," Lily and Remus said together.
"You all are planning to turn my son into a studious bookworm," James said, a look of fake revulsion on his face.
"Excuse me?!" Lily said. She stood up, walked over to James, and slapped his arm. "You married a bookworm, thank you very much, and if I have any say, and I WILL, Harry will be very studious." Lily slapped his arm with each phrase.
James held up his hands in defeat, surrendering to her. Sirius tapped his knee and whispered, "Don't worry. We'll teach him to have fun." Lily shot him a death glare, which caused the grown man to swallow nervously. Lily turned, going back to her seat on the floor.
"Moving on. The last item is Wandless Magic…do you really think he can master that?" James asked. "I can barely do it."
"If there is one thing I noticed in my last life, it's that Harry has untapped raw power," Severus says. "In his third year while trying to save Sirius from being 'Kissed' by a dementor," That statement earned a shudder from Sirius, "he cast a patronus so strong, nearly one hundred dementors fled."
"Harry did that?" Remus asked with a tone of complete shock.
"Yes," Severus replied. "Last time Harry was restricted living with the Dursley's, they openly appalled his magic so he made a conscious effort not to use it and I believe that held him back. Which, I'm sure, is exactly what Dumbledore wanted when he thought to put the boy in their care," Severus explained. "I believe, this time around, growing up where magic is accepted and praised he will come into his abilities much better than before."
"I have to agree with Severus," Remus said. "From a psychological standpoint, what he says is very sound."
"Guys," Lily said. "You should look at this."
The four men stood up and walked over to her. There on the floor, little Harry was moving his arms around and giggling. As he did, his stuffed animal danced around him. The boy held out his arms and the doll that looked like a big black dog flew into his arms as the others continued to dance around him. "I think I'm inclined to agree with Severus," Sirius said, watching in awe as Harry continued to display an amazing control of magic.
"I told you," Severus said triumphantly. "You should all learn to value my judgement like Lily does."
James clapped a hand on Severus's back. "I will never doubt you again," he said as they all continued to watch Harry magically move his toys.
A/N: I'd like to thank everyong again for you rousing support i truely appreciate being that this is my first serious fanfiction. I'm glad its getting so much support.
Up Next: Lily get angry after a trip into Severus memories. Severus discovers a secret that has been kept from him for years.