Written in QLFC Season 9 Round 4, for the team Falmouth Falcons
Position: Chaser 2
Main prompt: Freak Show
Optional prompts: [character] Severus Snape, [setting] Forbidden Forest, [word] Venture
Word count: 2342
Thank you so much shyngr8 for beta'ing!
o-O-o
The Only Freak Show They'll Ever See
Near a castle on a hill in Scotland, there stood a forest, named Forbidden Forest by the occupants of the castle. Few dared to venture into the Forbidden Forest.
There, in a cave, a lone figure was standing in the middle, waving their wand over a cauldron of bubbling grey potion. It was pitch dark outside, a little chill was in the night air but the figure seemed to be unaware of it.
A floating blob of light at the top of the cave provided dim light inside. There were human-looking carcasses, with heavy chains dangling loosely from their hands and legs, binding them to the cave wall, in a pile in a corner of the cave.
"Just a little more," muttered the figure, waving his wand with shaking hands. A stream of green floated from the wand to the cauldron.
The figure touched the wand to their heart, drawing a black, writhing stream of smoke, and deposited it into the cauldron. The potion turned pure dark as the smoke dissolved into it.
The figure seemed to rejoice, if this was the word that could be used to describe the shine that had appeared in their crazy, wild eyes.
"I'll show them who the real freaks are. Just need to test this," the figure muttered as they went out the cave, wand in hand, looking for an unfortunate soul that would be the subject of their administrations.
~O-o-O~
"Dumbledore! Please, you have to believe me. I was just a Potions Master for him. I never tortured or killed anyone," pleaded Severus as he was being dragged away through the Ministry Atrium towards the Floo that would take them to Azkaban.
"I believe you, Severus," replied Dumbledore, standing by the statue, powerless to do anything.
"You know I loved her, I thought he would spare them. I thought-" Severus was cut off as the Floo roared to life and took him and the Aurors away.
"I'll try to get you an early trial. I'm sorry that's all I can do," Dumbledore whispered with remorse as he saw his former student being taken to an Azkaban cell.
~O-o-O~
It had been a month since he had been thrown into Azkaban and the memories had started to slip away. He was curled up in a fetal position in the farthest corner of his cell, trying to shield himself from the Dementors' effects. All he could remember was his father's abuse, his mother trying to shield him from his father's blows, and being called a freak by his father and his peers.
Freak, get out of my sight! He heard his father screaming at him, red in the face from drinking, as his mother ushered him out of the room to prevent his father from hitting him.
Freak! You are a freak! Petunia cried out, holding her head, standing under the tree where Severus and Lily were laying, a fallen branch before her. He felt the taunt hit him although it was directed at Lily. Lily had refused to talk to him properly after that because he had hurt her sister.
Severus 'Freak' Snape, walking towards the Potions classroom, he heard James Potter and his cronies jeering at him from behind as they hit him with mild stinging hexes.
The door to his cell opened and two Auror guards walked in with their Patronuses keeping the fog of Dementors away. He felt his mind clear a little bit and heard one of them say, "Get up, freak! You have a trial."
~O-o-O~
The forest looked foreboding to those who never had the courage to venture and see the absolute beauty it was. Severus Snape was proud to say that he was one of the few who knew almost every nook and cranny of it, almost, because some corners were not meant to be disturbed and were better left alone if you feared for your life.
But Severus did not fear for his life, not anymore. Not since he had been left all but a broken husk of a man.
A freak.
Dumbledore had been too late, just a little too late.
~O-o-O~
There had been no explanations for the disappearances. Every week one or two people disappeared from Hogsmeade and were never found. Some said they could hear cries coming from the Forbidden Forest on the night of the disappearances, but no one dared to venture into the forest.
Dumbledore was stumped. He had tried talking to the centaurs but even they hadn't seen anything or anyone, or rather, were afraid to speak of it lest they incur its wrath. Hagrid's scouting had proven unfruitful too, although, he had seen some human-shaped silhouettes behind the trees, they had disappeared when he had tried to investigate.
The disappearances had continued for the past five months, one person after another, until last month.
There had been news of a small circus that had come to the forest. Supposedly, the Ministry had given the circus permission to use the forest to hold their show for Hogwarts' students and Hogsmeade people. Dumbledore hadn't liked the timing of disappearances stopping abruptly with no explanation, and the idea of letting students into the forest, but the atmosphere had been tense for the past few months due to the disappearances.. The show could do some good to lift up their spirits, he thought. And what harm could a one-day fun circus show could do, right?
~O-o-O~
The boss had said that they would get revenge, and he believed him. After all, their new boss was as mad as their previous one, if not more. The show was set up and they were rehearsing for their show that was scheduled for the next day. Downing their potions they waited for the effects to take hold and reveled in the power that it granted them, both physical and magical. The revenge would finally be theirs. Just one day left.
The show would be a sight to behold, and so would be the aftermath.
~O-o-O~
The sun was setting and there was a little glow in the sky. Students were gathering outside the school gates along with the faculty. It was the day for the circus and all the students seemed excited to be getting out of the school since Hogsmeade trips had been canceled for the past few months due to the unexplained disappearances. A few moments later they started moving towards the Forbidden Forest.
The lone tent was set up a little farther from the Hogwarts's grounds, into the forest clearing. The rainbow-colored circus tent was lit up with lights seeping out. Some sort of rock music with drum beats was being played inside.
The students were gathered in front of the entrance of the circus tent. Dumbledore reached to open the cloth flap entrance when a middle-aged woman stepped out and greeted everyone.
"Welcome to the Freak Show!"
As if on cue, the lights inside dimmed, and a single firework shot out from behind the tent, lighting the sky up with sparks that rearranged to spell 'Freak Show'.
There was a murmur of appreciation from the students as they were slowly ushered inside by the woman.
The lights inside went almost blindingly bright. There was an arena in the middle of the magically enhanced tent and bleacher seats were arranged around in a circular shape. A small changing room could be seen on the far side, opposite the entrance. The students and the faculty seated themselves as the lights focussed on the arena. The middle-aged woman went to stand in the middle of the arena and touched her wand to her cheek.
"Wizards and witches, may I present to you, the Freak Show. In our show, you will see wonders beyond what you have ever seen, and I assure you, when you leave in an hour, you will be a changed person."
The woman then cackled madly, as if insane, and disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. The lights focused on the arena started flickering, and the show started.
~O-o-O~
The show had started a few moments ago. It was an invigorating show but Dumbledore shifted uneasily in his seat. He was sitting on the top row on the bleachers to keep an eye on the entire Hogwarts populace. The woman had tingled his danger senses. There was something familiar about her demeanor that he couldn't quite place.
The performing wizards and witches were showing advanced elemental magics. A dragon made of fire and a phoenix made of white clouds were flying in the air while fireworks were being manipulated to perform a sort of dance.
All in all, the atmosphere was festive but still, he felt something was off.
The show progressed quite magnificently and near the end of the one-hour show, the same middle-aged woman reached the arena, coming out of the changing room. Dumbledore noticed a sort of magical glow emanating from her, a kind he had seen when children did accidental magic, and immediately tensed. He discretely took his wand in hand and saw other teachers doing the same.
"And for our final act, we present to you 'The Freaks'," the woman's cold smile seemed to convey more than her words. The words were light but the eyes promised that no one would forget what they were about to experience.
On her cue, more than thirty wizards and witches came out of the room. Dumbledore noticed the same magical glow on every performer's body and alarms started ringing in his head.
The wizards and witches gathered in a circle in the arena, wands pointed upwards at an angle, and started muttering. Upon the end of their incantation, a dark grey shield snapped into existence, making the tent effectively a cage.
Dumbledore waved his wand and frowned when he could not disperse the shield. He stood up and noticed some students had wands ready and had anxious looks on their faces, perhaps noticing the change in the atmosphere of the show.
"What is the meaning of this? Take down thi-" Dumbledore was cut off as the wizards and witches in the arena started to morph. There stood all the former Death Eaters that had been incarcerated and released for either they were proven to be under the Imperius Curse or had lost their minds too much to be held in the Azkaban.
Now, Dumbledore recognized the witch.
"Bellatrix Lestrange."
~O-o-O~
The chaos that ensued could only be remembered by a few. As they morphed back, the former Death Eaters let loose a volley of spells towards the students and teachers. Students started running towards the entrance, screaming and trying to defend themselves as teachers also battled with the Death Eaters. The shield prevented anyone from escaping, and students were hurled back as they tried to push through.
Dumbledore reached the entrance of the tent, gathering his magical energy in his hands, his desperation to save students aiding him, and let loose a ball of blinding white towards the dark shield. The explosion of his spell dispersing the shield made him take a few steps back.
Feeling the effects of using up so much magic, he halted and took in the scene. The students had started running out of the tent, the teachers hard-pressed to provide cover. Even though the Death Eaters were outnumbered, they seemed to be having no difficulty shooting spells, one after another, at the students. They had also started glowing even more than before.
Suddenly another figure emerged from the changing room at the far end.
"Severus! How could you?" Dumbledore asked with remorse in his heart.
"You couldn't save me, old man. You promised but you were too late, " Snape replied, walking empty-handed with a calm look on his face. Only his eyes betrayed his calm demeanor. They held a tightness as if his whole being was being held by sheer willpower.
Dumbledore noticed he was glowing much more than the others.
"What did you do?" asked Dumbledore, noticing all the students had fled to safety and it was just him and the teachers against the Death Eaters.
Snape smirked and replied, "I harvested the magic from other people and turned it into an explosive."
At that moment the puzzle pieces clicked into place in Dumbledore's brain. Severus had been behind the disappearances. The faint glow of the Death Eaters, the enhanced magical powers.
"Why?" Dumbledore whispered, the gravity of the situation heavy on his shoulders.
"Because I was a freak! To my father, to her, to all of them," Snape shouted, heaving from the strain of magic acting against his body.
"Now you will know me for being more than that. You will know me as your doom," Snape seemed to let go of something and his face went calm, and for a moment Dumbledore saw the carefree, young Severus, the brilliant Potions Master that he had taught and mentored.
As Snape fell backward, all the Death Eaters seemed to start emanating white light. It seemed as if they hadn't known what Severus meant by the explosion and started screaming when their bodies started disintegrating due to excess magic.
Dumbledore pointed his wand towards the center of the arena and muttered, "Protego Horriblis".
The teachers followed his actions, muttering the spell over and over, layering the shield, hoping it would be enough.
~O-o-O~
The shield had been enough, but barely. It had taken all their combined power to keep the explosion contained, but it had worked and where the arena was, now stood a crater 10 feet deep.
The teachers had gone back to Hogwarts to check on the students but Dumbledore stayed. After all, in a way, it had been his doing. He remembered how he had ignored Severus's home condition, thinking the boy would grow up to be strong because of that, and he had done the same for all the bullying.
"How many 'Freak Shows' have I created?" Dumbledore thought out loud, regret framing his body as he felt his past actions catch up to him, the result before his eyes.