April arrived with flowers blooming from most trees and brought along life and joy to the Scotland countryside, though the situation at Hogwarts said otherwise.
With Severus Snape was gone, the Marauders went back to their old habits and the students all observed with furrowed brows as James Potter and his goons strutted over the castle as if they owned the place, while Lily Evans trailed after them like a lost puppy. However, they couldn't do anything about it; there was only about two months left before school ended and tattling on them seemed like a waste of time.
And the four Gryffindors and one Hufflepuff had acknowledged it too. Hogwarts was theirs.
"'Bout time we can finally find that Chamber in secrets," Sirius grinned and rubbed his hands gleefully. The group had gathered in the Room of Requirement to discuss more of their plan.
The other three Marauders rolled their eyes in faint amusement at his antics. "What are we going to do? Just hiss around?" Remus frowned.
"Sounds like it," James tapped his chin thoughtfully.
Peter chuckled, "Won't that make us a bit of morons?"
Sirius clicked his tongue impatiently. "It ain't stupid if it's the only way to find that Chamber, Pete."
And thus, the four Marauders and their tag-along began their search to be the first discovering the location of Salazar Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets. More often than not, Lily and Peter ended up as the sentries, guarding the places while the other three would take turns hissing whatever it was until they moved to another room.
When they reached the second floor however, Moaning Myrtle stopped them.
"Well, if it isn't the cowardly Head Girl," the ghost started haughtily, "Though you have learnt your lesson well?"
"Out of the way, Myrtle," James grumbled, "We're just inspecting this place. And as a matter of fact, I can because I am the Head Boy." He smirked when the spirit cowered slightly in fright and backed away from them.
As the other four checked the walls and the loos, Sirius went to the sink counters. His grey eyes spotted a small 'S' carved on one of the pipes and intrigued, he was about to turn it on when water suddenly gushed out from other pipes and drenched the five of them.
"You think I'd want to listen to a bunch of idiots?" Myrtle let out a shrill laugh. "Get out! This is a ladies' room!"
"It's not like people have used it, anyway!" James shouted, although it fell onto deaf ears and they quickly ran out of the restroom, soaking wet from head to toe. As they dried themselves in a nearby classroom, Sirius frowned, barely minding what his friends between each other.
There really was something in the second-floor girls' lavatory, and Sirius would be damned if he didn't find out what it was before Snape came back to school.
Unbeknownst to him, a pair of red eyes was observing him from the shadows.
"Can't believe it's all true," Evan Rosier started the conversation.
He and his friends were in the Slytherin common room, currently occupying the table where the absent member of their group usually sat. Their schoolwork was all strewn forgotten on the table; due to the news they received by Lucius Malfoy just then.
Alaric Mulciber snorted, "It's Snape, what do you expect? Hell, he's pretty much a celebrity nowadays. Won't be surprised if he got to be some big shot someday, guy's got the brains and all."
"Yes, but surviving an indirect full-on Fiendfyre attack?" Evan questioned, "Do you reckon that feather Snape always brought along was something else?"
"It's Rogue, mate," William Wilkes drawled, "Snape must had teetered its soul back to the feather with some potion or something." Then he huffed, "Sure was a 'Puff, he is. Rest in peace, Rogue; our man. We'll honor you in some way."
The five bowed down their heads in silence for a minute, in remembrance of the fallen raven's spirit.
"At least he lives," Michael Avery went on, "My father said the Dark Lord was furious when he heard the news. We sort of lucked out that Snape got to wake up at all."
A sniff caused them to turn to Regulus Black, whose face was gaunt and his grey eyes were horror-stricken as he stared into the far beyond. "Regulus…" Evan started.
"B- But it's my fault!" Regulus blubbered, "If only… If only I had taken the money…" The Black heir then covered his face, sobbing his heart out. The other four only shared a look; Regulus had been so somber ever since they found out Snape's dormitory room was burnt down and the boy thought it was Sirius' revenge for the prank on St. Valentine's Day.
"Reg, even if you take the money, this thing was bound to happen anyway," Evan said. He sighed as Regulus continued to cry, sincerely hoping that Snape would clear any misunderstanding between him and the younger boy.
If he ever got to come back to school, that is.
It was a week into April, and Francesca Zabini rushed out of her apprenticeship cottage with a thundering heart on one of her breaks. She had read the news about what had happened to Severus Snape and wanted to visit him right away, but Vindictus Viridian had stopped her; telling that the Healers would need utmost attention to treat the boy and that she should focus on her training.
The old Potions Master thought she might come up with a better version of available potions and perhaps even making a new invention that could heal the boy to some extent. Thus, she had worked hard to produce a more potent version of Magical Core-strengthening Potion, but without much success.
"Everyone's magical core is different, Miss Zabini," Viridian told her sympathetically after reading the letter sent by Evan Rosier, "at most he might have to start over his magical training. Though, there is a chance of him ended up as a Squib, but let's pray that won't happen."
Francesca had cried for weeks over that fact. She had seen how delighted Severus was whenever he made magic; how would he fare upon knowing he couldn't cast spells anymore?!
Glancing at the stone locket Severus had gifted her on Christmas; Francesca then thought hardly about Malfoy Manor's location before pressing the Portkey button on the item and felt her own self being pulled into a warp before reappearing in front of the grandiose mansion.
She sighed at the fact she had allocated the special Portkey to a well-known place, but pursed her lips at the sight of white peacocks flocking in one of the cages nearby the gardens and knocked on the mahogany doors three times, to which a house-elf opened with a polite bow. "Um, I want to see your master," she spoke.
The elf bowed down again and left before reappearing with Lucius Malfoy in tow. "You can leave now, Tibby," he uttered out and it went back to its tasks with a crack.
"I… I want to see Snape," she began, twiddling her thumbs nervously.
"I'm afraid you can't at the moment," the blond said with folded arms, "He's sleeping."
Francesca blinked. "So he's really awake?"
"Not really," Malfoy mumbled and waved his hand to let her in, "Barely tolerates anyone who enters his room whenever he got up, aside from the Healers of course. I heard he almost choked a guy to death just for being a tad bit noisy in his presence."
She couldn't stop the shudder that ran over her body; she didn't dare to risk facing Severus' wrath at any time soon. "Then… I want to see the Dark Lord."
Malfoy faced her with a frown. "The Dark Lord?" he repeated. When she nodded, the blond still looked at her skeptically before leading her to the library and knocked on the door three times. "Francesca Zabini is here to see you, my Lord," he called.
There was a brief moment of silence. "Send her in," the person inside finally said and Francesca gulped as Malfoy turned to leave and she summoned all her bravery before opening the door.
The library was lit with candlelight and her lips twitched minutely in fright as she headed toward the armchair and took her seat. Her eyes momentarily widened upon seeing a silhouette of a person at the desk opposite her, his red eyes were gleaming in interest.
"Miss Zabini," the man began, "to what do I owe this pleasure?"
She took a breath at his rather waxy alabaster skin and gaunt face. "I want to join your faction."
Lord Voldemort blinked his red eyes. "Are you here to ask for a favor?" he asked curiously, "It can be arranged; at a price of course, but…"
"No. I want to join the Death Eaters."
"And why is that, may I ask?" the Dark Lord said. "My Death Eaters are loyal to one another and to me. If you really want to be part of my ranks, may I have words that I can believe you? From what I have heard, you kept changing partners every now and then."
Her ears reddened upon hearing about her numerous flings back in Hogwarts.
"I have been loyal…" she trailed off with a blush, "I- I can be the Death Eaters' Potions Mistress, if you want. Until… until you get someone better, that is."
Lord Voldemort hummed while tapping his finger on the desk. "You will finish your training first, and then we will talk more." He then waved his hand absent-mindedly and turned to his book. Mentally sighing to herself, Francesca walked out of the room and though she wanted to take a peek at her slumbering boyfriend, she shook her head and returned to her cottage.
Lucius Malfoy observed as Lord Voldemort and Severus Snape talked to each other with hushed words; the boy was hugging the Dark Lord's brown snake closely as if seeking comfort from it. He was still not used to Snape's new pair of orange eyes, but he didn't dare to say it outright. For the most part, the boy was doing well and as long as they didn't mention anything that had happened a month ago or about his nightmares, they were fine.
(He still had the shivers upon remembering how the great Lord Voldemort almost died due to the sheer force of Snape's accidental magic a few weeks ago.)
"Um, may I have your attention; my Lord, Snape," he started and the two turned to him. "I have gotten the Ministry's permission to conduct a trial test for Snape; they will come over in a week."
"…A test?" Snape asked with a frown. "…What for?"
"Basically they want to know whether you can still do spellwork or not for the practical N.E.W.Ts," Lucius replied, "Think of it also as… a preparation for your exams. Of course, we can just re-schedule it to another date if you're still unwell. Or even postpone it so you will take the N.E.W.Ts at the Ministry some time later, though I doubt you will want that."
He then watched as Snape racked his brains over the issue before reluctantly nodded and handed the brown snake gently to the Dark Lord. With a wave of his hand, the two men then walked out, knowing well they were dismissed. Snape's mood swings sure were a dangerous thing in the past few weeks, and they wouldn't want to be nearby if he happened to blow his gaskets over something.
The next week arrived with one Mrs. Griselda Marshbanks and her colleagues from the Ministry of Magic came over to Malfoy Manor and began assessing Severus Snape's prowess in the subjects he had taken. Lucius and the Dark Lord (disguised as Robert Bulstrode) would stand outside of the rooms, waiting if they needed to help the boy.
When the seventh day passed, the three of them waited for the results with bated breath.
"We have deemed that Mr. Snape is unable to do much spellwork, though we suspect he will recover as long as he has the patience to rebuild his magical core and such. As of this, we agree that he will be exempted from taking any practical exams that require spell demonstration. He will however, still sit for the written parts. Is that acceptable, Mr. Snape?" Mrs. Marshbanks said.
Lucius merely watched as the boy nodded his head without a word.
"Good day then, Mr. Malfoy; Mr. Snape," she said with a polite bow before leaving the mansion with the rest of her colleagues.
"Are you ready?" Lord Voldemort asked gently.
It was 2nd May, and he was helping Severus Prince to prepare for his return to Hogwarts.
Severus, who already finished dressing himself up snorted and glanced at the wheelchair next to his bed morosely, "I had hoped to have a good time once there, but apparently it was just wistful thinking."
The Dark Lord held out a sigh, knowing well what the boy meant. Severus' left leg was broken due to his fall and added with the injury from Fiendfyre, he could barely stand; needing a cane to do so and only for a brief moment. In fact, the boy's entire left side was internally damaged in some way and he wondered how Severus still held his head up high after everything that had happened. "It was a shame indeed, that you can't enjoy Hogwarts for what it is."
"I don't hate Hogwarts," Severus sniffed, his orange eyes flickered slightly, "I hate the people in it, that's all."
"Same here," was all he could say. He then slowly carried Severus to his wheelchair and brought his heir to the mirror for him to wear his black contact lenses, in attempt to hide his new eyes. "If only I can be with you in some way," he mused under his breath.
"Sure is a surprise that a Dark Lord didn't bother to learn about being an Animagus," Severus muttered sarcastically and Lord Voldemort only grinned sheepishly. Yes, now that he thought of it, it really was a shame; he was the Dark Lord for Merlin's sake! He was bound to master all sorts of Magic out there!
Taking along Severus' satchel full of his possessions, the two then headed to the Malfoy Manor's fireplace to be Flooed to the castle straight away. Lucius already had sent a letter to the school, telling them that Severus Snape would return and asked for the castle's fireplace to be opened.
"Hogwarts Castle!" the Dark Lord, now disguised as Lucius Malfoy said after throwing a pinch of Floo powder before they disappeared into the green flames.