"Now, apparently I have just over two months before I enter Hogwarts and be pressured into joining the ranks of the Mortifagi, thus taking the Dark Mark which would put an end to any chance I have of escaping being a follower of Voldemort, let's think Severus, let's think, what can I do to avoid this?" asked Severus to himself as he ate his breakfast.
"Mmmm I could take my family heritage from my mother's side, the Prince are one of the most important pureblood houses in Britain"
"if I did that the Mortifagi would have a harder time pressuring me to join them as the magical world itself is going to know about me, making my face public knowledge and thus preventing them from being able to pressure me to join so easily"
"But the biggest problem with this is that my mother was disowned by her family, to the point where she was erased from the Prince house family tree, to make matters worse, all my maternal relatives died so it is impossible to turn to any of them now, the only thing I could do is to go through the Prince house family inheritance test."
The inheritance test is usually done when a pureblood family is left for some reason without direct heirs, then one who is a minor can take the test as long as they have the blood of a direct descendant of the family along with the ancestral ring of the house in question.
At Gringotts, the inheritance test left by the great pureblood houses is usually a mental test and a blood ritual. If the young man succeeds in enduring/passing the test and ritual, he may go on to be considered the new unquestioned heir to the lordship of the house.
"I am currently the leading pretender to inherit the lordship and the entire family inheritance, as I not only meet the blood clause, but I am half Prince with direct descent from the daughter of the previous lord of the Prince family and despite my mother being disowned and removed from the family tree, I am a direct blood descendant am more than acceptable to take the Prince surname, so I am more than qualified to take the inheritance test.
"there may be other distant relatives who are Prince, but before they can even think about being the heirs I would have priority at Gringotts as the only living direct descendant"
"The problem is that I never knew anything about the Prince family ancestral ring, so I have no idea where it might be, I had asked at Gringotts if they knew anything, but apparently they had no idea where it might be either and without an ancestral ring, there is no proof of inheritance."
"For Merlin, looking for a damn ring all over the magical world is not a possibility, so inheriting the Prince's surname along with the lordship is not an option at the moment, the inheritance will have to be left for later, although I don't have that much time to claim it either since in two years I will be considered of age and therefore, not eligible to be the new heir. My God, why can't things be simpler, can't you give me some good news?" complained Severus.
After getting tired of thinking of unfeasible options to get away from the influence of Voldemort's followers, Severus proceeded to pick up Britain's magical newspaper, the Daily Prophet, which was the only newspaper young Severus used to read along with some potions magazines.
Severus proceeded to read the news of the magical world and looked angrily at the front page of the Daily Prophet.
Normally, he just used to scoff at the crazy headlines and false gossip stories that this yellow press newspaper produced.
But despite the lies and bad journalism, he read it every day to keep up with the happenings in the magical world.
But unlike before when he scoffed at what they wrote in the paper, Severus was now concerned and angered by what he read, as the maniacal Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters were terrorizing the magical world with their attacks on Muggleborns, raids on Muggle villages and destruction of stores in Diagon Alley, the Daily Prophet downplayed these attacks and wanted to reassure its readers of the strength of the Ministry of Magic and its enforcement of the law. Instead of reporting every life lost and every newly developed dark spell, potion, and poison so that magical citizens could raise their vigilance and protect themselves with counter-currents and antidotes against Death Eaters, the paper wrote stories about the magical upper class and the Ministry's new bureaucratic laws.
Severus shook his head.
No wonder the Order of the Phoenix currently in this era didn't have enough supporters and members to stand up to Voldemort when most wizards and witches closed their eyes to the start of the war in their world, while the Dark Lord continued to add followers to his ranks day by day.
As he grumbled, Severus decided to put down the diary so as not to get angrier than he already was.
"Severus!" as Severus was about to proceed to read one of the letters that had come to him to clear his mind for a while, a young, feminine voice greeted him.
Severus recognized the voice immediately and was a little surprised, "Narcissa!?"
"Oh Severus," Narcissa said in a thin, pained voice, she was standing in front of Severus looking at him with a hint of pity in her big blue eyes.
Severus wondered if her voice had always sounded so thin and pained.
"Narcissa." Severus stood up and greeted her properly "What are you doing in the Leaky Cauldron, it's not the place I would expect to find you."
Narcissa pressed her lips together. "I heard about what happened, Severus. I know about the Muggle-born Lily Evans."
"I see, I prefer not to talk about it, I already left it in the past" now Severus understood why she sounded so strange, she was always very good to him, she helped and advised him many times, he also used to help her with many subjects or other doubts she had, but he and Narcissa never became friends, Despite their good relationship, she was always in a very different world from his, she was loved and admired by everyone, she was also the most beautiful and coveted woman in Slytherin, while he was the opposite, he was only known for his skills in the dark arts and potions.
That's why they never got to anything more than good acquaintances, Severus wouldn't allow himself to think that he could be friends with someone like her, he was the one who never associated her as a friend, but she certainly did consider him her friend.
"You'd think she was a princess by the way everyone behaved with her," Lily had told him a bit disgusted in her 4th year when Narcissa used to be the center of attention at Hogwarts, it was understandable, men always behaved like animals in the heat with Narcissa and became very unpleasant, but they had both admitted that she was very dazzling.
Once she finished Hogwarts, she maintained a relationship with Lucius Malfoy, and Severus being friends with Lucius, used to talk to her quite a lot, the two had a very good relationship, now Severus could admit that in fact, she was a friend to him, even though he didn't see her as such before or wouldn't allow himself to see her as a friend, now he could understand that they were always friends, he was just too stubborn to see it or accept it.
"You honestly can't expect me to believe that!" she replied with a look that told him it was impossible to fool her.
"But it's the truth. I have other things to think about now."
"Do you really mean it?" Narcissa asked weakly. "Please, you know you can talk to me, Severus."
"I know, Narcissa, I know, thank you for that. But what I said is the truth."
Narcissa looked very surprised by Severus' response.
"Severus," she said sounding doubtful and a little scared "Are you really okay, because you're behaving very strangely today, not that I'm complaining, but it's not normal to hear you say thank you or talk so ... well ... so ungracious and distant"
"It's really nothing, I just rethought some things and I'm looking to turn over a new leaf."
Narcissa stared into his eyes looking for any trace of a lie in what he said.
A few seconds later, she relaxed and sat down next to Severus, asked the bartender for a bottle of brandy, and looked back at Severus.
Narcissa was wearing a long, flimsy white dress, Severus had to admit she was very beautiful.
"A drink?" Narcissa asked offering him her brandy.
"Tea is fine for me, besides, isn't it a little early for a drink?"
"When you have a boyfriend who is so involved with who you know, you end up getting used to it," she replied as she poured herself a drink.
Severus grimaced at that answer, he could understand a little, it wasn't easy at all to be involved with a dark wizard when war was brewing, and to make matters worse Lucius was already a Mortifagus loyal to Lord Voldemort, so it was safe to say that Narcissa wasn't having a good time.
She had the same ideals as the Malfoy and most pureblood supremacists, but she wasn't comfortable with violence let alone war.
"So," Narcissa asked, setting her to drink down on the table carefully. "How have you been? I haven't seen you in, what has it been, 1 year? How are things with your mates in Slytherin, are they still looking to be part of who you know?"
"Well, you must know most of the things that happened by now, but I'm better now," he said to Narcissa. "As for Rosier, Mulciber and Avery, yes, they are still looking to get involved in the cause."
"Oh, you didn't include yourself! Severus weren't you until recently dreaming of being part of the cause, now you have doubts, it's because of the muggleborn Lily Evans." It was clear that Narcissa was very surprised by Severus' attitude, but she seemed to be relating all these changes to the recent events with Lily Evans.
"Narcissa, we both know that it is preferable not to talk about such things in public," Severus said making mention of the unsuitable environment of the Pub to talk about such things.
"Lily Evans, all this sudden change in you is because of her, Severus listen to me carefully, don't do anything you'll regret, I know from Lucius that things are going to start to change and I wouldn't want to see you on the wrong side," Narcissa said to Severus, turning to stare into his eyes once more. Her eyes were very large and clear and the blue irises stood out clearly against her pale face.
"Easy, I know what I'm doing, you know me."
"Precisely because I know you I know what you are capable of for that-"
"Narcissa!" Severus cut her off.
"I, sorry Severus, I'm just worried about you."
"I know, but you can rest assured that I'm not going to do anything that will put me in danger, between us, Lily is not the reason for anything this time, she's not even talking to me and I don't plan to insist her anymore either, I now seek to do things for myself and I just want to think things through a bit better, I'm not choosing sides, I just want to think about me, understand?" Severus took a sip of tea. He found he was nervous and sweating, but he couldn't tell.
Narcissa gave a prolonged sigh, looking off into the distance.
"I understand Severus if you say so," she said. "I'm glad you can start thinking about yourself and let go once and for all of that Muggleborn who never brought you anything good."
"Yes," agreed Severus "It's a pity she didn't forgive me, but it's good to start finding my way."
Narcissa sighed again, sadly, clearly indicating to Severus that she didn't find his separation from Lily a pity. She could care less about that muggleborn, she just hoped to see Severus detach himself from her and her unhealthy obsession, someone as intelligent and talented as he was, did not deserve for her to be with a muggleborn.
"But tell me about yourself, Narcissa," Severus continued. "You've barely said a word about yourself. No need to talk about who you know, what are you doing these days? With Lucius is everything going well? Where are you working, anyway?"
Narcissa was working at the Ministry and told him a little about her work. Severus listened attentively, nodding and asking questions, his black eyes full of interest, real or feigned, but Narcissa continued to talk about many things, occasionally laughing at the odd thing she told. The gold rings glittered and sparkled every time she reached up with her slender pale fingers to cover her mouth from laughter.
"Sounds like a very fascinating job, Narcissa," Severus said as the conversation was drawing to a close. "It sounds like you really enjoy working at the Ministry and from what I hear you have great ambitions."
"Well, I certainly enjoy it, but things are tense these days at the Ministry, Lucius isn't too happy about me still working there."
"But I'm curious, you didn't talk to me about how things are going with Lucius Is this why you're telling me about the job?".
Narcissa seemed to hesitate for a second before answering.
"Well, that, I, it seemed like, well, we really aren't very well," she said awkwardly. "The relationship is nice as always, well, but we have our misunderstandings like everyone else, the war isn't helping, but we still love each other like the first day."
"Yes, yes, I can imagine," Severus said. "Narcissa, I truly wish you both the best, I will always be grateful to you for everything you did for me these years, and if there is anything I can help you with don't hesitate to tell me."
"I - ah - " Narcissa didn't know what to say, since when did Severus Snape behave so friendly, where is the cold, direct, hard, and dark man she knows?
"Narcissa, come on," Severus said softly. "We've known each other for years. You should know that you can always count on me for something like this, I may have always been a bit closed off, but as I said, I'm looking to turn over a new leaf."
Narcissa nodded, completely bewildered. She heard a queer ringing in her ears and wondered dizzily if she was under an enchantment of some sort.
"Besides, I, well, I wanted to tell you that I consider you a good friend," said Severus
"Severus" Narcissa was very surprised by everything that was going on, Severus was completely changed, it wasn't his physical appearance, no, he still looked the same as before, neither did his voice or his eyes change, what changed was his attitude, the way he spoke, how social and kind he was being, how sincere and grateful his words sounded made Narcissa couldn't believe she wasn't sounding or talking to a completely different person.
For a moment, Narcissa could only stare at him. Severus had to be under some magical effect, either from a potion or a spell. This was completely unreal. The idea that Severus, was behaving like this was delusional, all of this had to be the work of some magic.
She had known him since her first year, he was always witty and very talented, but he also acted very distant in front of her, whenever he could he avoided her, Severus was so strange, unlike most who feigned interest and sought to talk or look good with her, he was always sincere, hard and cold with her, well, as he was with everyone, but she liked that about the little Slytherin, he was genuine unlike the others, he could be strange, dark and even a bit unpleasant the first time you met him, but once you spent time with him, you could see that he had a lot of potential, not only in potions or the dark arts as Lucius thought, he had the talent to be someone important and powerful, but the poor boy was blinded by that muggleborn, he was not progressing because of his obsession, he was stuck in something that Narcissa from day one knew would never work.
Lily Evans might be a muggleborn but she was no different from other girls her age, sooner or later she would start to be interested in other boys who surely had everything Severus didn't and Narcissa was convinced that Severus was going to suffer from it sooner or later, because she was a girl and she knew what every girl was looking for, and Severus could be very special, but he was not the kind of man that a teenage girl would date, she preferred men like Lucius over men like Severus, but that did not mean that she was not worried about the future of young Severus, she could see the love he had for the muggleborn, but sooner or later he would start to become obsessed with thinking of nothing else but her.
Now Narcissa could say that she was not wrong in her thoughts, but perhaps all that suffering that she thought was going to destroy Severus and that it was better to avoid it, ended up being the best thing for him, since it made him change, and change for the better, much better from what she noticed now. This was a very good thing and Narcissa was happy for Severus, she always considered him a friend, with him she could be genuine and at the same time receive a sincere answer from him, he was not looking for anything from her, so she came to appreciate his advice and help in potions or other subjects because she knew that he did it without looking for anything in return from her, neither her favor, nor to call her attention, nothing, Severus was not interested in her and that was a breath of fresh air for Narcissa, she knew it was due to his obsession with the muggleborn Lily Evans and that bothered her a little, after all, Narcissa always had very good self-esteem and noticing that Severus did not even give her a glance was difficult for her, but she was happy that it was so because that made him what she considered a true friend.
"Thank you, Severus, I also consider you a very good friend and I am very glad to see that you have managed to overcome everything for the better."
After continuing to chat for a few moments Narcissa already had to go to the Ministry, so she said a warm goodbye to Severus, then slipped through the Pub and slipped through the doors that led to the fireplaces connected to the flu network, her long white muslin dress whispering behind her.
When Narcissa left Severus proceeded to finish his breakfast and read one of the letters that had come to him.
"Now...this is strange, I didn't usually get mail from anyone other than Lily or some of the Slytherins in her house, but this time I had two letters, one coming from Gringotts and the other coming from abroad, so it couldn't be from either of them unless one of them had traveled outside of Britain recently," Severus thought.
He opened the Gringotts one first.
When he opened the envelope the first thing he read was: "Mr. Severus T. Snape. Acceptance of emancipation proceedings."
"Oh ... a pleasant surprise, it seems they finally accepted my petition for emancipation, so it seems I am currently emancipated which gives me a lot of freedom as a member of the magical and muggle community, after the death of my parents, I decided not to tell anyone at Hogwarts of the event and do on my own the emancipation paperwork at Gryngotts along with the British Ministry of Magic, I had discovered that apparently it was not that difficult to process it since I did not have any direct relatives alive since the Christmas vacations and I already met all the minimum requirements for the emancipation process, which were to be older than 16 years old, I was also taking advantage of the fact that the British magical world is in chaos because of the Dark Lord and his mortifagi, which makes it easier to do the paperwork for this kind of things, the British Ministry of Magic doesn't have time for this kind of paperwork at the moment, As long as you have the papers in order and meet the conditions, it is approved right away, and Gryngotts, as long as they have a new bank account for an adult wizard, they don't have any problems."
"Well, now that the good news I wanted so much has arrived, let's see what this letter from abroad is."
Quickly Severus took the letter that had a high-quality red sealing wax seal that said SWI and opened it.
"This?..., SWI?..., Eh?, Salem Witches' Institute, Salem Potions College Summer program? Oh, now I get it, I remembered, I had applied to the Salem Potions College summer program which is a branch of the Salem Witches' Institute as a challenge from Lily at the beginning of my fifth year, if I remember correctly, it was just a joke between the two of us, as it was an all-girls institute and supposedly the potions school within the institute was one of the best in the world when it came to potions research and study, Lily had jokingly challenged me to send a letter seeking to apply, I accepted and ended up sending some of the improvements I had made to the potions recipes in the Hogwarts potions book. It was just a silly challenge that we both laughed about for a while, nothing serious. Wait, this..." while Severus was remembering the situation he had gone through with Lily he suddenly thought of something that made him change his mind about this prank, as it could be something more than that if he wasn't mistaken, so he read the letter more carefully.
-Letter from SWI - SCoP-
Salem Witches' Institute.
Office of Admissions, Salem College of Potions(SCoP).
June 17, 1976
Dear Mr. Severus T. Snape:
It is with great pleasure that Salem College of Potions accepts your application to study for the next session of this summer's specialized potions program lasting 2 months (June 24 - August 24, 1976).
The members of the Admissions Committee were very impressed by your application and were especially interested in the methodology you employed in developing your improvements to the well-known and often tested potion recipes you included with your application.
Should you apply to the summer program given by our school, we can assure you that our institute has much to offer you in advancing your knowledge in potion making, as well as many renowned specialists and experts with whom you can collaborate and exchange ideas; likewise, we believe that our institute and professionals in charge have much to gain from your creative efforts in potion-making.
As a reminder, while you are enrolled here, we will measure your performance in the Salem Potions College summer program along with that of 47 other outstanding potion-making students from around the world who attend this program, if your performance is optimal you will be eligible to apply for a full scholarship for a mid-term transfer to our SWI (Salem Witches' Institute) to continue your studies at SCoP (Salem College of Potions) at the beginning of the fall term when we offer qualified students in the sixth (6th) and seventh (7th) year of their magical education the opportunity to remain at SCoP to complete their secondary-level studies alongside our students, while also earning college credit at the same time.
Successful completion of the SCoP summer program is the equivalent of the British Ministry of Education's N.E.W.T. Potions exams. (In the United States, we refer to the magical exit exams as H.S.P.P.s: the Professional Level Tests).
Typically students participating in this program are about to enter their seventh (7th) year of their magical education or have already completed their magical education and are graduates with a major in the field of potion-making who are looking to extend their knowledge of potion-making.
Our offices often use an assistant liaison with the Consulate of the country of the foreign student enrolling in the SCoP summer program to ensure that the summer program exam scores are transferred correctly in your country, but since your case is special and unique, as you are about to enter your sixth (6th) year of magical education and this program should be advanced for you, SCoP has arranged with the Consulate of the country of your country to ensure that your summer program exam scores are transferred correctly in your country, the SCoP has agreed with the board of the Salem Witches' Institute to make an exception in your particular case, the SWI will communicate to the Education Office, which is the division responsible for the supervision of magical schools around the world, that since your performance meets and exceeds the usual standards for entry into the summer program, the SCoP would make use of an assistant who will arrange with the British Consulate, to make sure that the H. S.P.P. scores from the summer program are converted correctly and without fail to your country's equivalent, thus validating your N.W.T.S in potions despite your young age, it can be considered a benefit given to you by our institution for your participation at an early age to our summer program which is usually only for students older than you and it is also a sign of our interest in your participation in the program given by our SCoP.
You should know that in our institution we highly value creative efforts along with the very achievements of young wizards, your efforts and excellent creative achievements in potion-making are one of the qualities we look for and value in SCoP.
On a lighter note, the mid-term break in this year's program will be given earlier to coincide with the celebration of America's Independence Day (July 4-10). As you are no doubt aware, 1976 marks our nation's Bicentennial, and Sunday, July 4, 1976, marks the 200th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
There will be several events, contests, and performances that you and your relatives are invited to attend both on and off-campus.
We are also pleased to report that as SCoP has the honor of being recognized throughout the magical world as the best magical school for potioneers, President Fischer of the Magical Congress of the United States, the leader of the magical world in the United States and the highest-ranking member of the Magic Congress of America Society (MACUSA) has given us the important task of holding an exhibition of ancient potions from the Native American magical community who were particularly gifted in potion making, Native American potions were, in particular, one of the sophistication beyond what was known in Europe, so we have to meet the expectations of the American magical community, in addition, our SCoP is also the venue responsible for evaluating and awarding the best-invented potion, created by those potioneers who submit a new potion made by them, in the contest held on July 10.
To register for the contest held by our SCoP for potioneers, you only need to submit the creation of your invented potion along with the written specifications of the potion first thing on July 10th at the SCoP main campus, then the award ceremony will take place a few hours after the end of the registration period and only when the judges (world-renowned potioneers or professional brewer) invited to attend by our Institution to evaluate the potions, have finished examining and scoring the potions submitted by the young potionists, the results of the contest will be given together with the details of the winners' potions that will be shown to the public present.
Regarding the full scholarship with an optional transfer, you will be awarded according to your performance in the program, but given your knowledge in the subject, we have no doubt that you will be able to obtain it and we hope you can and will accept to attend as a new student of our SCoP at the SWI.
We want to make it clear that even though SWI is only for female witches, it is often forgotten that our institution has many schools within it, which each SWI student may choose to attend according to their interest or ability, our SCoP is part of those schools and although it is also only for women like most SWI schools, in SCoP this is only true in the first years (from 1st year to 5th year), The Salem Witches Institute and SCoP are pleased to say that we allow and encourage all students from abroad or other institutions in the country who excel in potion making to enter as transfer students to our institution in the final years of SCoP, allowing them to see and compare their studies and knowledge with the level of our students, this is because we seek to encourage the development, competition and interaction between the final year students in our institution, and SCoP contributes in this search by giving a summer program in which scholarships are awarded to all those talented and creative students, in order to introduce and share knowledge of students from all over the magical world in a single magical institution with the help of our SCoP.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Magic, as well as the entire United States, is laying out the welcome mat for all the outstanding magical students of the world.
Attached below you will find all necessary documentation, which includes: parent/guardian permission forms in case you are underage; room and board requests; and a complete list of required supplies and textbooks. In addition, highly recommended, but not required, are the following items of clothing for our potions students: two (2) protective spelled robes, and one (1) pair of protective gloves and boots. (Dragonhide is the industry's preferred safety standard).
Please send your completed paperwork and any questions to: SWI Dean, Summer Program, Salem College of Potions.
Respectfully yours,
Helen Stacy
SWI Potions Mistress
Dean, Summer Program
Salem College of Potions
-Fin Letter SWI - SCoP-
"Oh, to think that Salem Witches' Institute would have a school that accepts men in their senior year, I had heard a lot about Salem College of Potions, but I didn't know about how it worked."
"Mmmmm this..., yes, maybe this is what I needed, yes..., the USA, the Dark Lord, and his followers the death eaters have no power there, it is the best option I have to get out of the influence of the inner circle of purebloods in Britain, sadly my knowledge of the magical world of America in almost nil, unless it serves what I know happened in the 1920's"
"Mmmm among the few things I know about America I can say that the magical community is made up of both mugglesborn and purebloods and half-bloods without any discrimination, something abhorred by most of the great pureblood houses in Britain, ha, even I didn't have very good thoughts about the magical community in the USA, I didn't share their ideas, but now it's not something that worries me, I'm not so closed-minded anymore and it's certainly the best way, for now, to keep me away from the war in Britain and the pressure of the death eaters, so Salem Potions College at the Salem Witch Institute here we go," Severus happily determined as he responded to the letter sent to him, sent a thank you and confirmed his presence in the program.
Having already decided what to do to start his new path in this world, Severus finished his breakfast and decided to leave the pub early to go to the Ministry of Magic where he would do the paperwork to obtain a legal transfer to the Salem Witch Institute, on his way out he greeted Rob and thanked him again for the extra portion at breakfast, the waiter greeted him back as usual, although he seemed visibly intrigued by the young wizard's thanks.
Certainly, Severus was still cold and dark when you saw him, but clear chances were beginning to show in his demeanor, such as just saying hello and thank you without needing to do so. With time it is to be expected that his personality and appearance will have much more drastic changes since he now has two souls and two personalities united in the same body.
The sun was low in the sky as Severus left the Pub.
"My last time at the Ministry of Magic was shortly after the death of my parents in the Christmas vacations of my fifth year, it was at that time that I decided to go through the paperwork for emancipation, I had no living relatives to stay with, known to me at least, and I also wished to control my own life as well, I had always been self-sufficient due to my parents lack care or concern, so it was nothing new to me in that regard" Severus remembered a bit nostalgically the day he learned of his beloved mother's death, she may have never shown much affection or concern for him, but she certainly took care of him from his abusive father and always took the brunt of his mistreatment to keep his father from focusing on him.
Severus hated his father and despised him, but for his mother, he felt great respect and appreciation, since he was a child he was very intelligent and talented in most things, he even showed exceptional aptitudes for magic and his mother supported and instructed him in magic despite the great fear she had of using it because it could anger her Muggle husband Tovias Snape, thus earning her verbal and even physical aggression on some occasions from him.
Severus made his way to the visitors' entrance at the Ministry of Magic. Then he entered a telephone booth and dialed.
After a while, a sweet female voice answered.
"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business."
"Severus Snape. I am here to request a transfer to the Salem Witches' Institute for a summer program abroad."
"Thank you, please take the badge and place it on the front of your robes."
A metal badge fell after the female voice spoke, "Mr. Snape, request for transfer to the Salem Witches Institute abroad to be confirmed with the Department of International Magical Cooperation."
After she said those words the cabin began to descend until it finally stopped and the doors opened.
"Visitor to the Ministry of Magic, you must submit to a search and present your wand for registration."
Severus sighed "What a nuisance, I had forgotten how annoying it was to enter as a visitor to the Ministry" He muttered under his breath as I stepped out of the booth.
Behind him, the doors slammed shut and the booth lifted disappearing quickly.
Because the Ministry is located underground, the normal order is reversed: the top floor is Level 1, while the Atrium on the main floor is listed as Level 8 (although both the Department of Mysteries and the Wizengamot hearing rooms are below it, on Levels 9 and 10, respectively).
The atrium itself was huge and much better ventilated than one would expect for a subway complex; magic certainly has its advantages.
Severus made his way to the security desk to register his wand and a quick check.
After a few moments, he was done. He made his way through some golden doors to the access elevators. Pausing for a moment, he noticed the directory to one side.
—-
Ministry of Magic!
Level Ten, Wizengamot Chambers.
Level Nine, Department of Mysteries
Level Eight, Ministry of Magic Atrium
Level Seven, Department of Magical Games and Sports
Level Six, Department of Magical Transportation
Level Five, Department of International Magical Cooperation
Level Four, Department of Magical Creature Control and Regulation
Level Three, Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes
Level Two, Department of Magical Law Enforcement
Level One, Minister of Magic and Support Personnel
Severus entered the nearest elevator, which he found empty except for a few paper airplanes.
He got off at Level Five, but before he could advance to the office where he was to process and validate his request for a relocator, Severus found himself facing a group of people he wasn't looking to cross paths with and by an unconscious motor reflex found himself shaking the hand of the young wizard in front of him.
"Severus! What a nice surprise to see you at the Ministry, if I remember correctly you used to hate everything about it, but well you'll have your reasons" said the young wizard in front of him.
"Mind you, you came at just the right time to hear firsthand that my brother Sirius has been disinherited from the Black family and now as the new and sole heir to the family I will be spending this summer traveling all over Europe to familiarize myself with the various family businesses and properties."
All that information was in one breath, and he was still shaking her hand at the end.
Severus cursed his luck, on the plus side, this was one of the least troublesome people in his house he could possibly cross paths with at the moment, despite not being from his usual group of friends, he was still one of the Slytherins he had a good relationship with.
"Regulus, Mr. Black, Mrs. Black." Severus nodded his head in greeting to the family of three.
"Oh, interesting, so you are the talented young wizard that Malfoy so seeks to make part of our "organization". Mmmmm, a half-blood from what I hear" replied with some distaste in his voice as he pronounced the word half-blood Mr. Orion Black, father of Regulus and Sirius. This one looked at Severus very contemptuously.
"Come on dear, let's not forget what Malfoy said, he certainly has a lot to contribute to the cause, that yes, it is a great disappointment that a young wizard so promising to be part of our group is after a little mudblood, you should be more aware dear, great things await you next to 'who you know, don't contaminate them with those mudblood bastards" reassured and judged at the same time Mrs. Walburga Black. She too obviously felt very superior to a half-blood like Severus, but she was smart not to mention it or show it so indiscreetly for the sake of getting what she wanted.
Severus' anger was rising rapidly, it angered him to hear how they belittled his dear friend Lily, he could stand the pureblood's almost unconscious contempt for his person for being a half-blood, but the fact that they insult and denigrate Lily was about to push him to the limit of his patience and he hated himself too for the fact that he shared those crazy ideals, he didn't realize how illogical those thoughts were, he was blinded by the anger towards his father and by the power that the dark arts provided him with, whenever it crossed his mind to think logically about that subject by taking Lily as an example, he simply dismissed it and decided to think that Lily was just the exception to all mudbloods, that she was special and different from the other mudbloods he hated so much, but now that he was not only Severus Snape but also Benedict Clarke, Severus could understand how wrong he was, especially having lived in a world without magic being a simple muggle like Benedict Clarke.
Despite his anger, Severus was smart and knew it would do him no good to react negatively to his words, the Black family was very powerful and influential, but even so, he still couldn't believe how they dared to be so brazen in public and for worse in the Ministry of Magic, he knew the war was in a complicated moment, but here they were, two blood purists from one of the most important and recognized families in Britain talking almost freely about their obvious support for Voldemort's movement against the Muggles or mudbloods.
Clenching and clenching his hands tightly, Severus sought to calm himself and respond simply and as evasively as he could.
"Oh, I see Regulus, no doubt the bully you have for a brother deserved such an outcome, so I am not surprised, in fact, it is pleasant news to be able to learn of this firsthand. And Mr. and Mrs. Black, I will certainly take your words into consideration, now if you will excuse me, I have some paperwork I would like to finish with early if possible, I wish you a good vacation, I hope Regulus can get acquainted with everything quickly" Severus replied without much emotion, with his usual cold, dry, hard and dark personality he found it easy to hide his emotions from others.
Mr. and Mrs. Balck just nodded at Severus' words without giving the young wizard much thought and resumed their walk to the elevator.
"Severus, sorry about that man, you know what my parents are like and I also know how much you like Evans' mudblood, but we both know it's nothing but the truth, more after what happened to you this year with her and the idiots in Gryffindor, it's a clear indicator that you should stay away from her altogether."
Severus' shoulders slumped, but there was more intensity in his eyes than one might expect from him. "Don't worry Regulus. I know better than anyone what I'm doing."
Regulus chuckled "Not to worry...come on Severus, we all know you don't think things through when it comes to Lily Evans, but you must understand man that now is your best time to join along with the others to the cause. In fact," he leaned close to him and whispered, "my parents plan to have me officially join next year and I know that many other Slytherins in my year and yours will be doing the same, so you will probably be summoned as well, you just have to prove that you are loyal to the cause and that's it, Severus."
Regulus took his distance from Severus again, smiled confidently, and proceeded to speak normally. "Well, I hope you'll keep that in mind Severus. It's all the help I can give you."
Severus shook himself and replied dryly. "I understand and appreciate the information Regulus."
"Nothing to be thankful for man, we are housemates, after all, we Slytherin's always supported each other"
"I understand, now while I would like to continue this conversation, I have to..." Severus was cut off before he could continue the sentence.
"Yes, yes, continue with your paperwork, god, it wouldn't hurt to be a bit more social Severus, see you in September at the beginning of the year at Hogwarts, take care."
"See you." Severus replied without much emotion.
"And there's that cold, dry, hard, and dark personality again, you never change, well, good luck on your vacation."
Severus just nodded and headed to the office where he was due to do his paperwork to be allowed to get a transfer.
After pacing the floor for a few moments, Severus finally found himself in front of the main offices. To the left is marked on a brass bar "DCMI Director Caspar Crouch."
Suddenly Severus was alarmed to hear that last name, he was struck by a wave of anxiety. He was about to meet with the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, who was none other than the grandfather of probably one of the most despicable and insane future death eaters of all, Bartemius Crouch Jr, the future death eater who contributed to Voldemort's resurrection, although he was now just one of his housemates a year younger in Slytherin who aspired to be a death eater, despite his father being the head of the Department of Magical Security, someone who was known to despise the dark arts and all who practiced them; He had forged a reputation in the magical community for fighting dark wizards ruthlessly, exhibiting the same degree of cruelty and brutality as his enemies.
Before Severus no doubt hated Bartemius Crouch Jr's father, as he represented everything he hated most, he was one of the leaders in the war against the Dark Lord who hated the dark arts and judged anyone who used them, but now he has some respect for the man because he was no doubt striving to fight the death eaters at this time, but he did not realize that his own son was becoming one behind his back, Mr. Bartemius Crouch's future is rather sad as well.
Now, knowing that Mr. Bartemius Crouch's father is the head of DCMI was quite a surprise, Severus had never gone abroad or anything like that so he never felt the need to know who the heads of this department were.
"Mmmmm I just hope the man is more supportive of his son's ideals than his grandson's, because if not it will be hard to keep the fact that I'm going to the USA hidden from death eaters for long, sadly I don't have any kind of information about the man," Severus thought to himself.
Severus never liked Bartemius Crouch Jr, so he never used to talk to him, what little he knew of him was from his fellow Slytherins in common or from his knowledge of future events in this world that he is involved in.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, he began to dread the idea that the man might be a Death Eater, and out there he reported this to the inner circle of purebloods who support Voldemort.
Severus shook himself and said to himself "I can't let myself panic, I have to do this and hope that he is not a follower of the Dark Lord, if he is, I will just have to hurry my trip to the USA before they can get suspicious or plan something to make me stay."
He knocked on the door three times.
On the third knock, he swung in.
He could swear he had never seen so many paper airplanes, not even in elevators.
Director Caspar Crouch sat quietly going through the paperwork bit by bit, despite the sheer volume.
No doubt the war had made things difficult for the man.
He looked up and returned his focus to the page in front of him.
"Sit down."
Severus sat down.
A minute later he set the paper aside. "Mr. Snape. I understand you asked permission to have a portkey delivered overseas with the address of the Salem Witches' Institute in Massachusetts USA, is that not so?" He removed his monocle and fixed me with his gaze. "I'm going to need some voucher verifying your request for a transferor to this Institution.
"This is the letter of acceptance to the Institution's SCoP run program, if it is not sufficient I am sure you can contact the Salem Witches Institute liaison to verify my attendance at the SCoP summer program and validate my permission."
He sighed and began polishing his glasses and then looked carefully at the seal on the letter delivered by Severus. "That won't be necessary, the stamp on the letter is proof enough that it is a genuine note. You have my permission to receive the portkey Mr. Snape, you may proceed to the Department of Transportation, they will take care of delivering a Ministry authorized and regulated transfer to you."
He handed Severus a permit.
Severus nodded, took the permit, and thanked "I understand, thank you for your time."
Severus was delighted and relieved to see that the man didn't seem to care about him or his trip to the USA, which was a good thing since he either wasn't part of the death eaters or he just didn't hear them talking about him, so he wouldn't be ratted out at least until before he left.
It was thus that Severus after first passing through the Ministry of Magic went to the fifth level where the Department of International Magical Cooperation was located, which is responsible for communicating with the liaison of the Salem Witch Institute to confirm his attendance at the SCoP summer program and at the same time receive permission from the Director of DCMI to obtain a shuttle that allows him to go safely and directly to the Institute in the USA.
After the Director of the Department of International Magical Cooperation confirmed Severus' attendance at the SCoP summer program at the Salem Witches' Institute, he referred him to the Department of Magical Transportation on the sixth level of the Ministry of Magic for a legitimate, Ministry-sanctioned shuttle, This department is responsible for various aspects of magical transportation throughout Britain, one of its offices is the one Severus was referred to, the Portkeys Office which is responsible for regulating and authorizing the objects that become portkeys as well as the network in which they are used.
Department of Magical Transportation, Portkeys Office.
Severus slid easily into the chair across from the stern-looking witch with black glasses.
"You must be Mr. Snape," the witch commented, looking at him over the top of her glasses.
"Yes, I am Severus Snape," he confirmed and began to explain. "I come to request a...".
"Mr. Snape." By now, the witch seemed slightly irritated for some reason. "I assure you, I know very well what I am requesting."
"Correct." Severus nodded and showed nothing but his usual cold and dark expression, but inside he was surprised at how irritable the woman seemed, he didn't understand why this could be, thinking of something he ended up saying, "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."
"I hadn't had a chance to introduce myself," she said dryly. "I'm Rebecca Bones. I report to Headmaster Denis Edgecombe, who is, as I hope you know, the Director of the Department of Magical Transportation."
Severus could tell from Rebecca's tone that she wasn't too impressed with him for some reason unknown to him, he only knew Amelia Bones who was from his year at Ravenclaw, he only knew that she had a brother who was part of the Order of the Phoenix at this time, maybe Rebecca is his wife, but why would she hold a grudge against him, Severus had no relationship with Amelia Bones or anyone in her family. Maybe it was just because he was a Slytherin who usually spent time with wannabe death eaters.
"I see, nice to meet you Miss Bones," he said, injecting as much friendliness as he could into his typically gravelly, cold voice. "I don't often come to the ministry, so I didn't know much about the principals, I appreciate you filling me in."
"Let's get on with what concerns us, Mr. Snape." Rebecca's tone was frankly icy now, she didn't seem to like young Severus one bit.
"Sure, let's get on with it," Severus said trying to keep his tone calm, even though he was becoming irritated by the woman's rude behavior in front of him. Severus handed her the permission slip given to him by the DCMI director, then sat down and waited for her to look it over.
"Hmmm." He watched as her eyes moved quickly over the permit. " TCH, Looks like it's all in order," Severus thought he heard her mutter at one point.
"So...?", Severus asked already a bit tired of the woman's behavior, he just wanted to get the Portkey and go.
Rebecca looked at him again, her face an unreadable mask. "Mr. Snape, don't be impatient. You should know that all permission has to be properly validated."
Severus was about to curse, but he calmed himself, cleared his throat, and spoke calmly, he had been through worse things than to let himself be bothered by something so simple "Well, I have a great interest in knowing how it is that a permit given by the DCMI director himself could take so long to be validated, obviously I will consult you later..."
Rebecca looked at him for a few moments, she showed no emotions, but Severus was sure she didn't like his comment, she took out a quill and wrote something. Severus supposed that despite the obvious dislike she had for him, she had no valid reason not to give him the Portkey, so it was safe to say she was just stalling him.
"Very well," she said, scribbling another note. "Here you go, you must sign these papers, and the paperwork would be considered finalized."
"I understand, and when would I be given the Portkey?" Severus took the papers and asked as he read carefully what he signed, lest she wants to play any tricks on him.
"Well, Mr. Snape, once you sign the papers you will obviously be able to pick up the Portkey immediately from our offices." She said this with the air of someone explaining the obvious.
Severus frowned, temporarily perplexed. He knew it was likely that they could give it to him today, but considering the aggressive behavior of the woman, he thought she would try to delay him and waste his time, but no, it seems that her character does not affect his professional work "I see, I would like to know in which specific area around the premises of the Salem Witches Institution would you leave the portkey with me ?. I understand I can't be transferred directly to the Institution and the paperwork doesn't specify the area," she asked.
Rebecca tilted her head slightly, looking a little surprised, as if she expected him not to ask that. "Well, as it is a magical institution, no one cannot be transferred directly due to the protections of the Institution, but there are certain areas where access is given to apparition or portkeys, in these same areas there will be transports that take wizards directly to the Institution."
"Very well, those were all my doubts," Severus said, leaning forward to hand her the papers. "Here you go and thank you for everything Miss Bones."
Rebecca raised an eyebrow, but then nodded and took the papers from Severus' hands without a word.
Rebecca Bones took a few moments to look at the papers, but to Severus' delight, the woman seemed not to be looking to delay him any longer, apparently, she was no longer so prejudiced against him, or at least he had managed to leave a modicum of a good impression on her, for in her gaze he could no longer notice the obvious dislike she had for him.
"Well, it's all in order," Rebecca replied. Her expression gave no clues as to what she was thinking, but at least she didn't look irritated.
"Here you go, I must remind you that once the permitted time is up you must turn in the transfer, and in case you lose or break it you must fill out a form explaining what happened in detail. This would terminate your process. Goodbye Mr. Snape," said Rebecca Bones as she handed him an old shoe that was supposed to be the transfer.
Severus knew that portkeys were magical objects enchanted to instantly bring anyone touching it to a specific location and in most cases, a portkey was an everyday object that would not draw the attention of a Muggle, so a shoe was not so strange.
He had never traveled in one, but he heard that traveling by portkey was said to feel like having a hook "somewhere behind the navel" pulling the traveler to their location.
After all the tedious paperwork, Severus finally got the transfer and with nothing else to do in the Ministry, he decided to leave as soon as possible, to avoid running into any of his acquaintances involved in Voldemort's ranks.
Severus left the Ministry feeling considerably more relaxed, luckily he hadn't come across any people who might want to ask him unnecessary questions. His day had just begun but he already felt tired physically and mentally, he blamed this malnourished body and his lack of patience, now he knew he had to start taking better care of his body.
Despite his tiredness after doing the paperwork at the Ministry of Magic, Severus decided to walk through the magical cobblestone streets of Diagon Alley to pass by different stores, stores, and other places that were of interest to him.
He took advantage of this time and bought as many items as he could from the list of supplies he would need for the summer program at SCoP.
As he was leaving the store where he used to buy the ingredients for his potions, he ran into some unexpected people, these people were a few feet away from where he was and were slowly approaching him to where he was.
"Hey, Evans," Potter said in that voice, that voice he used every time he talked to Lily. He was walking the stores along with his group of friends and Lily.
Severus wanted to curse himself for his bad luck, but now he was quite confident that he could control his emotions.
"Yes Potter?" replied Lily.
"So what do you say we have another dinner?" Potter was talking again, Severus watched as Potter's hands came out of his pockets, and one pair of fingers tapped his thigh while the other ran through his hair.
"Come on Evans, didn't you say you had a good time, you can say it again then" joked Sirius who was standing next to James.
"Keep your promise first." Lily shrugged, as she continued walking "Besides, I'm looking forward to going home now, rest and clear my head for a while."
Potter nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, I guess. I understand."
"Relax, we're men of our word, Evans, but don't forget to reconsider the date, otherwise Jamesy's going to be sad," Sirius replied.
"Sirius, Potter, and I are just friends," Lily replied, "We've always been sort of mates before, and now we're good friends, I'm still really, really mad at you guys for various things, but right now I really appreciate the support you've given me all year, I realize you can be very joking but you're still good people, and that's why I love you as friends."
Potter nodded despite being a little downcast; he had been nodding as soon as the first words slipped between Lily's lips. It seemed painful, how vigorously he nodded.
"Yes," Potter said. "Padfoot, I told you we're all just friends, stop embarrassing me will you."
Lily shook her head in amusement and kept walking.
"Oh, sorry," Sirius muttered mockingly. "I thought it was a date, my mistake."
"Yeah, your mistake," Potter said quickly, "Evans, you know you can count on us to clear you or whatever you need, we all care about you, we understand what you're going through."
"Yes Lily, it's going to be hard, but it's always better to have company to get through some things," Lupin said.
"That, what they said Evans, and besides it's not worth it to be down on people who are worth anything, and Snivellus, he's not worth it."
Peter just nodded at his comments from the side.
There was a moment of silence.
"Sirius, you guys don't know him like I used to." Lily took another deep breath. "Or, maybe I never knew him the right way, the way I thought I did. I know I didn't."
Lily laughed barely sarcastically, and continued speaking but with a bit of coldness and sadness in her voice "God, I should have seen it coming because of the way I used to talk or name others just because they weren't 'like us' or because they were 'muggleborn... I should have seen it coming, just maybe I didn't want to, he was so different with me."
Severus decided to stop listening to their conversation. He didn't want to listen any longer while Lily held all her old mistakes against him, didn't want to watch her let Potter and his group into her life, taking her place as if James Potter had never done anything wrong before.
He had been very wrong, but he had also apologized, he had begged, he had tried to make it up to her, and for what, so she could effectively shut him out of her life, so she could be friends with James Bloody fucking Potter and his group of bullies?
Of course, it had only been a matter of time before she cut Severus off, she wasn't wrong about Severus' bad behavior toward others, but it was still annoying that they made him out to be the only bad guy in the story and Potter as Saint Potter.
Since the beginning of his fifth year at Hogwarts when he had promised Dumbledore not to say what had happened that day with Remus, James and his group had let everyone know that Potter had saved his life, and Severus hadn't been able to contradict anything, he was angry about it, It was worse when he tried to warn her to stay away from Remus Lupin, he knew that the two of them got along well, but he was dangerous, he experienced it firsthand, he had to warn her despite swearing to Dumbledore that he wouldn't say anything, he couldn't explain things, but he could warn her. That only made everything worse, Lily began to believe that Severus was just trying to discredit his friend Lupin and also told him that he was ungrateful for not thanking Saint Potter for saving her life, it was frustrating.
Now Severus understood that Lupin was dangerous, but he wasn't a bad person, it wasn't his fault what happened to him, he was just suffering from his condition, but before Severus was terrified and wanted to warn Lily, everything went so wrong that it almost made Severus laugh now.
"So smart, so creative and so talented, but I dealt so badly with my life situations that it makes me laugh," Severus said to himself.
Severus felt the bitterness as it worked its way through his veins, boiling his blood, sending his heart racing so fast it would surely burst out of his chest and leave him for dead. But he stopped it, he had already been through this, and he had already forgiven, now it was time to put into practice what he had told himself so much and rethought himself. He had to learn from his mistakes.
As the group of Potter and Lily were getting closer and closer to the tent where he was, Severus decided to lower his head, cover himself with the hood of his black cloak and pass them without being seen.
He walked past Sirius, Potter, Peter, and Lily without them noticing him, but just happened to cross paths with the one he least wanted to, he cursed Remus Lupin for crossing his path.
"Sorry, sir, I didn't see you, my mistake," Lupin said, lowering his head apologetically to the hooded man in front of him.
When Severus raised his head to look at him and Remus Lupin was surprised.
"It's no problem Remus, it's a pleasure to see you around."
Severus hadn't planned on interacting with the group, he wanted to leave quietly on his own without attracting their attention, but apparently, his plan wasn't good enough, again, very stupid of him to be so careless.
"I'm not sure I can say the same, Snape," said Lupin.
Severus grimaced and, ignoring the hint Remus had directed at him and prepared to be on his way.
"What did you say Moony?" asked Potter confused turning around to look at Lupin.
"He said it's Snivellus, he must be with his death eater friends" muttered and accused Peter with a grin as he slowly walked away until he stood behind the group in case there was trouble.
Lily stared at him puzzled.
"What? Where?" asked a confused Sirius, as he tried to find Severus among the people in the vicinity.
Severus sighed defeatedly and turned around to look at them.
"Oh, Potter and his gang, why am I not surprised to find them together?" said Severus mockingly.
Lily only watched Severus for a few seconds and then turned her face away not wanting to make direct contact with him.
When the whole group saw that it was Severus they wasted no time and took out their wands.
"Don't be stupid, this isn't Hogwarts, I don't recommend you to be reckless" hissed Severus with disdain.
Only Lupin and Peter thought about it and lowered their wands.
But Potter and Black were still pointing at him and looking at him as if he were a threat, an enemy.
"Prong, Padfoot, calm down guys, he's right, no good will come of a public confrontation. As soon as you cast the first spell, we'll be knee-deep in Aurors," said Lupin trying to get the group to react.
Peter just watched and waited to see what would happen next.
Lily clenched her jaw but said nothing.
"At least one of you think with that little head of yours, I would recommend you to listen to Remus," Severus said again.
Lily closed her eyes and took a breath. She crossed her arms and pressed them against her chest.
"James...? Please, you promised no fighting," said Lily to Potter, still unwilling to look at Severus.
That seemed to calm Potter down a bit.
"Lose Lily, but it might be dangerous to stay back," Potter replied, even though he was already planning to chant a spell.
"Dangerous you say, how funny you are Potter when the ones attacking me four-on-one, are you" Severus grimaced at his impudence.
"You...!" Potter waved his wand as if to cast a spell on her.
"James, please," Lily said unhappily. "You promised you wouldn't fight or make jokes with Severus if I went out with you. Yesterday was only the first time we've gone out and it isn't even a proper date. Is this how it's always going to be? Insults? Wands at ten paces? Dueling at dawn?"
That hurt Severus a little, it was supposed to be just dinner, but as he had imagined, it seemed that in her head she also considered it a date, as did James Potter. He held his gaze on Lily when she said that, she seemed to notice and looked at him for a moment, but she looked away before he could even get a good look at her.
Severus dropped his eyes sadly, he was tired and defeated.
This was goodbye.
'No, Lily said goodbye a long time ago' he said to himself.
Severus this time saw and heard all he needed to. Lily was no different from any other teenage girl, she liked men like James Potter, he wasn't for her or at least he wasn't for her now. Maybe he was the right person at the wrong time, she was still too young and obviously, she couldn't like someone like him, so she'd better say 'goodbye'.
"TCH, you'd better not pull out your wand Snivy" Potter backed away from casting a spell when he heard Lily, but he still warned Severus.
Severus didn't care about the warning, he didn't even pay attention to it, he was still trying to process everything, it hurt, but now he could control his feelings and learn from all of this, now he knew better than ever that he had to get away from everyone for a while and live his life.
"Tell us what are you doing around here, Snivellus?" demanded Sirius disdainfully as he pointed his wand at him.
His whole gang had always hated him, but since last year when he insulted Lily Evans, that hatred had grown more pronounced in all of them.
"Well, that only concerns me. Or do I have to explain what I do in my private life in Diagon Alley to you?" sneered Severus again.
"Evading the question, aren't you already part of the death eaters, thrilled to be a killer like You-Know-Who," Potter accused.
Peter nodded vigorously at the comment.
While Remus and Lily decided not to comment on the matter.
"That's for sure Jamesy. TCH, it would have been nice to never have to see you again Snivy" commented Sirius dryly with his wand still pointed at him.
"As I said, my private life is none of your business and I'm sorry, but I'm not concerned with what pleases or displeases you, Balck."
"Oh, right, I forgot, I ran into your brother Regulus a few moments ago at the Ministry, he told me very interesting things, I congratulate you on your early departure from the Black family" replied Severus coldly who was already a bit tired and in a bad mood. The idiots were accusing him in public of being associated with Voldemort, everyone knew who You-Know-Who was.
Sirius got angry when he mentioned his family and walked towards Snape, bringing his wand close to Snape's neck.
"Shut up! You'd better not speak or..."
"Or what Black?" asked Severus amused to see what Sirius was going to do, he wasn't the least bit afraid, the only thing Black would dare to do was a hex or spell and if that would be enough to send him to prison he was happy to take it, this wasn't Hogwarts, Dumbledore couldn't protect them so easily from the Ministry before something they did in public.
"Sirius! That's enough, I don't want a fight!" a girl's voice called out to him in alarm, it was Lily who had grown tired of looking sideways and doing nothing.
Sirius turned around in surprise. A swirl of red hair, flashing emerald eyes, and a scowl appeared right behind him. Lily Evans glared at him reprovingly and made their disagreement in a fight quite clear. Sirius lowered his wand and stepped back, but still glaring hatefully at Snape.
"Leave it Padfoot, Snivellus isn't worth it, besides you're part of my family now," Potter told him when he saw Lily's expression, but he kept pointing his wand at Snape in case he did anything.
"Be thankful we're in public. Don't expect it to always be the same," Sirius muttered a threat to her before walking away altogether.
"Be thankful? but if I was waiting for you to do it, I wouldn't mind seeing you locked up in Azkaban, Black."
"But what's wrong with you! Merlin Can't you see you're not helping...!" started to say Lily but she couldn't finish because Severus intervened.
"I understand!, I'd better go, it was good to see you again, despite everything."
"Goodbye Lily, I wish you the best, be happy."
Severus didn't give them time to say anything to Lily or the Potter gang, he immediately disappeared in front of all of them, he had learned apparition a while ago.
He didn't have an apparition license yet, this is because he learned it on his own and before the age required to get the license, but he didn't think anyone would make much trouble for him now that there is a war in the British magical world.
Severus apparitioned near his house.
Although he wasn't looking forward to going back home because of the bad memories it brought back, he also knew that he couldn't afford to keep the rent on the room at the Leaky Cauldron for a week and at the same time buy everything he needed for the summer program at SCoP.
He already knew that he was going to have to use all his savings just to barely get most of the basic things he was asked for, luckily they provided room and board there, otherwise, this trip would be impossible for his current finances. So reluctantly Severus decided to return home for the week.
Returning to his small home in the Muggle world, Severus wasted no time in the street of Spinner's End where he apparitioned and headed straight to the end of the street where his house is located.
Once in front of his house, he didn't care much about the gloomy and worn out look it had, he didn't have good memories in this house, so he didn't see the need to remodel or do anything to change the look of it and as soon as he had the chance he had already decided that he would leave the house.
Without thinking too much Severus opened the door of the house and entered as usual.
Once inside he headed to the room where he usually brewed his potions, he needed to make a large amount and sell them to pay for all the expenses this trip would have.
When he arrived in front of the door to the room he turned the handle and slid the door in.
"Fuck, what happened here, who in the name of Merlin is this woman, and what is she doing lying in my house?" Severus was shocked at the first thing he saw, the whole room was a mess as if an earthquake had occurred only in this room, leaving the rest of the house intact, but what caught his attention the most was the unconscious woman in pretty bad shape lying in the middle of the room.
"Merlin, did the death eaters find out about my trip to the USA, did they fake an incident in my house to keep me from leaving the country on charges of suspicion?" Severus began to think of all the possibilities of what was happening in front of him.
Severus had been in this house yesterday, so the scene in front of him had to either happen shortly after he left or it happened earlier today while he was at the ministry.
"No, no, this is not the time to lose your head, now I should see the state she is in and hope that by the time she wakes up she will give me some answers" Severus calmed down and decided to help and treat the unconscious young woman first, then he would get his answers.
"This... she seems to be close to my age, who could it be?" he wondered once he was already lifting the young woman up to carry her to the bed and treat her.
Between his many thoughts and the rush to help and treat her first, he had completely forgotten to get a good look at the young woman's face.
Once he had put her to bed, Severus went on to undress the young girl, first, he made sure to preserve covered the parts of the young girl's body that he was not correct to see, he was quite surprised to discover that she had a wand, doing a quick scan of the magic stream he discovered that she was a young witch, that upset him a little as he did not know what a wizard of her age could be doing in his house, but he decided to leave those questions for later and go back to attending to the girl in front of him.
Once he had finished undressing her very carefully, he saw that the young woman had no wounds of any kind on her body, but she did have many minor burns running all over her body, and the occasional major burn, also apparently she had gone through a terrible dizzy spell and headache that caused her to faint and become unconscious.
"What in Merlin's name could this young lady have done to receive so many burns?" wondered Severus.
Severus first cleaned and disinfected the young girl's burns with a little bit of orange paste, once the paste made contact with the skin it moistened and was absorbed by the young girl's skin, when he finished disinfecting, Severus took a reddish liquid mixed with purple and passed it again over the visible burns, the liquid on contact with the skin smoked and stung, but then he tapped it with his wand and the minor burns were treated instantly, there were still some major burns, but these were also improving little by little.
Now the young wizard was in a better state than before, with some burns still in the process of healing completely, but she was no longer as bad as when he found her, which reassured Severus, as it seemed that the young girl had nothing untreatable, in time she would heal completely, perhaps the major burns would take a few months to heal completely.
Once he finished tending to the burns on the young witch's body, Severus finally focused on her face, the young woman's face was covered by her hair, so Severus had to move her hair to the side and what he saw shocked him to his heart's content.
"By Merlin, this..., it can't be, impossible..., what's going on?"
Severus was even more confused than before now that he saw the young girl's face, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"How could this be possible, are my eyes deceiving me?"
"How could Emma Watson herself be in his house and be a witch of all things, none of this makes sense, Emma Watson was a well-known actress in his world like Benedict Clarke but no doubt in this world Severus had never heard of her."
"Mmmm but now that I get a good look at her, despite looking just like Emma Watson, her hair is a mess in comparison, too bushy as opposed to the straight and soft hair you remember from the actress, this young woman has very voluminous and fluffy hair almost like the description of Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter books and movies"
"Wait a minute, could it be Hermione Granger, no, no, no, impossible, she wasn't even born yet, how could it even be her, Merlin, it's so confusing."
Severus was lost in thought about the young wizard lying in front of him, no doubt she looked just like the Emma Watson who was an actress in her other life, but if I had to guess I would say that she was more similar to her character as Hermione Granger, not only because of the hair but also because she was a witch.
"Could it be that in this reality there is a witch identical to the Hermione Granger of the future, it could be a possibility but it would be too much of a coincidence that just that which has appeared in my house of all things, here is something else hidden and the only one who has the answers to my questions is her, I guess I can only wait for her to wake up, but first I will take her wand, it is better to take precautions in case she decides to attack me out of nowhere, better safe than sorry."
A few hours later, the young mage finally woke up.
"I see you finally woke up, now, I would like to know who are you and what is a witch doing in my humble home, I don't usually have guests and even less in the deplorable state I found you in" Severus spoke in a cold and dry voice, as he looked with his dark and penetrating eyes from his seat at the young wizard lying on the bed in front of him.
Severus didn't want to give her time to think of excuses, that's why he was so cold, dry, and direct, he needed her to say the first thing that came to her mind as she was waking up.
"I...I, I'm Hermione...Cough Cough, well, you see, I'm Hermione Prince, are you by any chance Severus Snape son of Eileen Prince?" the young witch said and asked once she caught a glimpse of Severus and assimilated his question.
That was certainly not the first answer Severus had expected to hear from this young woman.
How could she be a Prince, he had no living relatives and besides her name was Hermione, who was he looking to deceive, no doubt this witch in front of him was Hermione Granger, but then, what was she doing at this time, what was she doing in his house and why was she pretending to be a Prince?
"Oh, excuse me, but I must have misheard, you said your last name is Prince?"
"That's right, I am Hermione Prince and I am looking for Eileen Prince's son, as for why I was in that condition, I can only tell you that on my journey to this house I suffered some altercation that left me in that condition, I can assume that you tended to my injuries, I thank you in that case" she seemed only a little nervous, but not that much given the situation she was in, she did not have her wand and in front of her was Severus, a wizard who did not have a kind appearance
"I see,..., but what a strange thing, isn't it, last time I checked there was no living member besides me in the Prince family, Miss Hermione. Oh, excuse me, I didn't introduce myself, I'm Severus, Severus Snape, nice to meet you, as for your burns, there's nothing to be thankful for, I couldn't just leave you lying in the room in that state, they could accuse me of some crime if so, even though you entered without my permission" Severus said dryly but in a joking tone as if mocking the young witch.
Severus was convinced that the young woman in front of him was Hermione Granger and no doubt she was trying to trick him, so if she wanted to play that way, he would play along.
Now the most important thing for him was to get as much information as possible about the crazy situation he had in front of him, maybe Death has something to do with the fact that now there is also a person from the future in his present, it seems that his knowledge about this world is not as accurate as he thought, he will have to rethink many things from now on, the appearance of Hermione Granger changes many things and generates many doubts.
"Oh I see, thanks anyway for attending to my burns, and to answer your question, I am a distant relative of the Prince family, you must be Eileen Prince's son, right?"