Change The Fate: The Fallen Angel Arise
By TheUndefeatable
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, if I did...I think you can guess what would happen!
Rate: Rated T just to be safe
Summary: There is always a light in the middle of darkness, you just must be brave enough to see it and to embrace it! Then, you will see that you don't need to take the burden all by yourself; you see that you are not alone. A sequel to 'Face The World Alone: Tale Of A Fallen Angel'
Warning: Mention of child abuse and attempted suicide, some violence and bloodshed in later chapters, but not any thing explicit! Don't like it, don't read it!
A/N: Hello everyone! Yes, I am alive, no, I have not abandoned this story. I know that my last update was more than two years ago. You might wonder what happened. Well, pandemic happened. And with it, came a lot of new responsibilities and also, I had two major events in my life. So in total, I was not in a mental state to even think about writing a chapter for my story, let alone actually writing it.
On top of that, I have recently been having problems with . It keeps telling me that I have to wait, because they need to check my connection or they keep telling me that I need to prove I am a human. Once I even had a full screen ad, which was very disruptive. I don't know if it just me or not. But all that beside what I have heard from some other users about their content on being copied on other websites, made me think about moving my stories to another website. But for now, I am going to cross post this story on AO3.
Having said all that, have fun reading! :) R&R
Chapter 13: Salvage
Minerva didn't remember her plan to visit Severus until the next day after breakfast. Having to teach two classes in the morning, she promised herself to do so after her two classes. When the last student exited her second class, she left the classroom as well, heading towards the headmaster's office.
Reaching there, she found the office empty. So she made her way toward the headmaster's quarters. The door to Severus' room was ajar and she could hear Albus' voice from there so she made her way there. She knocked and when she heard Albus' voice telling her to come in, she went inside.
Severus was in a dark green pajamas, lying on the bed. His dark hair was fanned on the pillow slightly wet, no doubt from a recent bath. Albus was standing near the foot of his bed. Minerva entered the room and was going to close the door, but Albus stopped her, saying he needed to get something. Minerva used the opportunity and approached Severus' bed quickly. Severus was staring at somewhere at the foot of his bed and it seemed he had not noticed Minerva's presence, so she said, "Hello, Severus."
Severus who was startled from his thoughts looked at her, and for a moment he seemed surprised at seeing her, then he said moodily. "Hello, Professor," and returned to staring at the foot of his bed with a frown. Minerva followed his line of sight, only to come across… red socks with gold snitches. Minerva frowned, as well, and said, "I do not understand. I could swear that I returned all the red or weirdly colored socks he had picked up."
She then drew her wand and tapped the socks with a "Finite Incantadem." Instantly, the socks turned to their original color: light gray. Both occupants of the room sighed; Severus in relief to be free of the offending color and Minerva in exasperation about Albus' childish actions.
With that problem solved, Minerva turned to Severus and said, "How are you feeling?"
"I am well, Professor." Severus answered defensively.
"Well, you are obviously not, but you will be." Minerva said kindly, before asking what she actually wanted to know. "Is the headmaster treating you well?"
Severus' shocked eyes found hers as he was too speechless to answer. Severus couldn't understand why McGonagall was asking this question. The only possible reason could be that it was some sort of trap. To what purpose, Severus didn't know, but he knew he was not going to play their games, so he said,
"What is that suppose to mean?" At McGonagall's look he hastily added, "Professor."
McGonagall was silent for a few moments before saying, "You had some concerns in regards to accepting the headmaster as your guardian. What I am asking is now that he has been your guardian for a few days, do your concerns have any grounds?"
She was mocking him, Severus decided. It was something that Severus would have expected from Dumbledore rather than McGonagall. However, while McGonagall didn't side with Marauders like Dumbledore did, it had always been clear that she didn't exactly like him.
It might have had something to do with the fact that Severus usually struggled with the practicals of Transfiguration, especially when they had just learned it. The fact that his mother's copy of Transfiguration textbook didn't have some of the topics that were covered in class or that their explanations were not detailed, also put Severus at a disadvantage. Or maybe McGonagall's dislike of him had something to do with the fact that in the first year, Severus had objected to her methods of teaching several times. That was before Lily had told him he was being rude and he should stop it. Severus did apologize to McGonagall, but he had a feeling that the professor didn't like him and treated him differently than other students.
Severus noticed that he had been quiet for some time and said quickly. "No, professor." He tried to hide his bitterness, but he couldn't suppress it all. Severus looked at professor's face to gauge her reaction and seeing the frown, he was sure that she didn't miss the bitterness in his voice either.
Severus cursed in his mind. He always tried to be polite toward the teachers. The reason was a combination of his mother's teaching, his excuse of a father's teachings (through beating), and the worry that the professor would use this as an excuse to fail him. And failing was something that he could not afford. His only chance to have a decent life was for him to be best at all his subjects; something that he struggled to maintain all these years.
But now…now offending a professor had taken a whole new importance. One word, one complaint from a professor to Dumbledore and Severus could say goodbye to any decent life during and after Hogwarts. If he thought his life so far was hard, it would be ten times worse then. And considering Dumbledore's influence in the Ministry and the Wizarding Britain in general, Severus' best shot would be to look for apprenticeship outside of Britain. And that would be only possible with high marks and reference letters from professors which would depend on what Dumbledore would say. So, in total Severus' life was ruined. And once again Severus wondered why on earth had he agreed to do this.
The rational part of his mind told him that what's done is done and that all he must do now is to not make it worse by offending Dumbledore or another one of the professors. So Severus gathered all his energy to hide his emotions, averted his eyes, and apologized, "I'm sorry," he said quietly and turned his head away from McGonagall.
Minerva was confused. She wanted to use the time she was alone with Severus to ask about how Albus was treating the boy. What she didn't expect were the defensive answer. However, what really threw her was the bitterness and the few seconds of a closed off expression and then the apology. She was not sure what was going on in the boy's head. The only conclusion Minerva could come up with was that something has happened that he was not telling. Maybe they had argued and Severus was bitter about having to put up with Albus? Minerva just hoped that – for Albus' sake – he hadn't repeated his action toward Severus after that incident. If he had argued or treated Severus badly and then told Severus to tell no one, Minerva was going to kill him!
It was at that moment that Dumbledore returned with a towel in hand. He helped Severus to raise his head, dried the pillow with a wave of his wand, and put the towel on the pillow before laying Severus' head on the pillow again.
Minerva knew that there was only one way to find out what has happened and it was through Albus. So she patted Severus on his leg and said, "Rest well, Severus." She then looked at Albus and said, "Albus, a word please."
"Of course." Albus answered as he finished pulling blankets over Severus after which Minerva made her way out of the room with Albus closely behind.
Severus cursed in his mind. It was obvious what that 'one word' she was going to have with Dumbledore, was about! All this time Severus tried to be polite and respectful toward the teachers and staff… had spend a lot of time learning proper behavior in the Wizarding World from his housemates, only to mess up at the worst possible time. What worried Severus was how Dumbledore was going to react. So far Severus had not deliberately done anything that would anger Dumbledore. But this was something totally different!
As those thoughts were going through Severus' mind, the adults sat down in Dumbledore's office before Minerva blurted out. "What happened, Albus?"
"What do you mean?" Albus asked surprised.
"Don't play ignorant. Something has happened! What is it?"
"I'm afraid I have no idea what you are talking about, Minerva."
"I was just talking with Severus about how he was feeling and how it has been being your ward. His answers were defensive, like he was hiding something. When I asked him if his concerns regarding your guardianship had any ground, he answered me in negative, in a bitter way and with a frown. He was upset about something! So, are you going to tell me what has happened or not?"
"I am confused and concerned, as well, Minerva. Because nothing has really happened! He was calm and well since he woke up. Nothing has happened today to upset him. Well, unless you count the color of his socks, which I noticed, you turned to their original state. So there is really nothing for him to be upset about."
"Then what made him react like that?" Minerva asked, her lips pursed.
"I don't know, but I'm going to give him his lunch soon so I can try to see what has upset him so much."
Minerva nodded and said. "And when you are talking with him, maybe it would be a good idea to ask him about his belongings at his home. I know that you wanted to wait until he was better before taking him there to collect them, but when Rosaline was last here, I talked to her about the process. She said that when the hearing is held and the case is won, they will notify Severus' father that he is no longer his guardian. Also, they are going to notify him that he will not be receiving any money–"
Albus interrupted her. "Only notify him? Aren't they going to arrest him for what he did to Severus?"
"No, apparently Muggles are not as advanced as us when it concerns children. As his guardian, his father is allowed to use physical punishment in any way that he wants. Apparently, it is neither illegal in Muggle world to mistreat children, nor it is uncommon."
There was a frown on Dumbledore's face, as he contemplated this and then he said, "Well, in that case, maybe we should look out for such occurrences among the Muggleborns and the Half-Bloods."
"Yes, we should. But what I wanted to say was that we don't know how Severus' father will react when he finds out that he has no authority over Severus anymore. He might destroy all of Severus' belongings in his anger. So, I think we should go there sooner and get them."
"Mmm...Yes, you are right. I will talk with Severus about it, today."
~oOo~
Dumbledore returned some time later and asked an elf to bring Severus' lunch. He asked Severus his routine questions - how he was feeling, level of pain, stiffness, numbness, and all the other problems that were to be expected. Severus answered negatively all the while being confused about Dumbledore's behavior. Did McGonagall not tell on him? If not, then what had she wanted to talk about with Dumbledore? If she did, then why was Dumbledore not angry?
The lunch was a rather short affair, with Severus still being unable to eat by himself and unable to take more than several spoonful. Dumbledore told him that he expected Severus to eat more than half of his bowl of soup tomorrow. After that was done, Dumbledore sat in the chair beside the bed. There was a few moment of silence, as Dumbledore was contemplating how to approach the subject of Minerva's conversation with Severus. Not finding any idea, he put it aside to think about later and started on the other subject Minerva mentioned.
"Severus, there is something that I need to talk you about it… Is there anything at your home that you want? Of course, when you are feeling better, we are going shopping to buy anything you need. But I was wondering if maybe there are some items that you might like to have back," Dumbledore said, but seeing the blank expressionless face of Severus made him elaborate. "You know anything that has sentimental meaning for you."
While speaking, Dumbledore had tried to study Severus without making it obvious and so far he hadn't seen any sign of bitterness or any sign that Severus was upset. The only thing he had picked up on was an air of nervousness, confusion, and fear which Dumbledore had come to associate with how Severus currently perceived him. He hoped that it would change in time, but for now it was something he needed to get used to. After he asked his question, Dumbledore noticed a change in Severus. Now there was another emotion mixed with previous ones: Suspicion. Sure enough Severus asked, "Why are you interested to know,….sir?" Severus added the last part as he remembered his thoughts before lunch.
"Well, because I planned to take you there when you are feeling better to pick up any of your belongings that you want. However, we are afraid that your father might damage or try to destroy your things by then so if there are any things there that you want, please tell me now. I can go and pick them up tonight."
When Severus didn't say anything, Dumbledore asked. "So is there anything that you want?"
There was a few moments of silence before Severus said reluctantly, "Yes."
"What are they? And where should look for them?"
Severus hesitated for a moment before saying "My trunk."
"Where did you put it last?"
With a look of anxiousness mixed with anger and bitterness, Severus answered. "He took it from me." He looked away.
"I'll find it. So is there anything else?" Severus didn't answer. There was a few moments of silence, before Dumbledore prompted. "Severus?"
"You said we can go there when I'm feeling better, right sir?"
"Yes, but we don't know how long that will take so I am suggesting that if there is anything that you might need for the following months, you tell me now, so I can bring it back."
At that, Severus looked conflicted, so Dumbledore stayed silent to give him time to make a decision. It took him several minutes, but in the end Severus made up his mind. He turned to Dumbledore and said,
"There is a loose board in my room under my bed. My wand is there and I need it…..I guess you can bring everything else which is there, as well…uh my room is on the second floor at the end of the hallway."
Dumbledore nodded and said. "I'll bring them. We can bring the rest of your stuff later, if you want." Dumbledore added the last part when he saw how reluctant Severus was about telling him where his stuff was.
"I don't own anything else so there is no need for that." Severus said defensively as he was embarrassed about his situation.
"Well then, I'll go tonight and get them, but for now, you should rest."
Dumbledore got up from his place and approached the bed with a speed that belied his age. He ignored Severus' flinch, pulled up and straightened his blanket, and brushed Severus hair from his face. Then he left the room.
The first day was very hard for Dumbledore. Every time he got close to Severus or touched him, Severus flinched. At first Severus' reaction made Dumbledore to retract his hand or stop in his track. However, as time went on, Dumbledore got used to it and tried to not react to it. At the same time, he started to force himself to show Severus he cared when the opportunity arose, be it verbally or physically. A caress on the head here, a pat on the hands there, a 'good night' or 'rest well' now and again. He was not sure how successful he was in getting his message across.
While he had been headmaster for decades he had never had dealt with the children on a day to day basis. Usually he only dealt with the most severe cases of misbehaving children and he deals with them firmly and severely. He never had to deal with a child on a daily basis, a child who had reason to doubt his motivation for helping him and who currently was completely dependent on him.
~oOo~
After dinner Albus and Minerva made their way outside of the wards and disapparated. A few minutes later, they found themselves in front of the last house in Spinner End. Making sure that no one was around, they made their was toward the front door of the house and one Alohomora later, they were in. Lighting their wands, they looked around, then Albus tried to summon Severus' trunk. When nothing happened, he tried again.
"Maybe it's locked up and cannot be summoned," Minerva said.
Albus nodded his head in agreement and instead made his way toward Severus' room on the second floor. The room was small and tidy, there was several layer of dust on everything, but other than that it looked clean. There was one battered closet, one small desk, and one single bed. It was clinical and empty of any personal touch. Either Severus didn't decorate his room – because of personal taste or his father has already removed them. Wondering if that meant that Severus' wand was gone as well, Albus immediately moved the bed aside and slowly knelt down to check for the loose floor board. When he could not find it immediately, but felt the magic around, he started to cast some spells with his wand to detect any spells cast by Severus and found an assortment of concealing spells including a 'Notice Me Not' charm.
Minerva who was standing beside Albus silently asked, "What is it Albus? What are you looking for?"
"Severus said he had hidden his wand inside a space under a floor. A loose floor board was his way of accessing it, but I cannot find it. I believe Severus had cast some concealing charm on it so I am taking them down."
"Clever boy," Minerva said.
As soon as Albus took down the spells, they noticed a broken board near the wall. Putting the board aside, Albus saw that Severus' wand was still there and so were a bunch of other stuff. There was a pile of shrunken books, a pile of some sort of folded paper bounded with a string, a few small knickknacks with wrapping paper neatly folded beneath them and what seemed to be a white bundle. Albus first took out the wand and put it in his pocket. Then he took out a tiny chest out of his pocket, put it on the ground and unshrunk it. Then he started to take the stuff in the hole out. He didn't want to intrude on Severus' privacy, but he couldn't help being curious about the stuff that Severus had hidden here. So he took out the books first and unshrunk them. Minerva must have somewhat agreed since she knelt down beside him and started to look at the books.
Most of the books were the reference texts needed for the sixth and seventh years, but they looked to be the old versions of the books – about thirty years old. Opening the cover, Albus could see in a corner of the first page the name 'Eileen Prince'. What was interesting was the loopy handwritten text inside the cover with the phrase, 'Property of the Half Blood Prince'.
"Well, it is no wonder that he had problem with practicals of Transfiguration, if he has been using his mother's books. There are some topics in the new version which are not in the old ones. Also, the old versions didn't give as much details about wand movements and the possible mistakes the students can make." Looking Albus in the eye, she continued, "You know, I didn't really like him since the first year. First year he was very rude several times and questioned my methods of teaching. Sometime later, he apologized and after that was always very respectful, but he still had a lot of difficulties with the practicals and sometimes even the theory. I used to think that it was because he had not done the reading assignment I gave them. I thought he underrated my course deliberately and he spent the time he should have been studying with his friends or studying his favorite subject, potions. It bothered me that he treated my class so lightly, but did well in all his other courses. After all, when I asked others, none of them had faced as much problem from Severus. Now I think maybe it was because transfiguration textbook has changed the most of all the subjects taught and it made his textbook almost useless."
Albus put his hand on her arm in reassurance and said, "We all made the mistake of making assumption about him, but at least now we have a chance to make it right." With that they started to put the books inside the chest. A few of the books were about curses and counter-curses and there was one book about Dark Arts. It was clear that all these books had belonged to Eileen. Albus put those books aside to look at later. If the content of the books were what he thought they were, then Albus was going to keep them for now. He would give them to Severus when he was older and more aware of the consequence of practicing some of those curses and the Dark Arts. There were a few other books: some of them were Muggle books which Albus considered safe and put in the chest and a few others about the Statute of Secrecy and Wizarding Britain's old traditions which Albus put beside the Dark Arts book. If nothing else, looking at these books can help him understand Severus better.
Finishing with the books, Albus picked up the pile of papers and opened the string. They were all apparently the letters and notes passed between Severus and Miss. Evans. There was even a photo of them – a Muggle non-moving one. It was clearly from a time before their Hogwarts years. The sight of them brought a smile to both adults lips. Tying the string again and putting them inside the chest, as well, they moved to the few knickknacks – obviously gifts – with their wrapping paper and few muggle postal cards beneath them, all of which were apparently from Miss. Evans. These were transferred to the chest and they moved to the last item, the bulging white bundle. Opening the package, they saw that it was full of sandwiches. More specifically, it was full of sandwiches which Hogwarts house elves were famous for. And all of them were in some state of going bad which meant that the possible preserving charm on them had wore off.
Albus doubted Severus would ever ask the elves for the food and he doubted that he took them from Great Hall where everyone could see. But in the end, it didn't matter how Severus got hold of those sandwiches; what mattered was that he had had to do so. It was just another point as to how every adult in Severus' life had failed him. The fact that he had to provide himself with the basic necessities in any way he could because he knew no one else would – was like a blow to his gut.
An interesting fact was the charm placed on the food; it must have been a very strong preserving charm if it preserved the food for more than three month and a faint residue of the charm could still be felt. Minerva's next words mirrored his thoughts, "His preserving charm must be very strong if the state of some of these sandwiches is any indication."
Albus nodded and said, "Yes, and just when I think there is no other way that I might have failed him, something new comes up."
"Mmm… and I cannot help thinking that if we missed this much, then what else did we miss? How many students go through the same thing without us knowing or helping them."
"We cannot do anything about it except keeping an eye out for such cases in the future. But for now we must go. My knees don't appreciate me kneeling on this hard floor any longer," Albus said.
Then he picked up the books he puts aside while Minerva closed the lid of the chest, secured it, shrank it, and put it in her pocket. After making sure they have not missed anything and turning back everything to their earlier position, they made their way toward the door of Severus' room.
As they reached the top of the stairs, they heard sound of front door opening and slamming shut. Albus, who remembered about Severus' trunk made his way down stairs, followed closely by Minerva. There was a lone electric bulb lighting in the hallway downstairs. When Severus' father saw them, he shouted, "Who the hell are you? What are you doing in my house?"
Dumbledore standing tall with his wand in his hand said, "I am Severus' guardian –"
"Guardian? I am his father, so I'm his bloody guardian!" Severus' father slurred.
"Not any more. Not if I have anything to do about it!" Dumbledore said.
McGonagall added, "You don't have any right to call yourself his father. You had a child so bright and all you did was to hurt him. A father is the last thing you are!"
"I don't know how that good for nothing, ungrateful brat ran to you and what he's told you, but as his father I can discipline him in any way I want. He is my son and you have no right to keep him. Return him, Freaks or I'll call the police." He waved the bottle in his hand for emphasis.
In a movement that belied his age, Albus went toe to toe with Severus' father, pointing his wand in man's face. "You will never see Severus again and will not even try to if you know what is good for you. Also, you are not going to get even one more coin from his inheritance. I have not come here to argue about taking him away from you. I came here to take his belongings so he never has to look at this horrible place or your face ever again. Now, tell me where is Severus' trunk? What did you do with it?" Dumbledore's voice was low and menacing. It was a side of him that rarely anyone had seen, McGonagall thought.
Severus' father thoroughly cowed, stuttered, "I tried to burn the blasted thing, but it wouldn't catch fire and it was making strange noises so I just left it in the shed." He pointed toward the kitchen.
Dumbledore removed his wand from drunk man's face and turned quickly towards the kitchen followed by Minerva.
Severus' father startled from the sudden movement stumbled backwards which, in his drunken state, caused him to topple over.
Dumbledore and McGonagall made their way toward the shed at the other end of the back yard. Inside the shed, they saw a battered old trunk, blackened with soot in the corner. Even without checking with their wands, they could feel the magic surrounding the trunk. Taking out his wand Dumbledore moved the trunk from the corner and started to detect and unravel the protective spells on it.
The number of preserving charms and protective spells was astonishing. What was even more astonishing was the power behind some of those spells and the purpose of some of those spells. There were protective spells against Muggle fire, Magical fire, getting wet, getting tampered with or broken into, by many kinds of repelling spells and different preserving charm for different materials. There were protective spells over the lock which prevented them breaking under any measure of brute force and some spells that, regardless of the circumstances, would make the trunk float on any liquid and not sink. Some of the spells which were anti-tampering ones, turned the spell cast on the trunk back on the caster. Some of them were dark protective spells which gave the culprit some nasty welts or burns.
Albus removed the dark spells and any other spells which prevented him from opening it, all the while thinking that why Severus needed so many protective spells and for such a variety of purposes at that. Was it because Severus was afraid that his father, housemates, or Marauders would damage his things? Or was it because they had already done it and Severus had to come up with a way to protect his things? Albus shook his head. These thoughts were of no help. Now all he could do was to help Severus. He hoped that in time Severus would trust him enough to confide in him about the troubles that he faced and would face.
Opening the trunk, Albus saw that many of the items in the trunk seemed burnt. Also, it look liked that something had exploded as some things had been damaged while others appeared to be in better condition. On a closer look, the center of the explosion seemed to be what used to be a potion's kit. It seemed that when Severus' father tried to burn the trunk, the trunk didn't catch fire because of the protective charm, but the heat made something inside the potion kit explode and as a result many of the items had caught fire. It seemed some of them had not been spelled against a natural fire, only a magical fire as it seemed to be the case here. Albus wanted to look for anything that could be salvaged, but Minerva put a hand on his arm and stopped him.
"Let's take the whole thing so Severus can look at it himself. It should be his decision to what to keep and what to throw out," Minerva said calmly. But Albus knew better than to believe her calm attitude. She was angry at Severus' father and at him and herself for not thinking about that sooner. Now Severus has lost some of the few possessions that he had.
Albus nodded and with a flick of his wand, he closed and secured the trunk, then he shrank it and put it in his pocket. After a glance around, they both disapparated, leaving the mostly empty shed behind without any trace except for the footprints on the dusty floor.
TBC….
And about the child abuse in the muggle world, …..yep, I checked it. The first world convention for protecting children was in 1924, but until 1990's there was not much law for protecting children, especially against abuse! UK ratified the convention regarding children protection on 1991.