Chapter Four- A Devastating Discovery
Posted July 7th
"Well,
Severus that concludes our last potions session for a few months," Regina
Potter said, a forlorn smile on her face.
Severus just
looked up at her with eyes full of grief. He would certainly miss this
wonderful, affable, charismatic woman who'd taught him so much.
"Don't you
have anything to say, lout?" Regina teased.
"What do
you mean? Like a goodbye of some sort? I hate saying farewells in advance,
because I know I'll just say goodbye again tomorrow," he said zealously.
"You are
way too intense, little man," she said, a serious note entering her voice.
"That's
just the way I am," he replied frankly. "I've just accepted it. Now if everyone
else will, I'll be satisfied."
"But don't
you want to joke around, have fun? Be a kid? Get in trouble?"
"What I do is
fun. I happen to like making potions, learning, and reading. It's the only
life I know. The only life I care to know. And how do you know I don't act like
a kid alone? How do you know I don't do mischievous things in private? What if
I do things I shouldn't? Maybe I'm just sly enough not to caught," Severus said
laying his thoughts down for her to examine.
"You're a
very mature and clever kid, but don't get ahead of yourself. And your role in
life." Professor Potter said, smiling again--much like the sun creeping out
after a storm.
"Nobody
would ever let me," he muttered inaudibly.
"Well,
kiddo, I'm going to go to bed now and I suggest you do the same. I'll see you
tomorrow. Good night,"
"Night," He
said, watching her walk away.
*****************************
Severus
woke early and stared at the ceiling for close to an hour.
He didn't
ever want to leave.
But he didn't
want to come back without Momma.
He didn't
want to go back to Snape Manor. To Father. To bleak, surly, and white walls. To
frantic getaways.
With
tremendous forcing from his obedient side, he sat up and put a gaunt leg over
the side of the bed.
Snape Manor
was so compassionless. The only bright thing in the place was Momma.
The other
leg touched the ground, and he stumbled across the floor, using his dependable
desk to stabilize himself.
He walked,
clambered to the closet where he stood on his tiptoes and used a hanger to get
his leather suitcase down. It clattered on the floor loudly, and he felt
ashamed for allowing a sound like that to penetrate the peacefulness of
Hogwarts.
As he
filled the suitcase with what he'd brought along, he reviewed all the potions
he had learnt the last month and a half.
When he
finished packing, he sat down and wrote the recipes out on pieces of parchment.
When he completed that, he compared them with the actual recipes that Regina
had written down for him. They were almost all perfect. Just a small mess up
here and there. An extra ½ cup, an extra hour. He'd work on it when he returned
to Snape Manor.
Severus had
a dull throbbing under his left rib. He wondered if it was his heart causing
this intense pain. Or was it because an emotional attachment was about to be
breached?
"Stop," he
whispered aloud, all the while thinking of how this would be the last time he
stared this desk. He would never enter this room again as if it were his own.
He felt a
tear prick at his eye, and quickly wiped it away. He attempted to reconcile
himself- "you'll be back here in about six months. It's okay."
No. It's
not okay.
Severus grabbed
his suitcase and marched out of the room grimly. It's just four walls. That's
it, four lousy walls with a ceiling and a floor for protection. Just a
diversion. It's not the room you'll miss, but the people. Person.
Professor
Regina Potter.
The only
one in the world besides Momma who treated him like an equal. Like someone
worth telling interesting and important things to. Regina and Momma treated him
like an insider.
He looked
down the hall and saw Momma conversing with Professor Potter. He walked slowly
towards them, hoping to catch a piece of forbidden conversation, but they saw
him first.
Regina
smiled warmly, the only way she knew how to, and asked him, "Are you going to
give me a hug?"
Severus
nodded, and wrapped his arms around her neck. The second greatest teacher he'd
ever had.
She gave
him a tight hug; the kind relatives were frequently generous with. She also
gave him a kiss on his cheek, and a pat on the head. "I'm going to miss you,
kid."
He smiled.
"Likewise."
"Don't
forget to study some more potions before you start Hogwarts." She admonished.
He gave a
terse nod, and the two women gave each other hugs and promised to "really" stay
in touch this time.
"Carla, you
know if you ever need any support . . ." Regina smiled, and gestured with her
hands, completing the sentence with unspoken words.
Momma
nodded, and took Severus' hand.
"We should
be going now. I told Joe we'd be back in the morning. And I can't wait to see
him. I miss him," Momma spoke wistfully.
"Yes, well
I should be getting class ready, so I guess—good . . ." Regina looked down at
Severus, and smiled. "See you guys later."
Severus
smiled back.
Regina
wave, and turned away in the direction of the dungeons.
"Come, Sevvy.
We have to go to Headmaster Dumbledore's office."
He
grimaced. Ever since the day he'd first been in the old man's office, he had
not like Dumbledore much. He made it a goal to avoid him as often as possible.
That man interfered way too much.
****************************
"Come in,
Regina, Severus," Dumbledore said.
He had
opened the door for them, and Severus quietly walked in. He didn't want to
disturb the office one bit.
On the way
to the office, Momma had told him why they were going there in the first place.
"You see
you can't apparate into or out of Hogwarts. And you can't use floo powder into
Hogwarts, and only one fireplace lets you use floo powder to leave.
Dumbledore's of course."
"Why didn't
we just use floo powder to come here?" he had asked.
"Because
it's so beautiful . . . the route here by broom is sensational. Didn't you
think so?"
To be
truthful he really hadn't noticed anything spectacular besides mountains and
long stretches of green vegetation.
"Yes," he
replied evasively.
Back to
Dumbledore's office, the somewhat egocentric man was blabbering on about how
"splendid" it was to have them living in Hogwarts. How much he'd "enjoyed"
their company.
Right,
Severus scoffed silently.
"And
Severus?"
He looked
up.
"I'm looking
forward to having you as a pupil here. You will be, no doubt, an extraordinary
student. Very attentive, I'm sure. And exigent." Dumbledore chuckled.
Severus
nodded, giving a tight, spurious smile.
The
Headmaster studied him for a second, than returned to Momma.
A few
minutes later Momma took hold of his hand again, and they disappeared into the
fire, a trip that was always very exuberant for Severus.
Severus
sighed. He'd been standing here, waiting for Momma and his father to end their
proliferating, ongoing embrace. It was sickening the way they carried on as if
the other had died, had a conversation with God about atheism and had just now
returned to Earth unharmed.
Snape Manor
looked as impressive as it ever did. The three house elves (he could never
remember their names, they didn't mean much to him) kept busy, bustling and
hustling around the house making irritating squeals now and then.
Father was
a slave driver, which didn't facilitate the elves' lives one bit. But then
again, the furry little things liked working.
Momma's
voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Sevvy,
dear, come give your father a handshake."
His
father?
Carla,
you know what I mean.
His father shook
firmly, so tight that one more ounce of power would snap his fragile bones in
half. It was all he could do to keep from wincing. The handshake was obviously
a message, and not a pleasant one.
"Welcome
back, Severus."
"Thank you,
father."
Formalities
as usual.
Momma
smiled happily, and for one instant Severus felt outraged. Was she really that
dense? Or was she pretending to be? This was not the typical, healthy family
scene here.
He'd heard
that people with immensely stressful problems often ignored them so much, that
they became invisible. And pretended everything was terrific, and started to
believe that everything was, in fact, terrific. Like they lived in their own,
detached and imaginary world.
That
sounded appealing to him.
********************************
Five (long, dragged out)
months later.
Severus'
blood pounded perilously as he stormed down the longest corridor in Snape
Manor. He could hear his father somewhere behind him; hear his frantic grasps
for breath. Luckily for him, Joseph Snape was not remotely near what was called
'being in shape'.
"Come here
you little moron!" the hoarse voice yelled out from yards away.
Severus
kept running, thanking Momma mutely for buying him these wonderful leather
boots that enhanced his speed. The side of his stomach was aching unbearably,
but he kept looking straight ahead knowing if he stopped his father might catch
up.
He opened
the first door he reached, and closed it after he had safely entered.
Good luck
was on his side that day; the door had a lock, which he quickly put to work.
Then he collapsed, right on top of a staircase, one of the stairs slamming into
his arm, and another stabbing his stomach.
He cried
out in anguish, and his hands felt for something to hold on to. No need to
create more pain. Severus found the railing, and held tightly onto it. He was
near the point of complete fatigue, but discovered extra strength. He turned
around slowly, cautiously, moving into a sitting position.
At long last
he felt rejuvenated and stood up, feeling the bruises sprouting on his arm and
stomach, and took a look at the staircase that had given him such a biting
welcome.
It was an
odd set of stairs, didn't fit in with the elegancy of Snape Manor at all. Just
a plain, rustic staircase that was made out of wood that wasn't painted or
sanded or tarnished. And as he climbed up, he saw the door was made
similarly—it was very domestic looking.
He opened
the door rather timidly, half expecting to find his father waiting, a malicious
smile on his face.
But all he
found were two trunks that appeared to be made of the same material as the
stairs and the door. That would be moldy-log material.
The rest of
the room was wallpapered a hideous shade of orange, and the floor was covered
with a very thing, dry, and clumpy green carpet. Who ever had decorated this
room was either color blind, or very gallivant. There was a window, and Severus
looked out of it only to see the roof of the mansion.
He kneeled
in front of the trunks, which were centered in the middle, obviously meant to
be the main attraction. One had a lock,
one of those magic resistant ones and the other didn't.
The locked
one was labeled:
The Treasured Belongings of Augustus Snape
Since there
was nothing to be done with that trunk yet, he fixed his inquiring eyes on the
other, which was labeled in Momma's eloquent handwriting-
Joseph and Carla Snape
That
sparked his interest.
Tentatively,
he opened the trunk.
It was filled
to the top with letters, half addressed to Momma in his father's gruff
handwriting, the other half addressed to his father in Momma's feminine
cursive.
They had
all been opened at one point in time, so it wouldn't be too hard to sneak looks
at them.
He opened
one-
September 9th, 1960,
Dearest Carla,
This whirlwind romance
is very exhausting. Every night I lay awake admiring you silently. You know, I
never believe in love at first sight until I first saw you barely three weeks
ago. In fact, I never really believed in love . . . till I saw you. . .
The letter
carried on in this overly poignant and highly romantic manner, a side of his
father he never knew existed.
But
something bothered him about the letter, something he couldn't quite put his
finger on . . .
{A/N- can you figure out what???? Make some predictions}
He stuffed
the letter in his pocket for later examination.
He reached
for the next letter, which was bound to be a disgusting as the first, and got
comfortable settled. He felt like waiting here a long time. Better safe than
sorry as they say.
*******************************
It wasn't
until three days later that he realized what was wrong with the letter.
He'd been sitting
in his room, sprawled out comfortably on his bed, reading the Daily Prophet.
The highlight of the issue was an interview with that Voldemort guy, who he'd
concluded, after reading the article, was a very fascinating man with a lot of
power and confidence.
Daily
Prophet: Tell us Mr. Voldemort . . .
Voldemort:
Lord.
DP: Excuse
me?
V: Lord
Voldemort.
DP: Okay.
Lord Voldemort. Tell us about your little club.
V: I
like to think of it as an institution of some sort. And this institution gets
together to talk about our Pureblood rights. Nothing illegal occurs.
DP:
Is there a name?
V: Pardon?
DP:
A name for this institution?
V: Ah,
I see. Well, no name officially. We have discussed it a bit. Someone suggested
Dignity's Everything. That's a possibility. Of course, if that became our name
we'd probably use an acronym- D.E.
DP:
Who is in this institution?
V: I
cannot disclose this information.
DP:
Why not?
V: The
members and I believe that secrecy adds to the amusement of an institution.
DP:
You make these meetings sound perfectly harmless.
V: Well
they are. Now pardon me, I have another appointment that I cannot miss.
And
with that, Voldemort (Lord Voldemort, he prefers) disappeared. Where is he
going? What is he doing? And why? With an enigmatic man like him, one can only
guess.
And
that's when Severus saw the picture of his dad towards the side.
Weekly Auror Profile
JOSEPH SNAPE
This Auror has done many wonderful things
to protect all of us, usually with his wife, (fellow Auror) Carla Snape by his
side. Joseph and Carla were married February 14th, 1961 in
Edinburgh.
One of Joseph Snape's many accomplishments
include
Severus
didn't really want to read about his father's accomplishments right now.
Instead he focused on the wedding date. Valentine's day. He must have been
fertilized immediately after the wedding.
His eyes
widened. The newspaper said they had gotten married in 1961.
Unless this
was a misprint, he had been born four months before the wedding.
He got off
the bed slowly, and headed towards his closet where he had hidden the stolen
letter amid a stack of neatly folded sweatshirts. Severus disentangled it from
inside the sleeve of his favorite black sweatshirt, and flattened it out.
It was
dated September ninth of 1960. And it clearly stated that he had first seen her
three weeks earlier. They had met in August of 1960. He had come into the world
two months later.
His father
was not really his father.
Joseph
Snape was an imposter.
No wonder
the man hated him so much.
*********************
"Sevvy!"
Momma called him in an enthusiastic voice. "You've got something here! It came
in the mail!"
Severus
knew immediately what it was. Hogwart's school of Witchcraft and Wizardry's
acceptance letter. He bounded down the stairs in the fervent way Momma would
have liked.
Did
anyone guess? I'm curious. Anyhow, I'm grounded from the computer, phone, and
TV for a whole week. But I've written the next two chapters already. So the
next one will be out by July 16th.
NEXT
CHAPTER- Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy,
Warty, Hogwarts! The Sorting Hat, the introducing of some new characters,
James, Sirius, and Peter star! (Don't worry, Remus is in the sixth chapter—I
think. Maybe seventh). And Lucius Malfoy, everyone's favorite. J
