Title: A Book By Any Other Cover
Author: Six Underground
Rating: PG, will go up with time
Summary: A book kept secret for 7 years has finally been published in the muggle world. The contents of this book? Why, the existence of the world of magic, of course! This is the story of what happens when a traitor betrays one more time, and what Severus must do to pick up the pieces.
Notes: This story is for the most part AU. Most of the information written in the book is made up by myself, so forgive me if somehow you find something inaccurate. This story is slash HP/SS, including some past SS/HG. Please do not read if you're squicky about slash. Oh yes, and Harry is over the age of consent.
Archive: FF.net; if you want to archive anywhere else, feel free to ask!
Chapter One: Hiding Behind Curtains
Hermione always thought she had a good grip on any situation presented to her. She was an intelligent woman, or so she always liked to think. She could think on her toes and never failed to deliver a quick, and accurate, explanation. Despite what some had told her in her younger years, she was a strong teacher and never failed to make her students learn a thing or two. She was cool, calm, collected and well-balanced.
But this, in all senses, was utterly ridiculous.
The papers were in a frenzy. No one knew what was going to happen next. Would the muggles believe it? Would the wizarding world stay perfectly safe and shied away? What did Dumbledore have to say about this?
Hermione could not believe what she was seeing. Here were fully grown wizards, men she had known since she was a teenager, running to the prestigious headmaster with their tails between their legs! Of course, she couldn't blame them. She had read the book too. What had ever possessed the man to write this was beyond her. She had never known him to do anything like this. She needed to talk to someone about this. She knew just the man. Not being able to sit and read the paper anymore, she stood and raced out of her office. Pointing her wand behind her, she called "Accio book!" and suddenly a book was flying right next to her.
She ran all the way from the top of the castle, where her office/quarters were located, all the way down to the dungeons. The students all stepped quickly to the side. They saw the book in her hands and knew that it concerned something important. Reaching the correct door, she practically screamed the password and entered. She paid no attention to the beautiful green walls or black silk. All she focused on was the man sitting in the black armchair with a battered journal in his lap.
"Severus!"
"Yes?" he replied calmly.
"Have you been reading the paper lately?"
"I have," short, simple replies were always his style.
"And have you read the actual book?" her anxiousness was apparent in her voice.
"I have not been able to acquire the actual text, though I hear it's quite well written," he smirked.
Without warning, she thrust the book into his lap and looked at him pointedly. Reading the cover, he stared up at her in shock.
"Where, pray tell, did you get such a rarity? You know that they don't sell the copies in the wizarding shops, and it's forbidden for us to go into muggle places these days," he said suspiciously.
"I have connections," she said simply.
"I bet you do," he murmured, though she still caught it.
"Just read it. I think you might find it rather…interesting," she said.
Severus set down the journal he had been enjoying and picked up the other book. Its smooth, white, hard-cover surface gleamed in the light of his oil lamps, and the big bold red writing stood out.
A World Just Beyond Your Door: A Tribute To Those Hiding Behind Curtains. by Harold Evans.
Harold Evans. So that was the name their fair hero was using. It was a rather interesting choice, seeing as how the man hated his father. Though, for the life of him Severus couldn't figure out why. He never had. Harry had always been so damnably secret. He had never been able to get the boy to open up. He vaguely realized Hermione had sat across from him and was now watching him quite intently, but he ignored her. With great care, he opened the cover and flipped to the first page.
Preface
It's a wonder, all the things that human beings think they know but in fact are quite ignorant about. To say that one day man will know everything is a complete lie, for things are always changing. And with these changes comes the chance to open up and explore. Well, I've decided after 7 long years that I will take that chance and show you what my world is really like. 7 years ago, I was exiled from a land. A land that's full of mystery and wonder and all those silly childish dreams you once had when you were growing up.
At this point, I pose a question to you wonderful readers out there. When you were younger, whatever age you like, did you believe in magic? Did you ever imagine yourself flying on a broomstick as a witch or casting spells with some random stick you found in the backyard? Did you run around the house in a cape pretending that you were Merlin and that you could turn your little brother or sister into a toad? If you answer yes, then what if you had the chance to see it for real? What if you could walk down the street and watch a person, let's say, levitate a piano or make items instantly appear? What if magic really was real?
If you answered no to these questions, then I suggest that you put this book away. If you detest the idea of magic, then close this up tight and burn it. This isn't for the nonbelievers and faint of heart. In here contains things you would have never imagined. What is written in this book contains the utter truth of not one, but many people who've experienced a life where dreams can not only come true, but shatter.
Now, with those things said, let us begin with a little basics lesson. Witches and wizards have been around for as long as nonmagical humans have been around. You've all heard of the famous wizard named Merlin, and believe me, he was quite real. All the history books I ever owned rant about him, as do modern day fiction books in the muggle world. There are many other famous wizards and witches that the world has yet to know of, but soon you will.
There is a lot of terminology…"
It continued on like that for another 3 pages; text on the basic terminology used throughout the book, basic concepts of the magical world and everything one would need to know to understand the other 350+ pages of text. Severus looked up at Hermione.
"This is certainly interesting," was his only response.
"Yes, he always did have a way with writing," Hermione sighed, putting a hand to her cheek and bowing her head.
"Why did you bring me this book?" he asked, sensing ulterior motives.
"I was going to let you find this on your own, but…well, just take a look at the dedications…" she trailed off.
Severus rose an elegant eyebrow, but complied as she pointed at the book and gave him a look. He flipped the pages until he saw a mostly blank one except for tiny italic text in the middle of the page. Completely forgetting his cool demeanor, his jaw dropped and he let out a small gasp.
To my dearest Severus. Whether or not you're still with Hermione, know that I love you forever. This is to you and to all those who've had to stay silent about their true selves even in a secret world.
He stared at Hermione, who only nodded sadly. He looked down at the words again, almost wishing that they would rearrange to read something else, but he had no such luck. They stared calmly back at him, as if daring him to say something.
"Hermione…may I borrow this?" he asked, still not looking up.
"Sure," she said awkwardly, "but make sure you return it soon. Albus knows I have a copy, but I don't think he would like it if he found out I was passing it around the school."
"I'm sure he wouldn't…" Severus muttered.
"Oh…um, well I think I'll be going now. I have a class to prepare for," Hermione said, knowing that he was no longer paying attention to her.
Severus nodded and kept silent about the fact that it was Saturday and her class was in the middle of a large project. In fact, he was a little grateful. It gave him some time to study the book more intently. He watched her exit and then sank deeper into his chair with the book. Such a rarity. No wizard, according to the Ministry, was allowed to have the book. They were too busy scrambling around trying to cover up the entire ordeal. When the book had first come out two months ago, they had been shocked and horrified. In a week it was the bestseller of every muggle bookstore around the world. Severus was amazed at how the young woman had ever gotten her hands on it, but he had a sneaking suspicion that a certain someone had sent it to her before the scandal had ever began.
Holding back a sigh, he flipped to the table of contents. The book was split into three main parts. The first was a look at the beginning of magic that was about 45 pages, part two was the development of magic over time, being 150 pages long. The last section was by far the biggest, and was certainly going to be the most interesting. A study of magic over the past 100 years. Severus knew it contained the tale of Harry Potter. Or was it Harry Potter-Snape? No, that wasn't right. Harry no longer went by Potter-Snape. That bond had been broken over 7 years ago.
Not wanting to relive the memories of that horrid tale quite yet, he opened up to the first chapter and began to read.
Chapter One: 4 People, 1 Beginning
While magical folk have been around since as long as the beginning of time (for the fae people had records dating back to the creation of nonmagical multicellular organisms), wizards and witches did not really discover their magical talents until 1050 BC. It was at that time that healers began to recognize the signs of slowly aging patients, people who healed their cuts instantly, and other strange occurrences. The healers also found that through concentrating their energies into a certain object (the wand would not be common until about 1500 AD), they could be able to perform what commonfolk called "miracles". These early forms of magic were available to Healers only because of the strict disciplining and effort put into their studies and work. Magic was most prominent in small South American villages, where Healers practiced their skill with medicinal herbs and solvents.
How had he ever managed to find such reliable sources? How could he have possibly found out about the fae journals? Severus read with rapt attention
Healers kept their powers a close secret and even went so far as to destroy those who showed signs of the "gift". They did not want their secret to be revealed so that everyone could do it. At the time, everyone had the ability to draw upon what was known as the "magical well", but few were trained to recognize and take that power. Healers used their powers for mostly good, at the time the term "black magic" had yet to be created and most of what Healers did was caring for people. Because Healers could only perform magic by concentrating on certain objects, many began to explore their options. The earliest forms of magical items included crystals, small animals (most common was the snake because of it's medicinal properties), dried herbs and teeth. Teeth were a rarity, mainly because one had to find them before they rotted and had to be able to survive rough conditions.
Now, it would be quite a while before people besides Healers began to explore their magical talents…
This was going to be a long night…
~*
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