* Disclaimer in Part One*
Previous Parts can be found at: www.autumnpenguins.com
A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story so far. Lara is the genius with the plot, I simply am the tool used to put her vision into words ; )
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It was hard to tell who was more shocked, Snape, or the other Snape. The two stared transfixed at their arms. "I had the dark mark?" Salazar asked, anger rising in his voice.
"Yes. You would have received the mark tonight, only you are no longer there, so you, I, we have not become part of Voldemort's lackeys." Severus said evenly.
"You, you bastard" Salazar whispered in rage. "I have heard about everything that filthy fuck did!" he spat.
"Watch your mouth." Severus said sharply.
"You have the audacity to stand here and tell me to watch my mouth, when you turned me into one of those murdering fuckwits?" Salazar broached.
"Salazar please, sit down let Severus explain everything. There are things that you do not yet know about that happened in a past that no longer exists." Dumbledore implored.
The old wizard's words were enough to subdue the already shocked boy into obeying him. "Severus, please." Albus encouraged his young friend. Snape carefully smoothed his robes in a nervous gesture, while putting his thoughts in order. "I'm not proud of the things I, you, we have done in the past" he began.
"You did them, I never did and I never will" Salazar cut in.
Severus ignored the outburst and continued. "It was a stupid choice, but one that I made. I regret it; I have regretted it almost since I first received the mark. There is no excuse I can give you that will quench your anger, and it shouldn't. I made one of the worst choices a wizard can make. We have to live with that knowledge, unpleasant as it is. I have no idea why it disappeared, but I fear that there is a downside to this good fortune." Severus finished, sitting down once again.
"I agree with Severus. I am overjoyed that the mark no longer blemishes your arm, but I will remain wary of unforeseen consequences. Until then, I believe it is best that we keep this knowledge between the three of us and carry on as normal. Which means you gentlemen with resume your normal avoidance of one another. Please, notify me if anything unusual happens, and contact one another for matters you think the other one needs too be aware of." Albus finished and stood too see his guests too the door.
Salazar stalked off without a look back at what he didn't want to become. He stalked through Gryffindor tower and locked himself into the dorm and lay in bed thinking until he drifted off into a light and troubled sleep.
Meanwhile, other minds were making plans as Hogwarts was still. Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters had assembled at the outskirts of Hogsmeade. "I implore you not too make your presence known. We are here to look, and you will wait for my command. I don't care if some of you have an axe to grind, but you must wait until I give you the say so," his cold voice rasped.
Lucious Malfoy kept his body rigid to avoid shifting uncomfortably. He knew that what he himself wished to accomplish was very risky, as the dark lord himself did not sanction it. However Lucious had always had a very large thorn in his side, Severus Snape. He sensed that Snape was absent from the meeting called by their master, but Voldemort had not said a thing about it. It irritated him, and gnawed at his insides. Severus Snape had always been the dark leader's favourite, if such a thing indeed existed. Severus hadn't shown up to this meeting, and yet Voldemort hadn't mentioned his punishment. Lucious had seen servants of the dark lord die for much smaller offences.
Still, if he could expose Snape for being the traitor that he was, or at the very least cause great pain to him, then he would accomplish his mission. If he was found out, he would most likely pay with his life, but on the other hand, rewards beyond his dreams were within reach. Lucious had always been greedy. He was going after Snape, and he wasn't about too let anything stop him.
"You will tunnel into the castle, via the chamber of secrets, which will bring us right into the school. You will go after the mudbloods in the groups that I have assigned you while myself and my most faithful servants will go after the bane of our existence. Harry Potter is not long for this world, to which we can all breath a sigh of relief. With him out of the way, and Hogwarts purged of the undeserving, we can rise where we were always meant too be. I will rule the wizarding world.
"You will meet me back here in three days. Until then you have your posts. Be gone with you." Voldemort said and vanished.
"You two are ready for tomorrow I presume?" Lucius turned too Crabe and Goyle who flanked him as they younger versions did his own son.
"Yes. But if this turns out badly, it's your fault." Crabe warned the blonde man.
"It will go perfectly. I personally assure it, and we will have glory that we have always deserved." Lucious said as he then apparated. Leaving his cronies behind.
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Salazar had finally managed to calm down somewhat, though he was a long way from feeling content. He couldn't believe all that he had learned over the past few hours. Now all he wanted to do was find Hermione and apologize for leaving her in such a state. It didn't take him long as it turned out; Hermione was walking through the portrait as he entered the common room. "Hermione, can I talk to you?"
"Sure. Are you alright?"
"Yeah. I just had to talk to Dumbledore about something."
"It seemed pretty serious from the way Professor Snape was acting." Hermione commented.
"Well, he's my uncle, he gets worked up about me sometimes. He overreacts."
Hermione frowned in concentration it wasn't like the Snape that she knew. But then again, maybe he was different with family, so she kept her thoughts to herself. "Do you want to go up to the Astronomy tower? Our assignment is due on Thursday, and its doubtful that there will be anyone up there tonight, since they're too busy snogging."
"That doesn't sound like a bad idea" Salazar said, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.
Hermione chuckled and waited for Salazar to grab his notebook. The pair climbed out of the portrait hole and made their way to the tower chatting conversationally to one another. Salazar had just one question on his mind though and was noticeably quieter than he had been just 20 minutes before. Hermione concentrated on her work confident that Salazar would speak his mind when he felt comfortable.
They walked back to Gryffindor tower in silence and sat down in some squashy armchairs by the fire. The common room was surprisingly empty. They sat in companionable silence for a good 15 minutes before Salazar finally spoke. "Hermione, do you like me?" he asked in earnest.
Instead of answering Hermione leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. It was all the encouragement he needed to erase the doubts from his mind. Salazar lent forward as well and returned the kiss with fervour. Neither was shy in their tender exploration of the other's mouth, and they were completely unaware of their surroundings. After all, that's what a really great snogging session does to one. All they knew was tongue and lip, and gentle teeth. A hand wandered every once and awhile, sending a gasp from the other one.
It was to this shocking sight that Harry and Ron walked in on. Quickly forgetting their truce with each other, Harry and Ron lept forward like overprotective older brothers and proceeded to pull the enamoured couple apart. With a mighty punch from Salazar, Ron found himself bleeding from the nose. Harry jumped to defend his friend when he himself was thrown to the floor by an absolutely furious Hermione. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Hermione was livid.
"Pulling this gi-" Ron began.
"How dare you? How DARE you?" she hissed in a deceptively quiet voice. She raised her hand and slapped Ron hard across the face.
"Hermione, we'" Harry started.
"I don't care. I don't ever want to see you two fuckwits EVER again." she screamed.
"That is too bad Miss Granger. The four of you will serve detention in the dungeons tomorrow evening." Professor McGonagall said. None of them had noticed her pop into the room via floo. "I am very disappointed in your conduct this evening. All of you are to go to bed at once. If I hear so much as a peep from the boys' dormitory, I will take 100 points from Gryffindor and assign two weeks of detention to each of you." Minerva finished, tight lipped before she left the rooms again.
The four stayed rooted to the ground, momentarily stunned as if they'd been hit by a spell. Hermione was the first to recover. She didn't so much as send a look towards Harry and Ron, which made them feel worse than if she would have slapped them, punched them, kneed them in the groin and then shoot the patented Hermione glare at them. Salazar looked as angry as Hermione and he too stalked passed the 'vigilantes.' Ron and Harry looked at each other aware that they had acted like total buffoons and that 1,000 apologies wouldn't suffice for what they had done. Worst of all, they were afraid that they had lost their best friend. And deep down, they knew that they deserved nothing less than that.
*********
Previous Parts can be found at: www.autumnpenguins.com
A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story so far. Lara is the genius with the plot, I simply am the tool used to put her vision into words ; )
*********************
It was hard to tell who was more shocked, Snape, or the other Snape. The two stared transfixed at their arms. "I had the dark mark?" Salazar asked, anger rising in his voice.
"Yes. You would have received the mark tonight, only you are no longer there, so you, I, we have not become part of Voldemort's lackeys." Severus said evenly.
"You, you bastard" Salazar whispered in rage. "I have heard about everything that filthy fuck did!" he spat.
"Watch your mouth." Severus said sharply.
"You have the audacity to stand here and tell me to watch my mouth, when you turned me into one of those murdering fuckwits?" Salazar broached.
"Salazar please, sit down let Severus explain everything. There are things that you do not yet know about that happened in a past that no longer exists." Dumbledore implored.
The old wizard's words were enough to subdue the already shocked boy into obeying him. "Severus, please." Albus encouraged his young friend. Snape carefully smoothed his robes in a nervous gesture, while putting his thoughts in order. "I'm not proud of the things I, you, we have done in the past" he began.
"You did them, I never did and I never will" Salazar cut in.
Severus ignored the outburst and continued. "It was a stupid choice, but one that I made. I regret it; I have regretted it almost since I first received the mark. There is no excuse I can give you that will quench your anger, and it shouldn't. I made one of the worst choices a wizard can make. We have to live with that knowledge, unpleasant as it is. I have no idea why it disappeared, but I fear that there is a downside to this good fortune." Severus finished, sitting down once again.
"I agree with Severus. I am overjoyed that the mark no longer blemishes your arm, but I will remain wary of unforeseen consequences. Until then, I believe it is best that we keep this knowledge between the three of us and carry on as normal. Which means you gentlemen with resume your normal avoidance of one another. Please, notify me if anything unusual happens, and contact one another for matters you think the other one needs too be aware of." Albus finished and stood too see his guests too the door.
Salazar stalked off without a look back at what he didn't want to become. He stalked through Gryffindor tower and locked himself into the dorm and lay in bed thinking until he drifted off into a light and troubled sleep.
Meanwhile, other minds were making plans as Hogwarts was still. Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters had assembled at the outskirts of Hogsmeade. "I implore you not too make your presence known. We are here to look, and you will wait for my command. I don't care if some of you have an axe to grind, but you must wait until I give you the say so," his cold voice rasped.
Lucious Malfoy kept his body rigid to avoid shifting uncomfortably. He knew that what he himself wished to accomplish was very risky, as the dark lord himself did not sanction it. However Lucious had always had a very large thorn in his side, Severus Snape. He sensed that Snape was absent from the meeting called by their master, but Voldemort had not said a thing about it. It irritated him, and gnawed at his insides. Severus Snape had always been the dark leader's favourite, if such a thing indeed existed. Severus hadn't shown up to this meeting, and yet Voldemort hadn't mentioned his punishment. Lucious had seen servants of the dark lord die for much smaller offences.
Still, if he could expose Snape for being the traitor that he was, or at the very least cause great pain to him, then he would accomplish his mission. If he was found out, he would most likely pay with his life, but on the other hand, rewards beyond his dreams were within reach. Lucious had always been greedy. He was going after Snape, and he wasn't about too let anything stop him.
"You will tunnel into the castle, via the chamber of secrets, which will bring us right into the school. You will go after the mudbloods in the groups that I have assigned you while myself and my most faithful servants will go after the bane of our existence. Harry Potter is not long for this world, to which we can all breath a sigh of relief. With him out of the way, and Hogwarts purged of the undeserving, we can rise where we were always meant too be. I will rule the wizarding world.
"You will meet me back here in three days. Until then you have your posts. Be gone with you." Voldemort said and vanished.
"You two are ready for tomorrow I presume?" Lucius turned too Crabe and Goyle who flanked him as they younger versions did his own son.
"Yes. But if this turns out badly, it's your fault." Crabe warned the blonde man.
"It will go perfectly. I personally assure it, and we will have glory that we have always deserved." Lucious said as he then apparated. Leaving his cronies behind.
***************
Salazar had finally managed to calm down somewhat, though he was a long way from feeling content. He couldn't believe all that he had learned over the past few hours. Now all he wanted to do was find Hermione and apologize for leaving her in such a state. It didn't take him long as it turned out; Hermione was walking through the portrait as he entered the common room. "Hermione, can I talk to you?"
"Sure. Are you alright?"
"Yeah. I just had to talk to Dumbledore about something."
"It seemed pretty serious from the way Professor Snape was acting." Hermione commented.
"Well, he's my uncle, he gets worked up about me sometimes. He overreacts."
Hermione frowned in concentration it wasn't like the Snape that she knew. But then again, maybe he was different with family, so she kept her thoughts to herself. "Do you want to go up to the Astronomy tower? Our assignment is due on Thursday, and its doubtful that there will be anyone up there tonight, since they're too busy snogging."
"That doesn't sound like a bad idea" Salazar said, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.
Hermione chuckled and waited for Salazar to grab his notebook. The pair climbed out of the portrait hole and made their way to the tower chatting conversationally to one another. Salazar had just one question on his mind though and was noticeably quieter than he had been just 20 minutes before. Hermione concentrated on her work confident that Salazar would speak his mind when he felt comfortable.
They walked back to Gryffindor tower in silence and sat down in some squashy armchairs by the fire. The common room was surprisingly empty. They sat in companionable silence for a good 15 minutes before Salazar finally spoke. "Hermione, do you like me?" he asked in earnest.
Instead of answering Hermione leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. It was all the encouragement he needed to erase the doubts from his mind. Salazar lent forward as well and returned the kiss with fervour. Neither was shy in their tender exploration of the other's mouth, and they were completely unaware of their surroundings. After all, that's what a really great snogging session does to one. All they knew was tongue and lip, and gentle teeth. A hand wandered every once and awhile, sending a gasp from the other one.
It was to this shocking sight that Harry and Ron walked in on. Quickly forgetting their truce with each other, Harry and Ron lept forward like overprotective older brothers and proceeded to pull the enamoured couple apart. With a mighty punch from Salazar, Ron found himself bleeding from the nose. Harry jumped to defend his friend when he himself was thrown to the floor by an absolutely furious Hermione. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Hermione was livid.
"Pulling this gi-" Ron began.
"How dare you? How DARE you?" she hissed in a deceptively quiet voice. She raised her hand and slapped Ron hard across the face.
"Hermione, we'" Harry started.
"I don't care. I don't ever want to see you two fuckwits EVER again." she screamed.
"That is too bad Miss Granger. The four of you will serve detention in the dungeons tomorrow evening." Professor McGonagall said. None of them had noticed her pop into the room via floo. "I am very disappointed in your conduct this evening. All of you are to go to bed at once. If I hear so much as a peep from the boys' dormitory, I will take 100 points from Gryffindor and assign two weeks of detention to each of you." Minerva finished, tight lipped before she left the rooms again.
The four stayed rooted to the ground, momentarily stunned as if they'd been hit by a spell. Hermione was the first to recover. She didn't so much as send a look towards Harry and Ron, which made them feel worse than if she would have slapped them, punched them, kneed them in the groin and then shoot the patented Hermione glare at them. Salazar looked as angry as Hermione and he too stalked passed the 'vigilantes.' Ron and Harry looked at each other aware that they had acted like total buffoons and that 1,000 apologies wouldn't suffice for what they had done. Worst of all, they were afraid that they had lost their best friend. And deep down, they knew that they deserved nothing less than that.
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