Cole has a little problem with keeping his language less than PG-13 rated, but it's a very minor plot point, so please let it pass, alright?
I put Sirius as Tonks cousin in this, because my mother is occupying the fifth book, and I don't remember if it is that way or not. Hopefully, you won't kill me for it; it won't be a major plot point anyway.
******'
Cole stared at Snape, wondering if the man was quite sane. Wizard? Yeah right, it was time to all for a straightjacket. He backed away, while laughing.
"Wizard? Oh, please, can't you come with something better? Magic doesn't exist. Sure, if it did, I'd jump at a chance to go to a magical boarding-school, but magic doesn't exist." He said, chuckling weakly.
"Prove it." Snape said calmly.
"Oh, cut the crap! Don't tell me that dragons and unicorns really exist." Cole snorted disbelievingly.
"How would you know what a dragon looked like, if Muggles hadn't spotted them? A five ton flying lizard is damn hard to hide." Snape asked, logically.
"Alright, you just sit there, while I call some nice men who will come with a brand new jacket for you, one that you can tie the arms around your back with." Cole said, backing away even further, pulling out his cell phone.
He jumped when Snape pulled out what looked like a stick, pointed it at him and said something in a foreign language.
"Accio."
The cell phone flew out of his hand and into Snape's, as if he had thrown it. Snape pointed the stick at him, as if it was a gun, holding his cell phone in one hand.
"McLaughlin, shut up and listen to me. Magic does exist, as I just proved. Dragons and unicorns exist as well, and that is an undeniable fact. Another undeniable fact is that you are going to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You have no choice." Snape said, after he made sure he had Cole's attention.
"Meeh." Was all Cole could get out, as his vocal chords had stopped working a little while ago.
"Very articulate. Now, I am going to put my wand away, and you are going to tell me if you have any close family we need to tell about this." Snape informed him, stuffing his wand in his pocket again.
"Wand." Cole echoed.
"Yes, McLaughlin, a wand. Now, if your brain isn't severely damaged, feel free to start talking in coherent sentences. Do you have any close family to tell about this?" Snape said patiently.
"Well, my mother," Cole admitted, forcing himself to calm down again, "But that won't matter; she hasn't been sober in five years, and she hardly knows my name anymore. If I went off to boarding school, she'd probably throw a party, if she could remember who I was or where she was."
Snape raised an eyebrow, and for a second Cole thought he'd comment on his mother being an alcoholic, but he kept quiet about that.
"Very well. Is there anything you would like to bring with you before we go?" Snape asked.
"Well, nothing that I haven't got on me right now." Cole shrugged.
He had most of his things packed in a bag over his shoulder, in case he ever needed to spend the night elsewhere. He had a few changes of clothing, his drawing materials and a few good books, his favourite CD's, and that was it.
"What are we waiting for then? Come along, we have to get to London before noon." Snape gestured at him to come closer.
"Before noon? Snape, it's half past eleven, and it's going to take us at least an hour to get even near to London:" Cole protested. "How are we going to get there before noon?"
"Magic." Snape said, waving his hands, looking every inch sarcasm personified.
"I'm going to hear that a lot over the next few days aren't I?" Cole mumbled, but obediently walked closer.
Snape grabbed his arm and pulled out his wand again.
"You have no idea." He muttered as the world began to swirl around them.
******'
Cole steadied himself by grabbing Snape's arm as they suddenly popped into existence in an alleyway, filled with thrash-bins, with a deafening crack. Snape waited patiently for him to let go, and when he did, wasted no time n sweeping down the alleyway.
"Hey, Snape, wait up!" He shouted and ran after him.
Snape stopped and turned around, tapping his foot on the pavement. He looked impatient and uncomfortable, and had his arms crossed over his chest.
"How far until we're at the school?" Cole asked, slowing to a stop beside him.
"I regret to inform you, McLaughlin that the school is located in Scotland, and we will not be going there until tomorrow at the very least, if not longer." Snape told him with a smirk.
"Scotland?" He exclaimed so loudly that people stopped and stared at him. He continued in a lower voice. "Scotland? Are you kidding me? How does anyone get there? That little disappearing-trick you just pulled looked pretty advanced to me, so don't tell me they do that."
"They take the train, of course. Now stop asking me questions. We have to go."
Cole's head was reeling with all the new information he'd received over the last half-hour and could only follow Snape silently. Therefore, he didn't notice what happened before a piece of parchment was shoved under his nose, on which was written ´Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.´
He blinked at the cryptic message, and looked up at Snape, who was waiting for him to at the door of an old house. He raised an eyebrow, but followed the professor inside. As soon as the door shut, however, an unholy screech rose from upstairs, of which he could only make out a few words.
"Filthy mudbloods…Unworthy of our name…Traitors…!"
He clapped his hands over his ears; the volume it was screeched at was enough to make his eardrums implode. Snape seemed to be swearing, but he couldn't hear anything over the screeching, so he had to guess.
Suddenly, the screeching stopped, and he cautiously dropped his hands again. Snape seemed to be relieved too, and sighed something that sounded like ´finally´, and looked towards the stairs.
"Snape! Can't you tell us next time you're coming? I was trying to sleep!" Came a female voice, sounding annoyed.
"Tonks, it's nearly twelve o' clock. If you are still sleeping, I don't want to know what you were doing last night." Snape snapped back.
Cole looked towards the stairs too, and set eyes on a woman with violet hair streaked with green. That was odd, to say the least, but after all the things that had happened this far, he felt like he'd never be surprised again.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. But did you have to wake up Mrs Black?" She asked him.
"I can't believe that bitch hasn't come down yet." Snape muttered darkly.
"That's no way to talk to my cousin's mother." Tonks admonished.
"Whatever. Tonks, this is Cole McLaughlin, McLaughlin, this is Tonks. Never ever call her anything else than Tonks." He introduced them quickly.
"Whooo, you made a friend, Snape? How cute." Tonks grinned.
"Friend? That?" Cole exclaimed, pointing at Snape. "He should be forced to wear a badge saying he's criminally insane!"
"Shut it, McLaughlin. No, Tonks, McLaughlin is going to be a student of mine." Snape explained to Tonks.
"Poor boy. Well, if you excuse me, Snape, I have something to do." She said, starting up the stairs again.
"Make that ´someone´." Snape muttered, and headed towards another door.
Not knowing what else to do, Cole followed him. This day was just getting freakier.
******'
Snape sat down at the kitchen table next to Cole, and leaned back in his chair. He eyed Cole who was putting his bag down on the floor, and looking around the kitchen with barely masked curiosity.
"I believe it would be best if you looked at me while I explain the rest of your life to you." Snape said, smirking.
"The rest of my life? But won't this be just temporary? I mean to learn how to use my magic and control it, so I don't hurt anyone?" Cole asked puzzled.
Snape looked at him with an eyebrow raised, and Cole knew he'd either done something right, or something incredibly stupid.
*******'
The boy was quick. He had already figured out that he had gone out of control, and needed to train himself so that it didn't happen again. ´….so I don't hurt anyone´, he had said. What made Severus wonder was why the boy had o quickly jumped to the conclusion that he could hurt others with his power, and why he asked how he could control it.
"It is indeed so that you can control your powers, but I fear that it will require more time than the word ´temporary´ covers. You will be forced to learn everything an average Seventh Year at Hogwarts knows. The one setback you have is that you will not have the advantage of learning since the age of eleven, as most Muggle-born."
"There's that word again. Muggle. What's it mean?"
"Non-magical person. Normal people, if you will. But I am digressing. You start learning about the magical world at age eighteen, which means you will either have shorter time learning, or will have to start first year with the rest of the eleven year olds. However, the Headmaster in all his wisdom has decided that taking lessons with eleven year olds will restrict your learning speed." Severus rolled his eyes.
"Don't like the Headmaster?" McLaughlin enquired, smirking.
"On the contrary. The Headmaster knows what he does; it is other people who are stupid. I have nothing against the Headmaster, he is in fact one of the few friends I have. What is sometimes distracting is his habit of never telling anyone about his schemes until they are through."
"Secretive bastard, eh?" McLaughlin asked.
Severus would have lashed out on him for calling Albus Dumbledore bastard, but refrained from doing so because he had a feeling that to Cole McLaughlin, ´bastard´ wasn't an insult. He had a feeling that a lot of things that most people took as insulting was perfectly normal to say in McLaughlin's world.
"Of course. But easily distracted; give him a plate of lemon drops and he believes everything is right with the world. He's addicted to sweets, Muggle and wizard. But I am once again digressing. A bad habit I'm afraid. As I was saying, you will take lessons with those your own age. Normally, you would have to choose only a few subjects for your seventh year, but you are, once again, a special case.
"You will take all subjects, with the exceptions of the additional ones which the students choose in their third year. Normally, the other students have three or at the most four subjects in their seventh year, but this years' graduating class will be forced to go back to the basic subjects." Severus continued.
"Why? Something happened?" McLaughlin raised an eyebrow.
"Yes. It is a long story, which I can tell you the basics of later. You will therefore, "He continued, going back to what he ha been speaking of before he was interrupted. "Take your lessons with the seventh year students, depending on which House you are Sorted into, you will have different classmates." He said, with the confidence of someone who could pronounce a capital letter.
"Right. How am I ´Sorted´?"
"The Sorting Hat, obviously. You put it on your head, and it tells you which House you are in. Simple as that." Severus shrugged.
"Tells me? Well, after a day like this, a talking hat shouldn't that much of a surprise. I mean, you damn near kidnapped me, got to London in less than a fucking minute, and have friends named Tonks. I shouldn't be surprised, really." McLaughlin shrugged.
Severus raised an eyebrow. He wasn't used to people, especially students, swearing in his presence. They usually were too afraid to say anything worse that darn, thinking that he'd lash out on them and put them in detention. McLaughlin could speak without cursing if he tried, Severus was sure of that, but it seemed that he had been brought up by someone who swore just as bad as he did, and never bothered to correct him.
"Tonks isn't my friend." He said, and was about to start explaining about the subjects at Hogwarts when he was cut off by aforementioned woman.
"No, you're my what? Cousins uncle twice removed?" Tonks said grinning.
She walked up to the kitchen counter and made herself a cup of tea, her now red, waist-length hair with black streaks swinging behind her. McLaughlin watched with an eyebrow raised.
"Excuse me, wasn't your hair green just a few minutes ago?" He queried.
"Tonks is a Metamorphmagus, McLaughlin; she can change her appearance at will."
"And you're related?"
"Probably." Severus shrugged, "All Pureblood families are inter-related. But seeing as her cousin was," He stopped and cleared his throat, "Sirius Black, I fear that it is impossible for me to be her uncle, seeing as I went to school with Black."
Silence descended on the kitchen, and McLaughlin looked at the two of them, confused expression on his face. Suddenly, Severus shook himself out of his reverie and refocused on here and now.
"But no matter, it is all in the past now. Back to your subjects. The compulsory subjects, the ones you have to take are Transfiguration, Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, History of Magic, and Potions. The Additional ones are Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, Astronomy, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy and Muggle Studies. The latter is hardly necessary for you, since you are Muggle-born."
"You wizarding guys are fucking strange." McLaughlin said with awe in his voice.
"You know Snape; I think he has a point!" Tonks snorted, laughing so hard she almost fell off the counter.
"Shut up, Nymphadora." Severus said with emphasis on the last word.
"ARGH!" Tonks exclaimed and threw the teacup at his head.
Severus ducked, got up from the chair and got hold of McLaughlin's arm.
"We're leaving." He informed his soon-to-be student, and dragged him towards the door.
******'
Cole found himself dragged out of the house, down the street and a little further around the corner and into a dimly lit tavern. Well there he was finally allowed to straighten up. The tables around him were filled with various differently formed people who for the most part ignored him.
Deciding that he better follow Snape unless he wanted to get really lost, he headed after the black haired man. Snape had walked up to the bar, not waiting for Cole to get his bearings and stand up straight, and was talking to the barkeep.
"Hey there, Snape, I haven't seen you in a while." The barkeep greeted him.
"I have a lot of lessons to plan before the 1st of September, Tom. We're just passing through." Snape waved him off.
"Alright then, go on through. I have to warn you though; something happened in Knockturn Alley earlier, they got a little worked up about it." Tom warned.
"I'll keep hat in mind."
Once again he swept away, not waiting for Cole. If he had to take lessons with Snape while at Hogwarts, he had to find out some way to skip them; the man was the most ignorant and uncaring person he'd ever met. Alright, maybe not, but it was close.
******'
As soon as they stepped through the portal to Diagon Alley, Snape stopped again. Cole caught up withy him and glared at him. Snape shrugged off like it happened every day, which it probably did, if his behaviour was anything to judge by.
"Now, there are a few things that are required to attend Hogwarts. The most important is of course a wand. So our first stop will be Ollivander's." Snape informed him.
"Ollviander's. Right." Cole replied, deciding not to ask questions until he was sure he wanted to hear the answers.
They arrived in the small and dusty shop only minutes later. Snape sat down in a chair, apparently prepared to wait for a while, and since he had taken the only chair, Cole remained standing. After a while and no one had come, he pulled out his sketch-book and started drawing.
"Ah, an artist. Good to keep in mind when choosing wands." Came a voice from right in front of them.
Cole jumped and nearly dropped his sketch-book. In front of him was a very old man, bent with age and silver haired. Snape's lack of reaction proved that materializing out of thin air was something this old man all the time.
"But certainly, Mr Ollivander, it is the wand that chooses the wizard?" Snape queried.
"Severus Snape. I have not seen you in a long time. Twelve inch oak, unicorn hair and phoenix feather, was it not?" Ollivander said, smiling.
"Yes." Snape nodded.
"And you've taken care of it properly?" The old man asked sternly.
Snape nodded wordlessly, looking like a schoolboy who had just been caught red handed trying to play a prank on one of his professors.
"Good. Now, I shall see if we can find you a wand." Ollivander nodded to himself, satisfied.
Half an hour later, Cole was still standing there, trying wands. Ollivander didn't seem to mind having to go through his whole store to find the right wand, on the contrary. He grew happier with each passing minute, in fact.
"Maybe we shall try this one. Fourteen inches, oak, dragon heartstring and phoenix feather; a temperamental wand, fitting for an artist. Here, try it." He handed Cole a slim wand.
Cole took it and waved it, and a shower of sparks flew from the tip, looking rather like miniature fireworks. Ollivander clapped his hands together, delighted and Snape gave a relieved sigh.
"Well, then we shall pay for this and move on." Snape said, pulling out a money pouch.
"Whoa, I haven't got any money." Cole protested.
"It doesn't matter McLaughlin, the Headmaster has given me enough to provide for your school things." Snape explained.
"Oh, alright then." Cole grinned.
******'
The rest of the purchases went smoothly, and soon it was only the school robes left to buy. There, problems started popping up. McLaughlin protested most vehemently to being forced to wear robes. In the end, Severus nearly lost his patience.
"Oh, for the love of God! McLaughlin, everyone is going to robes. I wear robes." Severus exclaimed, pointing to himself.
He was indeed wearing robes. He had changed as soon as they entered Diagon Alley, with just a flick of his wand and a muttered incantation. McLaughlin gave him an once-over and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"If I wear robes, I'll look like you. And you, Snape, look like an overgrown bat." He explained, talking slowly, as if to a child.
"McLaughlin." He said, threatening tone.
McLaughlin laughed at him, but agreed to wear the school uniform. He got a few curious glances in Diagon Alley, seeing as he was one of the few people wearing Muggle clothing. And it wasn't just any clothing; across the chest of his black sweater was grey letters, spelling out ´S.P.I.T´. When asked what it meant, McLaughlin just shrugged and said that it was ´a Swedish Muggle metal-band.´ and that he didn't know what the initials meant.
Severus could only assume that ´metal-band´ had something to do with music. Why they had named themselves spit was not something he liked to speculate about, so he didn't ask any more questions.
*******'
They went back to Grimmauld Place and settled in for the night. After a crash course through his new subjects, Cole spent the rest of the night in his bed, reading through his new textbooks. As many a Muggle-born wizard before him, he found them more fascinating than anything else he'd ever read.
When the clock at his beside showed that it was half past three in the morning, he finally put down the book. His last thought before falling asleep was that this was probably the most confusing day in his whole life.
******'
Snape left the next morning, but Cole was informed he was to remain at Grimmauld Place until further notice. He had only Tonks for company the first day, but didn't care much, as he spent it reading his textbooks, and then moved on to his all time favourite, Lord of the Rings.
He was so engrossed in the book that he didn't notice that they had company until a hand clamped down on his shoulder, making him jump and spin around, his hands irrationally searching for his wand, which was of no use since he didn't know any spells.
"You have quick reflexes, laddie. That's good." The person behind him growled.
"Oh, Mad-Eye, don't scare him! I've told you; he's going to be a student at Hogwarts." Tonks voice came from the doorway, sounding desperate.
"That doesn't mean I can trust him."
The visitor, apparently named Mad-Eye, was one of the most hideous med Cole had ever seen, and his appearance, just as Snape's, screamed to be drawn. Cole took a step back, putting his wand back in his pocket, and making himself ready to fight or run, should it be needed; this man looked dangerous.
"Never put your wand away till you know everything's safe." Mad-Eye barked.
"I don't know any spells anyway, so it's of no fucking use, is it?" Cole snapped back, growing angry.
"No spells? How old are you boy?" Mad-Eye asked, puzzled.
"Eighteen." Cole replied dully; he hated it when people asked him if he was stupid, or even dared to believe he was.
"And no spells? Are you a late-starter or just stupid?" Mad-Eye asked, looking down his gnarled nose at Cole.
"If I was stupid, do you think I'd be able to get through this without having to run to the dictionary to look up the more difficult words every now and then?" Cole inquired, holding up his copy of Lord of the Rings.
"Alright, so you're a late-starter. Going to Hogwarts, are you? Watch out for Snape." Mad-Eye warned.
"Why should I? He's the one who'll be forced to watch out for me." Cole said, shrugging.
"Snape's more dangerous than he looks, laddie. Much more dangerous."
"Oh, come off it, Mad-Eye. The war's over, and Snape's on our side. Leave the boy alone, and have some tea instead." Tonks broke in.
Cole was once again left alone, and went back to his book. He'd ask his questions later, for now, he had to follow the siege of Gondor. Ugly, over-suspicious wizards and not-so-subtle warnings could be damned.
******'
Ending Notes; and that's it. For anyone who's interested, S.P.I.T actually exists. It's my friend's older brother's band. I don't know what it stands for, but when I find out, I'll get back to you.
I put Sirius as Tonks cousin in this, because my mother is occupying the fifth book, and I don't remember if it is that way or not. Hopefully, you won't kill me for it; it won't be a major plot point anyway.
******'
Cole stared at Snape, wondering if the man was quite sane. Wizard? Yeah right, it was time to all for a straightjacket. He backed away, while laughing.
"Wizard? Oh, please, can't you come with something better? Magic doesn't exist. Sure, if it did, I'd jump at a chance to go to a magical boarding-school, but magic doesn't exist." He said, chuckling weakly.
"Prove it." Snape said calmly.
"Oh, cut the crap! Don't tell me that dragons and unicorns really exist." Cole snorted disbelievingly.
"How would you know what a dragon looked like, if Muggles hadn't spotted them? A five ton flying lizard is damn hard to hide." Snape asked, logically.
"Alright, you just sit there, while I call some nice men who will come with a brand new jacket for you, one that you can tie the arms around your back with." Cole said, backing away even further, pulling out his cell phone.
He jumped when Snape pulled out what looked like a stick, pointed it at him and said something in a foreign language.
"Accio."
The cell phone flew out of his hand and into Snape's, as if he had thrown it. Snape pointed the stick at him, as if it was a gun, holding his cell phone in one hand.
"McLaughlin, shut up and listen to me. Magic does exist, as I just proved. Dragons and unicorns exist as well, and that is an undeniable fact. Another undeniable fact is that you are going to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You have no choice." Snape said, after he made sure he had Cole's attention.
"Meeh." Was all Cole could get out, as his vocal chords had stopped working a little while ago.
"Very articulate. Now, I am going to put my wand away, and you are going to tell me if you have any close family we need to tell about this." Snape informed him, stuffing his wand in his pocket again.
"Wand." Cole echoed.
"Yes, McLaughlin, a wand. Now, if your brain isn't severely damaged, feel free to start talking in coherent sentences. Do you have any close family to tell about this?" Snape said patiently.
"Well, my mother," Cole admitted, forcing himself to calm down again, "But that won't matter; she hasn't been sober in five years, and she hardly knows my name anymore. If I went off to boarding school, she'd probably throw a party, if she could remember who I was or where she was."
Snape raised an eyebrow, and for a second Cole thought he'd comment on his mother being an alcoholic, but he kept quiet about that.
"Very well. Is there anything you would like to bring with you before we go?" Snape asked.
"Well, nothing that I haven't got on me right now." Cole shrugged.
He had most of his things packed in a bag over his shoulder, in case he ever needed to spend the night elsewhere. He had a few changes of clothing, his drawing materials and a few good books, his favourite CD's, and that was it.
"What are we waiting for then? Come along, we have to get to London before noon." Snape gestured at him to come closer.
"Before noon? Snape, it's half past eleven, and it's going to take us at least an hour to get even near to London:" Cole protested. "How are we going to get there before noon?"
"Magic." Snape said, waving his hands, looking every inch sarcasm personified.
"I'm going to hear that a lot over the next few days aren't I?" Cole mumbled, but obediently walked closer.
Snape grabbed his arm and pulled out his wand again.
"You have no idea." He muttered as the world began to swirl around them.
******'
Cole steadied himself by grabbing Snape's arm as they suddenly popped into existence in an alleyway, filled with thrash-bins, with a deafening crack. Snape waited patiently for him to let go, and when he did, wasted no time n sweeping down the alleyway.
"Hey, Snape, wait up!" He shouted and ran after him.
Snape stopped and turned around, tapping his foot on the pavement. He looked impatient and uncomfortable, and had his arms crossed over his chest.
"How far until we're at the school?" Cole asked, slowing to a stop beside him.
"I regret to inform you, McLaughlin that the school is located in Scotland, and we will not be going there until tomorrow at the very least, if not longer." Snape told him with a smirk.
"Scotland?" He exclaimed so loudly that people stopped and stared at him. He continued in a lower voice. "Scotland? Are you kidding me? How does anyone get there? That little disappearing-trick you just pulled looked pretty advanced to me, so don't tell me they do that."
"They take the train, of course. Now stop asking me questions. We have to go."
Cole's head was reeling with all the new information he'd received over the last half-hour and could only follow Snape silently. Therefore, he didn't notice what happened before a piece of parchment was shoved under his nose, on which was written ´Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.´
He blinked at the cryptic message, and looked up at Snape, who was waiting for him to at the door of an old house. He raised an eyebrow, but followed the professor inside. As soon as the door shut, however, an unholy screech rose from upstairs, of which he could only make out a few words.
"Filthy mudbloods…Unworthy of our name…Traitors…!"
He clapped his hands over his ears; the volume it was screeched at was enough to make his eardrums implode. Snape seemed to be swearing, but he couldn't hear anything over the screeching, so he had to guess.
Suddenly, the screeching stopped, and he cautiously dropped his hands again. Snape seemed to be relieved too, and sighed something that sounded like ´finally´, and looked towards the stairs.
"Snape! Can't you tell us next time you're coming? I was trying to sleep!" Came a female voice, sounding annoyed.
"Tonks, it's nearly twelve o' clock. If you are still sleeping, I don't want to know what you were doing last night." Snape snapped back.
Cole looked towards the stairs too, and set eyes on a woman with violet hair streaked with green. That was odd, to say the least, but after all the things that had happened this far, he felt like he'd never be surprised again.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. But did you have to wake up Mrs Black?" She asked him.
"I can't believe that bitch hasn't come down yet." Snape muttered darkly.
"That's no way to talk to my cousin's mother." Tonks admonished.
"Whatever. Tonks, this is Cole McLaughlin, McLaughlin, this is Tonks. Never ever call her anything else than Tonks." He introduced them quickly.
"Whooo, you made a friend, Snape? How cute." Tonks grinned.
"Friend? That?" Cole exclaimed, pointing at Snape. "He should be forced to wear a badge saying he's criminally insane!"
"Shut it, McLaughlin. No, Tonks, McLaughlin is going to be a student of mine." Snape explained to Tonks.
"Poor boy. Well, if you excuse me, Snape, I have something to do." She said, starting up the stairs again.
"Make that ´someone´." Snape muttered, and headed towards another door.
Not knowing what else to do, Cole followed him. This day was just getting freakier.
******'
Snape sat down at the kitchen table next to Cole, and leaned back in his chair. He eyed Cole who was putting his bag down on the floor, and looking around the kitchen with barely masked curiosity.
"I believe it would be best if you looked at me while I explain the rest of your life to you." Snape said, smirking.
"The rest of my life? But won't this be just temporary? I mean to learn how to use my magic and control it, so I don't hurt anyone?" Cole asked puzzled.
Snape looked at him with an eyebrow raised, and Cole knew he'd either done something right, or something incredibly stupid.
*******'
The boy was quick. He had already figured out that he had gone out of control, and needed to train himself so that it didn't happen again. ´….so I don't hurt anyone´, he had said. What made Severus wonder was why the boy had o quickly jumped to the conclusion that he could hurt others with his power, and why he asked how he could control it.
"It is indeed so that you can control your powers, but I fear that it will require more time than the word ´temporary´ covers. You will be forced to learn everything an average Seventh Year at Hogwarts knows. The one setback you have is that you will not have the advantage of learning since the age of eleven, as most Muggle-born."
"There's that word again. Muggle. What's it mean?"
"Non-magical person. Normal people, if you will. But I am digressing. You start learning about the magical world at age eighteen, which means you will either have shorter time learning, or will have to start first year with the rest of the eleven year olds. However, the Headmaster in all his wisdom has decided that taking lessons with eleven year olds will restrict your learning speed." Severus rolled his eyes.
"Don't like the Headmaster?" McLaughlin enquired, smirking.
"On the contrary. The Headmaster knows what he does; it is other people who are stupid. I have nothing against the Headmaster, he is in fact one of the few friends I have. What is sometimes distracting is his habit of never telling anyone about his schemes until they are through."
"Secretive bastard, eh?" McLaughlin asked.
Severus would have lashed out on him for calling Albus Dumbledore bastard, but refrained from doing so because he had a feeling that to Cole McLaughlin, ´bastard´ wasn't an insult. He had a feeling that a lot of things that most people took as insulting was perfectly normal to say in McLaughlin's world.
"Of course. But easily distracted; give him a plate of lemon drops and he believes everything is right with the world. He's addicted to sweets, Muggle and wizard. But I am once again digressing. A bad habit I'm afraid. As I was saying, you will take lessons with those your own age. Normally, you would have to choose only a few subjects for your seventh year, but you are, once again, a special case.
"You will take all subjects, with the exceptions of the additional ones which the students choose in their third year. Normally, the other students have three or at the most four subjects in their seventh year, but this years' graduating class will be forced to go back to the basic subjects." Severus continued.
"Why? Something happened?" McLaughlin raised an eyebrow.
"Yes. It is a long story, which I can tell you the basics of later. You will therefore, "He continued, going back to what he ha been speaking of before he was interrupted. "Take your lessons with the seventh year students, depending on which House you are Sorted into, you will have different classmates." He said, with the confidence of someone who could pronounce a capital letter.
"Right. How am I ´Sorted´?"
"The Sorting Hat, obviously. You put it on your head, and it tells you which House you are in. Simple as that." Severus shrugged.
"Tells me? Well, after a day like this, a talking hat shouldn't that much of a surprise. I mean, you damn near kidnapped me, got to London in less than a fucking minute, and have friends named Tonks. I shouldn't be surprised, really." McLaughlin shrugged.
Severus raised an eyebrow. He wasn't used to people, especially students, swearing in his presence. They usually were too afraid to say anything worse that darn, thinking that he'd lash out on them and put them in detention. McLaughlin could speak without cursing if he tried, Severus was sure of that, but it seemed that he had been brought up by someone who swore just as bad as he did, and never bothered to correct him.
"Tonks isn't my friend." He said, and was about to start explaining about the subjects at Hogwarts when he was cut off by aforementioned woman.
"No, you're my what? Cousins uncle twice removed?" Tonks said grinning.
She walked up to the kitchen counter and made herself a cup of tea, her now red, waist-length hair with black streaks swinging behind her. McLaughlin watched with an eyebrow raised.
"Excuse me, wasn't your hair green just a few minutes ago?" He queried.
"Tonks is a Metamorphmagus, McLaughlin; she can change her appearance at will."
"And you're related?"
"Probably." Severus shrugged, "All Pureblood families are inter-related. But seeing as her cousin was," He stopped and cleared his throat, "Sirius Black, I fear that it is impossible for me to be her uncle, seeing as I went to school with Black."
Silence descended on the kitchen, and McLaughlin looked at the two of them, confused expression on his face. Suddenly, Severus shook himself out of his reverie and refocused on here and now.
"But no matter, it is all in the past now. Back to your subjects. The compulsory subjects, the ones you have to take are Transfiguration, Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, History of Magic, and Potions. The Additional ones are Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, Astronomy, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy and Muggle Studies. The latter is hardly necessary for you, since you are Muggle-born."
"You wizarding guys are fucking strange." McLaughlin said with awe in his voice.
"You know Snape; I think he has a point!" Tonks snorted, laughing so hard she almost fell off the counter.
"Shut up, Nymphadora." Severus said with emphasis on the last word.
"ARGH!" Tonks exclaimed and threw the teacup at his head.
Severus ducked, got up from the chair and got hold of McLaughlin's arm.
"We're leaving." He informed his soon-to-be student, and dragged him towards the door.
******'
Cole found himself dragged out of the house, down the street and a little further around the corner and into a dimly lit tavern. Well there he was finally allowed to straighten up. The tables around him were filled with various differently formed people who for the most part ignored him.
Deciding that he better follow Snape unless he wanted to get really lost, he headed after the black haired man. Snape had walked up to the bar, not waiting for Cole to get his bearings and stand up straight, and was talking to the barkeep.
"Hey there, Snape, I haven't seen you in a while." The barkeep greeted him.
"I have a lot of lessons to plan before the 1st of September, Tom. We're just passing through." Snape waved him off.
"Alright then, go on through. I have to warn you though; something happened in Knockturn Alley earlier, they got a little worked up about it." Tom warned.
"I'll keep hat in mind."
Once again he swept away, not waiting for Cole. If he had to take lessons with Snape while at Hogwarts, he had to find out some way to skip them; the man was the most ignorant and uncaring person he'd ever met. Alright, maybe not, but it was close.
******'
As soon as they stepped through the portal to Diagon Alley, Snape stopped again. Cole caught up withy him and glared at him. Snape shrugged off like it happened every day, which it probably did, if his behaviour was anything to judge by.
"Now, there are a few things that are required to attend Hogwarts. The most important is of course a wand. So our first stop will be Ollivander's." Snape informed him.
"Ollviander's. Right." Cole replied, deciding not to ask questions until he was sure he wanted to hear the answers.
They arrived in the small and dusty shop only minutes later. Snape sat down in a chair, apparently prepared to wait for a while, and since he had taken the only chair, Cole remained standing. After a while and no one had come, he pulled out his sketch-book and started drawing.
"Ah, an artist. Good to keep in mind when choosing wands." Came a voice from right in front of them.
Cole jumped and nearly dropped his sketch-book. In front of him was a very old man, bent with age and silver haired. Snape's lack of reaction proved that materializing out of thin air was something this old man all the time.
"But certainly, Mr Ollivander, it is the wand that chooses the wizard?" Snape queried.
"Severus Snape. I have not seen you in a long time. Twelve inch oak, unicorn hair and phoenix feather, was it not?" Ollivander said, smiling.
"Yes." Snape nodded.
"And you've taken care of it properly?" The old man asked sternly.
Snape nodded wordlessly, looking like a schoolboy who had just been caught red handed trying to play a prank on one of his professors.
"Good. Now, I shall see if we can find you a wand." Ollivander nodded to himself, satisfied.
Half an hour later, Cole was still standing there, trying wands. Ollivander didn't seem to mind having to go through his whole store to find the right wand, on the contrary. He grew happier with each passing minute, in fact.
"Maybe we shall try this one. Fourteen inches, oak, dragon heartstring and phoenix feather; a temperamental wand, fitting for an artist. Here, try it." He handed Cole a slim wand.
Cole took it and waved it, and a shower of sparks flew from the tip, looking rather like miniature fireworks. Ollivander clapped his hands together, delighted and Snape gave a relieved sigh.
"Well, then we shall pay for this and move on." Snape said, pulling out a money pouch.
"Whoa, I haven't got any money." Cole protested.
"It doesn't matter McLaughlin, the Headmaster has given me enough to provide for your school things." Snape explained.
"Oh, alright then." Cole grinned.
******'
The rest of the purchases went smoothly, and soon it was only the school robes left to buy. There, problems started popping up. McLaughlin protested most vehemently to being forced to wear robes. In the end, Severus nearly lost his patience.
"Oh, for the love of God! McLaughlin, everyone is going to robes. I wear robes." Severus exclaimed, pointing to himself.
He was indeed wearing robes. He had changed as soon as they entered Diagon Alley, with just a flick of his wand and a muttered incantation. McLaughlin gave him an once-over and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"If I wear robes, I'll look like you. And you, Snape, look like an overgrown bat." He explained, talking slowly, as if to a child.
"McLaughlin." He said, threatening tone.
McLaughlin laughed at him, but agreed to wear the school uniform. He got a few curious glances in Diagon Alley, seeing as he was one of the few people wearing Muggle clothing. And it wasn't just any clothing; across the chest of his black sweater was grey letters, spelling out ´S.P.I.T´. When asked what it meant, McLaughlin just shrugged and said that it was ´a Swedish Muggle metal-band.´ and that he didn't know what the initials meant.
Severus could only assume that ´metal-band´ had something to do with music. Why they had named themselves spit was not something he liked to speculate about, so he didn't ask any more questions.
*******'
They went back to Grimmauld Place and settled in for the night. After a crash course through his new subjects, Cole spent the rest of the night in his bed, reading through his new textbooks. As many a Muggle-born wizard before him, he found them more fascinating than anything else he'd ever read.
When the clock at his beside showed that it was half past three in the morning, he finally put down the book. His last thought before falling asleep was that this was probably the most confusing day in his whole life.
******'
Snape left the next morning, but Cole was informed he was to remain at Grimmauld Place until further notice. He had only Tonks for company the first day, but didn't care much, as he spent it reading his textbooks, and then moved on to his all time favourite, Lord of the Rings.
He was so engrossed in the book that he didn't notice that they had company until a hand clamped down on his shoulder, making him jump and spin around, his hands irrationally searching for his wand, which was of no use since he didn't know any spells.
"You have quick reflexes, laddie. That's good." The person behind him growled.
"Oh, Mad-Eye, don't scare him! I've told you; he's going to be a student at Hogwarts." Tonks voice came from the doorway, sounding desperate.
"That doesn't mean I can trust him."
The visitor, apparently named Mad-Eye, was one of the most hideous med Cole had ever seen, and his appearance, just as Snape's, screamed to be drawn. Cole took a step back, putting his wand back in his pocket, and making himself ready to fight or run, should it be needed; this man looked dangerous.
"Never put your wand away till you know everything's safe." Mad-Eye barked.
"I don't know any spells anyway, so it's of no fucking use, is it?" Cole snapped back, growing angry.
"No spells? How old are you boy?" Mad-Eye asked, puzzled.
"Eighteen." Cole replied dully; he hated it when people asked him if he was stupid, or even dared to believe he was.
"And no spells? Are you a late-starter or just stupid?" Mad-Eye asked, looking down his gnarled nose at Cole.
"If I was stupid, do you think I'd be able to get through this without having to run to the dictionary to look up the more difficult words every now and then?" Cole inquired, holding up his copy of Lord of the Rings.
"Alright, so you're a late-starter. Going to Hogwarts, are you? Watch out for Snape." Mad-Eye warned.
"Why should I? He's the one who'll be forced to watch out for me." Cole said, shrugging.
"Snape's more dangerous than he looks, laddie. Much more dangerous."
"Oh, come off it, Mad-Eye. The war's over, and Snape's on our side. Leave the boy alone, and have some tea instead." Tonks broke in.
Cole was once again left alone, and went back to his book. He'd ask his questions later, for now, he had to follow the siege of Gondor. Ugly, over-suspicious wizards and not-so-subtle warnings could be damned.
******'
Ending Notes; and that's it. For anyone who's interested, S.P.I.T actually exists. It's my friend's older brother's band. I don't know what it stands for, but when I find out, I'll get back to you.