Disclaimer, I do not own hp or the world he lives in, more's the pity!
Thank you for reading this far and all the reviews you've sent. Sorry if there are a few more errors than normal but I'm rushing a bit to finish before I go on holiday.
Chapter eleven Snape's future
Severus slept fitfully, a result of his mind trying to throw of the effects of too much dreamless sleep potion. Two days had passed since he returned to the hospital wing; Madam Pomfrey had threatened to chain him to his bed if he moved further than the toilet.
Deciding not to test her on this theory he stayed put. Unfortunately she had placed Potter in the bed next to his during his absence. Potter kept glaring at him when he thought Severus could not see him. Severus was trying his best not to notice but it was beginning to grate on his nerves, until late in the afternoon he snapped. "What do you want Potter? Would you just say it already and stop staring at me. You are getting on my nerves!"
"Nothing, I just want to know, well how can you stand it?" asked Harry.
"Stand what?" Severus asked.
"Voldemort, calling him my Lord, allowing him to torture you like that, and never fighting back" Harry continued.
Severus felt a deep rage in his stomach as he snarled, "I would not have survived very long as a spy had I attacked him, now would I?"
"Why do you do it?" asked Harry.
"That is none of your concern, boy" snarled Severus.
"Why did Voldemort sense that you wanted to kill me?" Harry demanded.
"Because most of the time I relish the idea! It is simpler to allow him access to certain feelings whilst withholding others," explained Severus, "if you had tried a little harder at occulmency, you might actually know that!"
"You're the one who refused to teach me!" replied Harry indignantly.
"You stupid little boy, do you think that we are all your servants? That you may invade our private lives and suffer no consequences, not all of us are as forgiving as the headmaster! Now shut up and rest!" Severus ranted. Turning his back to Potter and closing his eyes.
'Obnoxious spoiled little brat! How dare he question me! I am his teacher he should speak to me with respect!' Severus thought, 'he makes me so angry, he makes me shout, I hate to shout, it is undignified!'
Dumbledore appeared a little later and sat between the two beds, shaking his head as he looked from one stubbornly set jaw to the other. "I see you are keeping each other company," he said, "I had hoped that maybe you could use this time to better understand each other. Perhaps even figure a way to talk to each other without growling."
He shrugged his shoulders at continued, "Well anyway, we have to devise a plan to stop an all out assault on Hogwarts! Even if we win such an assault, I fear that the students would be so traumatised that the schools future would be jeopardized."
"Headmaster, I think this is perhaps a discussion for the Order, not appropriate for a mere school boy," answered Severus.
"Come now Severus, we all know the part Harry will play in our final encounter; he has proven himself mature enough to understand what is to come. He has also proven to be quite a good strategist," countered Dumbledore.
"Fine, lets hear what he has to say," Severus sneered.
"I think that we are going to have to confront him directly, I also know I am not ready for that yet, I saw what he was capable of duelling with you, Professor. I need to learn more defensive spells and the unforgivable curses if you want me to kill him!" Harry said sadly, "So Snape's right I can't be much help to you."
While Severus was annoyed that Potter refused to at least give him his title, he was happy that for once the boy had the sense to know when he was incapable of something.
Dumbledore however seemed to disagree, "Harry, firstly it would be my wish that you never have to learn the unforgivable curses. And secondly I would remind you that you have already bested Voldemort in an outright duel."
"Professor we both know if my wand hadn't done that Prior incantatem thing, I would have died that night, much to Snape's pleasure no doubt," Harry replied bitterly, "and how do we know what will happen if I try to use my wand against him again?"
"Harry, Professor Snape has no wish to see you dead," the headmaster reproved gently.
Severus met Harry's eye and said nothing, but he could see that Harry had matured a lot since the loss of his Godfather; he would have never dared address Dumbledore in such a tone before, and to criticize Severus to his face was also a new development.
"And as for your wands connection, it may once again come in useful," Dumbledore continued.
"Severus I have been researching various potions that could strip Voldemore of his powers temporally. Up until now we have lacked the base ingredient for it." Said Dumbledore.
"Which one? Pondor da matanca or Alimentazione forca," Severus replied.
"Alimentazione forca, I think would be the best," Dumbledore said quietly.
"Why couldn't you get the base ingredient before?" asked Harry curiously, "surely if you could take away his powers that could have ended the war the last time."
"The base ingredient to such a potion is blood, the intended victim's blood, and as The Dark Lord has no living relatives the only way to get it would have been to capture him," Severus replied.
"I wish you wouldn't call him that, he is not my Lord nor anyone else's for that matter!" Harry snapped.
Dumbledore raised his hand to signal that they were getting of track and added "when he took your blood Harry, he mixed it with his own, if my calculations are correct, then enough of your blood in the potion will be enough to strip him, at least temporarily, of his powers."
"My blood could kill him?" whispered Harry. "I suppose it stands to reason, my blood helped to raise him."
"Precisely," Dumbledore smiled at him.
"Then what are we waiting for?" asked Harry, pulling back the covers.
"Wait Potter, it will take a considerable amount of your blood, which you require at the moment, it also takes over a month to brew, and I will not be able to leave it alone during that time." Severus said. "And there are many other rare and complicated ingredients that I will first have to procure." It was Severus' turn to try and rise from his bed.
"Both of you remain where you are or you'll have Poppy in here shouting at me!" smiled Dumbledore. "Severus I will bring you the books you need to study and then you may list all the necessary ingredients which I will procure. Harry you must recover fully so that you are strong enough to donate the necessary amount of blood. Also lastly I want you to tell no-one of this plan; you, Harry must not come into contact with the potion at any time, the results could prove devastating to us all."
Dumbledore rose to leave before adding quietly, "please try not to hurt each other further, I have great respect for both of you and would like to see you build some kind of respectful relationship!"
Severus looked impassively at the headmaster and was tempted, for the first time since he was a child, to pull the same sulky expression that Harry was wearing now. They both lay in silence for a while before Harry piped up, "I am truly sorry for looking into the pensieve Sir, I had no right, and if I could take it back I would."
Severus almost swallowed his tongue in surprise. Having never expected an apology from the boy he was at a loss for something to say in return. He could not tell the boy it did not matter, because it did, and he could not make him forget what he had seen, well actually he could, but for the first time he was aware of the fact that it might have been painful for Potter to see just how his father had once treated other people. So Severus said nothing at all.
Thank you for reading this far and all the reviews you've sent. Sorry if there are a few more errors than normal but I'm rushing a bit to finish before I go on holiday.
Chapter eleven Snape's future
Severus slept fitfully, a result of his mind trying to throw of the effects of too much dreamless sleep potion. Two days had passed since he returned to the hospital wing; Madam Pomfrey had threatened to chain him to his bed if he moved further than the toilet.
Deciding not to test her on this theory he stayed put. Unfortunately she had placed Potter in the bed next to his during his absence. Potter kept glaring at him when he thought Severus could not see him. Severus was trying his best not to notice but it was beginning to grate on his nerves, until late in the afternoon he snapped. "What do you want Potter? Would you just say it already and stop staring at me. You are getting on my nerves!"
"Nothing, I just want to know, well how can you stand it?" asked Harry.
"Stand what?" Severus asked.
"Voldemort, calling him my Lord, allowing him to torture you like that, and never fighting back" Harry continued.
Severus felt a deep rage in his stomach as he snarled, "I would not have survived very long as a spy had I attacked him, now would I?"
"Why do you do it?" asked Harry.
"That is none of your concern, boy" snarled Severus.
"Why did Voldemort sense that you wanted to kill me?" Harry demanded.
"Because most of the time I relish the idea! It is simpler to allow him access to certain feelings whilst withholding others," explained Severus, "if you had tried a little harder at occulmency, you might actually know that!"
"You're the one who refused to teach me!" replied Harry indignantly.
"You stupid little boy, do you think that we are all your servants? That you may invade our private lives and suffer no consequences, not all of us are as forgiving as the headmaster! Now shut up and rest!" Severus ranted. Turning his back to Potter and closing his eyes.
'Obnoxious spoiled little brat! How dare he question me! I am his teacher he should speak to me with respect!' Severus thought, 'he makes me so angry, he makes me shout, I hate to shout, it is undignified!'
Dumbledore appeared a little later and sat between the two beds, shaking his head as he looked from one stubbornly set jaw to the other. "I see you are keeping each other company," he said, "I had hoped that maybe you could use this time to better understand each other. Perhaps even figure a way to talk to each other without growling."
He shrugged his shoulders at continued, "Well anyway, we have to devise a plan to stop an all out assault on Hogwarts! Even if we win such an assault, I fear that the students would be so traumatised that the schools future would be jeopardized."
"Headmaster, I think this is perhaps a discussion for the Order, not appropriate for a mere school boy," answered Severus.
"Come now Severus, we all know the part Harry will play in our final encounter; he has proven himself mature enough to understand what is to come. He has also proven to be quite a good strategist," countered Dumbledore.
"Fine, lets hear what he has to say," Severus sneered.
"I think that we are going to have to confront him directly, I also know I am not ready for that yet, I saw what he was capable of duelling with you, Professor. I need to learn more defensive spells and the unforgivable curses if you want me to kill him!" Harry said sadly, "So Snape's right I can't be much help to you."
While Severus was annoyed that Potter refused to at least give him his title, he was happy that for once the boy had the sense to know when he was incapable of something.
Dumbledore however seemed to disagree, "Harry, firstly it would be my wish that you never have to learn the unforgivable curses. And secondly I would remind you that you have already bested Voldemort in an outright duel."
"Professor we both know if my wand hadn't done that Prior incantatem thing, I would have died that night, much to Snape's pleasure no doubt," Harry replied bitterly, "and how do we know what will happen if I try to use my wand against him again?"
"Harry, Professor Snape has no wish to see you dead," the headmaster reproved gently.
Severus met Harry's eye and said nothing, but he could see that Harry had matured a lot since the loss of his Godfather; he would have never dared address Dumbledore in such a tone before, and to criticize Severus to his face was also a new development.
"And as for your wands connection, it may once again come in useful," Dumbledore continued.
"Severus I have been researching various potions that could strip Voldemore of his powers temporally. Up until now we have lacked the base ingredient for it." Said Dumbledore.
"Which one? Pondor da matanca or Alimentazione forca," Severus replied.
"Alimentazione forca, I think would be the best," Dumbledore said quietly.
"Why couldn't you get the base ingredient before?" asked Harry curiously, "surely if you could take away his powers that could have ended the war the last time."
"The base ingredient to such a potion is blood, the intended victim's blood, and as The Dark Lord has no living relatives the only way to get it would have been to capture him," Severus replied.
"I wish you wouldn't call him that, he is not my Lord nor anyone else's for that matter!" Harry snapped.
Dumbledore raised his hand to signal that they were getting of track and added "when he took your blood Harry, he mixed it with his own, if my calculations are correct, then enough of your blood in the potion will be enough to strip him, at least temporarily, of his powers."
"My blood could kill him?" whispered Harry. "I suppose it stands to reason, my blood helped to raise him."
"Precisely," Dumbledore smiled at him.
"Then what are we waiting for?" asked Harry, pulling back the covers.
"Wait Potter, it will take a considerable amount of your blood, which you require at the moment, it also takes over a month to brew, and I will not be able to leave it alone during that time." Severus said. "And there are many other rare and complicated ingredients that I will first have to procure." It was Severus' turn to try and rise from his bed.
"Both of you remain where you are or you'll have Poppy in here shouting at me!" smiled Dumbledore. "Severus I will bring you the books you need to study and then you may list all the necessary ingredients which I will procure. Harry you must recover fully so that you are strong enough to donate the necessary amount of blood. Also lastly I want you to tell no-one of this plan; you, Harry must not come into contact with the potion at any time, the results could prove devastating to us all."
Dumbledore rose to leave before adding quietly, "please try not to hurt each other further, I have great respect for both of you and would like to see you build some kind of respectful relationship!"
Severus looked impassively at the headmaster and was tempted, for the first time since he was a child, to pull the same sulky expression that Harry was wearing now. They both lay in silence for a while before Harry piped up, "I am truly sorry for looking into the pensieve Sir, I had no right, and if I could take it back I would."
Severus almost swallowed his tongue in surprise. Having never expected an apology from the boy he was at a loss for something to say in return. He could not tell the boy it did not matter, because it did, and he could not make him forget what he had seen, well actually he could, but for the first time he was aware of the fact that it might have been painful for Potter to see just how his father had once treated other people. So Severus said nothing at all.