A/N: Wow, so many reviews. I'm happy with them. Although some people told me they found the first chapter somewhat confusing. Do tell me what was confusing about it, because to me it makes sense (of course I do make it up, so perhaps I assume something is clear when it isn't). Anyways, constructive critisisme is welcome, as well as compliments (good for someone's ego). So read on!
Chapter 3: A Night With Snape
After everyone had read their letters, Harry told them something else: he could no longer continue his education at Hogwarts. This shocked everyone. How in the world could he not continue? Here Harry gave a small smile to reassure them. "I will be here, although I may be needed elsewhere, so do not worry if you cannot find me for a while. I just cannot learn anymore wizarding magic, for it will work against my Angel's magic, and I do not wish to lose those. They are too needed here on this Earth. I will help people when I am here, I just won't be in anymore classes. I am willing to help teachers, and to teach some things myself, that is all."
Hearing this, everyone was relieved. They didn't really know why wizarding magic would work against his magic, but they would respect his choice, seeing as how he knew more about it than they did. After this, Harry noted the time, and suggested they go to bed. He told Ron and Hermione he would see them in the morning, for he still had something to discuss with Professor Snape. Nobody questioned him about it, they just raised their eyebrows slightly. After getting hugs from the others, (only Harry got hugs, that is to say) Harry and Professor Snape walked down to the dungeons in silence. They stopped in front of a portrait that displayed several snakes and a man brewing a potion.
"Salazar, would you open please?" Snape asked. Harry was surprised. Didn't he need a password? Then he noticed that the portrait scanned Snape's magic and understood. The portrait would be able to sense if Snape was really him, or an imposter, just by his magic seeing as everyone had a different 'tone' of magic. Then the portrait opened, with a curious glance in Harry's direction, although a bit of comprehension shone in the eyes when he spotted the wings. Harry decided he would need to chat with Salazar, but not now.
Walking in, he noticed they were in the living room. It was all done in a rather sober style, but Harry was more worried that he would knock something over with his wings, to pay much attention. Everywhere were papers lying and potion vials stood. Therefore Harry was watching his wings. Seeing this, Snape moved him to the couch, where it was paper and potion free. Harry hopped onto his cloud again. He just formed the air so it would be a bit more solid, and he had something to sit on. Snape sat on the couch.
"Well, as I said, I have several letters for you. They are much more personal then the ones I just gave upstairs. These are not from my parents, or Sirius. There is one from Selena, and one from each of the people you had to kill in orders from Voldemort," he suddenly had eight letters in his hands. Seeing Snape pale, Harry rushed to explain, "do not worry, they do not hate you or anything. I believe it will help you to read these letters. Trust me, your secrets are safe with me, they had to tell me who they were in order for me to write these letters, and I know how they are now. They are all happy. But I think you should just read the letters."
With that he gave Snape the letters. With his fingers shaking a bit, Snape opened the letter from one of his victims first.
Hello Severus Snape,
I know you still remember me. I was the first one you had to kill, in order to prove your loyalty to that Voldemort creature. I can tell you I was scared, so scared for I did not know anything about wizards and witches, until I saw you. When I died, I was angry at first, but then I came here, in the World of the Spirits, and you cannot stay angry for long here. I am happy now, for I am with my family. I do not hate you Severus, in fact I admire you. I know you are a spy, or at least, used to be, and had to kill me and several others in order to live yourself. I have seen how many lives you have saved by spying and they outweigh my death by many.
I trust you will finally release those nightmares you have of this, and let go of your guilt, for it is not necessary. I rest in peace, and hope you will be able to live that life.
Good luck,
Jack.
The other letters had a similar thing to say. Snape actually had tears in his eyes. Yes, he had felt such immense guilt for their deaths, but reading that they forgave him and were happy, made him feel better already. Then he was with the last letter, the letter from Selena. His sweet, lovely Selena, his sister.
With his hands shaking too much, Harry had to open the envelope for him.
He started reading.
"My dear little brother,
How foolish have we been. I still remember the night I was killed, and you were lured into that madman's trap. When our father took me to Voldemort I was worried that he would make me marry someone from the inner circkle, even though I had always expressed my ideas against Voldemort quite loudly. But when they started to hurt me, and I saw you bound on the floor, I knew deep down inside, what they were planning to do. And I was right.
By pretending to let me live, they bound you to that madman. And the look on your face when they did kill me, I shall never forget it. But I must insist Sev. Something good came out of it. You turned spy, you fought against the bounds, and now, I know, Harry has freed you from them. Everytime you had to kill someone in order to prove your loyalty, I welcomed the spirit, and told them about your life. They all understood, and all became your supporters. We tried to drive away the guilt and the dreams, but the Mark on you arm stopped many of our tries. Now, we will be able to help you, and appear in your dreams to talk to and comfort you. Please, Sev., let people into your heart again. Harry can help you. Please fight against that madman, he will die eventually for good. Begin a new life, we will help.
Love you always,
Your big sis,
Sely."
By now Severus had tears running from his eyes, and he was shaking even more. Then he noticed he was enveloped in a hug, and his tears were brushed away. When he opened his eyes, he looked into Harry's green sparkling eyes, and Severus Snape actually smiled for the first time in many years.
Seeing how tired Severus was, Harry lifted him up in his arms, as if it was nothing, and carried him to the bedroom. There he pulled off his shoes and outer robes, and with a wave of his hands, he had Severus tucked in bed, and sleeping. Harry decided to spend the night here as well, and made himself a bigger cloud, so he could sleep without bothering his wings.
The next morning, Severus awoke from a peacefull sleep, only to see Harry sleeping several feet off the ground. Then he remembered the events from the night before, and smiled again. When he stood up to make himself some tea, Harry also woke up. With sleepy eyes, he bade Severus a good morning, and hopped down his cloud, to ruffle his wings. Severus noticed he was actually liking the boy more and more, and saw him as his own person, instead of his father.
"Good morning, Harry. Would you like some tea?" Harry nodded and followed Severus to the living room. Severus quickly made some tea and sat there, enjoying it.
"You know, sir, now that the Mark is gone, I believe I should tell you something else."
Severus sat up straighter. He wanted to hear this.
"You see, sir, your sister already told you to start a new life, and even though it will be hard for you to break traditions and such, I do believe you should. I know that right now, you cannot leave the safety of Hogwarts, but I can help," and with that he placed his hands on Severus' head, and murmered something that sounded like 'Protecto'. Letting go, he said: "Well, this will help. You will now be able to leave Hogwarts, and only trustworthy people can recognise you for Severus Snape outside of Hogwarts. If you would run into some Death Eaters, spies, or Voldemort himself, they would not recognise you. They will think you are still in Hogwarts, although Voldemort does know you no longer carry the mark. The other thing I wanted to say is that there is someone out there, waiting for you. You are one of the few people who will have a soulmate, and she is old enough to know about it and act accordingly. In fact, you already have met her a lot of times. You both don't realise it just yet. And you won't until you can change."
Severus could only stare at Harry. He had a soulmate? And he knew her already? He knew how rare it was to have a soulmate, and had always thought he certainly wouldn't have one, and now he did?!
He was woken up from his musings by Harry giving him a kiss on his hair. Raising his eyebrows, he wanted to give a rather nasty remark, when he saw Harry smile a bit. "No more greasy hair for you, sir," when Severus felt his hair, it was soft, and silky, but definitly not greasy. Then Harry's fingers touched his mouth, "and what I just did to your teeth, you should see in the mirror."
He smiled even more when Severus stood up, to go into his bathroom. His teeth were white, and looked straight. He felt as if he could laugh more freely when looking like this. His hair also was a bit curly now, and he could see how long it had become. Harry stood in the dooropening. "I suggest, sir, that you take a shower, and pull on this robe."
He threw a robe towards Severus. It was made of a very dark green, that nearly looked black.
"I figured that going to deep green straight away would only give everyone a heartattack, so this seemed more safe. And it fits the Head of Slytherin House, does it not?" Severus could see how much Harry was enjoying this. But frankly, he rather like these kind of jokes, everyone would be shocked to see his new self.
"I think you should hurry, sir, as it is nearly time for breakfast. I shall be in the Great Hall, for I do not want to miss your entrance for the world," and with that Harry walked out of the bathroom.
In the Great Hall, Dumbledore had explained several things to the students when Harry walked in. Or actually, he had spread out his wings again and sort of floated, walked in. Dumbledore motioned for him to sit with the teachers, and so Harry went and sat between Remus and Minerva. They noticed his sparkling eyes, and the light smile on his face. He was looking straight at the large doors from the Great Hall, and so they did the same. Not even five minutes later, the doors swung open and in strode Professor Snape. Several gasps could be heard, as well as the falling of forks and knives. For their sour, cranky professor was in fact, not in his black robes, but in a dark green ones, that did billow out behind him, by the way, and his hair was tied in a ponytail, and looked, well there was no other word for it: shiny and healthy, and he actually smiled. Or half smiled half smirk if you wanted to be precise.
Harry gave him a huge smile, and seeing this, Minerva and Remus burst out laughing. Dumbledore just felt very, very happy to see this man, finally more happy and carefree.
Chapter 3: A Night With Snape
After everyone had read their letters, Harry told them something else: he could no longer continue his education at Hogwarts. This shocked everyone. How in the world could he not continue? Here Harry gave a small smile to reassure them. "I will be here, although I may be needed elsewhere, so do not worry if you cannot find me for a while. I just cannot learn anymore wizarding magic, for it will work against my Angel's magic, and I do not wish to lose those. They are too needed here on this Earth. I will help people when I am here, I just won't be in anymore classes. I am willing to help teachers, and to teach some things myself, that is all."
Hearing this, everyone was relieved. They didn't really know why wizarding magic would work against his magic, but they would respect his choice, seeing as how he knew more about it than they did. After this, Harry noted the time, and suggested they go to bed. He told Ron and Hermione he would see them in the morning, for he still had something to discuss with Professor Snape. Nobody questioned him about it, they just raised their eyebrows slightly. After getting hugs from the others, (only Harry got hugs, that is to say) Harry and Professor Snape walked down to the dungeons in silence. They stopped in front of a portrait that displayed several snakes and a man brewing a potion.
"Salazar, would you open please?" Snape asked. Harry was surprised. Didn't he need a password? Then he noticed that the portrait scanned Snape's magic and understood. The portrait would be able to sense if Snape was really him, or an imposter, just by his magic seeing as everyone had a different 'tone' of magic. Then the portrait opened, with a curious glance in Harry's direction, although a bit of comprehension shone in the eyes when he spotted the wings. Harry decided he would need to chat with Salazar, but not now.
Walking in, he noticed they were in the living room. It was all done in a rather sober style, but Harry was more worried that he would knock something over with his wings, to pay much attention. Everywhere were papers lying and potion vials stood. Therefore Harry was watching his wings. Seeing this, Snape moved him to the couch, where it was paper and potion free. Harry hopped onto his cloud again. He just formed the air so it would be a bit more solid, and he had something to sit on. Snape sat on the couch.
"Well, as I said, I have several letters for you. They are much more personal then the ones I just gave upstairs. These are not from my parents, or Sirius. There is one from Selena, and one from each of the people you had to kill in orders from Voldemort," he suddenly had eight letters in his hands. Seeing Snape pale, Harry rushed to explain, "do not worry, they do not hate you or anything. I believe it will help you to read these letters. Trust me, your secrets are safe with me, they had to tell me who they were in order for me to write these letters, and I know how they are now. They are all happy. But I think you should just read the letters."
With that he gave Snape the letters. With his fingers shaking a bit, Snape opened the letter from one of his victims first.
Hello Severus Snape,
I know you still remember me. I was the first one you had to kill, in order to prove your loyalty to that Voldemort creature. I can tell you I was scared, so scared for I did not know anything about wizards and witches, until I saw you. When I died, I was angry at first, but then I came here, in the World of the Spirits, and you cannot stay angry for long here. I am happy now, for I am with my family. I do not hate you Severus, in fact I admire you. I know you are a spy, or at least, used to be, and had to kill me and several others in order to live yourself. I have seen how many lives you have saved by spying and they outweigh my death by many.
I trust you will finally release those nightmares you have of this, and let go of your guilt, for it is not necessary. I rest in peace, and hope you will be able to live that life.
Good luck,
Jack.
The other letters had a similar thing to say. Snape actually had tears in his eyes. Yes, he had felt such immense guilt for their deaths, but reading that they forgave him and were happy, made him feel better already. Then he was with the last letter, the letter from Selena. His sweet, lovely Selena, his sister.
With his hands shaking too much, Harry had to open the envelope for him.
He started reading.
"My dear little brother,
How foolish have we been. I still remember the night I was killed, and you were lured into that madman's trap. When our father took me to Voldemort I was worried that he would make me marry someone from the inner circkle, even though I had always expressed my ideas against Voldemort quite loudly. But when they started to hurt me, and I saw you bound on the floor, I knew deep down inside, what they were planning to do. And I was right.
By pretending to let me live, they bound you to that madman. And the look on your face when they did kill me, I shall never forget it. But I must insist Sev. Something good came out of it. You turned spy, you fought against the bounds, and now, I know, Harry has freed you from them. Everytime you had to kill someone in order to prove your loyalty, I welcomed the spirit, and told them about your life. They all understood, and all became your supporters. We tried to drive away the guilt and the dreams, but the Mark on you arm stopped many of our tries. Now, we will be able to help you, and appear in your dreams to talk to and comfort you. Please, Sev., let people into your heart again. Harry can help you. Please fight against that madman, he will die eventually for good. Begin a new life, we will help.
Love you always,
Your big sis,
Sely."
By now Severus had tears running from his eyes, and he was shaking even more. Then he noticed he was enveloped in a hug, and his tears were brushed away. When he opened his eyes, he looked into Harry's green sparkling eyes, and Severus Snape actually smiled for the first time in many years.
Seeing how tired Severus was, Harry lifted him up in his arms, as if it was nothing, and carried him to the bedroom. There he pulled off his shoes and outer robes, and with a wave of his hands, he had Severus tucked in bed, and sleeping. Harry decided to spend the night here as well, and made himself a bigger cloud, so he could sleep without bothering his wings.
The next morning, Severus awoke from a peacefull sleep, only to see Harry sleeping several feet off the ground. Then he remembered the events from the night before, and smiled again. When he stood up to make himself some tea, Harry also woke up. With sleepy eyes, he bade Severus a good morning, and hopped down his cloud, to ruffle his wings. Severus noticed he was actually liking the boy more and more, and saw him as his own person, instead of his father.
"Good morning, Harry. Would you like some tea?" Harry nodded and followed Severus to the living room. Severus quickly made some tea and sat there, enjoying it.
"You know, sir, now that the Mark is gone, I believe I should tell you something else."
Severus sat up straighter. He wanted to hear this.
"You see, sir, your sister already told you to start a new life, and even though it will be hard for you to break traditions and such, I do believe you should. I know that right now, you cannot leave the safety of Hogwarts, but I can help," and with that he placed his hands on Severus' head, and murmered something that sounded like 'Protecto'. Letting go, he said: "Well, this will help. You will now be able to leave Hogwarts, and only trustworthy people can recognise you for Severus Snape outside of Hogwarts. If you would run into some Death Eaters, spies, or Voldemort himself, they would not recognise you. They will think you are still in Hogwarts, although Voldemort does know you no longer carry the mark. The other thing I wanted to say is that there is someone out there, waiting for you. You are one of the few people who will have a soulmate, and she is old enough to know about it and act accordingly. In fact, you already have met her a lot of times. You both don't realise it just yet. And you won't until you can change."
Severus could only stare at Harry. He had a soulmate? And he knew her already? He knew how rare it was to have a soulmate, and had always thought he certainly wouldn't have one, and now he did?!
He was woken up from his musings by Harry giving him a kiss on his hair. Raising his eyebrows, he wanted to give a rather nasty remark, when he saw Harry smile a bit. "No more greasy hair for you, sir," when Severus felt his hair, it was soft, and silky, but definitly not greasy. Then Harry's fingers touched his mouth, "and what I just did to your teeth, you should see in the mirror."
He smiled even more when Severus stood up, to go into his bathroom. His teeth were white, and looked straight. He felt as if he could laugh more freely when looking like this. His hair also was a bit curly now, and he could see how long it had become. Harry stood in the dooropening. "I suggest, sir, that you take a shower, and pull on this robe."
He threw a robe towards Severus. It was made of a very dark green, that nearly looked black.
"I figured that going to deep green straight away would only give everyone a heartattack, so this seemed more safe. And it fits the Head of Slytherin House, does it not?" Severus could see how much Harry was enjoying this. But frankly, he rather like these kind of jokes, everyone would be shocked to see his new self.
"I think you should hurry, sir, as it is nearly time for breakfast. I shall be in the Great Hall, for I do not want to miss your entrance for the world," and with that Harry walked out of the bathroom.
In the Great Hall, Dumbledore had explained several things to the students when Harry walked in. Or actually, he had spread out his wings again and sort of floated, walked in. Dumbledore motioned for him to sit with the teachers, and so Harry went and sat between Remus and Minerva. They noticed his sparkling eyes, and the light smile on his face. He was looking straight at the large doors from the Great Hall, and so they did the same. Not even five minutes later, the doors swung open and in strode Professor Snape. Several gasps could be heard, as well as the falling of forks and knives. For their sour, cranky professor was in fact, not in his black robes, but in a dark green ones, that did billow out behind him, by the way, and his hair was tied in a ponytail, and looked, well there was no other word for it: shiny and healthy, and he actually smiled. Or half smiled half smirk if you wanted to be precise.
Harry gave him a huge smile, and seeing this, Minerva and Remus burst out laughing. Dumbledore just felt very, very happy to see this man, finally more happy and carefree.