Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potterish things!
Chapter 24
Severus appeared in Dumbledore's office fuming,
"How can you possibly allow her to teach? She has all the control and refinement of a Blast-Ended Skrewt!" Harry was still in shook at the gift he'd received, he tugged the play out of the box and stuck the headphones on and clicked the on button, he tried not to smirk, while he liked the selection he had a feeling now that it was chosen in part to piss off his father
"Severus I know you have some personal issues with her but I assure there are few more qualified to teach then her, besides I think when the time comes you will be glad to have her near, after all she is the only one you son seems to want to communicate with" Albus finished the statement looking at Harry who was oblivious to the world lost in the music, Severus rolled his eyes, somehow he knew that he was going to need her even if he was loathed to admit it. He rose to leave, noticing that Harry was following him he didn't even look back at the headmaster. As he heard the door click shut Albus chuckled he somehow knew that Severus was going to overcome his view of Outkast this year.
Back in their quarters Severus watched Harry, he seemed lost in his own world.
"Harry?" the boy looked up and pulled the headphones out
"I'm sorry, I don't know what made you want to run from us but please never do it again, I only just got you back I can't lose you, not now" he approached his child anxious as to the reaction he would get, Harry sensed his father's uneasiness and made his life easy by throwing his arms round the older man's middle, Severus pulled his son tightly to him unwilling to let him go. Harry let his father hold him as long as he could bear before pulling away, Severus looked a little hurt but understood, Harry turned toward his room
"Harry?" he looked back
"I know you're not ready to talk but when you are you come find me ok?" Harry
looked puzzled Severus shrugged
"I want to be the one who hears you first word as it were" Severus looked a tad embarrassed, Harry smiled and went to bed. Next morning he was woken be raised voices, sleepily he got up and dressed before investigating the sound, as he opened his bedroom door he recognised the both the raised voices and a third much calmer tone
"THERE IS NO WAY THAT I WILL EVER KNOWINGLY PUT YOU IN
CHARGE OF MY SON!"
"WELL YOU CAN'T TAKE HIM YOURSELF YOU DOZY PRAT YOU MIGHT AS WELL WEAR A SHIRT WITH 'I A SPY ASK ME HOW' NEXT TIME YOU MEET TOM!"
"Please calm down the pair of you. Severus you can not be seen with Harry in public it puts too much of a risk on both of you, and when comes to protection I can't think of anyone better then Ay…Outkast she is very powerful"
"You forgot insane"
"Bastard"
"Bitch"
"Idiot"
"Cow" Harry sat on the staircase watching the childish exchange of insults wondering when they would start hexing each other
"Moron"
"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Albus shouted, this being a very rare thing did get everyone's attention
"Honestly the pair of you are acting like first years you will stop this immature display this instant, Harry needs the support of both of you to recover and like it or not you will have to at least be civil when he is around" Severus and Outkast didn't say anything settling on sending each other death glares a Malfoy would be proud of. Harry chose that moment to come into view he walked down the stairs, and waited to be noticed, Outkast spotted him first
"Ah Harry there you are, you and I are going to Diagon Alley to get your school supplies" Harry glanced at his father, but Severus didn't get a chance to say anything
"Oh don't worry Harry your father has given me his blessing and trusts my judgement fully, shall we?" and before Severus could get past the shock she left with Harry in tow. Severus finished doing his fish impression and stared at Albus
"What house was she in?"
"Gryffindor" Severus nodded
"She should have been in Slytherin"
# # # #
Harry and Outkast used floo powder to get to the Leaky Cauldron and had a good day shopping they just had to get his books and they were finished they entered Flourish and Blotts and Harry soon found himself separated from Outkast as she went to investigate some obscure volumes, Harry found all the books he needed for school and then found his way to a out of the way stacks full of book on wandless magic. He was making his way along looking at titles and picking the odd one up when an all too familiar voice
"You want Freedom from Wands by Ally Maudlin" Harry turned round; Draco Malfoy was leaning against the shelves. Harry nodded and turned to look for the book Draco lazily pulled a copy off the shelf and handed it to him, Harry turned the book over in his hands and read the back cover. Painfully aware that Draco hadn't moved, Harry glanced up and met the blonde boys gaze. Draco didn't say anything for a long moment;
"Is it true?" he almost blurted out Harry looked questioningly at him
"The Prophet was it true?" Harry nodded almost imperceptivity, expecting Draco to use it as a weapon, instead the boy seemed to think on this
"That's bad" he said, Harry didn't respond
"In the speak no evil stage huh?" Harry was very confused, Draco grinned and elaborated
"When I was ten my father was hosting a…. gathering of a few people, one of them cornered me in my room. He had me pinned down and had pulled my trousers off me before my father found us" Draco stopped letting Harry absorb that before continuing
"Anyhow for a while I wouldn't look at anyone – a stage my father referred to as see no evil, then I wouldn't listen to a word people were saying, however much they said I'd done nothing wrong – he called that hear no evil then finally I did what you're doing and for about three months I said nothing, well I talked to my sister but that was it hence speak no evil. Rather ironic as it stems from a muggle thing" Harry nodded Wow the last person I thought would understand was Malfoy maybe they're right and hell has frozen over. Draco met is eyes
"You're the first person I've told and if you repeat it I'll kill you, not that I think that's an issue at the moment." Harry saw him smirk,
"Anyway that books the best, it's the fastest too, you'll probably be ok by the time term starts" with that Draco wondered off and disappeared from view. Harry didn't have time to think about the encounter Outkast reappeared
"All set?" he nodded and then followed her to pay. They got outside with many bags, Outkast shrunk them all down and stuck them in her pocket.
"Right was that everything on the list?" Harry nodded
"Ok we could go back... or we could have some fun" She game him that mischievous grin again, Harry rolled his eyes somehow he knew this was going to lead to a lot of shouting….
Four hours later they arrived back at the castle giggling, Harry was having a little trouble walking giving to the bottle of rum he shared with Outkast at a pub in muggle London. As they staggered back in they were met by Dumbledore, McGonagall and a indescribably pissed off Snape.
"WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE TO MY SON!" he screamed at her, Outkast looked petulant,
"Look I was told to have him back by six and it's only five fifty five I have a whole five minutes"
"I meant the fact he's drunk" Severus then looked at Harry, his eyes went wide
"And what the hell is that and what happened to his hair?!" he pointed to Harry's face, where Harry had just scraped a handful of blonde hair out of his eyes Outkast smirked
"In reverse order I had some a friend in a hairdressers who bleach his hair and that's an eyebrow ring" Severus looked like he might explode, Outkast was puzzled
"How did you know he was drunk?" Severus held up his hand, the ring was a swirling
mass of all it's colours"
"Oooh that's pretty" she said, Severus too a deep breath
"Harry please go back to our quarters I will talk to you in the morning". Harry muttered something in Parseltongue before stalking off, Severus turned on Outkast
"What did he just say?"
"He said if that's how you feel about bleach and eyebrow rings, it's a good thing you didn't see that tattoo" with that Outkast disappeared up the stairs leaving Snape stunned, he turned to see the amused looks on Dumbledore and McGonagall
"Is murder always a crime?" he muttered before stalking off after Harry.
Next morning Harry woke up with a headache the likes of which even God has never seen, he felt he'd swallowed a live eel and held onto the bed for dear life prying the room would stop spinning. When it didn't Harry ran straight into the bathroom and threw up, he felt he lost everything he'd eaten since leaving the Dursley's. When the vomiting stopped he sat on the floor repeating his mantra Never again never again he wondered how Outkast was holding up. There was a knock on the bedroom door, slowly Harry waved his hand Alohomora he thought the door unlocked and clicked open. His father walked in shortly followed by Outkast, she looked highly amused by his state, Severus just sighed
"Here drink this you look like you need it" Harry gratefully took the anti-hangover potion and within five minutes was feeling better, he got up glowering at Outkast she shrugged
"Sorry honey I do don't hangovers" he looked ready to spit fire she grinned.
"Harry I wanted to ask you a few questions, but seeing as you only like talking in parselmouth I've dragged along an interpreter. Harry nodded. And sat on the bed, Severus sat by the desk, Outkast did a handstand against one of the walls and giggled at the funny looks she was getting.
"Harry when and how did you learn you were animagus?" Harry thought about this and hissed
"He says he was five and he turned into a snake, - duh" Harry came to the conclusion she may not get hangovers but she wasn't sober yet either Severus glowered at her
"Kindly reframe from adding your own view" She stuck her tongue out Severus who was doing a good job of holding his temper in check. Harry was impressed
"Ok, Harry what caused you to change the first time?" Harry didn't answer
"Harry why did you run?" still nothing
"Harry please say something!" Severus was pacing he stopped in front of Harry suddenly, Harry scooted to the other side of the bed and balled up. Severus ran his hands through his hair Great parenting style, no really scare the boy enough and he might not speak in English again ever.
"You scaring him" Outkast snarled she was now standing on her feet glaring at Severus
"DON'T TELL ME WHAT I'M DOING" Severus shouted
"YOU'VE TERRIFIED THE KID"
"I DON'T NEED YOU TELL ME THAT" Harry couldn't stand it all the shouting, he hated shouting he was terrified, people shouting normally turned him, he wanted to be anywhere then on that bed, he curled up tighter and tighter trying to disappear. Suddenly he was a cobra again he coiled round the bed post and up to the crossbar and sat there hoping not to be noticed. Severus felt his ring get warm and shut up. Outkast went to speak and he shushed her. He spun round and saw the bed empty, he felt the lump in his stomach not again he looked back at Outkast, her vision was fixed on the top of the bed, she pointed up. A black cobra was coiled around the dark wooden beam. They looked at each other,
"Well I think we've worked out the trigger" she said simply Severus nodded
"Harry I'm… we're sorry please come down" The snake didn't move, Severus sighed
"Harry please come down" the snake didn't move Outkast came and stood ext to him
"Offer him your arm" she muttered
"What? Why?" Outkast rolled her eyes
"Just do it" Severus sighed but did as he was told, Harry slithered down the post and coiled around Severus' arm, his colour went back to grey, and when Outkast stroked him went green-grey, Severus looked at her
"How did you know that would work?" she shrugged
"Snakes like warmth, and your's needs reassurance, I get the feeling that when he was scared with the muggles he used to change so he could hide after all if you're looking for a boy you're not going to look through holes that only a snake can fit down" Severus nodded, he seems to like it there, Outkast smiled ruefully;
"Yeah now all we have to do is persuade his friends to let him do that during term and he'll be fine" Harry was back to a green colour, and had his head on Severus' shoulder
"Are you ready to turn back again Harry?" Harry hissed something, before Severus could ask Outkast translated
"He said he will, but is he in trouble" Severus looked down at his son, he took hold of him by the back of the head and slowly prised him off his arm, Severus sat on the bed with Harry on his lap.
"Harry you are not in trouble I promise I am sorry we were yelling please turn back" Harry didn't move for a second and then he changed, he was sitting in a ball on his father, Severus hugged him,
"I still can't believe you did this to yourself" he muttered ruffling the blonde hair Harry looked at Outkast
~Do you think we should tell him~
~Might be wise~
"What are you two hissing about?" Outkast grinned and placed her hand on Harry's head, the glamour lifted taking with it the piercing and changing his hair colour back. Severus didn't know whether to laugh and shout, Outkast grinned
"You should of seen the look on your face" Severus kept his face stoic, slid Harry onto the bed walked right up to Outkast, and in one smooth movement started to tickle her, she yelped and then crumpled to the ground, Harry watched from the bed grinning, he threw a pillow at the two of them. Severus stopped tickling Outkast, and looked dead at Harry
"Is he ticklish?" she said
"Like you wouldn't believe" Sev replied, Harry tried to scramble off the bed but wasn't fast enough, he found himself at the mercy of the potion professor and the less sane Riddle twin.