if severus seems out of character, i'm sorry. it's really hard to write him, and plus, he is kind of insane, the same as draco. and neville. and ginny. and the entire world. so be prepared for ooc neville and ginny, too :D hopefully the quickness and length of this chapter wil make up for the length of time you had to wait for the previous ones :D
Severus Snape sighed softly, leaning back into the heat of the bath with a contented smile playing across his lips.
This was nice. to be able to actually enjoy a scaldingly hot bath for once, without the screams echoing just beyond his consciousness ........
While many others perhaps didn't remember the hours spent trapped within their own minds while the madnes took over, Severus Snapecould not count himself asone of them. He remembered every agonizing moment, as he brewed potion after potion, mind trained on fighting what could only be described as posession.
But it wasn't somebody else that had control over his body. This was just him, just his mind functioning perfectly whle the magic in his body went haywire. Magic was everywhere throughout the human body, not just in the world around them. Those who could perform magic had it ingrained into their very blood, and thus when magic had gone haywire, so had their blood, their bodies, their souls.
It was suddenly much better to be a muggle, after all.
Sliding down deeper into the soothing warmth of the bath, Severus allowed his eyes to slip closed, his mind wnadering back to the boy who lay asleep in a chair just a few paces away.
Harry Potter. Supposed savior of the wizarding world. Boy wonder, able to do no wrong. A boy he had believed to be dead, killed in the very same battle that had ripped the fabric of reality itself apart, the same battle that had ended magic as they knew it.
His body had been there, along with all of the others. It was most likely stil there, actually, rotting with all of the others on the Hogwarts lawns. They had never been moved, never been given a proper burial -- there was nobody left to do so. Or, atleast, those that were left had more pressing matters than making the Hogwarts lawns pretty and pristine once again.
Yet here the boy was, alive and well as can be. He bore barely a scratch, and Severus couldn't even begin to fathom just how that could be possible. He'd seen the bloody mess that Potter had been reduced to after the Final Battle, seen the twisted arms and blood-soaked hair. And with magic the way that it was, it was highly improbable that he could have recieved proper medical care.
Starting slightly at the sound of movement in the othe room, Severus sighed, now in frustration rather than contentment. So, the boy was awake. Wonderful. Perhaps ........ he could wait a bit longer, before heading out to drill answers out of him? But no. He had prescious little time to dawdle about, wasting away the minutes until they turned to hours. He had to do things quickly and efficiently -- the magic could choose any moment to send him skyrocketing back into insanity.
--
When Severus stepped out from the bathroom, clad in only a pair of loose yet elegant slacks, it was to find Potter once again curled up into the chair where he had originally left him, his body twisted at an odd angle that only a teenager could possibly fit into. However, different from before was the fact that he awake.
Comming to stand before the teen, who seemed deep in thought and had yet to notice his presense, Severus cleared his throat to gain the boy's attention, forcing back the smile that rose to his lips as Potter quite literally jumped in surprise.
"Potter, are you hungry? I believe that I still have some food somewhere around here. Otherwise, we'll haveto head into the kitchens, adn that isn't something i'd recommend doing. The House-Elves aren't exactly the most codial of creatures these days."
Harry blinked in surprise up at the Potions Master, his mouth forming into a small 'oh' of surprise. he stayed this way for nearly a full minute, durring which time Severus raied a finely ssculpted eyebrow in question, a smirk now tugging at the corners of his lips.
Clearing his throat, Harry pulled himself into a normal sitting position, glancing down at his lap as he nodded his head in acceptance. "Some food would be nice, Sir."
"Very good. And while we eat, you could perchance explain to me just what exactly happened to you -- and why I don't remember seeing you. I know of all the Hogwarts student that sruvived the Downfall, Potter. And you are NOT one of them."
Severus turned and swept from the room, not waiting to hear an answer from the boy. He highly doubted he'd get one, anyway. Or, well, atleast not an intelligent one, at any rate.
And it was true, that he was aware of all the students still within the school. For none of them had left -- most hadn't had the state of mind to become lucid more than once or twice, and usually resorte to downright panic as they took in the state of things around them. Draco was one that actually had the presense of mind to force his way into lucidity every now and again, along with himself, and, surprisingly enough, Neville Longbottom.
He'd wandered the hallways at one point, trying to find somebody -- anybody -- that he could talk to. That had been near the beginning, when he hadn't truly understood what was happening. Now he understood, he just needed to find a way to fix it, to mend it. Or atleast to resist it.
Gathering togeather the few food items that still remained in his bedroom, Severus sighed softly as he stared down at the meager offerings. He'd haveto venture back into the kitchens soon, and he really didn't look forward to that. The last time he'd been there, they'd tried to throw him into a pot of stew and had run him out of the kitchens weilding a butcher knife. Luckily, the House-Elves refused to leave the kitchens,s o they didn't attempt to chase him down and take the food he'd been able to grab on his way out.
But the thought of heading back in there ........ it wasn't a pretty one. Perhaps he could attempt to be quiet this time ........ all of the other times the House-Elves had apparently been either sleeping or hard at work on some project that had caught their fancy. The last time was the only time he'd seen them, and he really didn't want another repeat performance of that little debacle.
Walking back into the sitting room, Severus settled the food on the table situated between the furniture and the fireplace, idly wondering if a simple fire spell would work, should he dare to try it.
Turning away from what would most likely be a wasted effort -- and could very likely turn dangerous -- Severus allowed himself to fall gracefully into the hair next to Harry's, reaching forward to pluck an orange from the pile of food lying beofre him, peeling it slowly against the rising tide of hunger within him.
He didn't always remember to eat -- or, well, ehr emembered, by his body didn't. And since he wasn't i control of his body when the magic took over, he ended up not eating. Of course, the madness did allow him to have quite the assortment of potions -- not that most of them worked, with magic going haywire the way that it was. But a couple of them actually didn't use any wizarding ingredients, instead focusing on mundane, muggle ones. Potions didn't just include magic -- they had bee perfecting this art for centuries, and even muggle items could be turned into something truly marvellous.
Perhaps he could find some of the food recipies he had tucked away somewhere -- some of the ingredients he kept here were actually edible, and it might allow him to hold off from venturing into the kitchens for a while yet.
Glancing over at the boy, Severus frowned when he noticed that he had yet to touch any of the food laid out in front of him. "Well, aren' you going to eat? It's nota king's ransom, I know, but it's all I have available at the moment."
Harry jumped at the sound's of the Potion Master's irritated voice, swallowing audibly and plucking a banannaf romt he pile. Obviously, most of the foods Snape had left were fruits, with a few odds and ends.
They both ate in silence now, Harry going as slow as possible so as to match the speed of his professor. Merlin, could that man eat any slower?!
setting the remains of the orange aside, Severus turned to his companion, brow furrowing in confusion as he began to speak.
"Now, perhaps you could explain to me what the last thing you remember is. It seems like the most logical place to start."