Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form, nor am I making any money from this story. I only own the plot and any characters who appear that are not apart of the original series.
A Different Reality
By Constellations
In Which Someone Is Lost
If someone stepped into Dumbledore's office they would find it looked nothing like what a Headmaster's office should look like. Upon viewing it for the first time people often found themselves in varying degrees of awe and shock. (This of course amused Albus to no end, which was part of the reason the office was decorated the way it was. He had always enjoyed having the upper hand straight off.)
The room itself was of medium size with various painting of landscapes hung along the walls. The sides of the room were lined with shelves of gadgets, some muggle, some magical, and knick knacks from past travels. An oversized wardrobe took up the far right corner, while a large desk with a matching high backed chair was located in the middle of the room.
At the moment, Dumbledore was sitting in the high backed chair with his familiar, Fawkes, using his shoulder as a perch. Fingering a lemon drop, he absently ran through the events of the last two months. A lot had occurred during that span of time. Word of Voldemort's defeat and the Potters deaths had spread quickly through the Wizarding World. The first four days after the initial news, owls could be seen flying every which way at all sorts of hours. (This confused the daylights out of many muggles in the area and was talked about on the news for several days after.)
There had been huge celebrations due to the Wizarding World's new found freedom which took place all over England, much to the Ministry of Magic's dismay. Ministry officials were still working on covering up the numerous signs of magic and odd events caused by overzealous celebrations.
Young Harry had been credited with the Dark Lord's demise and within a week was considered a worldwide hero, quite a feat for only being a little over a year old. Wizarding newspapers and magazines had had the baby's picture with his new scar splashed across the front page and the public had officially dubbed Harry 'The Boy Who Lived'.
On a more serious note, (excuse the pun) Sirius Black had been sentenced to Azkaban for life, charged with the murder of Peter Pettigrew and muggle bystanders. Unfortunately, Albus had been unable to do anything to prevent the young man's imprisonment.
What was weighing the heaviest of his mind, however, was some very disturbing news he had received yesterday from Arbella Figg. It seemed that Harry was no longer living with his relatives. Upon questioning the boy's aunt and uncle under a mild truth spell, Dumbledore had been horrified to find that they had abandoned the baby in the country. Unfortunately Vernon had only been able to give vague descriptions and all searches for the boy had proved fruitless.
Albus sighed and popped the candy into his mouth. A small chime sounded in the room, turning his attention toward the door. Ah… that would be Severus. The twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes slightly dimmed as Severus' initial reaction upon hearing of Lily Potters death flashed through his mind. The poor boy had been devastated. The two had been best friends and an unstoppable duo in school ever since first year. Lily had been a Ravenclaw and Severus a Slytherin, but House rivalries had not stopped them from becoming fast friends. Lily had been the sister that Severus had never had and he had likewise been like a brother to her. The red head had also been the only person Albus knew of (besides himself) that had been able to penetrate Severus' cold exterior. She had been his confidant and pillar of strength throughout most of his life.
Severus had holed himself up in his chambers for over a week after hearing about her death and had refused to come out. When he had finally emerged, the man had looked like the living dead. He obviously had not gotten much if any sleep, as the dark circles under his eyes attested to. The vague and distant expressions on his face, so unlike his usual calm prestige and spine chilling glares, scared many students (especially since no one could remember Professor Cyne's assistant acting this way before).
But time, as always, moved on. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months as Severus slowly got over Lily's death. It had taken almost two months, but he had finally pulled himself together and was once again his usual ornery self. Albus of course was thrilled that Severus was back to normal, though many students attending Hogwarts did not share his sentiments (Severus' efforts in trying to deduct as many House points as humanly possible had returned in full force with his recovery).
Today had been a good day for Severus. Most of the students had left days ago to spend the Christmas holiday with family and the school for once was relatively quiet. Standing in front of the entrance to Dumbledore's office, he said the password (fiddlesticks) and climbed up the spiral staircase that revealed itself.
Upon seeing Severus pass through the doorway Albus gestured to a candy dish. "Lemon drop?"
Severus grimaced as he sat down in a conjured chair, "Albus you know I hate those things with a passion, why do you even bother?"
"Because there is always the slight chance that you might take one," he replied. "Now as to why I called you here... Professor Cyne had decided to retire from teaching Potions at the end of this year. This of course leaves a vacancy for the position and I was wondering if you would be willing to accept it. Your credentials on the subject are extremely impressive and you are more than qualified for the job♦."
Snape remained silent after Dumbledore made his offer. Weighing the pros and cons, he finally made his decision. "I will take the position Albus, Lord knows you'd find a way to make me if I refused."
Eyes twinkling, Dumbledore smiled an all too familiar smile. "I'm glad you will. The details will be on your desk tomorrow morning." Albus then paused for a moment before continuing with a serious expression. "However, that wasn't the only thing I need to tell you. It has come to my attention that Harry is no longer at the Dursleys."
Concern flashed across Severus' face before it disappeared behind his mask. "Where is he? When did you find out he was missing?"
Albus sighed, "I unfortunately am not sure of his whereabouts…"
"What exactly do you mean that you don't know his whereabouts?" he interrupted.
"As you know I had Arbella stationed on the street to keep an eye on him. However, yesterday she informed me that the boy was no longer there. It seems that the Dursleys abandoned the child in the countryside." said Dumbledore with a sad tone. "I had the Order send out search parties, but no one has been able to find Harry." And with a long pause added, "I thought you ought to know."
Severus sat motionless, letting all the information seep in. No… this can't be happening! He thought. I've already lost Lily there is no way I'm going to lose my godson as well…! With a determined look on his face he looked Albus in the eye. "I'm going to look for him and there is nothing you can do to stop me."
"I wasn't going to Severus. I hope you have more luck than the rest of us have had," said Albus. "And take as long as you need, I'm sure Cyne can survive without your assistance for a few weeks."
With a quick nod Severus left, giving silent thanks to Dumbledore as he returned to the dungeons in order to prepare for his expedition.
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Notes:
♦Directly after graduating from Hogwarts, Severus had devoted himself on working towards Mastery in Potions. A brilliant student in the art, he spent two and a half years studying from one of the best Potions Masters in the twentieth century. At the age of twenty, Severus received his Mastery and became the youngest Potions Master in over 500 years.
More commonly known as the Order of the Phoenix
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