Disclaimer: All the Harry Potter Universe belongs to Warner Brothers and so on... I own nothing besides the Original Character of Isabeau Corva. If she one day will pop up in one of the books or insomefilm, don't sue me, I had her first! )

A/N: I'm really, really, REALLY sorry for not writing for so long (I did write, but I made no further progress on the current chapters) and that's all the fault of this stupid school!

I don't know why I need to learn about the velocity of fall! Only for this stupid exam! And I don't even continue this stupid physics lessons next year! (Unless I have to repeat this school year, of course!)

And there was Christmas... I'm sorry, but there were such important things like picking presents for my family and my beta also has a family! And just think about it? How many christmas-stories/chapters have popped up at the 24th and 25th?

But… with no further interjections, go on reading! Enjoy yourself!

Still beta'ed by Thabita78

Chapter 09 - An Interlude to the Tragedy
(Revised and Updated)

Aven woke because Hedwig nibbled on his ear.

"Um, Hedwig? When did you arrive?" Aven glanced over to the alarm clock, and it took some time until the information sunk in. "Half eleven. Alright, time to get ready for lunch."

Aven sat up and took the letter from Hedwig. He unfolded the heavy parchment and smiled. Severus actually could write quite beautifully, when he was not grading papers.

Aven,

I wanted to thank you for your help yesterday. I'm really grateful that you were there and helped me through it. Still, I wonder about the blanket and its pattern. Is this some kind of hidden message?

Anyway, don't be a stranger,

(crossed out 'Severus' and 'S. Snape') Your father

P.S. I think we need to disguise your owl. She's pretty recognisable.

Aven smiled and got over to the bathroom to have a shower. He dressed rather casually, (green shirt and black trousers) put on his robes, and left for the Great Hall.

Only a few students (Aven guessed that there were barely one hundred) sat on the house tables to have lunch and even fewer teachers where present in the Great Hall. Dumbledore, McGonagall and Professor Vector were engaged in a discussion. Aven sat down at his new place at the Head table and began to eat. Severus joined the teachers and his son fifteen minutes later.

"Um, would you mind showing me this secret entrance the teachers take? It's rather embarrassing to have to walk down the hall every day!" asked Aven after five minutes.

"Of course. You did receive my note?"

"Yes. Um… what do you mean with 'disguise my owl'?"

Aven stared at his father who replied with a small smile.

"Change her colouring. Of course it won't hurt her and you should pick another name for her," advised the older wizard.

"Why? Hedwig is a nice name, and I'm sure it's rather common?"

"Well, a raven named Edgar would be common," whispered Severus, "a snake named Salazar would be common, a dog names Snuffles (Aven jerked at this comment) would be common, but an owl named Hedwig is as rare and perhaps unique as is a boy named Harry Potter."

Aven nodded. "Alright, I'll think of some name. What about the… bruise on your arm? Better now?"

Snape nodded softly and turned his attention on his breakfast again. "Still aches a little bit but that's nothing unusual. What about you?"

"I'm alright, just a little pecking headache. Don't worry, I just got into bed too late yesterday," answered Aven smiling. "I will be fine!"

"Good. Any plans for today?"

"No. I think I'll stroll down the corridors, chase a few spiders out of the corners."

McGonagall stood up and cleared her throat.

"All third-years and older with permission for Hogsmead, gather in the Entrance Hall at 10 o'clock. That's in forty-five minutes," announced the witch and watched the majority of students leaving the Hall. Finally she looked down the table. She was a little bit surprised that Avenarius didn't run out of the Hall along with the other students. On the other hand the young Snape was extraordinary in many ways.

His hair fell loose over his back and Minerva recognised that it was longer than it had been just two days ago.

She finally stopped staring and walked over to her colleague and his son.

"Don't you want to join us for Hogsmead, Mr. Snape?"

"Um… no…" muttered Aven. What would it look like if Severus Snape's son went to Hogsmead with a permission signed by Sirius Black?

"Why did I even bother to sign you a permission form then?" growled Severus with a smile not visible for McGonagall.

"I think I'll go with you the next time," stated Aven with a friendly smile on his lips.

When McGonagall turned around he fixed his father with a simple look.

"You wouldn't have had to."

"Sure I did," replied Severus in a no-nonsense voice.

"Why?" Aven finally asked.

"You're my son. Fathers normally do things such as signing permission forms."

"Did your father sign yours?"

Severus hesitated for a moment. "He wouldn't have signed anything, even something as simple as a permission form for 'stupid exhilaration' ever. Usually mother did it. But first of all…"

"My mother is dead," interjected Aven.

"Yes, and second…"

"It wouldn't be appropriate if Severus Snape's son had a permission signed by Sirius Black."

Severus fixed his son with a glare. "Yes. But mostly I think I should show you the respect my father has forsaken me. No further discussions," snapped Snape when he realised how much he had showed of himself.

Aven arched an eyebrow in a very Snape-like manner and a Snape-sneer played around his lips when he realised it.

"Well, I'm off for my chambers!" announced Aven.

"Meet me in the Entrance Hall at a quarter to ten?"

Aven gave sharp nod and left the hall. Just when he had passed through the large doors he realised that he had forgotten about the teachers' entrance and exit again.

---

In the Entrance Hall (at twenty to ten, being a Snape seemingly included natural punctuality) Aven met the most unwelcome student ever.

Malfoy eyed the young Snape and realised that the other student didn't wear his cloak.

"Don't tell me, did your father not give you permission to leave the castle?" he taunted quietly.

"You might not understand that, Malfoy, but my father actually wants to spend some time with me. Besides that, I have the permission to leave the castle."

Malfoy's eyes widened as he saw someone approaching.

"What? Made you speechless?"

"Avenarius, care to have a walk through Hogsmead?" Aven turned to his father and smiled. "I asked Minerva if I could go as a supervisor."

"Alright!" replied an excited Aven. "Just need to get my coat… oh, you already took care of that, did you?" asked the young man when his father handed his coat. "Thanks," And with a broad grin he added, "Dad!"

Aven knew it wasn't alright to tease someone like that, but after all Malfoy was just a little skrewt.

Severus arched one black eyebrow at his son. "Well, let's go then, Avenarius. Draco, Vincent, Gregory, join the group!"

In the village Severus announced time and place where they would meet again to leave for the castle. The students were much too happy to be dismissed to linger around the potions master for much longer and so Aven was happy to spend some time alone with his father.

"Haven't been here for 'exhilaration' for ages," muttered Severus.

"Well, we can have a look at Honeydukes', or Zonko's. Or anywhere you'd like to go to."

"What's the normal sightseeing tour?"

"Post office, Zonko's, Honeydukes' and Shrieking Shack. But I'd say we both had enough of the last one, hadn't we?"

"If you are inferring to an event involving… Moony and… Padfoot? And not to forget about that disarming spell you used against me. You definitely are not mistaken, then."

They just walked through the village, engaged in a rather heated discussion about everything and nothing.

Until, of course, something went terribly wrong. Some students were engaged in a fight with some goblins and other humanoid creatures Aven was sure he did not really want to identify. Snape put on his best potions master expression and Aven waved at him.

"Well, I think I'll enjoy myself until you're done! I'm sure we'll meet later!"

So Aven wandered off by himself to have a look around.

It was no wonder that he was spotted by Malfoy and his lackeys soon.

"Snape!" exclaimed Draco. "Where's your father? Thought he wanted to spend time with you, didn't he?"

Ya slimy git! Even now, you just cannot resist, can you? Aven thought and watched Malfoy through narrowed eyes.

"He does. Unfortunately, he's indisposed right now, taking care of fighting students." Aven replied with an even tone.

"Oh… well. It's not that I don't like him, you know! But he's a teacher after all…" said Malfoy, trying to get an edge on Aven.

Aven arched his eyebrow at Draco. "Really? Anything else you'd like to say?"

"Well… who was your Mum? Little Mudblood whore? No wonder you'd live with her until your father was forced to take you in by her death, wasn't he?"

With a roar, Aven lost control and jumped on Malfoy and his fist met the Slytherin's jaw hard.

Severus could speak out for himself if he needed to, but Lily was dead and Aven would not allow Malfoy to insult her in the slightest.

"Don't pretend to be ignorant! Mudbloods… they are beyond our concerns. Granger for example! Going out with a Weasley! I don't know who is to be more pitied!"

Another punch in the face made Malfoy shut up.

Malfoy raised his hand and Aven felt a burning on his cheek. He jumped up, not surprised to see himself and his enemy surrounded by a bunch of students. He fingered for his wand but it slipped through his muddy fingers. But he wouldn't need it anyway.

Aven hit Malfoy's nose hard. The cut on his cheek burned like the searing fires of hell, but he did not care at the moment.

Snape broke the circle of students surrounding the two gamecocks.

"What…?" No further word slipped across the potions master's thin lips.

Aven was in fight position, a long cut across his cheek and Malfoy's bleeding nose suggested that they had not just started.

"Draco Malfoy!" snapped the professor.

"Avenarius Severus Snape!" came the low growl from Snape senior. A fair few students shivered at the dangerous low words. Some came to the expression that the potions professor would favour the Slytherin boy even over his own son.

"He. Insulted. Mum!" hissed Aven. "And. My. Friends!"

"Back to Hogwarts, all of you, NOW!" ordered Snape with suppressed anger. He chased the students towards the castle. They entered the Entrance Hall and stopped there. The potions master angrily paced the Hall and stopped in front of his son and his godson.

"What were you thinking?" bellowed Snape. "You endangered not only yourselves but all the other students watching the spectacle. "AND NOT ONE OF THEM EVEN TRIED TO STOP THE TWO OF YOU!"

"But… Uncle Sev!" shrieked Draco.

"Dad!" demanded Aven.

They threw an angry look at each other and then looked back at Severus.

Snape waved his wand (no one noticed when Snape had pulled it out) at each of the two boys and healed the nose and the cut.

"NO BUTS! DETENTION, with McGonagall! ONE WEEK AT THE LEAST!"

Draco jerked and Aven smirked. "Would be much better than with Hagrid though, right? Imagine if you had to go into the forest to help him?"

"I'm certain he will be very pleased when you join him, Avenarius!" hissed Snape and Aven lowered his head. "And it's twenty points from each of you rubbernecks!"

A rising humming came from the crowd, but Snape put a simple end to the complaints.

"SHUT UP OR DO YOU WANT ONE MONTH WORTH OF DENTETION WITH ME?" he roared and added a bit hoarsely, "BUGGER OFF, if you don't want to disembowel carloads of toads and slugs!"

The three dozen students suddenly shooed out of the entrance hall with the very empty hourglasses.

"I'm going to talk to McGonagall and Hagrid tonight," muttered Severus and left the Hall.

"I'm…" began Aven.

"What?" snapped Severus.

"I'm sorry, sir," muttered the young Snape with a lowered head.

"Go to your rooms! And I will deliberate twice before I allow you to visit Hogsmead next time!" threatened Severus.

"Yes, sir," muttered the adolescent.

xXx

Ron stared into the fire and sighed. It was Hallowe'en and it was the first one since the first school year he spent without Harry. A short side glance at the vacant chess game made him even sadder. Hermione would not play with him since she still didn't like the 'brutality'.

He thought about the fight Aven and Draco had earlier the day in Hogsmead. Draco surely had deserved it, but Ron would have been much happier if the boy, now known as Avenarius Snape, still was his friend Harry Potter.

Hermione entered Gryffindor common room and sat down next to Ron.

"Hey love, everything alright?" Ron asked absently.

"Snape deducted about 700 points," sputtered Hermione and lean against Ron's shoulder.

"From which house?"

"Some from every house. Deducted 20 points from every student present to the fight."

"Lucky we didn't stay, aren't we?" asked Ron and pulled his girlfriend closer.

"After all it was…"

"It was no one!" Ron cut Hermione off. "Two rivalling boys."

"It was Harry!" shrieked Hermione angry.

"Harry is a traitor!"

"Ron, I may not like the state he is in, but I certainly do not agree with your puny opinion of him!" Hermione struggled. "Sure, not everything about him is… right. But he is all right."

"Are you sure? You don't have proof of this. He is not Harry anymore!"

"Oh Ron! Technically not, but he still is the same person!"

"He is not! Even when he was Sheldon he wasn't himself!" stated Ron.

"Ron, he has to adjust to a whole new situation. You wouldn't be yourself if you were in his situation."

xXx

Aven strolled down the corridors, his hands in his pockets and a grim expression on his face. A hand grasped his arm and Aven looked up.

"I don't suppose that your father was too pleased with the fight?"

"You told him, didn't you?" stated Aven irritated.

"He would have been much angrier if one of you would have been hurt or killed, for that matter," the short reply came matter-of-factly.

"YOU HAD NO RIGHT!" bellowed Aven. "You had no right to tell him! And how can you be so bloody calm?"

Isabeau smiled softly. "No one was hurt or killed."

"But I got detention and… aw, sod off!"

After all she was right. No one was injured - besides his pride.

The blonde looked in his eyes and Aven felt uneasy. "Will you let go of me?"

"Promise me not to bear a grudge against him about this! One should be happy to have such a caring parent!"

Aven snorted. "Yeah, right… 'caring'. I rather would renounce of that sort of devotion!"

"Avenarius! Don't say that! I'm sure that it's difficult to suddenly have to deal with a parent, but it's not easy for him either!" Isabeau sighed.

"Isn't it? Poor bugger, ain't he?" the youth scoffed. "Why, pray tell, did he accept me when he isn't capable to handle me?"

"You're ridiculous! You use the words of a 16 year old youth but you rather act like an infant! You have to accept him and he has to accept you! Can't you just accept that he's just your father? Fathers act like this!"

"Oh, do they? I don't have a proper comparison, I never had a father before!"

Of course, he had watched Vernon Dursley but he wasn't sure if the man was a proper comparison.

"They do! My father was so occupied with protecting me that he missed me by several yards. I should have been sitting in the fireside and sewing when I was outside at the creek and catching polliwogs. And when I was supposed to be learning to cook and bake, I was reading books about curses and potions. And finally when he accepted that and tried to make me a chaser or a keeper, I instead develop seeker qualities."

Aven met the ice-blue gaze and saw something in these depths. She blinked and it was gone.

xXx

Aven was summoned by his father in the evening. He received the times of his detention with Hagrid and sighed heavily.

Then he was ordered to one of the comfy armchairs and sat down.

"Explain."

Aven stared at his father and became angry. "He deserved it."

"Why?" asked Severus and held his son with a harsh look.

"For being his slimy ugly self!"

"That's no reason!"

"It is! He insulted Mum. And my friends. And you and me for that matter!" answered Aven with a grim pleasure. "Raving 'bout mudbloods and the Weasleys. Asked if Mum was your 'mudblood whore.' He bloody deserved what he got!"

Severus sighed and looked Aven in the eye. "Aven, you'll have to learn a lot about wizard families! You have to calm down and reply with a snide remark. That's how you earn their respect and someday even their friendship!"

"His friendship?" Aven spat out. "That's gross! I feel like beating what little brain he's got left in that skull of him out of said skull every time I see him."

"Not to bad!" replied Snape with a tiny smile. "But you need to be more subtle."

"That was no joke! I mean what I said!" exclaimed Aven but Severus just smiled knowingly.

"I'd suggest you accompany Miss Corva for some time. She might give you an idea how things are going in the ranks of higher pureblood wizard families!"

Aven snorted, but after all there could have been much worse company than Isabeau.

And so it came that Avenarius Snape was found in the company of Isabeau Corva more recently. No need to say that they developed at least something like a mutual trust of some kind.

A/N: Sorry, it took me quite long to write this, I know! But I've some trouble in my live and really need to get things sorted out. Well, sorting things out will be a major part of the next chapter!

As ever, I really enjoyed your reviews!

athenakitty - Well, do you really get used to be in the centre of attention?

GiGiFanFic - Oh, you don't have to apologise. The way you made the comment you made does not let me see this as a criticism of myself. There are things some people can imagine, some cannot. That's the way things go.

HaliJade Snape - Thanks! I tried to put in more of this 'Aven said' and so on, but personally I do not like if there are to much 'said' and was just a little bit reluctant to use them. I just don't know enough synonyms for 'say'.

Lanetha Mercion - Thanks for this compliment! I promise you, after I write about Christmas, Hermione and Ron will play a bigger part in the story. I just need to reintroduce them.

Tabitha78 - No, the authoress is absolutely clueless. But I already wrote the beginning of the conversation the Snapes will have. giggle

Pure Black - Ow, I think for Dumbledore(and everyone else) it's just another point added to the list of Harry's/Aven's 'Top ten why I should kill the ugly bastard'. It certainly means a lot more to Aven, I think!

Diamondage - Well, where do you think the name came from? I had to make it up. And I don't think that Harry had a lot of time to think about it either. Do you run around thinking Well, what name would I pick if I suddenly had to live undercover? ? Personally I don't see the problem. This also can be a result of the fact that your review seems to be cut off at the end.

shelbs - Firstly, I think that Dumbledore made up a curious story about Harry being absent for a special training to defeat Voldemort. Would suit him, would keep the public calm. Secondly, Harry spent a long time in Hogwarts, especially to avoid being killed by Voldemort and his Death Eaters. The charm hiding his true appearance also hid some of his character traits, especially the Slytherin traits he inherited from Severus. Thirdly, I don't know what exactly happened between Severus and Lily. I really don't know yet. I'll come up with a solution very soon, I hope. There are many possibilities…

Goldgrin - Thanks for the compliment. Unfortunately I cannot help you with your problem with the chapters. I had a similar problem. When I loaded a chapter it only loaded the half of the text or even just the header and no text at all. Usually a reboot would have fixed it.