A/N: A new year, a new chapter. I tried to write from a different point of view sometimes. THIS IS NINE PAGES! NEW RECORD!
Um… concerning Isabeau and her potion… I think I will explain it later if I need it… if I don't… I simply won't explain.
Aven's 'experience' in Charms: He simply seemed to doze off and had a dream or something.
If everyone wonders why they don't talk about it… I think it's Dumbledore's fault!
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Chapter 10 - Secrets and Surprises
A few weeks later:
"Powdered Boggartskin and mothroot, anyone have any idea?" asked Snape. "No? What a pity! (Hermione dropped her arm and glared at Snape) So… Avenarius?"
Aven, paired with Isabeau, stared at his father.
"Um… Powdered Boggartskin is a strong… hallucinogen of the worst kind. It will make you live through your worst fears. Similar to the effect a Dementor has."
He became more confident while he spoke.
"Well… and what about mothroot?" sneered Snape.
"Mothroot has a reversing effect on the potions it's been added to. It will not affect strong poisons or antidotes, however."
Severus nodded pleased and turned towards the class.
"This potion, if correctly brewed, will show you your heart's desire," began Snape, pacing in front of the class. "But I've rarely seen any sixth year student manage to do it correctly on their first try."
Isabeau nodded and Aven concentrated on the writing at the blackboard.
They worked in silence for an hour.
"Stop your preparations!"
Aven had finished his potion in the very minute the time was up but it was still a little bit cloudy. Severus walked down the rows and commented on every potion.
"Failed! Pray tell, how did you manage an acid green potion?" Snape snapped at Neville. "Malfoy, yours isn't much better as it's ivory white, not limpid as it should be. An E for you, Granger. Still a little bit cloudy, you might have put in the mothroot too early." Aven became nervous when his father approached.
"That's an E for you, Aven. I would have expected a snow white or even yellow potion. And what have we here, Corva?"
Aven heard a slight gasp. When he looked at his friend's cauldron he saw a completely limpid potion. Actually he didn't see the potion, (it was limpid) he just saw the bottom of the cauldron and some light spots dancing on the surface.
"That doesn't mean anything. Corva, drop one of your hairs in the potion."
Isabeau looked anxiously at the potions master, but didn't dare to disobey. When the hair touched the surface the potion turned red and green before it changed into a silver colour and a little figure (Harry guessed that this was Isabeau) formed out of the liquid, standing on the surface.
The small figure pressed one hand to her side and fell to the ground. Snape stared at the little dying figure.
"Obviously you did the potion completely wrong!" he told her and walked to his desk and scribbled notes on a role of parchment. Isabeau lowered her head and cleared her cauldron from the now limpid liquid. At the end of class, she didn't look up as she and Aven walked towards the Charms classroom.
"Isabeau! What's wrong with you? You did your potion wrong, so what?"
"I'm fine," she said and Aven looked at her stunned.
"Your potion was right, wasn't it?" The young man asked her.
"I don't mind," she told him.
"But you have to tell Snape! He has given you a bad mark!"
Isabeau stopped. "Avenarius Severus Snape, have you seen what the potion showed?"
"Someone was falling to the ground, so what?" Aven said. "Ah… you mean that your hearts desire is… to die?"
"Probably?" Isabeau tried to avoid a proper answer. "Not necessarily to die."
"I don't care. Isabeau, you are my friend, no matter what your heart's desire is."
Aven thought of the moments when he desperately had longed to rest. Still the memory of his dead godfather haunted him.
"But it is certainly better when the others believe it is rather my greatest fear than my heart's desire," she said in a low and sad voice. "You know that Dementors use your fears against you. But it can also be very useful to use one's hearts desire against them."
Aven nodded and they walked on.
xox
When Aven and Severus drank tea that afternoon (a habit they introduced only short after Halloween), Aven thought of Isabeau.
"Father, it's about Isabeau and the potion she brewed this morning."
Severus watched his son carefully.
"I know it showed her death or something but… you cannot let her fail, because it wasn't wrong. Dad she did the potion right!" demanded the adolescent.
The older wizard smiled and put down his cup.
"I'm serious, Dad!"
"I know, let me show you something."
Aven followed his father to the desk. He stared at the sheet with the grades.
"You gave her 'Outstanding'?" asked a stunned Aven.
"Of course I did! I've never seen any student do the potion so perfectly," explained Snape. "No matter what it showed, it was perfect. Nevertheless I thought it would be better to not show anyone she did it right."
Aven lower his head and looked up.
"Do you think she did the potion before? She seemed to know what it would show her."
"Probably? She is very bullish, a trait that clearly comes from her father's side of the family," Severus hid a small smile.
"What's your heart's desire?" asked Aven in a faint voice.
"My hearts desire? I don't know."
Aven looked at his father with surprise in his eyes.
"Do you know what your hearts desire is?" asked Severus.
"I'm not sure. I've… I've seen it in my first year but I - times have changed."
No, after the recent events he definitely wouldn't see James Potter in the mirror Erised.
"Care to have a look?" asked Severus, and Aven nodded. They began to prepare the ingredients and after one hour, a limpid potion stood in front of them.
"Who will drop the first hair?" asked Aven anxiously. Severus sighed noiseless and dropped a black hair. The potion turned red, green and silver and then a tiny silver figure formed. Aven looked closely and gasped when he identified his mother. Another figure formed and Aven watched the spitting image of his father walking over to the miniature Lily and they hugged tightly.
Suddenly the potion turned limpid again and the two figures remained for the blink of an eye before the liquid splashed on the surface again.
Aven lowered his head. He noticed that his father was trembling. Lily might have been the first person to love and comfort him.
"Your turn."
Aven nodded anxiously and dropped one of his hairs. Usually the potion lasted for at least two uses. Aven dropped one hair and waited. The potion turned red and green and silver and then… nothing happened. Aven looked at his father.
"What's wrong with it?"
Severus shook his head and stared at the silver surface. The potion turned limpid again and this time Severus stared at his son.
"Try it again."
Aven tried again and when the potion turned silver again he felt he was about to explode.
A little silver figure appeared on the surface. Severus identified his son simply standing there. The figure sunk into the potion again and the potion hissed before he turned golden and pale yellow.
"It's useless now," stated Aven. Severus nodded.
"What was that?" asked Severus.
"I don't know. I just was standing there, nothing else happened. Perhaps… it doesn't work because I've been under these concealing charms for so long!"
"It's not your fault. This could mean anything, but certainly nothing's wrong with you!"
Someone who would have everything they ever wanted would see nothing.
Not in the mirror Erised, nor in the potion.
Is it this? Am I absolutely happy? I have a family… I have a father. Could be enough for now…
xoxox
The following days came and went without major changes. However, it was only the calmness before a huge whirl storm.
It was about five weeks to Christmas when something happened. Not only that it happened but the way it happened made everyone - who knew - feel quite worried (which is certainly an understatement).
It was the 25th of November, a cold and gloomy Monday. No one was too excited about the last weeks of the term, no teacher, no student. But actually Professor Flitwick found a topic to captivate most of the sixth years' interest.
"Wandless magic!" he announced and every one of the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs (who's charms classes Aven attended) felt his cheerfulness. This didn't mean that everybody agreed with him. Aven sat at the very end of the first row and stared bored at the opposite wall.
"Put away your wands and try to cast any spell at the plant I'll put in front of you."
Aven just stared at the green thing in the crimson red flowerpot. He didn't bother to try to cast a spell at it, neither did he bother to observe the others' attempts.
His mind felt numb and his thoughts stopped. He felt... not tired, but he certainly would have fallen asleep as soon as he could have closed his eyes. A simple little voice called out in his mind.
I know you can do it. I know you want to do it. You want to feel the pleasure of power.
"What?" asked Aven overtaken.
Kill, murder, to end a life, Avada Kedavra, Avada Kedavra. Avada Kedavra… AVADA KEDAVRA!
Somewhere over the room Neville caused his plant to explode. Aven jumped up and suddenly his plant was infolded in a green flash of light.
Then he stood there, his right hand aimed at his plant, panting.
The room went quiet. Professor Flitwick stared at Aven and when the teacher had caught himself he ordered Hermione to fetch Snape, Neville to get McGonagall, and Ron to get Dumbledore.
Aven didn't dare to move. What had just happened?
"Avenarius!"
He twitched at the sound of his father's voice and dropped his still outstretched arm.
"What happened? Are you hurt?"
"I don't think so," mumbled Aven and lowered his head.
"He did wandless magic, Severus. Advanced wandless magic. I've never seen anyone else do that before," explained Flitwick.
"Of course you haven't. You would be dead if you had!" muttered Hannah Abbott in the last row but it still was loud enough for everyone to overhear.
Many students lowered their head and Aven closed his eyes in pain. Green light, pain, screams, lonely, cold, lonely - just so lonely…
"What happened?" asked Dumbledore but no one answered until Hermione eventually stepped forward.
"Neville caused his plant to explode, and Aven was surprised, and his plant… well…"
"It's dead," answered Aven now staring at the completely intact yet dead plant on the desk.
"Boy, I don't think you have to be concerned about a simple plant," said Dumbledore.
"I'm not concerned about the plant, headmaster. I'm concerned about the fact that I'll end up in Azkaban now, won't I?"
Severus stared at his son, a vague idea forming in his head.
"I mean, for casting… for casting an Unforgivable. I think it'd be better. Perhaps it won't be a simple plant next time."
"There will be no next time, we will prevent it!" Severus answered firmly.
"And how will we make sure of this? It was wandless magic, I simply did it by thinking of the words!" hissed Aven and left the room.
"Avenarius!" bellowed Snape. "We have to talk about it. Avenarius, come back!" He followed his son to the corridor and spotted him at the end of the corridor.
"Bugger off!" he screamed and all windows in the corridor exploded. Fine shivers were raining down and Aven ran away.
Severus turned around and cast an incredulous look at the headmaster and glared madly at the students trying to have a look at the scenario.
"You'd better go back to class unless your teacher said something different!" he hissed and walked off to the dungeons.
xox
The young Snape could be found (if anyone sought there) out on the grounds soon after; a little bit distressed he seemed to be.
"This cannot be. This has to be some mistake, a simple mistake!" whispered Aven. "This has to be some mistake!"
He stretched one trembling hand out towards Hagrid's backyard.
"Rumpete!" bellowed Avenarius.
"Not bad, Aven!" appreciated Isabeau after the snail on a pumpkin exploded.
"Yeah... but I aimed at the pumpkin!" snorted Aven. "Oh, what the heck is going on here?"
"You have enormous powers, Aven."
"Can't get anything past you, can I?"
"No need to be sarcastic," replied Isabeau and sat down next to him. "It's a great burden but I'm sure you will be able to shoulder it. If you have a great power, you also have a great responsibility."
"Sounds like a sentence from a film poster."
Isabeau glanced at him but he shook his head.
"Ah well, once again great Avenarius Snape will refuse to answer."
"Will you tell me, why you are talking about the issue as if you already knew it? Hell, why is everyone keeping me in the dark."
"I'm not keeping you in the dark."
"You know something, Isabeau, you know it, but you won't tell it!" complained Aven silently. He stood up and left slowly.
"I have had this feeling before, Aven. I know that it will be alright soon!"
Aven snorted and walked on.
xox
Aven did not talk to anyone the next few days, except for infrequent answers to teachers' questions. Hence his father made him stay after the potions class two weeks later.
Aven just sat down on his stool and Severus sat down opposite to him, just the way he had done in the very first potions lesson they had together. Of course, this time he didn't want to cut the boy's eye teeth.
"What's wrong, Aven? You can talk to me if you feel you need to talk," said Severus softly. "There is nothing you could not tell me! You don't have to keep everything inside because you don't want to trouble me."
Severus became really worried and talked on for a while. Finally he became annoyed.
"Since it seems you have decided to not to talk to me, you will listen to me."
Severus placed a folded parchment in front of his son.
"You will learn this by Friday. We will visit your grandparents at Christmas and you have to know at least something. And you have to know it as it is one of your duties as my heir."
"Well, when do we start with the hard part of the heir-thing?" snapped Aven.
"It is not very interesting to run around and play the little rebel anymore, is it? Learn it and we will talk about it later on."
Severus stood up and paced in front of his son.
"I want answers, and I want them now!" Aven shouted, losing his self control.
Severus hand came down on the table in front of the boy and Severus held him motionless with his glare.
"Patience is one of the major traits a Snape should have. Learn to be patient and to express your anger without screaming or destroying something," explained Severus and added: "And the family tree. If you would excuse me, we both have work to do, haven't we? Or let's say there is lunch to be eaten."
Aven stared at the family tree and didn't move. Severus stopped at the entrance and turned around once again.
"I'm worried about the future. The 'meeting' will be in three weeks. I don't want anything to happen to you!"
"Three weeks?" asked Aven hoarsely. "That's Christmas, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is. I know that you're not happy about it, neither am I. But we both knew that it wouldn't be easy."
"Yeah, you apparently told me quite a few times."
The boy shivered and stared at the table. "Apparently you told me…" he repeated and continued below his breath: "But why didn't I bother to listen?"
"Come on, let's have lunch!" asked Severus - who had sensed his son's deliberations - with a smile and Aven followed sighing.
After a while they did not find themselves in the Great Hall but outside on the grounds, walking silently across the lawns, watching some of Hagrid's beasts playing on their meadows, or in rabbit hutches for that matter.
"I'm sorry. For screaming at you… and for ignoring you. A-and certainly for disobeying you."
Only weeks ago, Aven recalled, Snape would have been happy to create a scenario to kill him, Harry Potter, and making it looking like an accident.
Severus leaned on a fence and eyed Aven. "Why would you be sorry?"
"Because…" began the youth. "Because… I… well… I disobeyed you! I screamed at you. And you never punished me, apart from the detention with Hagrid after the fight with Malfoy. I… just don't understand it! I was disrespectful but you never seem to have cared about it too much."
Severus nodded. "You… well, I knew we could not expect things to go well so soon…"
"I… I feel guilty!" exclaimed Aven.
"Why?" asked the potions master smiling.
"Because I did what I did. I am a troublemaker!" Aven gestured wildly and Severus smiled at the lanky teen, now a whirl of black hair and robes.
"Well, that's not too much of a mistake."
"I'm like James Potter!" exclaimed Aven angrily, angry at himself, angry at his father, angry at the whole world.
"Aven!" came the soothing reply. "I've been much of a troublemaker myself. Without the influence or intervention of James Potter!"
"But… all the years… I've been causing trouble all the time and I realised that it must have been a living hell for you to be steadily reminded of your time at school!"
Aven suddenly felt his father grab the collar of his robes.
"Stop thinking about the past! You're not reminding me of Potter now and now I certainly know that you've never been the Harry Potter I thought you'd been!"
Aven swallowed hard. This harsh reaction was the proof for Isabeau's theories. Indeed Snape was under a huge pressure.
"I'm sorry," mumbled the wizard when he suddenly realised what he had done and let go of Aven's robes. "I'm…" he sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Look… this situation…"
"I know," answered Aven. "I can understand. I'm also exhausted by all of this."
"Don't ever think that it's your fault again, will you? Because it isn't! I'm happy with you being here!"
Aven nodded and glanced over the meadow to the lake.
Things had never been this difficult when he had been Harry Potter, had they?
No. It simply had been Voldemort or him, hide and seek with the darkest sorcerer - more or less - alive. 'Catch me if you can…'
Oh, there was the wizarding world he had to save. Piece of cake…
'Potter to the rescue…'
Except from the fact that he had left Potter behind at the beginning of the school year.
Well, now there were some things he had to fight for. But he did not want to fight anymore. He wanted to simply be left alone. He wanted a simple life where no dark thoughts of the dark day after tomorrow clouded the bright sunshine.
"And when you stop struggling you forget that you are drowning…" sighed Aven.
"A knut for your thoughts," replied Snape with a small smile.
"This…" Aven obviously tried to remember and gestured again, "is from a poem, from a film, I think. Yeah… Dursleys watched it while I was doing the washing-up. I just remember the meaning. It said that your worst nightmare was like a… a tidal wave and that at first you are screaming for help and struggling and as soon as you give up your resistance… you forget that you are drowning. Simple, isn't it?"
Aven's broad smile was uneasy, deep grief and despair in his eyes. He looked like a disappointed child. All of a sudden, the robes seemed to be several sizes too big for him, the sleeves hanging over the half-opened hands.
A sudden wind blew over the lake and played with Aven's hair and robes.
Wraithlike, a phantom, he simply stood there and waited for some - any reaction.
Severus took his son's hands and gazed in the pleading eyes before he warped the boy in a loving embracement.
"Whatever there might come, we will face it together. If someone's messing with one Snape, he will have to deal with all of us!"
Aven pulled closer and sobbed silently.
"Better?" Severus asked after a while and the youth nodded. He beamed, his eyes bright with unshed tears.
A tiny bird zoomed towards them and for a moment, Aven thought that Ron had sent Pig. But this wasn't Pig, it wasn't even an owl.
Severus caught the small hummingbird. A tiny note was tied to its leg and it was chirping happily when it was relieved from the parchment. For a moment it stayed on Severus hands, sorting its feathers before it flew away, suddenly not in such a hurry.
"Albus wants to see us. He has a knack for such loony ideas. Wouldn't bother his Phoenix with such a short distance and too lazy to go for one of the owls," muttered Severus.
Aven smiled and tried to regain his collectedness.
With an almost absent wave of his wand Severus hid his son's reddened eyes.
"Thanks Dad."
"No need for that. Wouldn't want him to accuse me of making you cry!"
Aven laughed and together they wandered to the castle. The Gargoyle seemed to be annoyed to have to deal with two Snapes.
"May Merlin forbid that they may become angry with me!" whispered the statue and sprang out of the way of the two wizards.
Obviously Dumbledore had awaited their entrance, two armchairs were standing in front of the desk and the old wizard smiled amicable.
"Hot chocolate, Aven? Severus?" asked the Headmaster and both Snapes agreed. "It's very cold outside, isn't it?"
"As a matter of fact it is. But this is not the point, is it?" asked Aven.
"No. Unfortunately, this is no social call. Some highly disturbing news has popped up in the Daily Prophet. The paper recently has reported about Harry Potter's disappearance. I'm sorry that they came up with those two stories!"
Dumbledore put two papers on his desk. The two lead articles indeed were highly disturbing.
"Harry Potter vanished - did he run away?" read Aven out loud.
Snape senior arched one eyebrow and handed Aven the second paper.
"Potter in love with his teacher?" Aven once again read the headline. "What? How do they…?" Aven eyed the cover. A huge picture of two cloaked figures walking along Diagon Alley was framed by tiny written text. "The reasons for Harry Potter's disappearance are still unknown. However, recently Severus Snape (36, potions master, teaching potions at Hogwarts School) was seen in Diagon Alley, accompanying a young man. Is this Harry Potter? And why is he in company of a teacher when he is not attending school anymore? Could he have run away because he has…" Aven stopped reading.
"Are they serious? How can they think that I…I... I don't look like Harry Potter, I'm… I'm a lot taller than he was! And how can they think that I'm… I'm in… how dare they propagating…?" Aven broke up and glared at the paper.
"Harry - eh… Aven! It's alright!" Severus said and laid a hand on Aven's Arm. "Let them gossip around until they are blue in the face!"
Albus smiled. "Your father is right, calm down. Do you want anything to eat? I didn't see you two at lunch."
Without further questions the wizard conjured a plate of sandwiches and set them next to the tea tablet on the desk.
Aven tried to make out what was on which sandwich but he had no idea. So he simply took one and took a careful bite.
"Urgh… Tuna…" he uttered, trying hard to not show his disgust on his face. The headmaster never managed to do a decent Tuna sandwich.
Severus held his sandwich out to Aven. "That's chicken. Let's swap them."
Aven nodded and smiled gladly.
"Still we have to do something about the papers!" Aven tried to get the words past the pieces of the sandwich in his mouth.
A patented potions master glare hit him and he mumbled an excuse. "Not before 200 grams the addressee also can participate in your meal."
"What?" asked the teen.
"Another expression for 'Don't talk with your mouth full!' usually used by my grandmother."
Aven stared at his father and snickered. "That's something you should teach."
Severus simply arched an eyebrow and turned back to the headmaster. "So, what about the papers? How can we stop them?"
"We could either affirm or deny their story. If we deny it, we should come up with a different story or even an interview."
"First of all, we should tell them that it was not Harry Potter they saw in Diagon Alley," Aven threw in, carefully cleaning all the crumbs from his mouth before he spoke.
Snape arched another eyebrow. "You are sure you want to make this all official?"
"Eh… making what official?"
"Aven, our relation! The fact that you are my son!"
Aven smiled. "Oh, well. I think I am. Voldemort already knows and who cares about the other bigots?" After a short look at his father (and the new heights his eyebrows were climbing up to) Aven added: "I hope they won't stay that way, it would ruin all of your scary looks!"
Severus scowled laughingly at his son and finished his second sandwich. "Well, I have papers waiting. You two work out the article. If you insist on it, I will have a look at it."
xox
In the next morning in the Great Hall everyone was talking about two lead stories in the Daily Prophet.
POTTER OFF TRAINING TO DEFEAT YOU-KNOW-HOW
The boy-who-lived says "He won't just capitulate because I'm only a teenager!""
And (on page 34 & 35 the full two page article)
HIGHLY RESPECTED POTIONS MASTER FINALLY ACCEPTS SON
"I never knew I had a son! Of course I love him!"
Aven smiled at the paper and read through the two articles. It was simply astonishing how easy it was to mislead all of them. He especially liked the second one. He had a lot of fun with inventing the scenarios why he hadn't been with his father.
Snape senior had an invisible triumphant smile on his face. The article was pathetic but not pathetic enough to take the brats' fear of him. He had had his doubt about it, but one sneer caused them all to concentrate on their breakfast. This was going to be a good week.
xox
Down the Slytherin table, Isabeau carefully chewed her strawberry jam toast. Her eyes were fixed on the text on page 35. When she read through the article, she watched the others at the table through her eyelashes. Malfoy was pale, even paler than usually. Crabbe and Goyle obviously didn't realize what the articles meant.
Zabini heatedly discussed it with Pansy. Obviously, the Snapes were the topic.
Suddenly, something caught Isabeau's interest. At the Gryffindor table, Weasley and Granger seemed to argue. Weasley's glares at both Snapes made it clear who was the topic of their discussions.
xox
Hermione ran into a student in the corridor and littered the books she had been carrying in a 4 feet radius.
"Sorry!" she mumbled and prepared to thank the other student for helping her picking up the books but stopped when she looked up. She found herself face to face with a Slytherin girl. The blonde seemed vaguely familiar to Hermione but she couldn't lay her finger on it.
"Just don't spill the news all over the castle, Granger!" smirked the other girl and resumed her way.
"What the hell…?" whispered the brunette. A Slytherin helped her pick up the books when she was run into by a Gryffindor and even a muggleborn? The world must be coming to an end.
Well, in case the world wasn't coming to an end immediately, Hermione had to hurry up. It wasn't a good idea to bring Snape's wrath upon oneself for being late to potions.
She hurried into the classroom and to her place before the door closed by itself.
While taking out her parchment and her quill she swept the room with a quick glance and spotted a blonde bush.
She was confused to see her paired with Aven.
"Let's begin!" Ron suddenly hissed and Hermione realized that she had been staring at the two other students.
Rumpete: I'm not good at Latin (means, I suck at Latin - couldn't translate a sentence without a dictionary if my life depended on it) but this should mean 'Explode'. (Update on this: Still I cannot speak a single word of Latin, but got the best mark when I was quizzed in Latin yesterday! School's so... insert whatever you's like to read here!)
The poem Aven mentions is from "Dark Harbor" (Guess who's playing one of the lead?). It is not mine and I won't pretend it is!
"It's funny. Your worst nightmare always seems so far away. Then, all of a sudden, there it is, like a monstrous tidal wave. You try to escape, but you can't. You struggle and you struggle and you struggle, your desperate cries unheard. Then, something strange happens, you stop struggling. Your cries take flight. You forget you're drowning."
Answers to reviews:
Tabitha78 - Fixed it right away...
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What's on the next chapter: I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes... Christmas is all around us...
Got the hint? NO? Then just go on reading...