REPOST. January 3rd, 2007; Happy New Year, everyone!
Chapter 5
Harry opened his eyes and found himself in the Library, exactly where he had disappeared three years ago. He had to remind himself that in this world, it had only been three days - he couldn't afford to slip up, after all.
Sneaking up to his room, he hid the knife he'd received from the founders in his trunk. Deciding that he looked presentable, he headed into the living room in search of a certain black-haired man.
He found the Potions Master on the couch, intently reading a book.
"Professor Snape?"
The man looked up, and for a minute, Harry saw an unidentifiable emotion flash in those obsidian eyes. It was gone as soon as it came, and a few seconds later, Harry doubted there had been anything other than anger in the Potions Master's expression.
"Where have you been?" Snape asked, towering over him. "Do you realize how worried Professor Dumbledore has been?"
"I'm sorry, sir," Harry replied, and was surprised to find that he didn't feel even slightly afraid. If this had happened three years ago, he had no doubt that he would be cowering on the ground. But training with the Founders - Salazar in particular - had toughed his skin, and Harry was grateful. "I'm sorry, sir, but I can't tell you."
"Sebastien." Snape's tone was dangerous. "You can tell me willing, or not, but either way, I will find out."
Harry shook his head, hoping the Potions Master wouldn't do anything too drastic.
Snape looked almost unnerved for a second before he pulled out his wand and pointed it at Harry. "Legilimens!"
Damn. Harry would liked to have kept his abilities secret for a while longer, but there was no way he could allow that spell to hit him. His time with the founders were to remain secret for as long as possible, and it was too early to tell Snape the truth. Clearing his mind, he braced himself before mumbling, "Protegro!"
The Shield Charm absorbed Snape's spell. The Potions Master looked stunned, and if the situation hadn't so serious, Harry would have found it amusing.
"How did you do that?" Snape finally asked. "It is impossible to block the Leglimens spell!"
Harry didn't answer.
There was a minute of silence.
"So you still won't tell me?" The Potions Master finally growled.
"I'm sorry, sir," Harry replied. "But I really can't. I promised."
"Fine." Snape looked disgruntled at having been put off by a mere boy. "I will be talking with Professor Dumbledore later about your behavior. I suspect he will ask me to tutor you in all of your subjects before school starts in order for you to catch up."
Harry knew that all the training with the Founders had prepared him far better than Snape could, but he couldn't exactly say so without giving everything away. It's better to pick your battles, he thought, and instead just nodded.
"You should go up to your room and get cleaned up," Snape said. "I'll go firecall Dumbledore now."
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"Professor Dumbledore has been delighted to hear that you are back, and as I'd suspected, have requested that I train you in the necessary subjects. We are to begin as soon as possible - you have much to catch up on." Snape looked at Harry and frowned. "Tell me, which subjects are you proficient at?"
"Defence and Potions, sir." Harry smiled inwardly as he remembered the long hours he had spent with Godric and Salazar, studying. It had been hard work, but it had been well worth it in the end.
"Go get your wand, Sebastien. We will get started immediately, as we do not have much time."
Harry ran upstairs to his trunk and unwrapped a handkerchief. Wrapped inside were two wands. The first was the one he'd bought in Diagon Alley so many years ago. The other had been use to a shorter period of time, yet was somehow more familiar - the long, black wand had been given to him by Godric and Salazar. Taking the black wand, he closed his trunk and went back downstairs. It wouldn't do for Sebastien Frostpine to have the same wand as Harry Potter, after all.
"I assume you know all the basic spells, so I will not waste any time teaching those to you. We will start with dueling." With a flick of his wand, Snape cleared away all the furniture in the room, leaving a wide space. "Do you know the basics?"
"Yes, sir," Harry replied. "The duellers shake hands and bow as they slowly back away until they are across from each other. Technically, the duelling can start as soon as the duellers have shaken hands, but it is considered polite to wait until both participants are sufficiently far away from each other. The first person to lose their wand, or hit the ground without standing up for the next five seconds, loses."
"Correct," Snape barked. "Today, I just want to see how much dueling you know. Throw any kind of spell or curses on me, as long as its not unforgivable. I will, of course, fight back, so you will also have to work on blocking or dodging the spells I throw at you. I will be using more advanced curses, so you may not know all of them. Understand?"
Harry nodded.
"Let's begin."
After bowing and shaking hands, Harry backed away onto the end of the platform that had been created. Snape immediately began throwing curses that Harry hadn't heard of.
Harry didn't want to expose too much of what he knew, but it was strange - he felt almost as if he could sense the curses Snape was going to throw. He easily dodged, blocked, or deflected the curses. He could see that Snape was surprised. After a while, the professor started calling out the curses more and more quickly until the flying spells were but a blur. Still, they didn't affect Harry.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Snape yelled, firing the curse at Harry's side.
Harry leapt out of the way and pointing his wand at Snape's right side, opened his mouth. Snape, noticing, jumped to the left, which was exactly what Harry had hoped he would do. Changing the direction of his wand at the last minute, he said, "Expelliarmus!"
Snape's wand flew threw the air and Harry easily caught it.
"Here's your wand, Professor," Harry said, blushing slightly, feeling unnerved by the way Snape was looking at him.
"I must say, that was amazing, Sebastien," Snape said, and Harry was pleasantly surprised. If he'd learned one thing in all of his years at Hogwarts, compliments from the Potions Master was rare. Harry flushed as he mumbled a quiet "thank you".
"I will see you again for lessons tomorrow. You may leave."
Dismissed, Harry quickly left the room, not seeing the surprised look on Snape's face.
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"I must say, that sounds incredible, indeed." Dumbledore looked at his friend.
"It is," Severus agreed. "It has been years since anyone has beaten me in a duel, and Sebastien has not only managed to do that - he somehow managed to ward off my invasion on his mind."
"He has a powerful aura for one so young," Dumbledore agreed. "It would be highly beneficial if he fights for the Light."
"Yes, but could he be a spy for the Dark Lord?"
"No, that can not be. Although his aura is strong, it is pure and untainted; the child is obviously innocent, for I can detect no hint of Dark Magic." After a few moments of silence, Dumbledore asked, "Severus, may I question him about a few things?"
"Of course, Albus." Raising his voice, Severus called for the boy.
A minute later, Sebastien entered the room. Albus immediately sensed something different about his aura; there was something... stronger than before, yet exactly what, he couldn't pinpoint.
"Sebastien," Dumbledore began. "I heard from Severus that you managed to beat him in duelling yesterday?"
A hint of red appeared on the boy's cheeks. "Headmaster, I'm sure Professor Snape was going easy on me. He is a professor after all, and has far more experience than me."
Severus was surprised at the amount of modesty the child showed. From his own experience, children this age were usually misbehaving and righteous brats, believing that they could conquer the world with their youth and foolishness. His lips curled at the thought of the Potter brat. It was a pleasant surprise to see that Sebastien was different.
"You have potential, Sebastien. In order to be the best you can be, we need to see how much you can do. I think it would be a fine idea if you and Professor Snape here could duel again - this time, without Severus holding back." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled merrily.
"All spells are valid then?"
"Yes, with the exception of the Unforgivables, of course."
Harry was relieved that Dumbledore had decided to exclude Unforgivables. There were few wizards who had wills strong enough to overcome the Imperious, and even fewer who could train their mind to resist the Cruciatus. It would surely have raised suspicion if he'd been able to throw them off.
"Shall we begin then, gentlemen?" Dumbledore looked at them.
As the headmaster stepped back, Harry found himself once again with wand in hand.
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The duel was uneventful. Harry knew that he had to keep what little trust Snape and the Headmaster had given him, and the only way he could do so was to hide his talents. As much as the Gryffindor part of him strived to prove himself, the Slytherin part of his mind warned him to keep things under control.
In the end, Harry thought things had gone relatively well. He'd shown his competence by keeping up with the duelling, either blocking or sidestepping the curses Snape had thrown at him while launching his own attack. What seemed to be an accidental slip at the end had placed him directly in front of the disarming curse the Potions Master had cast at him, bringing the duel to an end.
"Very impressive for a teenager, Sebastien," Dumbledore remarked, his eyes twinkling brighter than ever. "You have a good grasp on your spellwork, my boy. I believe that with some tutoring from Severus, you will be well ahead of your class when September comes." He turned to the Potions Master, his expression dimming slightly. "I must get going soon, but Severus, I must also let you know that Mr. Potter's funeral is taking place tomorrow at Hogwarts, in the Great Hall. I trust you will be coming?"
Harry looked up in interest, and saw Snape nod. "I may not like the brat, Albus, but he didn't deserve to die. How is the wizarding world fairing with the news?"
"Not well, I'm afraid." For a moment, the Headmaster looked every bit his age. "Harry has always been a sign of hope - living evidence that Voldemort is only human, and that he can be defeated. With Harry gone, people have been getting discouraged. At the moment, I'm afraid there's nothing we can do." Dumbledore sighed. "I must go now. I'll see you tomorrow then, Severus, Sebastien."
With a swirl of his robes, the old wizard was gone.
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On the day of his "funeral", Harry woke early to change into the appropriate mourning robes. After making sure he had everything he needed, he stepped into the Floo after Snape, reappearing in Hogwarts. Walking to the Great Hall, Harry saw that the Weasleys were already gathered, along with the Headmaster, Hermione, Remus, and several classmates. He'd looked out the window as he'd been getting to the hall, and Harry knew that the grounds were full of anxious reporters.
As Dumbledore started his speech, Harry saw that many of the Weasley family had red eyelids. Molly Weasley was sniffling, and several minutes into the mourning, Hermione had started crying. Harry couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt. It was entirely his fault that the people he considered family was in so much pain. And Remus - Remus, who'd already lost the last of his best friends, was no losing him too. He couldn't imagine what the werewolf must be thinking.
After the speech, Harry quickly strode over to the group of his friends. Walking up to Hermione, he offered his hand. "Sebastien Frostpine - I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your friend."
The witch looked up, her red-rimmed eyes widening in surprise. She furious wiped away her tears with the back of her sleeve. "I'm Hermione Granger. I don't believe I've seen you around before…"
"I'm new around here - a transfer student." Harry was quick to explain. "I'm staying with Professor Snape for the summer."
It was obvious that Hermione was stunned, and for a while, she just looked at him. "Professor Snape? Oh, erm… I see, that's nice of him. Will you be going to Hogwarts come September?"
Harry nodded. "I'll be going into six year. I hope to see you then, Hermione." With that, he retreated by to Snape's side.
Later, everyone went outside. Harry was shocked at the sight he met: A banner was unfurled in the sky, the words "gone but never forgotten" imprinted upon it. The lake where Giant Squid has resided was filled with floating candles. They lit up the surrounding with their brilliance, the pinpoints of light coming together to form a whole. Hermione, Remus, and each of the Weasley clan sent out more candles, as did the professors. Reporters walked to and fro, snapping pictures and scribbling in notebooks. Harry watched as one of them approached the Weasleys, exchanging a few words before leaving with a disgruntled look.
It was late afternoon before the crowds started clearing. Soon enough, only the professors and his close friends remained. "It is time to leave, ladies and gentlemen," the Headmaster said. "Thank you all for attending."
When Harry finally got back to Snape Manor, he was stopped by Snape on the way up to his room.
"We have time to start our first potions lesson," Harry was informed. "You may borrow my copy of the potions text until you get your own."
Harry couldn't help but smile as he went to retrieve the text. Salazar was an excellent Potions Master, and he had a feeling that Severus would be in for a surprise.
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Severus didn't miss the smile on Sebastien's face as the boy went to get his text. He wasn't sure whether he should be suspicious, or pleased that the boy seemed to like potions. He ended up with a mix of both.
The boy came back in a minute later with a book in his hands and a twinkle in his eyes. "Will we be brewing anything today, sir?"
"Not today," Severus replied. "I need to see what level you are at in this subject, and to do so, I'll be asking you some questions."
Sebastien nodded.
"Where is gillyweed found?"
"The Atlantic Ocean, sir."
"When would you pick fluxweed?"
"During a full moon."
"What potions require the use of phoenix tears?"
"Various types of truth serums, sir."
"What is the most dangerous snake alive whose scales are invaluable in the brewing of certain potions?"
"The basilisk."
"Why are the Mandrakes harmful?"
"The scream of the Mandrakes is fateful to the one who hears it. If a Mandrake is newly born, then it may petrify the person, but more serious cases can result in death.
"What ingrediants are required in the Polyjuice Potion?"
"Knotgrass, powdered unicorn horn, shredded boomsland skin, fluxweed, leeches, lacewing flies, and a piece of whoever you wish to look like."
Severus couldn't help but be surprised at the correct response. Polyjuice was a high-level potion, and it was strange that a boy going into six year was able to recite the ingredients.
"What about the Animus potion?"
"Scarab shells, moonstone petals, nutmeg, wormwood, leeches, and acanthus. Asarum can be added for more effectiveness."
Again, it was bizarre that this boy even knew about the soul-binding potion, never mind the ingredients. This one was almost borderline-dark, and Severus couldn't help but wonder how Sebastien had come across this information.
"You see to have a strong grasp of the theoretical knowledge," he finally said. "Who previously taught you?"
Sebastien mumbled quietly about not being able to remember. His cheeks seemed a bit flushed, and Severus immediately stopped his line of questioning. To not be able to remember one's own past must be frustrating - to be questioned about it would be embarrassing beyond belief.
"You may leave now, Sebastien. We'll be working on a strong healing potion tomorrow to take a look at your practical skills. You should rest - it has been a long day."
Sebastien nodded. "Goodnight, Professor Snape," he added as he left the room.
"Goodnight, Sebastien."
End of Chapter 5