A/N: This chapter comes with a concept I've proudly not seen in stories I've read to date.
My own reason (as you might have guessed from last chapter) as to why Severus Snape's
hair looks/is greasy.
Disclaimers apply as always. Thank you to everyone who reads and extra to those who
review. I love hearing feedback! And yes, I know I know. But I don't want to answer all
questions in one chapter- it'd take too long for me to write! ;)
------------------------------
Chapter 22
Harry was intensely curious, but didn't want to push Severus too much, especially
considering the fragile possibility of Severus becoming more comfortable around Harry
again the way he had briefly been when they were stranded together in the woods.
Thinking about it objectively, Harry briefly wondered why he wanted Severus' friendship
so much considering their shared past before the summertime could be called
objectionable at best. But the large amount of insight he had gotten into Severus over
just the past few days had been enough to pull him a good distance from his desolation
over Cedric's death and the ending of his fourth school year... the ritual, and Voldemort's
resurrection. Yes, typical Gryffindor, Harry thought. Forgets his miseries in the face of
someone else who needs help.
Idly, Harry wondered what part of him was attributed as being Slytherinish- if there was
such a word- that he was almost Sorted into that house. Then he realized it was likely
due to his cunning and (occasional) restraint in dealing with the older wizard (not to
mention others he'd encountered during his time at Hogwarts) as he watched Severus
sort through his words. Finally Severus began to speak again.
"Part of what Voldemort did was in an effort to prevent my growing close to anyone,
likely so that I wouldn't have curious friends on my heels when I suddenly and without
reason took off in secret at Voldemort's summons... or so that someone wouldn't take
too much interest in me. So that Voldemort would be the one to profit from ... whatever
it is that we are a part of. Only it seems that both Voldemort and Dumbledore didn't
think that the other half of this ... prophesy ... might be in the form of yourself. The
Famous Harry Potter." Severus gave him a look which wasn't so much of a sneer as it was
a dark smirk, and for once Harry was able to appreciate the offered irony enough to not
be hurt or offended.
"So then, he altered your physical appearance," Harry hazarded, cautiously adding, "He
might have even altered your behavior, too."
"Quite possible." The pensive stare across the Hospital Ward and out the opposite
window lent Severus a slightly younger appearance, aided further from the more neutral
tones to his voice which lacked its customary bite. "At first, the darkening of my hair
seemed a natural process- a part of the changes undergone as I went through my
teenage years. But I believe it all may be attributed to a potion that... my father
developed and gave to me."
Harry couldn't help but repeat Severus words in his query, sitting forward a little on the
bed he sat on and glancing at Severus' hair which had its customary appearance. "A
potion? Did he tell you what it was for? Or did he..."
Lips pressed together into a brief and thin line, Severus replied, "He may have given it to
me on the sly when I was home for the summer holidays. But upon my return to
Hogwarts, he found a marvelously plausible reason for me to use it on my own. In fact,
I've done so ever since then." Pausing a moment, Severus arched an eyebrow at Harry as
though in wait for an exclamation of some sort from him. Harry wisely kept his mouth
shut.
Centering his attention back upon the opposite window, Severus continued, "You might
have guessed that I have undergone a large number of pranks in my years as a student,
most of which were perpetrated by your father and his friends." To Harry's relief, Severus'
voice and aura maintained its neutrality apart from remembered annoyance. "One of their
more successful pranks which landed me in a good deal of trouble was with the use of
the polyjuice potion." The irritation flared into anger, but only briefly as Severus
muttered, "Using my own specialty of potions and a strand of my hair against me."
Shaking his head, he added, "I determined that I wasn't about to be taken advantage of
that way ever again. My father learned about it when Dumbledore performed an official
inquiry, and so developed the potion for my use the next school year."
Dying of curiosity, it took Harry a good deal of effort not to ask what the prank had been;
he knew it would push Severus in a direction he didn't want him to go. Instead, he just
nodded to show his attentiveness and hoped Severus would continue.
Thankfully he did, after a pause for thought and a rather suspicious glance at the carafe
of water on the table between them. Severus' voice was roughened by dryness, but he
made no move to reach for a glass of water. "The potion was meant to be brushed into
my hair after I had showered. My father indicated that it would protect my hair in my
potions work, and that it would also prevent it from falling out casually, thus making it
much more difficult for anyone to procure my hair for use in any sort of potion or
experiment whatsoever. That is indeed what the potion did, but apparently that isn't the
only thing that it did," he finished with a gesture at his sallow features.
"So then, that's the stuff I felt on your hair back in the shack? The stuff that changed the
color of the cloth, but not my skin?" Harry was intrigued. "Makes sense to make the
potion not react that way to skin if you don't want the color changing properties to be
noticed."
"Very good, Potter," Severus muttered. "Perhaps I'll give you an assignment to theorize
what ingredients were used in the potion from its symptoms and consistency. Merlin
knows you could use the extra credit to improve your potions grade."
Harry wasn't entirely sure if he should smirk or not, so instead he asked, "Do you think
Dumbledore will tell us everything?"
Severus' gaze lowered to the long fingers that he had calmly folded to rest upon his lap,
but again Harry was somewhat relieved to see that the anger was somewhat diminished
in Severus' aura. "The Headmaster gave his Oath, and that is something not taken lightly
by any wizard. He didn't specify when he would speak of it, but the preparations he
mentioned aren't ones that should take more than a day or two." For a moment, his
carefully controlled voice contained an irritated tone to it as Severus added, "He has had
near to twenty years to make his preparations if he indeed learned of this just after ...
the incident in the Shrieking Shack."
Watching Severus' reactions, Harry reminded himself not to ask for Severus' take on that
incident anytime in the near future. "Maybe after Dumbledore tells us about the
background of this all we could return to your... device and see what it has to say? How
long does it take to work?"
"It rather depends upon the complexity of what is found. When I have set it to check me
over and there is nothing new for it to find, the results are a matter of mere minutes.
With all of the recent changes, plus the addition of you to the scan, it will likely take a
few days to a week. And at any rate," Severus continued without pause, "You will be
staying here until you are released by Madame Pomphrey. My healing potion works well,
but it is for general problems and also contains a good dose of several items which gives
the drinker a burst of temporary energy. The final dose you took will be wearing off soon,
and you'll likely be sleeping for the next day or two."
"Then so will you," Harry countered.
"I've had the benefit of a number of years of endurance training in my field and am older
than you." Severus was firm on the account, but wasn't overly harsh about it as he was in
past years, "I will not argue further with you on this. You don't have rooms of your own,
and I do. You will recover here, and once the immediate danger has passed I will recover
in my chambers while working out the next step."
"A good plan, Severus," Dumbledore's voice came from the door to the private section of
the Hospital Ward. "It will give you time to read up on the prophesy." Pausing for a
delicate moment, he added, "Not to mention what it was that I did, and what I believe
Voldemort did to you. The spells were quite complex, and I haven't been able to work out
how they managed your physical changes. I didn't see a sign of a spell on you that did
that."
"It wasn't a spell," Severus muttered before once more explaining about his father's
potion and what it was purportedly for.
Slowly shaking his head, his blue eyes again dimmed with regret, Dumbledore sighed,
"Yet another time I failed you then, Severus." Sitting on a nearby chair, Dumbledore was
looking older and tired more frequently than Harry wanted to see.
Silence dragged on for an uncomfortable time before Severus murmured, "Not everything
is your fault... Albus. You could not control the Marauders short of the Imperius- although
that would have been most pleasant- and you had to investigate the matter, notifying
my father in the process."
"But doing so hurt you in the long run, Severus," Dumbledore maintained. Looking at
Harry he sighed, "It hurt you both, and that is the one thing I do regret. I only hope that
one day you will be able to forgive me."
Another pause as some of the repressed anger ebbed from Severus' aura to be replaced
by a regret of his own. "... We shall see, Albus. In the meantime, if your preparations are
complete I believe that Harry and I would like to hear about this prophecy we have
become a part of."
My own reason (as you might have guessed from last chapter) as to why Severus Snape's
hair looks/is greasy.
Disclaimers apply as always. Thank you to everyone who reads and extra to those who
review. I love hearing feedback! And yes, I know I know. But I don't want to answer all
questions in one chapter- it'd take too long for me to write! ;)
------------------------------
Chapter 22
Harry was intensely curious, but didn't want to push Severus too much, especially
considering the fragile possibility of Severus becoming more comfortable around Harry
again the way he had briefly been when they were stranded together in the woods.
Thinking about it objectively, Harry briefly wondered why he wanted Severus' friendship
so much considering their shared past before the summertime could be called
objectionable at best. But the large amount of insight he had gotten into Severus over
just the past few days had been enough to pull him a good distance from his desolation
over Cedric's death and the ending of his fourth school year... the ritual, and Voldemort's
resurrection. Yes, typical Gryffindor, Harry thought. Forgets his miseries in the face of
someone else who needs help.
Idly, Harry wondered what part of him was attributed as being Slytherinish- if there was
such a word- that he was almost Sorted into that house. Then he realized it was likely
due to his cunning and (occasional) restraint in dealing with the older wizard (not to
mention others he'd encountered during his time at Hogwarts) as he watched Severus
sort through his words. Finally Severus began to speak again.
"Part of what Voldemort did was in an effort to prevent my growing close to anyone,
likely so that I wouldn't have curious friends on my heels when I suddenly and without
reason took off in secret at Voldemort's summons... or so that someone wouldn't take
too much interest in me. So that Voldemort would be the one to profit from ... whatever
it is that we are a part of. Only it seems that both Voldemort and Dumbledore didn't
think that the other half of this ... prophesy ... might be in the form of yourself. The
Famous Harry Potter." Severus gave him a look which wasn't so much of a sneer as it was
a dark smirk, and for once Harry was able to appreciate the offered irony enough to not
be hurt or offended.
"So then, he altered your physical appearance," Harry hazarded, cautiously adding, "He
might have even altered your behavior, too."
"Quite possible." The pensive stare across the Hospital Ward and out the opposite
window lent Severus a slightly younger appearance, aided further from the more neutral
tones to his voice which lacked its customary bite. "At first, the darkening of my hair
seemed a natural process- a part of the changes undergone as I went through my
teenage years. But I believe it all may be attributed to a potion that... my father
developed and gave to me."
Harry couldn't help but repeat Severus words in his query, sitting forward a little on the
bed he sat on and glancing at Severus' hair which had its customary appearance. "A
potion? Did he tell you what it was for? Or did he..."
Lips pressed together into a brief and thin line, Severus replied, "He may have given it to
me on the sly when I was home for the summer holidays. But upon my return to
Hogwarts, he found a marvelously plausible reason for me to use it on my own. In fact,
I've done so ever since then." Pausing a moment, Severus arched an eyebrow at Harry as
though in wait for an exclamation of some sort from him. Harry wisely kept his mouth
shut.
Centering his attention back upon the opposite window, Severus continued, "You might
have guessed that I have undergone a large number of pranks in my years as a student,
most of which were perpetrated by your father and his friends." To Harry's relief, Severus'
voice and aura maintained its neutrality apart from remembered annoyance. "One of their
more successful pranks which landed me in a good deal of trouble was with the use of
the polyjuice potion." The irritation flared into anger, but only briefly as Severus
muttered, "Using my own specialty of potions and a strand of my hair against me."
Shaking his head, he added, "I determined that I wasn't about to be taken advantage of
that way ever again. My father learned about it when Dumbledore performed an official
inquiry, and so developed the potion for my use the next school year."
Dying of curiosity, it took Harry a good deal of effort not to ask what the prank had been;
he knew it would push Severus in a direction he didn't want him to go. Instead, he just
nodded to show his attentiveness and hoped Severus would continue.
Thankfully he did, after a pause for thought and a rather suspicious glance at the carafe
of water on the table between them. Severus' voice was roughened by dryness, but he
made no move to reach for a glass of water. "The potion was meant to be brushed into
my hair after I had showered. My father indicated that it would protect my hair in my
potions work, and that it would also prevent it from falling out casually, thus making it
much more difficult for anyone to procure my hair for use in any sort of potion or
experiment whatsoever. That is indeed what the potion did, but apparently that isn't the
only thing that it did," he finished with a gesture at his sallow features.
"So then, that's the stuff I felt on your hair back in the shack? The stuff that changed the
color of the cloth, but not my skin?" Harry was intrigued. "Makes sense to make the
potion not react that way to skin if you don't want the color changing properties to be
noticed."
"Very good, Potter," Severus muttered. "Perhaps I'll give you an assignment to theorize
what ingredients were used in the potion from its symptoms and consistency. Merlin
knows you could use the extra credit to improve your potions grade."
Harry wasn't entirely sure if he should smirk or not, so instead he asked, "Do you think
Dumbledore will tell us everything?"
Severus' gaze lowered to the long fingers that he had calmly folded to rest upon his lap,
but again Harry was somewhat relieved to see that the anger was somewhat diminished
in Severus' aura. "The Headmaster gave his Oath, and that is something not taken lightly
by any wizard. He didn't specify when he would speak of it, but the preparations he
mentioned aren't ones that should take more than a day or two." For a moment, his
carefully controlled voice contained an irritated tone to it as Severus added, "He has had
near to twenty years to make his preparations if he indeed learned of this just after ...
the incident in the Shrieking Shack."
Watching Severus' reactions, Harry reminded himself not to ask for Severus' take on that
incident anytime in the near future. "Maybe after Dumbledore tells us about the
background of this all we could return to your... device and see what it has to say? How
long does it take to work?"
"It rather depends upon the complexity of what is found. When I have set it to check me
over and there is nothing new for it to find, the results are a matter of mere minutes.
With all of the recent changes, plus the addition of you to the scan, it will likely take a
few days to a week. And at any rate," Severus continued without pause, "You will be
staying here until you are released by Madame Pomphrey. My healing potion works well,
but it is for general problems and also contains a good dose of several items which gives
the drinker a burst of temporary energy. The final dose you took will be wearing off soon,
and you'll likely be sleeping for the next day or two."
"Then so will you," Harry countered.
"I've had the benefit of a number of years of endurance training in my field and am older
than you." Severus was firm on the account, but wasn't overly harsh about it as he was in
past years, "I will not argue further with you on this. You don't have rooms of your own,
and I do. You will recover here, and once the immediate danger has passed I will recover
in my chambers while working out the next step."
"A good plan, Severus," Dumbledore's voice came from the door to the private section of
the Hospital Ward. "It will give you time to read up on the prophesy." Pausing for a
delicate moment, he added, "Not to mention what it was that I did, and what I believe
Voldemort did to you. The spells were quite complex, and I haven't been able to work out
how they managed your physical changes. I didn't see a sign of a spell on you that did
that."
"It wasn't a spell," Severus muttered before once more explaining about his father's
potion and what it was purportedly for.
Slowly shaking his head, his blue eyes again dimmed with regret, Dumbledore sighed,
"Yet another time I failed you then, Severus." Sitting on a nearby chair, Dumbledore was
looking older and tired more frequently than Harry wanted to see.
Silence dragged on for an uncomfortable time before Severus murmured, "Not everything
is your fault... Albus. You could not control the Marauders short of the Imperius- although
that would have been most pleasant- and you had to investigate the matter, notifying
my father in the process."
"But doing so hurt you in the long run, Severus," Dumbledore maintained. Looking at
Harry he sighed, "It hurt you both, and that is the one thing I do regret. I only hope that
one day you will be able to forgive me."
Another pause as some of the repressed anger ebbed from Severus' aura to be replaced
by a regret of his own. "... We shall see, Albus. In the meantime, if your preparations are
complete I believe that Harry and I would like to hear about this prophecy we have
become a part of."