ATTN: This chapter is unbeta-ed. Will replace with beta-ed version as soon as possible.
My thanks to my beta reader: the lovely Lady Elwen Iluvalatari. Here's another chapter for you. Have fun! (grins wickedly)
Yes people, this is shorter than normal, but I think it best that I get this out before I have the angry mob of people after me to get it finished.
Chapter 7
Laura's Pensive
To say that only a few things changed in the week that followed would have been the understatement of the year. In that one week, Laura had all the teens including Fred and George trained enough to be adequate in her view, in everyone else's view they were lethal with their weapons. After much begging and pleading Laura finally gave in and also taught them how to teleport, which they also mastered within the week, and how to speak to magical creatures, which was surprisingly easy. True to his word, Dumbledore showed Harry how to use his pensive which proved essential to Harry finally managing to stop having nightmares of Cedric and Sirius dying every night. As Dumbledore was too overloaded with things that he had to do from the Order, Hogwarts, and for the Ministry (a.k.a: petitioning to get Fudge fired), Snape was stuck with teaching the whole Order Occlumency. It seemed the Headmaster had had a talk with the Potions Master, as there were no more sneering comments and attacks on Harry and his father and godfather (much to his relief).
The changes to the house itself were astounding. It truly had become the headquarters for the resistance. Dobby and Winky had come from Hogwarts to work for Harry as the master of the house, and with their help they changed the ball room into a state of the art and very advanced training room, one of the dinning rooms into the battle room where maps of England and Ireland, Europe, as well as the whole world. Blue shimmers were creatures that have sworn to fight for the light, black were creatures for the dark, and orange were uncommitted, Order members were red, and known Death Eaters were green. Order meetings had moved from the kitchen into a meeting room that had enough Silencing and Impertuable charms on it that even Fred and George couldn't figure out how to get past it.
Laura had also found a side room off the meeting room that she sealed off for two days and didn't come out except for lessons and to train the others. When she finally did come out and let the others see it, they were shocked. The room was painted sapphire blue (the same shade as Laura's eyes) and had pictures of every known victim of Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Underneath the pictures were plaques that held the person's name their birth and death dates, their name and what they did/accomplished and what had happened to them including Laura's parents, Harry's parents, Neville's parents, and Sirius with room for the others that were sure to come. Over the pictures was a phrase in demonic. When asked what they meant Laura answered, "For remembrance. As a reminder." Needless to say, everyone loved it, even though it caused more than a few tears from everyone. Mrs. Weasley had to be taken out when she saw the pictures of her deceased brothers on the wall, she cried so hard.
The protection charms around Headquarters were upgraded and even more were added making it one of the safest buildings in all of England if not the world falling right behind Hogwarts and Gringots respectively. They also found the vault that Sirius had told them about in his will. Dobby and Winky had found it behind the picture of Mrs. Black that they finally managed to get down after about two hours of nonstop attempts. Inside was filled with jewels and other priceless items that many people would pay a fortune for including about twenty invisibility cloaks. Harry and Laura decided they would go to the Order except for four of them, which would go to Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Ginny. The vault was so huge that they still hadn't finished going through it. As a safety precaution, Dumbledore insisted that Harry, as master of the house, choose three people besides himself and only they would be allowed to enter without being escorted by either Harry as master of the house. Harry immediately chose Remus, Dumbledore, and after a long and very loud argument which Harry won by saying that he was master of the house just because he was male and that because she owned Grimmuld Place she should have just as much access to the vault as he did, Laura.
Changes to the Order and the house weren't the only things taking place; Snape was actually being civil to everyone, almost human, which was rather unnerving to those who had been taught by him and were used to him being a snarky bastard and a greasy git. He even listened to and accepted Harry's apology for seeing his memory! The only thing that hadn't changed about him was that he was avoiding Laura outside of Occlumency lessons puzzling everyone who had been present when Snape defended Laura against Amos Diggory who still wasn't allowed back to Headquarters.
Everyone who was bound in the Circle, and many outside of it, had basically become one big huge family. The teens found themselves with an assortment of aunts, uncles, and cousins while themselves becoming as close as siblings. Needless to say, it was one very busy week.
As fun as having a huge family was, Harry still wished for time that he could just spend with Ron and Hermione like they used to do. A wish that to Laura at least was obvious, so Harry, Ron, and Hermione were in Harry's room (in addition to all the cleaning and stuff they had found out that the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black was bigger than most manors and there was more than enough room for everyone to have their own rooms) playing chess, while Laura, Ginny, Fred, and George (Neville had to go home to his Gran) were plotting to get Ron and Hermione together.
"Remind me again why we even bother?" Harry grumbled as he watched his king get pounded by Ron's queen. "I mean, all we ever do is lose, and we're never going to get any better if that's all we do."
"I dunno. You two are the ones who agree to playing me." Ron answered as he set up the board again. "You wanna go, Mione? Mione?"
Hermione was staring out the window a thoughtful look on her face. "Hmm? Oh! Um… no thanks… Harry can go again…"
"You okay Hermione?"
"Yeah, I was just thinking."
"About what?" Harry joined in.
Hermione looked at them before finally coming to a conclusion, "Ron, do you know why all of the adults are so afraid of getting Laura really mad?"
Ron frowned, "I'm not sure. When ever Ginny and I would ask they would ignore us or change the subject. Even Fred and George seem to have some idea, but when we confronted them, they wouldn't tell us. Why?"
"I mean, some time they seem to go out of their way to make sure that she doesn't hear about certain things, most of the time they have to do with Fudge and the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. They seem to fear doing anything that could greatly anger her. I know that blowing up Azkaban is a fearsome display of power and temper but that was only once. And even a full blooded demon's temper isn't feared that much."
Harry and Ron exchanged a glance before eyeing Hermione apprehensively. They hadn't been her friends for five years for nothing. They could tell when she was planning something, and most of the time it wasn't fun. "What are you thinking?"
"Well, I know that Dumbledore gave Laura a Pensive for Christmas a few years ago. And I really want to know why everyone fears her…. So I was thinking that we could sneak into her room and look. She won't be back for a while, Dumbledore asked her to run an errand for him that will take awhile."
They just stared at her. Sure they wanted to know the answer, but did they want to know enough to risk being caught in Laura's pensive? But they knew Hermione well enough to know that when she got that look in her eye she would do it no matter what and they both would rather go with her than let her go alone. Sighing Harry said, "Fine, you win. We'll go with you. But I'm the one who controls what is seen as I know how to control it."
"Thank you Harry!" Hermione squealed giving him a hug before rushing out of the room.
Ron looked like he could have cheerfully killed Harry for that hug for a moment before shaking his head and muttering, "We're having a bad effect on her. You know that don't you?"
Harry sighed, "Yeah, I know. We'd better go before she gets impatient enough that she goes without us."
It had taken them a while to find Harry's cousin's pensive, but they were now inside watching blurred scenes fly by. Harry caught a glimpse of the ruins of Godric's Hollow; Fudge tricking a black haired, blue eyed girl to come with him; the same girl, a little older, comforting an older boy whose skin was rotting making him resemble a dementor; the girl, again older, fighting tooth and nail against an adult male with a red headed girl hiding in the shadows; the girl sobbing over a freshly dug grave planting fresh blood red flowers over it; the black haired blue eyed girl standing on what seemed to be a destroyed building turned into a bloody battle field; Dumbledore carrying said girl from said ruins; Dumbledore holding the sobbing girl Harry now recognized as Laura –
The scene suddenly changed to more recent times and Laura and Snape were glaring at each other from across the room. Harry recognized it from the day the Ministry had been attacked, Laura was lying on a couch in the drawing room and Snape was standing across the room. "What are you doing here Snape?"
"It's Professor Snape. Show respect for your professors," Snape sneered.
Laura's eyes flashed as she sneered, "Then the next time I see one I will. For the record you are a professor at Hogwarts who teaches potions. As the chances of me getting into your class is almost non-existent you are just that: a professor, nothing more, and nothing less. You are not and never will be my professor and as such I will show you just as much respect as you show me." Ron sniggered, and Harry and Hermione had to bit their lips to keep from joining him.
Snape snarled but refrained from commenting, "The Headmaster wished me tell you that the Dark Lord is looking for you."
Laura's eyebrow rose, "He knows where to find me. He doesn't need to look for me."
"Not you specifically, but who ever blew up Azkaban. That and he's looking for some dark creature that all other dark creatures fear. I don't know about the second one, but I do know that you are the one who blew up Azkaban."
"Did you tell him?"
"No, and I won't, but I am to try to find out who and were this so called leader of the Dark Creatures is."
Laura's eyes darkened, "Do you know what the so called 'dark creatures' call me, Severus?"
"No," Snape shook his head.
The room chilled. "They call me the Sadist Severus. Do you know why they call me the Sadist?"
"No," Snape almost whispered.
"Because they fear me Severus. They fear my wrath. And they go to extraordinary lengths to keep that wrath from surfacing."
Snape paled, looking at Hermione and Ron, Harry saw that they had as well, "Fearing your temper I can understand, but why call you the Sadist?"
Laura's face was completely wiped of emotion; "You really don't know, do you?" he shook his head, "Then let us hope you will never find out." Harry, Ron, and Hermione understood the hidden message, the question was; did Snape. From the look of it, he didn't.
Silence descended over the room, neither of them saying anything yet neither leaving, yet the chill in the room lessened and disappeared. "What really made you hate me?" She asked suddenly, "Is it really because I'm a Potter? Or something else?"
"I – yes." Snape hesitated.
"Look at me. Am I anything like my father? Answer honestly."
Again Snape hesitated, then, "No."
"And Harry, "Aside from the fact that he gets away with more than any other student in the history of Hogwarts, is he anything like James? Does he go jinxing people just for the fun of it? Is his rule breaking just for the sake of breaking rules, or is there always a reason behind it? If you had to pick which of his parents Harry was most like wouldn't you pick Lily?"
What ever Snape was going to say next was something he was loathe to say. He was about to respond when Laura caught his eye, "Answer truthfully," she said to quietly.
"No," the greasy haired potions master said softly and suddenly Harry was able to piece together something that had been eluding him until now. Memories he had seen during last years Occlumency lessons came flooding back to him; Snape getting beaten' Snape watching his mother get beaten; Snape being taunted and tortured by his father and Sirius; Snape being rescued by Lily.
Harry finally understood: Snape hadn't become the way he was by being a Death Eater. He was that way by his abusive father and then had that position solidified by the Marauders. Snape had fallen in love with Lily because she was the only person in the entire school who would stand up to James to make him stop. And she was a Gryffindor, the mortal enemy of the Sytherins, the Slytherins who wouldn't stand up for one of there own when a Gryffindor did.
And he finally understood that ever since being freed from Azkaban and meeting Snape, Laura was the one who, more than anyone else, and because of that; she was the only one who could melt the ice he had formed around his heart when he was little and abused by his father. The ice that had hardened from being in Slytherin, being tortured by the Marauders, and being rejected by Lily. The ice that was solidified when Severus Snape became a Death Eater.
And even Ron and Hermione could see some, if not all, of what Harry was seeing. Harry watched as understanding crossed their faces, and he knew that they, like himself, would give their Potions Master a second chance to become the man he could have been. But his attention was drawn back to the memory when Laura spoke:
"Then give them a chance. Give them a chance to show you why all the other teachers sing their praises. And maybe they'll give you a chance to be the man you hide from everyone." A bitter look flashed across her face, "And maybe then you'll learn not to push people away when they get too close to you."
As reformed as Snape may have become, some things will never change, Snape having to ignore his pride to ask for forgiveness was one of them. "C-can you forgive me?" He looked like he had been forced to swallow two bottles of Skele-Grow.
"Are you sorry?" All she got was a glare that while giving the answer, would have made any of his students wither.
Laura got up and walked to the door. Right before she left the room she looked back, her face once again emotionless, and answered, "You called me a half-breed bastard and a whore. The precise quote was 'Pure bloods do not and never will associate with a half-breed whore who was spawned by the devil.' One does not automatically forgive you for that. Given time, maybe. But not now. I can't right now."
The memory stopped suddenly and Harry, Ron, and Hermione found themselves being thrown out of the pensive. "Bloody Hell!" Ron exclaimed, "Now we know why Snape wa-" He froze, a look of horror on his face, his eyes wide.
Harry and Hermione spun around to find Laura standing in the doorway, her face that emotionless mask they had seen in the pensive. She just stood there for a moment, and then she spun on her heel and disappeared.
After many mental beatings and long arguments with himself as well as the others, Harry, Ron, and Hermione gave in and went in search of her to apologize. However, Laura didn't seem to be inclined to make the search for her easy. They looked for her all night and finally gave up when the clock struck midnight.
It was the morning the second day and so far they had had no luck what so ever in finding her. Harry was making one last round around the house when he passed a door he hadn't seen before. Wondering where it lead, Harry followed the staircase upward and came to a door on the other end. Opening it Harry was blinded by the sudden glare of the sun beating down on the rooftop. Once his eyes had adjusted to the light, Harry was able to make out the slender form of Laura sitting on the edge of the roof watching the sunrise. (It was 6 o'clock; everyone had gotten so used to Laura waking them up at the ungodly hour of 5 in the morning for physical training that they didn't even notice it anymore) Taking a deep breath Harry sat down next to her, looking over the horizon.
"Have you been up here all night?" Out of the corner of his eye Harry saw her nod. He also noticed the tear stains on her cheeks. "We wanted to apologize to you. We shouldn't have looked in your pensive. It was wrong and we're sorry." He looked sideways at her and added, "We'll understand if you won't forgive us, but we wanted you to know that we are sorry."
Harry got up and was about to leave when Laura said one word, "Why?"
Even though Harry was dreading this and had been ever since they had decided to apologize, some how he knew that wither they remained friends would depend on if he answered the question honestly. "We wanted to know why the adults seemed to fear you getting angry. No one would answer us, so our infamous curiosity took over."
"And did you find what you were looking for?"
"We know that the dark creatures call you the Sadist. We know that they fear the Sadist because of reasons that are unknown to us, but we think that it may have something to do with what ever happened to you in Azkaban."
Something akin to fear flashed through her eyes, "And you know what happened in Briarwood, the place in Azkaban where they kept the children?"
It wasn't a question but Harry answered anyway, "I saw flashes of different scenes but nothing that tells me anymore than that there was more going on in that place than you are saying."
That emotionless look they had seen in the pensive was back, "Will you tell anyone?"
Harry didn't hesitate, "No. We betrayed your trust once but we will not do it again." There was a pause in which Harry sat back down next to her and said softly, "I also wanted to thank you for convincing Snape to give me – all of us – another chance."
And for the first time since she had left them last nigh Laura looked Harry straight in the eye, "You saw the memory of me and Severus." Again, it wasn't a question.
"Yes, and we all got the message."
"Did you?" Laura again looked to the sun, "And did you understand the message?" And can you accept the difference? Was the unspoken question.
"Yes, we understood the message," Harry answered. And yes, we can accept the difference. The three of them, Harry, Ron, and Hermione understood that Laura Potter and the Sadist were two different people. The person they knew was Laura Potter, who had secrets and ghosts in her past that she kept hidden from everyone yet was loved and accepted for who she was anyway. Who ever and what ever the Sadist was, was the result of enduring five years in Azkaban and five years of who knew what kind of torture was placed upon them while in that place.
It was the right answer. All ice and reservation that Laura had wrapped around her vanished, and with it vanished the apparent Silencing Charm that had been placed around them as Hermione's voice could be heard throughout the entire house: "HARRY JAMES POTTER! LAURA AKIRA POTTER! GET DOWN HERE NOW! OUR O.W.L. RESULTS ARE HERE!"
Laura raised her eyebrow, "Think she's hyperventilating yet?"
"Knowing Hermione, she had probably started hyperventilating the moment she saw them." Harry answered, smirking.
A positively evil smirk was spreading over his cousin's face, "So, should we wait up here for a little while longer or should we head down?"
"Head down, by the time we get there it she'll have waited long enough. Besides, if we waited any longer, Underaged Restriction or not, she'll curse us into next week." And down they headed to face the wrath of Hermione Jane Granger for not being present in the kitchen when the letters arrived.
A/N: I AM SOOOOO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO UPDATE! It won't happen again, as this is mainly being written at school and we are now banned from the internet except for 'educational purposes' that are needed to do homework. GAH! But the good news is that I now have internet access at home, so it shouldn't talk so long to update.
Next update should be either next week or the week after.