Heyla! How are you all? Right. Here you go! The next chapter and kind of on time too. XP
Part of the Plan Seven: The River
Severus sat calmly in a chair in the sitting room of Slytherin Tower. Really, he wasn't nervous at all about he conversation at hand, nor the fact he was sitting in a tower that had once housed Salazar Slytherin himself. Sooner than he liked, the door opened from the stairway and Harry entered. Remus waited at the door until Harry noticed and motioned for him to leave.
As the door swung shut, Harry wordlessly grabbed the knife laying on the table between the two and punctured the skin on his finger. He then handed the dagger to Severus and staunched the blood with his other hand. Severus rolled his eyes and handed the younger man a square of cloth and dipped the dagger into the vial he was holding. As Harry looked on, he cautiously dipped a corner of the parchment into the potion. Then as it started to form words and pictures, he laid it gently on the table and they both sat back and watched.
When all the lines stopped moving, Snape let out a low moan, easily eclipsed by Harry's high-pitched scream. As the noise echoed in the stone of the castle, Snape muttered under his breath.
"I never dreamed... that she was... my Gods..."
Harry, pretending composure said, "Do tell me what it means, sir."
Severus stared dully at the coiling snake and began quietly.
"The snake is, of course, a stylized 's'. It is the first initial of your family name. Here-" he said, pointing to the top of the 's', "-are the branches of your family you have. The only families that I know of are the Slytherin ones, and the Blacks. As you hold all three Slytherin lines, you are entitled to the title of Lord Slytherin. Hence the name outside snake. The names outside the snake are the ones you are allowed to use.
"The names on the bottom-" he said pointing again, "-are other Wizarding families you have blood relation with. The closer to the head of the snake, and the center of the circle, the older they are. See, you've Mirlyn, Black, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Weasley, Fudge, Nott, Shacklebolt, Potter, Ulric, Glasthone, Malfoy, Dumbledore, Sinstra and Trelawney blood. Odd, I didn't know Sybil had registered.
"Then the snake head itself has some distinguishing feature on it. Yours is, of course, your scar, and before you ask, yes, mine was a large nose. The tongue showing means you are either Parseltongue or a snake animagus. In the very center is your mother's family name. Actually, I'm surprised that it doesn't say Snave, like it does up on top."
Harry could only blink at all the information. After a moment, he ventured, "So how does that potion work?"
"It's very similar to a potion you make in sixth year, actually. The Ministry has a supply of blood from all the 'pure-blood' families in the world. They allow you to use it only in this potion, and only under their supervision. When a new pure-blood registers, they must give a single drop of blood to be identified with. The potion itself merely analyses the added blood in comparison to the Ministry blood and it shows it on the spelled paper."
Once again, Harry was silent.
"Apparently your mother was of Mugglized blood, not true Muggle blood as I had thought. Her lineage would have included the Snave, or Evans, blood, and then Weasley, Hufflepuff and Glasthone. Odd she never mentioned it at school when we did the other potion. Oh- just for future reference, this potion would be more that worthless to a Muggle-born, like your Ms. Granger, unless, of course, she's not telling us something," he said quietly.
"What is all the stuff about the line splintering or something?" Harry asked, curious. Apparently, to Snape, he was either in shock or coping rather too well. Actually, Harry hadn't fallen truly asleep until right before he had had his nightmare, so he had had some time to assimilate the knowledge and was okay with it as long as Snape- or dad?- stayed nice.
"Ah- well, some where around Salazar's grandchildren there were three heirs to the line instead of just one. After many feuds and such, they each took another family name. Hence the Snake, Snapes and Snaves. The latter of the three Squibbed, and it was such a disgrace they had a name change. They changed it to Evans, though the others were never told, or so I assume. This was about century before my birth. Each of the lines received a trait of Slytherin. The Snapes, of whom the Dark Lord also numbers, received Parseltongue. Not every Snape had the ability, but it is one of the only families with even potential. The Snakes were snake animagi, if they had one at all. My parents were a Snake and a Snape, but I only have the animagus form. I can only assume the Evans got his eyes. Maybe something else, but I don't know. Intriguing?"
Harry nodded calmly, then considered something else.
"So what is this glamorie on me? I've known about it since fourth year when we did a bit of curse detection, but Hermione and I couldn't figure it out or break it. At the time we thought it had to do with my scar, but it seems we were wrong."
Snape looked vaguely surprised Harry had noticed, but answered anyways.
"Albus said that James had used the Unfaithful Wife Potion. This is a potion that makes you look as if the maker of the potion was your father. It works off of the energies of your mother and the presumed father, so sixteen years after one or both of their deaths. The number sixteen really has no significance, so don't ask me. I guess after sixteen years being dead, it really doesn't matter who your father was. So we assume it will begin to degrade around Halloween."
"Wait- if you told my mum to go to Dumbledore, and use that potion and everything, why did you believe the story about a miscarriage or whatever if you knew it wasn't possible?"
Snape flushed a bit and looked away.
"Er- I kind of thought that James had convinced your mother to abort our child and Lily was just to nice to tell me. You were born almost three weeks late, so I just kind of ignored it because I didn't want to acknowledge it. I know it seems a bad excuse, but it is all I have."
"Oh- that seems to make sense, I guess. But what happened to James' father? You mentioned him in one of the memories, but no one's every said anything about me having a grandfather."
"Tobias Potter was a Death Eater. He had been a spy for Dumbledore since his initiation, when he had to kill a child James' age. Then when Voldemort called for James' initiation, Tobias refused. After some time he was killed. This is what Voldemort does to traitors, if he's in a good mood," Snape said vaguely, as if envisioning his own grisly end.
Harry looked vaguely repulsed, but plowed right onward.
"Well- the Dark Mark is the only way Voldemort can hurt you indirectly or summon you, right? So why don't you just have it removed, before you die if your time as a spy is over?"
Snape barked a short sarcastic laugh as he stared at Harry as if he was a mindless cretin.
"Don't you think I've tried, you worthless excuse of a student?" he said as Harry sank into his chair as if trying to disappear, "Don't you think I want to be free of this living hell? Or do you think I revel in this miserable state of affairs? Think that I enjoy it?
That-"
What ever Snape meant to say was interrupted by Harry's enraged yell.
"SHUT UP!" he thundered as Snape eyed at him dubiously. Harry straightened and was silent for a moment, counting to ten twice over. A moment later he continued, calmer.
"I was not bringing up the subject to rub something in your face, Snape, I merely wanted to know if you had tried it. Watching your initiation gave me an idea towards that end. I can only assume you were not able to speak Parselmouth at the time or you also would have found it. I won't go into details, I just wondered. Please do try not to have a fit every time I ask you a touchy question, as I feel there will be many today. I am willing to be calm and polite about all this, but only if you do the same," he said, looking much older than his sixteen years. Snape looked slightly embarrassed at the young man rebuking him, but nodded in assent and couldn't help but be hopeful.
"Now- another topic I feel might be touchy. Please try not to blow up, okay? If you were such good friends with the Marauders, why are you now bitter enemies?"
Snape had been wary, but was relieved that was all Harry wanted to know. He sighed softly and began his tale.
"I probably should start at the beginning. When I was younger, I was playmates with the youngest Blacks, Regulus and Sirius. Some where around my tenth birthday, it became apparent my father was not going to join the Death Eaters, as the Blacks did, so I was alone again.
"My father was not a nice man, but he would never join such a group. For all he was uncouth and violent, he was a crafty man, and immediately understood the full repercussions of the alliance. My mother, however, was much milder, but she supported the Death Eaters one hundred per cent. She dared not openly wear the mark around my father, but after he died of a disease, she became one. That was around my third year.
"Both my mother and father encouraged my knowledge on the Dark Arts, and I was rather bright, so I lost no time learning all I could. The Ministry never knew because I was in a house not monitored by them because I had Wizarding parents. Only Muggle families are actually monitored, as they assumed magical parents would rebuke their offspring. My parents never did anything of the sort.
"When I first went to Hogwarts, I was friends of sorts with your mother. That lasted all of first year, but in second year she became friends with Potter, Black and Lupin. That was the year Pettigrew also came out of the woodwork to befriend the lot. That also was the year when Remus and Potter started the Book of Moony and Prongs, or whatever they called the stupid thing.
"I always respected them, and they respected me, as we were the most illustrious prankers of the day. Usually, however, they got blamed for things I did, so they would sometimes do things away and beyond cruel, and we all knew it wasn't very nice, but I never complained.
"One such time was an incident involving their awful book. It was fifth year, and the memory you saw was part of it. I had turned all the teachers' robes invisible, so they couldn't find them. Because of this, they had to teach in their pajamas. The Defense teacher of the time apparently didn't wear night clothes, so he was forced to wear a sheet wrapped up like a toga. He was particularly vindictive about it, and threatened to expel the Marauders. After they had all been sent to the Headmaster, I owned up to it, not wanting them to be expelled.
"What I didn't know was it had been a ruse to get me to come forward. It worked, of course, so I was stuck in a lot of detention. I wanted to get vengeance on them for doing that, so I stole their precious Book. In it were the plans behind their Map, and other things. They were livid. It would have been hilarious, if it hadn't been me. Anyways, after that they absolutely hated me. That was why I got that 'punishment' on the day of OWL testing.
"But that summer, Lily started to write to me. I had no idea why, but I did write back. I never told my mother and at the start of the school year I became friends of sorts again with James, Remus and your mother. Black and Pettigrew were in tutoring much of the time, so it was just us four. That was when we started on the Animagus transformation. James was the first to get it, as he was amazing a Transfigurations. That's what he wanted to be-a Transfiguration Master. Your mother got it next and I was the last. Remus didn't have a form, as he was already half wolf. He could have induced a transformation similar to a werewolf only tamer if he wanted to, but he didn't. Actually- that's kind of what the Wolfbane Potions does...
"The next bit I wasn't aware of until later. Black had gotten out of tutoring and had caught wind of our meetings. He convinced Potter to stop coming, so it was just Lily and Remus and I. Black and Pettigrew learned the Animagus from James and that was when the Whomping Willow incident took place. James tried to prevent it, and I was merely going so I could keep Remus company as the others did, since they never told me where until then. James stopped me then, though, so we were back on speaking terms.
"Now this was the general time when I started dating Lily. It really wasn't that much of a change from normal, but we never went on dates, really, so they all thought she was with James. Seventh year continued like this, but when we graduated, we went our separate ways. When I graduated, my mother immediately took me away to be initiated. Weeks later was the scene you saw in the Pensive. James and Lily went into hiding a year after that.
"Then one day, before they went into hiding, but after gradation, I got a letter. Lily refuted everything she ever said, saying she was in love with James now. She said there had been a miscarriage, and all that stuff, so I really started to loath your father. It is odd that I never went to see her, yes, but I had never really trusted any one before, so I didn't want to bother. Then Remus came over and we had words, so we were no longer friends either.
"When Tobias Potter was killed, I was the one who brought the news to the Headmaster and replaced Mr. Potter. That was the reason Voldemort was after James- because he wouldn't be initiated. Each Death Eater is allowed to submit a list of three people they wanted to kill themselves- or in rare cases- spare altogether. I had given Remus, Lily, and James as my three, and Voldemort assumed I wished to kill them myself. I had to forfeit James to him for killing, but at that point, I didn't really care. And from there on, you know the story," Severus said, staring off into space.
"So that was why Voldemort told mum she didn't have to die, right?" Harry said, "But she wouldn't move, so you had to forfeit her as well. So- is Remus still safe?"
Snape looked at him sharply, but nodded. There was silence for a while until Severus spoke again.
"So- with these Dursleys. What type of education did you receive? Any music at all? Any etiquette? Any- duh, they were Muggles. Just tell me about it."
Harry had winced at the subject, but spoke hesitantly.
"I had the normal Muggle education, math, reading, science, history, that kind of thing. I was in the school orchestra for a while, but when Dudley quit, they made me as well. I still was allowed lessons, free ones, of course, for the teacher. I played the horn. We didn't get etiquette, no. They never really abused me or anything, but they mad it clear they didn't want me, and never spent money on me or anything, but it was okay.
Dudley and his gang beat up on me some, but I healed fast. I never got quite enough to eat, and all my things were Dudley's second-hand stuff."
Snape frowned and replied, "Very well, then. You need some basic education on the Wizarding World, then. And probably some music as well. Horn, you said? I'm sure I'll find one somewhere in Snape Manor. This will be on top of your regular lessons and the other extra curricular stuff, so if you don't have time, I'll understand, but I would like you to get some of these things in."
"It's okay, sir. I'm not planning on playing Quidditch again, since I'm getting to tall for Seeker, and I've lost some classes, so I'll be able to cope," he said, grinning. There was silence, then:
"Well, we should probably head down to lunch, so they don't think I've killed you or some thing!"
#Pant-pant# Thank the gods I finished this. I dragged on and on and on...
#blush# Yes, I couldn't resist making Harry play horn. I'm sorry, but I didn't want todo violin or something, 'cause every story I've seem with Harry playing an instrument it's either a violin of a guitar.
Any ways- review or I'll cut your hands of with a spoon and shove you in Siege Perilous for good measure. Reveiw especially if you know who I know who threatens that.
Or not...