Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.
A/N: Er... I should have said this at the first chapter but I didn't think to mention it. For those of you that are reading this for the first time, you should know it's the second out of a series of three, the first one being Web of Lies and the third one being Dangers in the Past (yes, it's still going to be the prequel and yes, I realize I'll have to change things in Dangers, so you can expect me to change them as soon as Web of Lies: Revelations is finished).
Some people asked if there's going to be more fics in the series and while I don't think I'll write anything as large as Web of Lies or Dangers, I'll probably write at least one short fic after this concerning Harry's and Severus' relationship. This is only an idea and since I just started Web of Lies: Revelations, I have no idea when it's going to get out, so just bear with me and I hope you keep reading and enjoying the fics.
Web of Lies: Revelations.
Severus had once again tried to coax Alec into telling him why he was so upset, but the child had just clung to him and refused to answer his questions, while crying silently against his shoulder. Even after they were far away from the curious gaze of the other students, the Potions Master didn't manage to get an answer out of Alec. Snape gave up after a few minutes, knowing that getting annoyed with the child wouldn't help him. Sighing, the man leaned back into his seat and pulled the teen closer to him. If he couldn't talk him into telling him his problems, he would at least try and comfort him.
During the following half an hour, Snape gently rocked the boy back and forth, muttering gently into his hair. By the time McGonagall returned, carrying Alec's things, the teen had finally let go of Severus and was now sitting next to him instead of on his lap.
The old woman looked him over carefully, noticing the redness in his eyes and his still damp cheeks. "Better now, Alec?"
Harry nodded lightly; it had taken him a while to get a hold of his emotions, and now he didn't know how to act around the two professors, especially Severus, who had seen him break down. Luckily, it seemed that although both professors wanted to speak about what had happened, they both thought it was best to leave it until Dumbledore could sort it out; instead, they tried to make Alec comfortable.
By the time they reached the school, Severus and Harry were engrossed in a game of chess, and McGonagall had gone out to the corridors to make sure everything was all right.
Looking up, Severus watched as the lights of Hogsmeade drew closer and stood up. Alec snapped his head up at the sudden movement and watched the man questioningly. "We're nearly there, Alec. Get dressed in your robes while I go make sure everyone is getting ready."
Once the professor left the compartment, the teen walked to his trunk and got dressed in the new robes they had bought in Diagon Alley. It felt strange not seeing the Gryffindor Lion sewn into the robes and it hurt him a bit to know that it wasn't going to be there this year. His grandfather had told him that he had made sure that the hat wouldn't place him in the Gryffindor house, and as much as Harry had hated to hear it, he knew that it would be too dangerous. Even if he were to be a first year again, he would have lived close to Ron and Hermione... too close. Sighing, the boy closed his trunk and left the compartment. Once out of it, he noticed the other students leaving their compartments and waiting for the doors to open so they could step out of the train and onto the station. Alec noticed that the other students stepped out of his way, but he was fairly used to that by now so he pay them no heed.
Once the train finally stopped and they were allowed to go down, Alec followed the students to the station. There he heard the familiar yell of first years, and with a small smile on his lips, he headed to the half giant waiting for them. Hagrid was talking softly to Ron and Hermione but smiled when he saw him coming closer.
"Hello, Alec, how are you doing?"
The two teens turned around and looked at him surprised. Harry could almost see them wonder who he was; after all, he seemed to know all the teachers pretty well. Giving the big man a shy smile, Alec came a bit closer. "I'm fine, Hagrid."
"Good, good, come on now, we're about to leave." Turning to the other two teens, he placed his big hands on their shoulder. "Ron, Hermione, don't worry so much about Harry. I'm sure he's fine where he is and that he has a very good reason for staying away. Have a bit of faith in him."
The two Gryffindors nodded reluctantly, and after a nod to Alec, they left the two of them alone. Hagrid led him to the boats, where the other first years were waiting. Immediately, they started to get into the boats. Harry ended up sitting with two other girls and a boy. One of the girls seemed to be awfully familiar, but he couldn't place where he had seen her before. That is, before she looked at him and spoke. "Hey! You're the guy who gave us sweets at Diagon Alley a few days ago, aren't you?"
Alec looked at her startled, and then he recognized the girl as being the one that had been sitting next to him that day. "Yes, I am."
The girl smiled brightly. "I didn't get the chance to thank you. You really helped me a lot, I've never been so scared in my life." Then she extended her hand to him. "My name's Melanie, but you can call me Lan if you want."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Lan? I've never heard that before."
The girl giggled. "I know, but everyone just kept calling me Mel and I just hate it, so one day, I told everyone that if they weren't going to call me Melanie, they would have to look for another nickname. Then one of my older brothers started to call me Lan for fun and it kind of stuck."
Alec smiled gently at her. "Well, then Lan, I'm Alexander, but everyone calls me Alec unless they're annoyed with me."
The girl laughed out loud at that, and Harry briefly looked at their two companions to see what they thought of all the noise. Luckily, the other two seemed to be friends and were completely immersed in their own conversation, paying no heed to the girl. Turning his attention once again to Lan, Harry looked at her closely. She seemed familiar to him and not only because he had seen her before. She had said she had a few brothers so it was more than possible that he knew them if they attended Hogwarts. Not noticing his puzzled look, the girl spoke again.
"Where do you think you're going to go? Both my brothers are in Gryffindor, but I don't want to be there with them."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "And why's that?"
Rolling her eyes, she leaned back into the boat. "They're so annoying. They have that stupid infatuation with Harry Potter. They spend all the summer talking about the poor guy, especially since he disappeared. Colin, that's my oldest brother, even tried to convince Mum that it was our duty to try and find Harry. Luckily, Mum isn't insane enough to allow him to go out on a wild chase to find the guy."
Harry smiled lightly, amusement dancing behind his blue eyes. So this was Colin's little sister. He had heard last year that she was going to start at Hogwarts, and he had feared to get another crazy fan after him. Luckily, she seemed to have more sense than both her brothers. Cocking his head to the side, he regarded her carefully. "So, if not Gryffindor, where to?"
The girl looked pensive for a moment. "Well, I would love Slytherin if only for the fact that it would shock my stupid brothers out of their minds. But I don't think I'll get in there, being muggle born and all that crap. I don't know, we'll see when we get there." She turned to Alec. "What about you?"
Harry shrugged slightly and was spared an answer when they reached the other side of the lake. Hagrid quickly led the to the side entrance Harry had used the first time he was there. The teen was relieved to see that Melanie didn't leave his side. It was comforting to hear her bright chatter, and it helped to calm his nerved down. While focussing on her exclamations of awe, he wasn't able to think about the sorting and what was going to happen a few minutes away.
A tug on his robes snapped him out of his reverie. "Alec, look at those ghosts. Colin said they were scary, but I think they are just kind of cool. Do you think they are real?"
Harry chuckled and nodded. "Yes, they are, I'm sure you'll be able to talk to one of them at the feast."
Laughing, Lan hugged his arm tightly. "Really? That would be so much fun; can you imagine all the things they could tell us?"
Harry didn't answer; instead he looked down puzzled at the girl that was so comfortably gripping his arm. Strangely enough, he didn't feel awkward at having her there. Maybe it was because it was just a teen like him? He felt Derek moving lightly on his other wrist and smiled lightly at the comforting pressure. Between the two of them, they would probably be able to calm him down enough so he wouldn't make a fool of himself at the Sorting.
Just after that thought left his mind, Professor McGonagall entered the room. She looked around, her eyes resting briefly on the girl gripping Alec's arm. The boy shrugged lightly when the teacher's eyes found his, and he could have sworn that a small hint of laughter crossed her eyes before she started on her usual speech. Harry tuned her out, knowing what she was explaining, and instead, he focused on the small feeling of nervousness that was starting to grow in him.
He followed his fellow first years into the bright Great Hall. Lan stopped shortly when she entered, looking around in awe. Alec tugged at the arm still wrapped around his. "Come on, Lan, the others want to come in too."
The girl blinked up to him, and then followed into the room, her eyes flying from one side to the other trying to take it all in. Her attention snapped back to the sorting hat that had been placed in front of them when it started to sing. On the other hand, Harry attention wasn't on the hat but on the teachers' table. His eyes had locked with his grandfather's worried gaze. The man had probably heard about what had happened on the train by now, seeing that Snape was sitting next to him. Alec tried to smile a bit to reassure him that he was alright but he wasn't sure he managed.
His attention focused once again on the sorting when McGonagall started to call out names. Much sooner than he thought, his own name was called, making the Great Hall become deathly silent.
"Alexander Dumbledore."
Aunt Minerva smiled slightly at him as he forced Lan's numb fingers to let go of his arm. He could clearly see the stunned look on the girls face and knew that she was not the only surprised one. Quickly, he made his way to the sorting hat and sat down. His eyes were locked with his grandfather's when the hat was placed on his head.
"Well, well, well, look at who we have here."
To be continued...
A/N: Thanks for all the reviews (I'm still a bit stunned at the number of reviews I got) and thanks to my beta reader Vinnie and to Leena for her help.
A/N: Er... I should have said this at the first chapter but I didn't think to mention it. For those of you that are reading this for the first time, you should know it's the second out of a series of three, the first one being Web of Lies and the third one being Dangers in the Past (yes, it's still going to be the prequel and yes, I realize I'll have to change things in Dangers, so you can expect me to change them as soon as Web of Lies: Revelations is finished).
Some people asked if there's going to be more fics in the series and while I don't think I'll write anything as large as Web of Lies or Dangers, I'll probably write at least one short fic after this concerning Harry's and Severus' relationship. This is only an idea and since I just started Web of Lies: Revelations, I have no idea when it's going to get out, so just bear with me and I hope you keep reading and enjoying the fics.
Web of Lies: Revelations.
Severus had once again tried to coax Alec into telling him why he was so upset, but the child had just clung to him and refused to answer his questions, while crying silently against his shoulder. Even after they were far away from the curious gaze of the other students, the Potions Master didn't manage to get an answer out of Alec. Snape gave up after a few minutes, knowing that getting annoyed with the child wouldn't help him. Sighing, the man leaned back into his seat and pulled the teen closer to him. If he couldn't talk him into telling him his problems, he would at least try and comfort him.
During the following half an hour, Snape gently rocked the boy back and forth, muttering gently into his hair. By the time McGonagall returned, carrying Alec's things, the teen had finally let go of Severus and was now sitting next to him instead of on his lap.
The old woman looked him over carefully, noticing the redness in his eyes and his still damp cheeks. "Better now, Alec?"
Harry nodded lightly; it had taken him a while to get a hold of his emotions, and now he didn't know how to act around the two professors, especially Severus, who had seen him break down. Luckily, it seemed that although both professors wanted to speak about what had happened, they both thought it was best to leave it until Dumbledore could sort it out; instead, they tried to make Alec comfortable.
By the time they reached the school, Severus and Harry were engrossed in a game of chess, and McGonagall had gone out to the corridors to make sure everything was all right.
Looking up, Severus watched as the lights of Hogsmeade drew closer and stood up. Alec snapped his head up at the sudden movement and watched the man questioningly. "We're nearly there, Alec. Get dressed in your robes while I go make sure everyone is getting ready."
Once the professor left the compartment, the teen walked to his trunk and got dressed in the new robes they had bought in Diagon Alley. It felt strange not seeing the Gryffindor Lion sewn into the robes and it hurt him a bit to know that it wasn't going to be there this year. His grandfather had told him that he had made sure that the hat wouldn't place him in the Gryffindor house, and as much as Harry had hated to hear it, he knew that it would be too dangerous. Even if he were to be a first year again, he would have lived close to Ron and Hermione... too close. Sighing, the boy closed his trunk and left the compartment. Once out of it, he noticed the other students leaving their compartments and waiting for the doors to open so they could step out of the train and onto the station. Alec noticed that the other students stepped out of his way, but he was fairly used to that by now so he pay them no heed.
Once the train finally stopped and they were allowed to go down, Alec followed the students to the station. There he heard the familiar yell of first years, and with a small smile on his lips, he headed to the half giant waiting for them. Hagrid was talking softly to Ron and Hermione but smiled when he saw him coming closer.
"Hello, Alec, how are you doing?"
The two teens turned around and looked at him surprised. Harry could almost see them wonder who he was; after all, he seemed to know all the teachers pretty well. Giving the big man a shy smile, Alec came a bit closer. "I'm fine, Hagrid."
"Good, good, come on now, we're about to leave." Turning to the other two teens, he placed his big hands on their shoulder. "Ron, Hermione, don't worry so much about Harry. I'm sure he's fine where he is and that he has a very good reason for staying away. Have a bit of faith in him."
The two Gryffindors nodded reluctantly, and after a nod to Alec, they left the two of them alone. Hagrid led him to the boats, where the other first years were waiting. Immediately, they started to get into the boats. Harry ended up sitting with two other girls and a boy. One of the girls seemed to be awfully familiar, but he couldn't place where he had seen her before. That is, before she looked at him and spoke. "Hey! You're the guy who gave us sweets at Diagon Alley a few days ago, aren't you?"
Alec looked at her startled, and then he recognized the girl as being the one that had been sitting next to him that day. "Yes, I am."
The girl smiled brightly. "I didn't get the chance to thank you. You really helped me a lot, I've never been so scared in my life." Then she extended her hand to him. "My name's Melanie, but you can call me Lan if you want."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Lan? I've never heard that before."
The girl giggled. "I know, but everyone just kept calling me Mel and I just hate it, so one day, I told everyone that if they weren't going to call me Melanie, they would have to look for another nickname. Then one of my older brothers started to call me Lan for fun and it kind of stuck."
Alec smiled gently at her. "Well, then Lan, I'm Alexander, but everyone calls me Alec unless they're annoyed with me."
The girl laughed out loud at that, and Harry briefly looked at their two companions to see what they thought of all the noise. Luckily, the other two seemed to be friends and were completely immersed in their own conversation, paying no heed to the girl. Turning his attention once again to Lan, Harry looked at her closely. She seemed familiar to him and not only because he had seen her before. She had said she had a few brothers so it was more than possible that he knew them if they attended Hogwarts. Not noticing his puzzled look, the girl spoke again.
"Where do you think you're going to go? Both my brothers are in Gryffindor, but I don't want to be there with them."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "And why's that?"
Rolling her eyes, she leaned back into the boat. "They're so annoying. They have that stupid infatuation with Harry Potter. They spend all the summer talking about the poor guy, especially since he disappeared. Colin, that's my oldest brother, even tried to convince Mum that it was our duty to try and find Harry. Luckily, Mum isn't insane enough to allow him to go out on a wild chase to find the guy."
Harry smiled lightly, amusement dancing behind his blue eyes. So this was Colin's little sister. He had heard last year that she was going to start at Hogwarts, and he had feared to get another crazy fan after him. Luckily, she seemed to have more sense than both her brothers. Cocking his head to the side, he regarded her carefully. "So, if not Gryffindor, where to?"
The girl looked pensive for a moment. "Well, I would love Slytherin if only for the fact that it would shock my stupid brothers out of their minds. But I don't think I'll get in there, being muggle born and all that crap. I don't know, we'll see when we get there." She turned to Alec. "What about you?"
Harry shrugged slightly and was spared an answer when they reached the other side of the lake. Hagrid quickly led the to the side entrance Harry had used the first time he was there. The teen was relieved to see that Melanie didn't leave his side. It was comforting to hear her bright chatter, and it helped to calm his nerved down. While focussing on her exclamations of awe, he wasn't able to think about the sorting and what was going to happen a few minutes away.
A tug on his robes snapped him out of his reverie. "Alec, look at those ghosts. Colin said they were scary, but I think they are just kind of cool. Do you think they are real?"
Harry chuckled and nodded. "Yes, they are, I'm sure you'll be able to talk to one of them at the feast."
Laughing, Lan hugged his arm tightly. "Really? That would be so much fun; can you imagine all the things they could tell us?"
Harry didn't answer; instead he looked down puzzled at the girl that was so comfortably gripping his arm. Strangely enough, he didn't feel awkward at having her there. Maybe it was because it was just a teen like him? He felt Derek moving lightly on his other wrist and smiled lightly at the comforting pressure. Between the two of them, they would probably be able to calm him down enough so he wouldn't make a fool of himself at the Sorting.
Just after that thought left his mind, Professor McGonagall entered the room. She looked around, her eyes resting briefly on the girl gripping Alec's arm. The boy shrugged lightly when the teacher's eyes found his, and he could have sworn that a small hint of laughter crossed her eyes before she started on her usual speech. Harry tuned her out, knowing what she was explaining, and instead, he focused on the small feeling of nervousness that was starting to grow in him.
He followed his fellow first years into the bright Great Hall. Lan stopped shortly when she entered, looking around in awe. Alec tugged at the arm still wrapped around his. "Come on, Lan, the others want to come in too."
The girl blinked up to him, and then followed into the room, her eyes flying from one side to the other trying to take it all in. Her attention snapped back to the sorting hat that had been placed in front of them when it started to sing. On the other hand, Harry attention wasn't on the hat but on the teachers' table. His eyes had locked with his grandfather's worried gaze. The man had probably heard about what had happened on the train by now, seeing that Snape was sitting next to him. Alec tried to smile a bit to reassure him that he was alright but he wasn't sure he managed.
His attention focused once again on the sorting when McGonagall started to call out names. Much sooner than he thought, his own name was called, making the Great Hall become deathly silent.
"Alexander Dumbledore."
Aunt Minerva smiled slightly at him as he forced Lan's numb fingers to let go of his arm. He could clearly see the stunned look on the girls face and knew that she was not the only surprised one. Quickly, he made his way to the sorting hat and sat down. His eyes were locked with his grandfather's when the hat was placed on his head.
"Well, well, well, look at who we have here."
To be continued...
A/N: Thanks for all the reviews (I'm still a bit stunned at the number of reviews I got) and thanks to my beta reader Vinnie and to Leena for her help.