Disclaimer: I don't own any Harry Potter characters or any part of Harry Potter. Please don't sue, I have nothing to give you except my "Katamari Demacy" and "We Love Katamari" games which I will defend with my life.
This story is a challenge response to a story on the "Third Floor Corridor" Website.
This story is dark and there will be a death. I'm not saying who yet. You have been warned, it will be a very dark piece.
Reviews: I love reviews. Please, please, please review. Since we are no longer allowed to put review answers in our fic chapters I will reply to each review individually through the PM system.
On with the story.
The rest of the week passed in a similar manner for Severus. Each morning he would watch for his mother's owl and everyday that passed without hearing from her he got more and more depressed. The meager appetite he had had earlier in the week became almost non-existent and he found himself crying himself to sleep every night as the week dragged on.
He couldn't get around the idea that something had happened to his mother that was preventing her from writing to him but he had no way to contact her. His family didn't have a floo connection and the letter he had sent to his mother had come back unopened. He was afraid that she didn't care about him anymore. The woman had been the only one who supported him and he now found himself alone. He was glad that there was only a month of the school term left so he could finally go home and figure out what had happened.
Going home meant that he would have to deal with his father but as long as he got to see his mother he would be able to deal with that. His father had never abused him physically but the mental abuse that the man constantly threw at him often hurt worse. He hated his father but their was nothing he could do about the fact that his mother had chosen to fall in love with a muggle. She had told Severus that the man wasn't so bad when he wasn't drunk but Severus remembered very few moments in his childhood when his father had not been drunk.
His mother clearly had good memories of the man and Severus knew that she thought she could bring back the man she had married years ago. Severus had tried to get her to leave him numerous times but she had always refused to go. He had finally given up trying during the summer between his second and third year at Hogwarts.
With a sigh poured a portion of his potion into the vial on his table and carefully labeled it. He then took it up to Slughorn for the man's inspection. Slughorn took the vial and handed Severus his homework from the last class. This lesson, like the last one, contained a message informing him of another meeting between himself and Slughorn.
The fact that the man had not given up angered him. The professor seemed to actually care about him for some reason. He knew that Slughorn chose the students he considered his favorites very carefully and he didn't understand how he had fallen into that select group. His family was not wealthy, or connected and his mother had lost whatever social status she had had as a witch when she had chosen to marry a muggle. The only thing that Severus had going for himself were his grades and his unmatched skills in the potions lab.
The rest of the day passed too quickly before he found himself knocking on Slughorn's door. Slughorn greeted him and motioned him inside. The second the door clicked shut Severus wished that he had not come. He could see the large pitcher of pumpkin juice waiting for him and he curled up on the couch and he waited for Slughorn to start lecturing him.
The man didn't even bother to lecture him and simply poured him a tall glass of the drugged juice which he patiently held out to Severus.
"Drink it." With a sigh of frustration Severus took the glass and took a long drink. "You have to eat Severus. You are going to make yourself extremely sick if you keep this up. Do you understand me?" Severus nodded weakly as he took another drink of the juice. He could already feel the effects of the powerful potion as it spread through his body.
"I want to know what is bothering you. Whatever it is, it's obviously serious enough to cause you to take risks with your health. You have a lot of potential but not if you kill yourself while you are still in school"
"You can't change anything." Severus hung his head and allowed the soft black strands of his hair to block his face from view as he curled up in a tighter ball. "You can't change the fact that nobody gives a damn about what happens to me." The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them and he immediately regretted saying anything.
"What makes you say that?" The words made Severus angry.
"It should be pretty damn obvious that everyone in this school hates me. I can't get a moment of peace, what with Potter and his friends making my life hell, and you trying to act like you actually care. I don't have anything to offer you. My family doesn't have any money and we don't know anyone in the ministry. I don't know why you are bothering to waste your time on me." Slughorn frowned at him.
"You are right, I'm not going to gain anything by helping you. It isn't always about the money boy. Get that through your thick skull right now." Severus tightened his grip on the glass in his hand.
"What is it about then?" Slughorn was clearly getting frustrated with him but he didn't care.
"Do you know how many fully certified potion masters there are in Europe?" Severus remained silent and refused to answer him. "There are less then a dozen of us boy. Five of which are over 100 years old. You do the math. Why else would I, as you put it, waste my time on you?" Severus was surprised. He knew that a mastery in potions was one of the most difficult masteries to achieve but he had had no idea that there were so few who had actually qualified.
"Why are there so few?" Slughorn chuckled darkly.
"Most of the promising students get themselves killed. That's why I'm interested in you. I think you might be smart enough NOT to get yourself killed."
"Quit playing games with me, why should you care." Slughorn reached over and took a glass of wine from his desk. He took a long drink before speaking.
"I need an apprentice. I don't intend to teach forever and I want to pass my skills on to someone else."
"What makes you think I would ever return to this school after I graduate? Especially as a professor? I hate it here. There is no way I'd even think about teaching."
"Don't jump to conclusions. I didn't say a single word about teaching. I said I needed a potions apprentice. Are you interested or not? I can always ask Miss Evans." Slughorn smirked as he noticed the boy across from him stiffen.
"You seem opposed to that plan. Can I assume that you are interested?"
"I just don't want Evans to get it." Slughorn took another drink from his glass and stared at the boy.
"That's not your only reason?"
"Don't pretend to know me. You've never taken an interest in me before so you have no idea what I'm thinking."
"You are a half-blood in Slytherin. You wouldn't be here if you weren't ambitious."
"Don't mention that outside this room." Slughorn studied the furious boy before him with a critical eye.
"You are ambitious though, you can't deny that. You want the job I'm offering you because you want to prove that you aren't simply a worthless half-blood."
"I told you not to talk about it."
"Fine I won't but we both know it's the truth." Severus remained silent and refused to look at the older man. It was clear to Slughorn that the boy was ashamed of his family and he chose not to confront the boy about that right now. Instead he reached across his desk and picked up a scroll that was sealed with wax.
He threw the scroll to Severus who caught it.
"Read it." Severus slid thumb under the wax seal and unrolled the parchment. He examined the information penned in Slughorn's neat script.
"It's a timetable."
"Very good Severus. I'm glad you can read. Now what is it a timetable for?" Severus glared at him with an annoyed scowl on his face.
"A potions timetable. What do you want me to do with this?"
"That list includes a potions timetable for the next four months. I expect each potion on that list completed and submitted for my review by the date it is due. You will get a new timetable along with your class schedule when you arrive at the beginning of school year." Severus studied the list in silence.
"Most of these potions seem pretty easy."
"Your assignments will get more difficult if you prove to me that you are worth my time." Severus stared at the list in silence. "You should get started the first potions are due in two days. You will adhere to a rigid schedule and if you fail to meet my expectations I'll find someone more suitable." Clearly realizing that the words were meant as a dismissal. As he reached the door Slughorn called to him.
"You will also eat. I will not have an apprentice who cannot take proper care of themselves."
The next month passed quickly for Severus. The list of potions, which had seemed so easy at first, had quickly proved to be much more difficult then he had expected. It did give him a method to avoid Potter and the others in his year though. He spent every available moment in the potions lab that Slughorn had designated for his use. The fact that his mother still failed to write him faded to a dull ache. He missed her terribly but with the end of the year fast approaching he really didn't have time to think about it.
He managed to pass his exams with flying colors but the last month of school passed by in a haze. All too quickly he found himself loading his things onto the Hogwarts express. Under his Hogwarts robes he was wearing a pair of tattered black jeans and a muggle band t-shirt. His father would not be pleased if he showed up at the station in wizards robes. The man was a muggle and he fully expected his son to act and appear normal during the summer.
He found an empty compartment and made himself comfortable. Before he had left he had snuck into Slughorn's study and swiped several of the man's books on advanced potions theory. He would need something to do over the summer since he rarely left the house. He was at least fortunate that his mother had a well stocked potions lab in their basement and that the ministry allowed potions brewing by underage wizards during the summer. Otherwise keeping to Slughorn's schedule would have been impossible.
By the time the train reached the station a pit had formed in his stomach. His mother would be waiting for him on the platform and after not hearing from her for a month he had no idea what he was going to say to her. He wanted to yell and scream at her but at the same time he would be grateful to see her. He had missed her terribly and he just wanted everything to go back to the way it had been before.
He felt the jolt of the train as it pulled to a stop and he could hear the excited voices of the other students as they hurried to reach the platform to find their families. He waited for a minute until the worst of the rush had died down then he grabbed the handle of his trunk and made his way toward the exit of the car. As he reached the steps he glanced around eagerly for any sign of his mother. Much to his disappointment he saw no sign of her.
/where could she be/ He wondered silently. With an aggravated sigh he grabbed his trunk off the train and grabbed a deserted trolley. With the weight of his trunk neutralized by the wheels of the trolley he set out to find her.
Two hours later she had still not shown up and he was really worried. By that time the platform was practically empty so he slipped into the bathroom to remove his robes. When he was dressed normally by muggle standards he slipped through the barrier onto the muggle part of the station. When he still didn't see either of his parents he felt panic gripping his chest.
/Why aren't they here? They couldn't have forgotten about me./ He felt like crying but refused to allow himself to break down. Logically they would be there to get him soon. Something had happened to make them late was all. He considered going to the station's information desk and having them paged but he didn't want his father to be angry with him. The man was probably already furious about having to come pick him up. He looked around and noticed a bench where he could watch the entrance to the Platform while still watching the rest of the muggle station.
Another hour passed before he finally gave up. With a sigh he grabbed his trunk and made his away outside. He walked around the corner away from the station and hailed the Knight Bus. It appeared soon after and he instructed the driver to drop him a couple blocks from his father's home. When the bus dropped him off he bid farewell to the driver and made his way down the street. By the time he reached the door of his family's home he was soaked in sweat from dragging the heavy trunk. All he wanted was to take a shower and figure out why his parents hadn't picked him up. He could see his father's car in the driveway and he was immediately pissed off. He could not believe that the man hadn't even bothered to pick him up.
He dug his house key out of his pocket and slid it into the lock. It turned easily and he heard the click of the lock. With a sigh he pulled the door open and dragged his trunk inside. The smell of stale alcohol and cigarette smoke assailed his senses. It was a smell he had become used to over the years so he ignored it and focused on shutting the door.
"Mum, I'm home." He could hear movement from the direction of the living room and waited as the noise got closer. Much to his aggravation his father was the one to come around the corner. The man had clearly been drinking but he didn't seem as drunk as he normally was.
"What the hell are you doing here?" The man slurred.
"I live here." Severus snapped. "Where the hell is my mother?" A series of emotions including surprise and sadness passed over the man's face. As he waited for his father to speak Severus suddenly felt very afraid.
"Didn't you get my letter?"
"What letter?" Severus could tell him voice was shaking but he forced himself to remain calm.
"The letter I sent you about your mother. She died just over a month ago. She fell down the stairs in the middle of the night." The tone of his father's voice caused a wave of cold to flood through Severus' system. He could not believe this was happening. It couldn't be happening. It simply wasn't possible, his father had to be lying.
"Your lying." The sorrow on his father's face told him the truth and he felt his hands begin to shake. This was not happening. /Please let it be a bad dream./ He begged silently. /Please let me wake up./
"It's not a lie Severus. I'm sorry." The fact that his father had actually called him by his first name cemented the fact that what he was saying was the truth. He still chose to deny it though because admitting it would bring his world crashing down even more then it already was.
"Your Lying!" He hissed in anger. His father moved faster then he had ever seen him move and Severus gasped in pain as his father grabbed his wrist and squeezed. The sudden pain brought him to his senses and he realized that his father really wasn't lying to him. Suddenly he felt his knees buckling and tears started to form at the corners of his eyes. His father finally let go of his wrist and Severus pulled his arms close to his chest. He was freezing and he tried to ignore the buzzing that had suddenly filled his ears.
He was surprised when his father knelt down in front of him and placed his hands and his shoulders. "Head downstairs and get cleaned up. I'll bring your trunk down later." Severus nodded weakly and stood. His legs were still shaking but he managed to make it downstairs. He stripped off his clothes and grabbed a towel before heading into the bathroom. He turned on the shower and waited as the water heated up. His mind was racing and he could not believe that this had happened. He didn't even realize how hot he had turned the water to when he stepped into the shower. At that point he would have done anything to feel warm again. To know that his mother was waiting for him. It wasn't going to happen though.
He felt the tears he had forced back earlier rise to his eyes and this time he didn't try to stop them. With a sob he lowered himself down to the floor the shower and pulled his eyes to his chin. The hot water was scalding but he didn't care as he allowed himself to cry.
By the time he had calmed down the water had turned from scalding to freezing and he realized that he was shivering violently. His an aggravated sigh he got out and wrapped the towel around his waist. As he went into his room he realized that his father had actually brought his trunk down like he had promised. Not really caring about how he looked Severus simply pulled on the jeans he had been wearing earlier and threw himself onto the bed.