Disclaimer: I don't own, nor do I want to own, Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns them. I've no intention of making any profit off of this, it's mere used to satisfy my desire to write and possibly to amuse you, the reader, though you can pay me if you want. Translated lyrics to Nebel belong to Jeremy Williams as well as Rammstein. I'm not supposed to use them with out permission, but then again, I'm not really supposed to be writing fanfiction using Rowling's characters. *shurgs* It's a nice song.
Warning: This will be R and will contain *SLASH* You don't like it, don't read.
Summary: Harry returned to Hogwarts after six years of self-exile into the Muggle World and the defeat of Voldemort.
AN: The only person I know who can get songs more stuck in their heads than me is Rubberboots, and, unfortunately, she has the talent to get them stuck in my head as well. I will admit Rammstein is a good band, but not that good. She has ALL of their songs.
Thanks to everyone who answered the questions at the bottom of the last chapter. It was unanimous that I should put in Snape's perspective. Most people wouldn't mind a flashback that will probably come next chapter. As for the final question, what I meant to ask is how people feel about OCs, because the plot calls for several to be in this, it's just a matter of to what extent.
Kalika- I love the bunny!
Diagonalist- Sorry about the mistakes in the last chapter, and thanks SO much for beta-ing.
Amy Lee- Typos are from lack of sleep and the inability to pay attention when typing; that and the fact that I didn't have it beta-ed when I first posted it. It's fixed now, and I made a point of having this one edited before posting.
Kristen- Blah! Have enough problems with updating as it is. *mutters and shakes fist* Damn school!
Xikum- Wow… Nice rant. I hope you don't mind but I borrowed it a little for this chapter.
Beryllix- Thanks for the idea. I think about it.
Kaze- More about Kestor in the next chapter. Also, your name wouldn't have anything to do with Weiß Kreuz, would it?
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Chapter VIII
Surprising TurnsThey stand with their arms tightly around each other
A mixture of flesh, so rich in days
Where the sea touches the land
She wants to tell him the truth
But the wind eats her words
Where the sea ends
She holds his hand, trembling
And kissed him on the forehead
She carries the evening in her chest
And knows that she must wither away
She lays her head in his lap
And asks for a last kiss
And then he kissed her
Where the sea ends
Her lips, delicate and pale
And his eyes tear up
The last kiss was so long ago
The last kiss
He does not remember it anymore
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As I went down to the Great
Hall the next morning for breakfast, the ever-present Himalayan at my heels,
things became decidedly odder.
It started out as students muttering
and pointing at me when they thought I wasn't looking. The mutterings
developed into harsh whispers, which turned into quick debates, all of which
were too quiet for me to hear.
What
Snape had done was completely against a teacher's ethics. Severus had
actively undermined the respect I had with my students. I was never going
to be able to get the students to pay attention to me in class, let alone the
Slytherin's who had just witnessed their Head of House render me
unconscious. Admittedly, I had made a mistake in allowing Severus to get
within striking distance of me (a move like that would have gotten a wizard
killed in the war.) But still, he was a well know figure at the
school. He didn't need the respect of his students. He had their
fear.
I
was doomed to fail, now. I can't understand why Dumbledore ever wanted to
hire me.
I
began plotting the top ten ways to torture Severus before I murdered him for
undermining my authority like that, as I approached the entrance.
…But
I nearly dropped dead in shock when I entered the Great Hall.
The
first thing I noticed was that the Great Hall was in complete and utter
chaos. The students were in an uproar. They were arguing with each
other, about the duel, saying that the duel had been finished when I had
disarmed my opponent. That was proper formal duelling. Formal duels
weren't meant to be the death, they were meant to end when on wizard was
disarmed.
They
were saying what Severus Snape had done was dishonourable, and sleazy, and that
the man had no integrity. I knew that if Snape ever heard that, he would
suffer from an aneurysm. If that man prided himself in anything, it was
his integrity, even if he did favour his House.
And
the best part about it was that even the Slytherins were complaining about
it. They knew they were sneaky bastards, but what Snape had done was
wrong, if a trademark move of their House.
I could only stand unnoticed in the
entrance, trying to stop myself from grinning like a fool. This was
better than any type of torture I could ever have come up with. This was
the best out come I could have imagined. I couldn't have planned it
better myself. I couldn't have had someone else planned it better if I'd
tried.
Severus Snape was
going to kill me.
Which
led me to my second observation; Severus Snape was most decidedly absent.
I let my eyes wander to the centre of
the staff table to see Albus musing over this situation, though there was a
small twinkle in his eyes. Next to him Minerva was struggling unsuccessfully
to control her mirth.
The noise quieted down somewhat when
the students began noticing me. I stood silently and with as much dignity
as I could while trying my damnedest not to double over in laughter, as four
seventh year students approached me, obviously the chosen representatives of
each house.
One of them, of course, was the
Slytherin, Laurence Palaines. I was certain that face would stay with me
for as long as I taught here, which most likely wasn't a good thing, because of
my first assumption. The other three students I could vaguely remember,
Kryon Mythus from Ravenclaw, Tamian Louis from Gryfindor and Samantha Smith
from Hufflepuff. From what I could remember however, they were, all, the
top ranking students in academics in their Houses.
"We would like to commend you on your
excellent duelling skills," Tamian began, and I dimly remembered her as one of
the bystanders of the duel, a rather good looking auburn haired girl.
Laurence cut her off. "We will,
albeit unwillingly, admit that what Professor Snape did was disgraceful.
We understand that you have exceptional skill in duelling."
"We also realize you have certain…
abilities… that our previous teachers either didn't possess, or… saw fit not to
teach us," Kyron explained, and I realized immediately he was speaking of the
wandless magic I had used during the duel.
"We would like to make a proposition,"
the Slytherin said, and it sounded as though he were scheming.
"And
what might that be?" I said softly, noticing many students were now watching us
with great interest.
The black haired youth spoke
confidently, if distastefully. It was apparent he didn't exactly enjoy
the idea of what he was suggesting. "We will aid you in class
preparation, and help you in any way…"
"Class related, assuredly," Samantha
said timidly for the first time, as though I intimidated her.
Kyron gave her a derisive look before
motioning Laurence to continue.
"In return, you will agree to teach us
how you used the wandless magic…"
"As well as start a duelling club,"
Tamian interjected. "They said Snape helped start one several years ago,
but he won't even talk about it."
"That's Professor Snape," I said
off-handedly, not noticing the shocked looks on their faces. I lowered my
gaze to think, and I had to hold back a chuckle. I could understand why
Snape wouldn't want to talk about the duelling club in my second year.
Lockhart was definitely not something one wanted to talk about.
I raised my head again. "I will
consider it, but I'll need to ask Albus for permission about the duelling
club."
There were glad looks on the four
students' faces, though Laurence was trying to maintain a cool, reserved
expression.
"Now," I said, "If you don't mind, I'm
going to go and eat. I'll see you in class, Samantha.
To my incomprehension, the girl
blushed, and turned her head away. If I didn't know any better I would
say… No! I'm not even going to consider it.
I moved past the group and took a seat
at the head table. I saw the four students move back to their respective
tables, and most likely pass on the information to their classmates.
Turning to Dumbledore, I made to ask
him about their request, but he answered me before I even spoke.
"You have permission to do whatever you
wish, within reason, as long as it doesn't affect your teaching."
Do not let it be said that Albus
Dumbledore is an ignorant man.
It was at that moment I noticed my
second shadow, the cat, was no longer with me. As much as it relieved me
that it had gone to pester someone, or something, else, I was a little
disappointed, too, and I wasn't quite sure why.
_.~*~._.~*~._.~*~._.~*~._.~*~._.~*~._
I was sure my deal with the four
students and, through association, their Houses, was going to prove extremely
useful, but at the moment, it was more of a hindrance than help. I had
very little free time.
There
was a lot more to running a Duelling Club than I would have assumed. I
first needed to reacquaint myself with proper duelling etiquette. It seemed
that my duel with Severus broke nearly every rule there was to "courtly
duelling," from my issue of the challenge to the… interesting…
conclusion. That was going to be something I would have to beat into the
students' heads were I to teach them anything. I would not have a repeat
of the duelling club from my second year.
Between my research and my lesson
planning, I had very little time to do anything else, such as practice on my
drums, but mainly, to make a weekend trip into Muggle London to check and stock
the flat I had rented for the duration of the school year.
Another part of my seemingly flawless,
but straining to maintain, façade I needed in order to keep my friends ignorant
to my situation and my co-workers ignorant to my identity. Bitterness
flowed through me at this. There were occasionally brief moments of
insanity where I thought my anonymity wasn't worth it.
But as I said, these moments were very
brief; shortened considerably by the fact that lies seem to compound
themselves, weaving an intricate web that eventually became impossible to
untangle. I'd been lying for so long I didn't want to even imagine trying
to unravel it.
Fortunately for my conscience, my lies
were laced with enough truth to keep me from falling apart.
Of course, I only thought about things
like this in moments of extreme stress, frustration, or senility.
I didn't reap the benefits of my
bargain until well into the third week of school, when I had finally issued
tests to the younger grades. I was able to cheerfully hand them over to
the four students, along with a test filled in with the correct answers.
I'd spelled the tests so the students' names wouldn't be visible, eliminating
the possibility of discrimination against houses and favouritism.
I allowed myself a brief chuckle when I
did this. Someone should have thought of doing that to the test before
Snape gathered them to correct them. That way he wouldn't be able to
spoil his Slytherins.
Come to think of it, though, I hadn't
heard half as many complaints about him from the students. Maybe he had
been able to curb his cynicism and bitterness… Either that, or he'd
decided to redirect it towards his co-workers.
But with the benefit of not having to
mark eight classes worth (I'm a horrible person, I know) of tests, I was able
finally get away to London to by some much needed supplies for my flat.
After the end of Friday's classes I was all but running to my rooms so I could
grab a pre-packed bag and get outside of Hogwarts' wards so I could apparate to
my flat.
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I quietly unlocked the door to my one
bedroom flat, having apparated into a secluded area in a park as to not arouse
suspicion from nosy neighbours, and entered. It already had a bed, refrigerator,
microwave, stove, and television, but it completely lacked the necessities
required to make the flat appear 'lived in.'
That, therefore, would be the first
order of business.
The second thing my second dwellings
were missing was a drum-kit. That would definitely look suspicious if my
friends ever came to visit, so I was going to have to make effort to find a
music store where I could find a place to buy that new set of drums I'd been
wanting.
I bought food, more clothing, and
toiletries for the flat, as well as different Muggle sweets I'd grown addicted
to over the years and a portable CD player I was going to tamper with.
I remembered well from my fourth year
Hermionie saying the 'bugs' weren't possible in Hogwarts because of all of the
magical interference, but I was positive it would be possible, with the right
charms, the get the thing to work with magical energies, instead of
electrical. I had a desperate need to find something to play music with,
if I was going to practice.
Near Christmas there was always a band
competition in a small club that catered to tribute bands. Our band had
one the past three years, and I was hoping to add a fourth to that by
practicing by myself, but to do that, I was going to need to listen to the
songs we were supposed to be performing.
This competition was going to be my
early Christmas gift to my self if I got the chance to get away from Hogwarts
for another weekend.
In my extensive instrument shopping on
the Saturday afternoon, I was able to find the perfect drum-set, a little on
the expensive side, but I decided to splurge. I'd denied myself the
Firebolt in my third-year, so I might as well spoil myself now.
I made deal with the store owner,
putting in a down payment, promising to pick up my purchase within the next
month and pay the remainder of the cast, too. It was, all in all, a
successful afternoon.
That was, until, I stepped out on the
street, and, momentarily blinded by the sun, I didn't see the car barrelling
towards me. The driver didn't see me either, obviously, because he didn't
slow down, nor did he swerve out of the way.
I don't actually recall this, but I was
pretty sure I was hit head on, though fortunately the car wasn't going
incredibly fast, or else I would have been a pancake, instead of being placed
in a hospital for the next four days.
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AN: Wow. It's another cliff-hanger thing. I hope it's suspenseful. Frankly, I don't like the way I ended this chapter, but it has major plot advancement, so it needed to happen. Also, if I didn't end it here, it would be another while until you got the next chapter.
I'm going to rephrase that third question again.
3) Would you be against having original secondary characters in this for the sake of major plot advancement?
As usual, I appreciate those who feed the author. I'd like you to review if you enjoyed this, review if you hated it, or give me any possible constructive criticism. I'd love to know how you think I could improve this.
Now, does anyone have more food for the author? If so, click on the nice button in the bottom left corner. Please. GO!