AN: Oh Penny, why you gotta go and remind Snape of all the things he wish he'd done differently?
Being back at Hogwarts feels good! Enjoy some twin time.
Penny blinked, early morning light was streaming in through the windows of the Hospital Wing. She felt so warm, her aches from the previous day almost non-existent. Yawning, she realized there was an arm draped over her. Turning her head, she found her shaggy-haired brother laying beside her, out cold, his glasses askew. Her heart swelled as she moved his hair out of his eyes. He was crammed into the bed beside her, holding her as though he feared she would disappear again.
Penny did not know when he arrived, all she could remember was making it to the Hospital Wing and a furious Snape forcing her to take a potion of dreamless sleep, which Penny tried to resist because naturally, she wanted to see her brother before she went to sleep. Snape told her the dose was only small and she'd only sleep for a few hours before waking. With Madam Pomfrey demanding she take it as well, Penny could hardly defy them, so she accepted the potion from a smug-looking Snape, who'd blatantly lied, because she'd clearly slept through the entire night.
The castle was still, the wind-rattled windows the only thing to be heard, other than the rhythmic breathing of her brother. Penny could not help but breathe in deeply, releasing all her tension on the exhale. She was home, Harry was safe, and perhaps life would return to normal.
Harry's eyes opened and he looked at Penny, wide-eyed, as though unsure if he were seeing her or was trapped in his dream-state still.
"Penny," he said, tentatively.
"Why do we always find each other in the Hospital Wing like this?" she said.
Harry grinned widely, but the worry in his eyes did not budge.
"Penny, you idiot. What happened, Lupin wouldn't tell me anything."
"A lot, but at least I'm home now," she sighed.
"But how, and what happened to you? I saw the bruises before Madam Pomfrey healed them," Harry said in an accusatory tone, tracing his fingers along her neck.
"You won't believe it, but Lucius Malfoy got me out."
"Why would he do that," said Harry, eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"Draco demanded he help me, told him we were dating," Penny said, shaking her head, still unable to believe it herself.
Harry stared at Penny, his brows crinkled from the struggle of his inner turmoil. Penny couldn't blame him, even after sitting with Draco and maintaining the somewhat friendship they had, she found it hard to believe. Though she speculated the potions master had a hand in prompting Draco's involvement, which she shared with Harry, who found this new information even harder to palette than the first bit.
"Are you sure it was Malfoy, how do you even know? And what were they doing to you at the Ministry?"
With a deep breath, Penny began to explain to Harry the events in the Department of Mysteries. Agitated, Harry sat up and watched her, cross-legged, interjecting his fury every now and again.
"What's the MACUSA?" Harry questioned.
"The Magical Congress of the United States of America, don't you ever pay attention in class? Professor Binns has mentioned them a few dozen times," Penny scolded, sitting up as well.
"Why would they want you?" he said, looking perturbed.
"By the sounds of it they wanted to brainwash me into doing their bidding." Penny replied, darkly.
"Is wand-less magic really that powerful?" said Harry.
"If what Grindelwald was able to accomplish is any indicator, then I suppose. But Dumbledore defeated him with a wand, so it's not necessarily a given. But I think, and this is just a hunch, based off of what Dumbledore said in passing, it's that expression can't be traced," Penny mused out loud.
"What does that matter?"
"Think about it Harry, The entire Ministry and Magical Law Enforcement operates on being able to locate those who misuse magic. Imagine having some sort of international spy who never left any evidence." said Penny, somewhat impatiently.
Harry burst out laughing, "You, a spy!" he choked, clutching his sides.
"You brat, I'd make an amazing spy!" she said, reaching out to pinch his cheek.
"Maybe. But explain the rest,"
Penny continued on with her tale, feeling as though something were swelling inside of her chest, making it harder and harder to get the words free. She wanted the images to stop flashing across her vision, so she forced herself onward, pausing momentarily at the rabbit.
"They made you kill it, why would anyone do that?" said Harry, aghast.
"Because they could."
"How can they get away with that, and right inside the Ministry!" said Harry indignantly, getting off the bed to pace angrily.
"Tonks promised they wouldn't."
"Did they even help you learn to control your expression? What even happened that day you disappeared?" Harry said, pausing in his pacing to turn back to her.
"No, they didn't help me." said Penny quietly, flopping back onto her pillow, mulling over everything that had transpired. Uncertain again if she should share what happened in her head. With a deep sigh, she finished explaining, and described the death chamber and what she felt and heard.
When she finished, he promptly walked to her bedside to look down at her miserable expression. Penny knew he was sharing the fear she felt in her chest. She always knew when her brother was present in her head. Normally, she liked it, but right now her shame made her wish he wasn't there.
"Don't you dare for a second believe it, Penny," he demanded.
She gazed into his fierce eyes, startled.
"Believe what?" she said, acting as though she did not know he were privy to her thoughts.
"That you're evil. What they made you do, that's on them, not you. Every part of you, and every piece of magic I have seen you perform is full of life."
"I want to believe you, Harry," Penny said, miserably.
"Then stop making excuses for them. I never told you this, well, I've never told anyone except Dumbledore, but the sorting hat wanted to put me in Slytherin," he admitted, looking apologetic.
"You in Slytherin?" Penny gaped.
"It's true, and I was certain, for a long time, that it must mean there is some part of me that's like Voldemort,"
"Harry-" Penny said, sitting up to take his hand. But he stopped her.
"But I learned that our choices matter, Penny. We are not fixed, we can change our path at any point."
She stared at him for a long moment. There was no doubt he meant what he said, the ferocity in which he believed what he said splashed over Penny like a wave. With a loud sigh, she finally broke into a grin and accepted there was no arguing with Harry. Instead, she yanked her twin into the bed with her, where she hugged him and ruffled his hair.
"So what made you lose control?" Harry finally asked, settling back beneath the blankets with her.
"I got into an argument with Snape. He actually pointed his wand at me, so of course my response was to lose it," Penny shrugged.
"He did what! I've told you-"
"Come off it, Harry. In my anger I definitely sent a jinx at him, and he was the one who found me after I woke up," Penny said, clamping her hand over his mouth to shut him up. She could not stand to hear another 100-reasons-Harry-believed-Snape-is-evil tirade.
"Fine. But what were you doing those two months, you could have written," Harry scowled, pushing her hand away.
"I don't know, I woke up in a forest somewhere, and to me it felt like no time had passed."
"Dumbledore didn't have any hunches?"
"If he did, he didn't share them with me. But enough of this, it's your turn, tell me what I missed," Penny demanded, rolling onto her side to watch him.
Harry obliged and recounted to Penny all about Rita Skeeter's obsession with writing about him, and the nice article he'd read that Dumbledore wrote about Penny when the Daily Prophet published her student submission. Penny found herself skeptical Dumbledore had anything to say about her, but she kept the thought to herself because he'd smiled and told her he clipped it out and saved it for her. Then he went on about how boring classes had been, adding almost offhandedly that Snuffles was living in a mountain just outside of Hogsmeade. Penny's heart leapt. She'd forgotten Sirius was at Hogwarts, and close enough to see. It'd been nearly a year since they seen him last, and Penny wanted dearly to see how he was doing for herself.
"Yesterday was the last day of classes, but everyone is staying for the Yule Ball," Harry finished, a look of dread falling over his face.
"When's the ball?" Penny asked,
"On Christmas Eve,"
"Who are you taking?"
"Parvati Patil," he said, sullenly.
Penny rolled over into the pillow to stifle her laugh. Harry was evidently unamused by this and promptly poked her in the side.
"I suppose you've already had ten invites," Harry said with an eye-roll when Penny rolled back over to return his poke.
"Maybe I can take Lupin," Penny exclaimed, fantasizing about the possibility. "Where is Lupin?" she went on, looking around the room.
"He came in while you were asleep, said he had some things to do for Dumbledore, but to tell you he'd be back today," said Harry.
"I was hoping the three of us could visit Snuffles, bring him a Christmas present," said Penny.
"This is a Hogsmeade weekend, that'll be perfect! I'll go send word to him," Harry said, getting to his feet in excitement.
Penny smiled and waved at him. If she could just convince Lupin, her plan to get the photograph of the four of them would work perfectly. A family picture for Christmas was the best present she could imagine for herself. Being back in Hogwarts made it easy to push recent events into the back of mind. She did not want to spend too much time dwelling on them. Looking down at her arms, it was bizarre how all traces of her abuse were now non-existent, Madam Pomfrey was truly amazing at what she did.
When the prison guard, Pomfrey finally roused and made her way to check on Penny, she insisted Penny stay for the first half of the morning, and would only consider letting her leave after Snape gave his verdict.
Penny was sitting at the window, tapping her feet impatiently when said man finally arrived, looking like he had many other, better things to be doing.
"Professor!" Penny exclaimed, rushing over to Snape.
"Ms. Potter" he sneered.
"You have to help me, she's threatening to keep me in here for the next week!" Penny pleaded in a hushed tone, afraid Madam Pomfrey would realize Snape had arrived.
The dubious look that appeared on Snape's face told Penny he was contemplating the satisfaction of prolonging her misery.
"You do look pale and your health is of the utmost importance, it would be irresponsible of me to have you discharged early," Snape said softly, his cold eyes alight with cruelty.
"I'm a red redhead, I'm always pale," Penny argued, eyes narrowed.
"I've taught you for four-years, I'm well aware what your normal complexion is," he said, unfazed by her argument. And with an unpleasant smirk, he made to move past her.
"You can't be that cruel. I was only mean to you the other day because you deserved it. You haven't even apologized for any of the last half-dozen horrible things you did to me! You had to know I'd either have to even the playing field or we couldn't be friends anymore. I saved our friendship! Really, you should be thanking me," said Penny, matter-of-factly, blocking Snape's way.
He looked down at her, his lip curling and eyes narrowing in irritation. The look told Penny she hit the you-remind-me-of-your-father nerve and her chances of him securing her freedom were swirling down hole his glare was burning into her face. She tried to smile, but the action only served to make him look more severe as his cold eyes considered her.
"Do you think yourself special, Ms. Potter?" he began in a dangerously low voice.
"Yes," Penny blurted out before she could stop herself. "Aren't we all special?" she added quickly, hoping to stave off Snape's fury.
"Of course you do. You think because you are a Potter you are warranted special treatment, well you will receive none from me!" he spat.
"My name? When have I ever been guilty of that! I was appealing to our FRIENDSHIP," she hissed, suddenly too irritated to care she was being flagrantly disrespectful, "to beg you not to leave me locked in this prison after a month of being a prisoner of psychopaths. I thought we were supposed to be friends, best friends," Penny finished, crossing her arms, and turning her nose away from him, angrily.
The gesture was a tad bit melodramatic, but the nerve of the insinuation rubbed Penny the wrong way. She'd skipped all the bullshit and straight out asked for Snape's help, and he was punishing her for it. Never in her life had Penny experienced a more tedious friendship. Every-time she felt like she'd made progress with the man, he was determined to send her back into a flurry of uncertainty. It was days from Christmas, and Penny mistakenly hoped for some holiday goodwill from the potions master.
She glanced back at him, disturbed by the prolonged silence. His dark eyes were studying her with a curious look, as though Penny reminded him of something he'd long forgotten. He wasn't angry, there was more of a superstitious look about the man, like he was in the middle of a serious bout of Deja vu.
"Are you okay, Professor?" Penny said in a concerned voice, unfolding her arms.
"We are-" he said, curtly, his eyes focusing on her face again.
"What?" said Penny, utterly confused by what just changed in the room.
"We are. . . friends," he said in an awkwardly stiff voice.
"I know, that was a rhetorical question," said Penny, not bothering to hide her bewilderment.
Snape's face contorted in cold fiery, his lips disappearing again.
"Your arrogance should not surprise me. Friendship, Potter is a two way street, and customarily requires the consent of both individuals," he hissed,
"What are we six? When was the last time you verbally asked anyone to be your friend, sir ? Would you like me to get down on one knee, make sure someone gets photographs? Because in the world I live in, which is the world of emotionally capable humans, we hang out with people we like, and when two humans decide they like each other more than the others and hang out often, we generally call that friendship," said Penny sardonically.
"You are insufferable!" said Snape, furiously.
"I am not, you just have a control problem. It would behove you to be mindful of it because it likely stems from toxic masculinity, and that perpetuates male privilege. You see, when you-"
"Not another word!" he all but yelled, pushing past her to walk briskly into Madam Pomfrey's office.
Penny stared after him, perplexed, the man was such an oddity. The audacity of him, acting as though he were suddenly bestowing his friendship on her, now . After all the work she'd put in all these years being a friend to the surly potions master, and he wanted to act as though something had suddenly promoted her to friendship level, as though, in his pity he would offer her such kindness. She refused to hear it. Severus Snape needed to wake up to reality and admit he'd always enjoyed their time together, as much as she did.
Feeling annoyed and certain she was doomed to her imprisonment, Penny perched herself back on the window and stared longingly at the Hogwarts grounds that were painted in tranquility. Sirius was out there somewhere, living in a cave as a dog, the thought made her sad, but she also felt grateful for the love of their godfather. Penny wanted so badly to see Sirius again. Just one afternoon with the four of them together, but now it was all but ruined because she let Professor Snape get under her skin, yet again.
Lost in thought, she flopped back against the wall and sighed heavily, saying out loud to herself, "Why did Voldemort kill you," thinking of her parents and feeling that familiar longing for their presence.
Resigning herself to her misery, Penny went to get back into her bed only to discover she was not in fact, alone, as she'd thought. Snape was watching her, standing just before the door, frozen. Torment was etched into the lines of his face, his misery apparent on it. Penny froze where she was, slightly embarrassed he'd caught her in a moment she'd assumed was private. The sun broke free of the clouds outside and its light spilled through the window, illuminating Snape's face, which was rife with the torment of things he could never change. Oddly, the scene before her was like a reflection of her own misery. It made her feel suddenly guilty for the way she'd treated him earlier.
"You were right I was being stupid before. I'm glad-I'm glad you said it," she said, taking a tentative step forward.
Her movement jerked him back to his senses, and his posture stiffened again, sending the bottom of his cloak rippling, catching her attention. He was wearing his usual black attire, but today it did not make him foreboding, rather, it seemed to pair nicely with his long hair and pale skin. Behind his normal facade, the man was peering through at her, his usual cold eyes filled with something Penny could not put words to. In this moment he was not the Potions Master, not even her professor, he was Severus Snape, and what he was looking at wasn't James' daughter, nor Harry's sister, she was just Penny. The air buzzed around him, much in the same manner his skin did every time he touched her. He was radiating the feeling, and it drew Penny toward him, but before she could reach him he said, "You are free to go," and sept from the room without another word.
Dumbstruck, Penny stared at the place where Snape had stood, mouthing wordlessly, wanting desperately to understand what he was feeling and what the buzzing meant. Before she could dwell any longer on what had transpired, Harry appeared in the door, a mischievous looking Lupin standing beside him.
"We're here to break you out for a top secret mission," Lupin said with a grin, handing over a pile of her clothing.
Penny couldn't help but grin back, too excited to believe her Christmas wish might actually come true. Ignoring the clothing, she threw her arms around Lupin's neck, "Do we really get to go?" Penny said in his ear, afraid to believe it was true.
"Have I ever lied to you?" he said, mock disapproval laced through his voice.
"I don't know, have you?" she said, pulling away to examine him critically.
"Ouch, really, I get no faith?" he said with an exaggerated pout that made Penny laugh.
"I mean, technically you did lie by omission about Snuffles last year," Harry pointed out.
"Alright, I see I'm outnumbered here, let's get going, I'm sure Snuffles will be on my side in this argument," said Lupin, putting his hands up in surrender.
Penny rolled her eyes and accepted the clothing. She was still unsettled by Snape, but she would have to find him later. Right now, her heart could only fixate on the excitement she felt.
In less than an hour she'd get to see Sirius again.