1971-1972 - Last Term

Dumbledore watched the little Slytherin rise from the table and head for the exit, and rose as well. It never ceased to amaze him just how helpful it could be to be the Headmaster of Hogwarts. He still remembered his years as a student here. How he'd spent endless hours waiting for the staircases to turn in the right direction, or for the doors to wake up and let him through. Even as a teacher he had sometimes had trouble navigating through the complex system of halls and classrooms. Now, though, the castle seemed to almost lead him, shorting the distances, and creating new passageways.

"He's going to the fourth floor!" one of the paintings called after him, as he passed through the staffroom. He hadn't even had to ask.

"Thank you, Walter."

Dumbledore took a right turn, planning on taking a little-known staircase, when the floor shook slightly, and started to move upward, coming to a stop on the fourth story. That was an option too, he supposed. And judging by the sound of echoing fast footsteps, Dumbledore had found himself just around a corner the boy was going to reach any second now.

"Professor," the Slytherin inclined his head, eager to pass by him.

"Good afternoon, Mr Snape. I was actually hoping I could speak with you."

For a moment the boy looked as though he was debating something with himself.

"Have I done something, sir?"

"Not at all, my boy," Dumbledore replied, smiling. "The matter does not concern your studies."

"Oh." Snape's eyebrows knitted in confusion.

"Perhaps we could take the conversation somewhere more comfortable?"

And with a nod from the boy, the Headmaster led him to the seventh floor, up the spiral staircase to his office, and into the chair in front of his desk. He himself took the opposite seat. A slight movement of his hand later, and two cups and a kettle had appeared on the desk.

"So, Mr Snape, you are probably wondering what I want to speak with you about." He waited for Snape's confirming nod. "First, I would ask you to confirm a theory of mine. Mr Snape, where did you spend the holidays this Christmas?"

The young Slytherin stared at him, suspicion obvious in his voice as he replied, "Why?"

Ah. So it was true then. A lump set in his throat and Dumbledore had to cough slightly, before he spoke again.

"Forgive an old man's boldness, my boy, but I believe you are not safe at your home."

"Your beliefs are wrong, sir," said Snape flatly.

A sad smile settled on the Headmaster's face. "Madam Pomfrey gave me an alarming report, Mr Snape. And-" He held a hand to stop Snape's protests. "I know it is hard for you to talk about this. So I am not going to press you, if you do not wish to discuss it-"

"I don't."

"But I wanted to remind you that you could always stay at Hogwarts during the holidays. I can write to your parents and inform them that you are required to stay here."

"Thank you for your concern, Professor, but it really isn't needed. What Madam Pomfrey saw was the result of my stupidity — tripping over, and falling on the staircase. I want to go home. And before you ask — no, I don't have to."

There was sincerity in his voice as he said that. And Dumbledore knew that this time the boy was being truthful. Maybe not the tripping part. Most definitely not the tripping part. He sighed. There was nothing to be done at the moment, if Snape didn't want his help.

"Very well, then. I do hope you will share your troubles with someone. If not myself, then someone closer to you. It does not do to keep it all inside. It only gets worse the longer you hold on to those feelings."

The young Slytherin was spending time with a first-year Gryffindor girl, he knew. Hagrid had told him as much. A curious combination. Dumbledore only hoped she would be able to help.

Severus slammed the door to his dormitory shut. What right did Dumbledore have to pry into his personal life! And Pomfrey! He'd make damn sure never to go to her again.

"You shouldn't do that, Snape. You won't be able to pay for that door, if you break it."

"Oh, shut up, Wilkes!"

He noticed with the corner of his eye Wilkes sit up a bit straighter in his bed. Lestrange, the only other occupant of the room, poked his head through the curtains surrounding his own mattress.

"Half-breed's angry today," the latter remarked.

"Don't call him that, Rab! His name's Stain, show some respect."

"Leave me the fuck alone!" Severus shouted, whirling around and shooting the first curse that came to mind. He watched as Wilkes' thick hair started falling to the ground in big strands.

"You little scum, what the hell did you do!"

But Severus had already clambered on his bed and hidden behind the curtains. Not for long. Not even five seconds later, they were set on fire.

"Aguamenti!" he chanted angrily. Water started pouring from the tip of his wand, and soon the fire was distinguished. But it had already eaten at the cloth. Big holes covered the entire length of the green fabric. Through one of them Severus pointed his wand at the grinning Lestrange. "Mucus ad Nauseam!"

The boy shrieked and began to shiver instantly, wrapping one hand around himself, and placing the other in front of his now-runny nose. Wilkes, attempting to hide his bald vertex by placing a hat on it, hurried out the door. Damn you, you imbecile! And Severus rushed after his dormmate, only to bump into him, when the boy stopped abruptly.

In front of them stood the visibly angry fifth-year prefect Narcissa Black, accompanied by none other than Lucius Malfoy. They must have heard the commotion because the girl shot the first-years an icy glare, and asked, "Just what are you idiots doing there?"

Wilkes was too busy trying to adjust his hat; Severus didn't have the slightest intention of telling them. He'd only run after his classmate to stop him from going to a teacher, in case that had been his goal. So the older students were forced to find for themselves. The girl pushed past them and headed for the dormitory. Malfoy followed, grabbing the sinners by the arms and dragging them with him.

"For Merlin's sake, don't tell me that's the Curse of the Bogies!" exclaimed Narcissa.

Lestrange was on the floor, holding himself on his knees and one arm, the other pressing on his nose with a napkin. By now he was shivering uncontrollably.

"That's what it appears to be," said Malfoy. With a flick of his wand he levitated a blanket and let it fall on the ill boy's back. "You'll probably need to see Pomfrey, Rabastan. I have no idea how to counter this."

"A Pepper-up Potion would do it," Severus muttered sheepishly.

He'd wanted to help improve the situation, but it only made Narcissa round on him. "Oh, it would, would it." Severus got the impression she hadn't known that.

"Exactly what possessed you, Snape, to cast this spell?" It was Malfoy who was addressing him now. He told Narcissa to take Lestrange to the Hospital Wing, and turned back to the first-year. "Well?"

Severus only pointed at his bed.

"Ah."

"That's not what possessed him to do this," interrupted Wilkes, who had obviously come back to his senses and was pointing at his scalp.

Severus expected Malfoy to be angry or furious, or at least sulky. Instead, the prefect was smirking. "Bested by a half-blood, Roran? I see why you'd act so offended. I suggest in the future you don't go boasting about it like that."

Malfoy pointed his wand at Wilkes and cast the countercurse. He then turned to the door and made both first-years walk in front of him all the way to the third floor, where Slughorn was having a conversation with Professor Flitwick.

"Lucius! And young Roran and Steven, of course. A pleasant surprise, boys, a pleasant surprise!"

Severus noticed Flitwick stiffle a laugh.

"There has been an incident, Professor," Malfoy began. "It appears the first-years got into a fight. I've sent Lestrange to Madam Pomfrey to be treated for the Curse of the Bogies, and Roran suffered a Hair Loss Curse but it's been taken care of. Snape's bed, though, needs repairing."

Severus thought Slughorn's stricken reaction at the news was hilarious. If he hadn't been brought up here to be scolded or given detention or whatever, he would've laughed.

"Well, I'll leave you to it then, Horace," Flitwick chirpped and wobbled down the hall.

"Well then, well then, one of you will have to tell me exactly what happened," said Slughorn, turning to his younger students.

It seemed Wilkes had been waiting for this because he rushed to explain the situation before Severus had so much as opened his mouth. His account was remarkably accurate, so Snape decided not to interrupt. He supposed he should be grateful for the little things in life. That's what his mother always said.

In the end, things unfolded much better than he'd expected. Slytherin lost 5 points for each of the three culprits. Severus was issued a detention with Filch, which he served the next day for 5 hours straight. The other two, of course, didn't suffer the same fate. Heaven forbid Slughorn punish big names like Wilkes and Lestrange. It simply wasn't done. The more positive consequences, however, were that some of the Slytherins stopped messing with him. At least to some extent. Malfoy had seemed quite impressed with him, he might have had something to do with it. And looking back, Severus might've thought his actions pretty stupid, but he wouldn't go back and change them even if he could. He liked how things had unfolded.

In fact, he probably would've felt this was the best thing he'd done since first arriving at Hogwarts, had it not been for the fact that Lily decided to confront him about it two days later.

"Cutting a boy's leg! Tell me it is not true, Severus, or I swear..."

Severus was sitting on a rock next to the lake, throwing little stones in the water, and watching absentmindedly the vibrations thay provoked. The Easter holidays were less than a week away and were constantly occupying his mind. He hadn't received a letter from his mother this time. He supposed that meant they were to stay at Hogwarts, but he hadn't been lying when he'd told Dumbledore he wanted to go home. He needed to make sure Mother was okay, and give her the Elixir. It currently sat in a dozen of vials neatly stacked in the first compartment of the trunk, waiting for someone to drink it. He and Sev had both tried it. And their noses had stung for an entire day after.

Severus put the stone he was holding on the ground, and turned to gape at his friend. What now? "A leg? Cut a leg? Enlighten me, Lily, because I am at a loss."

"Do you know what everyone's saying? You cut up Rabastan Lestrange's leg and Madam Pomfrey had to call healers from some magical hospital to patch him up. Tell me it's not true!"

She sounded sincere, as though that's really what she'd heard. Which was probably the case. She stood a few feet away, staring at him. Her eyebrows had formed a frown, her eyes held accusation and hope. And wasn't it ridiculous how rumours would scale up the situation so much in only a day?

"Of course it's not true!" replied Severus. "What happened is I gave him a cold after he set my bed on fire. And there probably weren't any St Mungo's healers involved, unless that woman's completely daft. A simple Pepper-up Potion counters that spell in less than two seconds."

Lily let out a sigh of relief and came closer, sitting on the rock next to her friend.

"I knew you wouldn't do it. You still should've gone to a professor, though."

Severus frowned. "Professors are not some holy beings who fix everything, Lils. They don't care, so stop acting like they do."

Lily was looking at the lake, holding a rock in her hand, mimicking Severus' earlier actions by throwing them in the water.

"I know you don't trust them," she said. "But they do care. Yesterday Professor McGonagall stopped her lecture because there were shouts outside, and then escorted some injured fourth-year to the Hospital Wing."

Severus picked up a stone from the ground and threw it as far away as he could. "Well, of course. She wouldn't want her precious Gryffindors hurt."

Lily looked positively perturbed. "It was a Ravenclaw girl, actually. And Professor McGonagall was defending her against two Gryffindors, just so you know."

That was new. Of course, it couldn't possibly be that McGonagall was just doing her job, there had to be something else. Right?

"And anyway, why not go to Professor Slughorn? If you think all professors are unfair... Professor Slughorn's Head of Slytherin, after all."

"He wouldn't help if you're a poor half-blood. Especially when you're up against someone whose name is Lestrange," Severus bit grumpily.

"But blood doesn't matter, right? You yourself said so."

"It doesn't matter with you. It doesn't matter to me. But to some people it bloody matters!"

He threw another stone, swinging his hand angrily. It was all so unfair! Lily was staring at him silently.

"But your mother's a witch."

"A fine witch she is! Scared of a Muggle. All day she sits there, doing nothing. She can't even be bothered to hold a conversation!"

Severus himself couldn't believe he'd just said that. He didn't even think he was right to say it. Because Mother wasn't the one to blame. It was his father who was responsible for it all, his father who had decided that if his life was miserable, so had to be everyone else's. But Severus' concern for Eileen had found outlet in his anger. It was easier, much easier, to be angry, rather than sad. Less painful.

A long minute passed as he repeated the words in his head and realized just what he'd said. Lily didn't interrupt the silence. Not until Severus released a heavy sigh and said, "I didn't mean-"

"Is that what happened?" Lily whispered. "During Christmas. Your mother is unwell?"

Severus sighed again. He buried his hands in the black strands of his hair and closed his eyes. Then nodded slowly. He wasn't even sure Lily could understand the gesture from the position he was in.

"I don't know what's wrong with her. She wasn't like that before we- before I came here. She's never been particularly happy... But not sad either."

Lily placed a hand on his, tugging it lightly to force him to look up. "Do you know if anything's happened while you were at school?" she asked.

"My father got home. Some time in November."

"Oh." She sounded... disappointed? A silence stretched between them again. This time, Lily was the one to break it. "Well, uhm... I've heard that exercise and spending time outside helps."

"Yeah, can we... talk about something else?"

For once the small indigent kitchen was void of the usual darkness it seemed to emit. It was not just the weather, though the cloudless sky undoubtedly helped the situation. The space was lit with Eileen Snape's uncontrollable laughter. After three long days of persuading her to try it, she'd finally agreed to take a dose of the potion. And was yet to take a normal breath.

"So do you know what got you in this state?" asked Seuthes.

"Do I know? Honey, I've no idea!" his mother replied through giggles. She was holding her stomach, howling with laughter. "Isn't that just hilarious?"

And she started to sing. The woman had been acting like this for more than an hour by now. It was almost as though she was drunk, or even drugged. Perhaps the doses should be smaller? It had loosened her tongue, though, so the twins were going to exploit that even if they had to pay for it later. Thank heavens Tobias wasn't home at the moment (he'd managed to land a job at the mill about a month ago) and couldn't see what was happening.

"What happened after Father was released from prison, then?" Seuthes questioned again.

"Had a nice family dinner. He asked about you two, so I told him, naturally. Toby got all worked up and made a fuss about how you shouldn't set foot in Hogwarts and all that. Silly man, your father."

The brothers shared concerned looks.

"Did he do something to you, Mum?" Severus asked.

"Nothing serious, really. Said you'll be able to protect yourselves by yourselves then, so he snapped my wand and all that. Really funny stuff, you should laugh too!"

The Elixir worked for maybe half an hour after that and once its effects had diminished, Eileen went straight to sleep.

The following day she glared at her children every time she caught sight of them. So she did the day after that. On the third day she stopped... functioning properly again, and didn't protest when the twins gave her a smaller dose of the Elixir. It worked better this time. She was howling again at first, but then the effects subsided and she was just her normal self but cheerful.

On the 4th of April, as they parted ways, Severus instructed his mother to get a job and start doing something productive. He then explained how much and how often she was to take the Elixir in order to avoid long-term effects, and waved his goodbye.

Transfiguration was not his strong suit but after a lot of failed attempts, he'd managed to create a few passable Muggle banknotes out of some ripped pages from his notebook. Which was how he managed to take a bus and a train to London. If he kept it up, by the time he graduated he'd probably have come up with at least 20 different ways to cheat the system and take the trip to London for free.

The following weeks were busy. The final exams were getting closer, everyone seemed either stressed or frustrated. Especially the fifth- and seventh-years. They sat in groups in the common room, threatening to hex anyone who dared interrupt them. One time, while Seuthes was passing through the common room, he heard Malfoy brag about something. The people around him cheered and congratulated him, but what they were so happy about, he wouldn't know for a few months to come.

Another thing he wanted to know but was denied that privilege, was Lily's secret. She seemed to want to tell him something, but every time he asked her about it, she'd say it didn't matter and change the subject.

In May, the twins changed their schedule. In order to prepare better for the upcoming exams, they'd decided that it'd be a good idea if they focused on less class material. Seuthes was to take Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, and History of Magic, while Severus had to prepare for Potions, Herbology, Astrology, and Transfiguration. It was fair, they both agreed, that the one who took History of Magic was to be the one to take less subjects. It was boring enough for at least three classes.

The exams passed. And the school year seemed to come to an end. Which was not the case, but was how it felt. People stopped paying attention in class. More students were walking the hallways, running, screaming, laughing, playing games. Even the professors weren't as strict anymore.

A week before the holidays the results finally arrived. Seuthes was really happy with his. He'd got perfect marks in Potions and Defence, and really high ones in the rest of the exams. His lowest score was History of Magic, but he still felt he was at a disadvantage there. His classmates might not have paid as much attention as he in class, but they'd certainly learnt a thing or two at home.

He and Lily were walking down the hall on their way to a tiny staircase. Lily had told him they had to first get to the tree before she shared her marks. She seemed really excited. Get to the tree they didn't. It was occupied. By a group of fifth-year Hufflepuffs they'd never seen before. Which was why Seuthes had decided to show his friend a beautiful — though quite frightening — spot he was sure no-one knew about. On the second floor, behind a stone wall.

He stopped in front of the wall. For the first time realising he didn't know how to actually open it. That time Dumbledore had taken him for a walk, he'd been too preoccupied with trying to figure out what the hell was going on to pay much attention to what the man was doing. He did remember, however, that you needed to tap a specific stone with your wand. So he started tapping. He had to tap quite a few times before he found the right stone. By which time Lily was laughing hysterically.

"I see you know what you're doing, Sev," she managed to choke out, peeking out the opening on the wall, and seeing nothing there to step on.

Seuthes looked out as well, taking a small step back. She did have a point. He had no idea what that spell Dumbledore had used was. Out loud he said, "Did you doubt me? I always know what I'm doing."

"Yeah, always," she mocked him, and poked her head through the hole.

She was still standing like that, lying on the floor with half her body outside of the castle, when Seuthes caught a glimpse of the Headmaster himself. The man smiled, waved his wand in the air, and winked at him. He then disappeared behind a corner. When the boy turned back to his friend, he noticed a staircase had appeared on the exterior wall, this time leading up, rather than down to the ground. He gulped.

"Woah, how'd you do that?" asked Lily, already climbing up the steps and reaching a small balcony. It didn't lead anywhere. The only thing there was a tall window. She sat on the ledge. Seuthes joined her. He was relieved to notice the railing made the height appear less scary.

"Magic."

"You'd have to show me this one. And don't wait 'till my birthday this time!" She scowled, but then her eyes lit with humour and she added, "Anyway, what marks did you get? I got a perfect score in Charms, can you believe it!"

"Really? Well, good job, Lils, that's more than me. I got 96% in Charms."

For the next 10 minutes Lily didn't stop talking. About her grades, about an upcoming trip to Florence, about spending time with her family. Seuthes didn't interrupt. He liked listening to her voice. On a more sad note, she wouldn't be able to use magic...

"Or see you," she added.

Wouldn't be able to see me? Why not?

"What?"

Lily looked a bit confused at first, as though she didn't understand what her friend was asking. The confusion then turned to shock. She hadn't meant to say that! At first she'd planned to tell him after Easter, but he'd seemed so happy that his mother was doing better that she just couldn't bring herself to do it. But now it had slipped. And how was she to tell him? How, when he would probably draw away from her like he'd done after Christmas? She couldn't... She couldn't...

"Lily, what is it? You've been acting weird for two months!"

"Well, I... We're moving. To Nottingham."

The words felt like cold water in a winter day. At last Seuthes closed his mouth and managed to ask, "Is this why..."

But of course it was. This was why her parents had constantly been away last summer. This was what Lily had been meaning to tell him ever since Easter. This was why she hadn't been too excited for the summer holidays in the last few weeks, unlike everyone else. Come to think of it... She hadn't seemed excited about it even last year, before they'd gone to Hogwarts. She'd known all that time... She'd known for a year! And she hadn't told him. She'd kept it from him.