They Didn't Know We Were Seeds

Just shy of a month into the school year and Severus decides he's had enough. He's had a detention with Demitri once a week at minimum (though, for two of the weeks, he's had two and once, four detentions). People are always whispering around him – not always good things, either. His mother has not replied to even one of the half dozen letters he's sent home; despite Aunt Vesta assuring him she received each and every one personally from her after the first two he sent her by owl went unanswered. Scabior is more trouble than ever before because he's started some feud with a pair of twin Ravenclaws in his year and they seem to live for out doing one another in cruelties to each other.

And as if things could not possibly be any worse, the people he should be able to depend on, Lily, Sage, Sirius, all have their own problems. Lily's in a perpetual strop from watching James have near daily correspondence with her sister and refuses to admit it bothers her as much as it does. Severus thinks Lily convinced herself to believe it wouldn't last past the first or second week of school and now can't handle that she's not only wrong, but James and Petunia are growing closer and closer. Sirius, when he can find him (Severus suspects he and the rest of the Marauders are creating their damnable map), is far too busy being irritating to be helpful. And when he's not being annoying, he's struggling with potions and needs Severus to help him instead-. While Sage has been quarantined in the infirmary for the last two weeks with dragon pox. Where he got it is anyone's guess. It certainly wasn't from anyone in Hogwarts as he's the only student in quarantine.

Severus has stood on his own two feet alone for most of his life. Done just fine that way too, even. But happiness had been a fleeting thing when he was on his own. He despises to admit it, but living had been… Almost enjoyable these past few years. Even with all of the revelations and upheaval. For everything that went wrong, there had seemed to be something that went right too. But not anymore. Now, it's something of a drudgery to just live again. A task that must be done for the "greater good" (loathes he to say it).

When Severus crosses paths with Scabior and his twin nemesis dueling one another after a detention with his grandfather and Scabior tells him to "bugger off" while Severus tries to end things, he does exactly that. Severus puts his wand away, turns heel, and leaves. He's dealt with enough ungrateful brats in his day, why does he need to help Scabior too? It's not even his job anymore. No, the only thing Severus is required to do these days is making sure he gets his essays in on time.

After leaving Scabior to it, he goes to his and Lily's classroom for the year and checks on his latest experiments. He's been faffing around with poisons. When the opportunity arises to destroy some (or better yet, all) of Voldemorts horcruxes, Severus wants something on hand that will do it quickly and efficiently. He hopes soon he'll have a concoction that's as strong as Basilisk venom. If not, he'll scrap the poison and start working on a plan to get to the snake he knows lays beneath the school.

He tenses at the very thought of facing the Basilisk. Perhaps he'll give creating an artificial poison one more go before doing something so… drastic as milking and killing the one below his feet.

Then, because it's far past curfew by the time he's done with his poisons, he takes the long route back to the Slytherin dorms. When he was a professor, he often enjoyed nighttime patrols. They'd been a way clear his head and a way to tire himself out so he'd have no nightmares when he finally went to sleep. Finally, Severus arrives at his dorms. When he walks in, he blinks when he sees a short form, but very familiar form, sitting on the floor by the common room's dimly glowing hearth.

"Scabior?" he calls.

The form only twitches. With a great, loud, put-upon sigh, Severus goes to the boy's side. "What are you doing up?" he asks.

Hair blocking all but the very tip of his nose, Scabior continues to stare straight ahead. Severus rolls his eyes and plops down beside the second-year. He's sure if they sit here long enough Scabior will eventually speak. The boy's patience is abysmal. Finally, just as he expected he would, Scabior speaks. "You left."

"Pardon?"

"You left."

Severus stares at the side of Scabior's head. "You told me to bugger off."

"I always say that!"

He huffs out a breath. "And I finally did what you asked." Sneering, Severus asks, "Are you telling me you aren't happy I finally listened to you?"

The younger boy's head whips around. Severus hisses at the large laceration he sees running diagonally from right below his left eye to the right corner of his upper-lip. "Merlin!" exclaims Severus. "Why are you here? You should be in the infirmary!"

"I'm not gettin' in trouble for fightin'!"

Leaning in closer to inspect the wound, Severus growls, "You fighting would be the last thing Pomfrey's worried about when looking at this." Grasping Scabior's face, he carefully rotates it. "Do you know what spell did this?"

"No. Wasn't payin' much attention to the words they were sayin'."

Severus sighs. "It's really deep… But I have some stuff that can probably scab this over by the morning."

"'Ow come you buggered off?"

Hands falling from the boy's face, he frowns. "What?"

Quietly, Scabior repeats, "'Ow come you buggered off?"

"I already told you! You said to!"

"You never do! You always– You're always–"

"–There?"

"…Yeah."

Severus puts his hands to his eyes. He's tired and so very done with being the one everyone expects to jump in to assist when no one will ever return the favor. "Look, Scabior, as much as I may want to be, I'm not always going to be there. You're going to have to figure out how to stand up for yourself. I just decided you might as well learn that now rather than later."

After a bout of silence, the boy whispers, "That's not what 'eroes do."

"What?" he squawks, hands falling away.

Hazel meets black. "'Eroes. That's not what 'eroes do."

Adamantly, Severus says, "I'm not a hero."

Scabior scoffs. "Then why's 'alf the school call you one?"

"They're dunderheads."

Scowling now, Scabior asks, "'Ow can 'alf of 'Ogwarts be that stupid? Your own mate's callin' you one!"

"They don't know me. Not even a little," he tells the boy while thinking of each and every mistake he made in his last lifetime and this one.

Eying him dubiously, Scabior asks, "What can you 'ave done that's so bad?"

"Plenty, Scabior. Plenty."

He pulls his mouth into what can only be a painful sneer. "If you're not gonna give examples, don't expect me to believe you."

"I don't need anyone to believe me. Knowing what I've done is more than enough." He gets to his feet and offers a hand to the boy. "Do you want my help with that cut or not?"

Scabior stares at his hand for a moment. Then, with a sigh, takes it. "I'm not gonna go to Madam Pomfrey just so I can get a detention," he grumbles.

Severus holds back on rolling his eyes as he pulls the younger to his feet. "Whatever you say, git."

-o-O-o-

"What happened to Scabior's face?" Sage asks two days later once he's finally free of Madam Pomfrey's clutches and they are alone in their dorm.

Severus's shoulders hunch inward and he looks away.

Sage, who's far too perceptive for Severus's liking, raises an eyebrow. "Sev?"

"…He had a duel with those Ravenclaws he doesn't get on with," he replies, still refusing to look at his brother.

"There's more to it than that, isn't there?"

Severus sighs. "I was there for a bit of it. I was trying to help and he told me to leave." He glances at Sage. "And I did."

"What?" Sage gapes, hands shooting out to grab Severus and turn him his way. "You left Scabior? I thought you were the one who said leaving him to fight his own battles wouldn't help him?"

Peevishly, Severus snaps, "And I was right, wasn't I? Look at him! He's going to have a bloody scar!"

Hands flying up in defense from his verbal lashing, Sage says, "What changed? Why'd you let him alone?"

"It's stupid."

Sage frowns. "Surely it's not. Just explain it to me."

Severus sighs and looks away again. "I was looking forward to coming back to Hogwarts."

"Yes, alright," Sage replies when Severus says nothing more after a few seconds.

Running a hand through his hair, he nods shakily as he continues, "Then I saw my grandfather at the staff table and all I wanted was to leave. Things haven't gotten better since then, either. I've got detention on a weekly basis because of him. Lily's too preoccupied with James and her sister's romance to really be of help and, forgive me, but Sirius is not good to talk to about serious things."

"And me?" Sage demands heatedly. "Why've you not talked to me about how much of a bother Great Uncle Demitri's been to you?"

He stares at his brother as if he's the idiot. "You've been sick."

"…You could have had Madam Pomfrey take me letters."

Severus scoffs. "I didn't have time for playing messenger with the school nurse on top of my detention and assignments for classes."

"Fine," Sage growls through clenched teeth. It's more than obvious to Severus he's only letting the excuse pass without argument so he can move on in the discussion to something he thinks is more important. "But I'm here now. Explain. How is Scabior? He's not upset with you, is he?"

"He thought I was a hero before I left him to duel alone. I don't know if he does anymore."

"Shit."

Severus can only nod.

Putting a hand on his shoulder, Sage pulls him closer and assures, "Even heroes make mistakes and need help, okay? Honestly, I don't think you even made a mistake with Scabior. He needed to know that he can't always depend on you, or anyone else, to come in and save him when he starts something with someone."

"Sage–"

His brother glares. "No. I'm right," he insists. "He needed the lesson. You needed it too."

That makes Severus's brows furrow in confusion. "What?"

"Sev, you're the best brother anyone could ask for. You go so out of your way to help me. Even more than Boyd ever has. I don't know how you pick your people or your reasons always, but you collect others. Not always willingly. I'm pretty sure we'd have never become brothers, let alone mates, if you'd not walked into the owlery that day, but since then…" Sage shakes his head. "I love you. But just because you've decided someone's worth your time doesn't mean you have to give them everything you have because of that." He lets Severus go. "Especially when they're not ever going to give as much, if anything, back, like Scabior."

He frowns. "How can you possibly know that Scabior won't offer a helping hand when and if I should ever need it?"

Sage shrugs. "He's a Scabior."

"That's like saying all dogs are black because you saw one dog that's black."

The boy sighs. "There's a definite pattern with Scabiors, Severus."

He crosses his arms. "There was a definite pattern with Blacks too. Yet here we are, going to school with one who's in Gryffindor instead of Slytherin."

"If he proves himself different, I'll apologize. Until then, don't get angry with me just because I'm trying to protect you!"

Unable to hold in his temper any longer, Severus shouts back, "I don't need your help if this is what you're offering!"

"Fine!" Sage snaps. Then, turning around, he picks up his satchel and hisses, "I'm going to the study hall to catch up on my assignments. I don't want to be bothered there. So, if you're not looking to apologize to me for being an arse after I just tried to protect you, don't come looking for me."

Severus bared his teeth. "Well, then. Don't expect me to come running after you. Especially since you just insulted my taste in people!"

Sage scoffs once and, then, leaves.

In return, he turns his back on his brother and walks in the direction of his trunk to find something to help lessen the scar on Scabior's face. It doesn't matter if Scabior ever thanks him or helps in return for all he's done and will do for him. It's just the thing to do. After doing the wrong thing for so many years, Severus thinks he can do no less.

Before anything else, can I just say how awesome you guys are? TDKWWS has three hundred+ favorites and nearly six hundred follows and over a hundred thousand views! It's so exciting to see you guys are still enjoying this story so much even forty-six chapters in :)

Now, as for this chapter… It was supposed to have a lot of Sirius, but I switched some things around last minute. So, a bit of Scabior and Sage instead. What did you think about Scabior and Severus? Severus and Sage?

Thank you for reading!