They Didn't Know We Were Seeds

His eyes are huge from fear and wet with guilt. Adam's apple bouncing beneath the thin skin of his throat, Sage stammers, "It's m-my fault. I saw and – and I didn't say anything. Merlin, I could have stopped this! I'm so, so sorry."

Severus pulls his lips back to bear his teeth. He hates babbling. Almost as much as what the boy is saying. Pushing Sage harder into the wall, he hisses, "You saw what? What could you have stopped!"

"Severus." Lily presses into the small space between him and Sage and starts yanking on his arm. "Back up. You're going to hurt him."

He turns on her and spits, "Shut up! This has nothing to do with you!"

Lily slaps him across the face. "I'm not going to stand by and let you hurt Sage! He's a child, you prick!"

Hand on his face, he just stares at her. He's still angry. Still confused and hurt too, but his head feels a little clearer. Lily's expression is one of caution as she asks, "Are you going to calm down and let Sage explain properly now?"

Numbly, he nods.

Even so, Lily reaches for his hand and twines their fingers together. He's not sure if it's to anchor him, or if it's so she can hold him in place should he lunge at Sage during whatever explanation he gives them. Perhaps it's for both reasons. Maybe there is another reason he can't yet think of. He's still a bit too overwhelmed to be thinking clearly.

"Alright, Sage, do you think you can take a nice, big breath and explain what you mean by it's your fault?" asks Lily in a soft, warm voice.

Severus's brother nods slowly. He takes a moment to breathe in and out. Then he does it once more. Finally, he starts his tale. "After Ollivander's duel with Smith, I saw Great Uncle Demitri speaking with Crouch. He looked as if he was showing him a spell. I… I should have said something to you." Blinking his eyes rapidly, he tilts his chin into his chest and mumbles, "But I didn't. I thought… Well, you helped Scabior out. I didn't really think whatever he taught Crouch would be that bad." He looks up, lower lip trembling. "Or that it'd be something to use against you."

For a moment Severus doesn't know what to think. Then, he's overcome with fresh rage. "That bastard!" he curses. "That's why he fucking said, 'It's for the best'!" He tries to grab his wand, but finds that his hand is still tightly gripped by Lily's. "Let go," Severus tells her.

"No."

He grinds his teeth together. "Lily…"

"You tell the poor boy this isn't his fault right now," she orders.

Severus blinks. Then he looks back at his brother and thins his lips. Is that true? Is this really not Sage's fault? If his brother had said something…

Sage, as if using legilimency, replies, "Severus doesn't have to. I know it is. I should have said something."

Lily stamps a foot. "You couldn't–!"

"No, Sage should have," agrees Severus. "He knows Demitri's history just as well as I – perhaps even better. My grandfather once turned on my mother, why should he not slight me as well?"

"He made up for that! He helped her – and you!" protests Lily.

Quietly, Sage whispers, "Only because Severus's dad is dead and he thinks he can salvage the Prince line. I heard him and Mum talking once. They hope now that Tobias's gone she might find a new, proper wizard husband." He stares at his toes as he says, "Have another child or two as well."

"That's awful," Lily whimpers.

Severus and Sage share a quiet, somber look before he answers, "It's how they all think. The family's reputation matters more to them than anything else."

Lily shakes her head and mutters darkly, "I'll never understand it. The people in a family should matter more than its name."

"They do – until they go against the family," says Severus. Abruptly returning his full attention to Sage, he repeats, "You should have said something. Demitri can only be trusted as far as you can levitate him."

"I know."

He sighs. "I forgive you," he tells his brother. "You couldn't have known the spell would be so… Specific to me."

"Thank you." Sage steps forward and wraps himself around Severus. "I don't know what I would do if you hated me now."

Severus pats his brother's back and assures, "It's going to take something a lot worse than this for me to hate you."

-o-O-o-

He waits until after dinner to confront Demitri. Before he goes, Lily asks if he really wants to go alone. Severus nods. "It's between him and me now."

She sighs, obviously displeased with his decision. Even so, she knows better than to argue with him. "Good luck," says Lily.

Severus smiles at her without humor. "I don't know what luck will do. I don't see a positive outcome no matter how well this conversation goes."

Lily watches him go and Severus knows she's not the only one's gaze following him leave the Great Hall. He hopes Sage doesn't fret too much. It's not as if his grandfather will kill him. Severus is pinnacle to defeating Voldemort. Reaching Demitri's classroom, Severus lets himself in. Walking through it without hesitation, he knocks on the door to the old man's office.

"Come in," calls Demitiri.

Severus slips in and closes the door behind him. He knows it will do little to stop them from being overhead by clever ears should they start shouting, but it is enough of a barrier for now. The man looks up from his lesson plans and stares bemusedly at Severus. "Hello, lad. What has brought you by?"

"I know," Severus says simply.

The man raises an eyebrow as if he doesn't understand.

Balling his hands into fists he spits, "I know you taught Crouch that fucking spell."

Demitri, for a moment, seems truly surprised. It quickly fades as a mulish resolve overtakes his countenance. "You couldn't be the champion of the competition, Severus. You're a fifteen-year-old boy."

"Do you think I'm a dunderhead? I knew that!"

He scowls. "You should have lost to McKinnon."

Severus barks a laugh. "Oh, I should have, should I? You never said anything to me!"

The old man rises to a stand behind his desk and slams his hands down on its dark mahogany wood. "I thought you already understood! The last thing you or Miss Evans needs is for who you are to be discovered!"

Severus steps forward, meeting his grandfather's glare head-on. "I understand just fine! Winning a duel or two would not have raised suspicion! Nearly all the school already regards me as a genius!"

"There's a difference between looking like a prodigy and looking like you have experience. You duel as if you've been in a war."

He doesn't know what to say to that. Of course he duels like he's faced battle! How could a war veteran like himself not? There is only so much he can disguise before it seeps through when instinct takes over to protect him from flying enchantments. In the end, all he can do is snap, "I have! That's where I learned!"

"You needed to lose. You couldn't look for a moment as if you expected it. Using Crouch was the best way to do it," his grandfather insisted, crossing his arms.

Severus makes a noise of disgust in the back of his throat and turns away. He can't stand Demitri's face a moment longer. He wants away from him. "I'm tired of old men making decisions for me. If you do something like this again, I will make you regret it."

He hears his grandfather sigh. "Severus…"

Ignoring him, Severus opens the door to the old man's office and starts to leave. He pauses a moment once he's stepped over the threshold. Turning his head to look back at his grandfather, he tells the old man, "You are going to regret this."

Demitri frowns. Then, he scoffs. "Do your worst," he jeers.

Severus smirks. "Gladly."

-o-O-o-

The next morning Severus goes looking for Scabior after the boy doesn't show up for breakfast. After having little luck finding him in his usual haunts around Hogwarts's corridors, he turns his sights on outside. The weather is still a bit brisk for most of the students and staff, but winter is finally winding down and if you go outside at the right time on the right days, you can fool yourself into believing it's a pleasant spring day rather than a warm winter morning.

He checks a few of the courtyards before he starts on the grounds. As he makes his way toward the lake, he spots Scabior. It doesn't take him long at all to realize the boy isn't alone. When he gets close enough to make out faces, Severus's eyebrows jump high on his forehead. He's with Mei Wong. The two of them stand with their bodies pointed toward one another.

They appear to be discussing something at length. Then, Wong waves her wand. Out from it shoots an impressive blast of fire. Scabior copies her wand movements and then, from his wand, shoots a stream of similarly strong fire. Severus finds himself impressed. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he yells out, "Scabior! Wong!"

The two turn to look at him. They both appear a bit shocked at his appearance, but it doesn't last long. Scabior starts to jog towards him, Wong following shortly thereafter. Once Scabior is just an arm's reach from Severus, the lad stops. "'Lo!" he greets happily.

"That spell was quite impressive," he tells the two. "I do hope you realize it's not very practical for a friendly duel, however."

Scabior frowns. "It's a good one to know."

"It is," Severus agrees. "Who knows when a friendly duel will turn less so."

This remark appears to puzzle the children more than anything, but they nod as if it makes all the sense in the world. Severus smirks. "Scabior, how confident do you feel about your coming duel with Crouch?"

He juts out his chin and proclaims, "I'm gonna win it!"

"Hmm."

Scabior frowns at his doubtful hum. Eyebrows cocked with irritation, he demands, "What? What!"

Severus looks around as if he's worried there might be someone nearby who could overhear. Of course, there isn't; it does, however, get the children looking as well. A little less annoyance now on Scabior's face and blatant curiosity on Wong's, Severus asks, "Do you know why I lost?"

"'Cause Crouch scared you with snakes, duh," replies Scabior as if he's an idiot.

He rolls his eyes. The boy's bluntness never ceases to amaze him. "Yes," he agrees, "that's why I lost. Don't you wonder how he knew?"

Scabior frowns in puzzlement, but Wong gasps. "Did someone tell him?" she questions. She gasps softly before Severus can even try to answer. In a quiet, empathetic voice she asks, "Was it a friend of yours?"

"Not a friend," he answers quickly. Sage may not have warned him about what he saw, but he, Lily, and Sirius would never have done such a thing to him. That much Severus is certain of. "But our lovely professor hosting the tournament did." He looks over at Scabior and says, "Sage saw him pull Crouch aside after Ollivander and Smith's duel."

"That's not fair!" Scabior cries. "What the 'ell does Prince think 'e's doin'?"

Severus shrugs. "Your guess is as good as mine," he lies. "However, I'd rather the two of you not tell the whole school."

"Okay," Wong agrees for both of them. "…Why are you telling us, then?"

He grins at the girl, pleased with her cleverness. "I want to help Scabior become the champion of the competition."

Both of their eyes widen at this. "But how's he going to win against Ollivander?" Wong murmurs. "She can duel with both hands!"

"I can teach him the same," Severus tells her. "And more." Squaring his shoulders, he looks at the both of them as he explains, "It would help, however, if he had a dueling partner besides myself so I can get a bystander perspective on his skills and progress as we prepare him for the duel as well."

Wong nods. "Alright, I'll help."

"Scabior? Is this agreeable?"

The boy shrugs. "Yeah. Why not?" He smiles at the girl. Hopefully, he asks, "Maybe you can teach me some more of those wicked spells Cresswell showed you too?"

"Yes, of course!" she replies, delighted.

Severus tunes out the two as they begin to talk about some of the other spells Wong knows thanks to Cresswell and thinks Scabior will want to learn. There's not much time to prepare Scabior – just over a week – but he thinks they might be able to manage. Even if Scabior doesn't win, it will still be an impressive duel. It will also show Demitri just that there's no such thing as being too young to win a dueling tournament.

How did you like this chapter? What was your favorite part?

To any of you who may have been waiting for it to be complete before reading it, all of Gratias Vobis Ago's one-shots are now posted. I hope you enjoy them all :)

Thanks for reading!