They Didn't Know We Were Seeds

It's not hard to find Demitri alone. Since the dueling competition's end and Ollivander revealing his role in it, students have come to distrust him. They only see him for their defense classes and do not linger once they are over. Walking through his grandfather's empty classroom and to where his office lays behind it, Severus slips in through the partly opened door. Positioning himself in front of the old man's desk, he says, "Hello."

Demitri lifts his gaze from parchment in his hand. "Why, do my eyes deceive me? Or has my grandson finally decided to grace me with conversation once more?"

"Fuck you," snaps Severus. "You're lucky I even come to your class anymore."

The old man puts down the parchment and glares at him. "I will take house points from you if you don't watch that mouth of yours."

Severus crosses his arm and sneers. "Do it. It'll be just another nail in the coffin that is your teaching career."

His grandfather's eyes turn glacial in the following silence. Finally, he asks in a clipped tone, "Was there something you wanted?"

He nods. "Yes," he answers. "I wish to put our differences behind us." He raises his voice a decibel to indicate he has more to say as he continues, "I can't forgive you for what you did. I am a man even if my appearance does not match and if you had concerns about the dueling competition and my place in it you should have discussed it with me."

Demitri scowls. "I told you–"

Nearly shouting, Severus says over his grandfather, "It doesn't matter to me what you think! It was wrong. How do you think it comes off doing something like that? It looks like you don't trust me. That stings. I placed so much faith in you when I revealed myself, yet…" Severus trails off as his voice takes on a wavering lilt. He wraps his hand into a fist around his wand and looks away from Demitri. His eyes flicker over the tapestries his grandfather has decorated his office walls with. They depict scenic views mostly; unending country hills, quiet lakes set in the foreground of forest scenes. Among the pleasing landscapes, however, there is one that shows a witch flanked by thestrals. She's dressed darkly and looks as if she may be Lady Death, but Severus knows she's not. Her eyes are familiar. Their hooded shape and cauldron-black hue are identical to his mother's. The same as his own.

It is a tapestry of his grandmother. For a brief, painful moment, Severus wishes she were alive so he could meet her. Practicality and hard-taught lessons set in as soon as the thought is completed to tell him it is for the best, however. Given his odds, she is unlikely to be the unconditional well of support he always wished and craved for in a person. Grandmother Etta is far more likely to be yet another disappointment. Another who says they care for him, but betrays or leaves him just when he starts to feel he can trust them.

Averting his gaze away from the woman's portrait, Severus swallows. "I know I do not come off as a trustworthy sort, but I thought– It doesn't matter, I suppose. What I am here to say is I am willing to let it lie. Summer is not far off and Aunt Vesta will surely notice if we are cool to one another. I don't know about you, but I'd rather not spend the next three months being badgered about what has gone off between us since Christmas hols. With or without an answer, she will try and fix it and when we refuse to mend things, it will only aggravate her." Severus finally meets his grandfather's pale blue gaze for the first time since he came into the man's office. "The last thing I want to do is send her to an early grave from all of the stress."

Demitri dips his chin. "Very well."

Severus frowns as his hairs rise on his neck. This feels too easy. Nothing ever goes this well for him. "That is all you have to say?"

The old man steeples his hands on his desk and shrugs his shoulders. "I care for Vesta as well. She and her sons are truly the only family left that has never disappointed me."

He doesn't know how to reply. The relief he should feel knowing his grandfather has agreed to be civil doesn't come. Instead, there's a fire of rage growing in the pit of his stomach. With each breath, the flames rise higher and higher. Finally, when he can feel the heat in the back of his throat, Severus hurls, "I'm sure they wouldn't say the same about you."

Promptly after, Severus takes his leave.

-o-O-o-

When Sage sits down to dinner, the table is abuzz with gossip. Which truly isn't all that unusual these days. First, there was Clara and Benjy Fenwick after Christmas hols, then the dueling competition, after that, Scabior's victory and finally the news Great Uncle Demitri tried to fix the competition. As he takes a seat and scans the table for Severus, he tunes most of it out. When he doesn't spy his brother anywhere Sage does his best to shrug it off. It's not completely out of character for Severus to skive off a class or two. Yet… Today is the day he's supposed to talk to Sage's great uncle about putting their differences behind them. He hopes Severus missing from their classes is just a sign of nerves or him preparing for their discussion.

A moment later, while he serves himself a helping of Sheppard's pie, his ears prick when Regulus says, "…It looks like they tried to set fire to the sinks too."

Mouth full of pie, Sage brings his free hand up to hide his mouth as he asks, "What seems like someone tried to set fire to it?"

Regulus looks at him surprised. "You haven't heard yet? It looks like a mountain troll and dragon battled in the younger years boys' loo!"

He hasn't. He says so.

The Black spare explains, "When some of us went up to clean up from Herbology a couple of hours ago, we found it in shambles." The boy looks in the direction of the staff table. Most of the teachers there look a little grim and the Headmaster, Deputy Headmistress, and Professor Slughorn are missing. "I think some of the professors are fixing it up right now."

"Does anyone know who did it?"

Regulus shakes his head. "No, but some have a few ideas." The Black boy glances to his right where Scabior sits, wolfing down his dinner, oblivious to the rest of them. "Avery thinks Scabior did it."

Sage frowns. "I don't think so. He's destructive, but not like that."

The younger boy shrugs. "It's not entirely out of the realm of possibility."

He wants to object more, but he's scared if he does, he'll have to offer his own theory. Sage is very afraid he's right about his. Severus still hasn't turned up for dinner and his absence from classes earlier does not bode well. So, with great reluctance, he concedes, "Yes, you may be right."

-O-

In spite of wanting to leave dinner immediately after his conversation with Regulus, Sage forces himself to finish his helping of Sheppard's pie. Then eat another. He wants to draw as little suspicion as possible to his brother and to do so, he needs to act normal, unconcerned about the empty, Severus shaped hole next to him. When he's done eating, he takes his usual path to the Slytherin common rooms, nodding at Ollivander when he passes her on his way. They are on acquaintance terms and it's only polite to acknowledge her existence. Now more than ever.

He needs to look normal.

When he gets to the Slytherin dorm, he says the password and steps into their common room. As he heads in the direction of the stairs to his dorm, he pauses for a few minutes to talk to William when his dormmate greets him. It's tripe chatter, but it takes all of Sage's focus to pay attention and to respond appropriately. When he finally finds a way to end their conversation, he wastes no time on the stairs. Taking them two at a time, he all but runs to his and Severus's dorm.

Bursting into the room, his eyes dart around the dorm. It looks empty, yet it might not be. The curtains of Severus's bed are pulled halfway around the bed. His brother often leaves his curtains askew like so while away. If the curtains are always half-pulled around his bed, obscuring most of it from view, how is anyone to know if Severus's truly sitting there or not? Sage suspects he does it so he can hide in their dorm undisturbed when it pleases him.

"Severus?" he calls.

His brother doesn't answer. Walking in the direction of Severus's bed, he calls again, "Severus?"

Once more, the other boy doesn't reply. Grabbing the curtains of Severus's bed in his hand, he yanks them aside. Sage puts a hand on his chest when it reveals his brother lying face down on his bed. "Severus! Why didn't you answer?

The black-haired boy turns his head to look at Sage, his expression mulish. "Why? I knew you'd come this way and find me."

Sage fidgets for a moment. "…Are you okay?"

Far too quickly, Severus replies, "Yes."

"How long have you been here? Do you know anything about the bathroom? And why did you miss class?" asks Sage in rapid fire.

Severus ignores all but his last question. "I'm already a disappointment to him, how much more can I possibly let Demitri down by skiving off his class?"

It's on the tip of his tongue to repeat his earlier questions, but Sage supposes he may as well follow this line of questioning to its end first. "So you talked to him?"

His brother's face darkens. "Yes, earlier today."

Sage tenses. He does not like the tone Severus is using at all. "I thought you two were putting things behind you."

Severus crosses his arms in front of him and rests his chin on them. Glaring at the headboard of his bed, he answers, words clipped, "We did."

"But… Why are you here then?" questions Sage, confused. "When did he call you a disappointment?"

"At the end."

The bottom of Sage's stomach falls out, leaving him queasy. "No."

"I don't even know why I care. It's not as if I didn't already know I was lackluster in his eyes. I'm a half-blood – which is nothing anyone in our family cares for." Severus turns to hide his face in the harbor of his arms. Voice muffled, he says, "I've not been a very good grandson either. I've been prickly from the start and whenever he tried to be remotely kind, I pushed him away."

Sage gingerly lays a hand on Severus's back. "He disowned Aunt Eileen. You had every right to not trust Great Uncle Demitri when you met him. You didn't know if he'd hate you for that alone. And later…" He furrows his brows and frowns. "He's gone about it all wrong," says Sage, mind running through all he knows in regards to Severus and his great uncle. "What has he done to prove you can trust him and rely on him?"

"Demitri helped save Mum."

He sighs. "That's one good thing. But… Was it ever really for you? Yes, Aunt Eileen's still alive, and so are we because of it, yet what you two did for her feels to me that it was more for your mum's benefit than yours."

Severus shifts and curls up on his side, keeping his back to Sage as he does so. "So you are saying he doesn't care about me at all," he mutters. "That's so much better."

"That's not– No– Severus–" he babbles.

Severus lifts his arm to silence Sage. "You've said enough."

He falls quiet for a minute. Then, he asks, "Did you have anything to do with the bathroom?"

"Yes. When I finished speaking with Demitri I was angry."

Sage begins to wring his hands. "You could get expelled when they figure out it was you! Come on, Severus, you need to get up. Maybe you can apologize now and explain–"

"No."

"But–"

"They aren't going to connect it to me," Severus tells him firmly.

He chews on the inside of his cheek. Sage knows better than to doubt his brother; if he says the professors won't tie it to him, they won't. Severus has yet to be wrong about this sort of thing. Even so, Sage worries. He can't help it. Severus looks so melancholic and it hurts. It makes him think of his father, which scares Sage.

"Do you want me to sit with you?" he asks.

Severus gives a small, tired sigh. "No, thank you. I'd rather be alone right now."

Sage nods. Taking a step back from Severus's bed, he takes hold of the curtain and pulls it back to its original position half-way around his brother's bed. As he leaves the dorm, Sage decides this can't go on.

-O-

For a time, Sage hovers outside of the Defense classroom. He's a little afraid and can't help but worry what he's about to do will only make things worse. If it does, will Severus forgive him? Sage almost turns back at that thought alone. Yet as he starts to walk away, he stops. If he doesn't say anything, no one will. Severus thinks he's gotten what he wants from his confrontation with Great Uncle Demitiri, but Sage knows that's not the case. If he had, he wouldn't have destroyed their loo or be laid out facedown in his bed right now.

Swallowing down his nerves, Sage marches through the classroom and right into his great uncle's office. The old man puts down his cup of tea at the sight of Sage and smiles at him. "Hello there, lad. What's brought you by?"

He doesn't return Great Uncle Demitri's grin. Instead, he squares his shoulders and asks, "How can you be disappointed in Severus?"

The pleasantness runs away from Great Uncle Demitri's face. Eyes now reproving, he says nothing to Sage.

Undeterred by the glare, Sage shouts, "You don't even know him!"

The old man's face darkens as he growls, "I know enough."

Sage shakes his head. "No, you don't. If you did you'd be proud. He so unselfish. Severus helps everyone, even those who really don't deserve it. He's the best kind of family anyone could ask for."

"He's not a hero, lad," Great Uncle Demitri warns.

He opens and closes his mouth. Then, after a moment, he replies slowly, "I never said he was."

His great uncle scoffs. "If you think I can't see the hero-worship in your eyes, you are sorely mistaken, lad."

"No, Great Uncle Demitri, what you're seeing is love." Squaring his jaw, he warns, "And I can tell you right now that I'm not the only one who loves Severus. If you don't start treating Severus more kindly soon, Mother and Boyd will notice. They're far more likely to stand by him than you as well. Mother's lost enough people in her life, and it will hurt her if she has to, but she will cut you out if it means Severus and Aunt Eileen will stay. She's wondered and missed them enough for one lifetime and she's not about to let them go again so easily "

The old man's eyes flutter a fraction wider for a moment, then, his face settles in an emotionless mask. Coolly, Great Uncle Demitri nods his head. "I will take what you have said under advisement."

Sage returns the nod, a feeling of relief and pride washing over him. "Thank you, Great Uncle Demitri."

-o-O-o-

At the end of the last Defense Against The Dark Arts class for the year, Demitri requests, "Mister Snape, will you please stay here a moment?"

Severus, who's in the midst of putting away his parchment and quill, pauses to share a look with Lily across the classroom. Her eyes are wide and questioning. He frowns at her and tries to convey that he's has surprised as she is at the request. After their last conversation, Severus expected they really wouldn't be speaking to each other unless they absolutely had to. He'd even told Lily so when he talked with her about their conversation a few days ago.

He shifts his gaze to his grandfather and says, "Yes, Professor." Before he returns to packing his satchel. When done, Severus sits back down and watches with tense shoulders as the rest of the students file out. Lily, as she passes his desk, makes a quick gesture at him to indicate she'll be just outside, waiting for him. He nods minutely and brings his hands together on the top of his desk.

A minute later, when it's just the two of them, they stare across the classroom at one another in silence. After a few seconds, Demitri sighs. He walks over to Severus's desk and takes a seat in the one in front of Severus. This leveling the old man is doing is something is new to Severus and makes him wonder if he shouldn't reach for his wand.

Abruptly, his grandfather says, "With time for reflection, I've realized I may have been too harsh during our last encounter." His eyes turn sad. "You are not a disappointment."

"…Okay," he mutters, feeling more uncomfortable by the second.

He thins his mouth into a grim line. "It may be too late now, I understand, but I'd like for us to be amicable going forward."

"Yes, of course," agrees Severus. "That's all I ever wanted. I know it will make Aunt Vesta and Mum happy if we can at least pretend we're getting on."

"It will, won't it?" the old man muses. His lips lift with a faint smile. "You're actually quite the people-pleaser, aren't you, lad?"

He frowns, not sure if he should take the remark as an insult or a simple observation. Either way, he can't say he agrees with the descriptor. "I don't think I'd say that."

"Hmm…"

Severus unclasps his hands and reaches for his satchel. He doesn't want to stay here with his grandfather anymore. If all he wanted was to apologize for calling Severus a disappointment (but why? He wasn't wrong), then he's done it and Severus doesn't want to talk about himself with Demitri anymore than he absolutely must. Demurely, he says, "If that's all, I'm terribly sorry, but I really need to be going. I've a classroom to clean up in preparation for summer hols in a few days."

His grandfather straightens in his seat a little, but relaxes almost immediately after and nods. "Yes, of course. I'm sure we'll talk again soon."

"Soon," concurs Severus.

Standing quickly and swinging his satchel over his shoulder, Severus all but flees from the classroom. The moment he steps past the doorway, Lily's on his right, clutching his arm to slow down his fast pace. "Sev," she says. "Look at me."

He does and almost immediately relaxes. There's real, honest concern in her green eyes. It reminds Severus why he loves Lily, why he always wished they could be more than friends. Someone so genuinely kind is a rarity in life and he wanted her and all her sweetness for himself.

"So? What did your grandfather want?" she inquires.

Severus answers, "He apologized for how he behaved when I last spoke to him."

A grin blooms on the Gryffindor's face. "That's greats!" she exclaims delightedly, only for the joy to fade as doubts begin to fill her mind. Hesitantly, Lily asks, "Was he… Did he seem genuine?"

Severus considers his grandfather's words. Then, he smiles. "Yes, he did."

Relief floods into Lily's bright eyes and she returns his smile. "How wonderful."

-O-

Unbeknownst to both Lily and Severus, Sage hides just around the corner with his back to the wall. When he hears Severus found Demitri's apology to be honest, he turns boneless and slides down the wall until he's in a sitting position. He runs a shakey, relieved hand through his fringe and gives thanks to the universe for getting Demitri to listen to him.

Next chapter will be the first chapter of the "Flourished" segment. Excited? I am! Also, how did you enjoy this chapter? Getting Sage's POV and seeing him be a bit of a hero for Severus?

Thanks for reading, I appreciate it!