They Didn't Know We Were Seeds
Speaking the password to the gargoyle outside of the Headmaster's office, Severus waits all of a moment before it allows him passage into the room. When he steps in, Albus is stood next to his fireplace, one hand on Fawkes, who sits on his perch beside it. The old man doesn't seem particularly surprised at his appearance, but then again, the headmaster was typically quite good at concealing his feelings when he wished. "Professor," greets Severus, going to take a seat in the armchair in front of his desk.
"Hello, Mr. Snape," returns the headmaster. Running one last hand down Fawke's back, he steps away from the phoenix and fireplace to take a seat on the other side of the desk. Lowering himself into his chair, he says, "I assume your task went well?"
"It did," answers Severus, crossing his legs and putting a hand on each arm of his chair.
"It heartens me to hear so," replies the headmaster, the small, mirthful glimmer coming to his eyes.
Severus nods. "As I'm sure you will understand, it makes me curious. How goes your search for the other two?" he asks the man.
Albus's mirthful glimmer changes to a shrewd light. "I have a potential lead for the ring," he replies.
Severus breathes a sigh of relief. "That is good news," he remarks.
"I agree," says the old man. "It will take a little more research, but I am certain I will be able to confirm its location this summer."
The news starts an unsettled churning in his gut. The last time Albus retrieved a Horcrux on his own, Severus had to murder him so he wouldn't have to waste away to death. "…Perhaps I should come with you, sir," he suggests after a long pause.
"I am confident I will be fine, Mr. Snape," says the headmaster in a firm voice that should leave no room for argument.
However, Severus tries to all the same. "I do not worry that it will be unsafe, I worry what the ring will do to you," he counters. "Professor, in my last life, you put it on. If I had not shown you mercy, you would have died from the curse it inflicted you with," he reminds the old man.
"Unlike the Albus in your previous life, Mr. Snape, I am aware of the curse," says the headmaster in a hard rebuke. "I will not make his mistake," he tells him.
Severus still doesn't like the idea of the headmaster retrieving the ring on his own. However, he knows there will be no talking the old man out of it. However, if he can figure out when Albus will go to retrieve it, there is a chance Severus can force himself along. It will not endear himself to the headmaster, but at least he will know he won't put the bloody thing on and die. Severus won't attend another premature burial for one of the greatest wizards to ever live.
-o-O-o-
"There you are," Scabior calls as Severus and Sage step into their common room. Abruptly, the two of them stop their conversation about the quickly approaching summer and watch with curiosity (and perhaps some annoyance on Sage's part, he's never truly come around to Scabior) as the lower-year boy hops down the last steps to the boys' dorms and bounds toward them. Once in front of the two of them, he spares Sage all of a glance before focusing his gaze on Severus. "Can you talk to Posey?" he demands with what Scabior likely thinks is an intimidating expression, but Severus finds to look ridiculous. "Mari says she's been behavin' oddly lately."
Severus holds his stare steady when all he wishes is to share a roll of his eyes with Sage. "They talk, do they?" he asks, almost rhetorically, because as much as Severus has believed Duffield's taken to tutoring her younger cousin, he'd never gotten confirmation from either her or the Scabiors.
"Yeah!" replies Scabior, earnest. "She's been teachin' Mari stuff. Things she can use to protect 'erself."
"Hmm," he says, taking in the new information. It's good news, Severus decides, Mari Scabior is being taught hexes and jinxes to use to protect herself. One can never know too much about self-defense.
Impatient for an answer, Scabior presses, "Will you?"
"Will I what?" Severus returns, holding back a smirk while Sage sniggers beside him.
Scabior shoots Sage a glare before returning his gaze to Severus and snapping, "Talk to 'er!"
Severus crosses his arms. "Why do you think my speaking with her will sort of her strange behavior?" he asks, tilting his head.
"She won't listen to me!" complains Scabior, "I'm too much younger. And…" he drops his eyes to his toes. "Shedoesn'tlikeme," he mumbles.
Severus sighs. "You're quite right about that at least," he replies. Severus deliberates a moment. It wouldn't be very difficult at all to find or speak with Duffield. If she refuses, he can tell Scabior he tried. It won't make him happy, but it should appease him still. "Very well," agrees Severus, "I will see what I can do."
The boy grins, triumphant. "Brill! I'll see you around," he says before stepping around them and heading for the common room's exit.
Severus watches him go. After Scabior is truly gone, he shakes his head."When did Posey become my problem?" he grumbles without any heat.
Sage starts to snicker and Severus looks at his brother, a furrow coming between his brows. "What?" he demands.
His brother says, "You really don't know?"
"Know when she became my problem? No, I don't!"
Sage rolls his eyes. "She became yours when you decided to take an interest in Scabior," he explains. Severus narrows his eyes at this. It can't be true, can it? Deciding to change one person's path doesn't mean everyone else in their life becomes his problem. At Severus's disbelieving expression, Sage frowns and asks, "You must have realized this would happen? Before Scabior, when you decided to make a mate out of me, you ended up involved in my, well, our family also. Befriending Sirius went much the same too, didn't it? You became his friend and now you spend time with Regulus too." Sage runs a hand through his hair and says, voice bordering on exasperated, "Blimey, Severus, you went to his cousin Narcissa's wedding as well. "
The mulish disbelief he'd been feeling entirely eradicated after his brother's examples, he exhales. "You are right," he relents. A smirk starts at the corners of his mouth as he tells Sage, "I'm sure you cannot fathom it, but I once had to be persuaded to help others."
His brother laughs. "Not very hard, I reckon," he teases.
"Oh, yes, very hard," Severus argues. "Life debts and Unbreakable Vows were required in a couple of instances."
"Life debt?" Sages echos, eyes wide. "I don't think you mentioned having one before."
Severus bites the inside of his cheek and internally curses. He hadn't. For a very good reason too. It would have meant revealing a secret that isn't his and would instantly turn Dumbledore off from helping him if it comes out.
"I told you nearly everything important," Severus assures Sage. "But I still kept some of my story to myself. Mostly if I knew it wouldn't help you to know and would cause problems for both of us instead. The reason I had a life debt is because of secrets that exist right now that would only lead to trouble for too many if I revealed them to you."
Sage purses his lips, not appeased at all by Severus's explanation. After a moment, he asks, "Are they," he lowers his voice, "dangerous secrets?"
"Yes and no," he answers after a moment.
"What kind of answer is that, Sev?" asks Sage, a scowl starting on his face.
He sighs. "Technically the secret is dangerous," he replies. "However, it never truly endangered anyone except myself." Severus pauses, musing over the incident with the werewolf. Even now, he feels the blame falls mostly on Sirius's shoulders, but Severus can also acknowledge it hadn't exactly been clever of him to go down there either. "Really, it's my own fault too that I became endangered."
Sage crosses his arms. "You're not going to tell me what this secret is no matter how I ask, are you?" he questions.
He shakes his head. It's regrettable, but now is not a good time to tell Sage about Remus being a werewolf. Perhaps there never will be either. "No," he answers.
"…I feel as if I should be cross with you," says Sage after a long bout of glaring.
"You're not?" asks Severus, mildly surprised. He'd felt certain even before he said no this would probably end with them not speaking for a couple of days at least.
"After all you've done to show me who you honestly are if you're keeping a secret, I have to reckon it's because you have a good reason," replies Sage, not quite smiling at him.
Severus feels something akin to warmth wash over him. Nodding, he replies, "I do think there is a good reason not to reveal it, at least not now, to you."
Sage dips his chin in agreement. "I'll let it lie for now then," he says. Before Severus can thank him for his understanding, his brother raises a finger into the air and declares, "But! I want to know someday, okay?"
"I think I can promise that," Severus with a smirk. Someday is not a set date and he could hold onto the secret for years and years to come if he truly needs to. Perhaps Sage will even forget there is a secret to be known by then.
-o-O-o-
Approaching the study table where Duffield is pouring over a couple of textbooks between jotting down things on a piece of parchment to her right, he clears his throat. The teenager spares him hardly a glance before returning her gaze to her work. Severus holds back a frustrated noise and pulls out a chair from the table, sitting down in it.
"An owl told me you've been acting oddly," he tells her as he scoots the chair in and puts his elbows on the table.
Duffield glowers "Which one?" she demands. "Red or Green?"
He snorts at her question. "Come now, you think I would tell so easily?" he says.
The teenager puts down her quill. "It was Scabior, wasn't it?" she asks. "Mari knows better."
Severus isn't surprised she guessed Scabior. The boy is right Duffield doesn't like him very much. Of course, even though Scabior was the one to tell, it's Mari who began this when she spoke with her brother. "Mari may know better than to discuss matters outside the family, but she discussed your behavior all the same," Severus informs her.
Duffield's nostrils flair and she curses, "Those bloody little—!"
"Yes, yes, they're truly a pair of pests," Severus cuts in, hoping to stop her tirade. He may have agreed to this favor for Scabior, but he isn't going to play the meandering game so many Slytherins are fond of where you have to pick and pick at someone until they reveal the truth. Crudely, he demands, "Speak, Duffield, what's crawled up your robe and died?"
"Nothing!" snaps, face red with anger.
He puts his chin in his hands and told her, "You're not this stupid."
She slaps her palms down on the table. "Fine! You really want to know you little sneak?" she snarls, "I don't know what I'm going to do when I graduate! I can't bloody well expect some hush money from anybody anymore since I stopped trying to seduce our housemates. The last thing I want is to stay here, though." Spent, she slumps in her seat. "I hate it," she whispers.
"Truly? That's all?" he asks, disgusted. "Merlin, you are that stupid," he jeers.
"Shut up!" she bites, shoulders by her ears and eyes wet. "You don't know anything!"
"I know more than you," sneers Severus. "If you were clever, you'd begin looking into programs and jobs abroad," he says. "I've heard of people working as Cursebreakers for Gringotts and it often takes them far from England. I also know of a respected program in Greece funded by their Ministry that is working to translate old scrolls and tablets they uncover going through ancient ruins in Greece and abroad."
The girl blinks rapidly at his words. "I do take ancient runes," she remarks, "I think I'm not half bad either, but…" she trails off and lowers her head, causing her hair to fall into her face and hide what he expects is tears.
Severus holds back a sigh and runs a hand down the side of his face. Duffield hadn't struck him before as being sensitive. Either Severus is wrong or he's struck a nerve with her. Voice softer, he urges, "What, Duffield?"
"You need references to get into those programs, don't you?" she asks in a wavering voice. "Professors who'll talk you up to the people who are in charge of those jobs and you have to do extra things to show you're really interested in their field like by running clubs about it and having personal projects your teachers supervise and assist you with."
He nods. "Those things help, yes," agrees Severus. The more popular programs typically have a fair amount of applicants and the more serious a witch or wizard can show themselves to be about the job, the more likely they are to be accepted.
"Professors don't much care for me, I think," Duffield admits, finally lifting her head and pushing back her long, dark brown hair from her face. Revealing her red-rimmed eyes, she says, "Dad was… Well, he was always near the bottom of his year Mum says. He didn't care about school because he knew he'd get a job at the barbershop Grandpa and him work at. As for Mum, there's not much to say, is there?" she gives an unkind chortle. "The Scabior family reputation has been one of louts and lushes since they started coming to Hogwarts. I'm just lucky Mars is a squib and never came to Hogwarts to set the bar even lower for me." A defeated smile stretching across her thin face, she remarks, "I don't think Slughorn, our head of house has ever said as much as a hello to me outside the classroom before."
Severus knows what Duffield is feeling, surprisingly. Before he'd made it clear he had something to offer, no one, no one, not professors or housemates, had shown him a spec of interest his first time as a student. That old feeling fresh inside his chest, he declares, "You need connections? I can find you some. Let me speak to my grandfather. He'll talk to someone involved in whatever you're interested in and they can find you something to do over the summer. It might just be shuffling parchment around, but at least it will be a start."
"Just like that?" Duffield whispers, expression one of shock. It quickly fades, however, distrust darkening her eyes and shakiness to her tone as she says, "You're having a laugh at me, aren't you, Snape? Why in Merlin's name would you be helping me like this?"
Severus pushes down the sympathy he feels budding in his chest. She won't like it, won't understand it. Duffield might mistake it for pity and that will only lead to trouble. Trying to keep a pragmatic tone, he tells her, "I know this offer seems quite… Selfless, but trust me it's not." Fixing Duffield with a (hopefully) hard look, he informs her, "Whether you believe it or not, Scabior does see you as a role model and I want you to be a positive model, not a bad one."
"I don't believe you," she agrees a passing smile curving her lips. "If anyone's a model to him, it's you. You're the one who took him under your arm, helped him become the champion for the school-wide dueling competition." She pauses then and sighs. I'm just his bitch of a cousin who shoved him out of my compartment on his first train ride to Hogwarts and told him to fuck off," she admits. A shrewdness coming to her gaze, she muses, "You know, I've never understood why you decided to do that. There's nothing special about Scabior. He's a lout, just like his dad."
"He could one day be an excellent member of the witch watchers or the law enforcement patrol," answers Severus without hesitation. He remembers what Scabior had (could have) been. To the misfortune of many, Muggle-borns and criminals alike, he'd been an excellent tracker and one of the best Snatchers that terrible year. Severus isn't sure how that knack will be discovered this time, but it will be and when it is, a career in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement will be inevitable.
Duffield shakes her head. "You're mad," she declares. "I don't have the foggiest idea where you pulled that shite from."
"He will be, just you wait," Severus assures her.
She laughs it's amused for the most part, but he doesn't miss the mocking note. "At least a century, I'm sure."
"Try a decade," he snaps. Duffield seems startled by his conviction and he sucks in a breath and turns his head. "Nevermind," he says after he's regained control of his temper. "It's not important now." Meeting her gaze, he asks, " Duffield, do you accept my offer?"
"Yeah, do it," she replies. Derisively, she tells him, "See if your dear, respected Grandpa will help a nobody like myself."
"I think you're going to be surprised, Duffield," he tells her.
The teenager rolls her eyes, once again her usual self and all vulnerability once again hidden behind a waspish front. "Sure," she snorts. Lifting a hand, she waves it dismissively at him. "Look, you go on now. I got a Transfiguration assignment to finish," she says.
"Very well," agrees Severus, standing up. "We'll speak again soon," he assures her.
Duffield scoffs and picks up her quill, returning her attention to her work. As for Severus, he sets his eyes toward his dorms where he will find parchment of his own he can use to write his grandfather.
Thoughts on the chapter?
Thank you all a million for reading!