Chapter 7: Riddle
Ron really hoped the two would be ok, and gritted his teeth, ready to look for Professor McGonagall.
The woman however had been in her office with Snape, and while he didn't like the man, he knew that they would need more help than just one Professor.
Severus knew not what Harry had gotten into, but when his ginger friend burst into the room, dragging behind him a confused and oblivious Lockhart, he knew it was bad.
"Mr. Weasley! What is the meaning of this? And why is ProfessorLockhart looking around like a first year?" Minerva demanded while standing from her desk.
Ron ran through everything that had happened in their day, from Ginny going missing, to finding out that she had last been in the second years restrooms. The boy vaguely explained how they had found the chamber, how they'd gotten in the first time, and why they knew she was there.
He continued to say that the second time they went in, they brought Lockhart to prove that he didn't know his wand from his toe, and the man had tried to Obliviate them and run. The blond man behind Ron was simply playing with his clothes as if he didn't understand who they were speaking about, which was the exact truth.
Snape knocked the man out and the three rushed to the headmaster's office where the man would deal with the now criminal. Ron then explained that there was a huge blockage that only Harry could squeeze through, so tom had come to get them.
Again Snape was surprised by how selfless and stupid the boy was, as he could not expect to kill a basilisk on his own, or even get away from one that had apparently been having trouble with even fitting into the larger pipes within the school to get around.
So the three dropped off Lockhart, then raced back down where they were faced with another problem. The Chamber's passage had closed. And the only one able to open it, was inside, and in danger.
Ron jumped into action, trying his best to speak the word he had heard his friend use. Snape knew that if the boy did not get it, that he'd had to get them into the Chamber, but as he was readying himself to push the boy away, it happened.
The door to the Chamber of Secrets was reopened by a non parselmouth, and a Weasley. Snape shivered at the thought, but when he was told they'd need another broom to get down the man scoffed.
"You two use the broom, I will make my way down afterwards." Ron again wanted to protest, but his head of house ushered him onto the broom, then sat behind him and they were off. Snape took only a second before he was behind them, using his magic to manipulate the air around him.
Once the three were down, Ron completely forgot to ask how the greasy bat had gotten down, and instead lead them quickly to the rubble.
There the two professors quickly fixed the passageway, while Ron grabbed his wand, which had broken in the aftermath, and waited until he could go through to help his friend.
Once everything was a fixed as it possibly could be without stronger magic and wards, the three rand further in. They were stopped however by another closed passage way, which Ron opened again.
Once inside the actual chamber made by Salazar Slytherin himself, they found a dea basilisk, the sword of Gryffindor, an unconscious Ginerva Weasley sprawled on the stone floor, and Harry Potter with a basilisk fang clutched in one hand while the other held a distroyed diary. The boy was out of it, and while he tried to explain Snape saw the wound on the boys arm.
He'd been bitten! The little runt had nearly died, though how this all came to be was slowly and groggily revealed by Harry as the others took in the scene.
"Tom Marvolo Riddle... he-- he possessed the diary... and was trying to," his words slurred a bit though his eyes cleared up some.
"To use Ginny's soul to come back." He blinked harshly and swayed. Snape caught the boy and kept him upright while McGonagall checked over Ginerva to see her vitals.
"He's Voldemort, or a part of him I think. 'Tom Marvolo Riddle' or 'I am Lord Voldemort'... kinda stupid don't you think? To use your real name??" Harry giggled at Snape, making Ron highly uncomfortable from where he sat with his sister.
Harry continued as if he hadn't just giggled at the school's scariest professor. "He was trying to take her body, but then I showed up and he decided to talk. He talks a lot. Had the basilisk try to kill us, but it only got me. Then Fawks and the sorting hat came, and I got the sword from the hat, and Fawks cried on my arm.. silly bird." He giggled again, the poison still affecting his thin malnourished body.
"Couldn't look it in the eyes so I used a mirror to see where it was and bam! Cut its-- its head off, but Tom was still getting more and more real, and Ginny was getting less and less alive."
The Professors lead the two conscious children out, Snape still supporting Harry, and Ron holding his sister.
"So I took a fang, it had almost killed me so why not Voldie too? But I went for the book instead and he offered me the world. How can you give someone the world of you aren't on it... in it? Anymore?" Snape almost stopped in his tracks. The Dark Lord had tried to bribe Harry into letting him come back, seducing the child into joining him. If Harry had been dark, or had said yes, lives would have been irrevocably destroyed in seconds.
"Oh so he tried to possess me, I think-- but I hit the book with the fang, and when it went through there was the black mist again. He screamed and screamed, but then the mist became nothing cuz I think the venom somehow killed him." Here Harry was done so he simply slumped onto his Professor and mentor as they walked.
Professor McGonagall led the way, taking the first broom along with Ginny out, before tossing in back down, slowing the fall with magic.
Ron was right after her with the same broom, leaving one left for Snape and Harry.
The petite boy suddenly stood straight up, and his slur and glassy eyed look was gone.
"Thanks sir, for coming. I told you I'd try to stay out of trouble, but I think the best I can do is simply let you know when I'm going to do something like this again." He smiled, "And I'm sorry for hanging onto you, but if Ron knew I was fully conscious and that I knew what I was doing, he'd have a conniption."
Snape almost laughed at that, almost wishing to see the ginger boys eyes pop out comically. But he sighed instead.
"Well, continue acting, because you still need to see Madam Pomfrey, and the Headmaster. It will be easier to dodge them if you are still loopy and confused."
Harry giggled, and especially as they came up through the Chamber's entrance and back into the castle, Harry played his part.
"Hey, P'fessors?" He slurred again, his eyes blinking one after the other like a wave. "If I missed dinner can I have ice'ream?"
Snape scowled and let his left eye twitch as he let Harry go, catching him in a levitation spell before he could crumple to the floor. Harry may have been conscious and fully cognizant, but his legs really couldn't hold him up.
"No ice'ream?" He asked instead of pointing that out, but then promptly passed out.
HPSSHPSSHPSS
Soon after he had fully recovered, Harry ran into the man who had caused it all to happen. Harry didn't know how the man got the diary, or when he had snuck it into Ginny's school supplies, but he was in the castle, and Harry had something for him.
Here was an extremely narcissistic man, who held himself above the rest for all the wrong reasons, trying to gaslight the boy into thinking he had done nothing wrong. Both knew that the boy knew, but neither really spoke on it. Instead Harry handed the diary back, stating with no small measure of mocking and a vindictive tone; "I think you've misplaced your diary sir...", and watched as the man called his house elf to take it away.
He and his friends had learned just who or what was in charge of the general upkeep of the castle. And they now knew which one of them was causing so many of the trios problems. The elf called Dobby seemed reluctant to do what he'd been told by his master, and after revealing himself to Harry, had instead helped the boy.
So this was the least Harry could do, and as he watched Dobby double check if the ruined book and its contents were really his to have, he had to suppress a smile.
"Fine! Yes you can have it, you blubbering fool!" The man hissed, before his sneering face changed to one of shock.
"Dobby is a free elf!!" The little elf had pulled a sock from the book, and Malfoy Sr. Turned around swiftly, before scowling at Harry again.
"Oops, I guess a sock got in there when I took it out of my trunk sir. I do hope you have a wonderful rest of your day." The false innocence gave way to deep sarcasm, as Harry took a step forward and the two walked reluctantly away from one another.
His second year was just as much of a whirlwind as his first, but it wasn't over yet. He still had some time left to figure out if the Potions Master really forgave him, for both his past actions and his present ones.
HPSSHPSSHPSS
Severus Snape was agitated, to put it plainly. He was warring with so many conflicting emotions at the moment that it was becoming an inconvenience. He felt elation, anger, smug satisfaction, determination, and fear all in the span of a few minutes, and he understood almost immediately what it meant.
Standing abruptly, the man whisked away from his office, glad for the rare moment of outer peace, while he tracked down the reason for these feelings. The link between them was forming slowly, as with most dragon kin, mental links such as these formed near immediately.
Harry bloody Potter was up to something again, and if he had any mind at all, the boy would try to stay away from any added dangers. However, Snape felt he knew the boy well enough after these past two years to say that he would be found by danger if not vice versa. The boy had an amazing ability to be sucked into whatever form of tomfoolery was going on that year, and it was all too calculated to be mere coincidence.
The man had his own suspicions to work out, and added to it was the Dark Lord trying so desperately to get back on their plain of existence. The man was attempting a resurgence, a resurrection of his past glory so to say. Severus had know for many a year that it would be coming, and he had not been foolish enough to hope it was over yet either. And if he knew anything from past experience with the Dark Lord, it was that hope always leads to failure.
Shaking his brain of the thoughts and making sure his mind was fully closed off, the man stalked the halls looking for his little mate.
Yes, mate. He had been appalled to learn that the boy-- the spawn of his least favorite classmate-- was to be his mate.
He had just turned away from the Dark Lord's side and became a spy. He knew what he had done, and he knew that he had done it in some misguided sense of belonging. Lily had listened and forgiven him, on the condition that he and the marauders put their pasts behind them for the sake of her and her child at the least.
Severus had been shocked, for after their graduation he'd not heard much about the newlywed Potter's or of their upcoming child.
The onyx eyed man had wanted so desperately to have a part of his old life back, and for his friend to have started a clutch of her own warmed him. More to protect, more to live for, more to fight, honor, and die for if need be.
He was a dragon through and through from his heart and mind, and straight down to his soul. And for his old clutch mate to accept him back into her nest was a big deal. Lily was not a dragon shifter, she had no blood ties to his kind or kin, but she knew of his customs. The woman had seen his repentance and had given him a second chance to bond with her as siblings once more.
So he jumped on the chance and never looked back. He grit his teeth and reconciled his past withthe marauders, but seeing Lily force them to apologize had been more than worth it. Like he'd already said, Lily was not of creature blood, but she had the temper to rival a nesting dragon even without her little hatchling in the picture.
He had not known when she gave birth, but when he saw the little whelp he knew in his very being that they were connected.
It did not however give him a sense of peace; as some dragons attach themselves to whelps when the natural parents are doomed to death. It was a sense of premonition that hurt to know about, and as he spoke to Lily and James of his instincts, they simply tried to say they knew it was a possibility.
Of course it was a possibility! He had mentally scoffed. They were in war, it was not written in stone that any of them would survive, but it angered him that they took it so lightly.
But then he understood why. They had known something was coming, and Severus had only inadvertently confirmed it. He was already a spy by this point, and as he and Albus spoke, they planned to interview a candidate for the divination position.
Albus would conduct the interview, and Severus would simply wait outside to see if the woman was being fictitious or not. However the day had gone terribly wrong, and he was stuck hearing the very beginnings of a true prophecy.
That would not have been completely harmful, had another death eater not seen him, causing a fuss that cut his hearing the whole thing short.
It was for the best however, as Albus later that night encouraged him to spill what he had heard to the Dark Lord in order to ensure the prophecy was set in motion.
Severus contacted Lily, for what he felt may have been the last time. Telling her of what he knew, and what he knew would happen should he speak on it.
The woman he regarded as a friend, sister, and confidant, had simply placed her hand above his heart, and told him to do it. She knew he would protect her Harry, even if it was from afar. Even if the two male's bond was familial or became romantic as her son grew older. She had him promise to look after her treasure, practically a declaration that she would go unto death with a fight and trusted him faithfully to keep her things safe.
Severus was not an emotional man, now or in the past, nor was he emotionally expressive as a hatchling, but he cried that day.
That very same night that he heard the beginning of the prophecy, he took it to the Dark Lord, and single handedly committed his kin to death.
A month later, his world tilted. He had finally accepted the mate of his kin into his life, and in one fell swoop they were both gone, torn from him with no preparation, or numbing agents, and he very nearly spiralled back out of control.
The only thing tethering him to both the world and the light for several years, was the treasure that Lily left behind. The treasure she entrusted to him.
He could not take the boy in, as even an infant he was known worldwide. So instead, Severus took care of the aftermath, trying to keep an eye on the boy from afar. He stayed as a spy for the light, aiding in the skies and shadows to euthanize true death eaters.
He could not go for the inner circle, as because they were so tightly knit, he would have been outed far too soon. He had a role to play, and as a part of the inner circle, he simply continued his duties as closely as possible. They stopped doing outward displays of murder after the Longbottoms were cursed to insanity, but still he taught as was expected. He brewed for them 'When possible', slowly taking on more work at the school as the years post Voldemort passed, and the inner circle drifted away a bit.
Some had been sentenced to Azkaban over unrelated charges, and it was just as well, as some had also been given the kiss.
The thought of Azkaban always soured his thoughts more than he believed possible. Black was there, only given half of what he deserved as far as Severus was concerned. He had told the Dark Lord where the Potters were, and as their sole secret keeper he was responsible for their near capture and untimely deaths.
He still truly hated the mutt for what he had done. He still could not stand the man for the murderous stunt hed pulled in their school days. And he still cursed himself for not seeing it earlier. If Black was capable of attempting to kill Severus by way of werewolf, why wouldn't he be capable of killing his ex friends by way of dark Lord. And Pettigrew. The man was a coward and Severus had no lost feelings when he found that the little rat had been missing and presumed dead by Blacks hands.
A sigh relieved him of his thoughts, pulling him from the end of their trail. He was still on the lookout for Harry, and as he turned a corner into a hallway between two towers, he saw the boy.
And Lucius Malfoy... one of the most elusive, repulsively slimy men he'd ever had the displeasure of meeting. He had his wand raised at Harry, mumbling about the boy under his breath, thinking he was unaware.
And he was so woefully unaware that he was being targeted, that Severus had to sigh and once again step in. Though Severus could not jump out and accuse the man of such acts, as he had a part to play, he did make some noise with his steps, stopping the other man from cursing Potter while his back was turned.
"Lucius. To what do we owe this pleasure?" He asked. The man was on the Board of Governors, and while he had no right to be their, his slimy silvery tongue kept those with suspicions at bay.
He could pull up many a reason to visit the school, and most any of them would be valid and legal, so Severus kept up his pretenses. Lucius was meant to be his closest friend in the inner circle, though the term friend was too much for how Severus truly saw the blond.
"Ah, Sev. I am here to speak with the Headmaster concerning this recent turn of events." The blond said with a smirk that Snape returned.
"Indeed. It was quite the adventure keeping the brats in line while it all went down."
"And to be caught carrying the savior around the castle?" Lucius asked.
"You make it seem as though I wish him perfect health. I levitated the annoying whelp to the infirmary, because the Weasley brat found me and Minerva first. You should have liked to see him Luc, he looked terrified of his own shadow." Snape said with an evil grin.
The blond laughed then spoke again. "And my offer?"
Severus raised a brow. "Still no. I will never touch Cissa in that way, friend or no. You should know Luc, that while we were young you may have liked to switch, but I have always and will always be a top." He smirked.
"Promises promises Snape. I do still love to switch things up." The blond whispered before he bid the man his goodbyes and stalked away.
Now that he was alone, Severus inwardly shivered.
He had given in to impulse once, and had slept with both another boy and girl in their seventh year. Malfoy, who was a cockwhore at the time wanted him, and stopped at nothing to get Snape to top him.
That changed however, after Lucius had experienced girls as well as boys, and constantly tried to seduce Severus into bottoming for him.
The two had never slept together, even when Severus was woefully unattached, and Lucius still wanted to sleep with him. Slytherins always topped, though the blond had always been the exception for their year.
Shaking his head of these thoughts as well, Snape went along to find where his little treasure seemed to be hiding.
He could feel the boys curiosity, and how he cursed himself for being too far away to hear, but when Severus caught up to him, he only felt a sense of calm through the bond.
Good. He'd not want the boy to be suspicious of him for real. Outward suspicion and wariness was good, but inwardly? He would be hard pressed not to explain everything, if only to wipe those emotions away.
Harry tried to look angry, and the face he pulled was an adorable yet accurate depiction of a hatchling in a tiff.
"Mr. Potter. If you would follow me. You are late for your detention and I should like nothing more than for you to listen to the rules for once." He stated, not entirely unsure that anyone was listening.
"But?!" Harry protested, playing along.
"Now!" Snape demanded, and Harry listened.
