A/N: This chapter is a bit short in comparison to how much I elaborated on the previous years. Year 3 is so full of events that I decided to keep it short and sweet, and the same will likely happen with year 4. I have already condensed the summer to the end of this chapter, though I will include more details later in the story.
Lmk what you guys think of the story so far, especially since we are one year closer to Harry and Severus finally getting together.
P.S. I am trying to make Severus as little of an influence as possible, so that the story doesn't come off as him grooming Harry *big shivers ugh* so he will not always be the one Harry take his problems to.
-Xenia
Chapter 10: Innocence
"So what am I to say? I can't lie to them!" Harry whisper screamed frantically. He knew not to speak to Snape in such a way, so he quickly apologized, not daring to risk disappointing the man.
The weight of his Professor's hand fell away from his shoulder, and he looked up, scared he'd made the man angry.
A wry smile twitched slightly on his mentors lips, and Harry had to look away. The man was amused, not angry. His lips were thin but plump in the same breath, the small smile lifted his features as well. He looked less severe with a smile, and that made Harry's face flush a bit.
Shaking the thoughts from his head, he listened to his mentor as the man retook his seat.
The older man explained that if Harry were to simply tell his red headed friend of what he now knew, the other boy would flip his lid. It wasn't said with quite that sort of wording, but Harry understood nonetheless. He would have to either try to catch the rat, or wait until he had the rat on the map and his friends within reach.
From there he launched into his reasoning for calling the boy to his office, and explained a bit about why he did not really like Lupin. He told the boy a bit of his own past with the marauders and the Potter's after that. He allowed the boy to ask his questions, and when he got to the point of the Potter's immanent deaths, he knew that Harry needed a seat.
So he allowed the boy to process his words, to really take in what he was telling him.
Harry hadn't even had time to place his father on a pedestal before it was crumbling beneath the picture of Severus and his shared memories. The man then went on to announce that while they were never friends, he had come to accept the man as Lily's mate and the group reconciled their past.
Mate... Harry asked about that after a short pause, and when his mentor told him, he couldn't help but blush. To think that soulmates existed, and that people like him could have one... he felt happy, but also a bit apprehensive. How would they deal with all his freakishness and would they even accept him as their mate once they knew about his past?
He was left with a lot of questions, but he also found out that his mentor had spoken to the Headmaster, and that the dour man was still in the process of finding Harry somewhere to live over the summers.
The boy asked about his godfather once again during the conversation. Asking why Peter would hide away after knowing that Black was in prison. And why the rat animagus would hide as a familiar in the Weasley home for over a decade...
Neither male could come up with a good reason that didn't implicate the rat as a knowing participant in the Potter's deaths. Had the rat been alongside Sirius in turning them in? Or had he framed the other man and then run and hide in plain sights?
It was a hard thought to come to terms with, and Harry only became more determined to find the rat and get the truth.
And so after nearly a week of almost obsessively checking the map in the darkened halls, and keeping his two friends close at hand, it happened.
Now it was just down to the wild ride that was explaining what he knew to his friends. They all knew that Pettigrew was still alive, and now they had reason to believe that the man was never attacked on that fateful night, but when Harry managed to drop the bomb on his best friends, he wasn't expecting Ron to pass out.
Hermione just fell backwards into a chair in her shock, but they were overall taking it a little better than Harry had expected.
Well, until Ron came to. "What?!" He nearly screamed, his face red from anger, and strangely green just a moment later.
"He-- he slept in my bed!" The boy heaved in disgust. He was sat on the hard floor of their dorm, thinking heavily over all the things the rat had seen or heard from him. It was unnerving how much he spoke to it, especially about his friends and school life.
The trio were shocked into silence as they each thought. Harry wanted to know just what the man was doing, acting like a pet rat for so long. Ron was going through every scenario and thought that he had spoken to the rat about, thinking it wouldn't understand. And Hermione was trying to figure out how to trap the man and make him spill his secrets.
They went to bed that night feeling heavier at heart than they had before. And while Harry was sorry to put this new information on their shoulders, he was glad that they now knew as well.
They would come up with a plan, and when they did, it would change the tide of their year. Of that they were all sure.
HPSSHPSSHPSS
Severus Snape was in his office the next day, when a message came to him from his gem. It was friday afternoon and he had a free period from teaching. He watched as Hedwig flew in through the magicked window and held her foot out almost impatiently.
The owl was still a bit miffed at him from last year, but she also accepted that Harry still wanted to speak to this man regularly.
She let the man pet her briefly and felt her own heart melt again. The man had rescued her, and even if he was a bit mean, he was still good. He offered her a treat which she took before flying away once again.
Severus watched the young bird go, inwardly chuckling at the fact that she seemed almost as forgiving as her young owner was.
He read his message, a simple update from Harry that let him know that the other two students in his trio now knew of Pettigrew. This brought him to think of his meetings with the Headmaster concerning Harry's homelife and school problems.
The old man was infuriating, in that he decided that the boy was only being mildly neglected if anything within his relatives home. Albus believed so firmly that Harry must have been loved, because he was a happy child at school.
Severus pointed out harshly that happiness was as much of a mask as denial. This made the Headmaster sigh, and ask what changed between Harry and Severus that had the man rushing to believe the boys vague pleas.
The ex spy wanted to snap that nothing had to change between them, but instead he went back to his heritage.
Albus knew of his Dragon blood, how he was not a human with the ability to shift into a dragon, but a dragon with the ability to become human. He told the man that whether he liked the brat or not his instincts kept him to his promise of protecting Lily's treasure.
He told the elder wizard what he knew, leaving out that he had gotten the information straight from Harry. He spoke of how he had known that the boy was hiding something, and that he flinched when anyone moved to close too fast, when he was called boy, and when anyone mentioned his plans for the summer or holidays. He related it back to many of his own Slytherins and other students who had gotten taken from abusive homes.
Albus tried hard to keep his rose tinted glasses on. Severus tried just as hard to break the lenses.
In the end the older man had decided to let Harry leave the safety of the wards for the week of his birthday if nothing else, just to see if it made any difference. However it did not work out that way, as the Headmaster learned of a break out from the prison and left Harry to wallow in the anger and hatred of his relatives up until the very last minute.
Severus was highly unimpressed by the 'greatest wizard alive' having been in the same situation as Harry during his own youth.
Which this thought brought home even worse memories.
He had learned that he could shift from his natural form to a human as a young hatchling, no older than 4 human years. His sire hated it, as he had only changed once, and that was to create Severus himself. The dragon, Tobias, tried to shun Severus and disown him, though their herd still considered him as one of theirs and he was not completely kicked out of their fold.
His mother had died some years later, as her human body could not handle the constant shift back and forth between her new dragon state and her normal witch state. And so, Severus decided to leave his herd. He went to learn magic, another thing his sire resented about him, as even as a mythical creature Tobias coveted his old ways and traditions. A dragon practicing magic went against those things.
So he was turned loose by his herd. He still visited every spring, to bond with his birth family and first friends. However he was set up with his mothers parents, a witch and wizard by the surname of Prince. They did not have the time to watch him as carefully as was needed, so they hired a guardian for him. And that was where his abuse started. He was unsure of how humans lived, and so as a hatchling equivalent of only 6 human years, he learned the hard way that humans could be so cruel when they feel stronger than their prey.
The woman was fired several years later after Severus had burned half of her body. She had attempted to assault him sexually, bruising and tearing at his once delicate human skin in her attempts to subdue him.
She was put on trial and given the kiss for attempting such a thing on not only a child, but also one from a notable pureblood family.
His father was even less impressed with him then, and left the herd behind to be a lone dragon. The Herd still supported Severus, and Tobias Snape could not stand being with those magic loving dragons.
In the end, Severus lost both parents, but gained a second family, and first hand knowledge on just how hard human life could be. If nothing else, he hated that the Headmaster would overlook such startling signs of abuse towards the boy whom he calls the savior of the wizarding world.
His gem may be their savior, but he was still just a boy...
Shaking his head of these thoughts, Severus went back to work, grading the fourth and fifth year potions essays.
He was looking into finding Harry a new home, even if he had to burn the Dursley's to get permission. He knew that no matter how deep their hatred for Harry ran, they would not let him have the chance at a good life. He would have to strong arm them into putting the boy up for adoption...
And he would have to find a good family that could raise his mate right while keeping him safe. A blood adoption would allow the wards to transfer to his new home, or they could do a set of wards, despite their many drawbacks.
He had some families in mind, and would see if they were right for his gem before approaching any one of them.
Harry would not be left with those muggles for too much longer.
HPSSHPSSHPSS
The last of the school year zoomed by, only interrupted by the golden trio finding out about Pettigrew and his true allegiance, the innocence of his godfather, and the fact that their DADA Professor was a werewolf.
Remus had been out several times over the year, not always on the same days, but just enough to be noticed, and Snape had taken over the class on one of those days. He assigned them an essay with the choice of either Werewolves, Dragons, or Ghouls as the topic, and that had been that.
In hindsight, Harry should have known that the man was just normalizing the thought of supernatural beings. As it were he only saw it as an opportunity to learn more about himself without catching too many eyes.
However, the year may have gone fast, but it was no less unsavory than his last two. One of the Hippogriffs that Hagrid had was set to be executed, along with Remus, who had been outed by a Hufflepuff student only days before. The student had heard the howls during the night, and saw how ragged their Professor always looked after the full moons. He'd figured it out at dinner one night screaming werewolf as Remus passed before passing out.
Harry and his friends had also found out that Sirius was found and brought back to prison where he too would one day be executed. They had to do something.
So in a brilliant show of wit, cunning, and Gryffindor brashness, the trio managed to save the day for all involved.
Sirius was broken out once again, Buckbeak was kept from his execution for harming Malfoy by the third years, and Remus was able to get out of his own sentencing by way of Dumbledore.
Remus would have to stop teaching, but that was a small price in comparison to losing his head to Walden McNair.
Three deaths were avoided that night, and even more since Remus had forgotten to take his wolfsbane potion.
Severus, who had come out during the whole commotion, and Sirius calmed the wolf, and once all was explained, Severus brought Harry, his friends, and the other adults into the castle. They found Pettigrew, and even after their harsh last encounter with the rat, they knew he wouldn't get away with his crimes.
But he did... he saw Severus, and thinking he had an ally, he made a run for it, shifting forms and dodging his way out of the castle.
Severus had no choice but to let him go, and instead called for the others to go to the Headmaster while he caught the rat.
Harry knew what the man was trying to do, and acted petulant but resigned, pulling his friends away and loudly protesting that if anything happened they would know who was to blame.
Severus was happy that his little mate understood his position, and how to keep them alive in these trying times.
He caught up to Pettigrew, stunned the rat and chewed him out over being caught by children. He added that their Lord would definitely be displeased, and let the rat go. He made sure the animagus knew he was in Snape's debt, as the man would attempt to 'cover up' his involvement, thus saving his life.
A life debt was formed between the two, and Severus was satisfied that if worse came to worse, he could force the sniveling rodent to sacrifice himself to fulfill the debt.
Snape caught back up to the group as they got into the Headmaster's office, and listened the the three children give a recount of what happened and how they had managed to save the day once again.
Albus was pleased to hear of their plans. Three preteens using a Time Turner to right various wrongs in one night? Unheard of. He had quite the mess on his hands, but now that he knew that Sirius Black was indeed innocent, he could start the process of fixing the Ministry's mistake.
HPSSHPSSHPSS
Later that week, as the year is coming close to a close, Severus assigns Harry a detention.
They had planned it out the night before through messages, and as Harry threw a piece of shoddily chopped ginger root into his cauldron, he hoped it went as planned. The cauldron bubbled dangerously, and Harry stirred it like instructed, but it only became more volatile, and as the mess started to hiss from the heat, Snape swooped into action.
He did his usual tirade about Harry, insulting him every step of the way, and banishing the mess before it could explode.
"Are you going to cry because I banished your potion Potter?" He goaded as planned.
Harry clenched his fists, and glared at his mentor with a good imitation of hatred in his eyes.
They stared for a few moments before Harry looked away, and muttered under his breath.
"What was that Potter? Care to share your enlightened thoughts with the rest of us?"
"I said sir, that only you would cry for that reason... greasy git that you are it wouldn't surprise me." He wanted to shift his gaze, to apologize for the harsh words, but he bit his tongue. The man told him to say this, so he would.
The scene was a spectacle for the class, and no one wanted to be there when the man exploded and killed a student.
Snape merely smiled a creepy uncommon smile, and the students were all on edge.
The man was really about to murder Potter!
The bell rang, and no one stayed, despite only just being told to hand in their potions and leave.
Harry recieved his detention, and Snape tacked on a few more all the way up until the start of summer break. He deducted points as well, over 30, but Harry had been assured that after the scene was over, he would get them back.
And that is how Harry spent the rest of his day, listening to others praise him for 'standing up' to the bat, and even overlooking the fact that the house points hadn't gone down, but up since he left his Professor's class.
He had stormed out, keeping up the angry act for a good hour, spewing out how the man was impossible and evil to act like that.
It was good acting, Harry knew, for no one questioned why he left a bit early to his detention, instead only assuming he wanted it over with as soon as possible. Dumbledore looked displeased with their active discourse, and during dinner had tried to get Snape to see sense.
The mentor and student shared a laugh once the wards were in place. Harry apologized at least four times for his words and actions, despite them all being planned and agreed on beforehand.
Severus simply held up a hand and thanked Harry for keeping his reputation intact. He had let the boy know earlier that the smile during their argument had been unplanned, as he tried not to laugh at the faces of Longbottom and the other students.
They spoke over some more serious topics, like the weird visions of Voldemort eating from and drinking the blood of unicorns. This was real as well, since they had found out about the dead unicorn during a trip into the forest with Hagrid during Care of Magical Creatures.
As he was no longer just the groundskeeper, but instead a full on Professor, the students got to see and learn more about this new world than before. His class was a favorite for many, but it was tainted by the knowledge that something evil was lurking about.
Harry was out of his mind scared that Voldemort would somehow get his body back and manage to kill him, but as nothing else had happened that year, they had less to go on than they'd like.
They spoke about Harry and his summer placement, and Severus put forth his proposal.
He had found a family that was neutral in the war, open to caring for another child, unaware that said child would be Harry Potter, and loving. They were a magical family, and Snape had even used a truth serum and mind magic to confirm that they were as good as they said they were.
Harry wanted to jump at the chance, but he was scared that the Dursley's wouldn't let him leave so easily.
This was where Severus smirked and told the boy that if he liked, Severus would make sure they signed the papers for him.
Harry caught the threat, and as it lingered in the air, Harry decided to take the chance.
Snape placed the spell on Harry, "Dolor Draconum!" It was as seamless as the last time, and Harry simply hugged the man before leaving the detention.
The last few days of the term went by with ease, though the outside world was stuck in fear of Sirius being out of prison and no where to be found.
The order of the Phoenix knew, and soon the world would know. Even the ministry could not deny that they had messed up. No fair trial for the man, on top of Hagrid's case being reopened from earlier that year? They'd very easily lose support.
However they also knew that keeping the Black family on their side would be smart.
They cleared the man, but not much came from it, as Sirius stayed either in his animagus form, or within his home to stay out of the public's eye. He was advised to stay out of sight for a while by Albus as well, and while he and Harry tried to get some form of a friendship, Severus also came to terms with his renewed hatred for the man.
It was a hatred unlearned for the most part, so he had to learn to let it go, if only for his gem's sake. This wasn't until later in the summer however, as Harry too had to go on trial for underaged magic.
The Ministry knew they were on thin ice at this point with how they prosecuted criminals, and the public was outraged that a boy of only thirteen was on trial for protecting himself and his cousin from wayward dementors. Under the scrutiny of the public, Minister Fudge had to relent on his hatred towards the Potter boy, and allow for, 1) a fair trial, and 2) an appropriate sentence for his transgression.
In the end, he only had a months Quidditch ban.
Post chapter A/N:
I'm likely going to use a family I made up from my other Snarry fanfic called Clandestine so if you know of them or not, I am going to elaborate on their dynamic a bit more in this fiction than in that one.
Thanks again for reading and I Hope you enjoyed!!
-Xenia
