Cokeworth was not a pleasant city. Some neighborhoods were, but the majority was just depressing. And it's in the most depressing of them that Severus and Sebastian appear with a faint pop. Sebastian looked around him, very surprised that Severus would bring him near a river filled with trash. The air was chilly, and the grass was wet, Severus didn't wait and immediately started to walk toward the nearby houses, he crossed a disused railroad, Sebastian on his heels and they both stepped into a gloomy street. The teenager took a few seconds to look around. The railroad they just crossed was leading to an old factory, surely a mill considering it was located so close to the polluted river. He wondered what used to be made there. He could guess that he was in an industrial city, maybe the midlands, but he did dare to ask. Severus may be his brother now, but he was still the same dour man. Sebastian knew better than to cross him right from the beginning. They were now walking between rows and rows of brick houses. Most of them had broken windows and looked abandoned. It was like a huge labyrinth where everything looked the same. Looking closer at the houses, Sebastian understood why they were so dull. None of them showed a sign of life. The whole neighborhood was abandoned. The street they just walked in ended with a wall. Looking up, Sebastian saw the chimney of the factory and guessed it was the perimeter wall. Severus walked to the very last house, turned toward Sebastian and lifted an eyebrow. Sebastian hurried up to him, just in time to enter the house with him. Like the other houses, the bricks were covered with soot, but this was the only one in the street without boarded or broken windows. It looked neglected but it was still standing, which was not the norm in the street.
Severus closed the door behind Sebastian and turned on the light. They were in a dimly lit, tiny sitting room. Leather-bound books were covering the walls, and the furniture looked old. The sofa and the armchair were placed in front of a closed fireplace, with a rickety table standing in between them. Over this tiny settlement, a dirty candle-filled lamp hung from the ceiling. Beyond an archway, Sebastian could see a kitchen with brown painted walls and yellow cabinets, at least they used to be. The color wasn't so bright anymore. A dirty window was standing over the sink, but Sebastian couldn't see anything more in the dim light.
'I know it's not much and it's certainly worse than what you are used to but remember that we will only stay here for two months. We will find a boarding school for you, and I will be back teaching at Hogwarts soon enough.' said Severus.
'I have lived ten years of my life in the cupboard under the stairs so I will be more than fine, I promise,' replied Sebastian.
'Not like you have the choice now.' answered Severus with a dry tone. 'Your room is upstairs. Follow me.' He opened a door that Sebastian hadn't noticed before as it was covered by books like the rest of the walls. They went up a narrow staircase, also painted in the past brown he saw in the kitchen. A few frames were protecting scenery pictures behind their dusty glass. At the top of the staircase, a sharp turn led them into a corridor. A few candle-lamps were fixed on the walls to light the way. Sebastian could see three doors, he guessed that one of them should be Severus' bedroom, another could be the bathroom, and the third ...
'This will be your room.' said Severus, opening the third door. 'There's still a lot of things from my own teenage years. You will have to do some cleaning, but you can keep what you like. Throw the rest to the trash, I have no use of it'
'Don't you want to keep your stuff?' Asked Sebastian.
'I haven't gone into this room since the summer just before my mother died. I don't need anything. So, for the last time Potter, keep what you want and throw away the rest.' Answered Severus with a tone clearly indicating not to bother him again with that.
'Snape ... My name is Snape now. Severus.'
Severus looked even more grumpy but didn't say anything, he walked away and closed the door behind him.
Sebastian slowly breathed in and out. He was prepared for a poor life after Severus told him to take all his money from Gringotts. What he saw in the house was not only restricted finances, but also neglect. The Burrow never looked so … unloved. The bedroom around him was in no better state. The bed was made but the smell told him that it must be moldy. The window was just as dirty as the ones downstairs. The walls were in the same shade of brown as everywhere else in the house and was decorated with Slytherin banners and antique ads for cauldrons. Severus' mother … Their mother must have died while he was still a teenager. He will have to ask more information about his new family. Sebastian turned to the desk and saw a book, a quill and several blank pieces of parchment. He breathed slowly again to regain his courage, grabbed the bin, Dudley's T-shirt to use as a rag, and began to clean. When the room became too dark to see, Sebastian used the matches he found to light the two candle-lamps, one near the bed and the other near the desk. He looked at the room and sighed. The room looked slightly more habitable, but he needed real cleaning supplies and he would need to ask Severus to do something about the mattress. He looked at the time and decided to go to the kitchen to prepare dinner. It was something that he always had to do at the Dursleys, and he didn't expect anything different here. Cleaning and cooking were how he paid for his keep.
Only, when Sebastian entered the sitting room, he was all alone. Severus was nowhere to be seen. And after trusting Severus blindly the whole day, he lost it. That was it. Severus never intended to take care of him. He just left him to fend for himself in that dump while he spent his summer in Hogwarts, or even on a trip! He couldn't believe that he had trusted that man with his life. What was wrong with him? Would he never learn never to trust adults? Tears were now rolling down his cheeks and Sebastian took refuge on the old shabby armchair, rolled himself in a ball and let himself cry. For his parents, Cedric, Sirius, and for still being an imbecile optimist who believed he could have some sort of a family with his new brother. He needed to stop dreaming.
All to his misery, Sebastian didn't hear the front door opening and closing. But he did hear the voice of his professor.
'Oh please, not that. I am not in the mood to cheer you up. Especially if it's about your dog.' said Severus.
'Don't call him that. And it wasn't about him … well, not really. It was about you. I … Forget about it, I should start making dinner.' said Sebastian, wiping his tears with his sleeve, and getting out of the armchair.
'Well, if you are as proficient in the kitchen as with your potions, I will pass on the offer. Especially since you forgot something crucial.' Sebastian looked at him questioningly and Severus raised the bags he still had in his hands. 'The food. Now sit and put yourself back together. You may also take a shower, you are covered in dust.' said Severus, walking toward the kitchen where Sebastian soon joined him.
'Oh yes, about that … Do you have any cleaning supplies? I did my best, but the mattress is moldy, I didn't find any clean bedsheets and some multi-purpose cleaning products would help a lot. If you also have something to clean the carpet, that would be great!' said Sebastian.
'And why don't you use magic? You are a wizard, act like it!' scolded Severus. He was now moving some boxes from the bags to the kitchen table. It was an old red Formica table with tainted metal legs, just big enough to sit two adults comfortably, four if you really squeezed them.
'But the Ministry-' began Sebastian.
'Can't tell if magic was done by a child or an adult, as long as you are in this house or in a place with adult wizards, you can use it. Just don't do it in front of anyone or when I am not around.' finished Severus.
'Oh, I didn't know that. Thank you, I really appreciate being able to do magic.' So, not completely like the Dursleys.
'What do you think the Pureblood parents do during the summer? Really, this Decree mostly concerns Muggle-born children, but no one will say it out loud.'
'It … It doesn't seem fair.' Sebastian's eyes suddenly opened wide 'That's why the Ministry accused me when Dobby levitated the cake! So, the Ministry really doesn't have a way to know that a child is doing magic!'
'As much as I want to know about this undoubtedly wonderful story, only Hogwarts can know which child is doing magic with the Quill of Acceptance and the Book of Admittance.' said Severus sarcastically. Then he suddenly stopped taking the boxes out of the bags and turned to Sebastian. 'Don't - do - any - magic. We need to run a few tests.'
'What? But I thought … Is it because of this book and quill? What's so special about them?' asked Sebastian, frustrated that Severus was already taking magic from him, so soon after giving him hope. Severus sighed, put the bags away and sat.
'Sit down, we will talk about it while eating. I hope you like fish and chips.' said Severus. 'When the Founders created Hogwarts, they also created two magical artefacts to find the students. The Quill of Acceptance and the Book of Admittance. The Quill writes down in the Book the full name and date of birth of a child as soon as it detects magic. If the child doesn't have enough magic to make it to Hogwarts, a Squib for example, the Book will snap shut to prevent the Quill from writing the name. Now, it works only in Great Britain and Ireland, which is where we are, and for children. Meaning that until you live in this house and are under seventeen, the Quill and the Book could theoretically accept Sebastian Snape in Hogwarts. Needless to say, that it would raise a lot of questions. Children typically show signs of magic before they are seven. But we also need to consider that Harry Potter is already in the Book. So, we need to determine if your magical identity has changed or if it's still the previous one. Which is why you cannot do any magic until we have determined it's safe.'
'Hum … okay.' said Sebastian.
Severus didn't answer anything, and they finished their meal in a tense silence.
Once they were done, Severus then charmed the kettle to make tea and went to the sitting room, took place in the armchair and gestured for Sebastian to sit on the sofa. The older man breathed slowly and started to talk.
'Sebastian, I am going to do a simple Point Me Spell with both names. If the Spell points to Sebastian Snape, then you are safe from being found out and you cannot use magic. If it points to Harry Potter, then we will need to find a way to shield you against tracking spells, but you will be able to do some magic. What we are trying to determine is your magical identity. Magic has its own way of working but depending how it recognizes you … Well, let's say that it could be life changing to me. After that, I also would like to do a blood test. You see, the potion I gave you is the result of a failed experimentation on the Polyjuice potion. Normally, it will give you my looks, but you will keep your age and still be yourself. I need to make sure that it is the case, so we are going to take a paternity test. The potion is looking for common DNA so it should prove that you are still Harry Potter by blood. It might be a threat and we need to prepare for it. Ready?' Asked Severus, and Sebastian nodded even if he wasn't at all.
'Point me Sebastian Snape' The wand spined a little and finally pointed at Sebastian.
'Point me Harry Potter' This time, the wand didn't move.
'So … it's good right? It means that magic doesn't recognize me as Harry Potter anymore, so I am safe.'
'Yes Sebastian, it's good. But it also means that you cannot do any magic until you are seventeen years old as Sebastian. I put your birthday on the 15th of August. And we will have to hide your wand as it is known to be Harry Potter's wand.' Said Severus.
'We also need to hide the scar.' Added Sebastian.
'I wondered when I saw how your hair was covering your forehead. It makes sense that it's still here, but we will find a way to remove it entirely', said Severus. 'Now put hair into this vial. I didn't know how we should test your blood, so this is a Paternity potion. It is usually used to see if a child is related to someone. In our case, we are going to test if you are related to me. It is only to assess potential threats, and for my own research. As I told you, this is still an experimental potion.'
Both Severus and Sebastian added one hair into the vial that seamed to be filled with yellow-tinted water. The water immediate turned bright red.
'What does it mean?', asked Sebastian.
'It appears that the potion changed your blood. You are not longer a Potter. You are… my clone! We share the same blood; we have the same parents… I can't believe it!' Severus was ecstatic. Sure, it was not what he intended to do, but the result was great.
On this Sebastian yawed and rubbed his eyes.
'It's late and you are still disgusting. Go take a shower, there are clean towels under the bathroom sink.' Said Severus.
Sebastian didn't say anything but slowly walked to the staircase. He first went into his new bedroom and looked through the dresser to find clothes he could use as pajamas. He only found an old T-shirt that smelled bad. To be honest, this whole situation smelt bad. What on earth was he thinking when he took this potion? Sighing, he took the T-shirt and went back downstairs.
'Severus? Is it possible to do some laundry? The linen and the clothes need to be washed.' asked Sebastian.
'Go shower, I will take care of it.' answered Severus
'Thanks' said Sebastian. He went back upstairs and in the bathroom. As soon as he entered, a terrible smell of mold and canalization reached his nostrils. He opened the window to let some fresh air come inside and sighed again. He was in for some serious cleaning if he had to live here. He undressed and took his shower, consciously choosing not to see all the cleaning he would have to do the following day. When he got out, he grabbed a towel that was thankfully somewhat clean and dried himself. He then wrapped it around his waist and closed the window before going back to his room, where he found his new brother, wand in hand, trying to give a better shape to the mattress. Sebastian spotted the clothes waiting for him on the fixed chair in front of the desk. They were not in the dresser before. It looked like Severus took his own and shrank them to his size. Sebastian smiled at this attention and got dressed before turning toward his brother.
'Don't worry Severus, I will work on that tomorrow, this will do for tonight. Where are the cleaning supplies, I will need them I think?' said Sebastian.
'I use spells.' said Severus, now in a bad mood. 'Good night' he said before leaving and closing the door.
Sebastian stood where he was for a minute, thinking to himself. If cleaning was done by magic in the house, that meant no cleaning supplies, but he couldn't do magic because of his new magical identity, so how will he be able to clean the house? It badly needed a good scrubbing to be habitable again. How was it that the house was in such a bad shape in the first place if magic was used to clean? Seeing the state of the mattress after Severus' efforts, Sebastian realized why his ex-potion teacher was always giving so many detentions. He wasn't good at cleaning, even with spells, so he was getting students to do it for him! Sebastian felt like laughing, he now understood the mood Severus was in when he left his bedroom. It must have felt humiliating to show a weakness in front of him. Considering their history, and what Sebastian saw in the Pensieve, Severus must be expecting to be mocked. And yet, he did it. He could have told Sebastian to deal with it by himself and be gone, but he took the time to help him and risk ridicule. True, Severus was an unpleasant man, but it looked like he was trying to give them a chance to become real brothers, by being more … well, less …
Sighting again, Sebastian made his bed with the clean linen and fell asleep as soon as his head touched the uncomfortable pillow.
As the sun went up above the wall of the old mill, a ray of sunshine filtered through the dirty window of Sebastian's room and arrived right on his face. That was a better wake up than at the Dursleys. Sebastian could still hear the voice of Petunia and the angry bangs on his door. But this time, a smell of toasted bread came to his nostrils, making him open his dark eyes. He quickly put on socks and went down the stairs to the kitchen to meet his new brother.
Sebastian passed the hidden door to the living room and walked to the kitchen. Severus was in a foul mood. Nothing new there, but Sebastian didn't forget that he did clean his room for him, as well as he could.
'Good morning, Severus' said Sebastian.
'I see you finally honor me with your royal presence' answered Severus sarcastically.
'Sorry if I am late, I didn't know there was a time for breakfast.' Not that it would have helped as there was no muggle alarm clock in his room.
'There is, and you will remember it going forward. As I do not trust you to pay attention to what I say while you are eating, I will wait for you to finish before we go over a few important points.' said Severus, still mocking him. Sebastian was a little sad that his new body was not enough to break the habit, but he understood that Severus was still trying to heal from the bullying from his Da… James, at Hogwarts.
Severus was reading a book and drinking his morning coffee. While Sebastian was eating in silence, he was trying to find the best way to get Severus to buy cleaning supplies. The trick was to do so without looking like he was doubting his spell work. Which he knew now to be very basic in housekeeping. When they were done, Severus spelled everything to clean itself, and pulled a little vial and a small knife that were on the table, closer to him.
'Before we begin, do you have something to say?' Asked Severus.
'Hum… Thank you for the meal?' Said Sebastian, not really knowing what else was expected of him.
'You're welcome. If you have nothing else to say, let's begin.' said Severus. 'It's simple. In order to really make your cover fool-proof, we need to act and know each other as brothers. Therefore, I think we should take our meals together and take the opportunity to work the details of your backstory. I thought about the main lines yesterday, but we need to make it so that anyone looking in your past will find evidence that Sebastian Snape existed years ago in the muggle world. We also need to make it look like we've known each other for years, in case someone tries to interrogate us. We have time for that, this is simply a precaution for the moment your existence is discovered. I guess you don't want to live in this house your whole life, right?'
'Right' Answered Sebastian. So far, he could follow Severus in his explanation. They needed to create a life for him, and it needed to be good enough so that no one would suspect that he was born as someone else and only recently became Sebastian Snape.
'So, we eat our meals together. I expect you to pick up after yourself in the common areas. I do not want my house to be transformed into the Gryffindor Common Room. I will also give you material to read on top of your muggle studies. Dropping Hogwarts doesn't mean that I will let you drop magic. You will study the theory and we will practice together, when I am here, and the Ministry will not be able to make the difference between your spells and mine. I will also expect you to do your homework. You will follow a double cursus, magical and muggle. Clear?'
'Yes.' Said Sebastian. He felt a bit cheated by that. He didn't sign up to have double homework! Sure, he could see the logic and he was glad that having to stop doing magic didn't mean that he would leave it behind completely. He loved magic!
'Good. I will show you the neighborhood and how to go in the city center sometime this week. You are free to leave the house as long as you inform me, and you are back in time for dinner. You are not a prisoner here and now that you're not Harry Potter anymore, you are not in any more danger than a muggle. I still expect you to make your own safety the absolute priority at any time. No running around in the streets, no playing hero, and certainly no looking for trouble. Clear?'
'Troubles usually find me, but I get the idea. If I see a situation where I could be in danger, I don't play hero and I stay safe.' Said Sebastian. That was the whole point of leaving his friends and his life behind him. Running into troubles would just defeat the purpose, so that made sense.
'I don't have anything more to say for now, but I am sure that we will find a routine where we can both be comfortable and avoid yelling at each other. Anything to add?' Ask Severus, surprising Sebastian. That was the second time this morning that Severus gave him the opportunity to talk freely. This time Sebastian took the bait.
'Yes. Usually during summer, my aunt asks me to clean the whole house. I got used to doing that by now and it helps me… hum… deal with… my thoughts? So, I was wondering if it is possible to buy some products. It would really help me relax and feel at home here.' As he finished, Sebastian thought that it must be the dumbest lie he ever told. Cleaning was a chore that he never enjoyed. But, who knows, maybe it was true for some people. Looking back at Severus, he knew that his brother didn't believe him for one second. Well, if he was really a Slytherin, he would take the easy way, let Sebastian get away with it and buy him what he needed to make the house a bit safer. The smell in the bathroom couldn't be healthy.
'All right. Even though I now question your sanity, we will go to the nearest supermarket and see what we can find for you.' Said Severus. He was very puzzled by that lie. Sebastian could have pointed out that his spells were not good enough or mock him or said that he was disgusting. But he did none of that. Instead, he lied and offered to do it by hand, like a muggle. 'And to complete your magical education, I will also give you a book with housekeeping spells you can learn. You will have the whole summer to practice them.' This way, Severus didn't feel so bad. After all, he was teaching the bra… hum, the kid.
'Thanks!' Said Sebastian. If only they didn't have years of hating each other, he could start to believe that this man wasn't so awful.
'You're welcome. Now, onto the second subject: your scar. You may not know it, or you deduced it on Moody's face, but there is no easy way to make a scar disappear. No scar remover if you prefer. Once it's on your body, it stays. The only way I can think of is to re-open the wound and re-heal it correctly. I have here a very powerful healing ointment. It has never failed me and usually doesn't leave any scar. The one on your forehead being a connection with the Dark Lord, I don't think that this will sever the connection, but it might make the scar on your skin less visible. This is only a theory but it's worth a try. And we will also follow the same protocol for every scar on your body. Any one of them is a trace of a past that is no longer yours. We need to erase those traces.' Said Severus very seriously.
'Does it mean that we are going to reopen every wound that left a scar?' Asked Sebastian while looking at the knife on the table. He didn't have only one scar. The Dursleys left a lot on his body!
'Yes. Can you tell me if you have any, apart from this one?' Asked Severus, showing the younger's head.
'Well, there are several very tiny ones that I am sure no one saw. I will be able to take care of them myself. But I will need help for three. One on my arm, where Pettigrew took some blood at the end of the Tournament last year. One on my leg, where Aunt… where Marge's dog bit me when I was young. And one on my hand. Umbridge.' Said Sebastian. While listing, he showed each to Severus to let him decide how to proceed.
'We will have to deal with them tonight. The one on your leg will prevent you from walking for a few hours and we have other things to do. For today, you will wear a cap, at all times. My chimney is connected to the Floo Network and if I receive a call, someone might see you. It usually doesn't happen, but Dumbledore is known to be eccentric.' Said Severus, a bit uneasy. He checked his watch. 'It's past ten already, and we still need to do the groceries. Go put these in your room and get dressed.'
Groceries was a mundane task. The only two extraordinary things this time was transportation and his ex-professor. Transportation, because he Side-Apparted for the first time. And Severus, because it was very strange for Sebastian to see the gloomy Potion Master in a cheerful supermarket. That was a vision in itself! But for the main part, it has been boring for Sebastian. He made sure to purchase various cleaning supplies, including a carpet cleaning foam. He wasn't sure if the house had electricity so he opted for products that could be used with either a sponge or a brush. And he listened to his older brother monologue for a whole hour about their new separate and shared past.
'Sebastian, make sure to focus on me as I will not be repeating that information. I will consider that you know as if you lived the events, and we really shared those moments', started Severus. 'My- Sorry, our mother, Eileen Prince was a Pureblood born in 1930. We never celebrated her birthdays. Or any birthday really. She started Hogwarts in 1941 and was sorted in Slytherin. She was not very popular, but she liked to play Gobstones. She became the captain of her team and then President of the Club. When she graduated, she tried to create new kinds of liquids to put in and new features for Gobstones but she was never able to sell them. At some point she met my- our father here, in Cokeworth, she became pregnant. Her parents were less than impressed by that and forced her to marry him. I don't think that she ever heard of them after the wedding. I was born on January 9th, 1960. To say that they weren't a great match is an understatement. I was never mistreated but I think it's because she kept our father in check. She was the only protection I had against him, and she took all the mental and emotional abuse without complaining to me. Don't pity her though. She could give just as much as she received. This is the main thing I remember from my childhood: my- our parents yelling at each other. I went into Hogwarts in 1971 and graduated in 1978. Now is where your story begins. In late 1979, when our mother was 49 years old, she became pregnant again. We could call that last minute gift I suppose. You were born on August 15th, 1980, and you were named Sebastian Tobias Snape. Remember that it's important. I was already a double spy at this point, so I didn't share your birth with any of my acquaintances. You have vague memories of our mother before our drunk father killed him and covered it as an accident. She presumably fell off the stairs. Our father died in prison in 1987. Everybody knew that he was a drunk and that they argued all the time. Our mother died in 1987, you were 7 years old. You were playing in the park after dark and the policemen found you. You didn't want to go home because you didn't feel safe there, said it to the policemen who decided to walk with you and check by himself. He found our father trying to move our mother's body to the back of the house. You spent a few days in foster care the time for me to informed and come back from Hogwarts. I took you in charge and found you a family that would be able to raise you. Because you were 7 and didn't show any magical abilities, I chose a muggle family to take care of you, suspecting that you were a Squib. You will be able to add a few details from your past life in those years but not too much. We don't want to raise any suspicions. This spring, the family informed me that they wanted to move to New Zealand and couldn't take you with them as you are not their son. We decided that, going on 16, you were old enough to take care of yourself during the summer and that you would go to a boarding school during the year. That should explain why I continued living my life as if I didn't have the responsibility of a child. We have never spent too much time together, only on weekends during the summers, which is why we don't know a lot of details about each other. We live along each other, mostly. Is everything clear?'
'Yes, sir.'
After an awful travel back home, Sebastian started to put the groceries away and discovered that the kitchen was furnished with electricity and gaz. That was a relief. But he couldn't find the fridge! He observed Severus and discovered that one of the cabinets had cooling charms on it to keep food fresh.
'I guess I should share mundane events that happened with my muggle family with you then. Things that I would have shared with you during the summer', started Sebastian, watching the older one beginning to cook.
'If you insist', answered Severus, while was close enough to a 'yes' in Sebastian's opinion.
'I went to a zoo once. I saw the sea for the first time when I was 11 years old. I didn't really like it as there was a storm and we didn't go swimming or playing. I never went abroad so that's good because that's why I came to live with you. I am not really good at muggle school because I find magic more interesting, even if I can't do any as a Squib. I don't like dogs because of my Aunt- oh. How should I call them? Is Aunt, Uncle and Cousin, okay?' asked Sebastian.
'It should do the trick most of the time, but we will need to find new names for them. It's good that you are taking ownership of your new past. It will get easier to lie if you truly believe it's true. But always stay close enough to the truth that you can provided details if needed. Lunch is ready', answered Severus.
Sebastian spent the whole lunch inventing silly names for his muggle foster family. Severus ate in silence but let him do, which was the best he could do to maintain a nice, if one-sided, conversation. Finally, they settled for the Davies family with Uncle Edward, Aunt Iris, and Cousin David. After lunch, Sebastian took his new cleaning supplies and started with the bathroom and his bedroom. He was going to need a vacuuming spell for the carpet, but he would do as much as he could for now. He then moved downstairs and quickly did the living room before starting on the kitchen. This was, with the bathroom, the room that need the most care. He finished just in time for Severus to start preparing dinner.
'Are you more relaxed in the house now?', asked Severus.
'Yes, thank you. I just need to learn a few spells to make it perfect, but I think I managed to get a good result. Do you want me to do your bedroom too?' said Sebastian.
'My bedroom is off-limits to you Po- Sebastian', answered Severus.
Sebastian didn't answer, felling that he was approaching a limit. It was fascinating to watch his ex-professor cook. He was doing it with the same exact precision that one would use with potion. But, judging with the food they had for lunch, it was lacking spices and could get undercooked because he didn't re-adjust the fire to the meat, for example. And Sebastian felt inside of him something that he though was over since a long time. He wanted to prove himself to his professor. Prove him that he was worth the trouble to have a brother.
'You know, maybe tomorrow I should cook. Just to try and see if you like it. I used to cook at my aunt's place. They liked it. And it's not like potion, if I add a little too much of salt, nothing will explode!', said Sebastian.
'Over my dead body. You would be able to make salted water explode, and don't get me started on cooking. I do not enjoy eating ashes', said Severus. Some things would take time to change. But Sebastian could give him that. He already made the house a little safer to live in by cleaning it. Even if the food was bland, it wasn't a high price to pay for his new brother ego.
Dinner was quiet until Sebastian started the conversation.
'Severus?' started Sebastian.
'Yes?'
'We didn't have time to talk about how the escape went', said Sebastian.
'Seeing that you are here, I must have happened according to my plan. Unless you took liberties', Severus was now starring at him.
'Everything was fine, and I didn't do anything stupid. There's just… At the bank, I asked if I had more than one vault and- ', started Sebastian.
'Everybody knows there is only one vault per family or per person. There's nothing more than what I asked you to pick up to pay for your school. We will talk more about the finances tomorrow; you don't need to worry about that.' Severus interrupted him.
'But there's more. I met with the Goblin who supervise my vault and he told me that several people gave me money when they died. Dumbledore had it put into a deposit vault until I turn 17. And there was also Grimmauld Place. I don't want that house, but I guess we will need to figure out something for the Order. Anyway, I met with a Lawyer and-. Don't look at me like that, I was very careful and just said that I was worried because I would have to fight in a war. The Lawyer told me that I couldn't do anything because I was still a child. But that doesn't make any sense. I was in the Triwizard Tournament, and it was only open for those who were 17 and more. I don't understand why I couldn't make a Will'.
Severus sighed heavily. Of course, the Headmaster wouldn't have explained that to the kid.
'Sebastian, what happened last year made every responsible adult very uncomfortable. There were some who didn't see any problem with the situation but let me explain. The age limit is not a rule of the Tournament. It had been added but the Ministry to keep children safe. When your name is chosen by the cup, you enter in a magical contract. If you were to break that contract, consequence could vary but you would most likely lose your magic and become a Squib. Only an adult can make the decision and take the risk, which is why the age limit has been added. Many young witches and wizards lost their life in a Task because they were too afraid to forfeit and lose their magic. I remember that Minerva, Professor McGonagall, was very unhappy with letting you compete but it was for the best considering the situation.' explained Severus.
'But why didn't that made me an adult?', asked Sebastian.
'Because to get emancipated you need to prove that you are responsible for yourself in every way. Not that you just happened to be chosen in a game. Life is not a game! There are bills to pay, taxes to fill, work that needs to be done. And you competing in the Tournament was just a fix to a fluke. There was no Wizenmagot meeting and no judge saying that you were fit to take care of yourself. Especially since your relatives were able to do so. I am sorry if you can't cheat your way into adulthood, it just doesn't work like that. There are laws that are in place to protect children, and this is a good thing' explained Severus with more heat.
'But how about the money?' asked Sebastian.
'What did the Lawyer tell you?'
'That I couldn't take it, because I was too young. That I couldn't make a Will because I am not an adult… Oh! The Goblin said that if I keep my key, I can give it to someone, and that person can pick up the money when it is transferred to my vault. Oh… So, there's no problem, right? I can just go get it next year. As long as I am not declared dead. We should make sure that people think that I just disappeared but not dead. At least until next summer.' Said Sebastian.
'So, you already have you solution. Be careful, one more reasoning like that and I might begin to think that there's more than a Gryffindor in that head', said Severus with half a smile. Sebastian felt pride bulging in his chest. He then remembered of another problem.
'What about Grimmauld? Siri- He gave it to me in his Will. Will the Order still be able to use it?' asked Sebastian.
'I don't think so, but this is not your problem anymore. Albus, Professor Dumbledore, will find another location. If you want it, I really don't see how you can legally have it. I can make some research if you want', offered Severus.
'No! No, I really don't want it. It's better if it just disappears. Or maybe we could burn it to the ground.'
'We will see to that in a few years. Too much happening at the same time would raise suspicions. Now if you are done re-inventing yourself as a pyromaniac, we need to deal with your scar. The Dark Lord will most likely want a debrief of the situation in Hogwarts and may call me tonight. The sooner we take care of it, the better.'
With those last words, they set the dishes to be magically cleaned and moved upstairs. If Severus saw the changes in the cleanliness of the stairs, carpet and bedroom, he didn't say anything. Sebastian went to sit on his bed and waited. Severus joined him after adding a pain relief potion and some bandages to the healing potion and the knife on the bedside table.
'You will take the pain relief potion first, as I expect that it would be really painful otherwise. You should also lay down while I do it, this way you are not moving. I will begin with your forehead as it is the emergency, then treat the scars on your leg, arm and hand. If you want to stop at any time, just say it and we can stop and continue tomorrow. Clear?' asked Severus.
Sebastian was too stressed to speak. He could feel a ball in his throat. He grabbed the pain relief potion, gulped it and laid down on his bed, thinking that it was as close as a 'yes' it could be. Severus took the knife and bandages, moved closer to him and started to re-open the tale-telling scar. It worked at first but soon, Sebastian started to feel in scar burning in a very painful way, even with the potion. Severus continued to move, trying to be as fast as possible, but Sebastian soon began to scream and couldn't stay still. He was so lost in his pain that he didn't realize what happened next, but Severus saw it very clearly. While Sebastian lost consciousness, the ghostly face of the Dark Lord came out of the scar, screaming around and frightening Severus to the core. When it all calmed down and the ghostly face returned to the scar, Severus took several minutes to process what happened. The boy laying unconscious next to him had a bad curse on that scar. It was not going to be easy to get ride of it! What if the Dark Lord felt their little experiment? What if he saw it? Questions were turning in Severus' head before he remembered that he would know soon enough and that he was on a tight schedule tonight. He applied a bandage on the forehead and moved on to the hand. That was another bad one. He had heard tales of what Umbridge did to the children in detention, but his snakes never had any. He always made sure to cover them himself. Now he had proof that this woman should have been charged with torture on children. The Ministry was so corrupt that it probably wouldn't have changed anything but at least people would have known not to let their children around her. He worked fast and soon, his brother's hand, arm and leg were covered in bandages. He collected everything on the bedside table and went to the kitchen to put everything away. He was about to sit on his armchair and take the time to think about the strange curse he just witnessed when he felt the Mark on his arm burn his flesh.
His Master was calling him.