Year 4 Part 5 (chapter 21)
Word count: 2.3k
Warning: Mentions of death
It's two in the morning - people are finally going to sleep as the Yule Ball has come to an end. The Headmaster let the students go to bed late to enjoy the party a bit more.
Thank Merlin it's the weekend now, otherwise Severus wouldn't have been able to teach these dunderheads - extremely exhausted dunderheads.
Severus is strolling in the halls, trying to find more misbehaving students. Most of them are refusing to go to bed - well, that is until their tired brains register which professor they are talking to.
He holds back a smirk when they run towards their common room.
As he decides to head to his private chambers, he sees Y/L/N walking towards the Slytherin common room. The girl spots her Head of House.
"Oh, hello, professor. I was just about to go to bed" she says, giving him a shy smile.
"That is good, at least I don't have to make you go to bed like your fellow classmates" he says, sighing in irritation.
She chuckles a bit. "I'm sorry to hear that they aren't listening to you. I'm sure a few house points taken from them will do the job. Good night, sir" she shyly says.
"Good night, Y/L/N" he says as the girl turns around to enter the portrait.
Before she does so, he clears his throat. "Oh, and Y/L/N?" he asks.
The girl turns around, giving him her full attention.
"I like your dress" he suddenly compliments.
Her dress is long and green with thin straps. Narcissa did a good job on finding one for her.
Y/L/N blushes at his compliment. "Thank you so much, sir" she says, giving a big smile.
"You look good, too" she suddenly blurts out before covering her mouth with her hand. She clearly didn't mean to say that.
Severus just chuckles at her. "You are tired, Y/L/N. You should get some sleep" he tells her.
He's sure she only said that because she's tired. Nobody could find him good-looking, right?
The girl slowly nods. "Right... Sleep well, sir" she says just before hurrying inside the common room.
Severus smirks as he heads towards his private chambers for yet another sleepless night.
--
Later, it's afternoon as Severus once again strolls in the halls. He sees Argus furiously cleaning up after last night's event as he mutters threats to the students under his breath. Ignoring him and his cat, Severus moves on.
Draco spots his Godfather. "There you are! We haven't talked much lately. To be fair, I have been quite busy bothering Potter about his poor attempts at his first task" the boy says as he smirks.
Severus rolls his eyes. The boy has always been obsessed with bothering the Boy Who Lived. He wonders how often Lucius hears about this.
The boy then sighs in annoyance. "Honestly, I cannot stand Professor Moody! He's horrible!" he exclaims, complaining about the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.
His Head of House raises an eyebrow at him. "Yes, Y/L/N told me that he taught you the three Unforgivables" he says. He wonders what else the Auror has taught them.
Draco huffs. "Yes, he made a spider land on my face... But that's not all! He turned me into a ferret, humiliating me in front of Potter and his friends! Crabbe and Goyle were there, too. Thank Merlin Pansy wasn't nearby" he says, sighing in relief at the thought.
Once again, Severus rolls his eyes. He then decides to change the subject.
"Anyway, what did you ask Y/L/N while the two of you were dancing at the Yule Ball?" he questions.
The boy smirks. "Oh, nothing you have to worry about" he simply says, not wanting to tell him.
Just as Severus is about to ask again, Y/L/N spots them.
"Oh, hello, Professor Snape and Draco" she says as she smiles.
"Hi, Y/N. I hope you had fun last night. You woke up late" Draco teases.
The girl blushes. "Yeah, I was quite tired" she admits.
As Severus is about to ask if she just woke up, Moody approaches them.
Draco immediately glares at him. The Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher ignores the boy as he looks at Y/L/N.
"Your father is Y/F/N Y/L/N, is he not?" Moody asks with venom in his voice.
The girl looks surprised by his tone. "Um... Yes, he is, sir" she says, looking a bit uncomfortable.
He huffs. "I'm sure you think you know him so well, but in reality, you don't know him at all" he harshly says.
Severus looks puzzled. What in Merlin's name is the Auror talking about?
The man with the fake eye then limps away from the three of them.
"Strange, what was that about?" Draco questions.
Y/L/N sighs. "I have absolutely no idea" she admits.
Severus clears his throat. "Why don't we head to the Great Hall? It is lunch time very soon" he says, still deep in thought about what just happened.
The two teenagers nod as the three of them start to walk. As they do so, Severus can't help but wonder what Moody knows that he doesn't.
--
Two weeks later, the Christmas season is over which means the lessons have started again.
Today is the ninth of January. Severus' birthday.
It's always a rather lonely day for him, even though he does have classes to teach. Albus and Minerva do wish him a happy birthday, so does Lucius who sends him a letter as well as a bottle of firewhiskey, but that's about it.
The Potions Master is currently in the Potions classroom, sighing. He's grading papers and can't seem to focus.
He's speculating too much - about the mysterious death of Y/L/N's mother, which isn't so mysterious to Lucius... The Dark Lord's possible return... Finding a book he has never read before... And what Moody knows about Y/L/N's father.
His train of thoughts is interrupted by a knock.
He sighs in annoyance. "Enter" he states loudly.
The door opens to reveal Y/L/N. The girl shyly smiles.
"Hi, sir. I hope I'm not interrupting" she says.
Severus looks at the stack of papers to grade and then at the girl.
"You aren't, don't worry" he assures, ignoring his work on the table.
Not looking too convinced, the girl nods anyway.
"Well, this won't take long. I just have something to give you" she states as she hands him something. It looks like a present.
"Draco told me that today is your birthday. Happy birthday, sir" she shyly says.
Severus slowly blinks, looking quite surprised. Did she just give him a present?
Once he has recovered from the shock, he decides to open it. He elegantly unwraps the paper and opens the box.
Inside is a book... A book he indeed has never read before.
"I hope you like it. I'm sorry if you have already read it at least one hundred times" she apologises, looking unsure whether or not her present is okay.
Severus clears his throat. "I have in fact never read this one. Thank you, Y/L/N. You didn't have to" he says as he grabs the book, looking intrigued. He can't wait to read it.
"Of course I had to. You do so much for us, but nobody ever does anything for you" she explains.
He's taken aback by her words. They aren't completely true - she has done a lot for him.
She always helps organise the shelves and clean the classroom... And always brings a small smile on his face when nobody is watching.
As he's about to protest, she looks at the time.
"I'm so sorry, sir. I promised Draco to help him with his Herbology homework. See you later" she says as she gives him a small wave. She leaves the room.
Severus looks between the stack of papers and his new book. Ignoring his work once again, he reads his book instead.
He finishes it in one day. It might already be over, but it made his day much better...
It may have been his best birthday ever.
--
A little over a month later, it's the champions' second task. Everybody is gathered at the Black Lake.
"Welcome to the second task. Last night, something was stolen from each of our champions. A treasure, of sorts. These four treasures, one for each champion, now lie on the bottom of the Black Lake. In order to win, each champion need only find their treasure and return to the surface. Simple enough, except for this - they will have one hour to do so, and one hour only. After that, they will be on their own. No magic will save them. You may begin at the start of the canon" the Headmaster declares once he has explained the rules.
Severus notices Potter putting something in his mouth as the boy starts to cough while Moody stands beside him.
The Potions Master wonders... Somebody has stolen ingredients from his storage lately. Gillyweed is one of them. Could the boy have taken it?
Not even two seconds later, the sound of the canon can be heard. The champions immediately jump into the water - except for Potter. Moody has to push the boy.
Once all the four champions are deep into the water, Severus frowns.
"Do we seriously have to just watch the Black Lake until they return, Albus?" he questions the Headmaster who has taken the seat next to him.
Albus' eyes sparkle. "Yes, Severus. That is exactly what we have to" the Headmaster states.
Severus sighs. This is going to be a long hour...
He suddenly notices Longbottom looking extremely worried. Just then, something jumps in the air only to swim back into the lake...
Severus grits his teeth. It's Potter. He did steal the gillyweed!
Not long after, Fleur Delacour appears - but empty-handed.
"The Beauxbaton champion, Ms. Delacour, has unfortunately been forced to retire, so she will take no further part in this task" Albus explains while they make sure the girl gets safely back on the ground as they wrap a blanket around her.
Almost an hour later, Cedric Diggory is the first to appear on the surface. His treasure was Cho Chang. People cheer when they spot them.
Not long after, Hermione Granger and a shark appear only for the shark to turn into Victor Krum. All the Durmstrang boys cheer for him. Igor looks extremely proud.
Meanwhile, Delacour looks very worried. Her treasure won't be saved as she can't partake in the task...
Other people look worried as well while they anxiously wait for the Potter boy to return.
Just as the clock ticks, two people emerge - Ronald Weasley and a young girl. She must be Delacour's younger sister as the Beauxbaton champion reaches out a hand for the young girl to grab. Potter must have saved both of them.
Speaking of the boy, where is he?
As everybody fears the worst, Potter is suddenly thrown out of the lake and lands onto the ground in front of the Headmaster. The boy is trying his best to breathe as they wrap a blanket around him.
Delacour approaches him, thanking him for saving her little sister. She kisses his cheek, Weasley's cheek as well. Severus may vomit.
As all the students are cheering loudly, Albus gains their attention. "Attention!" he shouts. People are covering their ears.
"The winner is... Mr. Diggory, who showed innate command of the Bubble-Head Charm!" he announces. People cheer for that.
"However, seeing as Mr. Potter would have finished first, had it not been for his determination to rescue not only Mr. Weasley but the others as well, we've agreed to award him second place!" the Headmaster then declares. Everybody cheers for that.
Igor does not seem happy to hear that as it means Krum is awarded third place.
--
Later that day, Igor bugs Severus in his storage room and keeps talking about the Dark Lord's possible return.
"You know what it means!" he yells as he shows his left arm.
Just then, Potter shows up, looking surprised.
Igor immediately rolls down his sleeve and leaves, looking angry.
Just as Potter is about to leave as well, Severus stops him.
"Potter! What's your hurry?" he questions, raising an eyebrow at him.
As the boy turns around to look at him, the Potions Master looks at him as well with his usual unreadable expression.
"Congratulations, your performance in the Black Lake was inspiring. Gillyweed, am I correct?" Severus asks, wanting the boy to admit it.
"Yes, sir" Potter confesses.
"Ingenious," Severus says as he walks into the storage room.
"A rather rare herb, gillyweed. Not something found in your everyday garden..." he continues as he walks up the ladder to grab a potion.
"Nor is this" he finishes as he walks down the ladder. He shows the potion to the boy.
"Know what it is?" he questions the boy, raising an eyebrow.
"Bubble Juice, sir?" Potter sarcastically suggests, not knowing the answer.
"Veritaserum," Severus reveals.
"Three drops of this and You-Know-Who would spill his darkest secrets. The use of it on a student is... regrettably, forbidden... However, should you ever steal from my personal stores again, my hand might just... slip... over your morning pumpkin juice" he warns.
The boy immediately shakes his head. "I haven't stolen anything" he quickly says.
"Don't. Lie. To me" Severus snaps, giving a warning look.
"Gillyweed may be an innocuous, but boomslang skin? Less-wing flies? You and your little friends are brewing Polyjuice Potion, and believe me, I'm going to find out why" he accuses, slowly starting to yell at the boy.
Before the boy can answer, Severus slams the door shut so Potter is facing a door instead of his Potions Master.
Severus sighs in irritation. What is Potter and his friends up to?
