Author's Note:
Warning: BUCKLE UP!
This is a long chapter, and I'm not going to lie, things are about to go a little nuts. I'm talking drama. Angst. There's a lot going on here so I hope you have mentally prepared yourselves for this journey.
Thank you to everyone who has sent me comments and messages and shared with me about how they related to my story and characters (I loved reading that I wasn't the only one forced to say "Mr./Mrs." my whole life, LOL)- you inspired me so much I sat down and wrote 25K words in the last few days. You're the best. THANK YOU!
Patrick waited for Coco to come through the door before he closed it behind them. They sat on the floor across from one another with Coco laying her head in Patrick's lap as he rubbed her absentmindedly behind her ears.
"You're gonna love this, mate," Patrick said as he leaned his back against the side of the bed. "Me and Rhodri have been planning this for a while, and I reckon this will be the day for it. Have you been down to the seaside yet?"
Harry nodded his head, reaching out to give Coco a rub on her belly. "Yeah, I went with my dad once, we just kicked the football around and went for a walk."
"That sounds boring," Patrick responded, smirking.
Harry tried not to blush. That had actually been one of his favorite memories with Snape. He'd only been to the beach a handful of times in his life, and other than that, they'd all been pretty miserable. He reflected back on that day and how Snape had passed the ball with him, and then put his arm around him while they looked out on the waves. Afterward they'd gone for fish 'n chips. It had been a pretty perfect day.
But he snapped himself out of it, not wanting to seem sentimental and babyish in front of Patrick. "It was OK," he said as he shrugged his shoulders, but deep down he felt guilty for downplaying what had been quite a wonderful afternoon.
"Well, did you see the caves then?" Patrick asked, as the right side of his mouth lifted into a smirk.
Harry shook his head. "Caves? No, we just walked along the beach."
Patrick laughed, "Oh, mate, wait 'til you hear this. There's a whole system of caves that opens out near the beach. Some of them connect into tunnels that they say go all the way to the mines. Everyone says there's hidden treasures in there. Like, gold and diamonds and things. It's supposed to be real lush."
"Have you been in there before?" Harry asked, nervous but intrigued. While most kids his age would be scared of dark tunnels, Harry had spent nearly 10 years of his life locked up in a cupboard, so if there was one thing he wasn't afraid of, it was dark, confined spaces.
"I haven't, but Gavin's older brother has seen it. He showed him where to enter the caves, but you have to do it at low tide, otherwise there's too much water inside." Patrick leaned down and gave Coco a kiss on her head.
Harry knew this sounded quite dangerous, but he had to admit he was intrigued. Snape didn't technically say he couldn't go down by the ocean. As long as they told Ms. Owens, they wouldn't be breaking any rules. Besides, they had all day, they could go for a quick adventure and be back well before the man came home.
"So, when's low tide then?" Harry asked, completely oblivious to things like the tides, having never spent a great deal of time by the sea.
"I looked in the paper this morning, it should be around 2:00 today. We can hang out here for lunch, and then we can ride our bikes down to the bluffs and hike to the caves. Rhodri and Gavin said they'd meet us. Well, Rhodri at least. Gavin's kind of a scardy cat, I'm not sure if he'll want to go in, I think his brother gave him a good scare."
"Isn't Gavin's brother the one whose been in the caves? Maybe it's too dangerous, maybe it's not the best idea to go after all," Harry said, worrying out loud, knowing for certain this was not an adventure that Snape would approve of. If he could use Gavin as an excuse to avoid it, maybe that was for the best.
Patrick laughed out loud, "Gavin's a baby, he's just scared of the dark. You're not scared of the dark, are you? Or maybe you're just scared your daddy will get mad at you."
Harry gasped, Patrick had hit the nail right on the head. Yes, he was definitely afraid of making Snape angry. He knew exactly what would happen to him if Snape found out where they were, and he was entirely sure that it would end extremely poorly for him and his backside. But he would never admit that out loud, certainly not to Patrick.
"I'm not afraid of the dark," Harry replied, pushing his shoulders back and giving Patrick his most cocky attitude. "I'm not really afraid of anything."
"You sure?" Patrick smirked. "Your dad seems pretty strict. Wouldn't want him to scold you and put you on the naughty step." He laughed out loud again when he looked at Harry's face. "I saw him tell you off that day when I came to your door. You're afraid of him, aren't you? Does he make you stand in the corner? Send you to bed early?" Patrick had rolled back on the floor laughing and wrestling gently with Coco.
Harry's face got bright red. Yes, in fact Snape did all of those things. He also spanked him, hard. And as much as he hated all of that, he hated disappointing him more. Although he was initially filled with shame at what Patrick said, after a minute, Harry started to grow angry. Snape might be strict, but he cared for Harry, and even when it annoyed him, or even pissed him off, Harry was glad to have someone looking after him for the first time in his life.
"Yeah, so what, he's a bit strict sometimes, but at least he cares about what I'm up to. You've never had a dad, so what would you know about it." Harry meant every word, but as soon as the words had escaped his mouth he instantly regretted saying them out loud. He knew he'd struck a low blow when he saw Patrick's face fall instantly from a cocky smile to shocked and angry and finally to somewhat broken.
Silence filled the room momentarily and Coco sat up and whined, feeling the tension between the two boys.
Harry spoke first. "Sorry, that was out of order. If it makes you feel better, I've never really had a mum, so I don't know what that's like."
Patrick's face still looked annoyed, but he accepted Harry's apology with a nod. "It's OK, I probably shouldn't have teased you about it. But I'm not gonna lie, you're dad's massively scary."
Harry chuckled a little in agreement. "Mate, you have no idea. You should see him at school. Even the 7th years are afraid of him!"
They both laughed and the tension dissipated instantly. "So, it's settled then. We're gonna check out the caves. We just have to tell my mum we're going for a bike ride and she won't say a thing. We'll just explore for a bit and then come home. No one will know. I'll pack a backpack with a torch and things."
"Cool," Harry said, just happy that Patrick didn't seem to be angry with him anymore. He smiled, but as soon he felt a deep gnawing in the pit of his stomach. He should have listened to it, but as usual, he ignored it, desperate for the acceptance of his new friend, and craving that hit of an adrenaline rush he hadn't felt for weeks. He leaned over and put his arms around Coco, nuzzling into her face as he pushed away the warnings going off in his body that were begging him not to go.
As soon as Snape got back to the cottage, he collected his notes and gave himself one last rehearsal in front of the mirror. He changed into his most elegant wizarding clothes, adjusted his cufflinks and smoothed down his frock coat before grabbing his finest dress robes and floo'ing to Master Barclay's house.
Master Barclay was waiting patiently for him when he stepped through the fireplace. "Would you like a cup of tea? Or perhaps a brandy?" he offered, recognizing that the young man must be nervous.
Snape couldn't help his lip curling up slightly. "As much as I'd love an aperitif, perhaps 11am is a little early, even for me. A cup of tea, if you please."
"Certainly," said Master Barclay, tapping his wand on the table. A few moments later a tea set appeared and Snape took a seat on the chez while he sipped a nice Oolong.
Over the next hour, Snape and Barclay discussed their strategy. Snape practiced his speech, and Master Barclay gave him notes. They went through each member of the board, one-by-one, and Master Barclay told him who he needed to target and what he needed to say to secure the vote from each of them.
Thankfully Snape had a nearly photographic memory, and he absorbed every word, knowing exactly what he needed to do when he got to the meeting. After a small pep-talk from Barclay, they each touched their wands to an APM pin on their robes, muttered the secret incantation and were taken by port-key to the APM headquarters.
"Boys, come down and have some lunch!"
They could hear Patrick's mum yelling up the stairs from inside his room. Harry got up to go when Patrick pulled him back. "Not yet, let's pack up our adventure gear first." Patrick went back to rummaging in the cupboard and Harry sat back on the floor with Coco.
When they didn't open the door or come downstairs, Elizabeth yelled up again, louder. "Boys! Lunch!"
Patrick was somewhat irritated and opened the door to yell back down the stairs at her. "Shut up, mum, we heard you. We're busy, OK, we'll come down when we feel like it." And then he slammed his bedroom door for emphasis. He looked at Harry and rolled his eyes. "She's so annoying."
Harry just stared at him with a look of utter horror on his face. He couldn't imagine what Snape would do to him if he'd acted that way. He was pretty sure his life would end immediately. Snape would just flick his wand and he would drop dead. His gravestone would read: "Here Lies Harry Potter, a stupid, silly boy who dared to tell his guardian to shut up before slamming his door for the final time." Harry secretly vowed he'd never slam his door again now that he understood exactly why Snape found it so disrespectful.
He waited to see if Elizabeth would come up the stairs to shout at Patrick, but nothing happened. Perhaps that's what shocked Harry even more. Coco laid her head on his lap and he rubbed her behind her ears while he waited for Patrick to finish packing his adventure kit.
"OK, I think I got everything," Patrick said as he zipped up his backpack. "I'm hungry, let's go down and eat."
Harry followed him down the stairs bracing himself for some kind of confrontation, but when they got to the kitchen, Elizabeth just smiled at them as if nothing happened. "You boys finally hungry then?"
"Yeah mum, and I need you to make us some extra sandwiches we can take with us, we're going on a bike ride. I don't know when we'll be back"
"Of course, Paddy. You boys sit down and eat your lunch and I'll make some sandwiches. Are you OK with cheese and tomato, Harry?"
Harry looked up and smiled, "Yes ma'am, that's fine." Elizabeth returned the smile and then went to the stove to dish up two plates of pasta.
Patrick and Harry ate quickly while Elizabeth packed up several sandwiches and set them on the table. Patrick grabbed them without saying a word and put them into his backpack.
"You boys have fun. Try not to be back too late, Harry's father will be here around 6." She put her hands on Patrick's shoulder and gave him a quick squeeze before leaving the boys alone in the kitchen to fold laundry in the living room.
Harry stood up to take his plate and glass to the kitchen sink when Patrick looked up at him with a questioning look on his face.
"What are you doing? Just leave 'em and my mum'll take care of it."
"It's fine, I don't mind," Harry said with a shrug. And by that he meant that he knew for a fact that Snape would be fuming if he just left a mess on the table and got up without a word.
"I said leave it," Patrick snapped. Not wanting the confrontation, Harry put the dishes back down on the table. "Come on, I want to get there while it's still low tide or we won't be able to get in the caves."
Patrick picked up the backpack and slung it over his shoulder before shouting out to his mother in the other room. "We're leaving!" he said as he bounded for the door.
Harry followed behind him before turning around and poking his head into the living room, "Thanks Ms. Owens, lunch was great. See you later."
Before she had a chance to respond, Patrick grabbed Harry's arm and dragged him to the door. "Stop being such a suck up," he sneered. "Let's go."
When they got to the bluffs, Gavin and Rhodri were hanging out on their bikes near the car park.
"Hiya lads, you up for an adventure then?" Patrick shouted as he hopped off his bike. Harry pulled up a few seconds behind him and unclipped his helmet, taking it off and running his fingers through his hair.
Gavin looked nervous. "I said I'd show you how to get in the cave, but I'm not going in. Besides, I have to get back home for a piano lesson later."
Patrick snickered. "Sure, Gavin, whatever you say. See, Harry, I told you he was going to chicken out."
"I'm not chickening out, I just have to get back home. But you guys should be careful, my brother says it's haunted and stuff. From kids who died there. It's not a joke, Patrick."
Rhodri joined in. "So now you're afraid of ghosts and the dark?" He and Patrick both laughed.
Harry wanted to stick up for Gavin but he didn't know any of them well enough so he just stayed quiet.
"Alright, your loss Gavin. You coming Harry or you going to chicken out too?" Patrick had his signature cocky look on and was standing in a lean, with his arms crossed over his chest.
"I'm coming," Harry replied, and followed the boys down a small trail that led down the bluffs toward the ocean. About ⅔ of the way down the trail, Gavin stepped off to the side and pointed at a small hole surrounded by rocks.
"This is it. Shine your light down there, Rhodri," Gavin said, pointing at the hole.
Patrick pulled the torch out of his bag and handed it to Rhodri who flipped it on and shined it down between the rocks. "Wicked!
"Lemme see," said Patrick as he pushed Rhodri over and leaned into the hole. "Oh wow, it's huge!"
"I'll go first," said Rhodri. "Shine the light in while I climb down." The floor of the cave looked to be about six feet down, but the tunnel was at an incline so it wasn't a sharp drop. Rhodri got down on his hands and knees and lowered himself into the tunnel, feeling for rocks along the side where he could place his hands and feet. When he reached the bottom he shouted up. "This place is awesome! Hurry up!"
"Here, you hold the light for me while I climb down." Patrick shoved the torch into Harry's hands as he started to climb down. "Put the torch in my backpack, Harry and toss it down. I'll light the way for you from here."
Harry did as instructed and put the torch in the bag before he handed it down into the hole.
"You have to drop it, I'll catch it," Patrick shouted up. Harry let go and he heard the bag fall into the boy's arms.
A few seconds later, the light was shining up the tunnel and Harry took a deep breath and then lowered himself in. His feet slipped along the wall until he felt a small shelf where he could steady his feet. One step at a time, he climbed backwards through the tunnel until he felt sand under his shoes.
Patrick shined the light around and the boys were all super impressed. Harry had to admit, this was really cool. The ceiling wasn't very high but there were stalactites hanging from above and the walls were smooth, dark stone. Even though he knew they were only a few feet from the surface, it felt like they'd gone down into the center of the earth.
Rhodri took the torch and led the way, and the boys walked about 50 meters deep into the cave. They got to a little antechamber where it was dry and they sat down on the rocks, not wanting to go too far too soon. They sat for a little while and Patrick and Rhodri shared stories they'd heard about what was in the caves. Besides the myth about hidden treasure and pirate hangouts, Patrick said he'd heard there used to be a secret society who would meet there in the 18th century.
After 30 minutes, Patrick stood up. "Well, we might as well go explore a bit. Maybe we can make a map and then we can come back here and have secret meetings, or even hide our own treasure!"
Once again, Rhodri led the way as they followed the tunnels. The walls started to narrow around them, but the boys kept going, not wanting to look afraid in front of the others. Eventually the tunnel widened again until they got to a place where the single tunnel split into two.
"Oh, I heard about this," said Patrick. "Gavin's brother said that these two tunnels will reconnect at the end. You should be able to take either of them and end up in the same place."
"Where'd you hear that?" Rhodri asked. "He never told me that. But I say we take the one on the left," he said, shining his light down both of them and deciding the left one looked more hospitable.
"I've got an idea," said Patrick. "Why don't you and me take the one on the left, and Harry can take the one on the right."
"We should probably stick together," Harry said, not wanting to go off on his own in the cave.
"I thought you said you're not scared of the dark?" Patrick taunted. "Or did you get down here and realize it's too scary for you. Maybe we should have left you with Gavin."
Harry was irritated at being taunted. "I'm not afraid of the dark."
"Then prove it," said Patrick. "This will be like an initiation into our club. After that, you'll be like a real member of our group. We'll come up with a name and everything. Like I said, the two tunnels meet up a few hundred meters down. We'll be there waiting for you."
"I don't have a torch," said Harry. "How am I supposed to see?"
"That's the whole test, you muppet. You've got to just feel your way along the wall. It's a real test of bravery and adventure." Patrick replied. "So what, are you in or out?"
Rhodri looked over at Patrick but didn't say a word. Something felt off.
"Are you sure they reconnect?" Harry asked, unsure but not wanting to lose out on being part of the group.
"That's what Gavin said. We won't know if we don't try. So?"
"OK, fine. But if you get to the end of your tunnel and I'm not there, just wait for me. Or we can meet back here." Harry was getting nervous but he didn't want to look like a dork.
"It's fine Harry, Gavin told me they reconnect. So just keep going, eventually they'll come together. Trust me." Patrick sounded convincing, so Harry nodded in agreement. "We'll wait here for a few minutes just in case you chicken out."
"I won't. I told you, I'm not afraid of the dark," Harry said, somewhat irritated. "OK, I'm going, I'll see you at the end of the tunnel."
Rhodri and Patrick shined a light into Harry's tunnel so the boy would feel confident walking the first dozen meters. After they were sure he'd keep going, Philip took the torch out of Rhodri's hands.
"Let's go."
"What the hell are you talking about, mate, we can't leave him here," Rhodri said, somewhat incredulous. "He could get stuck in here."
Patrick rolled his eyes. "He's a prat, he deserves a good scare. We're not that far from the entrance to the cave. He'll figure it out in a few minutes and come running out, trust me. Then maybe he'll learn his lesson about rubbing his dad in my face. Come on, let's go before he follows us out."
"Are you sure he's going to figure it out? Gavin's brother says kids have died in here, maybe we should just call him back." There was real concern in Rhodri's voice now and he didn't think this little prank was funny at all.
"Oh come off it, Rhodri, those are just rumors they tell kids to scare them. He'll be out of here in no time. If he's not back in an hour, I'll come back for him. He's supposed to be staying at my house anyway."
"Fine, but only if you promise you'll come back for him."
"Of course I will, I said that didn't I," Patrick snapped. "Come on, I'm already bored here."
This time Patrick led the two of them out of the cave, Rhodri still feeling deeply uncertain.
When they got out of the top of the cave, Patrick walked over to where the bikes were. "Let's hide his bike too. That will really teach him."
"Come on Patrick, isn't it enough we just left him down there? Leave his bike alone."
"Fine, I'll do it then." He took Harry's bike by the handlebars and steered it up the road and behind a bush. "It's not impossible to find, he'll eventually see it." Then he took Harry's helmet and drop kicked it over the bluffs with a laugh. "How will daddy like THAT, Harry! You won't be able to ride home with your helmet now. Hope you don't get in trouble."
Rhodri had had enough. Usually he liked hanging out with Patrick, and they were best friends on the rugby pitch, but this kind of bullying wasn't really his thing. He'd seen Patrick pick on kids sometimes, but this was a whole new level and Rhodri was not enjoying it. "OK, well, I'm going home Patrick. I got a project for school I need to work on. I'll see you later."
"Yeah, see you," Patrick said. He sat by the bluffs for a while wondering if Harry really would be able to find his way out. He was starting to feel a little bit bad, but he convinced himself it was just a prank, and besides, Harry deserved it. He thinks he's so much better than me. We'll see what he thinks after this. He's probably pissing his pants right now. Serves him right.
When 20 more minutes passed by, Patrick went back to the entrance of the tunnel and shined the light down, listening for any voices. He finally shouted out. "Harry? Harry? It was just a joke mate, you can come out." But there was no response.
He waited another few minutes before he tried again, but eventually he gave up and got back on his bike. He knew he should tell someone, but instead he pedaled home, trying to put Harry completely out of his mind.
Snape and Barclay arrived early at the APM headquarters and familiarized themselves with the meeting room and who would be sitting where. Master Barclay was particularly adept at knowing how to do the small things to gain a psychological advantage. He knew that even the place where you sat at the table could make a difference to how you are subconsciously perceived.
The meeting agenda for today was mostly about Snape & Harry's apprenticeship, but they did have a few other orders of business to attend to first, so Snape would have to sit outside until he was called in.
Slowly people started arriving and the meeting was called to order. When his agenda item was up, Barclay opened the door to the meeting room and invited Snape to come in.
"As many of you know, this is Potions Master Severus Snape. You may remember him from his keynote presentation at last year's conference on bioluminescence and its magical properties for bending time and space. Very theoretical, of course, but extremely interesting. You may also remember that he is a former apprentice of mine. One of the most gifted apprentices I've ever had. He has gone on to be the youngest professor at Hogwarts, where he has been teaching potions for over 10 years. He is the recipient of the Nicholas Flamel Golden Stone award for his research into blood replenishing potions, and he has published over 60 papers in various potions journals. He has given presentations at many prestigious international meetings and is a former Phineas Borne Scholar of Innovation in Potions. He is coming here today with a proposal for your consideration and I hope you will all give him your rapt attention. And with that, I present to you, our esteemed colleague, Professor Severus Snape."
Snape nodded to Master Barclay in appreciation. He had given talks at a lot of conferences, and was used to having his accomplishments and credentials read out, but being introduced so ardently by his mentor did make him feel good, even if he generally wasn't one to brag on his own achievements.
"Thank you, Master Barclay. Thank you distinguished members of the APM. As I'm sure many of you are aware, I come to you today with an unusual proposal. I am requesting your support to take on an underage apprentice…"
Over the next thirty minutes, Snape described the details and circumstances that led up to this request. He did not say the name Harry Potter, but many of the members already knew or suspected.
After giving his pitch, the floor was opened for questions, and the Q&A portion went on for hours, Snape trying to be cautious and deliberate in all of his answers, but the board was not pulling punches.
As he promised, Master Barclay arranged for there to be breaks, and at 4:30, when the debates were still raging on and they were clearly still hours from a vote, Snape pulled Master Barclay aside.
"I told Harry I'd be back by 6:00pm, but this is taking longer than I thought. I left him with a neighbor, but I think I should call. Is there somewhere nearby I can use a muggle telephone?" Snape was emotionally drained already, but he felt like things were going well and he didn't want to stop the momentum by asking them to postpone their vote so he could go home and pick up his 12 year-old ward.
"We can apparate to my house if we need to. I have a phone. It might be easier than trying to find a payphone near by, and less conspicuous."
Snape nodded his head. Barclay whispered something to the Chair of the APM and then he cocked his head at Snape to follow him.
There were strict apparition wards in place inside the building, so they stepped into a protected back alley and apparated quickly to Barclay's house. There, Snape was shown to his little telephone closet.
He pulled out the piece of paper with Elizabeth's number and picked up the phone, punching the numbers in carefully and hoping she'd still agree to keep Harry for the night.
When Patrick got home, he laid his bike down in the driveway, and bounded through the front door, Coco greeted him excitedly as he walked in. He reached down to pet her before yelling out. "Mum!'
He called out again, but there was no answer. He walked into the kitchen and found it empty, but saw there was a note taped up on the fridge door.
Off to the shops-
be back soon.
Love, Mum
Patrick was helping himself to some chocolate biscuits when he heard the phone ring. He brushed the crumbs off his shirt and picked it up. "Hello?"
"Hello, Patrick? It's Harry's father, Mr. Prince. May I speak with your mother please?"
"Um, mum's out right now, can I take a message?"
"May I speak with Harry, then?
Patrick panicked. He came up with the quickest lie he could think of. "I'm sorry Mr. Prince, Harry just got in the shower. We went out and played some rugby and he got all muddy. Would you like me to tell him to call you back?"
Snape hesitated on the other end of the line, knowing he'd have to return to the APM as soon as possible. "No, that's OK. Can you pass a message for me please? I'm afraid I'm going to be tied up with work for longer than I thought. Your mother offered to let Harry spend the night and I was hoping that invitation was still valid."
Patrick smiled, this was perfect. "Oh yes, that would be completely fine Mr. Prince. We'd love to have Harry for the night, he's more than welcome to stay." He put on his most polite, "parent-pleasing" voice, hoping the man would fall for it.
"I appreciate that, Patrick, but I want to make sure I have permission from another adult first. Do you know when your mother will be back?"
"I'm not sure, sir, but my grandmother is here. Would you like to speak with her? It's her house, after all, I'm sure she'll be more than happy."
"That would be fine, Patrick. Would you please put her on?"
"Yes sir, just a moment, I'll have her pick up the line in her room."
Patrick was exceptionally pleased with himself and his quick thinking. This would be perfect. His Gran (who was technically his mum's grandmother) had advanced dementia. He was pretty sure he could get her to say anything, so he walked back to her room and opened the door.
"Hi Gran, there's a phone call for you. It's my friend Harry's dad. He wants to make sure it's OK with you if Harry stays over. Mum already said yes but she's at the shops."
"Of course dear." The sweet elderly lady smiled at him and picked up the phone having no idea who he was talking about. "Hello, this is Maggie Glynn."
Snape heard the voice of the older lady and breathed a sigh of relief. "Hello Mrs. Glynn, my name is Elliot Prince. I'm a friend and neighbor of Elizabeth's. My son Harry has been over to play with Patrick today and I wondered if it was still alright if he stayed the night. I've been detained at work and I'm not sure I'll be able to pick him up as we'd originally planned. I hate to inconvenience you further, but I would greatly appreciate it if Harry could stay. I'm sure he and Patrick will have fun together."
"Oh yes, dearie, of course. He's more than welcome to stay. He's always welcome at my house."
"That's very generous of you Mrs. Glynn, thank you so much. Please tell Elizabeth I'll be around to fetch him in the morning."
"Of course. You take care now. Good-bye." And she hung up the phone.
"Thanks Gran. I love you!" Patrick threw his arms around her and gave her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Oh, aren't you just the sweetest little lamb." Patrick knew she said this to everyone. She often didn't know who he was, but when she didn't remember she still treated him sweetly.
Patrick closed the door to her room and went back to the kitchen to put the phone back on the hook. Just then, his mother came through the door.
"Did you boys have fun on your bike ride?" Elizabeth walked over and set several large bags of groceries on the counter.
Patricked shrugged his shoulders. "It was fun. Harry's dad came by early though, he took him home while you were out." He lied with incredible ease, sure his mother would believe him, she pretty much never questioned him. He was her sweet baby boy and he milked it for everything he could.
"Oh, that's a shame. Well, I'm glad you had a nice time. Can you help me put away the groceries please?"
"Mummmmm, I'm tired, I was out riding bikes all day," Patrick whined. "Can't you just do it yourself?"
"OK, sweetheart, why don't you go relax in your room. I'm making Lamb roast for dinner."
And with that, Patrick ran up the stairs and closed his door, throwing himself on the bed. He turned on his TV and tried to forget about Harry. He had convinced himself the boy was fine and he was probably already at home just hanging out by himself.
Harry had kept going down the dark corridor for what seemed like ages. He kept waiting for the tunnel he was in to end, to open up to the place where the two tunnels joined, but it hadn't happened yet. With the pitch darkness, he had no sense of space or time. Had he walked a hundred meters or a kilometer? Has it been ten minutes or an hour?
He called out in case they were up ahead. "Patrick? Rhodri? Are you guys there?" There was no response, so he kept going, thinking his mind was playing tricks on him.
The ceiling wasn't very high and there were a few tight places he had to squeeze through but he kept going, feeling along the wall. Then the floor dipped down a bit and he could feel and hear water and he noticed it was starting to fill up a bit. He contemplated just turning back but figured he must almost be there. He told himself he'd count to a hundred steps and then he'd turn back.
By the time he got to a hundred, the water was now at his knees. He started to panic. The path ahead seemed to be going slightly uphill and he wondered if he'd be safer staying in that direction.
He had no idea what to do- he turned around to go back to the entrance of the cave, but he soon realized that the water was getting deeper and deeper the further he went in that direction, so he turned back around and headed further inside the cave, hoping he could stay above the high tide.
The air got colder and he started shivering as half of his body was now wet. Even though he was still going slightly uphill, the water was flooding in faster now and the water had risen to his chest. He was cold and terrified. He couldn't see anything and he had no idea where to go.
Soon he was swimming, trying to keep his head above water, he couldn't touch the ground anymore. He pushed himself through a tight squeeze in the cave walls and then it opened up to a cave with a much higher ceiling. He couldn't really see, but he could hear the difference when he yelled out, the echo was much different. He felt along the wall and didn't feel the ceiling, so he kept climbing up, hoping to get out of the water. When he reached up, he felt a large shelf of rock and pulled himself out of the water, hoping he could stay above it.
He laid down on the cool stone and huddled into himself. He wondered what time it was. Snape said he would come back by 6pm. He only had to hold on for a little while and he knew Snape would come find him. He shivered and curled up in a ball, waiting for the water to go down. Waiting for Snape to come get him.
He'll come for me. I know he will. He'll come get me and then he'll give me a warm bath and wrap me in blankets and everything will be fine.
Back at the APM, Snape had returned from the break and the debates continued. They eventually took a dinner break and Snape sat with Master Barclay who made sure to put him between two of the most important people he'd need to secure a vote from.
They drank wine and schmoozed and discussed upcoming research projects. As much as Snape claimed he was anti-social, he was actually enjoying himself. He liked being at a table with ten of the best minds in potions, it made for very lively conversation. There were few other people that Snape could discuss some of his favorite subjects who would be able to meet him on his level.
After dinner, they returned to the meeting room and Snape was asked to step outside while they conducted the vote. Half an hour later, Master Barclay opened the door and invited Snape back in.
"On behalf of the APM, the motion to grant an underage Apprenticeship bond to Potions Master Severus Snape has been granted, with a final vote tally of 9-2 in favor of the Ayes."
Snape breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Thank you all very much for your time today, I am grateful to have your support as we move forward. I give you my word that I will take this bond with the greatest care and respect for the APM as well as for my apprentice. I hope I will see you all at our bonding ceremony."
The meeting was adjourned and several members of the board congratulated him and came up to shake his hand. By the time he finished up, it was close to 9:00pm. He was completely exhausted.
Barclay clapped him on the back. "You did well, Severus. I'm sure you're eager to get home, but I thought you might enjoy having a small celebration. I've got a bottle of bubbly on ice at home, we can discuss the details of the ceremony if you're up for it."
"With pleasure, Master Barclay, I don't know how you did it, but you have my eternal gratitude and most heartfelt thanks. Harry is actually staying over at a friend's place tonight, so I have plenty of time to enjoy tonight."
Snape woke up the next morning feeling happy and well-rested. He felt like an enormous burden had been lifted after he finally got the votes. He knew it would only be a few days now before everything would be official and he and Harry could go back to Hogwarts and get on with everything.
He was excited to tell Harry the good news, but he took his time to revel in his morning tea while reading the paper. He lounged in his dressing gown, something he almost never allowed himself to do, and luxuriated in a quiet morning all to himself.
He figured the boys had probably stayed up late faffing about, so he'd give them some time to sleep in before he went to fetch Harry.
After a delightful breakfast, Snape got dressed and headed out to the garage. He considered walking to the Owens' and enjoying the fresh air, but he figured Harry would be too tired to walk back. He also thought maybe they would go for a nice lunch in town to celebrate.
When Snape knocked on the door, Elizabeth answered, a look of surprise on her face. "Oh, Elliot, how unexpected. What can I do for you?"
Snape's forehead immediately furrowed and his voice dropped low. "I beg your pardon? I've come to fetch Harry. You know, my son, the one who's staying at your house."
Elizabeth's face blanched. "But, Patrick said you came by to pick Harry up yesterday. I haven't seen him since yesterday afternoon!"
A deep rage threatened to explode out of Snape as his eyes went dark and his jaw clenched. "May I come in so we can get to the bottom of this? It appears my son is now missing."
"Of course, I'm sorry. Come in." She opened the door wide and Snape stepped through, his nostrils flaring as he tried to keep his anger under control.
"Patrick?" Elizabeth yelled out, "Patrick, sweetheart, can you please come down here?"
Sweetheart? That evil little hell-spawn better have some answers!.
They heard a door open at the top of the stairs before Patrick's voice rang out. "What the hell do you want, mum? I'm trying to sleep!"
Before Snape could react, Patrick came into view at the top of the stairs. He took one look at the angry Potions Master and his face changed immediately and his eyes went wide. "Oh."
Snape had already been beside himself with anger, but after hearing how this arrogant little troll spoke to his mother, he was now truly incandescent. It took great self-control not to bound up the stairs and teach the boy a lesson. He suddenly switched from "father of your neighbor's kid" into an angry, authoritative Housemaster. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers, narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice, pointing at the bottom of the stairs. He spoke through gritted teeth. "Get down here. Right. Now."
Patrick swallowed and looked at his mother for help but she just crossed her arms over her chest. Gone was his cocky demeanor, he was now slinking down the stairs like a scared 11 year-old boy who knew he was in trouble. He took each stair slowly, dreading the conversation ahead, and terrified to look at Snape in the eye. As soon as he reached the bottom step, he hurried over to his mother for protection.
"Where's Harry?" Snape demanded, towering over the boy.
Patrick shrugged his shoulders. "He said you told him to meet you back at home, so he left on his bike last time I saw him."
"Don't LIE to me. You may get away with that with your mother, but you will tell me the truth. Right. Now!" Snape was practically shouting. He couldn't believe the boy would have the audacity to lie to his face at a time like this.
"There's obviously been some confusion, Elliot, perhaps we should discuss this calmly in the living room," Elizabeth said, putting her arm around Patrick and guiding him to the sofa where they both sat down, Snape following behind angrily, refusing to sit.
"I've had enough of your nonsense, boy. I want the truth. Now," Snape barked, staring down at the him. "Where's Harry?"
"Please, Elliot. Give him a moment to collect his thoughts," Elizabeth said gently. "You're making him nervous."
Snape whipped his head toward Elizabeth and scowled, his eyes burning into her. "My 12 year-old son is missing, Elizabeth. We don't have a moment. Now tell me where he is, Patrick!" Snape was trying not to shout but he was terrified. Harry had been missing since yesterday afternoon. He needed to find him, anything could have happened to him since then.
Patrick started crying, rubbing the back of his hand over his eyes. "I'm sorry, it was just a prank. I thought he'd get out and just go home. I really thought he'd be home by now."
Elizabeth put her arms around Patrick. "What kind of prank, Paddy? Do you know where Harry is now?"
Patrick was practically choking with sobs now, and he couldn't get a single word out.
Snape wanted to slap the boy silly, but obviously that wasn't an option. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and steeled himself. His voice was terse, but controlled. "Patrick, get control of yourself this instant. If you know where Harry is, you need to tell me right now. He could be hurt or in danger, do you understand me?"
"I...I...I only meant to prank him. I took him to the caves," Patrick finally got it out, his voice hitching and wracked with sobs so hard he could barely catch his breath. "I'm sorry!"
"What caves? Did you leave him there? WHY?" Snape had never felt this kind of rage before. He might be 33 years-old, but he was legitimately worried he'd have a bout of accidental magic that would blow the roof off the house.
"Please, Elliot, don't yell at him."
Using every ounce of self-control he had, Snape bored his eyes into her before he lowered his voice and attempted to speak without screaming. "Elizabeth, your son is a manipulative liar who has deliberately put my son in danger. Did he even tell you that I called yesterday to ask if Harry could stay over? I even spoke to your Grandmother who assured me Harry would be welcome and you would be happy to look after him. He lied to you. He lied to me. And he left my son in a cave somewhere to die!
"Is this true, Patrick?" Elizabeth asked, hoping there was some other explanation.
Patrick just threw himself into her arms and cried louder. His voice was muffled as he sobbed into her shirt. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to teach him a lesson."
Elizabeth clutched the boy tightly to her chest before looking back at Snape accusingly. "My grandmother has dementia, Elliot. She has no idea what's going on, she could have agreed to anything and wouldn't remember it five minutes later."
Snape let out an exasperated groan before he turned his attention back to Patrick. He didn't have time for the boy's theatrics, Harry was missing and he needed the little monster to tell him exactly where he could find him.
"Patrick, look at me. Right. Now," Snape demanded, enunciating each word so it wouldn't be missed. The seconds ticked by, his jaw clenched and his dark eyes flickering with emotion as he waited for the boy to lift his head off of his mother's chest. "You're the only one who knows where Harry is, so you are going to take me to wherever it is you've left him, and you better hope and pray he's uninjured." He left the "or else" hanging in the silence.
Snape then looked at Elizabeth, seething. "And you. How could you possibly be so irresponsible? Did you even know where the boys were all day? I hope to God you have more sense than to allow 11 year-old children to go off exploring in caves on their own. This is your fault as well."
Elizabeth was in shock. She was an adult, and the man had absolutely no right to talk to her like that in her own house. He was making her feel like an errant child rather than a grown woman. She wanted to be angry and indignant, but she knew he was right, and she felt terribly guilty. "I'm so sorry, Elliot. I really had no idea. I would never have purposely put Harry in danger."
He narrowed his eyes at her and growled. "Believe me, this conversation is far from over. We'll discuss this more later, but right now my only priority is finding Harry." He readjusted his gaze and clapped his hands to get the boy's attention. "Patrick, get up, you're coming with me."
Patrick pulled away from his mother and looked up at her face with pleading eyes. "Mum?"
Elizabeth ran her hands along her son's back and let out a sigh. "Go with him, Patrick, you need to show him where to find Harry."
Snape looked back at her. "Elizabeth, call the police and get a search team and an ambulance and then drive down to caves. Do you know where they are?"
Elizabeth shook her head and looked down at her son. "Patrick?"
"It's near the beach access, the one with the picnic benches. There's a small trail that goes down the bluffs on the right side of the car park. The entrance to the cave is near there." Patrick started crying again. "But you can only get into it at low tide."
Snape prayed Harry was still alive. He reached down and grabbed Patrick by the arm and pulled him off the couch. "Let's go, Patrick."
He turned the boy to face him and started delegating orders. "I need two torches and some string, and an emergency kit if you have one." When the boy didn't move, he raised his brow and stared at him. "Well? What are you waiting for? Go get them!"
Patrick ran up the stairs to grab his adventure kit. He only had one torch in there but he knew there was another one under the kitchen sink. He grabbed his backpack and ran back down the stairs, sprinting into the kitchen to find it. He looked back at Snape after shoving the torch in his bag. "I think there's some string in the garage."
"Then go find it. Now." He furrowed his brow and pointed toward the door.
Elizabeth made her way to the phone in the kitchen and began dialing emergency services.
Snape stepped out the front door and followed Patrick into the garage. He snapped his fingers three times impatiently. "Move it, Patrick, we need to go."
"OK, I got it." Patrick said, pulling out a large ball of twine from the garage. He threw it in his backpack and followed Snape to the car. Being alone with this man was the last thing he wanted to do, but he knew he had no choice, so he opened the door and slid into the passenger seat, attempting to avoid all eye-contact.
Snape got in and slammed the car door as hard as he could before turning to face Patrick. "You'd better thank your lucky stars you're not my child or I promise you, you'd be getting the thrashing of a lifetime right now. Now put on your seatbelt and tell me where we're going."
They pulled onto the road with Patrick scrunched up against the window, as far away from the angry man as possible. He had his arms wrapped around himself and he was crying softly.
"Stop your snivelling." Snape barked. "If you're going to make horrific choices in life, you'd better learn to live with the consequences. Honestly, what were you THINKING, you foolish boy?"
"I was mad," Patrick said. "He was sucking up to my mom and then he said something about me not having a father. I just wanted to get him back, scare him a little."
"By leaving him to drown in a bloody cave? He could be dead, Patrick, do you understand that? My son could be dead." Snape slammed his hand on the steering wheel and cursed out loud in a very uncharacteristic fashion. He had lost all control of his emotions, and even though he knew what he was saying could be true, he refused to allow himself to think of that as a real possibility.
Patrick was sobbing again when he pointed up on the left. "Up there. The carpark."
Snape pulled into the lot and threw the car in park, pulling up violently on the hand brake before turning to Patrick. "Get out and show me where you left him."
They followed the path down the side of the bluffs toward the beach until they got to the opening where the boys had climbed in yesterday. It was going to be a little tight for Snape but he was fairly thin and he'd pretty sure he'd fit.
"Go on, I'll follow you. Give me a torch and the twine. And take a torch for yourself."
Low tide had passed about an hour before, so Snape knew they wouldn't have a lot of time. He tied the piece of twine around a branch at the opening of the cave and followed Patrick down the tunnel, unwinding the string as he went along.
Snape had to squeeze through the first part, but it soon opened up and he jumped down onto the wet sand and rocks of the cave floor. There was half an inch of water and Snape had no idea how quickly it would fill up. He gave Patrick a firm push between the shoulder blades. "Move quickly, the tide is starting to come in."
Patrick walked Snape through the cave system until they got to the place where the tunnel split in two. "We told him they both open-up to the same place on the other side- he didn't have a torch but I told him just to keep walking and hold onto the wall, we'd meet him where the tunnels come back together. But we tricked him. We ran out of the cave and left him."
Snape would have time to be angry later. Looking at the dark tunnel, he was now filled with dread. He couldn't imagine how terrified Harry must have been when he realized they had abandoned him alone in a dark cave.
He grabbed Patrick by both arms and looked at him right in the eyes. "Patrick, listen to me carefully. I want you to get out of the cave right now. Take your torch and follow the string out. Can you do that?"
Patrick nodded his head. "Yes."
"I want you to wait at the car park, and when the search team arrives, you will show them how to get into the cave and tell them to follow the string. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. This is VERY important, Patrick. Harry needs your help right now, so you need to follow my instructions completely. Now go!"
Patrick ran back while Snape continued deeper into the cave. As soon as he was sure the boy was out of eyesight, he pulled out his wand. He cast a "Point Me" spell and he felt a strong tug to the right. He continued with the torch, and began calling out to Harry.
"Harry! Harry can you hear me?"
He stopped for a moment to listen, but all he heard was the sound of water flowing into the cave. He kept walking, screaming out Harry's name, desperately hoping for a response. He walked for twenty more minutes and the water got deeper and the air got colder and heavier. There were places where the rocks were really tight and Snape could barely squeeze through and then the tunnel would widen again into a much larger area. In one of these open vaults, he looked up ahead and saw a white form glowing on a rock high above him.
He tried to run but the water was now almost waist deep. He screamed out "Harry! Harry!" but there was no response, no movement.
As he got closer, he saw that Harry was completely naked, unconscious and lying on an outcropping of rock four feet above him. He gasped in horror when he remembered that severe hypothermia can make people hallucinate and tear off their clothes, making them feel like they're burning up despite being on the verge of freezing to death. His clothe were scattered around the cave and floating in the water. He used his wand to cast a mobilicorpus and Harry's body floated down to him. When he got within reach, grabbed the boy and cradled him in his arms.
He immediately cast a drying spell and a warming charm until he could figure out how to cover the boy. He looked around and pulled a shirt out of the water. He transfigured it into a reflective emergency blanket and leaned up against the wall of the cave as he wrapped Harry in the silver material, putting his head to the boy's face and chest to see if he was still breathing.
The boy was freezing cold, and his breaths were shallow and infrequent, but he was still alive, if barely. Snape couldn't control himself, he sobbed into the boy's hair as he cradled him. "Stay with me, Harry, please!"
Snape held Harry tightly to his chest as he walked through the rising water as quickly as he could. He floated the torch in the air alongside them as he followed the string back toward the entrance of the cave. As they got toward the front of the tunnel, Snape could hear voices and see lights in the distance. He hiked Harry up onto his left shoulder and grabbed the torch out of the air, tucking his wand safely away.
"We're here. I've got him!" Snape shouted. He rushed toward the lights, the water rising quickly around them. As he got to the entrance, someone reached out a hand.
"Hand me the boy," the man shouted, "We'll lift him out."
Snape didn't want to let Harry go, but he handed him off to the waiting pair of arms, who then passed him up and out of the small tunnel.
The hands reached again for Snape and he grabbed on, allowing himself to be pulled up and out of the cave as the water levels continued to rise up toward his chest. As soon as he got to the mouth of the tunnel, he put his hands on the ground and pushed himself up, grateful to be back in the sunshine.
When he crawled out of the tunnel, he saw Harry laying on the ground, thin, pale and unmoving. One of the policemen was kneeling at his side and feeling for a pulse while another pulled out a second emergency blanket, wrapping his head and his upper body in an extra layer.
Snape ran over and scooped Harry up, holding him tightly against his body hoping his own heat would help warm him. One of the officers tried to take him out of Snape's arms so he could wrap the man in a reflective blanket, but Snape jerked away and yelled at him. "Don't touch him, I'm not letting go of him until the medics are here!"
He took Harry and walked up the trail toward the road where he could see the lights of the ambulance up ahead. In the daylight, Snape could now see clearly how limp Harry looked in his arms. His skin was ghostly white and his lips were blue and if it weren't for the fact that Snape could feel his raspy breaths against his chest, he would swear the boy was dead.
As the medics approached, Snape cradled Harry like a baby and swayed with him back and forth while he soothed him with his words. "You're safe now, Harry. Everything is going to be fine. I promise I will never let anything happen to you again. I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry. Stay with me, Harry. Please." He reached down and gave him a small kiss on his forehead, his heart wrenching when the boy's skin was as cold as ice on his lips. "I love you," he whispered into his ear.
Tears streamed silently down Snape's face as the medics took Harry from his arms and loaded him onto the gurney. Snape tried to get in the back of the ambulance with him but the medics refused to let him in.
"We're going to take good care of him, you'll see him at the hospital," one of the medics said before they closed the back door.
"Let me in!" Snape pleaded, "I want to stay with my son. Let me in!"
He slammed his hand violently onto the closed door of the ambulance as they took Harry away, screaming with rage until two of the police officers grabbed him and pulled him back.
"Get in the car, mate. We'll follow them there. He's in safe hands now. They'll take good care of him." The officer took his arm and led him to the police car.
And then suddenly, just like a flip had been switched, Snape had run out of all emotion. He slid his Occlumency shields into place and he appeared as though he were in a trance. Without a word, he got into the police car, and stared out the window, trying to force his worst thoughts out of his mind.
As they followed behind the lights and sirens of the ambulance, he closed his eyes and thought back on the last few weeks. Months. Years. He cursed himself. He had promised to look out for Harry, and once again he'd failed to protect him. He would never, ever forgive himself.
Despite Snape's warming charm, which was all he could do under the circumstances, Harry's core body temperature dropped so low he stopped breathing on the way to the hospital. The medics intubated him immediately and began to ventilate him by hand. On the cardiac monitor, his heart rate, which was already below 40, started to drop rapidly.
Suddenly, still 20 minutes away from the hospital, the monitor beeped and Harry's heart stopped.
Author's End Note
So, I hope you don't kill me for leaving you hanging...like this. I promise I won't make you wait TOO long, I've got the next chapter nearly finished.
Please PLEASE let me know what you think. Your feedback and comments keep me going and I love hearing from you. What do you think of Patrick? Sociopath & future serial killer, or out of control, poorly parented boy with daddy issues? Discuss.
I'm pretty excited about the next chapter, so brace yourselves! Thanks for reading!