Author's note: Thank you all for your reviews and for your support!
September 1st, 1991
Severus sat on his customary place at the head table. Dumbledore was fairly brimming with excitement. While the name did not resurface in Hogwarts' book of admittance Harry Potter's letter hadn't come back as undeliverable. The Potions master knew why: Peter H. Parker had got two letters. In long talks with Lucius Malfoy, Sirius Black, Severus and Valery Harry had decided to attend Hogwarts as Peter Parker. Dumbledore was still headmaster, the `Daily Prophet´ was writing up a storm since the beginning of the year about the Boy-who-lived – even Sirius Black, who regretted most that his best friend's son would suffer from using his name, saw that it was in Harry's best interest to stay anonymous. While the last few years in Cokeworth, with his family, his friends and a positive environment in school, had erased a lot of the damage the Dursleys had wrought, the boy still did not like to be singled out. He was friendly, curious, liked to read and to draw, and a very proud older brother to Grace and Jeremy, born on December 21st the year before. And he was clever, very good in reading people and analysing situations and really good at chess. He would do well at Hogwarts in any house.
The only fly in the ointment to the plan of keeping Harry's true identity a secret was Draco Malfoy. The two boys were best friends. After a dare two years ago of who could eat the most mousse au chocolate both were violently sick. And the lightning bolt scar, which by then was nearly gone, stood out against Harry's greenish tinted skin. Draco was an intelligent child and drew the right conclusions as soon as he stopped vomiting all over the place. Then he threw a tantrum the size of a Hungarian Horntail because his best friend had kept a secret of that magnitude from him.
Seeing Harry's tears made him calm down enough for Severus to explain. Now the boy was proud to be the only child at Hogwarts to know about Harry Potter, the friendship was as strong as ever and the Malfoy heir would do his best to keep his friend safe. But still he was only an eleven-year-old boy. As the Malfoys were understandably reluctant for their child to swear a vow they were glad when Antonin presented a solution to the problem. He designed a tailored ward for both boys, anchored in an amulet with runes Narcissa had drawn, and with Filius' help made the whole thing undetectable by Hogwarts' security wards. Draco and Harry knew enough about Occlumency to be safe from someone, the headmaster most likely, skimming their thoughts. Severus' boy was as safe as he could make him.
"Malfoy, Draco."
Despite his erect bearing the child was nervous. He did not need to be. Within seconds the Sorting Hat cried,
"Slytherin!"
Ernie Macmillan went to Hufflepuff, then it was Peter Parker's turn.
"Parker, Peter."
A few sniggers from elder Muggleborns could be heard. Harry did not dissemble und sat down confidently. The had took a bit longer than with the two children before but finally called out,
"Slytherin!"
Severus clapped and then turned towards Minerva again as she said,
"Potter, Harry."
The remaining first years craned their necks, the elder pupils looked on with interest. When the whispers grew louder and a second and third call for Potter yielded no result Dumbledore intervened.
"He must be detained, I will look into it. Please continue with the sorting, Professor McGonagall."
Severus sent a small smile towards Harry and Draco, who were already seated at their table and turned his attention back to his boss. He had shown his mark, no more than the faintest shadow to those who had known it to be there, to Dumbledore. The man had the gall to see it rather as a sign of Severus' remorse than of Voldemort's demise or at least severely weakened state. Antonin and Lucius had shown their marks similarly and still the old headmaster had stayed wilfully blind, insisting on Harry Potter being the final downfall of the Dark Lord, but not explaining his reasoning.
That Harry Potter did not start at Hogwarts broke the proverbial camel's back. The Board of Governors and the Ministry had waited for today, either out of respect for Dumbledore or afraid of committing a faux-pas when the boy appeared as the Headmaster was believing. Now there was no holding back. Sirius Black was quite outspoken and Lucius had never been a fan. In Harry's and Draco's third year the Board of Governors appointed Minerva McGonagall as headmistress while Dumbledore retired to his old family home in Godric's Hollow.
Harry Potter was not the only one failing to make the start of term. Muggle Studies professor Quirinus Quirrell should have been back a week ago. A recent Oxford graduate and Hogwarts alumna was found to teach in his stead and, after talking to the young man's family about his summer plans, the Aurory contacted its colleagues in Albania for help. Sometime around Christmas Quirrell was found laying in a coma in a small regional hospital in Elbasan. After his transfer to St. Mungo's he eventually woke up and told a truly astonishing story: one of the reasons for his travels during his sabbatical was his wish to be the one to find Voldemort. Having been an outstanding student in Defense against Dark Magic, at least of the theory, the former Ravenclaw had thought about the possibility of Horcruxes and had come prepared. He had spent all his inheritance on a phial of basilisk venom. Following disturbing folk tales deep into the Albanian forests he had found an area that had reeked of Dark Magic.
Theorising rightly that Voldemort must exist in a non-human form - otherwise he would have come back already - and therefore not up to complex magical feasts, he searched for possessed animals in that area. Basically by camping there, protected by concentric wards and a Sneakoscope to warn him. Lucius shuddered at this part of the tale and exclaimed, "What a rotten fool! Never underestimate an enemy! Much less a Dark Lord!"
When an adder had slithered into Quirrell's tent he had Stupefied it and cast a Homenum Revelio. When the spell showed the presence of a human soul he had checked whether the adder was an Animagus.
At this point Severus murmured, "And then? Is he calling RSPCA next?"
As it was not the adventurer poured the basilisk venom over the snake. Now it was Antonin who shook his head over the thoughtlessness of the former Muggle Studies teacher, "What did he think the soul-fragment would do after its host was destroyed? Blow him a kiss and burst into confetti? I put up protection wards when I'm baking, for Merlin's sake! Why didn't he when trying to destroy a Dark Lord?"
"Theory. Quirinus was always big on theory. And you are a danger when baking, Toni!"
But along with being good in theory Quirrell had a very organised mind which had lent itself to learning Occlumency. So when Voldemort's Horcrux was driven from the adder and latched onto the closest living being this magical ability was what saved Quirrell's life. He was able to resist the fragment taking root in his body but it was a close call. If not for some hiker finding his dehydrated body he would have perished.
The Department of Mysteries and the Dark Magic experts of the Aurory had checked the young man's story and found it consistent with what traces of Voldemort's magic they had stored from the years before 1981. Quirrell finally got the recognition he had craved but soon found it too oppressing. He retired to Wales on his Order of Merlin stipend and lived happily writing about theory.
"He could have come back to Hogwarts possessed the year our children started!" Valery was beside herself.
"It ended well" – the Dark Marks were gone without trace – "but it was very reckless of that young man!" Narcissa managed to look very scary despite bouncing little Cassiopeia on her arm.
As soon as Minerva became Headmistress Severus tended his resignation. He stayed the year to train Aurora Sinistra for being Head of Slytherin and he introduced Minerva to his family, the former war-council and the best kept secret of the Wizarding world. There was some shouting and some calming applications of fire-whiskey but in the end the Scots woman had to concede that she would not have been able to hide something of this magnitude from Albus.
Severus was teaming up with Antonin for research and consulting after the Russian's term with the Unspeakables was up. Val and Narcissa were part of the team too.
For Antonin Quirrell's adventure had a fine side-effect. During his many visits with Filius he had met the Muggle Studies substitute, Charity Burbage. They started a slow courtship and eventually married and became proud parents of Aljosha, Berenice, Nadezhda, Yuri and the twins Jacob and Joseph.
Sirius Black managed the Potter holdings until Harry decided to take up the responsibilities. As that time coincided with Cassi and Jeremy leaving for Hogwarts Narcissa and Valery wrote a book about their side of the story of vanquishing the most evil Dark Lord of recent history. Tobias and Valerie became a very popular names in wizarding Britain and finally all children, even the Pure-blooded, learned about Spiderman and Wimbledon.
Fin