Severus' memory spell was a smashing success.
His onyx eyes shone brightly upon seeing a translucent strand of grey light merged from the oak tree and he continued his chant up until it turned into a small orb the size of his palm. Transfixed over his creation, he took out a glass vial from his coat pocket and opened it with a pop before transferring the ethereal sphere into the vial.
He couldn't stop giggling as he went home and entered his room where Rogue croaked upon his arrival. As he thought on how to review the memory, he frowned. Hadn't he made an important point for the spell that the Pensieve wasn't needed for it?
He pulled the cork and took the orb out with his beech wand, still furrowing his eyebrows. With both uncertainty and curiosity, he tapped the sphere and murmured, "Projecto."
His eyes widened when the ball of light enlarged and he could see the earlier scene of him and Lily played out. As he inclined his head close to it, the voices from the memory also entered his ears.
Severus shook his head in joy and disbelief, and put the orb back into its vial before hiding it under his bed. He then gingerly took Rogue and petted its body lovingly, which was almost fully recovered. "Do you think I should patent it?" he absent-mindedly asked, to which the raven replied with a low croak that suspiciously sounded like a "No".
"…Yes, I can see your point." His facial features darkened upon remembering the cruel humiliation he had gone through. Just how could the Marauders know of his Levicorpus spell? The only place he had written the incantation was in his Advanced Potion Making book, and…
Severus' face went pale before he placed Rogue on his bed and scrambled to his school trunk, even unloading everything in it in search for his cherished book. After numerous attempts of perusing through the mess, he came to an unpleasant conclusion.
The book wasn't there.
They, the damned Marauders had stolen his book.
He really needed to find it as soon as school started. If they ever found out about his severing spell… He shook his head fearfully, not wanting to know what would happen. He had to make a counter-spell for it as fast as possible. Flicking through his Latin dictionary, he quickly made use of his beech wand to create a healing charm.
It took him about an hour, and he sighed in relief at the written incantation.
Vulnera Sanentur.
Let all wounds be mended. It might as well be his solution to the 'how much healing potions' consumption are too dangerous for a wizard?' question, which wasn't really his initial intention but as it was, he had killed two birds with one stone.
Severus gulped as he raised his un-Traceable wand and inflicted Sectumsempra on his left forearm, barely registering the sharp pain and just as quickly he spoke, "Vulnera Sanentur."
Nothing happened.
The long gash was starting to hurt and he gritted his teeth when blood began to trickle down his arm. Taking a deep breath, he repeated the incantation over and over, trying to comfort himself despite the increasingly terrible sting of the wound. Just like how his mother calmed him down after suffering one of his father's vicious beatings.
After about five minutes, he could finally breathe easily and stared in astonishment at his newly healed arm.
…Bloody hell. Severus knew his spells served him well, but sometimes his paranoia had made them work too potently. He wondered if James Potter's face was fully healed before brushing the thought away. Why would he sympathize over his bully? If anything, he felt a bit smug that he had given the pompous boy a scar. That he was just another human being, not some sort of demigod people had worshipped him over.
The many, many troubles and things he found out over the summer really had him thinking as he begrudgingly cleaned up his school trunk. Maybe he should be reading ahead some of the subjects for his sixth year, having heard the senior students complaining about their N.E.W.Ts. Sighing, he took out his Charms book and began practicing wandless magic since he was quite adept to non-verbal spells already. Only when his mother shouted his name did he get out of his room, whispering to Rogue he would give his pet some of his dinner.
A week before August ended, Severus told Mrs. Davis that he needed to return to school on 1st September and that he should prepare for the new session soon.
"Ah, wish ye could stay longer," she mused wistfully as she gave him his wage for the month, "Do tell if ye're to come back; I'd be happy to give yer position back. Oh, and the shack is truly yers; I don't mind if ye're to stay there." She winked genially at him.
Severus gave her a grateful smile in return. "I will try to send you a letter, Mrs. Davis," he reassured her, and briefly thinking if Rogue was healthy enough to fly long-distance. He then bade her goodbye when his shift ended; sincerely liking the kind old lady over the two months he had worked with her. In his cottage, he looked over his homework for the last time for spell-checking and correcting them if possible.
He was especially irritated over his lackluster Potions essay; not that the Professor for the subject, Horace Slughorn ever noticed whatever he did and at most he would get 'Exceeds Expectations' for his efforts. Aside from that setback, he deemed the quality of his work was good enough and proceeded to his next activity.
He took out all four wands in his possessions and placed them across the room. The summoning charm should be easy enough to be used wandlessly, but what if he were to make it non-verbal too? It was quite a decent challenge for himself and so he flexed his arm before holding it out and thought hardly, 'Accio.'
Nothing happened. He tried about five more times before finally giving up, panting. What did he do wrong? He pondered over the problem for a while before remembering his experience in the wandmaker's shop. With a new wave of determination, Severus focused his magical sense onto his hazel wand first and repeated the incantation in his mind.
The hazel wand immediately leapt into his outstretched hand. Grinning over his success, he tried summoning his other wands with various results. The beech wand was just as fast as the hazel, the elm was slightly jaunty in his hand and he struggled in his attempt with the blackthorn wand. Then again, he wasn't really familiar with the last one.
But what Dark Arts spell should he practice with the blackthorn? As much as he liked the subject, he didn't want to irreversibly corrupt his soul.
It was only then did he remember he already had one in his disposal; that had the vaguest intent as much as its creation.
His severing spell.
Severus spent the final week of August mostly in Diagon Alley, Prince Manor or the cottage behind the British Library. He had bought two new school robes from Madam Malkin's shop, some ingredients for Potions and was now thinking on whether he should buy a new copy of Advanced Potion Making or not.
…Well, he was bound to be an honorary Prefect whether he liked it or not, and Prefects of course had to set an example to the younger students. Sighing, he entered the Flourish and Blotts' bookshop and purchased the damned book.
He was a step away from walking out of the premise when he collided with someone. "Watch it, will you?!" he immediately shouted, only to frown as he saw Lily Evans' wide green eyes staring back at him.
For a moment, Severus thought back of the situation about his missing Potions book and his humiliation. Had she played a role in the event? He never trusted anyone with it except for Lily prior to the incident, and… wait, hadn't she said she wanted to borrow it before the Potions' O.W.L practical? She was good in the subject, yes, but she still liked to refer his copy especially when they had to brew together.
Could it be…?
Severus tried desperately to shun the horrible possibility away. But no, people show their true self when it was least unexpected. And thus, Severus begrudgingly thanked the Marauders for opening his eyes.
"You know, Petunia is actually a thousand times better than you because her disdain to me is honest, unlike yours," he whispered venomously to the redhead before leaving to Prince Manor.
His ancestors' portraits greeted him with polite nods and some pleasantries before going on with their usual business. He really appreciated the gesture, that his family was as respectable as he had imagined. He entered one of the bedrooms in the mansion, wanting to try out his new school robes.
Severus wore one of them and faced the tall mirror, smiling as he looked at his reflection. He looked fine enough; his hair could be tied but his nose somewhat ruined the regal aura he wanted to show off, even if it was only to himself.
He took out his elm wand and pointed the tip at the bridge of his hooked nose before saying, "Episkey."
The sudden pain that shot throughout his face was awful. But Severus was no stranger to injuries and so, he gritted his teeth while correcting his nose into something bearable. When he was finished, his visage was wholly red but overall, he was satisfied with what he saw in the mirror.
He decided to have lunch in the mansion instead of buying them from the Leaky Cauldron; the portions for dinner were packed and placed next to him with a permanent heating charm.
"…Severus?" His grandfather, Felix spoke with a slight frown and clasped hands. "How's Eileen?"
Severus blinked, briefly watching as a house-elf; Libby took his plate away with a bow before disappearing. "She's doing well," was all he could answer. As long as his mother was still around, he considered it to be good enough for his ever-wretched life.
"Has she ever said anything about us?" Lux added, having the same expression as her husband.
"Not much." He could feel the unsatisfied look they shared behind his back.
"Look, my father… he, well… he didn't like magic much," he confessed bitterly, "I mean, what did he expect to get from a witch, a normal Muggle kid? I think not." He let out a choked laugh.
When his grandparents didn't say a word, Severus sighed and glanced at the small copy of the family tree he had brought along, especially at the light blue line that had plagued his mind ever since he knew of its purpose. "Maybe… maybe they really had loved each other," he said, narrowing his eyes at the sight of Lily's name.
He needed a way to permanently sever his ties with the girl before it was too much.
When 1st September came, Severus quietly woke his mother up, thanking Merlin that his father had gone out for work. He decided there was no need for Rogue to be in a cage and so, the raven was now perched on his shoulder, blinking curiously at Eileen who wore one of her remaining dress robes before the mother, the son and the bird along with the boy's school trunk disappeared with a crack.
They reappeared near the exit of King's Cross Station and much to Severus' surprise, Eileen followed him into the 9 Platform. The red train stood proudly as usual, with young wizards and witches were spending their last moments with their family before the Christmas holidays. Rogue crowed and flapped his wings excitedly, with Severus and Eileen couldn't help but to smile too.
"We Princes were never really considered to be prefects by the teachers," she commented, pointedly staring at his honorary Prefect badge.
"You tell me," Severus sardonically rolled his eyes in return. She smirked and absent-mindedly straightened his tie and as such, caught a glimpse of the silver necklace he wore under his shirt.
Severus froze when she looked at the object. She must have known about the Prince Manor's pendant from the first sight.
After a few minutes, Eileen sighed and gave him a sad smile. "Should've known you're too curious for your own good," she chided softly. When he didn't reply, she simply continued with a wink, "Don't worry, Portkeys don't count as an intrusion to and from Hogwarts."
When he finally boarded the Hogwarts Express, he bade her goodbye with a genuine grin.
His mother really was the best.
A/N: I do think Severus had practiced his Sectumsempra spell a bit too much, and how else could Lupin know it was one of his specialties? This fic is first and foremost canon-divergent, but I do refer to canon sources to make it believable.
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