A lot of you were worried about Tallis having to testify. That won't be necessary for a conviction. This will be a murder trial although the past abuse will come up. Tallis will have no need to testify since there is no solid connection between Tallis Snape and Harry Potter. As only a vague acquaintance of Harry Potter who hasn't seen him for months there would be no reason for Tallis to be called to testify. Evidence will be gained through the testimonies of the Dursleys under truth serums and the medical evidence that Poppy Pomfrey had been gathering over the years.
Anyhow, that's all for now on the topic. I am strongly leaning toward having Voldemort involved in some way and I am leaning against revealing who Tallis is. We'll vote on that as well as the punishments later. For now, thank you very much for the wonderful opinions. You helped me immensely and I have a huge stack of notes that I have taken about your reviews. Thank you again.
PS. Sorry it took me so long to post this. Stupid arthritis. Stupid job search. Stupid need to pay bills. I hate being a grown up. My kitty needs her kibble though so I persevere.
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Chapter 40Dumbledore sat in his office alone, thinking the recent events through. Things were not progressing as he had expected them to. First off, Harry Potter was supposed to side with him on this whole parentage issue. He had pushed Severus to be a bastard to the boy since his first day, thinking that would be enough to turn Harry off of ever developing a relationship with his Father. Clearly, his plan had not worked. Maybe he should have revealed the boy's parentage in a slightly different way, making Severus look worse. He had come out rather well in the whole thing, regardless of Harry's mother claiming that she believed that Severus might hurt their son. Albus had been banking on Harry siding with his sainted mother in the whole issue. He had spent years building her up as a paragon of motherhood and love for the boy—a woman who loved her son so much that she gave up her life for him. Granted, the woman would have died no matter what she had done, but the boy didn't need to know that, did he? How in the hell had he decided to side with a Death Eater over her?
If he was entirely honest with himself he realized that the boy hadn't really picked sides, per say, but it was still irritating. Everyone knew that Severus was a worthless Death Eater. How could the boy not be upset that he had a Dark wizard for a Father instead of James Potter? James might have been slightly arrogant and a bit of a bully but he had always been firmly on Dumbledore's side. Didn't the stupid boy realize that?
The second problem had followed hard on the first. He had realized his mistake soon after the Snapes had left his office but planned to correct it later in the day. He needed to separate the boy from his Father so that he would once again depend only on himself. He needed to prevent any possible relationship from forming. He had even contemplated actually sending the boy away for training to further isolate him—ironically, in a manner very similar to the story that the Snapes had concocted to keep Harry at Hogwarts. Unfortunately, the Snapes had left Hogwarts and were hidden safely away in the mystery Snape manor before he could stop them.
When he started hearing from Severus over the summer he thought that he was gaining ground back, especially when he learned that he and his son wanted to return to Hogwarts and begin an apprenticeship program. It helped that the boy would be apprenticed to Poppy Pomfrey. He had worried for a while that he would ask to apprentice under the new DADA teacher and he was too uncertain of Remus Lupin's loyalty for that to happen. He was concerned that the werewolf would pick the boy over himself. He knew that as a dark creature that he was liable to go to Voldemort's side. He had never really trusted him anyway, half-breed monster that he was. At least Poppy had no ties to Lily Evans Potter or Severus Snape. She was a nice witch of an old but, unfortunately, not entirely pureblood family and sure to stay on his side.
But now that the Snapes were back at school things were not working out quite as planned. Oh, Severus still came to Order meetings as well as all staff meetings and any random meetings that Albus called him for, but he was getting no closer to the boy than he had been when they were still tucked away at the manor. For the life of him he couldn't seem to get within ten feet of the boy without someone heading him off! He saw him at meal times but never without his Father or that oldest Weasley or the Malfoy brat at his side.
He had been certain that the boy wouldn't be able to pull off the charade and that the world would discover him within a matter of days, if that. If nothing else he thought he could count on the youngest Weasley giving him away. The boy had thrown a wonderfully public fit what Harry had been entered into the Triwizard Tournament. Why the hell couldn't he do so now—especially when seeing his friend consorting with young Malfoy of all people!
All in all, he didn't know what to do. Voldemort had been holding off on attacks recently, leading him to believe that there was going to be a big one soon. He kept being reassured that the boy was ready to fight Voldemort but he couldn't get near the boy to tell for himself. Not to mention he needed to keep a watchful eye on him. He was developing into entirely too strong a wizard to be left alone. He would need to be taken care of soon after he served his purpose and got rid of Voldemort.
It would be so much easier if the boy would get close to him again! He had originally planned to slowly drain the boy of his power, leaving the boy little more than a squib, once he had defeated Voldemort. But to do that he would need constant and close access to him as well as his complete trust—all things that he definitely lacked right now. That left him with few options. He could kill the boy or he could convince everyone that he would become the next Dark Lord and have him jailed.
Actually, that wouldn't be too bad. He was halfway there already with such a dark Father. Yes, that would do nicely. He smiled again, having worked everything out quite nicely. Of course, with this plan he wouldn't receive the extra boost of power but he would still remain the most powerful wizard in the world with Voldemort and the Snape boy out of the way, and that was all that really mattered, wasn't it? He smiled. Yes, this would work well.
SDSDSDSDSDSDSDSDSD
Tallis groaned lightly as he shifted in bed. He was incredibly sore after the treatment…something that he had not been expecting. Upon reflection, it made complete sense that he was sore but somehow he had never thought beyond the actual treatment. Hermione's concerned face swam into view.
"How are you feeling, Tallis?"
"Not bad. Can I have some water though?" Hermione rushed to pour him a glass of water and helped him to sit up to drink it. "Where's Madame Pomfrey?" he asked with a sleep raspy voice.
"You woke up a bit sooner than we expected. She should be here shortly though."
Tallis nodded again. "Thanks for staying with me, Mione. I'm sorry I…I just, I'm sorry. I don't know what was wrong with me."
"It's perfectly alright, Tallis. Like I told you before, everyone has some irrational fears. Look at mine! You know how I get about tests and school. Your fears are at least things that make sense to be worried about, unlike mine. Don't ever be afraid to tell me when you need me. I tell you often enough that I need you," she said, trying to make him feel better. "That's what friends do—we take care of each other, even when it doesn't make any sense."
"Are they all mad at me?"
"Mad? Whatever for?" He glared at her lightly. She knew damn well why they might be mad. "Hurt, more like," she finally conceded. "No one was mad even for a minute. It just took them a bit to understand that it wasn't them specifically you were worried about but more the situation in general. They'll be fine, I'm sure."
"What have they said?"
"I have no idea. I told them what was going on, explained it for a few minutes then came back here. I haven't seen them since."
"They didn't even try to come in?" Hermione settled down near the footboard to make it easier to talk with Tallis.
"I put a castration curse on the door. It only would have lasted for about twenty-four hours but I had Poppy tell them it lasted two weeks. They've kept their distance."
Tallis smiled broadly. That was his Hermione, always ready to fight tooth and nail whenever he asked for her help, and more than willing to lie or cheat her way to defend her friends when necessary. "Thank you Mione. I…no matter how completely irrational I act you still make me feel ok about it. Thanks. I mean, for being you…for being my friend. Thanks for everything."
Poppy knocked on the door and poked her head in. She brightened instantly upon seeing Tallis awake and sitting up, albeit supported by a thick stack of pillows. Hermione sat at the end of the bed across from her patient, their legs intertwined. "Password?" Hermione asked, just as she had done earlier when Poppy had dropped in to check on her sleeping patient.
"Februare." She turned to Tallis, smiling happily. "I see you're up. How are you feeling, dearie?"
"OK. Is it normal to be a bit sore?" Tallis asked, blushing lightly.
"Sore as in badly torn and bleeding or sore as in the way you feel after a long night with Bill?" Poppy asked, trying to get an honest answer. Tallis always had a hard time admitting to pain on a remotely accurate scale so she tried to give examples instead. She found that he was much more honest that way. He always thought that his pain was at a level of a 2 or 3…no doubt comparing it to the pain of having a bone broken and remain untreated for weeks on end. Any normal student would put the same pain level that he declared to be a 3 at an 8 or 9. It was impossible to tell when she was getting accurate readings from him when they involved numbers. Examples though, typically worked well, and then she could just convert it in her mind.
"Erm…a bit more than long night sore. More like long night sore and early morning without much preparation sore."
Poppy smiled. Looks like he wasn't falling at all short on the physical aspect of his relationship with Bill if such a situation happened often enough that he knew it as its own category of soreness. "Yes, dear, that is perfectly normal. You'll probably feel that way for a day or two, though it should lessen nearly hourly. You won't have any discomfort at all by Tuesday. Do you mind if I run a few tests on you?" At Tallis' wary look she qualified. "Only tests with my wand, nothing under the covers." He nodded at her but still held the blankets tightly.
She stared at the results as they appeared before her and nodded in approval. "Everything looks as it should. All of the scarring was safely removed and the new skin seems to be growing well. I'd say this was a success."
Tallis grinned. "Thank you."
"Would you like to see the boys now? They're all out in the sitting room. I can send them in, if you would like."
"I'd kind of like to get out of bed if I may."
"I'll send one of them in to carry you. You shouldn't be walking yet. Any preference to who helps you?"
Tallis thought in silence for a few moments. "Maybe my Father?" Tallis asked, worried about his reaction. He knew that he had hurt him. Ron had the past six years of getting used to his friend's insanity and Bill was more used to him having crazy moments like he had earlier in the day. It was all still new to Severus. He hoped he wasn't too angry.
"Certainly. I'll go get him," she said, walking out of the room. She reentered the sitting room and glared at the men who were clearly wasted. "Tallis is awake and wishes to visit with you delinquents. I suggest a few sobriety charms. A potion or two wouldn't go amiss either."
The three men immediately sat up, although the movement was too much for Ron and he promptly fell off his seat with a loud thud. Poppy rolled her eyes. Severus pulled out his wand to cast the sobriety charm on himself but thought better of it and passed his wand to the irritated mediwitch to do for him. She quickly cast the charm on him and then turned to repeat it on the Weasley boys, grumbling the entire time about corrupting youth through alcohol.
Severus grabbed a few pepper up potions and hangover-ease potions and tossed them to the two red heads, quickly downing them himself as well. "Tallis wishes to come out here to visit. He should not walk yet and he requested that Severus come to carry him." Severus instantly started toward the room. "Listen to me and listen well, Severus," she said sharply, stopping him immediately. "That boy is terrified that you will be upset with him about his earlier fears. If you do anything to make him believe that you blame him for anything that happened earlier then I will castrate you myself, is that clear?"
Severus nodded quickly, trying to appease the angry mediwitch. "Why on earth would I be angry with him though?"
Poppy sighed. "He's convinced that you will have taken personal offense and will blame him for what he did earlier. Gods help him, he is still scared that you'll get mad at him and give him back to the Dursleys." Severus paled instantly and looked toward his son's door. Merlin, had he really done such a bad job convincing his son that he loved him? That he would always keep him? Poppy took pity on him and lightly patted his hand. "It is a common fear among those who have been abandoned or orphaned, especially among these who have suffered from abuse. Nothing you can say will get rid of it. Only time will truly cure him. He knows, for the most part, that you would never send him back to the Dursleys. He will though, from time to time no matter what you do, have these fears. Don't worry though. You are doing a remarkable job as his Father."
Severus smiled lightly and hurried on to his son's room, passing Hermione in the hall. Hermione looked into the sitting room and sighed, seeing the bottles that littered the room and the general disorder. "Honestly, you two, Tallis is going to see this and know what you were doing during his treatment. Clean up before he gets here!" she said, brandishing her wand like a sword, casting vicious cleaning charms everywhere. The boys instantly jumped into action, trying to avoid a longer lecture.
"I'm sorry, Hermione, we weren't thinking."
Hermione deflated instantly, seeing the deep concern on her friend's face. "It's alright, Ron. I'm sorry I'm so crabby. It's been a long day," she said, accepting comfort from a quick hug.
"I'm sorry, Mi. I'm sure it was even harder for you being in there. How did he do?"
"He was still worried even after we returned and warded the door but once he took the potion he calmed down pretty fast. He's in a bit of pain right now but nothing that Poppy wasn't expecting."
"Thank you for being there for him when we can't be, Hermione" Bill said softly. "He needs you so much. I wish I could do everything for him but I understand that sometimes he needs someone else. I'm glad you can be that person. You're a good friend," he said, giving her a hug as well.
"I know it hurt you to stay out here. He feels bad now that he's awake and thinking more clearly. Try not to hold it against him" she said softly.
"I never would. I have always known that there would be things that he kept from me, either from desire or necessity. And I have always known that I cannot just fix him, no matter how much I may want to. The best I can do is be there for him when he allows me and love every minute I can be near him."
"You're a good man, Bill. He's lucky to have you." The three quieted as Severus came back into the room carrying Tallis wrapped up in a heavy blanket. Evidently he had helped his son pull on some pajama pants because he hadn't asked for either Poppy or Hermione for help earlier and he wouldn't have been able to do it on his own. Poppy normally would redress a patient after such an operation but she knew that Tallis was extremely worried about anything happening to his body while he was unconscious. She knew he would feel better waking up in the same state that he had fallen asleep in. Severus gently set Tallis on the sofa, and then sat down at the other end, puling Tallis' feet into his lap so that his legs were up.
Bill sat down on the ground by Tallis' head, wanting to be close to him. He kissed him lightly on the lips. "I missed you, love. How are you feeling?"
"Pretty good, now. I'm sorry" he whispered.
"Nothing to be sorry for, Tallis. You know that. I'm just glad that you're ok." Bill lay his head down on the cushion near his lover's hands which immediately started playing with his beautiful auburn hair. Tallis had always been fascinated by its fiery color. Bill smiled and raised his hand to lightly trace Tallis' cheek.
"So, you think you'll be up for the Quidditch game tomorrow?" Ron asked eagerly.
Hermione rolled her eyes. Tallis had just been through an incredibly traumatic day and all Ron wanted to talk about was a stupid game. "Honestly Ronald, there is more to life than Quidditch!"
Tallis smiled. Ron could always make him feel better, even if it was just by distracting him. "What time it is?"
"Two o'clock. It's just Hufflepuff vs. Slytherin but it's still Quidditch. Can't miss the first game of the season!"
"I should be able to. I'd love to see it. Maybe we can leave early so Father and Bill can help me up the stairs if I need it."
"Certainly, Tallis," Severus said kindly, knowing that his son loved the sport. He himself had never really cared that much about Quidditch but he knew that for some reason it was important to his son. "Let me know when you want to leave and we will. I can carry you the whole way if you wish." He truly would have no problem carrying his son the entire distance. Despite the gained weight, Tallis was still incredibly light.
"I should be fine to walk most of it if not all of it, I just was worried I may need a bit of help. It is a lot of steps up to the teacher's box so I might need to go slowly."
"Does Hufflepuff stand a chance this year?" Bill asked. Hufflepuff was never very good at Quidditch. They were entirely too fair to cheat like the Slytherins, weren't as obsessed with bravery and victory as the Gryffindors were and lacked the sheer brilliance that helped the Ravenclaws pull in a few wins through their incredibly elaborate plays. Their wins were usually more chance than anything else.
"I've heard they have a good set of chasers this year. They got a set of twins and one of their close friends and the three work well together. Their seeker's still pretty bad but if they get far enough ahead with their goals they still might win."
The boys chatted about Quidditch for the rest of the evening while Hermione and Severus started a separate conversation about the theory behind the Wolfsbane potion. She hadn't been able to join Tallis and Draco the evening before for observation but she was still determined to begin training on it soon. If Draco Malfoy could do it then she was determined to learn it as well. Soon it was nearing curfew and the Gryffindors had to leave for the Tower. Bill took Tallis from his Father and carried him to the bathroom, helping him get ready for bed. He tucked him tightly into bed and looked hesitantly at the spot next to him. Tallis smiled and pulled the blanket back for Bill to crawl in. He quickly stripped and jumped in, pulling Tallis to him and tucking the dark head under his chin, promptly falling asleep.