Harry Potter and Co. belong to the great Rowling!
slash-SSLM
An AU-story so there'll probably be things you don't recognize.
Important Author's Note: In an effort to give Snape a bit of help along the way I've introduced his Great Great Grandmother Gytha Snape. The grandlady is not alive but exists through a portrait that she charmed using her own blood, a fact no one but her and every Lord Of Snape is aware of.
Lady Gytha Snape never married due to the fact that she took over as Head of the Snapes when her two brothers passed away prematurely. Her fiancee, unwilling or unable to marry someone who would hold more power and prestige than him, called the wedding off. Strangely enough the Wizard never married.
A Question of Honor.
Chapter six. Strife steps in.
Young Severus woke with a start feeling slightly dazed. Where was he? This wasn't his bed! And who was the blonde kid sleeping next to him? And why was he holding his hand! Ewww! Without a second thought Severus let go and scooted to the end of the bed. The move made him dizzy and Severus sat still until the room started spinning. When he felt steady enough he looked around carefully. This was not his room or the room he had used while at his relatives so where was he? He sighed and tried to remember. The images began coming to him...his Grandfather had sold him or given him away...he remembered money being discussed so yeah he had been sold. That meant that the Prince's were done with him, that at least that was a good thing but now what. Looking over to the blonde on the bed he frowned remembering the youth and his stares. He looked down at himself he was dressed in pajamas with tiny brooms that whizzed back and forth. Looking back at the still sleeping youth he wondered why they were sharing a bed. If the size of the room was anything to go by he was sure the Malfoys could've spared another bedroom. Wizards were an odd lot. Well, weird or not he wasn't sticking around. He didn't know the Malfoys but with his luck they were probably just as bad as the Princes. Taking care not to wake the now snoring boy he moved off the bed and looked for a pair of slippers but didn't find any. Ignoring the light-headedness he felt as he stepped away he left the room.
As far as he knew Wizards traveled by floo, which meant that he had to find a fireplace that held floo powder so he could leave. Except for one time, the Princes had always managed to keep him away from the fireplaces but here there was no one to prevent him from leaving. Careful not to wake any of the sleeping portraits and ignoring the funny feeling that told him to go back and get in bed Severus tip toed down the hall. Now, if he were a fireplace with floo powder... where would he be?
---
Lucius felt a pull and opened his eyes with a groan. What now? Looking over to where Severus was supposed to be he was startled to see it empty. The little brat was gone! Feeling the bond's pull he rose from the bed and grabbed his robe; he was about to leave the room when the door opened and Abraxas Malfoy and his wife walked in.
"Where is he?" Lord Abraxas asked his wand in his hand. The charm he had place on Severus had alerted him that the boy had woken up.
Fighting the dizziness Lucius leaned on the bed as his mother rushed to his side.
"He's burning up My Lord." Eugenia exclaimed before whispering a cooling charm over her son. Lucius struggled to focus and answered, "He's gone. The bond woke me up several minutes ago."
Helping his son sit on the bed Abraxas called his house elf. "TUNI!"
"Yes Master," an eager looking elf cried appearing before the tall blonde.
"Severus?" the pureblood asked urgently.
Cocking his head as if to listen to a voice only he could hear the elf answered after a few seconds. "He's in the main library ...no he's not!" The elf quickly added.
"What do you mean? He's not!" Lady Malfoy demanded.
"He uses the floo. He left the Manor." The elf explained.
Feeling the bond stretch to an almost breaking point. Lucius gasped in pain, Severus was gone! Merlin! He was gone! Instinctively he grabbed onto his Father's arm, Lord Abraxas supported his son's weight and helped him lie down. "Get him back! Please!" The young blonde hissed before passing out.
-----
minutes earlier...
The portrait of Lord Phinehas Malfoy observed the door creak open and a dark mop of hair peek inside. The small head looked from one side to the other and turned to his painting but the legendary Malfoy hung his head and feigned sleep.
Severus looked from the portrait to the large fireplace and the floo powder on a small side table and smiled regardless of the headache that had decided to join his upset stomach. Making sure he did not wake the sleeping Wizard the boy tiptoed to the towering fireplace. Wow! It was enormous. Maybe they're compensating for something. He wasn't exactly sure what that meant but had heard his father murmur it to his Mother when he spoke about the Princes. Grabbing some floo powder and ignoring the sudden need to throw up Severus went to stand inside the fireplace. He had seen his cousins use the floo once but had never used it himself so he was a little bit nervous.
"Stop!" Phinehas shouted startling Severus but not stopping him in the least.
Closing his eyes tightly, Severus threw the powder, and shouted, "Snape Hall!"
When the green flames turned into a fiery red and then black a single word escaped Phinehas Malfoy, "Gytha"
----
Abraxas was about to step out of the room when his Great Great Great Uncle stepped into the picture of Malfoy Manor hanging in Lucius' room.
"Abraxas!" The booming voice rang out through out the room causing a startled gasp from Lucius and Eugenia.
"I'm in a hurry Sir." Abraxas said over his shoulder.
"He's gone to Snape Hall and the floo has been sealed!"
"Snape Hall? You saw him." Of all the places! How was he supposed to get the child now? He'd have to go to the Ministry. It'd be difficult and expensive...but there was no other way.
Phinehas looked from his great great grand nephew to Lucius. "Is he alright?"
"The bond..." Abraxas explained pacing the room. "I'll have to go to the Ministry to get the floo open. Legally, he's ours..."
"Legally he's supposed to be a squib carrier...the Snapes will try to use it."
"Any Snapes that might exist are squibs besides he's underage, an orphan. This is where he belongs. He's bound to Lucius!" Eugeina protested trying to ease her son's discomfort with calming charms.
"And can remain to be so while in the Ministry's custody. The Minsitry will not listen to squibs fighting for their squib relative but the Ministry might listen to squibs fighting for their Wizard Lord. The law may not do much for Squib Carriers but Wizarding ones are entirely different especially if they stand to inherit the house of Snape. That there was money exchanged for Severus would look bad for the Malfoys and don't think for a minute that the Princes will not try to get him back."
Abraxas had never bee so angry with himself. How could he not have shut the floo down! "What do you have in mind?"
-----
Meanwhile...
Severus Snape stumbled into an eerily cold and abandoned room. Ok maybe Snape Hall hadn't been the best choice but hadn't his father told him that the floo here was connected to some Snape squibs that lived in Scotland. The problem was where in Scotland? He had hoped that someone living in Snape Hall would help him but looking at the dusty sheet covered room he knew that that would not be the case.
Wiping his sweaty brow and wrapping his arms around his body for warmth Severus looked around with a tired sigh. After a couple of minutes he sat down on one of the dusty sofas to think things out. He was ten, his Mum and Dad where gone. He still couldn't bring himself to say the word dead. His mother's family had sold him to the Malfoys, they had cast a spell that had hurt him, he was Lucius' carrier whatever that meant. He had escaped from the Malfoy's house and was now in his father's ancestral home trying to make his way back to his squib relatives but he didn't know their address. He was alone, his head was pounding he was sweating but was terribly cold.
"Now what do I do?" he mumbled dejectedly. Get warm; he thought and quickly grabbed one of the sheets covering a small end table. When he had gotten some of his shivering under control, he moved to the door and tried to turn the knob but nothing happened; the door was locked. Trying not to panic he moved away and looked around the room but there didn't seem to be any other way out. Clutching the dusty sheet, he closed his eyes and bit his trembling lip. He wouldn't cry! He wouldn't cry! He chanted as he leaned on the door and slowly slid to the cold floor as darkness overtook him. His Great Great Grandmother Gytha Snape's portrait looked on in somber silence from a shadowy corner.
A quarter of an hour later...
After making sure that Severus was sleeping fitfully or as fitfully as one in his situation could Gytha Snape went back to her painting as quickly as the other portraits let her. Snape Hall was in an uproar and everyone wanted to know about the young Lord. To make time Gytha had asked for everyone's patience and had told them to keep a watchful eye on Severus. As a result, the three paintings that hung in the young Lord's room were a bit over crowded at the moment.
With a sigh the tall witch sat back sipping her tea and waited for morning to warm her room and for her caller. When she saw a tall form in the horizon of her painting, she took a deep breath and waited.
"My dear Gytha."
"Phinehas Malfoy," the witch exclaimed mildly. Well, this was going to be interesting!
The elaborately dressed blonde bowed and kissed the outstretched hand. "Gytha, it's always a pleasure."
"Are you here about my great -great -grand son?" Lady Gytha asked coolly. "Slippery, isn't he? A true Snape." The tall dark haired beauty smiled in amusement. "He came through a couple of minutes ago...he seemed tuckered out so I got the elves to take him to bed. A good nap will do him good."
"You're not worried that he might be-"
"Hurt? We Snapes are stronger than we look. How's Lucius fairing though?" Phinehas simply arched his brow but remained silent. Sly witch!
half an hour later...
"Two of the children!"
"Two, it doesn't matter if they're males. Unlike most families we Snapes do not care if the head of our house is male or female."
Phinehas shook his head. Gytha was insane! "One."
"Two." The Witch pressed sipping her chamomile tea.
"We don't have to agree. He's already a Malfoy." Phinehas stood to pace the small garden.
"He's a Snape Malfoy and Lord of the Snapes and a Wizard carrier. That carries weight anywhere."
"The Ministry will-"
"Let's leave the Ministry out of this, shall we? He's an orphan, alone and betrayed by his mother's family, suspicious of all of you." The witch murmured waving her hand at her caller.
"He'll get used to it."
"Are you that sure? He's a Wizard carrier not a Squib carrier the difference is more than you'd care to admit. I can convince him to go along."
"The bond can do that." Phinehas argued.
"He's a Snape...and you know what they say about us..."
"I coined the phrase incase you don't remember." Phinehas countered observing the handsome witch.
Gytha leaned back looking at her flawless hands...they had been greatly admired when she had been alive...when all the squib business had started. Resting her hands on the arm rests she looked at the love of her life. After the House of Snape that is. If Phinehas was going to be difficult then she would just tighten the screws. "Ugly business Dark Lords..." She began softly. "...some children think they know what's best and go along, still some families might survive what is coming."
Phinehas remained poker faced but that was more telling than anything he might've said. Of course she was talking about Lucius and his fascination with the pureblood creed and the rumors of a new Dark Lord. "After six generations of being cursed with squibs and weak Lords, the Snapes have produced a Wizard carrier...if anything we have proven that nothing is impossible to us can you say the same for the Malfoys, Phinehas?"
Phinehas pursed his lips. They could try to remove the child by force but any attempt to break the Snape wards would certainly bring the attention of the Ministry and who knew how they would react to the sale of a Wizard carrier and one that was in line to inherit the house of Snape. "I should've married you Gytha"
The witch shrugged, "...the world is full of should'ves, could'ves, would'ves. I made my peace with your decision..." The tall blonde half smiled in return. "Stupid though, it may have been." The Witch finished with a smirk. "I'd like it in writing then."
"In writing?"
"IN WRITING." Lucrecia repeated. She had been Lord of Snape when she had been alive and had charmed her portrait with her own blood before she had died because she knew that this crucial moment would come. The house of Snape needed new blood but with squibs being born like rabbits no house worth being conected to had ever consider any of them as marriable. Malfoy blood would do them good.
Severus was young enough to learn what it meant to be a true Lord. If they were both careful his children would too, at least the second and fourth would. They had to be smarter than all of them or Snape House would not survive another generation. After Tobias' death the Snapes had seemed doomed now things were different. She would be an idiot not to take advatage of the opportunity fate had given them.
"They'll have to marry then. Snape house will be a protectorate of the Malfoys until the third and fourth borns reach the age of consent and come to the House of Snape."
"Second and fourth." Gytha corrected putting her cup down. Married. Oh how she'd love to see Lord Prince's face when his thievery came to a screeching halt! The bastard!
"THIRD AND FOURTH!" Phinehas insisted.
The witch looked at her one time fiancee coldly. After almost three centuries he still thought he could have his way when it came to her and her family. "Good day Phinehas!"
Phinehas pursed his lips angrily, and remembered why he hadn't married the only woman he had truly loved. With her stubborness and his impatience they would've hexed each other to death. "Fine! You stubborn wench."
"Coming from you that's a compliment." Gytha replied smiling, "Now tell Lord Abraxas that we'll expect him, Lady Eugenia, and Lucius and anyone else he'd care to bring at one for lunch, you're invited of course. We'll sign the contract and get them married at three. Make sure you bring your solicitor as we'll have ours present."
"And the bond?" Phinehas folded his arms smugly. If Lucius was in pain then the boy would surely be suffering.
The witch thought about it for a while and then shrugged, "the pain will make them understand how important it is for them not only to be together but to stay together. It's a lesson best learned early, don't you think? Now, if you don't mind I need to check up on Severus."
AN: I must admit I couldn't decide where to go with this story. I didn't want to make Severus suffer for the sake of suffering especially after DH (I'm still barfing over the ending.) so I rewrote half of the chapter and have decided to take a more Slytherin approach to the story. A little FYI the name Gytha means "strife or war" and Phinehas means "serpent's mouth." Let me know what you think of Lady Gytha and Phinehas. I promise plenty of Severus in the next chapter.
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