The Rose in the Dark
Summary- What happens when someone slips Harry a box of drugged chocolate on Valentines Day?
Disclaimer- I own only the plotline, not the wonderful characters. They belong only to that gorgeous goddess of ingenuity, J.K.
Warning- Kinda smutty, then it gets dark and tragic, then it might get a happy ending. Contains implied yaoi, slight lemon, mpreg, the mebbe death of a character of my own making. I was pms-ing when I wrote this. RATED M FOR A REASON, FOLKS!!! Oh, and it is a Severitus, just for my sister, Netrixie. This is evil Dumbledore bashing. I needed to write one to get the bile out of my system, so I can concentrate on my good Dumbledore stories.
Author's Note 1- in my story, the tables are arranged in the Great Hall in the following order, if you are overlooking the Hall from the staff table- Slytherin on the far left, then Hufflepuff, then Ravenclaw, with Gryffindor on the far right. Don't yell at me, this is just for this story. I think.
Author's Note 2- there's nothing going on between Remus and Sirius, other than the fact that they are really good friends. What might look like a threesome including them and Snape is just the awesome coolness of how close they get to each other.
Author's Note 3- Don't freak. I'm reposting the whole bulk of the original story in 9 parts. Chapter 10 is when the new stuff appears, for those of you who have this on Author alert.
Part 8
They left the common room, laughing as Sirius ran up to portraits and spooked them, or renewed some acquaintances. By the time they reached the dungeons, all of them had stitches in their sides from laughing at his antics. They had all calmed down and Remus and Sirius ended up in the back of the group as they entered the common room.
The two of them watched as Hermione went over to Pansy, dragging her back over to the door. Ron had wandered over to Blaise, standing over his chair wearing a confused expression as he listened to the Slytherin explain Transfiguration to fifth years. Harry had walked over to Draco and thumped down on the couch next to him, plopping his feet up on the table.
Remus saw Draco scold him for it, but saw also the content smile curving the blondes lips, and the warm smirk he sent to the Gryffindor. Remus shook his head. That was either the weirdest pairing he'd ever seen, or the best suited one.
His musings were interrupted by the arrival of Pansy and Hermione. Hermione had a big grin on her face as she said, "Remus, Sirius, this is Pansy Parkinson, my best friend. Pansy," she said to the girl, "I realize you know Remus, but Sirius is Harry's godfather."
Pansy looked him over with an almost perfectly cold mask, marred only by the slight curve of her lips. "I've always wanted to meet a mass murderer. Pleasure, I'm sure." Her extended hand was engulfed by the animagus' bigger one as Sirius laughed at her.
"Trust me, I'm not the Black you should be scared of. You should have met my mother." They shared a conspiratorial smile, and Remus groaned. He'd known, just known, that bringing him been a bad idea.
Pansy turned to her former professor and he smiled. "Pleasure to see you again, Miss. Parkinson." She smiled and offered her hand to him in turn. He bowed over it as she said, "Please, call me Pansy."
"Only if you call me Remus." He heard Sirius snort behind him. Pansy gave him a blinding smile, then turned to Hermione and gave her a warmer grin, gesturing to the common room at large.
"I believe the rest of the circle might like to meet these two wonderful men." Hermione grinned and bowed to the Slytherin, saying, "Please feel free to introduce them at your earliest convenience." Remus raised an eyebrow.
The Hermione Granger he remembered had been a lot tenser, and more rigid about joking around. This one was an unexpected, although pleasant, change. A glance at Sirius confirmed that he felt the same way.
Pansy cleared her throat, the cast Sonorous. "If I could have your attention?" the room looked up, those closest to the girl covering their ears and wincing. "Thank you. We have some guests with us today. May I present Remus Lupin, who was a former professor here, and Sirius Black, Harry's godfather. Play nice."
She canceled the charm with a wave of her wand, and Sirius pouted, asking, "What happened to mass murderer?" She gave him an unreadable look, then said, "Though the title of mass murderer would garner respect, being Harry's godfather, and therefore important to him, is much more significant."
Sirius started laughing. "Is there any chance that there are any available older man with your sense of humor? Cause I'm guessing your taken." Remus was surprised. He hadn't gotten any such signals.
Pansy looked over at Hermione and said, "Yes I do and yes I am. However, we have a meeting to attend. If you will?" Sirius followed Pansy across the room, talking and joking around with her.
Remus looked over at Hermione, slightly confused. "What was that?" Hermione sighed. "Pansy just made another conquest. Come on, lets get to this meeting."
p.o.-p.o.-p.o.-p.o.-p.o.-p.o.-
Snape sighed as he scanned the occupants of his living room. Harry and Draco were cuddled together on his sofa, Blaise was leaning against the wall with Ron in a chair in front of him. Hermione was perched on the edge of a chair, Pansy standing hipshot next to her. Remus and Sirius were sitting as well, with Sirius stretched slouched on a sofa, legs extended and ankles crossed in front of him, with his hands folded across his stomach. Remus was sitting rigidly on the last chair in the room, legs crossed and hands steepled under his chin.
He sighed and started talking. "I have been talking to the teachers. Many of them had heard of Dumbledore's proposed plan to eliminate Harry's problem."
The occupants of the room shifted, and Remus growled. Somehow, the feral, animalistic sound calmed Severus' nerves, and he continued. "I had entertained the possibility of letting them in on your little rebellion, but thought I should tell you all before doing so."
Hermione shifted and spoke up. "Professor, I think most of them aren't exactly pleased with the Headmaster's policies anymore. For example, you're not the only one that allows Harry to sleep in class."
There was some laughter at that statement, true though it was. Snape snorted, then said, "We will compare notes on the other teachers later. I'm sure that you and Miss. Parkinson have a comprehensive list already."
More laughter.
"However, there is something that I need to tell Harry. If you would follow me?" The Gryffindor exchanged nervous looks with his friends, and the Potions Master lost patience. "The times when I would want to draw and quarter you are long gone." he snapped.
Harry sent him a shy smile, and rose to follow Snape into his private quarters. They settled into the teachers surprisingly comfortable chairs, both facing towards the fire. They sat that way for a few minutes as Snape gathered up his courage.
"Eighteen years ago, I was coerced into accepting a vow that, had I been in my right mind, I would never have made."
Harry inhaled sharply, saying, "That's what you had Hermione and Pansy looking into."
Snape smiled at him, then continued. "I was told it was for my own good, that it would protect…someone I cared for. Instead, the opposite occurred."
"You have seen my memories, those of James Potter torturing me, of my calling your mother a mudblood, of her refusing to accept my apologies?" Harry nodded, not sure where this was going.
"I love your mother. Still do, after all these years," Snape said in a contemplative tone. "You see, we had a plan. Those memories you saw were real, but not the emotions behind them." He shook his head, frustrated. "I had this all planned out, and for the life of me, I cannot remember any of it."
Harry just looked at him. He had an odd feeling running around in his stomach, and it wasn't just his baby. Snape sighed. "It never would have done for the Dark Lord to find out that I was in love with a mudblood. He would have killed her in front of me. So we created this elaborate plan. We'd pretend to hate each other, be cold and hostile. But it was the opposite. We snuck out together, to the lake, to the Room of Requirement, the Astronomy Tower, any where we could be alone. I don't remember much of that year but for the time I spent with your mother."
He paused and stared into the fire, well aware of the eyes boring into his skull. "Towards the end of the year, she started getting sick in the morning. We didn't want to tell Madame Pomphrey, but eventually we did."
He stopped and swallowed, glancing at Harry as he said the next bit. "Lily was pregnant." The boy paled, and started to shake. Snape wanted, with all his heart, to get up and hug the boy, but he had to get the rest out.
"The nurse told Dumbledore, and that, old, interfering bastard asked her into his office. She was up there for hours, and when she came down, she walked right past me. It was like I didn't even exist. I went to his office, and the Headmaster-" he stopped and gulped, remembered horror on his face, "he cast the Imperious curse on me. He forced me to accept a Vow that I would never seek out Lily Evans, never talk to her about anything relating to our relationship, never let on to her or anyone that her child was my son."
Harry was…he was… there was no one word to explain how he felt at that moment. Hatred directed to Dumbledore, pain at the revelation of the depths the man would sink to to get his own way, and shock that one of his parents was still alive. Snape continued.
"When I left his office, I went straight to Bellatrix and asked her to snoop around for me. When she came back, she told me that James Potter and Lily Evans were engaged to be married, that she was two months pregnant with his child, and that they'd been together for two years. I was so angry. You have no idea how angry I was. The day after graduation, Bella, Lucious and I went to the Dark Lord and openly declared our support for him. I would have done anything at that point to get back at Dumbledore."
They had been sitting in silence for a few minute before Harry asked the first thing that came to mind. "How did he convince my mother and fa-James that they were together?" Snape turned to Harry and sighed. "I'm not sure, but I think he tampered with their memories. He probably replaced every memory of me with a picture of James, and for him, every memory of the multitude of girls he'd been with with one of Lily. It is black magic, of the darkest kind."
The boy nodded, then swallowed and said in a whisper, "How do I know for sure that you're telling the truth?" Snape smiled wearily and produced a bottle of veritaserum. He placed three drops on his tongue and said, "I am your father. Dumbledore had me under a Vow of silence for eighteen years about your mother and you. I love her, and" he paused, "I love you as well."
The silence stretched on for minutes, and both of them sat there, Harry trying to accept this turn of events, and Snape desperately hoping that the boy wouldn't hate him. Finally, Harry sighed and said, "Well, at least that explains where I got the height, hair and musculature from. By all accounts, James was short, scrawny and a brunet." He sent a shy smile at Snape then.
Snape smiled in relief- if the boy was going to joke about it, that meant he'd accepted it. The potions master rose with a bone popping stretch, saying as he did so, "We'd best rejoin the others. They most likely think I've butchered you for ingredients." Harry laughed as he rose, then stopped as something occurred to him. "Sn-Sev-Professor, is that why you were so, uh, nice in the Hospital Wing?"
The man nodded, his face blank with anger. "That old fool had just suggested I urge you to abort my grandson. I was proud of you, yes, but the feeling would have been greater had I not been concentrating on restraining my homicidal tendencies." Harry grinned. Snape continued. "You can call me Severus, Snape, Professor, whatever makes you the most comfortable. But please, refrain from calling me Sevvie." the man snorted in disgust. "I really should have beaten Draco the first time he called me that."
Harry couldn't help it. He burst out laughing. He had to reach a hand out and prop himself up on the wall to prevent himself from falling down. Snape cracked a smile. It disappeared however, when Harry gasped, "Sevvie- I'll have to remember that one." then he dissolved back into laughter.
Snape snorted in disgust and ushered the convulsing boy back into the sitting room, where there were seven very impatient people waiting for them. Their eyebrows flew up when they say the quietly cackling Gryffindor, and watched as he resumed his seat next to Draco. The Slytherin twisted to look at him and asked, "What the hells the matter with you?"
Harry took one look at his fiancés face, said, "Sevvie!" and cracked up again. Draco sent an apprehensive glance to his god father, then concentrated on calming his boyfriend down.
It took a while, but once he finally had, everyone looked at Snape. "If you want to know what happened, feel free to ask the bloody insane Gryffindor. As it is, I have had quite enough of people being in my private quarters, so feel free to leave." When no one got up, he glowered at them and said, "Now." The kids were up and out of there so fast Snape was surprised that their head's didn't spin.
He glared at the two canines who were still sitting comfortably on his sofa. They grinned at him. "Dumbledore wants us to 'keep an eye on you'." Sirius said. Remus grinned, and added, "He thinks you might be a 'traitor to the cause'. Snape narrowed his eyes, but with a wave of his wand, turned the two sofa's into beds, complete with comforters and sheets. He scowled and said, "Goodnight." he turned and billowed out of the room.
p.o.-p.o.-p.o.-p.o.-p.o.-p.o.
Remus and Sirius grinned at each other as they stripped for bed. "Do you think he likes us, Remmy?" Sirius asked with a dopily hopeful expression on his face.
Remus threw a pillow at him. "Shut up and go to bed, you great big slobbering mutt."
Sirius narrowed his eyes as he got under the covers. "Murdering pest."
Remus replied as he turned of the lights with a flick of his wand. "Pot, kettle, black."
Rolling his eyes, Sirius snuggled into his cushy down blanket and muttered, "Goodnight."
"Night, yourself."
