Disclaimer – see Prelude.
Author's Notes – On the premise that we the authors are university students, I'd just like to say, don't expect the chapters to be placed on the site for several weeks. Due to our hectic schedules and mountains of assigned take home work, not to mention the sheer amount of detail that we are placing into this story, we will be updating once every three weeks or so. And to address certain concerns which have been expressed to us the authors, we would like to say that this story is about Harry's university experience and the changes that occur to all students during their often tedious and overwhelming first year.
Knowing this from experience, first year is a confusing and most often time overpowering, we the authors have made and are making Harry and the other character's first year into an affair of similar proportions. We are also compounding this experience by adding existentialistic imagery portraying the heartfelt mania and depressions of a student learning that their whole life has been a fabrication of astronomical proportions and that his once thought to be eternally lost family is not quite as decimated as he had been told on many previous occasions.
In other words this is going to be a really long fic because we're still getting the characters to where we want them to be mentally before springing the whole Snape as a father thing on them.
And now on with the story…
Hogwarts University
Chapter 5 – I Want to Sing
* * * *
The bright light of dawn woke Alendi for the third day in a row, to her great dismay. 'Bluger! Can't the sun just not come up for once?' Growling she threw a pillow at the bay window, silently cursing her house elf for being an insufferable morning person. Settling back into her pillows Alendi groaned, her skull felt like it was three sizes too small for her brain. After having danced with Severus, Alendi had started drinking, not the most brilliant move on her part, but at the time it had seemed appropriate. 'I guess I went a little overboard.' "Sprik. I need a hangover cure."
Alendi's loud singsong woke Severus, who cracked his eyes open and glared at the door of his new living quarters. Snape's new room had once been the house's bathing room. He had watched the day before as Alendi and the Transfiguration professor Sarah Rose, arranged for the room to open to the girls as the normal Turkish Bath with one password, and to his room with another. His room had a large bed identical to Alendi's in all but color, his had black hangings and hers had blue. The walls were covered nearly completely by floor to ceiling bookcases and the only breaks coming from a single desk and worktable, and the door to his own, utilitarian lavatory.
After hearing Alendi call out to her house elf again Severus closed his eyes and buried his head under his pillow, determined to not get out of bed until he absolutely had to.
Alendi on the other hand, was now very happy and very awake, moments after Sprik had given her the hangover potion. Laughing, she sprung out of her bed, surprising even herself at her unusually chipper attitude. Moving over to the door across from the bay window she giggled as she gave the password for the bath. "Paene advenimus."
The door opened to the into the houses' Turkish Bath. The bath itself was the size of a small swimming pool, being able to fit all of the girls from the house comfortably. The tiles in the pool were violet and silver, the house crest in a mosaic on the bottom of the pool, appearing distorted because of the movement of the water. The crest was silver lined with a violet background. A female greyhound in gold surrounded by navy blue and silver ribbons holding up a violet witch's hat with a silver moon decorating it, was emblazoned upon it. Surrounding the bathing pool were chaise lounges with plush violet and silver velvet pillows.
As she slid into the bath she sighed. 'It's going to be a good day today. My girls have been plotting and from what I can tell, they were successful in their scheme,' she thought gleefully as she sat in the pool staring out the floor to ceiling windows at the Quidditch pitch. 'I can't wait to see Severus' reaction.'
An hour later she left the bath, stretching as she walked over to her armoire, where she pulled out an emerald green robe with silver sleeve, a black short skirt and spaghetti strap tank top. Laying they out on her bed, she picked up her 8½ in mahogany and unicorn hair wand from her nightstand and gave it a swish, shutting the curtains, drying her hair, and cleaning the room. She dressed quickly and pulled on her boots. As she was lacing them up, she called to Severus in order to wake him.
" Severus! It's time for breakfast."
Alendi's lilting soprano re-awoke Severus, who had, after her shouting earlier, burrowed into his blankets, burying himself completely under the black bed sheets. Pulling his blankets back far enough to uncover his head he looked blearily at his bedside table, seeking out the clock sitting there. Pulling it from its place, he brought it several centimeters from his nose to stare at it. It was nearly a full minute later that he realized that it was just after 7 AM, an hour before his first class of the day. Groaning he placed the clock back in its place, not wanting to get up for the day. Hearing the door to Alendi's room slam shut, he growled and sat up, running sleep-numbed fingers through his tumbled hair. After stretching, cat like, Severus slipped out of his bed and padded slowly to his own bathroom. "Nunquam," allowed him entry to the utilitarian room. Having gone through with his morning routine, he dressed in his usual robes. Sweeping out of the room, his robes billowing around him, he moved through Alendi's spacious room, empty of is occupant, to the door leading to the second floor common room.
Emerging from their chambers, he saw two of the Britholden girls sitting at one of the three small tables eating breakfast. He recognized one as being a former student of his from Hogwarts, and the other as someone he had never taught before.
"Miss Jinxy shouldn't you and your housemate be eating in the Great Hall?"
"Professor Dragnon said that we could have our breakfast here since our classes aren't for several more hours."
"And you, Miss?"
"Belladonna deRussou, Malgram School, Oregon, USA, Coyote House, Third Year. And I have the same excuse."
Severus glared at them before sweeping down the stairs, ignoring the giggles of the girls behind him.
Once they heard the front door slam shut behind him, Belladonna and Luna broke down laughing.
"Merlin's beard, that was funny!"
"He didn't even notice!"
The door to the 3rd Years room opened and a black haired girl stuck her head out and spoke, her Brazilian accent thickened by sleep, "What is going on?"
Belladonna answered with a wicked looking grin, "Singing my dear Marisol. Singing."
* * * *
Severus was not pleased with how the girls had answered him. It was obvious that they had been ready to give into laughter. 'Well,' he thought, 'I'll just have to see to it that they learn the proper way to treat a professor in my class. No more silly female laughter at my expense.'
* * * *
The 'Hogwarts Dream Team' watched as Snape stalked past them with a deadly expression on his darkened features.
"What do you think got up his arse this morning?" Ron asked, thinking out loud.
"Probably just the fact that the Britholden girls managed to successfully con him into living in their house for the year." Hermione answered.
"How'd you find that out Mione? I thought that Piagera was against them in the house war.""
"We are Ron, but that doesn't mean that we aren't up on all of the gossip. After all, all of the students in Piagera are learning how to be professors and professors need to know the gossip so that they can properly react to their students."
This remark drew the attention of Harry, who had been staring after Snape with a bewildered expression. He was trying to figure out a question, which had been plaguing him for nearly a year. He had noticed that ever since his fifteenth birthday, he had been looking and acting more like Professor Snape. He hadn't realized until his glasses had been filched at the beginning of seventh year that any of the changes were even occurring. He had spent many nights the year before just staring into the fire in the Gryffindor common room thinking over it. He had a few ideas about what was happening, but none of them made any sense yet. "Mione, I never realized you were into gossip. I guess this just goes to prove that you really are a girl and not just an, 'insufferable know-it-all'," he teased, gently mimicking Snape as he quoted him, a small smile on his face.
Ron paled slightly, "Don't do that Harry. It's creepy."
Harry shook his head slightly, mild confusion etched across his features. "Do what Ron?"
Ron shivered in a melodramatic fashion as he answered, "Quote Snape like that with a straight face. It makes you look even more like him than you usually do."
Hermione glared at her boyfriend, "Ron that is not a nice thing to be calling Harry. He's nothing like Professor Snape."
Ron stared at her in disbelief, while Harry rolled his eyes at the both of them.
"Don't tell me you never noticed how much Harry looks like Snape nowadays."
"I'll admit that he does share a few physical characteristics with Professor Snape, but I think it is because as Harry has grown older, he grew out of looking like his father and developed features inherited from his mother."
"That's not it Mione. Yeah he looks more like his mum, but ever since he was fifteen he's been looking more like Professor Snape and less like his dad James Potter."
"Ron…"
Harry cut off Hermione before the argument could escalate any further. "Guys! Unless you want to go hungry until lunch, I'd suggest that we all go into the Great Hall and get ourselves some breakfast."
* * * *
Severa Valfoy discovered to her great annoyance that all the professors were singing, when she walked into the Great Hall for breakfast that morning. Rolling her eyes, she moved towards the Slytherin-Britholden table, but stopped when her cousin called to her from outside the Hall. Turning she saw him walking in, his now shoulder length hair slicked back into a ponytail. She anticipated his reaction to the professors singing, as it meant that she would be able to reprimand him again.
"What the fuck are they doing?"
Smiling sweetly, she glided with light steps to Draco's side and without warning slapped him upside the head. When all the former Hogwarts students started to applaud, she nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
"What the bloody devil was that for?" Draco whined as he glared at his cousin.
"Don't use that sort of language. It's demeaning. It's really for the lower classes, that sort of thing is. It's not befitting our social stature."
Pouting, Draco continued to glare at Severa. "I'll say whatever I please. You're not my mother."
Severa cut him off from his little I'm better than you speech, by slapping him again. Ignoring the cheering from the students and the stares from the now silent professors, Severa walked the rest of the way to the Slytherin-Britholden table. "Idiot," she muttered as she sat and started to pile food on her breakfast plate.
A few minutes later a soft female voice interrupted her musings. "Excuse me? Do you mind if I sit next to you?"
Severa didn't even look up as she shrugged and waved at the seat next to her.
"You're the only other girl from Britholden who's here except for Miss Vesdemort, our prefect."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. I'm guessing that none of the others in our house are morning people."
"We don't do mornings dear." Severa finally looked up at the girl next to her, she was a blond haired, blue-eyed chit, dressed to the nines in blood-red silk robes. "Oh, hello Sabina."
Sabina Weilsey, former nice girl of Slytherin house. Pure blooded, but without the history of Dark Magic in her family that many former Slytherin's had. How she had been sorted into Slytherin in the first place was really anyone's guess, because everyone had thought that she would have ended up in Gryffindor, or Hufflepuff.
"Bloody brilliant the way you handled Draco. Always thought that he deserved a good slap up side the head. I couldn't do it myself of course, not with Crabbe and Goyle always following him around like puppies. I've done it a few times to my older brothers though."
Severa smiled unenthusiastically and said softly, "Really, how nice."
"So what's your first class today? Is it Potions like mine?"
"Yes, I'm going to talk to Professor Snape and see about getting it changed though. It is at an ungodly hour." Severa's smile became a little devious. "Did you hear that Professor Snape is going to be making everyone in first year potions review everything we did for our NEWTs?"
"Really?"
Severa shrugged, "It's just a rumor. Whom do we have Potions with by the way?"
Sabina pulled out a piece of parchment from a pocket in her robes. Looked at it she answered, "Slytherin and Gryffindor are having Potions with us."
"That means that the Potter brat is going to in our classes then," Severa scowled, "and that idiot Weasley that always follows him around everywhere. Well, everyone needs a lackey I suppose."
"Well Ronald is my cousin so he can't be all that bad. Not to mention that your cousin Draco will be in our classes as well." Sabina said with a shy smile.
Severa raised her eyebrow at her, "Draco?"
"What? I think he's cute."
"Yes, you and every other Slytherin girl."
"True. But at least now that they're not here, I've got a go at him."
"Whatever do you see in my cousin?"
"Tall, handsome in a pale moonlight sort of way, rich, and of course pure-blooded."
"But then he has to go and open his mouth."
"Well, he won't need his mouth when we're married, now will he."
Severa shook her head lightly. Now she knew why Sabina had been placed into Slytherin, she was ambitious, candid, and not afraid to use her 'talents'. "Well class starts in a few minutes, I suppose we should get going then."
* * * *
It was at precisely eight AM that Professor Snape slammed open the door to the Potions classroom. He swept into the room in a flurry of black robes, looking for all intents and purposes, like an over grown bat. His deep baritone filled the room as he started to give his beginning of year speech for first years. "There will be no foolish wand waving in this class…" His voice came to an abrupt halt when he unintentionally hit a high note. A brief smattering of giggles earned a dark glare promising death at several of the students before he stalked back out of the door.
As soon as the door had slammed shut nearly the entire class erupted in laughter, earning all of the first years a dark look from one Gryffindor and the cloaked figure sitting in the back of the room. Harry Potter's eyes had followed the professor out of the room, a troubled frown gracing his elvish features before turning into a Snape-ish glare directed towards his classmates. They shouldn't be laughing at him. It's not his fault. He didn't ask for that curse to be placed on him. It's unjust how they are treating him.
"Silence!"
The shouted command shocked the class into instant submission and brought Harry out of his musings.
Harry glanced at Ron, before both turned in their seats to look at the mysterious creature who had spoken. In a perfect imitation of the absent professor, Harry cocked an eyebrow as he scowled, "Miss Vesdemort, I should have figured you'd be here this morning."
Miss Vesdemort smiled serenely as she threw her cloak off. "Excellent deduction Mister Potter. You are a credit to your name."
"Do not mock me Miss Riddle."
At Harry's blatant use of her name, most of the class gasped in fear, or sat forward in anticipation of a fight. Miss Vesdemort's face darkened, her fists white knuckled at her sides.
"How dare you call me that," her answer was immediate and angry.
"It's your name, is it not? I'm just using it."
His answer gave her pause, as did the manner in which he had answered. Harry had unintentionally quoted Professor Snape from the first day that Lucinda had met him, complete with scowl.
"I don't have time for this Potter, I have a class to teach." Scowling at the rest of the class she decided to take her anger out on them, instead of Harry. A new respect for the Slytherin-like Gryffindor was starting to grow in her, as was a curiosity about how he had managed to imitate her favored professor so perfectly. "I will be taking over this class and you will listen. 'There will be NO foolish wand waving or silly incantations in this class. As such I don't expect many of you to appreciate the subtle science and exact art that is potion making. However, for those select few who possess the predisposition, I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death.'*"
* * * *
Professor Ivy Flintbottom sat heavily into her chair in the faculty lounge, confusion and anger warring for control of her features. Professors Mavis O'Toole, Garret Merger, and Ellen Newt, as well as the Dean, Seren A.D. Palmerdore, were also sitting at the table all knowing the issue at hand, the singing curse.
Oz Avis the flying instructor entered last and sat next to Ivy at the large conference table where the weekly staff meeting was held and looked at Garret angrily. It wasn't long before the insults were flying. "It's because of you that we've all lost our speaking voices."
Garret spoke up next, or rather sang, against Oz's accusation, "But it isn't my fault, I was placed under the spell as well, you persuaded me to go to the ball and dance with you, and without that ball, there'd have been no spell to get us all to this place in the first place!"
"Wait a minute, vocal spells on a voice so old that you have to tell a lie to sell your theory on it! Was it a worthless curse? Is there a counter to it? Oh and tell us who persuaded you to go to that ball."
Ivy turned to look at Garret questioning, "See it's your fault."
"No!"
Oz sang again, "So it's your fault…"
"No!"
Ivy raised an eyebrow, "Yes it is."
"It's not."
Oz smiled sadistically, "It's true."
Garret thought for a moment before turning his own accusatory glare at Oz. "Wait a minute… but I only went to that ball to get my books back from you!"
Ivy looked at Oz, "So it's your fault."
"No it isn't. I'd have kept to myself but my room was cursed, she made me take your books to get the curse reversed." Oz pointed to Ellen.
Ellen looked disgruntled at having been thrust into the brewing argument. "It's your father's fault that the curse got placed and the place got cursed in the first place."
Ivy looked thoughtful for a moment before asking a question in her voice, "Oh, then it's his fault."
"So…"
Mavis nodded in agreement, "It was his fault."
Garret protested loudly, "No!"
Oz scowled at Garret, "Yes it is, it's his."
Mavis nodded again, "I guess."
Garret's protest continued, "Wait a minute, though… I placed a counter-curse… Right? That's clear. But without any curse then what's clear is how did our voices get like this in the first place? Second place…"
"Yes."
Ivy spoke up again with a question, "How?"
"Hmm…" Professor Oz Avis hummed thoughtfully as he leaned back in his chair.
Garret stood, "Well, who had the other spell?"
"The other spell?"
"The other spell?" Mavis parroting Oz seconds later.
Garret looked at Oz, "You cast the other counter-spell."
"No I didn't," he thought for a second and came to the realization, "Yes, I did."
Ivy turned an accusatory glare on the bedraggled flying teacher, "So, it's your…"
Oz cut her off, "No it isn't, cause I cast it with my wife!"
"So it's her…"
"No it isn't!"
Mavis trying to deescalate the argument, interjected with the question of, "Then whose is it?"
Oz continued as if he hadn't heard her. "Wait a minute! She cast that spell to obtain his books," he pointed at Garret, "so the one who knows what happened with the spell is you!"
"You mean that old spell that your wife –?" Mavis paused as a thought struck her, "Oh, dear… But I never knew, and so I threw… Well don't look here."
Ivy now turned her glare towards Mavis, "So, it's your fault!"
"But…"
"See it's her fault." Garret piped in.
"But…"
"And it isn't mine at all."
Oz shook his head in confusion and asked Mavis, "But what?"
Mavis ignored him in favor of yelling at Garret. "Well if you hadn't gone back in again…"
"We were needy."
"You were greedy! Did you need that book?"
"But I got it for a friend…!" He waved in the direction of where Ellen was sitting.
"So it's her fault then." Ivy said quickly.
Mavis continuing her rant as if Ivy hadn't just spoken, "Yes and what about the broken counter-spell, in the third place?"
Oz was confused for a moment before a thought struck him, "The counter-spell… Yes!"
Garret pointed an accusing finger at Ivy, "She went and dared me to."
Ivy looked confused, "I dared you to?"
"You dared me to! She said I was scared…"
"Me?"
"And she dared me!"
"No I didn't!"
Oz, Mavis, and Garret all glared at her, "So it's your fault."
A loud noise stopped the argument, as Dean Palmerdore slammed his mug of coco down onto the table. It was a shock to all present that he had, because he was normally not inclined towards ostentatious displays. "Professors please calm yourselves, I know who the culprits are.
As one the professors asked the question on all their minds, "Who?"
But Palmerdore merely shook his head as he answered.
"No."