Sorry about the wait, folks. Life keeps getting in the way. This was not written all in one go, so if the flow feels a little off let me know. I'd like all of the slash fans to be patient. It will probably be a while before anything happens. Harry only just turned 16 and Snape thinks he is a bit younger.
Jade had decided what he wanted for his birthday. After an impromptu party with the twins as they entertained him with their new products, he decided that there was one thing Sirius would want him to do. He had to carry on the marauder tradition and become an unregistered animagus. The fastest way was with a potion that forced a person into their animagus form. Once a wizard entered their animal form the first time it was much easier to learn the transformation. The catch was that the potion was highly illegal, incredibly difficult to brew, and extremely painful. Jade set off down Knockturn Alley on the off chance of finding what he was looking for.
Jade only made it a few metres down the street before he started to seriously rethink his muggle attire. He was accustomed to stares but these were just a touch more malevolent than your average hateful teenagers. He straightened his spine and met the boldest gazes with a silent challenge, all the time not slowing his stride. He was about to duck into the same apothecary he had used before when he collided with someone.
Jade laughed out loud when he realised who he had run into, "We have got to stop meeting like this."
Severus was not amused. He had once again been nearly bowled over by the same child as before, and this time the brat was wearing muggle clothes. Is the idiot child actively trying to get himself killed, or worse? The boy was entirely too pretty for his own good. What business could he possibly have that needed to be taken care of at 8:00 in the evening, down Knockturn Alley? Human trafficking was relatively rare in the wizarding world but that would not stop less savoury characters from using a boy like this as currency. And just to make matters worse, with some dressing up he would be a dead-ringer for the brat-who-ran. Severus cursed the fates that seemed to be throwing this child into his path.
"Tell me, do you perhaps have a death wish," He kept his voice in the low hiss that made grown wizards piss themselves and purposely stepped into the child's personal space, towering over the boy.
The child, damn him, was unfazed, and held his ground, keeping the two of them in uncomfortable proximity. "No actually, though I can think of a few dozen people off the top of my head that believe otherwise." The tone was ridiculously cheery for the circumstances.
"You find this amusing? Look around you. The only reason you made it this far is that these vagrants have an unspoken accord with the shopkeepers which only allows accosting potential patrons after their business is concluded. They are just biding their time until you step outside once more, you idiot child. What rational could possibly be passing through that sieve you refer to as a mind?" His sneer seemed to be having some effect. The youth flushed guiltily and broke eye-contact, seeming to shrink into himself.
"I know it was stupid. My sense of self-preservation seems to be on the fritz. I just wasn't thinking."
The tone was contrite but the potions master had no intention of letting the boy off so easy. He cut off the child's next sentence, "That is obvious. What business do you have here? It seems you are in need of an escort."
Jade raised his head to study the man. It looked as if his professor was intent on personally ensuring his survival. Good of him. I'd be properly grateful if his presence wasn't so damn inconvenient. Oh to hell with it, he's probably here doing something illegal too. "I was hoping to find an Animus potion."
That earned him another of those famous sneers. "You intend to become an animagus. You are risking your neck and wasting my time because of some frivolous desire to change form, most likely to impress your little friends. The wizarding world is at war and you have blithely wandered into one of the most dangerous places in Britain because you desire to learn a new party trick. Do you get extra bragging rights for doing something utterly illegal?" The man had worked himself into a full rant.
Jade calmly interjected when Snape came up for air. "Actually I thought it would come in handy if I ever got myself in a tight spot, element of surprise and all that. Chances are that no matter what my form is it'll be useful in some way or another. Well, except a fish, I'm not sure I could find much use for a fish but I'll take my chances."
He had surprised the man. It took Snape a moment to recover from gaping ...much like a fish. "At least you have put some thought into this. You will not, however, find such an item in this location. There are not many brewers in the country who are even capable of attempting such a foolhardy endeavour and fewer still I would trust to do so successfully."
"Would you brew it for me?"
Snape lifted an eyebrow, "If you know with whom you speak, you ought to know better than to ask such a thing."
"You're Severus Snape, youngest potions master in a century. I realise you are probably busy but this is really important to me. I'll pay three times the going rate."
The potions master had already opened his mouth to refuse when Jade added that last sentence; he shut his mouth rather quickly. He hesitated, "If I agree to take personal orders from you at twice the going rate, three times if it is particularly dangerous or illegal, will you desist in your casual jaunts down Knockturn Alley?"
"No ...but it would certainly make my visits less frequent." Jade tossed out an unrelenting grin.
The man gave a defeated sigh, "At least tell me you have some sort of adult supervision."
"Of course I do." ...if you count house-elves.
"Very well then, I will expect a bank-draft in advance. I ought to know your name if I am to lend you my services."
Jade gave him a small smile, "Thank you, sir. My name is Jaden Lefey." He disapparated on the spot before the man could change his mind.
Severus blinked, his eyes still on the, now empty spot before him. There is no possible way he is over seventeen. He intends to become an illegal animagus; I should not be surprised he is willing to apparate without a license. He barely made a sound, how long has he been able to do this? Sweet Circe, I have signed onto a business venture with a delinquent! Some small part of his soul applauded the boy's talent with entrances and exits.
Jade actually managed to arrive at platform 9¾ in time to snag an empty compartment. He was curled up with a good book, one directly from the banned reading list, and he sent a mental thank you to the goblins for fixing up his paperwork. Jaden Lefey, a previously homeschooled wizard, was starting his fifth year at Hogwarts. Jade had considered entering sixth year but it would have been way too obvious. Plus he was rather looking forward to the chance to rewrite his OWLs.
The ride was relatively peaceful. A group of second year Ravenclaws had invaded early on, looking for a place to sit. Other than a brief acknowledgement they completely ignored him for the entire trip. It was a relief to be treated like scenery again. Growing up with the Dursleys had taught Jade the fine art of non-magical invisibility, but he had not had much opportunity to use that skill-set as Harry Potter. It is hard to disappear when there are always eyes on you.
Once in Hogsmead he opted to take a carriage instead of riding across with the first-years. This time a group of fifth-year Hufflepuffs joined him. They eyed him suspiciously for a minute or two but soon dismissed him as unimportant. He smirked internally; it was good to be home.
He lounged outside the Great Hall waiting for McGonagall to arrive and watching the terrified firsties shuffle and shake. McGonagall did not notice him right away. She was clearly looking for someone and her lips pursed in frustration when she failed to spot him among the first years. Jade cleared his throat, causing the woman to jump slightly and turn to face him.
She looked him over with obvious disapproval. He had chosen to wear jeans and a dark red dress shirt under his open school-robes instead of the traditional slacks, tie, white dress-shirt, and grey sweater-vest. He had made a vow to the gods of fashion to never wear another sweater-vest, uniform or no.
The professor clucked her tongue but did not comment. "Jaden Lefey, I presume. Follow me, if you please. We shall sort you first." She turned on her heal and strode back into the great hall with Jade trailing at her heels.
The students eyed him with equal parts curiosity and boredom but no surprise. Dumbledore must have introduced me already. There was one pair of eyes that still carried a trace of shock; the dark gaze also carried a great deal of suspicion. Jade could almost see the potions professor's mind working in overdrive. The man was adding two and two; so far he had three, but was beginning to recalculate. The date of their first meeting, the slight change in Jade's appearance since then, the reckless attitude, and the animus potion, everything was added to the equation.
Finally the narrowed eyes sought out Jade's own gaze. So he's formed a hypothesis and decided to test it. I've read nearly every occlumency book ever written. I can do this! Bracing himself, Jade met the man's eyes, and instantly felt a legilimency probe. Rather than trying to kick the man out, he let Snape slide past his defences and directly into an image of Hagrid, in an evening-gown, singing 'I Feel Pretty' complete with the appropriate actions. The potions master made it as far as "...and ga-a-ay!" before he broke. As the connection was severed, Jade sent the man a quick message, "Stay out of my mind. What you find there will not be pretty."
When Snape recovered from his silent fit of the giggles, he gave Jade an approving smirk and a nod of acknowledgement, suspicions abated. By this time, Dumbledore had finished his little welcome speech and McGonagall was holding out the sorting hat while looking over her shoulder at Snape as if he had grown an extra head.
The sorting hat slid over Jade's eyes. "Well hello again Mister Potter, or should I say Lefey. You have had some quite interesting years since we last spoke. Don't you worry about your secret; it's entirely safe with me, student-sorting-hat confidentiality. It is always such a pleasure to shuffle through your thoughts. Now back to your sorting. As always, your courage is certainly impressive. Your loyalties have been wavering as late; they must be earned now, a wise choice. You no longer believe in fair-play and your since of justice is rather unique. Nope, Hufflepuff is definitely out. You seem to have run out of chivalry and are reluctant to return to Griffindor. Understandable, I will not be sending you there. You have developed some very Ravenclaw tendencies as late, but you do not believe in knowledge for knowledge's sake. Slytherin is an interesting fit. You have the cunning but seem to be lacking in ambition. You just want to be free, but then, in your position, that alone, could be considered a powerful ambition. I will give you some advice Mister Lefey; when you find that which you seek and decide what it is you truly want, do not allow anything or anyone stand in your way, certainly not meddlesome old headmasters. There are very few things that will ever be out of your reach, should you choose to pursue them. Be true to yourself and your allies and don't hesitate to attempt the impossible. You will change the world one day. In the meantime, better be ...SLYTHERIN!
There was some polite applause, not exactly the rousing cheer from first year. Jade could not have been happier. He threw a wink at his new head of house and joined his class-mates with a smile on his face. After some polite greetings and introductions, his dorm-mates began to leave him out of their interactions. He was unsurprised by the lukewarm welcome. These boys had shared a room for four years; he was just an interloper.
The first day of classes was the same. The professors were the only ones who bothered to interact with him and that was mostly just to make sure he knew what to expect in each class and to get an idea of his abilities. They seemed well-pleased with his work but not terribly impressed. He had chosen to take arithmancy and ancient runes instead of divination but even those teachers seemed to approve of his abilities, thanks to the sheer amount of reading he had done over the summer. One thing that surprised him was that all of the professors acted a bit cold, even when he excelled in their class. He was fairly certain it had nothing to do with his state of dress; wearing something of his own choosing was not against the rules so long as he wore the uniform robes over-top of his regular clothes, and he was hardly the only student to wear something out of the ordinary. He was positive that several purbloods of his aquaintance chose to wear closed robes because they were not wearing anything underneath.
By the end of his first week he had come to a revelation of sorts. Those prejudiced bastards, it's because I'm a snake. He had formed a new understanding and appreciation for Snape. The man was just overcompensating and ensuring that his students had at least one adult firmly and unconditionally on their side. It was kind of endearing actually. Of course he only gave points to Slytherin, very few of the other professors ever did and even then they gave a great deal less than was deserved. Even McGonagall with her reputation of tough-but-fair had yet to give a single point to a snake.
There was also absolutely no one other than the occasional very rare and very brave Ravenclaw who spent any amount of time with Slytherins that did not involve bullying on either side. With such a clear division, was it any wonder that the snakes had developed an us-versus-them mentality?
Jade made a decision then and there to take the sorting hat's advice. He was going to bridge this gap, even if it ought to be impossible. If I can't do it, who will?
Well that's it. Please review and tell me what you think. I'm starting to really like Jade. He's got spunk.