Note: Thank you to those of you who reviewed! I appreciate it very much. It's relatively short but it's easier to manage writing something for pleasure in between all of my classes when it isn't 15 pages long each chapter. I do miss having enough free time to do that…
Anyway, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it!
Bloodlines: Divergence
Chapter One: The Taming of Severus Snape.
October 31st, 1984
The room is finally silent, dimly lit by the crackling fireplace but most importantly, silent. Severus Snape sinks into his favorite chair with a glass of wine and praises himself on a job well done. His life has changed so abruptly in the past three years, becoming more than teaching students and making potions, more than keeping students in line and keeping his secrets safe from prying eyes and ears. He is satisfied that he has managed to stay the same ruthless, bitter old potions master he has always been, despite having been conned into becoming the guardian of Harry Potter.
"Severus, come in!" Dumbledore says with a disgusting amount of cheer for it being nearly four in the morning.
Severus seats himself in one of the overstuffed chairs in front Dumbledore's lemon drop graveyard of a desk and adjusts his dark gray sleeping robe, disdain written all over his face.. "Albus, When do you plan on cleaning up this hazard you call a desk?"
"Whatever do you mean, my boy? It's in fine condition.. I've just managed to get it to where I know where everything is! Well, except for Fawkes' phoenix treats…" He plucks a lemon drop from the bowl in front of him, almost knocking over the top most book on a short stack of bigger books. A loose piece of parchment flutters to the ground at Severus' feet. "So, how are your classes?"
The Headmaster has asked him the same question, in the same exact manner, ever since his sixth year at Hogwarts and Severus replies the way he always does in a curt, impatient voice, "The first years wouldn't be able to mix oil with water let alone make a sleeping potion without destroying my classroom. I'm not in the mood for small talk, Albus, what do you want?"
Dumbledore nods as if he understands his turmoil. "Ah, well, do you remember the night you turned?"
"How on Earth could I possibly forget?"
Dumbledore pops the lemon drop into his mouth and deposits the wrapper into the bowl where it vanishes before looking at Severus. "I believe you said you would grant me a favor of my choosing in the future."
Severus stares at the old man with resigned disgust but doesn't protest it because he is no Gryffindor; he knows when he is fighting a losing battle. "What do you need?" He says grudgingly. He can only imagine what he could possibly want; a lifetime of homemade lemon drops or something equally ridiculous, no doubt.
However Albus Dumbledore seems to lose his crazy man twinkle and becomes, simply, an old, old man who once again, must tally up his losses. Severus has only seen him like this twice and only one of those incidents was because of him. It was sobering and Severus sits a little straighter in the chair with dread coiling in his belly.
"James and Lily Potter were murdered tonight by Voldemort."
The revelation shocks Severus speechless for several long minutes. It is no secret that he despises James Potter and he feels nothing more than the shock over his death because of its abruptness. Lily is another story; she is family—a Prince—and once upon a time, she was his friend.
"However," Dumbledore continues. "Their son still lives."
"I suppose you would like me to risk my status as a spy in order to retrieve him?"
"Severus, you haven't noticed have you?" The twinkle comes to life in his blue eyes once more.
"Noticed what?" Dumbledore stares pointedly at his marked arm. Snape inhales sharply and swiftly rolls up the sleeve of his robe. He loses his breath when he sees perfectly unblemished, pale skin.
Dumbledore speaks softly, "The Killing Curse that Voldemort cast on Harry Potter rebounded, stripping him from his body and leaving Harry with a cursed scar. I can only guess as to why it didn't work on Harry, though. Lily could have invoked an ancient protection charm on him before she was murdered or his…unique bloodline could be a factor but we can discuss that later.
"Harry should have gone to Sirius Black but as he is currently in Azkaban that is no longer an option. Remus cannot take care of him for obvious reasons and Peter Pettigrew is dead. The only other choice would have been Lily's sister but there is a great flaw in that plan. They are severely magic-phobic and I wouldn't want any magical child to grow up in an environment where they are feared and hated. Aside from that, Lily appears to have been adopted therefore the protection Petunia Dursley could have provided for Harry is null."
"Oh no. . ."
Dumbledore's eyes are almost glowing. "Lily's birth parents were Connor Prewitt and Bastet Prince as I'm sure you are aware."
Snape chokes on air and rage. He's never heard of Connor Prewitt before, though he is aware that the Prewitt's were purebloods. He couldn't be a Prince and not know who Bastet Prince was. She was the only Prince in hundreds of years to have been born with a fully active Prince bloodline, hence her naming. She was his aunt, though he had never known her. She disappeared shortly after getting married and didn't turn up again until her and her husbands' bodies had been found. It was believed that they had no children but if they had known they were going to die, it was plausible that they'd give up their child to keep it safe. No place was safer than the muggle world when it came to hiding.
"Lily did not have the active bloodline but Harry does to some extent." Dumbledore stands and disappears into a room behind Fawkes' perch. He reemerges with a little bundle cradled in his arms—Harry Potter. Dumbledore sits back into his chair and Snape sneers at the sleeping baby who looks too much like James Potter to be healthy.
The brat twitches, tickled by Dumbledore's beard, and so does two little black cat ears on his head. They are almost invisible against his wild head of hair. He is sure that if the baby wasn't wrapped in a silk purple blanket, he would see a small, fuzzy black tail. On his forehead, almost hidden behind all of that hair, is a lightning bolt shaped scar.
There is no doubt that Harry Potter is a Prince. He has seen pictures of the infamous Bastet Prince. She was of average height and held an unearthly grace with eyes a startling shade of green—the only one in the family with eyes of such a color. He sees some of her features in the little brat, mostly her nose and pale, rosy skin. Hopefully the brat would outgrow the Potter hair and adopt the Prince's more controlled genes. Not that he cares, though. He has no intentions of taking care of Harry Potter, no matter his lineage and he tells Dumbledore exactly that.
Dumbledore replies, "You owe me, Severus. You know I don't ask much of you—"
"Oh yes, because being a spy is just a trot around the lake."
Dumbledore gives him a disapproving look over the top of his glasses. "You volunteered for that position, Severus, and I am more than grateful to you for it. However, I have taken great risks to keep you in this school after learning of your taste for the dark arts and affiliation with the Dark Lord. I have only ever asked you for one thing and it is the only favor I will ask you. Harry is your blood relative and with you he will receive the greatest protection available."
Severus snarls, feeling cornered and desperate. Screw losing battles; he was going to win this one if it killed him. "Why don't you think this over a little more, Albus. I am a death eater—"
"You are no more a death eater than I am—"
"As a potions master I am required to lecture; surely you don't think I'll be toting a baby arou—"
"The other professors and I are more than willing to watch him during those times—"
"I work with dangerous potions daily, for hours at a time, I can't poss—"
"As I said, we are more than willing to watch him when you aren't ab—"
"I hate children!" He finally screeches.
"Think of this as a learning experience." Dumbledore stands and despite Severus' red faced protests, he carefully deposits baby Harry into his arms.
"Albus!" He says helplessly, holding the baby awkwardly. Harry opens his eyes then and for one moment Severus swears the killing curse has just been cast at him. The child's brilliant green eyes were brighter than his mother's, an unholy color that reaches out and grabs hold of his attention with greedy hands. The pupils are ovular and as Severus' hair curtains over the child, blocking out the light, they widen and reflect what light there is like a mirror.
"Breathe, Severus."
Snape blinks and releases the breath he is holding. Then he glowers at the cooing baby who is unaffected by his obvious contempt. Harry's little hand shoots out and grabs a fist full of Severus' hair and yanks without restraint. It has Snape spitting curses." Potter!" He snarls and attempts to untangle his hair from the brat's fingers. It takes a while but he succeeds without breaking the child's fingers. The boy is already turning into his father! "Insolent whelp." He whispers menacingly. The baby bares its gums happily and reaches for his hair again. "Stop it!"
"I trust you with Harry," Dumbledore says, watching the interaction with amusement. "Because I know that you won't coddle him and let his fame turn him into someone whose shoulders can't bear the weight of his own inflated head but you also won't abuse him. You will be strict but it will shape him into a disciplined young man, someone to be respected, and someone powerful in both magical abilities and mental prowess. Severus, you are a righteous man, despite what you and many others think. I know you as well as you know yourself. I know that you will do what is best for Harry and I know that it will change you for the better if you will only acknowledge that Harry is not James Potter. Raise him with no biased thoughts and you will see."
"You know an awful lot about how I should raise your precious Potter; perhaps you are better fit for this job." He grumbles, pulling his hair out of the child's grip again.
"I'm too old to be raising children and besides," He says and shoots him a look over the top of his half-moon glasses. "I'm not a Prince."
Severus Snape, in that moment, gives in. As always, Albus is right. Harry Potter is not just James Potter's son. He is also Lily's son and he has more respect for her than all of the Marauders combined and multiplied times three. Lily was a Prince and there is no higher honor in his book. He stands to stare down his nose at the headmaster. The effect is severely dulled by the giggling baby still trying to grip his hair.
"I refuse to raise Harry Potter, Albus. It simply won't be done." Dumbledore sighs and opens his mouth to say something but Severus cuts him off. "I will, however, raise Harry Prince. You will do well to remember that."
"Of course, of course," He beams and claps his hands together. "Though I don't think the Ministry will let you completely drop his last name. Even though it's only been a few hours since his parent's death and the supposed death of Voldemort, his name has already become something of a legend. You're not against a hyphenated name, are you?"
He is but it is yet another losing battle. There are too many of those lately. He sighs, "No."
Dumbledore waves his wand at a series of papers scattered around his desk that glow faintly. Snape watches as his name etches itself out on all of them and he glares darkly at the Headmaster. "Are you sure you weren't a Slytherin?"
"Me? No, no…I was a Gryffindor."
Severus snorts. The papers glimmer brightly before stacking themselves together. Dumbledore wraps them in a parcel and ties it to Fawkes' leg. The phoenix trills softly before disappearing in a burst of warm flames. With a gleeful look, Dumbledore turns back to Snape. "Congratulations Severus; you're a father."
The Potter brat—Potter-Prince brat now—hasn't produced some miraculous, heart-warming change in him like Dumbledore obviously hoped he would. It wasn't going to happen. He is the way he is by circumstance and choice. He likes the way he is. He his protected and in turn can protect others more efficiently than he could if he were a soft-hearted, emotion driven, simpering idiot like those damn marauders. And look at them now. Two dead, one in Azkaban and the other wallowing in self-pity in some destitute habitat like the beast he is. He thinks bitterly.
He was named Severus for a reason, after all. If only Albus would get the hint. I swear if that man shoves another orphaned brat onto me, related or not, I'll—
A shriek of terror pierces his thoughts and he sets his glass down on the floor by the chair with a sigh. It really was too much to ask for one night of peace. Damn Potters. He swiftly strides into the boy's room and glowers at the decorations Dumbledore imposed on his former study room. Purple and gold dominate the tapestries, carpeting and bedding. It is sickening and no matter how many times he changes it to a more tolerable color scheme, the brat's uncontrolled magic changes it back.
He hovers over the crib and frowns at the red-faced child whose tail is curled defensively around a leg and whose ears are pressed flat against wild black hair. Harry's green eyes are wide and teary, full of pain and terror that no child his age should know.
"Silence child," He commands softly.
The tears lessen though the frightful expression remains. "Mommy?"
Severus presses his lips into a thin line. Ever since he started learning how to speak, he has asked the same question almost every night. Severus doesn't want to believe the child is dreaming of his mother's death but it is often a common occurrence with cursed scars. There isn't much he can do about it—yet—except try and calm the boy down enough to sleep. He has tried to explain that his mother was dead without putting him into shock but he doesn't always remember, especially not after a nightmare.
Harry mewls pitifully, the tears streaming down his little face.
"I said be quiet." He says with a little more force. Harry falls silent though his lips tremble and his eyes widened sadly, ears still pressed flat like a scolded kitten. Not that damn face again. He stares at the wallpaper, dark purple with tiny snitches that occasionally flutter their wings and move. "You're mother is dead—"He scowls when the boy starts to cry again. "She's in heaven."
The tears stop and curiosity perks his little ears. "Heban?"
He focuses on Harry's eyes again. "Yes, heaven. It's where…good men and women go when they die. Your mother isn't hurt." I can't believe I said that…
"Okay!" Harry exclaims, full of enough happiness to give Severus tooth decay.
"Yes, yes." He snaps. "Now will you go to sleep?" The toddler grins happily and snuggles into his blankets. Severus sighs in relief and turns to leave.
"Nigh-nigh, daddy."
That single English butchering sentence has Severus sneering weakly at the child.
"Love you ." A yawn and a feline stretch later, Harry Potter-Prince is asleep.
Several hours later, Severus Snape is still trying to mend the cracks in his defense.
End Chapter One.