A Chance Encounter
Disclaimer: All rights to Harry Potter belong to JK Rowling.
Chapter 4
"Hello? Harry? You here?" Stepping through the floo, Lizzy dusted herself off and went looking for the man of the house.
"In the kitchen, Lizzy. What are you doing back so soon? Is everything ok?"
"Yes, Harry, everything is fine. The house is cleaned and ready for us whenever you want to go. I came back to see if you needed any help on your end. By the looks of it, you haven't gotten anything accomplished. What happened to 'I'll be ready by the end of the day'?" she mimicked humorously.
Sighing and moving the pot off the stove to turn and look at his best friend. His usual exuberance gone from his face, replaced with a haunting feverish look that took her by surprise and suddenly she felt nervous. "We ran into Severus in Diagon alley." That's all he needed to say to her for her to understand. She immediately engulfed Harry in a crunching hug, "Oh, Harry. I'm so sorry. Are you ok? Did he recognize you? Merlin…Jackson was with you! Come sit and tell me what happened." It wasn't a request, Harry learned a long time ago that she meant business and not to cross her when she was in her 'mother' mode.
"We were at the Apothecary, and Jackson…left my side to go outside. Severus met Jack before I even made it out. Lizzy, I have never been so terrified as I was when I saw Severus talking to Jackson. He touched my arm and spoke of how he thinks he may know me and I freaked out, grabbed Jackson, and ran. Oh, Merlin's balls! Severus is a smart man, he might have thought Harry Potter was dead, but I'm pretty sure he'll put two and two together!"
"Firstly Harry, calm down. I'm sure you were wearing your glamour."
He nodded and brought his hands to his face.
"Ok, let's take this one step at a time. We don't know if he suspects anything as of right now, so let's not jump to conclusions. Our plan is to move to Salem, so we are going to proceed as planned." Taking Harry's hands from his face, she made eye contact with him and smiled a reassuring smile. "Harry, you will be ok, Jackson will be ok, and if for any reason he finds you, is it really all that bad? I mean, I'll be here with you…for you, you know that."
"I know, Liz. But I don't think I'm ready for this. I mean, I haven't even explained everything to Jackson yet! I didn't want for him to see Jackson before I was ready!" Squeezing Lizzy's hands for support, he got up and started pacing the kitchen, "I would dream of a time when Severus and I would get back together, but that was only dreams, Lizzy, not real life! He broke up with me! He told me he didn't love me and that I meant nothing to him! Am I supposed to just forget that?" Glaring at her from the other end of the counter, rubbing his chest, he sighed and whispered, "I know he was lying. I know! Otherwise Jackson wouldn't be here, but that doesn't lessen the pain, even now six years later. I can't face him yet, I just can't" he whispers the last line looking so white with fear and desperate for her to understand.
Starting to hyperventilate and unable to stop, he starts scratching at his chest with vigor. Harry starts to wheeze and sweat profusely, He doubles over in pain when his legs give out and falls forward not able to put his hands out in time and lands hard on the floor. The sound of his head hitting the ground reverberating through the kitchen and Lizzy is running toward him in an attempt to catch him. She doesn't make it in time, cursing to the seven hells that Harry didn't hurt himself too badly. All the while Harry is struggling for breath and his heart is beating rapidly and his magic is uncontrolled and whipping everywhere causing the windows to crack and shatter, throwing shards of glass into the mix with his magic and it's spiraling around the kitchen like a tornado.
Liz grabs her wand and quickly creates a shield around her and her best friend, "Harry! Calm down! Merlin's balls!" Frantic with worry, she turns Harry onto his back and grabs his hands to bring them to his sides. "It's ok. I got you, Harry. Calm down and breath through the pain. Come on, you can do it. That's it, breath nice and slow for me, sweetie. Nice and steady now…that's it." Looking over Harry's form, she notices a little patch of blood on his chest. "Shit. Shit. Shit! Dammit, this can't be happening now!" Grabbing at the front of his shirt and tearing it open, she looks over his chest. "Fuck, this is not good! Harry! Calm down sweetie. Merlin." Tentatively she reaches out her hand to touch his chest, what the fuck is this?! Rubbing her fingers over the newly, bleeding tattoo looking mark in the middle of his chest, she ponders what the hell this means for Harry. As if he doesn't have enough shit happen to him already. Looking up to Harry's face, Lizzy takes out her wand and casts the spell she was taught to use when he had an episode. And just as she begins the spell, the magic plays havoc with the lights and they begin to flicker, and she can feel the wards on the cottage flare hot then cold non-stop and then the lights finally go out and she can hear Jackson screaming from his room and the patter of his feet as he's running to find his dad.
"Dad! Dad, where are you?! I can't see, where are you?" Jackson is screaming as he's running down the hallway to the living area.
"Jackson! Stay in the living room! Do you hear me? Do not come in the kitchen. Everything will be ok, sweetie, but I need you to stay in the living room and I'll be there in a minute. Ok? Answer me so I know you hear me!"
"Lizzy? I'm scared, where's my daddy?" Knowing better than to not listen to Lizzy, Jackson stops just before the living area, tears in his eyes, and tries to listen to the sounds he's hearing, to figure out what they mean. He can't hear his dad and that's scaring him the most.
"Lizzy?" he chokes out and he decides to sit where he's standing and wait for Lizzy to speak again.
"Jack! Your dad is having an episode. I need you to stay calm for me, okay?" Hoping that he will understand the severity of the situation and is assured when she hears him confirm her words.
"Okay. Is daddy gonna be okay? Did daddy turn out the lights?"
"Sweetie just sit tight, and I'll be there shortly." Her voice strong and assuring to the frightened child.
"Okay"
Sighing a little in relief, Lizzy looks upon her friend's body, noticing the new mark in the center of his chest again. It looks as if it's pulsating and the bleeding seems to be getting heavier. The magic around the kitchen is in sync with the pulsating mark and Lizzy is more frightened than she's ever been in her entire life. The mark looks much like a tattoo, an outline really, of a tiny panther, standing with its head down but its tail is…Bloody Hell! it's moving very slowly from side to side. What the fuck! The animal has the look of being branded on his chest, of being very painful, and she has never seen anything like this personally or in any of the books her and Harry have sorted through over the years.
Touching his face with the back of her hand, she realizes he's burning up one second than freezing cold the next, just like the wards on the cottage. What the fuck is going on here!? Steeling herself to cast the spells needed, she moves back from Harry and begins again the complicated wand movements and chants the Latin words needed to settle his magic down.
After a few minutes, which felt like hours to Lizzy, the magic in the room begins to slowly recede. The flying glass falls to the floor making it look as if the tiles are covered in a layer of water and the lights began to flicker once again and finally settling in the 'on' position. Lizzy sits back on her heals and feels for the wards, yes…they fell back into place, thank Merlin.
Summoning a flannel, she begins to wipe the sweat from his body, beginning with his face and slowly moving down his slick form avoiding his chest area for now. When she finishes, she very carefully cleans the area around the newly formed mark. Whatever this is, it's big Harry, and we will not be ignoring it this time! I will have to call for help… and he will have to stay in the saferoom until this is sorted out. Dammit Harry, why do you always get yourself into these situations? Making sure her friend is stable enough to move, she levitates him out of the kitchen, watchful of the glass on the floor, to a room off to the side of the house and away from the main part of the living space.
Seeing his dad floating in the air, Jackson jumps up and runs over to his side. Looking his dad over and trying not to cry, he looks to Lizzy and sees the worry on her face. "Is daddy gonna be okay? Where are you going?"
"I don't know honey; this attack was the worst one yet and I need to put him in the saferoom, so his magic can't harm anything or anyone." She looks down to the small child, who fully understands about his dad's attacks but is frightened just the same, she gives him a smile. Ruffling his hair, "I think he'll be ok, but it might take a few days for everything to get sorted. I'm going to call Healer Morgan as soon as I get him settled. Can you do me a favor, sweetie?" He looks at her with his big green eyes and nods his head, eager to help his dad in any way he can. "Can you get your dads sleeping clothes for me? Don't go into the kitchen, ok? Thanks sweetie." And with a nod in her direction, Jackson set out to do what he was asked.
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Severus is bounding down to his rooms, so many things running through his mind. Making a mental list of what he needed to do first, prioritizing as he went. First, hopefully Arthur wrote back with some information, something with an explanation. Rubbing his chest as he reached his rooms, he said the password and entered. As he made his way to his chair, he waved his wand to start the fire and pulled out the four books he had shrunk in his pocket. Reaching for the coffee table, his arm begins to shake, and he loses his grip on the books and they fall to the stone floor. Cursing aloud at himself, he bends down to pick them up but just then a sharp pain lances his chest and he falls forward on his knees. But before he could fathom what is happening to him, he begins to hyperventilate, trying to get through the pain in his chest. Unfortunately, the pain isn't abating but getting worse, like he is being branded from the inside out. Wincing from the excruciating pain but trying not to scream, his vision becomes blurry and he tips forward hitting his head on the table before him before he falls sideways. He curls up into a fetal position and lets out a pained moan. His magic begins to crackle all around the room, so intensely that it is visible to the naked eye. Shattering anything fragile in the room and rattling the furniture. It begins to whirl around the room, trying to find a way out but encountering walls everywhere it goes and so it just keeps moving around like a cyclone, faster and faster. The stone walls begin to shake and moan under the pressure of the magic and then the warning sirens begin to wail. Severus knows the Headmistress will be here any second and he is trying very hard to stay conscious. He knows he won't be able to and just as the darkness is closing in on him, he hears shouting and feels someone next to him and then all goes black.
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Minerva was sitting in her large four poster bed, snuggled up against her headboard with her ten fluffy pillows all around her. She was reading through some Ministry papers and sipping her whiskey when a touch of familiar magic caressed her arm. She knows that magic, its Hogwarts herself. The school, being in tune with the Headmistress, communicates when the need arises and there must be a reason for it to reach out to her now. This can't be good and immediately she is out of her bed and donning her night robe. Running into her sitting room where on the far wall there is a large map of the Hogwarts grounds. Looking over the map, she quickly spots the place where the emergency is and touches it with her index finger. The map glows red for danger and the school magic whispers in her mind, Severus Snape. Without a second thought, Minerva whips out her wand and send a Patronus to the senior staff and bolts out the door and to the dungeons. Before she even made it out of her office, the warning sirens began to scream through the school and she picked up her pace.
"Minerva! Is Severus all right?!" the Charms professor yelled over the blaring alarm to the Headmistress as she bounded down the hallway.
"I'm not sure Fillius, we need to get inside!" Minerva yelled back.
"What could he have done that the school alarms are going off?!" yelled Poppy while she was trying to tie her robe but unable with her shaking hands. The alarms have never gone off in all the years she's worked here and it's a bit unsettling.
"Open!" Minerva demanded at the portrait guarding the potion master's rooms and the man in the picture wasted no time swinging open for her.
Finally entering the living quarters, they are brought up short when Severus' magic is everywhere, blocking their entry into the sitting room. His magic is rapidly circling around the room and it's angry, distraught, almost sentient in its appearance and the staff is just a little scared.
"Severus! Hold on!" Minerva hollers over the noise of the room as she waves her wand to erect a force field around the man. At the same time, Hogwarts silences the alarms and caresses the Headmistress with her magic to let her know she's here and to ask when she needs to help. Nodding her head in approval, the Headmistress waves her wand again and silently asks Hogwarts to help guide her to her professor. When a way is made through the storm, Fillius and Minerva are the first to enter the passage way and make their way to the fallen man.
By the time Minerva made it to her friend, he was passed out. She rolled him onto his back and peeled off his teachers robe to better assess the situation. That's when she saw the blood, soaked all down his white dress shirt. Worrying for her friend she vanished his shirt and that's when she received her second shock, there in the center of his chest was a tattoo. An outline really, of a bear standing on its hind legs and roaring up to the heavens. It looked very painful, not only because it's irritated and bleeding profusely, but because it looks like it was branded onto his chest. Then to her surprise, the bear walked two steps to the right then two steps back to the left all the time roaring at something but not looking satisfied. Minerva sat on her heels and reached out her hand to touch the mark.
"Don't touch it, Minerva." Poppy said as she made her way to Severus' side all the while moving her wand in intricate patterns and muttering something in Latin. The Magic began to settle down and all the objects that are projecting through the room fall to the stone floor with a crash. "Let's get him to his bed so I can properly check him out."
Between Poppy, Fillius and Minerva they managed to levitate the dour man to his bed and fix his rooms. "Thank you, Fillius, for all your help in here, I'm sure Severus will appreciate all you've done when he wakes up. We're just going to administer some potions now so why don't you go ahead to bed and I'll inform you in the morning how Severus is doing." Minerva said to the little man.
"Please do, Minerva. Good night then…Poppy" he said as he bowed his head and headed out.
"What is it, Poppy?" the older woman asked.
"I don't know yet. He is physically fine, but his magic is acting strange. I'll need to do some research. And, as far as this tattoo is concerned, I'm at a loss, Minerva. I've never seen something like this just appear on someone and a moving one to boot. I gave him some pain potion and rubbed some salve over the mark. So, you know what the bear means?" she asked her as she went to bathroom to wash her hands.
"No idea, Poppy. Is he going to be all right?"
"Yes, he will make a full recovery. Well, his magic will be a little strained for a while, but otherwise he will be fine. I'm going to put an alarm on him so if he moves at all the rest of the night I'll be alerted, and I'll let you know also, ok."
"That's fine, Poppy. Thank you for all your help. I would appreciate it if you would keep this to yourself. You know Severus, ever the private person."
"Minerva, you forget I was here after the battle too. I saw our stoic potion master at his lowest, I will not betray his trust, he is my friend too." She said solemnly. "Go to bed, I will stay for a little while and make sure he's fine. If anything changes I will let you know. Go to bed or better yet, go talk to our late friend and see if he knows anything." She chuckled out. If anyone knew what this was about it would be him.
"Good idea, I will do just that. Good night, Poppy." And she left his quarters and made her way back to her office. Yes, I think Albus does know something now that I think about it. He acted out of character earlier tonight. Why did I not notice that before?
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It's cold, that's the first thing Harry notices.
It's dark, that's the second thing he notices.
Shivering and walking slowly, trying to figure out where he is, the third thing he notices are the noises. He can't make them out, but the sounds seemed to be all around him.
Turning in a full circle, desperately trying to see what's around him, Harry feels something touch his thigh and he tries not to scream. Breathing harder now and wearier of his surroundings he continues to walk forward. Up ahead there's a flicker of something and he hopes it's a way out of whatever this is. Still the sounds are all around him, words, and another noise he couldn't place, and he could pick up certain words but not everything is clear. "This way…near…. this…. play…" These words echoed though the darkness. Where is he? What's going on? Who's that talking? Is he going in the right direction? Why is he here? Where exactly is here?
Then suddenly long fingers are cupping his face, rubbing thumb pads over Harry's cheeks, and breathing sweet breath over his lips and Harry is frozen to the spot. His eyes are closed, and he feels the other lips touch his, so softly, so lovingly, so beautifully and he's crying now. He can't stop the tears from spilling down his cheeks and running into the thumbs of the other. "Shh, don't cry Harry. I love you." Is whispered on his lips and then suddenly he's slapped across the face. Stunned, he opens his eyes searching for the face of the other but not seeing anyone, and he lets out a pained sob.
"No…" he tries to say but the word is only choked out, lost in his sobs.
"Child…this way."
Is that Albus? Looking around for the old man but not seeing anything, he starts walking forward again. Stopping short again when he hears a giggle and the touch to his thigh once more. Looking down and trying to steel his nerves, he tries hard to focus through the darkness when he hears,
"I knew I would see you in Hell, Harry." Jerking his head up to meet a pair of red eyes staring back at him and his breath catches. Is he in hell? .no. Shaking now, he backs up a step and turns around and starts to run back the way he came, blindly running for what looks like a flicker of light, that same flicker of something he left behind him but is now ahead of him. Hoping it is a way out, Harry tries not to listen to the words following him.
"My boy…your greatest power is love…"
"Albus? Where are you?" he sobs out.
Putting his hands to his head, Harry screams out, "Make it stop! Please, make it stop!"
"Hell, Harry. Welcome to your Hell." and the red eyes start laughing, crazy maniacal laughter that rings through the darkness and wraps fear around his heart.
And he's running, not looking up or anywhere for that matter because his eyes are closed tight, he needs to get away from whatever or whoever is here. He needs to get out.
When he finally looks up, he sees that flicker again only this time it's moving towards him, fast. He stops short and watches as the flicker grows, it's moving with a purpose and Harry's glued to the ground in fright, in awe, in some other feeling he's not sure about, and he watches as the flicker becomes a golden beam with tendrils that snake out all around it. It feels its way around Harrys body and he can't do anything about it. His mind is screaming for him to run! To shout! To do something! But he can't, he just stands there, and the tendrils bathe him in light, surround him, pass through him, hug him, blanket his whole body inside and out with golden sunshine and warmth. And suddenly, he's smiling, a smile he hasn't smiled in over six years, and he's warm…so warm in the heart and he begins to laugh, out loud, so loud and beautiful that the golden beam responds with its own kind of laughter which makes Harry glow. His whole being from the top of his messy hair to the tips of his feet is glowing golden sunshine, he takes a deep breath to settle his laughter and the scent of rosemary and potions sends goose bumps along his extremities. He hasn't smelled this scent in over six years. Closing his eyes and giving himself to the beam, Harry is home, Harry is loved, Harry is safe, and Harry is finally...finally whole again.
I love you so much…so much it consumes me…so much it rules me…so much I would lay down my life for you, my soul for you, Harry…My Harry….
"Harry, look at me." Harry snaps open his eyes to see his mentor standing in front of him, "Albus? What are you doing here? Am I dead?"
"No Harry, you are not dead. This is merely a dream, but you do need to know…" Looking at Harry over his spectacles, Albus then looks to his right, "Come now child." He says to a little boy with coal black eyes and messy black hair. Holding out his hand for the small boy and smiling back at Harry. "Say hello, Child." he says with that twinkle in his eye.
Looking up with his shiny black eyes, the child smiles the most beautiful smile at him, "Hullo, did Gampa tell you? "and Harry just stares at him in awe.
"Not yet child, I thought you would like to tell him." Albus' voice is soft and full of love and the small child looks up to meet the taller man's eyes with his surprised little ones and exclaimed, "Okay Gampa!" and giggles, covering his mouth with his free hand. Albus squeezes the smaller hand gently to get his attention back to the task.
Looking up to Harry the little child burst out, "You need to benember daddy and it will show you!" That was all he said before looking back to Albus and giggling some more. His voice was angelic, music to Harrys ears and Harry fell to his knees in recognition, tears building up in his eyes…Conner?
"Conner, ohmygod...How?"
But Albus pays him no mind and scoops up the child and vanishes with only his voice ringing through the space, "…It's time, Harry. It's time…"
The raven-haired man just sat there, stunned, forgetting all about the golden beam pulsating around him until it tried to comfort him from his sorrow. The beam was making its presence known and Harry smiled at it in a silent thank you and he felt it smile back at him. Soon after it came away from his body and gathered itself together as if to form a familiar figure, but before Harry could recognize the form, it dissolved into nothingness.
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Severus is standing by the lake at Hogwarts, but something is not right. The sun is out but there is no sunlight shining down and it's cold, catch-your-breath kind of cold, and an eerie feeling is making its way up his spine.
Turning back towards the school, Severus notices it looks distorted, not out of focus but not quite in focus either. What's going on here? Why am I here?
"Ssseveruss…. don't you know you're supposed to bow down to your Lord?" hissed someone to his right. "Have you forgotten about me already? You were one of my most loyal, Ssseveruss..."
Severus whipped his head around and fell to his knees out of habit before he realized there was no one there. His heart thumping so fast it could fly on its own. "My Lord?" Looking from side to side and still not seeing anyone. "No, it can't be…Show yourself! This is not funny!"
"Do you really want me to reveal myself, Ssseveruss..." it hissed again. This time the stench of death floated past Severus' nose and he flinched back onto his heels. "Am I dead?" he whispered because he didn't really want to know the answer.
This scene is right out of one of my reoccurring nightmares and I'll be damned if it'll get the best of me. "This is not real…this is not real…" he keeps saying repeatedly.
Using all his courage, he stands up and makes his way closer to the lake, finding a place under a tree to sit down and contemplate what's happening to him now. If he is not dead, then this must be a dream of some sort. He's been having strange dreams for years now and this seems like it would fall into the same category. Sighing, Severus surveyed the lake and surrounding landscape when he saw the little child, about five or six with messy black hair and black eyes like inkwells. This is where I've seen that child! But how can he be here, in my dreams and out there, alive? Wait, his eyes are not the same…what is going on here!
Looking over at the child again, he sees that the boy is gone. Where did he go? Searching the area again and standing up to get a better view, he cannot find the boy anywhere.
"Hullo, Mister." A small voice says behind him. "What are you doing here?"
Severus turns around quickly to see the boy standing just feet away from him. Not wanting to scare the child away, he bends down to his eye level and asks, "So, we meet again, Child. I don't know what I'm doing here, but I'm glad that we are finally talking to each other. It's about time, don't you think? Do you want to go for a walk around the lake with me?"
The boy nods his head several times and his hair just gets messier with the action. "Yeah, I like walks. My Gampa takes me on lots of 'em." Smiling up at the taller man, the little boy reaches out his small hand for him to take. Severus takes the hand gently and they start to walk closer to the lake. "Gampa likes the lake. We go fishing sometimes but I never catches anyfing but Gampa catches fishes all the time. We never eat 'em tho, Gampa always puts them back in the lake. Do you like to fish Mister?" he asked looking up at the older man with such innocence.
"I don't really know, Child. I have never fished before. Your Grandpa sounds like a great man. Is he here with you today?" Severus asked, grasping at anything at this point.
"Naw, he's taking a nap, but he knows I'm here wit you. He told me somefing I'm 'posed to tell you, and there's somefing here you have to see! It's so pretty! Come on!" he said excitedly while running ahead of Severus and dragging him along.
They rounded the lake to a cropping of trees and in the center, there is a bright shining light. The closer they get to the cropping, the brighter the light becomes, and Severus is so engrossed with the light that he doesn't even notice that the child is gone. When he enters the cluster of trees and makes his way to the center, the light starts to flicker, like its excited to see him. Bouncing this way and that way and if Severus listened very carefully, he would swear he can hear it laughing with joy. Reaching the last line of trees, he pauses in his step when the light becomes swarm of tiny golden orbs, and it moves as one to meet Severus where he stands. Severus is glued to the spot. He can't move, and he's trying, he wants to run but his brain is not relaying the message correctly and the swarm is all around him now. Not touching at first, it's like its testing the waters, as they say, but one lone orb brushed his shoulder and they both shiver in both delight and anticipation. And that's all it took for the swarm to encompass Severus completely. Touching him, caressing him, pulsating around him and in him, through him. Severus is scared at first but when the swarm passes through him and wraps him up like a warm blanket, he begins to giggle and then he starts to laugh, bust-a-gut kind of laughing and he is laughing so beautifully for a man such as himself that the orbs are glowing brighter for it. They surround him in so much love, in so much peace, in so much comfort and in a feeling of being home and safe that he is crying actual tears of happiness. Tears that haven't fallen like this in over six years. Falling to his knees and reaching out to touch the swarm of golden love, he catches the scent and his body reacts like it hasn't is a very long time. The smells of lavender and honey coursing through his lungs and he's immediately aroused, tingly, and flush with the thought of Harry. Closing his eyes to bask in the feelings and memories of Harry, he doesn't notice the change in the swarm right away. However, once he opens his eyes, he watches as the swarm moves away from him and morph into a figure before it rushes forward and slams into his chest.
Just as he's falling back on his heels, the little boy reappears at his side and touches his arm, looking at him with such love and compassion. Severus doesn't understand since the child only appears in his dreams and they have never interacted with each other. Regardless, he smiles at the boy and the child giggles, "You need to benember, okay, and it will show you!" he giggles again, covering his mouth with his tiny hand and dissolves away.
Authors Note:
Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Please review.
-Lovetoreadseverusdotcom
