Chapter three
(**)
Severus stirred the potion, watching the glowing depths with the eyes of a predator, waiting for his prey to make one wrong move so he could pounce and destroy it with claws and teeth… or perhaps with the intensity of a potential apprentice that had to present a potion of his own creation in order to gain acceptance. Of course he could have opted to simply make an extremely difficult potion of their choosing but that was so very booooring.
"Ah, I should have guessed I would find you here with your nose in some brew or another," a suave voice stated delicately. Severus didn't glance up from the liquid, instead reached out a hand to grab the next ingredient, throwing it in once his desired color came about. He watched for a few moments more, idly listening to the steady breathing of the extra company before lowering the fire and placing a lid top, trapping the heavy steam from leaving.
"Hello Mr. Malfoy or should I call you Lord Malfoy?" Severus drawled, eyes fastening on the older blond.
"Oh sod off you insolent little urchin," Lucius scoffed with a fond smirk crossing his lips. He glided into the room and sat down on a stool across from the younger Slytherin and away from the cauldron. The last thing he needed to do was accidentally knock something down and find himself waking up four weeks later from a heavy coma with almost permanent brain damage. Lucius winced just slightly—sure the Ravenclaw had it coming but it was still pretty harsh even in Lucius's loose terms.
"I believe that I was here first Lucius," Severus stated, looking him hard in the eyes with a oh so serious expression on his face but it didn't seem as though he were angry. Lucius was quick to find something else to stare at. Somehow the boy had become quite advanced in the Mind Magic… well Severus was quite advanced in all facets of magic but the way he could force memories and secrets to the surface of the mind without his wand, without even trying… it startled and slightly scared Lucius. The boy was a freak of nature. Granted he was a powerful force to be reckoned with but still an abomination as Lucius fondly called him.
"Oh hush you… what are you brewing?" the blond inquired. The black haired boy blinked slowly, still staring at him but his eyes seemed less intense like he was no longer trying to find weak points and much brighter like he was beginning to be excited.
"I believe that I have come up with a potion that will negate the effects of veritaserum," Severus looked as though he were seconds away from clapping his hands gleefully despite the stony look that held his expression. It was the way his twitchy movements became faster and his body practically vibrated with contained energy.
"Truly? That would be a magnificent invention," Lucius murmured, leaning closer as the boy began to launch into a detailed description of his potion. It was mostly mumbo jumbo to the blond especially when the boy decided to include muggle science as well but he wouldn't dare rain on Severus's parade by telling him so. He simply tried to keep up with him as much as he could, watching the pale hands launch into a compelling tale and the onyx eyes practically shine with intelligence and passion.
"In a few hours, I will be able to test it," Severus finally finished, frowning triumphantly. Lucius shook his head fondly and leaned his head against an upturned hand. Severus was quite the wonder, even when he was happy he still didn't shift his expression. It was as though his mouth was fixed into a permanent frown. He wondered how much the boy's face would light up should he ever smile, how much his entire aura would seem younger and perhaps more childish. After all, the boy was just that, a boy. He hadn't even turned thirteen yet!
"How are your studies going Severus?" Lucius inquired.
"They are doing fine as ever," Severus shrugged. That wasn't really saying much because Severus's grades… fluctuated between extremely good and really bad. The boy was a genius, pure and simple but once he was caught on something, he immersed himself in it completely and didn't come out until it was over. Unfortunately that meant any class that didn't involve what he was fixated on found itself pushed into a tight, dark corner to be forgotten until his curious appetite was satisfied.
"Have you been using your gift?" Lucius continued. It was really the only explanation that the blond could come up with. He had seen the boy briefly in the halls and glanced at him in his various classes but by what Severus was saying in his passionate speech on his newest potion, the boy hadn't left this lab in at least two weeks.
"Of course. Had I not, I would have been expelled," Severus said idly as though he didn't care. It was extremely plausible that the boy truly didn't care. He read all his books ahead of time and never forgot a single detail. This school had very, very little to offer him in ways of learning but he would lose a place to experiment and create and really, that was the deciding factor on accepting a gift from the rich Lord beside him. The gift came with a hefty payment but Severus dealt rather well.
"And we cannot have that, now can we?" Lucius smirked and just stopped himself from ruffling the black hair. He had seen one other person do it and to say that they had not fared well would be an understatement.
"Are the Marauders giving you trouble?" the blond continued, poking at a jar of eyeballs. He had no idea why Severus would need this… ever but he wasn't the potion making type so he left it out of his questions.
"The who?" the black haired boy frowned in confusion.
"Marauders?" Lucius finally turned his attention back to his fellow Slytherin. Was the boy being sarcastic or was he really clueless?
"Have I ever had a problem with bandits?" Okay, the older wizard would go with clueless.
"Band…? Severus, I am talking about those idiots that bully you on a regular basis. Do you not know that they call themselves The Marauders? They have silly aliases too." How could he not realize that Potter's gang had given themselves a silly group name and have been using it now for almost two years? The boys tormented the young Slytherin almost every day without punishment so he should realize what he going on.
"Aren't monikers meant to be secrets so no one will be able to guess who is committing the crime?"
"That is not the—are they giving you trouble or not?"
"No more than usual I suppose. It's quite hard to be threatened by those with little magical talent or knowledge," Severus mused, turning to his potion once more. The Marauders did not fear him which was good he supposed, at least it was something fun to do but the problem wasn't them, it was Dumbledore. The man was thorn in his side, one that threatened expulsion should he use a harmful spell against those particular boys despite how many he used on other students. This made Potter's gang a bit cocky in attacking him.
"The way they demean you isn't right," Lucius noted, not that he would ever step in the middle of Severus's fight to help the small boy.
"If I was truly offended, do you believe that I would stand for it?" Severus finally turned to the blond, staring into the silver eyes. He silently reminded Lucius just how many poisons he could create, how many hexes that wouldn't be traced back to him, just how very quiet he could be, the muggle chemicals he knew, and how very skilled with knives he was. If he wanted to, he could murder those idiots and never have an eye turn to him. But he didn't. Severus saw no point in it and if he saw no point… well, he certainly wasn't going to do it.
"I suppose you wouldn't," Lucius conceded, breaking eye contact. He shuddered at the laughter that rang in his head. It always happened when he was ensnared into Severus's mind magic for too long but he could never look away until Severus was satisfied, until the message had been gotten.
"The antidote is done," Severus announced abruptly, pulling the muddy potion off of the fire.
(**)
It was Severus's fifth year that Lucius decided that he needed to visit the boy. It wasn't very often that Lucius had this urge, after all Severus was a big boy and had a habit of being extremely violent so he should be fine but… he was getting rather worried about the frowning lad. He hadn't received a letter from him in nearly two weeks and the letter that he did get had been extremely short. All of Severus's letters, no matter his mood or how gruesome the details were very descriptive. They laid out everything significant that happened in sharp details so nothing was missing almost as though his life were nothing but a potion that needed to be explained to a small child. Lucius could remember the exact words of his previous letter:
'Dear Lucius,
It seems that I have made a mistake. Lily and I are no longer friends. I have been suspended from classes and school activities for two weeks.
-Snape'
That was all. No explanation as to either incident or later letters to explain anything. Just that. And if Lucius ever had a bad feeling about something, it was about this letter. His fingers itched and his body twitched as though he would scream if he didn't go see the infuriating rascal. When he found himself hexing a reporter for simply asking him if he had done something different with his hair, he realized that yes, it might be time to visit Severus. So there he was, on the train to Hogwarts, tapping his foot in a manner that would have sorely annoyed anyone sitting with him and twisting his wand around his fingers.
Something was wrong. He could feel it deep in his chest; all he could do was hope that he wasn't too late to reverse some of the damage.
(**)
Lucius carefully opened the heavy oak door in case Severus was in the middle of something and felt that the proper reaction to being disturbed was a nasty hex to someone's face. However, no light of magic flew towards him and no pain invaded his body. Taking that as a good sign, Lucius stepped forward although a frown darkened his face as he felt the wards. They were weakened, shaky… exhausted. Definitely not a good sign. He stepped further into the room and sent a ball of light to the ceiling to dispel the darkness.
At first glance everything seemed fine, the bed was made, the books piled to the side but Lucius found his eyes drawn to the destruction of the three piece vanity set.
He had left it for Severus as a sort of joke, laden with multiple perfumes, brushes, lotions and soaps. There was also a large mirror that lit up and gave compliments whenever someone sat in front of it. Lucius fondly remembered the look of distaste that Severus had given him but he knew that the boy would never get rid of it even if he didn't use any of the products. He took good care of it except now. Now the bottles were knocked over, strewn on the ground, creating shining splashes on the wall and… imploded where they had been standing. And… was that blood?
Lucius stepped closer to the vanity set and examined the red liquid disrupting the white surface. It was an awful lot of blood, still shining and red. Then he glanced at the smashed mirror, no blood on it meaning that it was a magical attack. What had happened and how long did he have to save the black haired boy?
Lucius stepped away and raised his wand, beginning a spell that Aurors used to recreate a crime scene. Hopefully the destructive magic would leave it undisrupted but his lack of practice could also cause a problem. Lucius pursed his lips, he had to try. He gave a final wave and soon the room was cloudy like a dream and fully intact.
"Are you sure that you're okay Snape?" a voice inquired. Lucius quirked a brow and turned to the door. Severus was leaning on the stone wall, his body facing one Regulus Black. The older Slytherin did look worse for wear, his robes torn in some spots and absolutely covered in dirt. Onyx eyes were as emotionless as ever but Lucius was sure he could spot some… sadness in it.
"Yes, I am fine. I am going to clean up, study for a moment and sleep," Severus replied then opened his door as an obvious sign for the younger to leave. Regulus sighed and started out, stopping only to give Severus a hand on the shoulder. Once out of the door, Severus pulled out his wand and preformed a cleaning spell on his skin, robes and hair. Lucius snorted, the boy hated being exposed in the public showers and seeing as Lucius was no longer there, he couldn't use the prefect bathrooms.
"What are you going to do?" Severus asked the open air, walking to the mirror on the wall, adjacent to the vanity mirror. The mirror was magical but the way it spoke was rather odd. Magical mirrors with their own thoughts, with the ability to form opinions of their own usually contained a trapped piece of someone's soul. Someone who was dead. However this voice, while it was drawling and almost slurred, the voice was definitely Severus's.
"Visit mummy dearest of course! When was the last time you, uh, saw her?" the blank mirror scolded. Severus shook his head and sat down on the soft vanity chair, flicking his wand to stop the opening speech of self-confidence and encouragement.
"Eight days, ten hours and fifteen minutes," Severus responded after only a glance in his haggard reflection then he glanced down and seemed to notice something new. Lucius peered over the boy's shoulder and saw that it was a sealed envelope. That had certainly not been there before and on the front was: To My Dear Greasy Friend, Snivellus Snape. Lucius sneered, he knew exactly who had sent it or at least he knew of two people who would fit the bill and he'd make them pay should they be the reason for the blood.
Severus ran a short nail along the red wax and opened up the letter. It flittered out of his hand and into the air, reciting in a deep, disguised voice.
"Look at ugly little Snape
Never gonna get a date
Unless he makes it rape.
Why you make such a scowl
Why you plague our livings?
You make everyone twist a bowel!
So come on Snivellus, give us a smile
Oh shit, oh shit stop! (gagging)
I taste some bile.
Nah, I'm just kidding slime-y
Don't have a cow
Give us another smiley!
P.S. If you don't remember how to smile, meet me by the Whomping Willow and give its heart a poke. It'll give you something to smile about ole Snapey!"
Then the letter ripped itself into a million pieces. Severus stared at the ripped pieces with calculating dark eyes before opening a drawer without further prompting. Then Lucius knew exactly what the boy was going to do. He watched as the prodigy pulled out the Time Turner gifted to him by a certain upcoming Dark Lord.
The scene melted away and Lucius could only stand in horror , knowing without seeing anymore that it had not ended well… no, it had not ended well at all.
(**)
TBC
I'm not sure why I'm dragging this out. We know what will happen but meh, I like it enough.