Chapter 7: Nykedimius Desiderus A.K.A Stupid Flirty Bastardly Wanker
Disclaimer: If I owned Harry and co I would be living in a castle on a private island somewhere; which I am not currently doing. This stands to reason that I don't own anything.
A/n: Hello again everyone! Exciting news! As I said in the last chapter, I was looking for a Beta in order to improve everyone's reading experiences. Luckily for me I have found one! So please give a warm welcome to my very first one of a kind Beta: bkerrmom1! She has kindly agreed to look over my chapters and correct any of the careless mistakes that I make and then beat myself up over when I notice them later. I'm glad to have her along for the ride so maybe you could drop her a line stating your gratitude, yes? After all, she's not just helping me she's also helping to give all of you a more happy-fun-read-time!
A/n 2.0: Please pay attention to this because I am addressing some IMPORTANT info. Some of you fine readers have asked some questions that I would like to bring up in my author's note instead of my personalized responses to reviewers just because I think everyone should know. Alright, first of all this fic will probably be a long one. Yes, I mean 15+ chapters. If you're not in for the long haul I understand. Along with this story being a long one there will also be a sequel called A Man's Life after this one. So I hope you guys like long fics cause that's what you're in for. For my second point, one lovely reviewer brought it to my attention that while my fic is rated M at the moment there is no reason for it to be rated so high. I foolishly forgot to mention in the first chapter that there won't be any sort of lemon/limes until later in the story. But worry not my dear perverted audience members, it shall come in time. They may not be good considering I've never written one in my life but as I am a horribly perverted person they should scrape an Acceptable mark. That's all for now. Read on my lovely audience!
Also, this is a message for the lovely reviewers who go by the names of intrepidfish and SanchiaSnape. I genuinely appreciate your offers to be my beta and thank you very much for your kind interest. I gave the position to the first person who offered which is why I must turn down your offers. I'm sorry. I truly hope that I haven't upset either of you. I know you're probably thinking, 'Why would this upset me? Pssht! I'm not even affected!' But I figure better safe than sorry since the last thing I would want would be to offend a precious reader.
Intrepidfish: Haha. Yeah, I realize that this plot line has been used before, and often, but what I wanted to do with this fic is put a bit of a new twist on it. I tried to think of a different animal that I might have been able to do better but in the end I fell back on an oldie but a goodie. Is that lazy? Probably. But I want to be able to give everyone the best story I can offer and the only way for me to do that is to go with what I feel. I'm glad you like the little sub-plots that I've added with darling Draco. I was nervous at first thinking that people would be annoyed at the numerous different story lines going on here but no one has complained so far. As far as the switches in POV with a lot of them I try to separate them with breaks but I know it doesn't always happen. I'll try to keep track of that.
Seto K4iba1: Remus will be spending time as a werewolf very shortly but it won't cause any big problems. Thanks for your review!
Shadow: Yep Charlie and Draco are taking a few steps forward. Now get ready for the big step back! *chuckles evilly*
Thatsallwegot: Thanks a ton for your review!
Imici: Hahaha. I don't know who started it but I like that so many people are trying to guess who figures it out in what order. Your guess is pretty good but I still have surprises packed into every nook and cranny I can find.
Lientjuhh: Thanks for your kind words.
CHSgrl09: I'm glad you like it. Thanks for your review!
LIGHTNSHADOWS: Hehehe. Yep, Sev is Sev no matter what form he takes. He'll never stop being himself. I doubt most of Hogwarts' inhabitants would think that was a good thing though. *chuckles*
IchigoPudding: Yay indeed. Thanks for your review!
Brigit: Good to hear. Thanks for reviewing!
Emily Redbird: Thank you so much for reminding me that, in my haste, I forgot to put that the M rated stuff would be in later chapters. I'm glad to hear you like it.
Tokugawa Blitzer: Thanks for your review. Yes, I'm actually excited for Draco to find out about Sev. It doesn't happen in this chapter but it's coming soon.
YeahMan: Haha. Thank you for your kind review! I'm afraid I'm never able to update fast enough to make me happy but here's the next chapter!
SanchiaSnape: Thanks so much for the review! I'm happy you enjoy Sev's reactions. I love writing them as well!
XoxoxoxoxoX
In hindsight Draco thought maybe he should have seen the sudden onslaught of rain as a bad omen. After the day he was having it seemed like the skies had opened up only to mirror his mood for the day.
When he had woken up in the morning it had already been pouring. Frequent crashes of thunder and lightning announced to everyone the end of warm sunny weather. It figured it would do this on the day he had Herbology. He went down to breakfast only to have Ron Weasley stare at him throughout the entire meal. Charlie was missing from the staff table and Blaise had taken the last banana-nut muffin.
None of this would have really bothered him to any great extent on any other day. But it was soon paired with him getting told off in Potions for doing something that Chambers thought was wrong. When she tried to correct him his potion, which was supposed to be azure, turned a sickening yellow colour. She promptly blamed him, saying it was his previous mistake that put him off. He would have said something, something which probably would have gotten points taken, if Potter hadn't noticed his frustration and gotten Chamber's attention.
After his infuriating Potions class he had to walk to Herbology in pouring rain. He cast a charm on his feet to keep him from sinking into the ankle deep mud but this did little good when one of his classmates tripped him. His robes were saturated and he was forced to listen to the boy responsible snickering as he tried to clean them with his wand.
'Just make it through this hellish day. It can't last forever.' He thought to himself. He was headed to lunch, trying to convince himself that the worst had to be behind him, when all of a sudden Weasley was blocking his path. His ears were already red without him even having said anything. "Can I help you, Weasley?"
"I…I owe you…" He took a large breath in and let it out again. "I owe you an apology." He was staring at the floor, his ears darkening a shade.
"Excuse me?" Draco raised an eyebrow.
"I was wrong to yell at you and Charlie the other day. He can date whoever he wants and if you make him happy then he should date you." Ron wanted to grit his teeth as he said this but he held himself back. No one was forcing him to apologize to Malfoy. Painful though it was for him to admit, he had probably over reacted... or definitely over reacted. Whatever.
"What are you trying to accomplish?" Draco narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"Nothing! I just wanted to apologize!" Ron insisted.
"Don't lie, Weasley. What is it you want from me?" Draco snapped, not believing for a second that Weasley would apologize to him if he didn't have a good reason to.
Ron glared stubbornly for a few moments before letting out a sigh. "I need your help to brew a potion." He finally grumbled.
Draco blinked in surprise. "A potion? What potion do you need so bad that you would apologize to me?"
Ron frowned. "It's a potion called Memento Vivere. It'll bring Hermione out of her coma."
Draco's eyes widened. "Memento Vivere is supposed to be extremely difficult. Where would we even find the ingredients?"
"I already have the ingredients!" Ron said quickly. "All I need is someone who is good at potions. You're…the best in our year at potions besides Hermione."
"You already have the ingredients?" Draco looked at him, his gaze returning to suspicious. "Where in Merlin's name did you get the ingredients to make Memento Vivere?"
Ron blanched. He hadn't thought about what he was going to tell Draco about how he had gotten the ingredients. "Wh-why does it matter where I got it?" he stammered, hoping Draco would drop it.
"What do you mean, 'What does it matter'? Of course it matters! I know what goes into that potion and some of the ingredients are quite rare. I'm certainly not going to join you and get myself in trouble if you've come by these things illegally. Do I look stupid to you?" Draco snapped.
"I didn't get them illegally, you prat. I…got them…from Snape's old rooms." Ron looked down as Draco gaped at him.
"Y-you stole from Professor Snape's rooms?" Draco asked, too shocked to even be angry yet.
"I didn't steal." Ron protested, looking up from the floor. "Snape died. He's not using any of the potion ingredients and I knew he would have what I need."
Draco glared at him. He knew he was probably being overly sentimental with getting angry over Weasley's theft. It was Weasley's girlfriend that was suffering and it was understandable that he would do whatever it took to help her. Nevertheless, him stealing items from Severus' rooms, Severus who would have been furious about the theft, seemed like a horribly insensitive thing to do. "You…you're sure this potion will wake Granger?"
Ron's eyes met Draco's and he gave a sigh. "Yeah. But I can't brew it on my own. I need help and Harry isn't exactly renowned for his potion making skills."
Draco returned Ron's sigh with one of his own. "Fine, I'll brew it for you. But don't you ever even think about taking anything from Severus' rooms ever again, Weasley."
"Agreed." Ron gave a slight smile. "We'll start brewing tomorrow during the free period before lunch."
The unlikely duo parted, Draco headed to the Great Hall. By the time he got there most of his favourite food was gone. "I saved you a sandwich." Blaise passed over the plate that held a sandwich and some crisps. Draco scrunched his nose slightly at the tomato on the sandwich and pulled it off. "Thank you." He nodded to Blaise. He glanced up at the staff table to see Charlie. The red-head looked as amazing that morning as he had the night before but that wasn't the main thing that caught Draco's attention. Charlie was talking to a man around his own age that Draco had never seen before. The man had chocolate brown hair that framed his face attractively. It was hard to tell from where Draco was sitting but the bloke looked quite fit. He was smiling at Charlie and, as he spoke, Charlie threw his head back in laughter. Draco felt a stab of jealousy jolt through his body.
Lunch soon ended and Draco, having a free period, headed toward Charlie. The man was still chatting with him and Charlie's back was to Draco. As he approached the duo the unknown man switched his gaze from Charlie to him. "I think one of your little students wants a word with you." Draco heard him say. Charlie turned to look at Draco.
Charlie's face split into a grin automatically. "Draco! How's your day been?" he asked walking around to the other side of the table, his friend following.
"It's been…rather frustrating." Draco allowed himself to sigh. "But it's nothing to worry about. Who's your friend?" His eyes flicked to the other man.
"Ah! Draco, this is Nykedimius Desiderus. Nyke, this is Draco Malfoy. Nyke and I worked together in Romania. We write to each other sometimes and he wrote to say that he was in the country. He'll be visiting for a while." Charlie grinned.
"Nice to meet you." Draco greeted, rather formally, holding his hand out.
"Pleasure." Nykedimius smirked, taking Draco's hand, squeezing it briefly, and releasing it quickly. "Charlie has told me so much about you. It sounds to me like he's been rescuing you left and right this year." He gave a small laugh and placed a hand familiarly on Charlie's shoulder.
Draco felt his cheeks colour slightly at the man's words. "Yes. Charlie has been very kind." Draco returned the smirk, falling back on his upbringing to make his voice as subtly condescending as possible.
Nykedimius gave another small laugh. "Yes. Charlie is always so kind to everyone, even to things that may not deserve kindness."
Draco knew that the insult flew over Charlie's head. Why wouldn't it? He wasn't brought up in high society where any insult said must be veiled. But it rang in Draco's ears like a gong. Draco's eyes met Nykedimius' and locked there. Both wore smiles but both knew where the other stood. It was pretty obvious to Draco that this man already didn't care for him. But Draco knew he would do everything he could not to let that show. He, like Draco, was a pureblood. They had both been trained since they could talk how to deal with someone they hated publicly. Not to mention the fact that this Nykedimius obviously had feelings for Charlie and saw Draco as a rival. They had both been brought up learning to deal with rivals with subtle, yet unforgiving, grace.
Draco had heard of the Desiderus family. They had never been known as sympathizers of the Dark Lord but they had their fingers in numerous dirty deals at the ministry. Draco recalled seeing the head of the family, probably Nykedimius' father; at a ball his father had taken him to when he was younger. Lucius had whispered that the man was supremely overconfident. He was a man that waltzed around the Ministry bragging about his wealth and position. It would seem, by the look Nykedimius wore, that he took after his father in arrogance.
"Well I have to be going. I'll talk to you later, Charlie. Desiderus." He nodded to them.
"Where are you going next?" Charlie asked, never losing that smile that gave Draco a funny feeling in his stomach.
"Charms." Draco noted, with a rush of unexpected affection, that the tenseness between him and Nykedimius hadn't even registered to Charlie. And yet at the same time he almost wished he had realized it. At least then he would be more likely to let Draco have a quick exit.
"I could walk you there." Charlie offered hopefully.
Draco was about to refuse the offer when Nykedimius spoke up. "You can't, Charlie. You're teaching one of Hagrid's classes while he deals with his brother, remember?"
"Oh yeah." Charlie frowned.
"I can walk him." Nykedimius offered, causing Draco's eyes to widen slightly.
"It's perfectly fine. I assure you I can make it on my own." Draco protested only to have Desiderus throw an arm around his shoulder.
"I insist! You get to class Charlie. I'll take care of this one." The man grinned while waving Charlie off.
"Alright. I'll talk to you later Draco. See ya in a bit, Nyke." Charlie waved as he walked out of the Great Hall.
Draco immediately shrugged Nykedimius' arm off him. He turned to look at the other man with a cold look. "What do you want?"
The smile that had been on Desiderus' face while Charlie was present was replaced with a bored arrogant smirk. "I simply thought that this would be a good time to have a little chat with you about something rather important."
"Which is?"
"I know that Charlie is, right now at least, quite fond of you. I just thought I would warn you that it's foolish to get used to it." A sunny smile spread over his face.
"Subtlety doesn't become you. You're rather bad at it. Why don't you just come out and say whatever it is you want to say." Draco bit out.
"If you insist. Charlie is a great guy. He's sweet and gorgeous and he undoubtedly deserves better than a has-been Death Eater like you. Don't make the mistake of thinking that he wants a relationship with you. Charlie is the type of guy who likes to feel like they have something to protect. You, being the pathetic little school punching bag, are the perfect excuse for Charlie to play the hero. But soon all of the students here will get bored of you. They'll start to ignore the pitiful little Death Eater and when they lose interest so does Charlie." His smile stayed in place as his words stabbed at Draco. "Do you understand? He doesn't really want you. He's not even really attracted to you. You're needy and weak and that is what he's attracted to. But that's not what he needs. He needs a guy that he can take home to his family. Someone he can take to dinner without there being a fuss. Someone who all of his friends won't mind being around. Do you really think you can give him that?" He paused as if waiting for Draco's answer. "I didn't think so."
Draco, more than anything else in the world right now, didn't want to admit that Nykedimius' words had struck a chord in him. The other man gave him a smirk before sauntering off. Draco felt his cold façade crumbling around him as heat rushed to his cheeks and his eyes started to burn. He couldn't go to class like this. Instead he turned and headed to where he knew Ron Weasley would be.
Ron was headed for Herbology when he was intercepted by Draco. "Where are the ingredients for the damn potion?" He asked quickly.
"What? Why?" Ron asked.
"Because I'm going to start on it, you prat, now where are they?"
Ron's eyes widened but he thankfully didn't question the blonde. "They're in my room."
"And where is your bloody room, Weasley?" Draco sighed angrily.
Ron gave him directions and the password as Draco tapped his foot impatiently. He watched the blonde walk off quickly and gave a frown of worry. He quickly shook it off, figuring even if they did have a slight truce going he didn't have to spend his time worrying about Malfoy. Not when he had so many other things to worry about.
XoxoxoxoxoX
Severus was glaring at the open pages of a book when Draco barged into the room. Severus, who hadn't been expecting the sudden appearance, sprang into the air as if he were spring loaded. Of course he certainly hadn't meant to do such a ridiculous thing and so immediately did the only thing that would spare him more embarrassment. He pretended it never happened.
Draco had spared a look at the startled cat but didn't stop. He went into Weasley's room and grabbed the ingredients that he found at Weasley's bedside table. With a bit of searching he found a cauldron and levitated it to one of the desks in the sitting room. He pushed another desk end to end with the other.
Potter's cat was watching him closely with its odd black eyes. It came over and leapt onto the table that held the ingredients. Draco was thinking about brushing it off the table but he was surprised to see the cat stay on the very edge, as if not wishing to get in the way or compromise the ingredients. "You're an odd cat." Draco mused, feeling some of the anger building up inside him fade. It was always like this when he began a new potion. Severus had taught him at a young age that he had to control his emotions in order to become great at potions. Brewing now was always a way to clear his head and focus solely on the potion. It relieved stress as nothing else he had ever found did. As he went about preparing the ingredients the cat simply stared at him, as if studying his brewing method.
XoxoxoxoxoX
Severus didn't know what had been bothering his godson but he was happy to see the tension fade from his shoulders as he began cutting an Immortelle blossom into eight pieces before putting them into a mortar with the dried eye of an albino gecko and grinding them together. Severus watched slightly proud as Draco's face became a mask of calm relaxation. He had taught the boy how to do that; how turning aside ones emotions when brewing was crucial for someone who wanted to succeed in potions.
He remembered fondly how Draco, at eight-years-old, would come to visit and sit for hours studying him as he brewed one potion or another. "When one is brewing a potion it is essential for them to lock their emotions away. A person who is distracted by the whims of their heart will easily miss the subtle changes that a long time brewer always knows of and the quiet instincts that a serious brewer eventually gains. Creating a potion is a time when one should be focusing, relaxing, and always learning. Do you understand, Draco?" He remembered saying to the boy as he showed him how to brew a simple cure for boils. Draco had looked up from where he was studying the movements of Severus' hands and had given a cute grin.
"Yes, Uncle Severus." He had smiled.
Seeing Draco now, no longer a boy, brewing and looking as calm and collected as one could ever hope, Severus felt the kind of warm pride that parents must feel when looking upon their child.
Severus was watching Draco closely as he went through the beginning stages of the potion when Potter walked in. "Hey Draco. Um…what are you doing in the Gryffindor rooms?" Harry asked as he threw his bag down beside one of the armchairs.
"I'm brewing a potion for Weasley. It's to help Granger. This potion should wake her up from her coma." He answered as he crushed three banana slugs and a dried daisy blossom into paste before adding two spoonful's to the cauldron.
"Oh. That's great! Are you two…getting along better now?" Harry asked, having a bit of trouble believing that Ron and Draco would be feeling like getting along after the recent Hogsmead debacle.
"We have something of a truce going. I'm sure it's only because he knows he needs me to brew this potion but I'll take what I can get. Anything to keep Weasley from throwing a fit if his brother and I decide to go on another date." Draco answered. The mention of Charlie just reminded him of Nykedimius' smug smile. He shoved the memory back and hoped Potter wouldn't bring it up. However, he had no such luck.
"So you and Charlie, huh? How did that happen?" Harry asked curiously.
Draco gave a sigh and pushed a bundle of Skullcap over to him. "If we're going to stand here chatting you're going to help. Cut the blossoms off these and then cut the stems into thirds." He ordered. Harry smirked but complied with the order. "You remember those boys who were harassing me on the train?" Draco asked suddenly.
"Yeah. What about them?"
"After you were put in the Hospital Wing they found me and were about to do…something. Probably beat me up or turn me into a slug or something. Charlie saw and stopped them. After that he talked to me in the library and asked me out." Draco starred at the potion, trying to ignore the anger at Nykedimius' words that was still trying to resurface.
"Oh. That's…nice. I'm actually jealous." Harry chuckled.
"Jealous? Don't tell me that the almighty slayer of the Dark Lord can't get a date." Draco looked over to the other man with an amused look on his face.
"That's pretty much the way of it." Harry smiled back with a small laugh.
Draco raised a disbelieving eyebrow at him. "You have to be kidding me. You can't get a bloody date? Whatever happened to the Weaslette? Weren't you and her together?"
Harry gave a slightly harsh laugh. "Yeah. We were together. We broke up and after the war I didn't want to get back together with her for…numerous reasons." He finished with the Skullcap and Draco promptly pushed a handful of armadillo livers over to him.
"Choose the five best of those and cut them in half." He ordered. Harry set to it. "So what were your reasons, Potter? Figure out she was a fame-leaching bint?"
"Don't talk about Ron's sister like that." Harry scowled at him.
"Sorry, sorry. But I'm right you know. She cared more about you being the famous Boy-Who-Lived than she did about the actual you." Draco shrugged.
"I suppose you could be right but I don't know." Harry sighed. "True or not, though it wasn't the reason that I didn't get back with her, I couldn't be with her anymore because I found out I was gay."
Draco blinked at Harry in surprise. "You're gay?" He asked, shocked.
Harry laughed. "Yeah. It's kind of hush-hush right now. Only my close friends know."
Draco gave a laugh. "Merlin, Potter! Could you not have told me this two years ago when I wouldn't have felt bad about selling the story to the Daily Prophet?"
Harry laughed in return. "Yeah, sorry about that. I'm sure Rita Skeeter would give a limb to be able to get her hands on that story."
"Well why haven't you gotten a boyfriend then?" Draco asked, taking the liver pieces and dropping them into the cauldron at five second intervals.
"No one has seemed interested in me so far. I know that probably sounds like a lie but it's not. Every guy I've ever tried to flirt with has clammed up and run away." Harry frowned.
"And just how many guys has the all mighty saviour actually flirted with?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow and stirring the cauldron with a glass rod twice counter clockwise.
"Well…just the one." Harry grumbled sheepishly.
"One? That's bloody pathetic, Potter! Honestly, you need to sneak out to the village some night, head to the Three Broomsticks, find a decent looking bloke, and at least attempt to start whatever low class pawing that Gryffindor's call flirting." Draco sent a smirk to the other man while Harry laughed. "It's not like you're a bad looking guy and I'm sure if they don't know about your horrible hero complex you'll be able to hide it."
Harry chuckled. "Should you really be telling me to sneak into the village? Weren't you a prefect?"
Draco scoffed quietly. "Yes Potter and I was always a model student, wasn't I? Never broke a rule did I?" he drawled sarcastically.
"I suppose you have a point." Harry rolled his eyes.
Draco dropped a single unicorn hair into the, now azure and gently bubbling, potion. "Well now it has to brew for forty-eight hours on low heat." He informed while taking out his wand and spelling his hands clean.
"Shall we go to dinner then?" Harry asked.
"I suppose so. Blaise will whine if I don't show up." Draco rolled his eyes. As they opened the portrait hole Severus, who had been watching his godson brew the potion closely while blocking out the useless conversation, leapt off the table and followed the boys out.
XoxoxoxoxoX
Draco grit his teeth as he stared at his plate. Desiderus had been staring at him, sending him haughty looks ever since he and Potter had come down for dinner. The prat was once again sitting next to Charlie and, when he wasn't shooting looks at Draco, he was noticeably flirting with the red head. It was driving Draco mad.
"May I ask what exactly the mashed potatoes did to cause you to glare at them like that?" Blaise asked, distracting Draco from his brooding. "What's gotten you upset now?"
"And what makes you thing I'm upset?"
"Well…you're making my pumpkin juice boil in my goblet…along with about everyone else's juice."
Draco looked up to see several people seated close to him who were looking nervously into their goblets. Draco took a deep breath to calm himself and looked slightly sheepishly at Blaise. "It's that bastard that's sitting next to Charlie." Draco motioned to the staff table. Blaise looked up to see which bloke was the one causing problems. The guy in question was currently laughing at something Charlie had said and slapping the red head playfully on the shoulder.
All it took was a questioning look from Blaise for Draco to launch into the whole story. Blaise listened quietly, an out of the ordinary serious expression on his face. He was sympathetic to Draco's problem but Draco had to admit he had a point when he said, "I'm not sure if you should say anything to anyone else about it. There are a lot of people who don't trust Slytherin right now and Charlie, even if he is a great guy, might not believe you if you randomly accuse an old friend of his of being a giant arse. Right now there isn't much you can do."
XoxoxoxoxoX
Severus, after he had made Potter feed him, decided to roam the castle for a bit. Back when he had been a professor taking walks around the castle grounds had been the most relaxing part of his job. Despite what most of the students thought, that he roamed the halls in hopes of catching and punishing any out of bound brats; it was really more enjoyable if no students were caught at all.
So he went to wander the halls. After the students had gotten through with dinner and were safely back in their dorms the halls were actually quite peaceful. The most troubling thing he experienced was the portrait of Rosabella Whipple, a woman who had insisted with being painted with no less than 18 cats, calling out to him in hopes of luring him to her. Though Severus had no clue what she would have done had he approached her portrait. Other than that it was perfectly calm with only the occasional ghost drifting by. The portraits on the walls either chatted quietly with their neighbours or snored softly. Severus was just beginning to relax when a horribly familiar voice sounded.
"There you are, my Prince. I've been hunting for you." Mrs. Norris purred from where she had stepped out from a secret passageway behind a tapestry.
Severus was about to streak off when the insane cat, guessing his next move, blocked his path. "As I have told you numerous times, I have absolutely no interest in an insane feline!" Severus hissed.
"And as I have told you, my dear," She let out a small giggle. "If I can't have you for my mate no one can."
Severus hissed and yowled loudly as she pounced on him. He attempted to take this stupid creature's eyes out with his claws as she bit his neck. "Get off me you infuriatingly stupid beast!" He hissed. He wasn't sure what exactly Mrs. Norris' goal was where he was concerned. But he did know that no matter what she intended, it didn't change the fact that she was a horrible nuisance.
"Having fun?" Another voice asked.
Severus looked over to see Crookshanks wearing a look that almost resembled a smirk. Severus sent a glare as he took another swipe at Mrs. Norris. "Make yourself useful and help me!"
"I don't know Snivellus. This is actually quite entertaining." He purred.
"I don't bloody care! And stop calling me by that asinine name!" Severus hissed at him viciously.
Crookshanks finally jumped over, swiping at Mrs. Norris who had rambling about how Severus would be hers. The male cats continued fighting the mad female until a third voice, this one filled with authority, sounded. "Mrs. Norris, I have told you many times not to fight with the student's cats!"
Severus turned to see a tabby cat with markings around it's, or rather her, eyes. Mrs. Norris growled, ears flattening to her head, before streaking off at the sight of McGonagall. "Good evening Minerva." Crookshanks smirked.
She shot him a look that somehow managed to be just as stern in her cat form as it was in her human form. "Don't you have something better to be dong besides stirring up trouble?"
"I was helping out a friend." Crookshanks motioned over to where Severus was sitting.
Minerva's piercing gaze went to Severus. He froze, having no clue whether or not she would recognize him like this. His answer came swiftly as he saw her nose twitch and her eyes widen. She transformed back into her humanoid form with a small pop. Her eyes were wide and her mouth gaped open slightly.
Severus gave a small sigh, memories of the last time he had seen Minerva flashing through his mind. "Minerva." He greeted softly.
Minerva gave a small scream, her hands flying to her mouth. Her face had gone completely white. "S-Severus? Is that really you?"
Severus gave another sigh and sat back on his haunches. "Yes."
Minerva exhaled with a shudder, as though someone had walked over her grave. "How? Harry said you were dead. We found your body. I was at the funeral!" Her voice rose almost hysterically.
"Albus is the one responsible." Severus murmured. He explained about him dying and Albus insisting that he be given a second chance at life. He told her about having to convince the Golden Trio, along with Draco, of his true identity. He informed her about having had Weasley be the first to find out, leaving out the fact that this accomplishment was quite by accident.
"I…I can't believe you're alive. When I heard that you had died…and that you were on our side the entire time. All that you were put through…" To Severus' horror he saw Minerva's eyes misting over.
Severus looked away from her, uncomfortable. "We all did what we had to. I'm sure that I wasn't put through anything that wasn't common for someone as close to the source of the war as I was."
"Still," Minerva murmured softly, dabbing her eyes with the sleeve of her robes. "We, me and the fellow teachers, were so quick to distrust you. We didn't for a second question your motive for killing Albus. We all just jumped to conclusions. It wasn't fair to you Severus."
"You did as well as you could with the information you had at the time. I won't pretend that you lot didn't make my life as headmaster rather…unsatisfactory. However, it was my job to appear to be the Dark Lord's faithful servant. I did my job well. You have nothing to feel guilty over."
Minerva sniffled slightly and dabbed her eyes again. "Yes well I'm still sorry, Severus. And now you have to go through this nonsense because of Albus."
"Yes. Well we always knew Albus Dumbledore liked to play with lives. Why would he change in death?" Severus asked sarcastically.
"You may have a point." Minerva chuckled. "To be honest you being turned into a cat does seem like something that Albus would have found amusing. How are you coping?"
Severus barely withheld a sneer. "It is usually somewhere between irritating and infuriating. But I am…working through it."
"I suppose that's all you can do at this point. But I want you to know that anything I can do, I will do to help you along."
"Thank you. For now at least I have everything under control." Severus felt a surge of something like companionship. Minerva and he had always had a somewhat strenuous friendship ever since he had started working at Hogwarts. Both of them finding common ground in their mutual respect for each other in their chosen fields. Only now that Severus had regained it did he realize how horrid it had been without their shaky friendship. "I think I'll head back to Potter's room now. Out of the few individuals who have managed to discover my identity you are undoubtedly the most preferable. Mr. Weasley finding out was a fluke while Miss Lovegood making the discovery was all but useless."
Minerva chuckled again. "Well I'll walk you back." She transformed back into her cat form and they both headed back to the eighth year Gryffindor rooms. They said their good nights and before Minerva transformed back into her human form to open the door for him she said, "I hope you'll stop by my office sometime. I could tell you about all the things that have gone on during your absence that I doubt Mr. Weasley would have thought to bring up."
"I will probably take you up on that offer." Severus nodded. Minerva opened the portrait hole for Severus and he crept into the dorm.
He headed to Potter's room to find the young man sitting up reading. He looked over as Severus came in. "Hey Prince. I didn't know you had come back with us tonight from dinner." He wiggled his fingers over the edge of the bed hopefully, trying to tempt him to come over.
Severus rolled his eyes and leapt onto the foot of the bed. He pulled some of the covers over to him in order to make himself a little bed and then curled up in them. Harry leaned forward to start stroking him softly. "You know Prince, I don't know why, but it feels like bad things are just going to keep coming this year. I don't even know exactly why I feel like that. Kind of a dark outlook, huh? But I can't help it. I probably sound crazy. But I do have experience on my side. You don't know this but I've never really had what you would call a quiet year at Hogwarts. I don't even really know what I'm worrying about. And it's not like I can talk to Ron about it. He already has enough stuff to worry about with Hermione in the hospital. Not to mention he got a letter today from Percy saying that George was found with some potion called Mors Vincit Omnia. Percy didn't say what exactly the potion did but it wasn't…good. They got it from him before he could use it and now he's living back at the Burrow. But yeah, Ron already has a lot to worry about without me unloading on him. I wish I could have saved Fred. Maybe if I had defeated Voldemort sooner. Maybe if I had just given myself over to him when it all started I still could have defeated him and no one would have had to die. Maybe if I—"
Harry was cut off, having been talking more to himself than Prince, by a paw against his lips. Prince, while he hadn't been paying attention, had climbed up his body and placed a paw over his mouth. The cat was now glaring at him. "You can't do anything about all of that now." Severus meowed with a half-hearted glare.
He couldn't take people spouting off what-if's. They were like nails to a chalkboard to him. It lead down the same road every time no matter who it was. "What if I had done this?" "I could have saved them if only I had done this." "What if I had never said that?" It swirled and swirled in a cyclone of pointless despair. He hadn't been able to stand listening to what-if's ever since he had nearly destroyed himself with them after Lily's death.
Harry chuckled, causing Severus' paw to slide from his lips. "I guess you want me to shut up while you're trying to sleep, huh? Alright. Good night, Prince."
Severus curled back up in his stolen blankets as Potter lay back down. "Just go to sleep, brat." He meowed. And if this was said, or meowed, in a tone of very slight affection neither of the bed's occupants noticed.
Xo End Chapter oX
A/n: Whew! That took forever to write! But well worth it! Thank you ever so much for reading my dears. Please leave a review but if you must flame at least do it for a good reason. Lots of love to all of you!