Chapter 74: Severus
-Prince Manor, Magic Fifth Avenue, New York, USA
-20 December 1976
Past the commercial district of Magic Fifth Avenue, was the area where most of the wealthy wizarding families were housed along with those wizards and witches of the American high-class magical society.
This area was filled with mansions side by side that belonged to the most powerful and wealthy families in the magical world.
There were also several luxury inns that were the official stopping place or hostel for wealthy wizards and witches, high officials travelling to the country, or people of international fame and importance.
And among the row of Mansions in this area is a Manor belonging to the Prince family.
This Prince Manor is much smaller and less luxurious than the main Prince Manor in Great Britain, but that is understandable since one is the size of a huge house and the other is the size of a palace.
Yet this mansion is identical to the rest of the mansions around it that show wealth and social reputation.
It is a sumptuous, luxurious-looking dwelling with recreational areas.
It has a large garden of its own and great amenities.
And Severus was now training as he did every morning in this Prince Manor.
It was quite advantageous to have a Manor in the US and on this trip he had finally got to know the Manor, now he only needed to go and see the Prince Manor he had in Australia, but that would be for another time.
Severus spent some time training the different muscles of his body as well as his skill with the sword that was as perfect as before, he felt a bit proud that he could now follow better the rhythm of his old training as a Jedi.
He still remembers when he started how his body could not keep up, it was embarrassing for him to feel so weak.
He was forced to train very hard for countless hours every morning to strengthen this weak body, but he did not regret the time he spent on it, it was necessary.
After finishing his physical training, Severus went on to meditate using the Force.
While he meditated quietly in one of the many rooms of the Manor Prince, he took the opportunity to think about various things that had been on his mind in recent days, he didn't know any better way to process all this than meditating.
It was always a good training, all Jedi always meditated when they had to figure or solve something out in their minds.
Of course, it was also dangerous if one got too much carried away by the dark side, but Severus had long since managed to avoid this, the Force in him was always calm and in a perfect balance between the dark and light side, only when he wanted he made use of the dark side for something.
Anyway, the first thing he thought of as he meditated was all the changes that had taken place in him during this time.
He had acknowledged long ago that he had made many mistakes and stupidities as both Snape and Vader, and these things had cost him the people he loved the most when he was them.
He had accepted all his mistakes and since then he started to make a change for himself, to change his life and his person to a better version..., in a manner of saying.
Severus spent all these months seeing, understanding, and reacting to everyday things from two perspectives, always focusing on changing and improving himself using the different memories of Vader and Snape.
Sure, he made mistakes and got carried away on more than one occasion, but he felt that he had made a lot of progress for the time since the Vader/Snape amalgamated.
Then there was Lily...
Yes, Lily bloody Evans was a problem, Severus could admit that, but considering Snape's strong feelings, emotions, and desires for her, he felt he had dealt with all the situations involving her well enough, not perfectly, but acceptable.
'At least I'm no longer suffering like an idiot for unrequited love..., although in Snape's case sometimes I think it was more a mix between obsession and love' Severus thought to himself, he decided long ago to forgive Lily and go on with his life without bothering about her, so they could each go on with their lives on their own.
Although there were some situations and reactions of his own in particular that were not what he expected...,
But nobody and nothing is perfect.
"And anyone who thinks they are is an idiot," Severus muttered, remembering with irritation some who believed this.
He had also managed to accomplish some of his goals such as getting his body in shape and starting to develop more advanced technologies that he could eventually use.
And that was a significant progress, maybe he didn't yet have the physical condition he would like or the technology he needed, but he was progressing constantly.
Another thing was that as the days and months went by, he began to realise that more and more he was becoming a completely new person, and what he remembered of his lives as Vader and Snape just became memories that were shaping him as if he was slowly forming his own self and taking things from both Snape and Vader.
Like Vader's confidence that replaced Snape's insecurities, something that allowed him to be more open and not so closed off.
It was as if the Vader he remembered was becoming Snape and the Snape was becoming Vader.
Strange, I know, but it's hard to explain.
It wasn't really anything that strange, he had known for some time that he was no longer Snape or Vader, but a new person with the knowledge, experiences, and feelings of two different lives.
But even though he knew he was a new Severus in this universe, at first his emotions were still in a constant agitation between his lives as Snape and Vader, even now he still vacillated between the two states and he used to have fights in his own head between these two...
But most of the time he had managed to establish himself by remembering that he was neither of them.
That he as Severus was a completely new person, a combination of the amalgamated personalities of Vader/Snape.
And so it was that the Vader/Snape line began to blur and fade gradually over this time.
Of course, there were still the stronger emotions of both and their desires, something even he couldn't help but be susceptible to, though now it was mostly Vader in his head along with his desire to return to his galaxy and make amends, but Snape had his emotional appearances too, with his bloody feelings for Evans.
Yes... it was a bit of hell for Severus to deal with all this, but he was slowly getting there.
Plus something interesting was that now he was starting to feel and do new things that neither of those two would have felt or done and that was a small victory for him.
It was quite new for him to be so attracted to the bodies of several beautiful witches and to be able to have suggestively filled conversations with some of them.
Something that was unimaginable for Snape or Vader.
On the other hand, if he really wanted to, he believed that he could control these typical feelings of adolescence by force, with Occlumency, or with his meditation...
But why would he do it?
Neither he nor his body wanted this.
Another rather surprising discovery for Severus was that he enjoyed messing around and teasing the people closest to him.
It was quite entertaining...
And it didn't fit either Snape's or Vader's personality, though perhaps it had something to do with the remnant of Anakin Skywalker's personality that was still in Vader, but he couldn't be sure of this.
If so, then it wasn't just Snape/Vader that were currently shaping his being, perhaps there was a third party involved yet to a lesser extent as he was overshadowed by the other two, this was the young Anakin full of courage, dreams, and goodwill who had lost himself in the darkness of the Force until he became Vader.
Now, importantly, Severus realised during this time at Hogwarts that his wand no longer seemed to accept him as it did the previous Snape.
It is said that it is the wand that chooses the Wizard, and the Wizard he was now was not the one Snape's wand had chosen.
This meant that Snape's wand no longer worked very well for him who was a Snape/Vader amalgam, but despite this, he was still able to make use of this wand, it just felt quite forced, almost as if he was forcing the wand to obey him at all times.
Severus might be proficient in the use of the Force or as they call it here the use of magic without a wand, but as a Hogwarts student, he would need a good wand that he felt comfortable with for the different classes that required it.
And it was not his intention to stick with a wand that consistently refused to obey correctly.
Before returning to Hogwarts he had already planned to get a new wand, perhaps he would take the opportunity and go with Wednesday so that she could get her first wand as well, she would need it for the Hogwarts entrance exam.
Though for now, her main concern was memorizing all the spells, and charms along with the wand movements she should know from DADA, Charms, and Transfiguration.
Knowing that, Severus was confident that she could use them easily on a wand, after all the Force in her was far more developed and calm than any other wizard on this planet he had seen so far.
Severus finally stopped meditating and got up, then he cast a Tempus charm, just to check the schedule and noted that it was time for him to go to the Addams
He had told Wednesday yesterday after buying everything he needed in the wizarding district that while she started studying from the textbooks she had bought, he would see about getting her some of Hermione's writings where she had summarised in a detailed and concise way everything that covered the different subjects from first to fifth year.
And luckily Hermione didn't let him down and she seemed to have everything he needed for the study of Wednesday, she even carried all these things with her everywhere she went, which was rather incomprehensible, but Severus had long since stopped worrying himself about understanding how Hermione's mind worked.
Having Hermione's writings, Severus decided that today he would take the writings to Wednesday so that her study could progress even faster.
...
...
-Addams' House, Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, New York.
-December 20, 1976
"I must say it is extremely lucky that my cousin, Hermione, had all her writings with her that cover everything at Hogwarts until the fifth year," Severus commented and handed Wednesday several texts and notes that he had asked Hermione for on Transfiguration, DADA, and Charms.
"I've read them and they are far more detailed and understandable than the original textbooks," he added as he watched her carefully inspect the various texts and notes with Hermione's writings in them.
"Um yes, I remember you mentioning that she also had to take the Hogwarts entrance exam along with your other cousin a few months ago," Wednesday replied lightly, paying more attention to the writings than to Severus.
"She seems to be someone really... structured," she added almost in a huff, but Severus heard her perfectly.
"That's right, but she was going into the sixth year, the same year I'm in. While you are going into the fifth year and the things you see from the first to fourth year at Hogwarts are much easier than what you see in the fifth year, so for now you'll just have to focus on the writing she has from first to fourth year," explained Severus.
"By the way, it's confirmed then, are you coming to Britain to stay with me and my cousin from the 22 onwards?" he asked.
"Yes..., my father has already taken care of everything," Wednesday nodded quietly without taking her eyes off the writings.
"Alright, I have to go back to Britain today for some business, but when you come you can meet Hermione and you'll see that she can be very..., well, useful," Severus smiled a little amused at the thought of the future conversation these two would have, it was something he would be interested to see.
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Chapter 75: Potter
-Potter Manor, Honley, West Yorkshire, Great Britain.
-20 December, 1976
Currently, Fleamont Potter and Euphemia Potter lived happily with their only son James Potter and the recent addition of their son's dear friend, Sirius Black III.
They took in their son's friend, Sirius Black after he was disowned by his family this summer and ran away to live with them.
"Fleamont, I know we agreed the last summer to Jamy's request to let the Black's son live with us..., but are you sure it won't be dangerous?" asked Mrs. Potter to her husband as she looked out the window at her son and Black playing in the manor's courtyard.
"You know, your health isn't the best at the moment and you know we must prepare for a potential conflict between our house and the Black family, who are sure to have the full support of the Malfoy's after this year's Yule Ball" she added with clear concern in her voice.
"There is nothing to worry about my dear, I am more than capable of handling any situation and my health cannot prevent me from doing so," said Mr. Potter with pride and confidence.
Euphemia Potter just rolled her eyes and smiled slightly at the overconfidence her husband always had, no matter how bad the situation, he was always so firm.
It was one of the many reasons why she fell in love with him and why she lived in denial as well.
"I know dear..., I know you could deal with any situation, but still, it's not good to get on the Black's bad side right now, the current situation is not favorable and you know it," Euphemia Potter said trying to make him understand.
"Well, you may be right. But knowing Lord Orion Black, what his disinherited son does couldn't care less about him than his own house-elves," said Mr. Potter unconcerned about the situation.
So unconcerned was he that he even took the moment to grab today's paper and read it as he continued the conversation with his wife.
"Yes, but knowing his wife, it's safe to say she'll use this to cause trouble for us in one way or another. And the Black allies with the Malfoy's are something we should be concerned about"
"Oh, right, Walburga..., well, yes, she can be a big problem," sighed Mr. Potter as he remembered Walburga Black's character.
Lady Walburga Black was obsessed with blood purity supremacy as were all the Blacks.
But unlike Lord Orion Black who was always calm, cool, and very elegant, she, despite being from such a noble family, would often show her disdain for others or call out insults against blood traitors, half-bloods, or muggle-born wizards, all without regard for their status.
"My dear, I understand your concerns, but that woman is the biggest reason I wish Sirius would stay with us."
"Why, she would be the last person we would want to have a conflict with."
"Precisely because of that, she is an evil person who would not hesitate to do the darkest and most heinous thing to get what she wants, she has no affection for even her own son Sirius and that is because she sees him as a blood traitor. What do you think she might do to him if we left the boy alone?"
Mrs. Potter was silent for a few seconds thinking about what her husband had said.
"I understand, so that was your idea all along, that this woman would notice us and not her own son, wasn't it?"
Mr. Potter just smiled at her without answering and continued reading the paper.
Euphemia Potter just rolled her eyes at her husband's impudence but she smiled warmly.
"Well, then it seems we should take the opportunity to have a serious talk at this Yule Ball with our business partners, we might need allies," said Euphemia to which Mr. Potter quickly nodded in agreement.
"And you Mr. Potter must also let James know about all this, he will have to go to the Yule Ball at the Malfoy's this year even if he doesn't want to, it's no longer an option," she added, knowing that her son would not want to go like in previous years, he always made the excuse that it was too formal and most of the members of those pureblood families were proud, self-absorbed idiots.
"But my dear..."
"It is not debatable Fleamont! James as the next heir should be aware of these things and the consequences of his decisions, it is time for him to prepare himself to be the next Lord Potter," Euphemia Potter clarified with a look that told her husband that there was no room for protesting or arguing about this matter.
In fact, Mrs. Potter had already taken James to some of the meetings with other Noble families with whom they had a good relationship, but he hated to participate in these things and it was understandable because the adults only used to talk about politics or business while they left all their children to get to know each other and it was usually very formal.
Or in James' words, a bloody hell of a boring thing to do.
There were few members of the other pureblood families that James Potter liked, if it were up to him he wouldn't have gone to any of these meetings, but Euphemia always insisted that he attend.
It was because of her that James would have to go against his will to some of the meetings to which his parents were invited, where he would have to behave in an elitist and polite manner like everyone else present.
Euphemia Potter understood that her son would look down on these families, with so many adults from pureblood families educating their children in such a narrow-minded and stupid way.
Lord Fleamont Potter, on the other hand, only sighed wearily and accepted that he had no choice but to do as his wife said.
...
When Fleamont Potter finished reading, he rose resignedly to finally speak to his son.
He could not postpone this any longer.
"James, James, come here a moment son!" Mr. Potter quickly called out to his son who was outside playing.
After a while, Sirius and James came laughing over to where Fleamont Potter was standing.
"Sirius, can you leave us alone? I need to talk to James for a moment," Mr. Potter requested of his son's best friend.
The two 16 year olds shared intrigued and irritated looks, but Sirius finally nodded and walked away leaving father and son to talk quietly.
James raised an eyebrow and looked at his father clearly disagreeing with making his best friend leave.
"What's so important that Canuto can't be present? You know I'll tell him later one way or another" James said smirking.
"It's easier that way..."
The smile disappeared from James' face and he glared at his father.
"What's easier like this, could you speak clearly?"
Mr. Potter sighed and looked at his son.
'Merlin, how I hate having to put so many responsibilities on him, he's still young, he should have fun without worrying about the adult world' thought Fleamont with a sigh not wanting to worry his son with all these things.
He had postponed this conversation as long as possible, but finally, it had to be done.
James ran a hand through his unruly black hair, tousling it even more, he looked a lot like his father on the outside, but their personalities were still quite different.
That could also be because Fleamont had been raised by much more conservative and strict parents, which he had decided to change after marrying his wife and having a child.
Lord Potter preferred to give his son more freedom so that he could have a happier and more normal childhood and adolescence than most children from pureblood families.
'But Euphemia is right, James must understand his position as soon as possible now, especially with my current condition,' he concluded to himself.
"Well..." Fleamon squirmed uncomfortably, he wanted to start explaining to his son but instantly stopped as if he didn't know how to begin to properly say what he had to tell him.
James' look became increasingly suspicious as his father was never speechless, his parents had already agreed to Sirius Black staying with them after running away from home, so it didn't actually occur to James what could be so bad that his father would think so hard to tell him and that only made him more worried.
"Look son, there's something you need to know, but before that I want you to understand that Sirius will now remain part of our family no matter what," Mr. Potter said seriously.
James didn't understand exactly what his father was referring to but he nodded and then put on an expectant expression.
Fleamont was relieved because it meant that James was willing to listen to the end of what he had to say before hesitating to ask questions or seek answers.
"Now that I've cleared that up, you can know that it's quite possible that the Blacks along with the Malfoy will use the fact that Sirius is staying with our family as an excuse to cause us all sorts of... problems," he added, glaring at his son.
"What?!" exclaimed James in surprise and anger.
'Yes, this is going to be a long talk...' thought Mr. Potter with a heavy sigh.