Chapter 4
It wasn't hard for him to sneak through the corridors of Hogwarts unnoticed. In the years since the day he walked through the threshold of this castle as a boy, to this day, he could immodestly say that he managed to get to know every nook and cranny of this place. Albus Dumbledore had to admit that he had made many mistakes in his life. Both in private and professional life. One of the biggest was letting go of Severus Snape. He was so sure that the abused young man had nowhere to go that he didn't even consider what had happened. He didn't take into account that a Slytherin could disappear from school overnight. And from the ministry's radar.
As he climbed the stairs to his office, from which he could go further to his private chambers, he thought about what he had just seen. He thought about the duel between Hermione Granger and Viktor Krum. The magic this witch wielded was unique. In every sense of this word. And to think that if he had treated her father differently in the past, this girl might now be a student at Hogwarts and not Durmstrang.
He slammed his bedroom door, certain he would spend a sleepless night wondering how he could fix the mistake that had caused so many changes. After all, they needed all the help in removing Tom Riddle from the Wizengamot. Especially now that he was running for the position of Minister of Magic.
The older wizard reached for a cup of tea, which had been placed on the bedside table by the same elf for over 50 years. He took a sip of his warm brew and thought of the other Slytherin he could call his mistake. A mistake he had hinted at when dealing with Mr. Snape.
Tom Riddle, like Severus, was a half-blood in Slytherin. Both were abused by their peers. And both were ignored by him. Tom because Albus had no intention of dealing with Slytherins. Severus because his tormentors were Gryffindors. Four of his favorite Gryffindors. James Potter. Sirius Black. Remus Lupin and … Peter Pettigrew.
However, there was a significant difference between Tom Riddle and Severus Snape. Tom carried a darkness similar to the one he had seen in Gellert's eyes before he was completely taken over by the dark magic. Tom didn't disappear like Mr. Snape either. On the contrary. He rammed his way first through school, where he managed to turn his opponents into his supporters, and then through various political factions.
Albus preferred not to imagine what this ignored Tom Riddle would be able to do once he became Minister.
Dumbledore also preferred not to think about what Severus Snape had become if he was able to raise and train such a talented witch.
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In the morning Harry was too tired to think straight. It turned out that he was forced to sleep on the floor in front of the Gryffindor Common Room due to his memory weakened by nervousness. Unfortunately, he couldn't use the Requirement Room either. This place stopped working when one of the students, terrified by the so far unexplained appearance of a mountain troll, cast the first spell that came to mind on him. Fiendfyre. A spell that was discussed in his father's class that day. The magic of the castle was rebuilding this place, but being there without adult supervision was dangerous.
"You look like you haven't slept all night." - he heard muttering close to his ear almost at the same time he felt the weight of his best friend, Ron Weasley, on his back.
Ronald Weasley was the youngest of Molly and Arthur Weasley's six sons. They were a very nice couple, but lately it seemed to him that they were hinting more and more often about his possible relationship with their only daughter. Unfortunately for them, the redheaded witch didn't pique his interest. On the contrary, he was put off by her because of her resemblance to his mother. Both in terms of her not entirely sincere intentions and in terms of her appearance.
Fortunately, Ron was understanding and understood his lack of interest in Ginny. To him, too, the very idea of dating a woman who looked like his own mother seemed rather odd.
"I was sleeping by the entrance to the Common Room. I couldn't remember my new password. Soon I'll be walking around with piece of paper with passwords written on it like Neville last year." - he muttered dissatisfied with himself.
An irritating smirk appeared on the redhead's face, unbearably similar to the one he sometimes saw on the face of Draco Malfoy, another moron who thought he had any rights to Miss Granger.
"The password for the Gryffindor Common Room is 'slytherin'. Our Prefect Oliver Wood, ever since he started to date with Marcus Flint, has become a little obsessed with reconciling the Gryffindors with his beloved boyfriend's former home. That's why I think it's not the last slytherin password you'll have to remember."
Harry chuckled genuinely for the first time in a long time. - "I wouldn't have figured it out." - after a moment he quickly added. - "Marcus Flint isn't that bad I thought before. It turns out that Quidditch brings out a more aggressive side in him."
"Maybe. But we must hurry." - his friend muttered. - "You weren't in the living room, so you didn't see the bulletin board. After breakfast a journalist will come to talk to some students from each school. I don't know about you, but I want to finish eating and get out of the Great Hall before that someone shows up."
Potter theatrically rolled his eyes as he remembered what had happened when Gilderoy Lockhart taught at Hogwarts. Rita Skeeter appeared on the school grounds at least twice a month. Rita Skeeter, who, as it later turned out, was in love with a lilac color-addicted wizard. No one remembers her visits fondly, especially since she started using her animagus form to track students who showed excessive interest in their former professor.
"Are you afraid of the reappearance of the beetle?"
Ron slowed his pace for a moment and, looking at him, said with deadly seriousness in his voice - "Of course I do."
The brunette with a smile on his face hit the boy walking next to him. They both walked confidently to the Great Hall.
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He didn't know what to think about what he had learned yesterday. For as long as he can remember, he'd been listening to stories about one of his father's friends. Severus Snape has become a legend in the eyes of some Slytherins. There were rumors about what might have happened to him. However, no one even considered that the brilliant, gloomy and antisocial Snape would become a father.
He growled as he realized he was going to be late for breakfast. To late last night, he was talking through a double-sided mirror with his father, who was almost tearing up at the message confirming that he had found a trace that could lead him to "his little Sevvy". He quickly ran to the shower, hoping he wouldn't completely miss the opportunity to drink coffee. He was English boy. He loved tea, but he started each day with a cup of hot coffee. Hot, black coffee.
Twenty minutes later, ready, he walked briskly towards the Great Hall. He was lucky that the dungeons and the Great Hall were more or less on the same level, and he didn't have to climb thousands of steps from the towers that housed the Ravenclaw and Gryffidor dormitories.
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Already going to breakfast, she knew that this time she would like to sit next to Vincent. She asked Viktor for his opinion on the matter, and he was fine as long as he sat down with her. She was aware that she didn't need to ask his permission, but it seemed to reassure him. He didn't know that she overheard his conversation with his father. He was supposed to keep an eye on her to make sure nothing happened to her at Hogwarts, and she had no intention of interfering with his task.
As soon as she entered the room, she noticed that there were empty seats next to Vincent. One of them was usually occupied by a Draco Malfoy who bore a striking resemblance to one of the wizards in the picture hanging in her father's office. There were two blondes in the photo. Wizard and witch. A woman who had imposing dark curly hair, and a boy shorter than the blond wizard, slim with curly dark hair down to his jawline.
"So where do we sit?" - - Krum's voice pulled her out of her thoughts, voice which she heard right next to her ear - "Students at Hogwarts don't have assigned places like we do at Durmstrang?"
Turning to face him, she felt her face blush because he was so close to her that she could see the brighter flecks of green in his intense brown eyes. He was almost like a brother to her, but even she could see that Viktor Krum wasn't only talented but also extremely handsome.
She quickly shook her head, wanting to chase away the thoughts that had just crossed her mind and quickly said - "Let's sit next to Vincent."
Without a word, the boy nodded to her and headed to the place she indicated.
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Looking at his son, James Potter wondered what Harry must have felt when he saw what had just happened. The blush on Miss Granger's face was visible even to him, despite being seated twice as far away as his child. He felt sorry for him because it was obvious that he cared about her.
He sighed as he once again saw Harry's gaze directed at the girl sitting down with the Slytherins. He couldn't help drowning in the memories. He tried to remember if her father had looked at Lily the same way. He wasn't able to do that. Only now, in retrospect, he realize that Severus Snape had never been interested in Lily Evans. He wasn't interested in her other than wanting to be friends with a girl he'd known before going to Hogwarts. And only now did he begin to understand that he only wanted Lily because he couldn't have her and because he thought that Snape got her.
He closed his eyes for a moment to calm down and when he opened them he thought he was going crazy. In the doorway to the Great Hall, he saw Draco Malfoy helping Peter walk. A former Marauder who made it clear he was fed up with their behavior. Who made it clear that Snape didn't deserve what they did to him.
In that moment, James Potter was sure that life was slowly charging him for his bad decision.
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"How do you feel?" - young Malfoy asked as soon as he saw the grimace of pain on his face. - "That fall was pretty nasty. When were you last at Hogwarts? The disappearing step in that place has probably been there forever."
He replied when they finally reached the Great Hall. - "My knee hurts me." - he groaned, then quickly added, "The last time I was at Hogwarts was in the late seventies."
Walking towards the benches, the young wizard smiled before saying - "You're more or less in my father's age."
Peter didn't have time to say anything. Barely sat down and he was locked in the arms of the witch who he loved like his own child. Into the arms of a witch who was the daughter of a man whose ability to forgive was greater than his ability to create his spells.
"Uncle." - He could see the worry in Hermione's eyes. - "What happened?"
"I forgot about the disappearing step in the stairs. I fell down but Lord Malfoy's son helped me get here."
Looking at her, he saw the same worry in her eyes that he had seen in Helen Granger's eyes so many years ago. After leaving Britain, he had been looking for Severus for over a year. His dedication to apologizing made Snape laugh and warmed his wife's heart. It was on that day that he got a chance for redemption and a family in the person he least expected.
Hermione was very much like her mother. That's why he wasn't surprised when after a while she embraced Lucius' son and placed a kiss on his cheek. He was also not at all surprised that the young witch didn't notice the reaction she caused in the boy, who was clearly interested in her.
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I have serious doubts about this chapter. Not because I don't like it. I'm afraid you won't like Peter's role in Severus' life. I wanted at least one of the marauders to have sincere remorse. I took advantage of the fact that Peter was actually good at tracking. After all, it was he who found the Dark Lord in the canon. How did you like this chapter? Regards, Katie Krum.
Ps. A question for those who regularly read my works. Which ones would you like to see updated first? I would like to focus on 4, maybe five titles at once to make the update faster and more regular.
