AUTHOR NOTE
Synopsis: What happened while Harry and Hermione hung out at Snape's place over the month of August. Set in the Potterforceverse.
DennisUD: I was thinking of doing a few more scenes and quickie moments in this storyverse. That way If and or When I do expand this out into something bigger I'll have some of it written already. I have a few other ideas but not quite sure about an overarching story arc. Although as you read this you might notice there is the beginnings of a possible idea. Also not sure about a direct crossover but can consider it. I'd have to see.
IdlemanRPG: I'm not sure about the Bootygrow potion. Maybe if she visits her American cousin or something. That idea is interesting though.
Timekeeper: Yeah Darth Librus just fell into place.
Jadesabrexiv: No you didn't miss Harry giving his Darth name, I hadn't thought of it yet. As I went fishing today I had some time to think. So came up with what happened at Snape's house. It is in here. As for the rest of this being expanded out to a full story see what I said to DennisUD.
OfficerdonNZ: Glad you enjoy.
N0wa5t3r: Thanks for the comment. Glad you enjoy.
Dagda06110732: I have thought of that sorta. See what I said to DennisUD for more details. But Never say Never.
Snape and the two teens arrived at a house in an industrial town. Harry could smell the lingering sulfur of long burned coal in the air as a palpable aura. The houses had long ago settled into a sort of dingy coexistence with each other and the world, as if tired and elderly men sitting on a bench for their final bus ride.
Snape led them into one such house that was in the middle of the street. It had no better and no worse appearance than any other. Vernon Dursley would have proclaimed it the home of a perfectly normal person, from the outside.
Inside there were three walls filled with books of all sorts. Two comfortable chairs with a table holding a reading lamp between them sat in the middle of the room while a desk was pressed against a window by the front door.
Hermione immediately dropped her trunk and began to glide over the book titles to Snape's amusement. Potter of course watched him like he expected the professor to suddenly grow fangs and attack.
"Welcome to my humble abode. I believe I can trust you not to disturb anything too seriously while I do something?"
"No of course not sir. You have quite the collection of books."
"Yes. It is the hallmark of an advanced intellect to appreciate the written word." He said as he stepped through a doorway in the back of the room.
Coming over to Harry she spoke in a low voice, "Ok so want to tell me why you suddenly trust Professor Snape."
"I don't trust him. I just distrust him the least. Did you notice he was the only one who didn't take offense at anything I said?"
"True I wonder why."
Snape returned holding a glass beaker which he handed to Hermione. "Fill this with your urine."
Taken aback she looked at him, "Uh why sir?"
"Did you use any precautions this afternoon during your activities?"
Hermione's eyes grew wide, "Uh I didn't"
Harry shook his head as well.
"Then we need to determine if your liaisons have caused any further complication to your lives."
"But we just did it this afternoon. The hormones wouldn't have time to show up in my urine."
"If you were a muggle that would be true. As you are a magical your body's aura changes at the moment of implantation. It has been sufficient time since you engaged in your activities that if you are pregnant your body's aura would have changed and become detectable in your fluids. Urine is the easiest to test."
"Oh uh ok."
Snape pointed to the doorway he came from, "The loo is through the kitchen on the left."
Once Hermione was out of the room he examined Harry. "You are underweight and wearing second hand ill fitting clothes. Not the sort of thing a well fed pampered prince would be wearing. More like some pauper."
"What of it?"
"If you seek my help gaining this full disclosure you desire the street will have to run both ways as they say."
"Okay so my guardians were cheap bastards looking to make a dime off the NHS and government welfare. They claimed they were buying me new things and instead going to the Oxfam to get my things. Cheap NHS Glasses that's why they break all the time. As for food they ate like hogs while I would get a toast and wilted lettuce sandwich. If I dared try to get into their cabinets or refrigerator without permission I would get locked in my room. Why what have you heard?"
Snape growled, "I was told to my face by Dumbledore that you were with relatives of Lily's. That they treated you like a prince in their well to do muggle residence with love and affection. That your clothing choices were merely a muggle affectation."
"Wow. That is certainly a different interpretation of the truth."
"Yes it appears to be."
Hermione came back wiping her hands on a towel. "I did as much as I could. Its on the counter in the jakes I didn't know where else you'd want it."
"That will be sufficient. Take your things to the upstairs bedroom then return. It will take a few minutes for the reactant to develop a result." He said showing them how to use the secret door behind the bookshelf.
"Uh you're going to let us share a bedroom?"
Raising his eyebrow he looked at Hermione, "There are only two bedrooms in this house. As I shall not be surrendering mine that leaves us with few options. I thought you would be happy to share a bed with your lover after that performance this afternoon."
Hermione blushed, "Uh Yes sir I just thought we might have to argue things a bit more as most adults wouldn't be as understanding."
"I am not understanding. I am apathetic. As long as you do not disturb me with your physical exertions I do not care if you break him. Just do so with a silencing charm on the bed."
Harry chuckled briefly before saying yes sir a moment after Hermione.
=====xxxxx====
"Looks cozy." Harry said putting Hedwig on her stand in the corner. His trunk against the wall of the upstairs room. It was one room with a small closet smelling of mothballs.
"Just the way I like it. Especially with you." She said putting her arms around him.
Turning around within the circle of her embrace so that he could face her Harry kissed her gently, "Sorry if I embarrassed you."
"No I think I knew and felt all those things already I was just in denial. Ron can be a nice and fun guy and make me feel good when he wants to."
"Yeah. When we get tot he school though we'll have to keep the act up. We can't show weakness. I hope you're ready for that."
"I will be. Just each me everything you can and I'll do my best."
"You always do."
=====xxxxx====
Waiting in Snape's kitchen the two teens held hands nervously. He entered from a basement door and crossing to the sink said, "You are not pregnant. That is fortunate at least."
She squeezed Harry's hand with a sad but happy smile.
Snape came back and placed two potions in front of Harry and one in front of Hermione.
"The one in front of you Miss Granger is a monthly prophylactic potion. Since it would not be beneficial to get you in the family way each month you will take one of these until you graduate, or at least it no longer would be detrimental to become pregnant. Then it is your choice."
"Thank you sir."
"The ones in front of you Potter are a nutritional supplement to help with certain health issues no doubt caused by your lack of proper diet at your former residence. The other is a general health tonic."
"Thank you sir. Why are you helping us so much?"
"Because it would be beneficial to myself, and I owe your father a great deal."
"Oh." Harry said hoisting his vials as Hermione drank hers.
"Now about your performance this afternoon in the kitchen. How did you manage to silence Molly Weasley so effectively. I was not certain that the Dark Lord would be able to."
Harry chuckled, "I used the force."
"Yes. The Force?"
"Well there is a muggle movie sir,..." Hermione began before he raised his hand to stop her.
"I am well aware of the movies. There are three of them."
The teens looked at each other in surprise then back at Snape before he actually chuckled dryly.
"You are surprised that I would know of a muggle movie such as that. Those movies even briefly came to the attention of the ICW and the various magical governments of the world. Every muggle-born in the world it seems had seen them. Fortunately for you most pure-bloods dismissed them as a fad or like certain associates of mine as just another muggle attempt to undermine our culture and traditions."
"Wow. Imagine being so petty and hidebound that a movie like that could threaten your very society."
"Well it seems you do not know everything. The creator of those movies is the squib son of a rather prominent American wizarding family. Like many in the entertainment industry they find a way to make magic happen as they say. They slip subtle references to our world and magic in hopes of actually undermining our culture and traditions. Rather humorous actually."
"Wow. Okay. So how did you get to become a fan?"
"You mother came back from summer break raving about this new movie. Your father had been less than interested as were his friends. They found muggle cars and rock bands for more interesting. I believe your father was rather fond of the Bond films."
"Oh. Okay."
"Yes. Well in hopes of regaining your mother's interest I went and saw the film over the Yule break. I was entranced by it. The story, the characters. Although I was rooting for the Darth Vader character. At the time I was rather foolish. I had a totally different interpretation of the film than your mother and it just continued to drive a wedge between us. She saw herself as the plucky young princess and your father as her charming star captain."
"Wow. You have told me more about what my parent's were like in the last few minutes than anyone else in the last four years."
Snape's nostrils flared, "Dumbledore has an agenda. Even I do not know what it is and I work for him. He has convinced all of the other professors and those such as the Weasleys that he has your best interests at heart. It is becoming obvious that may not be the case."
"Yeah. I mean Dementors came for me today."
"True. That means someone at the Ministry desires you dead."
"Great so I have Voldemort, the Ministry and Dumbledore all meddling with my life."
"So it seems. Oh and Potter about saying his name. There is a very good reason."
"Yeah?"
"He placed a curse upon that title. Those who would speak his name but not one of his followers would reveal their location and he would dispatch a team of death eaters to murder, rape and torture anyone at that location. Soon people learned to only speak around his name, using euphemisms and circumlocutions."
"That's horrible."
"The Dark Lord does not care. He seeks power, he seeks stability and above all else he seeks immortality."
"That's why he named himself flees death!"
"Yes Miss Granger. Names have power over those who hold them. This is why you should if you plan on continuing this course of action come up with some nom-du-guerre of your own."
"Well Hermione's will be easy. Darth Librus." Harry said with a chuckle.
"Yeah well what will we call you?"
Harry thought, "I don't think they ever named the Emperor in any of the movies."
"Well dad has a copy of the books. And they said his name was Palpatine. But that doesn't fit you very well."
"No it doesn't. Do you have any suggestions?"
"Well since he flees death perhaps you could be Darth Mortem." Snape offered.
"Darth Mortem. Darth Death. Well Mister Flees Death here I come."
=====xxxxx=====
The next day Snape allowed them to get a television and VCR to study the tapes. Hermione focused on her learning what Harry was trying to teach her. How to access this style of magic. Once she began to feel how the magic flowed and such as he said it made sense to her. She borrowed some of Snape's books and studied things that she would never have had access to at school.
"Harry did you know that until around 300BC all magicals cast spells wandlessly. The wand was developed as a focus to enhance the magical powers of the weaker wizards and witches. Give them an ability to cast more powerful spells than mere willpower. It also throttled back the more powerful magicals by limiting the amount of power they could focus though the wand. Eventually wizarding society was using the wands exclusively to the point by 1632 it was seen as a weakness or punishment to not use a wand. That is one reason the Goblins have been denied the right to use wands, as the wand is so strongly tied to the wizard culture."
"So by us developing the ability to not use wands we are rebelling against the culture?"
"Yeah nobody uses wandless for most things. Only if they really want to cheat or not announce what they are doing. Its an almost unknown power. There are probably quite a few who could never cast another spell if they didn't have their wands."
"Well it does take a bit more effort but it's like running or gardening. You get tired easy at first but eventually you get stronger."
"So why don't they teach this at school?" She cried out.
"The ones in charge either don't know or don't care. If you control the wands you control the people though."
"What are we getting ourselves into with this?"
"A far larger universe than you expected."
She gave Harry a sly smile. "So it seems my master. We are going to need allies."
"I know. Neville might benefit. His wand work is so erratic and strange anyhow that maybe trying wandless might be better."
"What about Ron or Ginny."
"I'll have to see if they still even want to talk to me much less try and help overthrow the entire wizarding world."
=====xxxxx=====
Snape had been going out and doing tasks for Dumbledore and the Dark Lord both during this time. He told them of the actions he took in general, few details but Harry understood that both sides were consolidating their power. As for Snape it almost seemed like he was warming up to them and having someone to share the burdens of being a double agent with made him friendlier.
Harry learned a lot more about his mother as she was from this town. His grandparents were buried in the cemetery across town. He had been a manager at the nearby mill and his mother and aunt comfortable for the era. Snape had met her one day along the canal as she was hiding and crying from something her sister had said. Snape befriended her and showed her how magic could be a special wonderful thing.
He refused to talk about his own past directly. Little things slipped through though that indicated he had deep regrets and while his obsession with Lily was a bit uncomfortable at times Harry began to understand that Snape did love her in his own strange way. He also recognized with Hermione's help that Snape may not have had a very good childhood either. As there was no drinking alcohol in the entire house they could see. Snape having seltzers or fruit juices available if they didn't want water.
They were upstairs reading some of the letters Sirius had written recently. He and Remus had a long talk and discovered that Harry was right. They had been lied to and were not acting like family to him. They hoped they could come around and work things out at some point. Dumbledore was meddling though and the Weasleys were divided about Harry. With Ginny still moping around and missing him. Ron would ignore that Harry existed or he would start cursing him and calling him all kinds of names.
"Well that leaves Ron way out. Ginny maybe if she gets some emotional help but I dunno."
The doorbell rang which was the guest Snape had told them he was expecting and that they needed to remain silent. They listened and heard the voice of Narcissa Malfoy downstairs. They heard her and Snape laugh a bit and then it fell silent. Hermione recognized the effects of a silencing charm.
=====xxxxxx====
Exploring Cokeworth they found a small cottage on the outskirts of town by the canal that appeared abandoned and unused. Speaking with Snape they discovered that it was tied up in an estate and had not been lived in for several years. Harry and Hermione immediately claimed it as their headquarters. Knowing that they would need a home for their rebellion and safe place. Taking a page from Dumbledore's book they cast a fidelius on the house and placed Harry as the secret keeper.
Hermione and he in between their studying and preparing for the new school year repaired and upgraded the house with electricity and a complete library of video tapes. Not just the movies they had been using but others that involved wandless magic and techniques.
All too soon it was time to return to Hogwarts on the train. Snape looked at them in their new wardrobes and laughed. "You should be careful. People might think you have gone dark."
"We'll keep them guessing as much as we can."
"One thing I have to ask you though. I know Draco can be an annoying little shit but please try not to kill him unless you have to."
"What makes you think we're going to kill anyone?"
Snape looked at him with an air of derision. "You do not think you are going to pull this off without people dying Miss Granger. Honestly?"
She bit her lip and looked at the floor.
"You will be resisted. You will be attacked. Potter has already been targeted for death by members of the Ministry, the Dark Lord, and if you move against Dumbledore I am not entirely certain he would not declare you dark and strike back."
"I know sir. I just hope we could avoid that."
"I had hopes once as well. Good luck on keeping yours intact. One way or another you would wind up suffering. Every path you would have taken would lead through darkness."
"Yes sir. We'll do our best about Draco. If he leaves us no option though sir. I'm not going to risk Hermione's life or mine to save him."
"That is acceptable. He has to make the choice for himself as do we all. Now let us floo you to the platform and I return to school."