I don't own Harry Potter or the characters.
Suzululu4moe- Yes, Severus and Petunia are trouble for Sirius.
Guest- Thank you. I agree about Lily, she's never been one of my favorites.
Great Idea- I'm thinking a taste of his own medicine will help Sirius become a better person.
Fan girl 666- Lol, yep, they're scary.
Severus was hiding from his best friends, it made him feel a little guilty. But that couldn't be helped. He knew they had good intentions, he just wasn't ready for their input on where he should stay during Christmas break. Rin wanted him and Petunia both to stay with him, Severus wondered if there was a reason he didn't want to go home alone. Petunia didn't really want to go home but she tried to talk Severus into coming with her. He didn't want to ever step foot in Cokeworth again.
Right now, he was hiding behind a tapestry on the third-floor landing. The hole in the wall behind the tapestry seemed made for hiding.
"He's calling himself Lord Voldemort," a harsh voice said.
Severus held back a whimper, that was no Professor or member of staff at Hogwarts.
"Alastor, please keep your voice down. You're going to terrify some lost student," Dumbledore's calmly said.
"They should be, they should be vigilant, He's not playing, professor, there have been deaths."
"You may call me Albus, Alastor. You are no longer a student of this school." Severus heard Dumbledore sigh. "So, it seems Tom is done with his muggle father's name."
"He's calling himself Lord, Professor Dumbledore."
The headmaster chuckled lightly. "You always have to be contrary, don't you?"
Unfortunately, Severus didn't know what the man, Alastor said back because at that moment he started to sneeze uncontrollably. It was odd because he didn't even feel them coming on. A moment later the tapestry was ripped back and a young man was glaring at him. If Severus thought the man's voice was scary, it was nothing compared to his face. Even though he was young, no older than twenty-five, he had a jagged scar over one side of his face, the other side untouched.
"Well, I see you've found Mr. Snape."
"Aye," the younger man said harshly.
"Stop, Alastor, you're scaring the boy. You should be thanking him. If it wasn't for young master Snape, we wouldn't know that the Amissus Stone still exists."
That news seemed to interest the scary man. "Really? And where did you get the stone?"
It was a command, Severus couldn't help but blurt out the truth. "Sirius Black snuck it in to my robes, playing a mean joke."
"Severus, you shouldn't make unfounded accusations," Dumbledore bit out.
"I know he did it," Severus said sadly. He wished the man would treat him like he did the Gryffindors. Before going to Hogwarts, he thought they would all be equal. That was a joke.
"Let the boy speak, Albus," the young man growled.
"It's a matter of Hogwarts business, Auror Moody."
"The Amissus Stone is a dark magic artifact. That makes it Ministry business."
The headmaster harrumphed but otherwise didn't speak.
"Now, boy, where do you think you came in contact with the stone?"
"Sirius Black must have put it in my robes while I was sitting beside him on the train. I felt someone tugging on my robes but thought it was an accident. It had to be after they sat with us, because I used magic just before that."
"How come you didn't feel it?" the man asked.
"Feel it?"
"It shields your magic, making you unable to draw from it. It leaves wizards feeling hollow."
He had felt that but at the time Lily was talking to Potter. He felt like his life was ending, then just nothing. He had attributed it to his heart breaking. Hearing these boys spit vile things about Slytherins when his mother, who he loved completely was a Slytherin.
"I felt it, I just thought it was something else. Who thinks they're going to lose their magic?"
"That's true. Black would be my pick too. No telling what dark objects the Black's manor holds," the auror growled.
Things started to make sense after the headmaster called him Auror Moody. He had learned about aurors in Defense of the Dark Arts. Their job was to hunt down wizards causing problems. By his face, it looked like it was a hard job. Severus would stick to his potions, thank you very much. Only late at night would he think how a potion had altered his body without his permission.
"Alastor, we are talking about a child. There is no punishment that the Ministry can do for him unknowingly transporting a dark magic instrument."
"I guess that is the question. Did he know it was dark magic?"
"No one was hurt, I think we should let it rest," Dumbledore said, losing his patience.
"What about a girl being thrown in a world she wasn't meant to be in? Or a boy humiliated, scared and then beaten by his own father after being cast away? Also, let us not forget poor Argus Filch, who is in a magic induced coma. He'll recover but he's a grown man with uncontrollable magic. It's unprecedented."
Severus stared wide-eyed at the scarred man. He thought no one would dare speak back to the headmaster. But here was a man only about fourteen years older than himself, taking the man down with a few short sentences. He had to be the bravest man Severus had ever seen. All the bravest and most daring were supposed to be from Gryffindor, he just had to ask.
"What house were you in?" he asked quietly.
The man laughed loudly. "Hufflepuff."
"Really?" He couldn't believe it.
"Really. Don't let school houses confuse you. In the end, it's just a bed. What counts is how you live. No one house is better than the rest, no matter if one is favored and one is vilified. I'll tell you a little story. When I started in the aurors program, there was a man I had gone to school with. He had been a Gryffindor, you know all brave and that bit. It was true, he was brave, but he didn't have a brain in his thick as rock skull. So, the man ended up running in a situation before thinking it out. Let's just say, he is a permanent resident of St. Mungo's now. Brains will only get you so far. Same as bravery. It's the people who can use all the attributes of all the houses that will succeed in life, Slytherin included."
"I think it's time for you to get to bed, Severus," The headmaster said.
"Yes, sir," he said before walking away.
Just before he was out of sight of the two, he turned around. Auror Moody gave him the slightest smile but it felt like the best smile to him. He hurried back to Ravenclaw Tower, maybe being a potions master wasn't the only option in the world.
Severus got back to the dormitory just before curfew. Only Gideon was left in the common room. It looked like he was having trouble with his work.
"Can I help?" Severus asked.
Gideon jumped, it seemed he hadn't heard Severus enter.
"It's okay, just having a little trouble with Potions."
Severus had been helping Petunia and the four Gryffindor for weeks. It wouldn't hurt to add one more to the group.
"Look, on Tuesday evenings, I study in the library with some others. You're welcome to join us."
The redhead's eyes widened. "You're asking me to study with you?"
Severus suddenly felt self-conscious.
"If you don't want to join, I can fit you in some other time. Unless you really don't want help," he said, shuffling his feet.
"No! I'm just surprised to be invited in the popular kid study group"
"Oh, well if you have a better offer it's okay." He didn't want the boy to pass up a chance to make friends with the popular kids. When he had been in primary school he would have done anything just not to be picked on, he never even thought about wanting the kids' attention.
"What?" Gideon asked, he looked a bit confused. Finally, he seemed to shake away the cob webs in his head.
"Tuesday, in the library, right?"
"Yes."
"I'll be there."
"Great," Severus said before leaving. Maybe Gideon wanted better grades than being popular.
The next morning when he was eating breakfast, the Daily Prophet came in. Rin had it delivered daily because his father worked for the paper.
"Blimey," Rin said after he started reading it.
"What?" Petunia asked as she read over her Charms work.
Rin turned the paper towards them. On the front page was a picture of his grandparents. It read: Prince Estranged Daughter Arrested!
Severus grabbed the paper and started reading. Everything was there. It told about his mother, and her experimenting on him and his father. Then he felt like he would throw up. Right there in black and white it said he had female reproductive organs. The reporter had interviewed a healer to see what that meant. The healer could only make a guess but said Severus would be able to conceive and carry children. Hot tears started to run down his face.
He could hear hushed talking around him. The feeling of eyes on him. They were calling him a freak, he just knew it. The only two that knew before was Rin and Petunia. But now the whole school knew. He had to get out of there…quick.
Not wanting to talk to anyone, he stood and collected his things. Then ran out of the Great Hall. He didn't know what to do, all he wanted was to hide. He entered the hospital wing before he realized where he was going.
"May I help you?" Madam Pomfrey asked.
"I-uh-I," he stammered.
"Need a sick day?" she asked kindly.
He nodded, that's exactly what he needed. Just some time to get his mind straight, away from everyone.
"Go on and rest on a bed. I'll let your Professors know that you're ill today."
"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey." He wasn't sick but he wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.
He laid down in the bed closest to the window. Curling up on his side so he just looked at the sky. He was lulled to sleep by the rain hitting the window.
"What am I going to do with you?"
The admonishment woke Severus up. There was a curtain around his bed so he couldn't see who the witch was speaking.
"It wasn't my fault," a deep baritone voice said
"It's never your fault."
Severus could her moving around. It sounded like she was setting up the other person in the bed next to him. He sounded like an adult, maybe a professor he hadn't met yet.
"Lucius Malfoy is a menace."
"Kingsley Shacklebolt, are you listening to yourself?"
"You should have heard him. He was going on about the Snape boy again."
"Shh… You'll wake my other patient."
"Sorry," the deep voice murmured. He sounded younger than before.
"Kingsley, you can't keep being Severus' champion."
"Do you think Dumbledore is going to protect him? I've done everything I can to keep Lucius and his minions away from him. They got to him once already. Not only that but you didn't hear them today. After the Prophet piece came out, it was like Christmas came early. He didn't know I could overhear him. He's told Voldemort about the boy. An eleven your old child. That can't be good."
"Why do you think it's your responsibility to protect him?"
"Did you see him the night of the Sorting?"
"I saw him that night. My tests showed the same as the sorting hat. I don't know what happened but I'm glad he's back." Severus could hear the guilt in her voice.
"No, you don't understand," the other boy said.
"Then tell me."
"He's special."
"Everyone is special in their own way."
He could hear the boy stand up. "Thanks for patching me up."
"Please, Kingsley, be reasonable."
"I thought I was, my apologies."
A moment later he heard the door close. Before Pomfrey opened the curtains, he made sure to look like he was still asleep. Soon he fell back asleep.
"Severus," someone said, shaking him awake. He looked up to see Petunia and Rin looking back at him.
"It's time for study group," Petunia said.
"They all know, I can't look them in the eye."
"They don't matter. You are the brightest in our year…in the whole school probably. They can talk all they want, you're going to show all of them and become the youngest potions master. They'll all be begging for you to help them."
"She's right, Severus. They don't matter. If you want to, we can stop the plan. Then you won't have to see anyone," Rin said, sitting on the end of the bed.
That simple phrase made him remember the boy from earlier. He hadn't got the see what he looked like. He wondered who he was. When he first spoke, he thought he was a member of staff, but then he realized he was a student.
"Do you know Kingsley Shacklebolt?" he asked Rin.
"Everyone knows Shacklebolt, he's a beater on the Gryffindor team. Big as a mountain…sixth year."
Severus thought back to seeing Gryffindor play Hufflepuff. It hit him then who Kingsley Shacklebolt was. The tall, muscled dark-skinned boy was always part of the background in his head. When he went up against Malfoy the boy was rushing at Malfoy while he, Petunia and Rin ran away. Every day, Severus could remember seeing him now. But why did he care if something happened to Severus?"
