The youngest recruit Chapter 4 : A magical glass eye, a harry potter fanfic

Severus pressed his ear against the wooden door. The wood panel was thin, and he could hear clearly what the adults were saying.

Alastor's grumpy voice was easily recognizable.

"- ould have fooled you. The lad is a Occlumens."

"Not anymore," countered Dumbledore. "He lost his occlumency along with his memories."

"Are you sure it is not…"

"I am quite certain of it, yes. You wouldn't doubt my expertise in this field, would you, Alastor…?"

The question had been formulated politely, but there was a challenge in Dumbledore's voice.

"What kind of spell was it?" asked someone else.

"I'm not entirely certain," he admitted. "I had never seen a spell like that one."

"Some kind of ancient curse, you reckon…?" mused Alastor.

"No, probably not… If I were to theorize on the subject, I would say it might be one invented by Severus himself."

Which, really, didn't make any sense, because Severus was quite certain that he had never invented any spell. Were they speaking of another Severus? That would be quite a big coincidence, no…?

"His own spell? Isn't he a little young for that?"

"He already had a habit of making them in school," countered obligingly Dumbledore.

Someone let out an impressed whistle.

"A shame that this one is working for the opposition."

"An evil git like him?" protested another man. "Trust me, we are better without him! What? Don't look at me like that, Evans!"

"Perhaps we could move on to a more pressing matter?" asked a stern feminine voice.

"Yes, you are quite right, Dorcas. Alastor, you have found a few interesting things upstairs, if I am not wrong…?"

"In the death eater's robes you forgot to search? Yes, I found things," the man answered, clearly still annoyed by Dumbledore carelessness. "Your little protégé was a little more throughout than you. I found items hidden everywhere in his room; things that weren't there before."

There was a dramatic pause, and then, the auror spoke again:

"That's why I'm not persuaded that he's as amnesiac as you seem to think. Seems way too vigilant for a child."

Amnesiac? Were they still talking about him?

Did Severus lose some of his memories? It was true that he had been confused to wake up in the street, in these weird clothes but…

"He has always been like that," interjected another voice. "Vigilant, I mean. Even before Hogwarts."

"Mrs Potter is right. If my memory serves me well, Severus's current behavior is not so different from his behavior as a first year."

"Weird child," someone commented.

"So, what did you found, Alastor?" asked someone else.

"It will be Auror Moody for you, impertinent brat!" protested Alastor, his gruff tone softened by the obvious affection seeping through it.

Severus made a mental note to call him Auror Moody from now on. He doubted he would be afforded the same leniency than the person who had just spoken.

"A few vials of Pepper-up potion, money -both muggle and wizarding currency, food, books, … I do not know yet whether the books are significant."

"What kind of book?"

"A French poetry book and a potion book about beetles."

"A French poetry book?"

"Poésies inédites, by Marceline Desbordes-Valmore. Why? You know something, Evans?"

"Severus hate poetry. He used to say…" she trailed off a moment, like if she was trying to remember it better. "He used to say that it's a mess of fancy words for self-congratulating snobs."

That did sound like him. But how that woman knew that, he had no idea…

"So not something that he used to read?"

"Not really, no. And certainly not in French. He does not speak French."

"He might have learned since then."

"He's always hanging with Malfoy and Cissy. I bet they taught him," interjected someone else. "Actually, that seems like the kind of books a ponce like Malfoy would read."

"So, that might be why he had it. And the potion book?"

"Snivellus with a potion book? So scandalous!" mocked a man, his laughter boisterous and loud.

"Quiet, Black! The adults here are trying to think."

"Sorry for him," interjected someone else, a man with a soft voice. "But yes, potion used to be one of Snape's favorite subjects. It would not be so surprising for him to read potion books for his own amusement."

"Hm… I will still keep both these books," mumbled the auror. "You can never be too careful."

"So…? Was it all you found…?" asked one of the women.

"Not quite; there was a hidden pocket sew inside his robes."

That was something Severus had not expected. He had not found anything like that when he had searched the robes.

Aurors were really efficient, he though. Or was it this one who was particularly skilled? The man had been gone for only a few minutes and had found everything Severus had hidden. More than that, he had even found a secret pocket that Severus himself had missed.

Perhaps there was a spell that revealed hidden object, or something...

It would greatly complicate his escape if everyone among his captors could do something like that. He hopped that Auror Moody was the only one with this ability.

"There was a notebook inside the pocket. And a letter. Here," said the auror.

There was a bit of silence, and then, Dumbledore spoke again:

"It does looks very similar to the code."

"Because it is the code. And if we can decipher it…" Moody trailed off, his tone hopeful.

But suddenly, there was a loud noise, the sound of something heavy falling to the floor. And following that, angry steps coming in Severus's direction. The boy merely had the time to take a step back before the door was slammed open, nearly knocking his nose.

"Alastor…" pleaded Dumbledore, only to be ignored by Moody, as he surged forward, taking hold of Severus's collar, and gripping it tightly.

Severus tried to kick him, but the man stayed impassible, like if he had not even felt it.

He leaned toward the boy, his face red with anger, both of his eyes -the real one and the fake one- staring right at him, unblinking.

"Listen well, Snape…" he whispered, threateningly.

Severus would have preferred for him to scream.

Panicked, he tried to claw at the hands gripping his jumper, but his attempts to free himself were ignored.

"I don't care whether you are really a child or not," added Moody. "If I catch you snooping again, I will make sure that you get put somewhere where you won't cause any problems. We have a few cells in the aurors department that are not as comfortable as your room here. Understood?"

Severus nodded frenetically, not wanting to make his situation worse.

"I don't hear you, Snape. Do you understand wh…"

"That's enough Alastor."

Dumbledore voice, though calm, was eerily cold.

The air was thick with magic, a terrifying kind of magic, one that raised up the air on their arms and made it harder to breathe. Then, as suddenly as it had started, the pression relented.

Moody must have felt it too, for the man shivered as he let go of Severus's collar. He seemed uncomfortable as he watched Dumbledore walking toward them, in slow, measured steps.

"Fine," conceded the auror, reluctantly. "It was, maybe, a little excessive."

"Severus," said Dumbledore, in that kind, gentle voice that one would use to speak to a little child – to Severus's irritation. "Could you go wait in your room until we finish our reunion ? You can take your sandwich there, and, if you are bored, perhaps you could draw something?"

As he said that, the old man fetched a sheet of paper and a few crayons from his pocket. Severus interiorly scoffed. He was ten – not five!

"I apologize. We do not have many activities suitable for children here. I will ask Molly to bring some toys tomorrow."

"I don't need toys," protested Severus.

He never had any, and frankly, he much preferred doing something useful. Like reading. Or practicing magic.

But this was a good excuse to escape the auror's wrath and get out of the room. So, he accepted the crayons with a nod, and went back to his bedroom.

He closed the door, and leaned against it, his breathing erratic as the room spun around him. He let himself slide against the wood panel until he was sitting down on the ground. He closed his eyes, willing himself to repress the suffocating feeling of panic, as the angry face of Moody still danced behind his eyelids. He raised a trembling hand to his collar, relieved to find that the jumper hadn't been deformed by the altercation.

He shuddered, thinking of Moody's threat: could he really throw Severus in prison? Was it even allowed? Severus had not broken any laws, not that he knew off, but then, he was not entirely certain of what the wizarding laws even were. He knew very little about the wizarding world, and even less about their legal system. Except for the working of Azkaban and their monstruous guardians, which were described in one of her mother's book.

At least, the auror had not mentioned Azkaban. Severus could bear being thrown in a prison's cell as long as it wasn't haunted by dementors.

But why kidnap him if it's to throw him in a cell in the Ministry? Actually, why did these people kidnap him at all? They had not asked for a ramson -not that his parents would have been able to pay it – and had not done anything to him… They did not ask anything from him and even seemed to find his presence inconvenient. Why go through the trouble to abduct someone at all and keep them captive in a place like this?

They had called it their headquarters. This place. And it was hidden under an abandoned pub. They were all acting suspicious, with their secret's reunions, and their paranoia, and their codes…

Were they some sort of wizarding mafia? A secret magical criminal organization? It would explain the need for secrecy, but not why Severus was here.

Something big was going on. An intricate mystery that Severus would have loved to solve if he wasn't trapped in the middle of it.

And they kept recognizing him. These people, these strangers he had never seen before… They knew his name. He had first thought that maybe, it was because Dumbledore had informed them of his presence but… They had been surprised. The nice woman, the rude men, they had all stared at him like they didn't expect to see him there. And they were talking about him like if they knew him.

Why would they be suspecting that he might be trying to trick them when he is the one who was taken here against his will? Why do they keep talking about things he would supposedly have done?

That's why I'm not persuaded that he's as amnesiac as you seem to think, had said Moody.

Why did Severus wake up in a street, engulfed in flames, dressed in robes he had never seen before?

Some of his memories were missing.

His mind was fuzzy as he got up and walked into the little bathroom next to his room.

It couldn't have been many memories that were missing, he realized, as he examined himself into the mirror, standing on the tip of his toes. After all, his face was still the same as he last remembered. He didn't seem any taller either.

A lot must have happened in a short time, then. And whatever he had done had been enough to get these people to think of him as someone potentially dangerous.

Not that they were wrong, though Severus with a little bit of pride. Despite being a child, he was not to be underestimated. But it would have been easier if they thought him harmless.

Was he a Hogwarts student already? The adults have seemed to think so.

Did he have a wand? If so, where was it?

Dumbledore.

Dumbledore had said that he had Severus's wand.

Dumbledore who was strangely protective of him. Was it because Severus was one of his students? If so, why not just explain the situation to him…?

Would Severus have believed him, though…? When he woke up, confused and disoriented, in that street ?

Maybe not, he admitted to himself. But still…

He could feel that there was something else, something he was failing to see that would explain everything, but he couldn't fathom what it could possibly be. Not now, when he was still overwhelmed by everything he had learned listening in their reunion.

He should do it again.

It was risky, of course, and he shuddered again thinking of how angry auror Moody would be if he caught Severus again, but he had learned so much in just a few minutes…

He had to take the risk.

He went down the stairs, his heart thumping loudly in his ears, perfectly aware that it was a very, very bad idea. But he needed to know more.

He froze when he noticed Moody's figure, standing in the kitchen's entrance. Luckily, he had his back turned to Severus and didn't saw him, standing in the stairs.

Strangely, despite the kitchen's door being wide open, Severus didn't hear anything. He wondered if it was because their reunion had ended, or if it was because of a spell.

"I can see you, Snape," said Moody still turned toward the kitchen. "Go back to your room."

How? How did he saw him?

Severus realized, horrified, that he had asked that out loud.

The auror turned calmly toward Severus, and there was a smile on his scarred lips, a frighteningly smug smile.

"Neat little trick, isn't it?" he asked, pointing at his eyepatch and at the glass eye that was mounted on it. "That eye can see everything. Even when it's hidden behind a wall, a door, a wardrobe… or the back of my head."

Severus took a trembling step back, swaying under the weight of that new information.

So that was how the man had found everything Severus had hidden in his room! And how he had found out that Severus was listening to their reunion!

"Go back to your room, Snape," he repeated.

He did so, hurryingly, nearly tripping on his own feet as scrambled up the stairs.

He would never be able to escape from this place. Not with a captor that could see through walls!

It didn't matter how clever he could be, he thought, angrily wiping out the tears that began to roll on his cheeks again.

He was stuck here.

If you like stories with a young de-aged (?) Severus, may I recommend this fanfiction to you ?

[Unexpected Bonds] by julepenninkton

„So this is what people mean when they say that things can always get worse. " Sirius remarked drily with a calmness so unsuitable for the current situation that only a man that has seen far too much in life already could possess.

"You are insufferable."

"Maybe, but at least I have not cloned myself, you git."

Severus Snape suddenly finds himself split in two - one adult version and one child version - chaos ensues, as Sirius Black is the only one with enough leisure-time to watch the kid.

✶ ˚ NOTES ˚ ✶

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(Last time the note was updated : 07/09/2023)

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