Title:
Twenty-one days

Prequel to:
A few days more

Author:
evil minded

Date:
November, 21st 2009

Timeframe:
Fourth year at Hogwarts

Summary:
AU / Death Eaters besiege Hogwarts. A spell from Dumbledore is going astray. A cauldron explodes during potions class. And the old castle enfolds its own magic. Can some students survive for the next twenty-one days?

Disclaimer:
Did you see Severus alive at the end of 'The deathly hallows'? no?
Do you think I would have had him died if I had written those books? no?
Then you know that 'Harry Potter' does not belong to me … nor does Severus … regrettably …

Rating:
M – Not suitable for children or teens below the age of 16

Author's Notes:
Uhm … alright … I have to admit … English is not my language by birth … so … please do not kill me while reading … neither for the – perhaps – sad language, nor for the subject of my writing …
Also, this is a story written for NaNo, a story written within thirty days only and even though I go over the chapters before uploading them – I do apologize if it might not have the same quality at one point or another than those stories of mine you are used to by now … thank you …

Warning:
Story contains bad language and swearing.
Don't ever use such, it's neither good manners nor proper use of language and never mind how 'cool' it might sound, it surely isn't a sign of intelligence. It won't get you anywhere and people will think less of you if you are unable articulating properly.
Story contains references to child neglect.
Child neglect is a really, really serious thing, and there are a lot of children in our world that are neglected, children that lack food, clothing, often love, and perhaps even a roof over their head – and closing our eyes, and pretending it does not exist – is no solution …
Story contains references to child abuse.
Child abuse is one of the most evil things, and there are a lot of children in our world that really would need help but have to live without hope – and again, closing our eyes and pretending it does not exist – is no solution … instead show sympathy, and understanding … and handle people, children as well as adults, which are showing any signs – whichever – of once having been abused … with understanding and with help …
What does not mean I am not as evil as I pretend to be … ^.~ … believe me – I am …

Breåk· … ·~†~*~*~*~*~*~†~· … ·Łine

Previously in twenty-one days
For a while there was silence in the classroom until Gregory's voice was heard.
"Where is sleep?" The boy asked and the Potions Master lifted his eyebrow at the teen. Had his young Slytherin lost his mind now completely? Gregory never had been overly intelligent, but had he lost his mind now completely due to hunger, tiredness, and exhaustion? Due to fear and …
"What do you mean?" Neville asked, curiously looking over at the Slytherin boy.
"Well, everyone tells you to go to sleep … but, where exactly is sleep?" Gregory asked, trying to keep a straight face, and the Potions Master had to admit that for once, Gregory had used his brain well.
"You are an idiot!" Draco murmured sleepily, shaking his head. "Shut up, Greg, and go to sleep!"

Twenty-one days
Chapter twenty-one - Day fifteen - Monday, sixteenth of September
Takk skal du ha

Slowly the great hall filled, students coming in one by one and without the usual chatter and noise one might think about three hundred students would cause. Not that there had been much chatter and noise in the great hall during the past few days in the first place, the students definitely had been more silent since some of them were imprisoned down in the dungeons, the atmosphere having been rather depressed all the time, and understandable so. All of them had friends, brothers, or sisters down there after all. But right now, the great hall filled so silently, one might be able to hear a needle dropping to the floor.

And the great hall itself had changed, too, today. The house tables that had been standing there this morning for breakfast were gone now and rows after rows of benches had appeared that stood in front of the head table, benches which were filling with students one by one. There were drapes hanging in two rows from the ceiling, but they – for once – did not show the house colours. They were black and had only the Hogwarts crest on them.

The students themselves had changed, too. None of them wore any private clothing and not even their house robes. They all wore black trousers and black shoes, white shirts, and plain black dress robes. They, too, didn't wear their house ties but the black Hogwarts ties with the Hogwarts emblem on them. The girls had their hair braided and the boys had even washed their faces and their hands.

It was Monday, September the sixteenth, and their classmates were missed for fifteen days now, for two weeks – and dead.

One by one the bench that stood to one side of the great hall filled as well, even though not as quietly as the ones that were now filled with the students, the ministry officials babbling and chatting in whispered voices until Madam Bones gave them angry looks, whispering to them that they were less well behaved than were the children that had managed to enter silently.

Cornelius Fudge cast an angry look back at her at her words, but the rest of them luckily blushed and went silent, immediately.

The second bench that was situated at the other side of the great hall, beneath the row of windows filled as well, quietly sobbing witches being led by grave looking wizards, the parents of the students that were down there, captured in the closed off dungeons of Hogwarts, school of witchcraft and wizardry.

Only one man in his late mid ages was sitting there now that was not a parent. Shoulder long, black hair, tied back into a braid, fell down over the man's broad back and shoulders. Dark brown, nearly black eyes were blinking every now and then as if blinking away tears, and while his breath was calm, it was clear that he forced it being that way. He was wearing black clothes, black trousers, a black shirt, and a heavy black dress robe that held no family crest at all – which was strange.

Suddenly, there was movement at the high table the teachers were sitting at, and Albus Dumbledore stood.

For once, the headmaster did not wear colorful robes but simple black ones, just like everyone else, and his pale face was grave, tired, and wrinkled, old. He overlooked the students for a moment, his eyes wandering over the bench that held the parents sadly, before his shoulders sagged and he seemed to become even more old, even more tired, and even more miserable than he had been just a moment ago, while his blue eyes did not twinkle as they normally so often would. In fact – they had not twinkled as much lately as one was used to when being in close contact with the old wizard.

"We are here today, all of us, to give our last respect to seventeen students and a teacher which are missed for two weeks now, which are locked up down in the dungeons that have sealed themselves two weeks ago after an attack from Death Eaters that has confused the castle to a point where it had shut down herself." Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster started, his voice as tired and as drawn as was his face, and the old wizard had to place his hands atop the speaker's desk to hide their trembling. "All the shutdown areas of the castle, we have been able to reopen them all during the same night, except for the dungeons and we can just speculate about what might have happened. The guarding picture of Marlow Venenatus, the old Potions Master that guarded the door to Professor Snape's private chambers, told us that during class that morning, on September the 2nd, a cauldron has exploded – at the same time at which the castle has shut down herself, and so we can only guess that this accident might have interfered with the attack of the Death Eaters."

"It is another murder that is to be written on Tom Riddle's account." He said, ignoring the gasps from some of the ministry officials while trying to ignore the smirk he could see on Lucius Malfoy's face. "This attack has not been a simple attack from some random criminals, but it has been an attack from followers of Lord Voldemort. Nothing else is to be said there – because I refuse to give them the satisfaction of going deeper into their vile actions with my speech. It is the seventeen students and the teacher we are here for, not them, and so I will start with our remembrance vigil."

He took a deep breath and then closed his eyes for a moment before releasing it slowly. None of the students that had attended and then left Hogwarts throughout the many years had touched his ancient heart as much as one fourteen year old skinny, green eyed, black haired and stubborn child named Harry Potter, and none of them had touched his ancient heart as much as had one thirty-four year old, skinny, black eyed, black haired, stubborn, and sarcastic young man named Severus Snape.

But, of course, he couldn't say so right now, never mind how much he wished he could. As the headmaster, he had to keep from picking favourites right now.

"Over the many long years of my tenure as transfiguration professor and then headmaster, there were many students that I thought of with great fondness, and that had me worried about them, their education as well as their health, but never before have I worried about any student as much as I have worried during the past two weeks over the missed seventeen students and one of my teachers, and never before have I had to fear actually losing one of my students, let alone seventeen of them."

Of course, that was not entirely true. He had feared losing Harry more than once, during his first year when the boy had gone after the Philosophers Stone, during his second year when the boy had gone down into the chamber of secrets, and again during his third year, when the child had been found at the lake, fighting hundreds of dementors. And he had feared losing Severus each time he had sent him to the madman that was Voldemort, for spying on him – even though the man had atoned for his mistakes he had made in his youth long time ago.

But then his face became grim, and he looked over the students, his mind made up.

"All those students down there have been my children in one way or another, some of them in Gryffindor, some of them in Slytherin, but all of them have been my children here at Hogwarts, and I loved them as much as I love all of you." He then said. "The Gryffindors with their bravery and stubbornness, with their unbending loyalty, and the Slytherins with their cunning intelligence, their stubborn need to prove their value and their ability to survive the direst of situations. Lavender Brown, Hermione Granger, and Parvati Patil have been the only fourth year girls on the Gryffindor side, but while Lavender and Parvati have been close friends, Hermione had chosen different company, with Harry and Ronald, the golden trio as some called them. Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan have been the boys on the Gryffindor side and they all, really all of them, have not only been very brave and very kind children, but they have been loved and they are missed."

His eyes wandered over the students again.

"Millicent Bulstrode, Pansy Parkinson, Tracy Davis and Daphne Greengrass have been the fourth year Slytherin girls, and they have soon become pairs - Millicent befriending Pansy, and Tracy befriending Daphne, even though they have been able to work together just as well, they have always remained pairs. The boys on the Slytherin fourth year side have been Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Draco Malfoy, Theodore Nott, and Blaise Zabini. Vincent, Gregory, and Draco have formed a very strong bond during their first year, Draco benefiting from Vincent's and Gregory's strength and Vincent and Gregory benefiting from Draco's ability for sly cunning, while Theodore and Blaise have been rather for themselves. They have not been outsiders, but neither have they formed a special friendship like the others, they have been able to get along with everyone, even with some of the other houses."

He took another deep breath before releasing it slowly.

"I am sure that during the many speeches made today, all the seventeen students will be remembered." He then calmly said. "But there will be no parent or other relative that will regard Harry Potter, and therefore I, as his headmaster, will overtake this part together with remembering one of my teachers, Severus Snape, Potions Master and head of Slytherin."

He had expected some groans and protests from some of the students, from Gryffindors as well as from Slytherins at the mentioning of Harry and Severus together, but there were none, and looking over the children, he couldn't see anything that gave away that they were upset upon his choice.

"When Severus came to me, so many years ago, only days after he had taken the dark mark out of the wish to belong, he had not asked for my help and protection like so many think." He started, his voice thick with emotions. "He had only asked of me to accompany him to the ministry of magic to turn himself in for judgment, one small question for last comfort, nothing else had he done, and nothing else did he expect. Therefore, he had, of course, been utterly shocked when I have offered him a different way, not to redeem himself, and not to atone for his sins, because he had done none aside from taking the mark out of his wish to be accepted in a group for once. But I knew that he would not see it that way, that he needed something more than just my forgiveness for a guilt only he himself was able to see. And so, I asked him to spy on Tom Riddle for the light, something that, maybe, I should not have done, because it had made Severus a hard and tough man, a harsh man that was as closed off as much as even possible, and even after all those years of spying, Severus still had not believed himself worthy of affection, let alone love."

"It has taken me several months after that to come to care for him as deeply as I do now, but I have to admit that Severus does hold the place of a son in my heart for many years now, even if that stubborn child still refuses to acknowledge the fact that I do love him like just that, never mind how stubborn and short-tempered he had been sometimes." He said, a small and sad smile coming over his face for a moment. "I know, were he here now, our dear Potions Master, he most likely would have skinned me alive for calling him a child, but considering that I am old enough to be his grandfather even, and considering that I am just unable to help my own feelings towards him, I do not take back those words, because for me, he is a child, my child, and I loved him and his sarcastic ways – and I miss him."

"The only thing I never understood was Severus illogical dislike of Harry." He started to think on the boy that had been so much smaller than his classmates. "Severus normally kept his emotions under such tight control that it had always been difficult to find out exactly what he had been feeling. But somehow, he had not been able to control them around Harry. Harry … never mind how much I always try to feel the same for all the students, I have to admit that I have fallen in love with this particular child the moment those big, green eyes had looked up at me with such trust in them when I have placed him on the Dursleys' doorstep so many long years ago. If only I had listened to Minerva and my own heart that night instead of the logic of my brain. I now wish I would have found someone better for the child than those people who hated him and who had made his life with them miserable. I could have even fought for custody over the child myself, or Minerva could have done so, Merlin – even Severus would have been a better guardian for the child than those people had been. And then, seeing the child again, so small and wide eyed at the sorting feast three years ago, when he had turned eleven, it had broken my heart seeing that the child had looked like he was only eight."

For a moment he was unable to continue, and he needed to swallow a few times, noticing that many of the heads in front of him nodded at his words. They all knew how much smaller than anyone else his age Harry had been, still was, and they all knew what had happened when Minerva had visited the Dursleys a few days ago, she had shouted it through the hallways loud enough for anyone to hear, after all.

Flashback

"Albus Dumbledore!" Minerva screeched at him through the corridor that led towards the entrance hall, still wearing her travelling cloak. "Albus Dumbledore! You better …" She repeated, still screaming at the top of her lungs while she crossed the entrance hall and threw open the doors to the great hall with a force that would make Severus proud of her if he would be present to see her. But he wasn't and neither was Harry. But she had been at Harry's house just minutes ago.

"Albus Dumbledore!" She shouted a third time the moment she entered the great hall and hurried up to the head table where the headmaster was sitting at. "How could you, Albus! How in Merlin's name could you!"

"Merlin, Minerva! Calm down, what have I done? Calm down and tell me what have upset you so, child."

"Do not child me, Albus!" The transfiguration professor shouted. "Do not child me! How could you! I told you not to! I told you what I thought of them! I told you to … do you even know what …"

"Merlin, calm down, Minerva!" Albus stood and left the table, quickly coming down to where Minerva stood. "What are you speaking of? What have I done this time?"

"Placing Harry with the Dursleys, you blasted man of a headmaster!" Minerva still shouted, not minding all the students having stopped eating their dinner and looking over at them expectantly and with wide eyes, hanging on both of their lips. "How could you! I've told you not to! Do you know where I've been just a moment ago? Do you know where I come from right now? No, dear headmaster? I've been at Privet Drive to inform Harry's aunt and uncle about what had happened and about Harry's death and do you know what they did? Do you want to know what those … those … those CREATURES did? They laughed, Albus! They laughed and they went to a restaurant to celebrate the boy's death! Do you know what that blasted man said? Do you want to hear the words he had said? He said that they were glad that – the freak – the FREAK, Albus, finally had managed to get himself killed, that they finally were rid of that burden! And they OPENLY said so, INTO MY FACE, Albus! NOT after I have left them, OH NO, NO, but INTO MY FACE! And do you want to know what that … what that woman said? Lily's sister? Do you … she said that the … that the AMOMINATION … ABOMINATION, Albus, should have died together with his parents and that they had hoped that the freak … AGAIN the FREAK, Albus … would get himself killed SOONER than that! LILY'S SISTER, Albus! Harry was their NEPHEW, their OWN blood, for Merlin's sake! And they … they … she said that they had tried to beat the freakiness out of him for YEARS, Albus, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! Can you imagine? Beating magic out of a child? Can you imagine? Do you know what you have condemned that child to, twelve years ago when you have placed him into their care? Can you …"

End flashback

Minerva had broken down into his arms, sobbing by then, unaware of all the students that had been sitting there, open mouthed, their eyes wide with horror, even the Slytherins looking horrified, the great hall as silent as it was right now, and Albus quickly had led Minerva out of the hall, had led her into her private chambers where she had calmed down only after he had given her a tumbler of the strong Scottish whiskey she always had a bottle of and a calming draught Poppy had brought over, sobbing herself after she had heard her colleague's outburst in the great hall and then following them.

And she had been right.

How could he have done that to the child? None of them had known. None of them had known what a miserable life Harry had lived at the Dursleys, and it had been his fault, and his alone!

"I have made a lot of mistakes over the years, I have to admit that, but placing Harry with his only living relatives, it had been the gravest mistake I have ever made." He sighed. "And nevertheless, despite the abuse he had been through at the hands of his aunt and uncle, he had grown into a very kind and caring child and I could not have been prouder of the child if he had been my own grandson, and my heart breaks at the thought of all the danger he always had been in, at the thought that I will never get the chance to talk to that child again, that I will never have the chance to make amends for the treatment I have put him through over the years by placing him at the Dursleys. Both of my boys, Severus as well as Harry, I have wronged in so many ways – and now they are gone before I can tell them how much I have cared about them, how much I am sorry for what I have done to them, and how deeply I have loved them. Thank you."

Breåk· … ·~†~*~*~*~*~*~†~· … ·Łine

"Will Professor Dumbledore make me go back to the Dursley's?" Harry said in a quivering whisper, just as if he had known what exactly was said two floors over their heads in the great hall, but his question was so quiet that Severus could barely hear it. And yet – he did hear, and his heart clenched at his child still fearing that he would be sent back to those monsters.

"Never, child, I will not let him send you back, I promise that to you." He said, running his hand through the boy's raven mop of hair. "You will be going home with me. Even Death Eaters or the Dark Lord himself would not be able to get into the wards at my manor as my ancestors have been quite a bit paranoid for centuries. The wards on Prince Manor are almost as old as the ones on Hogwarts, but they are even stronger than the castle's wards, since I do not have to let in parents and visitors like Hogwarts does. Besides of that, I highly doubt that Albus would even think about sending you back if he knows what had happened in that house."

"But he doesn't." Harry quietly said, averting his eyes.

"And you think I won't tell him, Harry?" He said, lifting his hand at the horrified look that crept over the child's pale face. "No, Harry. There is no way around that. I will tell the headmaster, and I will ensure that he will not send you back. You will live at my manor and that is final!"

"You really would let me live at your home?" Harry asked, his eyes still so unsure.

"You are my son now, Harry, aren't you?" Severus asked. "I know that you still fear I had adopted you only because I thought there would be no consequences as we would die down here anyway. I know that you still fear that I would abandon you after we leave those dungeons alive, but that will never happen. You are my son now, and you do not know how much I have become to care for you, to … Merlin, I admit it … to love you even, Harry."

Breåk· … ·~†~*~*~*~*~*~†~· … ·Łine

"Hermione Granger, Parvati Patil, Lavender Brown, Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, Ronald Weasley and Harry Potter." Minerva started after Albus had left the speaker's desk that was placed before the high table. "Those are the students in my house that are missing, Gryffindors, but they are not the only ones. Altogether there are seventeen students and a teacher missing, one of my colleagues, and they were Gryffindors as well as Slytherins. They are not only missed in the sense of being absent, but in the true meaning of the word just as well – they are missed."

"The most studious girl in my house was Hermione." She said, taking a deep breath. "Some even called her a know-it-all, but she was always ready to help others with their studies. She was a very kind and gentle witch that never hurt anyone, and she was – even if muggle born – a very powerful witch as well. Rarely is a young witch or wizard able to manage a levitating spell upon the first try, but Hermione has, and like that, all her studies has been throughout the three years she has attended Hogwarts. She was loved and respected amongst most of the student body and the teachers, by her parents and her friends, and she will be missed deeply, as will be Parvati."

"Parvati was a girl that was just as kind and gentle as was Hermione and Lavender, who was her friend." She went on, unsure of what to say at all. She had not known those two girls as well as she had known Harry, Ronald and Hermione who had always ended up in one trouble or another. "Both girls have been calm and quiet, barely noticed amongst the students, and only in later years has Lavender started to be a bit more expressive, while has Parvati always remained very quiet, just like Neville. But even if both girls have been rather average students, they both did have their fields of expertise where they exceeded and where they have made me proud of them, for being their teacher and for being their head of house."

"Neville was a rather clumsy boy, a boy that has messed up with nearly everything, but his loyalty and the bravery hidden beneath his clumsiness have been astonishing." She said, her eyes wandering towards Augusta Longbottom who was sitting at the left bench beside her brother Algie and who dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief. "He was ready to stand up for his friends when it really mattered and he will be missed a lot not only by most of the Gryffindors and teachers, but by his grandmother as well. And just as well as by many of the plants Neville always has cared for so deeply and so successfully."

"Seamus and Dean on the other hand, they have been more expressive and boisterous, typical boys that laughed and played around, that enjoyed life with all it offered to them, ready to partake in all the joys and in any prank that was played at Hogwarts throughout the years." Again, her eyes wandered off to the parents of those two boys, noticing that the parents of Seamus, even if they were muggles, had no eyes for the wonders that the wizarding world and Hogwarts especially offered. Of course not, their son was missed, had most likely died, and she sighed. "And yet, they have been students that have been ready to learn and to study hard to make the people around them proud, they took both sides that life offered, joy as well as work and therefore they have been very good students any teacher could have been proud of. And I am proud to have had them in my house."

"What brings me to Ronald and Harry." She finally said, looking over at Molly who had her face hidden in Arthur's shoulder, Ginny sitting between them. The girl had not come back to Hogwarts since Poppy had sent her home and she did not sit with the other students right now. "Ronald and Harry, two boys that were as different as is day and night. Ronald was a young wizard that struggled through his studies rather than anything else while Harry put more effort into learning than Ronald did. On the other hand, was Ronald able to enjoy life in all its folds while Harry has never managed that. Harry could laugh, yes, but it had never been an open laugh that really reached his eyes. But while Ronald's studies have been less acceptable, he was nevertheless not stupid. On the contrary, his chess games alone, which had always been rather spectacular, especially one in particular I remember he played during his first year, proved that he had a brilliant mind. If only he would have used it to more than pranks played on the Slytherins. Those two sometimes drove me mad, I have to admit that, but on the other hand, they both have been able to worm their ways into anyone's heart, especially Harry with his green eyes that resembled his mother's, Lily's, so much. Lily, who had died to protect her son and now Harry, too, has died. It makes me sad to think that all of the Potters are gone now, that an entire old wizarding family is gone, wiped from the wizarding world. Ronald is not the last Weasley, but to think that the red haired young wizard with his freckles has died, is a very lousy thought just as much nevertheless."

"They both will be missed." She continued after she had taken another deep breath and slowly had released it. "They both will be missed just as much as all the other students, Gryffindors as well as Slytherins. They all will be missed just as much as Severus, who always tried to keep them as safe and as hard working as possible, and I am sure that he has done all that was in his power to keep those seventeen students alive for as long as possible, never mind if they were in his own house or not, and I am sure that he had tried to keep all of them as comfortable as was within his powers. Never mind how sarcastic and never mind how cold he always seemed to be, he did care about the students, always, and while there might not be many who miss him, I will, I already do, and I do miss him very deeply, thank you."

During all her words she had spoken the pictures of the children she was speaking of went through her mind, but the one picture that was Harry Potter, it nearly had her sobbing in front of her audience, and she wished she had Severus' ability to mask emotions, to lock them away until privacy was given.

Slowly she went back to the head table to regain her seat and to leave the speaker's desk for someone else while again the pictures of the boy's relatives came to her mind, wondering how anyone could treat a child like that, especially a kind child like Harry.

Flashback

"My name is Minerva McGonagall." She said after Petunia quickly had pulled her in, fearing the neighbours would see her. "I'm your nephew's head of house at Hogwarts."

"I know." The woman spat at her. "I do remember you from my sister after all. What do you want?" The woman then asked, and Minerva frowned at her. She knew that Petunia was not fond of wizards but that surely didn't justify her unkind words.

"Maybe you want to sit down first, Mrs. Dursley." Minerva quietly said, knowing that the news she brought would upset the boy's aunt greatly and she feared that maybe Petunia Dursley could faint upon them.

"That won't be necessary." The woman however said, glowering at her. "Say what you have to say and then leave."

"Who's that?" Vernon Dursley who came out of their living room asked, watching her with horror on his face. Well, she had to admit that maybe she should have changed into something else than her robes before coming here, but she simply had not thought about that. Severus would have thought about such, but Severus wasn't here, Severus was locked down in the dungeons, together with the other students, together with the other children, together with Harry and she didn't even know if he still was alive.

"It's one of them." Petunia answered her husband with a sneer on her face and Minerva's frown deepened.

"Maybe it really is best if you take a seat before I …" She started again, but she was interrupted by Petunia's husband and for a moment she inwardly shook her head. Poor Lily, having had to deal with a brother-in-law like that, she thought.

"Taking a seat?" The man said, looking at her outraged. "I won't … just say what you have to say and then leave, quickly, we haven't all night after all!"

"I won't keep you long, Mr. and Mrs. Dursley." She huffed indignantly at their display of aversion in front of her. "I only came to bring the sad news of … well … I am sorry, but your nephew has died yesterday evening. We have …"

"What do you mean, he's died?" Vernon Dursley asked, pushing his wife aside and approaching her with his face red.

"The fourth year's Gryffindors and Slytherins have been locked down in the dungeons, in the potions classroom, since the second of September due to …"

"Are you sure that he's died?" Petunia asked, blinking at her in shock, her thoughts racing as it seemed.

"Yes, we are." Minerva answered. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Dursley, but the wards …"

"That means … Petunia!" Vernon Dursley gasped, looking over at his wife and never mind their unkind display towards her, she felt horrible for them, losing their nephew, and not even having the chance to bury his body. "Petunia! That means we're finally rid of the freak! That means the freak finally has managed to get himself killed! We're finally rid of that freakish burden!"

Burden …

Freak …

Being rid of …

Just slowly the words were registered in her brain, and she was speechless at them, really speechless, blinking from Vernon Dursley to Petunia Dursley, looking from one to the other, not really understanding the words Vernon Dursley had said. Surely that man had not meant those words he had spoken just a moment before. How …

"So, it really is true?" The woman asked, her face nearly happy. "It really is true? The freak is dead? Finally! Even if I've hoped he would've gotten himself killed a bit sooner than that! It was about time, really!"

"What do you mean by that?" Minerva couldn't help asking, their words finally sinking in fully and her face grew white with horror.

"Isn't that obvious?" Petunia Dursley asked. "This abomination should have died together with his abominable parents! But no! We've been burdened with the freak! We've tried to beat that freakishness out of him for years, but without success and his abominable ways only have become unbearable over the years! But well, he's finally gone! Better late than never, isn't it, Vernon?"

"How … how dare you?" Minerva gasped, shocked. "How … you … surely you do not mean your words … surely you …"

"Oh, stop it, woman." Vernon Dursley laughed at her. "Just leave our house so we can go to celebrate this happy, happy, day. What do you think, Petunia? Will the Greek be sufficient?"

"I'd say so." Petunia answered, not even caring about her, Minerva, being still present. "But next year, on this day, we'll go to the Italian."

"Whatever you want, dear Petunia, whatever you want." Vernon Dursley said, shoving her – Minerva – out of the way to go and get his jacket, the key for his car, and his wallet.

End flashback

Not even two minutes later she had been standing alone in their house. The Dursleys had been so eager to leave for the restaurant to celebrate that 'happy, happy day' that they had even forgotten about her, about throwing her out before they had left.

She had always suspected that the boy's relatives had never really cared about him, that they hadn't even provided him with much food, or even particularly healthy meals, but never would she have thought that the child had been hated so much in that house, that the child had been beaten, too, and Harry himself had refused to even talk about his home life at all. She knew from his friends that they had sent him packages of food for his birthday every summer, and nevertheless she had witnessed each fall when he returned to school, that he had been so thin and that it was several weeks before he could manage to eat a normal amount of food that would be typical for a teenage boy. And he surely would never have managed to shovel away as much as Weasley always had if he still lived. But he didn't.

Breåk· … ·~†~*~*~*~*~*~†~· … ·Łine

"Ron could have been a git sometimes, being a little brother and that, but I guess that was normal." Fred said after both of the twins had approached the speaker's desk, but this time they, for once, did not speak in turns. "I guess all little brothers are like that. And all the same, even with all our teasing him, we did love him, don't mistake us for that. He was a lazy ass, yes, and he was a pantywaist too, yes, but he was always great for a joke or a prank, and not only for being pranked by us, but for pranking others just as well. And whenever he did, then mum didn't find out that we've been planning something on our own. But he wasn't just lazy, and he wasn't just good with pranks. He was the best chess player of all the times, he even beat McGon- … sorry, Professor. He even beat Professor McGonagall's chess game in his first year, and that one had been called the greatest game of all times by the headmaster himself. But his most valuable traits were – he was loyal. He would have done anything to stand up for his family or friends. He was loyal and he was brave, following Harry down the forbidden trap in his first year, down into the chamber of secrets in his second year and to meet werewolves and the grim in the forbidden forest last year, even if it wasn't really the grim, they didn't know that back then after all. However, what I mean is just – he was brave, he was loyal, and he was kind, and we miss him."

"We know that aside from the Slytherins no one will say something for Snape, and so we will." George said when Fred stepped back a bit, making room for him. "He really could have been a git sometimes just as well, and a bastard when he wanted to be, no doubt about that, but he did care, even if he never showed it. And we should know, after all. He caught us making one of our potions during our first year and he gave us detention and demanded we hand over our formulas, all of them, and our notes. And when we went to the dungeons that night, he lectured us on the dangers of creating experimental potions, of course he did, he was a teacher after all. But then he had us sitting at a desk, not to make us writing lines or something like that, but he made us going over all of our own formulas together with him, and he told us how to improve them and how to make them safe – basically he gave us the ok, even if he said that if he ever caught us experimenting again or use our stuff in his class, he'd use us as potions ingredients. Well, last year he caught us again, and yet – we're still here, and he even offered an apprenticeship to us. So – you see, he isn't that bad really. He always kept us safe in potions and he never – and we know that too, because we often came to him for asking questions about potions – turned a student down who wanted to learn and came to him with a question. One just had to see behind his snarkiness. And if I have to be honest – I do miss him. Thank you."

Breåk· … ·~†~*~*~*~*~*~†~· … ·Łine

"Professor Snape was our head of house." Marcus Flint, the Slytherin prefect, finally said, after he had spoken about the missing students in his house, his voice quiet and his eyes wandered over the Slytherins in the crowd, resting upon one or another student, his Slytherins, just like the Potions Master's dark eyes would have done. "Professor Snape is our head of house, because in our hearts he always will be just that. We all know that his reputation was that of a harsh and cruel dungeons bat. A bastard he was called by some of you, a vampire, or a Death Eater, unfair he was called, preferring his own house over all of the other students. But no one really watched. Otherwise, they would have seen that Professor Snape only tried to balance the unfairness that was bestowed upon his house. Slytherin is a shunned house because of a bad reputation one dark wizard has caused, and Slytherin is handled accordingly by students and teachers alike, and so he was there for us where no one else have been. Of course, he was there for us, as was his duty as a head of house. Professor McGonagall is there for her own house, as is Professor Flitwick and as is Professor Sprout. Professor Snape was there for us whenever we needed him and we could not have wished for a better head of house, because he cared." He took a deep breath and again looked over the students, over all of them this time.

"Points he has taken from all of your houses, except his own, sarcastic he was, and harsh he was, yes, but none of you knew that in privacy he punished us just as much as he did you, he just did in a different way. But the impositions he bestowed upon you, if necessary, they never have been senseless lines that wouldn't have been registered anyway but he always had you writing essays about the subjects of your deeds. Essays that made you think about what you did, that made you think about why you should not have done it, and that made you think of what could have happened in the worst case scenario. He didn't just punish you, he made you think. But none of you have ever thought about that. And never mind how many of you think different, I do know that he worried much about all of you, that he cared about all of you, and I do know that he had many sleepless nights because of you just as well as because of us. Because he cared. And that is the reason he will be missed within the house of Slytherin, it is the reason he will be missed by me, because he simply cared. Thank you."

Breåk· … ·~†~*~*~*~*~*~†~· … ·Łine

"Alright, what would you have done today if you were out of here, Hermione?" Draco asked after he had answered the very same question, telling the small group that he would have been in the library for some time, that he would have enjoyed lunch, and that he would have gone to bed early. Yes, he rarely knew a child that – even during good times – could sleep and eat as much as could Draco, even if the boy never looked as if he ate as much as he actually did, and with his eyebrow lifted at his godson he couldn't help thinking of the boy's father, Lucius, not for the first time wondering if the blond Death Eater had led the attack.

"I would have lain by the lake, enjoying the last rays of sunlight." Hermione said, her eyes closed, smiling. "Of course, I would have gone to the library at one point or another. Knowing Harry – we most likely would be in need of one answer or another. But at first, I would have lain by the lake, and I would have enjoyed the last rays of sunlight. Harry, what would you have done today if you were out of here?"

There was a pause for a moment, but then an answer came that had him lifting his eyebrow at this child just as well.

"I would have picked flowers for my girlfriend." Harry said, and some of the other kids blinked stupidly at that comment.

"You have a girl?" Draco asked startled, his eyes large on Harry and he, Severus, narrowed his eyes at the black haired boy.

"Oh – I haven't?" The boy then asked, blinking at them as if he were confused. "Why haven't anyone of you told me that I don't have a girl? Now I have picked all those flowers!"

"You're stupid, Snape!" Draco shook his head, laughing.

"What are you doing with the flowers now, Harry?" Neville asked.

Again, there was a small pause before Harry gave an answer.

"Well …" Harry made, clearly stalling for time. "… you see … I don't want to throw them away, now that I have picked them … those poor flowers … so I think – and you won't fight with me over this, this will be my honour and mine alone – I'll give them to uncle Voldie."

"You what …"

"Are you …"

"You're …"

"I want to …"

"Surely not, Weasley, I'll do …"

"But not without me and …"

"Hey, I said it's my …"

"Well, that, ladies and gentlemen, explains a lot about the mental disorder you all seem to suffer from, because if you intend to give those flowers to the Dark Lord, you would have to go through his Death Eaters first, Mr. Snape." Severus drawled, walking over to the teens, and watching the child's face, the green eyes, trying to figure out if the boy really could be as stupid, suicidal, and utterly foolish as to trying a stunt like this, or if it really was a joke only. "And how exactly, Mr. Snape, would you do such a thing?"

"Dunno, dad." The boy said, thoughtfully. "I think, I'll have to …"

His eyes that still were on him widened when he trailed off mid-sentence, and the look in them became utterly shocked, frightened and …

"I'm sorry, sir …" He started to utter, and Severus just lifted his eyebrow at him.

"There is no reason to be." He calmly said – despite his furiously beating heart at the boy's words. "What, however, is it, son, you would have done in order to go through the Dark Lord's Death Eaters – just to present him with … flowers?"

"Uhm …" The boy made, slowly calming down. "I don't know, sir …"

"I don't know – what, Mr. Snape?" He asked, lifting his eyebrow, and the boy blinked at him in confusion.

"I … uhm … I don't …"

"Dad, Snape, are you dense?" Draco whispered, leaning over to the boy that gasped at the blond and then looked wide eyed at him, Severus, and again he lifted his eyebrow challengingly, daring the boy to repeat the word he had spoken earlier without thinking.

"I don't know … dad?" Harry asked unsurely and the older wizard had troubles keeping a straight face at the brat.

"Was that a question, son, or was it a statement?" He asked, his eyes still fixed on the boy. He didn't know how much time they had left, he didn't know if they would survive at all, he didn't know anything right now, but what he knew was, that he did not want the child being unsure of their relationship for the rest of his life, never mind how long or short his life would be.

"I … I don't … I don't know …?" The boy unsurely said, starting to get desperate.

"I don't know – what?" He asked again, pulling a chair from the table, and sitting down, directly in front of his son, his eyes never leaving the pale face, and he gripped the edges of the chair the boy was sitting at, turned it with Harry still sitting upon it, causing a screeching sound as the chair scratched over the stony ground until the boy's knees were between his own, so the boy had to face him.

"I … I just … I just don't know …" Harry said, and he narrowed his eyes at the boy, daring him to go on. "I don't know … I don't know what you …" Again, he paused for a moment, before his shoulders slumped and he averted his eyes. "I don't know what you expect of me." He then quietly whispered.

"What do you think I could expect of you, Harry?" He said, lifting his hand when the boy shook his head and opened his mouth to give an answer. "I know what you probably want to say, Harry, and I do understand your unsureness. And you, Draco Malfoy, you better stop your smirk right now. You have always had parents, even if your father might not be a picture-book father, but you always had them in the first place and so you have learned what they expected of you from the beginning on, what your father expected of you, and what your mother expected of you. You, however, Harry, your parents died when you were too young to remember them now, and you never had a father that could have taught you what a father would expect of a son, since. The Dursleys surely had not been the ideal role models of adequate caretakers, they have been far from that actually, and so you have, of course, never learned what a normal adult, a father, would expect of his son, what I probably could expect of you."

He grabbed the boy's chin and lifted his head, his dark eyes on the child's green ones.

"What I expect of you, son, is that you do your best, never mind if it is with learning, with surviving this situation here, or with anything else you do, even if it is just – addressing me with a title you wish to address me with. Do not forget, Mr. Snape, that I indeed am your father now, and so do not hesitate addressing me as such, if you so wish."

There were long minutes during which Severs stared into his son's eyes and his son stared back into his, Severus', during which no one uttered a single word, but then the boy in front of him took a deep breath and his tongue slipped out to wet his dry lips.

"Ok, dad." The boy said, not like a question right now, but like a statement, and only his green eyes rested on him unsurely.

"Good, son." Severus answered, his hand coming up to run through the boy's unruly hair, ignoring the slight flinch the boy still gave away when watching his hand coming closer. "Do not forget it, because I am your father and I do not intend to change this fact at any time. I am your father, and I will remain your father, never mind what. And thus, you are allowed to address me as such."

He watched the child, his child, for a bit longer, but then he gave a curt nod and got off the chair, went back to his desk and slipped back into the armchair behind, continued writing down what had happened throughout the day, including the fact that Harry, that his son, still was so unsure of not only himself, but their relationship as well.

Otherwise, it had been a calm day, most of the children chatting away time quietly, others reading or sleeping a lot, but it had been a day that had been strange nevertheless, as if there had been something that had been going on in the castle, and he wondered what exactly it had been.

For one short moment he had been even sure that Hereweald had been here, had felt his presence, but then he shrugged the thought off. Most likely his emotions played a prank on him. And he had to admit that they started to play havoc, even with him. He last had talked to Hereweald at the beginning of the summer holidays, and most likely his inner something wanted to talk to his best friend once more before dying, whatever reason for, and therefore he had imagined feeling his presence at the castle. Hereweald had no reason to come here after all.

"What kind of flowers does You-Know-Who like best, anyway?" He heard Neville asking after a while, after some more minutes during which silence had been in the room, apparently all of them thinking for themselves.

"It doesn't matter." He heard Harry's quiet answer. "As long as they're pink."

Breåk· … ·~†~*~*~*~*~*~†~· … ·Łine

"Severus Snape." The stranger said. "He carried his name rightly, as his given name is connected to 'severity' and 'strictness' and his surname to 'be hard upon'. He was born on the 9th of January in the year 1960 at Spinner's End, and despite being a strict, a harsh, and a proud man in later years, he had always been a very quiet and gentle child. I have known him since his earliest childhood and for me, he was something like a son, as I had never own children and Severus' parents had been anything but kind, gentle or loving."

The speeches had gone on all day long, and it started to get dark outside now. From time to time some of the visitors had left the great hall to walk a few minutes outside, to get something to eat or to drink, but they had all returned rather soon. At one point people had started to approach others, friends, their parents, their children, their siblings, and every now and then quiet whisper was being heard. But otherwise still – people listened.

"Later on, Severus had changed." The stranger continued. "But it is hard not to change if you never got a chance, and Severus had never gotten one, aside from this one time when Dumbledore offered him a post as potions teacher, head of house, and spy. And due to his three jobs, of which neither one had been easy, he had become even more harsh and tough over the years. Those three jobs have formed him like the wind would form a mountain, leaving sharp angles and dark corners over the years and centuries. Many people had been determined to hate Severus, and I can even understand them, Severus has gone all lengths to make himself unpopular after all, unloved, and hated, but no one has an idea of how much he always cared. I know him for a long time, for many, many years, and we often had been sitting together for a cup of coffee or a mug of mead, and he often spoke about his students, not only the Slytherins, but the students from other houses as well. The last time we had been sitting together, had been during the summer holidays when he visited me, and he told me about what had happened in the Shrieking Shack. He had told me that he, for the first time, had noticed something that was strange about Harry Potter, something that did not fit into the picture of being a spoilt brat. I knew him well enough to know that if Severus noticed something that was amiss, then it had to be serious and so I asked him what it was.

He told me then, that any other child would have hesitated when being asked to leave his family to live with a convicted Godfather whom he had never before seen – and yet, Harry Potter had not hesitated for a second. Instead, he had been eager to leave his family, and to live with a man he hadn't known until that moment. Furthermore – any student would have hesitated before attacking a teacher – and yet, Harry Potter had not hesitated for a second, but had done so the moment Severus had been about to hand over Sirius Black to the dementors. Harry Potter, apparently, had not wanted to lose Sirius Black, and apparently, he had been willing to attack a teacher for that. Only a desperate child would have done so, and after what I have learned about Harry Potter today, I have to agree with Severus. The child must have been very desperate, perhaps hoping that he could live with his godfather instead of with his abusive relatives. And Severus noticed it even though he was not a student of his own house.

And after that, he had even made excuses for the boy, had told his Minister of Magic that the child had been used by Sirius Black through a confundus charm. I'm sure that Severus had known the boy would have been expelled for attacking a teacher, and I'm sure that he wanted to have a closer look into the home life of Harry Potter, he has always done so upon suspicions of child abuse."

Well, that was new to most of them, and even Albus Dumbledore looked startled at him. The minister himself looked nearly outraged. Well, his speech hadn't been the best either, the black clad man thought with a grim expression on his angular face. The Minister of Magic had said a few words about the children being captured, but nothing about Severus at all.

"So – yes, Severus had cared about his students, always, and about all of them. Often it had seemed at odds what Severus had said and what he had done, but he had always kept true to himself. He has just never trusted people enough to speak openly, merely giving them hints and hidden advice. One just had to use his brain to come to the right conclusion but rarely people did, and so most of them thought that Severus was strange, cold, and uncaring. A picture that had suited the Potions Master I knew very well, but I also know that in truth he was very caring indeed, and I have grown to love this irritable, grumpy, and bitter man like a son. And I miss him, and deeply so."

Just as well as he could see that they all wondered who he was, he also could see that everyone seemed to think that he would stop here, and that they waited for the thank you, but it didn't come. Instead, he took a deep breath and continued.

"You, the students that had been Severus', the Slytherins, you are without a head of house right now and you have no one who speaks for your friends and siblings that are down in the dungeons, as your head of house is with them right now, dead or alive still, no one knows. And therefore, I will do this honour for your friends and siblings, for your house, as I have done for Severus."

Many gasps were heard at that, and heads turned to look at each others.

"I do not know many of you, and aside from Draco, I only do know the names of the students that are still locked in the dungeons. It is hard to not know their names as they have been mentioned in every paper that exists in the wizarding world, and as they have been mentioned in every wireless just as well, but I think it isn't important what I know of them, because they have been human beings." His eyes wandered over the students for a moment before inclining his head towards the parents that still sat at the bench to the left of the speaker's desk, his right hand going towards them in an open gesture.

"Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Theodore Nott, Blaise Zabini, Millicent Bulstrode, Pansy Parkinson, Tracy Davis and Daphne Greengrass. They have been children, they have been teenagers. They have been students. They have been friends and they have been brothers or sisters. They have been sons and they have been daughters. They have been classmates and they have been housemates. They have – simply been, like every single one of those seventeen students has been, and I am sure, I even do know, and I can promise you, that Severus Snape has done all in his power to provide them, all of them, with comfort, with whatever edible things had been down there in his potions laboratory, and with anything else they have been in need of, even with kind words if necessary. I can promise you, that he has not left them alone, that he had been there – to keep them as comfortable as possible, to keep them alive as long as possible, and to keep them sane as good as possible."

He clicked his fingers and a house elf appeared, a small creature that wore a clean and large, black toga with a crest none of them had ever seen, an axe crossing a sword on a shield, with a wand illuminating the word Hrothgar, and the fact that the house elf wore a toga in the first place indicated that he came from an old and pureblood family. And yet no one knew the family crest on the small creature's toga when the elf handed him a drinking-horn. The stranger thanked the small creature with a single nod of his head, and then he lifted the horn into the direction of the students as soon as the house elf had disappeared.

"The house of Salazar Slytherin, a house that is worth being proud of." He then said, his dark brown eyes suddenly hard and pitiless. "Dermed jeg drikker opp Severus Snape, en stolt mann, en modig kriger og en betrodd venn. Kan du finne din vei til Odin's Hall – skål, min venn." He said, lifting the drinking-horn to his lips and emptying its contents in one go before throwing it to his right in a harsh and angry gesture, directly at the feet of the ministry officials who looked startled at the item that lay there unmoving, accusing, not even dripping one drop of the mead it had been filled with before the stranger had emptied it in one go.

Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to calm down and turned back to the students who looked at him startled and wide eyed. "And still – you are without a head of house right now – and so listen and remember: my name is Hereweald Hrothgar from Norway, and if you ever need someone willing to continue Severus Snape's work, then you will have to find me. Takk skal du ha, thank you!"

Breåk· … ·~†~*~*~*~*~*~†~· … ·Łine

To be continued

Next time in "twenty-one days"
pawns, flowers, and uncle Voldie

Added author's note
thank you for reading - and yes, I would be glad if you took the time to review this chapter, thank you
also, like in the past, I have installed the house cup – with each review, please state your house, so that your house can get points. There won't be loss of points, only gains … may the best house with the most reviews win …

Please also note that I have installed a new category: Hogwarts, as one reader or another (Jostanos, just for example) prefers to review for Hogwarts itself instead of one of her houses … and who knows, perhaps one day a reader might come from another wizarding school to add their review … thanks to all of you for reading and reviewing …

House Cup:
At the present time it looks like this:

Slytherin 77
Gryffindor 36
Ravenclaw 27
Hufflepuff 13
Hogwarts 21
Durmstrang 02