Chapter 2: Summon and Bind
Waking up after having a stuffed nose is a miracle. You're able to breathe the freshest air and enjoy the taste of food again. Now, imagine having a stuffed nose for almost five years—Severus awoke from the realm of Hypnos rejuvenated.
Tempus, he thought, as the time currently appeared. It was just turning 9, which was a late start to Severus's usual day. He got up unwillingly. Severus never enjoyed sleeping, but he knew from now on, sleeping would be a pleasure since his nose was back from the brink of shattering.
He looked around his new room. Severus never had much, but his scarce belongings were placed around the single bedroom. Usually, only 6th- and 7th-year students were provided with single rooms after they asked the "shriveling Greedy slug." But due to Severus's "agreement" with the other 5th-years, he was placed into a single room.
He picked up the washed and folded clothes that the elf prepared, which Severus's mother got from Knockturn Alley. Severus reminisced about the time his mother paid for the enchantments that allowed the old-fashioned uniform to magically grow alongside him. Wearing only the cloak, Severus made his way to the bathroom, getting a few double takes as he washed up and made his way back. At least there wasn't any blood when Severus reinstalled his nose. He wasn't going to do a Voldemort on himself.
Wearing his uniform, he placed back his security runic array. He learned the hard way that people would go through everything, even his very few belongings, to mess with him.
Making his way to the sparsely filled common room, not many people paid much mind to Severus as he continued to walk toward the enchanted, enthralling exit. He glanced at the notice board, memorizing the new, shorter code for the dormitory.
Walking through the cold, dead hallway, Severus let out his magic drowsily. His magic spread through the hallways in multiple waves, unbothered by anything but the ancient Hogwarts walls. His magic let him know that no living person was around. He felt the movement of the ghosts as well as the souls of the living paintings while Severus made his way to the stairwell.
The moving stairs hadn't been a problem for Severus since he learned that the stairs listen to the intention of the user. He learned that tidbit when he was "accidentally" tripped from the 2nd floor all the way to the dungeons. If it wasn't for the stairs that shifted toward the dungeons instead of the ground floor, Severus would have landed in front of the Great Hall right when dinner had ended. The stairs had reduced his momentum enough for him not to break anything, thankfully. It was from then on, when a 2nd-year Severus was laying on the cold dungeon floor, that he vowed to always fight back. To never take anything lying down.
Severus walked past the area where his vow still stood. Getting on one of the larger stairs, he set his intention clear in his mind. The stairs were already on the move as he made his way up, not minding the directions in which they were shifting. He receded his magic to a normal level. Severus's magic levels were on par with the top 7th-year students and some of the non-compulsory subject teachers.
The stairs locked into place as Severus walked across them with no hesitation in his mind. His intention portrayed his goodwill to the stairs as he continued to walk towards the Great Hall. He saw some of the younger years scrambling to learn new information and practice smaller spells as they prepared for their exams. The Great Hall's door was wide open as Severus walked past the great wooden door, where Severus laid his eyes on the feast hall. It was still as breathtaking as the first time Severus saw it and was even more wonderful after the new Severus saw it again.
His eyes followed the magically enchanted blue sky as he made his way to the Slytherin table, not giving mind to anything else. The first years were enjoying the greasy English breakfast as Severus sat along the edge of the second and first years. There weren't assigned seats in the House of Snakes, just that most of the years stuck together. Severus drowsily thanked the invisible house elf that brought him his morning tea. Pulling out a vial of a deep, rich red potion, he was just about to tip it into his tea when,
"What's that?" he heard one of the first years in front of him ask.
Severus looked around, realizing that most of the first-year's friends were now staring at him curiously. He smirked and gave the red vial to the first year who asked him the question.
"Give a guess of what kind of potion it is," Severus spoke with mischief in his eye.
"If you guess correctly, you can have it."
"Uhhh… is it dangerous?" the first-year Slytherin, who Severus now identified as Holly Abbott, a cousin of the Abbott lineage, asked questioningly.
"I was just about to drink it," Severus spoke deadpan.
"Take a whiff, identify it; it'll be good for the upcoming potion exam y'all have," Severus answered the group.
The young Slytherin took a small, cautious sniff of the red potion and nearly gagged. Severus grinned as Holly passed the vial on to the curious first years. By the time the vial reached back to Holly, nearly everyone had smelled the red vial. Severus questioned,
"Now that everyone has gotten a smell of the vial, can anyone let me know what it is that I have in the vial?"
"That's a blood-replenishing potion," a male first-year spoke in a matter-of-fact way. The rest of the first years gazed toward the tall fifth-year.
"You're wrong. Just because the potion is red doesn't mean it is a blood-replenishing potion," Severus corrected.
"But the potion smells of blood, like lots and lots of blood," spoke a hyperactive first year.
"Well, yes, the potion does reek of blood, and it also has the color of blood, but it doesn't have anything to do with blood replacing or blood replenishing."
Severus watched as the first years delved deeper into confusion.
"Alright…. I'll give you all a hint. Look at its consistency," Severus said, taking the vial and swirling it between his fingers, re-corking the vial.
"It's like water!" Holly exclaimed.
"Correct," Severus calmly added.
"Now, anyone have an answer or a guess?"
Severus watched as the first years dug themselves into a hole trying to figure out what the potion was.
"It's a nutrition potion," Severus heard a new voice beside him as they sat next to him.
"Correct… Pandora. Although the potion is red and smells thick of blood, this potion is a nutritional potion used for increasing the body's nutrients. It's mostly given to hospital patients who are in a coma or those who can't eat solids. It's like a liquid IV that the Muggles have."
Severus started explaining as he watched Pandora Lestrange take the vial from his outstretched hand, pop the cork, and drink it.
Pandora was a friend of Severus, even though the old Severus thought he only had one friend. In fact, he had many people who actually respected him and would call Severus a friend. It was just that Severus's notion of friendship was weak. She looked exactly like her daughter from the movies that the new Severus remembers, and her personality was mostly just the same. Severus never realized that the dopey Ravenclaw enjoyed his company due to him treating her like an actual human and not some crazy lady. What also helped was that people would stay clear of pranking in front of Severus.
"Ummm, strawberry licorice," Pandora gleamed as she enjoyed the taste of the potion.
"Awwwww, I wanted to try some," spoke the hyperactive Slytherin.
"Do you have any more?" he continued.
Severus was caught in the puppy eyes tactic of six Slytherins as he pulled out another vial of nutrition potion and asked for six cups with some water from the house elf. Thanking the elf, he equally distributed the potion between the glasses as the water was turned into a bright red as the potion was diluted. He let the first years grab a cup as he took out another vial—the last one in his supplies—and downed it like a shot, enjoying the taste of his creation. He kept a mental note to make some more for himself. They weren't the cheapest, but for his own health, he wouldn't mind the cost.
Severus's breakfast arrived as he finished his thoughts, and the first years were finishing off their drinks as Severus spoke. "Remember not to drink another potion today, or you'll get sick due to the potion. Also, eat a bit more for the potion to take full effect," Severus reminded them as he dug into his own breakfast of six (Bomborasclad) eggs and a few slices of grilled turkey.
The first years acknowledged what Severus said but did some double takes on why he was eating so much. They didn't ask, so Severus didn't answer. The typical breakfast for Hogwarts was a lot of bacon and carbs, which to Severus right now would be wasting what he could be eating.
Pandora started to pull out things from her personal satchel. She looked dazzed as she went over her books, counting them. Feeling Severus's gaze upon her, Pandora stared straight at Severus. Noticing a change, she commented,
"You finally got rid of your Wrackspurts, Severus. I'm happy for you. I'll make you a repellent necklace before we finish exams, okay." Pandora's eyes still didn't leave Severus as he finished chewing to reply.
"Thanks, Pandora, but…" Severus's refusal was cut off by Pandora.
"Severus… I want to ask for my favor now," Pandora dazedly stared at Severus.
Severus remembered that he owed a favor to Pandora as he asked for her divination experiment notes and to do his practical for him. Severus continued to eat and finished his breakfast before replying,
"What can I, Severus Tobias Snape, help with, Pandora Lestrange? You remember my rules, correct? No dark magic," Severus whispered to Pandora as he spoke to her face-to-face.
Pandora already knew the rules that Severus had and that most of the rules he laid out were easily overpassed if you had enough money for Severus and a just cause. Take the love potion; Severus has a strict rule against it. But he doesn't mind making a lesser version of an aphrodisiac. He'll make a potion that increases the feelings the person already has—useful for making confessions.
"Severus, I've seemed to have lost one of my shoes and also my divination notebook. The Nargles say that they are with some of my housemates. But when I asked them, they said they don't have them. Could you help me find them, please?" Pandora requested, even though she was asking for a favor, not needing to be that polite.
Severus thought for a few seconds, still looking into Pandora's eyes, memorizing what had been stolen as he peered into her mind. Legilimency wasn't Severus's forte, but he was still able to grab information from people with little mental defense. Pandora's eyes were as gray as the moon as Severus continued to stare into them. She had clearly lowered all of her defenses in front of Severus, which was surprising. He was shocked because usually no one would lower 100 percent of their defense for a trusted Legilimens. She trusted Severus that much? Maybe she was naive.
Severus wasn't going to break Pandora's trust as he stopped wandering her brain. He got what he needed. He knew what the objects looked like now and what was taken. He looked over to the Ravenclaw table. The supposed thieves were getting ready to leave. Severus rose from his seat. Still at a modest 5'10", he towered over most. Grabbing his dead wand from his forearm holster, he let his magic explore the area. A bit wasteful, but for a favor, Severus had to comply. He thought of the items that had been misplaced purposely.
Accio, Severus thought as he waved his wand in a circular motion using only his forearm and hand above his head once.
Pandora sat there looking up at the enchanted sky as if she could sense the magic in the air complying with Severus's intention. Then a shoe went flying past her, missing her head with little room and was caught in Severus's hand.
There was another rustle of noise across the Hufflepuff table near the Gryffindors. A tome that sparkled like the night sky flew with conviction, causing a few people to get bashed in the head as it flew toward Severus. Catching the thick tome of divination, it didn't cause much of a hassle as Severus thought it would. Probably due to everyone focusing on learning and seeing it was Severus who caused the hassle, they didn't bother.
Severus sat back down, unbothered. The tome and shoe were still in his hand. Funnily enough, both objects didn't come from the Ravenclaws as Severus expected. Maybe they were smart enough to throw away the evidence. It didn't really matter to Severus as he gave both belongings to their rightful owner.
Pandora was overjoyed that Severus found her stuff. She placed the tome back into her satchel and took the shoe, placing her bare foot on the bench and putting the mismatching shoe on. Pandora looked at the first years who were gawking at Severus, giggling as she spoke to the children.
"Severus's favors are the most rewarding to have. If Severus owes you a favor, then people will actually try to buy it off of you. That's how great it is having Severus's hand," Pandora shared, not caring if they misinterpreted her words.
Pandora, after stating her facts, got up, gave Severus a friendly hug, and skipped to her next class. Before leaving, she whispered something into Severus's ear.
"If the way you found my items worked, why wouldn't it work for yours too, Severus?" Her voice was ethereal, her eyes luminescent. Severus was enthralled for a second before she skipped off.
He turned toward his unfinished, reheated tea. The first years were still gawking at Severus.
"How did you do that?!" Holly nearly screamed.
"For one, it was the spell Accio and because Severus is a powerful mage for his age," Narcissa explained as she sat opposite Severus.
"Ahh dear, you look amazing," Narcissa squealed as she grabbed a hold of Severus's fixed face as if it were a child's. Severus pulled back, even though the mama bear's paws were on his newly fixed face.
"Thank you, Narcissa, but please have some restraint," Severus, clearly pissed, calmly told Narcissa.
"Oh please, Severus, I knew you when you were a mere first year," Narcissa turned toward the first years with a grin.
"Did you all know that Mr. Severus over there came to Hogwarts with a mouth worse than a sailor… he was taught proper English by yours truly," Narcissa boasted, losing nothing as she aired Severus's dirty laundry.
"Narcissa, please restrain yourself," Severus spoke through gritted teeth as the first years snickered at his misfortune.
Severus's head was still in turmoil as he thought about what Pandora's suggestion meant. He came to the conclusion that it was for his problem—for his own book, the Half-Blood Prince's book.