Atrum Viridis

AN: Hi again everyone! This is my newest chapter and I just wanted to let you all know that the first chapter of my HP/LOTR story is finished and I’m just working on finding a suitable name and smaller details before I post it. Start checking the HP crossover section! It’ll show up there! Thank you!





Chapter Ten: Disappearance









People were brainless, utterly and completely ignorant of all things even those that were right in front of their faces. They held no capacity to understand or grasp little pieces of information such as how he didn’t like to be touched, how a glare means to back the hell off, or that if he threatened to curse them into oblivion that he was being absolutely serious. No, instead this stark white, disinfected world was filled with fools and nurses with perpetual smiles on their faces who insisted on helping him dress and feeding him when he was perfectly capable of doing so himself.



Thank the gods above he was finally going to be able to leave…



Snape snarled at a small blonde nurse who tried to help him with his shirt and quickly yanked his arm away from being touched.



“Thank you miss but I still hold the ability to clothe myself as I have told you TWICE.” He snapped, his eyebrow twitching faintly when the girl didn’t even seem to blink.



Where in the name of Merlin did they find her?



“Oh that’s alright, Mr. Snape, you’re still healing and you need to take it easy on your way out.” She smiled. “After all, your neck is mostly healed but the doctor’s orders are to not stress yourself.”



Snape’s eyebrow twitched again and he quickly finished dressing before she decided that she wished to help him with his underwear as well. If Minerva had anything to do with this he’d choke her…then send her here to be taken care of by little miss 'I poop rainbows and sunshine' and see how she likes it.



Finally he could grab his cloak and wrap it around his shoulders, ready to leave. Not wanting to waste another minute in the horrible place, he stalked towards the door. Almost free, he was almost free and he could already smell his private potion lab and feel the softness of his own bed.



“Oh Mr. Snape wait! You forgot your flowers!”



Snape literally flinched at hearing the girl squealing after him. For a moment he debated on the idea to act like he hadn’t heard her and just keep walking but with an ear splitting, owl screeching voice like that no one would be able to pull it off, not even Potter who routinely manages not to hear what others tell him.



Deciding that just taking the trice damned flowers from the girl then leaving would be the least troublesome, he paused in his steps to let her catch up. After all he wouldn’t put it past her to go chasing after him all the way out of the hospital just to make sure he took them and he didn’t want to have to hear her voice ever again. The idea of hearing it chase him would undoubtedly give him nightmares. Better nightmares than the ones he already had, probably, but still not something he wanted to add to the list of things that made him jerk awake in the middle of the night in a cold sweat.



The girl bounded to his side, holding out the small flower pot that was still blooming with vibrant violets for him to take. Okay, so he hadn’t thrown it away…he just hadn’t felt like wasting the energy. And so maybe he had dumped some of his water into it every now and then but that was only when he didn’t feel like finishing the glass. It didn’t mean he wanted to keep the thing.



“Here you are! You wouldn’t want to forget it.” She beamed. “You must have an awfully nice girlfriend waiting for you! It’s too bad I haven’t gotten to meet her! Oh she was the one who gave them to you right?” she asked innocently, a bright smile on her lips and looking very much like she was on something.



Snape twitched again and snatched the plant away before storming down the hall.



“It is NOT from a girlfriend!” he snapped, fuming and ready to curse anyone who got in his way.



The girl blinked, watching him go before beaming another smiling and waving after him.



“Oh!!! Then you’re lucky to have such a nice boyfriend! Goodbye!” she called happily before turning to get back to her duties.



Snape was glad no one was in the hall to see him almost trip at the girl’s words and his eyebrow now had a constant tick from his building annoyance.



He’s not my boyfriend! He wanted to snap at her, but he knew how juvenile that sounded and he resolutely kept his mouth shut as he stormed down the corridor, his cloak billowing behind him and his mind ranted about all the reasons he did NOT want Harry Gryffindor Potter to be anywhere near him let alone have a relationship with him.



People actually dove out of his path as he pushed through to the fireplace room. His narrowed eyes and dangerous scowl was enough of a warning not to get in his way. One small infraction would probably be all it would take to set him off. No one wanted to be around when he exploded…



Pushing through the line of people – ignoring the protests and angry glares that followed – he stepped into the fireplace.



“Prince Manor.” He hissed, feeling the perpetually green fire flair up and lick around him before the whirlwind of smoke yanked him down.



Stopping himself from falling forward – perhaps his balance wasn’t completely back yet – he held onto the inside of the fireplace before stepping out into his living room. His ancestral home had been hidden from him until both his parents died. He never forgave his mother for marrying such a pathetic muggle but he was at least pleased that she had had the state of mind not to let him know how well off the Prince family was. He probably would have squandered their entire vault on gambling and alcohol.



“Deadly Nightshade.” He said the password that allowed him to pass through the invisible shield around the hearth and into the actual room.



Of course he wouldn’t have his home set up to the floo network without something to ensure that people he didn’t want inside couldn’t get in. In fact, only three people knew the password – which he changed regularly – and since one of them was now dead only he and Minerva had clearance to enter.



The Prince Manor wasn’t as large as the Malfoy one or even the old Potter castle in Northern Ireland, but it was a good size and comfortable. Well, comfortable to him at least. The lights were never too bright – they hurt his eyes after pulling all nighters with his potions – the walls weren’t covered lavishly with huge portraits or tapestries but instead with a few pieces here and there to highlight the artistry in the stone work. It was unplottable, wrapped in hundreds of years of security wards, and secretly kept by Snape himself and he certainly wasn’t going to be letting anyone know where he lived.



He had actually been forced to temporarily stay at that retched muggle house he had grown up in just so that Pettigrew wouldn’t know of it. There was no way he would have allowed that sneaking, worthless rat to scutter around his home doing Circe knows what.



No, his home was his sanctuary and he was glad to be back.



Dropping all pretenses of anger – though he was still more than annoyed at the world in general – he padded tiredly towards the kitchens where he could hear the familiar sound of house elves rustling about.



“Master Severus!” Four voices chimed in unison when he stepped into the room and let himself sink into the comfortable dining chair at the breakfast table, pushing the flower pot in front of him.



“Yes, yes, stop fretting, I’m in one piece.” He said, waving off the little creatures’ concerns.



“Oh Master Severus, we are so glad that you are home!” one female piped in, her ears bouncing as she nearly danced from one foot to the other with glee.



“Pix is right! We is glad Master Severus is home again! Master Severus has been away for far too long! Had us worried!” Wicky – one of the young of the three males – exclaimed.



Snape snorted, rolling his eyes.



“I’m fine, I haven’t died yet.” He said, closing his eyes. “Could you bring me some dinner and a bottle of the red wine down in the cellar, I want to make my taste buds forget how that revolting hospital food tasted like.” He grumbled.



The elves instantly jumped to work, rushing about to make his food and bring his drink. The little creatures could really be quite annoying with their high pitched voices and incessant need to fulfill your every wish – he liked doing some things on his own thank you very much – but as the table was over filled with his favorite foods he couldn’t deny that they had wonderful cooking skills even if they did go over the top and make more food than he could eat. Not to mention the fact that his body didn’t want to move from the chair for a few years.



Turning back to the plates set before him he decided it would be best not to over work his stomach or throat – seeing as he had almost had his esophagus ripped out by a pair of fangs – and pulled the bowl of soft vegetable soup to him and began eating. The warmth soothed away the lingering agitation and settled him into a nice fog of comfort as he just let his mind ease. After all, for the first time since he was a boy…he was free. He knew when he had looked at his arm and seen the mark completely disappeared that the Dark Lord was gone for good. There was practically nothing else in the world that he had to worry about except when Minerva was going to come ask him again to teach, which he knew she would because that would was incorrigible and stubborn. Maybe he would go back…or maybe it would be best not to. He had to admit that the idea of not having to put up with first year blunders or any over zealous students blowing up his classroom was nice. He didn’t NEED to work…he would be fine with the money from his family vault, or perhaps he could go on his own as a Potions Master and just take orders. That didn’t sound like a bad idea after all, just being able to make potions in his private lab and get money for it. If he did it by owl order he wouldn’t even have to deal with people.



Snape snorted when he came back to reality and shook his head. No one would be coming to him now for potions or anything for that matter. It had been a miracle in itself that Minerva had been able to prevent him from being arrested. After all, he had killed Dumbledore, helped Voldemort attack Hogwarts, and in the eyes of every wizard in Britain he was a traitor who should be executed or place in Azkaban for the rest of his life. Starting up his own business probably wouldn’t go over very well. Minerva would probably have to fight tooth and nail to get him eligible for reinstatement at the school. The Ministry was no doubt going to be trying to hold power over Hogwarts after everything that had happened. He doubted they would be able to do anything but it was still one more detail that the Headmistress would have to struggle with.



Perhaps it was best if he just stopped work and stayed home. He certainly didn’t want to be the center of attention in the wizarding world now. He’d probably be lynched. Not that he would blame them…not even Minerva had seen through his and Dumbledore’s deceit. He didn’t expect idiotic and cowardly simpletons to be able to grasp what he had done. It would have been nice though…



Sighing faintly, feeling exhausted and all around in need of a good sleep, Snape finished off his soup and leaned back to pick up the glass of wine and sip at it slowly. He probably should get up and get to bed but he didn’t really feel like moving just yet. It was also nice just to have some time to let everything sink in. His stay at the hospital had been a fog of pain and disgusting potions that tried to dull the pain but instead left him barely conscious. One of the few times he remembered being aware of his surroundings was when that blasted Potter had come to visit. Of all people to show up at his bedside why did it have to be him? Oh he knew what Potter wanted. He wanted to know more about his mother, wanted to dig into those painful memories and make him relive how he had betrayed her and lost the only chance he had possibly had at happiness. Well he wasn’t going to let him. The thrice damned boy knew more than he deserved and he wasn’t about to start spewing his past out just because the runt was curious. Foolish boy, he never knew when to stay out of other people’s business.



Snape’s mental rant was cut short when Pix appeared at his side, a load of papers held in her arms.



“We thought you would like to read you papers, Master Snape.” She smiled, holding them up. “So we saved all of them since you’ve been at the hospital.”



Snape blinked, not having remembered about the paper and now faintly curious as to what had been going on in the news. Not that he didn’t already have a guess… Nodding his thanks he took the papers from her and put them in his lap. The top one must have been the first edition after Voldemort’s death. He narrowed his eyes faintly as he scanned the article, grossly sickened by the embellished and twisted facts, but he expected no less from the Prophet. For years their reputation for only printing the most true and honest facts had gone down hill. Now all that remained was a paper run by the Ministry which was used to show only what they wanted people to know.



Snorting in disgust, he dropped the paper onto the floor beside him and looked to the next. This one was no better, plastered with stories about the Potter boy and spreading information about his personal life that even Snape found distasteful. Of course Rita Skeeter was behind it. That woman should have her quill taken away and snapped for all the garbage that she put out there.



He dropped that paper onto the other, not bothering to read it all the way through. It seemed like the more he went through the papers the more he almost felt sorry for the spawn of James. He’d probably never be able to go out again without being followed, stalked, or even mobbed by others. Then he remembered who he was talking about and just wrote it off. The brat would probably enjoy all the attention; he certainly didn’t seem to mind it when at school… He dropped that paper on the others as well.



He was getting towards the end of them when he picked up the next paper to read the headline…and almost spewed his wine all over the table.



“WHAT!?” he cried, shoving the glass onto the table and not caring as it sloshed out of the side as he gripped the paper in his hands and quickly scanned the article.



HARRY POTTER MISSING? KIDNAPPED OR WORSE?



Panic rose in Snape’s throat as he read over the words that spoke of Harry Potter disappearing after an altercation at Diagon Alley when a man – the last name seemed vaguely familiar – had attacked the boy. There was even a picture that someone had taken of Harry being slammed into a wall over and over again in loop. The potions master almost winced as he could practically hear the crack of his skull against the brick. He quickly turned back to the article, finding out that the man had been arrested but only after Harry Potter had disapparated from the market. Soon after that the paper had found out that the boy had not only fled the scene but had completely disappeared all together. His friends, mainly the Weasleys, and his associates claimed that they did not know where the boy was but that he was probably safe. Harry killed Voldemort, he can handle himself just fine. – Ron Weasley.



Before he could even finish the article, Snape had leapt from his chair and raced for sitting room where the fireplace was, still gripping the paper in his hand tightly.



Handle himself!? HANDLE HIMSELF!? What in the bloody hell were they thinking!? Potter was a KID who may have gotten lucky with Voldemort but he was still woefully unprepared for what Death Eaters who were backed into a corner were capable of and now that they were being hunted by the entire wizarding world, he wouldn’t put it past them to go after the boy themselves regardless of the consequences!



He had to see Minerva! He had to figure out what was going on and they HAD to gather a search party and look for the boy! Who knew what kind of trouble he was getting himself into!? Why hadn’t she TOLD him!? Why hadn’t she come and get him at the first sign of his disappearance!?



Not stopping to worry about how he just got out of the hospital or how if there had really been any indication that Harry had been in danger that the headmistress would have come for his help, he grabbed a handful of floo powder and tossed it into the fire.



“HEADMISTRESS’S OFFICE, HOGWARTS!” he said desperately before the fire licked his body and he was pulled through.



AN: Well how did you like Snape-y-poo? ^^” I know I know, it’s shorter than usual but I couldn’t help it! This is such a good cliff hanger! X3 Oh and thank you all for the reviews and I promise the next chapter will be up soon so you’ll get an explanation as to what’s going on. ^^ promise. Review and tell me what you think!