Jigsaw

A/N Okay sorry it\'s a little late today but my friend stapled her hand so I\'ve been in accident and emergency all morning. Anyway these are two pretty heavily ladened \'information\' chapters. Unfortunately I couldn\'t split it up much so you\'ll just have to go with it. If they don\'t make much sence it\'ll all come together as we move on...anyway hope you enjoy and thanks so much for everyones reviews. I love you guys so much.

Chapter 13

Harry awoke to the sound of crockery clattering about. When he opened his eyes it took a moment for him to remember where he was before he sat up sharply and looked about the cottage. Wincing Harry took his glasses off his face and rubbed the ridge mark across his nose painfully before replacing them so he could see. Looking around Harry frowned as he realized something had changed. Where he’d been lying on a chaise lounge last night he was now lying flat on a fluffy velvet couch. The book shelving behind him had changed too, and instead of walls there was now a large window with what looked to be a planter box on its ledge outside. Also where Snape’s chair had sat in front of the fire the night before, there was now a large painting hanging above the fireplace with what appeared to be a very disgruntled wizard staring back at Harry. Harry ignored the picture and stood up, moving quietly over to the auditorium where he’d collected Snape’s blanket from. Now however the dusty gray curtains had been flung open revealing nothing but glass, as if Harry were standing in a greenhouse of some sort. Harry could hardly believe his eyes as he stared out at the countryside, and the desolate garden outside the expanse of window.

“Merlin’s Beard!” Harry heard Snape muttering to himself in the kitchen. Quietly Harry paused in the kitchen doorway and watched in silence as Snape worked. The man looked to be slicing bread of some sort; a jam pot and butter pat resting on the bench. Harry sadly watched as Snape struggled with every task, from washing his hands to rinsing two cups, yet the wizard was still capable of helping himself and Harry wasn’t going to interfere. That resolve ended quickly however as he watched Snape rest the knife on the edge of the bench, obviously not realizing the blade was sticking out a good inch from the bench. It was only as Harry watched the professor go to reach for a cupboard that he called out the warning.

“STOP!” Snape froze mid reach the knife a hair’s width a way from sticking him in the stomach. Harry stepped around Snape quickly and put the knife at the back of the breadboard. “Sorry, you were going to…”

“Wouldn’t be the first time.” Snape interrupted quickly, his hand automatically patting the edge of the kitchen counter before he continued to reach for the cupboard, blindingly touching the jars inside before pulling down one with what Harry assumed was honey inside. “Toast?” Snape inquired tilting his head towards Harry so that his clouded eyes looked through him.

“Um, yes please.” Snape nodded and went back to slicing the loaf of bread. Harry sat himself up on the bench; only realizing then that the entire cottage was filled with muggle appliances, a stove, a microwave, a kettle and even a toaster that Snape now filled with two slices of fresh bread. “Em, I hope you don’t mind me asking but why aren’t you just using magic wouldn’t that be far simpler for you being…” Harry trailed off not really sure if he should be calling Snape blind all the time. The potions professor chuckled and held his hands open towards where he now knew Harry was sat on the bench beside him.

“Do you see a wand Potter?” For the first time since entering the cottage Harry noticed that Snape wasn’t carrying his wand. It was almost unheard of for a wizard to be parted from his wand voluntarily.

“Where is it?” Harry inquired looking around the kitchen for signs of it, thinking Snape had miss placed it. The toaster popped up and Snape took the two hot slices of bread and put them on a plate he’d had lying beside the breadboard. “Thank-you.” Harry muttered as Snape passed him the plate and gestured to the spreads.

“Draco took it from me.” Snape whispered as he loaded the toaster again and pressed the button down to wait.

“What!” Harry was outraged but Snape shook his head at Harry who went back to spreading honey on his toast.

“It was a necessary evil I’m afraid Potter. My wand was registered with the ministry, with me being a professor and all, so without having the means of wiping my files Draco was forced to snap it so that the ministry couldn’t trace me. It is more of an inconvenience than anything.” Again the toaster popped and Harry handed Snape the butter knife carefully, watching as the wizard did a fairly good job of buttering his toast, only managing to get minimal amount of jam on the bench and plate.

“So no magic?” Harry winced, wondering how Snape after 48 years of his life living with magic could now live without it.

“No, only magic of the untraceable inherited kind but I get by with these inventions Draco purchased for me.” Harry followed Snape out of the kitchen, watching with a smile as the man counted each step under his breath until he reached the table, where he ungracefully stumbled over a chair, which had been pulled out.

“Kahn!” Snape snapped angrily pushing the chair back into the table before sitting down at the next one, his breakfast still luckily balanced on his plate.

“Who’s Kahn?” Harry inquired as he sat himself down opposite Snape at the table, enjoying the sun streaming in through the auditorium glass walls.

”My, great, great, great grandfather. Kahnaghi Snape.” Snape pointed over his shoulder at the fireplace but Harry assumed his professor was referring to the portrait hanging above it. “This cottage was his before the estate was given away. Like most of my family he believes I’m quite a disappointment thus he reminds me of it daily with these little tricks.” Snape nudged the chair next to him as he continued to eat his toast. Harry glared at the portrait of the old wizard who merely raised a smug eyebrow at him before turning his back on the living room with disgust. Harry made a mental note to put a rather large tear in the portraits canvass when he next got the chance.

“So I’m guessing old Kahn over there is responsible for the other changes in the cottage as well?” Harry whispered as he finished his toast, before flicking his wand and making himself two more pieces. Harry went to pick up his third slice of toast but was shocked as Snape reached across and took the slice right out of his hand claiming it as his own when he took a bite from the corner.

“I can smell a freshly created piece of toast anywhere Potter.” Snape muttered around his mouthful. Harry chuckled and shook his head before pushing the other piece onto Snape’s plate too before flicking his wand again for another two slices for himself. “And no, the changes are the cottage’s defensive mechanism. It changes position and shape regularly around the garden to ensure it is kept undetectable.” Harry was impressed as he glanced around at the cottage.

“So did you do this?” Harry muttered as he flicked his wand and had a pitcher of juice and two filled cups on the table in an instant. Harry watched Snape smile as Harry gently lifted the man’s fumbling hand over to the cup.

“No, Kahn did.” Snape took a swallow of the juice obviously happy to have someone with magical ability in the cottage. “My distant grandfather, had an insatiable gambling problem, he won Applegate estate from a snake merchant in India. With the kind of property the Snape’s owned he didn’t really need the place, so instead of living in the manor he built this cottage for himself. Like all things concerning the Snape’s he took out some magical insurance on the place to stop thieves thus the cottage’s defensive mechanism. Also because it was created using ‘inherited magic’ it’s almost completely undetectable.” Harry flicked his wand at the empty plates and jug, sending them all to the kitchen where they began cleaning themselves.

“I thought McGonagall mentioned that it was given away as a gift?” Snape nodded quietly as he stood up from the table, carefully counting the steps over to a long padded seat that ran along one side of the glass auditorium.

“Yes, my family gave it away as a marital gift to the Malfoy’s.” Harry looked a little shocked but said nothing as he wandered quietly around the sunny auditorium, glancing out at the charred remains of what he would have imagined was a nice garden at some stage.

“Why did they do that?” Harry inquired interested now in hearing about Snape’s family, which until recently he knew absolutely nothing about. Snape smiled as he closed his eyes lapping up the warm sunshine on his face.

“The place was a menace and when something becomes a problem to the Snape’s the logical solution is to give the problem to someone else, thus the gift to the Malfoy’s.” Snape smiled sideways at his comment obviously remembering the stories he’d been told about the house as a child.

“A menace? How can a house be a menace?” Harry whispered as he sat himself down beside Snape on the bench in the sun.

“Originally the estate was owned by one High Wizard Council, Archibald Applegate. The wizard was completely cookoo and had the bizarre idea that there was always someone out to kill him, so he booby-trapped the place with all kinds of mayhem, so that eventually the place was literally unlivable. Well to Kahn it didn’t really matter because he was living in the cottage but when Kahn passed on leaving the place to his son all chaos broke loose when he tried to move into the main manor. Eventually the Snape’s gave up and gave the place away to the Malfoy’s.” Snape shrugged his shoulders and rested his head against the warm glass window his eyes still closed as he remembered his past. Harry watched him keenly so unbelievably stunned that Snape was giving him such an open insight into his family.

“That sounds like a pretty mean wedding present.” Harry muttered as he flicked his wand at a dead looking pot plant sitting on a stand beside the bench, instantly bringing it to life again.

“Contrary to popular belief Potter, the Malfoy’s and the Snape’s have never been friends, in fact I believe until two generations ago we fought like every other normal pure blood wizarding family, we only came together on mutual ground when Riddle threatened our lively hoods.” Harry was shocked by this revelation having always just assumed the Malfoy’s and Snape’s had been friends through the years.

“So the wedding gift was actually a nasty gift.” Snape nodded at Harry’s words.

“Indeed, in fact I believe Minator Malfoy and his wife lasted approximately three weeks in the house, before she was eaten by a large plant in the hall, and he had blown himself up trying to destroy the place. The state in which you seen the manor now is literally how the place remained after he’d finished with it, a charred, unusable shell.” Snape paused and finally opened his eyes so that he was staring at Harry again. “Luckily for me the cottage survived because of Kahn’s ingenuity and that is why you find me here.”

“Because everyone thinks the place is just a ruin, when in fact the cottage is hidden beneath the larger magical signature of the manor.” Snape smiled and nodded in agreement, as Harry finally worked it out why the Auror’s hadn’t found the cottage earlier.

“I believe eight years of growing up has improved your intelligence considerably Potter.” Harry bit his lip pointedly at the round about compliment. That was one thing he’d learned about Snape early on that the man never gave compliments that could truly be considered nice, they always had some undertone of insult. “So you have heard my life story Potter, I believe it is about time you told me what you’re doing here.” Snape shifted around on the bench and rested his hands in his lap. Harry noted again that the wizard had buttoned his shirt up again wrong so that the collar sat crooked. Still Harry said nothing and sighed heavily as he turned his attention to stare out at the burnt patches of grass outside the window.

“I want to know what happened that night in the field.” Harry didn’t know really what he was asking for, he just needed to hear it from someone who remembered completely what had gone on that night. There was a silence from Snape and Harry turned slowly back around to face the professor who twisted his hands almost nervously in his lap.

“Ah, I should have known it would be about that.” Snape whispered quietly his head resting against his chest and his clouded eyes cast downward.

“Well?” Harry pressed hoping to get this over and done with.

Snape went to open his mouth and reply but not a half second later a chime rang out around the living area from the clock standing the hallway. Snape’s head snapped up immediately and the man stood up abruptly from his seat.

“What time is it Potter?” Snape snapped sharply. Harry glanced at his watch.

“Just gone 12 noon, why?” Snape took off through the living room, obviously not counting his steps as he stumbled over furniture everywhere. Harry hastily followed the professor who stopped in front of a large cupboard on the far wall and flung it open having groped around for the handle.

“Get in!” Harry looked at Snape strangely as the wizard gestured to the open cupboard.

“Why?” Harry inquired somewhat concerned by the desperate expression on the wizards face.

“For once in your life don’t argue Potter, just get into the cupboard and stay quiet. Please.” Harry shook his head in bewilderment but obediently stepped into the cupboard with Snape’s insistent hand pushing him in. The doors to the cupboard closed and Harry heard Snape whisper a wandless locking charm. “Stay there Potter and keep quiet no matter what happens.” Harry heard a knocking on the front door before he heard Snape shout that he was coming. Harry leant back against the cupboard with a sigh and folded his arms across his chest. There was the tiniest gap between the hinge of the cupboard and the door and Harry could just see through the slim space into the lounge room.

“Good morning Severus.” Harry heard a very familiar wizard’s voice in the hall. Draco had obviously returned to the cottage but it was the second voice that Harry had never heard before, and yet it still made his blood run cold.

“Severus, I see you’re looking your usual blind self.” There was a nasty high-pitched giggle from the woman and Harry clenched his fists together tightly in anger at the mocking tone the woman’s voice had taken.

“Narcissa Malfoy, such a pleasure to hear you cackle again…”

TBC>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>