Scarred Souls

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Title: Scarred Souls



Author: Misty Moonlight/Co-author: QueenBoadicea



Beta: QueenBoadicea



Pairings: Severus/Harry



Published: 12/10/2008



Summary: A widowed Harry must bond with Snape in order to save his daughter’s life. Sev gains a family, for better or worse, and the hearts of two scarred souls will be changed forever.



Warnings: Romance, Drama, Angst, Alternate Reality/Universe, Sexual Situations, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Slash, Anal, Language, Humor, possible MPreg, Bonding, Original Characters, Family, non-canon, OOC, WIP



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Chapter 14: Ministry Visit





“We’re not telling Dad about this,” James said with a glare to Albus.



“But he was so sick! What if he tells?”



“He won’t tell. Whatever’s off with him, he won’t want Dad to know.” James spoke with more confidence than he felt. “Please tell me you’re still with me, Al?” The big man really scared him. But they had to be a team or this wouldn’t work.



When Albus nodded reluctantly, James turned to Kreacher. “Don’t spill to Dad, okay, Kreacher? He’ll find out Snape was in our room and think we were up to something.”



Kreacher nodded slowly. “Very well, young Potters. However, you can’t get rid of Severus Snape. Like it or not, he is your father’s bond mate. If he dies by violence, your father will die as well.”



“Really?” Al squeaked.



“That’s fine. We don’t want to kill him. We just want him to disappear,” James shot back. “He was gone for all these years. Why show up again now?”



“A good question, James. Might I suggest you ask your father?” With that, Kreacher disappeared to resume whatever task they’d interrupted.



James looked thoughtfully at the spot where the house-elf had stood. They’d already questioned their dad about Snape and he didn’t believe the answers he’d got. He had heard what Snivellus had said when he’d shown up at the Burrow, just before he’d married their dad.



Al looked at his brother. “What is it, James?”



“You remember what Daddy said about this man being private and all?”



“Yeah?”



“I think it’s time someone else knew about him.”



Al grinned. His brother had the best ideas.



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It had been annoying for Harry to return to the cottage and not find Snape on the premises. He’d gone to all that trouble to get those supplies for the man and he wasn’t even home. It was unlikely the man would have gone so far as to thank him but a little show of appreciation wouldn’t have come amiss.



Left to himself, he shrank the contraceptive potions and hid them in a secret compartment in Lily’s crib. He hadn’t ever thought he’d need such a thing as a secret hiding place from his own spouse. But having Snape on the premises made it far too necessary. He was certain that, given his dislike of Harry’s children, Snape would never go near Lily or her crib if he could possibly help it.



More at ease, he’d questioned the twins about Snape’s whereabouts but all James and Al had to say was that they spent all their time in their room. Harry had seen to Lily and was happy to see that she was her usual cheerful self, smiling gleefully at him, eating her food and splashing water when he gave her a bath.



Of Snape there had been no further sign that evening and Harry had felt a decided relief at his absence. The mood over the dinner meal was so light-hearted; for awhile it felt as though everything had gone back to normal.



The next morning, there was still no sign of Snape and Harry felt perfectly at ease keeping Kreacher for another day. The house-elf could take care of the household chores while he relaxed. The children were still upset over having Snape around and it made him feel guilty. Perhaps time spent with them would correct that.



He would call in to work telling them not to expect them. They gave him an enormous amount of leeway; being the Boy Who Lived (even if he wasn’t a boy any longer) came with a lot of perks. They knew of Lily’s recent illness and didn’t think his request strange.



They didn’t mention Snape and neither did he. The longer this new arrangement was kept out of the papers, the better.



He would spend as much time as possible with the boys, hoping to reconcile them to Snape’s new place in their lives.



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Severus roused himself early, fairly well rested after having experienced no nightmares. He had retreated to his home in Spinner’s End—just for one night. He wouldn’t allow himself to be driven from his new home permanently. He just wanted to spend one night without those aggravating voices yammering at him.



Severus Snape strode into the Ministry, his hood pulled down firmly over his pink hair. He’d considered sneaking in and rifling through the man’s files and see if he could find the damned spell on his own. However, he decided in the end simply asking to see Percy Weasley. After all, he was a member of the family now. There was no reason for the man to refuse to see him.



An idea of going to St. Mungo’s and claiming he needed help for Spell Damage had been considered briefly and discarded. The heads couldn’t be seen or heard outside of Harry’s home and he might be perceived as being completely barmy if he rattled on about voices and heads only he could hear and see.



He was reluctant to bring any outsider to Harry’s cottage as well. It was his domicile now as well and he didn’t want his enemies to find out where he was living. His caution had served him well in the past and he wasn’t about to relinquish his privacy now.



He noticed other members of the Ministry doing double takes when they saw him. There were sour looks on many faces and muttering behind his back but not a single person tried to hex him. Evidently Harry had managed to convince the majority of the Wizarding world of his innocence in the war against Voldemort. It didn’t excuse the brat not giving him the recognition he deserved.



Being led into Percy Weasley’s office required a previous appointment—at least that’s what the harried receptionist told him. “He’s frightfully busy, you know. He just got a promotion last month and he’s up to his ears in paperwork—”



“This won’t take long and I’m sure Percy can spare the time.” He had decided on a modicum of charm to win his way rather than his usual glowering menace. He lowered his voice and leaned close to the woman, a pointy-chinned creature with large grey eyes and a mousy blonde upswept do. He let one finger trail over her bare knuckles and whispered, “I’m certain a competent woman such as yourself can find a way to…squeeze me in.”



The double entendre was unsubtle but effective. The woman blushed to the roots of her hair and smiled fatuously at him. “Oh, of course, Mr. Snape.”



“Severus.”



“Um, Severus.” She smiled again and tapped a small device on her desk with a wand. “Mr. Weasley? There’s a Severus Snape here to see you.”



There was a brief silence. Then the device squeaked, “Snape? He’s here?”



“Just so, Mr. Weasley. May I have a moment of your time?”



“Now’s not really—”



“I’ll keep it short.” Ignoring Percy’s spluttered protests, Severus nodded to the enraptured blonde and swept past her into Percy’s office.



The woman’s assessment of the Weasley’s busyness seemed confirmed on first appearance. The man’s desk was covered in paperwork that he scrambled to put into some form of working order. In Severus’s estimation, it was usually the lowliest of employees who were saddled with files and forms to fill. Perhaps this promotion of Percy’s wasn’t so important, after all.



He said nothing of this, only waited until the man had cleared his desk and then sat down to face him. Without being bidden, Severus took a seat in front of the desk. It was made of hard wood, uncomfortable and unyielding. The one Percy was in didn’t look much better. Yes, definitely not as important as he thought he was.



“What do you want, Snape? As you can see, I’m a busy man,” Percy said impatiently.



Severus raised an eyebrow. “Too busy to see a member of your family?”



The man grimaced. “That wasn’t my idea and if I’d been consulted I would have advised Harry against making you part of the Weasleys, even if it’s only by marriage.”



“Oh, really? Well, you weren’t consulted and it wasn’t your decision to make,” Severus said with a smirk. Another Weasley who didn’t approve of him. Potter’s family was disgustingly loyal to that mop-headed brat.



“As a member of the family, I would have told them not to associate with you. Our family has things bad enough without admitting a former Death Eater into the ranks.” Percy gave an exaggerated shudder and edged back in his chair with a moue of distaste. “What could Harry have been thinking?”



Severus pondered that question for a moment. Percy made it sound as if Harry had married Severus freely instead of being tricked into giving his hand and making an Unbreakable Vow. If he was so misinformed, then perhaps he wasn’t as close to his family as the other Weasley children.



Percy’s criticism of Harry’s decision put him at odds with the rest of the Weasleys. That was something Severus could use to his advantage.



“I am a respected Potions master and did significant work for the Order of the Phoenix during my tenure in Hogwarts. However, I was not appreciated for my efforts.” He pretended to frown. “Your brothers were especially trying to me while I was fulfilling my duties.”



Percy sat up slightly. “You mean Fred and George, don’t you? They weren’t so bad. They just weren’t as hard-working as some of us.”



“Yes, I always admired your tenacity and dedication to your studies, Mr. Weasley. You had high marks in many of your subjects and graduated at the top of your class. Those twin brothers of yours had to drop out before they could graduate, I believe.”



The older Weasley sat up even straighter, visibly preening at Severus’s praise. “That’s right. Fred and George barely got three OWLs together. I did much better than either of them.”



“And was suitably rewarded,” Severus said, waving his hand expansively at their surroundings.



The man sagged a little and grimaced at the paperwork. “Yes. I suppose I was.”



Hmm, it appeared Percy Weasley was aware of his position on the low rung of the Ministry ladder. Perhaps more flattery was in order.



“Whatever you do, I’m sure it’s vastly more important than running a joke shop. Honestly, what kind of profession is that for a grown man?” he scoffed.



“You’re absolutely right,” Percy said, nodding. “It’s ridiculous! They were running that shop when others were joining the fight against You-Know-Who and the family talks about them like they’re great heroes.” He stopped suddenly and a stricken look appeared in his eyes.



Ah, he was doubtless recalling his dead brother. Severus shifted his ground slightly.



“Your brother’s demise was unfortunate. I know he perished fighting against Voldemort’s forces.”



Percy flinched at the name. “Y-yes, he did. I was there.”



“I always thought George and Fred would be much less trouble if they were separated from each other. I didn’t imagine such a separation as this. You have my condolences.”



This time the man didn’t respond. He looked down to his desk and shuffled some papers as if he found their content suddenly very fascinating.



“It pains me to say this. But brother George is hardly doing credit to his brother’s memory.”



Percy’s head came up sharply. “What do you mean?”



“George has engaged in a petty campaign against a patient of mine. It’s more a nuisance than anything else, typical of his usual schoolboy pranks. Imagine my surprise when I learn that he enlisted your help in perpetrating this farce.” Percy didn’t need to know that Severus was the one afflicted.



“I never!”



“No? I have it on good authority that he learned this latest prank from you.”



“He couldn’t have. George and I really don’t talk all that much.” Percy frowned, his mind visibly working to fathom what Severus was saying. “What do you mean by ‘patient of yours’? Are you involved in medicine?”



Severus bowed his head graciously. “My potions skills remain invaluable to certain interested parties. I am occasionally called in to assist with difficult medical cases. I’m currently working on a cure for baldness among male wizards.”



This was another lie but it could become truth once he returned to his lab. Severus had noticed Arthur Weasley’s thinning hair and knew that baldness was hereditary among males.



Sure enough, Percy gazed at him with decided eagerness. “That’s wonderful, Snape!” Then he frowned. “But what does George have to do with this?”



“A man in St. Mungo’s has been recently afflicted with delusions. He claims to be followed by a talking head that jabbers to him incessantly about his appearance, clothing, eating habits, what have you. It also breaks out in annoying tunes. No one at St. Mungo’s is able to see or hear these apparitions. He was referred to me. But I was equally unable to detect the phantasms of which he speaks. By persistent questioning, I learned that your brother was the likely culprit responsible for his affliction and that he came across this particular hex from you.”



“I know what you’re talking about. But I didn’t tell George…oh.” Percy’s face went flat with dislike.



“Yes?”



“My father might have heard about it. I wouldn’t be surprised if he told George about this. He was always too indulgent of Fred and George’s idiotic jokes. He would have thought this a right laugh.”



Indeed. Severus kept his face from betraying his fury, both at this officious moron for his gabbling tongue and Arthur Weasley for passing on government information to George. So this really was a Weasley collaborative effort. Now that that had been settled, he needed to know how to fix this.



“So this is something you know?”



Percy nodded. “Yes. It’s called Regalious Fefandur’s Flying Head of Mild Chastisement. The head basically reaches into the mind of its victim and starts criticizing them. Stupid thing, really.”



“I don’t recall this Regalious Fefandur.”



“Regalious was a middling wizard from a century back and created this curse to annoy some kids who were pestering him. Just the sort of thing Fred and George would have found hilarious,” he added with a sniff.



“What was the matter? He couldn’t manage boils and blinding torment?”



Percy didn’t so much as smile. The man really was a humorless dolt. No wonder he didn’t get on with the rest of his family.



“Like I said, middling wizard. I stumbled across it because someone was using it to torment Muggles. The poor people thought they were going out of their minds. It really caused a problem.”



“So how did you solve it?”



Now the Weasley looked uncomfortable. “We couldn’t solve it, exactly.”



Severus clenched his fists in his lap but kept his expression bland. He was getting tired of dragging this story out of Percy and decided more gross flattery was in order. “If you were on the case, I don’t see how it couldn’t have been swiftly resolved.”



“Well, that was the problem. It was a curse and, like all curses, had a clause built into it. The heads only disappeared when the victim apologized to the one who had cursed him.”



Bile rose in his throat. That’s what he had to do? Apologize? To those nasty Potter brats? Never! Severus Snape apologized to no one, especially misbehaving children.



“You say the situation wasn’t solved?” he asked tightly.



“Once we knew the solution, a suggestion was planted in their heads that they had to apologize to everyone they’d wronged. It took a few weeks before they got around to the wizard who’d cursed them. Then they were Obliviated so they forgot all about the curse.”



“So it seems that the problem was solved. Wasn’t it?” he added when Percy looked uncomfortable.



“The trouble was, the curse is chronic in nature. Every time these people inadvertently insulted or harassed this same wizard, the heads popped up again. It’s a permanent problem. The only thing we could do is mark these Muggles and bar the offending wizard from the Muggle world, lest they accidentally restart the curse.”



“Then…there is no cure.”



Percy shook his head. “It’s not a disease or an illness. It was just a ridiculous prank that was popular among Hogwarts students for a few months. The downside of it was that it made the witch or wizard who cast it a pariah while they were in school. Former victims didn’t want to associate with them and other children were warned of what they did and kept away from them. Because of that, the spell fell out of favor and into obscurity.”



“So did Regalious, I’ll bet,” Severus muttered.



“No doubt. This wizard said he’d been skimming through some old texts when he stumbled across the Flying Head curse. We didn’t find them when we ransacked his house. Pensieve memory retrieval showed him browsing in an old used-book store in Knockturn Alley. When we searched the place, we couldn’t find the book in question. They’d probably sold it or thrown it out.”



That was it. He was out of options. He could search the store himself but, until his hair regained its normal color and he could cast glamours on himself, he didn’t dare show in public.



“Thank you, Mr. Weasley. You’ve been most helpful. I’ll tell my client this. Hopefully, your solution will prove of use to him.” Before Percy could move, Severus whipped out his wand. “Obliviate.”



He left the office, after planting a few false memories of discussing a cure for baldness—not hard, since he had mentioned the subject as an inducement to conversation.



Severus swept out and was met by another fawning smile from the woman at the desk. “Did your meeting with Mr. Weasley go well, Severus?”



“Very well. Thank you most kindly for all your help.”



He left, ignoring her gushing reply. There was another matter he wanted to settle and it had to do with his non-entry at a certain manor on Grimmauld Place.





TBC