The Taming of the Snape

“Where the Hell did you come from?” **Harry** added Snape’s conscious “And how come you speak English?” For a fleeting moment Snape thought maybe Harry had spelled it, so Snape could understand, which would have been rather Gryffindorkish.

Caesar seemed to be having some kind of snake conniption. **laughing???** “Sssssev, hic, hic, Sssseverussss, hic, you are ssso funny. hic, hic, hic. Can’t you work it out Ssssilly. I don’t sssspeak englissssh” Caesar spasmed around Snapes finger assume-ably the snake equivalent of rolling-on-the-floor-laughing-it’s-ass-off.

No one had ever called Snape funny, at least not to his face. His cast his mind back to those horrid marauders’ and ‘that incident’, laughed at him yes but actually considered him funny, no. It was quite … refreshing.

Knowing Poppy would in no way allow him to leave before the proverbial ‘Inquisition’. Snape figured he could well be here for the long haul. There were a few things he really hated about the medi-wing; actually the list was rather extensive.

Two of these were getting his proverbial goat right now. He spelled the bed larger, a nice four poster, and added a substantial pile of pillows, then summoned sleeping attire that was actually comfortable, and closed.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Alerted to the use of magic in the Medi-ward Dumbledore smiled a genuine smile for the first time in days.

He had arranged for some quiet time for the fiercely private man. Snape had a few things to catch up on and would need a little ‘him time’. Thus in his office over tea and idle chatter Poppy and Dumbledore allowed Hogwarts to monitor everything.

As it was a long weekend (and a Hogsmeade one at that) there were no classes. The school in general continued to trundle along regardless of the horrors of the past few days. Being a ‘Hogwarts Secret’ naturally everyone already knew.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Now to find some reading matter., from prior visits Severus knew the only stuff easily available in the ward was Witches’ Weekly’ and there was no way he would read anything that mind numbingly stupid. First year homework was positively Einstein in comparison. His gaze fell on a scroll.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

“I gathered as much Dumbledore. Even without a mirror I can see my hands are younger my skin is smoother, my long maintained ‘glamour’s’ have dropped. I must have been in a very bad way to have been unable to support them.’ Severus sighed.

“Thanks to the stupid cloak and mask none of the Deatheaters or even Voldie would have been aware of my fading masquerade.” Snape shook his head sighing

“Malfroy actually filled me in when he brought me back to Hogwarts. I recall clearly every venomous word.”

“See after the tri-wizard tournament last year Voldie was delighted to tell his ‘pets’ that he kept a close eye on them, my ‘spy’ status was apparently well known.’ Snape sighed.

“There were six missing death eaters at the cemetery that night. Whilst I thought that it would have been obvious that I would have been unable to attend without my services, ‘to him’ being revealed to you. I was sadly quite mistaken”

“Voldie” Severus scoffed “pointed out that three of the six were dead, honourably in his service. He knew that one was too cowardly to return, that was Igor Karkaroff.

“He mentioned the one who was “his most faithful servant” and was actually responsible for Harry being delivered that night.” Snape ploughed on “as we know that was Bartemius Crouch Junior. Disguised as he was then as mad eye Moody”

Snape dropped the long awaited ‘other boot’ “He called me … “The one who he believed had left him forever, and that I would of course be killed” Snape gesticulated elegantly his surroundings. Nothing remained to be said on the subject.

“It goes without saying that I can no longer leave Hogwarts protection and my value to you and the order has plummeted remarkably”

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
(In chapter thirty-three Goblet of Fire Voldie makes the above ‘reworded for this story’ comment)