A Chance at Life

A Chance at Life

Chapter 4: A Meeting and Taking Care of Business

January 10

Harry apparated to meet with Severus at a quarter to five, he just hoped things turned out better now that he had a wand. He then saw Severus leaving his house and making his way towards him.

“Good evening, Severus.” Severus was not frowning like yesterday, but he looked very unhappy. He also had a bruise on the right side of his jaw. Harry didn’t mention it, deciding it would be better to wait until they were under the truth spell instead.

“Do you know of a place we can talk or would you rather we apparated to my place? I have a room at the Leaky Cauldron… I am still under oath not to hurt you; I guarantee your safety while you’re with me.”

Severus gave him a long suspicious look and sighed. “Let’s go to your place,” and approached to stand next to Harry. Harry put his arm around Severus’ shoulders and apparated them to his room. Once there he quickly let go of Severus, who had gone stiff at Harry’s touch. He clapped his hands to turn on the lights and took out his wand to levitate his bedside table to the middle of the room. Lastly, he conjured two cushioned chairs, low enough to match Severus’ height comfortably.

“Would you like something to drink before we begin?” He asked while closing the window curtains and securing the room. When he turned back to Severus he noticed him blushing and glowering at him.

“I’m hungry,” Severus replied stiffly but noticeably embarrassed.

“I’m sorry,” Harry said feeling guilty and inconsiderate. “I realized you needed to feed when I saw that bruise on your jaw. You probably didn’t feed enough yesterday. Not to mention that you will need to feed twice a day for the next 4-5 years. You must be starving by now.”

He quickly retrieved a blood replenishing potion from his trunk and drank it down. He then placed his wand on the table and knelt next to the nearest chair, facing towards it. “Please take a seat, it will be more comfortable for you to feed this way.” Harry said while folding up his left robe sleeve and performing a few cleansing charms on his wrist.

Once Severus sat down, Harry offered him his wrist. Severus gave him one last long searching look and bit down a little harshly.

Harry hissed at the slight sting. “Try to drink slowly. It is easy to overfeed when you don’t know your limits yet.”

Severus followed his advice and fed slowly for the next ten minutes, his eyes closed. He finally finished and nodded in thanks while licking his lips lightly. Harry smiled gently and stood up feeling a little dizzy as he made his way to the chair on the opposite side of the table.

“Are you all right?” Severus asked.

“I’m fine. Just got up too fast I think.” He sat down on the other side of the table and asked, “How do you want to go about this?”

“Perform the spell and we’ll take it from there.”

Harry grasped his wand and making a sweeping gesture to include Severus and himself said, “Ostendo sum verum.” A small transparent globe appeared on the center of the table.

“It is done. Just as a reminder, once the globe is activated any time you or I say a lie the globe will turn red. Otherwise it remains white. Ready?”

“Yes, but I get to go first.” Severus demanded looking Harry straight in the eye. Harry did not smile, he could see Severus was being serious and didn’t want him to think he was laughing at him.

“Agreed.” He then touched his wand to the globe, “Activate.” The globe turned black for a second before becoming a solid white.

“I want to test it first.” Severus told Harry and then focused on the globe. “My favorite color is red.” The globe turned red and Severus nodded, satisfied with the results.

“Repeat what you told me yesterday about yourself. I want to make sure we don’t miss anything.”

“My name is Harry Potter, 19 years old and before my 10th birthday had no idea that magic was real.” The globe remained white.

Harry asked his question next. “Why did you accept to meet with me? I know you had no reason to trust me, even with my vow.”

Severus frowned, “I didn’t want to be turned in to the Ministry and I don’t want my mother to know about…all this…I prefer to take my chances with you than go tell her I’m getting blackmailed because I have turned into a bloodsucking monster…I hope my luck will be better than yesterday’s. Whatever it is you want from me, it can’t be all that bad without breaking your vow.”

Severus then looked him straight in the eye for a second. “Do you really want to help me and if so why?”

Harry arched an eyebrow. It looks like this was the question he had really wanted to ask.

“I honestly want to help you.” The globe remained white. “As for why…that’s complicated. I want to help you because it is in my power to do so. Deep down inside me I know I am here to help you.” The globe remained white and Severus’ feeling became so intense that Harry felt them crashing into him in a flood: hope…doubt…joy…hurt….and then it became too jumbled for Harry to decipher. Harry quickly strengthened his Occlumency shields with a wince. This phenomenon was very rare; usually Harry needed to significantly focus on someone in order to achieve such intense emotional impressions.

“Tell me about yourself, like I have.” Harry prompted next in order to help Severus back on track.

Severus swallowed. “Severus Snape, 8 years old, pureblood…What makes you think you are here to help 'me'?” Severus asked softly, eyes firmly set on the globe now.

“I know...the same way I know the doubt, fear, and pain you are feeling right now. I knew it when I first met you and I know that you need my help to guide you through the changes you are going through; to help you escape your abusive father and to be there for you when you need me. I will be here to help you in every way I can, for as long as I can.”

The globe remained white and Harry let Severus take in everything he had said. He also noticed that Severus’ jaw had completely healed, no hint of the bruise remained. All vampires heal quickly, so long as they are well fed.

“Things are not like I thought…are they?” Severus asked, blinking away tears he refused to let fall.

“No. And I'm glad you are starting to trust me.” Harry paused, thinking about the best way to phrase what he wanted to say. “You are not a bloodsucking monster. What you are, is a vampire. A human-vampire to be exact.”

Severus leaned on the table, interested. “How can a vampire be human?”

“Vampires, like veela, centaurs, werewolves, etc., are magical beings, just like witches and wizards. I don’t see other magical beings as not being human, but rather more as humans from different races. This is my own personal view mind you and I don’t know, nor care, how the rest of the wizarding world sees things. To further answer you question, human-vampires is a term for one type of vampire.

"A human-vampire is born from a witch and wizard that are carriers of vampire genes. If their child inherit these genes from both of them and then have these genes become active, the child becomes what is known as a human-vampire. There are different types of vampires as well as a complicated hierarchy within vampire society that I will teach you later on… What you need to know right now is that you will need to feed twice a day until you reach puberty. At that time your hunger will abate and you will only need to feed once a day, and in lesser quantities. You will also notice that your senses will become much sharper. Though your sense of taste will remain almost unchanged, your strength, hearing, and sense of smell will surpass human limits effortlessly. But these changes will happen gradually in the next year or so. You will just need to be careful about hiding your superhuman attributes from those you rather not know about your vampirism.”

By now Severus had gone back to staring at the globe and Harry didn’t know what was more shocking to Severus, what Harry was telling him or the fact that the globe remained white all the way through his lecture.

“Severus,” Harry waited for his attention once more. “Things will never be the same again…and your mother needs to know about this.” Severus’ jaw almost hit the table, but he quickly took control of himself and glared at Harry instead.

“Easy for you to say; you’re not the one that has to tell her! And what the hell am I suppose to say anyway? I barely know what I am right now!”

Harry got up and retrieved Born a Human-Vampire: A Guide, Vol. I-II. He placed the books in front of Severus and retook his seat. “I bought these for you today. It was the most comprehensive guide I could find. There are a few others I got as well, but they’re for when you’re older. These ones will tell you everything you need to know, the first volume in particular. The second one is just as good but mostly pertains to puberty. If you have any additionally questions feel welcome to ask me.” Harry stopped here, knowing that Severus wasn’t going to like what he was about to say next. “I’m going to need to meet with your mother as soon as possible…”

Severus scoffed. “That will take a miracle. Tobias is out of a job again. He’s going to spend the rest of the year at the house, if not longer.”

Harry was confused, this sounded like something Tobias did often. “How does your mother pay for necessities then? Does he make your mother work?”

“No. As long as mom doesn’t work and Tobias is out of a job, he’s able to claim Family Assistance from the Ministry. It’s supposed to act as supplemental income until he finds a job again, but believe me, he won’t be running to the nearest unemployment office any time soon.”

“If Tobias…I’m assuming Tobias is your father..?” Severus nodded with a grimace of distaste. “…is going to be spending so much time home, it makes things even more urgent and more complicated. I know he’s abusive so even if you weren’t a vampire I would still try to get you out of there as soon as possible. You cannot be sneaking around twice a day to feed. If I can convince your mother to leave Tobias I have the means to take care of you both. She’s an adult after all and in a better position to do something about your situation.”

Severus didn’t comment on that, looking more than just slightly skeptical about Harry’s last remark.

“You are going to have to read as much as you can tonight so that you can talk to her tomorrow morning. Afterward, get her to feed you if possible. It’s not a good idea to miss feedings. But I really need to meet with her. I need her support if I'm to help you both.”

HPSSHPSSHPSS

Harry then called for Igor to bring him writing utensils. Severus waited and thought about everything Harry had told him. He was still having a hard time believing everything wasn’t just a dream. He had come to this meeting thinking that Harry would refuse to do the spell with some lame excuse and that he would be ordered to do something is exchange for information about his condition.

Instead, here he was with a man that not only submitted to a truth detection spell willingly but also promised to help him and his mother escape Tobias while still under the spell. It was as if all his prayers had been answered, though he was still afraid that all of this will somehow head south. But until all this turned out to be a trap, a lie, or whatever else, he had hope. The fact that Harry wanted to meet with his mother gave him faith that this was for real. Until something happened to tell him otherwise he will trust Harry on his word.

When Igor returned, Harry started writing a letter as soon as he left and talked to Severus as he wrote. “I am going to give you a communication mirror. Tell your mother as much as you can beforehand and then give her this letter. In it I tell her who I am, how we met, and ask her approval to meet with me tomorrow night.”

“Are you out of your mind! Tobias will be there…!” Harry held up a hand and motioned Severus to calm down. “I am asking her agreement to knockout your father actually. This way I can meet with your mother at your house. I am simply proposing your house because I believe she would feel more comfortable in familiar surroundings but we can go elsewhere if she wishes. I’m not giving her many specifics so it’s up to you to make everything clear.”

Severus shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He had actually forgotten how powerful Harry probably was. He nodded in acknowledgment.

“I think that’s all we can do today. Here is the letter for your mother and the mirror. She only needs to say my full name, Harry Potter, to activate it. But she is only to call me if she opposes my showing up there tomorrow. I don’t want her to take any additional risks if she doesn’t have to. If she does not contact me before 8:30pm I’ll take that as the go-ahead and will meet with you both at 9.”

Severus took the items and put them in his pocket. “All right, I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

When Harry saw the hope and small smile on Severus' face, Harry couldn’t help replying with a big smile of his own. “Of course and don’t worry too much, things will turn out fine.”

HPSSHPSSHPSS

Severus couldn’t sleep. He was euphoric.

The first thing he had done after getting home was to skim the first volume from the books Harry had given him, just like he had suggested. It hadn’t been as bad as he had thought. In addition to what Harry had told him the only important changes where to his personality. It said that his possessiveness and protective instincts will increase in relation to anyone he considered family. All vampires were like this by nature and saw their family as belonging to them and in turn, belonging to their families. He didn’t completely understand what that meant but it didn’t sound like it was anything horrible. Having strong family ties cannot be bad no matter how you looked at it.

Still, on the other hand, the more Severus thought about what he had to tell his mother, the less he wanted to tell her. In the end, he spent hours turning about on his bed until he fell into a restless sleep, still unsure about what he would tell her or how.

January 11

The next morning after Tobias’ rant concerning the poor quality of breakfast, Severus signaled his mother that he needed to talk to her in private. She nodded discreetly and informed him through their own special hand signals to meet with her by the brook in an hour.

“Honey? What is it you needed to talk about?” Eileen asked her son as soon as she got there.

“Mom, have you ever heard of human-vampires?” Severus asked her while looking at a dead beetle by his feet.

“What? No…” She trailed off not sure what it was Severus was trying to get at.

“A human-vampire is born whenever a witch and wizard, carrying enough vampire genes, have a child that receives such genes from both of them. It is not exactly known how or why, but if the genes become active, the child then becomes what is known as a human-vampire.”

Eileen was starting to get worried. Severus would have never brought this up out of simple curiosity; he was trying to make a point. She heard Severus sigh slowly and deeply.

“On the night of my birthday…something happened. I went to my special tree, you know, the one at the park… and I changed. I attacked someone. I felt so hungry and well…I-I’m a human-vampire.”

Eileen sank to her knees flabbergasted, she didn’t know what to say and then she realized just what he had said. “Wait. Did you just say you attacked someone? What happened? Are they all right? Why didn’t you tell me about this before?!”

Severus then told her about Harry as quickly as he could, they were running out of time.

“So you are saying that this man is coming to see me tonight and I have no way to communicate with him?”

Severus really felt bad about lying, but he didn’t want to risk her saying no and postponing everything even more. He trusted Harry and so will she once they had a chance to talk. He chose to ignore completely the little voice in the back of his head telling him he was doing something really stupid. For once, he was going to trust his instincts more than his intelligence and until something happened to change his opinion of Harry, he wasn’t about to change his mind.

HPSSHPSSHPSS

Harry Potter checked out of the Leaky Cauldron at 8am that morning. He quickly made his way to the real state agent’s office and was able to secure an appointment for an isolated 4 bedroom house with a potions lab, a garden, and a large kitchen at 6pm that same day. Right after that he quickly made his way to the Ministry of Magic.

“Excuse me, where do I inquire about wizarding examinations?” He asked at the information desk. The yawning teen witch told him to go to the 5th level and look for the sign opposite the International Magical Cooperation, ‘Aptitude Examinations and NEWT Testing.’

After half an hour of waiting for a representative he was finally called forward. “Thank you for waiting. What can I do for you today?”

“I was informed that I need N.E.W.T. scores in order to get a respectable job in the wizarding world, is this information correct?”

The representative looked taken aback. “This is correct…Your accent makes me think you are a British, how is it that you do not know about N.E.W.T.’s? You are a British wizard are you not?”

“Yes I am. However, I spent some childhood years in the U.S. I was there when I was informed I was a wizard. I’m muggle-born. When I returned, my parents arranged for private tutors to control my magic but I had never considered living in the wizarding world until now. I wish to take my N.E.W.T.’s, today if possible.” Harry said with calm authority.

The testing representative was looking at him wide-eyed by the time Harry finished speaking. It wasn’t everyday a self-proclaimed muggle-born acted with such confidence in front of a Ministry official. He sat there so long that Harry cleared his throat to get his attention once more.

“…Yes. Are you registered with the British Ministry or under the American? You are an adult, correct?

“Yes, I’m 19. I am not registered at either Ministry.”

“Due to your age and muggle-born status you will need to register through the use of ‘Blood-Linage.’ Do you need me to explain what it is?”

"No."

“After you are done with that you can make an appointment with us to take your N.E.W.T.’s. Standard waiting time: 6 weeks.” He informed him with a fake smile, obviously waiting for Harry to leave.

Harry frowned and leaned forward in a subtly intimidating manner. “Unacceptable. I need to get this done today. Do you or do you not have expedited services?”

“Yes…but I would advice you study before taking your exams. The results will be critical to your future and expedited services cost 35 Galleons. It is really not in your best interest to-”

Harry interrupted smoothly. “I accept the charges, is it possible to get registered here while I wait for my tests to be arranged?”

The representative was gaping at him. Harry had counted three cavities by the time he started speaking again. “Yes. Sure. I mean, it’s not a problem.”

While the registration was taking place he came to the realization that muggle-born prejudice was worse he remembered. The representative kept trying to treat him like an ignorant muggle and acted surprised that Harry could actually pay the equivalent of a full month’s salary to take exams that would otherwise be free of charge. He also noticed that he wasn’t informed that he could take the O.W.L.’s instead, N.E.W.T.’s were only required for Ministry officials, not even all Hogwarts professors had tried to take them.

Once registration had been taken care of they finally moved on to the tests. “Which N.E.W.T.’s will you be taking? You need a minimum of four.”

“Defense Against the Dark Arts, Divination, Care of Magical Creatures, Muggle Studies, and Transfiguration.”

The representative nodded while tapping a light blue parchment with his wand. “Follow me please. You will be taking Muggle Studies first, there is no practical for this subject. I’ll take you to your next exam as soon as you are done with this one. You will have your scores an hour after your last test.”

Out of the five tests he took only DADA and Transfiguration had theory and practical components. Divination only consisted of a practical and CMC surprisingly, was only theory. In the end, he left the Ministry of Magic at 5:56pm with good marks:

theory / practical (NA: Not Applicable , O: Outstanding , EE: Exceeds Expectations)

Defense Against the Dark Arts: O / EE

Care of Magical Creatures: O / NA

Muggle Studies: O / NA

Transfiguration: EE / O

Divination: NA / O

He was starving by then. The exams weren’t all that strenuous to him but they did work up an appetite. Unfortunately, he didn’t have time for that. He needed to get a house first and foremost. Besides, he had plenty of experience with hunger; both from growing up with the Dursleys and from the rigors of war.

He barely made it to his real state agent’s office a little after 6. “I apologize for my tardiness. I was delayed at the Ministry longer than I had planned.”

“It is quite all right. You are my last client of the day. Now…unfortunately, I was only able to find two houses that meet your specifications on such short notice.” The middle-aged gentleman replied, getting straight to business.

“The first one is a two story house…” He quickly described the two houses and their locations. In the end Harry chose to go see the one near Hogsmead. No matter how it looked, he’ll take it. Even if he had to move out later on, it was a good idea to own a house near Hogwarts. He side-apparated with the realtor to check it out. It was a spacious single story house.

The kitchen towards the back of the house was beautiful with a built-in white marble table in the center, big enough to easily accommodate five people. Aside from a back door leading to the garden, the rest of the kitchen was made up of white cabinets, half of them with unbreakable glass doors, nicely done with beautiful silver handles. The stove and oven where white and silver as well, the oven big enough for a 16lb turkey but it was so well incorporated to the kitchen wall that it was almost invisible. Finally, the sink was made from the same marble as the table with polished silver faucets.

The four bedrooms were spacious, all of them of equal size and with built-in closets. A rarity, since most wizarding folk preferred to use magical trunks to store their clothing. There was only one bathroom though, complete with an extra-large bathtub and a separate shower stall with sliding glass doors (unbreakable of course). Finally, the basement was a standard potions lab with stone surfaces and ingredient cabinets with glass doors, everything made without magic. But unlike the rest of the house, which seemed to follow an overall white motif, the basement was made in somber colors: dark stone and dark brown wood.

Outside, 30 feet away from the house and garden, the perimeter was surrounded by trees on all sides. The façade faced a footpath leading to Hogsmead or the Forbidden Forest depending on direction. The house was about a 15minute brisk walk from both.

All in all, Harry was more than satisfied. He signed the needed paperwork and paid 400 Galleons for the house. Once alone in his new home Harry conjured an easy chair and sat down to rest a moment before had had to meet with Severus’ mother and he wanted a few moments before handling that hurdle.

All their lives will be set after tonight’s meeting…