Forsaken
folder
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
50
Views:
2,141
Reviews:
4
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
50
Views:
2,141
Reviews:
4
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
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Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. JKR does.
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Chapter 9 - Home
Severus and Harry reappeared near the bridge. Harry immediately let go of him as Severus looked around, making sure no one had spotted them.
“I need to disillusion you,” said Severus quietly. Severus flicked his wand into his hand. Harry drew his wand, taking a few steps backwards as he aimed it at Severus. Severus sighed, lowering his handkerchief and his wand. He just looked at Harry, his heart wrenching at the sight of fear in the boy’s eyes - her eyes. He slipped his wand into his wrist holster and unclasped his cloak from around his shoulders. He quickly stepped over to Harry and swung the cloak over his shoulders, buckling it under his chin. He pulled the hood up, covering most of Harry’s face. Harry frowned slightly at the sadness in his face.
“Follow me close, please,” said Severus in barely above a whisper. He turned and began walking tiredly towards Spinner’s End.
Harry readjusted the cloak, lifting the hood slightly so he could see farther in front of him. He was still afraid of what Snape would do to him now that he was alone. He kept his wand out, ready for anything as he walked quickly to catch up.
“Where are we?” asked Harry quietly, looking around at the abandoned buildings.
“We are just outside Liverpool,” said Severus softly, his tone blank. “I am taking you to my house.”
“You have a house?” asked Harry before he could stop himself. Severus snorted.
“Yes,” he replied. “And better yet, it’s not a bat cave.” Harry slowed a pace, unsure if the man was - was he teasing him? Harry gave his head a shake.
They walked in silence for the rest of the way. Severus stepped up to his front door and unlocked it, waving Harry in before him. His eyes darted around behind the boy, making sure no one had openly followed them. He quickly shut the door, locking it and setting up a basic Alert ward. He walked into his sitting room, smiling a little at Harry’s gawking at his sagging bookshelves.
“You’re welcome to read any of them, should you so choose,” said Severus. Harry spun around guiltily. “Just make sure and ask my permission first. Some of them are not exactly appropriate for a boy your age.” Harry nodded, thinking back to the Prince’s potion book and the Sectumsempra curse he had thrown at Draco. There had been so much blood -
“Did you hear me, Potter?” asked Severus sternly, causing Harry to jump violently.
“Sorry,” said Harry, “what did you say?” Severus scowled at him, noting his pale face.
“I ask that you stay out of my office and my room, both of which are on the right hand side of the hall upstairs.” He rubbed his face with his hands. “I am going to sleep for a few hours. We will talk later. There is a spare bedroom upstairs on the left if you want to lie down as well.” He walked over to the door hiding the staircase and opened it, leaving it open for Harry.
Harry stood still for a moment in the middle of the room, completely disoriented. It was as if this Snape had had a personality transplant. It made him nervous, but so far, nothing seemed out of place - no Death Eaters had jumped out from behind the sofa. He took off Severus’s cloak, draping it gently over the back of the chair. He walked slowly through the hallway to the tiny kitchen. It was spotless but for a few mugs sitting in the sink and a half-empty kettle on the stove. He walked back through the sitting room and hesitantly approached the staircase.
Ever so slowly, he climbed the stairs. The hallway was dark and musty, as if no one had lived there in a long time. He looked inside the small bathroom as he walked to the last room on the left. He pushed open the door. The room was small, but a bit larger than his room at the Dursleys. A medium-sized bed sat in the middle of the room, along with a bedside table. Harry pulled open the closet door, peering inside at the dusty shelf above an empty rack. He pulled out the tiny box from his pocket and set it on the floor at the end of the bed. Tapping it with his wand, he returned it to its normal size, glad to be able to do magic in this house without worrying about owls flying in from the Ministry. He opened it and stared in shock at the neatness of everything inside. He pulled out his broom and cauldron, setting them to the side. He dug underneath his clothes and found his copy of Confronting the Faceless. He sat down on the bed and untied his shoes, slipping his feet out of them as he pulled his legs up onto the bed. He laid back against the headboard and opened up to the first chapter.
~~+~~+~~+~~
He was back inside the cave. He looked around for Dumbledore, but didn’t see him. He stepped inside the tiny boat and sailed slowly across the green lake. He leaned over the edge, but pulled back at seeing a waxy face stare up at him from the water. He stepped out of the boat and froze at seeing Dumbledore standing beside the pedestal, the locket clenched tightly in his hand.
“Why didn’t you stop him, Harry?” asked Dumbledore. “You’re supposed to be the Chosen One.”
“I tried,” whispered Harry. “Please, Professor - you stunned me! I couldn’t move! I tried to warn everyone -“
“You failed, Harry,” said Dumbledore. “And now I have to go. But you won’t be alone here.” He waved his hand at the lake. Harry yelled, scrambling back against the pedestal. He reached out for Dumbledore, but the old man walked away from him. He could feel cold hands grab his ankles and begin pulling him firmly into the lake.
“Please help me!” begged Harry, his eyes wide as other figures crept out of the water towards him. He made out Cedric’s young face, grinning evilly as it stared at him with his white eyes. Harry screamed, twisting and writhing as more and more Inferi tried to pull him into the water.
“GET OFF ME!” yelled Harry. He pulled at the fingers on his arm and clawed at the ones around his wrists. “LET ME GO! LET ME GO!”
“Come with us, Harry,” sang some of the dead bodies rising out of the murky water, singing hauntingly like the mermaid song he had memorized for the Second Task. “Come and play in the water.”
“NO!” screamed Harry, trying with all his might to scrape the hands off of his arms and wrists. “NO!”
“POTTER, WAKE UP!”
Harry immediately sat up, nearly knocking heads with a slightly winded Severus. He shakily felt around for his glasses as Severus stepped back from the bed.
“What time is it?” mumbled Harry, his mind trying hard to catch up with him.
“Eleven in the morning,” said Severus softly. He glanced down at the boy’s scratched and bloody wrists. “Are you alright?” Harry found his glasses, slipping them on only to find that he had cracked both lenses.
“Yeah,” lied Harry, trying to still the tremors in his hands. He took off his glasses and reached over to the bedside table for his wand. Severus gently took the frames from his hand and tapped them with his wand to repair them. He handed them back to Harry.
“Thanks,” muttered Harry, putting them back on his face. He glanced up at Severus’s penetrating stare as he pulled the sleeves of his robes over to hide his stinging wrists. Severus walked wordlessly out of the room. Harry got up from the bed, picking up his book and straightening the bent pages. He set it on the table, his eyes glazing over as he remembered the feeling of those hands pulling him into the water.
He started violently at the hand on his shoulder and spun around with his wand drawn. Severus put his hands up before him, holding a small jar and some bandages in one hand.
“I didn’t mean to startle you,” said Severus. “I brought something for your arms.” Harry lowered his wand, swallowing thickly.
“I said I was fine,” said Harry firmly. Severus sat him down on the bed and knelt before him. He pushed Harry’s sleeves up and unscrewed the lid of the jar, revealing a light blue lotion that smelled slightly of mint.
“And I knew you were lying to me,” said Severus, giving Harry a somewhat stern look. Harry sighed as he let Severus doctor his arms. He hissed slightly at the tingling of the lotion.
“Sorry about the stinging,” said Severus quietly. “I haven’t figured out a way to keep it from doing that, but this leaves less scarring than healing spells.” Harry glanced at him warily.
“Why are you being so nice to me all of the sudden?” asked Harry. Severus looked up at him briefly as he finished wrapping Harry’s wrists with the bandages, but didn’t answer him. The torture he had put this child through - it almost made him physically ill. Albus had told him it was necessary -
“Answer me!” said Harry fiercely, pulling his arms out of Severus’s hands. Severus clenched his jaw tightly and stood, closing his jar of Healing lotion and picking up the roll of bandages.
“You will need to leave those on until this evening,” said Severus evenly, turning to walk out of the room.
“How am I supposed to trust you if you won’t even answer a simple question?” shouted Harry, standing up sharply. Severus stopped in the doorway, putting his hand on the doorframe.
“What you asked is not a simple question,” said Severus. He looked over his shoulder, forcing himself to look into those green eyes. Every time he looked at Harry, he was reminded of what he had done to her, of the kind of monster he was. The hate that he saw looking at him from those eyes, the doubt, the skepticism - it had made the past six years nearly unbearable. His gut reaction was to cloak himself in his hateful grief over Lily’s death, doing everything that he could to keep the boy at a distance. But now he could no longer continue the charade.
“Come downstairs,” said Severus, pushing down his pride. “We need to talk.” He walked across the hall to his office and set the jar and bandages down on his desk. He made his way downstairs, hearing Harry’s bare feet following him closely. He waved a hand at the sofa, indicating for Harry to sit.
“Would you like anything to eat or drink?” asked Severus, walking towards the kitchen.
“No,” said Harry, wondering when Severus’s temper was going to rear its ugly head. Severus shrugged his shoulder and disappeared into the kitchen. Harry scowled, feeling more and more uncomfortable. He plopped down on the couch, leaning his elbow on the arm of it and resting his head in his hand as he waited for Severus to return. He only had to wait a few minutes before Severus came back into the room carrying a cup of tea. He sat down in his chair, sipping slowly on his drink.
“I am sure that many people comment on how you look like your father,” began Severus softly. “And indeed, you do. I am sorry to say that my hatred of your father, and by extension his friends, has greatly influenced how I treated you at times. Old wounds sometimes do not heal.” Harry stared at him in surprise, hearing those same words spoken in a different voice echoing in his head.
“And yet,” he said, gazing towards the window. “I can hardly stand to be around you because you remind me so much of your mother.” Harry watched as Severus’s face seemed to age ten years right before his eyes.
“It may be hard for you to believe that your mother was a dear friend of mine,” said Severus, looking down into his cup. “But I loved her like a sister. Had I known - had I the gift of foresight to see into the future, I would have died before telling the Dark Lord that Prophecy.”
“I know,” said Harry softly. Severus looked at him, his eyes full of guilt and regret. Harry couldn’t count the number of times he had seen that exact same look stare out at him from his own reflection.
“The memories Dumbledore left me,” said Harry, “they -- they helped me see things a little better.”
“That was something Lily would always say,” said Severus, smiling to himself. Harry edged towards him slightly, sitting on the edge of the sofa.
“Tell me something about her,” asked Harry, unable to contain his curiosity. “Please? No one ever talks about her.” Severus sighed and took a sip of his tea.
“I have no idea why not,” he began. “She was wonderful. She was very smart, similar in many ways to your friend Miss Granger, though not as eager to prove herself.” Harry smirked at him, thinking of Hermione’s hand constantly waving in the air.
“She and I were always competing for the top grades in our year,” said Severus. “I would always beat her in Defense, but she could cast Charms around me all day long. We actually ended up in the same Department at the Ministry after I dropped out of the Auror Academy.”
“Wait, hang on,” interrupted Harry. “You went to the Academy?” Severus chuckled softly, drinking the last of his tea.
“Only for a term,” said Severus. “Unfortunately, my savings were pretty much nonexistent by winter break of my first year, and with my mother ill and my father drunk most of the time, I had no choice but to find a job. Your mother worked on experimental Potions and Charms until she became pregnant. I worked there until -“ he waved his hand at Harry, “-until I was offered a much better position elsewhere.” Harry frowned.
“But you don’t seem to like teaching very much,” said Harry. Severus rolled his eyes.
“I wasn’t supposed to like being close to the Headmaster,” said Severus slowly, his tone causing Harry to tense. “I was supposed to be very unhappy and hateful. Of course, the pressure on me from parents to aid their children in becoming the future of the Dark Lord’s forces did in fact make my job less than ideal. After you came to Hogwarts, I could not afford to treat you with anything akin to kindness. I had recently just returned from Albania, where rumors of a strange darkness had been reported. Albus and I knew the Dark Lord was making a bid to rise again, and I had to make sure my position within the circle could not be questioned.”
“But why couldn’t you have just ignored me, and then told me to pretend to hate your guts?” asked Harry. “You could’ve at least been civil to me. Like when we were doing Occlumency -- you could have not been a complete bastard when we were alone in your office.” Severus raised an eyebrow at him.
“I was very frustrated with you, Potter,” said Severus seriously. “I knew the Dark Lord was trying to gain possession of that Prophecy and you were not improving between sessions. Quite the opposite, in fact -- you were having more and more dreams of the Department of Mysteries. We were under the gun and you were pulling the bloody trigger. Albus ordered me to teach you Occlumency and I was failing miserably because you wanted to do my job.” He smiled tightly at Harry. “Needless to say, my anger at you during those sessions was very heartfelt, partly because I knew you could learn it if you would have applied yourself. You have a natural aptitude for it, thanks to that ghastly scar on your forehead. And besides, you’re a horrible liar. Anyone with a brain could have seen you were faking it, had I told you to pretend to hate me.”
“I’m not that bad,” mumbled Harry, flattening his hair over his forehead.
“Yes, you are,” said Severus firmly. “Something to remember if you ever find yourself in front of the Dark Lord again. Speaking of which, we should discuss some suggestions I have for your summer until we can get more information on the Horcruxes.” Harry swallowed thickly, his face paling.
“Alright,” said Harry nervously. Severus chuckled at his expression, causing Harry to become even tenser.
“I said suggestions, not detentions,” teased Severus. Harry relaxed a bit, but was still a bit nervous. Severus stood and walked over to his bookshelf. He pulled out several very thick books, piling them on the table in front of Harry.
“What are these?” asked Harry, lifting the top one off the stack. “The Junior Auror’s Guide to Basic Defense?”
“You should read through them as you get time,” said Severus, going into professor mode. “If you would like, I can work through them with you if you are going to be staying here.”
“I don’t really have a choice, do I?” asked Harry evenly. Severus shrugged half-heartedly, wondering at the strange, sudden desire to have the boy around.
“Not really.” said Severus. “You cannot be at the Burrow right now, nor can you stay with Lupin. You could, if you wanted, go to Hogwarts, I suppose.” Harry noticed the worried look that came over his face.
“What’s going on?” asked Harry. Severus gave Harry a calculating look.
“The Dark Lord is planning to exterminate as many members of the Order as he can,” said Severus. “He is beginning with those closest to you.” Harry’s heart sank to the floor.
“Who?” asked Harry, forcing himself to stay calm.
“Greyback will go for Lupin the day after the full moon,” said Severus. “Lucius and Bellatrix have been put in charge of an attack on the Weasleys, so who knows when they will get around to agreeing on a date.” He turned back to the window, leaving Harry to panic. Harry had planned on staying at the Burrow for a few days after the -
“Oh my God,” gasped Harry, jumping up from the sofa. Severus turned around quickly. “Bill and Fleur’s wedding. Ron said when I left Hogwarts it would be in a few weeks. All of the Order will be there.” Severus’s face paled slightly.
“That would indeed be a great day for them to proceed,” murmured Severus. He ran a hand through his hair. “Unfortunately, neither Lucius nor Bellatrix are on speaking terms with me at the moment, so we won’t know for sure if they even know about the wedding.”
“I thought you were all buddy buddy with Malfoy!” said Harry frantically.
“Well,” said Severus blandly, “that was before I got his son killed, which caused his wife to commit suicide. I’m not going to be at the top of his list of favorite people at the moment.”
“What?” whispered Harry. “They’re - they’re dead?”
“I would rather not talk about it, if you don’t mind,” said Severus quietly. Harry immediately shut his mouth on the many questions that popped into his mind. God, Malfoy had been his age - undoubtedly Voldemort had killed him for failing - had killed him because Snape had done it. He felt a sudden pang of sympathy for Snape, as strange as that was.
“So what are we going to do about Remus and the Weasleys?” asked Harry softly, not wanting to push Severus’s temper. “Sir?”
“We can’t do anything as of yet,” said Severus quietly. “I need more information. Then we can talk to Kingsley about what to do.” He glanced at Harry’s fallen face. “Keep your chin up. We’ll figure out something.” Harry took a deep breath and looked around the small room, noting the lack of décor.
“So what do you do here all day?” asked Harry. Severus glanced down at the table piled with books, then back up at Harry.
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” said Harry despondently.
“I’m not,” said Severus easily. “You will find that I’m a perpetual scholar. However, I will not force you to be one as well. You may go anywhere you wish, but -“ he paused, making sure he had Harry’s attention, “-- I want to know where you are going and when you intend to be back so that I don’t ward you out of the house. And please do not allow anyone to follow, kill, or capture you. That would seriously cut into my sitting around time and I will take it out of your hide.” Harry grinned hesitantly at him.
“Really?” he asked. “I can - I can go to Diagon Alley, for example?” Severus nodded.
“As long as you tell me where you’re going and when you’ll be back,” repeated Severus slowly, “and you keep somewhat of a low profile. You will need to Apparate to and from the area near the bridge. I have Anti-Apparition wards laid out in a half-mile radius around the house. Patronus if you need anything or if something happens.” Harry nodded, thrilled to death that he would be allowed to go wherever he wanted.
“May I make a suggestion for your outing?” asked Severus, grinning at the sheer joy on the boy’s face. Harry looked at him expectantly.
“Go to Gringott’s and get a summary of your bank vaults,” said Severus. Harry looked at him in confusion. “Trust me, you will want to know, especially since you’ll be seventeen in a little over a month and coming into two substantial inheritances. Then you might want to go and buy some clothes. You’ll need robes, cloaks and some muggle clothes that actually fit you, at the very least. And if you could do me a favor and drop by the Weasley brothers’ shop. I like to know what they are making. If you can secure some samples -“ Severus grinned mischievously, causing Harry to instantly think of the memory of him at Godric’s Hollow, “-that would be even better.”
“Diagon Alley it is, then,” said Harry. “I’ll be back before supper.” Severus went over and picked up his cloak that was lying over the back of the sofa. He tossed it to Harry, who hesitantly swung it over his shoulders.
“Just don’t do anything stupid,” said Severus sternly, watching Harry practically run from the room to fetch his vault key.