Categories > Books > Harry Potter > Harry Potter and The Power of The Coven
Okay, I know that Snape might seem a little OOC. However, since JKR never had this situation in her books, we don’t know how Snape would have reacted to it. So I am trying to make his reaction as authentic as I possibly can. Sorry if you think it’s OOC.
Last Chapter…
“Headmaster, may I suggest we adjourned to your office to explain to everyone what took place at that muggle house and clear some of Miss Granger’s confusion. She may be able to assist us in researching, if she were not so distracted by the detail, which no one has seen fit to explain to her.” As he said this, his gaze was drawn to Olympia and Ekantika, standing next to one another in the doorway. He raised an eyebrow. Hermione’s eyes were so wide, they seemed ready to pop out of her head at any moment.
“I agree, dear boy. Let us return to my office.” Dumbledore ushered the confused and curious group out of the infirmary. As he departed, the headmaster nodded to the medi-witch, who was conjuring icepacks to cool Harry down before his fever became dangerous. The old man closed the door behind him.
Chapter 11 – Of Waning
The late evening sun was once again glittering and sparkling through the glass windowpanes in Dumbledore’s office when the small group assembled there. New armchairs were conjured. The Coven retained the chairs upon which they had been seated earlier. Snape, again, remained standing. He paced an anxious path along one wall. Hermione sat to the left of the Coven. Dumbledore took his seat behind he desk.
“Ariadne, may I introduce to you Ms. Hermione Granger? It was her letter, which helped save Harry’s life. She is one of his very best friends.”
Ariadne fixed an intent stare on the bushy haired girl. After a moment, she smiled. “Very pleased to meet you, Ms. Granger. I look forward to having you in my class.”
Hermione simply stared at her with wide eyes. The shock of the past day must be getting to her. Ariadne smiled kindly.
“Severus, were you being completely…candid in the infirmary? I do believe Harry himself has a right to know before anyone else is told.” Dumbledore fixed the tall man with a penetrating stare.
Snape halted in his tracts and held very still. “As you did not see fit to inform me of this information for 15 years and then only upon the instruction of these ladies, I do not see how you have any right to tell me whom I should and should not inform, Headmaster.” His voice was deadly ice. The old man winced at the clear resentment he heard in the ring tone. “I would agree with you under normal circumstances. However, these are not normal circumstance by any means and I think the young Ms. Granger should be as informed as possible in the event that any little detail could be of vital importance. I trust that she will keep her mouth shut until such a time as I am able to inform Mr. Potter myself.”
The headmaster bowed his head in apology and acceptance.
Severus turned to the wide-eyed teen. “Ms. Granger, Can you keep a secret?”
“Sir, whatever it is, I won’t tell Harry. But can I say, sir, that Harry does not respond well to things being kept from him.”
Snape drew in a sharp breath through his nose. “Neither do I, Ms. Granger. Neither do I. I thank you for the advice.” This was said with an audible amount of distaste. “Ms. Granger, I…I am Mr. Potter’s father.”
Hermione giggled. The noise was cut off abruptly when she saw the look in her potions professor’s eyes. “Oh…dear...So I suppose he should be called…Mr. Snape now, then?”
Severus choked. Dumbledore coughed, which sounded very much like he was hiding a laugh. Isoko and Aurelia grinned. Not likely the sound of the name, Ekantika wrinkled her nose causing her piercing to flash in the sun. Olympia raised an eyebrow. Ariadne smirked. “Harry Snape? That definitely does not have a ring to it…”
Hermione smiled a little. “Harry James Snape, actually.”
Severus choked again. He could not seem to get his breath. Finally he swallowed thickly. “No! He shall remain Harry Potter. Not that he would want to take my surname in the first place, but even if he did, it would jeopardize my role as a spy for the Order. The Dark Lord might notice if his archenemy suddenly shared a last name with one of the members of his inner circle.”
This time Dumbledore did laugh, as did everyone else. The humor melted away quickly as the topic of their conversation resurfaced in their minds.
“How can you be Harry’s father, professor? His mother loved James Potter. Everyone told us so, even Remus and S—“ Hermione stopped abruptly and glanced at the Coven in fright.
“We are aware of Sirius Black’s status as wrongly convicted escapee and Mr. Potter’s godfather. No need to worry, Ms. Granger.” Aurelia smiled kindly.
“You are correct in that that is what everyone believed.” Dumbledore proceeded to relay the story of Severus’ love to Hermione. The man in question turned his back on the room. He stood staring out a window. Ariadne stood and went to him, placing a supportive hand on his stiff shoulder.
In a voice so soft only he could hear, she murmured. “Are you all right with telling them what happened? I could do it alone, if you want to spend time with Harry.”
Snape turned his face to glance at her over his shoulder. “I am perfectly capable of apprising them of the situation.”
“I know you are. I was not implying you were unable. I was simply asking which you would prefer.”
There was a small smile touching the corners of her mouth. Snape looked away, out the window for several minutes before answering. “I believe I should be present. The headmaster may have questions for me.”
“Alright. And thank you.” She turned to go back to her seat. He caught her wrist in his hand.
“For what?”
She smiled sadly at him. “For supporting me in using that curse. For holding me while I was unconscious. For being willing to protect Harry and I no matter what the cost to yourself. For everything.”
“Ariadne, I was feral because of the curse, as were you. That could hardly be called—“
“I know, but still. Thank you.” She turned her back on him and re-joined the group.
He stared after her, his mind clouded with worried and now confusion, an emotion he was not accustomed to feeling. Confusion. He turned back to the window. Dumbledore’s voice created a hum of background noise. Snape’s dark eyes swept the castle grounds as he tried to sort out his thoughts. Pushing the terror and sickness of worry to a far corner of his mind, the tall man focused on thoughts of the blonde who had just taken her seat. Why had she thanked him? He had done nothing to invoke gratitude. He had acted on mere instinct, not something in which he usually allowed himself to indulge. He blinked. Everything…
Severus threw a glance over his shoulder, his gaze drawn to the High Priestess. Ariadne was watching him with concern in her eyes. They barely knew each other. Why would she worry over him? No one ever was concerned for him. Not even the headmaster worried over his wellbeing. He was a spy, a traitor and a liar. And of course, Snape thought with a small self-deprecating snort, their indifference is no more then I deserve.
His name being called brought Snape out of his fit of self-loathing. He sneered at his own indulgence. It seemed he was indulging himself too often recently. He would not allow himself such a lapse again. He spun on his heel and rejoined the group.
“Severus, would you kindly recount your tale of what occurred during your retrieval of young Mr. Potter?” Snape could feel the weight of Dumbledore’s gaze upon him.
“Headmaster, as you can see Master Snape is slightly preoccupied at the moment. While I am entirely certain he is indeed capable of recounting what took place, I feel it would be easier for the concerned parties if I were to be allowed to complete this task.” Ariadne stated calmly, her stare also fixed on the Potions Master.
Snape’s back stiffened.
“My dear girl, it would be much to traumatic for you to—“
Ariadne stood angrily. “Dumbledore, as I am not the boy’s father, I am sure it would be much less traumatic for me to describe the physical abuse Harry Potter suffered at the hand of those muggles! Severus is a human being, no matter how much he attempts to convince us otherwise. You would do well to treat him as such! He is not your tool, a spy to be used and discarded as you see fit. He should not be required to describe such horrible abuse as inflicted upon his own son! Abuse, which, I would like to point out, is partially your fault for not fulfilling your responsibility in observing and taking care of the boy!!! He was your magical charge and you left him with those…those beastly relatives of his! Had you visited him even once he would not be in this state!” The further into her speech Ariadne got, the more snarling her voice became. By her conclusion, she was hurling accusations at the old man in a voice that sounded remarkably close to the feral tone she had used earlier.
Dumbledore bowed his head, a single tear slipping into his beard. “You are, of course entirely correct. I am so very sorry for everything Harry has endured due to my negligence. I will carry the guilt with me for the rest of my days. I also must offer an apology to you, Severus, for both my treatment of you and withholding information from you that you deserved to know. I am insensitive, blind old idiot. I can see now, just how old and blind I have become. I will be forever grateful to you ladies for bringing my enormous and heinous errors to my attention.”
“Headmaster, I accept your apology and I thank you for offering it.” This statement was delivered in a flat tone of voice as Severus’ eyes traced the tear track down Dumbledore’s face. “However, I believe more important, at present, then assigning blame and doling out guilt is Harry Potter, whose health is at the moment waning rapidly and who is currently unconscious and burning with an unidentified fever in the Hospital Wing.” Snape turned a reproachful eye on Ariadne. She stared back, calm and defiant.
“You are correct, of course. Ariadne, would you please tell us what happened?”
The High Priestess, head held high and gaze cold, retook her seat. Opening her mouth, she told her companions her tale in an icy voice. Olympia, who sat to her right, laid a hand on her arm in comfort. A quick flash of her eyes told Olympia that Ariadne was grateful for it, even if she would not allow herself to show weakness. At that point, weakness was any sign of humanity.
Snape interrupted once or twice to add a detail or to correct her, but otherwise remained silent. Their tale took less time the Dumbledore’s had, but the sun had still dipped below the horizon by the time it was completed. Upon its conclusion, none were anymore enlightened as to Harry’s current condition then they had been before. They sat in a horrified silence for several minutes.
Finally, Hermione broke the silence. “Sir, I think you should know that this is the first that I have heard of Harry being physically abused by his relatives. Mentally and emotionally, he has been abused all his life, but it never truly crossed this line before. I think the Dursleys were too afraid of the repercussions, but when they saw that the magical community was not willing to reinforce our threats…well…”
“I see. That at least, is better then I had hoped while listening to what they had done this summer. Harry never told me he was being neglected or abused.” The headmaster look defeated.
“No, Sir. He hides things well. I believe only I am aware of the extent of the neglect he suffered. Ron knows some of it, but he always passes it off as the result of horrible relatives. I think he doesn’t understand because he…well, he’s never seen anything like it. I worked in a shelter for abused teens last summer, so I saw first hand what it does to people. Sir, I think Harry is ashamed. He has no self-confidence or any idea of self-worth. I think he is very ashamed of it and maybe thinks that it’s somehow his fault. That he did some-something to cause it.”
The adults all stared at her in shocked horror. Snape was the first to recover. “Ms. Granger, he seemed very confident when he is in school here.”
“No, professor. He isn’t. He hates being the center of attention. He hates being the Boy-Who-Lived, because it causes people to look at him, to take an interest in him. He is as smart, if not smarter, then I am, but he doesn’t apply himself because he is afraid of failure. The only thing he has any true confidence about is flying. He knows he is amazing at Quidditch, but not much else. He is also a wonderful teacher himself, but he doesn’t believe that either. The only reason I passed DADA last year, along with everyone else in the DA is thanks to Harry. I owe whatever score I received on my OWLS to Harry.”
Her quiet vehemence was causing Severus to reevaluate his whole opinion of the black-haired Gryffindor. If she was telling the truth…he cringed inwardly. How horribly he had treated the boy. Snape was coming to realize just how monstrously he treated his students. He turned pain-filled eyes to the girl in front of him.
She smiled softly. “Professor Snape, you were the only person, besides myself and Ron…most of the time, who treated Harry like everyone else. Well, maybe you were a little crueler to him at times then to the rest of us, but you never put him on a pedestal because of what people think he is. And even though he dislikes you as much as you seem to dislike him and his father…er, James Potter, rather…I know he is grateful for it.”
The pale man blinked once and, with a quick nod to Hermione and an agonized glance to Ariadne, turned on his heel and exited the office. They all stared after him for a few seconds, before Ariadne stood and followed.
The office was filled with silence for several moments. Hermione’s brow furrowed slowly. She pursed her lips in thought. “Abuse...neglect…mal-nutrition…Oh God.”
She stood abruptly and ran from the office, ignoring the inquiries that were called after her. Hermione needed to go to the library. She had an idea of what was wrong with Harry, but, for the second time in the space of a couple days, she hoped to Merlin, God, and anyone else that she was mistaken.
Please Review. Thanks!
[*Okay, I know that Snape might seem a little OOC. However, since JKR never had this situation in her books, we don
Last Chapter…
“Headmaster, may I suggest we adjourned to your office to explain to everyone what took place at that muggle house and clear some of Miss Granger’s confusion. She may be able to assist us in researching, if she were not so distracted by the detail, which no one has seen fit to explain to her.” As he said this, his gaze was drawn to Olympia and Ekantika, standing next to one another in the doorway. He raised an eyebrow. Hermione’s eyes were so wide, they seemed ready to pop out of her head at any moment.
“I agree, dear boy. Let us return to my office.” Dumbledore ushered the confused and curious group out of the infirmary. As he departed, the headmaster nodded to the medi-witch, who was conjuring icepacks to cool Harry down before his fever became dangerous. The old man closed the door behind him.
Chapter 11 – Of Waning
The late evening sun was once again glittering and sparkling through the glass windowpanes in Dumbledore’s office when the small group assembled there. New armchairs were conjured. The Coven retained the chairs upon which they had been seated earlier. Snape, again, remained standing. He paced an anxious path along one wall. Hermione sat to the left of the Coven. Dumbledore took his seat behind he desk.
“Ariadne, may I introduce to you Ms. Hermione Granger? It was her letter, which helped save Harry’s life. She is one of his very best friends.”
Ariadne fixed an intent stare on the bushy haired girl. After a moment, she smiled. “Very pleased to meet you, Ms. Granger. I look forward to having you in my class.”
Hermione simply stared at her with wide eyes. The shock of the past day must be getting to her. Ariadne smiled kindly.
“Severus, were you being completely…candid in the infirmary? I do believe Harry himself has a right to know before anyone else is told.” Dumbledore fixed the tall man with a penetrating stare.
Snape halted in his tracts and held very still. “As you did not see fit to inform me of this information for 15 years and then only upon the instruction of these ladies, I do not see how you have any right to tell me whom I should and should not inform, Headmaster.” His voice was deadly ice. The old man winced at the clear resentment he heard in the ring tone. “I would agree with you under normal circumstances. However, these are not normal circumstance by any means and I think the young Ms. Granger should be as informed as possible in the event that any little detail could be of vital importance. I trust that she will keep her mouth shut until such a time as I am able to inform Mr. Potter myself.”
The headmaster bowed his head in apology and acceptance.
Severus turned to the wide-eyed teen. “Ms. Granger, Can you keep a secret?”
“Sir, whatever it is, I won’t tell Harry. But can I say, sir, that Harry does not respond well to things being kept from him.”
Snape drew in a sharp breath through his nose. “Neither do I, Ms. Granger. Neither do I. I thank you for the advice.” This was said with an audible amount of distaste. “Ms. Granger, I…I am Mr. Potter’s father.”
Hermione giggled. The noise was cut off abruptly when she saw the look in her potions professor’s eyes. “Oh…dear...So I suppose he should be called…Mr. Snape now, then?”
Severus choked. Dumbledore coughed, which sounded very much like he was hiding a laugh. Isoko and Aurelia grinned. Not likely the sound of the name, Ekantika wrinkled her nose causing her piercing to flash in the sun. Olympia raised an eyebrow. Ariadne smirked. “Harry Snape? That definitely does not have a ring to it…”
Hermione smiled a little. “Harry James Snape, actually.”
Severus choked again. He could not seem to get his breath. Finally he swallowed thickly. “No! He shall remain Harry Potter. Not that he would want to take my surname in the first place, but even if he did, it would jeopardize my role as a spy for the Order. The Dark Lord might notice if his archenemy suddenly shared a last name with one of the members of his inner circle.”
This time Dumbledore did laugh, as did everyone else. The humor melted away quickly as the topic of their conversation resurfaced in their minds.
“How can you be Harry’s father, professor? His mother loved James Potter. Everyone told us so, even Remus and S—“ Hermione stopped abruptly and glanced at the Coven in fright.
“We are aware of Sirius Black’s status as wrongly convicted escapee and Mr. Potter’s godfather. No need to worry, Ms. Granger.” Aurelia smiled kindly.
“You are correct in that that is what everyone believed.” Dumbledore proceeded to relay the story of Severus’ love to Hermione. The man in question turned his back on the room. He stood staring out a window. Ariadne stood and went to him, placing a supportive hand on his stiff shoulder.
In a voice so soft only he could hear, she murmured. “Are you all right with telling them what happened? I could do it alone, if you want to spend time with Harry.”
Snape turned his face to glance at her over his shoulder. “I am perfectly capable of apprising them of the situation.”
“I know you are. I was not implying you were unable. I was simply asking which you would prefer.”
There was a small smile touching the corners of her mouth. Snape looked away, out the window for several minutes before answering. “I believe I should be present. The headmaster may have questions for me.”
“Alright. And thank you.” She turned to go back to her seat. He caught her wrist in his hand.
“For what?”
She smiled sadly at him. “For supporting me in using that curse. For holding me while I was unconscious. For being willing to protect Harry and I no matter what the cost to yourself. For everything.”
“Ariadne, I was feral because of the curse, as were you. That could hardly be called—“
“I know, but still. Thank you.” She turned her back on him and re-joined the group.
He stared after her, his mind clouded with worried and now confusion, an emotion he was not accustomed to feeling. Confusion. He turned back to the window. Dumbledore’s voice created a hum of background noise. Snape’s dark eyes swept the castle grounds as he tried to sort out his thoughts. Pushing the terror and sickness of worry to a far corner of his mind, the tall man focused on thoughts of the blonde who had just taken her seat. Why had she thanked him? He had done nothing to invoke gratitude. He had acted on mere instinct, not something in which he usually allowed himself to indulge. He blinked. Everything…
Severus threw a glance over his shoulder, his gaze drawn to the High Priestess. Ariadne was watching him with concern in her eyes. They barely knew each other. Why would she worry over him? No one ever was concerned for him. Not even the headmaster worried over his wellbeing. He was a spy, a traitor and a liar. And of course, Snape thought with a small self-deprecating snort, their indifference is no more then I deserve.
His name being called brought Snape out of his fit of self-loathing. He sneered at his own indulgence. It seemed he was indulging himself too often recently. He would not allow himself such a lapse again. He spun on his heel and rejoined the group.
“Severus, would you kindly recount your tale of what occurred during your retrieval of young Mr. Potter?” Snape could feel the weight of Dumbledore’s gaze upon him.
“Headmaster, as you can see Master Snape is slightly preoccupied at the moment. While I am entirely certain he is indeed capable of recounting what took place, I feel it would be easier for the concerned parties if I were to be allowed to complete this task.” Ariadne stated calmly, her stare also fixed on the Potions Master.
Snape’s back stiffened.
“My dear girl, it would be much to traumatic for you to—“
Ariadne stood angrily. “Dumbledore, as I am not the boy’s father, I am sure it would be much less traumatic for me to describe the physical abuse Harry Potter suffered at the hand of those muggles! Severus is a human being, no matter how much he attempts to convince us otherwise. You would do well to treat him as such! He is not your tool, a spy to be used and discarded as you see fit. He should not be required to describe such horrible abuse as inflicted upon his own son! Abuse, which, I would like to point out, is partially your fault for not fulfilling your responsibility in observing and taking care of the boy!!! He was your magical charge and you left him with those…those beastly relatives of his! Had you visited him even once he would not be in this state!” The further into her speech Ariadne got, the more snarling her voice became. By her conclusion, she was hurling accusations at the old man in a voice that sounded remarkably close to the feral tone she had used earlier.
Dumbledore bowed his head, a single tear slipping into his beard. “You are, of course entirely correct. I am so very sorry for everything Harry has endured due to my negligence. I will carry the guilt with me for the rest of my days. I also must offer an apology to you, Severus, for both my treatment of you and withholding information from you that you deserved to know. I am insensitive, blind old idiot. I can see now, just how old and blind I have become. I will be forever grateful to you ladies for bringing my enormous and heinous errors to my attention.”
“Headmaster, I accept your apology and I thank you for offering it.” This statement was delivered in a flat tone of voice as Severus’ eyes traced the tear track down Dumbledore’s face. “However, I believe more important, at present, then assigning blame and doling out guilt is Harry Potter, whose health is at the moment waning rapidly and who is currently unconscious and burning with an unidentified fever in the Hospital Wing.” Snape turned a reproachful eye on Ariadne. She stared back, calm and defiant.
“You are correct, of course. Ariadne, would you please tell us what happened?”
The High Priestess, head held high and gaze cold, retook her seat. Opening her mouth, she told her companions her tale in an icy voice. Olympia, who sat to her right, laid a hand on her arm in comfort. A quick flash of her eyes told Olympia that Ariadne was grateful for it, even if she would not allow herself to show weakness. At that point, weakness was any sign of humanity.
Snape interrupted once or twice to add a detail or to correct her, but otherwise remained silent. Their tale took less time the Dumbledore’s had, but the sun had still dipped below the horizon by the time it was completed. Upon its conclusion, none were anymore enlightened as to Harry’s current condition then they had been before. They sat in a horrified silence for several minutes.
Finally, Hermione broke the silence. “Sir, I think you should know that this is the first that I have heard of Harry being physically abused by his relatives. Mentally and emotionally, he has been abused all his life, but it never truly crossed this line before. I think the Dursleys were too afraid of the repercussions, but when they saw that the magical community was not willing to reinforce our threats…well…”
“I see. That at least, is better then I had hoped while listening to what they had done this summer. Harry never told me he was being neglected or abused.” The headmaster look defeated.
“No, Sir. He hides things well. I believe only I am aware of the extent of the neglect he suffered. Ron knows some of it, but he always passes it off as the result of horrible relatives. I think he doesn’t understand because he…well, he’s never seen anything like it. I worked in a shelter for abused teens last summer, so I saw first hand what it does to people. Sir, I think Harry is ashamed. He has no self-confidence or any idea of self-worth. I think he is very ashamed of it and maybe thinks that it’s somehow his fault. That he did some-something to cause it.”
The adults all stared at her in shocked horror. Snape was the first to recover. “Ms. Granger, he seemed very confident when he is in school here.”
“No, professor. He isn’t. He hates being the center of attention. He hates being the Boy-Who-Lived, because it causes people to look at him, to take an interest in him. He is as smart, if not smarter, then I am, but he doesn’t apply himself because he is afraid of failure. The only thing he has any true confidence about is flying. He knows he is amazing at Quidditch, but not much else. He is also a wonderful teacher himself, but he doesn’t believe that either. The only reason I passed DADA last year, along with everyone else in the DA is thanks to Harry. I owe whatever score I received on my OWLS to Harry.”
Her quiet vehemence was causing Severus to reevaluate his whole opinion of the black-haired Gryffindor. If she was telling the truth…he cringed inwardly. How horribly he had treated the boy. Snape was coming to realize just how monstrously he treated his students. He turned pain-filled eyes to the girl in front of him.
She smiled softly. “Professor Snape, you were the only person, besides myself and Ron…most of the time, who treated Harry like everyone else. Well, maybe you were a little crueler to him at times then to the rest of us, but you never put him on a pedestal because of what people think he is. And even though he dislikes you as much as you seem to dislike him and his father…er, James Potter, rather…I know he is grateful for it.”
The pale man blinked once and, with a quick nod to Hermione and an agonized glance to Ariadne, turned on his heel and exited the office. They all stared after him for a few seconds, before Ariadne stood and followed.
The office was filled with silence for several moments. Hermione’s brow furrowed slowly. She pursed her lips in thought. “Abuse...neglect…mal-nutrition…Oh God.”
She stood abruptly and ran from the office, ignoring the inquiries that were called after her. Hermione needed to go to the library. She had an idea of what was wrong with Harry, but, for the second time in the space of a couple days, she hoped to Merlin, God, and anyone else that she was mistaken.
Please Review. Thanks!
[*Okay, I know that Snape might seem a little OOC. However, since JKR never had this situation in her books, we don
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