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Chapter 9

"No! No! Please!" The pleading sobs were cut off as the woman began to scream. High and keening, the sound echoed off the marble floor of the sitting room. Severus closed his eyes, blocking out the sight of the woman thrashing in the centre of the room, and the circle of kneeling figures in black robes and white masks surrounding her. A circle he was a part of.

The scream faded, turning to a moan as the woman curled in on herself.

"Severus," a smooth voice called out, and Severus lifted his head to look upon the Dark Lord. The man's face was much younger than it should have been. The dark hair and flawless pale skin should have made him attractive, but instead, he looked unnatural. His skin almost wax-like, too perfect. His face too young for the power he could wield. And the eyes… Blood red eyes that seemed to glow…

"Yes, my Lord?" His voice was cold and sure, nothing to hint at the unease he felt.

"I think we've learned all we need to from Mrs Wellman. Would you care to do the honours?"

"Of course, my Lord," Severus said, rising to his feet.

"Oh, use that spell of yours that I like so much. The killing curse is just too clean for this one."

The childlike glee in the Dark Lord's voice almost made Severus shudder. Instead, he gave a small bow to his Lord and pointed his wand at the trembling creature in front of him.

"Sectumsempra," he hissed, watching the woman's skin split. The cuts looked random, but when a spray of blood splattered against the front of his robes, he knew he'd cut the woman's jugular. He stood impassively, refusing to show his disgust as each beat of her heart further soaked his robes. Through it all, the woman never moved, never tried to stop the flow of blood from her neck and back. It didn't take long for the wounds to slow, a last gurgled breath escaping her lips as her heart stuttered to a halt...

Severus jerked awake, panting as he stifled the scream on his lips. His shirt was wet, the cloth sticking to his skin, and he heard several buttons pop as he wrestled it off. He knew it was soaked with sweat, not blood, but the dream was vivid enough that the distinction made no difference.

Once he had flung the offending article of clothing across the room, Severus sat on the edge of his bed, his face buried in his hands as he worked to slow his breathing. He shivered as the dungeon air chilled his sweat slicked skin. A glance at his bedside clock showed that he'd only managed two hours of sleep. Much less than he needed, but Severus knew that sleep would not find him again today. He needed a distraction, and there was a list of potions in his lab that he was required to brew. Losing himself in his work, the softly bubbling cauldrons and spiralling steam, could quiet his mind more efficiently than a phial of Dreamless Sleep. There was comfort in the routine, the precision and repetition.

Several hours later, Severus was labouring over four cauldrons at once. He had just finished decanting a vat of pepper-up when his alarm sounded, informing him of a visitor at his door. He cast a quick stasis charm on the cauldron of bruise balm and blood replenisher, left the calming draught to simmer, and opened his door to a grinning Minerva.

"I take it your conversation with the headmaster went well?" He asked as she pushed into his quarters.

"I must say that it did. Very well in fact," she said smugly. "Albus had his objections, of course, and Sirius threw a right fit. But in the end, they agreed that keeping Mr Potter at the castle was the right thing to do."

Severus couldn't stop the smirk that turned up the corner of his mouth. He had been right to go to Minerva. She could be a bloody menace when she wanted to be, but that meant that even Dumbledore thought twice about getting on her bad side.

"Has the headmaster informed Potter of his decision?" He asked.

"Actually, Albus left that to me. And I thought you might wish to join me."

Severus nodded as he summoned a piece of parchment and a quill. "Do you know which quarters are to be his?" He asked distractedly as he began to write.

"No, Albus said that a house elf would find me when they had a room cleaned."

"Binky," Severus called and an older house elf appeared with a pop.

"Yes Master Snape, sir?" the elf squeaked.

"Binky, I've been informed that the headmaster has left the elves in charge of securing and preparing living quarters for Mr Potter, correct?"

"Yes Master Snape, sir! We has been looking all over trying to find the biggest bestest rooms for Mr Harry Potter sir!"

"Might I make a suggestion?" Severus asked, waiting for the elf to nod before continuing. "There is a suite of rooms on the third floor, west wing, that I think would suit Mr Potter nicely. Would you be willing to take a look? I don't know if they're the largest rooms available, but I do believe they are the best rooms to fit his purpose."

Binky bobbed his head several times before speaking. "Binky knows of the rooms, Master Snape sir. Binky will go tell the other elves!"

"Thank you, Binky," Severus said, still scribbling away on his parchment as the elf disappeared. "Mipsy," he called once the first elf was gone. Another elf appeared silently in his quarters, this one smaller and younger than the first. Her uniform looked like a standard Hogwarts tea towel to the untrained eye, but Severus could pick out the arrowheads faintly embroidered on the bottom hem, and the words 'In vigila sic vinces' in small stitches above the Hogwarts motto. 'In watchfulness, you shall conquer', the Prince family motto.

Mipsy stood quietly while Severus finished his list. He gave his elf a small approving smile before kneeling in front of her.

"Mipsy, I need you to fetch these books and deliver them to Mr Potter's new rooms," he said softly, passing her the piece of parchment. He watched his elf scan the list, saw her ears stiffen slightly in surprise; the books themselves would have been surprising enough, but there was much more to the list than that, all written in his cramped shorthand. She looked like she was about to ask a question, but her eyes flicked to Minerva, and she simply nodded instead.

"Yes, Master Snape, sir," she said before disappearing as quietly as she had arrived.

Severus stood and turned to Minerva, only to see the woman trying to hide a snicker. He raised an eyebrow in question, and her composure broke. She devolved into a fit of giggles as Severus looked on in annoyance.

"Please inform me as to what brought on this display of… insanity… so that I may avoid it in the future."

"Oh, Severus," Minerva choked out. "If you were half as nice to the first years as you are to the house elves I wouldn't have half as many crying students to comfort."

"And I would have twice as many exploding cauldrons, and Poppy twice as many patients," Severus growled. "Honestly, are you quite finished? I would still like to see to Mr Potter today."

Minerva's chuckled a few moments more before pulling herself together. "I'm being completely serious, Severus," she said.

"I appreciate competency," he replied, motioning her toward his door. "The house elves are efficient, hard working, and have a fine attention to detail." Especially Mipsy. His favourite of the three Prince family elves, she had played the roles of spy, messenger, mule, and transportation, for the last several years especially. And she had saved his life on two separate occasions. "The average first year has none of those traits. They are lazy, careless, pretentious little dunderheads."

"They're really not as bad as all that…"

"Minerva," Severus sighed, "how many times have we been over this? If a student is mucking about in your class, you end up with a water goblet with a tail, or a tortoise with a bejewelled shell. I end up with students in the hospital wing. I don't have the luxury of playing nice."

"So you say, Severus," Minerva replied, and they lapsed into companionable silence for the rest of the walk to the infirmary.

They stepped through the doors to find Potter dressed and out of bed, staring out the windows that overlooked Hogwarts grounds.

"Mr Potter," Minerva called, but whatever she had been about to say was cut off with a gasp as Potter turned to face them. Her hand flew to her mouth, and Severus swore that he saw tears gather in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she stuttered, her voice tight with emotion. "You just look so much like your father…"

Severus froze, surprised by Minerva's statement. The younger Potter didn't look a thing like James Potter… He took a long look at the boy, eyeing him critically. Is hair was long and tied back, not the messy mop his father had sported. His eyes were his mother's piercing green, though they were missing the easy happiness Lily's eyes had always held. He was tall and lean, like his father, but so were many boys his age. And he didn't have his father's arrogant swagger, that self-confidence that comes from a life of privilege and entitlement. No, he didn't look like his father at all.

"Yeah," Potter replied with a small smile and a duck of his head. "Black, my godfather, said the same thing."

Well, Severus thought, people will see what they want to.

Severus cleared his throat and watched as Minerva shook herself from her thoughts.

"Right, of course. Mr Potter, would you care to sit?" She asked, motioning toward a pair of chairs that had been returned to their spots by the fireplace. She quickly conjured a third chair, and Severus was impressed that the boy only gave a small flinch when she drew her wand.

"My name is Professor Minerva McGonagall," she continued once they were all seated. "I am the Transfiguration Professor here at Hogwarts, and well as the Deputy Headmistress. As such, Professor Snape brought your request to my attention, in the hopes that I would be able to assist you with your accommodations for the remainder of the summer, as well as the coming school year."

"You mean about staying here for the rest of the summer?" Potter asked carefully.

"Exactly. And I'm happy to say that it has been arranged. The house elves are readying your new rooms as we speak."

A smile spread across Potter's face as he looked from Minerva to Severus. "Thank you," he said sincerely.

"It was my pleasure, Mr Potter. Now, as for next school year. I had proposed a program of slow advancement through the years to get you caught up, however, the Headmaster is quite insistent that you attend classes with your year mates." Severus began to scowl, wondering why Minerva hadn't brought this up earlier, but she cut him off before he could speak. "Severus, don't give me that look. We came to a compromise that I think will work." She turned back to Potter as she continued.

"You will be working through the curriculum using the books that we publish for students who choose to be home-schooled. You will be able to work through them at your own pace, and may use the class hours to discuss the material with your professors. You will be required to turn in all assignments to the relevant professors, and I encourage you to take advantage of their office hours if you have any issues that may be disruptive to the class. Also, you will be assigned several tutors from the student body, though obviously we need to make sure said students are willing to take on the extra responsibility. Does this sound acceptable?"

Severus saw Potter's eyes dart to him, and he gave a small nod. It was a reasonable plan, and a good compromise.

"Yes Ma'am," Potter replied. "Will I be able to start on those books before term starts?"

"Of course, though we will require that you be supervised for the practical portions. I will be remaining in the castle for most of the remainder of the summer, and Professor Flitwick, our Charms Professor, should be returning at the beginning of August, so there shouldn't be any issues finding time for you to practice."

"I will be remaining here as well," Severus cut in, ignoring Minerva's puzzled smile.

"Yes, well, as you can see, you won't be lacking in assistance," Minerva murmured. "Madam Pomfrey has told me that you can move into your new quarters today, if you wish. I thought perhaps a tour of the castle first?"

Potter's face broke into a wide smile as he nodded. The stood and headed out of the infirmary, and Severus watched as the boy seemed to let out a sigh of relief at this small freedom.

The tour went surprisingly well, and Severus had to admit to an amount of amusement at Potter's reactions. He watched as Potter gasped at his first sight of the Great Hall, the look of almost childish wonder seeming odd on the boy's face. The moving staircases were a point of puzzlement, and he could see the boy attempting to map alternate routes in his head. They almost lost Kaleb to the library; the sheer number of books had the boy enthralled the moment they stepped through the doors. Only the reassurance that he could spend as much time there as he wished, later, was able to pull him from the wing.

They were just heading away from the Owlery when several things happened in quick succession. Binky popped into the corridor in front of them, and Kaleb jumped a foot in the air. His eyes, wide as saucers, began darting in every direction, and Severus could see the panic attack working its way through the boy's mind. Binky saw the expression on Kaleb's face and started squeaking out apologies, while Kaleb gaped at the strange creature. Then Minerva reached out a hand and placed in on Kaleb's shoulder.

Kaleb spun away from the touch and bolted back down the corridor. Severus swore under his breath, racing after the boy, and he could hear Minerva not far behind him. Several turns and four staircases later, he spotted the hem of a black robe ducking into an old classroom, and Severus slowed his pace. Minerva caught up to him, panting heavily from exertion.

"What…" she gasped out. "What just happened."

"Panic attack," Severus answered curtly. "And he doesn't like to be touched."

"I'll go talk to him, apologise. I didn't know-"

"No. I've got him. I… I've got him," Severus muttered as he stepped into the classroom.

Kaleb was huddled in the corner, still breathing erratically. His knees were pulled up to his chest, his face buried in his hands.

"Kaleb," Severus called softly as he approached the boy. "I need you to look at me."

Slowly, Kaleb lifted his head, wide eyes trailing up black robes until they settled on Severus' face.

"Good boy," he whispered as he knelt in front of Kaleb. "Breathe Kaleb, breathe. It's alright. No one here is going to hurt you. You know that. You're safe."

Kaleb nodded slowly as he took a few deep breaths.

"Better?" Severus asked as the tension left Kaleb's muscles. Kaleb nodded again. "Verbal response, please."

"Yes, sir. I'm ok, I think," Kaleb replied, voice barely above a whisper. "What was that thing?"

"That was a house elf. They work for the school, cooking, cleaning, the like. Do you think you would like to meet one, now that it won't be such a shock?"

Kaleb stretched his legs out against the floor as he thought. "Yes, sir," he finally answered, as he seemed to brace himself.

"Mipsy," Severus called, and his little elf appeared. He saw Kaleb stiffen again, then watched the boy take another deep breath. "Mipsy, this is Kaleb. He's never met a house elf before."

Mipsy looked Kaleb over and glanced back at Severus. At his nod, Mipsy took a step toward Kaleb and gave a deep bow. "Binky is very sorry that he startled you, Master Kaleb," she squeaked. "Binky had come to tell you that your rooms are ready. Would you like Mipsy to take you to them now?"

Kaleb stared at Mipsy for a while, then turned back to Severus. "Do they always bow like that," he asked.

"Usually," Severus replied.

"You don't have to, you know," Kaleb said to the elf. "Bow and such, I mean. But I really would like to see my rooms, if that's ok."

Mipsy straightened up and smiled softly at the boy. "Mipsy is happy to serve Master Kaleb." She stepped back as Severus and Kaleb stood, then led the way out of the classroom and to a puzzled looking Minerva.

Kaleb stopped when he saw Minerva waiting outside the door. "I…" He ducked his head, the toe of his worn trainer scuffing against the flagstone. "I'm really sorry for my behaviour," he finished.

"That's quite all right Mr Potter," Minerva said kindly. "I'm sorry if my actions frightened you, and I'm glad to see that you're all right."

Kaleb looked up and Severus gave him an approving nod and a small smile.

"Mipsy said my rooms are ready," he said.

"Well, why don't we go and have a look?" Minerva smiled warmly at Kaleb. "Lead the way, Mipsy," she said, motioning to the elf. Severus fell into step beside Minerva, and tried his best to ignore the questioning looks she was shooting his way.