Chapter 7
Chapter 6
“Professor….”
“Profe-...” A cold chill ran down Snape’s spine as he slowly woke up. He could have sworn he’d heard something calling him.
“Professor…” this time like a cold whisper near his ear. He shivered and looked around his bedroom suspiciously.
“I swear if this is those damn Weasleys pulling another prank,”
“It’s not a prank professor,” the ghostly form of Harry Potter appeared at the foot of the bed, and for once Snape did something very un-Snape-like. He screamed….
“What in Merlin’s-saggy-tits!” Snape explained as he shot out of bed and grabbed his wand from his nightstand. The ghostly visage of Harry looked away awkwardly as Snape was clad in only his boxers but not before giving him a brief once over.
“Mr. Potter, wha-… what are you?!” Snape exclaimed.
“Dead Professor, as you can quite clearly see,” Harry gestured to his floating self. “The flying without a broom is new and I still haven’t quite learned to steer,”
“I… I…” Snape was certainly at a loss for words.
“You’re… but…. Hospital wing,” the man managed to utter while perplexed.
“Ah yes, that’s why I’m here,” Harry said. “Glad I didn’t give you a heart attack… much. I can’t enter the Hospital wing to talk to my counterpart, something about the same souls being in the same room leading to rips in reality… Death was getting too technical when he explained it.”
“Death as in that Mr. Potter’s Death or this timeline’s Death?” Snape asked with a frown.
“Wow, Death was right, you’re really taking this rather well. He was right in selecting you to pass the message along. Death is Death basically. According to him, he’s everywhere and any time,”
“And why am I suddenly playing carrier pigeon, Mr. Potter?” Snape questioned.
“Because according to Death you have the magical power level to brute force those magic-dampening chains off,” Harry chirped. “As long as those chains stay on Death can’t communicate with his Master through their bond.”
“My core,” Snape argued.
“You won’t die from it I’m assured,” Harry told his former Professor. “But those chains really need to be off before the end of the day. Since the Headmaster’s scheme using Ginny didn’t work he’s now going to resort to more drastic measures. At first, he was contemplating having Sirius have a stab at the other me but after what happened…. Let’s just say he forbade Siri from making contact.”
“Do you know what the Headmaster is planning?” Snape asked while he noticed how Harry's form had rippled upon mention of Sirius.
In the shadows where destinies entwined,
The world shall tremble before the aligned.
For he who holds the Master of Death,
Shall wield dominion with each whispered breath.
From the depths where shadows conspire,
An empire shall rise, fueled by fire.
But beware the cost, for power is blind—
In the dance with the dark, true strength you may find.
Master the Master, and you shall ascend,
But remember, even power has a bitter end.
Snape stood in shock as the ghostly visage of Potter looked at him with eyes glassy and no emotion betraying his features. When the rhyme was done Harry simply said “Dumbledore and Grindelwald got this prophecy from a random seer that passed them by on the street when they were teens. For years they did research on the Hallows and the Master of Death. Eventually, Grindelwald gave up but Dumbledore persisted in finding any clue. He was so sure the prophecy was real.”
“And then an immortal Mr. Potter fell into his lap 30 years ago,” Snape finished.
“The Headmaster and Sirius had been talking last night and it isn’t good Snape. Dumbledore found an ancient dark ritual the Roman wizards used to use on their slaves so that they would follow each command the caster gave. A spell of ultimate obedience. Some slaves were said to even carve out their hearts on command from their master.
“My…. godfather… even suggested it be used on you as a test… with him being the caster of course,” Harry sneered. “We might not have seen eye to eye Professor but I wouldn’t wish that fate on anyone. If you get dressed now you will make it in time before Dumbledore reaches the Hospital wing,”
“Why didn’t you tell me that sooner?!” Snape scolded before summoning his clothes from the nearby dresser. He donned his black pants and white button-up shirt but forwent the more tedious teaching robes and vest.
“It’s all about the timing according to Fate, Professor. If I didn’t do it like this they wouldn’t have let me come. I can’t tell you anything directly professor but it would be greatly appreciated if you could hex Sirius at some point,” With that Harry disappeared in a shimmer of light, and Snape who was, for once, cursing his many buttons ran out the door.
Snape made it to the Hospital wing in record time. He threw open the heavy double doors and rushed inside, startling Madam Pomfrey.
“Severus what is the meaning of this?!” She questioned as her colleague strode to Harry’s bed with a purpose.
Harry’s eyes widened too but that had more to do with never having seen Snape without his teaching robes. “Uhm, Hi sir?” Harry said with uncertainty as he watched his former professor look around paranoid.
“The Headmaster hasn’t been here yet has he?”
“No Severus,” Poppy answered before Harry. “What is all this about?”
“I just had the most interesting conversation with Mr. Potter… about Mr. Potter,”
“Uhm, what?” Harry was so confused.
“Poppy, give Mr. Potter here something to bite on. I’ll be forcefully removing those manacles,”
“Wait what?!” Harry sputtered. “You said only Dumbledore could remove them,”
“Or by brute force, and if your counterpart spoke the truth then we have no time to lose,” Snape stated, and before Harry could protest Poppy had shoved a towel in his mouth.
The next thing Harry knew of was Snape’s hand around his neck or more precisely around the metal collar around his neck. “This should be where the main magic circuit should be,”
“Severus, have you done this before?” Poppy asked warily.
“Of course not,” Snape muttered. “First time for everything though,” he then said which caused Harry’s brows to shoot up in panic.
The next thing Harry knew was of his body convulsing in response to the thick stream of magic Snape sent through the device. It felt electrifying and cold at the same time like a blanket of magic spreading over him. The more magic Snape poured into the device’s main runic circuit the more Harry became addicted to it. I wanted his magic to reach for that thick blanket settling over him. He wanted to touch it, caress it, and as Harry’s eyes rolled back from the overload several clicks were heard.
Poppy wasted no time in removing those barbaric implements from Harry’s body while Snape doubled over on the bed near Harry’s legs. Harry’s eyes were still glassed over as Snape’s raw magic dissipated and his own flooded his system after far too long. It felt…. Incredible to be able to feel a part of himself again.
Snape was hardly able to hold himself up when the double doors to the infirmary opened to admit the Headmaster arguing with Sirius Black of all people.
“What in the world?!” Albus exclaimed upon seeing the magic dampeners in Poppy’s hands and Harry free of them. The Headmaster quickly drew his wand and Sirius did the same upon assessing the situation.
Snape, still swaying from the massive power drain turned towards the duo with his wand drawn. “I really can’t put up with you two right now,” He growled before quickly shooting an Expelliarmus at the Headmaster and Bombarda at Sirius, catching them both off guard.
Snape caught the Headmaster’s wand and then shouted ‘Ducklifors’. The spell hit Albus straight in the chest as the Headmaster was still trying to process one of his pawns turning against him like this.
Snape swayed before half collapsing onto Harry’s bed again, dropping the confiscated wand onto the floor while three pairs of eyes looked on shocked at the turn of events.
“Did Snape just transfigure the Headmaster into a duck?” Harry questioned upon seeing the white duck, with its cute wagging tail in place of where the Headmaster once stood.