Under that same tree
Scotland - 1987
— Did you wash your hands? — Minerva asked as she watched the small black-haired boy sit at the table. The little boy nodded, still having difficulty standing up, and even more difficulty getting on the chair, the woman served the little boy a meal, the boy just nodded his head and ate
Today was Sunday, so after Asterion finished dinner, he would have to bathe and then prepare his things to go to the Malfoys tomorrow morning. That had been the deal, Minerva would have him from Thursday afternoon to Sunday, and the Malfoys would take care of him from Monday to Thursday afternoons It had been like that for a while and it was working
But it doesn't mean it's easy, The boy isn't okay, After what happened, who would be? Minerva was shocked that Regulus was even alive, she didn't want Reggie to be in the Malfoys care for half a week. But she couldn't take care of him all week because of work, and Narcissa, Lucius and Draco were the closest thing Asterion had to a family, and she was sure they wouldn't hurt him, not after Regulus had recently been rescued thanks to the inhumane efforts of his mother
There was still no news from Severus.
This Monday morning was like the others, Albus was at Minerva's house (again), Mcgonagall convinced him to stop bothering the boy with questions he clearly wasn't ready to answer
— Merlin's sake Albus! The boy doesn't even speak! — she remembered how she had told her old friend
So she assumed he was only here to see that Regulus wasn't getting worse, besides, Minerva suspected that Dumbledore liked to be there when Lucius came to pick up little Snape, as if he were a silent threat, sometimes even greeting with passive - aggressive phrases
Asterion walked down the stairs silently, he was wearing an orange t-shirt with a hand-knitted purple sweater that had a small R.A.S knitted with gold letters on the neck, along with dark blue pants, black socks and his black tennis shoes. He looked tender, but his lost expression and lack of words, as well as his empty eyes quickly distracted from his tenderness
The woman combed his hair and checked that his things were okay while Albus told her another story from his youth. Not long after a knock was heard on the door, Minerva took the boy's hand and they headed to the door, Lucius was behind, looking as elegant as ever, Asterion waved goodbye to his (self-proclaimed) grandparents and then he followed the blonde man
Both teachers watched as Malfoy walked away with the little boy
Lucius Malfoy could tell that he was a man who appreciated silence like few others, he liked to be calm and hated shouting, he preferred his passive aggressive responses and his elegance to fight, according to him, shouting made him lower himself to the level of Muggles.
However, the entire way to Malfoy Manor he spent his time begging Merlin for the boy to please say something, anything, but to open his mouth for something other than breathing
Not long ago, picking up Asterion meant loud babbling all the way as he and Draco talked about anything and everything: Dragons, their favorite books, their expectations for Slytherin, their plans to become important figures in the future
Severus, Narcissa and Lucius had heard countless times the children say that Regulus would be the minister of magic while Draco would become his right-hand man, and that if that didn't work, then Asterion would become headmaster of Hogwarts and Draco would become a teacher of some subject.
But Draco always said that his little brother was too smart not to be a minister of magic, but now he was walking through the alleys, without Draco, and with a silent, traumatized child.
There was still no news from Severus.
When they arrived at the mansion, Draco was at the door as always, although he looked almost as depressed as Regulus. Draco hadn't stopped crying the entire time Asterion was missing, and when he was found, there was no one happier than little Malfoy, but his cries only grew louder after seeing his brother so destroyed
It seemed like a Dementor had given him the kiss, and had taken his soul, the little blonde cried again and again when his mother tried to explain to him that although Regulus would live with them for a while, he couldn't rush over and hug him, nor could he tickle him, or surprise him from behind like he used to do
According to the blonde woman, Asterion wasn't ready for physical contact, and Draco couldn't understand why.
Still, Draco did not give up his efforts to cheer up his little brother, and took him to his room (under the supervision of three house elves)
The older boy tried to cheer up the younger boy with everything he could, but to no avail, so he simply decided to do something he knew Asterion more or less 'enjoyed'
— Do you want to draw? — The blonde told him, he got very excited when Regulus raised his head, gently shaking him, so he gave him a notebook and many colors, but he saw that the boy only took grays and blacks.
Eventually Narcissa came in to see that they were both okay, Draco showed her his drawing of some kind of Dragon with green eyes, Draco always said that there was nothing more precious than green eyes, especially when they were bright.
The woman congratulated her son and then carefully approached the other boy, she thought he would be reluctant to let her see his drawing, but strangely Reggie handed it to her easily.
They were two very detailed drawings, the first was of him and his mother, in a small boat in the middle of the sea, Severus was hugging him and from what the woman understood, he was singing.
The other was even more detailed, it was a drawing of a creature, black and terrifying, that seemed to be approaching at full speed. On the edges of the drawing the boy had drawn a kind of frost, simulating cold.
Narcissa stopped thinking immediately, It was a Dementor, she thought about how the boy had not spoken a word since he was rescued thanks to Snape, but he had let his "aunt" see the drawing very easily, What if he just doesn't want to talk about that?, the woman thought
— Asterion, Honey — the woman began as she knelt down to be at his height, —Would you mind......drawing what happened to you? You don't have to talk, just draw—
Regulus didn't react for a few seconds and Narcissa thought it hadn't been a good idea, but when she was about to give up, the boy raised his head and took another paper, bringing the colors closer to him.
Draco witnessed the absolute terror that his little brother had towards these creatures, Draco didn't know what they were, his mother had just called them "Dementors", it was obvious that Reg had suffered before them, so he promised to never make fun of someone who had been a victim of these dark beasts, now that he had seen the damage they do firsthand
***
I lost, I didn't kill him
Even in Can's form, the boy didn't stop running, he couldn't see well, but it didn't matter, the man escaped Asterion felt totally useless, everything he had learned had been for nothing, that man was not dead, how could Dumbledore accept his proposal like that? How could he complete his plan like this?
He had to hunt him down, he wouldn't let the man escape. He won't tell anyone, he will do it alone, he saw him run to the castle, he has a valuable clue, he is an Animagus who turns into a rat, he is fat and red-haired, that must be of some use
He will hunt him, he will hunt him and when he has him in his hands he will make him suffer with several different poison
Go away! Stay away Padfoot!
Regulus remembered the man's screams, Padfoot, who was this Padfoot guy? Does he look like him? Will it have any connection with Asterion? No, the man is crazy, it probably doesn't mean anything, Reg could ask him when he captures him, but the truth is, he doesn't care, besides, the biggest mistake most people make is not killing their enemies as soon as they have them
Why are you going to start talking to a crazy old man if you're not interested in what he has to say, even more so if that opens the possibility of him escaping? Merlin No. It's going to be a good exercise, investigation, persecution, capture and then a simple and quick death
Because he was planning revenge, he did not realize where he was going, so he did not feel anything, that is until he was terribly attacked out of nowhere by another animal, the small dog flew away once again, aggravating his injuries, after
getting up, he wanted to bark at the animal, but he thought that would be a bad idea, because someone could hear him.
When he raised his head, he noticed that the animal was a Hippogriff, a teenage one, between gray and white. The little hippogriff looked at him with concern. It had not been his intention to collide with the child. Regulus, despite his bleeding wounds, knelt down. before the great beast, aware of its nature
The Hippogriff accepted his show of respect, and approached Grimm's pup, sniffing it curiously, and even began to jump, trying to encourage the pup to play with him, however, seeing that the pup could barely stand, he tried to take Regulus with his snout
The cub resisted, he knew that the Hippogriff wanted to take him to his owner or his pack to be cured, and he couldn't let him take him, he risked someone discovering that he was an animagus, and he still didn't have a good excuse to all his wounds
He had to go, so both animals struggled, the puppy eventually managed to break free and ran away
The hippogriff was going to gallop after him, trying to catch up with him to take him to a safe place, — Buckbeak! — a scream was heard, making the beast stop, losing the puppy from sight
Hagrid appeared behind the trees with a group of students, — What are you doing here?, You'll get me in trouble! — he said as he took Buckbeak's leash, the Hippogriff made a complaining noise before trying to get out of the man's grip.
— Come on! Come on Mate! — the half-giant tried to call, Buckbeak tried to resist, but seeing that there was no trace of the puppy he finally gave up, letting Hagrid take him
The loud shout of a Gryffindor girl caught everyone's attention,
— Professor! — called a young Ravenclaw, pointing to the large trail of blood that was near the animal. Hagrid turned pale when he saw all the blood, and then realized that the Hippogryph had blood on his snout
Some students screamed and ran away, probably thinking that the Hippogriff had violently torn apart some other animal, — It's okay — the man said, a little worried because he didn't expect something like this on his first day as a teacher, and his class hadn't even started yet
— Ok Y'all! Let's go back and wait for the others, I'm sure we can still take class normally —
— Sir, I think we should tell Professor Dumbledore about the blood. I don't think Buckbeak did it, something happened here, — Neville addressed his teacher when he realized that the blood went beyond the stain near the animal. But it looked like someone had been crawling, terribly injured
— Yes, go tell him — Hagrid said, trying to keep the situation under control
***
— Do you think the Grimm has something to do with Sirius Black? — Ron asked as they walked to Hagrid's class. — Don't believe anything they say Ron, Divination class is a joke, Ancient Runes on the other hand...— Hermione answered
—Ancient runes? Well, how many classes did you take this year? — The Weasley boy interrupted, — Wait, it's impossible, Ancient Runes and Divination are at the same time, you can't be in two places at the same time! —
— Of course not Ron, that's impossible — the girl replied. Before they could continue arguing, the three boys saw a smaller boy hurrying up, although the little boy had his head down so as not to be recognized. His black hair and Slytherin uniform made him unmistakable, at least for harry
Asterion sped past the trio, — Snape's son is skipping classes? — Ron laughed, Harry felt that itch on his scar again, but this time it wasn't just a fleeting itch
It hurt him, and a lot, that's when he analyzed the situation more. The boy was hurt, a voice whispered in his head, just like the last time, he was tempted to get closer to the little boy, Ron and Hermione didn't seem to notice that the boy was hurt
— Harry, we're going to be late — Hermione scolded him when she realized that he was going to the side where little Snape went instead of where the class went
— Go on without me, it will only be a few minutes, I'll explain it to Hagrid — Harry convinced them before almost running after Regulus
Hermione noted that not only Harry had noticed that something strange happened with Asterion, as Draco Malfoy ran past them just a few minutes after Harry
Potter followed the boy where he was going, watching as he took a seat under the canopy of a tree, breathing heavily. — Snape! Are you OK? —Harry told him, starting to run as soon as he noticed how hurt he was, kneeling down and standing in front of his face
Maybe it should have been more subtle, because it scared the boy and almost hit him in the face, — Oh, it's you,— Asterion acknowledged, lowering the fist that was ready to go straight for Harry's nose,
— What happened to you? — asked the one with green eyes, moving away from the other boy's face
He became a little desperate when he didn't receive a response from the other child, — Let's go to the Infirmary! — he demanded to the blue-eyed one, worried about the itching of his scar, — It's nothing,— Regulus answered, somewhat uncomfortable by the presence of the Potter boy here
Harry was about to tell him (demand) that he not be ridiculous and that they had to go check him out, but before he even opened his mouth, a furious scream interrupted him
Draco Malfoy appeared out of nowhere, looking angrier than ever, he quickly lunged at Harry Potter, tackling the chosen one to the ground, both Snape and Potter froze, not knowing what had just happened. — Potter! I'll tear your head off! — Harry struggled, but Malfoy seemed to have drawn strength from the air, or perhaps that unexpected strength had been born from the immense fury that had flooded him at the thought that Harry had done something to his little brother
Asterion managed to stop his fist before hitting the boy with glasses, but the young blonde did not. A fist of skin lighter than Harry's but a little darker than Regulus's landed on Harry's nose,
— How dare you put your disgusting hands on my little brother!? —
— No! Draco! He didn't do anything to me! — Little Snape finally reacted and approached as quickly as his injuries allowed him, taking his older brother's arm to prevent him from launching another blow at the boy with glasses, — Brother! it wasn't him! — He repeated, the Malfoy boy finally let go of the dark-haired boy, who had thick threads of blood falling from both nostrils. — Yes, you're right, Potter couldn't touch you even if he wanted to —
The blonde's mind wandered for a few seconds, every time he and his little brother dueled, Draco ended up quite humiliated, although Regulus had barely received his wand a few months ago when he received his letter from Hogwarts, it was not the first wand that the Black heir had possessed, the shorter boy had already had two wands prior to the one he carried now
And although he knew that he would probably also lose in a duel against Harry, (something he would never admit out loud), he was also completely sure that the boy with glasses would also lose in a duel or combat against little Snape, who in fact, to Despite the affectionate nickname, he was not that small
He was freshly turned eleven, but he looked like he might tower over both thirteen-year-olds, and when Asterion helped Harry to his feet with difficulty, Draco noticed that they were only a few centimeters apart, which was certainly weird, his mother, Severus, was somewhat short, although it was compensated by the gloomy aura that always accompanied him, and that made him look bigger than he really was
So maybe Asterion's father was tall
What practically no one knew was the fact that little Black took many small details from his grandparents, so small that they went almost unnoticed, furthermore, when sharing many of these details with his parents, no one stopped to think that the child looked like his grandparents
He was quite tall and burly, like Tobias, his soft white skin was inherited from his grandmother Eileen, since all Princes have skin pale as snow and hair so dark that it could camouflage in the midnight, just like those blue eyes of a grayish tone that all Blacks have
Old legends say that the grayer the blue in a Black's eyes is, the darker his soul
But continuing with the details, the child had beautiful dark purple pupils, almost black, too unique, an inheritance from Walburga, who would surely rejoice in the afterlife if she knew
Because although none of his children had inherited those unique pupils, his little and only grandson had obtained them, connecting the grandson with his grandmother in a quite unique way
His face, so calm and imperturbable, so similar to his father's, his features so identical to the father who is unaware of his existence, although his tranquility, like his severe gaze and his hair so black and straight, made him look more like his grandfather
Orion Black never had a good relationship with his son Sirius, so the aforementioned always hated with all his soul that he looked so much like his unbearable father, which only drove him more and more towards Muggle clothing, also leading him to appreciate his hair so full of curls
However, Asterión Black, who dressed like a magician whenever he could, and his elegant posture involuntarily came close to turning him into the portrait of his late Paternal Grandfather
—What happened to you then? — asked Draco, who, upon seeing his brother's pain, helped Harry get up. Regulus gave Harry some dictum and a handkerchief to clean the blood
He groaned with pain, and that's when Draco took him in his arms. Harry sat under the canopy of the same tree and spread his legs a little, gesturing for the blonde to put the smaller boy on his lap. Malfoy put his brother in Harry's arms, and together they began to clean
— How do you feel? — Draco asked as he carefully bandaged his head, — I feel like vomiting, my head hurts — Seeing how much the boy was sweating, they took off his tunic and green sweater
—What happened to you? Harry asked. Asterion thought about what to say, should he tell them? Should he tell anyone? Would they even believe him?
His plan was to hunt him down himself, and kill him with his own hands. But at the end of the day, he was a madman who was in a castle full of Children, perhaps his purpose was not worth it, at least not enough to keep his secret stroke
— I fell off the broom,— he replied quickly, regardless of whether he told the others about the man, he wouldn't tell Draco and Harry, at least not now.
—Did you steal a broom? — Malfoy asked, knowing that the boy did not have his own broom, — No, I borrowed your broom, sorry brother — the boy lied
— Do you want a broom?, I'll tell my father to buy you a broom — Draco offered, Asterion just shook his head,
— Draco,— the boy called, catching the blonde's attention, — Apologize to Harry — he ordered
— What? Why? — He asked, bewildered, — You hit him — Regulus clarified, — It wasn't intentional! — Malfoy complained, while Harry continued sitting with Regulus in his arms, watching the interaction between the two with amusement
— But you hit him, — Snape answered, his voice weak from all the pain, — Hey, I think we should really take you to the infirmary,— Harry interrupted, it was clear that something was going to happen to the boy if they didn't go to the infirmary quickly
— No. — he answered quickly, — In my... pockets,— he said as he spoke slower and slower, Draco searched the little boy's tunic, the pockets seemed to have some kind of enchantment to keep so many potions there. — Look for one.....dark...red...colored,— the child asked, he didn't have any labels on the jars, because in case someone wanted to steal his things, they wouldn't know what to take. Mom had taught him to differentiate mostly of them
— Potter,— Malfoy called, — Sorry for hitting you, I saw my brother hurt and I didn't think about it,— the blonde apologized, he wasn't going to disappoint his younger brother, who returned a big smile at his apology, and Draco thought it was worth just for that
Seeing that Draco was taking so long, Harry laid the boy down with his back against the tree and approached the blonde, — Why are you taking so long? — he reproached him, — Do you want to try!? — Malfoy yelled back
— Here it is! — Draco shouted excitedly, taking out a small bottle, — That's not dark red — Harry answered, — Don't glasses work for you, Potter? This is dark red! —
— No, of course not, that's a normal red! There must be a darker one,— Potter replied, speaking as if Draco were stupid, — Keep looking,— he indicated, —Potter, stop being so Colorblind, it's this one —
— It is not—
— Yes it is —
— No, it's not —
— Yes it is! —
— It's not! —
— Ah! Yes it is! —
— No! Have you never learned colors? —
— Apart from being short-sighted and color-blind, you're an idiot! —
— Guys, I'm dying,— Asterion's weak voice sounded behind them, they both rushed with the flask that Malfoy had taken out, — Tyrion!, Isn't it true that this is it? —Draco asked, excited to beat Harry as if he were a little boy
— I'll show you a trick, — Regulus began with a smile on his face, he took the vial and pointed the wand at it. — Dic mihi nomen tuum,— he pronounced carefully, the bottle lit up and letters appeared inside that read "Renew blood." —Wow, how did you do that? —
— It's a spell, I decided that it was very complicated to learn the name and function of each potion, but with this spell I can know it — he explained, —Wait, did you just teach us how to cheat in potions? — Draco asked when he realized
One of the most valuable (and most difficult) tasks in Severus' entire class was to identify all the potions that had been prepared up to that point in the different classes, but there were so many that most of them barely managed to get through with the minimum grade
— It's a thank you for cleaning me and taking care of me, but if you two go around spreading this, I will accuse you, I won't let you despise my mum's work like that — little Snape warned
— We won't, I swear,— Harry promised, and the three of them sat together under the tree waiting for Asterion to get up enough to walk, talking about anything
— Wait..... Did you say 'the work my mom does'? — Potter asked when he realized, both Slytherins looked at him without understanding what he was asking, —You said 'mom',— Harry repeated when he saw that no one responded
— Yes, and? — Regulus responded confused, — Snape is your MOM? — He asked more directly, —Yes, what did you think? — answered the blue-eyed one, amused by the situation, — I thought he was your father! Because, well, you know, he's a man —
— You are a little disconnected from the magic world — Draco told him, lying down with his hands behind his head, — In case you didn't know, ignorant Potter, in the magical world some men can have children, since the magical race is so scarce, they needed measures to avoid going extinct centuries ago —
— Is it a transformation or...? — Harry questioned, still not understanding the whole thing very well. —You're born with it, it's very random to be honest,— Regulus clarified
— You could be one of them Potter, you look like a bottom — Draco mocked, making Asterion raise his eyebrow, —Very funny! — Harry shouted with his face now all red
Potter looked at both 'brothers', they were very cute together, Draco seemed like a totally different person with his brother, 'Tyrion' was a very curious nickname
— I have an idea,— Potter said, getting up from his place next to Regulus in the tree, — Accio Nimbus 2000! — the boy with Glasses shouted, his broom appeared in his hand not long after, the boy climbed up and stood back on the broom
— Come here Asterion, I'm going to teach you how to fly — Harry offered, Draco was excited by the offer and also called his broom, — Ready for your private lessons? — Draco asked.
— My broom is faster, I'll teach him speed, teach him not to fall,— Malfoy told him. Harry nodded, surprised by the sensible and calm attitude he had with Tyrion around
Regulus hesitated a little, but both older boys convinced him to try. Asterion climbed onto Harry's broom, Potter made room for him and helped him get settled correctly. — Put your hands like this,— he told him
At first they were slow, while little Snape staggered, trying to stay firm, little by little they increased the height, going slowly but higher and higher
The boy was breathing heavily as he went slowly, he was very high, Harry was behind him, holding on to Regulus' shoulders, — Tyrion,— called Draco, who was flying slowly with his own broom next to them
The boy did not react, he was not used to heights, heights brought back bad memories
No! Let it go! Screamed a small blue-eyed boy who couldn't have been more than four years old, watching that horrible man who had his friend violently grabbing his shirt
He might fall, he thought as he looked down
The memories of Caleb's lifeless body hit him harder than it had in years, he saw his friend lying on the ground with his head shattered by the blow, he was simply unrecognizable, after all, it had been a really hard fall, since Caleb had thrown himself from the tallest tower
Regulus began to breathe frantically and his vision became blurry, he didn't like this, he wanted to go down, he wanted to go to land, — Venus — Draco called
The nickname brought him out of his thoughts, only his mother called him that, he didn't know why, but every time Mom called him that, Mum did it with a calming tone, full of love and care, usually accompanied with some gentle caresses on his hair
There was nothing in this world that brought him more peace of mind than that, so the nickname alone brought him peace, because it took him back to mama
— It's okay, we're here, do you hear me? You're not there, you're here with us — Malfoy spoke to him, — We won't let you fall,— Harry said as he put his hands on the boy's
— I'm fine — the boy repeated, trying to convince himself, — I'm fine — he said while increasing his speed a little
What they didn't know was that in that same tree where they had been sitting a few seconds ago, was exactly the same tree where decades ago James Potter had hung Severus Snape upside down in front of the entire school
How curious isn't it? Under that same tree where the friendship of Lily Potter and Severus Snape ended, the friendship of Harry Potter and Asterion Snape had just begun.