A Meeting of Two Souls
Hadrian didn't know if he was ready to see Severus again, for him it had been over a decade; Yet if his suspicions were correct, Severus had just died. (Death had said that time meant nothing, how literally was he meant take that?)
He felt jittery and off kilter, the implications of several parts of the conversation he had just had with Death were clicking into place faster now that he was out of his state of shock. He wasn't sure how long he had before Death brought Severus to the makeshift Grimmauld Place, but he knew he needed to use that time wisely.
He wasn't sure there would ever be a way to prepare for seeing his once dead, twice subjugated, professor. He just hoped Severus was willing to give him a chance to convince him to come with him and change things, he knew he wasn't alone in his complex feelings about their shared past. He couldn't be if the memories Severus had shared with him were any indication.
After the memories, after having resigned himself to his death in the forbidden forest, and somehow finding his way back to the realm of the living, he had been ravenous for any scrap of information he could find. He knows he drove McGonagall around the bend but he needed more information. So much of what he had once known as fact, was thrown on its head, he needed to know, to understand, just how he could have gotten everything so wrong.
If the Slytherin, Death Eater, Professor who hated him and wanted him dead, had actually protected him his entire Hogwarts career, cared for him to some extent, and had definitely loved his mother enough to plead for her life; what else didn't he know?
If you asked McGonagall (which he had, extensively) his father and his friends were pranksters, who had a propensity for targeting Slytherins due to the rivalry between the two houses.
Except, that didn't feel like the full story. He knows pranks, pranks were meant to be in good fun for everyone involved. What he witnessed in the pensieve in Severus' office, leads credence to his theory that his father may have just been more than a bit of a pompous git. James may have been Severus' Dudley, and wasn't that just a horrific thought to have?
He also didn't know how he felt about Severus and his mum turning their backs on each other so quickly and viciously. He was is angry about Severus using that word against the girl who was meant to be his best friend- sister, if Death was to be believed. Yet, he also doesn't know how his mum could turn her back on him so quickly, even going so far as to call him that awful nickname that his father and his friends used. It gives him a headache when he thinks about it too hard. Severus was a cornered and hurt child, and yet so was his mother. He knows you shouldn't apply adult logic to children's situations, but it didn't feel like he really has a choice.
He had already known that his so-called make-shift family, probably weren't the very best of people. He remembers the derision and cruelty in Sirius' voice when he had said that "it served him right," when Remus had explained how Siri had tricked Severus and nearly gotten him killed. How Remus had called himself a coward and explained how he knew that Sirius was an animagus, and still did not tell Dumbledore due to fear of a loss of trust to the only authority figure to help him. He knows, but he was only thirteen and so desperate to get away from the Dursley's that he tried not to think about the implications of the conversation that was had during such a hectic night.
At one point, he might have let the want for family blind him to their faults but, now with the mask torn off, he knows there's no way he can do that. Not with all he knows, and not if he wants to take Severus back with him.
He knows the real deal breaker for Severus may be the fact that he wants to take Tom back with them. Throughout his 'Lessons' with Dumbledore, he had began to feel a kinship, of sorts, with the Tom he had seen in Dumbledore's memories. Later, after watching the memories of Severus and learning more about his life, he felt one with Severus as well.
Three half-bloods.
Three lonely boys raised in loveless, muggle homes.
Three /should/ be Slytherins.
Three powerful Wixen.
The conversation he had with Death, only further proved that he was on the right path. He had said that Tom had a mind brilliant enough to change the magical world at large. He needed that, the British Wixen society as he knew it, was stuck in the dark ages simply by virtue of having magick. They didn't think they needed advancements through other means. Common sense was not quite common in Wixen society, as Hadrian had found out. If anyone understood the danger they would be in, it was the orphan who grew up in muggle London during World War Two. The orphan, who knew first hand the devastating affects of the blitz of 1940 in London. If anyone else knew, it was the child who grew up during the reign of the second Dark Lord to rise in less than 50 years in Britain.
The sharp crack of an Apparition broke through Hadrian's thoughts. After watching Death disappear, in what could only be called a puff of dark smoke, he knew the sound was only for his benefit, a nudge to let him know they were here.
Death's steps were soundless, but he could hear the soft unmistakable thump of Severus' footsteps as they made their way from the hallway into the drawing room.
Hadrian stood then, taking in a shaky breath. He hoped he could make a better first impression in death, than he had in life.
Except when he looked up to greet them, any words he might have said were stuck in his throat, for he came face to face with a memory.
The Severus before him wasn't the man that had died in the Shrieking Shack. The Severus before him was the 20 year old boy who had pleaded for his mother's safety a lifetime ago.
Hadrian could feel his eyes widening as he takes him in- the man is smaller, leaner and shorter than he remembers; pale, yes, but not sallow, like he had thought in first year.
He watches as Severus' head tilts to the side, he can see the curiosity in his gaze. He can also hear the not-quite admonishment, when he clears his throat.
A startled laugh bubbles up before he's even aware of it, which quickly turns into silent tears that stream down Hadrian's face.
He had known; that he cared about the man, that he was maybe a little bit obsessed with him, if his years at Hogwarts were any small indication. (He can still recall the censure in Mione's voice as she asks if they can have, "one year. can we have one year, Harry Potter, where we don't obsess over Snape or one of his alter egos"). Having the man in front of him though, no longer untouchable but wholly human, really brings it home for him.
What else can he do, but give Severus a smile?
"Hello, Professor."