Chapter 10
‘What the fuck?! What the fuck?! What the fuck?!’
This sentence ran through Solis’s head for the rest of Christmas break. Through the Slytherin’s scaring Harry and Ron out of the dungeons. Through the Christmas feast for those who stayed. Through Harry raving about a magic mirror. Those three words stayed in his head as he read the books Tamsin got him and as he practiced the hair-styling charms Andrea, a fourth year Ravenclaw, gave him. And as break ended and everyone came back talking about the gifts they got and as classes started; those three words stayed at the forefront of his mind.
Until potions class.
Then everything Solis read in that letter became his focus as soon as he saw Professor Snape.
All throughout the class (despite his mind being elsewhere) Solis went on as usual; he took his class notes and even helped Pansy measure her potion ingredients. As soon as class was over, Solis stayed seated, pretending to clean up his and Pansy’s workstation.
“Hey Sol, you coming?” Pansy, Draco, and Blaise wait by the door for him.
Solis waved them off. “No. I have a free period next, so I was gonna ask Snape something.”
Watching them walk off, presumably to their next class or their dorms, Solis finishes putting his notes in his bag. Putting his bag over his shoulder the onyx haired boy grabs his small black notebook from his pocket and makes his way to where Snape sits at his desk at the front of the room. Solis has one hand fidgeting with the strap of his bag while the other holds onto his notebook tightly.
“What is it, Mr. Solis?” Snape asks without looking up from the essay he is grading.
Instead of answering Solis opens his notebook to where the letter from his father is hidden; unfolding it he places it on top of the essay the professor is staring at. A few minutes pass in silence as Solis watches Snape read the parchment, taking note of how the teacher’s lips twitch at the corners as if they’re trying to spread into a smile. Another moment passes where Snape refolds the letter and hands it back to Solis who slides it into his notebook and back into his pocket.
Snape clasps his hands together and leans back in his chair. “I remember that night. You said you had questions.”
“...The potion they found. What was it?” Solis takes a seat on the desk behind him taking off his satchel and putting it next to him.
“Zmajevo Dete. The Dragon Child. It’s an old technique invented by wizards in Slovenia about 4 centuries ago.” Snape tries to talk in his usual monotone voice but ends up sounding more relaxed and softer than he means too. “Rumors were circulating around the wizarding world about witch hunters and the witch trials. People were scared that the muggles would find out about magic and find a way to wipe out our existence or use it themselves. And then people began realizing that only women and the odd child were being killed so they started researching new ways to reproduce magic users.”
Solis becomes fully absorbed in what Snape is saying, leaning forward on his hands and blocking out the sounds of students bustling around in the halls. He took mental notes and reminded himself to do more research on the subject.
“I read about the history and their research when I was a fifth year and even traveled to Slovenia to read the documents and books. Every experiment they tried either didn’t work or the infant was born severely mutated, or it didn’t survive long. Zmajevo Dete was what they had deemed a success, the children survived and were able to use magic like any other child. The only recorded side effects were small mutations: dragon-like eyes, fanged teeth, or a natural fire immunity. There were also instances where the children had longer life spans and a special connection with magic. This method was only used for a few years and then when all of the fear and worry subsided it became a way for infertile or same sex couples to have children. About a century later potions and spells were made to help with that and The Dragon Child was forgotten.”
Solis nodded; a small frown adorned his face as he looked down at his lap. Snape watched the boy quietly process the information and waited patiently for him to ask another question as silence once again filled the room.
Ever since that night in seventh year Snape has kept an eye on the two friends, and when he graduated, he kept an eye on the newspapers and an ear in wizard gossip.
Something else he learned during his research was that whenever a Zmajevo Dete hatched, dragons around the world knew and reacted as if they could sense an unknown being with their blood.
Eleven years ago, he heard reports of restless dragons in Romania and sightings of wild dragons flying outside of their territory. Nearly a year and a half after the reports, news of the Potters’ deaths spread and then Sirius Black was arrested; when Severus got the news his first thought was of the youngest Black. He had quickly managed to arrange a private meeting with Sirius a day after his arrest and found that the man had kept the child hidden since it hatched - even from his friends. Sirius had begged Severus to keep his son safe. Snape couldn’t refuse, so after allowing his old school mate to write a goodbye letter for the child and promising to keep the infant's origins a secret he went straight to 12 Grimmauld Place.
A grumpy house elf had opened the door wearing ear plugs holding a crying Solis, even though his face was twisted in annoyance the elf held the child protectively and was swaying to calm him down. It took a while of thinking and negotiation, but Snape talked the elf into allowing him to take Solis to be raised safely with muggles. To be raised with Harry Potter.
Severus Snape went with Dumbledore to dropped off the boy himself after having made up a story about the mother dying during childbirth- the house elf had said he had informed his master about the seriousness behind the infant’s birth and that upon learning the history and possible side effects, Sirius wanted to keep it a secret from everyone. Over the years Severus has disguised himself to check up on the two boys, maintaining his promise to Lily and the house elf of keeping them safe, and despite not liking how the Dursleys treated the two (Snape had to maintain his self-control during his visits so as to not curse the defenseless muggles) they were still safe. Whenever Snape saw them, Solis was always either pulling pranks or working a parttime job and Harry was studying or hiding in the library to read comics. Their lives weren’t luxurious or perfect, but they were safe away from the Dark Lord's reach.
Solis looks up, breaking Snape out of his musings when he asks, “Why did you help them? They were drunk and knew nothing of what they were doing. It would’ve been easier to turn them in or get them back to their dorms.”
“Hmm.” Snape scrunches his brows and gets a look in his eyes as if he is remembering a bad memory. “It was obvious to everyone that your fathers loved each other. In the wizarding world gay couples are mostly accepted. Mostly. There were members of the Black family, your grandparents, who made their… dislike for them clear. It quickly became a school-wide agreement to keep their relationship a secret, and when I walked in on them drunkenly professing their love for each other while trying to create a brew that makes children…they might not have been nice to me during our school days, but it seemed cruel to not help.”
Again, Solis hums and nods at the response before falling quiet. Standing he gathers his bag and takes a few steps toward the door before stopping and letting another minute pass. Keeping his eyes on the door he speaks again, “Did you… do you…”
Snape leaned forward picking his quill back up. “Remus Lupin. He doesn’t know. Sirius didn’t want anyone to know until you could protect yourself.”
Solis mumbles out a ‘thanks’ before exiting the classroom and making his way to his Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson.
After classes let out Solis met Tamsin outside of Transfiguration and the two made their way to the dungeons, Solis had promised to let her copy his Potions notes but having also promised Blaise his Herbology notes and needing to get a book on magical creatures from a third year, they agreed to all meet up in the Slytherin common room.
“Are you sure I’m allowed in?” Tamsin asks, stilling a few feet away from the Slytherin portrait.
Solis sighs with a smile on his lips answering the question for the third time. “Yes, I am sure.” He continues forward, muttering the password for the doorway to open before turning back to the girl. “Besides, if anyone says or does anything to you, I’ll hex them.”
The two stare at each other for a moment when Tamsin suddenly closes her eyes. She counts to five in her head before taking a deep breath and follows after her friend. She grabs hold of Solis' cloak, which hangs over his satchel, and keeps her head down as Solis leads them through the common room, up multiple flights of stairs, and into his dorm. After shutting the door behind her Tamsin stays planted in the entryway, gazing at the space around her and watches as Solis interacts with the people that were already inside.
The onyx haired boy shrugs his bag off onto his bed. Turning to the other two boys in the room. “Hey, guys,” Solis gestures to the front of the room bringing attention to an in awe Hufflepuff. “This is Tamsin Applebee. Tamsin, these are Blaise Zabini and Patrick Alton.”
Tamsin lets out a noncommittal hum as her eyes are stuck on the two four-poster beds in the room.
“Tamsin? Hey, Tamsin.” Solis steps forward and gives a small shake to the Hufflepuff’s shoulder, breaking her from her stupor. “Are you okay? Remember what I said earlier?”
“Huh? Oh, it’s not that.” Tamsin points at the unmade beds. “I share a dorm with five other girls! Slytherin got 10 first years, Hufflepuff only got 7. How is this fair?”
Patrick snorts at her bafflement and leans over to whisper to Blaise. “Do you think we should tell her about the single dorms fifth years and up get?” Tamsin gives an indignant whine at the thought of living in her crowded dorm for the next six years.
Shaking his head Black’s lips give a mirthful smile as he turns back to his bed and gets his class notes and books from his bag, passing his Herbology book and notes to a chuckling Blaise and settles himself on his bed to do his class work. Tamsin and Patrick provide background noise as they compare the Hufflepuff and Slytherin houses.