Chapter 11
Harry tapped his lip with his quill in thought, grimacing when he tasted ink. He was sitting at his writing desk looking at the list of names he had narrowed his choices down to.
Ravi- meaning “sun” or “sun god” Too vain
Singh: meaning “lion”- Maybe? Both my parents were in Gryffindor
Sunil: meaning “very dark blue” It is my favorite color…
Sunil Singh Snape? Too much alliteration
Hari: meaning “yellow or tawny lion” or “the one who removes evil,” Severus says it’s too similar to my original name. I wonder if this is where my nickname came from?
Anish: means “without a ruler” I like the sound of being free
Balwinder: derived from “Bala” meaning “strength, might” Doesn’t sound like me
Arvish: meaning “daring” or “freedom-loving”too hard for me to pronounce
Atharv: meaning “knowledge” sounds like Snape
Avi: meaning “sun and air” warm and free, safe
Avyaan: meaning “beginning” this is the start of my new life
Taran: Pronounced Tah-ron, meaning “freedom from bondage” love this
Harry circled the last name on the list and went to find Severus. Professor Snape only had a week and a half until he had to return to the school to start preparing for the coming year. They were quickly running out of time for the adoption, but Harry had been so distracted studying for his animagus transformation that he had ignored the books on South Asian names Severus had bought him. When the man had informed him that they were scheduled to go have the ritual performed tonight, he had panicked! It had taken him almost an hour of frantic searching to find the half-finished list crumpled in the pages of one of the books at the bottom of his expanded trunk.
Severus was in the study looking over the legal paperwork, when Harry found him. The dower man glanced up over the rims of his reading glasses to look accusingly at the boy. “Have you finally come to a decision?” he drawled, sarcastically.
Harry shuffled his feet guiltily. “Almost, sir. I found the perfect first name, but I’m having trouble deciding between three for the middle name. I’m leaning towards the last three above the circled one.”
He handed over the parchment, which Severus read over carefully. He almost immediately crossed out the first of the three, with a sniff.
Atharv: meaning “knowledge” sounds like Snape YOU HAVE NO NEED TO TRY TO APPEASE ME.
Avi: meaning “sun and air” warm and free, safe
Avyaan: meaning “beginning” this is the start of my new life
YOU CAN USE THE FIRST AS A SHORTENED VERSION OF THE SECOND.
Avyaan (Avi) Taran Snape
He handed the page back to Harry with the notations. “It may well be easier to use a name so verbally similar to your previous moniker, to help ease your transition into your new name. I can call you ‘Avi’ in public until you become accustomed to your new name,” he explained.
Harry smiled as he read the name out loud quietly. The meanings of the collective words coming together to perfectly describe what he wanted from his new life. New beginnings, freedom from bondage, a life filled with warmth and happiness. What more could he ask for?
“When can we have it finalized?” he asked, more excited than he could ever remember being in his whole life.
Snape scowled down at him, “Now that I can finally finish all this paperwork, we should have just enough time to eat dinner before we go.” Grumbling to himself, the man made a shooing gesture before turning back to the enormous stack of parchment on his desk.
Harry went back to reading his book on transfiguration and making notes on what he would need once he was finally able to spit out this horrid leaf. It had only been two weeks since he started, but he could already feel the leaf starting to swell with all of the saliva it was absorbing. Gross!
He was just rereading his notes on how he planned to collect “dew from a place that neither sunlight nor human feet had touched” when Severus called him into the kitchen. Harry grimaced when he sat down at the table laden with food. The man hadn’t been kidding about how the leaf would affect his sense of taste. Everything he had eaten in the past week had tasted bitter and sour. Not to mention how the leaf affected the food’s texture. The acidity of the leaf caused the food to disintegrate instantly on his tongue, making it gloopy like slime.
He shuddered as he took his first bite, knowing Severus would never let him skip a meal. He had already tried and failed on multiple occasions. Once the food was gone, the potions master slid over a darkly colored vile. Harry looked at the man pleadingly. “Please, can I skip it just this once? It's my adoption day. Isn’t that sort of like a birthday? Just let me have this one thing in celebration! I’ll do anything!” he pleaded.
In answer, the man simply uncorked the bottle and slid it closer, the foul stench permeating the air and making him gag. Knowing there was no hope of escape, Harry downed the bottle as quickly as he could. He shuddered as the already bitter liquid turned to acid on his tongue. The liquid congealed until the viscous substance stuck to the sides of his throat as it slid heavily into his churning stomach. His whole body shuddered in revulsion as he stood to follow his soon-to-be father out the door.
They Apparated directly into a private chamber at Gringotts. The sensation of being squeezed through a tube, not helping his stomach in the least. Harry groaned as he stumbled to follow the goblin he didn’t recognize into a white chamber filled with hospital beds. The goblin shoved a white gown into his hands and commanded, “Change and remove all articles of clothing, glamors, possessions, and artifacts that may interfere with the ritual.”
Harry removed everything behind a curtain, donning the thin white fabric for the ritual. He placed everything in a magically isolated container as directed, but the goblin stopped him at the door. “Everything, Mr. Potter.”
Harry was thoroughly confused. He patted his legs as if checking for pockets. Touched his face, but his glasses had already been removed. He didn’t own any jewelry. His feet were bare, he could feel the freezing cold stone beneath his feet to attest to that. What could he have forgotten?
With dawning horror, he touched his lips and looked up at Snape. The man didn’t seem at all surprised by the revelation. “You knew!” he accused.
Severus scoffed, “I merely knew it might be a possibility. I did not know for certain.”
“But then I will start the whole process over again!” he exclaimed.
Severus nodded, “Indeed. It would be perfectly understandable if you wish to wait a few years and try again. I myself didn't achieve my animagus transformation until my seventh year.”
His eyes went wide, “You have an animagus form? Can I see?”
“No you may not,” he firmly denied. “I merely went through the process to prove a point, that anyone with half a brain could do so. Unfortunately, my form is of no use to me, so I have no need of it.”
“Please, I just want to see it once…”
“No,” he said sternly.
Harry pouted, crossing his arms. That was so unfair. “What if I become an animagus by the end of the year? Will you let me see it then?” he bargained.
Severus rolled his eyes, “Sure. If you manage to find your form at the age of 7, becoming the youngest animagus in history, surpassing the previous record by almost a decade, then I will let you see my form. Now can we move on and finish what we came here to accomplish?”
Harry nodded and opened his mouth for Severus to deactivate the sticking charm. He hated that he was going to have to start over, but he was determined to prove to his new father that he could do this if he really tried his best. But for right now, the ritual was more important.
Harry followed the goblin into a big room. The high ceiling had intricate rings carved into the white marble with symbols and runes covering every inch. There were seven pillars around the room with a goblin standing in front of each. The pillars themselves were covered in the same markings. In the center of the room was a circular pool filled with a pearlescent milky fluid. The raised edge of the basin was covered in runes as well. Nearest to the door they entered was a low altar with a white stone basin, flanked by herbs on the left and a sharp-looking silver dagger on the right. The far side of the pool had a podium with a gnarled old goblin dressed in white robes with heavy gold edging.
The goblin elder came forward to greet them. “Greetings, I am Elder Tarok. May this day bring you joy and enrich more than just your vaults.”
Severus placed a hand on Harry’s shoulder and nodded. “Thank you, and may your enemies be vanquished by your own claws.”
Elder Tarok smiled revealing very sharp teeth. “It is a blessing to see one of wixen kind, knowledgeable in our ways and willing to embrace our customs. It has been a long time indeed since one of your ilk has sought our expertise in blood bonds. I thought the ministry outlawed blood magics?”
“They have,” Snape acknowledged, “but no one knows discretion better than the goblins.”
“True. True. Step this way so we may begin.” He gestured to the altar, “The father will stand at the altar, while the youngling will be submerged in the Spirit Pool.”
Harry sat on the edge of the pool and dipped his foot in the thick substance. To his surprise instead of feeling like heavy cream as it appeared, it felt vaporous like dense fog. Misting against his skin in gentle waves. He lowered himself in until only the top half of his torso was visible. The odd liquid was completely opaque, and if he didn’t know any better he would have no idea his stomach and legs were even there. The surface shimmered like glass but did not reflect the room around it, more like it glowed from within. Harry ran his hand through the water feeling the vapors tingle against his skin almost like static.
The Elder went to stand at his podium. “Now this ritual requires it to be spoken in Gobbledegook, but when I need you to answer or follow directions the magic will guide you. Trust it and answer its call.” With no further explanation, the goblins around the room began to chant. Their harsh voices sounded like the grinding of metal and gnashing of stone.
Harry watched in awe and the symbols around the room began to glow with gold light. The chanting had a rhythm to it that felt like the steady beat of an ancient drum. The waves rocked against his skin in time with the music and he began to sway along. His mind drifted for what felt like hours but was probably only a handful of minutes before he heard Snape speak.
“I, Severus Tobias Snape, do swear on my magic to protect and care for this child as my own.” he declared, crushing some white petals and scattering them in the basin on the altar. As soon as they touched the surface, the liquid around him grew heavy and warm. Not fully liquid, but more like fluffy down was swaddling him in a comforting embrace.
Snape picked up another plant and crushed it over the now bubbling bowl. “I so swear to guide this child through life and lend him my wisdom.” The liquid became more tangible again. Not like water, something denser. The change in buoyancy caused his feet to leave the ground and he had to use his arms to stabilize himself.
This time Severus picked up a powder and sprinkled it over the concoction. “I so swear to let our pasts and any animosity held between us pass. What’s done is done, but will hold no sway on our future together.” Harry felt the liquid begin to vibrate around him, the tension building as it awaited his reply. Do you accept?
Harry took a moment to truly think about this. Nobody had ever wanted Harry around before. He supposed his parents probably did, but he had no memories of them. Severus had taken him in, given him a home. Harry never thought he could have something like that. Sure he was lonely sometimes, and the man could be spiteful, but he still went out of his way to make Harry’s life better. Harry nodded and felt the words rise to his lips, “I, Harrison James Potter, accept Severus Tobias Snape as my father in every way. I accept the death of my past so that I may be reborn anew.” He relaxed his body in total acceptance, letting the warm liquid hold him in a gentle embrace.
The water around him stilled and solidified as if holding him in place. Severus lifted the dagger making an incision into his wrist and holding it over the bowl. “Blood of my blood, flesh of my flesh. Bound in magic we become one. Like to like, we become father and son.”
The water turned from white to red in an instant, bubbling hot around him. He felt himself answer, “Blood of my blood, flesh of my flesh. I, now Taran Avyaan Snape, release my ties of the past so that I may be remade.”
As soon as the final word left his lips, his body sank beneath the surface. He was surrounded by the red fluid, so dark he was unable to know up from down. His skin burned and his heart beat frantically as he felt the blood being absorbed and the magic fusing to his bones. He heard the beating of the drums in his ears and his lungs began to burn. Desperately he gasped for air that was not there, the magic flooding his mouth and filling his lungs. His scare burst with pain and he heard something screeching. Black smoke poured from his head only to be consumed by the magic in a flash of gold light. Then everything around him went dark.
Somewhere in Albus Dumbledore’s office an instrument ceased spinning and the light in its crystal died…