The Alternate

When he came to it was morning and he was in the Hospital wing. That wouldn’t have been so bad if Madame Pomfrey didn’t inform him of why he was in the hospital wing.

“I uhm…” She cleared her throat and seemed to try and speak as carefully as she could. “Mr Black has insisted.”

Severus tensed, “Insisted on what?”

“Since you’re to be collected Severus, he wanted to make sure that you were safe. Apparently he doesn’t think you’re safe enough in your dorm room, so you have to wait here until you’re collected.”

“Collected to go where?”

She opened her mouth and shut it again before she sighed, “I’m very sorry dear, but… he’s invoked some very old magic. Powerful magic. There’s nothing anyone can do about it. You’re to leave today, to begin preparations.”

“Begin preparations?” Severus gaped, “Begin preparations for what?!”

“I was told that everything would be explained to you in due time.” She said trying to give a slight smile, “A representative will be here to collect you soon. It shouldn’t be long now.”

“But… But what about my classes?”

“The term is almost over, so I don’t think you’ll have too much to worry about dear. The elves already have your things packed up and ready to go.” And then she sighed again, “I’m sorry Severus, really I am. But at this point, there’s nothing anyone can do.”

Severus didn’t understand what was happening. Madame Pomfrey offered him some calming draught but Severus turned her down. He didn’t need to calm down, he needed to know exactly what the hell was happening.

It would be an hour after that that he would be informed that his transportation had arrived. Slughorn was the one to take him to the entrance of the castle. Babbling endlessly and constantly smiling Severus’ way.

Honestly, it was actually quite disturbing. Despite being in Slytherin house Horace Slughorn barely ever paid him any attention. In classes, sure he’d call on Severus to answer a question here or there, praise him on a potion well brewed, but that was only because Severus was so incredibly talented that the man couldn’t just outright ignore him.

Slughorn usually only paid attention to pureblood students and those who were part of his Slugclub. Lily was one of the few exceptions to that rule but Severus didn’t want to think too deeply about exactly why that was. But that morning, as the professor led him through the hallways towards the exit, he was babbling on as if he and Severus were old friends.

“Now, don’t you worry young master Severus.”

Young master Severus?

That’s new.

Severus frowned at the man who seemed completely oblivious.

“Don’t you worry at all, I’ll make sure that all of your classwork for the remainder of the term is collected and delivered to you, even if I have to do it myself.” He said with a wide smile his voice filled with excitement, “This is an important time for you after all, very important indeed, you can’t possibly be bothered by trivial things like assignments and attendance.”

“An important time, sir?”

“Of course!” He exclaimed just as they neared the doors, “My dear boy, you’re about to usher in a new era – in a matter of speaking of course.” He let out a sigh, “I always knew you were gifted young master Severus, I could tell that you’ve always had boundless potential and this just confirms it.”

They reached the doors and Slughorn opened one of the large heavy panels for him, “After you.”

Severus gave the man a wary look as he pulled his trunk along behind him to step outside only to stop when he saw two Aurors standing in their red cloaks waiting outside.

Slughorn stepped out behind him and grinned, “Oh now! An official escort. Pulling out all the stops aren’t they.”

One of the aurors, a woman with long black hair and deep green eyes rolled her eyes while the man with dark skin and brown eyes beside her only kept them in a steady gaze.

“Go on.” Slughorn said slapping a hand on the raven’s shoulder and almost causing him to stumble, “You musn’t be late.”

Severus swallowed hard and took a deep breath as he just kept pulling his trunk on behind him walking over to the two aurors standing on the stone path before stopping about a foot in front of them. Both stared at him, the woman’s head gave a slight tilt of curiosity while the man smiled.

“Severus Snape.”

“Uh, yes sir.”

The man nodded, “My name is Patrick Utterson. This is my colleague Melinda Harvey. We’ll be escorting you today. A short trip but please try and bear my delightful colleagues sparkling personality, she can be quite overbearing at times.” The woman scoffed and Severus couldn’t help but snort himself. The man then looked up at Slughorn, “Where’s the headmaster?”

“A bit engaged, however I am the boy’s head of house, so I will be the one to facilitate the hand over.”

The man frowned but still nodded all the same, “Very well.”

Melinda then stepped forward and held out her hand, Slughorn took it and Severus watched as a gold band of magic seemed to weave its way around their hands.

“Do you authorise the removal of Severus Tobias Snape from school grounds?” She asked and Slughorn nodded.

“I do.”

The band of magic disappeared with a pop and Melinda stepped back.

“We’re all set.”

“Good. You’re ready to leave Mr Snape?” Patrick asked and Severus glanced back at Slughorn for a moment. The man gave him the worlds most enthusiastic smile.

“Like I said master Severus you have nothing to worry about. I’ll see you at the beginning of the new term.”

Severus took in another deep breath, “Yes, I-I’m ready but… where are you taking me?”

“You don’t know?”

“No.”

They seemed to share a look. Melinda let out a sigh of exasperation and Patrick gave an awkward smile, “Then I’m not sure it’s our place to tell you. All I can say is that you will be safe and no harm will come to you.”

Well that isn’t ominous at all.

Melinda moved forward to take his trunk and Patrick put a hand on his shoulder.

“Have you apparated before?”

“No.”

“Well then,” He moved forward to wrap his arm around Severus’ shoulders, “It would be best to brace yourself. Hold on tight, close your eyes, I’ll take care of the rest.”

It felt awkward, but Severus still wrapped his arms around the man’s waist and held on tight before he shut his eyes.

“Off we go.”

It was awful.

He knew about apparition, knew how it was supposed to feel according to the textbooks. However nothing could have prepared him for the feeling of being pulled and squeezed through a tiny tube, the intense ringing that assaulted his ears or the feeling of his stomach doing a complete flip.

“Severus?”

His feet were on solid ground, that much he could tell without much trouble. But his legs still buckled beneath him for a brief moment and his head spun just as he opened his eyes.

Arms went around him and he heard a low chuckle, “It takes some getting used to. Are you alright?”

Severus blinked a few times and got himself steady before he let go and looked up around himself. They were standing in front of a house. A brick stone townhouse on a street that looked like it had identical houses all along the street.

A frown pulled at his lips, “Where are we?”

“12 Grimmauld Place.” Melinda suddenly said, appearing at his side with his trunk in hand.

“12 Grimmauld Place?”

“The ancestral home of house Black.”

Severus’ eyes went wide and he tensed tremendously, head whipping back to stare at the building before him in horror.

No way.

“Come along.” Patrick said with his hand on the wizard’s shoulder as he urged him forward and Severus could do nothing more than stumble along. They reached the steps leading up to the front door where they stopped just as the dark wooden panel opened and a woman appeared.

She looked a lot like Narcissa only with Bellatrix’s eyes and wild hair.

Who-

“You’re here.” The woman said as she quickly made her way down the stairs and took his hands, “You must be Severus. It’s… wonderful to meet you. My name is Andromeda, I’m Sirius’ cousin.”

Andromeda Black.

Wasn’t she disowned? At least, that’s what both Narcissa and Regulus told him.

Severus tried to compose himself despite his shock, “A pleasure to meet you.”

She shook her head, “No need for any formalities, you’re practically part of the family already.” Her smile grew just a bit more, “Welcome home, Severus.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Severus stared at the inside of his trunk, which was open on the bed. Andromeda told him to unpack his things and get comfortable in his new room. Severus has been staring at the inside of his trunk for what feels like the better half of an hour. He tried to keep himself busy. He went through its contents to make sure that the elves really did bring all of his things.

They did and that’s great.

So now he’s just staring at his things as he stood in the middle of the room.

It was nice, he had a decent amount of space. A bed against the wall on the furthest side of the room and a desk and chair just below the window. The room was done up in shades of black, silver and green not unlike the common room in Slytherin House back at school. Dark varnished wood for the dresser on the right, the bedside tables and the bed itself, the desk and chair all carved with intricate patterns of stars and constellations. It was all very dark but surprisingly, not overtly so. It almost felt warm. He hasn’t even taken a look at the attached bathroom yet.

It was… very nice. It’s… his room.

His room. In Grimmauld Place. The ancestral home of house Black.

Bloody hell…

How in the name of all things good and holy could he have gotten himself into this mess?

The memories of the night before came back to him and he remembered Black’s word. Remembered how he claimed that his mother supposedly backed out of a contract with Black’s father and now the burden was on him to fulfil it.

He’s engaged to Sirius bloody Black.

But… it can’t be true. It should be impossible. Severus tried to search his memories of his childhood. He tried to remember anything about his mother even mentioning the Black’s let alone any supposed engagement he might now be responsible for, but he couldn’t remember any such thing.

Not even his grandmother mentioned a single thing about it and if anyone would be willing to marry Severus off into a pureblood family as prestigious as that of house Black, it would definitely be Cordelia Snape. But he doesn’t remember his grandmother even uttering a word about it, so it can’t be true right?

Severus looked over to his wand, which he set down on the bed beside his trunk and frowned. It’s made from white oak. He remembers his mother telling him the story about the black oak that was supposedly wrapped around a white oak; how his wand had been made from that tree. Severus didn’t even question it. He didn’t wonder where his mother would get the money to buy him a new wand. He didn’t ask when she made the trip to Diagon Alley without him in order to get it. He was just so excited about Hogwarts, so excited to finally have his own wand that he never thought to question exactly where it came from.

Part of him actually thought that his father paid for it. Those were the days when he still partially believed his mother when she said that things would get better and he thought that maybe that was a sign. A sign that it was getting better, that Tobias cared and he was getting better. Only for him to have to hide his wand every time he came home for the summer holidays.

Severus shut his eyes, took in a deep breath.

This can’t be happening.

He cannot be engaged to Sirius Black. Not his school bully. Not the person that’s been tormenting him since his very first days at Hogwarts. It couldn’t be true. Black hate’s him right? Black hates Severus as much as the Slytherin hated him. So why is this happening?

Why is he here? What is happening? Why did Black-

The memories from the night before came back to him again. Black claiming Severus as his. Supposedly enraged that Potter had the nerve to do whatever it is that he was doing with Severus and Severus just… he didn’t understand.

Where the hell was all of that suddenly coming from?

He’s mine.

Who told you, you could put your hands on him?

What gave Black the right to claim anything over Severus to begin with?! The utter bastard. Severus’ hands clenched tightly and he shut his eyes. He took in a few more deep breaths.

Over the years, because of his home life, because of school and the marauders and Black himself he’s had to learn to control himself. Learn to stay calm. When he was younger he used to cry. Cry for hours almost every single day because of everything that he was forced to endure until he learned that tears don’t help with anything. They’re a wasted effort. A pointless waste of time and energy.

He learned to stop crying. Learned to stay strong. He learned to close himself off and harden himself to the outside world. Severus learned to fight. Nan Cordelia used to tell him all the time.

He’s a Prince. He’s destined for great things and so Severus learned to take those words to heart. He would fight and scrape and do all he could to finally get all that he’s desired.

It was hard. In fact it almost seemed as if things were only getting harder every day but Severus wouldn’t give up. He had options. Limited options but options none the less. If he can’t make it alone in the wizarding world then… then Lucius will come through for him. He knows now that the light will do nothing for him, so he’ll turn to the dark.

He won’t give up. Whatever it is that Black has planned for him doesn’t matter. He made a promise. The moment he graduates from Hogwarts he’ll be free of all of them and he’ll finally be able to move forward. He’ll do so by any means necessary.

Intelligence, cunning and ruthless ambition. The hat chose Slytherin house for him for a reason and despite his experiences in Hogwarts he knows what he’s made of. Whatever it is that Black is trying to pull right now won’t matter.

One more deep breath.

First things first.

He needs to figure out how to get out of this.

“Still unpacking?”

Severus tensed tremendously before he quickly turned around. Andromeda was standing in the doorway. Hands folded behind her back with a warm smile on her face.

“May I come in?”

“Of-Of course, miss Black.”

She shook her head as she stepped inside, “Like I said before, there’s no need for any formalities. And in any event, I’m not a Black anymore. I married about a year ago. It’s Andromeda Tonks now.”

Tonks doesn’t sound like a pureblood name. Severus thinks he can guess exactly why she was disowned. But if she was disowned, then what is she doing here?

“You’re more than welcome to call me Andromeda.” She said as she stopped next to him beside his bed, “Or Andy, if you like. That’s what Sirius calls me.”

Severus looked away.

“May I call you Severus?”

“I… yes, Severus is fine.”

Her smile grew and then she nodded towards his trunk, “It doesn’t look like you’ve gotten much done.”

“I…”

“I’d be more than happy to help, if you like.”

“No. I’m fine, thank you.” Severus said quickly. Partially out of shame. He doesn’t have the best selection of well… anything really and he didn’t want anyone getting a full view of his meagre possessions. Even at school he would keep his curtains closed when he looked for his things, got dressed and got ready for bed. He only has three good pairs of robes and one of them were school robes anyway. He looked at the witch beside him. Her lovely royal blue dress covered in black lace and he internally cringed. How is he going to make himself look presentable around the Blacks? Merlin knows he’s lucky to have not run into Walburga or Orion Black yet.

He’s never met either of the heads of house Black, but from what he’s heard from his housemates, there is a certain standard that they are accustomed to and any who could not meet that standard in their presence was… well, it wasn’t worth thinking about.

Fortunately, Andromeda didn’t push.

“Alright, but I wanted to have a word with you Severus.” She said, “I was hoping that you would have settled in a bit more but, I think uncle Orion will speak with you about the more sensitive aspects of this situation later.”

“Sensitive aspects?”

“Yes.” She started before she gestured towards the bed. Severus quickly nudged his trunk back a bit more so he could sit down and Andromeda sat down beside him.

“I know this must be… a lot. Considering your age and everything you must think will be expected of you and I won’t lie to you Severus; as Sirius’ bride you will indeed have quite a lot of pressure on you to uphold the family name and to produce an heir. But I promise, you won’t have to deal with any of that just yet.” She smiled, “I mean, you aren’t even of age yet so, you’ll have a bit of time to grow accustomed to all of… this. In the meantime, if you have any questions, anything you’re worried about or anything you’d like to ask. You’re more than welcome to ask me. You can ask right now, if you like.”

Severus looked away for a brief moment. There were so many questions whirling around his head right at that moment that he didn’t know quite where to start. He jumped when he felt a hand in his hair.

His hair had fallen over his face and the older woman seemed to brush it back.

Andromeda quickly pulled her hand back and gave a wry smile, “I’m sorry I-… It’s just that… he was right.”

“What?”

“Sirius, he said you have the most beautiful eyes he’s ever seen. He’s right, they’re so dark it’s almost… enchanting.”

Severus paused, “He said that?”

She paused at the look on his face and smiled again, “He never told you? Sirius has never been very good with his emotions or words. But he’s always seemed so enthralled whenever he spoke about you. I think I can see why.”

Severus felt his cheeks flush despite himself, even as his lips pulled down into a frown.

“Why am I here?”

“For your engagement Severus, Sirius hasn’t told you about that?”

“No, he didn’t.”

Andromeda blinked, “In order for your engagement to be official a ritual needs to be conducted. Officially ushering you in as the further mistress of house Black. The engagement takes a decent amount of preparation you see so, we had to pull you from school to get started. Uncle Orion will explain the finer details to you later when he arrives. He’s at Wizengamot right now taking care of a… problem. But it shouldn’t take too long.”

“And after this ritual is completed…”

“You’ll officially be engaged. You won’t marry until you’ve graduated from Hogwarts, of course, but the wedding is really more of a formality. Once the engagement ritual is complete your name will be added to the family tree. You’ll be locked into place, there’s no turning back after that.”

Severus almost gaped.

“But like I said before you don’t have to worry, I’ll help you with whatever you need and-“

“No.”

“No?”

Severus took a deep breath, “There’s no way to get out of this engagement?”

Andromeda gave a scoff though her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she spoke, “You’re under contract Severus. Since lady Prince – since your mother broke the terms of the contract and married someone else the contract now falls to you. Her son, you have Prince blood flowing through your veins and therefore you are the Prince heir. The burden is on you I’m afraid.”

Severus paled and Andromeda’s frown grew, “I thought Sirius told you about all of this. He said that he told you once you started courting.“

“Courting?” Severus’ voice squeaked embarrassingly, he almost didn’t care though as his heart began to race. Deep breaths.

“Severus?”

“We haven’t been courting.” He resisted the urge to spit out the word.

“You haven’t?” She frowned again before shaking her head, “You’re saying that you didn’t know about any of this Severus?”

“No, I-I didn’t.”

“Sirius didn’t even tell you that you’d be coming here today, did he?”

“No.”

The other woman paused, shut her eyes and took in a deep breath.

“Severus, if you don’t mind my asking, exactly what is your relationship with Sirius like? Are you on friendly terms?”

Severus hesitated, “No.”

“Is there any animosity between the two of you?”

Severus’ jaw clenched, “Yes.”

“You’re a Slytherin, right?” She pursed her lips and then let out a sigh muttering something under her breath, “And you didn’t know anything about this.”

“No… I didn’t.”

“Severus, I-“ She stopped and then, “Kreacher!”

An elf popped into the room. It was a rather unpleasant looking thing. An odd scowl fixed on its face as it glared at the both of them hands almost dragging on the floor as it spoke.

“Yes, mistress.”

“Bring a vial of calming draught.”

The elf popped out of the room and then popped right in again giving Andromeda the vial. “Anything else mistress?”

“No, thank you.”

He sneered unpleasantly before he popped out of the room, but not without glaring at them again. Andromeda gave Severus a slight smile before she reached out to take his hand. He resisted the urge to flinch as she put the vial in his hands and closed her own around them.

“I have a feeling you need this.”

“No, I-“

“Severus, please. I’ll leave you alone to finish unpacking, once you’re done you should take the potion and try to get some rest, I’ll be back to check on you a bit later.” She sighed and then, “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry Sirius didn’t handle this the way he should have. But, things will get better I can promise you that.”

She let go and stood up to leave the room.

“Get some rest and if you need anything, call for Kreacher and he’ll get it for you.”

She left the room, shutting the door behind her. Severus just let out a heavy sigh, dragging a hand through his hair before he looked at the potion in his hand.

He could use some rest, for just a bit and since Black isn’t here he may be able to get some rest for a bit. Why not just take the potion?

Severus set the vial onto the desk against the window and got up to finally start unpacking. He needs some rest and maybe later, he’ll be able to think of a way out of this.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It would be a few hours later when he would officially meet the patriarch of the Black household for the first time.

By then he’d gotten his things unpacked and put away, took a short nap to try and calm his nerves. The house elf Kreacher came in and brough him some lunch, under mistress Andromeda’s orders, while glaring the whole time and Severus managed to choose a pair of robes that he decided would be good enough for the inevitable dinner that he would no doubt be expected to attend later that night.

For most of the afternoon, Severus was left alone in his room. Alone to think and ponder and stew on his supposed engagement and marriage to the absolute bane of his existence. He tried to think of any and every way to try and get himself out of the mess, but he couldn’t think of anything. The only solution he could think of was getting a hold of the contract that was signed for his mother’s engagement. If he could just get a look at it, there might be some sort of loophole or clause that he could use. Just something that could help him figure out a way out.

He thought about asking Andromeda to see the contract but there’s no guarantee she’d have access to such a document. Especially since she was disowned the last he heard.

Why is she here anyway? If she truly was disowned. If she married someone that the family didn’t approve of and was therefore no longer part of the family then how and why is she here? That’s something that Severus was actually quite curious to find out but, for the moment, he had bigger fish to fry.

How to get a hold of the contract. He thought about asking the elf but… the creature very clearly didn’t like him and Severus had absolutely no idea if Kreacher would be able to bring him such documents anyway so, that was definitely a dead end.

So Severus sat in his designated room, relentlessly mulling over his problem. He almost wished that Andromeda would return to his room so he could try and get more information on this engagement. The thought came up to ask Kreacher to call for her. She said to ask her anything he wanted to know, didn’t she?

It was just as he was about to call for the elf that it popped right into the room. Glaring at him with its grey eyes and a sneer on its lips as it spoke.

“Master Black wishes to have your company for afternoon tea, master Snape.”

“Master Black?” Severus blinked before he swallowed hard and got up with a nod. It’s not really like he could say no, now could he? “Of course.”

The elf simply turned as he led the way out of the room. Severus quickly moved to follow and keep pace behind the creature.

They went to the parlour room. On the way there, Severus kept his mind occupied  with the paintings that hung on the walls, moving as most wixen portraits did. Vast landscapes of grassy plains, forests and mountain sides. Boats thrown back and forth on roaring seas and birds chirping soundlessly as they hopped back and forth on tree branches and charming tiled rooftops.

Every now and then he’d pass a portrait of a person. Some were nameless figures lounging in whatever form of lavish luxury that their artist bestowed upon them. They’d whispered and stared at him as he went passed, though most were clearly single portraits of some member of the Black family. They didn’t say a word, simply watched him as he went by. When Severus was first being led to his room, they’d done everything from whisper to scoff to one portrait of one Black patriarch, supposedly Orion Black’s grandfather looking him up and down before roaring with laughter before he sipped on his impeccably painted glass of wine.

Andromeda had rolled her eyes.

“Don’t mind him.” She said quietly with a small smile, “Father Orpheus forgets that silencing spells are actually quite effective in reigning in individuals of his current standing.”

“Mind your tongue, girl.” The man hissed, though he seemed much more interested in sipping his wine than reprimanding her.

When he walked by again, father Orpheus didn’t even blink in his direction.

He was taken down the stairs to the second floor, apparently Orion Black’s personal study. Kreacher didn’t even pause before he opened the ornately carved oak door and so Severus had no more time to even try to compose himself before he stepped inside.

“Master Black,” Kreacher said as he bowed his head and held the door open for the young wizard. “Master Severus Snape.”

Severus took that as his cue to take one more step further and swallow his nerves to give a bow.

“An honour to meet you, Master Black.”

It was quiet for a moment, but Severus resisted the urge to look up.

“Kreacher, bring the tea.”

“Yes master.” The door shut and the elf seemed to disappear with pop. Severus still didn’t lift his head. He heard a few foot steps on the other side of the room.

“There’s no need for that… at least not while you’re here. There’s no need to bow.”

Severus took in yet another deep breath and finally looked up to straighten his posture only to freeze at the man standing on the other side of the room.

Merlin… he looked disturbingly similar to Sirius Black, just older and more… tamed, if that makes sense.

Tall, dark hair, grey eyes.

His hair was tied back at the bottom of his neck, streaked with silver seeming so deliberately placed one would think he styled it that way on purpose. A trimmed beard peppered with white framed his jaw. There were wrinkles on his face, frown lines on his forehead but the lines around his eyes looked like laugh lines that reminded him far more of Black than he could ever imagine being comfortable with. He wore black robes with green accents, sitting as loosely as most purebloods like to have them rather than the more fitted robes that were currently the newest fashion. It made Severus let out a slight breath of relief.

The robes he wore were a bit on the older side, but very well kept. The material wasn’t anything expensive but certainly didn’t make him look like he was penniless either.

At least he has some options.

“This is your home now, Severus. I’d like you to be comfortable here.”

“I… Thank you, Master Black.”

The lines on Orion’s eyes crinkled just a bit as he spoke, gesturing towards a table near the desk on the furthest end of the room.

“You’ll be marrying my son, Severus. Calling me master Black, simply isn’t appropriate. I’m not sure if you remember, but soon you’ll be a Black as well.”

Severus felt his cheeks warm ever so slightly.

“In the presence of others you will refer to me as master Orion. Within these walls you may simply call me Orion, or sir if that makes you feel more comfortable.” He went over to the table, “Please, take a seat.”

“Yes… sir.” Severus walked over as quickly and as composed as he could, not wasting time but not running either before he sat down in the offered seat just before Orion did as well.

Kreacher popped back into the room just then. Setting out the silver tea set with its cream and sugar, honey and lemon slices before a plate of finger sandwiches and scones, biscuits and preservatives, more than Severus was sure they’d be able to finish on their own.

“I wasn’t sure what you’d like, I asked Kreacher to bring a bit if everything.” The older man said, seeming to answer his question for him and Severus nodded politely.

“Thank you, sir.”

Orion nodded as well just as the elf finished up, “Thank you, Kreacher.”

For the first time since Severus arrived he saw a genuine smile on the elf’s face before it popped out of the room and left them alone.

“Help yourself.” The older man suddenly said as he poured himself a cup of tea and Severus looked over the spread, deciding on what to eat.

“Yes sir.”

Orion seemed to pause as he set the kettle back down on the table.

“Sirius and Regulus both call me father. Their cousins call me uncle. I understand that this may be something that you need to get used to however, this is your home now Severus. And you are about to become my son in law. Family is one of the most important things in this household so I really do hope that you’ll learn to become more comfortable here.”

Severus didn’t say anything to that. He picked out two scones and a jar of strawberry jam, busied himself with spreading the red preserve before he reached for the tea kettle.

“How do you like things so far? Has Andromeda been able to help you settle in?”

“Yes, she’s been very kind.” Severus said softly and Orion nodded.

“And Kreacher, he’s been helpful as well?”

“Yes.”

“I understand if he seems a bit distant, he used to belong to my wife you see. He’s always been quite devoted to her and he tends to keep to similar beliefs as she does.” Orion’s lips pulled down in a slight frown as he stirred his tea, “However, he is loyal to the family. If he gives you any trouble be sure to inform me immediately.”

“Yes, sir.”

Orion nodded again as he sipped on his tea… and he stared. Severus felt distinctly uncomfortable. He took a bite of his scone and then took a sip of tea, averting his gaze to glance around the room a bit.

It was lovely. So much bright light flooded the entire space. The shelves which covered most of the walls were painted a dark moss green, lined with so many books Severus almost got lost trying to count just how many there were. Big beautiful bay windows let in as much light as possible just behind the large oak desk with its dragon hide chair. There was a couch set with a coffee table in the middle of the room. And more paintings. Some moving but others still. Muggle style paintings with artists that Severus isn’t sure he’s ever heard of before.

“Lovely, aren’t they?”

“What?”

Orion’s lips turned up as he nodded to the painting closest to them that Severus was staring at. A still image of an open field, grass swaying in the breeze with a lone tree painted to one side, clouds drifting across a blue sky.

“Muggles have such a deft hand at art. Creating pictures that move without actually moving. There’s something beautiful about it, almost tragic. An image frozen in eternity, breathing without lungs and speaking without a voice.” Orion gave a soft scoff, “I never had a taste for muggle art myself, however your mother inspired me to take some time to look into it.”

Severus paused, “My mother?”

Orion paused, “Well, yes. She was always fascinated by muggles and muggle culture in general. I suppose I shouldn’t have been that surprised when she chose a muggle for a husband.”

Severus looked away from the picture, his hand tightening slightly on his cup.

“How is Eileen, I hope she’s doing well?”

Under the circumstances?

“Yes.”

“Good, that’s… very good.” Orion looked away for a brief moment before he took another sip of tea. “We’ll be sending for her in preparation for the engagement soon enough,” Severus resisted the urge to tense up at that as the older man continued, “But that can wait for a bit. I wanted to speak with you Severus because I wanted to discuss your engagement with Sirius. I’m sure you must be quite surprised by all of this.”

“You are?”

“Of course. I know Sirius didn’t give you much warning. I asked him about what happened and why he decided that you needed to finalise your engagement and he informed me of what happened.” Orion shifted on his seat as he crossed one leg over the other, “He told me about the incident involving James Potter and his advances towards you.”

“He… did?”

“Yes, I can’t say I’m not surprised. However, that isn’t anything that you should concern yourself with. The matter is already being dealt with. Hopefully by the end of the week, heir Potter will understand and start adhering to his boundaries. If not well,” Orion took another sip of tea, “By next week, the engagement will be official and he won’t have a choice. In the meantime, I think it’s important to discuss the engagement ceremony and what it entails. Sirius informed me that you weren’t aware of the contract. Has Andromeda managed to explain some of it to you?”

Severus paused, “She said that the contract was originally meant for you and my mother.”

Orion smiled, “It was. My father and hers signed a marriage contract on her third birthday, promising house Black the hand to the heir of house Prince, forfeiting the Prince estate should the contract’s requirements not be met. Basically, I was to marry Eileen, if we did not wed and she married someone else, the Prince fortune would belong to house Black.”

Severus looked away, “If you had a contract, how was my mother able to marry… someone else?”

Orion shook his head, “At the time, the Prince line ended with your mother. There were no other heirs. My father believed that house Prince had more to gain from the arrangement than house Black and so as heir I was given a bit of leeway. There are certain things I could allow and certain things I could refuse.” He took another sip of tea, “Your mother made it clear that she did not want to marry me and so, I allowed her to marry someone else.”

“You could have stopped her, but you didn’t.” Severus started to frown, “Why?”

Orion paused to look at the younger wizard and his eyes softened as he spoke, “I loved her too much to try and force her hand. She told me that she loved her… husband and I did not wish to force her into a bond that she didn’t want.”

Severus looked down at his cup of tea and glared at it hard as the older man looked away and continued.

“She married your father and I married my wife. Under the circumstances I could have claimed the Prince estate however, I believed that Eileen would produce an heir and I thought it the perfect opportunity to maintain the requirements of the contract without affecting either family too much.” Orion scoffed, “You can imagine how surprised and how pleased I was when I learned of your relationship with Sirius.”

Severus’ head snapped, “My relationship?”

“Yes, I hope you’ll be able to forgive Sirius for his impulsivity. I know you didn’t know of any of this before you were brought here but he truly does have your best interests at heart. He’s still at Hogwarts right now, but I’ve managed to speak with him about it at length and I agree that this is the best course of action to take. Once the engagement has been made official no one will be able to interfere with your bonding, not even heir Potter.”

“Sir, I…” Severus took a deep breath, there are many different ways in which this could go horribly wrong but he needs to do something. He can’t just let this happen. If Orion let his mother go before, then there might be some reasoning with him. “I… there is no relationship between myself and your son.”

Orion paused, “What do you mean?”

“I mean that I have no romantic feelings for him in anyway whatsoever.”

The older man watched him for a moment before he simply reached out to pick up one of the finger sandwiches and take a bite.

“Yes, I know.”

“You-you know?”

“Sirius told me.” Orion said as he quickly finished off the triangle of bread, cucumber and whatever else – “You had no knowledge of the engagement, no knowledge of his plans etc etc.”

Severus blinked, “I…” One more breath, “I have no desire to marry him, sir. I don’t even understand why he would want to be bonded with me.”

“I’m sure. Unfortunately, under the circumstances there isn’t anything either of us could do about it.”

The Slytherin felt incredulous, “Sir?”

Orion finished off his cup of tea before he set it down to refill it again, “Once Eileen married your father, the responsibilities of the contract shifted. They shifted to her heir and mine. Whatever follows next is between you and Sirius, Severus. I’m afraid there isn’t anything I could do about it. At this point, Sirius is the only one who can change anything about it.”

“But-“ Severus set his cup down on the table, “You said that you let go of my mother… because you loved her.”

“I still do.”

“Then why-“

“We all have our own path to walk, Severus. If I could go back and do things differently, I would have intervened. Prevented Eileen from marrying her husband, but I made my choice then. Now, the choice belongs to my son and if he wishes to keep you, I have no right denying him that.”

Severus felt like he was going insane.

“Sir-“

“I know, this will be quite an adjustment. However, Sirius is devoted to you and he has every intention on making this marriage work. You truly have nothing to be worried about Severus.” He took a deep breath before he continued, “Andromeda and I will take care of all the arrangements necessary for the engagement ceremony. My wife will not be in attendance, though that-“ Orion suddenly stopped and looked at the boy before suddenly setting his cup down, “You’ll soon be part of the family, the future mistress of the house. I don’t see the point in keeping this from you.”

“Keeping what from me?”

“Walburga left this morning, she returned to her maiden family. She’s unhappy with my decision to not only revoke Sirius’ disownment, but to welcome you into our family. Apparently, she’s unwilling to accept any impure blood into the bloodline even if that blood comes from house Prince. Unfortunately, I am the patriarch of this family and I will have the final say on who stays and who goes.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that madame Black and I will be undergoing a separation after the engagement ceremony is complete.” Orion said as he picked up another sandwich. Severus’ eyes went wide.

Be… Because of him?

“I was never happy with Sirius’ disownment, Severus. I understood Walburga’s reasoning, however I did not agree with it. I only allowed it because Sirius’ behaviour has been becoming more and more erratic as the years passed. He needed a… wake up call, as it were. I thought being separated from the family would finally be the shock he needed to realise that his behaviour was unacceptable. Apparently, I was wrong.” Orion then let out a chuckle as he took a sip from his tea, “It would seem that you were the key to this all along. Really, if I knew that was all it took, I would have tried to contact you myself years ago.”

“Me? I don’t understand.”

Orion chuckled again, “Sirius contacted me last night, asking for help regarding your situation. I told him that I would only be able to intervene if he were my heir but considering the fact that he was disowned, that would not be possible. As things stand Regulus is heir, he would be the only one who could ask for intervention. So, Sirius asked for his disownment to be revoked. He agreed to the terms that I set for him. Improvement in his demeanour, behaviour fitting of heir Black and a few more details that you don’t need to be bothered with. And so, I agreed to reinstate him.”

“And because of this… reinstatement, he-“

“All contracts and privileges entitled to heir Black are to be replaced under his name.”

“Including my mother’s contract?”

“Sirius asked for that contract specifically to be secured first.”

Sweet Merlin…

“Sir, I do not want to be married to Sirius Black he-“

“You don’t get along.”

“It’s more than that. It’s-“

“Severus, like I said before. I cannot intervene, Sirius has made his decision and I fully intend on supporting him. I made my mistakes before, I will not deny my son from trying to avoid them.” Orion set his tea back down, “You have nothing to worry about. You will be safe here, you will be cared for and you’ll want for absolutely nothing. If nothing else Severus I can promise that. As for Sirius, I know my son can be brash and abrasive but he certainly isn’t stupid. Even he can learn from his mistakes. And as his bride, as the mistress of house Black – as the last heir of Prince – you hold far more than you could ever imagine Severus. Under these circumstances, Sirius is as much betrothed to you as you are to him. You now have a mountain of responsibility placed on your shoulders but with those responsibilities comes power to do more than you’ve ever been able to do before. Forgive me if I’m wrong but you were sorted Slytherin, weren’t you? You are notably one of the most gifted students in Hogwarts.”

“I… yes.”

“If you are Slytherin you are cunning and you are ambitious, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you all you will gain in your new position and all of this because you hold Sirius’ heart. Now, I hope that you will treat my son with love and respect and he will do the same for you. I wish you happiness and prosperity and I hope that you will recognise all that a bonding like this will bring you.”

“Sir-“

“Do you know the story of Beauty and the Beast?”

Severus blinked. “Yes.”

“The original version, by Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve?”

Severus frowned, “No, sir.”

“I have a copy on the shelf over there if you’d like to read it.” Severus glanced over to the shelf in question while Orion reached for another sandwich, “Gabrielle was a novelist, few people knew this but she was actually a witch and simply wrote fairy tales for young children. She was a muggleborn, an orphan without a sickle to her name, but quite beautiful and very gifted. A pureblood family found her at an orphanage and arranged for her to marry their youngest son. Though she was a muggleborn their youngest son was unattractive and had much less talent than his siblings, his parents feared he would never find a bride to marry and so when they found Gabrielle, they arranged a marriage for them. Gabrielle had been afraid at first but as it would turn out the youngest son was very kind and thoughtful. Perhaps not as intelligent as his siblings but he appreciated her talent, intelligence and beauty despite her only being a muggleborn and fell in love with her very quickly. They became friends and with time she learned to love him as well. When Gabrielle started writing, she wrote Beauty and the Beast with the hope to encourage young brides into becoming more comfortable with the concept of arranged marriage. Not to fear it but to recognise all that they could gain by embracing it.”

Severus’ frown grew, “That’s… different from-“

“More modern retellings of the story I’m sure.” Orion chuckled as he took a sip of tea. “The original story goes that Belle was the youngest of three daughters. Their father was a wealthy inventor and he always spoiled and lavished gifts on his children. Until he suddenly lost his entire fortune. They were forced to move to the countryside and fend for themselves, but they managed. Belle was kind and generous, very intelligent. She helped her father in keeping the household and helping with anything else he required assistance with while her sisters, who were selfish and cruel, refused to lift a finger and complained about their lack of wealth.”

Orion gestured to his plate. To the forgotten scones with jam and tea and Severus felt his cheeks warm before he reached out to start eating again.

“One day, their father left on a business trip and asked his daughters what they would like him to bring back for them. Her sisters both asked for jewellery and dresses made of the finest silks. Belle only asked for one thing; a single red rose. And so their father left. On his way back from the trip he got caught in a storm and looked for shelter, he found an old abandoned castle and decided to seek shelter inside. Once he was inside he found a plate of warm food and water, at first he thought they may belong to someone but, no matter how long he waited no one came; so he ate the food and drank the water and retired to one of the bedrooms. In the morning he would wake, there was still no one around. He left the castle to make his way home only to stop when he looked over and saw roses, growing in the palace garden. He remembered that the only thing his darling Belle wanted was a rose and decided that he could not return home without it. So he picked a flower, which is when the Beast appeared. He was enraged that the old man would repay his hospitality by stealing from the garden. The father apologised profusely, asked for forgiveness and the Beast accepted his apology but asked for one thing in return. He said that the old man could go to his family but that someone would need to return to live with the Beast in his castle. Either the father or one of his daughters.”

Orion took a deep breath, “The father returned to his family, relieved and grateful to see them and then he told them of his problem concerning the Beast. Belle, feeling guilty since she was the one that asked for a rose, volunteered to be the one to return to the Beast. Much to the joy of her jealous sisters. She went, negotiated terms with the Beast on her living arrangements and went to bed. That night she would have a dream, about a woman telling her that her kindness and sacrifice would be repaid before giving her directions to a door hidden somewhere in the palace. When she woke the next morning, she searched the castle, used the directions her dream gave her and found a door with the words Belle’s apartment written across it in gold letters. She went inside and found a large room with a harpsicord, a music box and shelves filled with books. When she opened one of the books, she found a message from the woman that appeared in her dream. The note said; Welcome beauty, banish fear. You are queen and mistress here. Speak your wishes, speak your will, swift obedience meets them still. This was a message, that whatever she wanted, anything she desired she would receive without question by simply asking for it. Time went by and Belle was happy. The Beast disclosed his love for her quite early on and every night that they shared dinner together he would propose marriage. Every night she would refuse as she had no intention to marry him, but she remained with the Beast regardless. The story carries on from there, however eventually Belle does fall in love with the Beast, they do eventually marry, eventually her wicked sisters are punished and because of Belle’s love for the Beast he transforms into a handsome prince. He becomes king and she becomes his queen.” Orion shook his head with a chuckle, “My point to all of this Severus, I know your feelings for Sirius at this moment may be unpleasant-“

That’s one way to put it.

Severus mentally scoffed.

“But with time, I really do think that you will be happy here. If nothing else, eventually I will leave this house and Sirius will take on the responsibilities that make him master Black and you his mistress. Do not let your past with Sirius blind you to seeing the potential of your future, of exactly what it means to be an heir to this household and the key to our future generations. You hold more power, than you could ever possibly imagine.” Orion scoffed, “There’s a reason my wife was so… confident in herself.”

Severus felt emotions falter and stutter to a halt. For a moment, he wasn’t sure what to feel.

“As for your duties; as the future mistress of this house you must be poised, you must uphold the name of house Black with dignity, power and respect. And as such it will be your responsibility to… handle Sirius.”

“Handle him?”

“He is your husband and he seems to have an, interesting sort of weakness to you. Now I would never ask you to manipulate my son, of course not. But as his bride I hope you’ll be able to reign him in a little, for the good of the family.”

“How am I expected to reign him in?”

“You are his bride, you have more than enough power to do so.”

“Was your wife able to reign you in?” Severus couldn’t help but snark back and surprisingly, Orion smirked.

“Walburga wasn’t heir Prince. Trust me Severus, you’ll know what to do when the time comes. Honestly, I’m surprised you haven’t discovered any of that yourself. Unless…” Orion’s smirk grew into a smile, “Tell me, do you use Sirius’ name?”

“His name?”

“When you speak with him, you never use his first name, do you?”

Severus paused to think. No, of course he doesn’t. Black is Black and he’s always been Black and as far as Severus was concerned he’d always stay bloody Black.

Has he ever called the twat but his first name?

Once in first year, that day on the train when they all first met. It was the first and absolute last time that he uttered the name Sirius when interacting with the Gryffindor.

“No, why?”

That time Orion laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners and bright shiny teeth gleaming in a grin, “The next time you see Sirius, use his name. I think you’ll find it quite enlightening.” The older wizard shook his head, “Eileen… well, she used to drive me mad in so many ways, she had me twisted around her finger.” He took in a breath and let it back out, “The next few days you’ll be quite busy. Andromeda has already started on the preparations, however she’ll inform you of anything you need to be part of. There will be fittings for your robes, a few visits from ministry officials, a healer to examine your physical wellbeing. Our family Goblin will be here to finalise your ministry engagement contract, seal your name in before the ceremony and signing and have your personal vault opened.”

“My… my personal vault?”

“Yes, Severus.” Orion said as he picked his cup up again, “Oh and of course, our Goblin has been looking into the problem of the oath Headmaster Dumbledore had you take.”

Severus almost dropped his cup as his eyes went wide and he paled, he quickly put his cup down. “You… you know.”

“Sirius told me. With the bonding charms involved in completing the engagement ceremony, such a bond can severely complicate things. James Potter’s supposed life debt, is also entangled within that oath. The headmaster was foolish enough to try and bind the oath to your core within hours of heir Potter saving your life.”

“What…” Severus swallowed hard, “What does that mean?”

“It means that the headmaster is being dealt with and as for the oath, Dumbledore’s carelessness has resulted in a stunning opportunity to rid you of the binding without too much trouble.” Orion paused, “Like I said, our Goblin will be here and once he’s confirmed my theory removing the thread of the oath may require a bit of manoeuvring; but otherwise it should be quite simple.” The teen still looked shocked, Orion decided to explain and try to put him at ease. “Sirius tells me that you have a fascination for dark magic.”

“I…” Severus picked his cup up to avert his gaze, “Yes.”

“And what do you know about dark magic?”

“What do I know about it?”

“Yes.”

“It’s very powerful… complicated.”

“And why is it complicated?”

“It’s driven by emotion.”

“Exactly.” Orion smirked, “It’s a common assumption that people make, that dark magic requires dark emotion, but that simply isn’t true. It requires powerful emotions. Intense emotions, which is why it can be difficult to control and therefore complicated. The type of emotions that are strong enough to drive dark magic are those like anger, despair, fear and hatred, which is where the assumption of evil and wickedness comes from. But there are other emotions that are just as powerful. Perceived as light purely because they’re associated with good like happiness. What people forget is that happiness, like all emotions, is subjective. Just because you’re happy, doesn’t mean that you’re happy about something good.”

Severus nodded while the man continued, “Do you know about the power of sacrifice?”

“…No.”

“Our magical cores are very easily influenced by our emotions. When one feels very intensely for another your magic can act up in a variety of ways, depending on how much control you have over it, how self-aware you etc. So an emotion that one should always try to stay mindful of, is love. They say love is the opposite of hate but really love and hate are two sides of the same coin. Twisted versions of the same thing, intense and very very powerful. Do you know how to cast an unforgivable Severus?”

Severus swallowed hard, but didn’t answer.

“You need an emotion as intense as hatred to cast an unforgivable. You have to feel it with every fibre of your being and flowing through every single vein, anger and despair will do but hatred is better. Severus, would you believe me if I told you that it is possible to cast an unforgivable using love. Cast an even stronger one by using love.”

Severus frowned, “No sir.”

“It’s perfectly possible, that’s why sacrificial magic is considered taboo. Held in the same regard as dark magic and unforgivables themselves. Its life altering magic, lifesaving magic.”

“I’m sorry sir, but what does that have to do with-“

He couldn’t say it.

“The oath?” Orion smirked, “The headmaster made the mistake of forcing an oath on you, less than a day after James Potter saved you.”

“What does that mean?”

“What heir Potter did, wasn’t just an act of heroism. If what Sirius told me is correct and James Potter does in fact have affections for you, then he didn’t simply save you; what he did was an act of sacrifice.”

“I… I don’t understand.”

“Similar to giving your own life to protect someone else. It’s not quite as powerful since he didn’t die, but that won’t matter too much as far as his magical core is concerned. He risked his life to save yours, in that moment his magic reacted to the whatever emotions he felt towards you, the threat of danger, his willingness to risk his mortality and it echoed that sacrifice by protecting you. If James Potter had died trying to save you his magic would have protected you so that you would be able to escape the danger. If I’m correct and Dumbledore forced the oath on you less than six hours after heir Potter saved you, then what is there is a simple superficial thread that any experienced goblin should be able to remove without much trouble at all.”

“So… Potter’s magic protected me?”

“In that moment, it was an act of true love. Or perhaps not love, but whatever emotions he felt for you sharpened into intense focus and formed into a desire to protect you.” Orion shrugged, “We just need Haughton to confirm it first. He should be arriving in the next few days. If I’m right, the whole process won’t take more than a few minutes.”

“But… if the… if its so superficial, then why can’t I talk about it? I’ve tried so many times and I just couldn’t.”

“A spell is a spell, if you’ve experienced the confundus charm you know how frustrating it is. What Dumbledore managed to do is more or less the same, slightly more resistant since he is a powerful wizard and was using very old magic to enforce the oath on you, but Potter’s sacrifice protected you from the worst of it.” Orion sighed, “Severus if the oath had taken hold the way it was supposed to, it would be more than you being unable to speak about what happened. You would become physically weak and ill at any point in which you tried, you would have experienced near crippling pain. If you tried often enough, your core would start to weaken to the point where you would lose your magic or die.”

Severus’ eyes went wide and his mouth fell open in a gape.

“Which is why the headmaster is being dealt with. What he did wasn’t just morally objectionable, it was completely illegal.” The older man shook his head, “I don’t want you to worry about that, it’s being dealt with and as for Sirius and his part in all of this… I won’t make his apologies for him. He will explain why he did what he did himself. I certainly don’t expect you to forgive him for it, but rest assured that nothing like that will ever happen again.”

“I still have to marry him.” Severus muttered and Orion paused to give the younger wizard a sympathetic look.

“Yes, but remember what I said. You are the future mistress of this house. You now hold as much power over him as he does over you. Don’t let him forget that. It is your responsibility to reign him in.”

Severus bit his lip hard and said nothing as the older man continued.

“As for the other preparations; your grandfather will also be arriving in the next few days. He will need to officially instate you as heir Prince, so your vaults on that side can be opened, your name will also need to be added to inheritance of all properties of the estate.”

“And, my Grandfather wants to instate me as heir?”

He’s heard things about Augustus Prince, specifically things from his mother and Severus couldn’t imagine the man ever-

Orion shrugged, “What he wants doesn’t matter. There’s a contact in place, unless he wants the family name ruined by poverty and public scandal, he will abide by its terms.”

Severus didn’t know how he felt about that… He doesn’t know how he feels about any of this!

“Once all the legalities have been prepared it’ll just be the ceremony. Sirius will be here. You won’t have much time before the ceremony, a day or two perhaps but you will have time before the start of the new term to spend some time together before you have to go back to Hogwarts. It should give you both some time to settle into things a bit more. Also, Sirius has already made the request for private quarters for you once you return to school. He says he’ll be more comfortable having you nearby but he doesn’t see the need for you to resort, so you’ll simply share a dorm room. He’ll explain all of the other details once the engagement is complete. The official marriage and such, but you’ll have plenty of time to discuss that of course.”

“Of-Of course.”

“In the meantime, it would be best to contact your mother and father. I’ll have messengers sent to you home so-“

“No.”

“No?”

“I…” Severus didn’t know what to say, “Is it necessary for them to be involved?”

“They’re your parents, it would be impossible not to.” Orion frowned at the look on the young wizard’s face, “Unless there’s a reason, you don’t want them here.”

Severus bit his lip hard, his hands clenching on his lap.

“Severus, why don’t you want your parents here?”

He could lie, but what lie would he be able to tell? What would be believable? What would have Orion agreeing to not having his parents come to his engagement ceremony? Severus thought about staying quiet, just letting the wizard send the messengers but…

Tobias.

If Tobias found out about any of this. If the messengers reached him instead of his mother? If, Merlin forbid, he actually came to the engagement ceremony-

“Severus?”

What does he say?

“I… I apologise, sir.”

“Apologise for what?”

“I lied.” Orion frowned, Severus took a deep breath and forced himself to keep going, “My mother… she’s not well.”

Orion set his cup down, “What do you mean?”

“She hasn’t been well, in a long time and the reason for that…”

He couldn’t say it. Severus tried so many times, opening and closing his mouth but he… he just couldn’t. It’s not like the vow that Dumbledore put on him, where he physically couldn’t say any words concerning Lupin’s secret or what happened that night. It was different from that. A lump formed in his throat, he felt his face flush and he didn’t even register the pain of his fingernails biting into his palm. He just couldn’t.

Such a strange thing.

He thought that he was used to it. That he didn’t care. His father was a terrible abusive monster but Severus was used to it. He’d been dealing with his father his whole life so he didn’t care anyway right? It should be easy, he should be able to just come out and say it. Because that’s always just been his life, even after he realised that it wasn’t normal for a father to behave the way Tobias did. Even after he spent time around Lily and her family and knew it was wrong. He’s used to it, he should be able to just come out and say it.

But he can’t.

“Severus.”

The raven jumped, his head snapping up to the older man, Orion’s lips pursed briefly before he sat up a bit more in his seat.

“Are you familiar with Legillimens?”

Severus blinked, “We had a class on it last semester.”

“If you want, you can just show me what’s wrong. Think of why you don’t want your parents here.”

He understood the implication, Severus’ jaw clenched. He didn’t want anyone else to know… but what other choice does he have?

Severus shut his eyes tight a few seconds later he felt an odd pressure right there in the middle of his temple. Suddenly, a memory came flooding to the forefront of his mind.

The worst one he could remember. The day his magic came in.

His mother’s screams before Severus’ own. Tobias shouting and cursing, being grabbed by his hair before Leon came in and tried to save him. The dog hitting the wall and then the burst of magic that echoed across the house before his mother’s scream.

Severus eyes snapped open. They opened because he suddenly heard something hit the wall with a loud crash. His eyes went wide when he realised that the teaset and China on the table had hit the wall opposite to where they were sitting. Tea, cream and jam slowly dripped down green wallpaper. He looked up to Orion and saw a thunderous storm brewing in those grey eyes.

“Sir…” Severus swallowed thickly, reaching up to wipe away the tears that had started streaming down his face.

“When did that happen?” His voice was terrifyingly low.

“I-I was eight.”

“Is it still happening?”

“…yes.”

Severus gasped at the wave of dark magic that snapped right across the room, knocking over furniture and some of the paintings off the walls. Books hit the floor in thumps and clatters and Severus felt like his heart was racing a mile a minute as he grasped at the armrests of his seat.

The door opened and Andromeda came rushing into the room.

“Uncle Orion-“

The man was already out of his seat and headed for the door, “Watch over Severus.”

“What?” The witch asked in confusion as her uncle rushed by her, “Wait, where are you-“

The crack of apparition rang through the air, Severus was still frozen in his seat. Andromeda looked back towards the Slytherin and her eyes widened at the pale shock on his face, the tears that still stained his cheeks.

“Severus? Severus, are you alright? What happened?” She asked after rushing over to his side before kneeling beside his chair only to stand up and wrap her arms around him, her hand dragging through his hair. He didn’t even care at that point, he was just trying to breathe.

“To… Tob – father-“

He’s not sure how  Legillimens is supposed to work. They only had one class on it last semester, they’re supposed to continue next semester.

“Severus, what is it? Can you tell me what happened?... Severus?”

Severus saw an image flash behind his eyes, just as that wave of dark magic swept right across the room.

“To-bias.”

“Tobias?” Andromeda tried to get the younger wizard to look at her as she held his face in her hands, “Your father? Severus what’s wrong? What does he have to do with this?”

Severus couldn’t answer, his hands clenched even more tightly against the armrests of his seat. Andromeda tried to get him calm, pulling him in close to rub circles on his back and encouraged him to breathe.

“…father is-“

Tobias is dead meat.