There had always been something about children that rendered them incapable of thinking of their teachers as having a life outside of their classroom. Just because Hogwarts was a boarding school did not help the matter. It may even worsen it. Students simply could not visualize their teachers anywhere else. It was especially true for introverted or unsociable teachers such as Severus Snape. Only his snakes would seek him out outside of class and it was mostly about their course work. Once every blue moon, a student would come to him in tears seeking comfort or better yet retribution.
But even so, Severus was the one who needed to approach his students about issues beyond school. Otherwise, the thought would not even cross their minds. And so, he did. Every year, he screened his snakes for abuse via a mandatory medical exam and by interviewing each new student a least once. While he would never admit to it, the interviews humanized him to his wards and most of them stopped fearing him soon after. But none of them talked. They knew better than to try and convince anyone that, outside of his classroom and his supervising duties, the man was capable of being courteous and even funny on Thursdays.
So, it came as a surprise, not even Sybill Trelawney could have predicted when a student from another House knocked on his door a Saturday morning. For the first time since accepting his teaching position, he felt entirely out of his deep. He did not like children much and beyond keeping them alive and getting paid to do it, he had no interest in interacting with any of them. The rest of the school staff teased him relentlessly every time he said as much, certain he was exaggerating.
‘’What can I do for you, Mister Longbottom?’’ He asked, keeping his voice as even as possible.
Anyone speaking to him before he had his first-morning tea was doing so at their own peril.
The boy, he knew, the whole school knew, was terrified of him. That he appeared before him of his own volition did not bode well. Severus fought the last of his sleepiness and presented a face he hoped was both attentive and not too assassin. His efforts were unappreciated as the poor boy could not bring himself to look anywhere but his shoes.
‘’Well?!’’
‘’I’m sorry sir. I know it’s early, but I must speak with you please sir.’’ Longbottom said almost too quickly to catch.
‘’Alright, whatever possessed you to disturb me, we can talk in my office with a cup of tea. Follow me.’’
‘’Sir?’’
The teacher smiled.
‘’You do not want to see me before at least my third cup of tea Mister Longbottom. Come.’’
His office connected through his private quarters, but hell would freeze over before any student was allowed in. Longbottom stayed quiet as they walked down the hall and waited for his teacher to summon tea once in his office.
Severus drank his first cup in one go. Thank Merlin for the elves and their innate ability to always serve tea at the perfect temperature.
He served himself a second cup and remembered to offer one to the boy. He politely refused but Severus served him one anyway. They waited in tense silence as he drank his cup. He had half a mind to slow down the process and see if the boy would lose his nerves and run away. A smirk escaped his lips at the thought. After an initial flinch, the boy squared his shoulders and resolution spread across his face.
‘’I know it’s your day off sir, and I am sorry for taking up your time especially so early.’’
‘’Well then you know I have one weekend off per month where I don’t have to bother with any of you. Whatever this is I hope it could not wait until Monday morning.’’
The boy shook his head vehemently.
‘’That’s the thing, sir. Right now, you are not a teacher of the school. The Weasley twins said to look for loopholes so I thought maybe this would work. I’m not sure anymore, but at least I know you can’t possibly think this is a prank. Me, of all people! No, I have a good reason to be here.’’
Severus was getting increasingly worried. The mention of the demonic twins and the proof that this was in fact a serious matter in the same sentence was enough to cause hysteria in the minds of lesser men.
‘’I am inclined to believe that.’’
The boy nodded.
If he did not start explaining soon Severus would lose the last shred of his patience.
‘’There is a compulsion on the school.’’ The boy smiled fiercely. ‘’It’s the most logical explanation. How… how… how it can be so strong I don’t know, but there is this thing happening and no one is speaking about it. No one!’’
He looked up to his teacher for the first time.
‘’I tried to tell someone before but could not. I was too ashamed. The twins were too ridiculous in their accusations to be believed. Most students didn’t even try to tell a teacher.’’
It was worrisome that students felt their concerns were not being listened to. The Master potionneer could remember all too easily a time when his own concerns were being overlooked with terrible consequences to his person. Still, he knew and trusted most of his colleagues.
‘’Surely, whatever you have to say can not lower my esteem of you Mister Longbottom. Shame is always a misplaced emotion.’’
The boy smiled once more.
‘’Yeah, that’s why I came to you, sir. But I still can’t say it. Now I feel silly like you couldn’t possibly be bothered by something as small as this. But the mere fact that I knocked on your door on your only weekend off means that I thought otherwise twenty minutes ago.’’
He raised a single eyebrow at him.
‘’Yes, I know I am stalling, and you hate that, and I want to say it but like I said there must be some magic even if I can’t feel it or anything because I keep talking and not saying anything.’’
‘’ Should I just lace your tea with Veritaserum?’’ He asked with a sigh.
‘’Yes please!’’
He had meant it as a joke. He was not technically allowed to do that to a student. However, extreme circumstances allowed for a certain leniency. He got up and fetched a small vial from his stores.
‘’This is veritaserum. Two drops and you will be forced to answer any and all of my questions with the truth. It will last 30 minutes. Do you understand?’’
Longbottom’s face turned white as a ghost. He nodded.
‘’I need you to say yes sir I agree.’’
‘’Yes sir. I agree.’’
Severus added two drops of potion to the boy’s tea with a smirk. Dosing students had always been a guilty pleasure of his. If this day ended up being a disaster, at least he had one of his dreams come true.
When the potion took full effect Severus asked a few questions to establish a baseline. Small questions he knew the answer to already and would indicate how effective the veritaserum was. The voice timber always changed under the effects of the potion.
Then he moved on to the big questions.
‘’Why choose my only day off for this?’’
‘’Because no one will find it weird if you use your floo in or out of the castle.’’
Why do I need the floo?’’
‘’To get the Aurors.’’
Veritaserum was like pulling teeth. Slow and painful with every question leading to more useless answers. Maybe the whole endeavour was doomed. He tried a more direct approach.
‘’As a crime been committed?’’
‘’Yes.’’
‘’Which one?’’
Misuse of a dark artifact on a minor.’’
‘’Which dark artifact was misused in your knowledge?’’
The boy was struggling the get the words out. Usually, only people trying to hide something had this type of resistance. The theory of a compulsion was probable.
‘’A blood quill.’’
‘’On whom was this used?’’
‘’Me, Fred Weasley, Georges Weasley, Harry Potter…''
Severus spelled a quill to write all the names down. The boy kept saying name after name. Mostly Gryffindor but a few Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs as well. This was worse than he could have possibly imagined. So many students and not one of them had come to him or any other member of staff. Not even his snakes had spoken a word of this. Surely enough, they had friends who were affected.
He forced himself to listen to every single name.
‘’Who have you or them tried to tell before me?’’
‘’Our Heads of House, all three of them.’’
It was odd no one had tried to talk to the headmaster directly. Maybe the compulsion was too strong, or they did not believe he could help them. There was only one question left. Severus already knew the answer, but he had to ask it anyway. It would serve as proof later on.
‘’Who made you use the quill.’’
‘’The high inquisitor Professor Dolores Umbridge.’’