1971-1972
September 1st. The day Hadrian had been dreading arrived. Severus had packed up everything he would need while at Hogwarts and, after Hadrian pulled out all the stops for breakfast (which clearly amused Severus, who had rolled his eyes with a small smile and pointed out that he wasn’t leaving forever), they flooed to Platform 9 ¾. Hadrian spelled the ashes off them and led Severus to the train. He quickly helped Severus store his trunk on board and stood on the platform to begin saying his goodbyes.
Severus beat him to it, however, “Dad, are you going to be alright without me?”
Hadrian laughed softly and shook his head at how transparent he had been.
“I’ll be fine, Severus. Afterall, I will be getting regular letters from you, right?”
The boy rolled his eyes at his raised eyebrow and pointed question, “Yes, I already promised to write at least once a month, and to send a letter with my sorting tomorrow.”
The young man smiled, glad he could be the type of parent that Hadrian remembered his peers complaining about being overbearing as they wrote letters home on the second day; he remembered wishing he had someone who would worry about him if he didn’t send a letter, so he made sure Severus knew to write him. He’d much rather Severus be annoyed with him than to not have anyone to write to like he had.
“Good. Remember, if you need anything, just let me know.”
Severus nodded, obviously exasperated with him.
~Don’t worry so much, nest-mate. The hatchling has me to protect him.~ Sayah hissed, poking her head out from Severus’s sleeve.
Hadrian smiled at the small snake wrapped around his son’s wrist, still amused by her nickname for him, and made sure to appear to still be talking to Severus as he quietly responded, “I know, and I am thankful you will be with him. You’ll be able to make sure he brings his nose out of a book every now and then.”
“Dad,” Severus complained as Sayah hissed her amused agreement.
Hadrian smiled again and pulled his son into a quick hug, “Have fun, okay? I’ll miss you.”
“Love you, Dad,” Severus said quietly into his chest.
“I love you too, Sev,” the train whistled, signaling that it was time for Severus to get on board, so Hadrian pulled back with a smile, “Have fun, study hard, and write home.”
Severus rolled his eyes again, lips quirked in a smile, but nodded before getting onto the train. Hadrian watched the train as it pulled out of the station a few minutes later. He let out a breath, wondering what he was going to do with all his new-found free time and no Severus to keep him company.
Severus was reading in his empty compartment, while hissing quietly to Sayah. The snake was slithering through his fingers like a game as she responded back. There was a knock on the compartment door and Severus stopped hissing while Sayah quickly hid herself around his wrist, hidden by his sleeve. A boy with short light brown hair, slightly tanned skin, hazel green eyes, and a few light scars on his face peeked his head in.
“Excuse me, but I was wondering if I could sit with you?”
The dark-haired boy shrugged, figuring he could always just read if this boy was annoying, “Sure.”
The boy smiled shyly and entered the compartment, with his own book in one hand. After sitting down, the boy introduced himself, “Remus Lupin.”
“Severus Peverell,” Severus shook the offered hand politely. Sayah peaked her head out of Severus’s sleeve to look at the new person curiously.
She flicked her tongue out, ~Be careful around him.~
“Is that a snake?”
Severus nodded, wondering what she could have meant and why she had exposed herself, “Her name is Sayah and she’s non-venomous, so you don’t need to worry.”
“She’s pretty,” Lupin smiled.
~I like him.~
Severus resisted the desire to roll his eyes at her. Deciding to try making friends like his dad had suggested earlier in the week, and with Sayah’s stunning recommendation, he tried opening a conversation, “What are you reading?”
Lupin smiled and lit up, “Transformation Through the Ages. I read the textbook for first-year Transfiguration and I was fascinated, so I decided to look through the subject. What about you?”
“Magical Studies: The Different Branches of Magic. Different languages can sometimes have specific of magic inherent to the language, so I was hoping this book would tell me about some of them,” Severus fibbed a bit. He was specifically looking for anything on parsel magic, but he wasn’t going to reveal that to anyone.
“Really? How fascinating.”
Severus eagerly began talking about the different types of branches of magic with Lupin, causing Sayah to grumble quietly and declare that she was going to take a nap, still curled around his wrist. Their conversation eventually turned into talking about the books they had read after Severus learned that the other boy was just as much a bookworm as he is. He has no clue how long they had been talking when their compartment door was rudely slammed open. He tensed at the intrusion and saw Lupin jump in surprise. Sayah quietly hissed her annoyance at being woken up but remained hidden. Severus narrowed his eyes at whoever had decided to barge in.
In the doorway stood two boys wearing cocky smirks. The one in front had messy jet-black hair, hazel eyes and tanned skin. The other had pale skin, grey eyes, and long, curly dark brown hair.
“Remus! Where’d you go?” the one in the back asked Lupin.
The one in front then inserted, “Yeah, we were hoping to get to know you better.”
“The compartment was crowded so I decided to find one with less people in it. Severus was kind enough to let me join him.”
The two boys finally turned to Severus. After a small pause of scrutiny, to which Severus raised an eyebrow at them, the one in front grinned again, “James Potter. And this is Sirius Black.”
“Severus Peverell,” Severus inclined his head. He didn’t particularly like these two from what he’d seen of them so far, but his dad had instilled in him the importance of manners. He did enjoy the way both Potter and Black did a double take at his name.
Potter frowned and quietly repeated, “Peverell?
At the same time, Black sneered, “You mean you’re the kid Lord Peverell adopted?”
Severus simply raised an unimpressed eyebrow at Black. Sayah, however, began hissing menacingly, ranting about his attitude, but luckily went unheard by the two boys. Lupin frowned and glanced quickly at Severus’s wrist, but didn’t say anything. Severus pushed down his amusement at her commentary, wondering what Lupin thought of her hissing at the two. He didn’t respond to the disdain in Black’s voice. His lack of response seemed to anger the boy.
“So, what house does everyone think they’ll be in,” Lupin quickly changed the subject.
Potter took that as an invitation to come in and sat on the same seat as Severus. Black huffed and sat down next to Lupin.
~How rude,~ Sayah finished her rant. Severus struggled to swallow his amusement at the haughty tone of her ending comment. He agreed, but it was still highly amusing to hear comments from the little snake, especially since no one else could understand her.
“Gryffindor, of course. It is the best house, after all,” Potter said, cocky grin reappearing.
“Same here,” Black smirked.
“I don’t know. I thought Ravenclaw looked appealing,” Lupin said with a smile.
Black snorted, “Yeah, if you want to be stuck studying all the time. They have no sense of fun.”
“What about you, Severus?”
He shrugged at Lupin, “Ravenclaw or Slytherin, probably. Either house seems good to me.”
“Slytherin? Should have known you’d want to be a snake. Planning to be a dark wizard, Peverell?
Severus ignored Black’s sneer and Sayah began ranting again. He could honestly care less what the boy thought. He agreed with his dad said when Hadrian taught him that the houses really didn’t matter outside of Hogwarts, and that the prejudices against them were ridiculous.
“Not going to answer me, Peverell? What, did your new daddy tell you you’re too good to speak to us?”
“No, but then, he didn’t need to inform me that rude little boys such as yourself weren’t worth responding to,” Severus sneered right back.
~Ooo, good one, hatchling. This is why I like you.~
“Think you’re better than us then, do you? Must be why your father is turning the Peverell name dark, allying with the Malfoys instead of with family,” Potter spoke up, aiming a glare at him.
“In case you haven’t noticed, Potter, my father is aligned neutrally and the Peverells aren’t that connected to the Potters, seeing as how your family is a descendant of mine.”
Black and Potter scoffed at him and stood, “We’ll teach you who’s better. You better watch your back, Peverell.”
“Come on, Remus. You wouldn’t want to hang around with a want-to-be dark wizard.”
Lupin glanced between Severus and the two other boys, “I think I’ll stay.”
~I really like him. We should keep him.~
Black and Potter stomped out furiously, slamming the compartment door shut. Once again, Severus had to fight to keep the amusement off his face at Sayah’s comment. He wondered if her input was going to be a common thing; if it was, he was going to perfect hiding his emotions.
Severus tilted his head at Lupin curiously. He honestly had expected the boy to leave with them.
“What? I’d much prefer to talk about books and theory with you then rejoin whatever crowded compartment those two are going to.”
Severus quirked his lips in a smile. Lupin – no, Remus – smiled back and resumed their conversation about some books they’ve read.
Severus was sorted into Ravenclaw.
Hadrian stared at the letter in shock. He had not been expecting that. The young man knew Severus was a complete book worm, of course, but had just assumed that Severus was going to go into Slytherin, considering how sneaky the boy could be. He hadn’t even thought to wonder if Severus’s sorting would change because of his interference.
The more Hadrian thought about it, however, the more it made sense. Not only was Severus an absolute bookworm, this time around the boy had less reason to be seem ambitious to the sorting hat. Not to say Severus wasn’t ambitious, but he would no longer to have the desire to get out of poverty or an abusive home. That opened up the opportunity for Severus to fully embrace his Ravenclaw tendencies in a way Professor Snape hadn’t been able to when he was a kid.
Hadrian smiled at the realization and continued to read Severus’s letter. He wasn’t surprised to read about Sirius and James’s attitude on the train, though he was surprised Remus’s was mentioned as being friendly. It seemed Severus doubted the friendship would continue, however, due to Remus’s sorting into Gryffindor with the other two. Hadrian hoped Remus surprised Severus and the two remain friends. He picked up a quill and began to write a reply.
The next letter Hadrian received from Severus didn’t come until October. He was a little sad that it looked like Severus was only going to send letters the bare minimum of once a month. It had only been a month and he was already running out of things to do. He wanted to hear how his son was adjusting, but he understood not wanting to send letters home all the time and get teased for it. Plus, hopefully, it meant that Severus was making friends with more than just the books.
Hadrian quickly opened the letter, excited to hear about anything his son had to tell him. Severus had apparently made a deal with one of the Ravenclaw prefects so that he could keep his word to brew with supervision only. He also waxed eloquent about DADA, making Hadrian smile at how much more interested Severus had become in the subject. The boy had previously enjoyed the theory, of course, but hadn’t been so excited about any subject outside of potions until now.
By the time the young man finished the letter, however, he couldn’t help frowning. Severus hadn’t mentioned becoming friends with anyone. Only that he got along with his dormmates, had joined a study group, and that James and Sirius were annoying. Knowing how much of a loaner Severus could be, Hadrian began writing a reply, asking about anybody he was friends with.
Severus stared at the parchment in front of him, unsure of what he wanted to tell his dad. He had waited as long as he could to put off sending Hadrian a reply because he couldn’t decide on how much he wanted to divulge. Not because he didn’t trust the man, but Severus felt rather ashamed.
He didn’t want to tell his dad that he had somehow become a target for bullying by Potter and Black. It was embarrassing and Hadrian had already done so much for him already in the five years he has known the man, including making Severus his son in both blood and name.
Yet at the same time, if he mentioned it, Hadrian would probably be able to help end it. That was a problem itself because if it became advertised that he complained to his dad. That would be humiliating and give Black and Potter even more ammunition. But at least if he did so those “pranks” would stop. And they were seriously getting on his nerves. Had Professor McGonagall not witnessed him and his homework get drenched in red slime last week, he would have been unable to turn in his homework; his story wouldn’t have been believed considering the favoring of Gryffindor house. Not that Black or Potter got in trouble for the prank even with McGonagall as witness because she didn’t see them cast from her position. If she had, they would have gotten off lightly anyways, as he was coming to notice.
~Hatchling, why do you smell upset?~
Severus looked up from his parchment to where Sayah was slithering up the desk so she could be closer to him. He glanced around the room, making sure he was alone, and hissed back, ~It is nothing. I am just trying to decide if I should tell my sire about the tricks done by the morons.~
As always, the boy wanted to wrinkle his nose at the words changed by speaking parseltongue. It sounded rather odd to him to say “sire” instead of dad. He shook the thought away when Sayah began slithering up his arm.
~Your sire would be able to do something about them since you will not let me bite them?~
~Maybe. I just do not know if I want to worry him. They are my problem and he has already provided so much for me.~
Sayah wrapped herself around his neck and rubbed her nose on his cheek. Severus smiled at the comfort and stroked her scales, ~Nest-mate likes providing for you. You should let him.~
Severus sighed, torn between wanting the pranks to stop, and his shame at being unable to handle it himself. He knew Sayah was right and Hadrian would want to know and help him. Deciding to choose as he wrote the letter, he began with an apology for not replying sooner. No doubt, his dad was fretting over the lack of reply to his question over friends; Hadrian tended to worry over Severus being too isolated. As if his dad had many friends either. It wasn’t like Severus wanted to be friendless, but most people his age were morons so he had no desire to interact with them.
Except for Lily and Remus, of course.
Lily had been a surprise friend. The girl was in Gryffindor, so he had Transfiguration and Herbology with her. It was after they had Transfiguration on the second day of classes, she ambushed him on his way to the library.
*Flashback*
“I recognize you from somewhere. Why do I recognize you from somewhere?”
Severus startled at the girl unexpectedly walking besides him, and frowned at her, “How would I know why you recognize me? I don’t even know who you are.”
The redhead blushed, “Oh, sorry. Lily Evans.”
“Severus Peverell,” he looked more closely at the girl following him. He vaguely remembered her bright green eyes from somewhere, “I think I recognize you from somewhere, too.”
“So we do know each other somehow,” she smiled at him, “Maybe we could go somewhere and try and figure out from where?”
Severus shrugged, “I’m on my way to the library if you want to join me.”
Lily beamed at him. They quietly made their way to the library together and, once there, they sat at a table and pulled out their homework. Before they started on it, Lily finally broke the silence.
“So where are you from? I’m from Cokeworth, if you’ve ever heard of it.”
The dark-haired boy froze. Of all places they could recognize each other from, it had to be from before he was a Peverell. Slight panic rose in him. Was Tobias reveled as the drunk abuser Severus had last known him to be? Did his mother still get beaten when the man returned drunk? Severus had never contacted her in fear of bringing Tobias’s wrath on her. Merlin, was she even alive? Would Lily know anything about them? Would she know why he left?
“Severus?”
Severus snapped out of his panic, wishing Sayah was with him. She was always good at comforting him. He hadn’t brought her in fear of her getting injured in class. Severus swallowed the remainder of his panic and refocused on Lily.
“I live in Herefordshire,” Severus shakily took a breath and plunged through his fear, hoping to subtly find out anything he could about the godawful place he left behind. She was probably his best chance at finding out anything about Tobias and his mother, even if he didn’t want to reveal what Tobias had put him through, “But I was born in Cokeworth.”
“Really?” Lily’s eyes widened in excitement, “How long were you there?”
“I… moved just after I turned six.”
“So we started Primary together then! That must be where we recognize each other from!” Lily then frowned, “Wait. I only remember one boy who left…”
Severus swallowed nervously when Lily gaped at him, “Severus Snape?”
“It’s Peverell now,” he quietly told her, unable to meet her eyes.
“But… why? My mum and dad used to talk about you all the time after you disappeared. Your mum would only ever say you went to live with family. And why do you look a little different than I remember? You had black eyes and sharper features before.”
“It’s… complicated,” Severus told her, not wanting to tell her more since it seemed she didn’t know about Tobias, though he did concede, “But my looks changed because I did a blood adoption with my… family.”
“Blood adoption?”
Thankful for the change of topic, Severus explained what a blood adoption was. He gave a book recommendation, causing her to immediately go and search for the book while Severus began his transfiguration homework. She came back with her nose stuck in the book, amusing him. Hoping to further prevent her from asking more questions about his past, Severus interrupted her reading.
“Do you want to work on the Transfiguration assignment while we are here together?”
Lily beamed and set the book aside, “I’d love to! I can read about blood adoptions another time. Since we are going to be friends, it would be great if we could study together.”
Severus blinked, “Friends?”
“Yep.”
He looked at the determination on her face, daring him to argue with her. Highly suspecting he wouldn’t be able to argue out of it even if he wanted to, Severus just blinked and began discussing their assignment. The next time he looked up, she was smiling triumphantly at him.
*End Flashback*
After that encounter, Remus shyly asked if he could join the two of them in the library. Lily immediately agreed, but Severus was wary. Remus ended up becoming friends with Black and Potter, despite the incident on the train, though he never joined them in pranking him. Remus actually told the pair off a few times for it. Even so, Severus made sure to let him know that in no uncertain terms was he to bring Black and Potter. Lily snorted and said that Remus already knew better than to bring the two around her but refused to say anything else on the matter. The girl’s dislike of the moronic duo did make Severus like her even more though.
Which is how Severus found himself with a best friend to avoid Black and Potter with, and a slowly growing friendship with Remus, despite the other boy’s friendship with Severus’s bullies.
Severus re-read what he wrote to his dad. He decided to leave out the bullying, wanting Hadrian to be glad he had made friends, rather than focus on the pranks. Nodding to himself, he included his excitement to return for the winter hols, signed it, and got up to send his letter, Sayah still wrapped around his neck, nudging him comfortingly.
Hadrian was relieved when he finally got a reply from his son and found out Severus had made friends. He was happy to see his son still ended up friends with Lily – he couldn’t help but wonder if the boy would fall in love with her this time around – and that Remus had remained a friend as well, despite the boy’s friendship with James and Sirius. Hadrian suspected there was more than just attitude occurring between Severus and James and Sirius, especially since his son was friends with Lily and Remus, no doubt making them jealous. But he couldn’t do anything if Severus didn’t come to him. Hopefully, Severus not saying anything meant that his sorting into Ravenclaw instead of Slytherin made him less of a target, and that Remus and Lily helped deal with anything the two did dole out. Hadrian was still unable not to worry with the knowledge of what James and Sirius had the capacity to do to Severus. He really hoped Lily, Remus, and Severus were able to keep their friendship going because his son would be much better off for it.
The young man shook himself out of his thoughts as he watched the train approach. It had been a month since Severus had sent that letter, and Hadrian had let his thoughts wonder while at the platform, waiting for his son do join him for break. He couldn’t wait to see Severus. While the boy was at Hogwarts, Hadrian had focused on the Wizengamot the way he did before he took Severus in. In other words, he was bored. He really needed to pick up a hobby like Abraxas suggested to him; he grimaced slightly, remembering that the suggestion had come after Acacia, Abraxas’s wife, had amusedly told him he was experiencing empty-nest syndrome, which had caused Abraxas to laugh. It had been rather embarrassing, and they enjoyed teasing him over it.
The train whistled and students began disembarking, looking for their families. After a minute, he spotted Severus. Hadrian narrowed his eyes when James and Sirius purposely bump into Severus on their own way off the train and say something. Severus glared and sneered something back. The two spluttered and went red with anger before stomping off; Severus smirked in satisfaction. Hadrian smirked, seeing his son hold his own. Perhaps he needn’t be so worried after all. When his son laughed, Hadrian finally noticed the red-headed girl, who he recognized to be Lily Evans, standing next to him, beaming like she was glad to get her friend to laugh.
Severus began looking around for him and Hadrian caught his son’s eye and smiled when. The boy returned the smile, turned to Lily, immediately rolled his eyes at whatever she told him, said goodbye, and walked over to him. When Severus reached him, Hadrian immediately hugged him, unable to resist with how much he missed his son.
“Dad,” the boy complained, but hugged him back.
Hadrian laughed and pulled away, “What? I can’t help that I missed you. Be grateful I’m not doing anything more embarrassing, like kissing your cheek or something.”
“Please don’t.”
The young man laughed again. Sayah peeked out from Severus’s sleeve and Hadrian greeted her, “Hello, Sayah.”
~Nest-mate,~ she cheerfully greeted.
Hadrian smiled at the little snake. He picked up his son’s trunk, shrunk it, and placed it in his pocket, “Are we ready to go?”
When Severus nodded his agreement, and they flooed home.
~I want to come.~
~Apologies, little one, but it will be safer for you to stay here. I do not think everybody will be as approving of your presence as Abraxas has been.~
Sayah hissed in displeasure, slithering around the table angrily. Hadrian smirked at the little snake’s reaction and cast tempus. Seeing that it was time to go, he put on his outer robes and made his way to his son’s room.
“Severus? It’s time to go,” he said through the door after knocking.
He heard the boy moving around before opening the door. Severus wrinkled his nose as he adjusted his robes, “Remind me why we are going to the ball this year? We’ve never had to dress so formally past Yule holidays.”
Hadrian smirked at the exasperated tone, “Partially because Abraxas refuses to let us skip anymore Malfoy parties.”
Severus frowned at him as they walked toward the front door. Just as they got to the entryway, his son asked, “Does suddenly agreeing to attend the Ball you easily got us out of attending in the past have anything to do with the privacy spell you used in Gringotts?”
The young man stopped, mid-stride. He had not expected the boy to make that connection. He frowned and turned to Severus. The boy raised an eyebrow, waiting for an answer. Hadrian sighed, knowing by the look on Severus’s face that he wasn’t going to be able to get the boy to drop it without some answers.
“Yes.”
“And you still can’t tell me what’s going on?”
“No.”
“…What do I get out of going, then?”
Hadrian laughed and shook his head. He honestly should have expected that. Even though Severus was in Ravenclaw, he was still so Slytherin, “You’re not going to let me drag you to the Ball unless I promise you something, are you?”
Severus just raised an eyebrow, giving him a look that clearly said, What do you think? Hadrian sighed, “What do you want?”
“A new book of my choice, your Chicken Tikka Masala and Chocolate Ganache Cake.”
“Deal,” Hadrian smiled, amused that Severus had asked for a book and for his favorite meal to be cooked. He had honestly expected something much more than that, but he should have known better. In general, his son liked the simple things.
Severus beamed, obviously glad to have gotten what he wanted. Hadrian shook his again in amusement and led them out the door. At the end of the wards, Hadrian apparated them to Malfoy Manor for their first ever Yule Ball.
The familiar gates of Malfoy Manor greeted them, and Hadrian led them to the front door once the wards let them through. A house elf let them inside and took their outer robes before leading them to the entryway of the ballroom, where Abraxas, Acacia, and Lucius were greeting their guests. As soon as he saw Hadrian, Abraxas smirked in triumph; the twenty-five-year-old had to resist rolling his eyes at his friend. Acacia looked at her husband in amusement before smiling brightly at them. As always, Lucius looked at him with barely concealed contempt; obviously, the Malfoy heir had not yet let go of his disdain for his neutral status. Hadrian wasn’t really sure what about his neutral status made Lucius so against him, considering he agreed with more of the dark’s ideals than he did the light’s.
“Lord Peverell, Heir Peverell. It is my pleasure to welcome you to Malfoy Manor. My family and I appreciate your attendance and company for the holiday,” Abraxas greeted formally.
Hadrian smiled and replied just as formally, “As mine appreciates the invitation and chance to share your good company, Lord, Lady and Heir Malfoy.”
He and Abraxas shook hands until the blonde broke formality, “I’m glad I was able to finally… convince you to attend, my friend.”
“I’m fairly sure you mean bully me into coming. I had to bribe Severus to join me so I wouldn’t disappoint.”
Abraxas laughed and turned to the boy, “I’m glad to see that your sorting into Ravenclaw hasn’t dulled your Slytherin nature, Severus.”
“Of course not, sir. How else would I get Dad to make his chocolate ganache?”
Acacia and Abraxas laughed, both having tasted the cake before.
“Hadrian, darling, you simply must bring one of your creations for Lucius to try when you two join us for dinner after Christmas again.”
“Of course. I would love to,” He smiled at the woman, before turning to Lucius with a polite smile, “It is good to see you again, Heir Malfoy.”
Lucius inclined his head, “Likewise, Lord Peverell.”
Hadrian couldn’t help but be amused at the obvious less-than-sincere sentiment. In his original timeline, Lucius had perfected the ability to disparage people with his tone while appearing to remain impeccably polite. This young Lucius had not yet learned the ability, going by the barely hidden contempt on the boy’s face. It amused more than offended Hadrian to see a Lucius who hadn’t refined his scorn. Perhaps that is why he had continued to brush it off when he otherwise wouldn’t. Though his friendship with Abraxas also probably influenced that. He looked over at the man in question and saw Abraxas glaring at his son. Acacia also didn’t look very happy with her son. Deciding to defuse the situation slightly, Hadrian smiled at the two.
“Well, Severus and I should greet your other guests. We will see you inside in a bit, yes?”
Abraxas nodded, “Indeed. We will finish our greetings shortly.”
Hadrian nodded and led Severus into the ballroom. Once the Malfoys were out of hearing range, Severus muttered, “If I didn’t know Lady Malfoy was going to make him regret his disrespect, Heir Malfoy would find his remaining time at Hogwarts unpleasant.”
The young man chuckled, “Just don’t get caught. I would hate to have to explain to Abraxas why you decided to target his son.”
“Of course not,” the eleven-year-old scoffed. Hadrian swallowed his laughter as they began greeting the Lords and Ladies already in attendance.
***
When Sirius Black walked through the door, Severus cursed. He couldn’t believe he was going to have to deal with the moron during break. He had known Black was a pureblood with dark leanings and so his family would be friends with the Malfoys, however, it hadn’t occurred to him that Black would actually attend the ball with his family. Not with the way he always badmouthed his family. He sighed in resignation and began looking for his dad. Hopefully he’d be able to use the man as a sort of shield for a small time.
Severus frowned when he didn’t see Hadrian socializing anywhere. He had left his dad to make his rounds only a half an hour ago at most. Where could the man possibly be? Realizing it probably had something to do with Hadrian’s secret mission, Severus cursed again. There went that plan. He scanned the room for the best places he could possibly go to avoid Black.
“What are you doing here, Snivellus?”
Severus clenched his teeth at the stupid name Black had come up with. He turned around to see Black standing there, sneering at him. He raised an eyebrow at the stupid question, “Obviously, my father and I were invited, Black. Was that too much logic for your tiny brain to handle?”
Black growled at him, but before he could respond, a boy who had the same grey eyes, pale skin, and curly hair as Black interrupted, “Sirius, Mother and Father want you to greet the other heirs.”
“I’m busy, Reg.”
“And you think they care? You are heir, you have responsibilities.”
Black rolled his eyes and stomped off. The boy then turned to Severus, “Going by the sneer on my brother’s face, I figured you were also trying to avoid him.”
“I’m guessing your parents didn’t tell you to tell him that then?” Severus asked with a smirk.
The other boy snorted, “No, if they wanted him to do anything, they would have come and told him themselves. Sirius doesn’t always listen to me but I figured you’d appreciate the attempt.”
“I did, thank you. Severus Peverell.”
“Regulus Black.”
Severus glanced over and saw Black was heading back over to them, “Bla-Sirius is coming back. What do you say we avoid him together?”
“I think we are going to get along quite nicely,” Regulus smiled. Severus smiled back and they left to search for somewhere to hide.
Hadrian slipped back into the ballroom, disappointed that he wasn’t able to find the diary. He wasn’t particularly surprised though, considering Lucius hadn’t even graduated Hogwarts. He doesn’t even know if Lucius was marked yet. Hadrian did know that Abraxas warned Lucius against joining – not that Lucius was going to listen. That had been an interesting conversation with the man where he learned that Abraxas suspected Voldemort’s identity due to going to school with Tom Riddle. Abraxas didn’t trust Riddle and suspected the man of losing his sanity after a meeting with Voldemort. Hadrian was genuinely surprised, having thought that Abraxas would be an avid supporter of Voldemort before he became the madman he would be by the end of the first war. The conversation reminded Hadrian that not all purebloods were unreasonable bigots that he experienced in people like Draco Malfoy; while the war changed Draco’s attitude immensely, he had remained unmoved in respect to muggleborns and half-bloods.
The young man scanned the ballroom, resolving to keep searching for the diary while Abraxas was alive and inviting him to the manor for the Yule Ball. He had long since realized that he’d only have until his friend would meet his unfortunate end, sometime before Draco is born. Afterall, Lucius had made his feelings about Hadrian clear so he knew he probably wouldn’t be invited back after Abraxas passes. The knowledge that his friend’s death is unavoidable due to Dragon Pox being his cause of death hurt, but Hadrian knew that there was nothing he could do except spend time with his friend while he could.
Hadrian shook off his thoughts when he noticed Severus and another boy who looked very similar to Sirius were sitting behind a table, laughing quietly. Had he been anywhere else in the room, he probably wouldn’t have even noticed the boys. Amused, he wondered who or what Severus and Regulus – because he realized that was who the boy had to be – were hiding from.
Before he could wonder further, he saw a frustrated Sirius looking around. The boy saw the table, narrowed his eyes, and stomped over. He then leaned over the table to glare at the pair, obviously having some sort of temper tantrum. Severus and Regulus quickly adopted neutral expressions. Regulus interrupted Sirius, keeping his face blank, and Severus said something right after him. Whatever they said caused Sirius to look around in confusion, giving Severus and Regulus the chance to sneak under the tablecloth-covered table. Sirius turned back and saw them gone, glared, looked around the room, and stormed away. As soon as Sirius left, Severus and Regulus emerged from under the table and walked in the opposite direction, laughing once more.
Hadrian blinked at the scene, surprised. It was clear Severus was used to whatever vitriol Sirius spouted at him. He suspected that his son was used to much worse from Sirius, but due to where they were, the other boy was keeping his actions relatively mild so as not to draw attention to himself. Hadrian frowned, wondering why Severus hadn’t said anything to him if he was getting bullied by Sirius and probably James. Not wanting to draw attention to what the boys were doing, or interrupt the fun Severus was obviously having with Regulus despite Black’s attitude, he decided to leave it alone for the night. He would ask Severus about it after the party; Hadrian would not just stand by as his son was bullied. Resolved, the young man rejoined the party.
Severus blearily rubbed his eyes as he made his way to the kitchen. The smell of breakfast had woken him up, making him wonder what time it was. Usually his dad would wait to make breakfast so they could cook together. When he reached the kitchen, Hadrian was humming to himself as he flipped pancakes, bacon cooking in another pan. The young man glanced up and smiled at him before he moved to remove the bacon from the pan.
“Good morning, Sev.”
“Morning. Why didn’t you wake me up so I could help?”
“We got back pretty late from the party, so I figured I would let you sleep in.”
Severus nodded and refilled his dad’s coffee mug after he poured himself a glass of orange juice. He carried their drinks to the dining room, sneaking a sip of the coffee which caused his dad to tut disapprovingly at him, while his dad brought the food over. They ate quietly, simply enjoying the food and company. Severus finished half his breakfast when Hadrian broke the silence.
“So, I saw you made a friend at the party last night. The younger of the Black boys, I believe.”
Severus nodded, “Regulus. He’ll be at Hogwarts next year.”
“I also saw the two of you avoiding the Black heir.”
Severus paused, fork stuck in his pancake. He refused to look up, hiding behind his hair. He was afraid of what he would see if he looked at his dad.
“Can you look at me, please, Severus?” Hadrian questioned softly.
The eleven-year-old swallowed and hesitantly peeked through his hair. The look on Hadrian’s face was unreadable, but he had a soft look in his eyes that told Severus that he wasn’t angry.
“Will you explain to me why you were avoiding Regulus’s brother?”
“It’s nothing,” he reflexively responded, looking back down at his food.
“Severus.”
The boy swallowed and glanced up at his dad again. The soft look hadn’t left Hadrian’s eyes, even though his tone told him that the man wasn’t going to let him get away with that. Severus closed his eyes and sighed in defeat. He wouldn’t be able to get away with lying even if he wanted to. As much as he didn’t want to admit the truth, he never wanted to lie to his dad either.
Reluctantly, Severus quietly admitted, “He and James Potter bully me at school.”
“Why didn’t you tell me before?”
“I didn’t…” Severus swallowed and squeezed his eyes shut, hating to admit it, “I didn’t want to be a burden. You already do so much for me, and I should be able to handle a few pranks from a few idiots.”
He tensed when he heard his dad get up from his chair and move it so that he was sitting next to him.
“Severus, you are never a burden. I want to do all those things I do, and I will keep telling you that until you believe it. And there is nothing wrong with needing a little help to handle ‘a few idiots’, as you called them. I suspect those ‘pranks’, are not as simple or as few as you make it sound, either. I will never think less of you for something like this, so you have no need to be ashamed or afraid to tell me anything, okay?”
Severus nodded and leaned into his dad’s side. He relaxed when Hadrian wrapped an arm around his shoulder without hesitation. They sat in silence, both giving and taking comfort from one another.
Eventually, Hadrian broke the silence, “Now, why don’t we finish breakfast, afterwards you can tell me what these ‘pranks’ consist of so I can take care of it, and then we can do whatever you want. Sound good?”
Severus nodded and pulled away. He felt Hadrian place a kiss on his head before he stood up and moved to sit in front of his food again. Severus looked at his dad hesitantly, “Thanks, Dad.”
Hadrian smiled, before taking a bite of his breakfast. Severus smiled back before going back to his own breakfast. He wondered what his dad planned to do to stop the pranks, hoping that whatever Hadrian had planned worked.
Hadrian calmly flooed Hogwarts and waited for access to be granted to him. He had sent a request to meet with the Headmaster earlier in the week. The man had agreed, surprisingly accepting his request to do so while the students were on their way back to school. Severus was currently on the train, unaware that Hadrian was meeting with the Headmaster. He hated that his son was probably getting ‘pranked’ on his way to the school but knew that confronting the Headmaster while the students were already on their way was the best time to do this.
When the floo chimed, indicating that he could step through, he left his home and emerged in Albus Dumbledore’s office. Hadrian spelled the ashes from his robes and saw everything was exactly as he remembered. Whirring objects puffed away on a few shelves, and books filled the rest. The desk was immaculate, with the small piles of paperwork that he was obviously working on. Dumbledore, in his usual colorful robes, was smiling at him, eyes twinkling.
“Lord Peverell. I will admit I was surprised to get your message.”
“Headmaster Dumbledore. We have a few things to discuss.”
“Oh? Please sit, and we can talk. Lemon drop?”
“No thank you,” Hadrian sat down and continued when the other man motioned for him to do so, “It seems you have been rather… lax in your handling of bullies.”
Dumbledore blinked, obviously surprised, “I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean.”
Hadrian raised an eyebrow at the man, “I’m sure. Need I remind you of a few Gryffindors in attendance with a penchant for… how did my son put it? Pranking?”
“Ah, I see. You must mean James Potter and Sirius Black. I have noticed that Severus has been a main target, but it is as you said. Pranking. Nothing more than a few harmless jokes.”
“Harmless?” Hadrian growled, unable to keep his cool tone at the dismissive tone, “You consider slime that destroyed a student’s homework harmless? Or what about an animations spell that made him late to class and subsequently receive a detention? Or perhaps a charm that spouted insults and lies every time he opened a book? No, Headmaster. These are not harmless jokes.”
“My boy-”
The young man glared and cut off the older man, “I am not a boy, and I am definitely not yours. Do not presume to call me such.”
The older man swallowed and backpedaled, “I apologize. I did not mean any disrespect. I only wanted to point out that your son is only eleven and must have exaggerated as all children are wont to do. He has also dealt out as many pranks as he has taken.”
“And yet only he has met suitable punishment for ‘pranks’ that were not nearly as cruel as the ones he had aimed at him. He received detentions that were admittedly well-deserved, yet neither Black nor Potter received more than a measly point loss. I shudder to think what they could get away with due to the lack of punishment. As for his exaggerating,” Hadrian pulled a vial from his robes, “these are my son’s memories of the events. They consist of both Black and Potter’s attacks, as well as Severus’s retaliations. Smart my son may be, a master of mind magics he is not. As you said, he is eleven; He does not have the ability to create false memories, and none that could fool me if he had tried to create some. Would you care to see them, Headmaster?”
Dumbledore cleared his throat, “I do not believe that will be necessary.”
“Indeed. You will stop these ‘pranks’ from continuing, and enforce equal punishments to any student, Gryffindor or not, or I will take these,” Hadrian wiggled the vial of memories, “to the Board of Governors. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes,” Dumbledore replied. Hadrian noticed that the twinkle was noticeably absent from the man’s eyes. The young man was more satisfied than he probably should have been at that.
“Good. Then I will take my leave. Have a good day, Headmaster.”
Hadrian stood and strode back to the floo. It had felt good to tear into the man like that. While most of his… hostility was due to Dumbledore’s lack of action against his son’s bullies, he could admit that he had also released a bit of leftover resentment at the man’s manipulations in his original timeline. He flooed away without looking back at Dumbledore.
The entire school was whispering about how the Gryffindors, especially well-known pranksters Black and Potter, were finally receiving fair punishments. Rumors were rampant over what caused the change. Severus knew it had to have been his dad’s doing. It was too much of a coincidence for it not to be. He may have hoped that whatever the man had planned would end Potter and Black’s bullying, but a part of him doubted Hadrian would be able to make it happen. Yet somehow his dad had not only ended the pranks – Potter and Black began curbing their behavior after their punishments worsened, but stopped anything they didn’t think they could get away with after receiving a month’s detention and a trip to the Headmaster’s office less than a week after winter break ended – he also ended the favoring of Gryffindor house. Severus had been completely shocked, and sent a letter to his dad, demanding to know how he did it.
He received a reply on his birthday, the next day at lunch. Cassiel, the grey eagle owl his dad had gotten specifically for them to correspond, brought him a small package and a letter, fondly nipped his finger after Severus stroked a few feathers, stole a slice of bacon off his plate and flew back to Hogwarts’ owlery. Severus shook his head in amusement at the bird and read the letter.
After the expected birthday wishes, Hadrian told him that he had met with the Headmaster and “convinced” the man to see the folly in favoring Gryffindor students and doing nothing to stop the cruel pranks by Potter and Black. Severus snorted, convincing his arse. His dad had probably done something ridiculously over-the-top, like threatening Dumbledore with the memories Severus gave him, or something to that effect. He was amused at Hadrian’s over-protective tendencies. Luckily, the man was not stifling or over-bearing in his over-protectiveness.
After finishing the letter, he wondered what he did to deserve a dad who would confront not only the Headmaster of his school, but literally the leader of the British Magical government. He knew if Dumbledore was inclined, he could make Hadrian look really bad in the Wizengamot. From what he heard and saw about the man, Severus didn’t think Dumbledore would, especially since the Headmaster was more concerned with the war with Voldemort that had broken out just a few months ago. However, that didn’t make his dad’s actions any less incredible to him.
Severus snapped out of his thoughts a paper airplane hit him in the chest and landed on the table. Surprised, he opened it and saw Lily’s handwriting.
Library?
His lips twitched at the simple note. The boy looked up to the Gryffindor table and saw both Remus and Lily were watching him. Severus nodded and got up, stuffing the note and letter from his dad into his pocket before grabbing the still-unopened package that the letter said was his birthday gift. As soon as he was out of the Great Hall, his friends were by his side. He smirked; he could practically feel their curiosity at the package in his hands.
“So… What’s with the package?” Lily tried to casually ask.
Severus laughed. They didn’t even last two minutes before one of them asked. Deciding to mess with them slightly, he slightly sarcastically replied, “Seeing as how I haven’t opened it yet, I can hardly tell you, can I?”
Lily rolled her eyes at his response, “Come on, Sev. We saw you open the letter, so you must have some idea what it is. Or at least the reason you got it.”
“Well that’s easy. It’s my birthday gift from my dad.”
Both his friends stopped in shock before quickly catching up to Severus, who hadn’t stopped walking.
“Why didn’t you tell us it was your birthday?” Remus asked him curiously.
Severus shrugged. He hadn’t wanted to make a big deal of it, but he wasn’t going to admit that to either one of them. They, but especially Lily, would tut disapprovingly at him.
Lily opened her mouth to say something probably scathing at his lack of telling them, but Remus beat her to it, “Well, Happy Birthday. Now that we know though, next year you are getting a gift, whether you like it or not.”
“Damn right,” the red-head muttered.
The dark-haired boy chuckled as they entered the library. They immediately occupied their usual table in the back. Remus and Lily looked at Severus expectantly. He rolled his eyes and opened the package. On top was a container with three leftover slices of the chocolate ganache cake his dad made to fulfill his end of the deal for him going to the Malfoy Yule Ball. Attached to the container was a note and three forks. The note said: To share with your friends :)
Severus’s smiled slightly and removed the container. Underneath was a book called Languages and Their Magicks. Another note was attached on the top: Page 286.
He smiled wider as he stuffed that note in his pocket, knowing information on Parselmagic would be on that page. Severus pushed the book aside for now and opened the container with cake. He handed the other two forks to his friends and moved the container in between them.
Lily frowned, “Your dad sent you cake?”
“Trust me, you are going to be glad he did,” Severus said as he took a bite of one of the slices.
Remus and Lily followed his example. As soon as they tasted it, they both groaned.
“Merlin, your dad made this?” Remus questioned.
Severus nodded.
“He had to have used magic. No way he made something this good without,” Lily gushed.
“Nope. He refuses to use magic when handling chocolate. Says it takes some of the sweetness away. I am not sure if I believe that, but I’m not going to say anything if it keeps him cooking.”
“I think this has ruined all other chocolates for me and that’s saying something.”
Severus laughed at Remus’s comment. The other boy was an extreme chocoholic, “I’ll be sure to send your appreciation.”
They ate the next few bites of cake in comfortable silence when Remus asked, “What book did you get?”
The dark-haired boy smiled and told them, opening a conversation on the theory of why some languages were better for certain types of magics than others. Severus smiled and continued to eat the cake, discussing magic theory with his friends, no sign of Potter or Black pranking him. Overall, not a bad way to spend his birthday.
After the excitement of telling Dumbledore off for not punishing Sirius and James, Severus’s letter’s reported a normal time at Hogwarts. His son settled into spending time with his friends, studying, and telling off Sirius and James when need. Comforted that Severus was able to have what he hadn’t been able to, he, with Abraxas’s help, decided to try a few different things in the hope of picking up a hobby outside of attending Wizengamot sessions. So, for the next five months, Hadrian tried a few new things. He was currently learning to play the piano in between trying out different recipes – Abraxas and Acacia eagerly agreed to be his taste tester and he sent the approved treats to Severus – and writing a Defense book to improve what had been the reading material when he was a student – though he didn’t know if he’d publish it due to unknown consequences of doing so. While he hadn’t decided if he wanted to keep doing any of them as a hobby, they were all very effective at pushing away the boredom. Luckily, June had finally come, and Severus was on his way home for the summer.
Hadrian was standing at the platform, not unlike he had when waiting for Severus in December for the winter break, or in April for the Easter hols. When his son had come home for Easter, he had noticed that the boy was a bit quieter than usual, which was saying something considering Severus’s quiet demeanor. It was obvious his son was working through something, but he trusted the boy to tell him when he was ready. Hadrian didn’t think it was something like James and Sirius’s bullying, so he wasn’t overly worried. That being said, he was still worried and anxiously waited for Severus to tell him.
The young man snapped out of his thoughts when the train pulled into the platform. The students began getting off the train, and Hadrian excitedly began searching for the sight of Severus. Eventually his son emerged from the train, Lily and a boy he recognized as a young Remus with him. All three were looking around the platform, obviously looking for their families. Severus appeared to see him before his friends saw their own families, as he pointed him out and began walking towards him. Hadrian was surprised when the other two followed him. When Severus was close enough, Hadrian smirked and, before the dark-haired boy could do more than look slightly panicked, he pulled his son into a hug.
“Dad,” Severus complained, obviously embarrassed.
Hadrian laughed but released his son, smiling at the blush on the boy’s face, “Sorry, I couldn’t resist. I just missed you so much.”
Severus rolled his eyes and turned so he could introduce his friends and his blush darkened when he saw the two were smiling at their display. He glared slightly at his dad. Hadrian just smirked. The boy then cleared his throat, “Dad, this is Lily Evans and Remus Lupin. Lily, Remus, this is my dad, Hadrian Peverell.”
Lily stuck out a hand to shake, “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Peverell.”
“Please, you are friends with my son so you may call me Hadrian. It is nice to meet you as well, Ms. Evans.”
“Just Lily is fine, sir.”
Hadrian smiled at her and turned to Remus, “It’s a pleasure to meet you also, Mr. Lupin.”
“Remus is fine, sir. It is nice to meet you,” the boy was about to say something more but stopped himself.
When Severus rolled his eyes at his friend, Hadrian smirked, knowing what Remus stopped himself from saying and decided to take pity on him, “I hear you both enjoyed the baked goods I sent Severus? Remus, you liked the chocolate ones especially, if I remember correctly?”
“Your baking is the best thing I have ever tasted,” the boy blurted out before blushing fiercely.
Severus and Lily both laughed at their friend while Hadrian smiled in amusement, “That is quite the compliment. Thank you. I’ll be sure to continue sending Severus some treats to share with you. Perhaps the two of you could visit for a day sometime this summer so you can try a real meal.”
“Really? Thank you,” Lily beamed at him. Hadrian smiled and nodded.
Lily then exclaimed, “Oh! I should go find my parents. Would you mind waiting? I would love for you and Severus to meet them.”
“I would also like to introduce my parents if you are willing to wait,” Remus agreed.
Hadrian smiled again, “Of course.”
The two quickly ran off in search of their parents. Severus turned to look at him, “You’re really okay with them coming over?”
“Of course I am. They’re your friends. You can invite them over whenever you want.”
Severus smiled at him and hugged him, “Thanks, Dad. I missed you too.”
Hadrian smiled and kissed the top of his son’s head. The boy pulled away a second later, just as Lily was returning with her parents and Remus with his mother. The introductions were quickly made between all of them, and Hadrian couldn’t help but think the whole thing felt surreal, considering he had just effectively met his mother and maternal grandparents – Rose and David Evans, he learned their names for the first time, and didn’t that tell you how messed up his life had been that he hadn’t even known their names before. They, of course, had no idea, but the whole experience reminded him how strange his life had become. It was also interesting to meet Hope Lupin since she was his godson’s – Teddy’s – grandmother, but for obvious reasons, it was not as surreal as with the Evans. He did wonder, however, where Remus’s father was. He remembered that the man was obsessed with finding a cure for his son’s lycanthropy, which is what made the family poor, but didn’t know anything more about him. Figuring he would probably meet the man later due to Severus’s friendship with Remus, he put the thought aside for now.
A few minutes later, they all said their goodbyes, Severus, Lily and Remus all promising to keep in touch with each other. Hadrian ushered his son to the floo and took them home. The young man spelled the ash away after he did so, Severus gained his attention.
“Dad?”
“Hmm?” Hadrian turned to see Severus was biting his lip in nervousness. He wondered what his son could possibly be so nervous to say to him.
“I just… I wanted to say thank you. For everything you’ve done for me. I don’t know what I did to deserve a dad as great as you, but I’m grateful that I have you.”
The young man tilted his head, “What brought this on, Sev?”
Severus shrugged, “You confronted Dumbledore for me and I was just really thankful you would do that for me. It makes me wish I was your real son and not Tobias’s.”
Hadrian frowned at the self-depreciating thoughts that his son had obviously been struggling with. He knelt in front of the boy and placed his hands on Severus’s shoulders, “Severus, you are my real son and have been since I first loved you as a son. Nothing can change that. Blood means nothing compared to the way I feel about you. So I don’t want you to ever think that you are not my real son. It is for that reason that I would confront one-hundred Dumbledores if you needed me to, because you’re the best son I could ask for and I am grateful I have you too.”
Severus threw himself in Hadrian’s arms, not unlike he had when he was six-years-old and Hadrian had told him he would always protect him before bringing him home for the first time. He steadied the them so they wouldn’t fall over, before he hugged his son just as tightly, smiling into his son’s hair.