Chapter 17 – Turf War

The sound of a sharp crack penetrates the haze of Severus’ fury.

Poppy’s shriek of “Severus Snape!” filters through slowly, and then he stumbles back as strong arms force him away.

He sees Potter fall to the ground through a tunnel. The window, now partially fragmented, is stained red by the blood that now adorns Potter’s raven hair like a crown of bleeding roses. He allows Lucius to pull him back as Holly rushes to Potter’s side.

As Lucius pushes him towards Poppy’s office whilst the witch in question frantically works her magic on the fallen student, Severus catches a glimpse of the fifth-year Gryffindors, all of whom look at him with expressions of anger, fear and shock.

Severus has never lost control in such a way. Never.

“I have to do this, Severus,” Lucius’ voice sounds strange to him, lost in another ethereal dimension, far from the state of paralysis Severus is in. Too lost in his own mind, he doesn’t notice when Lucius pulls his wand out or when the blond locks him in Poppy’s office.

ooOoo

Several hours later, Severus sits in Albus’ office, feeling like a chastised student. He dares not look at Albus’s disappointed eyes, Minerva’s angry ones, or Lucius’s cold irises.

No one has spoken for several minutes, and Severus both dreads the moment the silence will be broken and waits impatiently for it.

 Wanting to break the silence as much as he wants to know what his daughter thinks of him, Severus asks: “Where’s Holly?”

No one answers him. Looking up, he sees them all exchanging glances with each other.

“Potter’s the boy she was talking about, isn’t he?”  he inquires when no one speaks up. “The boy she kept calling her brother?”

With nothing to do but to think about his daughter and her reaction, as it was less unpleasant than to think about his own behaviour, pieces begin to fall in place for Severus. The woman from the care home, whose name he couldn’t remember, had mentioned the boy his daughter had practically thrown herself from the car for; her research into Harry through the history books, which he had erroneously assumed was regarding Death Eaters; her upset at finding Potter had been hurt by Black. He also thinks bitterly about her easy relationship with Regulus, who had been carrying messages from Potter all summer long - who had even sent blueberry pancakes for Holly. The boy had been one step ahead the whole time. Lucius, and presumably Narcissa, had been in on it the whole damn time!

Did the Tonks know? They were in and out of Grimmauld Place, so it seemed quite likely. Severus had even trusted Andromeda to heal Holly… And Albus? Had he been a part of the deceit? Was the whole damn Order, apart from Severus, aware?

Looking at Minerva, he realises she too knew, as he thinks back to her behaviour at breakfast. Merlin, was that only this morning? Suddenly, it occurs to him as he thinks about his godson’s behaviour since the Sorting last evening that Draco must know it too.

He thinks about Potter’s easy familiarity with Holly and about Holly’s impassioned defence of Potter, and everything finally seems to make sense.

Another Potter is taking someone important from Snape once more.

“Did you all laugh at me?” Severus spits out with rising irritability at their silence. “Did you have fun hiding it all from me, taking joy in conspiring against me?”

Standing up from his seat, he gives them each a look of betrayal.

“I did what was necessary, Severus,” Lucius replies evenly, studying the Potions Master carefully.

The Floo flares before Severus can reply, and Regulus steps out. Letting his anger get the best of him once more, Severus lashes out, shoving him back physically, his wand still sitting on Dumbledore’s desk.

Minerva gasps. “Severus!”

Lucius steps forward once more to pull his friend back. Only Albus doesn’t move from his seat.

“Let go of me, Severus,” Regulus pronounces coldly, pushing back with force.

Severus’ mind flashes back to Potter, and he stumbles back in remembrance, paling at the thought that he has lost control yet again.

Tamping down on the rising guilt, he lashes out verbally instead, “You! You tricked your way into my home, into my daughter’s life - for him?”

“Does that excuse what you did?” Regulus retorts icily.

Severus flounces away, nudging past Lucius. Crossing his arms tightly over his chest, he gives them all a baleful look.

Albus finally speaks up, ordering quietly, “Sit down, everyone. We have much to discuss, which we will do as civilised adults.”

Extra chairs appear at a flick of the Headmaster’s wand, and they all begrudgingly take a seat.

“I’ve been blind,” Severus begins sullenly, “blind to think I could trust any of you.”

“You are blind,” Lucius counters, “in your prejudices against Potter. The boy had a better relationship with Holly while you struggled to connect with her.”

Before Severus can retort, Albus interjects with, “Enough.”

Once Lucius and Severus turn their attention to the Headmaster again, Albus sighs, pressing his knuckles to his forehead in fatigue before turning his attention back to those in front of him.

“You are right, Severus,” Albus begins. “You were not made privy to information that is your right. We can only apologise. However, you must understand that none of it was done with malicious intent.”

The Potions Master holds his tongue at Albus’s severe look, jutting his chin forward.

“Let’s clear the air before moving on to other matters,” Albus continues. “Regulus?”

At the Headmaster’s nod, Regulus sighs and turns to Severus.

“The first I heard about your daughter was when you received your letter from your father. Since his third year, Harry’s been writing to me: most of his letters have been about classes and school events and such, though he referred to a girl and her grandmother. I just thought they were neighbours he was close to. Certainly, Harry was never open about his life with the muggles, so I didn’t give it much thought - not when his letters were more about learning about Sirius and later about the Tournament.

“When Harry was brought to Headquarters partway through the summer, he confided in me about Holly. He said he knew she was a witch and that her grandmother, Iris, had passed away before Harry returned to Privet Drive. Harry only met with Holly briefly before the muggle social services took her away, and Harry’s not seen her since. Not until the Sorting last night.”

“But you’ve been passing his messages to my child all summer,” Severus says venomously.

Regulus exchanges a glance with Lucius.

“Harry showed me photos of Holly when he asked me to look for her. I had to come to Albus to discuss finding her and bringing her to my home. At that point, neither Albus nor I knew she was yours.”

Severus looks between them all, still tightly coiled, not the least bit placated by this information.

“Lucius had called for me to speak to him regarding bringing Narcissa to Grimmauld Place once term began when I asked him if you found your child. I recognised her straight away from Harry’s photos. Lucius allowed me to speak to her, “ Severus glares at Lucius at this, “and I confirmed to her I knew Harry.”

Severus recalls how Holly had thrown herself at Regulus the first day she had met him and gives the other wizard a resentful look.

“You should have told me then,” Severus hisses, clenching his fists.

Lucius takes over the tale, “Regulus advised me of Potter’s connection to Holly. Between us, we decided it was best you didn’t know.”

“You decided?” Severus repeats with a curl of his lip.

“Holly trusted Regulus because he knew Potter. He got a better response from her in minutes than any of us had in weeks. That child opened up to him where she wouldn’t open up to us,” Lucius points out. “He had an advantage, and he used it. I would have done the same in his shoes. And given your antipathy to all things Potter, it was better that you didn’t know.”

“Can you deny, Severus, what your reaction would have been about Harry knowing Holly? Can you fathom Holly’s reaction if you forbade her from seeing him? From communicating with him?” Regulus asks.

The other grimaces at the truth of those words. The screaming match between him and his daughter would have surpassed that of this morning, which was quite mild when it came down to it. Still, he would have ensured that Potter wouldn’t come near his daughter. He can still make that happen; he just needs to be more subtle about it.

She’s mine, he thinks fiercely. No one will take her away from me.

“As we have now established Harry and Holly’s previous association, we must now move on to your conduct, Severus,” Albus reminds the Potions Master of what he is trying to avoid.

He wants to protest. Now that his instincts have woken up after being dormant the whole summer, at least regarding his daughter, he feels there is still more missing from the picture than he is being led to believe.

He has never assaulted a student before. Despite his short temper, he has never been tempted, content to punish them by back-breaking menial labour that either he or Argus can come up with via detentions. Severus knows he has always walked a fine line. Many students have complained about his teaching style over the past nineteen years he has been teaching, though he has never been given more than a slap on the wrist.

Now, not only has he hurt a student, he has hurt Potter - Minerva’s darling, Albus’s Golden Boy. Lily’s son. He had felt the magic of the Vow at the time he’d heard the crack of Potter’s skull against the window. The Vow had warned him he was pushing too far. Perhaps it was his intent that saved him.

“Explain yourself, Severus,” Minerva says crisply, speaking up for the first time.

 “Holly ran out of the classroom, and I meant to follow, but Draco waylaid me,” Severus clarifies stiffly, facing forward entirely yet looking no one in the eye. 

Regulus stands up from his chair, and Severus tenses as the other wizard steps behind him. He has to resist the urge to turn. If Regulus tries to curse him, he hopes Albus is not too mad to protect him.

“Draco and I had left my classroom, hoping to see Holly in the Great Hall, when Miss Granger came running back. She told me Potter had to take my daughter to the Hospital Wing,” Severus continues, staring at the quill on the Headmaster’s desk. “She had no further details when I questioned her, and I raced up to the Hospital Wing.”

He’d been about to examine Holly himself when he’d seen Potter’s smirk. And it was that smirk - so similar to his father’s annoyingly arrogant one - that had enraged Severus. Made him think Potter had done something like send Granger to Severus on false pretences. Pretended Holly was injured or even hurt her something to get back at him. He had vanished the idiot boy’s potion after all. He’d been trying to show his daughter that the boy is nothing special - attempted to show the boy that association with his daughter would grant him no special favours.

“I … may have erroneously assumed … Potter had hurt Holly in some way,” the dark-haired wizard says stiltedly.

Regulus makes a sound of discontentment behind him that has Severus suppressing a flinch. He can feel the other man’s eyes boring into the back of his neck.

“I have spoken to each of the witnesses individually; each has confirmed that it was Holly who came to Harry and asked him to take her to the Hospital Wing,” Albus confirms.

“Why?” Severus asks sharply, teetering between worry and hurt she hadn’t come to him. He is her father, after all. “What happened? Where is she now? No one said anything…”

Albus raises his hands, moving his palms down in a placating gesture.

“You can rest your mind, Severus,” Albus advises calmly. “She did not want to visit because she was injured in any way. Rather, it was for Harry.”

“Potter was not injured when he left my classroom,” Severus hastens to add. If Potter is claiming Severus let him out of the classroom harmed in some way, then Severus’ position is even more precarious. He does not doubt that they would take the word of the Golden Boy over his, especially when there are witnesses who saw him harm Potter quite grievously.

Albus nods, “Indeed, he was not.” Then he sighs wearily once more. “You have to understand, Severus. You assaulted a student. Moreover, in front of other students. Whatever the justification, you were not defending anyone. You had no proof that Holly was harmed in any way. Our students know you to be a harsh teacher, but do you believe any of them will set foot in your classroom if they think you will hurt them?”

Severus swallows, feeling sick. He is no longer a spy. The whole reason he is here at Hogwarts is to protect Potter, but if Albus believes Severus is incapable of that, then he could just as easily replace him with someone else. He only hopes it will be someone who will look after his Snakes. Despite his ire with Lucius about Holly and Potter, he knows his friend will look out for the Slytherins.

“You are – will you –? When do I leave?” he asks stiffly, his heart racing. Undoubtedly, Potter is pushing for his dismissal.

Albus observes him carefully over the top of his half-moon glasses; however, he feels no tell-tale tickle of Legilimency against his shields.

“Your position is secure,” the Headmaster assures him quietly. “However, your assault cannot go unpunished. I’m sure you understand I must suspend you.”

Severus nods jerkily. Suspension is better than dismissal, but it would still mean he could not stay at school. He and Holly would have to return to Lucius’s house once Regulus gave Severus the address. He certainly wouldn’t have been welcome at Grimmauld Place, not with Black in the house and Regulus, who had somehow become Potter’s latest defender. Oh, how Potter manages to get everyone around his fingers…

Still, Severus would be able to wean Holly off Potter’s presence, at least during that limited period. If he had known about the two of them sooner, he would have spent the summer persuading her Potter was useless and definitely not her brother.

Regulus sighs from behind Severus. “Actually, Albus, Harry has asked you not to kick Severus out of Hogwarts.”

Severus jerks in his chair, turning to see Regulus, who only stares at him intently.

“Of course, I disagree with Harry, Severus,” Regulus derides. “You deserve to be suspended because had it been anyone other than Harry, you wouldn’t have reacted as violently,” 

Severus begins to speak in a vain attempt to defend himself and his deplorable action, but the other wizard interrupts him abruptly.

“I don’t want to hear your denial.”

“Gentleman, please,” Albus intervenes, raising his hands again. “You must all understand the tenuous position we are in. Severus, you physically harmed a student in your care, no matter the provocation. Not that Harry provoked you,” he adds when Regulus opens his mouth to interrupt.

Severus, thinking back to Potter’s smirk, silently disagrees.

“As I said earlier, several students witnessed this and their trust in you is shaken.”

As if the Gryffindors had ever trusted me in the first place.

“Regulus is correct in that you should be suspended,” Albus continues. “That is the befitting consequence of your actions.

”

Severus knows and understands this: had any other teacher dared touch one of his Snakes, he would have raised hell until the person was punished.

You did nothing when Quirrell jinxed Potter’s broom, a sly voice whispers in his head, his guilty conscience creeping into the fractures of his mind.

I muttered the Counter-jinx, and besides, the boy isn’t my Snake. He isn’t my responsibility.

Severus Occludes as soon as he realises the fallacy of his words; arguing with himself isn’t helping.

Meanwhile, Minerva speaks up once more. “Albus, may I speak with you in private?”

Taking his eyes off Severus, Albus nods at his deputy.

Getting up from her seat, Minerva moves behind the Headmaster’s desk, where Albus promptly erects a Privacy Ward.

“No one’s answered,” Severus says immediately, turning to Lucius, “Where’s Holly? Is she okay?”

Lucius flicks a quick look at Regulus before coming back to Severus.

“She’s been with Potter in the Hospital Wing the whole time.”

Severus grimaces.

“I don’t know what your problem with Harry is,” the other wizard begins, “but it’s reasonable to say that it’s now-”

“You know what my problem with Potter is,” Severus hisses, standing up to confront Regulus, who coldly stares at him.

“I meant Harry, not James.”

 Severus scoffs, “The boy’s just like his father.”

Regulus gives him a hard stare. Severus cannot deny the hurt at the other wizard’s actions. After everything Potter the elder put him through, Regulus now defends Potter against him.

He shakes his head disappointedly. “You’re a brick wall, Severus.”

“So you’re choosing Potter over me?” Severus asks stoically, ignoring the turmoil of disappointment and anger within himself.

“A brick wall,” Regulus repeats, almost defeated, looking away sadly.

“I regret my actions to Potter,” Severus confesses stiffly, and as he says this, he realises he is telling the truth, not just because his job is on the line.

Looking back at him, Regulus gives him another hard stare.

“And you can apologise to Harry directly for them,” Albus asserts, coming out from the Privacy Ward with Minerva.

“Of course,” Severus nods, though he is not looking forward to the prospect.

Potter will undoubtedly gloat at having the formidable dungeon bat at his mercy. Making him apologise publicly so everyone could hear, have him go down on one knee. No, Severus is not looking forward to apologising to Potter at all.

“As to your consequences,” Albus continues, sharing a glance with Minerva, “we have ultimately decided not to suspend you. However, you will be placed under restrictions. You shall be confined to your quarters for the next four weeks when not in classes or staff meetings. You shall not be allowed to assign detention to any student, nor will you be allowed to take or award points. You will be supervised by another professor of my choosing during your office hours. I shall call a staff meeting to ask for volunteers for the task and take over the patrols you were scheduled for. During the next four weeks, you do not have permission to speak to any student one-on-one. Suppose a student requests individual time with you; another staff member must be present in that case, though appropriate privacy spells will be allowed. Any questions?”

“You’re grounding me?” Severus asks disbelievingly.

Albus pins him with an implacable look.

“Call it what you will,” he states coolly. “You are lucky I have not decided to dock your pay or suspend you for the month - or worse, called the Aurors and have charges pressed against you.”

Chastised, Severus agrees. There could be worse consequences than that.

“Now, use my Floo to go to the Hospital Wing,” Albus instructs. “One of us shall follow you shortly.”

Nodding, Severus moves towards the fireplace, but the Headmaster stops him once again before he can take the powder.

“You may need to grovel to Poppy.”

Severus is confused at first as to why he would need to do that until he remembers that, apart from assaulting her patient and possibly making whatever was ailing the boy worse, he had also pushed Poppy out of the way. After he steps into the green flames, to the utmost horror, he also recalls shoving Holly.

Suppressing a groan, he steps out of the Floo and berates himself. He has really made a hash of things today. And it’s only the first day of classes.

Poppy is the first thing he sees as he straightens up. Albus’ warning of needing to grovel to the medi-witch is an understatement. He hadn’t seen Poppy this angry since the summer when Albus had announced that Hogwarts would be hosting the Triwizard Tournament. 

“Poppy,” Severus begins to say, but at the same time, the fireplace flares green once more.

“Albus,” Poppy exclaims in relief, ignoring Severus completely. “Finally. They’ve been restless for hours.”

They?

“My apologies, Poppy,” Albus excuses himself humbly. “There was much to discuss.”

At Severus’ questioning look, Albus clarifies, “The students who witnessed the altercation were separated within the Infirmary. They have been up here since lunchtime. No one who has not needed Poppy’s wonderful service has been allowed in.”

He turns back to Poppy and asks, “Is Harry awake?”

“Only briefly. I had to wake him earlier to take another Pain-Reliever. After he’s eaten, I’ll be dosing him with a Sleeping Potion.”

“How long will you be keeping him?” Albus queries.

“If Harry wants, he can return to classes in the morning with the proviso that he comes to see me straight after his last lesson.”

Severus wouldn’t put it past the boy to milk the injury for all it’s worth so he could get more time away from classes. Then he realises what Poppy called him. Since when has she been on a first-name basis with the boy?

“Have they given you trouble?”

“Messers Thomas, Longbottom and Malfoy have earned themselves detention each.”

“Oh, dear,” Albus comments. “What happened?”

“Holly refused to leave Harry’s side,” Poppy elaborates, “and Mr Malfoy tried to pry her away. Messrs Thomas and Longbottom took exception that Mr Malfoy tried to take her away - physically. Not to mention the hell Holly raised. Matters escalated, but this time, I was able to intervene before anyone else got hurt.”

Severus hides a wince at the words, knowing they are aimed at him. Also, he is surprised to find that Draco is up here. He hadn’t known the boy had followed him up, though he should have expected it.

“And your wrist, my dear?” Albus inquires mildly.

 Severus widens his eyes in alarm as the words hit where they intended to. “You were hurt?”

Poppy turns to face him fully this time, fury etched in every wrinkle. Then, just as suddenly, she deflates and turns back to face Albus, professional mask back on.

“The other matter we discussed previously, Headmaster,” Poppy says in formal, clipped tones. “I have discovered that the items have ...increased.”

Severus looks on in confusion and rising foreboding as Albus’s face ages before him.

“I promise you, Poppy, no more,” Albus asserts gravely, his words just as mysterious as hers. “I have proof. In fact, I believe a discourse is long overdue. You are welcome to join us.”

Poppy’s expression cycles through relief, joy and satisfaction, then surprises Severus with her vindictive tone, “Oh, I will, Headmaster.”

“My only regret is that it took me too long to take action,” Albus says sorrowfully.

Unable to tame his curiosity, Severus asks: “What is this about?”

A cold mask settles back on the usually genial witch’s face. Severus, who always has respected the medi-witch’s professionalism, and her gentle and kind-hearted nature, finds himself despairing at the receiving end of her ire. As much as he knows he deserves it.

Cowed at her look, he hastily mumbles his apology.

With a significant look at Severus, Albus announces, “I shall go out and speak with the students, Poppy. I will also arrange their detentions if you wish.”

“Yes, Headmaster,” she replies to Albus’s departure.

Left alone with her, Severus tries once more to apologise.

“Poppy, will you please forgive me for -” he falters a little under her cold gaze, “I lost my temper and took it out on the wrong people. I was only worried for Holly.”

He is wrong if he thought mentioning his worry for his daughter would soften Poppy’s temper in any way.

“If you ever harm a patient under my care again, Severus Snape…” Poppy threatens, letting the warning linger.

“Understood,” he agrees hastily. Then, curious as to why Potter was brought to the Hospital Wing at all, he asks, “Why was Potter  -”

Swiftly shutting him down, Poppy answers brusquely, “As you are neither the boy’s Housemaster nor his guardian, you are not entitled to that information, Professor Snape.”

Chastised once more, Severus nods, hurt more by her formality than expected.

“I -” he sighs, closing his eyes, wishing he could start the whole morning again and not let Holly anywhere near Potter.

Severus and Poppy exit her office to see Albus murmuring to the Gryffindors in a placating manner. Draco, he sees, is alone and scowling at the others. The scowl melts as soon as he lays eyes on Severus.

“Professor,” he bursts out upon seeing Severus and falls silent when the Potions Master steps towards Potter’s bed. He becomes sullens and withdraws, though he watches carefully. 

The Gryffindors, Severus notes, all give him looks of anger. He does not fail to notice how they close ranks protectively around Potter’s bed. His eyes go to the far side of the Infirmary wing, where he had bashed Potter’s head against the window. The blood and the cracked glass have been cleaned and repaired, respectively.

Reluctantly, he brings his gaze to the one person who he has been avoiding since he exited Poppy’s office.

Holly hasn’t even noticed his entrance. She is lying in bed with Potter, her head resting on his torso, eyes peacefully closed. He cannot tell whether she is sleeping, though Potter seems to be dozing, with his arm protectively around her shoulders.

She stirs from her position, drowsily opening her eyes which clash with his.

Unexpectedly, the empty vial next to Potter’s bedside shatters. The loud noise startles the dozing duo out of their slumber. Albus is able to react quickly and vanishes the glass before it gets far. Distantly, Severus observes how Potter reacts by covering Holly. 

Holly continues to glare at him. A stern look from Albus and Poppy shows him that they know who caused that reaction from the child, and neither appreciates it. Indeed, to Severus’ gall, Poppy hovers anxiously over Potter.

“Not too fast, Harry dear. Are you in pain?”

“No, Madam Pomfrey,” he murmurs, his voice hoarse from little use. “Just felt dizzy from the sudden movement. What was that?”

At that moment, Lucius arrives from Poppy’s office, thankfully distracting everyone from answering that question.

“Father -” Draco begins but falls silent and resentful once more when Lucius raises a hand to allay him, as he too focused on Potter.

Potter has yet to notice Severus’ presence, never mind reacting to Draco’s announcement of the elder Malfoy. He holds his bandaged head and clenches his eyes shut before taking a deep breath.

Severus finds himself doing the same, though for different reasons. He needs to get control of his anger before Albus decides to suspend him after all, but seeing how his daughter is still draped over Potter makes him want to snatch her away and tell Dumbledore he would rather leave the castle than see the two of them together, thick as thieves.

Albus and Poppy assist Potter, who is surely acting more feeble than he actually is, into a sitting position.

Lucius walks over to his son, where a heated argument - at least from Draco’s side - occurs.

“Holly,” Severus calls before he can stop himself. “Go to Draco.”

Draco throws a smug look towards the Gryffindors, who react by either bristling - Weasley - or rolling their eyes - Longbottom.

Finally looking at him for the first time, she replies coldly, “No.”

The harsh look she throws at him has his heart sinking to his knees. She had not been this hostile for weeks, not since before their argument where she laid some savage truths at his feet over his treatment of her mother.

Draco’s face falls at her refusal, and Lucius reassuringly lays his hand on his son’s shoulder.

“It’s okay,” Potter’s voice interrupts softly. “You’ve been here all day. You should go get some dinner.”

Holly shakes her head, stubbornly staying put. Though she is now sitting up, she remains seated on the bed, pressing herself to Potter’s side while the boy keeps his arm possessively around her shoulders.

“Perhaps, my darling girl,” Albus entreats tenderly, giving the girl a soft smile, “you can give us a few minutes to speak about something private. What do you say?”

Looking uncertainly between Potter, the Headmaster and Severus, Holly asks, “You won’t let him hurt Harry again, will you?”

Severus cannot help the sharp intake of breath at her words.

Albus shakes his head, smiling gently.

“I shall be here the whole time,” he promises. “Go with your Aunt Poppy and your new friends. Enjoy dinner in the Great Hall. Harry shall be here in the morning. Your father shall follow shortly.”

“He’s not my father,”  she denies vehemently.

Severus hides a flinch at the harsh words he hadn’t heard from her for a very long time.

“Holly,” Potter tries to soothe her, but to no avail.

“He hurt you,” she insists. “He’s not my dad.” 

Potter sighs and tries to speak again, but she buries her face in his shoulder. Potter looks at Albus in askance.

“He was only worried about you,” he whispers as he pats her comfortingly.

  “If he hurts you, then he hurts me too.”

Poppy, prompted by a look from Albus, steps forward, gently extracting the child from Potter’s side.

“Come on, darling. Let’s go and get some food. Hm? Harry needs to rest. You may come back in the morning to have breakfast together.”

Poppy manages to coax the reluctant child away from Potter’s side. Then a little more brusquely, she gestured for the Gryffindors to follow her. 

“Headmaster? Are you able to stay until I return?”

“I shall, indeed, remain here until you return, my dear,” Albus assures the medi-witch.

“If the Headmaster isn’t here, Madam Pomfrey,” Regulus reassures her, having stepped in at some point, “I definitely will be.”

 Holly runs to Regulus, throwing her arms around his waist.

“Don’t worry, darling,” he calms her down, dropping to one knee and pulling her into an embrace. “I’ll look after him.”

Looking more comforted at his presence, Holly allows Poppy to take her hand and let herself be led out.

“See you in the morning, Harry,” Granger says, approaching the boy for a brief hug.

Severus has no choice but to stoically watch the sickening display of Gryffindor banalities as they make their exit. Holly looks over her shoulder constantly until the door closes behind her.

“We should go as well, Draco,” Lucius suggests softly. He then nods at everyone left in the Wing, guiding a protesting Draco along with him.

Regulus sits by Potter’s bedside, leaving Severus stiffly moving forward. Potter looks questioningly between them all.

“What’s going on?” he asks, aiming his question at Albus.

“Severus has something to say,” Albus replies. His voice is mild, but it doesn’t match the look in his eyes.

Potter obligingly looks towards the Potions Master, who finds himself pinned by achingly familiar green eyes - so much that he has to move his own to stare at the boy’s partially hidden scar instead.

Swallowing, he crosses his arms and begins, “Mr Potter, I must apologise for my earlier behaviour. I - I misunderstood the situation. Miss Granger told me Holly was brought up here and …” he clears his throat, “... I thought… I thought she was hurt.”

“You were worried,” Potter states, the calm voice containing a sympathetic note, almost of pity.

“I - Yes. I was.”

“You thought I hurt her.”

Severus stays silent for fear of incriminating himself.

Thankfully, Potter does not expect a response.

“I would never hurt Holly,” he declares. He looks like he is about to say something more but, inexplicably, turns to Regulus with a frown. Regulus shakes his head, which clears Potter’s expression, but sends Severus’ instincts into overdrive. The feeling that more is being hidden from him grips him once more.

Turning back to Severus, Potter continues, “I was eight when I met Holly and her grandmother. Iris was - She was the best grandmother. To both of us.”

Perhaps it is Potter’s ridiculously earnest look; maybe it is Severus’ building desire to know what is being concealed from him; whatever it is, it results in the Potions Master’s second mistake of the day.

Catching Potter’s gaze, Severus capitalises on the eye contact - his intention is to see into the boy’s mind, to know what secret is being buried from him.

Unbelievably, he is thrown out of Potter’s mind, being able to catch only a glimpse of greenery. The boy yelps in pain, clutching his head in apparent agony.

Severus, paling at his error, reluctantly locks eyes with Albus. The Headmaster’s fierce blue eyes take him back to a night so very long ago when Severus had thrown himself at the wizard’s mercy upon finding the Dark Lord’s target in Lily. Severus had seen Albus this angry only months ago when the older wizard had been informed that Mundungus Fletcher had abandoned his post and left Potter to fend for himself against two Dementors.

Regulus shields Potter protectively, sending his own glare towards Severus, who looks down at Albus’s hand to see him holding his wand.

“Poppy’s office,” Albus orders harshly. “Now.”

Hoping to stall the inevitable, as Albus locks Poppy’s office door upon their entry, Severus comments: “Potter knows Occlumency.”

However, Albus is not to be distracted as he sets his disappointed eyes on the former spy. “You have made a liar of me, Severus.”

“Albus,” Severus tries to defend himself, but the older wizard interrupts quite brutally.

“I assured your child that I would not allow you to hurt Harry any further, and you have made a liar out of me,” Albus repeats, his voice harsh and edgy that hints at the disappointment he has experienced.

Severus has no words to defend himself. This morning, at least, he had the excuse of worrying about Holly. Yet, minutes earlier, his excuse had been nothing more than curiosity. Since retrieving Holly from the muggle Care Home, he has made mistake after mistake. Whatever progress he had made in the last few weeks in establishing a relationship with his daughter has been undone in mere seconds. In losing his temper, he might have hurt Potter physically - and now mentally - but due to her closeness to the Boy-Who-Lived, Severus has also hurt his daughter.

He knows he needs to regroup - get away from Potter and think of how he can salvage his relationship with his daughter.

“You are being irrational, Severus,” Albus sighs, a weary look settling over him that makes the Potion Master feel guilty for putting it there. The Headmaster continues with a look of pain, “My previous restrictions still stand. However, I am suspending you from all your duties, Severus, though you shall be confined to your rooms for the first two weeks. No interaction with anyone except those who come to visit you.”

Severus makes a sound of dismay, feeling the punishment a little harsh.

“You used Legilimency against a student, worse; a concussed student,” Albus retorts sharply. “A boy you injured only this morning.”

Severus flinches at the unforgiving words.

“By all rights, I have yet another reason to be handing you over to the Ministry.”

Severus nods. Legilimency is an art he is very good at, as skilled as the Headmaster himself. Though they both occasionally use the skill to establish whether they are being lied to, that aspect only involves a brief skimming of the surface of the mind, as it were. Never has either of them violated anyone’s privacy by attempting a deep intrusion as Severus had just done. Salazar knows there have been plenty of temptations, however.

“After what you have just attempted, do you believe Regulus will welcome you in Grimmauld Place?” Before Severus can so much as acknowledge this with a nod, Albus continues, “And even when Regulus gives you the Secret of the Malfoy home, do you believe Holly will consent to go with you?”

Severus looks away from his mentor in shame.

“I understand,” he whispers ashamedly in acknowledgement.

Albus sighs once more.

“You’ve made your apology, Severus. Such as it was. Now, Floo to your rooms. I need to call for an emergency staff meeting.”

Thoroughly reprimanded, Severus takes a pinch of Floo powder, calling out for his quarters.

ooOoo

Carrying a sleeping Holly, Lucius softly knocks on Severus’ door so as not to wake the child up.

The Potions Master wastes no time in opening the door. The blond finds himself taking a deliberate step back when Severus tries to take his burden from him. Severus’s whole face tightens painfully, but Lucius steals himself against the expression.

The last eighteen hours feel like they have lasted a week already. Lucius has never felt this shattered since his school days whilst cramming for NEWTs. Though he expected today to be stressful due to the combination of being the first day of classes (the second half of which ended up being cancelled) and juggling the situation between Holly, Severus, Potter and Draco – the day has quite frankly been a disaster of the unmitigated kind.

Suspecting that the apology did not go well, Severus’s restrictions have been upgraded to a two-week suspension and the rest of the two weeks with the original probation. 

It was all Lucius, Pomfrey, Minerva and Dumbledore could do between them to persuade Holly not to run straight to the Hospital Wing after dinner. Instead, they had taken her to the staff room for the emergency meeting, during which Pomfrey had snuck her a mild sleeping draught.

Having rid himself of his robes and frock, Severus stands before him in his shirt and trousers. His hair looks wild, looking as if he has been clutching at it in distress - which is probably not far off the mark. Silently stepping to the side, Severus allows him to enter with Holly. Lucius had been tempted to take her straight to his own quarters and allow her to use the room Dumbledore had designated for Draco, should his son ever want to stay with Lucius. Not that Lucius will tell his son he has extra space if he wants to use it.

Lucius carries the child to her room without a word between them and lays her down gently in her bed. He carefully tucks her in, then spying her replica owl plushies; he cautiously tucks them both under her arms. He presses a kiss to her temple and leaves, closing the door quietly behind him.

Without being invited to, he sits in the same chair when he carried Holly in after the boggart incident.

The only sound for several minutes is the crackling from the fireplace. Severus keeps his eyes on the flames.

“She’s very angry with you,” Lucius calmly begins the conversation.

Silence.

The blond lets it build up.

“What else are you hiding from me?” The question comes dully from the wizard opposite.

Lucius is glad the other has broken the silence first - unfortunately, with a question, he is not ready to answer. The only thing Severus does not yet know is about his mother, Eileen. He knows it is cruel to keep the news of his mother from Severus, considering how long they have been searching for her. Yet, from that trip to Tobias’ house several weeks ago, he and Narcissa have suspected that the elder Snape has known where Eileen has been since Holly’s birth, at least. Perhaps even the whole time. No matter what the muggle might have said about not having a return address. For a muggle, Tobias has turned about to be quite wily.

“Ask me the right questions, Severus, and I shall tell you,” Lucius prevaricates. Some instinct prevents his tongue from divulging any news of Eileen. Really, he needs to speak to Regulus and Potter when it comes to it and consult on why exactly they shouldn’t tell Severus of his mother and her role in raising Holly.

“Do I not have a right to know about my own child?” Severus hisses, turning his angry eyes, glittering from the firelight, on Lucius.

More than you know, Lucius thinks.

“What happened today?” Lucius asks instead, his voice hard, and Severus scoffs at him.

“Nothing worse than what we’ve done in the name of the Dark Lord.”

“Are you willing to say that in front of Holly?” he says stiffly as Severus pales at those words. He looks away, the fight leaving him.

“You were supposed to apologise. What happened to make Dumbledore change his mind about your suspension?” Lucius asks, leaning forward.

“I apologised,” Severus mutters, still not looking at him. “I wanted to know what he was hiding, so I used Legilimency on him.”

Lucius inhales sharply.

“Idiot!” he rails in the same instance. “You thought it wise to try that after the injury you inflicted.”

Severus flinches at the words and at the tone.

“The boy knew Occlumency,” he ends bitterly.

Lucius freezes in shock before belatedly remembering he already knows this from Potter’s letters to Eileen.

“So it made his concussion worse,” Lucius states after a moment.

He takes a deep breath and releases it slowly.

“You should hope Potter doesn’t reveal that to Holly. You already have a difficult job persuading her to trust you after she saw you smash Potter’s head against the window,” the blond warns.

“How does Potter always end up on top?” Severus rants, just as bitter as before.

“Because you don’t know how to control your temper, fool!” Lucius cries, forced into snapping, falling back in his chair.

Flushing, Severus looks away sullenly.

Deciding to speak clearly, Lucius begins his explanation coldly, “Whether you like it or not, Potter and Holly are connected. They have bonded over several years, years you were not a part of.”

Severus closes his eyes as if to block out the words.

Leaning forward, Lucius continues relentlessly, “You could have raised your daughter if you had given Jasmine a chance when she told you she was pregnant. The consequences you are suffering are of your own making. Instead of owning your mistakes, you are compounding them even more, and in the process, you will lose your daughter forever.”

Severus’s breathing becomes harsh, though he does not open his eyes.

“I should have looked through her photo album when I had the chance,” Severus says eventually. “I might have known about Potter earlier since you hid him from me.”

Lucius tenses. He’d forgotten about that.

“What photo album?” he asks, pretending not to know while ignoring the rest of the snide words.

“Holly has a photo album in her bag. I saw it yesterday when I unpacked her things. I didn’t open it, hoping she would share it with me voluntarily.” He shakes his head at his own foolishness. “Now I’ll have to wait until she leaves in the morning to retrieve it,” Severus schemes instead of answering his question.

That means Lucius will need to be here before Holly wakes up. To at least try to get to the album before Severus. To hide it. Perhaps even leave Severus’ chambers with it. Then again, it might be better to have everything out in the open. Severus deserved to know what happened to his mother. Surely it would make the other happy to know that Eileen was taking care of his daughter. Of course, the unanswered question was not why Eileen left in the first place because, knowing Tobias, that was obvious, but rather why she stayed away for so long? Why had she never contacted Severus in all that time?

The answer comes to him as slowly as it had the first time he had seen Eileen’s pictures. It would hurt his brother. Lucius has to delay that as long as he can. As he always has.

ooOoo

An hour later, though he longs to dive under his covers, he makes a final trip to the Hospital Wing.

Entering the Infirmary, Lucius creeps towards Potter’s bed, located closest to Pomfrey’s office.

Regulus is half sitting, half lounging in a conjured chair, looking as tired as Lucius feels. Only his head moves to acknowledge Lucius’s arrival; otherwise, the other wizard doesn’t move from his position.

“Enjoy the first day of classes?” Regulus drawls from his seat.

 Lucius shakes his head at the other wizard. “What few I had.”

Given the incident this morning, both his and Severus’s classes had been cancelled.

The silence that descends on them is broken by Regulus’s question, “Are you regretting keeping Eileen’s involvement from Severus?”

“It will come back and bite us in the backside,” Lucius predicts, “yet, I can only try and delay that moment for as long as possible.”

“For yourself or for Severus?”

“Both,” Lucius admits in a rare moment of honesty. He is about to mention the photo album when Regulus distracts him with another question.

“What have you explained to Draco?” he asks quietly, watching the still-sleeping Potter.

Turning his own gaze to the boy, Lucius answers, “Nothing. I managed to evade his questions for the time being, but I have no doubt that he will knock on my door first thing in the morning.”

To be frank, Lucius is not looking forward to listening to Draco moan about Potter. He’s had enough of that from Severus. Potter seems to have the curious effect of people devoted to him or hating him.

“I chose Potter because I saw his power when he fought the Dark Lord,” Lucius discloses curiously.

Regulus looks up at Lucius impassively, waiting for him to finish his sentence.

“Why have you chosen him?”

“Over Severus, you mean?” Regulus asks for clarification with a twist of his lips, but Lucius doesn’t speak further.

“I saw his power too, Lucius,” Regulus continues, looking down at Potter. “Long before his duel with the Dark Lord. But the power I saw was different to what you saw. Maybe if you’re lucky, you might see for yourself. Maybe if Severus opens his heart and mind once more, he might too.”

Lucius tries to pick through the words and understand what Regulus is trying to say. He understands that they both have different views of what power means to them but doesn’t comprehend what Regulus means. Not yet, anyway.

“He has your loyalty,” Lucius adds curiously. That much he has understood.

“Not too dissimilar to the way Severus has yours.”

Lucius blinks. Severus is nothing less than a brother to the blond. Regulus was telling him that Potter was family to the youngest Black scion. He levels the sleeping Potter with an assessing look.

“Keep an open mind, Lucius,” Regulus advises, seeing this.

Bringing the topic back to what he originally wanted to speak about, Lucius abruptly announces, “Holly’s photo album. The one I took the duplicate pictures from.”

Regulus frowns at him questioningly. “What about it?”

“Well, it has pictures of Holly, Eileen and Potter,” Lucius elucidates.

“So?”

“Severus is suspended and restricted to his quarters for the next two weeks,” Lucius expands.

Regulus still doesn’t look like he understands.

“Salazar’s beard, you idiot,” Lucius sighs and shakes his head. “Severus will have unrestricted access to Holly’s bedroom and plans to swipe the photo album. He’s doing it because he wants to know how badly Potter has inveigled himself into Holly’s life, but he’ll also see Eileen. The way I did.”

To Lucius’ consternation, Regulus looks amused instead of concerned.

“Are you sure we’re not better off letting this whole thing come out now?”

Lucius pauses to think about it for a few seconds, then shakes his head.

“He does deserve to know,” Lucius agrees with a sigh, “but I don’t believe he’s ready to know. Severus has always wondered what happened to his mother. I would argue that he should know if his relationship with Holly was not so fraught. But he’s not able to connect with Holly, and with Potter’s involvement and adding Eileen to that concoction – it’ll be too much for him. Severus can’t process all this. Look at what he’s already done.”

They both glance at Potter, who remains undisturbed. They are not speaking loudly, but they are holding a conversation over his head. Lucius spots an empty vial, most likely a sleeping aid.

“You won’t always be able to protect Severus,” Regulus tells him sternly. “Wouldn’t it be better that the man actually confronts all the issues instead of you helping him bury his head in the sand?”

“He’s not ready,” Lucius insists.

Regulus looks like he disagrees but, thankfully, doesn’t argue further.

“How does Severus know about Holly’s photo album?” he asks instead.

“He unpacked Holly’s belongings yesterday,” Lucius explains with a sigh. “He said he wanted to open it then but decided to wait until she shared it with him. So he left it alone.”

“You won’t have to worry about the album,” Regulus states confidently.

“Why?” Lucius asks, exasperated.

The other wizard gives him a sardonic look.

“Severus has been alone in his rooms for several hours since Albus banished him there. He’s had several hours alone where he could have gone into Holly’s room and gone through the whole thing. Yet, he hasn’t. Why?”

Lucius blinks, and then it dawns on him.

“You’ve already enchanted it,” he realises. “When?”

“Weeks and weeks ago,” Regulus admits smugly. “Not long after you showed me all the pictures you duplicated. If Severus had seen those pictures, we obviously would have heard about it sooner. So when I was visiting Holly in her room, I asked her to go through her album with me. I spelled each picture individually. Every time Severus touches the album, he’ll give himself an excuse not to open it alone. Only if Holly decides she wants to share the pictures with her father will he be able to see them.”

Clever, Lucius thinks, though refuses to admit it out loud.

“What if Holly shows her album to him one day?”

“Then we’re just going to have to deal with it, Lucius,” the other wizard sighs. “It can only be hidden for so long.”