Snape the Younger

Dark Salvation

Christmas

The Christmas holiday had been far too short, only three days, so Lucius decided to leave work early; being the Owner's son, and current Leading Light of Malfoy Enterprises, that did not present a problem. Apparating home to his flat in Chelsea, Lucius glanced around and smiled to himself. Severus had been in residence for only five days and already he had made his mark on the place, a potions textbook on the coffee table, some sort of stirring rod abandoned on the sideboard. Last night the boy had been as skittish as a wild colt but in the next couple of days, Lucius planned to tame him to hand and that would be more than worth the effort.

When he had apparated the half dead bundle of meat out of Snape Manor at the beginning of the Christmas holidays his father had been furious. No one interfered in Family business, especially not outsiders. Fortunately, Lord Voldemort had been curious about Severo and his uncanny ability with potions and had taken an interest in the case. He had healed the up-and-coming young potions genius who had been literally skinned alive, drawing him out of his coma with a promise of protection.

It had taken quite some effort to get young Snape back on his feet, many spells, healing potions and sheer hard work to carefully replenish the missing blood and regrow the lost skin from the few remnants left on his body. Even the Dark Lord had lent a hand when it looked as if the boy was going to die after all, adding his own vast energy to the input from the healer they had brought in privately. For a few moments on that afternoon Lucius had thought he saw pity in the Lord's eyes, also empathy, then the rich blue eyes had held only academic interest as he asked after Severus' health. Finally, Severus had turned the corner and lived, but it was a quiet, intense, silent living that was so innately furious that it burned in his eyes and almost incinerated anyone who cared to look closely. Oh yes, Severus was full of suppressed fire and it would be one hell of an experience to tap into that passion.

Checking the time, Lucius swirled a cloak over his robes and apparated out.

~~*~~

The solicitor's office was cool and dim, the smell of old leather and expensive brandy overlaying the smell of dusty parchment. At one end of the table sat Thaddeus Snape, at the other sat his Heir Severus Snape with Malfoy Senior and Junior bracketing him. The Snape solicitor and the Malfoy solicitor sat in the middle at opposite sides of the table and both knew this was going to be one very rough handover.

"Severus Ibrim Snape, at the tenth hour, on this ninth day of January, you will be seventeen years old, an adult in your own right. Are you prepared to uphold the laws, rights and responsibilities of the position as Heir to the Family?"

"Yes." The single word hissed out low and long drawn, caressing the ear and wrapping around the spine.

"Thaddeus Hieronymus Snape, at the tenth hour, on this ninth day of January, your son will be seventeen years old, an adult in his own right. Are you prepared to confirm his rights and responsibilities in the position of Heir to the Family within law?

Snape Senior wanted to say no, he was desperate to say 'no' but the word 'yes' came out of his mouth, much to his fury. He glared bitterly at the boy at the other end of the table, his black hair beginning to frame his face and curl at the ends, longer than it had ever been while under his roof. Even his robes were an expensive green and silver set, patterned after those worn by the Malfoys, the perfect bum-toy and tool for Malfoy Junior. But how had they cast this spell on him... again? Thaddeus snarled, he had been protected by all manner of spells and artefacts to ward off curses, mind altering magic and other phenomena after the first time he had been caught. Yet here he was, dancing like a puppet on a string of will pulled by the Malfoy duo. He ground his teeth in fury when the bloody solicitor handed him a quill and he actually drew his own blood to sign the documents confirming that piece of shite as his legal and magical Heir. The blood of the Junior Snape and the Senior Snape mingled on the parchment and completed the cycle of spells and contracts begun at Severus' Naming Ceremony.

As the last flourish was completed, the spell on Thaddeus snapped and he roared in fury as he stabbed the parchment with the quill. Severus merely smiled enigmatically as he watched his father rip the documents into a thousand tiny pieces but it was too late, the magic inherent in the sign-over needed no parchment to prove its existence. His utter contempt for the man who had sired him flowed out in a palpable wave, lapping at the two solicitors who were hurriedly gathering the tools of their trade in an effort to get out of the middle of the impending explosion.

The bolt of pure magic slammed into the door as they shut it, deflected by a wandless hand. Thaddeus snarled again, pulling his wand and roaring a spell only to find himself flung backward and pinned to the wall by his own muscles. Where was the magic coming from that it could do such things to him despite the precautions he had taken so diligently? He must have spoken aloud because Severus smirked, a Malfoy smirk indeed.

"Next time you are dining at your leisure, be careful what you drink. You know I can brew death in a bottle, so brewing liquid Imperio is no great feat," his son jeered softly, his voice an odd mix of smooth velvet and rough ice.

"You... you can do that?"

"I can do anything with potions," Severus said flatly, not bragging merely stating facts. "I am now confirmed as Heir so beware, Father, I will be planning to inherit very soon." He rose to his full height, a good three inches taller than his father and bowed punctiliously, Lucius bowing too as he followed the younger man out.

Abraxas Malfoy paused to lift Thaddeus' chin with one long finger. "Congratulations Thaddeus, you have given us a wonderful recruit to our cause, a powerful brewer of potions and a devoted worshipper of our Lord. Congratulations and again, thank you," he mocked as he left the man frozen in place, unable to control his own body despite the fury coursing through his veins.

~~*~~

"Can you really do that? Brew liquid Imperio, I mean?" Lucius asked late that night as they sat curled up on the sofa before the fire.

Severus sighed and turned his head to drop a kiss on Lucius' temple. "Why, do you think I have put it in your whiskey?" he asked with a droll note in his voice.

Lucius blinked, giving the question some thought before shaking his head slightly. "No, I do what I do because I want to do it. If I was under the Imperius Curse, I would have to agree with everything you said and I seem to remember disagreeing strenuously over that atrocious waistcoat you were about to squander far too many galleons on."

Severus chuckled, sending a shiver down Lucius' spine. Since the beating, Severus' voice had changed a lot, his throat having been severely damaged by a whip cut. The repair had lowered and softened his tones giving it a hard bite under a layer of smooth whiskey honey. It was sexy as hell and if Severus ever realised it, they were all in trouble. Unfortunately, Severus had an inferiority complex as big as the whole of Snape Manor, well seated by his father's cruel treatment. But the topic was liquid imperio. "So why did your father do as you commanded him? He really wanted to disinherit you as Heir, and he really wanted to command you to go back home but he failed on both counts."

"I'm not sure why," Severus mused. "I have been feeding him discrete amounts of poison for years, I must admit, but nothing even vaguely resembling a will sapping potion. I think, and I may be totally wrong here, I think that the things belonging to the Family Snape cannot be used too overtly against the Heir, even if it is the current Head of Family who tries to command it so. And I also think...," Severus paused to take a sip of whiskey before he voiced his radical thought. "...I think the house-elves are responsible for a number of his miscast spells and my well crafted protections."

"The house-elves? Now you are being silly, Severo," Lucius sniggered then grinned as Severus stiffened at his side. "Now, now, don't poker up, if that is what you want to believe then who am I to disagree. Stranger things have happened. Oh well, enough on this topic, how about tomorrow we go visit your mother's property and see what you have inherited?"

"It's in Spain," Severus said in surprise.

"So? A few days in a warmer climate will do you the world of good, get some healthy pink back into your face. You have never regained your colour since the beating. You barely even blush now."

"And you want to see me blush?" Severus asked, cocking an eyebrow at the blond who smirked back suggestively.

"Oh yes, right down to your balls, actually."

Severus sniggered at his lascivious look and dragged him into a kiss. "So let's get started."

~~*~~

Mid Sixth Year

The twentieth of January saw the welcoming feast in full swing, Professor Dumbledore greeting the returning students and hoping they had had a good holiday. Snape sat with the other sixth years, silent, still and expressionless, a deep grimness casting a cold aura around him. The others of his year slowly moved away from him, uneasiness crawling up their spines. Severus had always been something of an enigma but now there was a palpable air of fury around him. Something had obviously happened to him over the holidays but no one had any idea what it might be.

When Dumbledore announced the school would be providing apparation lessons for all those eligible, there was an excited whisper around the hall. The Marauders exchanged excited look, Black smirking as he realised he was already well trained in apparation and one up on both friends and rivals. Snape made no reaction one way or the other, sitting in his self imposed stillness, eating sparingly of the sumptuous banquet. When the students were dismissed to their own houses, Severus rose, looking neither left nor right, and glided away, his school robes billowing around him.

A number of eyes watched him leave the hall, both friend and foe. Black and Potter glared, already planning new moves and new torments to try on the Slytherin. Pettigrew looked speculative, having heard lots of rumours flying around the wizarding world. Lupin was curious about what had changed the usually indifferent or even slightly bored Slytherin into such a grim and humourless pillar of darkness. He had never hated Snape, not like Sirius and James did, and after the Shrieking Shack incident he had taken to speaking with him on odd occasions but now there was no animation in the cold, pale face, a walking illustration of a vampire.

Dumbledore had heard the rumours too, and had been aware of the scandal that rocked the pureblood families over the near murder of an Heir to the Family. It was very rare that Dumbledore agreed with Abraxas Malfoy and Ebenezer Mulciber but in their handling of Thaddeus Snape, he could only applaud their stand. He wasn't entirely sure how the Malfoys and Mulcibers had become aware of the problem but he knew they had convinced Snape to treat his son with something approaching human care. When he had tried to talk to Thaddeus himself, Albus had been told to keep his self-righteous nose out of Family Business! He planned to have a little chat with Severus Snape as soon as was practical.

Severus let himself into his room in the dormitory and locked the door with a double charm before allowing his back to twitch and his shoulders to slump. Wearing the heavy wool school robes was still very hard on his newly healed flesh and if he didn't hold himself straight and move with as little jerking as possible, even the silk shirt he wore tore at the delicate new flesh. He had cast cooling charms over his robes to try to stop his newly healed skin from sweating and itching. After all, his father had virtually peeled every scrap of skin off his body, leaving only a few layers on his chest and thighs where they had been pressed into the flagstones. It had taken some very fancy wand work to put him back together again this time, even after the intervention of the world's most powerful lord.

Slipping out of his clothes, Severus sighed in relief and grabbed the pot of ointment he had supervised Lucius in brewing as he could not stand the heat of the cauldron just yet. It was quite hard to smear it on by himself but his arms were long and his shoulders supple so he managed to coat most of his skin before he slipped the especially charmed nightshirt over his head and crawled into his bed. He was exhausted despite the fact that almost three weeks had passed since the attack, three weeks of healing and pain and fury at the betrayals he had suffered. Waving a hand at the candles he plunged his room into darkness and fell asleep almost instantly.

~~*~~

Dumbledore offered tea to his visitor, holding his surprise and uneasiness at bay as he graciously hosted his guest. Thaddeus Snape certainly didn't act as if he wanted to be in the same room as the headmaster and sipping tea in a civilised manner was obviously very far from his real wants or needs. Finally, the conventions satisfied, both men put down their cups and Snape glared. He wasn't as good at it as his son was; Albus noted irreverently as he folded his hands and prepared to wait the parent out.

"You are to treat the boy gently," Thaddeus finally spat out. "He had an 'accident' in the holidays. He has nearly recovered but is still a little delicate. He is to go to Malfoy Manor for the Summer Holidays and needs no more permission slips to do as he pleases, he is of age."

Albus noted the sweat on the man's brow and the halts and stutters in his speech, his blue eyes narrowing speculatively. Snapes and Malfoys had never been that good of friends that one would relinquish a child to the other, especially not the Heir to the Family. "Really Thaddeus, is that truly your wish?" he asked, surreptitiously casting a revealing spell and almost dropping his teaplate when the flare of the Imperius Curse impacted on his sight. The implications were horrendously complicated and Albus refrained from acting on his first instinct to break the curse immediately.

"If the little man-whore never sets foot in Snape Manor again, it will be too soon!" That came out fast and hard with the hissed conviction of bitter fury. "To think a Snape of Snape would stoop so low as to.... Unnatural droppings of a diseased womb, off-spring of dung, should have killed him when I had the chance...." The vitriolic ramblings trailed off into indistinct mutterings, then the man's head snapped up again. "I must go, I'll leave him in your charge, speak to Malfoy if he needs something." The man rose abruptly and fled.

Shocked and somewhat horrified, Albus Dumbledore found himself complicit in the use of the Imperius Curse for the very first time in his life. What had that madman done to Severus that caused the most self-absorbed family in the whole of Pureblood England to intervene? Puzzled and torn between law and compassion, Dumbledore resolved to wait and see.

~~*~~

Summer, end of Sixth Year

Severus and Lucius had spent the summer on the continent, roaming though France and Italy, taking a slow boat down the Rhine River then contrasting it with an equally slow trip down the river Nile. They had bumped into an archaeologist from Gringotts bank called Roland Hampstead, a personable young man with a thatch of long brown hair who had cheerfully shown them around the dig near the great pyramid, Khufu. Severus had spent a lot of time discussing embalming and the Ancient's beliefs in preserving the bodies for resurrection. Lucius had been a little jealous of the instant rapport the two young men built but it was to him Severus came at the end of the day, happy and excited, slightly sunburned and full of energy to be used up in the best possible way.

Still, as much as the history fascinated Severus, the Egyptian climate was too much for him and after passing out in a most undignified manner, he asked Lucius to take them back to Spain, and his mother's house. The villa in the Pyrenees Mountains was small and walled; a charming retreat and place to recover from the rigours of their holiday jaunt. Both young men settled into the sleepy pace of village life, even Lucius relaxing enough to forgo his gloves and cloak, leaving his robes open in European fashion. They went shopping personally in the village shops for bread and olives and imported fish. At the small, dusty winery they found vintage reds and exquisitely crisp whites hauled up from the valleys of France.

Exploring the house and the attics, Severus found a wonderful silver and rosewood sword stick with a missing blade, smooth as satin and glowing with the patina of age and wear. Cleaning it carefully, he realised - as it broke in half - that there was a small hole in the handle, rather than a slit. It only took him a moment to realise it was a wand grip and the stick was not missing a blade at all. The silver snakehead that made up the handle was infinitely detailed; every scale engraved and polished until it looked as if it could come alive. Experimentally, Severus put his own wand's grip into the hole and almost dropped the thing when the snake head animated and hissed at him. Shaking his head, he removed his wand and carefully shrouded the stick in concealment charms.

Lucius was thrilled with the present Severus gave him, putting his wand straight into the holder, utterly delighted when the snake came to life and wove a charmed dance under his hand as he stroked its head. Severus was happy that his present had pleased his lover, their lovemaking sweet and complex that night.

The last week of the holidays was idyllic for both young men, a gathering of spirit before Severus had to return to Hogwarts for his seventh year and Lucius to the board room where he was being given more and more responsibility by his aging father.

~~*~~

The Head of Family

The owl came on the last few days of the holidays, while they lounged semi-naked in the garden, a great black eagle-owl bearing a black parchment attached to its leg. Lucius was half fearful that it was for him but the owl bypassed his raised arm and landed before Severus impatiently. Taking the parchment, Severus broke the seal and read the message with a growing spark of gloating.

"Well?" Lucius asked curiously.

"It seems my father has finally succumbed to his passions," Severus smirked to his lover, crawling over the grass to flop down with his head on Lucius' belly, waving the message under his nose. "It says he burst a blood vessel while engaged in physical activity. I could interpret that as lost his temper and blew his brain out. I wonder what he was doing. Could be interesting to find out," Severus mused as Lucius stroked his hair back petting him as he plucked the paper out of Severus' fingers and read it through.

"You realise this makes you Head of Family?" Lucius said thoughtfully, tapping him on the nose with the parchment.

Severus chuckled, snapping the paper out of his lover's hands and rolled over to prop his chin on his hand. "I suppose so, do you care?"

Lucius grinned and shook his head just a little. "You are still my Severo, regardless of anything else you are; Potions nerd, skinny brat and beautiful man."

Severus tickled him in retaliation. "Still, I suppose I will have to do something to exercise my rights as the king of the hill or my stupid uncles will make some attempt to dominate the family and squander the disposable funds. How tedious! Oh well, let's go home tomorrow, I really can't be bothered to move today."

Lucius hauled him closer and kissed him fiercely. "Very well, tomorrow."

~~*~~

Severus dressed with care, allowing Lucius to dictate his style and colours. He ended up dressed in black leather and velvet, a deep hooded black cloak hiding his face and swirling most satisfactorily around his heavy black boots. His only jewellery was his Heir's ring, the seal ring he had received when he was born. Lucius accompanied him as they apparated to the grounds of Snape Manor where the Family was already gathering to carve up the estate and feast on the spoils.

The Great Hall was filled with chattering, laughing people, eddies swirling through the crowd as alliances were brokered and broken, cousins ganging up against half cousins then alliances to be split by both the distaff or the cadet branches. Severus leaned against a pillar close to the double doors watching with keen black eyes as his nearest and dearest planned on how to destroy many centuries of inbreeding and genetic planning. At his side, Lucius watched in fascination as many variations of his best boy stood, gossiped and moved, plotting and planning Merlin only knew what.

As far as the beginnings of a funeral went, this one was unusual in the lack of sentiment. Before the dais, laid on a bier draped in black and gold, lay the body of the dearly departed, the purplish hue to his face still visible despite all the spells and charms of the Necromantic Wizards efforts. At his feet, his funeral brazier burned with a clear, smokeless flame, lit originally within an hour of his death. Severus wondered who had been on the ball enough to light it as his father had no friends as far as he knew. Probably one of his uncles, the little voice in the back of his head commented irreverently, as his uncle Hector took to the dais and cast Sonorous on himself.

"Harken to me, oh Family Snape, as head of this family, I bring us toge..." he choked and coughed, the sonorous spell collapsing as his face turned blue.

Severus moved away from the shadow of the pillar and seemed to materialise in the centre of the aisle. His soundless glide made people draw back, his cold aura driving them back even further as he stalked past his father's body, ignoring it totally as he glared at his uncle in disgust.

"Exaggerating, Hector, as usual," he drawled, his velvety-sharp voice carrying without the use of a spell.

"Listen you disgusting little arse f...," he began but Severus turned and pushed a hand in his direction. The wandless magic slammed into his uncle flinging him across the hall and slamming him back-first into the carved stone work of the nearest buttress. His wife let out a shriek of horror as a stone gargoyle snapped the body out of the air and broke his spine in half.

"I am Severus Ibrim Snape, Named and Sealed Heir to the Family Snape, now Head of this accursed Family. This is my father's funeral; we are here to send him on his way to the netherworlds and to send the main branch of the family along too, for it STOPS WITH ME! There will be no more breeding for vampirism or for twisting innocents to some demented plan instigated in the Dark Ages. So, Leonid Tremundubus, will you do your duty to your past Master? Burn the bastard!"

The timid Master of Rites crept forward under the tall, intimidatingly grim youth's black gaze. He was the official family ritual server, held on retainer to serve the Family in Naming, Wedding and Burials, the hatching, matching and dispatching of the Family Snape. He glanced fearfully at the boy whom he had Named at his birth and had tried valiantly to protect to the best of his abilities during his childhood. Stepping forward, he pulled the Book of Ritual from his robes pocket and engorged it before flicking to the correct page and beginning the cycle of spells to render the body unsuitable for resurrection no matter what spell a Dark Wizard tried. All through the service, Severus Snape stood aloof and silent at his back ignoring the speculation flying around the hall.

Finally, the Master of Rites tossed the combustible powder over the body, saying the triggering spell to turn the body into ash then the small amount of ash was transferred to the Offering dish to be burnt completely. As the first ritual finished, the throne-like chair was moved into place and Severus sat down on the hard, solid seat, daring anyone to make a single protest.

They didn't, and the final step in making him Snape of Snape commenced with no more ado, the Master of Rites saying the spells and anointing his brow with the appropriate potions and oils. Severus sat perfectly still, his cloak still over his shoulders, only the hood pulled back to allow some small access to the flesh of his forehead.

As soon as the ritual was complete, Severus stood up, the cloak covering him completely as he moved to the edge of the dais to make his first official announcement. Malfoy wondered how he would react with the influence of the spells and oils soaking into his skin. However, Severus proved to be immune to the whiles and magic of his Master of Rites, no Family Feeling was generated, despite the attempts of the rituals.

As he stepped to the edge of the dais, Severus was amazed when all of the massed family bowed as one, folding his arms over his chest almost by habit. Surveying the massed family, he glared impartially at everyone, noting Lucius' encouraging look as he mentally braced himself.

"I am now Snape of Snape, confirmed by Law and Ritual. Do you accept me and my authority?"

The reply was somewhat tentative but growing stronger as Severus' eyes met and dominated some of his more wayward relatives. He waited until the smattering of applause tapered off into a mildly embarrassed silence.

"The Family has been fragmented and broken by certain policies initiated by the Major branch, this will stop. I relinquish the right to force marriages to fall in line with some obscure breeding pattern Vlad the Impaler may or may not have instigated some hundreds of years ago." He paused as a faint susurration of relief shuddered through the crowd. "Marriages will be the business of the immediate family unit, to suit the immediate family unit, rather than the Family. Next. The policy of one man for one woman and no other coupling will be abandoned. If you don't like it, bad luck! Make your own choices to suit yourselves."

A pin dropping could have been heard in the hall as the Snape paced the edge of the dais with a long stride and slow step. "Last but not least, you will all vacate these premises. The Manor will no longer be inhabited by anyone but the family ghosts, do I make myself clear? Leonid Tremundubus, you are granted the use of the cottage you now occupy with a stipend equal to your salary to cover your needs. Any member of the Family who requires your services may contact you as they will. That is all. Leave!"

A cold wind swirled through the hall, pushing them away, pushing them out with growing ferocity until a fully fledged gale ripped the banners from the wall and blew the flame from the torches around the walls. Only Severus and Lucius were left untouched by the devil winds sweeping Snape Manor clean, finally clean of all taint the Snape Family Dynasty had inflicted on the cool grey granite over the years. Severus slumped to the platform, pulling his knees up to his chin as the doors slammed shut on the last of the Family. Malfoy approached carefully, sitting down beside Severus and pulling his head down onto his shoulder.

"So, how do you feel now?" he asked gently, dropping a kiss on Severus' growing black hair, the silky strands clinging to his face, tangling with his pale gold locks.

"Drained, I think," Severus replied flatly, burrowing his head into the older youth's shoulder and sighing against his neck. "I am the end of the Family Snape, is that such a bad thing?"

"It was a proud family, at one time, but unfortunately, I think your Grandmother tried to breed a sort of divine madness into you. She only succeeded in making you a total rebel though," Lucius assured his lover with a gently kiss. "Greetings to the Lord of Snape from the Heir of Malfoy, welcome to the circle of Pureblood power."

"Thanks." Severus sighed and smiled, too drained to even think of the implications.

"Let's go home, shall we?" Lucius suggested and began a side-along apparation such as he had not done for a number of months, since Severo got his license.

~~*~~

End of Year Seven

"Severus, a word please."

The voice arrested Severus on his way to his last class for the day and he turned carefully, keeping all expression from his face. "Headmaster?"

"Come up to my office for tea, if you would be so kind," Dumbledore said cheerfully, turning away and expecting the student to follow him.

For a moment Severus almost walked away then his natural curiosity got the better of him and he followed the old man past the gargoyle and up to the cluttered office. Fawkes was seated on his perch looking very much the worse for wear as they entered but the bird seemed to perk up when it spotted the tall, dark student on his master's heels. Severus smiled at the gaudy bird and crossed to scratch under his beak with a long, stained finger, crooning softly.

Albus watched the small scene, wondering why Fawkes was always so glad to see the worst tempered student in the school, treating him like a favoured friend. It was partly Fawkes' partiality that made Albus try again and again to get the boy to warm up to him but all his efforts seemed to be doomed to failure. Only Fawkes ever caused the hard eyes to soften and the permanent sneer to fade to a soft, childish smile. "He likes you," he murmured and Severus stiffened as if only just remembering the headmaster was there.

Fawkes trilled a soft note of disappointment when the scratching stopped then stretched his neck and lifted a foot to scratch at his head. A single feather was worked loose and Fawkes caught it, pushing it into Severus' hand with a gentle peck on his fingers. Staring at the feather, Severus looked up in astonishment at the bird, which proceeded to rub the side of his beak against the sleeve of Severus' robes affectionately.

"A most favoured friend indeed," Albus recapped, waving the boy to a seat. "Come, have a seat. You prefer black caravan tea, don't you?"

"Yes, Headmaster," the boy confirmed folding gracefully into the chair and sitting perfectly still. The only hint of colour around him was the bright orange feather he still held in his hand. When the tea was poured, the boy moved again, picking up the cup and holding it without drinking. Each movement was precise and smooth, nothing wasted, nothing given away, no fidgeting to indicate nervousness, no hurried speech, no clue to what he was thinking or feeling or even if he was thinking or feeling anything. Severus Snape had grown to be an enigma.

"You have worked very hard, Severus, these last two years, and you have done exceptionally well in your NEWTs. I have it on good authority that you have garnered more NEWTs at a higher level than any other student in the history of the school. Remus Lupin ran a close second but your potions scores simply lifted you above everyone else. Well done, my boy, well done. So, what now?"

"College of Potions, Mastery then... well, I haven't thought any further ahead, probably research and development," Snape finally muttered ungraciously.

"Do you need any help in applying for the College of Potions Makers?" Albus offered with a benign smile.

"No, why should I? I applied last year and was accepted, contingent on NEWTs scores. They were high enough to put me straight into the second year and I will be finishing second year in a few months, I've already edited their textbooks and given the new draft in to Lurnow's for critique. Third year might pose a challenge but only because I have no decent research facilities. A pity my mother's properties are not closer."

"You cannot use Snape Manor?" Albus asked, knowing there were extensive laboratories under the old manor.

"No." The flat negative was unequivocal.

"Is there anything I, or Hogwarts, can do to foster your career?" Albus asked gently.

"You have done enough to me." For a second genuine hate flashed in his black eyes; but it was instantly banked and the flat blankness was back in place. "Besides, I already have a more than capable sponsor," he added smugly.

02.03.2006